There’s a lot to unpack from United Airlines’ 2025 Q2 earnings call, but one conversation caught my interest that suggests that we might see much larger premium economy cabins on future United aricraft deliveries.

United Airlines Sees Premium Economy Cabin As Profit Center, Considers Expansion

Catherine O’Brien, an analyst for Goldman Sachs, asked United’s Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President Andrew Nocella about whether premium cabins would expand. 

“You noted this year has given you more confidence in premium products and you’ll look to increase premium more going forward. I’m assuming that means increasing the percentage of premium seats per departure, but correct me if I’m wrong. I guess just any thoughts on where that percentage could go over the next five to ten years? And within that, is there any segment in the premium cabins between Economy Plus, international Premium Plus or Polaris that would be – the bulk of that upsizing or it’s really equal across the various premium cabins?”

Nocella’s answer understandably focused on the delivery of new 787-9 aircraft with an expanded Polaris business class cabin, but also focused on Premium Plus, United’s premium economy cabin.

“It’s a really good question. I won’t give every detail. We’ll save that for a more detailed type structured meeting. But we announced our United Elevated interior onboard, the 787-9 in Brooklyn just a few weeks ago, and that particular aircraft will now have 99 premium seats on it, which is Polaris plus Premium Plus. Not every aircraft United flies by the way, that we take delivery in the future will have that same 99 seats.

“But that’s a good reflection of an aircraft that we already said we will be flying to Singapore. We think that’s the right aircraft for Singapore and many other markets at United, where we have this really high level of premium demand. Probably the biggest expansion though, that I think is an opportunity is we undersized the Premium Plus cabin, the cabin between main cabin and Polaris on our wide-body jets. And that’s the cabin, I think, that’s generating very good returns and the one that we’ll probably lean more into going forward.

“But we’ll leave all the details for a later date. But Premium Plus is, I think, a really very exciting opportunity as a midrange product between the front of the aircraft and the back. And then last but least, the gauge benefit that Mike talked about, as we bring on these MAX 9s and A321neos, we definitely bring on many more premium seats than the aircraft we ultimately replace the A319 or the A320. And so our premium mix just shifts as we upgauge the fleet and retire older ones and bring in these new ones that are just performing really well for us.”

(bolding mine)

United’s incoming 787-9s will feature:

• 8 United Polaris Studio suites (1-2-1 layout)
• 56 United Polaris business class suites (1-2-1 layout)
• 35 United Premium Plus seats (2-3-2 layout)
• 33 United Economy Plus seats (3-3-3 layout)
• 90 United Economy seats (3-3-3 layout)

Current 787-9s have 48 Polaris seats and 21 seats in Premium Plus.

I don’t personally find Premium Plus to be the “goldilocks” between economy class and business class. The seat, while far more comfortable than economy class, is still not ideal for sleeping. That said, it’s a solid upgrade over economy class and when priced, it represents a middle ground for those whose travel budget does not include Polaris class.

One thing I’ve noticed is that United routinely oversells Premium Plus, then gives select lucky passengers operational upgrades to business class if everyone checks in. Adding capacity to premium economy, considering its rather constrained footprint, likely represents an ideal optimization of cost per square inch onboard.

Bottom line: we can expect larger premium economy cabins going forward.

CONCLUSION

When I flew Qantas in premium economy from Los Angeles to Sydney, I was a little skeptical of how comfortable a cabin would be with 60 premium economy seats. But the service flow was excellent and I was so thankful to fly that over economy class.

As people opt for “experiences over objects,” I do believe more folks will be willing to pay for a bit more room onboard. I’d expect much larger premium economy cabins on all future United widebody aircraft.

> Read More: United Airlines Premium Plus Review (SFO-FRA)