Originally Posted by
tayd
My son (he's nine and short, probably can easily pass as being five) and I will be flying the LAX-SIN on UA37 this coming weekend in the regular Y section (not E+). I no longer have elite status but was curious as to whether it's worth the $183 and $158 additional cost to upgrade to E+? This would be my first time flying a UA's 789 and on this particular route, as we usually take NH via NRT (from IAD) to SIN typically. I'm about 5'10" and my son would be taking the window seat which would mean I'm stuck in the middle.
Looking at the numbers on SeatGuru, the differences for E+ doesn't seem to encouraging as compared to regular E, for this 17+ hour flight (and back).
E+ :35"pitch, 17.3" width, 4" recline
E: 32" pitch, 17.3" width, 3" recline
The answer to this is "To Each His Own." While I don't have any experience on the 789 specifically, I can say that on the 772 which I've experienced quite often, I find the extra 3-4 inches to be wonderful. Granted I'm 6-2. 3 inches may not seam like much, but it's enough for me to extend my legs straight and stretch into the underside of the seat in front of me.
One other thing to note is the E+ cabin tends to be the last to fill up. If you sit in the last row of the E+ section, you probably have the best chance of having an empty seat next to you.
One thing you can do is to reserve the two outside seats. This will discourage anyone from booking that middle seat. And if someone does take it, you ask to swap. I don't know anyone who would turn down an aisle seat for a middle seat..
In conclusion, I find E+ worth it all of the time, but you have to decide for yourself if $350 is worth it for some extra comfort.