Why United Is Considering Putting Flatbed Seats on New Domestic Jets
Photo Credit: United Airlines is considering adding flatbed seats to new aircraft to satisfy increasing demand for domestic flatbed seats. Pictured is the premium product now flying from Boston, Newark, Los Angeles and San Francisco. United Airlines / United
Skift Take
Here's another reminder that airlines are fiercely competitive. Until recently, U.S. airlines generally weren't considering adding premium business class seats on domestic routes beyond New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. But a few years ago, JetBlue disrupted the market with its Mint business class, and now United is considering a similar move.
We learned this week United Airlines may introduce another new business class seat, which it likely will use to delight transcontinental domestic passengers, and perhaps thwart the growth plans of a certain New York-based airline.
Scott Kirby, United's president, teased the news Tuesday at the International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, saying the airline likely will install new flatbeds in some Boeing 737 MAX 10s, the first of which will be delivered in 2020. United has developed a prototype seat, Kirby said, and some of the airline's best customers will test it this fall.
Conventional wisdom suggests airlines can only sell flatbeds for premium revenue on two domestic routes: New York-Los Angeles and New York-San Francisco. But in the past three years, New York-based JetBlue Airways, with its Mint product, has disrupted the market, selling flatbeds from New York and Boston to cities like Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Diego, and apparently making good money. In some markets,
