Review of United flight from Newark to Los Angeles in Economy

Introduction

Welcome, everybody, to another Flight-Report! In this review, I will take you along with me to fly with United Airlines on flight UA2490 from Newark EWR, New Jersey (USA) to Los Angeles LAX, California (USA) in Economy Class on the Boeing 757-200!

This review will cover the airport experiences in Newark and Los Angeles, as well as the onboard hard and soft products. For each aspect of the experience, I will rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. The final score for the full experience will be out of 100.

Booking the flight

This was the second flight of a five-legged multi-city round trip of EDI-EWR-LAX-SEA-YYZ-EDI, booked through United but with the LAX-SEA flight being operated by Skywest on behalf of United Express, and the SEA-YYZ-EDI legs operated on codeshare by fellow Star Alliance member Air Canada. A fare of GBP869/EUR1019 was paid for the itinerary. 

I had specifically chosen to fly with United for the trip since the Boeing 757-200 was deployed on both the EDI-EWR and EWR-LAX flights, since I absolutely love the 757 which has become so rare outside of the US. I had originally been booked on the 16:15 UA2357, but around 3 months before departure, that flight number changed to UA1651, and the aircraft equipment was swapped to a Boeing 777-200ER. Honestly, I do not actually mind the 772 that much since it is not that common outside the US either. However, having booked this itinerary specifically for the 757, I could not risk having it taken away from me, since the prior flight UA37 had the tendency to be swapped to a 767 occasionally (not bad either, but once again, this itinerary was booked specifically for the 757). I hence contacted United Airlines’ customer service and connected with an online chat agent accessed through the United website and requested a change to the later UA2490 flight which was to be operated by the 757-200. The nice online agent instantly granted my request.

On to the seat selection: as United offers complimentary free seat selection for most of their fare classes, I was happy to secure a window seat. At the time of booking, I was pleasantly surprised to see that select rows in economy had a missing middle seat, the same as my previous UA37 flight. Since the adjacent window and aisle seats were free for selection, I happily chose seat 34F. I believe this was a move by United to combat overweight aircraft by leaving some seats empty and not for sale, so imagine the shock when a couple months before departure, I found the middle seat in my row, seat 34E, as well as all other formerly missing ones in other rows, back available for selection. I just hoped that the seat remained open.

Expectations

With the 757-200 being my personal favourite narrowbody aircraft, I was really excited to fly on it. With United having retrofitted the vast majority of their fleet in the past couple years, I was looking forward to a comfortable and well-maintained cabin with modern and high-tech seats. As for the soft product, my expectations were a little milder, since US carriers are known not to provide meals and comprehensive amenities on domestic flights. Still, I expected a good buy-on-board menu and the friendly service that the airline often prides itself on.

Departure airport - Newark EWR

Welcome to Newark Liberty International Airport! I had just picked up my checked bag at the baggage reclaim, and am now heading back upstairs to the departures concourse to catch my connecting flight to Los Angeles.

History and Current Operations at the Airport

Newark Liberty Airport (EWR/KEWR) opened in 1928 as Newark Metropolitan Airport, making it the first major airport in the New York City area. Initially, it served as the busiest commercial airport in the world. During the Second World War, it was taken over by the US Army Air Corps for military use. In 1948 after the war, it returned to commercial service and underwent significant expansions to accommodate the growing demand for air travel. In 1973, the airport was renamed Newark International Airport and continued to expand its facilities, including the opening of the new Terminal B. The iconic Terminal C, primarily used by United Airlines nowadays, was completed in 1988. In 2002, the airport was renamed Newark Liberty International Airport in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks and to reflect its proximity to the Statue of Liberty. Newark Liberty currently serves 184 domestic and international destinations with 30 airlines from its 3 terminals (Terminals A, B, and C), operating with its 3 runways (4L/22R, 4R/22L, 11/29).

