Back in May American Airlines ordered 47 Boeing 787s split between the -8 and -9 variant, while cancelling their Airbus A350 orders and deferring some 737 MAX deliveries.

American also ordered 15 Bombardier CR-9 regional jets and took options on 15 more, as well as 15 Embraer E-175s.

Meanwhile Delta denies they’re considering a large purchase of L-1011 and DC9 aircraft. Delta has an older fleet than their counterparts, buys shrewdly on the used market, and leverages their superior TechOps capability to keep them running on time. And American is criticized for overspending on capital acquisitions.

United is taking a goldilocks approach, announcing a small order for new aircraft: 25 Embraer E-175s to be delivered in 2019 and replace the same number of Bombardier CRJ-700s and 4 Boeing 787-9s that will replace widebodies in 2020.

The 787-9s will be delivered with Polaris business class seats, though there’s no announcement at this point of retrofitting any existing 787s to offer those seats despite flying the airline’s longest routes like Singapore and Sydney.

Meanwhile the E-175s represent an upgauging compared to the CR7, a larger regional jet, which United says “offer a more comfortable and efficient aircraft to its customers” and indeed the current E-175 configuration and aircraft size is more comfortable in my view.

United continues to scour the market for used aircraft so don’t view this as a shift to a fleet renewal strategy.