After teasing about it for weeks, United Airlines revealed its new interior for upcoming Boeing 787-9 deliveries.
The United Elevated interior for new Boeing 787-9 aircraft will include two new business class suites, the greatest number of total premium seats in United’s fleet, an Ossetra caviar amuse-bouche service, Starlink connectivity and 4K OLED seatback screens.
The airline’s new United Polaris Studio suites are positioned in the first row of each business class section and total eight, lie-flat, all-aisle-access seats that are 25% larger than standard United Polaris with privacy doors, an extra ottoman seat for companions, exclusive entrée options, an Ossetra caviar amuse-bouche service, new amenity kits with luxury skincare offerings, wireless charging, Bluetooth connectivity, and a 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screen.
27″ OLED at the cabin bulkhead – Image, United Airlines
Standard United Polaris seats also get upgraded to suites with the addition of sliding doors and larger, 19-inch 4K OLED screens.
United Premium Plus seats will feature privacy dividers, cocktails and wireless charging, with a 16-inch 4K OLED screen to entertain themselves, whilst the United Economy cabin will have Bluetooth connectivity with 13″ OLED Screens and six power outlets per row, along with a USB port in the display.
These aircraft will be premium heavy, with the following configuration announced:
- Eight United Polaris business class Studio suites (Two rows across two sections, 1-2-1 configuration)
- 56 United Polaris business class suites (14 rows, across two sections, in a 1-2-1 configuration). Passengers can choose between seats that face the window or centre of the aircraft (ideal for individual travellers) and seats where all the suites face the aisle (perfect for those flying together)
- 35 United Premium Plus seats (5 rows in a 2-3-2 configuration)
- 33 United Economy Plus seats and 90 United Economy seats (15 total rows in a 3-3-3 configuration)
This compares against the current configuration, with 787- 9s currently having 48 United Polaris seats, 21 United Premium Plus seats, 39 United Economy Plus seats and 149 United Economy seats.
In total, 99 Premium seats will be installed in the aircraft.
In Quotes
Andrew Nocella, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at United.
“We already deliver a superior international experience and fly to the most places across the Atlantic and Pacific – these new innovations provide a more premium experience overall, give customers even more reasons to choose United, and set our airline up to grow into the next decade and beyond,” said
“We never stand still and are always looking for more ways to set ourselves apart from other carriers. And we’re confident this elevated experience will take international flying to new heights.”
Deliveries
United expects to take delivery of the first United 787-9 with the Elevated interior before the end of 2025, with the first international passenger flights planned in 2026 from San Francisco to Singapore and San Francisco to London.
All of United’s future 787 deliveries will get United Polaris Studio suites and Elevated interiors, and the airline expects about 30 of these planes to join its fleet by 2027.
New technology too
These aircraft will be fitted with Starlink connectivity for in-flight internet access. In addition, they will feature the deployment of Panasonic’s Astrova IFE system (which is driving the OLED screen experiences). We’ve covered Astrova in-depth since its launch and the advantages it offers both to passengers and airlines.
A Premium Play
These new aircraft with this cabin shows that United Airlines are putting in a major premium play in their cabin, with “front of cabin suites” (which have become such a major part of business class seat offerings over the past few years, as airlines seek to eak every penny of revenue out of the cabin), as well as large business cabin (which is increased by 16 seats) a larger premium economy cabin (14 more seats), at the cost of the Economy Cabin (Economy Plus sees a cut of 6 seats, Economy sees a drop of 59 seats).
It’s a big bet, as United Airlines seeks to fill these cabins with passengers who will pay for the seats (and thus justify this configuration’s existence).
It’ll be interesting to see the markets these are used to address, with Transpacific and Transatlantic destinations already highlighted.
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