United vs American: Extra Room Main Class Seats
 

Hi guys,

We typically fly main economy on all airlines but we are going to start purchasing seats with more leg room. On American, it looks like we can just purchase a coach seat that is designated with more room. On United, it looks like we need to purchase "premium economy."

Does anyone have opinions on these two seat types regarding comfort? Do United and American use the exact same seat they have in regular coach but with more leg room?

Thanks in advance!

United also has Economy Plus, which is the same same seat width as economy, but a bit more legroom. You can purchase these seats if offered on your flight, or if you're a UA gold card holder, they're complimentary.

Nowadays we fly United Premium Plus, which is a big step up from both Economy and Economy Plus, but still nothing like Business.

Sorry, can't compare to American.

https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/tra...xperience.html

Thanks Melnq8! Have you been on one of United's 767-300s transatlantic recently? Seems like such an old plane. I am leaning toward American's 777-300.

We always choose a 767 over a 777 when possible. UA's 767 is 2-2-2 in Premium Plus, whereas their 777 is 2-4-2. Not a deal breaker if flying in Premium Plus, as you can select the two seats on one side, but definitely a deal breaker if flying in coach, where the 777 is 3-4-3, and the 767 is 2-3-2.

United vs American terms
Economy vs Main or Main Cabin (aka coach)

Economy Plus vs Main Plus or Main Extra (more legroom seats, economy seats)
on United you select Economy and can choose to pay up for Economy Plus on the next page
on American you can choose from the Main options on the same page

Premium Plus or Premium Economy vs Premium Economy
these seats are in a separate cabin class between economy and business class. The seats are wider and have more legroom than economy and other perks.

I was a "loyal" United frequent flyer about 15 years ago. Back then, on the United forum on flyertalk they called the 767 the 'ghetto bird'.

You can find rather detailed reviews on youtube about the seating on various aircraft on different airlines in different classes of service. You can search for "United premium economy" and might actually find a review for your route.

For example, general search results:
american premium economy 777 - YouTube

or specific flights

Here is an old one, with ghetto bird in the title, from 13 years ago about E+ on United (kinda nostalgic/humoorous)

UA offers Economy Plus which provides extra legroom on domestic flights and international flights. Premium Plus is offered on international routes, with seats that are wider with more legroom and greater recline and a leg rest, plus bigger TV screens and upgraded inflight food along with an inflight amenity kit.

American is similar but inferior both domestically and internationally, IMO.

Yes, both United and American typically use the same seats as regular coach but give you extra legroom in their "extra room" sections. On American, it's called Main Cabin Extra, and on United, it's Economy Plus. They're not true premium economy seats (which are wider and more upscale), just regular seats with more space and sometimes earlier boarding. Comfort is pretty similar between the two. Hope that helps!

"ghetto bird"...

That's hilarious.

Fortunately, things have changed since that video!

https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/com...767-300er.html

Looks like the premium economy on the two airlines has the same seat dimensions. In that case I would choose the airline based on the schedule. Both have PE on some domestic routes (e.g. LAX-MIA on AA, and LAX-EWR on UA)

BUT i just noticed the OP is looking for extra legroom economy. Only part of what I wrote applies

>> we can just purchase a coach seat that is designated with more room. On United, it looks like we need to purchase "premium economy."
on United you select Economy and can choose to pay up for Economy Plus on the next page
on American you can choose from the Main options on the same page

on United, choose Economy (not premium economy), on the next page enter Traveler Info, on next page choose the bundle with Economy Plus seating for the more legroom and then you will see the price.

on American you can choose a more legroom seat - and see the price - before getting to the traveler info page.

Yes. Here is some info to compare. Scroll down past The AA page uses "row pitch" and the UA page uses "seat pitch". If they mean the same thing then UA would be better in economy.
AA Boeing 777-300ER - AeroLOPA | Detailed aircraft seat plans
UA Boeing 767-300ER type 76Q - AeroLOPA | Detailed aircraft seat plans

Pay attention to width as well as pitch: take the 767
 

Coach/economy class has become significantly worse over the years; in particular they are now cramming more seats per row into widebodies. 777s and A350s were built for nine abreast and they now cram in ten; 787s were built for eight and they now put in nine. This not only makes the seats cramped, but it makes the aisles narrow so that you will get jostled constantly, and it means the overhead bins run out of space. There are a few airlines that preserve the old spacing--Japan Airlines, for example.

https://www.adumbrate.org/pics/traveltips.html#flying

What this means is the 777 and 787 have seats that are 17.1 inches wide. 767 seats are 18.5 inches as they preserve the original seats per row.
Airbus planes are slightly wider the Boeing and their seats are also a bit wider.

Thank you! Helpful information!

IDK why my links didn't didnt work. Here it is at a higher level. There are multiple versions of each aircraft type (e.g. ones with/without first class). You can see the differences between seat pitch, width, and recline.

American Airlines - AeroLOPA | Detailed aircraft seat plans
United Airlines - AeroLOPA | Detailed aircraft seat plans

Thank you mrwunrfl! We had a nice credit on American Airlines so are flyng to London and Amsterdam with them. We upgraded our seats, so hopefully it is more comfortable than the usual coach. I will definitely report back in a Trip Report.

Both are just regular coach seats with extra legroom, not a true premium economy. Comfort is pretty similar on American and United.

Yes, I have too had such experience. I've recently flown both, and to be honest, aside from a few extra inches of space, I couldn't really detect the difference. It feels like typical economy elsewhere, but it's good for stretching out.