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Old Jun 9, 2011 | 10:42 am
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inphelan
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3
United First - ORD/LHR & FRA/IAD Observations

Not so much comments as observations: May (2011) did Chicago to London, UAL747F and Frankfurt to Dulles, UAL767F. Did not originate nor terminate in those cities in the US.

ORD to LHR 747 Seats 1K & 2K. Generally nice arrangement. Very nice and generally clean cabin (see below) for this "Heathrow shuttle". Good service. Mediocre food. F/As actually visible on the floor between wheels up and wheels down. 747 is a nice QUIET airplane! I would recommend 2A and 2K over rows 1 or 3 or 4. Heads were clean and everything operational.

Bad stuff: Seat cushion was broken on 1K. Headset jacks were broken on 2K. Questionable area was bottoms of storage compartments. Had unidentifiable stuff on the bottoms of those compartments which had been there since the plane had been delivered I think.

FRA to IAD 767 Seat 1K. Strange arrangement. 2 rows 3 suites per row, but, the middle f/c seats have their bulkhead on the right side. That effectively creates a solid waist-high pony-wall from the b/c cabin bulkhead to the galley bulkhead. Since 2k is a crew rest seat with the full acoustic curtains, suite 1k becomes effectively isolated from the whole cabin after takeoff. That's good, or bad, depending on your particular travelling situation. Just be aware.

Food service out of FRA was excellent! The food was actually good and tasty. Cabin crew was much nicer than the ORD/LHR crew.

Same comments about the seat 1k suite except that the A/V system did not work properly, even when the F/A rebooted it. To me, not a big deal (I use my iPad), but others might have had a fit considering the prices paid. Try watching a movie with a blinking cursor right in the middle of the screen. Other: 767 is NOISY compared to the 747. It's wind noise over the nose, and might be quieter in row 2, I'm not sure. I'm told the 777 is worse, but have no experience.

If you're travelling with someone, book suites port side and center. At least you'll be able to talk across the port side aisle.

Be careful when booking. If you book row 3, f/c, in some overseas 767s, and there is an equipment change or you get a new 767, your row might go away and you will be relegated back with the sheep & goats. Book rows 1 or 2. Some complain the nearness of the galley to row 1 might be a problem. Not really so. There is no galley immediately in front of the bulkhead in front of row 1. It is crew seats and staging. The galley is a bit further forward along with the head. I never had any problem with noise or light from the galley as any noise was overwhelmed by wind noise.

Note: In FRA boarding is through the forward door on the 767. F/C, B/C and 1Ks are boarded first, of course. If you have a F/C seat, you might want to wait until the bulk of coach has boarded. The aisles aren't that wide and you'll spend the time ducking swinging backpacks and trying to keep your drink from ending up in your lap.

Again, JMHO.
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