United Airlines has breathed life into its aging Airbus A319 fleet with fancy new “United Next” interiors, as I experienced in economy class on a flight from Burbank to Denver.
United Airlines A319 Economy Class Review
I do a fair amount of domestic flying and am going back to update some of my older reviews of United domestic aircraft to reflect what you might expect today. As United continues to make progress on “United Next” installations (seatback screens, larger overhead bins, and mood lighting across its narrowbody fleet), I’ve noticed that these days I’m more likely to end up on an aircraft with seatback screens than not.
> Read More: United Airlines Will Modernize Mainline Jets With New Interiors
Burbank-Hollywood Airport is very close to my house in LA and is extremely easy to fly into and out of. Although there are no lounges and Terminal B is really past its prime, nothing beats showing up for a flight 35 minutes before departure and walking right onto the aircraft.
A new terminal is coming…every time I fly out of BUR I note the progress:
This was a morning flight to Denver and barding began at 8:30 am, always via ramp at BUR (and the new terminal also will not have jet bridges).
United Airlines 1191
Burbank (BUR) – Denver (DEN)
Saturday, December 4
Depart: 9:00 AM
Arrive: 12:08 PM
Duration: 02hr, 08min
Distance: 850 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Seat: 21D (EconomyPlus – Exit Row)
Stepping onboard, I was offered a sanitizing wipe by a flight attendant and found the “United Next” interior.
Seat
The A319 has 114 economy class seats in a 3-3 configuration, with United Economy Plus (extra legroom) seats from rows 7 to 21. EconomyPlus seats have 35 inches of legroom while standard economy seats have 30 inches of legroom. Both seats are 17.7 inches wide. EconomyPlus seats recline an extra inches over standard economy seats (three inches versus two). Today, I was seated in the second exit row, which features an enormous amount of legroom and full recline (not that I needed it on a 9:00 am flight).
With the retrofitting, the entire cabin now has 110-volt A/C power, not just Economy Plus, with two plugs for every three seats. An unfortunate note on that: my laptop overpowered the port. Every time I plugged it in, the unit light shifted from green to red and charging stopped. I pulled out my travel adapter and tried switching to a European plug, but that did not help (sometimes it does, but not today).
In addition to the A/C outlets, the screens have USB-A and USB-C ports at the bottom.
The overhead reading lights have been updated (they are brighter and now more whiter light) and there are individual air vents above each seat.
The overhead bins have also been upgraded and in theory there is now room for everyone to bring their larger carry-on bag onboard and store it in the bin on its side.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi access was available for $8 for MileagePlus members ($10 for non-members) and worked well. I used my T-Mobile account to access free internet on my mobile (now discontinued).
We see how United will pay for its seatback monitors: the screen greeted me by name and asked me to login. Clearly, United will be carefully tracking the content I consume in order to sell it to the highest bidder…I get it. At least for now, you can opt out and not “login” (which requires you to enter your birthdate).
United’s library of TV shows and movies is impressive and there’s also additional games and music. Free earphones were provided to those who did not have any. As usual, I just tuned into the moving flight map and left it there for the duration of the flight.
Food + Drink
This flight is just shy of the meal service cutoff in first class (900 miles) but well under the cutoff (1100 miles) for hot food for sale in economy class. After takeoff, flight attendants offered beverages and a choice of stroopwafel, chocolate quinoa (always my choice), or savory snack mix.
Being still 1K at the time, I received a snack box and illy cold brew at no charge (I could have ordered alcohol instead at no charge).
Lavatory
The A319 has one lavatory in the front for first class passengers and two in the rear for economy class. The classic wallpaper is gone, but the lavatory remains small…though it was clean.
Service
Flight attendants were very pleasant and I was proactively recognized and thanked for my Premier 1K status (which has since lapsed).
Also, this was the flight some idiot decided to smoke in the lavatory on…
> Read More: Passenger Smokes In Lavatory On My United Flight And Sets Off Alarm
CONCLUSION
A smooth and on-time flight with United onboard an old plane with a brand new interior. Internet worked, I was kept hydrated, and all went well (except for the smoker). Delta pioneered this, but United is showing that it can make 30-year old aircraft look brand new with a fresh paint job and new cabin interior.
My prior review, published on November 2, 2023, is below.
A bulkhead seat makes a lot of difference in economy class on a United Airlines Airbus A319. In fact, the ample legroom made my flight from New York to Denver quite comfortable.
United Airlines A319 Economy Class Review
It has been a long time since I’ve reviewed an economy class flight on United Airlines and I’m doing so here to demonstrate that my upgrades do not always clear and when they do not it is not the end of the world.
The new terminal at New York LGA is great…such an improvement over the old one. The new United Club is also very nice.
> Read More: The Stunning Transformation Of New York LaGuardia Airport
> Read More: United Club New York LGA Review
Boarding began on-time and I was invited to pre-board as a Premier 1K member of the MileagePlus program.
United Airlines 1831
New York (LGA) – Denver (DEN)
October 2023
Depart: 02:29 PM
Arrive: 04:54 PM
Duration: 04hr, 24min
Distance: 1,620 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Seat: 7A (Economy Class)
It seemed that most 1Ks did not get upgraded, as the first class cabin remain empty as I walked past it (on United, premium cabin passengers board after top-tier elites).
Seat
Onboard, I found my seat in row 7, a bulkhead seat with more legroom than in first class, inclusion a generous cutout making it possible to fully stretch your legs. On the A319, United offers a total of 116 economy class seats, including 36 extra-legroom economy class seats known as EconomyPlus and 78 seats beyond row 21.
