A Retro United Ride Back Home From Chicago (Trip Report)

When we last left off, I had enjoyed my retro Continental experience for my trip to Chicago where I spoke at United’s commercial leadership team event. When it came time to go home, however, I got the experience I was hoping to try. I flew in Unitedʻs old pre-Polaris business class seats on the domestic 777.

[Disclosure: United provided flights, hotel, and ground transportation for this event]

I was staying at the JW Marriott in the loop. The night before I had to leave, I went to the front desk asking how bad they thought traffic would be the next morning. With a flight at 8:46am, the lady at the desk said I should leave no later than 6am. No way. That was entirely too early, even knowing that traffic on the Kennedy Expressway is always bad. Instead, I left at about 6:45am.

Traffic was terrible as usual, but I guess it wasn’t THAT terrible, because we made it in just under an hour. Itʻs not great, but it could have been worse… as I remember from having to do that drive every single weekday back when I worked for United in Elk Grove twenty years ago.

The line at security was long, and the sign said it would be a 10 minute wait for TSA Precheck. But it moved faster than that, and once on the other side, I paused just for a second to take in the iconic B concourse roof.

Memories came flooding back as I walked by and had to resist the urge to snag some Garrett popcorn for the flight home.

My flight was in the C gates, so I descended the escalators into the tunnel with that oh-so-familiar light show.

There was no twisted version of Rhapsody in Blue playing — how long has that been gone? — but the lights were working overtime as always.

The gate was not far, so I just went over there and found a seat. The gate area has been set up with a variety of different types of seating options now: little couch-type things, some high chairs for working, etc. It was easy to find a place to sit despite the huge capacity of the aircraft.

Boarding came early, because this was one of United’s domestic 777s with 364 seats. Unlike when I flew the airplane in deep coach to Honolulu in September, this time I was 45 rows further up in the First Class section.

It is on the domestic 777s that United has installed the last of its old pre-Polaris long-haul business class seats. This is the 8-abreast, alternating forward- and rear-facing configuration that was created when I worked at United 20 years ago. I was excited about this because, strangely enough, I had never actually flown in this seat.

United 1584November 13, 2024

From Chicago/O’Hare➤ Scheduled Departure: 846a➤ Actual Departure: 847a➤ From Gate: C20➤ Wheels Up: 906a➤ From Runway: 9C

To Los Angeles➤ Wheels Down: 1051a➤ On Runway: 25L➤ Scheduled Arrival: 1120a➤ Actual Arrival: 1105a➤ At Gate: 77

Aircraft➤ Type: Boeing 777-222➤ Delivered: January 22, 1996➤ Registered: N775UA, msn 26947➤ Livery: 2019 Blue Globe Colors

Flight➤ Cabin: First Class in Seat 3A➤ Load: ~80% Full (First was full)➤ Flight Time: 3h45m

They boarded us from two jet bridges, so I entered from the front one and turned right. I had specifically chosen to sit in an odd-numbered row, so I could face backwards, because, well, itʻs just different. I’ve only flown backwards a handful of times. Of course, I remember the old days in Southwestʻs lounge seating. Or there is the rear-facing row in the ATRs. The most comparable experience, however, came after flying a handful of times on British Airways in the old Club World seat.

The eight-abreast configuration is pretty jarring to see upon boarding. There are just so many seats in such a small area, and the idea that a quarter of the seats are in the middle is… pretty insane. This is a terrible product for long-haul business class, but for domestic? It’s probably the best dedicated domestic product outside of Americanʻs A321T transcon airplanes. I found seat 3A and took a look around.

I had my own headphones, but this still has the two-prong connector so I used the headphones they provided. There were no pillows or blankets. I sat down with my laptop case, only later realizing there was no storage and I had to put it up in the bin, but I forgot to put my headphones up. This would come back to haunt me.

The screen is good-sized, and itʻs a touchscreen, but it’s so far away you really can’t touch it. Considering how old the product is, it was actually in pretty good condition, certainly feeling less worn that my Air France flights this summer.

