United Airlines makes largest ever order of 270 jetliners

United Airlines has made its largest-ever order of 270 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, the company announced on Tuesday.

Along with the purchase of new aircraft, United wants to upgrade all of its mainline, narrow-body planes to its new standards by 2025, according to the company’s press release, as it anticipates travel ramping up as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

The new standards include an overhead bin for every passenger’s carry-on bag, new LED lighting, upgrades to in-flight Wi-Fi and entertainment on the back of every seat.

The expansion will lead United Airlines to add one aircraft every three days to its fleet by 2023.

The move to bigger aircraft will also increase the number of seats a flight has by 30 percent by 2026.

“We’ll deliver a better, more consistent experience, with more features for more customers, faster than ever. While some airlines are reducing the number of economy seats with extra leg room, United will offer the most premium seats in North America, taking a different, more customer-friendly approach,” Andrew Nocella, United’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said.

Along with more seats, the company will have more flights going out as their smaller planes are replaced with larger aircraft. There will be more flights between U.S. cities and new destinations added.

United Airlines will add 25,000 unionized jobs to the company in order to support the increase in plane size and flights. 

The company’s ambitious plan comes as the airline industry is recovering from a devastating year that saw travel worldwide slow to a near halt during the pandemic.