Twelve hundred days. It took this long for me to finally be able to board a United Airlines narrowbody jet with ‘NEXT’s distinctive interior, boarding my first aircraft at a 2021 media event. A lot has changed since then, but I finally got to experience the new United to its fullest.
America’s major airlines are in an arms race with Delta Air Lines to become America’s most premium airline. Delta Air Lines has free Viasat Wi-Fi in all of its vehicles. United is currently working on a similar initiative with Starlink. Delta Air Lines has installed seatback screens across almost its entire trunk fleet. United are following suit. United Airlines opens premium business class lounge. Delta Air Lines is currently doing the same, as is JetBlue Airways.
My experience on this transcontinental round trip from Newark to Seattle began a few days before departure when United Airlines’ iOS app pushed a notification about pre-ordering food and drinks. A relatively new feature for United Airlines, the airline allows economy passengers to view the entire in-flight menu while also giving them the ability to pre-order some items.
Unlike Delta Air Lines, United Airlines has reintroduced a robust in-flight catering service for its long-haul domestic flights in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
United’s app warned, “Some meals sell out quickly, so pre-order now,” but counterintuitively, you can’t actually pre-order perishable items. did.
Given past experience, it’s confusing and disappointing to see the most desirable items sell out just a few rows into service.
Boarding on the Boeing 737-8 MAX began on time just as the countdown feature on United Airlines’ Apple Watch Live Activity hit zero.
The -8 is United’s first aircraft to receive the full United Next treatment, featuring a Boeing Sky Interior with enhanced mood lighting, a space bin that completely engulfs carry-on baggage, Viasat-powered Wi-Fi, Each machine has full AC power. Panasonic avionics seatback screen with seat and Bluetooth audio capabilities.
What a welcome change for United Airlines passengers who are used to not having any of these features.
The 30-inch seat pitch, standard for United’s narrowbody planes, was adequate but nothing special. The narrowness of the 737’s seats is definitely noticeable on long transcontinental flights.
Although it’s not the most spacious economy class seat, I never felt uncomfortable in the seat.
However, middle seat passengers should be careful, as there is additional equipment under the seat that won’t fit even a reasonably sized backpack.
Passengers may also consider leaving the last few rows of this MAX type, as the -8 only has two toilets at the rear of the economy cabin, resulting in queues in the aisle for a significant portion of the flight. We recommend that you do so.
The United Next’s biggest draw is the return of seatback entertainment screens. United’s user interface welcomes passengers and asks them to customize their experience. Each monitor includes two 3.5mm headphone jacks and a USB-A port, but I wish they included a USB-C port as an option at this point.
United’s entertainment interface is fast, sleek, attractive, and convenient. When a movie or TV show ends, you’ll be given options to complete it before your estimated arrival time. Or you can relax and watch landscape clips in Relax mode. The system had loads of movies and full seasons of TV shows loaded.
The new system also marks the return of United Airlines’ popular Channel 9, which promises a live air traffic control audio stream from the flight deck. Unfortunately, this feature either did not work on both flights or was disabled by the flight crew.
A major talking point in United Airlines’ in-flight entertainment rollout is the inclusion of Bluetooth audio, a feature I’m personally very excited about. I’ve used this feature many times on competitive systems in premium cabins, but I had yet to use it on the Panasonic Avionics IFE system or in crowded economy class.
Pairing the Apple AirPods Pro 1 was very easy, but I experienced choppy and choppy audio on both flights. The audio problem got so bad that I decided to use a Bluetooth audio dongle that I always carry with me, and it didn’t cause any problems.
It remains to be determined whether there is a problem with Panasonic’s Bluetooth implementation, or if there is too much RF interference for the embedded system to handle (Panasonic will contact you after the flight to gather information and investigate the issue). ), but improvements are certainly needed. .
On my flight (and the previous one, according to the in-flight announcement), Viasat’s in-flight connectivity system was experiencing major reliability issues. On both flights, the Wi-Fi cut out somewhere in North Dakota, and it took several hours each time to get back online.
The flight attendant filed a refund request for the passenger who had paid the access fee (in accordance with US law), and the pilot apologized for the situation. Whether the problem was caused by a lack of satellite capacity or instability in other systems, unfortunately it was a very poor and surprising result for Viasat. The system streamed video very well at standard definition when it was running, but the downtown extension was disappointing.
I packed some food for the flight since United Airlines doesn’t take pre-orders for fresh food, but I still wanted to splurge if possible. Thankfully, on my 7 a.m. flight to Seattle, there was still enough fresh food available by the time the crew arrived at my seat in row 25 (the front of the standard economy cabin). It turned out to be.
However, due to catering issues, the breakfast sandwich and Mediterranean egg white skillet were replaced with a cheeseburger. After realizing the mix-up and having a good laugh with the flight attendant, the “breakfast burger” was completed.
Illy’s cold brew coffee was the only item I was particularly looking forward to and pre-ordered, so I was happy to see this option available.
On the return flight, we were served a lunch menu that included a cheese and fruit tray, an Italian sub sandwich, and a cheeseburger. This time I was in row 24 and grabbed the last remaining item for sale, but only after giving a sad puppy dog look to the flight attendant a few rows ahead to secure an Italian submarine.
It was a common and frustrating experience where everyone from rows 25 to 38 was unlucky. The sandwiches all had the right flavor, but were a bit too soggy and greasy. But Delta Air Lines still wasn’t looking to fully restore pre-COVID catering on long-haul flights, so I was happy to get something.
Overall, I’m excited about United’s focus on the premium domestic travel segment, and with enough time and focus, I think they could match or even surpass Delta in this regard. I’m sure it’s possible.
United still have a long way to go to complete their years-delayed Next renovation process, but this overall positive first impression shows the progress made so far is genuine.
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All United Next images are credited to Jason Rabinowitz.