Newark’s busiest year was in fact 2023, with 49200000 passengers, making it the 2nd busiest in the New York area behind JFK, 13th busiest airport in the US and the 31st busiest in the world. Like any other airport in the world, it saw a significant drop in passenger numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic but bounced back quickly to surpass its previous busiest year of 2019 in terms of passengers handled.

Transport to/from the Airport

For those leaving or departing from Newark Airport, it is well connected to New York City and the surrounding areas by road, bus, rail, and AirTrain. The airport is conveniently located near several major highways, including Interstate 78 which connects to Jersey City, and the Interstate 95 which provide easy access to Manhattan via the underwater Lincoln Tunnel. Public buses operated by NJ Transit offer frequent services between the airport and various locations in New Jersey. The Newark Airport Express bus service provides a direct connection between the airport and Midtown Manhattan, with stops at Grand Central Station, Bryant Park, and Port Authority Bus Terminal, taking around 45 minutes depending on traffic. The AirTrain Newark is a monorail system that connects the airport's terminals with NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line at the Newark Liberty International Airport Station, offering a quick and convenient link to New York Penn Station in about 30 minutes. Amtrak also serves the Newark Liberty International Airport Station, providing access to cities along the Northeast Corridor. Additionally, various shuttle services, taxis, and ride-sharing options are available to passengers, though prices may be steeper at times.

Bag-drop

At the end of the baggage reclaim area was a belt which allowed connecting passengers to “re-check” their bags. While I was perfectly capable of transferring mine onto the moving belt, the woman staffed there insisted to ‘help’, then threw the bag onto the belt. It hit the surface with such force that I could almost feel the ground shake. Fortunately, the luggage did not get damaged in the process.

Immigration

Following a couple escalator rides up to the second floor, I went through the TSA checkpoint. This was fairly quick with not the longest queues, and the officer allowed me through after a couple looks at my passport and boarding pass.

Security

The security hall was rather busy, but the process itself was pretty efficient. Soon enough, I was through and airside. There was a nice and large window right after security with pretty views of the apron.

Airside

There was not much going on after security, Newark Airport was pretty basic it seems. There were some shops and restaurants in the terminal, but not much else and certainly nothing too fancy or extravagant like some others. Still, it is an organised and well-directed airport.

Gate Area

I arrive at my gate, gate C92, while it was being prepared for the 16:15 UA644 service to San Fransisco. I watched in awe as N14102 pulled up to the gate, donning the beautiful Her Art Here: New York/New Jersey livery designed by Corrine Antonelli. The gate area filled up with SFO-bound passengers, and I spectated as they filed into the aircraft and the gate area slowly emptied once again. I had actually been really looking forward to the possibility of flying on this aircraft or the other two special livery 757s in United’s fleet, such as N14106, featuring the Her Art Here: California livery designed by artist Tsungwei Moo, and N14120, featuring the Star Alliance livery. Unfortunately, I have never had any luck with special liveries. Meanwhile, I checked FlightRadar24 to see what UA1651 was up to, that was the flight I was going to take had I not requested a change to this later UA2490 flight for the 757. Surprise, that flight was operated by N218UA, a 21-year-old 777-200ER featuring the Star Alliance livery. It hurt a little to have been so close yet so far to experiencing a special liveried aircraft for the first time, but I do not regret chasing for a 757.

Our aircraft for tonight, N19117, soon pulled up to the gate after a flight from LAX as flight UA1580. The gate offered superb close-up views of the aircraft.

