United Airlines confirms to me their plan to use European-style business class for a row of coach in its new Airbus A321XLR planes, in order to reduce the number of flight attendants they have to pay on each flight. And this could also give the opportunity to monetize the four adjacent seats that won’t have anyone seated in the middle.
I reported yesterday on a leaked photo of an Economy seat row where the middle seat is physically blocked by a fixed tray table, creating a 3-3 row that sells as 2-2, with the A and C and the D and F seats usable, while the B and E middle seats are blocked.
While there was some speculation on Reddit and elsewhere that this could be used on the new Airbus A321neo ‘Coastliner’ planes that United plans to use for premium cross-country flights as well, I was skeptical of that plane since it would involve blocking 11 seats and not just two. I’ve since confirmed that these seats will not be used on the A321neo ‘Coastliner’.
United exploring new Economy seat type with blocked middle seat
by
u/Floppy-Over-Drive in
unitedairlines
Specifically, the suggestion is that this is row 32 with 32B and 32E blocked. This diagram, showing a passenger layout for the United Airbus A321NY, shows the expected 20 business class, 12 premium economy, and 118 coach seats for 150 total passengers. It also shows ‘FAA minimum crew 4’ meaning four flight attendants.
UA: XLR layout pic.twitter.com/BHXyAhHmPk
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) September 5, 2025
These are ordinary United-style economy seats, not a wider seat. The center seat is still there, but a table module covers the center cushion area. The idea is to render the seats unusable. United has said that the Airbus A321XLR will feature 150 seats. That’s an intentional number because each set of 50 seats for passengers adds another required flight attendant on board.
Under 14 CFR §121.391, for airplanes with more than 100 seats, the carrier needs two flight attendants plus one additional flight attendant for each unit of 50 passenger seats above 100. A plane with 150 seats needs 3 flight attendants, while a plane wiht 151 – 200 needs four.
However, a plane’s evacuation demonstration and the carrier’s operations specifications can require more flight attendants than this minimum seat count. The FAA wanted more flight attendants on some JetBlue planes because of the business class doors and so JetBlue locked those doors open.
United’s A321XLRs will have business class suites with doors. A plane with 150 seats needs four flight attendants as a result. A plane with 152 seats needs 5. United isn’t going to want to crew these aircraft with five flight attendants – an extra crewmember for those final two seats.
To get to 150 seats and 4 flight crew, it makes sense on the A321XLR to block two middle seats. The last two seats sold on a plane are generally the lowest-priced tickets (as in, United would just sell two fewer cheap seats). They don’t sell every seat on every flight, but the flight attendants have to be staffed based on seating capacity, not passenger count.
A United employee shared,
The minimum crew will remain at 4 [due] to the doors in Polaris on these aircraft. The original plan was to instal a metal pan over these two middle seats, and designers are now working on a better fix, aka euro biz style. This is for the internationally configured A321 (L) only. We wanted all A321 to have the same minimum crew of 4, and not bump one subfleet to 5.
Saving a flight attendant could work, especially if they can sell the adjacent seats at a premium. Flight attendants just got big raises at United up to industry standard and cost the airline far more now. And seat blocking like this is not a new idea.
- Prior to US Airways management taking over, American Airlines Boeing 737s had 154 seats – but four middles were blocked (in rows 16 and 17) to bring the seat count to 150 and save a flight attendant. US Airways leadership immediately added a row of seats, bringing the total to 160, and then eventually adding two more rows to get to 172.
- European short-haul business class differentiates the premium cabin from coach by blocking the middle seats up front. Those are generally convertible cabins, where they can move the curtain from flight to flight based on premium demand and remove those center seat tables as-needed.
- Frontier Airlines ‘UpFront Plus’ sells blocked middle seats in the first two rows. Spirit tried something similar called ‘Go Comfy’.
- Airlines used to block middle seats next to elite frequent flyers, releasing them to other passengers only when needed on full flights. This was a benefit at United Airlines until the end of 2007. It wasn’t a physical block, though, and didn’t affect flight attendant count.
A United Airlines spokesperson confirms,
Part of our winning strategy is to continually invest in the customer, nose-to-tail, and we’re always evaluating and testing new ways to further differentiate ourselves within the industry and add even more value to the experience of flying United.
I’d actually pay a bit extra for a blocked middle seat. United, by the way, will sell you a second seat while you’re buying a ticket. You don’t even have to have a reason, other than that you want more space. So when fares are especially cheap, this can be great value.
