United Airlines faces a decision over a stockpile of lie-flat premium seats built for Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft that have yet to arrive, as the jet’s certification delay pushes first deliveries to summer 2027. Chief executive Scott Kirby said the seats do not fit on other aircraft, leaving the carrier to determine how to deploy cabin hardware ordered for a transcontinental premium product that remains on hold at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
United originally planned the Max 10 for premium domestic flying, including lie-flat seating, and first outlined that strategy in 2018, when the aircraft was expected to enter service in 2020. The airline now holds 167 Max 10s on order and must decide what cabin layout to adopt once the aircraft are cleared. The delay leaves United with premium inventory that cannot be easily reassigned, while Boeing’s largest 737 Max variant remains uncertified by federal regulators.
Kirby’s remarks underscore how the prolonged certification process has complicated fleet and cabin planning. United has not disclosed a final Max 10 interior or route assignment, and the unresolved seat issue forms part of a wider effort to adjust premium network plans elsewhere in the fleet while waiting for the aircraft to arrive.