Due to my flying back home to London for a wedding, I had two options, and having just flown British Airways in the month prior, I decided to give United's Premium Plus a whirl
Aircraft: Boeing 767-322ER
Registration: N667UA
Origin: EWR Newark-Liberty, USA
Destination: LHR London Heathrow, GB
Seat: 21L
Price: Round trip 45,000 miles + $100 USD (return economy)
Airline: United
This was part of a round-trip routing out of Newark, returning two days later! Short trip! The Economy return leg of this trip will be posted to the link below when completed.
Flight routing
- 1EWR-LHR (UA14)
- 2LHR-EWR (UA921)
I arrived at Newark Liberty's Dingy terminal's at 3:45PM on the day of my departure, fully ready to endure the blasphemous queues at EWR security. Luckily however, I was giddy to find that my Premium Plus ticket entitled me to Premier Access, and I was through security in five minutes. Unfortunately, EWR was incredibly busy, and I didn't get many pictures of the airport, so let us cut to the chase. Here is our gorgeously painted 767-322ER registered N667UA. I love United's new livery, although I know some people have some odd nostalgic hate against it.
United's Premium Plus product is arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration on the 767, and features well padded purple recliners that give off Virgin vibes while keeping to the uniform business model of United. It is clean, crisp, and all the features are well planned out. I was seated in 21L on this flight, simply because it was the only row with two well aligned windows that made viewing easy. (I also don't like bulkheads.)
For a plane that is around twenty years old, the cabin looks brand new. United's commitment to these planes makes me happy, because I have a nostalgic tie to the 767. The amenity was well stocked, and the TV was brilliantly laid out with a good variety of films to enjoy.
There was this very useful pocket by the side of the seat for smaller belongings. In here, you will also find a universal power outlet and a USB input socket. I found this to be a useful place for my passport, headphones, and water.
And we're off!!! Who doesn't like sitting on the wrong side of the plane to see the NYC skyline.. Oh, bother. Well at least I'll be on the correct side on the return flight! The 767 wingtip is astounding, and massive. Only when the maintenance guys are on it does it put the size into perspective. Now, onto United's sour spot… Catering. O.M.G, I was surprised. They have seriously stepped it up! Yes, of course the meal was still shy of some European airlines, but a nice dish of tender comfort food is a nice dish of tender comfort food, so here goes:
First a cuppa tea. My British blood comes out here, and I always spill for tea. Along with a Ginger Ale which always helps to soothe my stomach before a nice kip on the plane. The tray table is of good size and is very sturdy. On to the main course, which was a Beef Tenderloin with a pasta salad and some weird cheap-stake underwhelming biscuit for dessert. The beef was very tender and delicious, the pasta was just alright, and the cookie was abysmal. It has no place in a Premium Economy cabin, but nonetheless, didn't take away from the entrée too much. The bread roll was actually decent, and I appreciate the glass.
Breakfast was actually, although not good, better than most airlines on the same flight. You'd be lucky to escape with a croissant on BA, but jetBlue's pain au chocolat remains to be beaten.
Our approach into a gloomy and rainy London Heathrow actually sparked my happiness to be back, and we graced the ground at Heathrow at 6:30 in the morning.
Although more foreign to me than Terminal 5, I quite like Terminal 2, and the transit experience there was smooth like always. It was a pretty morning by London standards, and I made my way to the Heathrow Express to start my long journey home.
I will upload a Polaris review in the near future from back in 2021, so watch out for that.
I used a coupon on Heathrow Express' website and got the Business/First ticket down to the same price as the economy tickets. Hint, this never seems to expire and I have used it over 20 times. PRIDE22. With that:
With that, we have arrived in London! Thank you so much for coming along on this trip with me. In overview, the seat is great, service above the industry standard, and the food was mediocre. I would 100% fly in Premium Plus again! See you in my Economy report of the return flight coming in the near future!
Hi there, thanks for sharing your first review here with us! Lots of good information here. It doesn't get better than 2-2-2 configuration on a 767 for Premium Economy! I've heard the seats can be a little hard, but that may be because they're new, especially on the 767s. The big US3 were late to the game introducing Premium Economy, but in my opinion they've done a great job overall with differentiating the product from Economy, minus some Covid-era catering cuts here and there. Personally, I'm a fan of Premium Economy and fly W whenever J is too cost prohibitive. It's a great option to have!
oooh, thanks for the tip! I've never bothered with F on the Hex since it's only 15 mins, but if it's the same price, I would def do it!
Thanks again for sharing and welcome!!!
Kevin, thank you so much for your comment! Flying has been a passion of mine for a while and I am excited to continue to share my reviews here. In the next couple days, I will submit a review of British Airways Premium on the same route, which should serve as good contrast. I agree with your analysis on W, and as someone who is very tall, I need the extra leg room, but appreciate the elevated experience. The seats are a bit hard after a while, and I would struggle on flights over nine hours, but this might be my preference to fabric seats which are more aerated and cooling. I would love to see United improve their cabin service, although there was one stewardess who recognised me from the Starbucks in the airport, and it made for a very personable experience. Their catering needs a boost, but I'm sure it is in their future. HEX is great in the standard class, but for me, it was seven in the morning and I wanted to shut my eyes for ten minutes. (Amazing how much difference a power nap can make.) British Airways will always be my preferred airline, but that is just due to nostalgic purposes and the great cabin service. Thanks for your comment Kevin!
Thanks for the report Gobeldygook, it's nice to see someone else flying United long-haul. Despite my years of United loyalty, I've never actually flown them in premium economy so thanks for sharing.
Does this include United Club access? I heard the new United Club in C is pretty nice.
United's beef short rib tends to be its most consistent entrée in Polaris, so not surprised to see the beef tenderloin do well in Premium. The catering looks about the same as the pandemic-era catering did in J in mid-2021.
Hello George!
Thank you so much for the comment. United Club access is not included, however it is heavily discounted. It goes to about $39 dollars for a one time pass I think. United's beef is generally not bad, but that biscuit!!!! How horrible was that! The United Club is brand new and gorgeous. Unfortunately, I did not bother paying for it on this trip, and instead favoured the Starbucks!
Happy flying!