I flew United after flying on 2 of the world's best airlines earlier this year and it made me realize how mediocre US carriers are comparatively
Taylor Rains
- I've flown in long-haul economy on Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and United Airlines this year.
- My most recent trip was on United after flying on Singapore and ANA — both considered 5-star carriers.
For the first time ever, United Airlines disappointed me.
Last week, I set off on my annual trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland — a month-long event in which the city is transformed into a theater paradise with shows covering everything from stand-up comedy to improv musicals.
I usually book United or Delta when I fly across the Atlantic, and the former was the cheaper option this year amidst spiking international airfare. In fact, I actually decided to fly via London and take a train to and from Edinburgh to save about $1,000.
Having flown United several times in the past two years — including both domestic and international — I know what to expect and have typically had a good experience.
However, this trip was different. It wasn't necessarily that the flight was bad, the economy cabin was just noticeably worse than other airlines I've flown on this year — specifically, Singapore Airlines and Japan's All Nippon Airways.
Here's what my recent experience flying on United in economy was like and why I'll have lower expectations next time.
My nonstop United flights started and ended in Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, flying in and out of London Heathrow.
Newark is United's third-largest hub behind Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, but it is a key player in the airline's robust transatlantic network — which United boasts as being the biggest in the US.
My $812 basic economy fare only included a personal item and a carry-on bag, so I was able to head straight to security for both flights thanks to United's mobile boarding pass option.
I don't typically travel with a checked bag simply because I prefer not to gamble with the many times unreliable baggage handling systems — especially after last year's hectic summer. So, the basic economy fare is perfectly fine with me.
If I did need to check luggage, however, the first bag would have cost $75, according to United.
Both aircraft were a Boeing 767-300ER — a fleet that United has updated with a fresh look as a way to modernize the older planes. And, I'll admit, they didn't feel decades-old.
United has kept its Boeing 767s around post-pandemic, having invested millions into retrofits that include adding Polaris business class and Premium Plus to the widebodies.
The two I flew on (N651UA and N675UA) are 31 years and 23 years old, respectively, according to Planespotters.
"I'll give kudos to our maintenance team for keeping these aircraft in great shape," United CCO Andrew Nocella said in a 2021 quarter two earnings call, noting the planes could fly for another 30 or more years.
"We do have optionality to fly these aircraft longer than I think people automatically assume."
For both flights, I cozied up in seat 42L — a window seat on the right side of the aircraft that I paid in advance to reserve.
Last year, I got a seat at random and didn't enjoy the stress of possibly ending up in the middle seat, albeit I did get lucky with a window. But I still splurged for a guaranteed window this time around.
In total, I paid $64 for both legs, bringing the cost of my flight to London to about $875 roundtrip. Flights nonstop to Edinburgh were over $2,000 when I booked in February.
The seat was as I remembered it with a seatback screen and power ports, as well as the ever-important headrest that I need for sleep.
The headrest can make or break the inflight experience for me.
In fact, a mediocre headrest was actually one of the few faults I found in Singapore's premium economy cabin — and why I actually prefer the carrier's coach product instead.
Plus, the 2x3x2 configuration meant it was just me and my aisle-seat neighbor. I also had okay legroom, though I'm only 5'3" and on the smaller side and fit into most airline seats.
According to SeatGuru, each seat has 31 inches of pitch and 17.3 inches of width, which is the expected standard in coach.
I felt I had plenty of space for my hips and legs, but taller passengers may want to upgrade to extra-legroom seats like Economy Plus or Premium Plus.
However, that's pretty much where the perks stopped — and, for the first time, I was disappointed in United's product. But, I think I figured out why.
It was about an hour after takeoff that I realized the seat was pretty much as standard as it could get, nothing that made it stand out or give it a special pizzazz.
Up until this point, I had experienced a wide range of economy cabins this year, including Singapore Airlines and ANA, as well as low-cost carriers LEVEL and Norse Atlantic Airways.
I experienced Singapore's Airbus A380 coach class in January from Frankfurt to Singapore and then tried out ANA's Boeing 787 economy product in March on a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles.
