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United Adding 1600 Premium Seats -- 763, A319/A320, CRJ550(CRJ700)

Old Feb 6, 2019, 11:33 am
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United Adds More Than 1,600 New Premium Seats to International, Domestic and Regional Aircraft; More Comfort for More Customers in the Skies
United to add 50 percent more premium cabin seats to more than 100 aircraft
United to introduce best-in-the-sky 50-seat flying experience with innovative new aircraft
CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2019

United Airlines today announced the next step in its commitment to making more customers more comfortable by adding more than 1,600 United Polaris business class and United First seats to nearly 250 international and domestic aircraft. Additionally, United will revolutionize the regional flying experience by introducing the two-cabin, 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 550 aircraft to its fleet, offering customers on key regional routes more legroom, storage and amenities than any other 50-seat regional aircraft operating today.

Click here to view an infographic on United's newly reconfigured aircraft

"In an era where many airlines are adding seats to their aircraft to crowd more passengers onto the plane, we're re-configuring more than 100 of our aircraft and doing exactly the opposite for the benefit of our customers," said Andrew Nocella, United's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. "From adding more premium seats on aircraft that serve some of our most traveled routes, introducing a revolutionary, best-in-class 50-seat experience or simply offering free DIRECTV on more than 200 aircraft, we are committed to making United the airline that our customers choose to fly."

More United Polaris business seats on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft
In the next several weeks, United will introduce to its fleet the first of 21 reconfigured Boeing 767-300ER aircraft featuring 16 additional United Polaris business seats in the premium cabin a more than 50 percent increase in all-aisle-access seating bringing the total premium cabin seat count to 46. The newly reconfigured aircraft will also feature 22 United Premium Plus seats (becoming the first 767-300ER to offer this seat type); 47 Economy Plus seats and 52 Economy seats. United will first operate the reconfigured 767 which will feature the highest proportion of premium seats on any widebody operated by any U.S. carrier between Newark/New York and London, offering 50 percent more premium seats in the largest premium route in the world. The airline expects to introduce all the reconfigured aircraft to its fleet by the end of next year.

More United First seats on Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft
United is also adding more United First seats to its fleet of Airbus aircraft, offering customers greater opportunities to upgrade and enjoy a premium flying experience. Beginning this fall, the carrier will add four United First seats on its fleet of Airbus A319s, increasing the total count from eight to 12. The reconfigured aircraft will also feature 36 Economy Plus and 78 Economy seats.

Beginning early next year, United will add four United First seats on its fleet of nearly 100 Airbus A320 aircraft, increasing the total count from 12 to 16. The reconfigured aircraft will also feature 39 Economy Plus seats and 95 Economy seats. United expects to complete the reconfiguration of the Airbus A320 and A319s by the middle of next year.

Introducing the first-of-its-kind Bombardier CRJ 550
By the end of this year, United will revolutionize the regional flying experience with the planned introduction of 50 spacious, 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 550 aircraft to its regional fleet, subject to government certification. In addition to becoming the only 50-seat aircraft in the world to offer true first-class seating, the innovative new aircraft will provide customers with a truly exceptional flying experience, including a state-of-the-art interior featuring LED lighting, a self-serve beverage and snack station for customers seated in the premium cabin, Wi-Fi and more overall legroom per seat than any other 50-seat aircraft flown by any U.S. carrier. Additionally, the CRJ 550 will feature four storage closets, providing customers ample room to store their carryon bags and making the CRJ 550 the only regional jet in the skies where customers will not need to routinely gate check their bags.

The two-cabin CRJ 550 will feature 10 United First seats; 20 Economy Plus seats and 20 Economy seats. The CRJ 550 aircraft will eventually replace existing single-cabin 50-seat aircraft and will bring a higher percentage of two-cabin departures to smaller cities across the carrier's network. Additionally, the innovative aircraft will enable United to offer premium seats on more connecting flights from smaller cities to the airline's overall global network, further strengthening its competitive position and emphasizing its role as an industry innovator.

United expects that its regional partner GoJet will begin operating the CRJ 550 in the second half of this year subject to agreement on final terms and conditions on select routes from Chicago, O'Hare followed by Newark/New York, offering customers connecting through the hub the opportunity to enjoy a premium cabin experience at every step of their journey.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.
In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, United recently released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats. The multimillion-dollar investment in improving inflight entertainment options will benefit the more than 29 million people expected to fly United's DIRECTV-enabled planes this year.


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United Adding 1600 Premium Seats -- 763, A319/A320, CRJ550(CRJ700)

Old Feb 12, 2019, 6:51 pm
  #181  
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Originally Posted by cmdinnyc
"On demand"
Good God, don't give them ideas.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 5:00 am
  #182  
 
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I fly STL-IAD/EWR/ORD/IAH a lot for work, typically connecting to head internationally in C. Three words for this change: BRING IT ON.

