Report No: 2019-303E
Welcome to this new short series that would mainly include three domestic flights on United. As I needed to head west for that specific weekend, I have decided to use United this time as I needed miles to reach Elite Plus status on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles. On this series, I would be able to report three different aircraft types, four different airports, three different lounges. All these flights would be on the Economy cabin.
The third and last flight of these series would be the return leg of my trip. First, I have intended to use the red-eye service at 21:05 but after an event planned the next morning I intended to return early that Sunday. I looked at options and two of them seemed good for me. There was this direct flight at 13:00 and a 08:15 option via EWR which I could try the 787-10. However, for the 787-10 option; the only seats available were middle seats that does not recline so I preferred to take the direct flight.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3UA 653 Los Angeles to Washington Dulles ( Economy Class ), Boeing 737-900, United Club
Pax for this flight
Domestic First: %100
Economy and Economy Plus: %95-100
ONLINE CHECK-IN
I have completed my online check-in 24 hours before my originally ticketed flight. As United offers free day same day changes for eligible MileagePlus and Star Alliance Gold passengers depending on availability, I have changed my flight to the 13:00 flight. Seat 23F was empty at that time so I have chosen that seat. Unlike Delta and American offering Comfort+/Main Cabin Extra for free to their alliance elites, United does not offer free EconomyPlus seating for Star Alliance Gold passengers.
3-4 hours before the flight, I was offered for a bid to take a later flight instead of mine. I have offered high numbers and obviously my offers were not accepted.
Boarding Pass
Los Angeles INTERNAtIONAL AIRPORT - LAX
The USO building before arriving to Terminal 7
Despite it was Sunday, Terminal 7 seemed pretty empty that day. I have arrived to the airport 1h15mins before my flight.
FIDS
Security was a breeze at the PremierAccess lane and I was in the airside 5 minutes after I've entered the queue.
A photo from the T6-T7 connector. An Air Canada 737-MAX was present at that time.
And United aircrafts
I didn't have time to walk to and back to the Star Alliance Lounge in TBIT, I decided to visit the United Club in Terminal 7.
UNITED CLUB - Los Angeles INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The lounge was quiet that day, I have easily found a seat. Obviously, this club is better than the SFO one which I've visited. It had more food options and better seating.
Some pasta was available that day
Salad bar and chicken
Cheese and pita selection
Desserts available
Some snacks and some drinks
Our aircraft was visible from the club.
GATE AREA & BOARDING
Shortly after boarding had started, I have reached the boarding gate for my flight. When I was there, they were still boarding group 1.
UA 653 LOS ANGELES INTERNATıONAL AIRPORT TO WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT
The seats were classic ex-CO seats with DirecTV. They had decent legroom and it was OK for a transcontinental flight. However, the sign at the tray table mislead passengers as there were no power outlets available at my row.
The seat pocket content
UA destinations within North America
BoB options for the flight
DirecTV channels available that day
And some information about the PED entertainment system
The fleet
The aircraft wasn't cleaned after it's previous flight, the tray table was like this when I have opened it.
The overhead panel
The view from my window
As we started our pushback, the safety video and the information video about DirecTV was screened.
United 777-200
Alaska A320
Another shot of him
A JetBlue A321 is landing
United 757 in front of us
Southwest 737 landing
And as it was our turn, the runway queue; including an Alaska 737 in the old livery
JetBlue A321
American 737-800
Frontier A320
American Airlines A321
And another one
And we took off,
TBIT with 3 A380's at the same time
And we're turning around the Pacific
As I've mentioned, PED entertainment was available throughout the flight
We were scheduled to arrive before our scheduled arrival time
Wi-Fi offered today which was expensive
PED menu
As I was hungry I have tried the Brioche Hamburger option at the BoB menu which was served heated alongside with lettuce, tomato and condiments. The free options for the day was pretzels.
I was watching some skiing while I was enjoying my hamburger
Shortly after, another crew appeared and asked for drink orders. I have opted for a tomato juice.
During the flight, water runs were made several times by the crew.
Some flight information
During the flight, I have visited the lavatory which seemed to be clean.
45 minutes before arrival, the final service was made which was a drink cart service.
Flight information at that time
The winglet
We were going to arrive 20 minutes early to Dulles Airport.
And yes we did.
As it was raining I haven't done taken photos of aircrafts that day.
As we have parked to gate C11 without any wait, I have gathered my belongings, said goodbye to the crew and then proceeded to the AirTrain station to reach the main building where the exit is located.
WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT - IAD
The AirTrain station at Terminal C.
A photo from the AirTrain ride
And shortly, I was in the main building
And my Uber arrived in several minutes.
This report has came to an end,
Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.
Very nice Flight-Report! That UA Club in LAX looks quite nice, and the food options seem impressive (for an American lounge). How is the DirecTV, now that it’s free? I haven’t flown in a aircraft with DirecTV for a while, long before it was free. It’s interesting that SFO/LAX - IAD isn’t considered a Premium Transcon Flight, and that sucks. I mean, IAD is the main hub for the capital city! You shouldn’t have to pay for something more than pretzels on those flights. Thanks for sharing!
Hi NewYorker and thanks for appreciating my report,
- I've realized that as well. Probably because it handles international pax on Economy as well ( obviously for those who doesn't walk to TBIT for the *A lounge ). This lounge is better than the Admirals Club ( not the Flagship section ) here in LAX. But definitely not worth the $59 single entry fee.
- It's free anymore; no more ads on the screen which you couldn't even adjust the brightness before swiping your card.
- Only Delta considers their LAX-DCA flight as Premium Transcon, all other airlines serving this route have the same format, regular 3h+ domestic service, and to add that United has the most frequencies on this route ( 5-6 daily to IAD + 1 daily to BWI ) while the other carriers have maximum 3. ( AA 3 - AS 2 - NK 1 - DL 1 ). I agree that at least they should give a snack box which contains a sandwich, a pastry and pretzels. But, you know, who would give free meals on this route, other than pretzels, while half of the passengers onboard buys a fruit & cheese plate for $9.99. I think that's the problem.
Btw, thanks for your comment and hope to see you in another report.
Thanks for the report ISTFlyer!
I think you were asking me about upgrading on an UA 737-900 earlier this year. I'm assuming this is the flight. 4:40 is a long time in these old seats, especially without any power outlets. I'm not sure whether I would have paid to upgrade in your shoes. At least the IFE was fine. UA's domestic meal offerings seem awful as usual though.
Thanks again!
Hi YGeorgeW and thanks for stopping by,
- Yes it was this specific flight.
- Actually it's not worth upgrading to those old First Class seats, if I wanted more comfort, I would paid more and buy a Delta ticket on the premium transcontinental LAX-DCA service. Luckily, I had my phone charged at the United Club.
- Not the best but better than some carriers.
- Obviously, no surprise.
Thanks for your comment and hope to see you in another report.