Washington, Jun 30 (IANS): American aerospace giant Boeing and United Airlines have announced that the carrier, the third largest in the world, will expand its 737 fleet by purchasing an additional 200 jets.

The joint announcement on Tuesday said that the new purchase, including 150 737-10 and 50 737-8, positions United's fleet for growth and accelerating demand for air travel, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agreement also includes the purchase of Boeing 737 MAX training simulator data packages to support pilot training programs.

"As we accelerate our business to meet a resurgence in air travel, we expect the addition of these new aircraft will have a significant economic impact on the communities we serve in terms of job creation, traveller spending and the shipping of goods and services," said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.

"We are truly humbled by United Airlines' confidence in the people of Boeing and the airplanes we design and build every day. Our strong partnership, dating back to United's founding, has helped us grow and weather challenges through the decades," said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The largest model in the family, the 737-10 seats up to 230 passengers in a single-class configuration and can fly up to 3,300 miles, according to Boeing.