United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) plans to remove all seventy-three of its B757-200s and replace them with B737-900(ER)s over the next two and a half years airline CFO, John Rainey, has revealed. However, it has been speculated by FlightGlobal that with the rate of 757-200 retirements set to outstrip the number of 737-900(ER)s arriving (forty-eight) over that period, United may be forced to lease in extra aircraft to cover the shortfall; a move which would contradict Mr Rainey's claims that United "plans to keep the carrier's overall fleet count roughly flat over [...]the next five years". United has seventy-three B757-200s, fifty-five winglet equipped B757-200s and twenty-one B757-300s in its fleet and firm orders for eighty-eight B737-900(ER)s.