Route: Anchorage to Chicago
Plane: B737 Max 8
Date: 13 Oct, 2024
Price: $1,193 including an onward flight to Ottawa via Chicago (originally $2,009, lowered to $1,610 as economy flex with a cash upgrade booked via Air Canada, then rebooked when the fare was further dropped during a pilot strike)
Comfort: The leather recliner is spacious with plenty of recline and a supportive leg rest, but there’s no footrest like on Air Canada’s domestic business class. The granite-looking cup tray looks fancy but the seam between it and the metal holder has trapped a decade of dirt. The adjustable headrests are fixed in place with a rack, but adjusting it makes a loud clacking noise.
A side storage pocket under each armrest can accommodate a 17-inch laptop and a medium-sized tablet, and the tray table has a convenient tablet rest. There’s missed opportunity for additional storage under the centre armrest.
In-flight entertainment: The large touchscreen has games, which are best played with the retractable remote control in the armrest. The flip side of the remote control has a full QWERTY keyboard—I don’t know what for. The wi-fi isn’t free, but you can use it to watch movies for free on your pwn device if you’d like. The big modern plus of United’s entertainment system is the option to connect to your own Bluetooth earphones. It works and is easy to use. Each seat has a three pin outlet and a USB-A charging port.
Food: United doesn’t skimp on its nuts service; it was cashews and almonds only. For dinner, I chose the chicken bordelaise with white wine. The bun was warm, the sauce was salty, the artichoke was tender, and the chicken was rubbery. The raspberry cheesecake was sublime. The wine glass had a United logo on it—a nice retro touch.
Service: Passengers were not provided bottled water or headphones upon boarding and the flight attended did not offer welcome drinks. Blankets were available but only distributed on request.
After takeoff, service improved drastically. The experienced purser was attentive, addressed each passenger by name, no glass was ever left empty, and she kept all the passengers informed of service updates, such as how long meal service would take. After dinner, she checked each row and collected meal trays as soon as they were finished to ensure passengers could work on the tray tables.
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