A tweet allegedly reveals how United will configure its new A350 aircraft.
Via @A350_Production on Twitter, United’s A350-1000 (on order) will be delivered with the following configuration:
- 60 United Polaris (Business) [18%]
- 91 United EconomyPlus [27%]
- 186 United Economy [55%]
—— - 337 total seats
In brackets I have indicated what percentage of overall aircraft seats each cabin contains. By the way, that number suggests a 3-3-3 configuration in economy class.
Seat map of @united A350s:
-60 Business (Polaris)
-91 Premium Economy
-186 EconomyTotal: 337 seats
Seat suppliers: Zodiac&B/E Aerospace pic.twitter.com/sUm9X7ijtt
— A350 Production (@A350_Production) April 30, 2017
Let’s compare that to United’s 787-9 and new 777-300ER:
787-9
- 48 United Polaris (Business) [19%]
- 88 United EconomyPlus [35%]
- 116 United Economy [46%]
—— - 252 total seats
777-300ER
- 60 United Polaris (Business) [16%]
- 102 United EconomyPlus [28%]
- 204 United Economy [56%]
—— - 366 total seats
Thus, the alleged A350 distribution is logical. I reached out to United for official confirmation and not surprisingly, have not heard back.
Will United Even Take Its A350 Delivery?
While the seat map may be confirmed, the A350-1000 order itself is still under consideration at United. While not necessarily on the chopping block, both Andrew Levy (CFO) and Scott Kirby (President) have expressed frustration that the aircraft unable to fill the “middle-of-the-market” (MoM) void that would be best captured as a hybrid between the 757 and 767.
Some predict that United will end up cancelling its A350-1000 order and waiting for a potential 797 aircraft from Boeing. I highly doubt that will happen, as that next-gen Boeing aircraft is still in development and conservatively 5-7 years from delivery.
It will be interesting to see how United’s fleet plan shapes up in the months ahead. Earlier today I wrote about United keeping its pre-merger 757-200s beyond the planned retirement date. Might the same be true for the 747-400 fleet? The weeks ahead will be interesting as United attempts to construct a cohesive fleet plan that will maximize sustainable growth.
Is there a typo in the model numbers? A351 is by design bigger then B757 and B767 so how could it have ever been considered a “MoM” replacement for those?
I’d say it’s slotted more in between the 787 and 777.
Agree with you 100%
Also agree with you
The A350 account also followed this up with a tweet that said “Of course the configuration will only be used if @United actually takes delivery of their #A350.”
I would not be surprised to see them cancel/delay these and tap the used 777-300ER market or redeploy the domestic 2 class 777’s now that they have flat beds and global first is removed if they were needed for international growth. The 777x would seem a better fit with UA over the long term anyway. The A350 adds another layer of complexity with crew/maintenance/etc. And currently it seems the legacy US carriers have lost the appetite for capex on long haul aircraft.
Also, Continental has never purchased an aircraft from Airbus. They fly Boeing.
A couple of things to say about this. For one, Contintenal did not purchase these planes, they were purchased by post merger UA in 2013. Second of all I would be very upset to see the 747 not be retired. They need to get rid of those planes, and do it fast. Those planes simply do not meet market demand or reliability needs in 2017. I am really hoping that United keeps the A350s, as these planes are going to be amazing. I can understand United delaying with the 757s, but the 747s are so outdated and unreliable that I cannot imagine them even considering to fly a 12+ hour flight on those big birds.