DEPARTURE AIRPORT SCORES: 6/10

Flight, aircraft, and airline information

Flight Information

Flight date: 15/12/2023

Airline: United Airlines (UA/UAL)

Operated by: United Airlines (UA/UAL)

Flight number: UA2490

Route: Newark Liberty EWR – Los Angeles LAX

Scheduled Departure Time: 18:00 (UTC-5)

Actual Departure Time: 18:59 (UTC-5)

Scheduled Arrival Time: 21:25 (UTC-8)

Actual Arrival Time: 21:07 (UTC-8)

Scheduled Flight Time: 06h25min

Actual Flight Time: 05h09min

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Registration: N19117*

Aircraft Type: Boeing 757-224 (Winglets)**

Engines: 2x Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4B

Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN): 27559

Line Number: 706

First Flight: 03/04/1996

Aircraft Age (as of flight): 27 years 08 months

Aircraft Delivered: 01/10/2010**

Seating Configuration: J16Y160

Aircraft Livery: United Airlines 2019***

*This aircraft is the 17th oldest 757-200 in United’s fleet! The first two numbers in the registration (in this case, the 19)
have nothing to do with the order these aircraft were delivered in, rather, the final three numbers are the fleet numbers (in this case, 117), with the fleet numbers for the 757-200 starting from 101 from the 30-year-old N58101 all the way to the 23-year-old N19141. N26123, fleet number 123, the 23rd 757-200 in United’s fleet, was damaged beyond repair and written off in June 2019 after the 757 bounced on landing and veered off runway with main landing gear getting stuck in soft ground, damaging the fuselage around the nose landing gear.

**The suffix ‘24’ here is a Boeing customer code, with this one belonging to the former Continental Airlines. Indeed, this aircraft had been delivered fresh and new from its production site at Renton RNT to Continental on 03/02/2000 just 11 days after its first flight, and had operated with them until the USD8.5 billion merger on 01/10/2010, where all of Continental’s assets, including this aircraft, were transferred to United. Despite United’s own Boeing customer code being ‘22’, the suffixes of all ex-Continental aircraft in United’s fleet remain as ‘24’, since these are not affected by a change in ownership of the aircraft. Having been delivered to Continental without winglets, those were installed in May 2006.

***This United livery, unveiled in April 2019, was an evolution of the previous livery inherited from Continental during the merger in October 2010. This livery features a mostly white fuselage but with a wavy swoop of light gray along the belly, accented by a dark blue outline. A large blue font of the title UNITED in the same classic san-serif block letter design from previous generations of the livery takes much space on the forward section of the fuselage, though much bolder than ever before. The vertical stabiliser features the iconic Continental globe icon, painted in a very creative combination of different shades of blue. The background follows a top-to-bottom 3-colour gradient of the same shades of blue found elsewhere on the livery.

History of the aircraft type

The Boeing 757’s history traces back to the late 1970s when Boeing identified the need for a new aircraft to replace its aging 727, which had been a staple for short- and medium-haul routes. The goal was to create a more fuel-efficient, higher-capacity, and longer-range aircraft that could meet the evolving needs of airlines, particularly in the wake of the 1970s oil crisis, which highlighted the importance of fuel efficiency.Development of the 757 began in 1978, with Boeing designing it as a twin-engine narrow-body jet capable of carrying between 200 and 240 passengers, depending on the configuration. The 757 featured a number of technological advancements, including high-bypass-ratio turbofan engines (the Pratt & Whitney PW2000 or Rolls-Royce RB211), a new wing design for improved aerodynamics, and a lighter fuselage using composite materials. These innovations allowed the 757 to achieve superior fuel efficiency and range compared to its predecessors, making it suitable for both short domestic routes and transcontinental flights. The 757 made its first flight on February 19, 1982, and received its certification later that year. The first 757-200, the initial variant, was delivered to launch customer Eastern Air Lines in December 1982. The 757-200 quickly became popular with airlines, especially in the United States, where it was used extensively by carriers like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. The aircraft’s performance allowed it to operate out of airports with shorter runways, such as Washington National and New York LaGuardia, while still offering transcontinental range. In addition to the -200 variant, Boeing introduced the 757-300 in 1999, a stretched version with greater passenger capacity, making it the longest single-aisle aircraft Boeing had ever produced. Despite its increased capacity, the 757-300 saw limited orders due to its niche market. The 757 also found a unique role in the transatlantic market. Its range and fuel efficiency allowed airlines to open new long-haul routes between smaller city pairs that were previously unviable with larger wide-body aircraft. This capability made the 757 particularly valuable for European and North American carriers operating across the Atlantic.

