United Continental Holdings has announced plans to invest $550 million in fleet upgrades.
The investment will include the addition of more flat bed seats and the introduction of on-demand video content onboard via wifi for laptop, tablet and smarphone users.
From September, flat bed seats will be added to 62 aircraft, bringing the total number of aircraft with this type of seating to 185.
The airline has not released full details of the new premium seating, but said in a statement it would be “all new” and available on 26 Boeing 767s (12 Continental and 14 United), primarily used on flights serving the trans-Atlantic, Latin American and Hawaiian markets.
An “on-demand audio and video programming” service will also be in the introduced on these 26 aircraft, plus iPod connectivity.
This autumn, United Continental will also begin installing Economy Plus seating on all Continental aircraft, with the extra legroom product to be on some 130 aircraft by the end of March 2012.
This will mean a more standard product across the United and Continental’s fleet, a key aim following their official merger in May 2010, according to United Continental’s CEO Jeff Smisek.
“These produce enhancements announced today... will provide an unsurpassed travel experience for our customers,” he said.
“We are planning many other product enhacements, both on the ground and in the air, which we will announce in the future.”