Last week, United Airlines announced a lot of news aimed largely at travelers willing to pay a lot of money.
Look no further than the airline. The most sophisticated aircraft so far. – complete with new Polaris product and a whopping 99 premium seats in total.
Additionally, the airline announced lie-flat suites for two new aircraft configurations it introduced, along with what Could be America’s sleekest regional jet.
But the airline has also been busy rolling out some interesting new developments to the economy class cabin that, if we’re honest, will affect many more travelers than any bells or whistles at the front of the plane.
This is something that caught our attention.
A sofa in heaven
The most exciting update was the reveal of United’s new “Relax Row”.
It will allow passengers to convert three economy seats into a bed. The airline bills this as a great way for families traveling together to get some sleep during the flight.
United plans to price Relax Row as an additional option for travelers who reserve a full row. Expect the best price for groups of three traveling in three separate seats.
This should be a product similar to the one Air New Zealand has for years offered.
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The Chicago-based airline plans to debut its Relax Row on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and certain large Boeing 777s and plans to install this configuration on 200 aircraft by 2030.
Most airplanes will have about nine of these Relax Rows, but some airplanes could have up to a dozen.
What does Relax Row offer you beyond a “bed” in the sky? The product will come with a children’s stuffed animal and extra bedding.
Starlink Wi-Fi
Okay, this wasn’t a new announcement last week, but I’d be remiss not to mention it, because it could be the biggest onboard development of all.
As TPG has reported extensively, United is in the process of implement Starlink Wi-Fi on their planes.
If you haven’t flown with an airline that offers Starlink, it could be the fastest inflight internet on the market today.
I’ve been able to stream videos, watch a Zoom meeting, and work (simultaneously) without interruptions on airplanes with this technology.
On planes equipped with the service, it is free for United Mileage Plus members.
United has said that expects to have Starlink on at least 800 aircraft for the end of this year.
We must keep in mind that the airline is not the only one adding Starlink service: among other US airlines, Hawaiian Airlines has it today on Airbus planes. Hawaiian’s sister airline, Alaska Airlines, I just started installing the service.. Southwest Airlines too recently announced that it is equipping its aircraft with the necessary equipment for Starlink service.
Best headphones and blankets
From expensive and high-tech to practical: United said this week it would begin offering a “softer, sleeker blanket” and “new, higher-quality headphones” with better audio in its economy cabins on longer flights.
While neither will offer the comfort of a reclining seat or a premium economy recliner, both should make a long-haul coach trip a little more comfortable.
That said, I tend to opt for my own headphones when plugging them into United’s seatback screens. The carrier is in the process of Implementation of Bluetooth connectivity. across your fleet, making it easy to connect listening devices like Apple AirPods.
As for travelers forgetting their headphones? Hopefully, better headphones will prevent travelers from playing TikTok videos with the volume turned up for everyone to hear; that’s now (officially) A no-no on United planes.
Snack bars on board
If you frequently travel Polaris or Premium Plus, the luxury seats in United’s new Airbus A321 Coastliner and A321XLR aircraft It may have stolen the show when the airline announced two new aircraft configurations last week.
But if you usually fly economy class, two words may have caught your attention: snack bar.
The airline plans to add walk-in concession stations for its economy cabin on these sleek new planes.
United will fly its Coastliner on premium transcontinental routes, especially those from its Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) hub.
Its XLR planes are heading to Europe.
Both will replace the aging Boeing 757.
Small planes, overhead compartments (large enough)
Finally, much of the rumors about United last week focused on one of its smaller planes.
The airline announced a newly configured regional jet that it will call the CRJ-450.
Once again, the headlines about this United Express plane focused primarily on the front of the plane: It will have first class seating, which is a first for a plane of this size. In addition, first class passengers will have spacious lockers instead of overhead bins.
That’s great, if you fly first class.
As for the back of the plane? There will be overhead bins, and United said they will actually be large enough to fit rolling suitcases. That’s usually far from a given on really small regional jets like this 41-seater; Typically, if your suitcase has wheels on a plane like this, you need to tag it with the valet and wait for it after landing.
That should happen a lot less on this plane and on the Many other regional aircraft that United is already equipping. with the most spacious containers.
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