Are any airlines in the US going to buy the 7E7?
Thanks

Well, nobody REALLY knows for sure except the higher up's at the airlines.

I know Continental has said it will at a future date, just not right now.

ATA has also expressed interest (my guess is for their possible future Europe service).

Other than that we can all just speculate.

I'd be willing to guess there's gonna be a few US airlines that order it within the next say, 5 years (AA, UA, DL to name a few), just not right now in this economic climate.

UA desparately needs to replace their B767-200s, which they use for premium transcon service between JFK and SFO/LAX. They are configured 3 cabin and have not had their interiors updated in many years. They have by far the highest seat mile costs in UA's fleet.

I'm confident that, if UA emerges from bankruptcy, they will soon thereafter order at least a dozen 7E7s to replace the B767-200s.

We know UA is using three-class 767-300s and two-class 757-200s as suppliments to their 767-200 fleet. We also know that the 762 fleet is going away soon (they were all sold for $16 million to a charter operation).

We have heard rumors and speculation that some 757-200s will either get upgraded First seating (probably the International First seat from the 767-300) or possibly even going to a true three-class configuration (again, with 767-300 International First and International Business seats). But all it is now is speculation. Internal UA sources either don't know for sure, or are sworn to secrecy.

My money is on CO and/or DL to be the first to place, with AA as an outside choice. Evidently CO flies 762s internationally (so sayeth www.seatguru.com), so that's a natural choice for a 7E7-8 or 7E7-9 in a two-class config (so you could get 250-300 people in it, probably). Same with replacing some 757-200s on the EWR-LGW route. Also, if CO or DL decides to stop being a 777 operator due to insufficient loads (I have no clue what loads are like, however), the 7E7 would be a great replacement for it and, in the case of DL, their MD-11s.

AA and UA could definitely use a 7E7-3 to replace their 762 fleet. UA doesn't have the money right now, and I am not sure AA does, either.

NW seems to have thrown their lot in with Airbus (A330s), so I don't see them as a 7E7 customer.

NW does have 757's that they fly on domestic routes that have higher loads (~200 pax). Boeing can come out with a version of the 7E7 to fill that niche.
However, with that said, NW is still flying DC9's and 742's, so those 757's will probably be around for quite longer before they get replaced.

True. But NW's recent purchases seem to be Airbii - the A330 and A319/A320. Though I was chatting with the head of NW's DC-10 fleet at SEA the other day, and he spoke very highly of the 777. So perhaps NW might replace their 747-200s with 777s. I always figured they'd go A340s, but the 777 is the better plane all the way around.

He also said they were looking at the 7E7, but noted they were very happy with the A330. So I don't know if the A330 is a "short-term solution" for DC-10-30s that just aren't up to service spec anymore until the 7E7 launches, or if they might wait to see what EADS does with the A330 in response.

And this morning's Seattle Times noted that Boeing is working hard to secure a "massive" (50-100 plane) order from China so the plane will be ready for the Beijin Summer Games in 2008.