DCA writer

The 738 will still have a worse passenger:lav ratio: Two for 150 people in the back.

spin88

You get that only by counting the exit rows, etc, and BTB UA only counts 55 since the last set of exits has a very obstructed window seat, which UA does not call E+. If they pull 3 E+ seats, there will be 6 rows of E+ and three exit rows.. That is 24 E+ seats "up front" as well as 18 additional exit rows, some of which are partially obstructed or don't recline.

The "good seat" to not so good seat ratio is at 24.7% (52/210) similar to the craptastic v.3 739 which is 24.5% E+ (39 E+/159).

At the same time that United is making E+ and Y both more dense, and selling more F at deep discounts or as TODs they are materially reducing E+. United is adopting Delta's Y+/Y- ratio, but with, on many planes, fewer F seats, and TODs.

minnyfly

Let's see here. It retains easily the best recliner F cabin in the fleet. And there's no measure that says the 738 will be better in Y. The 753 Y cabin will be be a mixed bag like it's always been. There's areas where it's the best in the narrowbody fleet, like with all the exit rows, and there's areas where it's the worst (like being in the back with a tight connection). The overall result is that it will still be arguably the best narrowbody in the fleet due to the superior F cabin. There's no objective way to say it's the overall worst.

If the end configuration remains the same as the schematic, UA decided to retain a partial galley at door 2R instead of removing it for a lavatory. And up front, there's galley space both ahead and behind door 1R. DL eliminated that aft galley space. Flight attendants will certainly appreciate it, and it will make inflight service easier.

And maybe more importantly, the lavs aren't all in the back, like the Big 3's 738s or DL's 739s.

LASUA1K

And people complain about the 777HD. This is going to be awful. I hope they allow 2 hours to deplane and board.

halls120

If there's no "objective way" to say it's the overall worst, there is no objective way to claim that it "easily retains the best recliner F cabin in the fleet."

FlyingNone

---------
....any meal service will take forever....

findark

Which planes? Other than the Airbus fleet pretty sure DL and UA have very similar configs up front, except for the DL 757s with an F cabin that stops short of Door 2.

And on the widebodies it's no contest in favor of UA.

spin88

United with its major coastal hubs and large LHR and NRT traffic traditionally had much more paid J traffic than a southern airline with hubs in ATL/MSP/DTW/SLC and until recently no access to LHR at all. The large J cabins are a residue of that time.

But domestically:
Delta A319 (12) > UA A319 (8)
Delta A320 (16) > UA A320 (12)
Delta A321 (20 F, 172 Y > every grubby plane in UA's domestic fleet
Delta B717 (12 F, 98 18" wide Y) > UA 737-700 (12 F, with 106 Y)
Delta E-170 (9 F, 60Y) > UA D-170 (6 F, 64Y)
Delta 738(16 F, 144 Y) > UA 738 (16 F, 150 Y)

Delta CRJ-900/E-175 (12 F, 64Y) = UA E-175.
Delta 739 (20 F, 160 Y) = UA 739 (20F, 159 Y)

Delta 752-D (20 F, 179 Y) < UA B739v4 (20 F, 159Y) except probably all of us would rather be on the 757

Delta on many planes has a higher F ratio, and the old claim that UA made it up with E+ seats is just not the case any longer. That, plus that UA still has a higher rate of elites, and with a GS level and TODs is why Delta Plats and even golds can get upgraded periodically, something that basically never happens at UA any longer.

p.s. my figures are from SeatGuru, apologies if they are off in any respect.

minnyfly

Not so. The 753 F cabin is the only standard F cabin that is exclusive and private and includes 2L boarding. It also is only beaten by the A320 in pitch, and there's no indication in the released data so far to indicate a pitch decline. There may be more room when all is said and done. Add in a good lav ratio with both front and rear access points, and the most "normal" F seats away from bulkheads, and there's plenty of objective facts that say the 753 is and will remain the best mainline plane in standard F.

Recently I did that math and found that the two carriers are very close in domestic F seats per domestic plane with F class. It's less than 1 seat per plane overall. The gap between mainlines is only about .6 seats per plane. The larger gap was in the regional fleets--about 1 seat per departure. The loss of seats with UA's Airbuses is mostly made up by the fact that UA has a larger ratio of planes with 16, 20, 24, or 28 F seats. Hard to believe on the surface, but the carriers are nearly identical.

I haven't done the math for F/Y ratio, but I imagine them to be pretty close again. UA might have a lead in that one with their commonly lower density airplanes.

boat9781

fly18725

The financing structure of the ex-ATA planes limited the ability to make big investments in IFE or seating changes. Until that was solved, there’s no value in operating to different subfleets.

UA_Flyer

Never a fan of 753 as a passenger, but as a viewer, I like the look of the plane from the outside.

Put the numbers in perspective: 183 Y on the 788 and 204 Y on the 789, 209 Y on the reconfigured 753.

halls120

Let's try again.

2L boarding, seat width, number of lavs, and pitch can be objectively measured. We know what they are. But in the end, how passengers regard and rank those objective features are up to each and every passenger, who makes a subjective determination as to which aircraft they prefer. And if you're going to "objectively rank" the F cabin, how do you "objectively" decide which seat is more comfortable? You believe that the 753 is the best cabin in the fleet, and I suspect others share that view. But that is based on your subjective determination that the privacy afforded the 757 cabin makes it "objectively" better. There is simply no such thing as an "objectively best" F cabin on any airline, because the flying population are individuals who value things differently.

Yes, during the boarding process, the privacy is better in the 757. On disembarking, if I've got a tight connection, I prefer 1L boarding because that means I get off the aircraft quicker than if 2L is used to disembark. You mention the pitch is better in the A320. While I value seat width over pitch when sitting in back, when I'm up front in any aircraft, pitch and seat comfort are key. And as you admit, the A320 F pitch beats the 753. And unless UA installs slimline F seats in the 753, I doubt pitch is going to improve.

I love the 752. I wish Boeing had built a 757max. But if I'm choosing amongst the UA recliner F cabins, I'm doing it in this order, because I like the new F seats in the Airbus: A320/A319/B753/B738/B739. YMMV, of course.

UAinAUS

physioprof

I've flown in the new sliding-pan F seats on quite a few 737-700 flights already, mostly on the EWR-SNA route. Dunno how many have been retrofitted, but at least one!