United Airlines’ Economy Plus Extends to Continental Airlines

Many air travelers are giving their approval to a move by United Continental Holdings to keep the Economy Plus seats on United Airlines planes. They are even more welcoming to news that the company will be expanding the seats to Continental Airlines aircraft next year. Chief revenue officer Jim Compton says that customers who sit in these seats are much more satisfied with their travel experience.

The move comes as the parent company wants the product offering from the combined airlines to be better aligned. The seats were introduced in 1999 and offer up to an extra 5 inches of legroom to those that sit in the front of the coach class cabin. There had been some worries that the Economy Plus seats were going to disappear when the two airlines merged to create the biggest airline in the world last October.

The Economy Plus seats are a free option for United Airlines’ most frequent fliers. Passengers that aren’t part of the elite program are able to pay more for the extra room, with the charge starting at $9 for short flights and getting up to $100 on international services.

Continental Airlines offers consumers the opportunity to buy seats with more legroom. However, the offering isn’t to the extent of the Economy Plus scheme.

United Airlines managing director of customer solutions Scott O’Leary says that they haven’t decided yet if Economy Plus will come at the expense of existing economy-class or first-class seats. This is an important decision, particularly for their domestic fleet, he added, and they are putting a lot of consideration into it.