United Airlines In Discussions To Buy New Narrow-body Planes : Bloomberg

(RTTNews) - United Airlines, a subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL), is in talks with Brazil-based Embraer SA (ERJ) and Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc. (BBD_B.TO, BBD_A.TO) to buy new narrow-body planes, Bloomberg reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The move is part of an effort by the airline to reduce reliance on unprofitable regional jets. An order is said to be not imminent.

The talks are centered around the largest models in Embraer's updated E-Jets family and Bombardier's smallest Cseries.

Such a purchase would be a novel move for the airline, whose pilots fly only aircraft from Boeing Co. (BA) and Airbus Group NV (AIR) on its main jet routes.

UAL closed down 2 percent on Wednesday at $54.11, and Bombardier gained 1.3 percent at C$3.80. ERJ slipped 0.2 percent on the NYSE to $38.33.