EconomyPlus seats have 35 inches of legroom while standard economy seats have 30 inches of legroom. Both seats are 17.7 inches wide. EconomyPlus seats recline an extra inches over standard economy seats (three inches versus two).
Power outlets are available in EconomyPlus, but not standard economy class.
In row 7, the armrests are immovable because the tray tables are stored there.
The power and extra legroom was essential to my productivity. Thankfully, even with a seatmate in the middle, I had enough space to work.
Wi-Fi + IFE
United offers wi-fi for purchase on all domestic flights for $10 ($8 for MileagePlus members). In my experience, United has largely worked out its internet issues and the internet worked quite well on this flight.
While United is in the process of updating these cabins to add seatback screens, the vast majority of A319s do not have screens yet…but all do have complimentary streaming entertainment over the aircraft’s intranet.
Great views of New York City after takeoff:
Food + Drink
Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks are offered in economy class. I ordered seltzer water (the full can was offered proactively) and chose a Biscoff cookie and a quinoa chocolate crisp from the snack selection.
I also ordered a cheeseburger, which I outlined here. It was very decent for an airline burger. Other food items for purchase included a sandwich, cheese plate, salad, and a number of snack boxes. Only contactless payment is accepted: you must load your credit card info in advance on your United reservation or on the United app. 1K members receive a free food and beverage item when not upgraded.
Lavatory
You have to love the old United wallpaper in the lavatory…
It was otherwise clean.
Service
The ladies working economy class were efficient, with a full beverage service after takeoff and another one about 90 minutes before landing. Between that there was one water run and a couple trash runs.
CONCLUSION
The point of this review was to demonstrate the current state of United economy class on the A319. While there was nothing “sexy” about this flight, it was efficient, the service was perfectly acceptable, and the bulkhead seat gave me plenty of room to stretch out. While it is always sad when an upgrade does not clear, economy class was totally manageable, even for a four hour flight.
I feel like I’m living in A319 purgatory. I’ve been on 7 flights in a row on them over the last two weeks, and I’ve got #8 on Saturday. So far I’m 4/8 on UGs which many would say isn’t bad, but that’s bad for me! I’ve cleared 3 at the gate. NO MORE A319s!!!!!!
As a 1K, your burger should have been free. You can request a refund from United though. I got a refund for an alcoholic beverage I ordered on a recent flight where I didn’t get upgraded as a 1K. Fortunately they billed it to my personal card on my United account rather than my corporate card. That would have been a mess.
That burger looked awfully small, compared to the large bun; don’t know why they still just offer all these high sodium snacks when in the air ? not healthy. A flight over 4 hrs, and such a narrow seat 17.5″ I’m not a big guy and I find a 20″ seat width not very comfortable on any flight. UA really needs to replace these narrow seats with somthing that would be comfortable for 2 hrs or more.
I had the same thought!!!!
It was free.
I miss that wallpaper. I think the A319’s and A320’s are the only remaining aircraft in the fleet with the pmUA wallpaper.
Thank you for reminding us that air travel is a mode of transportation. All of the business class seats, lounges, and mileage promos are bells and whistles.
I agree with you… UA Econ Plus, especially on the Airbus, is not a bad place to spend 3-4 hours. Bulkhead with the cut out is great. I’ve done a few DEN to ATL/CLT/RDU recently that way. UA did offer right after buying the ticket instant upgrade for $200 to First. I figured though with Econ+ bulkhead, like you, it’s more than tolerable.
Nice review! I’ve got a 6hr economy flight on jetstar next week. Day flight and front row. Looking forward to it.
Back in biz on Garuda 🙂
Enjoy!
I usually snag an exit row seat. I’ll have to reconsider the bulkhead seats.
” Denver (BUR) – Denver (DEN),” don’t you mean “Burbank (BUR)?”
Fixed.
Due to a combination of weather and my preferred airline AA canceling my flight from MSP to ORD, I had a chance to fly a UA 319 in F (burning up MileagePlus miles) a couple of days ago. Color me not impressed. One of the reasons I stuck with UA for as long as I did was free wi-fi as a T-Mobile customer. Now that that’s gone and AA wi-fi is free, I’m staying off UA until the Starlink transition is complete. And a United Next interior can’t hide the fact that this is still an inferior Airpus. Too bad for me, since my canceled flight was on an E-175, a plane I enjoy flying. The only positive was that this was a short flight.
Nice update. If UA is getting to 50/50 with the new interiors (IFE screens, charging ports, etc.) that’s progress. Great view of Manhattan! Cute sweater!
74% of UA narrow body aircraft have United Next installed with new seats, new large seatback OLED screens/entertainment, power, large overhead (1 roller bag/passenger).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1LVbhIyzWCPovwV0dwQVWEjO4gcSnRG1VW0lgbkeEDD8/htmlview#gid=96918390
A brief humble physician’s reminder for those who may be interested → Scientific evidence firmly establishes that there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, as it is the leading cause of preventable death. While some heavy smokers live to old age, smoking causes devastating health conditions and takes an average of 20 minutes off a person’s life expectancy with every single cigarette. It is worth adding that smoking doesn’t just kill smokers; secondhand smoke causes lethal conditions in non-smokers, including infants and children.
Greetings to the alluring City That Never Sleeps!
For aviation enthusiasts → UA currently has 75 A319-100s (average age: 24.5 years) in its fleet. The company has retrofitted 29 of its A319 aircraft with the new “United Next” cabin interior.
I guess this abput as pleasant as it gets when flying a domestic economy flight within the US.