Check-in I had tried to check in online for my 1025 departure on UA935 from London Heathrow to Los Angeles, but perhaps because I had a one-way ticket the system would not let me. I arrived at London Heathrow Terminal 1 at 0900. The check-in area was busy, I had a security check and since I was a United Mileage Plus Premier Executive / Star Alliance Gold I joined the Star Alliance Gold/ Business Class queue. There were only two desks open and after about 20 minutes I was checked in and made my way to security.
This was surprisingly quiet and I was airside in minutes. Time was quite short so I made my way to the gate which was a good 10-15 minutes walk.
Boarding As I arrived at the gate boarding commenced and as a United Mileage Plus Premier Executive member I was allowed to pre-board so was in my seat very quickly.
The seat The Boeing 777 is fitted in a 3-3-3 configuration and is one of the ones recently refitted by United. To see a seatplan, click here.
One other advantage of being a United Elite tier flyer is that you automatically get allocated an Economy Plus seat. These seats are the same as economy seats but are situated at the front of the cabin and have around 4-5 inches of extra legroom. I was is 21G. The seat was quite comfortable, made of blue cloth and was of a more modern design, quite thin, with a reasonable recline that worked in association with the seat bottom.
There was no IFE hand control but instead there was a touch screen built into the seat in front with buttons below the screen for the light and call button. On the seat was a pillow, thin blanket and headset.
The flight The plane pulled away from the gate 5 minutes late and was airborne 25 minutes later. Just over an hour after take off at 1205 the meal was served. There was a choice of chicken or pasta. I opted for the pasta which was a ravioli and surprisingly tasty. It was accompanied by a salad (lettuce with one piece of tomato), bread and a piece of apple and raisin cake none of which I tried.
At 1530 a snack of a bag of dried fruit and water or orange juice was served with more food (a cheese and ham roll, Twix and bag of crisps) an hour and a half before landing. There were numerous offerings of water and juice.
The AVOD IFE is simply operated from the touchscreen in the seat in front. The screen is an average size of about 7-8 inches and there is what feels like a better-than-average pair of headphones that produce a good sound. There was a choice of seven movies (one being the children’s movie Wall-E), four TV channels plus audio options. If you want a greater choice of films, shows and games then you have to subscribe to Premium Inflight which costs US$10 for the flight. Premium Entertainment is free in Business and First and includes more than 30 movies, 100 TV Shows, 1000 audio tracks and 20 games.
Arrival The flight landed on time at 1740. It was 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 10 minutes for my priority tagged bag.
Verdict The seat was pretty comfortable and service was fair, but having to pay for the extended selection on the IFE I found to be rather over the top when paying over £800 for a one way ticket. If I was a regular flyer I would soon run out of things to watch after a couple of flights.
Fact File
- Configuration 3-3-3
- Seat pitch 35 inches
- Seat width 18 inches
- Contact united.com
Julian Gregory
