In June, I wrote a somewhat caustic post critical of United’s fluffy PR-spin when the airline first proposed a new aircraft order. At the time, their press released seemed typically vague, bolstered with hacky lines and corporate-speak-fortressed platitudes, and, well, really only said, ultimately, that United would look into the financial ramifications of placing an aircraft order in a “multi-month competitive process.”

Well, golly gee. According to this press release on United’s investor page, the airline will indeed place an order for new airplanes, planning a purchase of 25 Boeing 787s and 25 Airbus A350 XWBs. Apparently, United really likes the range and cost savings (obviously) of the new airplanes, and plans to retire their 747 and 767 fleet once the airplanes roll off the line.

Oh, but don’t start booking your trips on the 787 for tomorrow. United doesn’t plan to take delivery of these airplanes until 2016, with new metal rolling in until 2019.

Good, though, for United. The five year delivery date actually provides them with an amibtious timeframe of fleet super-modernization (though, we all must remember, for now, there exists absolutely unsafe or ungainly about an older airplane, so long at is maintained properly). The 2016 to 2019 delivery dates also makes for a firm investment of their new(ish) first and business class cabins, that have appeared on all 767s and most 747s in the past two years. Five years should be quite enough for those first and business class seats to become sufficiently broken and outdated, just in time for 787 and A350 delivery.

United, however, has said nothing about 777 replacement, which, I must say, worries me a bit, mostly because the triple-7 remains the only longhaul bird in the fleet on which United has delayed the first and business class cabin refitting. United says refitting should commence in the next year, but who wants to begin a betting pool on whether the 777 remains active in 2016, and whether pax are still flying in the old La-Z-Boy biz class-type configuration? With United, one always has to keep the possibility alive.

But, hey – they’ve surprised us all, through another syrupy PR-memo, by actually following through on the aircraft order.