Tried & Tested

United Airlines B777-200 business class

9 Dec 2011 by BusinessTraveller

Check-in I had tried to check in online for my 1030 departure on UA935 from London Heathrow to Los Angeles, but because I had a one-way ticket the system would not let me. Security insists that they know details of my onward travel.

I arrived at London Heathrow Terminal 1 at 0910. The check-in area was deserted with all check-in desks open and no passengers waiting. I used the business class/Star Alliance Gold queue, had a security check and proceeded straight to the desk.  I was informed the flight was running about 15 minutes late and was then on my way to security where there was also nobody in the fast-track lane. I must have been airside in ten minutes – a record.

Lounge United share the Star Alliance Lounge which you reach by turning right once you have cleared security and walking to the far end of the shops. The lounge was quite busy and I helped myself to a newspaper and glass of water. There was a good drinks selection and breakfast was being served. This was a buffet of fruit, cereals, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, baked beans, toast and scrambled egg. 

The gate should have been announced at 0945 but at this time it just changed to ‘please wait’. At 1010 the gate (33) appeared on the screen and I made my way to the gate (no announcements are made in the lounge).

Boarding Gate 33 is probably one of the furthest from the lounge and was a fairly long walk. The gate entrance has two lanes one for premium customers and the other for economy class. There was no queue and I was in the gate holding area very quickly. As the crew was still in the gate area I knew we were in for a bit of a wait. Boarding eventually started with first class, Global Services and 1K passengers, followed by Premier Executive and business. Boarding happened pretty quickly.

The seat The Boeing 777-200 is configured in a 2-4-2 configuration and is one of the ones recently refitted by United. To see a seatplan, click here

The plane is fitted with the new fully-flat business class. The seat has three presets (flat, recline and take off/landing) with manual controls, adjustable armrest and a massage function. There is also a coat hook nest to the screen, laptop power supply, a foot rest, iPod port, small drinks rest, magazine rack and light between the seats. To aid sleeping there is a light duvet and pillow, both with cotton covers.

The flight The plane pulled away from the gate about an hour late and after a long taxi was airborne at about midday (1hr 30 mins late). The captain advised that it would be a slightly longer flight than usual at 11 hours and 15 minutes due to strong headwinds. 

After about 20 minutes drinks and nuts were served followed by a leisurely lunch. To start there was a green salad with a choice of dressings and lemon garlic chicken with a fig, pineapple and lentil salad. This tasted a lot nicer than it sounded.

For the main course there was a choice of filet mignon with a Jack Daniels glaze, thyme roasted chicken with a red wine jus or an Indian curry. I opted for the filet which was OK but was probably a poor decision, expecting a steak to be good in the air. To end there was a choice of cheese or coffee ice cream.

Throughout the flight snacks were available such as sandwiches, cheese, biscuits, fruit and chocolate. The crew were frequently through the cabin offering to top up water glasses.

About one hour and 15 minutes before landing, an afternoon tea service of warm scone with clotted cream and jam and a choice of a toasted brie panini with chutney or ploughman’s plate was offered. 

Whilst the first drinks were being served it was announced that the IFE was not working and that they were seeking help on how to fix it from the ground. This was known before take off as we had seen several attempts to start the system on the screen and eventually a manual safety demonstration was given.

Slightly later in the flight they said it was not possible to get the system started so everyone was faced with a long day flight without IFE. The crew apologised and came through the cabin handing out apology cards with details of how to get a token of their appreciation. (I subsequently logged on and was offered a choice of a $250 e-voucher, 10 percent discount e-voucher or 10,000 miles).

Had the AVOD IFE been working it looked like it had a good selection of films, TV, audio and games. There was quite a bit of disappointment in the cabin and passengers entertained themselves with iPads or by sharing reading material.

Business class is split over two cabins and I was sitting in 9H in the second cabin. The first cabin has two rows and the second three. For personal choice I would recommend the second cabin as it feels a bit more spacious.

Arrival The flight landed on time at 1515, about one and a half hours late. There was an eight-minute taxi to the gate and then a wait of five minutes for a tug to pull us onto the gate.

It was then a fair walk to immigration and there were only about six people in front of me in the queue. The US queue was longer which probably reflected that there were more US citizens flying an American carrier than foreigners. I waited at the carousel for about 15 minutes for my priority tagged bag and there was some confusion as to which carousel the bags would appear on.

Verdict The seat was comfortable and service was quite good.  The lack of IFE was annoying and made the flight seem far longer than it was.

Contact united.com

Julian Gregory

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