United has announced its latest United Economy class innovation: a row of Economy Plus seats on its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft with extra elbow room and access to a shared table across an open middle seat.
The airline expects to include this new Economy Plus option on its entire order of fifty A321XLRs and is exploring offering these types of seats on other aircraft types in the future.
“We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet and giving customers choice and value in every cabin,” said Andrew Nocella, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.
United offers Economy Plus Seaing with more elbow room
This new Economy Plus offering will be available for sale starting later this year.
Moreover, United expects to be the only U.S. airline that will offer this seating option, and it follows the airline’s recently announced United Relax Row, multiple rows of seats on its Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft that transform into a couch and available in early 2027.
“The XLR is our newest aircraft and not only offers all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris but now also includes seats in Economy Plus with extra leg and elbow room. Our customers are going to love all these new options.” Nocella said.
On each XLR, one row will have large, custom-designed tables stretching from armrest to armrest across the open middle seats, giving customers sitting in the window or aisle seat extra space to stretch out on longer international flights.
The permanently-fixed table with a soft leather-like covering has two indentations for cups. And the extra space is in addition to the three inches of additional legroom already offered in Economy Plus on the XLR.
United’s A321XLR
The Airbus A321XLR has been designed to be the airline’s most premium narrowbody airplane, offering new levels of comfort and style on international short- to medium-haul routes.
The plane has 32 premium seats – 16 more than the Boeing 757s it replaces – including a new all-aisle access lie-flat United Polaris Studio suite with a privacy door.
Every seat has a large, 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 and a snack bar in the rear of the economy cabin.
United plans to offer its first domestic flights on the new A321XLR later this fall, with international service expected to begin by early 2027.
United will operate the A321XLR with five flight attendants on most transatlantic flights, consistent with its practice on the Boeing 757 it is replacing.
The airline will share more information about the new product, including pricing, before it goes on sale later this year.
Also Read: United to debut Relax Row seats: Couch seating in Economy Class
