United Airlines plans to remove the middle seat from a special Economy Plus row on its incoming Airbus A321XLR aircraft, giving window and aisle passengers more elbow room on longer flights. Instead of selling the center seat, the airline will install a large table that stretches between the armrests and turns the open space into a shared surface. The permanently fixed table will have a soft, leather-like covering and two cup indentations.
United expects to place the redesigned row on all 50 A321XLRs in its order, although each aircraft will have only one row with the new configuration. The airline plans to begin selling the seats later in 2026 for flights starting soon afterward, but it has not announced prices. United also said it may introduce similar seats on other aircraft in the future. The change applies only to the designated Economy Plus row rather than the entire cabin, according to the airline’s July 14 announcement.
United’s Open Middle Seat Comes With A Shared Table
The open middle seat will provide additional elbow room alongside the extra legroom already included with Economy Plus. On the A321XLR, Economy Plus seats will offer 3 more inches of legroom than standard economy seats. Passengers seated by the window or aisle in the special row will also have access to the table between them.
United expects to become the only U.S. airline offering this particular seating configuration. However, the approach resembles the blocked middle-seat arrangements used by some European airlines in business class. Lufthansa and Finnair are among the carriers that leave center seats unoccupied for certain business-class passengers, according to The Associated Press. Unlike an ordinary blocked seat, United’s center space will contain a permanently installed table.
The airline plans to release pricing and other booking information before the new Economy Plus option goes on sale later this year. The new seating arrangement follows United’s announcement of its Relax Row product for Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft. That separate design uses adjustable leg rests to convert three economy seats into a mattress-like surface after takeoff. United expects the Relax Row to launch in 2027.
Airbus A321XLR Flights Will Begin In Fall 2026
United plans to introduce the Airbus A321XLR on domestic flights in fall 2026 before beginning international service by early 2027. The airline plans to use the long-range narrowbody aircraft on short- to medium-haul international routes, where it will replace some Boeing 757 service. Each A321XLR will contain 32 premium seats, 16 more than the Boeing 757s it replaces.
The aircraft will include all-aisle-access United Polaris lie-flat seats with privacy doors, as well as United Premium Plus seats between the Polaris and economy cabins. Every seat will have a 4K OLED entertainment screen with Bluetooth connectivity. Screens will measure 19 inches in Polaris, 16 inches in Premium Plus, and 13 inches in economy. Other cabin features will include larger overhead bins with space for rollaboard bags and a snack bar at the rear of the economy cabin.
United plans to assign five flight attendants to most transatlantic A321XLR flights, matching its current staffing practice on the Boeing 757. The airline has not disclosed which domestic or international routes will receive the new aircraft first. Additional booking details should become available when United announces the pricing and sales date for its middle-seat-free Economy Plus row.
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