Hello from London, where my kids and I are chilling in the Lufthansa Lounge after a 10.5-hour flight from Los Angeles to London on a United Airlines 787-9 in row 56…the penultimate row on the aircraft.
United Airlines 787-9 In “Deep Coach” – First Impressions
For the first time ever on United Airlines I bought a “basic economy” ticket for myself (and my kids) to save $100 per per-person. I’ll outline this in a separate post, but my thought process:
- This was a 100% confirmed trip – absent a freak accident, the date/time would not change
- I’ve dropped from Premier 1K to Premier Gold in MileagePlus, meaning I now only get complimentary EconomyPlus seating for one companion…means I’d have to pay over $200 for an EconomyPlus ticket for my other child…that would have put the additional cost to fly in EconomyPlus at over $500 and I have far better uses for $500 when my kids don’t care one way or the other
- United has a generous “family seating guarantee” even on basic economy tickets. We were assigned seats in the second-to-last row of the plane, but instantly upon ticketing, which is huge considering the flight went out with every seat full
- We bought just before the April 1st cutoff, where basic economy tickets no longer earn miles (they still earn lifetime miles, however)
Despite the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, the TSA lines have been moving quickly at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and busy at my United event, I took a gamble and did not show up at teh airport until 7:00 pm for my 8:00 pm flight.
The kids and I have TSA PreCheck and we encountered no line:
Boarding had already begun, but we used the priority boarding lane (Premier Gold is still worth something) to get onboard quickly.
I’ve flown this far back on Lufthansa, but never on a United longhaul…this flight would give me a great chance to offer a review that is far more mass market than my usual premium cabin reviews.
Legroom is 31 inches and that extra inch makes a big difference…I survived even when my seatmate in front of me reclined.
First, I appreciated that United offers neck pillows in economy class…we all used them. United is transitioning from its translucent gauze-like blankets to higher quality ones, but our flight had the older ones…however, I came prepared with a duvet from home.
I also brought over-ear headphones for my kids, since their ears are too small for the free earbuds that United hands out. With a screen full of movies, TV shows, and games, they stayed occupied for the first 90 minutes or so of the flight before falling asleep and sleeping until minutes before we touched down in London. Yes, my decision to fly in economy class proved correct for the kids.
Unfortunately, I was not able to sleep and did not get a wink on the flight…though I did enjoy a psychological thriller called The Housemaid and connected to Wi-Fi (free using my T-Mobile pass) and got a lot of work done.
Excellent Onboard Dining (In Terms Of Quantity)
United really has done a great job with its economy class dining and I think it beats all of its U.S. and European competitors except Turkish Airlines…you won’t go hungry.
Service began with an appetizer…breadsticks and cheese and a beverage.
Three choices were available: chicken, beef, or pasta. There were also some Indian vegetarian meals loaded. My chicken cacciatore with salad was perfectly acceptable for an economy class meal.
For a little variety, I ordered a gluten-free meal for Augustine and a child’s meal for Claire Marie. The gluten-free meal was a nice chicken stew and the child’s meal was cheese ravioli.
Halfway through the flight, flight attendants offered a substantial hot sandwich with chicken and pesto. A nice gesture, but the amount of sugar (40g) and sodium (1040mg) in this sandwich was criminal. Hard pass for me.
90 minutes (more like 45 minutes for us in row 56) before landing, a hot breakfast was served. The regular choice was eggs or pancakes and it was served with fruit and bread…another respectable meal and a lot more than you will get on any other carrier operating from LAX-LHR.
The kids were fast asleep, but the kid’s meal was a pancake with vanilla sauce and the gluten-free meal was shakshua, which I decided to add to my platter and found it very good.
Even the illy coffee was strong. Kudos to United for ensuring its passengers are well-fed. Claire Marie woke up about 10 minutes before landing and I was glad I had saved the fruit off her breakfast tray!
CONCLUSION
I may not have slept, but it was a very productive flight for me and my kids got eight hours of sleep. United also impressed with a lot of food onboard…its investments in the onboard product go beyond business class.
This worked out well for the three of us…I don’t like making family trips without my wife Heidi, but she had obligations that forced her to remain behind and the kids are now old enough that they are no longer a burden but a joy to travel with.
