Next summer, United Airlines is planning its largest-ever international route expansion, with a total of 10 brand new nonstop flights to Europe and Asia.
Half of those new routes will be operated by brand new planes set to join United’s fleet by the end of 2026: The “Born to Explore” Airbus A321XLR.
The Chicago-based carrier will use the single-aisle, long-range jet on five of the historic new routes, including nonstop flights from Washington DC Dulles (IAD) to Luxembourg and Toulouse, France, and from New York/Newark (EWR) to Marseille, France, as well as Ibiza and Valencia in Spain.
The new aircraft are set to replace United’s aging Boeing 757 fleet on international routes.
In March, United placed an order for 50 of the A321XLR planes as part of a larger, historic fleet expansion to add more than 250 planes in the next two years. The carrier estimates it will have 28 of the new A321XLR planes by 2028.
The A321XLR jets were originally earmarked to replace Boeing 757s on international routes starting this summer, however delivery delays have pushed the launch of the new jets back to December.
Despite these “teething issues” with the A321XLR deliveries, by summer 2027 United is “confident that we will have the number of aircraft needed in order to operate the schedule," said Patrick Quayle, United's senior vice president of global network planning and alliances.
On board, United says the A321XLR jets will offer a widebody cabin experience on a narrowbody jet. Passengers can expect 32 premium seats, including new Polaris business class suites with privacy doors.
On the exterior of the plane, United will add a special “Born to Explore” decal to acknowledge the new long-haul routes the jet makes possible, thanks to its ultra-long-range of up to 4,700 nautical miles.
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