New United Boeing MAX 9 to fly first from Houston but economy crush remains

United Airlines will start operating its new Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft from its Houston and Los Angeles hubs but economy travellers may have to rein in their expectations for the new plane. While the airline is promising a new “extra spacious” United First in a 2-2 configuration, it says the seat pitch -- a measure of the distance between seats -- for its economy seating will be “at least 30 inches”. A 30-inch seat pitch is in line with its current 737s and in budget carrier territory, although new seat deigns can help offset the crush. United runs an economy class in several versions of its 737-800s with a 30-inch seat pitch and seats that are 17.3 inches wide, according to SeatGuru. One 737-800 version has some seats that are a hip-crunching 16.3 inches wide while the airline's bigger 737-900s have a 30- to 31-inch seat pitch. United’s MAX 9 will feature 179 seats, including 20 in United First, 48 in Economy Plus in a 3-3 configuration with 34 inches of seat pitch and 111 in economy. Schedules released by the airline on Monday show the new quieter and more efficient version of the Boeing’s legendary workhorse will start flying from Houston on June 7 and from Los Angeles from June 29. The first flights will be between Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Anchorage, Austin, Fort Lauderdale, Austin and Orlando. Los Angeles-Honolulu and Los Angeles-Houston will be added on June 29.  Also on that date, the MAX 9 will start flying Houston Sacramento and Houston-Tampa. Read our ratings for United Airlines. Customers will have access to in-seat power, will be able to buy satellite-based wi-fi or download the airline’s inflight entertainment through their personal devices. United’s new first-class leather seats include a six-way adjustable headrest and a padded articulated seat cushion. The seat is equipped with storage spaces for personal items, including an in-arm tablet/laptop slot, a personal water bottle console and double seatback pockets. It also features a new tray table design with a flip-up mobile device holder that fits more than 200 phone and tablet models, a universal AC power plug to charge devices on the fly and a granite-topped extendable cocktail table. United, which operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying 148 million customers in 2017, operates about 4500 flights a day.