United Airlines is adding widebody experiences to its new, narrowbody aircraft with the launch of the ‘Coastliner’ Airbus A321 subfleet.

The Coastliner will have a specially designed livery and fly exclusively between United’s west coast hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Newark/New York and will introduce the United Polaris cabin experience to domestic travelers.

For the first time, customers traveling in United Polaris on these routes can also get access to the United Polaris lounge.

United is expecting to take delivery of 40 Airbus A321neo Coastliners over the next 24 months and it will firmly elevate the carrier’s domestic United States offering.

“For more than a decade, we’ve invested billions of dollars in our product, service, and technology as part of our plan to be the best brand loyal airline in the world, and the result is that more and more customers are choosing to fly us every day,” said United CEO Scott Kirby.

“Today we accelerate our plans and elevate our offerings to the next level, creating an even more consistent, premium onboard experience for every customer and delivering value across every cabin of service.”

The Airbus A321 Coastliner and the all-new A321XLR – to be used on routes to Europe and South America – are United’s first narrowbodies with the Elevated interior and feature a new, all-aisle access lie-flat seat in United Polaris with a patented design that offers more elbow and shoulder room and lower suite walls that protect privacy while maintaining an open feel in the cabin.

United has 100 of these new airplanes coming into its fleet, and they’ll replace 40 older, less efficient Boeing 757s.

The Airbus A321neo Coastliner was custom designed to give transcontinental customers an even better experience – the interior of the plane is all-new from nose-to-tail, with 20 new, all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris, 12 United Premium Plus seats – a first for narrowbody domestic flights – and 129 United Economy seats.

United removed three seats from the standard configuration of this plane to make room for a snack bar in the rear of the plane, so customers traveling in Economy can grab their favorite snack or non-alcoholic beverage anytime during their flight.

United Polaris customers traveling on the Coastliner will receive the similar amenities enjoyed by customers on international flights, including Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, Perricone MD skincare in the amenity kits, and premium headphones with Meridian technology. And – for the first time – customers flying in United Polaris on this aircraft can get access to the United Polaris lounge.

The Coastliner will be easy to spot in the sky thanks to a new livery that pays homage to the coastal destinations it serves.

Distinctive bands in bright shades of blue wrap around the back third of the airplane, and United’s name is painted proudly on the aircraft belly for those lucky enough to spot it from below – particularly from the iconic plane spotting locations near Los Angeles International Airport.

The routes the Coastliner will fly are some of United’s busiest – on average, more than 10,000 passengers fly between the airline’s West Coast hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Newark/New York every day – and connect from there to the airline’s leading global route network, with Hong Kong, Melbourne, Shanghai, Sydney and Taipei being the most popular onward destinations.

United serves 17 destinations across the Pacific from its west coast hubs and 42 destinations across the Atlantic from Newark/New York – more than any other U.S. airline.

The first of United’s 50 planned Coastliners will start flying this summer, and the airline expects 40 of them to be flying by early 2028.