United Airlines 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 says, “this new Economy Plus offering will be available for sale starting later this year. United expects to include this new Economy Plus option on its entire order of 50 A321XLRs and is exploring offering these types of seats on other aircraft types in the future.”
According to United, the airline “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.”
United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella said: “We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet and giving customers choice and value in every cabin. 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.”
United stated that “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 table is permanently fixed, with a soft leather-like covering, and 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 revealed that it “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.”