I am so tired of getting into ERJs and CRJs after a long flight from Tokyo or elsewhere and just being darned uncomfortable. I've moved a lot of my flights to DL and AA just to fly planes with an actual first class on my connections. I email UA every time and let them know (I doubt they care), so this change will be hugely welcomed if they hit St. Louis.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 9:14 am
  #183  
 
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Is there word on the timing of the Airbus modifications?
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 10:45 am
  #184  
 
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Originally Posted by BBSHOPSINGER
Is there word on the timing of the Airbus modifications?
everything is supposed to be done by mid 2020 i recall. that is 170 aircraft in a year.
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Old Apr 2, 2019, 4:44 am
  #185  
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Small blurb on the CRJ550 in a recently published interview with Kirby, including the First Class Self-service/On-Demand service model, with a "refrigerator"...

What about the new CRJ550 that United recently announced?

The future is with the new CRJ550 announced last month. We will take our CRJ 700 70-seaters and retrofit them into 50-seat luxury liners with 10 first class seats and four closets that can hold 24 bags so you don't have to check bag. There will be a snack station in first class where passengers can get snacks and drinks out of a refrigerator. It will be a great product.
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/articl...y-13729013.php

Flyertalk thread discussing the interview as a whole:
One-on-one with United president Scott Kirby - McGinnis
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Old May 1, 2019, 6:33 pm
  #186  
 
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Anyone see the pitch on the CRJ 550 seatmap - 42 inches in first!

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...t/CRJ-550.html
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Old May 1, 2019, 7:21 pm
  #187  
 
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Originally Posted by cerealmarketer
Anyone see the pitch on the CRJ 550 seatmap - 42 inches in first!

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...t/CRJ-550.html
​​​​​​Wow impressive!! 4A on CRJ550 will be the very best seat across all domestic fleet (for solo travelers)
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Old May 1, 2019, 7:44 pm
  #188  
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Interesting things Im noting on the map:

- seems to be power throughout - though looks
like maybe only one port to serve both C/D seats for each row in F (or maybe its just how the map looks).
- still looks like theres only one lav - in the back. Is there a reason they cant put a fav in front of door 1L - seems like if a galley fits across the way, at least theoretically a lav could fit
- wondering (selfishly, in part) if theres a chance theyd allow silvers to select E+ at booking on this specific aircraft (or further out then checkin). Given the general trend to reduce E+ seating, specifically on the UAX CR7s, this is going to opposite way - where 50% of the Y seats will be in E+ (which I think is even a higher percentage than the CR7s used to have). Seems like there are bound to be a lot of flights on this aircraft where regular Y might fill up pretty early while E+ remains relatively empty.
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Old May 1, 2019, 8:09 pm
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They also posted a seat map for the new 70 seater E175SC. It also has a large number of E+ along with power throughout. Hopefully they plan to add power to more regional aircraft throughout.
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Old Jun 1, 2019, 6:32 pm
  #190  
 
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Any word on when the first CRJ-550 will enter service?

Or when the first modified 319/320 will fly? Are they waiting until after the summer on these due to the Max being out?
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Old Jun 1, 2019, 6:41 pm
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Originally Posted by usflyer16
Any word on when the first CRJ-550 will enter service?

Or when the first modified 319/320 will fly? Are they waiting until after the summer on these due to the Max being out?
In the Fleet Update thread, it looks like first CRJ700 arrived in YUL for conversion.
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 1:40 pm
  #192  
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Any update on the CRJ550 - when it will start flying, or what routes it will fly on. Curious to when and where we'll see this bird. I saw the couple of posts with planes going in for the interior, though I suppose they still need to test/certify it, first?

Already seeing some E75 SC in the schedule here in CVG, I'm hoping some of the CR5s will come, too, sometime after they start flying.
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Old Jul 23, 2019, 1:48 pm
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No official updates, they have been moved around and about for painting and interiors. But we don't believe the FAA has issued its STC yet, the pro's suggested that might be 6-8 weeks (if everything went right).

Its a total uneducated guess, but I think it would be a miracle if these were flying by September.
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Old Aug 5, 2019, 4:39 pm
  #194  
 
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Any update on the A319 reconfigurations, which are supposed to be the first ones? The Feb press release said "later this year", which now that it's August is starting to approach.
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Old Aug 5, 2019, 4:58 pm
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I would imagine this is going to happen slower than expected due to the MAX groundings. I believe the new used Airbii that were acquired will come with the increased number of F seats once they are redone.
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