United Airlines announced Tuesday a huge new plane order with Boeing and Airbus in the biggest bet thus far by a major carrier on a travel industry recovery from COVID-19.

The U.S. carrier plans to acquire 270 new planes consisting of 200 Boeing aircraft and 70 Airbus jets. The order would be valued at $35.4 billion based on the listed price of the jets, although airlines often end up paying much less than the list price.

United executives described the order – the biggest in the airline's history – as a landmark moment symbolizing the radically improved outlook for travel due to coronavirus vaccines.

Still, United and other major airlines are expected to report another quarterly loss for the April-June period when they release their earnings reports in July, reflecting the continued drag of a travel crisis that has devastated travel revenue for more than a year.

United's business travel volumes are still down 60 percent, with international travel off even more, said United Chief Executive Scott Kirby.

"We're not back to 100 percent," Kirby said on a conference call with reporters in which he outlined how the company leaders had strategized on its needs early in the pandemic.

"Because we accurately mapped out the trajectory of the crisis in March and April of last year, it's really allowed us to be prepared and make the right short- and long-term decisions," he said.

Company officials were not asked about the so-called Delta virus variant – which is spreading rapidly in many parts of the world – during the hour-long conference call, but the announcement illustrates broad confidence in the industry's prospects even as the pandemic evolves.