United Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world by fleet size, network, and number of flights. According to data from ch-aviation, the airline now has 972 aircraft in its fleet and another 706 on order. This does not include regional aircraft operating for United.

United Airlines new Airbus A321neo

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

United’s widebody fleet, which comprises 220 planes, is made up of only Boeing aircraft. Of those, 96 are 777s, broken down by:

  • Boeing 777-200: 19
  • Boeing 777-200ER: 55
  • Boeing 777-300ER: 22

The 777-200s are very old, averaging about 25 years of use, while the -300ERs are less than seven years old on average.

United Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

Photo: United Airlines

Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, shows that in October, United has more than 3,300 flights scheduled with its 777s, totaling more than one million seats. These three variants of 777s have several different configurations. For the 777-200, there are two; for the 777-200ER, there is one, and for the 777-300ER, one.

777-200: Domestic configuration

The first Boeing 777 ever delivered to an airline was to United Airlines. Bearing the tail number N777UA, the 777 was a -200 and still flies for United today. This 777, along with 18 others in United’s fleet, has a very unique configuration.

The -200s flying for United have an extremely dense seating capacity, 364 seats in a two-cabin configuration. These -200s only operate domestic flights and Version 2 (as United labels it) has 28 seats in First, 102 Economy Plus, and 234 Economy seats. The first class cabin has lie-flat seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

777-200_V2_SeatMap.png

Photo: United Airlines

Version 2 has eight lavatories; two right behind the cockpit, two more behind the first class section, three about halfway down the economy cabin, and one at the rear of the aircraft on the starboard side. There are four emergency exits on each side of the plane, two in front of the wings and two behind the wings.

777-200_V3_SeatMap.png

Photo: United Airlines

Version 3, which has the same number of seats as Version 2, has more premium seats. In Version 3, there are 32 seats in First, 124 Economy Plus, and 206 in Economy. Unlike United’s widebodies used on international flights, these are not equipped with inflight entertainment screens.

Version 3 also has eight lavatories, but different from Version 2, instead of three in the middle of the economy cabin, there are two in the rear, one on each side of the aircraft. Version 3 also has four exits on each side, two in front of the wings and two behind.

The -200s have two different engine options two General Electric GE90 or two Pratt & Whitney PW4070/4090 turbofan engines, rated up to 94,000 pounds of thrust each.

Cirium shows that the -200s are primarily used for flights to Hawaii, but there are some hub to hub flights as well.

From Denver, the -200s are deployed to:

  • Honolulu
  • Dulles
  • Houston
  • Maui
  • Chicago
  • San Francisco

From Dulles:

  • Denver
  • Los Angeles
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco

From Houston

  • Denver
  • Honolulu
  • San Francisco

From Los Angeles:

  • Newark
  • Honolulu
  • Dulles
  • Chicago

From San Francisco:

  • Denver
  • Dulles
  • Houston
  • Maui
  • Chicago
  • Honolulu

The shortest route on this list is from Denver to Houston, just 861 miles. The longest is from Houston to Honolulu, 3,904 miles.

777-200ER: International configuration

The 777-200ERs in United’s fleet have nearly 100 fewer seats than the -200s used for domestic flights. According to the airline, the -200ERs have three cabins, Polaris (business), Premium Plus (premium economy), and Economy. The breakdown is as follows:

Polaris

Premium Plus

Economy Plus

Economy

number of seats

50

24

46

156

These 777s, used for international flights, are equipped with inflight entertainment screens, WiFi, power outlets, and USB ports in all cabins. With fewer seats, the -200ERs also have fewer lavatories. There are six on this variant, one behind the cockpit, two in the middle of the business class section, one about halfway through economy, and two at the rear of the aircraft.

Screenshot 2024-10-25 at 11.55.09

Photo: United Airlines

There are two engine options for the -200ER, two General Electric GE90 or two Pratt & Whitney PW4070/4090 turbofan engines, rated up to 94,000 pounds of thrust each.

The -200ERs are deployed from four of United’s hubs; San Francisco, Houston, Newark, and Dulles. These operate routes like Dulles-Cape Town, Newark-Dubai, Newark-Cape Town, Houston-Buenos Aires, and more.

777-300ER

The Boeing 777-300ER (77W) is United’s second-highest capacity aircraft. The 77W has 350 seats in a three-cabin configuration. These 777s are premium-heavy aircraft, with 60 seats in the Polaris business cabin.

United is rolling out a significant Polaris update

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

The Polaris business cabin is split into two main sections. The first, in front of doors 2L and 2R, has 28 seats and is separated from the second section by a galley and two lavatories. The second section has 36 seats, from rows 9-18. Then, there are 24 seats in Premium Plus, and 266 in Economy.

The -300ER has ten lavatories. Two are located right behind the cockpit, side by side, two split the business class cabin, two are located behind premium economy, two split economy, and two are at the rear.

777-300ER_SeatMap.png

Photo: United Airlines

Though the 777-300ERs are traditionally used for international flights, a couple of domestic flights are operated by the type. From its base in Honolulu, United deploys a 777 a few times weekly to Guam. And there is a daily flight from San Francisco to Honolulu.

Otherwise, the -300ERs are only deployed from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Dulles International Airport (IAD). From Dulles, United only deploys the type to Brussels and Frankfurt. But from San Francisco, the 77W flies to Asia, the South Pacific, and Europe.

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