Production of the Boeing 757 ended in 2004 after 1,050 units were built, with the final aircraft delivered to Shanghai Airlines. Despite the end of production, the 757 remains in widespread service, valued for its versatility and performance. Airlines such as United continue to operate the 757 on both domestic and international routes, and the aircraft has also been popular in the cargo sector, where its payload capabilities are highly prized.

History of the airline

United Airlines was initially founded on 06/04/1926 as Varney Air Lines, but became United Air Lines in 1931 after a merger with Boeing's and Pratt & Whitney's subsidiaries under United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. United was the first airline to introduce stewardesses in 1930 and was instrumental in developing the modern airline industry, being among the US’ most notable airlines. Throughout its history, United has undergone several mergers, the most significant being the aforementioned one with Continental Airlines in 2010, which created one of the world's largest airlines. United was also one of the five founding airlines of Star Alliance.

United Airlines now operates a vast domestic and international network from its main hubs of Chicago ORD, Denver DEN, San Francisco SFO, Houston IAH, Los Angeles LAX, Newark EWR, Washington IAD, and Guam GUM. United currently serves 362 destinations, of which 118 are international. These are spread throughout 48 countries across all 6 inhabited continents.

Not including regional and commuter subsidiary United Express, United currently has 955 aircraft in its fleet, making it the third largest in the world, behind fellow US carriers Delta (991) and American (968). The fleet includes, as of June 2024: 81 Airbus A319-100, 87 Airbus A320-200, 11 Airbus A321neo, 40 Boeing 737-700, 141 Boeing 737-800, 12 Boeing 737-900, 136 Boeing 737-900ER, 87 Boeing 737 MAX 8, 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9, 40 Boeing 757-200, 21 Boeing 757-300, 37 Boeing 767-300ER, 16 Boeing 767-400ER, 19 Boeing 777-200, 55 Boeing 777-200ER, 22 Boeing 777-300ER, 12 Boeing 787-8, 38 Boeing 787-9, and 21 Boeing 787-10.

Pre-departure

Boarding

Once again, the gate area filled up for California-bound travelers, though this time to Los Angeles. Due to the high passenger load on this flight, passengers were asked to volunteer to check-in their bags at the gate due to a potential shortage of overhead storage space onboard in the cabin, and seeing no downsides, I agreed to check-in my carry-on as well. After the usual priority passengers, Business Class passengers, and Star Alliance status holders were called to board, my row was called since I was towards the rear of the aircraft. After a quick boarding pass scan, I was walking down the jet-bridge toward the aircraft. Boarding was done through door L2 for all passengers.

Welcome onboard

Two flight attendants were stationed at the door to welcome passengers onboard. To the left was the 16-seat Business Class cabin, fitted with Collins Diamond seats that were refurbished back in 2020. Turning right, I first walked through the Economy Plus section of the cabin, which featured Economy seats but with extra legroom, here mostly featuring a generous 37” of pitch.
After having walked through the 7 rows of Economy Plus, I enter the main Economy Cabin which features a much tighter but still acceptable 30” of pitch. I found my supposed-to-be seatmate, a very nice Australian guy, in the middle seat 34E, but later he switched to the row directly in front as there was only one other passenger occupying the row, meaning I had more space to myself. A packet of sanitizing wipe was handed out to each passenger to disinfect the seats and cabin.

Cabin and seat

Let us take a look at my seat for the flight.

