Here’s a quick review of a redeye flight on United’s ancient but comfortable 777-200 “HD” configuration in first class. In fact, I can sum up the experience in three words: we slept soundly.
Going Right To Sleep: The Ideal Redeye (United Airlines 777 HD First Class Review)
United still operates a subfleet of 777-200 aircraft that have a lie-flat seat that dates back almost 20 years. These seats are lie-flat and surprisingly comfortable, but they are narrow, have no storage, and are 8-across…2-4-2. Yes, middle seats are not at all ideal.
I do have a soft spot for this particular aircraft, though, becuase I “came of age” flying it…so many wonderful trips around the world in this seat and I did (and still do) prefer it the ex-Continental B/E Diamond seat (the seat we still see on United’s 757-200 fleet).
Heidi and I were heading to Nashville for a funeral via Chicago and I booked us directly into business class because I knew we’d have a long day before the trip and a long day in Nashville. A redeye was necessary so I chose the only option with a lie-flat seat that would get us to BNA in time for the memorial service: United via ORD.
The magical thing was that we boarded the flight, fell asleep, and woke up during final approach to Chicago. Yes, that’s the extent of the review.
The only interaction with flight attendants we had was when we politely declined a pre-departure beverage.
I had pre-ordered a Southwest chorizo spiced quinoa salad with crumbled spiced chorizo, quinoa, black bean, roasted corn salsa, grated Cotiia cheese, and grilled chicken with a chipotle ranch dressing…sounds good, doesn’t it?
But we slept instead…blissful, deep sleep. Even though the flght was less than four hours, we both awoke refreshed.
United does not supply pillows on domestic redeye flights (except for premium transcontinental flights) and the blankets are so thin you can see through them. I knew this going in and came prepared with pillows and duvets: that certainly helped.
As much as I like to provide comprehensive reviews of my flights, I can only say here that there is no better redeye than one that you sleep on.
I don’t mind older aircraft, I miss some of them like the old “Mad Dog” 80’s and 757’s but having to lug blankets and pillows? Wow.
Also, my own personal complaint about airline food. You picked: “Southwest chorizo spiced quinoa salad with crumbled spiced chorizo, quinoa, black bean, roasted corn salsa, grated Cotiia cheese, and grilled chicken with a chipotle ranch dressing”. Interesting, but when I fly, I’d rather just have some comfort food. Say a turkey sandwich, toasted cheese, chicken, and rice. I think airlines try too hard to create elaborate menus when they might be better served by providing more common food selections.
Nah, lots of airlines offer quality food and prove that th food doesn’t bave to be so basic.
Possibly the best airline review in the history of aviation.
Honestly that’s my goal nowadays with business class. I don’t care about the tv, door, food, service. Give me a clean bed and let me sleep and that’s the true value add. Everything else is just marketing and novelty
The truth – business class is all about the seat. If you want “luxury”, fly first, or private.
If the airline reviews industry goes bust I’m blaming this post 😀
It’s why business plus seats on US airlines make no sense – who wants to have their seat right next to the galley so they can hear the FAs talk all night? Plus rest assured that “we’ll keep the light on for you” in the galley – classic Motel 6 vibes. The whole point of business going to London/Europe is that you choose a late enough flight, eat dinner in the lounge, and then sleep on the plane. Pick a seat in the middle of the cabin where you will not be disturbed and get some rest. If you want to eat and live it up on the return daytime flight, have fun!
TIL Heidi’s name = Heidrun. 🙂
My biggest issues with these seats are the dorm layout and lack of storage. I get that UA wanted to have flat-bed seats but maximize density, but damn, they really suck. In a middle seat, you’re literally rubbing elbows with your neighbor and have zero personal space. At least the routes are limited, so that’s good. I’m not sure if they’re better or worse than BA’s old seats, which still seem to be flying long-haul routes… 😮
“Southwest chorizo spiced quinoa salad with crumbled spiced chorizo, quinoa, black bean, roasted corn salsa, grated Cotiia cheese, and grilled chicken with a chipotle ranch dressing” I can only imagine eating that at night and the explosive effect on a flight. 🙂
I wholeheartedly agree. For flights over 10 hours, or maybe day flights back to North America from Europe, I might care about the food/service in business class, but for all other flights business class is about sleep. A quiet cabin, comfortable lie-flat seat, decent bedding, and an individual air nozzle is far more valuable than fancy champagne, an overcooked steak, or even friendly FAs.
I’m one of those people who never nap and rarely sleep anywhere other than a real bed. Despite flying on probably a dozen R/T business or first class international flights I don’t think I’ve slept more than an hour on any flight.
I wish I could get 4-6 hrs since it would make arrival so much better. We have a flight in November leaving around 11pm to go to Germany and I hope I can get some sleep otherwise it will be a long day on arrival.
Matthew, connecting to Europe via Denver now on the UA late departures work really well for sleep. Especially true for myself out of the OC. The flight choices on UA and others seem to be getting better. My three cents, so to speak…
I was on one of these planes from LAX to IAD in July and was actually able to sleep. I prefer the lie flat beds on the 787’s, but if I can’t get one of those seats this seat will do.
And I agree with Matthew as well, long haul business class seats are all about the sleep, and not about getting drunk or hotel food served on a plane.
Note that UA’s current fleet includes 74 B777-200 jetliners (with an average age of 26.4 years).
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Remember that a sound sleep can make you forget hunger.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün