After a lovely flight to Honolulu, it was time to head back…this time on a United Airlines 777-300ER in business class. The flight was even lovelier due to one amazing flight attendant and I slept soundly for six hours between a hearty dinner and breakfast.
United Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Honolulu – Chicago Review
For many years, the Chicago – Honolulu flights were numbered UA1 and UA2, signifying their signfancnce in the United route network. Long before United flew around the world, it served Hawaii. Before the flight, I noticed a special display commemorating United’s 75 years of service to Hawaii.
Boarding began 45 minutes before the flight, but Tom Stuker and I were enjoying a mai tai in the United Club and were among the last to board our flight. I love that HNL is also connected to Hickam Air Force Base, meaning you sometimes often see some cool military aircraft, not just commercial aircraft.
United 218
Honolulu (HNL) – Chicago (ORD)
Wednesday, May 4
Depart: 5:10 PM
Arrive: 6:15 AM+1
Duration: 08hr, 05 min
Distance: 4,243 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 16G (Business Class)
We faced a wait on the jetbridge and onboard, but finally settled into our seats. Both of us had previously assigned odd-numbered window seats, which are the preferred seat on the 777-300ER and frankly in any Polaris-equipped aircraft, but switched to the center section in row 16 so we could chat during the flight.
Seat
I’ve reviewed United’s 777-300ER business class before and will only note:
- seat width is 20 inches
- the seat converts into a fully-flat six-foot, six-inch bed
- bulkhead seats at rows 1 and 9 have wider footwells and are the best seats on the aircraft
- a personal storage compartment is big enough for your wallet and phone, but not much else
- use the wheel to recline your seat
- a power port is within reach, as are two USB charging ports
I mentioned that I was in a center section seat. If you’re not traveling with a friend or loved one, you can raise a privacy barrier between the two seats and won’t even see your seatmate.
One concern I noticed is that my particular seat did not seem to be aging very well:
Simply put, the seat is very comfortable for sleeping and I slept well. Dinner concluded with 6 hours, 19 minutes to go and I slept soundly until about one hour before the flight, awakening briefly at one point and taking the picture below, but then going right back to sleep.
United still offers a small throw blanket to business class passengers, but starting on October 5, 2022, it will offer a duvet, which represents quite an upgrade.
Food + Drink
Dinner was served after takeoff and breakfast before landing. United does not vary its menu much these days but offers a unique menu on its flights to and from Hawaii.
Pre-departure beverages were offered in a plastic cup.
Service began with a choice of beverage and mixed nuts after takeoff.
That was followed by a single-tray service, with a main course choice of chicken katsu with curry sauce, broccolini, and steamed white rice or crispy Hawaiian garlic-tofu with Huli-Huli cauliflower, sesame rice, julienne nori, garlic, Fresno chili and Thai chili sauce with chopped pineapple.
I’m thankful the curry sauce was put on the side, because the chicken katsu was fine without it. While not my favorite dish in the United line-up, it was nice to have something different.
Dinner was served with “mini Korean-style kimbap spam musubi with teriyaki mayonnaise and crispy Maui onion strings. I skipped it. The dessert was Hawaiian guava cake.
As I mentioned, I slept until an hour before landing. When I awakened, somehow Diana noticed and within moments served me breakfast, a choice of eggs with scallions, steamed white rice, Portuguese sausage, and cherry tomatoes or a breakfast protein bowl with Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, almonds, hard-boiled egg, and a side of chilled coconut chia seed oatmeal with mango. I chose the eggs, which were served with a side of fruit and croissant. Again, a nice breakfast and something different than the usual choices.
Service
The star of the flight was the lovely Diana, who took amazing care of me and all the passengers on my side of the cabin. She addressed me by name the entire flight, was incredibly attentive (like coming over to me as I was waking up). What a testament to United…and want to know something? She had been flying for United since 1968. What an amazing woman…I am going to dedicate a post to her tomorrow.
In my many years of flying United, the Honolulu-based crews are the best in the system.
