FlyinHawaiian

Looks like they started the removal of the video monitors early on this 320 I flew a few days ago...

DCA writer

I'm posting this review from one of these new seats (8A on UA 849 SJC-DEN, A320 #4252), so this is about as a direct an assessment as possible. Overall, I have to say it's pretty good. There's enough cushioning on the bottom so you feel yourself sink into the seat a bit--more than on an sCO 737, way more than on SN's intra-European flights--and the back has actual lumbar support. The armrests have some stiffer padding that you don't feel until you lean on one with an elbow, which is a nice surprise.

Legroom does seem to have increased, with the magazine pocket being at the top of the seat. The mesh pocket at the bottom is, however, impractically small; I didn't want to stash my breakfast burrito there for fear of it getting squashed.

I don't miss the dim, low-res LCDs, but I do miss Channel 9. And the combination of WiFi--note, this plane did not sport a WiFi label outside the door--and no in-seat power is hazardous.

I'm not ready to say these are swell for a transcon, but for today's 2+ hour flight they seem fine.

TheMtnMan

I just flew a United plane from SFO-ORD with these seats. It was a redeye.

I have to say I have not been this UNCOMFORTABLE on a United flight in a long time.

Note - Legroom was not an issue here as I was in an exit row. This was all about THE SEATS themselves.

First of all I swear the depth of the seats is reduced. I felt like I was sitting on a narrow bench. I used my iphone5 to measure the depth and it was 3 phones or about 15 inches deep. The distance from the back of my leg to the front of the seat felt like 12 inches.
If you slide down even a bit in your seat your butt is hanging off the seat.

And I do't know if it was the MATERIAL or PADDING but by rear end was killing me and I had to shift constantly.

The new HEAD RESTS are small and flimsy and dont really support your head very well.

The RECLINE was almost nothing. Not sure if it was just my seat or all seats are like this.

The ARMREST is maybe 2 fingers wide and hard - so not only can you not share it - but any normal humans arm will overlap it. It was useless and the guy next to me hung over it with his elbow the entire flight.

Comfort is most important and I did not sleep a wink. Add to that:

No more audio - and I used to listen to music all the time.
No more video - I loved free movies as an escape while i fly.

There is supposed to be wi-fi and streaming - but this plane had no power outlets??? and the Wi-Fi was broken. Plus what about all the travelers with no wi-fi device?

All the marketing in the world telling you this is an improvement should be ignored - this is money making 101 clear and simple. And any business traveler that gets stuck in these seats is not going to like it.

Also note - Not sure if they did not reconfigure the lighting - but the light for the seat behind us was right over my head and the light shined right in my face - and it wasn't my light!! Plus my window rattled and the previous flyer had shoved folded napkins in the window to try to stop it.

If this is the future of United seating we should all be very worried.

GoDucks

I flew on a converted 319 yesterday. I found the seats to be just OK. The bad part was that the seat bottoms seem shorter and lower to the ground. The design also reduces underseat storage. I thought the padding and armrests were fine. The netting for the 'personal' seatback pocket was a little tight, it would be nice to easily fit a water bottle and tablet in that space. That may fix itself with more use.

It probably has already been noted but row 21 is now the only overwing exit row. Row 20 now has 6 seats and is a normal E+ row (presumably with limited recline.)

fivevsone

I had the same experience as MtnMan when I flew the seats in an exit row. They are very close to the floor, and the arm rests felt much lower, so that my arms didnt sit naturally on the arm rests. More like being on an RJ.

oliver2002

Yep, the surface you sit on is shorter and at a different angle than traditional seating, makes the knee and upper leg drop down slightly and contributes to the perception of 'more personal space'

RockinRon

I flew one of these last night SFO-CLE and totally agree it was miserable. I too sat in the exit row and the seat was BRUTAL. I usually sleep like a rock, especially on red eyes, but not today. My butt still aches and I got off the plane almost 6 hours ago. Valuable lesson learned - avoid these planes as much as I do RJ 135 and 145s. I can only hope I get a survey for this segment.

Totally unrelated to the seats, but the aircraft was so hot I and the people around me were sweating. We asked the FAs to turn down the heat but it didn't seem to help much. Coupled with aggressive, noisy FAs, this is one of the worst flights with UA I've ever been on.

UA-NYC

But wait - Jeff Jong Un JUST said yesterday these seats were an "improvement"? Are you calling him a liar?

Baze

Which row of exit were you in. If 2 rows and you were in the forward row, recline is restricted. Same for all planes (that I know of) for safety reasons in getting out the window. This is not unique to the new configuration of airbii.

JonnyF86

I flew yesterday from LAX-EWR on an A320 in the exit row. This was the first time I've been on the reconfiguration. I agree with others...it was the most uncomfortable flight I have been on in a long time.

There is no room to put anything in the seat pocket...not even an iPad.

In addition, hot air was blowing through the middle of the plane...the back seemed much cooler, but I was literally sweating because it was so hot.

Maybe for a 2-3 hour flight these new configurations are ok...but not for a transcon. It's unfortunate b/c I thought the A320 was one of the more comfortable aircraft in the domestic fleet.

anc-ord772

I flew on a reconfigured A320 LAX-IAD red-eye last night. F seemed fine to me. Noticed the right side bulkhead now has the same foot area as the left side. I ate my chipotle burrito and fell asleep for the rest of the flight. Had a nice scone just prior to landing. FA was a little kooky but very attentive.

I hadn't been on a CR2 in a really long time. Now that was serious torture, even for 45 minutes!

traderhen

Just flew back from ORD to SFO yesterday on the 'updated' A320. This was also the most uncomfortable UA flight I've been on in the past two years of weekly work travel. For this first time, I've had to get up off my seat for the sake of standing up, just to ease the the disccomfort i had on my sit bones. I had the emergency row 20 - the front ones - and noticed there was no recline button. Overall, I agree with most of the complaints that have been posted here. Can't believe this is considered an upgrade.

anc-ord772

Nor should there be. That didn't change with the reconfiguration.

nnn

Noticing a lot of complaints about the exit row. Sorry if I missed this, but perhaps somebody should compare the seat depth for exit row seats versus non-exit E+ seats.

If the exit seats have less depth, that may be a reason to avoid the exit row on Airbi (though that would be too bad). Seat depth is important for butt and back comfort IME.

UA-NYC

I rode in row 7 on my flight - bulkhead shouldn't have any less depth seatwise than other non-exit row seats, yet it felt WAY short to me.

I think it's just a function of (poor) seat design.