Flight routing
- 1UA2373 - Economy - Los Angeles -> Kona - Boeing 757-300
- 2HA377 - Economy - Kona -> Honolulu - Boeing 717-200
- 3UA396 - Economy - Honolulu -> San Francisco - Boeing 777-200
- 4UA1108 - Economy - San Francisco -> Orange County - Airbus A320
Cramped, starved, and bored…
Good morning from LAX!
This will be my first leg of a 4 segment trip report (LAX-KOA-HNL-SFO-SNA) for my Winter 2019 Hawaii trip! It's my first time flying United's streamlined 757-300… retrofit = cramped seats, no TV screens, smaller lavs…
TSA… Took no more than 5 minutes as it was very empty that morning.
(Ugh I still need to get my Real ID… NOT looking forward to visiting the DMV)
LAX ALASKA lounge terminal 6
The lounge was accessible via the Priority Pass network (Ironically PP users were not given priority…) thanks to my Amex Plat. Waited about an hour for the entry.
The lounge looks absolutely fantastic after the renovation, turing the old ski resort vibe into a more fitting west coast themed.
Sufficient breakfast offerings…Though you can pay more (-$8) to order more premium food. Appreciate the beverage station offerging to-go coffee and tea!
boarding
Neighboring United 737-900ER going to Houston IAH
Here's my ride! N57869, a 17 year old Boeing 757-33N.
Boarding area crowded as usual. Staff announced that the flight will be "completely full" guess lots of people are trying to get to the islands for Christmas!
Boarded via Group 2 line as a Group 4 passenger… A guy with basic economy ticket (Group 5) tried to board…Held up the line a tad.
Wi-Fi and Private Screening? (Spoiler)
The flight
WOW the 757-300 is a long aircraft. Couldn't see the back even though I boarded through the L2 door.
An extremely thin blanket was found at every seat. Reminded me of Hoover's blankets during the Great Depression…
Legroom (30in) was pretty tight for my 5'6" and 105 pounds frame. My knees were not touching the front but didn't have lots of wiggle room.
Little did I know that "Three Perfect Days Cape Town" will be the only "entertainment on this flight!
Slim seats… 5 hours if fine but I would think about it if the flight is over 7 hours. At least there's adjustable headrest.
Window seat 19F. (Preferred seating at booking but opened to public at the 24 hour mark)
Pushed back abeam an Alaska 737-800.
American Boeing 787-9 going to Beijing (PEK)…Route's suspended now thanks to the coronavirus. Not that they were making much money before…($320 rt)
Korean Air A380 going to Seoul Incheon
"United 2373, RNAV to DLREY, runway 24L, cleared for takeoff."
Climbing out of the busy LAX airspace via SUMMR TWO DEPARTURE
10 minutes after takeoff, the dreadful announcement came saying that Wi-Fi/Entertainment is broken due to the lack of coverage over the ocean of this specific aircraft's wifi provider…
Drink service…My only source of free carbs along with pretzels. No meal service even on a 5 hour somewhat premium flight to Hawaii.
Tray table was large and sturdy enough to work on laptops, the only downside…LACK OF WI-FI.
Cruising nicely at FL260…4 hours and 10 minutes left to go…
This is what I saw at the "galley"… Quite a lovely way to "store" rubbish!
The lavatory was relatively clean though the removal of the lavs in the back meant that some waiting is expected to use the lavs.
Alaska 895 San Diego to Honolulu "Disneyland" livery at FL350… I bet they have Wi-Fi!
FAs came by looking to collect rubbish as we approach our final destination. Can't wait to deplane!
Route today
Approaching Initial Fix VECKI for runway 17
Parked next to a company 737-900ER from SFO
Thanks for reading!
what app do you use to show the waypoints? Very neat!
It's called "ForeFlight" with a Sentry Mini (Dual ADS-B receiver)
Thank you for this report!
Is there a Buy on Board service? The catering is really...minimal for a 5 hour flight!
However it is nice to fly a B757 aircraft, especially compared to in Europe, it is really rare to see a 757/767...
Hello @NKGflyer
Thanks for reading!
There was a buy onboard menu; however, the selection was very minimal and ridiculously overpriced... My neighbor paid (I think $9.99) for a hummus dip and she told me it was terrible. It is really nice to fly a 757. Sad to see them go.
10 dollars just for a hummus dip! That's too much indeed...
I saw in some other reports, United sometimes offers quite good (free) meals on international flights.
Hey Harry, great report as always! Christmas in Hawaii...lucky you!
Ugh United indeed! I will say the cabin being relatively recently refreshed looks quite nice, but the lack of IFE or WiFi on a flight approaching TATL length definitely sucks. DL's 753s, which I've flown on LAX-HNL, are much more pleasant since they're equipped with PTVs.
United's blah-ness almost takes away from the fun of being on a rare 753. Nice shot of your a/c on arrival!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by @KévinDC!
Indeed, United's ignorance to the quality of its economy cabin product puts such glorious aircraft to shame... Interestingly, we were supposed to fly Delta's 757-200 to Kona but my travel companion did not fancy a 9PM arrival on the big island haha. Delta 757s have really nice hard product... :(