Part VIII Denver, and New UA777 and Home.
Landing at Denver B Concourse it was a matter of finding where the next flight was going from - which was basically a gate and a bit over to the right. Whilst good in theory, with a 10 minute before boarding call, I couldn’t be bothered to go to the RCC - it was easier to queue for the flight.
Waiting for the long journey
Premium boarding commenced with F and C, then Star Golds were invited to board. I took this opportunity to board the aircraft.
UA948 Denver International Airport - London Heathrow Airport Terminal 1
United Airlines, Boeing 777-200, New Configuration, Seat 33K, Economy Class
4670 Miles flown, 4670 Miles Earned
The pictures
So news international configuration eh? What the heck is this all about? It seems United is finally getting around to updating some of the 777’s (and lets face it - some of them are getting very ratty - the joy of being the first delivered customer), so United have been beavering away and updating the configuration of the aircraft.
As we’re down the back, we’ll review the back. Most importantly, gone is the 2 x 5 x 2, and we welcome a more “standard” configuration of 3 x 3 x 3 across (well, we should be grateful they didn’t decide to implement 3 x 4 x 3 like some airlines).
It also seems United is trying to cram more people in with slimline seating, and a new AVOD system.
And the first impressions of the seat... are awful. Ok - I have an emergency slide for a friend, but the padding on the seat is very minimal. And on a long flight with a dicky back, this could prove... difficult.
Anyway, the plane boarded and I was questioned on my willingness to perform emergency exit duties - which of course I agreed to. After a while, the plane had filled, and we weren’t moving. It turns out we had a maintenance issue which needed to be addressed and filled with paperwork. Which was enough to keep us on the ground for another hour or so. And be even more uncomfortable in the seat.
The View into Economy Plus
Eventually we pushed back and were under way, with a manual safety demo and no Jeff smiling upon us. A short taxi, and the engines spooled up for the long 8 hour trip to Heathrow.
Service took quite a while to kick off - again, slow and sluggish due to the conditions above Denver, but it seems to be that this were an inbound crew who really didn’t want to be aboard this evening.
However, before we go onto the joke that is an economy class meal, lets look at the New IFE system!
Hopeful...
Well it’s shiny. Almost like the 767-300ER’s (so we’ll say for sake of argument it’s a Pansonic EX2 system).
And errm. What’s this? PAID FOR IFE??? ON A LONG HAUL FLIGHT?
You are joking me aren’t you?
The content itself is split into the two sections - paid and unpaid - the unpaid section being the same content as in United Economy, where as the Paid section is akin to what is shown in United International Business/United International First Class.
And considering I’ve watched what I wanted to watch, there is only one real soultion isn’t there?
Well it's not family guy for once, It's Dilbert! -tthe GhettoIFE unit here is resting on top of the IFE unit
Lets now talk about the food service which was... late. As usual, it was a tray meal, with a choice of chicken or pasta. The chicken was a odd afair, with a chicken brest, carrorts, peas and something else that was hard to identify.
Drinks service
Meal Service
Whilst not inedible, it did strain the fork a bit. The salad was fresh as usual, and shock and horror - had something other than lettuce on it. That’s a first for United. However, they do insist on a cookie sort of thing for desert. Still disappointing...
Service was cleared down relatively quickly whilst the cabin was kept in darkness, and that was the last I saw of the flight attendants most of the night - other than them heading down to the crew rest. Myself, I just drifted in and out of sleep.
As morning broke and the day grew older, the crew started wandering around again (without glasses of water, but still wandering), and about an hour fifteen from London it would be good to do a breakfast service. This being United, I knew exactly what to expect and wasn’t disappointed.
Breakfast
The pastry wasn’t great, and if I was blunt, I went nowhere near the yoghurt. The diet coke perked me up a bit and cured a bit of the dehydration.
Again the crew suddenly found they were beginning the decent, and rushed to clear down the plane and secure it for landing. Of course, being late meant being stacked, so we joined the Ockham stack for a few turns, and then Channel 9 suddenly came on.
Stuck in the stack
We proceeded to fly over Central London, before turning and lining up for Heathrow and touching down after the 8 hour journey, pealing off near T3, and taking our time back to the T1 dock where the jetbridge was attached, and we were allowed to disembark.
Canary Wharf
Nearing the ground
Overall: Disappointing, with a few minor highlights to the end. The term “could had done better” applies to the crew here. The new cabin configuration isn’t that hot, and if I was bluntly honest, I think there are some poor decisions with the new seats - least of all the padding in them is near enough nothing. Suffice to say I preferred the old configuration 777’s - even in Row 42.
Of course, we docked at the back end of T1, so it was a long hike to Europier and then to UK immigration where for once IRIS was open! A gaze into the mirrors, and I was let back into the United Kingdom. Admittedly walking at this point wasn’t that bad as my back was hurting from that UA seat...
Going down to luggage reclaim, bags had started going around the belt, and of course the Heathrow unloaders weren’t paying attention to any baggage tags, so my bags came out midway of the unload process. Loading everything up, it was through customs, pass the Heathrow Express ticket seller, and finally into T1 arrivals, for the long push back to the Central Bus Station.
Back to the flat
National Express 210 London Heathrow - Birmingham Coach Station
Thankfully I selected the right time for the bus and only had a 20 minute wait for it. Whilst there’s not much to talk about the bus journey (a quick zip along the M40, a divert into Birmingham Airport and finally Digbeth), sitting in the disabled seats I sadly found more legroom than there was in United Domestic First in Row 1....
Eventually, the coach arrived at Digbeth, and I caught a cab, and let myself into the flat, bringing the end of this adventure.
Once again, the end of a journey, and back at the flat
