United Airlines has placed a new order for nine additional Boeing 787-9 airplanes.

According to United, the order reflects its fleet strategy of replacing older widebody jets with new, advanced airplanes. The 787-9 can fly farther and use 20% less fuel with 20% fewer emissions.

The American carrier took delivery of its first 787 in 2012 and announced a purchase of four more 787-9s in July 2018. In total, United has now ordered a total of 64 787s.

“The 787 Dreamliner has been so successful in the marketplace because of great partners like United Airlines that have taken the airplane’s unrivaled performance to open new routes and offer passengers a wonderful travel experience,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing at The Boeing Company. “It makes all of us very proud to have United place a repeat order since its team has spent a lot of time with the Dreamliner and knows what it can do.”

United operates its fleet of 787-8s and 787-9s on trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic routes. The Chicago-based carrier will become the North American launch customer of the larger 787-10 later this year.

Since the start of the programme, the 787 family has now secured close to 1,400 orders, including a net total of more than 100 for 2018. Nearly half of all 787 customers have returned to place additional orders for the airplane, according to Boeing.