United Airlines ordered 270 new airliners, which will be followed by 25,000 new jobs, as the airline announced its “United Next” strategy to meet post-pandemic travel demands and grow the company.
In addition to new planes with more seats and better amenities, United plans to add another 5,000 employees at Newark Liberty International Airport, the airline’s largest hub, and roll out a new customer service app.
“This is much more than an airplane purchase,” said Scott Kirby, United CEO during a press call. “For customers, what matters most is the signature interiors, seat back entertainment (screens), retrofitting the existing fleet, the fastest Wi-Fi in the skies, and 1-for-1 space overhead for bags that frees up flight attendants to be customer service agents.”
The 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 70 Airbus A321neo represent the largest order in United history. They will provide mores seats and more seating in first class and economy plus, larger overhead bins with space for one carry on bag per customer and LED lighting, officials said. Older aircraft will have cabins retrofitted with similar interior upgrades.
The new fleet also will replace the smaller 50-seat jets on regional routes and will burn less fuel than older aircrafts.
“We’re retiring the smaller jets people don’t like,” Kirby said.
The first 737 MAX 8 with a “signature interior” is expected to take to the skies this summer, and the 737 MAX 10 and the Airbus A321neo will to begin flying in early 2023, officials said. By that year, the airline expects delivery of 138 airliners, which, coupled with an earlier 500-plane order means a delivery of one new aircraft every three days, Kirby said.
Travelers at Newark airport can expect to see the new 737 MAX 10, which is designed for hubs where there are runway constraints, said Andrew Nocella, United chief commercial officer. The 737 MAX 10, the largest jet in that class, will make up the majority of United’s new order and features 20 first class and 64 Economy Plus seats. The extra seats will help increase United’s “footprint” at Newark, he said.
“In New York and Newark, the extra seats will be important to our future growth,” said Toby Enqvist, chief customer officer. “This order will replace the bulk of our smaller (Boeing) 757′s.”
United officials expect the airline to resume its full schedule of 430 flights from Newark, which is its largest global gateway, by November, when the FAA slot waiver period ends. The number of Newark departures on mainline aircraft is expected to increase from 55% in 2019 to 70% by 2026.
United’s aircraft order is expected to create about 25,000 union frontline jobs by 2026, including an additional 5,000 at Newark, positions Kirby described as careers that over six years make close to a six figure salary. The new positions include pilots, flight attendants, technicians, dispatchers, contact center, ramp and customer service agents, to handle predicted future travel growth.
Leisure travel has been the quickest to rebound from coronavirus-related slows. Airline travel has jumped to 80% of pre-pandemic levels and is expected to continue recovering, Kirby said. As workers return to their workplaces, he expects to see a similar trend for business travel, which is recovering, but at a slower rate.
During flights on United’s new planes, travelers will have 13-inch high-definition screens in every first class seat and 10-inch HD screens in every Economy seat on the 737 MAX. That includes free access to more than 2,800 selections including movies, TV shows and international selections, as well as audio playlists, podcasts, and games.
Passengers will no longer feel like they have to bring own device because there aren’t enough the on-aircraft content selections, Enqvist said.
Each seat on the new aircraft has access to electrical power and USB charge ports and seat backs have accessibility features for people with hearing or visual disabilities, officials said.
For adults dealing with flight issues, United has two new features. One is a new customer service app that provides on-demand access to a customer service agent by phone call, text or live video, Enqvist said. The other is a “connection saver” tool which will evaluate different factors to decide whether to hold a connecting flight for passengers and for how long to do so.
“It will save thousands of connections a day,” Enqvist said.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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