United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has talked often during the pandemic about emerging as the best airline in the world. While hardly an unusual aspiration for an airline leader, United is taking a number of steps that it hopes will move it in that direction. For passengers, that includes the installation of seatback screens on more aircraft.
United Airlines Will Add Seatback Screens To Older Aircraft
Toby Enqvist, the Chief Customer Officer, laid out the premise in a video to employees:
“Our competition is really, really stiff, especially in our hubs. Our customers actually have a choice. They don’t have to fly United, so we have to make them want to choose United.”
Promising that United will be characterized by innovation as it emerges from the pandemic, Enqvist noted a number of initiatives, including:
- Renovating older narrowbody aircraft to add new seats with seatback screens featuring AVOD (audio and video on demand) and adding larger overhead bins.
- Expanding some United Clubs which are currently “undersized”
- Improving onboard dining by implementing the pre-order of food by the end of 2021
Enqvist did not go into detail, but I have reached out to United Airlines for additional info.
While United Airlines offers a wide range of streaming movies and TV shows on most of its fleet, not all passengers come prepared. The seatback screen is always a customer favorite and is one great separator of a full-service network carrier from a budget airline.
The option of pre-ordering food in both economy and first class on domestic flights holds a lot of promise. Not only will make it customers better prepared and happier onboard (assuming what is ordered is delivered), but it provides a source of ancillary revenue and a way to cut down on waste.
CONCLUSION
Even with most international travel still depressed, U.S. airlines are on the verge of flourishing once again. United’s latest initiatives show a concerted effort to improve, which consumers will welcome as capacity returns and consumers once again experience greater choice in their flight options.
image: United Airlines
UNITED rising
Now upgrade the food to their real competition on transcon – Mint – levels
This is just so lolzy. Adding screens to planes they ripped them out of? Adding larger overhead bins? Delta did this with their A319/A320 fleet and now they are some of their best planes.
I, too, am taking something of a wait-and-see approach. I’m definitely not expecting a flourishing of the American air travel sector, though I definitely think that this represents a big opportunity.
While pre-ordered food and seat-back entertainment is a good start, it’s just that: a start. You want to impress the flying public? One thing that my friends keep coming back to is the lack of free WiFi. United could try to separate themselves by trying to scale back baggage fees (ha ha!). Personally, I’d like United to pay a little more attention to the regional market Out West. I’m getting a little tired of having to fly Southwest on intra-California itineraries because United just doesn’t provide the service to get me from here to there. That’s my $0.002 anyway …
If the focus of there refurbishing is focused on narrowbody planes, does this mean the domestic 777 are either a) permanently stored due to the engine issue or b) not going to be touched with this new project?
Sell PP as a separate cabin on all flights that have a PP cabin and provide an enhanced soft product. Just like Business was sold 20 years ago. That would go a long way to making United a premium airline
That would be a massive improvement over Delta (which sells PS as Comfort Plus) and American which sells it as main cabin extra)
I read or watch a movie (my own or streamed from their wifi) on my ipad rather than use any seat back screen. Even in a Polaris pod I rarely use the IFE for anything other than the flight tracker because I don’t want to use their headphones. On nighttime flights seat back screens are awful—bright and full of blue light. I’d rather have espresso and be able to pair bluetooth headphones with Polaris IFE.
Could the goal be to have screens or tablet holders on every seat? I prefer watching my own stuff on my faster device with a higher resolution screen.
Could United also use these retrofits as an opportunity to replace the older first class seats on the 737-800s and 900s with the newer first class seats found on the 737-700, Airbuses, and the MAX?
I welcome this as seat back screens are they are generally well liked. I don’t like people who think touch-screens are poke-screens. It’s gets old fast when an indecisive person trying to pick a show moves your headrest with each poke. Maybe a ‘tap lightly’ reminder sticker next to the screens.
Also, put in good controls on the side of the armrests. Not the dumb on top of armrest controls positioned perfectly for your elbow.
Oh joy, I get to see the screens of the 5 rows in front of me playing advertisements AGAIN! I turn my monitor off.
I like AVOD. I don’t like using my smartphone other than light internet use and phone use and maps.
Does this mean Channel 9 makes a comeback?
Yes! Every time Matt or Gary Leff posts something about how seatback screens are a product enhancement I have to chime in with this. Instead of being productive or being able to sleep, I have to watch a reenactment of Times Square in my peripheral vision for 2+ hours.
Airlines need to default to having the screens off during boarding, or auto-shut off every screen if someone doesn’t touch it in the first 20-30 minutes of the flight.
As much as I like hearing the part about “new seats with seatback screens featuring AVOD,” I can’t help wondering what advantage adding weight onto the aircraft to put in the AVOD gives UA. Yeah DL has it, yes its nice, but on my recent DL flights with AVOD, people still were using their personal devices. I would much rather they spend the money on improving their premium product overall but most notably catering. Polaris catering is a joke, Domestic F was hit/miss but heading downhill.
BTW….they already have missed their first target:
“Improving onboard dining by implementing the pre-order of food by the end of 2020”
Well that promise came and went haha
@LOGOS, there is a simple solution that lets you pair your BT headphones to the installed IFE. Samples in this article: https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/26/20982261/airpods-in-flight-entertainment-bluetooth-adapter-twelvesouth-airfly-pro-review-price
Hey UA: If you want to impress your customers, why don’t you start by keeping your promises like honoring the terms under which you sold them Lifetime Memberships to the clubs/lounges.
Following DLs playbook – again. There’s nothing innovative nor industry leading in this announcement. Ugh…
If this had been posted on April 1, would have thought it was for April Fools Day.
I was looking to add the same thing. The club benefits have gone downhill ever since I joined many years ago. They have closed clubs, decreased food selection, removed magazines and newspapers, started charging for anything above basic bar liquors, and now your ONE guest must be traveling on the SAME flight. Clearly they have no loyalty to those who gave them a substantial sum of money a while back.
Channel 9 died with the battleship and poor customer service – let’s move on.
Channel 9 still available on UA 767-300s!
@ Matt And 777-300 and 200 er’s as well!!
No, please!
Seatback screens inspire pax to punch the back of the victim in front of them.
If United wants a premium experience, they should remove all seats and replace them with suites.
That’s great, I can use the seat back screen instead of my own IPad? What about basic human comfort, stop reducing the seat pitch! I will fly whoever gives more leg room, I really don’t care about the other stuff when I fly domestically. To fight boredom I can take a book (look up the definition), use my IPad, lap top or phone, give me just a little leg room so that when the person in front of me reclines they don’t crush my knees.