United Airlines will offer additional premium-class seating on more than 250 new aircraft it expects to receive by April 2028, the company announced Tuesday.
The carrier unveiled its new fleet plans at a Tuesday media event at Los Angeles International Airport, promising "a new experience for transcontinental travelers" and "new onboard products for every customer."
The new aircraft expected in the next two years include 47 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners featuring the carrier's new "Elevated" interior, 40 Airbus A321neo Coastliners out of the 50 on order, 38 Airbus A321XLR out of 50 on order, 119 Boeing 737 Max and 18 Airbus A321neos.
While premium class is a major focus of the new aircraft, "United Airlines is investing nose to tail for all customers in the product," CEO Scott Kirby said at the event, which took place at the United hangar at LAX. "We're not just trying to do premium. If you're sitting in coach, if you're buying a basic economy ticket on any of our aircraft, you still get the best app, the best technology in the world. You're still going to have free Starlink [Wi-Fi] on the airplane. You're still going to have a seatback screen."
Still, Kirby also acknowledged that the demand for premium continues to be higher than it once was. "I don't think it's premium that's grown," he said. "It's that we're finally creating supply to meet the demand for premium."
New Planes and Retrofits
The Coastliner's Polaris business class marks its debut on narrowbody aircraft.
The A321neo Coastliner and A321XLR planes will have a custom-designed, all-aisle access lie-flat seat in the Polaris business-class cabin, according to the carrier. The new suite will feature "semi-translucent suite dividers that create an open feeling in the cabin while still maintaining passenger privacy." It will be the first time Polaris will be included on narrowbody aircraft, although the seats won't be as large as Polaris seats on widebody aircraft.
The Coastliner will include 20 United Polaris seats, 12 Premium Plus seats and 129 Economy seats. In addition, three seats have been removed to make room for a snack bar in the rear of the plane. It will fly daily between Newark and each Los Angeles and San Francisco. The first Coastliner is set to begin flying this summer.
The A321XLR will have 32 premium seats—16 more than the Boeing 757 aircraft it is replacing. Each seat will have a 4K OLED screen with Bluetooth connectivity, larger overhead bins as well as a snack bar in the economy cabin. This aircraft will start to fly on "some existing international routes" this summer, according to United, and in the future "will open new destinations for the airline in Europe and South America."
United has received three of the Boeing 787-9 aircraft with the new Elevated interior, announced last year. That interior features 99 premium seats, including the new Polaris Studio, a seat that's 25 percent larger than the standard United Polaris seat and has privacy doors among other additional amenities. The first of this model is scheduled to enter service April 22 between San Francisco and Singapore, followed by flights between San Francisco and London on April 30. United plans to have 33 Boeing 787-9 planes with the Elevated interior flying by 2028.
United plans to launch new CRJ450 aircraft this year on Chicago and Denver routes.
In addition to the new aircraft to be delivered, United is retrofitting its Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft into what it is calling CRJ450 models. "It feels like you're walking onto a private jet," Kirby said.
There will be 41 seats instead of the current 50 on each plane, according to Kirby, configured with seven in first class, 16 in Economy Plus and 18 regular economy seats. The first-class overhead bins are being removed and replaced with a luggage closet. The economy overhead bins will be large enough to fit rollaboard bags. And each plane will offer Starlink Wi-Fi. The first completed planes will be placed on routes between each Chicago and Denver and "smaller communities later this year," United chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said.
United by 2028 expects to have more than 50 CRJ450 aircraft in service.
New Amenities
In addition to United adding the previously announced Starlink Wi-Fi to its fleet, which is free for MileagePlus members, the carrier is adding a softer blanket for economy travelers on longer routes, along with new, higher-quality earbuds with improved audio for economy travelers. United also plans a new partnership with Chef's Table that will bring menu options from "some of the world's leading chefs" onboard by this summer, as well as screens at every seat—United expects within two years to have more than 227,000 screens on more than 1,200 aircraft—and bins large enough to fit everyone's rollaboard bag.
The New 'Relax Row'
United on Tuesday also announced what it calls a dedicated "Relax Row" in economy, a row of three seats that can transition into a sofa-style seat by raising the connected leg rest. (If no one books it, the three seats remain separated.)
"What we are trying to say is, 'premium for all.' And we don't often focus on the main cabin, and we really wanted to change that paradigm at United," said Nocella. "This will be a main-cabin product, so everybody on the aircraft has the opportunity to have a premium experience."
The product is ideal for families with small children, but it also can be booked by couples or solo travelers who want more space, according to United. Relax Row customers will receive a custom-fitted mattress pad, specially sized blankets, extra pillows and a stuffed plush toy for children. It is expected to launch in 2027 and will be available on more than 200 Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft by 2030. The seats will be located between United Economy and United Premium Plus and will offer up to 12 United Relax Row sections per plane.
Today's announcements expand on the "United Next" strategy introduced in 2021, according to the carrier. Since then, United has added 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 237 Boeing 737 Max planes and 67 Airbus A321neos to its fleet. It also has completed 70 percent of its plan to retrofit its mainline, narrowbody fleet, replacing more than 100 regional jets with larger mainline aircraft, and increased its premium seats per North American departure by 40 percent over the past five years.
[Disclosure: United covered BTN's air and hotel expense to attend this event.]