UA925 in Economy from London to Washington on February 21, 2010

I have flown on UA 925 many, many times in all classes.  (Click here to see a trip report of UA 925 this flight in Business Class.)  I very much like the schedule as it leaves London at 4:20 in the afternoon so that you can have a day in England and get to the airport in a leisurely way.  But I must admit that on this occasion I was really not looking forward to the flight.  Since I travel much less frequently these days, my status with United is now reduced to Blue, and, of course, I was flying in Economy.  (I refuse to pay extra for Economy Plus on United as I feel you get so little for the upgrade — same seats, same food, just an acceptable amount of leg room!)

Also, the last time I flew on United last August from Beijing to Washington, was awful with a late and dirty plane staffed by attendants who frowned as they gave you “meals” of dried noodles that they hydrated by walking around with jugs of hot water.  (I will try to get round to putting up a report of that flight at some stage.)

Anyway, I managed to get seated in Seat 30J, which is, as far as I am concerned, one of the best seats in the steerage section of United’s Boeing 777.  United organizes its Economy seats in a 2-5-2 configuration, which sounds awful, but it always seems to work out.  I always dread the idea of being stuck in seat E — right in the middle with two strangers on my right and two on my left, but this never seems to happen.  Seat 30J is an Exit Row window seat, which gives you lots of extra leg room.  Your television and tray are stowed in the arm rest, which makes it impossible to move the arm rest, but that is only a minor disadvantage.  30J is the window seat.

I am looking forward to new planes on this route as I find that United’s 777 are beginning to look tired and dated.

Redwood Creek on UA 925 from London to Washington on February 21, 2009

Shortly after take off, the flight attendants came round with the drinks trolley.  I asked for a sparkling wine, but I got a look that seemed to demand who and where do you think you are!  (I recently enjoyed a very nice sparkling wine in Economy for free on a Lufthansa flight.  Click here to see that report.)  Part of my reasoning was that since they now charge for wine, they might view this as a sales opportunity.  Instead, there was a narrow range of wine options, and I settled for a wine Chardonnay from Redwood Creek, a medium bodied forgettable wine from California that retails for between $6.00 and $9.00 for a full bottle in the United States.  I paid $6.00 for the quarter bottle with no extra charge for the scowl, the plastic glass, and the pretzels that came with it.  (Fortunately, I had my traveling Riedel glass handy as I really hate to drink wine out of plastic!)  Note that cash is no longer an acceptable form of paying for drinks on United!

Meal on United 925 Economy

Lunch was quite acceptable.  Salad, surprisingly juicy chicken, but a practically inedible dessert.  A pretty horrid snack was served shortly before we landed.  Are those plastic knives and forks really necessary?

The flight arrived pretty much on schedule at Dulles.  Although I complained earlier about the scowl that accompanied the drink service, I was most impressed by a very friendly flight attendant when I exited.  I asked him for a First Class wine list.  Not only did he give me the lists for First Class and Business Class, but he also gave me First and Business Class amenity kits.  How very kind and friendly!  I have always been impressed by United’s cabin crews and suspect that the scowls I have seen recently are not the usual pattern.

Arrival was smooth and easy with the minor annoyance of being herded into the mobile lounges at Dulles airport to take you to immigration and customs.

To conclude, I take this flight because I like the schedule and I appreciate getting Mileage Plus miles.  But I find that United has now has all the attributes of a low cost carrier except for the low cost!  No frills, no thrills, and a $680 fare in February!