Seat Details

Seat: 34F (starboard-side window seat)

Seat model: Aspire

Seat Manufacturer: Rockwell Collins (USA)

Row pitch: 30”

Seat Width: 17.1”

Seat Recline: 3”

Class: Economy Class (Y)

Cabin: Main Economy Class cabin (rear section)

Seating Arrangement: 3-3

Seat Features:

4-way-adjustable headrest

Retractable tray table

10” HD touchscreen IFE display   

Duo-headphone jack

USB-A sockets

Universal AC Power Outlets

Literature compartment

Individual reading lights

Individual air nozzles

A brief history of the seat

This particular seat type was unveiled in April 2017 and put into service a year later in April 2018 when United retrofitted this seat type onto the Boeing 777-200. United was the first carrier to utilize the new seat model, named the Aspire, developed by Rockwell Collins. This new seat comes together with the introduction of the new Polaris business class seats (based on the Safran Optima) and premium economy seats (the Collins MiQ). The Aspire economy seat made its way onto United’s 757-200 in October 2019 first with N17105. Due to the width of the 757’s cabin, the new Safran Optima Polaris seats could not be fitted on the aircraft, hence the old Collins Parallel seats were kept, but with newer seat cushions and covers, as well as an updated in-flight entertainment system. My aircraft for today, N19117, received its retrofits in March 2020.

Some of my thoughts about the seat:

Seat Comfort: The seat was well padded and comfortable enough to sit in. However, the leather material used to make the seat was not very breathable and a rather poor conductor of heat, so it could get a little hot and stuffy when sitting down for long. This flight was well air conditioned, though, so that was not a problem.

Legroom: When seated upright, the legroom situation was okay with a very average 30” row pitch, though it certainly was not too spacious around my knees. Thankfully, the passenger in front did not recline throughout the flight, and neither did I during the flight, so not much more to comment there, but I do imagine the knee space would be reduced if any of those occurred.

Seat Storage: A very standard seat-back pocket which housed the in-flight magazine and waste bag. Under-seat storage was standard as well.

Recline: At 3”, the recline was rather average, but was quite comfortable and allowed me to sleep pretty well.

CABIN AND SEAT SCORE: 8/10

Taxi and take-off

We pushed back at around 18:30 and said goodbye to N672UA, the 767-300ER which had been parked at the adjacent gate, and the safety video started playing. United’s safety video starts off with their signature orchestral arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Rhapsody in Blue was adopted as United’s theme in 1980, having been used in advertisements, the safety videos, as well as in the Terminal 1 underground walkway at Chicago ORD. The safety video itself features scenes from many United destinations all around the world, such as Scotland, Peru, and Norway, while the background music features different cultural iterations of Rhapsody in Blue with respect to wherever each scene was filmed. I personally really enjoy United’s safety video and is among my favourites out there, it really captures the friendly spirit of United while being informative, though doing so at a pace that I feel is a little too slow. 

A lady sitting at seat 30F a few rows in front was chatting animatedly on her phone in a foreign language when the passenger announcement told everyone to switch off their devices or turn on airplane mode. With her having not complied, many cabin crew members had to come over to get her to follow instructions, but it took the poor flight attendants much effort before her stubborn phone call ended.

We taxied via taxiways O, J, and R before lining up with runway 22R at X,and spooled up at 18:59 local time. We rotated and lifted off like a rocket after just 35 seconds on the runway, almost an entire hour behind schedule. 

Following the PORTT4 SID, or Standard Instrument Departure procedure, our departure initially took the aircraft down on a southerly heading before executing a right 180° to fly northwards. Then, the aircraft banked left to a heading of 274° for the remainder of the climb.

Flight path

Now is a good time to take a look at our flight path. Our flight out of New Jersey took us over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona before our descent into California. We cruised at 36000ft, 30000ft, and 28000ft. 

Snack and drink service + buy-on-board

Around 30 minutes after takeoff while over Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the cabin crew came around the cabin for the snack service. The default snack for passengers which was included in the ticket were some packaged crackers in the form of mini rye bagel chips, garlic bread bites, and mini pretzel twists. A complimentary drink was also offered, and I went for a hot coffee with milk and sugar. The coffee was served with the milk already poured in, and a very generous 3 sachets of white sugar was handed to me as well.

