From Los Angeles to Seattle I flew on a United Airlines 737-8, also known as the 737 MAX 8, in first class. It was a short and sweet flight, despite my canine seatmate.
United Airlines 737-8 First Class Review
After a pair of disasters made the Boeing 737 MAX a household name, and not in a good way, Boeing has rebranded the way it labels its fourth generation of 737 aircraft and is now less likely, for example, to use 737 MAX 8 and more likely to use 737-8, which should not be confused with the 737-800 from the previous generation.
I booked a business class ticket for $562 round-trip, which was only about $165 more than an economy class ticket. These days, upgrades are extremely rare on United, even for top-tier Premier 1K members, and it was not a risk I was willing to take for what amounted to about $85 each way to upgrade….an excellent rate for a three-hour flight.
The 10:45 am departure put me in the heart of morning traffic, but I made it LAX early and spent some time in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge before the flight (where I ran into a man trying to take beer out of the lounge in a coffee cup and a self-important doctor who thought the whole lounge wanted to hear his telephone conversation).
I won’t rehash the dog issue here, but a fake service dog boarded ahead of me and settled a couple of rows in front of me.
United 2013
Los Angeles (LAX) – Seattle (SEA)
Friday, May 03
Depart: 10:45 AM
Arrive: 01:43 PM
Duration: 02hr, 58min
Distance: 954 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 737-8
Seat: 3F (First Class)
Onboard, a flight attendant offered a warm greeting and a packaged wipe.
Seat
The 737-8 business class cabin features 16 seats in first class spread over four rows in a 2-2 configuration. United utilizes Safran articulated cradle seats that feature just under 37 inches of seat pitch, a 20-inch width, and a recline of about five inches. The seats are well-padded and comfortable for a three-hour flight.
Here are some pictures from a previous review:
Seatmate
I rarely talk with my seatmates on a plane, but I spent almost the entire flight chatting with my seatmate. He was an interesting young man who struck up a conversation when he saw me working on my United presentation for FTU Seattle. I loved his story and I think he has a great future ahead of him…and I was struck in particular by how grateful he was to his parents for the opportunities they had worked so hard to give him and how one of his driving goals in pursuing academic, occupational, and athletic success was to be able to care for them. A sweet story and a reason why we need more hardworking immigrants in this great nation.
IFE + Wi-Fi
With my long chat, I didn’t have much time to check out the IFE, but each seat offers a seatback screen with hundreds of movies and TV shows plus music, games, and an in-flight map. Streaming entertainment is also available on your phone or tablet. Finally, wi-fi is available for purchase at a cost of $8 for MileagePlus members and $10 for non-members (T-Mobile Magenta customers can enjoy free access on one of their mobile devices).
The approach into Seattle was beautiful, with great views of the city including the Space Needle and Lumen Field.
Food + Drink
For lunch, I pre-ordered a chicken dish described as:
Peruvian chicken aji verde with rice and vegetable pilaf.
I always guard expectations when ordering food on United Airlines and figured that the dish would be mediocre at best, but it turned out very nicely…the aji verde sauce (a spicy green sauce) really hit the spot. Sure, it’s not like a freshly-made sauce you find in Peru or on a street cart in LA, but it was a very respectable dish and I would order it again.
It was served with a side salad, bread roll, and blueberry peach tart. I had seltzer water to drink.
Nice lunch.
CONCLUSION
This was not a very productive flight due to my conversation, but it was an enjoyable flight with a respectable lunch. The new United Next cabin interiors are excellent and the flight was pleasant.
The food is still slop.
His cope is insane when it comes to United catering. Matthew flys JAL and Singapore First Class and wants to gaslight us into thinking the dog chow on a plate is still good somehow.
Or maybe I just like the food? (just like I do on most airlines, including American and Delta…).
Very disappointing quality and quantity of lunch service; why all on 1 tray? the salad is rather small, any meat, protein in that sauce on cheap white rice? why not offer fish or real chicken entree ? even the dessert is so small; their bus. class is over priced and they need to spend more capital on catering food.
He states the menu description is… “ Peruvian chicken aji verde with rice and vegetable pilaf.”. A chicken entree, protein.
Vomit for lunch, I see
I would like to know how you knew it was a fake service dog. Maybe it was a seizure, PTSD or diabetic alert dog. For example https://www.diabeticalertdogsofamerica.com/
@FR … another passenger had 2 : both a service hamster and a service parrot .
