United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) does not plan to follow JAL - Japan Airlines and ANA - All Nippon Airways in retiring its Pratt & Whitney-powered B777-200s and B777-200ERs, although it is unable to provide any timeline for the reactivation of the aircraft grounded for the last two months, it said during the quarterly earnings call.
"It's just too premature for us to outline what that schedule looks like. We've had really productive collaboration [with Pratt & Whitney, Boeing, and the Federal Aviation Administration] and there's progress. And, we're really looking forward to getting the aircraft back in the air safely," Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Roitman said.
United Airlines grounded all nineteen B777-200s and thirty-three B777-200(ER)s powered by PW4000 Family engines after the February 20, 2021, incident, when N772UA (msn 26930), operating as flight UA328, suffered an uncontained engine failure and fire on take-off from Denver International, en route to Honolulu. Shortly thereafter, the FAA grounded all B777s powered by these engines for urgent checks.
Responding to the emergency airworthiness directive, JAL said it would not seek to reactivate any of its PW4000-powered aircraft, which included nine B777-200s and four B777-300s. Local rival ANA retired all seven PW4000-powered B777-300s, although its three B777-200s and ten B777-200(ER)s with these engines are still formally slated for return once cleared by the authorities.
United Airlines' B777 fleet also includes a total of forty-four B777-200(ER)s and B777-300(ER)s with General Electric engines, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