In April, I suffered for seven hours on Spanish low-cost carrier LEVEL between New York-JFK and Barcelona thanks to cramped seats and overpriced food. However, budget newcomer Norse actually surprised me with its roomy cabin and inflight entertainment.
These two sets of carriers are on opposite sides of the spectrum — Singapore and ANA are considered 5-star carriers by Skytrax, while budget airlines LEVEL and Norse require the pesky add-on fees.
I have had both my best and my worst flight experiences this year, and it gave me a new perspective when flying on major global carriers.
After experiencing the best of the best with Asian airlines, and then facing the challenges of low-cost airlines (albeit Norse was better than expected), I went into United with the wrong expectations.
United, which also happens to be partnered with both ANA and Singapore in the Star Alliance, is basically right smack in the middle in terms of the inflight experience.
And, I didn't notice the shortcomings until now.
Essentially, I've realized that United easily has the perks to outshine carriers like LEVEL and Norse, but it falls drastically short compared to Singapore and ANA.
United's 767 pitch equaled that of Norse's 787, but the former's had better width and an overall more aesthetically pleasing cabin.
LEVEL's A330, on the other hand, only offered 30 inches of the pitch and I was stuck in the middle seat of the center section of the aircraft — it was actually pretty miserable, to say the least.
Starting with the seat itself, Singapore and ANA's were both better padded, while ANA even offered a footrest — a perk that makes sleep that much easier.
Footrests are not very common in economy on airlines and are typically reserved as a premium economy perk, so I was surprised to see one onboard ANA.
But I can't fault United for not having them since Singapore didn't either, though both offer one in their premium economy cabins.
The Asian carriers also offer more legroom with 32 inches on Singapore and a whopping 34 inches on ANA — the latter being just one inch less than United's Economy Plus section.
Economy Plus is United's extra-legroom option and can cost a pretty penny to reserve.
So, getting good legroom as the default with Singapore and ANA made me forget how cramped US economy cabins can be without the upgrade.
In fact, 31 inches of pitch is the standard on most of American and Delta's widebody jets, according to SeatGuru.
Granted, 31 inches is not bad, but if other carriers offer more, then that's an easy reason to spend money elsewhere.
As far as amenities, the plush linens on the Asian airlines made United's feel cheap.
While I particularly liked ANA's silky blanket, Singapore's linens were the best I've ever had in economy thanks to the thick, warm blanket and the hotel-grade pillow. I even got an eye mask.
United's pillow, however, felt rough. And, the U-shaped design wasn't as comfortable as I think the carrier hoped. I also didn't get a blanket on the return flight — only on the red eye to London.
I have actually always had an issue with United's mediocre 767 pillow, but ANA and Singapore's made that shortfall much more obvious on my recent flight.
I didn't sleep well on United, either, and that was after taking melatonin. I blame the recline mostly, as well as the less-than-cozy linens.
This wasn't my experience on Singapore and ANA, though. Both seats had better comfort — something I only really noticed after flying United — with Singapore's product helping me sleep for eight of the 12 hours between Frankfurt and the island nation.
Meanwhile, there were several other small perks that made ANA and Singapore shine — one being the convenient cupholders strategically molded into the product.
I found myself grasping my drink during turbulence on United — a problem made easier with a designated cupholder.
Singapore's tray table was even pretty unique with a hidden mirror, and it could fold in half to take up more or less space.
I didn't realize how much a well-designed tray table can impact convenience when flying. ANA and Singapore gave me extra slots for cups, and I'm sure the mirror on Singapore can come in handy after a 12-hour flight.
Moreover, I appreciated the extra storage pockets offered on ANA and Singapore, and I even got a pre-flight drink on the latter — something I've never experienced on United, nor on Delta or American for that matter.
During my United flight, I struggled to find enough space for my laptop, chargers, water bottle, and provided food and drinks as the seats lacked any sort of added storage space.
I ended up using the slit between the seat and the fuselage to free up space by my feet. Granted, the dual seats did not have a divider between them, making the under-seat area a little more spacious, which helped.
While I can't knock United for its inflight entertainment — which is always great — it had other pitfalls surrounding customer service, the food, and cleanliness as well.
Singapore and ANA are renowned for their friendly flight attendants, yummy meals, and squeaky-clean cabins, but I found the opposite on United.
