Tag Archives for united airlines.
United Airlines is quietly routing its top customers around Houston’s four hour TSA lines through a hidden checkpoint, even as the airport tells passengers there is no screening in Terminal C. The lane is normally used for disabled passengers and special assistance.
United Airlines bet on $1 billion worth of electric air taxis as a future way to move passengers to and from its hub airports. Now CEO Scott Kirby says those aircraft should not be operating near major airports at all, a striking reversal that raises new doubts about one of the airline industrys most heavily marketed future bets.
United Airlines is introducing a new coach product next year that turns a row of three economy seats into a bed-like space with leg rests, extra bedding, and family-focused amenities. The new Relax Row gives United a fresh upsell between standard economy and Premium Plus, and brings the Air New Zealand Skycouch concept to a North American airline.
United Airlines will launch international service on its new Boeing 787-9 on April 22, starting with San Francisco to Singapore. The aircraft introduces doored business class suites and a new premium upsell that adds more space, caviar, and extra service at the very front of the cabin.
United is taking one of the most disliked aircraft in U.S. aviation, the 50-seat CRJ200, stripping it down to 41 seats, adding first class, a luggage closet, and free Starlink Wi-Fi, and rebranding it as the new CRJ450. It is a real upgrade over today’s cramped regional flying, but not a substitute for mainline (or even a larger regional jet).
United is finally replacing its aging Boeing 757s on thinner long-haul flying, turning to Airbus A321XLRs with more premium seats and lower trip costs instead of risking a widebody, betting smaller transatlantic and South America routes can work if enough travelers are willing to pay higher fares for a premium product.
United Airlines is revamping its premium cross country product using Airbus A321neos. They’re dubbing this dedicated fleet the ‘Coastliner’. It’s a refresh of p.s. on the Newark – Los Angeles and San Francisco routes, and eventually JFK as well once they gain access through their JetBlue partnership in 2027. Lie flat business class suites Premium economy Snack bar Polaris lounge access for business class passengers These planes will feature 20 Polaris suites, 12 Premium Plus seats, and 129 economy seats. Seats are removed for a snack bar in back. The first aircraft enter service this summer, with 40 of 50 flying by early 2028. United sees this as an upgrade over a mix of 757s and widebodies, though that remains to be seen since business class is a dense herringbone seat facing away from the…
United just warned that higher fuel prices will force it to trim planned flying, then unveiled a huge fleet plan built around more premium-heavy aircraft and interiors anyway. That is a clear statement of belief: even with oil risk and weaker flying elsewhere, the airline thinks premium demand, lounge access, loyalty, and newer aircraft are durable enough to keep investing hard.
A United business class passenger reportedly stayed on speaker phone through taxi and the entire safety video, even after flight attendants asked her multiple times to stop. Too many passengers no longer feel embarrassed about behavior that used to be obviously unacceptable.
JetBlue pilots are suing over the airline’s United partnership, arguing that Blue Sky goes far beyond a normal interline deal and crosses into territory their contract was designed to block. The fight could become a serious threat to one of JetBlue’s most important commercial bets, because if the union wins the right to fully arbitrate its grievance, the airline may be forced to redesign parts of the partnership or pay up to keep it alive.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
