Unlike my first-hand experience on United’s inaugural of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner this past November, I’ve been following the action of its re-debut today on Twitter.

United Airlines Flight#1 departed the gate in Houston this morning on-time at 11:00 a.m. and was airborne 13 minutes later.

Prior to departure from gate E7, a ceremony of sorts took place with the crew, CEO Jeff Smisek and Boeing’s chief James McNerney. One of the zinger comments from Smisek during the event was something to the effect of, “this (the 787) was an expensive piece of tarmac sculpture,” according to several accounts.

Well, it’s certainly sculpture no more and will be arriving on-time at O’Hare within the hour. The same aircraft turns around as United Flight# 2 headed back to Houston at 3:40 p.m.

I’ll be keen on reading the reports from my inaugural buddies @airchive and @airwaysjack who are both on the flight. And CNBC reporter Phil LeBeau will have updates as well, featuring interviews with Smisek and McNerney.

After initial domestic runs, United will shift its 787 flying to primarily international routes as previously planned.

I’d book a 787 flight… would you?

Related posts:

United Dreamliner Inaugural Flight Review: Houston to Chicago on November 4, 2012

United 787 Dreamliner Inaugural Takeoff Video

Seats Are Aplenty on Re-Debut of United 787 Dreamliner

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.

Posted by Darren | 5 Comments

United Airlines will operate its first post-grounding Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights in just about two weeks on May 20. And the seat maps are currently wide open.

As reported by Jack Harty for Airchive, flight UA 1 will depart from Houston on Monday May 20 at 11:00 a.m., arriving in Chicago at 1:35 p.m.

UA1 Seat Map on May 20 IAH-ORD

The return flight UA 2 will depart Chicago at 3:40 p.m. with an arrival back in Houston at 6:25 p.m.

UA2 Seat Map on May 20 ORD-IAH

The next day on May 21, United is scheduled to operate 2X daily Houston-Chicago-Houston flights until June 9, as well as add Dreamliner service on the Houston to Denver and Houston to Los Angeles routes, the latter commencing on May 24.

I doubt there will be any hoopla surrounding these flights, but I’m glad to see them on the schedule. I wouldn’t hesitate to be on one of them.

Here’s a look back at my experience on United’s inaugural Dreamliner flights on November 4, 2012:

Would you feel comfortable booking a Dreamliner flight today?

Posted by Darren | 21 Comments

United purchased Pan Am’s Pacific Division in 1985 and along with it came a fleet of 11 Boeing 747 aircraft (among others). I previously posted United’s Royal Pacific 747 seat map with a higher concentration of premium seats, and here now is the standard Royal Pacific configuration for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

An interesting thing to note is that it appears first class and business class (downstairs) shared just two lavatories. And unlike United’s 747s today, there were more 2-seaters in coach.

I have an amenity kit from that time period, which I’ll eventually detail in a post as a nostalgic look-back, not necessarily part of my Amenity Kit Review series.

United Airlines Royal Pacific Amenity Kit

You’d find me in 2F in first, 6A in business and likely 18H in coach. Where would you sit?

United Airlines Boeing 747 Royal Pacific Seat Map

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Posted by Darren | 2 Comments

Back in the 1970s, United Airlines operated “Reno Commuter” flights predominantly between Reno and Elko, Nevada, with further flying to Ely and Salt Lake City. Here is the Boeing 727-100 operated on the route for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

This single-class aircraft seated 112 passengers and offered a luxurious 36 inches of pitch between most rows. Eat your heart out Economy Plus!

The darker, burnt orange (or brown, if you will) rows appearing on the map below from 15 to 21 was the smoking section.

Seat 2C looks to be the best in the house, though I’d probably opt for something a bit further back and definitely alongside a window, such as 5A or 5F.

Where would you sit?

United 727-100 'Reno Commuter' Seat Map

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United Airlines Boeing 727-100 Seat Map From 1979

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Flight 651 from Los Angeles arrived at JFK this afternoon six minutes ahead of schedule and became the first reconfigured p.s. Boeing 757s to take to the skies. For the fleet followers, it’s ship number 5996 (N596UA) and will be operating as flight 535 back to LAX this evening at 5:53 p.m. If you’re unfamiliar, p.s. service refers to the “enhanced” international style flights operating from New York’s JFK Airport to both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

United posted a couple of new photos on their United Hub page, including the first I’ve seen of the economy cabin showing the forward portion of Economy Plus.

Economy Plus on the New P.S. 757

The BusinessFirst cabin uses the same pre-merger Continental lie-flat seats found on some existing 757s (and other aircraft).

BusinessFirst Seats on the New P.S. 757

In total, the new layout sports 28 BusinessFirst, 48 Economy Plus and 66 regular economy seats. And Economy Plus on this bird is reportedly real E+ with 36 inches of pitch as opposed to the 34 inches on the “old” p.s. birds.

While the seat map is an indication of the likely version of p.s. bird you’ll be flying, last minute aircraft swaps can happen. As such, it will be a virtual crapshoot in the coming months until the fleet is fully completed by the end of the year.

I previously blogged about how United will handle discontinuing selling first class. In summary:

  • All p.s. flights will operate as 2-cabin regardless of actual configuration starting on Jun. 6. By the summer, we expect to have already reconfigured several B757 aircraft. However, in order to minimize the impact of unexpected substitutions, we will only sell p.s. flights as 2-cabin.
  • Wondering about who gets to sit in those first three rows in the previous United First cabin? We’re reserving these seats for customers who had previously booked in United First, as well as Premier members who are already confirmed in United Business. Specifically, Global Services, Premier 1K, Premier Platinum and Premier Gold members can select one of these seats at any time if available, and Premier Silver members will have access to them at check-in. Note that during the transition, these seats will be branded as United Business, rather than United First. Nearer to the end of the reconfiguration process, we’ll start marketing the premium cabin on all aircraft as United BusinessFirst.

