Flight Review: United Airlines Boeing 777-200 First Class – ORD-SFO

I had to fly today between Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). What better way to do that than with a lie-flat seat. United Airlines offers some flights between the two hubs using its ancient Boeing 777-200 aircraft and I had the chance to fly one of these once again.

Anthony’s Take: I appreciated the space on this flight and that is about where the praise ends. The Wi-Fi was terrible, the meal kind of gross, and then service was mediocre. We were delayed due to “needing to perform safety checks” even though the aircraft landed almost 19 hours earlier. It beats sitting upright when heading halfway across the country, but this flight was nothing special. Other days this flight is operated with Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which is a much nicer ride.

Booking

This flight was booked as a one-way ticket for $697. This seemed reasonable to me for a 4.5-hour flight. I booked it directly on United.com in Z fare class.

United Club℠

I spent some time in the United Club℠ at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) (review here) by Gate B18 (my departure gate was B16) before the flight. The lounge is located downstairs and was not too crowded. I was not hungry, but breakfast was being served when I arrived. The space was not too crowded and I found a seat right away.

Boarding

We boarded on time and in the correct order. I was among the first on the plane when I pre-boarded as United 1K® members were called.

On-Board

I selected seat 1B. These are backwards facing seats, but that does not bother me. The cabin looks incredibly dated and is arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration with seats alternating between facing forwards and backwards.

Headphones were at the seat when I arrived.

Seat Features

The seats are comfortable and I love how open they feel (the Polaris® seats often feel like coffins to me). I would not want to sit in the four-across section, but the side pairs of two are fine.  The screens at each seat look old, but work okay.

Headphone jacks are one the side.

Outlets are in front of the seats in the center console.

A remote control is there for the entertainment system, lights, and flight attendant call button.

Air vents and lights are overhead.

Food

I pre-ordered the Greek Pastitsio. I have had this dish before (review here) and it was much better in the past. Dessert (a lemon tart) was good. This has thankfully replaced the Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding.

The meal started with mixed nuts and a choice of beverage. I had a cranberry juice and club soda, which is my new go-to drink in flight.

The tray was served without bread, which was brought after everyone in the cabin was almost finished with the meal. I waited to take a complete photo. The meal overall was quite mediocre to poor.

Wi-Fi

I find United’s Wi-Fi to be relatively fast when it works. Through the years it has gotten much more reliable, but I continue to have flights where it was inoperable. This flight, it was glacially slow and I was not able to get much done. Like all domestic flights, it cost $8 for MileagePlus members for the entire flight.

Lavatory

The lavatory was on the smaller side but got the job done with a sink and toilet. Therabody toiletries were available.

Service

The flight attendants did not appear to be junior, but made lots of mistakes. They forgot hot towels until meals were served. Didn’t bring bread out until late and disappeared for most of the flight. They were friendly, but going through the motions.

Overall Impression:

We departed late, but arrived mostly on time, the service was meh and the food was also nothing special. The seat was comfortable and I’ll always take a lie-flat over a standard seat if it doesn’t add to the time.

(Featured Image Credit: John Taggart via Wikimedia Commons.)