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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 5, 2019, 10:11 pm
  #1  
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United Adding 1600 Premium Seats -- 763, A319/A320, CRJ550(CRJ700)

I will say I did not see this coming...but Zach at TPG has reported that UA will be increasing the F seat count on the narrowbody Airbus fleet by four, bringing the A319s to 12F and the A320s to 16F. As someone fleeing AA for UA, I will give UA kudos for this, which stands out in comparison to AA's trend of ripping out F/J seats on its 788 and 772 aircraft.

Original link here.

Quite the contrast to the discussion we had here not too long ago! A319 F capacity: why not increase it?
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:14 pm
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United Adding 1600 Premium Seats

Highlights:
  • All United Airbus A320 planes will go from 12 first class seats to 16.
  • All United Airbus A319 planes will have four additional first class seats, bringing the number to 12 in each plane.
  • On 21 of United's 767-300ER planes, the airline is expanding the number of Polaris business class seats from 30 to 46, while also adding 22 premium economy seats.
  • United is adding 50 Bombardier CRJ 550 planes to its fleet, each with 10 first class seats.
The CRJ 550 are CRJ-700 configured with 10 First, 20 Economy Plus, and 20 Coach.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/06/unit...ssengers-.html
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:17 pm
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Just read the same article and came right here assuming there was some unmentioned downside for elites.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:24 pm
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Hopefully not a silly question but how do you get 10 first class seats on a CRJ? Its not divisible by 3 or 4. Is it really 5 rows of 1-1?
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:27 pm
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Originally Posted by MTan
Hopefully not a silly question but how do you get 10 first class seats on a CRJ? Its not divisible by 3 or 4. Is it really 5 rows of 1-1?

I was also puzzled as well!
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:28 pm
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Excuse my ignorance: what's a CRJ550?
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:28 pm
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The Hi-J config 763 was already pretty heavily discussed here, but that's shockingly positive news on the Airbus fleet. They might even give away an upgrade on a 320 once in a while now.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:30 pm
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Originally Posted by MTan
Hopefully not a silly question but how do you get 10 first class seats on a CRJ? It’s not divisible by 3 or 4. Is it really 5 rows of 1-1?
I'm guessing it'll be 1-2 for 3 rows and a single for the 4th row. I would then assume that the rows are either staggered or the galley will be done so that there is a 1A but no 1CD

ETA: Regarding the 550, AC previously did the same thing with some of their CRJ-900s and added F to them to get them to 75 seats so they would fit the scope clause for Air Canada Express flights and called it the CRJ-705. It looks like the 550 may also be a scope clause thing as well?

Last edited by steveman518; Feb 5, 2019 at 10:38 pm
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:32 pm
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Originally Posted by dkc192
I will say I did not see this coming...but Zach at TPG has reported that UA will be increasing the F seat count on the narrowbody Airbus fleet by four, bringing the A319s to 12F and the A320s to 16F. As someone fleeing AA for UA, I will give UA kudos for this, which stands out in comparison to AA's trend of ripping out F/J seats on its 788 and 772 aircraft.
Well, color me surprised; I was one of the biggest naysayers in that thread.

That said -- I'm not convinced that this is as much of a win as it sounds like. Adding in an extra row of F while only removing one row of E+ sounds too good to be true. They're going to have to find that space somewhere -- either by removing the pitch in F, E+, E-, or some combination thereof.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:35 pm
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Originally Posted by steveman518
I'm guessing it'll be 1-2 for 3 rows and a single for the 4th row. I would then assume that the rows are either staggered or the galley will be done so that there is a 1A but no 1CD
I came to this realization right before you posted this! Similar to 1A and 2A in the E145 and row 3 starts the full row because of the galley. Makes sense.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:37 pm
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Originally Posted by JonasCLT
Just read the same article and came right here assuming there was some unmentioned downside for elites.
There are some downsides for elite-heavy routes: sitting in E seats, instead of E+ seats, due to reduction of E+ seats. It will be all upsides for the rest of routes. Your upgrade percentage increases and you wont sit in E seats, either, for last minute booking/changes. It is generally a positive move for Uniteds bottom line and mostly for passengers, too.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:39 pm
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Originally Posted by onthesam
Excuse my ignorance: what's a CRJ550?
Looks like a 50-seat version of the CR7. This appears to be Bombardier's answer for a way to serve the 50-seat market, given that no 50-seat regional jet is currently being produced.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 10:51 pm
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The CR5 will be an interesting concept and Im looking forward to seeing it once its rolls out. Hopefully it does well enough to expand to DEN and replace some markets that dont support mainline (FAT comes to mind) very often. CR2s on the 900~ mile flights are disappointing for a variety of reasons.
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 11:08 pm
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Old Feb 5, 2019, 11:20 pm
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Originally Posted by MIDWESTERNFLYER

This means there will be no more carryon bags into cargo hold anymore. No need to leave carryon bag near the aircraft door anymore. You can bring your carryon bags onboard.
EWR764 and mikeyf like this.
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