History of United Airlines
Historical fleet

History of United Airlines

Section Title: Historical fleet
Table Section Text: None

Aircraft	Introduced	Retired	Replacement	Notes

Boeing 40A	1927	1937	Launch customer Operated as Boeing Air Transport; also operated by Varney Air Lines

Boeing 80A	1928	1934	Unknown	Launch customer Operated as Boeing Air Transport

Boeing 247	1933	1942	Unknown	Launch customer All 59 of the base model were built for United Airlines

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser	Unknown	1954	Unknown

Boeing 720	1960	1976	Boeing 727	Launch Customer

Boeing 727-100	1963	1993	Boeing 737-500

Boeing 727-200	Unknown	2001	Airbus A320 family

Boeing 737-200	1968	2001	Airbus A320 family

Boeing 737-300	1986	2009	Airbus A320 family

Boeing 737-500	1990	2009	Airbus A320 family Boeing 737 Next Generation	United's original 737-500 fleet had been retired by 2009. More 737-500s were inherited from the merger with Continental Airlines and these were retired by May 2013.

2012	2013

Boeing 747-100	1970	1999	Boeing 747-400 Boeing 777-200/-200ER

Boeing 747-200	1987	2000	Boeing 747-400 Boeing 777-200/-200ER	Acquired from Pan American World Airways

Boeing 747SP	1985	1995	Boeing 747-400 Boeing 777-200 Boeing 767-300ER	Taken over from Pan American World Airways

Boeing 747-400	1989	2017	Boeing 777-300ER Boeing 787-9	The last United 747, dubbed the "Friendship" – a reference to United's original branding for its DC-10 and 747-100 fleet in the 1970s – was taken on a hub to hub tour around the United States, before taking a final ticketed flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, reprising the inaugural scheduled flight of a United Boeing 747.

Boeing 767-200	1982	2005	Boeing 757-200	Launch Customer.

Boeing 767-200ER	2011	2013	Boeing 757-200 Boeing 767-300ER	Inherited from Continental Airlines

Convair 340	Unknown	1968	Unknown

Douglas DC-3	1936	Unknown	Convair 340

Douglas DC-6	1947	1970	Unknown	Fleet included DC-6 and DC-6B aircraft

Douglas DC-7	Unknown	1964	Unknown

Douglas DC-8	1959	1992	Boeing 757-200	Largest DC-8 operator Fleet included stretched DC-8 "Super 60" series and re-engined "Super 70" series aircraft. The re-engining of its Super DC-8 fleet was carried out in-house.

Ford Trimotor	Unknown	Unknown	Boeing 247	Operated in 1931 on a transcontinental route between New York City and San Francisco.

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar	1986	1989	Taken over from Pan American World Airways

McDonnell Douglas DC-10	1971	2001	Boeing 777-200/-200ER	Launch Customer Fleet included original DC-10-10 variants and DC-10-30 variants One crashed in 1989 as Flight 232.

Sud Aviation Caravelle	1961	1970	Boeing 727 Boeing 737-200	Only US operator of the Caravelle in scheduled passenger service

Laird Swallow J-5	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Single seat biplane used to carry US Air Mail (CAM 5) by predecessor Varney Air Lines.

Vickers Viscount	1961	1969	Boeing 727 Boeing 737 Original	Former Capital Airlines aircraft. Only mainline turboprop aircraft type ever operated by United Airlines.

Sentence(s)

In 1989, United introduced the Boeing 747-400.

final_sentence: In 1989, United introduced the Boeing 747-400.