United Adding More First Class Seats to Airbus A319s and A320s
United's most frequent economy flyers know to avoid the Airbus A319 if they're hoping for any chance of a complimentary upgrade — with just eight first-class seats but 120 in coach, the odds are far better even on some of the airline's regional jets.
United is aware — executive vice president and chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella acknowledged that the Airbus A319 and the slightly larger A320, which currently sports just 12 first-class seats, have some of the lowest complimentary upgrade percentages across the mainline fleet.
Beginning later this year, United will add four first-class seats to its fleet of 60+ Airbus A319s, bringing the total count to 12 and matching the carrier's Boeing 737-700s. The Economy Plus count will drop from 42 to 36 as a result, though the reconfigured planes will still offer 78 regular coach seats. With the addition of four first-class seats, United's A319s will lose just two seats overall.
United's nearly 100 Airbus A320s will jump from 12 seats to 16, meanwhile, matching the airline's Boeing 737-800s, with reconfigurations beginning in early 2020. Interestingly, United's managed to adjust the cabins by maximizing underutilized space, so the total seat count will remain unchanged, with 39 Economy Plus seats and 95 in regular coach.
Of course, the airline isn't completing these expensive renovations just to give economy flyers a better shot at an upgrade — more first-class seats for upgrades also means more for sale, and the airline does expect to sell roughly half of these additional first-class seats, on average, with the other half going to upgrades and awards. All aircraft are expected to be configured by the middle of 2020.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app