On July 14, United Airlines announced its latest advancement. The airline revealed its new Economy Plus seats on its new Airbus A321LXR aircraft, complete with extra elbow room and access to a shared table across an open middle seat.

Available for sale later this year, the new Economy Plus offering is slated to be included in the airline’s entire order of 50 A321XLRs. United Airlines is also exploring implementing these types of seats on other aircraft in the future.

“We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet and giving customers choice and value in every cabin,” said Andrew Nocella, EVP and CCO, United Airlines. “The XLR is our newest aircraft and not only offers all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris^® but now also includes seats in Economy Plus with extra leg and elbow room. Our customers are going to love all these new options.”

On each XLR, one row will have large, custom-designed tables spanning from armrest to armrest across the open middle seats, giving passengers in the aisle or window seat extra space to stretch out on longer international flights. These tables are permanently fixed, with a leather-like covering and two indentations for cups. The extra space also adds 3 inches of additional legroom from existing Economy Plus seats on XLR aircraft.

With these new seats, United Airlines will be the only U.S. airline to offer this seating option. This news follows the airline’s recent debut of United Relax Row, where multiple rows of seats on its Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft transform into a couch. United Relax Row will be available in early 2027.

United Airlines will share more information about the new Economy Plus seats, including pricing, before seats go on sale later this year.

The Airbus A321LXR features 32 premium seats (16 more than the Boeing 757 aircraft it replaces), including a new all-aisle-access, lie-flat United Polaris Studio suite with a privacy door. Each seat boasts a large, 4-K OLED screen with Bluetooth connectivity (19 inches in Polaris, 16 inches in United Premium Plus and 13 inches in United Economy), and all passengers have access to larger overhead bins with room for rollaboard bags and a snack bar in the rear of the economy cabin.

United Airlines plans to launch its first domestic flights on the new A321LXR aircraft later this fall, with international service slated to begin in early 2027.

Do you plan to try United Airlines’ new Economy Plus seats? Do you plan to try the airline’s United Relax Row next year? Email us at letters@globaltravelerusa.com. Please include your full name and location.