United Airlines Higher on Optimism Over the Chase For Premium   By Investing.com

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) rose more than 1% during Thursday’s trading on hopes about its plan to chase premium customers.

The company on Tuesday placed a humongous order split between 200 planes for Boeing (NYSE:BA) and 70 for Airbus (PA:AIR). The planes ordered are single-aisle narrow body.

Not just more seats in the market, the company said it wants to have more premium seats as well as seatback entertainment in every seat, larger overhead storage, the industry’s fastest available WiFi and other technology features.

It has chalked out a four-year retrofit plan for 100% of its remaining narrow-body fleet to transform the customer experience and create a new signature interior.

United expects it will have on average 53 premium seats per North American departure by 2026, an increase of about 75% over 2019, and more than any competitor in North America.

In line with its ambitious plans, United said it expects to hire 25,000 people by 2026.