“Service animal” owners are not required to prove that their animal can actually reliably provide a claimed service, they simply have to claim that animal provides a service, and the rest of the world is required to act as if this is true without proof.
If that seems right and fair, then it should be equally acceptable, right and fair, for me to call a service animal a “Fake service animal” without providing any proof that it is a fake, and the rest of the world should be required to act as if it is a fake service animal, even without proof.
Before you protest, please know that I am willing to buy a vest on amazon that says “Fake Service Dog” on it for the any dog that I deem to be a fake service dog to wear, if that is required. Also, I can fill out a paper form that I print out from the internet indicating that I am able to detect a fake service dogs.
If we can designate an animal a service dog based on an Amazon vest and a form filled out by literally anyone, then why can’t fake service animals be designated through a similar process?
Why stop there? How about people who fake disability or require wheelchair access to be able to board first? They require a similar level of proof (none). By your logic, I have the right to claim that these people are faking it without providing any proof as well.
Are you ok? Some disabilities are invisible. I sometimes need a wheelchair, but I can also walk a short distance. I assure you I am not faking anything. It would take me longer to “fake it” for a wheelchair than the time saved to board first. The plane isnt leaving until we are all on it…..
It is permissible for businesses (including airlines) to question someone who claims to have a “service” animal.
Specifically, the two questions allowed are as follows:
1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform? (if the answer to #1 is yes)
The food in first class is so deplorable. I have no idea why anyone would eat that crap. Seattle and LA packed with amazing food … why would eat a TV dinner on an airplane ????
Sorry Matt that main dish looks like Michelina at $0.99. For first class = pass.
Where is the chicken? Peruvian chicken is delicious, but I can’t see any chicken.
Ají Verde is made from cilantro, scallions, garlic, lime juice, ají amarillo paste, mayonnaise, and a touch of salt. The picture shows a cream and flour based sauce. I’ve never seen this sauce look white or yellow in Perú.
$ 562.99 for a business class ticket was wayyy tooo much [ third paragraph ] .
How did that ticket become “first class” ? [ title ] .
Is “business class” synonymous with “first class” ?
Just asking .
Why way too much? It was only $85 more each way.
First class = business class on a US domestic flight. They call “first class” what most of the world would call business class.
Don’t you think we’re lowering our standards a little too much? You can get a better lunch by walking into Trader Joe’s and grabbing any random frozen microwave meal…
UA gets a “it’s not that bad” pass around here.
Is that blueberry peach tart a permanent menu fixture? It feels like they have been serving it for years.
I got caramel cheesecake on the way back. I generally skip the dessert anyway.
What was the other entree choice?
@Dale … Second choice was creamy green chicken pieces and vegies with rice
There were three onboard and six pre-orders available. I’ll fish up the menu and post it.
The food looks absolutely disgusting!
And I’m not so worried about IFE when I have multiple devices with connectivity. Just give me a charging outlet which not every United aircraft has.
United – still missing the mark
I’m honestly shocked everyone thinks the food looks so bad. It wasn’t bad at all!
It may have tasted good, but as for how it looks…not very premium. As others have said, it looks like a microwavable meal.
Why would you say upgrades are rare these days? For this specific route or in general?
In general. I don’t get upgraded anymore, which is why I buy first.
It’s NOT first class!! Where do north American airlines get off calling it that. At least Westjet calls it right: its premium economy…
UA food is inedible and embarrassing. 1K here.
Seriously, you must recieve some type of compensation from UA as you continue to rave about them over and again! The product is a joke, especially, the beyond tired product they call Polaris! It’s laughable at best. How they EVER inked a deal with Emirates is beyond me! The seat is a joke, the food an insult and the use of those tired 767’s are desperate at best.. Lipstick on a pig! As for UA’s domestic so called First Class it falls well below AA and DL in my many experiences so why such allegiance to UA?
You are convincing no one! Not even yourself.
Otherwise, I enjoy the site and overall.
I wish I did. If you can make an introduction, feel free. But you’ll also note that I recently flew Delta and American and Porter and WestJet and JAL and also raved about them…
Usually travel Delta. However flew United to Edinburgh on a narrow body in Polaris and was pleasantly pleased. However the domestic flight on a Max 9 was awful. No seat back monitor, woeful food and several passengers including me were unable to return our trays in the armrest. Now we are in a Max 8 killer to LA next week and NOT looking forward to this 5 hour flight