My first ever United Airlines Flight – A Review

In the week just gone, I had my first ever United Airlines flight. In this post, you get to find out what I thought, from check-in to disembarkation.

Over the past 3 years, I have had an average 14 individual flights between Ireland and the UK. These were with Aer Lingus, British Airways, WestJet and mainly American Airlines. This was my first with United Airlines.

About United Airlines

United Airlines is one of the largest and most well-known airlines in the world, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. With a history that dates back to 1926, United has grown into a global leader in air travel, connecting people across continents. Operating a vast fleet, the airline serves hundreds of destinations in over 60 countries, making it a key player in both domestic and international travel. United is also a founding member of the Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, which allows passengers to enjoy seamless connections and perks across partner airlines. Known for its iconic globe logo, the company continues to innovate and prioritize customer satisfaction, offering a range of services from Economy to the luxurious Polaris business class.

What sets United apart is its commitment to sustainability and technology. The airline has made significant strides in reducing its environmental impact, aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets. United also focuses on enhancing the travel experience with advanced tools, such as the award-winning mobile app that keeps passengers informed and connected throughout their journey. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, United Airlines strives to make every flight comfortable and efficient, helping millions of passengers explore the world with ease.

My Review of Dublin to Las Vegas

Check-in

I used the United Airlines App to check in. Overall I found the app to be stable and easy to use. I was able to add my travel documents, review the travel advisories and check in online. This is one of the best airline apps that I have used. The American Airlines app has a few issues when it comes to travel-ready documentation. 

Seat Purchase

I do like a window seat, it is my preference with my love of aviation to be able to see what is going on outside the plane. On American Airlines, my flights from Ireland would normally be $32 per seat and then within the US my window seats were usually $18, which is on average $50 one way for the seats I wanted.

Unfortunately with United Airlines, my cost was almost double. So in this case I just booked seats on the 2 long flights Between Ireland and USA both ways.

I found this also on the flight from Dublin to Tampa via Newark 4 days later – almost $100 for 2 seats on one leg.

Arrival On-Board

The arrival on board was very good, and the cabin crew was very friendly and cheery. The seats were very comfortable. I spotted in the back of the seat that this was a 757. I had not been on a 757 since 1995 as far as I recall it was a Britania Airways 757 between Dublin and Orlando. This 757-200 had been very well maintained with comfortable seats, good air conditioning, and a good online entertainment system. Pre-take-off setup was completed very well and we took off about 10 mins behind the scheduled time – which of course could also be air traffic control issues etc.

On Board Meals

The Meal arrived about 2 hours into the flight. I chose the chicken dish. It was piping hot, and tasty and it seems to have been well developed from the point of view of flavour and texture. I really enjoyed it. On the return leg, I chose a veg tortellini which was even tastier – If I had received it in a restaurant I would have been very happy. There was a small bag of cocoa truffles which were just amazing. Overall I was very very happy with the food on board.

Comfort

Just a note on this … I don’t sleep on flights but for the first time ever I got 4h 30 mins sleep on the US to Ireland flight, so I think this is a testament to the comfort on board. I also slept well on the flight from Newark to Dublin on 4th January, again, this is unusual for me.

Overall Rating

I would give them a rating of 8/10 which is the same rating I would give American Airlines. In United’s case, I dropped marks on the price of the seats. In the American Airlines case, I dropped marks because the app often rejected my travel document regarding my address in the USA (something to do with the way it was parsed).

One Further note … I booked seats for a flight to Tampa later in December. I paid over $50 per seat and at the time, the 2 seats at the very back of the plane were not available. I went to check in (over 4 weeks after buying the seats) and the seats we originally wanted were now available. Instead of being able to simply switch seats (since we already purchased and paid for seats), it was charging an EXTRA $160 per seat for the change. So obviously we did not do that. but I really do think that the seat charges on United are really outrageous compared to the competition.

HOWEVER, we had an issue with a separate flight and United Customer Care (in Ireland) solved this for us in 5 minutes and for free. Without that fix to our flights, we would not have had our Christmas Vacation so I am very happy with that resolution. But on the flip side, I wanted to change the flights on the return leg, but because we booked with Booking.com and not United directly, they wanted to charge us over $1,140 for the change of flight. 

LESSON – Never Book a United Airlines flight on Booking.com !