But, to be fair to United, the carrier does have really great inflight entertainment. However, I found the USB port didn't work on the return leg.
When it comes to customer service, I don't expect flight attendants to be nice and happy at all times. But, I got a sense of annoyance during most interactions with them.
To be clear, I don't really care how flight attendants treat me because their jobs can be very difficult — but there was a significant tone difference that made me feel less welcome on United compared to my journeys on ANA and Singapore.
For example, when I asked to clarify the meal options I was met with a less-than-nice reaction and a response that indicated my question was simply annoying. Not a huge deal, but something that stuck out.
As far as the food, I knew not to expect much on United — the carrier doesn't have the best reputation in terms of catering. But, I remember the meals being better before.
I skipped the meal service on the outbound in favor of trying to get a few hours of sleep — albeit unsuccessfully — but I had both lunch and dinner on the return journey.
We were offered pasta or chicken for lunch and a savory pastry for dinner. I opted for the chicken, and the meat itself was good but the sides — as well as the dinner pastry — were pretty tasteless.
The chicken dish came with bread, mozzarella, tomatoes, rice, vegetables, and chocolate. While half of the meal was good — particularly the chicken — I couldn't stomach the rice, and the vegetables had a strange texture. The mozzarella was also surprisingly bland.
Meanwhile, the pastry reminded me of my experience on Air Canada, which offered me a breakfast pastry that had a texture and look resembling baby food.
This compares to the food I had in July 2022 on United's 767 from Boston to London, which was much more appetizing.
Last year, the meal served was also chicken and veggies, complemented with ice cream, a roll, and a side salad. I remember the ingredients being more diverse and flavorful.
It's also possible that United's catering is simply better when originating in the US rather than in London since my less-than-stellar meal was experienced on my recent return flight — the tastier meals I had last year were on the outbound.
Singapore and ANA, on the other hand, had more creative meals with much better flavoring and overall appeal.
The colors and smells of the food on ANA were appetizing, and I loved the sushi and edamame options despite my initial hesitations.
Meanwhile, Singapore offered potatoes, beef, noodles, and ice cream. Overall, the Asian airlines are simply in another league in terms of catering — especially considering Singapore's specialized catering center near Changi International Airport.
While I can bear passive cabin crews and mediocre food, the one thing that will get me is cleanliness — and United's lavatory was a dump.
Ever since I flew on Singapore and ANA, I have a new standard for cleanliness on aircraft and the lavatory is a sticking point.
On the Asian carriers, I found the bathrooms were always tidied up, the sinks were wiped down, and the bins were emptied.
The bathrooms on ANA actually had a bidet toilet — one of the only airlines in the world to have it — while Singapore's had a sleek look with wood-like finishings.
Not to mention, the Asian lavatories had nice perks like a step to open the bin, meaning I didn't have to stick my clean hand into the trash can to make the paper towel fit.
On United, however, there was paper all over the floor and the bins were so full the paper towels were pouring over the top. It was, in a word, gross.
I didn't trust the cleanliness after my first trip to the lavatory four hours into the flight, so I ended up waiting to go again until I cleared passport control at Newark.
However, United's lavatory did have a full-body mirror, which was the only thing I appreciated. And, I noticed this isn't just a United problem as the lavatories on LEVEL and Norse were not regularly cleaned either.
Given all of this, I don't necessarily think it was a horrible flight or United has a bad product. Simply, I finally experienced the world's 5-star airlines and they have that ranking for a reason.
ANA and Singapore are in another league when it comes to product. The seats are spacious and the food is delicious and the flight attendants are trained with a very specific expectation of customer service.
And, this doesn't mean I won't ever fly United again. In fact, I have several trips coming up that I'll be on United — I'll just go in with lower expectations next time.
However, it's possible I'd opt for Singapore or ANA on flights from the West Coast to Asia rather than taking United across the Pacific — assuming the price is right.
According to Google Flights, a roundtrip flight from San Francisco to Tokyo in November on United is $1,500.
ANA is $300 more and, for me, the product would easily be worth the extra few hundred dollars thanks to the little touches that make all the difference.
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