SamFerguson flew United Airlines United Economy, on a B777-200 (Version 2) (20/07/2012 10:38)

Was flying from Heathrow-San Francisco. Had heard horror stories about United's transatlantic services so was apprehensive about flying them.

Check-in staff were very helpful, the queues were quite long but with the help of some Air New Zealand staff the United agents were able to help them move swiftly. The lady behind the desk asked me which seat I would prefer, Aisle, Window or no preference. I said window and she happily gave me 42K.

The boarding process was swift and organised, the agents calling the boarding forward in section by rows, and boarding was quickly over without any incidents or late comers.

The crew on board were very nice (although they had an average age of about 18!) and the flight departed dead on time. The seats were relatively comfortable, but do take some getting used to as they are rather narrow.

I was pleasantly surprised with the new IFE system which is all on-demand now, and has a fantastic range of stuff to watch. The actual service onboard was slow, but the crew were good, and the food & drink on board was plentiful, with the crew popping along the aisles with snacks and drinks every 20/30 minutes.

We arrived about 5 minutes late, and the baggage beat us to the belt when we arrived!

Very happy, definitely flying with them again, and recommend them to all!

BetteronaHarley flew United Airlines United Economy, on a B767-300 (Int Config) (18/02/2012 19:12)

We flew out of Zurich to Newark back in October, and although I was well aware of the merger between Continental and United, this was the first time on a flight operated by United, using United aircraft and crew.

Our tickets cost about 1000 Swiss francs each, and when I went to check in, they put us in row 34. I asked if we could sit a bit further forward in the cabin (like in the 20s') and I was informed we would have to pay over 100 francs extra as that was an Economy Plus seat with more legroom. We opted not to pay extra and were stuck sitting in row 34, in seats that were so closely jammed together that when the people in front of us reclined their seats, the seat back was practically in our faces. It was horrible. Also, it was an OLD aircraft, at least 20 years old and the IFE was awful -- screens so tiny that it was difficult to watch anything. The crew at least were friendly and professional.

On the return trip to Zurich from Newark, again we were stuck sitting in row 35 in those cramped seats which were useless for sitting let alone sleeping, in that same OLD airplane, with the tiny IFE screens.

I always order a vegetarian meal when I fly and I got my meal out of Zurich, but out of Newark, they didn't have it. I told the crew I booked my meal when I booked my ticket and I got my veggie meal out of Zurich. She asked if I'd confirmed it and I said no, I've never had to confirm it; as long as I check in for the flight, it's always there. She asked if I booked through Continental and I said yes, and she said, Well, THIS is United, you have to confirm!!! WTF???

She offered me the pasta meal, which looked disgusting and I declined as I cannot eat pasta. They offered me NOTHING else to eat -- not even some fruit or a spare salad or anything. I sat through a seven-hour flight without ANY food! The service was as appalling as their attitudes.

Needless to say, I will NOT be flying United again, not even if they offered me a free ticket. As far as I am concerned, they ruined Continental, which was pretty decent. They can shove their Economy Plus, their shoddy service and retire some of those old airplanes along with the nasty old cabin crew members who seem to have forgotten what customer service is all about.

EdwardFerrell flew United Airlines United Economy, on a B777-200 (Version 2) (12/08/2011 13:34)

In addition to missing the 2-4-2 configuration when travelling with one companion, ne major complaint on the new UA 777 config is the reduction, in economy, from 4 toilets mid-cabin to only two. What were they thinking??? There were already queues for the 4 mid-cabin and 2 rear-cabin facilities and they've just reduced the number of mid-cabins by half. GEEEZ

icecool flew United Airlines United Economy, on a B777-200 (Version 4) (07/07/2010 06:56)

Boarding was quite smooth and flight attendants were willing to assist. I sat in the economy class at a window seat (Row 40A). The seat seemed very cramped relative to comparable airlines. It was quite a challenge to fly economy for 10 hours. The food was not too palatable, in fact, some what bland. The in-flight entertainment was quite a disappointment. There was a lack of movies (and of course good movies). No games were available. The personal TV screen behind each seat was the smallest I have ever seen. To put things in perspective, even the A330s of AirAsiaX, the budget airline based in Malaysia have larger personal TV screens behind each seat. The aircraft was generally old and my TV screen was loosely fitted. The seat recline mechanism was faulty. When I sat upright, the seat would automatically move back upright. Overall, there is ample room for improvement, with the exception of the flight attendants' service, which was above average, friendly and willing.