United Airlines Just Made a Creative Announcement, and It’s the Kind of Thing Some Passengers Have Dreamed Of

It’s good to see an airline try something creative.

EXPERT OPINION BY BILL MURPHY JR., FOUNDER OF UNDERSTANDABLY AND CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, INC. @BILLMURPHYJR

I’ve had the same airplane daydream for years: what if you could give up some of the overhead-bin space and just stack economy seats a little bit, old Pullman-car style?

Everybody would get less headroom, but they’d get more room to stretch out. I know that sounds slightly insane, but if you’ve ever spent six hours in coach staring at the seat in front of you, you’ve probably had some version of the same thought.

Turns out other people have had the same idea.

As for why it hasn’t caught on, the biggest reason seems simple: airplanes have to be certified for fast evacuations, which makes it hard for creative seating ideas to get past the concept stage.

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That’s what I thought of when I saw the news that United Airlines is rolling out something that’s sort of in the same family: a new “Relax Row,” announced last week, that turns a row of three economy seats into a couch-like space on long-haul widebody flights.

Welcome to ‘Relax Row’

The setup uses three seats with leg rests that fold up to a 90-degree angle after takeoff, creating a flatter surface for stretching out, sleeping, or at least pretending you’re no longer in regular economy.

United says Relax Row will launch in 2027 on select Boeing 787s and 777s, with plans to put it on more than 200 widebody aircraft by 2030, with up to 12 such sections per plane, positioned between Economy and Premium Plus.

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