We pushed back a minute late and then taxied out to the runway. After a short takeoff roll we were climbing to the east. It was a cloudy day, but the clouds were high so I had a nice view of the airport as we circled around back to head west. You know what, I’m going to include a video I took, because it’s not every day you get to look backwards on O’Hare while climbing away.

The flight attendants told us they had to stay in their seats on the climb out, but they would get to service as soon as they could. They did get up once we were above the clouds, but the seatbelt sign stayed on for awhile for the rest of us.

They first came around with a hot towel, and that was followed by the breakfast tray. I had pre-ordered a banana bread pudding which was really, really good. But it was also really sweet, so I couldn’t finish it without going into sugar shock.

The seatbelt sign came off, and the flight attendants announced that if anyone needed to get up, they should do it now, because the pilots told them weʻd be running into turbulence in half an hour that would require everyone to sit back down. We didnʻt even get the full 30 minutes. Shortly after, the bumps picked up and the sign went on. In the meantime, I just couldn’t stop staring out the window at the clouds below.

I kept trying to watch movies, but nothing was really grabbing me for more than a few minutes. I decided to log on to wifi with my phone since that was free, thanks to T-Mobile. But also, remember my computer was still up in the overhead bin, and I couldn’t get up to get it even if I wanted it. I’m glad I didn’t pay, because the Panasonic wifi was downright awful on this flight. If it seemed to not be very fast on the way out, this was absolutely crawling. I could barely get a text message out.

How bad was it? Well, the upload speed wasn’t bad…

Scrolling through the entertainment system, I found a relic of the old days… Channel 9. Sadly, the pilots had not turned it on, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.

As we approached the Rockies, the snow blanketed the edge of the plains. Winter is coming.

The bumps were supposed to pick up right around the Rockies, but that’s actually when it smoothed out. That was weird. But once it did, they flipped the sign off and we were good for the rest of the flight. I have to applaud the pilots for their seatbelt-sign game. It was on point.

Once things smoothed out, I tried the recline. It is a pretty short bed, and there’s a noticeable bend where the seat back and seat pan come together.

It’s also quite narrow, even with the armrest raised to give a little more room. This was unsurprising since there are 8 seats in each row.

Even within my little coffin, I could clearly see my neighbor.

Again, for a domestic flight, it’s great. But this was United’s flagship product for far too long.

I came back up into the relaxing position and ordered a Sleigh Bell Spritz, which is a seasonal cocktail combining a cranberry spice Sprite and vodka.

It’s supposed to come with actual cranberries, but they must not have boarded them, because I just had a lime on mine. It wasn’t bad, but I think the broader point of trying to help people get into the holiday spirit if they want is always good. It helps create a positive association for those who want it.

The flight attendants were friendly and attentive throughout the flight, at least, when they were able to stand up. But unlike on the previous flight, nobody came through to thank us individually for flying United.

It was a really nice day in LA, but I was struck by the view as we came in over the San Bernardino Mountains. Behind me was the expanse of the Coachella Valley with a clear view of the Salton Sea. It’s just not a view you often see since you’re usually facing forward.

We landed early, but we had to wait just a few minutes for our gate to free up. They had just pulled the jet bridge back when we arrived, so it wasn’t a long sit. And once the 787 was pushed, I got a nice little view of him.

We still blocked in 15 minutes early. As I got up to walk off the airplane, I completely forgot that my headphones were still sitting there tucked into a cubby on my side. I hadn’t used them the entire flight, and so, I left them. Damnit. Once I figured it out, I filed a lost item report but they haven’t been found. I guess I should be happy that this happened right before Black Friday, so I could get a decent deal on some new ones.

Remarkably, my wife had to fly out that afternoon for work. She was also booked on United, and she was scheduled to go two hours after I landed. So, she just drove her car up to the departures level, handed me the keys, gave me a kiss, and then she walked in while I headed home. I’ve never had something like that work out, but in the end, it made both our days much easier.

As for United, I enjoyed my retro ride. Now I just need to find a reason to get on the A321neo, because that sounds like the best product to actually judge the airline on.