elitefreak

wanderluststruck

AirbusFan2B

myperks

elitefreak

UA57 EWR - CDG 777-300

After much deliberation, I booked 20A bulkhead for the inaugural PP flight to CDG.



There was a definite sense of anticipation in the small cabin as passengers prepared for this new service. One of the FA's was nearby chatting with people about the excitement.

On each seat, there was a Saks blanket and soft pillow, the noise reducing headphones, and a standard Polaris amenity tin:



First we had to learn about the control features, especially the seat adjustments:



Each button releases the feature (it is not electronic or reversable). So the closest button releases the (generous) seat recline. The second releases the leg rest.

The third was hardest to figure out. First, you need to unfold the footrest attached to the leg rest (may be different in non bulkhead). Then you push the button and push the footrest to extend it. By doing this, it was reasonably comfortable for my 6 foot 2 frame.




The other fun feature was the tray release:



I actually had to show this to my seatmate. Press this and the tray pops up for you to further pull it out and unfold it. It folds in half and has a somewhat strange fold-out side tray that I guess is to support a phone or tablet you may be using for entertainment.

Since this is bulkhead, your screen has to be unfolded. This was the one aspect of bulkhead that I did not like at all. When the screen wax stored, it restricted your leg/shin room. I would probably not want to sit in BH again because of this:



As per the guidebook that was posted earlier, they did come around pre-flight with water:


After takeoff, they distributed the almonds (mine were stale) and a full bar choice. I chose the Buffalo Chase on the rocks:




The menu was also similar to what was posted, with the choice of cider glazed chicken or ravioli. I chose the former:



Again, per the guide, the entree was not unwrapped. This seems like a minor thing that they could adjust; the presentation is so nice, but to have to peel off foil takes me back to the rear cabin. See how much better it looks unwrapped?



The salad was a huge improvement on Y. The chicken wasn't bad, with some nice fresh herb notes in the rice.

You can see the glass with red wine in the picture. Somewhat odd that they poured from the same bottle that they use for Y, instead of offering the 375 ml bottles that I think are supposed to be offered.

Following this was a final drink service (more Buffalo, this time neat, I think I cleaned her out) and the sorbet from Y, along with the standard small bottle of water.

Note the civilized cloth napkin:



The tray also had a "refreshing wipe" but mine was buried under the hot entree. UNITED, why not pass this out with the almonds instead? Much better sequencing.

The video screen was generous with the normal touch select functions.



Sleeping was definitely more comfortable than E+ with the wider seat, better recline, and soft pillow,

Then it's time for breakfast. There was an egg and a cereal option; I chose the former: Before:


And after:


The fresh fruit is hiding under the croissant (which I left uneaten considering that I was going to the croissant capital of the world). The egg (I think they described it as Huevos Rancheros benedict?) was odd, not nasty, but I honestly did not know which part was the egg.

The best bit was the biscotti:



Will I fly PP again? Heck, yeah. More room, more privacy, nice salad, more attentive service, great pillow and blanket.

The toughest part was the lav access. The choices were to sneak into Polaris or wade through the carts to the rear lavs. Pain in the neck.

All in all, nice job UA!

WineCountryUA

No third button on the non-bulkhead rows.

I will admit it took me a few moments to figure out how to release the screen -- push on ,don't twist, what looks like the latch, I did not find the screen restrictive but it was up for most of the flight (transcon).

Agree this is probably the least well-done part of the package
However, aren't the lavs just behind the PP section on the 773?
On the 772, the lavs are about 10 rows of economy behind PP section (at the back of the wings, not eh back of the aircraft)
On the 787-10 (which I have done a few times domestic), the FAs have closed the curtain cutting off the business class lav you can see and the lav are about 10 rows of economy behind PP section

Thanks for the comprehensive review. Looks like the soft / hard products are a decent step up from E+.

narvik

To be clear; to find PP on EWR-PEK or PEK-EWR is currently extremely rare, as they have only one 77Y converted so far. Happened 4 times in March. Soon to be more frequent though...

restlessinRNO

elitefreak - Thank you for your excellent TR, with photos. The meal is a definite step up from what UA was recently serving in coach, TPAC.

trust77

Thanks so much for the review!
I still think UA can do much better.
In DL Premium Select they offer either sparkling wine or champagne pre-departure, not sure why UA can't do this.
And yes why can't the f/a's remove the wrapping from the meals to make the presentation better?
Hopefully the soft product presentation will improve; I don't get the sense that UA is trying to differentiate itself at all.

wpcoe

My hunch is that it has to do with the fact that the (already over-worked, due to a recent staffing cut) J-class F/As present the meal service for the PP cabin. There have been several reports that the J F/As have been running (almost literally) ragged to accomplish just the J service with the reduced staffing. That was before the PP passengers were added to their workload.

JetAway

As others have noted, giving PP pax access to the Biz lavs would round off a very nice package. Not enough PP pax to impact wait times/usage of Biz lavs.

narvik

Might be a little tricky to enforce/control though: how would J cabin FA know whether pax are coming from PP as opposed from E cabin?

abacaxi

Our current seats are in Row 20 but am wondering if the seats in Row 22 on a 777-200 have the full 6" recline. The available photos show the divider to be pretty close to the backs of the upright seats.

username

The food posted looks pretty sad compared to many other carriers that offer PE. However, it is really the space that is important. Only time will tell how UA prices it eventually. Since I won't have my 1K next year and GPU, I will have to settle on this.

dilanesp

REALLY? We are upset about having to peel a piece of foil?

That's a frivolous complaint. I hope UA keeps that foil. Just to make it clear that it isn't unreasonable to ask a passenger to peel it back.