What happened
United will put its Airbus A321XLR on Washington Dulles flights to Dublin and Amsterdam from Dec. 1, 2026, with 20 latest-generation Polaris lie-flat suites on the narrow-body jet. International flying begins just after Thanksgiving. The Polaris pods give extra shoulder room compared with other narrow-body lie-flat seats. The jet will not carry Polaris Studio suites because those seats are too large. Each Polaris suite has a 19-inch 4K entertainment screen.
Premium Plus has three 2-2 rows of recliners with privacy wings and no middle seats. About 30% of coach is Economy Plus. Row 32 has a paid blocked-middle option. Economy cabins get 13-inch seatback screens and Bluetooth. A walk-up snack bar replaces a last row of seats.
The aircraft is slated next summer for further European destinations, including Newark Liberty to Luxembourg. No U.S. carrier serves Luxembourg today. United expects 50 XLRs by the end of the decade.
Watch Polaris and Premium Plus award space on the December Dulles flights to Dublin and Amsterdam and on extra XLR Europe routes as they open.
- Starts
- Dec 1, 2026
- Numbers
- 20 suites: Polaris business-class suites on the A321XLR
- 19-inch inches: Polaris suite entertainment screen size
- 30%: share of coach seats that are Economy Plus
- 13-inch inches: economy seatback screen size
- 50 aircraft: XLRs United expects by the end of the decade
- Where
- Dulles International Airport (IAD), Dublin, Amsterdam, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Luxembourg
- Takeaway
- Watch Polaris and Premium Plus award space on the December Dulles–Dublin and Dulles–Amsterdam flights and on the extra 2027 XLR Europe routes as they open.