In June, United will begin service on Boeing 737 Max 9
aircraft, which the FAA certified for commercial use just in the past week. United
will receive 10 of the aircraft this year, putting them in use on June 7 for
service between Houston and each Anchorage, Austin, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando
and San Diego. Later in June, it will use the aircraft for service between
Houston and each Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tampa, as well as between Los
Angeles and Honolulu.
United is the first U.S. carrier with an order
for the aircraft, which it is configuring with 20 First Class seats, 48 Economy
Plus seats and 111 Economy seats. It offers "better fuel efficiency"
and "lower maintenance cost" than current aircraft, according to United
CFO Andrew Levy. United's minimum pitch for Economy on this plane will be 30
inches, one inch less than its Boeing 739-900 aircraft, but the 737 Max 9 will
include new storage options to maximize space for First Class passengers, including
in-arm storage for laptops, a tray with a flip-up holder for mobile devices and
an extendable granite cocktail table in the center console.