I’ll offer more details on the flight, including the IFE, lavatories, and service, in my full review.
I am so glad you didn’t add “quality” to your description of the food on that flight; all of the pictures are disgusting.
I would dare you to compare what you received to Virgin Atlantic’s catering on the same segment. They serve some of the best breakfasts in the industry.
There is certainly nothing “quality” about these UA meals, but Virgin Atlantic serves a very weak breakfast. I thought the food was fine for economy class food, especially the breakfast. Here’s my review of Virgin Atlantic on the same route:
https://liveandletsfly.com/review-virgin-atlantic-a350-1000-economy-class/
first, thank you for providing the link but also for covering economy cabin travel which alot of bloggers aren’t interested in doing.
Having a comparison on the same route within a year is an asset; I thought I had remembered reading a VS review but didn’t connect it was the same route.
I don’t get excited about much of anything in coach on any airline but having some edible food is a plus. Everyone has their preferences but I think the VS food looks better than UA’s. that said, I have had far better breakfasts on shorter flights on VS than what y9u pictured. not sure if you have a review of AA on that route but it is possible that VS adapts its food to the competition and it is heavily UA and BA from the west coast to LHR.
So of you had to choose again for that same route in economy, would you choose United over Virgin Atlantic?
Definitely United.
It seems you and your kids have had a rather long but comfortable flight experience. Wishing you a worry-free rest of your journey!
Thank you!
@Matthew now imagine if those around you could make calls and video calls with star link WiFi. You’d have been disturbed the whole flight by phones chiming, obnoxious ringtones, some self important fools on speaker phones, people pacing the aisles while on a zoom chat, a really annoying influencer live-streaming the whole flight…. Your relaxing flight could quickly turn sour. Is it really not better to have 10 hours of peace?
I don’t know. Maybe Americans are uniquely unable to handle it…but I’ve never witnessed this problem on Emirates or Qatar.
You were not Abel to sleep?
But were you Cain to sleep?
Proving once again that I write my own articles…
You survived! Phew! Bahaha.
I believe you mentioned “shakshuka.” The good old shakshuka… It’s always a healthy and satisfying dish!
Let’s note that, as of April 2, 2026, UA has 52 B787-9 Dreamliners in its fleet with an average age of 6.5 years.
These reviews are infinitely more useful and more likely to generate clicks in the future than the reviews of premium cabins which are of course way more fun but serve largely as a tax write off
Good to hear. I usually fly AA, but this summer I’m burning my few UA miles to fly FLL – BCN (via ORD) and then LHR – FLL (via ORD) on UA. The only thing I’ll miss is the free main cabin extra seats on AA, but it sounds like the regular economy legromm on UA is sufficient.
Good flight. Just not worth business every time with the kids. 31” is survivable – one of the reasons I’m curious whether AA XLR standard legroom is 31” or 32”.
Thanks for the picture of the nutrition label for the sandwich; how can it have 31 grams of total carbs and 40 grams of sugar? That does not make any sense and must be a misprint. Not a good look to have misleading information on a nutrition label.
And, zero grams of added sugar? A fruit bowl would be high in sugar with zero added, but this?
This appears to be a misprint, as a typical sandwich contains roughly 25–50g of total carbohydrates and 2–6g of sugar, largely depending on the bread type and fillings.
Yes, seems it should be 4g of sugar, not 40g. Huge difference!
I agree.
Wishing you blessings for this Holy Week and continued safe travels.
Thanks for taking one for the team and reporting on what it’s like behind the curtain. Not nearly as bad as I expected.
How old did your kids get after you felt that it was more enjoyable traveling with them than a hassle?
Age 4.
As one may recall, at age four, children enter a highly social and imaginative phase, characterized by improved coordination, longer sentences, and increased independence. Parents are encouraged to allow them to make simple choices and help with chores, and to apply consistent, loving discipline to manage possible outbursts and ensure safety.
You and the kids had Pre-Tsa check in. That’s a game changer most travelers don’t have access to. Makes a big difference to the start of an flight.
TSA PreCheck… A major winner for travelers!
