The airline expects to take delivery of over 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.
Follow Aeronews on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bluesky and TikTok
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 while maintaining an open feel in the cabin. 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, boasting a spacious United First cabin with a large luggage closet instead of overhead bins, creating an open, luxurious environment unlike any other commercial regional aircraft.
United’s new 787-9 Dreamliner 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% 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 huge 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screen – the largest among U.S. carriers.
Since 2021, United has added 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 237 Boeing 737 MAX and 67 Airbus A321neos, completed 70% 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% and hired more than 60,000 people.
New airplanes joining United’s fleet between now and April of 2028:
– 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
New amenities for every traveler
– 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.