United Airlines has announced the next phase of its long-term plan to win brand loyal customers and further differentiate itself from competitors.
The airline expects to take delivery of more than 250 new aircraft by April 2028—the most by any airline in a two-year period—to further modernize its fleet, add new aircraft variants, create a new experience for transcontinental travelers and introduce new onboard products for every customer.
- United is adding widebody experiences to its new, narrowbody aircraft: the new “Coastliner” Airbus A321 subfleet and A321XLR are United’s first narrowbodies with the Elevated interior and feature a new, all-aisle access lie-flat seat in United Polaris with a patented design that offers more elbow and shoulder room and lower suite walls that protect privacy. United has 100 of these new airplanes coming into its fleet, and they’ll replace 40 older, less efficient Boeing 757s.
- The Coastliner will have a specially designed livery and fly exclusively between United’s west coast hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Newark/New York and will introduce the United Polaris cabin experience to domestic travelers. For the first time, customers traveling in United Polaris on these routes can also get access to the United Polaris lounge.
- United’s A321XLR gives travelers access to 32 premium seats—16 more than the 757 it replaces—and will start flying later this year.
- The CRJ450—a reimagined and redesigned version of the CRJ200 will be operated by SkyWest and will connect smaller cities to the airline’s Denver and Chicago hubs starting this fall. This will be one of United’s most premium regional jets, having a spacious United First cabin with a large luggage closet instead of overhead bins.
- United’s new 787-9 with the Elevated interior will fly internationally starting on April 22. These planes include the airline’s new United Polaris Studio: lie-flat, all-aisle-access seats that are 25 percent larger than standard United Polaris seats and include privacy doors*, an ottoman for companions on some seats, exclusive meal service with wine pairings and caviar, new amenity kits with retail-size offerings, wireless charging, Bluetooth connectivity and a 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screen—the largest among U.S. carriers.
The announcement expands on the ambitious ‘United Next’ growth strategy announced in 2021. Since that time, United has added 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 237 Boeing 737 MAX and 67 Airbus A321neos, completed 70 percent of its plan to retrofit its mainline, narrowbody fleet, replaced more than 100 regional jets with larger mainline aircraft; increased premium seats per North American departure by 40 percent and hired more than 60,000 people.
“For more than a decade, we’ve invested billions of dollars in our product, service, and technology as part of our plan to be the best brand loyal airline in the world, and the result is that more and more customers are choosing to fly us every day,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. “Today we accelerate our plans and elevate our offerings to the next level, creating an even more consistent, premium onboard experience for every customer and delivering value across every cabin of service.”
“These new planes and products not only complement our fleet and network plans, but they also give our customers more premium amenity and seat choices—whether they bought a basic economy ticket to fly from Chicago to Ft. Wayne or are flying Polaris between San Francisco and Singapore,” said United Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella. “United is setting the pace and innovating for our customers at a scope and scale unheard of in aviation history—and we’re not taking our foot off the gas.”
New airplanes joining United’s fleet between now and April of 2028 include:
- 47 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with the Elevated interior; 33 will be configured with additional premium seats
- 40 Airbus A321neo Coastliners out of 50 total on order
- 28 Airbus A321XLR out of 50 total on order
- 119 Boeing 737 MAX
- 18 Airbus A321neos
A Widebody Experience on a Narrowbody Jet
The new A321neo Coastliner and A321XLR feature a custom-designed, all-aisle access lie-flat seat in United Polaris. This new suite is wider at the shoulder and elbow than similar competitor products and has semi-translucent suite dividers that create an open feeling in the cabin while still maintaining passenger privacy. The patented design is the result of more than five years of research and development—including two rounds of customer sleep trials—to ensure it has ample space for customers to relax, an intuitive layout and easy-to-access features.
The addition of the A321neo Coastliner and A321XLR—combined with airline’s existing fleet—means United will soon offer nearly double the number of lie-flat seats than its next closest competitor.
“Coastliner” Airbus A321neo
The Airbus A321neo Coastliner was custom designed to give transcontinental customers an even better experience—the interior of the plane is all-new from nose-to-tail, with 20 new, all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris, 12 United Premium Plus seats—a first for narrowbody domestic flights—and 129 United Economy seats. United removed three seats from the standard configuration of this plane to make room for a snack bar in the rear of the plane.