Meanwhile, I just booked four round-trip business class saver award tickets IAD-SFO-SIN for later this year at a discounted price of only 170,000 miles each thanks to being a 3 million miler Premier 1K with multiple co-branded Chase credit cards. This itinerary includes both UA1 and UA2 with the all-new Polaris business class cabins. We got such a great deal on the mileage plus awards that our entire family splurged on upgrades to Polaris Studio Row 1 on SFO-SIN and Polaris Studio Row 9 on SIN-SFO.
To each his own!
Good for you! That’s a great redemption.
According to UA’s official website, this long-haul nonstop flight is operated alternately by B787-9 and B787-10 aircraft.
are those the pandemic first class sandwiches?
People still die when they catch Covid. Not 1 million per year in the US but still some people. You should wear a mask.
Nope. I’m not going to wear a mask.
Food label is clearly wrong – impossible to have 40g sugar but only 31g total carbs. 300 calories won’t kill you.
The UA 787s are not that bad in regular economy. It’s almost a pleasant surprise.
Way better than their 767s and the 777s in my opinion and a lot of what the competition flies. It’s manageable, especially without a neighbor (or with family/partner next to you.)
They’ve been making more transcon rounds recently and it’s certainly the aircraft worth seeking out. On transcon the only downside is the slow boarding but that’s most carriers with the 321T dying out.
Interesting to see the diference on routes to Europe and South America.
Almost the same flight time, but a completely different experience. Normally, there`s a dinner service (the same as your review), but there`s no middle flight snack or hot breakfast. Breakfast is often just a muffin and a yogurt.
How on God’s earth is there 40g of sugar in a chicken sandwich? That’s criminal
Seems to have been a typo…
An underrated benefit of “deep coach” aisle seats on this plane is no lavs in the back. So you won’t have people lining up and bumping into you all flight. Now just depends how efficient and chatty the FAs in the galley are…
Thanks much for the detailed review, very helpful. I’m sure the kids enjoyed their London trip with their Dad!
Thank you for the fun article (and for taking one for the team). I love reading reviews of coach products, so you are providing reader service! I don’t ever want to do this but appreciate hearing about it! LOL. Cute kids by the way, and I’m glad they are old enough to travel with you solo.
Thanks, Clint! They are great travelers by now…as long as there are screens!
Well done DAD! I truly believe children are a reflection of their parents.
We’re about to do our first trip across the pond with both kids in economy. We chose the daytime BA flight from JFK to LHR that departs at 0715 and arrives at 1945 same day. I’m sure we’ll be able to survive 6.5 hours on a daytime flight. Then there’s really no expectation of the oldest wanting to sleep and the youngest will likely nap for a while on my wife or I. We’ll go straight to a hotel after and wake up the next morning and take the train to visit family.
the bread sticks and lasagna look disgusting. the seats however the pitch and the extra legroom look fine for economy next to last row
This month there are smoked almonds and olives, which seems like a nice alternative to these processed breadsticks and cheese.
Good to see children where they should be, at the back of economy class.
Why is your son carrying the equivalent of a trash bag as luggage?
LOL. Because he chose that over wearing his winter coat…don’t ask me why.
LOL
Just curious, are you working on your phone or another electronic device? If another device, how are you bypassing the tmobile free internet block from everything other than your phone?
DM me…
Thanks for thinking of us proles. Trans-oceanic economy is such a variable experience depending on airline and plane. JAL 777 and Singapore A350 were quite nice, Delta and KLM A330 were nothing to write home about.
This UA experience looks OK. Traveling with family in your row helps, the 787 for all its benefits is too narrow to be a 9-abreast cabin and I believe JAL is the only carrier with an 8-across configuration.
I’ll be in a similar location on a 12-hr Delta A350 flight in a few weeks, so it will be interesting to compare.
*horrors*
A travel blogger & his kids.
Only elite Gold on UA.
Basic Economy across the Atlantic from the West Coast??
Gasp.
Are you poor now?
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Hi Augustine! :))
How was that second to last row? We are a fmy of 5 looking at getting in that row with the 3 middle seats and 2 side seats. Is the window seat too far from the window to rest your head against? Do the 2 seats sit directly behind the isle and middle seat from the row infront? Like are the TV screens straight infront of you? Or staggered?
They are straight in front of you and you can lean your head against the window.