Review of United flight from F. Lauderdale to Houston in Economy

Hello Everyone,

During my trip to Fort Lauderdale, it was time to fly onwards to Portland with United on the 757-200 via Houston.

I booked a basic economy fare and paid for seat selection in advance.  Fare was pretty reasonable on this route, around £100.

This would be our ride for today, N33103, a  28 year old 757-200.

Looks like our bird has taken some beatings over it's 28 year history with UA.

Views from seat 28A.

I paid for seat selection in advance and was able to grab a window next to a blocked middle seat.  I believe this is due to new FAA weight and balance calculations.  United has blocked 6 middle seats on the 757s over winter for this purpose.

We departed on schedule and made our way into the dark Florida skies.  What a powerful takeoff!

After takeoff, there was a drinks run with buy on board service.  I opted for some coffee and apple juice, was given the full can too!

Beautiful sunrise from 36,000ft; always worth the early wake up!

Those PTV's had definitely seen their day; very difficult to operate, reinforced by the person behind punching their fingers into my back for the duration of the flight.  I eventually gave up trying to get this to function and used some of the wifi functions on my phone.

Beginning the descent for Houston.

Approach and landing after a flying time of 2 hours and 23 minutes.

Parked next to one of my favourites.