Merger Leads to Legroom

For business travelers who weren’t sure what was in it for them when United and Continental announced a merger, here is one possible answer: legroom.

United Airlines said Thursday it intends to retain the roomier seating option available in its Economy Plus seating section, which is now offered on all United mainline aircraft and many of its larger commuter jets and that the option will also be rolled out on Continental Airlines aircraft that are part of the fleet of the merged carriers.

The airlines merged in the fall and will begin formally combining their operations this spring. When the merger was announced, many voiced concerns about a decrease in competition and an increase in fares.

Those impacts remain to be seen, but on the positive side for business travelers, Chicago-based United said it will start outfitting Continental aircraft with an Economy Plus section beginning in 2012, although the project could take two to three years to complete. Eventually, United will offer some 40,000 Economy Plus seats on about 700 mainline aircraft, as well as larger regional jets, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Unveiled in 1999, Economy Plus is a section of seats at the front of United’s economy cabin that offer up to five inches of additional legroom. The space between seats in the Economy Plus section is typically 36 inches, compared to a 31-inch space in the rest of the economy cabin, and even that extra room might help out a business traveler who ends up in coach and aches for the legroom and other amenities available in business class.

United is the only major carrier to offer such a seating option in the United States, and fees range from about $9 each way on a short U.S. flight to as much as $109 for international flights. Passengers can also choose the option for a full year for $425, according to United’s website.

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