I forgot if AA was doing this it would be awful penny pinching cheap skates but brilliant that Kirby is doing it. Such a scam of a “journalist” aka credit card seller
@John — He’s a ‘thot leader’… not a journalist! LOL.
@John – I don’t think I’ve historically been a Kirby booster here tbh. And I’ve cheered many of the moves AA has made over the past 18 months, they’re things I’ve been calling for over many years. I don’t think they’re there yet, and we don’t know how serious they are, let’s adjust the LOPA on some of these domestic aircraft to offer a competitive level of main cabin extra seating! But they have made more correct moves in that last year and a half than in the previous 10.
With a nominal 155 seats on AA’s XLRs if they block the last row for a rest area for flight attendants and hence only sell 149 seats does the UA logic of only requiring 3 flight attendants follow?
@Gary Leff — I’ve griped here (and elsewhere) how American, Alaska, Southwest, and United lack IFE screens on many of their narrowbody aircraft… and yet, United is actually improving on that. As Matt over at LALF was commenting, it’s closer to 50-50 these days. So, credit where credit’s due.
There are problems with United’s idea of blocking the middle seats. It’s not as simple as it looks.
1) The CFR speaks to number of seats INSTALLED to determine the number of flight attendants. Blocking the seats for “comfort,” go ahead. The seat is still there, installed.
2) If they want to operate the plane with fewer flight attendants, they have to perform an evacuation demonstration, and if to go extended overwater, a ditching demonstration. Catch: they have to REMOVE the extra seats in order to allow the reduction in flight attendants. The evidence:
121.391 Flight attendants.
(a) Except as specified in § 121.393 and § 121.394, each certificate holder must provide at least the following flight attendants on board each passenger-carrying airplane when passengers are on board:
(4) For airplanes having a seating capacity of more than 100 passengers—two flight attendants plus one additional flight attendant for each unit (or part of a unit) of 50 passenger seats above a seating capacity of 100 passengers.
(b) If, in conducting the emergency evacuation demonstration required under § 121.291 (a) or (b), the certificate holder used more flight attendants than is required under paragraph (a) of this section for the maximum seating capacity of the airplane used in the demonstration, he may not, thereafter, take off that airplane—
(1) In its maximum seating capacity configuration with fewer flight attendants than the number used during the emergency evacuation demonstration; or
(2) In any reduced seating capacity configuration with fewer flight attendants than the number required by paragraph (a) of this section for that seating capacity plus the number of flight attendants used during the emergency evacuation demonstration that were in excess of those required under paragraph (a) of this section.
Good luck with your proposal, United lol.
They could give these four slightly better seats to elites who are moaning about not getting F/J upgrades when they’re paying coach fares.
First class is in for a long lunch with just one Flight Attendant working in that cabin
In other news United has determined a way to cut each flight attendant
in half with a knife getting twice the productivity at half the cost per flight attendant
Allegedly they found this strategy procedure from Delta the other leading premium carrier
Tim Dunn just had a CASM.
To be fair, we can’t say we didnt see this coming. As Gary mentioned, FA labor costs significantly increased (material impact). Also expect reduced service on these flights, errr no meals (aka based on customer feedback to enhance your experience).
@Roberto — Maybe he’ll do a RASM next…
If UA was smart, they’d jam 200 seats in it. 4 FAs and more revenue.
The meal service is probably gonna take forever on this aircraft. They will probably put two upfront two in the back just think of how long it’s gonna take to do beverage service followed by meal service by two flight attendant for 12 premium economy, passengers and something like 120 economy passengers. This is a long-haul aircraft. It will be shit Service.
@Pilot93434 — Cozy.
@Sam. Doesn’t UA fly a 321neo with 200 (20+180) sests with 4 FAs? Why would service decline on these planes with 150 pax and 4 FAs?
@gavin, there is nothing I caught in your quoting of regs that suggests to me they must physically remove a seat. I’m going to guess if this has gotten this far, UA is way ahead of you on knowing and meeting the regs. But, of course, not an area I have an expertise.
@This comes to mind — “not an area I have an expertise”… WHAT?!
To think, this whole time, I was basing my technical specifications for aircraft layouts on occasional commenter This comes to mind’s layperson opinions… oh no!
Investing in customers would mean giving the better service that the extra flight attendant permits. Maybe even a meal!