Just 167 Seats: Where United Airlines’ High Premium Boeing 767s Will Fly This Winter

United Airlines has more long-haul flights than any other carrier globally. To this end, the Star Alliance member has multiple widebodies: the Boeing 767-300ER, 767-400ER, 777-200 (non-Extended Range), 777-200ER, 777-300ER, and 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10. This article focuses on its low capacity and high premium 767s.

United’s 167-seat 767-300ERs

Generally, airlines ‘densify’ aircraft by increasing the number of seats, which reduces seat-mile costs, increases revenue opportunities, and makes them more competitive.

United did the opposite. Before COVID, the carrier began to reduce seats on its 767-300ERs from 214 to just 167, a drop of more than a fifth, as part of a comprehensive retrofit program.

It was a bold move. It meant much higher seat-mile costs because far fewer seats were spread over the trip costs (sector costs would have fallen from the lighter aircraft).

Photo: Alan Wilson | Flickr

While unit costs rose, United bet on achieving even higher revenue per seat mile from many more premium seats and a far smaller economy cabin. It meant it had less need to compete for the lowest end of the market, which helped with revenue quality.

A high-J configuration

United has 24 767-300ERs with 167 seats, with over a quarter of the capacity (28%) in the Polaris cabin. Although the airline’s 787-9s, 777-200ERs, and 777-300ERs have more Polaris suites, the 767-300ER has a much higher proportion due to far fewer economy seats.

• 46 Polaris suites
• 22 Premium Plus recliners
• 43 seats in Economy Plus
• Just 56 seats in bog-standard economy

Of course, the 167-seater is by far United’s lowest-capacity widebody. While designed for entirely different market segments, it has fewer than half the seats of its largest widebody, the 364-seat ‘domestic’ non-ER 777-200.

Where they will fly this winter

Like all northern airlines, United will switch to winter schedules on October 27 based on IATA slot seasons and maintain them until the aviation summer season begins on March 30, 2025.

Using schedules supplied by United to OAG indicates the 167-seater’s winter route network, as summarized below. They include the carrier’s first Morocco service.

Fully predictably, the equipment’s high-premium nature means it is especially well suited to the high-yielding London Heathrow Airport, which will account for 62% of flights. When added to the high-yielding Geneva and Zurich, the three airports have 85% of services.

Image: GCMap

• Chicago O’Hare-Amsterdam: daily 167-seat 767-300ER service
• Chicago O’Hare-London Heathrow: double daily
• Chicago O’Hare-Zurich: daily, reduced to six times weekly at times (no 167-seater flights from January 6-February 19)
• Newark-Frankfurt: four times weekly (no 167-seater flights from December 19 to February 20)
• Newark-Geneva: daily
• Newark-London Heathrow: seven daily (six daily on Saturdays)
• Newark-Marrakech: three times weekly (the brand-new route begins on October 24, the day this article was written; I am sure it’ll be in my jam-packed weekly routes article!)
• Newark-Paris CDG: four times weekly but later daily (it’ll see the 167-seater from December 20)
• Newark-Zurich: daily
• Washington Dulles-London Heathrow: daily until February 13
• Washington Dulles-Zurich: daily
• Newark-Kahului: December 21, December 28, and January 4 only (for the holidays)

Source: Simple Flying