Key Stats for United Airlines Stock
- Price change for United Airlines stock in last 1 year: 11%
- $UAL Stock Price as of Aug. 24: $114
- 52-Week High: $139
- $UAL Stock Price Target: $161
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What Happened?
United Airlines (UAL) stock is in focus this week after new reporting revealed the airline has hundreds of premium, lie-flat seats sitting unused in storage, with no aircraft to put them on yet.
The story goes back to 2018. That’s when CEO Scott Kirby, then president, first announced big plans for the Boeing 737 Max 10. The idea was lie-flat premium seats on profitable transcontinental routes. The plane was supposed to start flying by 2020.
That never happened. Boeing had to redesign an anti-icing system, and the company also faced years of extra scrutiny following its well-documented safety and manufacturing problems. The result: the Max 10 still hasn’t been certified, more than six years after it was originally expected.
Now Boeing and its customers, including United, believe federal approval is finally close. That’s put the airline in an odd spot. It has seats designed specifically for a plane that isn’t flying yet.
“We got a bunch of lie-flat seats that we don’t know what to do with,” Kirby told CNBC earlier this month. “They don’t fit on other airplanes.”
United hasn’t said yet how it will lay out the cabins on the Max 10, or which routes it will fly once the jets arrive. Its original seating plans were also drawn up before the airline even had a premium economy section, so those plans are outdated anyway.
There’s been some progress elsewhere in the Max family. Boeing already won approval for the smaller 737 Max 7 this month, and Southwest Airlines expects to start flying that model sometime in the first half of 2027.
Meanwhile, United has adapted. It recently fitted 20 of its Airbus A321neo jets, nicknamed the “Coastliner,” with new Polaris suites, premium economy seats, and other upgraded cabin features for transcontinental flying.
But Airbus and Boeing planes don’t share the same seat dimensions or requirements, so United still needs to develop a separate interior plan once the Max 10 shows up.
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What the Market Is Telling Us About United Airlines Stock
United Airlines stock news like this points to a bigger theme: Boeing manufacturing delays are still shaping how airlines plan their premium strategy.
United has 167 of the Max 10 aircraft on order, according to its most recent quarterly filing, and expects the first deliveries in summer 2027.
For investors watching United Airlines stock, the takeaway is that the airline’s premium seating push isn’t slowing down.
It’s just having to work around Boeing’s timeline. With the Max 10 approval reportedly getting closer, United Airlines stock could see renewed attention as the airline finally moves toward putting those stored seats to use.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