Lavatory
I changed into my pajamas for this flight and found the lavatory clean. On the 777, there’s a larger lavatory (to accommodate handicapped passengers) near door 2L, but I just used the one on my side.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Seatback screens offered movies, TV shows, games, and music.
Channel 9 (air traffic control communications) was available in theory but turned off.
I also noticed there was live news, something I have not seen in the past:
Noise-canceling headphones are not particularly comfortable or uncomfortable, but functional.
Wi-Fi internet was available, again priced at $8 for the entire flight for MileagePlus members or $10 for non-members. Messaging apps were free of charge.
Amenity Kit
A packaged amenity kit featuring lip balm, and eyeshade, and a dental kit was sitting on each seat. To minimize waste, I did not open mine.
CONCLUSION
This was a very solid flight with decent food and excellent service. My one major complaint–the small blanket–will be addressed next month with the return of duvets to this route. Hopefully United will also bring back mai tais onboard at some point. Overall, it’s great to step onto a flight in Honolulu, enjoy dinner, and wake up in Chicago the next morning.
I once spent an amazing two weeks at Hickam after we sucked in a bunch of endangered birds on a fly-by leaving Wake Island and had to wait for a replacement engine from NH. Good times.
Cool F-22A raptor in the background.
The 75 years anniversary celebration further highlights the significant decline in meal quality and choices overt the years. Not sure that UA should be advertising the significant decline in product through the years.
I wonder how much it cost for the same flight 50,75 years ago? Oh o wonder how long it took as well. Just saying….
I really wanted to see the Spam offering. The description made it sound so tasty! While a lovely cultural nod, it’s fascinating that Spam is the food hill that so many are willing to die upon. Looking forward to the Diana post.
Right? Most of my college friends from the continental 48 refused to try Spam. But, pan-seared Spam is heavenly with steamed short-grain white rice. Bourdain agreed 😉
I have to admit, I am also afraid to try spam. It was also in the United Club…
Those rice balls are the bomb, loved them on my flight and hope they will still be around in December when I fly HNL-DEN.
Fear not, Matt. They’re ubiquitous here in Hawaii for a reason – it’s immensely tasty. Now, don’t make the mistake of ordering the McDonald’s breakfast platter with Spam. Instead, try the version in the club, on your flight, or buy one from someplace like Mana Musubi, Musubi Iyasume, or even Seven-11 next time you’re in town. The key is it should be pan-seared with a golden crust. “Raw” Spam straight out of the can is gross.
They’re tasty, for sure. Don’t think about it too hard – just enjoy the taste. If it’s fried, there won’t be a texture problem, either. The ones in the HNL United Club are pretty good.
Take one for the team Matt ! Try the Spam!
I must have been about 15,16 when I saw the Monty python spam sketch. I was so obnoxious reenacting it around the house that my mom bought spam and made me eat it. It was not so bad.
Yeah and look what happened to him….
The Katsu dish looks nice, but it doesn’t look like it’s befitting of a J meal. Ditto that breakfast meal that looks like a leftover special….I mean I’d gladly eat it, but it’s just doesn’t look business class to me.
This isn’t actually a business class flight, it is marketed as domestic first with some small enhancements.
Gotcha. As domestic first then it doesn’t look bad. The title and the post itself was a bit misleading as it said “business class” throughout.
I don’t see what the difference is…it’s marketed as “United First” but I find that far too misleading. The route was clearly specified in the headline. “First” is higher than “Business” in everywhere in the world but the USA, but UA uses business class booking codes (C, D, J) for this product.
Nice shot of the F-22 Raptor. I watched one perform yesterday at the Miramar Airshow. Why the govt decided to discontinue production of that amazing platform (and not the F-15) is beyond me. Don’t be afraid of SPAM. It’s just SPiced hAM. I taught my son to try everything once. If you don’t like it, try it one more time somewhere else and/or prepared differently. If you still don’t like it, then you missed out on nothing,
So be honest, could this have been a flight to a bland destination like Brussels ? No Mai Tais, no mumu’s on the flight attendants, correct ? Pathetic how un-Hawaiian flights to/from the mainland have become. And the meal ? Looks like a Y meal on one of the ME3.