United Polaris customers traveling on the Coastliner will receive the similar amenities as customers on international flights, including Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, Perricone MD skincare in the amenity kits, and premium headphones with Meridian technology. And, for the first time, customers flying in United Polaris on this aircraft can get access to the United Polaris lounge.
The routes the Coastliner will fly are some of United’s busiest—on average, more than 10,000 passengers fly between the airline’s West Coast hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Newark/New York every day—and connect from there to the airline’s leading global route network, with Hong Kong, Melbourne, Shanghai, Sydney and Taipei being the most popular onward destinations. United serves 17 destinations across the Pacific from its west coast hubs and 42 destinations across the Atlantic from Newark/New York—more than any other U.S. airline. The first of United’s 50 planned Coastliners will start flying this summer, and the airline expects 40 of them to be flying by early 2028.
Airbus A321XLR
The Airbus A321XLR was also designed from the ground up to be the airline’s most premium narrowbody airplane, capable of providing a new level of comfort and style for those traveling on international short-to medium-haul routes. This airplane has 32 premium seats—16 more than the 757s it replaces. Every seat has a 4K OLED screen with Bluetooth connectivity, ranging in size from 19 inches in Polaris, 16 inches in United Premium Plus and 13 inches in United Economy and everyone has access to larger overhead bins with room for rollaboard bags. The A321XLR features a snack bar in the rear of the Economy cabin.
The A321XLR will replace United’s Boeing 757 fleet on some existing international routes starting this summer, and in the future, will open new destinations in Europe and South America. United will launch this new plane with a special “Born to Explore” decal. Fifty A321XLRs are expected to join United’s fleet and more than half of them are expected to be in service by 2028.
CRJ450
The 41-seat CRJ450 is a first-of-its kind regional aircraft designed to evoke a feeling of a private jet experience for travelers in the United First cabin. In a first for a U.S. commercial airline, the overhead bins in United First have been removed in favor of a large luggage closet. The Economy cabin features overhead bins large enough to fit rollaboard bags —uncommon on regional jets of this size—and all new trim and finish. Every passenger has free Starlink Wi-Fi if they’re a member of MileagePlus.
The CRJ450 joins the popular CRJ550, which has among the highest customer satisfaction scores of any regional aircraft. By 2028, United expects to have more than 50 CRJ450s and nearly 120 CRJ550s in service.
Boeing 787-9 Elevated
In less than a year from when it was first announced, United has taken delivery of its first three Boeing 787-9 aircraft with the all-new Elevated interior—a nose-to-tail transformation across every cabin. With 99 premium seats, this aircraft is United’s most premium international aircraft yet and marks the debut of United Polaris Studio. Every seat on this airplane has gotten an upgrade—from the new suites in United Polaris with sliding doors and a 19-inch, 4K OLED screen, to freshly designed seats in United Premium Plus and United Economy with 16-inch and 13-inch 4K OLED screens respectively.
The inaugural international flight for the 787-9 with the Elevated interior is set for April 22 from San Francisco to Singapore, and a few lucky customers might catch it on select domestic routes between San Francisco and Houston over the next few weeks while it prepares for international service. United plans to have 33 787-9 airplanes with the Elevated interior flying by 2028.
New Amenities for Every Traveler
United is making investments for all its customers like:
- Starlink Wi-Fi—free for MileagePlus members—bringing an at-home internet experience to the sky and expected to be onboard all United dual-cabin planes by the end of 2027.
- A softer, more stylish blanket for economy travelers on longer routes.
- New, higher quality earbuds with improved audio for economy travelers.
- A continued investment in food and wine across every cabin, including a new partnership with Chef’s Table that will bring new menu options designed by some of the world’s leading chefs onboard this summer.
- Screens at every seat—within two years United expects to have more than 227,000 screens on more than 1,200 aircraft.
- An industry-leading library of in-flight entertainment content, featuring award winning movies, such as Sinners and One Battle After Another from Warner Bros. Pictures, and premium content from Apple TV, HBO Max, A24 and Spotify.
- Bins large enough to fit everyone’s rollaboard bag—now on board nearly 570 United planes.
- An award-winning app that updates regularly with new features like turn-by-turn wayfinding for connecting customers, a virtual gate that alerts you when it’s time to board, real-time weather updates, bag tracking with Apple AirTag integration, real-time United Club capacity information and more.
*Privacy doors are temporarily unavailable.
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