Having not had a meal at Newark, I was starting to get pretty hungry since the last thing I ate was the pizza twist onboard UA37 some 8 hours ago. Unfortunately, the buy-on-board menu did not include any hot options, not even a hot snack similar to the pizza twists. The largest (and most expensive) options would be one of the 3 snack-boxes on offer, each with different contents. Out of the 3 options of ‘Takeoff’, ‘Tapas’, and ‘Recline’, I chose the ‘Takeoff’ snack-box since it seemed to be the most comprehensive option with the most items compared to the others. The price for each snack-box was USD10 or 1180 United miles.

My snack-box arrived very soon as the lovely senior Asian flight attendant confirmed my payment with miles, and he handed me the snack-box. The contents were: a packet of Old Wisconsin’s beef salami slices, Vacaville Fruit Company’s Mediterranean dried apricots, Glacier Ridge Farms’ Smoked Gouda cheese spread, Acacia’s cream crackers, Italian breadsticks, madi K’s hickory smoked almonds, a mango jerky made from half a mango, a Daelmans’ mini Stroopwafel, and a mini Toblerone bar. The snacks in this snack-box worked really well, particularly the breadsticks and Gouda spread, as well as the mini Stroopwafel being the highlights. The snacks were also pretty filling and kept me relatively satisfied throughout the flight.

SNACK AND DRINK SERVICE + BUY-ON-BOARD SNACK-BOX SCORES: 8/10

Amenities

Provided Amenities

At each seat during boarding was a blanket, and a pair of wired earpieces.

The blanket came tightly packaged in a plastic wrap, was large and really comfortable. This one was much cleaner than the one on my previous flight from Edinburgh, much more likely to have been freshly laundered at Newark, but I am still keeping my face off it just in case.

The provided wired earpieces worked quite well with delivering audio from the IFE system. I specially like how it utilizes just a single headphone jack, meaning that I could also use it for my own devices should I need to.

As mentioned already, a sanitising wipe was also handed out to each passenger before departure, which I used to wipe down my seat including the seatbelts, IFE screen, and the windows. Very useful in making the seat and its surroundings feel a lot more hygienic and safer.

Lavatories

There are two lavatories towards the rear of United’s 757-200. Each lavatory came with a toilet seat (obviously), a sink with a mirror as well as a full-sized mirror, and a fold-down changing table. Counter space was rather limited, unfortunately. Neither lavatory was kept sparkling clean throughout the entire flight, but was certainly not the worst I have ever seen. The lavatories were stocked with hand wash, though no other forms of amenities such as facial cream or perfume were available.

AMENITIES SCORE: 7/10

In-flight entertainment

In-Flight Entertainment system

Each seat came equipped with a 10” IFE touchscreen display, which was of pretty high definition. The content on demand was provided by the Panasonic eX3 system, and featured a very good selection of movies, TV shows, music, and games. I had just a little fun with a football (soccer) game on the IFE before going to sleep. The player names were very funny (no licensing I guess), but the gameplay was rather clunky and difficult.

A really high-quality interactive map and information about the flight was also available.

I did find it slightly unfortunate that nautical miles were not included in the measurement settings despite it being the aviation standard.

I also found it interesting that United has ATC broadcasts to the in-flight entertainment, though I completely forgot to tune into it before landing at LAX.

Onboard Wi-Fi

Onboard connectivity on United’s 757-200s are provided by Panasonic Avionics’ Ku-band satellite Wi-Fi, and is the exact same system as on my previous flight from Edinburgh. A complimentary messaging plan was available for all United MileagePlus members, and supported messaging through apps like WhatsApp. However, this did not grant any form of uploading or downloading of files, which was a little unfortunate. More data-heavy social media apps like Instagram were unusable with this plan as well. The paid options included a one-hour plan for high-speed connections for USD9.99 or 1000 MileagePlus miles, and a full-flight plan for USD23.99 or 2400 MileagePlus miles.

