United Airlines to launch new economy seating option with extra room for travelers
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What new economy seating option is United Airlines introducing?
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Time now for our daily tech and business report. United Airlines is beefing up its economy seating options as the carrier gears up to report earnings amid a rough summer travel season for the industry. For more now, we turn to the KCBS Ring Central newsline to speak with Bloomberg's Shri Taylor. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Yeah, thanks for having me. Absolutely.
How will United’s new shared‑table layout change the middle‑seat experience?
So what exactly is United planning to And how different is this from the current offerings?
So United is ditching its middle seat in about fifty of its Airbus aircraft and they're replacing that with a shared table for passengers and aisle and window seats. So that's gonna give passengers a little more elbow room and um, you know, access to a nice shared leather table. So it's another way the carrier's diversing the diversifying the perks and comfort levels throughout the cabin. So will uh flyers be paying more for this? So That's unclear right now. United is planning on rolling out the prices and letting us know how much that is gonna cost, but it might be a bit pricier as is their um new row that they're also rolling out later this year, um, where they are going to offer plush new seats that kind of fold over into a couch.
So there are a lot of new perks coming to the economy cabinet.
Will passengers have to pay more for United’s extra‑room economy seats?
And and why it why now? Um I guess is it is economy out of favor? I think people are just looking
For more ways to kind of enjoy different levels of comfort. Everyone's looking for a different kind of perk. Everyone has different preferences. So some people really want those ground perks and they'll pay up for it. And some people really just are focused on the comfort of the seat. So this is just another way to kind of introduce a new option for passengers who are kind of demanding that.
And and when will we see these seat options? Are they available now? We should see this by
next year along with their um relax row.
Oh, and and tell us about that. Relax row.
Yeah, so the relax row is is another COVID perk that they're offering.
What is United’s “Relax Row” and how does it compare to premium cabin options?
So that seating is for economy passengers that are kind of seeking um a flatbed and that'll be kind of a more affordable way to fly in comfort rather than paying up for a business class ticket. So the concept is kind of similar to um an option that Air New Zealand has offered since two thousand. ten so United's kind of pulling from these foreign airlines and and their comfort playbooks.
Will this be for longer haul flights?
Yes, yes it will. It'll be for longer haul flights and um international routes.
How have surging jet fuel prices affected air travel this year? So
So jet fuel has spiked. It has gone down a bit, but it has definitely affected airlines in that they have pulled capacity a bit.
How are rising jet‑fuel prices affecting ticket prices and capacity this year?
They've had to bake that extra cost into and pass it on to the passengers into the tickets. So passengers are going to see elevated tickets through at least the rest of the year, um, at least according to Delta Airlines, who just reported earnings last week. Um So passengers shouldn't expect prices to go down anytime soon. So if you're planning on booking, there's no need to wait, just book it now.
Okay. And what about uh budget friendly options? Are other carriers planning to roll out any?
Budget friendly options are usually always available. Right now, the demand is in the premium cabin.
Are other airlines likely to adopt similar economy‑comfort upgrades?
So a lot of airlines are focusing their investments on those premium perks, but Delta even is rolling out a basic fare for its premium cabin. So if you are fine to give up perks like the lounge access and maybe an earlier check-in, then you can still get a comfy, roomy seat at the front of the cabin for a little bit less.
And with regards to these premium perks, do you expect other airlines to follow suit?
Oh, absolutely. Delta and United are usually the two to kind of lead the the group and and I they often pull inspiration from other foreign airlines overseas.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What new economy seating option is United Airlines introducing?
0:01–0:42
2
How will United’s new shared‑table layout change the middle‑seat experience?
0:42–1:38
3
Will passengers have to pay more for United’s extra‑room economy seats?
1:38–2:24
4
What is United’s “Relax Row” and how does it compare to premium cabin options?
2:24–3:10
5
How are rising jet‑fuel prices affecting ticket prices and capacity this year?
3:10–3:46
6
Are other airlines likely to adopt similar economy‑comfort upgrades?
3:46–4:40
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from KCBS Bloomberg Tech and Business Report
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