Hopefully, UA brings back menus and mai tais soon (DL, AA, AS, HA all offer them).
Did they offer any alcohol?
Nice review, booking details would be nice to know what to expect. Signifying its significance definitely can be improved (relevance?)
Nice review. UA’s hard product is quite good in what Polaris offers. The catering across the board is abysmal, and the service is very much a wildcard. Can be pleasant at best, and at worst, downright nasty. It’s good to see United having turned a corner after a botched merger and years of neglect, but the hubs remain a huge problem (EWR, ORD in particular) and it still feels like they vacillate between great and a mess.
Hi Matt
Enjoy your airline articles over the past few years, you always try not to down the airline that your flying but just constructive criticism. As a 38 1/2 yr retired United Airlines , who worked as a Customer Service Agent, starting in PHL and finished in RDU, I always make sure to read your comments about UAL. I know flying today is very different than when I started in 1963, probably long before you were born, it was a pleasure to go to work, no security problems then, I know United has had its problems in the past hopefully much improved today. I don’t get to travel much on United, since we always fly stand by and many times flights leave full. My family has been lucky to f
Y in past on B 720, DC 8, B727 and stretched version, B737, B747 when upper deck was not sold as business class, B7767, B777 and DC 10, also Caravelle but haven’t had pleasure to fly B787. Any way I appreciate your views on our various airline carriers and most important pictures.
PS great that you are recognizing Flight Attendant Diana for her great service, seniority sure shows how it us to be in old days. I can attest Mai Tai were excellent on Hawaiian flights, as my wife and I flew to Honolulu for our honeymoon (1969) and were met with Leis on arrival with glass of pineapple juice
Hope didn’t bore you
Thanks for your kind words and insight, Joe.
Isn’t the G seat not the honeymoon seat (it’s not the one where you’re butt to butt with your seatmate)?
Yep, that’s right. I guess we were in the other seats.
I really hope you didn’t join the mile high club on board this “honeymoon” flight.
No.
“I’m thankful the curry sauce was put on the side, because the chicken katsu was fine without it”
If it was Japanese curry it would have elevated the dish for sure…
You say there was a salad served but it doesn’t seem to be in your pictures.
Right, there was no salad.
Hi Matt! Appreciated your review of the business class section of this flight. But I have to disagree with the food. United has been serving this selection on all my HNL to ORD 2022 flights, 4 now, and I’d like more selection. I’m thinking of ordering the specialty meal next time as it looks better! Recent meals on Delta and Lufthansa were much better, granted they were international. Hope your time in Hawaii was enjoyable!
Yes, it is high time UA rotated the meal selection. It happened to be my first time trying it, but if I was a regular on the route I think I’d dread it!
A beautiful flight to Honolulu it seems.
I had the identical catering on UA Flight 345 from HNL to IAD in January. While I was fortunate not to have the aged 767-400 that UA typically operates, and had a 767-300 with better seating, I found the catering, both dinner and breakfast, to be abysmal. The outbound catering was poor as well from ORD. American offers a superior Flagship product to HNL that is worth the DFW connection. UA has lost my business based on its horrible food to Hawaii, as well as having devalued its Polaris product on international flights.
A lovely review. In 1983 I was on the UA ORD-HNL-ORD service, and it was truly special, giving passengers a taste of Hawaii for the long flight over.
Just came in from FRA to ORD on the UA morning flight and was surprised by the very poor-quality meals offered: a soggy egg sandwich mess followed by a truly awful hamburger-like sandwich; hugely disappointing for a full fare Polaris class ticket, even the flight attendants commented on the abysmal quality of the product. Other than that, it was a great flight with efficient and dedicated personnel, comfortable seating and great ground service.
The food on those breakfast flights from Europe is truly atrocious.