Onboard Charging

As shown before already, a the underside of the IFE screen was a convenient USB-A port. A dual headphone jack was also found there even though United provides wired earpieces that require just a single headphone jack.
Each row of 3 seats shares 2 Universal AC Power Outlets, found beneath the seats, again shown earlier.

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SCORES: 8/10 

Rest and sleep

Feeling rather sleepy due to jet lag, I reclined my seat, put on my Qatar Airways Business class eye mask, and settled in for the night. I slept really well thanks to the low noise levels in the cabin, the space around me, and the very comfortable air conditioning settings in the cabin, until I woke up just as we were descending into Los Angeles over Southeastern California.

REST AND SLEEP EXPERIENCE SCORES: 9/10

Cabin crew

As we descend through 10000ft over Ontario, California (not Canada) just east of Los Angeles, I will very quickly summarise the cabin crew’s performance on this flight.

Service Speed and Crew Efficiency

Speed of the service on this flight were very efficient, though this was as expected since the complimentary service on board was minimal. My snack-box came very quickly after I ordered it as well, which was very pleasant considering how hungry I was.

Service Attitude

The crew on this flight were in good spirits and were friendly. A few of the flight attendants were particularly lovely, were very polite, and were always smiling. I felt the pain and annoyance behind their bright smiles when handling the phone call lady incident during taxi and admire their composure when dealing with potentially uncooperative passengers.

CABIN CREW SCORES: 9/10

Approach, laser attacks, and landing

The aircraft descended over the Californian suburbs for a pretty much straight in approach on a heading of 262° in line for the approach into runway 25L at LAX. For this the aircraft flew according to the HLYWD1 STAR or Standard Terminal Arrival procedure, making a turn to presumably intercept the ILS glide slope at waypoint SEAVU.

While descending through approximately 5000ft, we were hit with two laser attacks from the ground, with one coming from around Montebello and the other one likely around Huntington Park. I could not manage to snap any pictures of the lasers pointing at our aircraft, but I am sure I recall the approximate locations correctly. While the little green lasers would usually not cause the most drastic levels of immediate harm to the aircraft and those on board, it is still a serious threat in that it potentially distracts pilots, or even causes eye damage in more severe cases. In my case, I was just merely looking out the window when the laser was pointed at us, and experienced a very temporary flash blindness myself, similar to the type of afterimage one would see after a strong camera flash. It is, in fact, a federal offence in the United States to point lasers at aircraft and individuals caught could face fines or even imprisonment. However, it is immensely difficult to trace down individuals who make such a nuisance, since they tend to be hard to locate, there is no method of immediate detection and evidence, and that such lasers are very easy to access and are easily portable. I guess all that passengers and pilots can do now to prevent permanent eye injuries from laser attacks really, is to exercise more caution when flying at lower altitudes, especially over less civilized areas…

Anyways, the aircraft was soon on short final at Los Angeles’ runway 25L, and touched down at 21:07 local time, 18 minutes ahead of schedule. The aircraft vacated the runway via H7 and turned to taxi up taxiway H before crossing Runway 25R at taxiway J. The aircraft then taxied along taxiway B before finding the gate at Terminal 7, which was gate 72. 

On the way there, the aircraft taxied past 4 Chinese (both Mainland and Taiwan) widebodies parked in a line at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which were a Sichuan Airlines A350-900 wearing the Panda Route special livery registered B-325J set to depart later that night as flight 3U3838 to Chengdu TFU via Hangzhou HGH, a China Airlines (Taiwan) 777-300ER registered B-18052 set to depart as flight CI7 to Taipei TPE, a China Southern 777-300ER registered B-20CK set to depart as flight CZ328 to Guangzhou CAN, and a Starlux (Taiwan) A350-900 registered B-58502 set to depart as flight JX1 to Taipei TPE.

