FedEx buys 30 757s from UA
 

FedEx Agrees to Buy Boeing 757 Jets From United
By BOB SECHLER

FedEx Corp. disclosed plans Thursday to buy up to 30 Boeing Co. 757 passenger jets from United Airlines and convert them to carry cargo as part of the freight carrier's fleet renewal strategy.

The company agreed to buy an initial batch of 14 jets that will start arriving later this year and continue through 2015, as well as options to acquire an additional 16, according to a regulatory filing.

FedEx has slowed purchases of new jets and may even park some jets because of industrywide air-freight overcapacity and a shift by shippers to cheaper delivery options, but it's continuing to shed older, less fuel-efficient planes.

The company in 2007 started acquiring 757s, which can carry 20% more freight and burn a third less fuel than the three-engine Boeing 727s they are replacing. Analysts said converting the 757 from passenger use can cost around $5 million per jet.

FedEx was already due to receive four 757s this year to add to an existing fleet of around 60. It still has 30 727s.

The aircraft being acquired from United Continental Holdings Inc. are all used on domestic routes. Its fleet of 233 757-200s at Dec. 31—47 of them owned—had an average age of just over 19 years.

United said last year that it would phase out its older 757s after ordering 150 new Boeing 737-900ERs, 100 of them the re-engined Max version being launched later in the decade.

The airline is keeping 757-300 jets—it owns nine and leases 12 with an average age of 10 years—which are used predominantly on transatlantic routes. Boeing stopped making the 757 in 2004, and a full 737-900ER lacks the range to reach Europe from the U.S.

—Doug Cameron contributed to this article.

Pre-merger UAL flew all Pratt engines on their 757s - don't know what CAL had. I don't see a lot of our 757s, but when I do it seems like our fleet is most (all?) Rolls-Royce. Just wondering if we have a mix already or does this acquisition mean a mix of engines in the future.

We have about 11 757s with P&W engines right now. We have about 61 or so with RR engines. It's all in the fleet status on the flight planning page.

All L-UAL 757's have PW's. All L-CAL 757's have RR's. You will most definitely be getting L-UAL 757's with the PW's. They are to be replaced with the newer, and much less capable 737-900ER.

Thanks Boeing. :mad:

988FD, which is supposed to start conversion next month is a PW bird from United.

Nothing wrong with Pratts - take awhile to start but real thrust reversers!

Any idea how long a conversion takes?

Male to Female or the other way? ;)

Do the best with what you got and hope for your first pick next time around.