N777UA is going to be parked at VCV for a while, perhaps a year or longer. United isn't technically retiring any 777s in 2025, but hasn't released a fleet plan yet for 2026 so we don't know exactly what is going to happen going forward.

However, internally, N777UA and the other 777-200s parked at VCV are not listed as fleet exits and have extended return to service dates. This is in comparison to, for instance, a number of A319s and A320s that are unquestionably being removed from the fleet.

The storage is necessitated by the ongoing shortage of parts and engine cores for the Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112 series, which is happening for two reasons: first, most PW4000 777 operators have retired their fleets and there are fewer spares available. Second, Pratt & Whitney, while still technically supporting the engine, is extremely backlogged in production of parts. Most of their manufacturing resources are dedicated to the GTF, which has been plagued by recalls and a host of reliability issues, plus is in extremely high demand for new-builds on the A320neo series. This is having an impact on other PW engine products, including the V2500.

The priority for United has been supporting the 777-200ER fleet as it was heavily deployed this summer. That's why the 4 domestic 772ERs were mostly parked because they have the same engines as the Polaris-configured birds. The 19 777-200As do not.

The solution, for United, is going to be to cycle airplanes in and out of storage as engines become available, and harvest parts with green time from parked airplanes to support the in-service fleet. So, I don't think this is the end for the fleet, but we are starting to get very close. It's by no means out of the question that United soon decides it's not worth it to keep the oldest A-market 777s in the fleet anymore, and retires them. Hasn't happened yet, but it is certainly possible.