Arrival airport - Los Angeles LAX

The aircraft came to a halt and the seatbelt signs were switched off. The jet-bridge was connected swiftly, and the doors were opened for disembarkation. Being of relatively lower capacity, de-boarding was a really efficient process, and soon I was heading down the aisle to door L1 and off the aircraft into the jetbridge.

Once in the terminal building, there were some more close-up views of our aircraft.

History and Current Operations at the Airport

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) opened in 1930 as Mines Field, initially serving as a municipal airstrip in the Westchester district of Los Angeles. It was officially renamed Los Angeles Airport in 1941, and then Los Angeles International Airport in 1949 to reflect its growing importance in global aviation. During World War II, LAX was used by the US Army Air Forces for military training and logistics, returning to civilian control after the war. Post-war, LAX rapidly expanded to meet the burgeoning demand for air travel, with major developments including the construction of the first passenger terminal in 1961, which introduced the iconic Theme Building, a symbol of the Jet Age. The airport has since undergone continuous expansions, including the addition of the Tom Bradley International Terminal in 1984, in time for the Summer Olympics that year. This terminal, named after Los Angeles’ first African-American mayor, has since been expanded to accommodate the increasing volume of international flights. LAX serves as a major hub for several airlines, including American, Delta, and United Airlines, making it one of the busiest airports in the world.

In 2023, LAX handled around 75100000 passengers, making it the 4th busiest airport in the United States and the 8th busiest in the world. The airport operates with 4 parallel runways (6L/24R, 6R/24L, 7L/25R, 7R/25L) and features 9 passenger terminals arranged in a horseshoe shape. LAX serves over 200 domestic and international destinations, and is currently undergoing significant modernization efforts, including the expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and the construction of the new Midfield Satellite Concourse to further enhance its capacity.

Baggage Reclaim

Since I had already gone through US immigration and customs at Newark, there was no need for that again here at LAX, and I was straight through to the baggage reclaims. At the belt, my gate-checked luggage arrived safely. Tucked away at a corner was a group of luggage which included the one that had been checked from Edinburgh but re-checked at Newark. Astonishingly, I found out that this bag had arrived at LAX not on my UA2490 flight, not on the earlier UA1651, but on an even earlier UA2403 flight (also operated by a 757-200). I had considered that flight when booking as well, but thought that the 2-hour transit time was slightly risky considering I had to go through immigration and TSA at Newark. Seeing that the baggage reclaim area is very much open to the public at Terminal 7, I count myself lucky that no one took it for themselves in the many hours it was probably waiting here for.

Transport to/from the Airport

A variety of transportation options are available to connect travellers to the city and surrounding areas. The airport is conveniently located near several major highways, including Interstate 405, offering access to various parts of Los Angeles. Public bus services, such as the FlyAway bus, provide direct connections between LAX and downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and other locations. The Metro C Line connects to the city through the Aviation/LAX station in relatively close vicinity to the airport. Additionally, the airport is well-served by taxis, ride-sharing services, and shuttle options, providing flexibility for travelers. While these options offer convenience, traffic congestion can impact travel times, especially during peak hours. In my case, the car that was picking me up spent over 2 hours waiting in line just a couple hundred meters away due to a horrendous traffic jam.

ARRIVAL AIRPORT SCORES: 6/10

Final ratings

Airports

Airports Experience: 6/10

Hard Product

Seat Comfort: 8/10

Sleep Comfort: 9/10

In-flight Entertainment: 8/10

Aircraft Cleanliness: 8/10

Aircraft Comfort: 9/10

Soft Product

Food and Beverage: 8/10

Other service: 7/10

Amenities: 7/10

Cabin Crew: 9/10

OVERALL RATING: 79/100