Review of the return flight of my trip to the US from last fall.
The first leg from CDG to EWR can be found here
https://flight-report.com/fr/report/66608/united-ua56-paris-cdg-newark-ewr/
After an early arrival from Indianapolis, I found myself in a very crowded EWR terminal, with many departures mostly to LatAm and Europe.
First view of tonight's plane, still in the old UA livery
The boarding area was pretty full, but i still manage to find a seat.
The sun started to set as boarding began.
With so many passengers having some kind of priority boarding, by the time I boarded the aircraft the cabin was already 70% full, hence no picture of my seat.
I noticed the FA were pretty expeditive in the way they talked to passengers, at least in English, when they were talking in French they were more formal.
Combined with my experience on the CDG-EWR leg, I definitely find that the attitude of UA's FA has declined.
We pushed back on time and soon we took off, unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the plane to get good views on New York City.
We soon reached a higher altitude
Service started with drinks and Biscoff cookies. I found it odd to serve cookies before dinner
Dinner followed. Again the drinks were served separately, which I found annoying.
It was ok, basic airplane food
I declined any teat or coffee, watched a movie and rested for about 3 hours, until we got closer to Europe and the cabin light was turned on for breakfast
Breakfast was a very tasty sandwich, with a choice of hot or cold drinks
We gently approached and lined up Paris CDG's runway
And landed slightly ahead of schedule
Taxi was pretty quick but it took a long time for the plane to reach the final parking position as our gate was in a corner and we taxied really slowly
An average flight with UA, on one hand In find their seat is comfortable for economy class, with decent legroom.
Their IFE is good.
The disappointment comes from the crew, which were basic and not making many efforts on both my long haul flights.
UA crew used to be much more friendlier
Also, the food quality has decreased a bit.
But then again UA is probably comapring itself with Lufthansa which has the worst meals for a legacy airline.
I find that annoying too. US carriers even do this in Domestic First class. My French brain always sees a drink served before a meal as an apéritif, but a lof of US carriers serve the drinks first and then the meal, and there is not another drink service after that.
Breakfast looks really small, but I guess at least it's hot. Sadly not surprised about the crews attitudes; it's always a lottery on US carriers. They often barely crack a smile in Business or First, much less in Economy.
Thanks for sharing!