My flight with United would bring me from Boston to one of United’s biggest hubs, Chicago.
I live pretty far away from the airport so I decided to take the airport shuttle bus at the halfway point. Of course it costed me extra but I got 30 minutes of sleep that I really needed after waking up at 2AM for this flight. If your ever in the Boston area and are looking to utilize this service you can get the bus in a few different locations. They are Braintree,Woburn,Framingham,Peabody, & back bay. The service is called Logan express and costs $22 USD round trip or $11 USD one way.
Upon arrival to the airport I headed for United’s check in counter at the beginning of the second stop in Boston’s terminal B. I decided to use a self kiosk and because I wasn’t checking a bag it gave me an error so a United agent came over quickly and verified my carry on and sent me on my way relatively quick. As I got to the security check I was met by a longer line than I was expecting, I started to become weary of the clock as it was less than an hour to boarding and I was still in the middle of the line. Luckily the line started to speed up and I made it through security with 30 minutes to spare.
I was in basic economy for this flight which was a first for me so it was interesting to see how boarding went. I was surprised to see my group 5 getting called relatively quick. I was also in the last row of this 737-800 which was 38A. I didn’t think I would ever get to my seat but to my surprise again it was a fast walk down the jet bridge a quick conversation with the greeting flight attendant and down to row 38 where I’d sit for the next 2:45hr flight to Chicago O’Hare.
So how’s the seat? It was actually great! United has opted for the new slimline seats which many don’t like because it’s another way to shrink the seat. I found it pretty nice actually. It was an all leather seat with an adjustable headrest. I found that United did a great job getting the most comfort out of the smaller seats as I was really comfortable the whole flight. Now the IFE was somewhat small but after I boarded my Jetblue flight later that day I found that it actually wasn’t that bad. It featured a remote on the armrest with most direct tv channels and Sirius XM radio. (The cabin seemed a little outdated so please keep that in mind during this review)
As we pushed back from the gate and started our journey to Chicago I couldn’t wait to get into the air and get my first look at United’s inflight experience. Lucky for you, you don’t have to wait like I did. So hopping right into it, United uses Food & Drink carts like most US airlines. I find this highly affective as they don’t have to take orders and then go back and forth to the galley many times to get your order. This cuts down on wait time tremendously. I noticed this the most when flying Jetblue as they were the most recent airline to make the switch and it helped out greatly. So what were the food and drinks served on board? Well for food there was only one choice and that was United’s maple wafers. I bit the bullet for all of you and tried them out as I’ve never had them before. I found that they were actually really good. Now for drinks you have a variety of options ranging from Coke products, ginger ale, juices, & water. I must add that after the food and drink service was complete the flight attendants came around for a second time and offered everyone some water which I thought was unique as I haven’t seen that before. The flight was a bit bumpy so I sat back in my seat relaxed and took in the great views out my window of up state New York and eventually Lake Michigan as we made our way into Chicago.
Chicago’s coastline on Lake Michigan
The flight attendants were great all flight, there was one whom seemed a bit off. I don’t want to say he seemed annoyed or angry but it was somewhere along those lines. On a better note some of the flight attendants at the beginning of the flight helped out by watching a baby while it’s mother had to get off the plane for a minute. I thought that was a nice gesture after all of the fire United’s been under in the past for other incidents. Speaking of the past I just want to say United was great, I really enjoyed the flight and had no problems what so ever with the flight.
While all fun things must come to an end, so does this flight. We made our approach into the Windy City and boy was it windy today. We were bouncing around while approaching runway 27L but I must say the views when approaching from this side of the airport are amazing. We eventually touched down and made a short bounce on the runway before coming to a stop just off to the left of the runway. “Welcome to Chicago” said the flight attendant as we taxied to a holding position as our gate wasn’t available yet because we came in too early. We sat in the holding position for about 20 minutes before taking a new gate and eventually de boarding the aircraft into the busy morning rush of Chicago’s O’Hare international airport.
Overall my experience with United was great. I think all the stereotypes they have received over the past year or two was just at a bad time for United. Of course things were done that shouldn’t have been done but I think they’re a great option if your looking into flights in the future. The whole experience from arriving at the airport to deplaning in Chicago was as smooth as possible and I had a great time flying United. Some cons about the flight were that I believe they should have had a bigger variety of food options. I was starving and if I was anything like most of the others on the plane who didn’t want the wafers I would be hungry for the whole flight which isn’t ideal. Secondly I think they should have offered headphones on the flight. My headphones are for my IPhone X so they do not fit the normal headphone jack which I blame apple for but still. Other than that I have no complaints. I thoroughly enjoyed my time flying United and would hesitate to fly with them again in the future.
Stay tuned in the near future for our take on the best major airline in the US. The list will feature airlines like American,United,Delta,& Jetblue. We hope you enjoyed! If you did feel free to share and leave a comment on your thoughts!