Not living in Los Angeles anymore and with my gradual slowdown of United flying, I probably won’t be on a p.s. flight anytime soon. I will, however, miss the dance floor ahead of row 9 on the current p.s. birds. And I honestly want a pair of those leather business class seats for my home!

Related posts:

United Airlines Announces JFK Premium Service Reconfiguration Update

Flight Review: United Airlines Flight 534 LAX-JFK p.s. Business Class

A Quick LAX-JFK-LAX Mileage Run

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With yesterday’s merger announcement between American Airlines and US Airways, I thought it’d be appropriate to feature USAir in this week’s installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

Appearing below is a Boeing 737-200 seen flying the skies in 1987. All of my seat maps from that year show USAir operating nothing but single-class aircraft – does anyone know when USAir officially added first class?

This “guppy” of a 737 seated 120 passengers with an aft facing row 1, complete with tables. Now that must’ve been fun if you were traveling in a group – game of poker anyone?

You’d find me either near the leading edge of the wing in 6A or 6F, or towards the rear in 16A or 16F to watch the reverse thrust action on those engines.

Where would you sit?

USAir Boeing 737-200 Seat Map

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I flew an eight-segment mileage run last month that included a roundtrip from Boston to Tokyo via San Francisco. And due to an unadvertised promotional first class fare (about $3,000) out of select U.S. origins to Tokyo (or Beijing), I was able to fly in comfort and nabbed my favorite seat onboard any United aircraft – 2K on a Boeing 747-400.

My Boeing 747-400, N174UA

My flight into San Francisco from Boston arrived just about on schedule, leaving me with enough time for a quick visit to the Global First lounge to catch up on emails. At the check-in desk when I was welcomed as “Mr. Booth,” the person next to me asked, “Darren Booth?” Turns out he reads my blog – what a small world. It was nice to meet you, Sean!

I headed to the gate ahead of boarding time to… well… be a “gate louse” and position myself near the front of the Premier Access lane. Why? Because those darn 747s have such limited overhead space in first class that I didn’t want to stow my bags in business class, which often happens. I was about the 10th person on and I settled into my seat (and yes, got my coveted overhead bin space). Oh, and for those unfamiliar with United, there’s absolutely no priority given to Global First passengers over business class (or many elites).

Seat 2K

View Forward at Seat 2K

The menu, pillows and blanket were awaiting me at my seat, and the amenity kit and slippers were already stowed in the side console compartment. Pre-departure beverage service was slow as the lead flight attendant in Global First spent an inordinate amount of time gabbing with a couple of passengers. And I noted some friction between the lead and purser, which I wrote about in my “The Reality Check That Is United Airlines Global First Class” post.

Newspapers were offered and positioned on the console across from my seat. We pushed nearly on-time and were airborne within about 15 minutes.

View

The lead noticed my camera and said, “You’d better get your pictures in quick before we take the left turn toward Japan!” I chuckled and said “Thanks,” but little did she know my main intent was to capture the meals. Hot towels, warmed nuts and beverages started the lunch service. Check out the turbulence in that water glass.

Warmed Nuts and Water

Here’s the menu:

And the separate wine & bar service list:

Meal service began shortly after the seat belt sign came off with linens, silverware and bread presented first.

Table Setup

The warm appetizer and sushi were served nearly in tandem. I did quite like the beef empanada and pastry, but didn’t touch the sushi as I’m not a fan.

Sushi

Beef Empanada and Veggie & Mushroom Pastry

Besides a warm vs. cold appetizer, the only other noticeable difference from Global First to BusinessFirst meals is the addition of a soup course. It was only lukewarm and required a bit of salt to make it tastier.

Shrimp and Roasted Corn Chowder

A rather basic salad followed and I went with the Parmesan-pepper dressing.

Salad

For my main course, I chose the Tenderloin of Beef. It was very tender and delicious, the latter likely due to the Delmonico’s steak sauce. I have had decent green beans in-flight before, but these were rubbery and tasteless. And the potatoes cooled off very quickly and were equally bland. More salt.

Tenderloin of Beef

By this point, I was ready for a nap having been awake since very early Boston time to catch the 6:00 a.m. flight. And so I skipped the cheese and ice cream sundae. Here’s the remainder of the menu:

There was absolutely no mention of the “new” turn-down service for Global First passengers where flight attendants will lower your seat into bed mode and spread the sleeping cushion over the seat. And on the return flight with the same crew, the lead was very vocal how she felt about it saying, “What are we a hotel?!”

The crew spruced up the lavatory as best they could.

Lavatory Amenities

A cart was setup near the galley with the assorted sandwiches and nibbles from the “mid-flight snack” menu appearing above. They looked identical to what’s offered in BusinessFirst and not particularly appealing.

About 1.5 hours before arrival, breakfast was served although it was 2:00 p.m. local time in Tokyo. Other airlines flying this timeslot will serve a more time-appropriate meal. I went with the herbed scrambled eggs, ham, turkey sausage and potato gratin… err… tater tots.

Breakfast at 2 p.m.

While each flight attendant was friendly in their own way, there was certainly nothing exceptional about their service. It was just a typical United flight and I suppose worth what I paid. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to pay full-fare for United’s Global First.

Related posts:

The Reality That Is United Airlines Global First Class

United Global First Amenity Kit Review

Lounge Review: ANA Suite Lounge Tokyo Narita

I’m Off on a Weeklong Mileage Run

Posted by Darren | 15 Comments

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