United-Continental is progressing with various fleet reconfiguration projects, and now has completed installations of a premium economy offering in the Boeing 757s used on long-haul flights.
The reconfigured aircraft feature 16 flat-bed seats, 45 in the new Economy Plus section and 108 in Economy.
Installations of the lie-flat seats on the aircraft were completed in March of last year.
United, a subsidiary of United-Continental, explained the 41 aircraft largely operate from the company's Newark hub to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Lima, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Manchester, Oslo, Paris, Shannon, Stockholm and Stuttgart. The aircraft also operate from Washington Dulles to Amsterdam and Paris.
The 757 has been key to allowing for year-round service in long-haul international markets when customer demand does not support the use of larger aircraft, said the company. All the majors during the last few years have deployed the 757 on international routes to better manage supply with demand.
United-Continental rival Delta is in the process of equipping its mainline fleet of more than 550 aircraft with a similar Economy Comfort product, including its 170 757-200s/300s.
United-Continental plans to retire five Boeing 757-200s used in domestic service this year, ending 2012 with 150 757-200s/300s.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
