CHICAGO (Reuters) - United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) wants to sunset older Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) 757s "as soon as possible" but the timing will depend on when the Boeing 737 MAX starts flying again, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nocella told journalists on Friday.

United had 77 757s in its fleet as of Dec. 31, 2018, according to its last annual report, and had expected to have around 30 737 MAX jets before the end of 2019 until the aircraft was grounded worldwide in March, putting deliveries on hold.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)