United’s latest upsell is an empty middle seat
United Airlines plans to sell extra-legroom rows with a blocked middle seat and shared tray table on its Airbus A321XLR jets.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
2 min read
United Airlines is turning the most avoided spot on the plane into a selling point: paying extra so nobody sits there.
The airline said Tuesday that one row on its Airbus A321XLR aircraft will be configured with the middle seat left empty. A tray table will sit in that space for the passengers in the aisle and window seats to share, according to United.
The seats will be part of the carrier’s extra-legroom section. United said they are expected to go on sale later this year, though the airline has not said how much more passengers will have to pay for the setup.
The Airbus A321XLR is a long-range narrow-body aircraft, and United said the empty-middle-seat product will launch on those planes first. The carrier also said it could add the arrangement to other aircraft later.
The idea has a familiar feel for anyone who has flown within Europe. CNBC reported that European carriers more commonly use the blocked-middle-seat format, selling it as short-haul business class rather than a standard economy row.
Airlines keep slicing the cabin finer
United’s new seating option lands as major airlines keep breaking their cabins into more paid choices, from extra room to fewer included perks.
CNBC reported that Delta Air Lines last week joined United in introducing lower-priced business-class and premium economy fares that strip out benefits that had previously come with those tickets.
For Delta’s cheapest long-haul business-class fares, CNBC reported, passengers will no longer get access to the airline’s top-tier Delta One lounge or included seat selection.
United has also been testing other ways to sell space differently inside the cabin. In March, the airline said it planned to introduce a set of three economy seats that can be converted into a bed on some wide-body aircraft. United calls that product the “Relax Row.”
The broader push is about selling more than transportation from one airport to another. Airlines have spent years adding premium seats and expanding business-class cabins, according to CNBC, as spending in those sections has held up better.
Those pricier seats can also slow things down behind the scenes. CNBC reported that the growing complexity of high-end aircraft seats has contributed to delays in some new plane deliveries.
For passengers, the message is clear enough: the cabin is being carved into more choices, and more of those choices come with a separate price tag. On United’s A321XLR, one of those choices will be the luxury of an empty middle seat, with a little table where an elbow war usually begins.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.