Inside United's 1st Airbus A321neo — step onboard ahead of the inaugural flight

30.11.2023 - 20:53 / thepointsguy.com / Andrew Nocella

It's a new, or neo, day for United.

The airline's first Airbus A321neo aircraft is set to enter service with an evening flight from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago.

The plane is the newest model to join United's fleet, and is the first new Airbus that the Chicago-based carrier has taken delivery of since 2002, according to data from Airfleets.net.

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United announced its initial A321neo purchase as part of a record-breaking order it placed in June, 2021. At the time, the airline ordered 70 of the A321neo jets, alongside 200 variants of Boeing's 737 MAX.

In October of this year, United announced that it was exercising options for an additional 60 of the A321neo aircraft, bringing the total order up to 110 jets. It also secured options for 40 additional aircraft.

Separately, in 2019, the airline ordered 50 of the extended-range version of the jet, the A321XLR, meant to replace the airlines aging Boeing 757-200 fleet on some transcontinental and shorter transatlantic routes.

The "regular" A321neo, meanwhile, will function as a larger gauge jet on United's core domestic network and, potentially in the future, on its short-haul international routes — spots in Mexico and Central America.

During a media briefing in October surrounding the additional options, United president Andrew Nocella said that the A321neos and previously ordered 737 MAX 10 aircraft are part of United's strategy to grow in busy and congested markets by upgaguing flights to larger and more efficient aircraft, rather than adding flights.

"Gauge growth is how we'll manage an increasing number of limitations on runways, airspace and the capacity at the nation's largest airports, while still growing," he said.

The new jet will initially operate on United's route between Chicago and Phoenix and Fort Lauderdale, according to published schedules, with more routes to be added as United takes delivery of additional aircraft.

United describes the A321neo as the latest step in its "United Next" plan, which sees the airline retrofitting and modernizing the cabins on its existing narrow-body aircraft, replacing much of its fleet with more efficient next-generation jets and reconfiguring its broader network strategy and growth plans.

Ahead of the inaugural revenue flight on the new airplane — which comes on a route that will not be regularly flown by the new jet, at least for now — the airline held a behind-the-scenes media preview and a chance to tour the new jet.

United's A321neo is outfitted with 20 first-class recliner-style seats, 57 extra-legroom "Economy Plus" seats, and 123 economy seats.

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