The merged entity of United and Continental Airlines is to invest US$550 million on upgrading its onboard offering, including retrofitting B767 aircraft with fully-flat seating, and adding Economy Plus to more than 300 aircraft.
The fitting of flat-bed seats (with on demand IFE systems) to 12 Continental B767-400 and 14 United domestic B767-300 aircraft will be carried out alongside ongoing upgrades to United’s fleet of B777s, with 17 of 46 aircraft currently offering fully-flat seats, and a further 12 set to be retrofitted this year.
Once completed the merged carrier will offer fully-flat seating on 185 aircraft, which it says is more than any other US airline.
In addition United Continental Holdings will begin fitting Economy Plus seating (already available across United’s fleet) to Continental aircraft this autumn, with 38 aircraft set to benefit by the end of the year, and around 100 more by the middle of 2012.
Other upgrade works announced today include:
- The fitting of larger overhead bins on all 152 A319 and A320 aircraft, which will increase storage space for standard 22-inch rolling bags by 66 percent.
- The installation of wifi internet access on more than 200 aircraft, and the introduction of wireless video streaming on its B747 fleet, allowing passengers to access video options via wifi-enabled handheld devices, tablets and laptop computers.
- A nose-to-tail renovation of the carrier’s p.s. trancontinental service (operating from New York JFK to San Francisco and LA), with the addition of fully-flat seats in business, new Economy Plus seating, power points at every row, on demand IFE and wifi internet access.
United is also set to take delivery of its first B787 Dreamliner aircraft early next year, configured with 38 flat-bed seats in BusinessFirst class, 63 Economy Plus seats and 120 economy seats (see online news August 18).
For more information visit unitedcontinentalholdings.com, united.com, continental.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
