United Airlines to Add Over 250 New Planes Over the Next Two Years
- Joe Breitfeller
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
American Airlines has today announced plans to add over 250 new airplanes over the next two years, more than any airline, which will include new, premium customer experiences, aircraft variants, a new sub-fleet, seats and amenities.
On Tuesday (March 24, 2026), United Airlines announced the next phase of their long-term plan to win brand loyal customers, and differentiate themselves from the competition. The carrier expects to take delivery of over 250 new aircraft by April 2028, the most by any airline in a two-year period, to further modernize their fleet, add new aircraft variants, create a new experience for transcontinental travelers, and introduce new onboard products for every customer, reinforcing United’s position as a leading premium airline.
In Tuesday’s announcement, United Airlines’ CEO, Scott Kirby, said,
“For more than a decade, we’ve invested billions of dollars in our product, service, and technology as part of our plan to be the best brand loyal airline in the world, and the result is that more and more customers are choosing to fly us every day. Today we accelerate our plans and elevate our offerings to the next level, creating an even more consistent, premium onboard experience for every customer and delivering value across every cabin of service.”
Also commenting on United’s landmark fleet renewal plan, United’s EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella, said,
“These new planes and products not only complement our fleet and network plans, but they also give our customers more premium amenity and seat choices – whether they bought a basic economy ticket to fly from Chicago to Ft. Wayne or are flying Polaris between San Francisco and Singapore. United is setting the pace and innovating for our customers at a scope and scale unheard of in aviation history – and we're not taking our foot off the gas.”
As part of the fleet upgrade, United is adding widebody experiences to their new, single-aisle aircraft. The new United Airbus A321 ‘Coastliner’ sub-fleet and A321XLRs are the airline’s first single-aisle aircraft with the Elevated interior and feature a new, all-aisle access lie-flat seat in United Polaris with a patented design that offers more elbow and shoulder room, as well as lower suite walls that protect privacy while maintaining an open feel in the cabin. United has 100 of these new airplanes coming into their fleet, which will replace 40 older, less efficient Boeing 757s.
United’s Coastliner will have a specially designed livery and fly exclusively between United’s west coast hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Newark/New York and will introduce the United Polaris cabin experience to domestic travelers. For the first time, customers traveling in United Polaris on these routes can also get access to the United Polaris lounge. United’s A321XLR gives travelers access to 32 premium seats, 16 more than the 757 it replaces, and will enter service later this year.
Additionally, the CRJ450, a reimagined and redesigned version of the CRJ200, will be operated by SkyWest and will connect smaller cities to United’s Denver and Chicago hubs starting this fall. This will be one of the carrier’s most premium regional jets, boasting a spacious United First cabin with a large luggage closet instead of overhead bins, creating an open, luxurious environment unlike any other commercial regional aircraft.
United’s new 787-9 Dreamliners with the Elevated interior will fly internationally starting April 22, 2026. These aircraft include the new United Polaris Studio featuring lie-flat, all-aisle-access seats that are 25 percent larger than standard United Polaris seats and include privacy doors, and an ottoman for companions on some seats. United Polaris Studio guests will also enjoy exclusive meal service with wine pairings and caviar, new amenity kits with retail-size offerings, wireless charging, Bluetooth connectivity, and a huge 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screen, the largest among U.S. carriers.
Today’s announcement, expands the carrier’s ‘United Next’ strategy announced in 2021. Since that time, United has added 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 237 Boeing 737 MAX and 67 Airbus A321neos, completed 70 percent of the plan to retrofit their mainline, single-aisle fleet, and replaced more than 100 regional jets with larger mainline aircraft. United also increased premium seats per North American departure by 40 percent and hired over 60,000 new team members.
The new airplanes joining United’s fleet between now and April of 2028 include 47 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with the Elevated interior, of which 33 will be configured with additional premium seats, 40 Airbus A321neo Coastliners out of 50 total on order, 28 Airbus A321XLR out of 50 on order, 119 Boeing 737 MAX jets, and 18 Airbus A321neos.
Source: United Airlines / PRNewswire
