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“Decent, Not Exceptional”
Review of United Airlines


Reviewed April 27, 2017

21 April - UA 870 from Sydney to Los Angeles ... boarding was delayed due to late-arriving crew (caught in traffic en route to airport), but flight was quickly boarded (not a full flight) and departed close to time. Economy Plus seating was decent - I had a row to myself until, about 2 hours into the flight, a flight attendant advised me that she was moving another passenger into my row. Of course that's something that they can do, but by that time I was all spread out, working on my laptop, so it was a bit disruptive to get everything sorted and moved, but what was annoying is that the flight attendant could have easily relocated the passenger to another similar row without causing so much disruption. Minor annoyance, but worth noting.

Meal service is a bit lame; United could learn a lot from American's international economy meal service, which is a LOT better.

Satellite wi-fi service was spotty and sluggish most of the flight - a bit disappointing compared to my previous experience flying United on this route.

Also, seat comfort on the 787 dreamliner is not that great. The seats are nice leather, but are thin and hard. A bit more thought could have gone into seat comfort for a long-range aircraft such as this one.

But overall, a decent - although not exceptional - flight. Arrived slightly ahead of schedule into LAX, which was a nice plus.

Date of travel: April 2017
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
2  Thank step12dude
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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39,314 - 39,318 of 54,735 reviews

Reviewed April 27, 2017 via mobile

So I know everyone is down on United, but I had a flawless flight. Seats in a great row, with my husband, and inflight entertainment on my phone through the United app with many movies and tv shows to choose from. Easy check in with downloading my boarding pass on my phone for both of us, so no worries about waiting for a kiosk or agent. (We never check in bags) I have had many great experiences with them so,
I have to say I prefer United over the other 3 big airlines in the US.
Thank you United for a great flight!

Date of travel: April 2017
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
2  Thank memey744
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed April 27, 2017

Inappropriate food at 10:15 am - breakfast items preferred by most people.
No video and little attention paid to the issue by attendants until halfway through the flight.
With one exception, flights attendants had little interest in pleasant and courteous customer service.

Date of travel: April 2017
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
Review collected in partnership with Sky-tours
2  Thank smdinvermont
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed April 27, 2017 via mobile

If we're able to send people to the moon why can an airline seat be designed for the human body that's actually promotes comfort and well being ? We took the red eye from San Fransisco to Baltimore/Washington the whole experience was typical airline service. I have traveled my whole life growing up in an Air Force family. However United has the most uncomfortable chairs on an airline ever. With chairs that seem like they were designed to punish you for just being, in the process of trying to get comfortable you experience neck pain knee and back cramping and an overall feeling of every cell in your body being destroyed. A gross exaggeration? .....Is it ??

Date of travel: April 2017
    • Seat comfort
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
3  Thank foodster70
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed April 27, 2017

As soon as I was on board, I was offered a drink, which was normal for business class.

When the dinner service started, I was asked what drinks I wanted, I said "White wine". Then, I was offered "Wine tasting" with three different white wines, Greek, Riesling and Chablis. Then, I decided to stick with Riesling. Then, followed appetizer plates, a main course, a cheese plate and an ice cream.

For the main course, I took "Duck", which was big enough and very tasty. The cheese plate was served with port wine. After that,came an ice cream. They used to serve ice cream in a glass with several toppings to choose from, this time it was a simple ice cream cup. They must have changed.

The breakfast contained a rather big bowl of mixed fruit, but did not have a hot meal like omlet or scrambled egg, which is a little pity.

The business class seat is comfortable enough, but if there was more space to store small objects like a cell phone or a small bag, that would be perfect. But, of course, on an airplane, you have the space you paid for.

The personnel was very friendly and nothing to complain about.

One remark was that there were no slippers in business class this time because of delivery issue, if I understand well. (There were slippers in first class.) I think this kind of incidents can happen, and are not really the airlines' fault, but this should not happen too often.

The appreciation of the food and drinks is more personal than objective, but I really like them on United. So, globally, I think United is a good choice between NRT and HNL.

By the way, if you want to have a view on Waikiki beach when the plane is going up from the airport, you need to book a seat on the left side of the plane.

Date of travel: April 2017
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
3  Thank Gemini6_tadvisor
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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