1st look: United’s Premium Plus, financial system cabins on the retrofitted Boeing 767-400

United is breathing new life into one of its oldest fleet types with the rollout of some major cabin upgrades.

The carrier’s 16 Boeing 767-400s, which are between 21 and 23 years old, are finally undergoing a nose-to-tail cabin reconfiguration, which includes the installation of Polaris lie-flat business-class pods, Premium Plus recliners and refreshed economy seats.

The fate of these planes was up in the air earlier in the pandemic, as the Chicago-based carrier placed its 767-400s in long-term storage in May 2020. But now, United is officially keeping these jets around for a few more years, as it waits to receive a new batch of more fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Instead of flying the Boeing 767-400s with the aging legacy cabins, United decided last year to modernize these planes.

That’s great news for passengers in all cabins — not just those who’ll now enjoy direct aisle access in the new Polaris business-class cabin, which I just flew and reviewed on a transatlantic crossing from Newark to Barcelona.

In fact, the Premium Plus and refreshed economy cabins should be a welcome improvement for those in the back of the plane. Here’s why.

In recent years, premium economy has exploded in popularity, and United is debuting this cabin onboard the Boeing 767-400 for the first time. You’ll find 24 Premium Plus recliners located just behind the second exit door on the Boeing 767-400.

After passing by United’s signature branding on the galley wall, you’ll immediately find yourself in this intimate four-row cabin.

Just like the Premium Plus section on the smaller Boeing 767-300, these recliners are arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration, meaning that there are no middle seats here.

This should be great news for nearly all flyers, especially those who upgrade or book at the last minute when middle seats are all that’s typically left.

The “purple seats,” as they’re affectionately called by United employees and loyalists, feature additional legroom and recline, as well as some other bells and whistles that make these a good option for those looking to upgrade the onboard experience without breaking the bank (or mileage balance) for a business-class seat.

Each 19-inch-wide seat sports 38 inches of pitch, as well as a legrest, footrest and about six inches of recline.

The oversized armrest between each seat is where you’ll find the manual seat controls, entertainment remote, universal power outlet and USB-A port.

These seats even feature a small cocktail tray that pops out from the armrest — a nifty feature that I don’t recall seeing in other Premium Plus cabins.

The bi-fold tray tables, which measure 17 inches wide and 10.5 inches long, are released from the armrest, and they even feature a small built-in tablet and phone stand.

There’s a storage compartment located near the armrest, as well as some space for books or magazines behind each seat.

The 13.3-inch HD seat-back screens are loaded with hours of on-demand entertainment, but they don’t feature Bluetooth connectivity, nor the advanced user interface that you’ll find on Boeing 777s or 787 Dreamliners.

The four-row Premium Plus cabin is separated from the Polaris cabin with a curtain and from the economy cabin by a bulkhead wall. Interestingly, there is no curtain behind the last row of Premium Plus, so you may want to consider sitting closer to the front of the cabin for additional privacy.

Just note that the first two rows, 20 and 21, only have one window each, which might not be ideal for aviation enthusiasts.

While those in the bulkhead won’t need to worry about someone reclining into their space, these seats don’t feature footrests and they only have a small storage cutout just above the carpet.

Plus, the TVs need to be stored in the armrest during taxi, takeoff and landing, so you may want to consider in the middle of the cabin.

Economy Plus on the United Boeing 767-400

United’s retrofitted Boeing 767-400 is unique in that the 48 extra-legroom Economy Plus seats aren’t all located at the front of the coach cabin.

Instead, 10 of them are located in the forward cabin and then the remaining 38 can be found behind the lavatories and third set of exit doors.

You can quickly tell the difference between an Economy Plus and a standard economy seat by the color of the headrest. Extra-legroom seats sport black headrests, while standard economy seats feature blue headrests.

Just like coach, the Economy Plus seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration and are 18.5 inches wide, but they have three additional inches of pitch — 34 inches in Economy Plus compared to 31 inches in standard economy.

Economy Plus also features an additional inch of recline — three inches compared to two in the regular economy seats.

Otherwise, the amenities are standardized throughout the cabin. You’ll find nine-inch touchscreen TVs and USB-A power ports at each seat.

There’s one universal power outlet shared between the “couple” seats on each side of the plane, and there are two outlets for each of the trio of seats in the center section.

Panasonic Wi-Fi is available in all cabins, with variable pricing on international routes and an $8 flat-rate access charge on all domestic flights.

The Economy Plus cabin on the retrofitted Boeing 767-400 saw the biggest decrease (22) in the number of seats relative to the legacy configuration. That’s especially true for the “couple” seats on each side of the plane — there are now just nine of these pairs relative to 20 in the old configuration.

That means that the ratio of middle seats to window seats is higher on this plane than on the legacy 767-400 configuration.

In terms of where to sit, there are no missing windows in Economy Plus. Just watch out for the window seats in exit row 38. There’s a slide that protrudes out into your foot space, making this seat less desirable.

Plus, the proximity to the lavatories may be bothersome to those sitting in row 38.

Otherwise, the Economy Plus seats are all created equally.

Economy on the United Boeing 767-400

Most passengers will fly in one of the jet’s 125 standard economy seats.

Arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, the 767 features one of the best layouts for those looking to avoid the dreaded middle seat.

The economy cabin is split between two sections — one in front of the third set of exit doors and a second behind those doors.

I’d do whatever I can to select a seat in the forward cabin, if possible. There are fewer seats there, making for a more private experience. Otherwise, I’d sit as far forward as I could in the rear 17-row economy cabin. Just avoid row 42, which has a misaligned window.

The 18.5-inch-wide seats are essentially identical to those in Economy Plus, except for the tighter pitch and less recline.

Tray tables fold down from each seat and measure 17 inches wide and 8.5 inches long. You’ll find TVs, USB-A ports and shared power outlets at each seat.

There are four lavatories near the third set of exit doors, and they’re all shared with those seated in Premium Plus, Economy Plus and standard economy.

Like the rest of the jet, they’ve been upgraded to United’s latest standards, with blue LED lighting and modernized finishes.

Crew rest on the United Boeing 767-400

There are four very special Economy Plus seats — 52A, 52B, 53A and 53B — on the retrofitted Boeing 767-400.

These seats are extra spacious and very well padded, and they also offer leg rests, footrests and additional recline.

While you might think that United is incentivizing passengers to choose the last two rows of the plane by adding these additional amenities, these seats are actually reserved for the flight attendants as crew rests during long-haul flights.

There are curtains that wrap around these seats for additional privacy.

That’s why on most journeys you won’t be able to sit here. But, when the 767-400 is deployed on short domestic routes without a crew rest requirement, they’ll be available to all passengers.

Though they’re located in the back of the plane, they’re without a doubt the most comfortable economy seats available on the Boeing 767-400. For more about these special seats, be sure to check out my recap of the similar setup on the Boeing 767-300.

By the end of this year, all internationally-configured United widebodies will feature Polaris and Premium Plus cabins — a monumental moment for the carrier, especially considering that Polaris debuted in 2016 and Premium Plus in 2018.

In the meantime, the retrofitted Boeing 767-400 provides a comfortable ride for all passengers sitting “in the back.”

The 2-2-2 configuration in Premium Plus means that there are no middle seats in this cabin, and the 2-3-2 layout in economy features just one middle seat per row.

The seats themselves have all been refreshed from nose to tail, and the 767-400 is now in line with United’s latest cabin standards.

And this will likely be the final cabin to fly on the 767-400. These gas guzzlers are getting old, so you have just a few more years left to enjoy these retrofitted cabins before the jets are gone for good.

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