United Airlines received its first B787-10 (N14001) on November 5th, 2018, with the variant's first revenue service on January 2nd between Newark and Los Angeles. They have 318 seats, spread across 44 in Polaris, 21 in Premium Plus, 54 in Economy Plus, and 199 in regular economy.

United's B787-10s

The Star Alliance member now has 13 B787-10s, with all but one active, according to ch-aviation.com. The sole exception is N12006, delivered on March 24th, 2019. Flightradar24 shows that it last flew on February 2nd from Tokyo Narita to Xiamen for maintenance, and is due to depart China for Japan on February 24th, before reentering service.

United 787-10
When writing, N12012 is en route from Paris CDG to Newark. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
 

The fifth most-used widebody

According to the latest OAG data, United's B787-10s have 2,038 departures from the US between February and June 2022. That makes the variant United's fifth most-used widebody, as shown below:

  1. B777-200/-200ER: 6,632 departures; average sector 3,109 miles (5,003km)
  2. B767-300ER: 5,123; 3,241 miles (5,216km)
  3. B787-9: 4,313; 5,074 miles (8,168km)
  4. B777-300ER: 3,150; 3,711 miles (5,972km)
  5. B787-10: 2,038; 3,396 miles (5,465km)
  6. B767-400ER: 1,937; 3,208 miles (5,163km)
  7. B787-8: 1,524; 4,064 miles (6,540km)

Note that the B787-10 has a third more departures than the smaller -8, despite having the same number of active aircraft. The difference is perhaps partly from the -8's greater deployment on long-haul routes.

United's B787s_ what % of departures are domestic_
Notice how in the first few months of 2022 the B787-10 has a significantly higher proportion of domestic flying than the -8 and -9. Don't read too much into June as it seems it isn't yet finalized. Source of data: OAG.

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The B787-10: a summary

The -10 is the largest-capacity B787 variant with a higher empty weight than the -8 and -9. But this results in a relative lack of range versus its smaller siblings and other, alternative aircraft. The largest variant of models tend to perform worse by orders, and that's the case with the B787-10.

Boeing is now developing a high gross weight version of the -10 to increase both range and payload, thereby making it a more competitive machine. It could have a range similar to the B777-200ER and A330-900, although it'd still be short of the A350-900.

However, it'd have more seats, a lower trip cost, and lower seat-mile costs. For United, it'd perhaps be especially good as a B777-200ER replacement, with significantly lower fuel burn and more seats – if, of course, they're needed.

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When writing, seven United B787-10s are in the air. Highlighted is UA85 from Tel Aviv to Newark, operated today by N91007. Image: Flightradar24.

United often uses them domestically

Between February and June, virtually half of United's B787-10s departures will be on domestic services, highlighting its flexibility. Don't get carried away. It's only used on three domestic routes: Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Washington Dulles to Los Angeles.

It'll be deployed on ten international routes, as shown below, with Newark to Tel Aviv having the most departures. Six of the 10 routes are operating in February, to be joined by Newark to Amsterdam and Lisbon in March. May is a key month, with Los Angeles-Haneda and Newark-Athens beginning; it's this that accounts for the drop in domestic use in the figure above.

  • Newark-Tel Aviv: 231 B787-10 departures February-June 2022
  • Newark-Frankfurt: 150
  • Dulles-Brussels: 122
  • Dulles-Frankfurt: 122
  • Newark-Brussels: 109
  • Newark-Amsterdam: 97
  • Newark-Paris CDG: 81
  • Newark-Lisbon: 69
  • Los Angeles-Tokyo Haneda: 36
  • Newark-Athens: 28
How have United's planned B787 flights changed for February-June 2022_ (1)
This looks at how planned B787 flights for February-June 2022 vary with schedule uploads in each stated period. Despite June not being finalized, B787-10 flights are +27% in the latest period versus the start of October. It's +16% for the B787-8 and +9% for B787-9. In contrast, United's entire schedule is down by 22%. This suggests Boeing's delays aren't necessarily particularly badly affecting it, with ups-and-downs in November/December mainly attributable to Omicron. Source of data: OAG.

June isn't finalized

Things change in June. While Los Angeles-Haneda and Newark to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and CDG are all down for a once-daily B787-10 service, the other six will barely see it. It'll be replaced by the B777-200ER, B767-300ER, or B767-400ER, with no indication yet where the large B787 will be deployed. Things will become clearer soon.

Have you flown United's B787-10s? Share your experiences in the comments.