What happened
United will put 20 lie-flat Polaris suites on a new Airbus A321XLR flying Washington Dulles to San Diego from Sept. 9, 2026, then Dulles to Los Angeles from Oct. 1, before the type moves to transatlantic flying on Dec. 1.
Behind those suites sit 12 Premium Plus recliners in a 2-2 layout. Economy Plus takes 34 seats and standard economy takes 84. A snack bar sits at the back of the cabin. Those Premium Plus seats may be offered as extra-legroom economy, not a separate cabin. The airline has 50 of the type on order, with most headed to transatlantic work from Dulles and Newark. Daily Dulles to Amsterdam and Dulles to Dublin take over on Dec. 1.
MileagePlus economy awards on the Sept. 9 Dulles to San Diego flight start at 12,700 miles. Polaris space was not loading for that launch date and shows later in September from 85,000 miles.
Book MileagePlus space on Dulles to San Diego from Sept. 9 and Dulles to Los Angeles from Oct. 1 while the jet is still on domestic routes.
- Starts
- Sep 9, 2026
- Numbers
- 20 seats: Polaris business-class suites in a 1-1 layout
- 12 seats: Premium Plus recliners
- 34 seats: Economy Plus seats
- 84 seats: standard economy seats
- 50 aircraft: A321XLR orders
- 12,700 miles: economy MileagePlus award on IAD-SAN for Sept. 9
- 85,000 miles: first-class award starting later in September
- Where
- Dulles International Airport (IAD), San Diego International Airport (SAN), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Dublin Airport (DUB)
- Takeaway
- If you want to try the A321XLR, look at MileagePlus space on IAD-SAN from Sept. 9 and IAD-LAX from Oct. 1 while the jet is still on domestic routes.