thepointsguy

Blog post with pictures and video of landing in Rio de Janeiro here.

To sum it up, UA "New" Intl First is a wonderful international first class seat, with okay business class-style service.

I’ve never flown United in first class internationally, so I was excited to see how they stacked up against their competitors- especially because I was flying a new first class 767.

Overall, I have to say I was very impressed with the hard product. It was a new, pod-like suite that reminded me of British Airways New First class. Where British Airways and other premier first class products (Singapore, Cathay, Emirates) differentiate themselves is in the soft product: service, food and amenities. Overall, the theme was that United was perfectly fine, but they didn’t go the extra step to go “above and beyond”.

For example, when I boarded the plane, I was the first first class passenger on board. While I was welcomed, it took about 10 minutes for a flight attendant to take my jacket and another 5 minutes for a flight attendant to ask me if I wanted orange juice, water or champagne. Not a big deal, but other airlines would have been doting over me and asking me what type of drink I wanted instead of bringing me a tray of limited choices .

Another peculiar thing was that after the flight attendant dropped the menu, he came back 2 minutes later asking for my order. At that point, I hadn’t even opened the menu and was a little puzzled at the expediency of the request. While I know that it was a 10:30pm departure so they wanted to serve dinner as soon as possible, it was a little weird to be asked for my meal right away.

Another negative thing about boarding was that everyone boarded through door 1L, which means over a hundred coach and business class passengers gawked as they walked through the first class cabin. I much prefer when the aircraft is boarded through the second door, that way only first/business class passengers walk left and everyone else walks right upon boarding. This isn’t because I’m “so elite I can’t bear to see coach passengers” (please- I was one a couple weeks ago!), but having hundreds of people walk by you means you get less attention and service and its harder to get settled.

Boarding was expedient and before I knew it, we were taxiing for the runway. One of the interesting things about United, was that they have shoulder straps on their first class seats. So instead of just being able to “buckle up”, you also need to pull down a strap from the top right of your seat and latch it onto the main buckle. I just wonder why other first class cabins don’t have this same strap.

Something I love about United is their Channel 9- the ability to listen to the cockpit’s communications with Air Traffic Control. It’s unique to United, but something I wish all carriers had. While the audio quality wasn’t great and there was a loud ringing in the background, it was cool ot listen to the cockpit as they were cleared for takeoff.

Once airborne, service was very quick, which was much appreciated for a 10:30pm departure. I immediately checked out the in-flight entertainment options and opted to watch The Social Network. I never go to the movies, because I always like to have a lot of options when in the air. I decided to use my own Bose headphones instead of the provided noise cancelling, just because I like the feel of my own headphones. Unlike some other airlines, like Delta, the headphone jack was normal, so I didn’t need an double pronged adapted, which was nice.

For dinner, I ended up ordering the seafood bisque, salad with shrimp and red wine vinaigrette and the sea bass and rice. In general, the food was okay and the salad was the best part.

The soup was very salty, but edible. The salad was actually delicious and the red-wine vinaigrette quite tasty. The sea bass was somewhat dry and the rice was very bland. Overall, the meal was decent and I chose the French burgundy, which was good.

After watching The Social Network, which was sufficiently entertaining, I took a Lunesta and decided to sleep for at least 6 hours. I made my own bed and opened up the blanket, which was thin, but sufficient. I feel that Delta’s BusinessElite duvet is much more substantial. Another difference with other first class carriers is that they make your bed for you. There was no mattress pad and no assistance from the flight attendants. I simply hit the recline button and had laid out the blanket. Granted, that was more than enough, because after I put on my eye mask and ear-buds, I was out like a light for almost 6 hours. I truly slept like a baby, which is all I can ask for in an international premium class product.

The flight attendant woke me up 55 minutes prior to depature, which was much appreciated. He asked “Tea or coffee” and I asked what type of tea they had. He responded “Black”, so I opted for the Starbucks coffee. The lack of tea choice is yet another example where United could easily go “Above and beyond”, yet they don’t.

Breakfast was a bland omelet, tomatoes, potatoes, yogurt and fruit. The Starbucks coffee was the best part, for sure.

Before I knew it, we were descending through the clouds and ready to land at GIG. I took video of our landing, but please excuse the bumpiness.

Overall, I absolutely loved the first class seat and service, but United fell short with really impressing me with the soft product. The food could definitely be improved (adding caviar, amuse bouche, etc) and other amenities, such as providing pajamas, like British Airways. The lounge was also decent, but nothing amazing. The general theme of my travels has been that the US legacy airlines provide "decent" service, but nothing memorable. I am very fortunate to be able to fly first class, and I totally recognize that, but in order to report accurately, I have to rate airlines comparatively. And unfortunately, United was good, but did not knock my socks off.

FriendlySkies

It would be nice if the 767 had a 2L to board from. When they board Y through 1L, it seems that everybody bumps into you on the way back to steerage

Nice report ^

Carfield

Thanks for the report! I agree with your assessment of United service - soft product is really lacking and even a high tech product can't move them up the profile.

I am surprised that the hot appetizers are cut... it might be the late night nature of the flight, but given the really limited nature of UA meals in general, it is a bit surprising. But at lease a more colorful menu cover/design now.

Thanks,
Carfield

macabus

The day UA serves caviar there will be pigs flying next to the plane.

When UA introduced the F suite a decade ago they did serve Dom Pérignon, but the service was still pathetic for international first class.

Good report.

sobore

Great Report. The food on UA has much room for improvement, at this point PAX are lucky to get chicken eggs, let alone fish eggs.

bigguyinpasadena

I miss Varig

olafman

Hey B,

Great report. I love your blog too! I've heard good things about the new UA seat. I haven't flown UA international FC for many years. Last year I flew AA international FC twice and loved the service both times. I felt well taken care of. The best part for me is that crew is often very friendly in a way that the European or Asian airlines don't achieve.

sheevac

Thank you for sharing. I agree, they could do better, and still below SQ or Emirates.

thepointsguy

Thanks! Have been enjoying your blog as well.

We are flying AA F on the way home from South America, so I'm very excited to compare apples to apples. A very detailed report to come.

fly747first

Please... even so-so airlines like TAM offer a better F product than UA.

JohnnyJet

All of the United IPTE suites have the same thing due to the angle of the seat and the location of the hard surfaces in front of you. I think its CX or one of the other Asian carriers who also uses the shoulder strap. The other airlines that have angled seats (DL, VS, etc) have airbags in the seatbelt, which deploy when needed. Personally, I prefer the idea of a shoulder strap for 20 minutes (during T/O and landing) versus having a small explosive device located precariously close to my crotch for an 8 to 10 hour flight.

thepointsguy

Interesting- thanks for the explanation. Agree that I'd rather use the shoulder strap than airbag!

fly747first

Side note, thanks for your great web site, Johnny Jet!