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It can be hard to get comfy on a flight, particularly if you’re stuck in the middle seat, but now an airline has introduced an innovative hack where passengers can bag more space

An airline is embracing a nifty way to provide economy passengers with extra elbow room on flights, without having to pay for a Business Class or First Class ticket.

We’ve all been there, self-consciously taking it in turns with the traveller next to us on the plane on who rests their elbow on the armrest, while the other awkwardly tries to get comfy. Not to mention the nuisance of being sat in the middle seat, which can feel somewhat cramped, particularly on those long-haul flights.

In a bid to make plane journeys more comfortable for customers, United Airlines is launching new economy plus seats with extra elbow room. Not only will passengers benefit from extra armroom, but they can also enjoy a shared table that is fixed across an open middle seat in this innovative design.

The airline confirmed that all 50 of its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft will include the ‘special row in Economy Plus’ where open middle seats are “repurposed as shared spaces with large custom tables”. The new seats will be available to book later this year, with flights departing shortly after.

United outlined that on each of its XLRs, one row will have a large, permanently fixed table that spans both armrests in the middle seats. It will have a “soft leather-like covering” and two cup holders, allowing passengers to fully enjoy the extra space from either a window or aisle seat, in addition to the extra three-inch legroom provided in Economy Plus on the XLR.

United is thought to be the only US airline that will offer these alternative seating arrangements, allowing passengers to benefit from the space without forking out for Business or First Class tickets. As a first for the airline, there’s hope that they could introduce these types of seats on more of its aircraft in the future.

The new seats come shortly after United announced plans to launch a dedicated row of three economy seats that transform into a “lie-flat mattress-like space”. They confirmed in March this year that the ‘United Relax Row’ would be individually adjustable, with leg rests that fold up to a 90-degree angle, so travellers can either stretch out or use them as a bed to catch a restful night’s sleep.

Passengers will be treated to a “custom-fitted mattress pad, specially sized blankets, extra pillows” as the seats adjust into a flat bed after takeoff. Meanwhile, children in the dedicated row will also receive a plush toy and a family travel kit as additional amenities.

Following the airline updates, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella, commented: “We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet and giving customers choice and value in every cabin.

“The XLR is our newest aircraft and not only offers all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris but now also includes seats in Economy Plus with extra leg and elbow room. Our customers are going to love all these new options.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

July 10 (UPI) — South Korea’s HD Hyundai Marine Solution said Friday that the company has teamed up with Japan’s Weathernews to commercialize an AI-powered shipping route optimization solution.

The former is the marine after-sales and digital solutions unit of shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Group, while the latter is a leading provider of specialized weather intelligence to businesses and other consumers.

Recent pilot projects in South Korea showed that the integrated AI solution incorporating Weathernews’ meteorological data can reduce fuel consumption by at least 3%, according to HD Hyundai Marine.

The corporation noted that the new solution can be immediately deployed on vessels already using either company’s existing services without requiring additional hardware or software.

The two partners plan to gradually roll out the AI-based solution to about 8,000 vessels currently using their services. In addition, they agreed to pursue a range of collaborative initiatives, including jointly marketing the solution to global clients.

“This agreement is significant because it transforms our collaboration into a viable commercial business model,” HD Hyundai Marine CEO Kim Sung-joon said in a statement.

“We will deliver the best solution available to help shipowners achieve two key objectives of reducing fuel costs and complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulations,” he added.

The share price of HD Hyundai Marine jumped 4.17% on the Seoul bourse on Friday while the benchmark KOSPI rose 2.52%. That of Weathernews fell 4.26% on the Japanese stock market.

May 29 (Asia Today) — LG Energy Solution sees the electric vehicle slowdown as an opportunity to expand its energy storage system business as artificial intelligence data centers drive surging electricity demand, a company executive said Friday.

Kim Hyun-tae, executive director of product planning and strategy for LG Energy Solution’s energy storage system business division, said the EV “chasm” has created risks but also opened a path for the company to shift more aggressively into ESS.

“In the carbon-neutral era, we must move beyond simply increasing renewable energy and improve both grid stability and energy efficiency,” Kim said.

Kim made the remarks at the second Asia Today Environment Forum held at The Plaza Seoul, where he gave a presentation titled “LG Energy Solution’s vision for power grid stabilization and decarbonization.”

He outlined LG Energy Solution’s strategy for shifting toward ESS and responding to electricity infrastructure needs in the AI era.

Kim said South Korea’s battery industry had built large-scale production bases in the United States, viewing it as a core automotive market. But the market contracted after the second Trump administration took office and reduced electric vehicle subsidies while changing related policies.

“We secured new business plans by proactively converting U.S. plants from EV-centered production to ESS production,” Kim said.

LG Energy Solution produces ESS products in South Korea, Europe and the United States, Kim said. Its ESS production capacity in North America is now about 50 gigawatt-hours, and the company plans to expand that to more than 80 gigawatt-hours by next year.

“The United States has the highest ESS demand after China,” Kim said. “An ESS boom is taking place in the United States because investment subsidies of at least 30% and as much as 60% are provided when ESS and renewable energy facilities are built.”

Kim said the spread of AI data centers is also driving ESS demand.

“AI data centers are called a hippopotamus that eats water and electricity because they consume enormous amounts of power,” Kim said. “Nvidia’s next-generation Rubin graphics processing unit is expected to consume about four times more power than the Blackwell chip currently being sold, so securing stable power is essential.”

Kim said global Big Tech companies are focused on “time to power,” or how quickly new power capacity can be secured.

