Chicago-based United Airlines welcomed its first retrofitted Airbus A319 featuring the United NEXT interior on Sunday. The plane is the primary of several narrowbody aircraft to receive the upgrade.
The A319’s re-entry into service comes after United said last month that it was running behind schedule in its effort to reconfigure the planes as a consequence of ongoing supply chain troubles. The carrier announced the plan to upgrade the cabins of its narrowbody Boeing and Airbus aircraft in June 2021.
A brand new, fresh interior
Based on One Mile At A Time, N801UA, a 25-year-old A319, returned to normal operations on Sunday. During its hiatus of greater than three months, the aircraft reportedly received its upgrades at a facility in Melbourne, Florida, after which flew to Roswell, Recent Mexico, to likely receive a paint job. Late Wednesday night, the plane departed Roswell and arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport early Thursday morning, in accordance with data from Flightradar24.com.
N801UA remained on the bottom for a number of days before it flew three legs on Sunday. The aircraft began its day flying from Chicago to Des Moines International Airport as United Airlines flight 2216 (UAL2216). From Des Moines, the plane flew back to Chicago as UAL538 after which as UAL354 from Chicago to Burlington, Vermont. The aircraft is scheduled for 11 more legs through Tuesday.
The brand new features
The United NEXT interior overhaul significantly upgrades United’s existing narrowbody fleet. A few of the latest amenities that passengers will experience include:
- Seatback screens with inflight entertainment (IFE) – In top quality, the screens are 13” and in economy class, the screens are 10”
- Bluetooth capabilities for IFE audio
- AC power outlets and USB ports at every seat
- High-speed inflight WiFi
- Larger overhead bins
- LED ambient lighting throughout the cabin
United unveiled the inside when it welcomed 737 MAX 8 aircraft into its fleet in 2021, meaning some frequent fliers may already be accustomed to the amenities. Around 75 aircraft currently feature the inside, including all MAX 8s and choose MAX 9s, in accordance with One Mile At A Time. Other than the 737 MAXs, United’s narrowbody fleet is large, consisting of 737 NGs, 757-200s, 757-300s, A319s, and A320s. All now await the overhaul, however it is unclear how the airline will retrofit the planes, whether randomly or by aircraft type.
Photos of N801UA’s brand-new cabin were posted on social media, showing quite the upgrade.
Competing with other airlines
The cabin revamp efforts align United’s interior closer to Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways. Each airlines have installed seatback screens on most of their aircraft and have received positive feedback from passengers, especially on longer cross-country flights.
Nonetheless, American Airlines has not made any efforts to introduce seatback IFE on all its narrowbody aircraft. Only a select few A321s and A319s within the carrier’s fleet feature seatback screens. On the vast majority of its domestic fleet, American encourages its passengers to stream IFE to their very own devices.
It is going to likely take United a few years to revamp the cabins of all its narrowbody aircraft. The airline previously indicated that it expected to finish the retrofits by 2025, however it is unclear if the carrier remains to be heading in the right direction to succeed in that goal.
Source: One Mile At A Time