United Airlines is still holding hundreds of lie-flat seats in storage for the Boeing 737 MAX 10, as the aircraft’s certification delay has pushed entry into service years beyond the original plan. Chief executive Scott Kirby described the unused inventory during an interview at Newark Liberty International Airport, while United awaits a new timeline for the narrowbody programme.
The seats were ordered for a premium transcontinental layout that United initially intended to deploy on the MAX 10, but the airline has since shifted that role to Airbus A321neo aircraft in its Coastliner subfleet. United now expects the first MAX 10 deliveries in summer 2027, and the carrier has 167 examples on order. The airline has not publicly disclosed the final cabin layout for the type, leaving open the question of whether the stored seats can be used at all.
The delay has created a fleet-planning and inventory problem for United, with the unused premium seats no longer fitting the airline’s revised network strategy. The MAX 10 was once expected to enter service in 2020, but prolonged certification issues have kept the aircraft grounded commercially for years, forcing United to rework its premium narrowbody ambitions around other jets.