“Because connecting to existing power grids takes a long time, demand is growing for quickly building onsite and off-grid power sources that combine solar power, ESS and small gas turbines,” he said.

Kim also proposed an ESS-based distributed power grid model as an alternative to delays in building new transmission networks.

“Large-scale electricity demand sites are increasing, such as the Yongin semiconductor cluster, but building new transmission networks or high-voltage direct current systems usually takes six to seven years,” Kim said.

“For example, a realistic alternative could be storing electricity generated from renewable energy in the Honam region in ESS and then using existing transmission networks to distribute it to demand centers,” he said.

In the medium and long term, Kim said sodium-ion batteries, sometimes called “salt batteries,” could become a game changer in the ESS market.

“When renewable energy’s share expands to about 50%, large-scale ESS will be needed to offset intermittency, but costs are currently high,” Kim said. “LG Energy Solution plans to test sodium-ion batteries that can replace lithium in the United States in 2027 and pursue large-scale commercialization in 2029.”

Kim also said the global ESS market is being reshaped around domestic protectionism.

“The United States is encouraging the use of U.S.-made products through subsidy policies based on the Inflation Reduction Act, and Europe is also pursuing the introduction of the Industrial Accelerator Act, which is being called a European version of the IRA,” Kim said. “In a blocked supply chain environment, policy consideration is also needed to protect domestic industries and strengthen supply chain competitiveness.”

Kim said LG Energy Solution is building a decarbonization system that includes its supply chain and recycling operations as it works toward achieving RE100 by 2030 and carbon neutrality across its value chain by 2050.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260529010008771

Ticket prices are just the start of the soaring expenses many fans will face while trying to watch World Cup games this summer.

NJ Transit is charging $150 for round-trip tickets from Manhattan to the Meadowlands (the regular price is $12.60) for the World Cup final, while host committee shuttle buses will cost $80.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is demanding $80 to ride one of the 14 express trains on the 30-mile trip from downtown Boston to Foxborough for games at Gillette Stadium. That’s more than three times the normal price.

Parking in Kansas City, meanwhile, will set you back by as much as $900, depending on the game and lot.

In Southern California, however, it will cost $1.75 to get to SoFi Stadium on a combination of buses or trains from as far away as Claremont and Simi Valley. That’s also what it costs to get to the Inglewood venue on any other day of the year; only two of the 11 World Cup cities in the U.S. are offering less expensive public transportation.

“We’re trying to make things convenient,” said Conan Cheung, the chief operations officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or LA Metro, the second-largest transit agency in the country, servicing more than 305 million riders in 2025.

That’s a marked departure from the experience fans have reported ahead of this summer’s World Cup, which was marked by complaints over difficulty getting access to buy tickets, high ticket prices, shifts in seat locations after they were purchased, high fees and expensive game-day transportation.

“There’s no standardized fare set across the board,” Cheung said of World Cup transportation. “We’ve made a commitment to keep our system accessible. The way we’re planning the entire program is to ensure that we support people from the minute they decide to come to L.A. for the World Cup.

Workers are getting SoFi Stadium ready to host World Cup matches this summer.

(Eduard Cauich / Los Angeles Times )

“We also want to make sure that your excitement and your experience for the World Cup starts and ends on Metro.”

LA Metro has been able to hold costs down in part because it received $9.6 million in funding from the $100 million Congress gave the Federal Transit Administration to support transportation to and from World Cup stadiums. LA Metro is adding about 300 buses to its regular fleet to handle the additional demand, with shuttles servicing nine direct routes to SoFi and various fan zones.

Roughly 200 of those buses will lent to LA Metro from 11 regional transit agencies. Additional security officers also will be added.

“I feel prepared,” Cheung said, “but you never know what’s going to happen. We’ve done enough major special events to know that you can do all the planning in the world, but you need to make sure that you have contingencies in place and you’re prepared to pivot at a moment’s notice.”

A case in point: when Game 3 of last fall’s World Series went into extra innings, LA Metro immediately extended the operating hours for Metro buses and trains, ensuring people had rides home when the game ended just shy of midnight.

“Part of our preparedness is going through tabletop exercises,” he said. “The point is to ensure that the flow from the parking, from the transit connection and walking up made sense and was intuitive and easy to follow.”

Since Metro trains don’t run directly to SoFi, Cheung has added shuttle buses to take fans from the stations to the stadium. Portable restrooms and hydration stations will be available. And nine park-and-ride sites will be set up around L.A. and Orange counties. Reserve and pay for a parking space and everyone in your car can ride to the stadium for free. (Be sure to bring a lot of friends since the parking fees range from $59 to $102 for the June 12 opening match.)

A pair of visitors from Japan rush to catch a Metro bus in March.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Cheung said LA Metro has been preparing for the World Cup almost as long as some of the players. When Taylor Swift brought her Eras tour to SoFi in the summer of 2023, LA Metro used that as something of a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, expanding late service and adding free shuttles from nearby train stations.

That increased ridership by 25%, which meant less traffic on the roads and freeways leading to the stadium. A repeat of that could be crucial during the World Cup since five of the eight games played at SoFi are scheduled to start at noon local time.

And just as the Taylor Swift concerts prepared LA Metro for the World Cup, now the World Cup will help inform preparations for the 2028 Olympics.

“A lot of the strategies that we’re doing now — the process for working with not only local jurisdictions, state and federal agencies, as well as the other transit agencies in the regions — we’re setting up ways that are going to help not only for the Olympics and Paralympics, but anytime we need to pull together to support our communities for special events [or] natural disasters.”

For more information on LA Metro services in and around the World Cup, go to www.metro.net/riding/world-cup

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.