Roomier widebodies on domestic flights? We hope so

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A United 777 takes off from LAX (Photo: Eric Salard / Flickr)

I nearly always book Delta’s big wide 767s for the 4-5 hour nonstops between SFO and Atlanta even though the planes are old, overhead bin space is out of the 1980s, and flight attendants refer to the planes at “Ghetto 767s.”

I love the big wide ride. Delta knows this, too and nearly always charges a premium for those 767 flights.

The continuing popularity of our recent post How to find roomy domestic wide body flights is clear evidence that we’re not the only ones who prize a big wide rides on transcontinental flights.

And luckily, it seems that United is going to add more twin-aisled aircraft to its domestic route map. Is this the start of a trend? We can only hope so.

United said last week that it will take 10 Boeing 777-200s off international routes and deploy them domestically.

While it’s yet to be determined how United will configure these birds, one good thing is sure to come of it: Twice as many seats with aisle access on its transcons. Plus, in the current 9-abreast configuration on United’s 777s, economy seats are 18-inches wide– about an inch wider than those one its narrow bodies.

I’m so tired of flying United’s sad old fleet of 757s across the country (hello SFO-BOS!). They just feel so overcrowded and claustrophobic. Once you are in your seat, it’s tough to get up and move around, while it’s relatively easy on a widebody.

Seasoned travelers prize widebodies “because they offer a smidgen more room to spread out and the promise of a faster getaway on landing. Aisle seats, especially at the front of the cabin, are among those that full-service airlines reserve for elite-level frequent fliers and passengers paying the most expensive fares,” according to a report in Crain’s Chicago Business. It said, “Big jets fell from favor for U.S. operations in recent years as airlines focused on more-frequent jaunts with smaller planes.”

United’s 777s have space for over 300 passengers– nearly twice as many seats as the 737s and A320s United regularly uses for transcons.

United’s chief revenue officer Jim Compton said that the move could help United consolidate three San Francisco-to-Chicago departures on smaller jets that now come within a 90-minute span.

Do you go out of your way to fly on domestic widebodies? If so, on which routes? Please share your secrets below.

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