After a string of excellent flights on United Airlines, I experienced a pretty dismal one flying from Chicago to Los Angeles on a 737 MAX 9 in first class…it really left me shaking my head.
I Finally Had A Bad Flight On United Airlines…
I bend over backwards to be charitable in my flight reviews because I think they are the most serious thing I do on this blog…and for over 17 years I’ve tired to offer even, balanced, fair flight reviews. I’ll happily write clickbait for the latest story of a passenger acting up onboard (RIP Spirit Airlines), but I deliberately avoid clickbait in my travel reviews because I believe these reviews form an essential codex upon which I stake my reputation as travel writer.
Anyway, bad flights do occur and I think a fair assessment of my recent ORD-LAX flight on United falls into that bad camp.
What made it was so bad? After all, it was on a brand new 737 MAX 9 with United Next interiors, featuring seatback screens with Bluetooth connectivity. The flight attendants were also very nice.
The primary problem was that despite being a new plane, the Wi-Fi was inoperative. I’m sorry, but that is wholly unnaceptable. United is already uncompetitive with Wi-Fi in that both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines offer complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi on domestic flights. But in some ways, I am happy to pay the $8/flight on United just because the bandwidth isn’t great enough for everyone to connect.
It had been a busy day and the following day would be even more busy…I needed this four hours to work and I did not have the luxury of “relaxing” on this flight. The work I had to accomplish was also of the nature that could not be downloaded prior to the flight.
But the Wi-Fi didn’t work…and there was not even an announcement made about it. I asked the purser and he said, “I’m sorry, it’s not working for us too.” The pilot reset it a couple times, but it just did not work…what an annoyance.
Again, Wi-Fi not working is a dealbreaker…it’s why I refuse to step onboard a United 757-300 any longer until Starlink is installed, but I thought I’d be safe with the 737 MAX 9. Nope.
Well, I thought…I had not eaten so at least I’d have a good dinner. I pre-ordered the Greek Pastitsio, the Chicago “Signature” menu item described as:
Greek pastitsio with braised beef ragu, bechamel veloute and spiced tomato reduction
It was pictured like this on the menu:
But arrived like this:
…and it was not hot enough either. Furthermore, it looks like the salad size has been cut in half with fewer greens and just a few sliced carrots and cucumbers, plus there was supposed to be cheesecake but Magnolia Bakery custard was served instead…just a very poor meal. The bread is also poor quality.
My seatmate had ordered the Coq au vin and it looked very good…as did the Pollo a la brasa. I certainly ordered the wrong thing. United’s come a long way on food, but needs to go back to the drawing board with this one…an absolute disaster.
And just as a small aside, the plane wasn’t clean…United still has not figured out how to properly clean planes between flights:
…and the lavatory was also filthy (though I blame passengers more for that).
So yeah, I ended up napping but then when I got to LAX at midnight at I had to stay up late at home doing the work that should have been accomplished on the plane…and that made me quite tired the next couple days.
I appreciate that United has come a long way from the Smisek era, but I have to say that I will go out of my way to fly American Airlines or Delta Air Lines domestically if these sorts of issues repeat themselves. The Wi-Fi needs to work, full stop. It’s non-negotiable. Also, the meals should not look like vomit…it’s not that hard because other carriers manage to offer more presentable meals without issue.
Experienced the same thing IAH to DCA last month. I’m typically on American in/out of DCA but United’s connection in Houston was better. The seats were filthy (I asked for a wipe so I could clean off whatever sticky substance was on the tray table), WiFi was completely inoperable (this plane had no seatback screens so there was no IFE whatsoever), and my preordered meal was not loaded. The flight had been on the ground at their largest hub for hours and they couldn’t even get those basic items right.
Flew First Class on a United 737 MAX 9 back in 2024, and my tray was filthy! Took a little while to get the FA’s attention, but then he apologized and gave me several wipes so I could clean it. At least, I thought my meal was good! Then on a recent Alaska Airlines flight, I again encountered a dirty tray table, so a FA gave me a little packaged cleaning kit with wipes and gloves. It doesn’t seem like trays are being cleaned between flights; I always use napkins to contain any messes and clean up after myself when I’m finished with it…but other passengers aren’t so nice about that…. 🙁
Wouldn’t be a nicer world (not just on airplanes!) if everyone was as courteous as you, Shirley?!
So let me get this right. I’m a guest in your home, I discover a filthy tray table or seat (or better yet something sticky or wet on my seat), I bring it to the crew’s attention, and they hand me wipes to clean it up. This exact thing happened to me in first class as well. This is our new reality. Why do we pay more for this kind of service? They need to do better.
Oh the horror! The wi-fi did not work and no announcment was made – the meal YOU chose did not met your standards – and there was a SMALL amount of trash that was overooked. And here I tought that flying from one location to another was the actual job of the airlines. Apparently today’s passengers are looking for anythng to complain about…
Yes, I expect a higher level of service.
You’re right to be upset, These are the conveniences we pay for, based on what we’re led to expect. I did get a very good laugh out of the dinner photo comparison – that was really funny (but very sad). The hopefully good news is I preordered the coq au vin on an upcoming flight, so I liked your line about that. Keep writing these reviews! I love United, but I want them to be on their game!!
Yes, you see the point – it’s not to downplay that we can safely and affordably travel across the country in a few hours…a miracle…but that the “bigotry of low expectations” means I cannot just ignore flights like this, especially when (thankfully) they are much fewer and further between these days.
Your sarcasm is noted, but frankly isn’t sarcastic enough. Airline transportation is a massive business compared to 10 or 20 or 40 years ago. They’re not restaurants. They’re not your home office space. Meals and internet access are perks. The fact that so many people make such long journeys in safety and comfort is proof how far we’ve come in our lives.
It’s the entitled that don’t see the forest for the trees.
Meals and Wifi are perks that passengers pay for, Bryan. Airlines keep treating their customers like shit while laughing all the way to the bank because people like yourself let them get away with it. Awful food that looks like it was made in a prison kitchen, a first class seat that’s as filthy as a NY subway carriage, and cabin crews who are sooooooo very special and important that they can’t put on a pair of gloves & clean a toilet, even though cabin crew all around the rest of the world realise it’s a part of their job. As I said, if you let them treat you like shit, they’ll treat you like shit.
A first class ticket is 3 or 4 times the price of an economy ticket.
Or in my case, double, but still a lot…
Really?! What an overly dramatic review. No wifi = breakdown.
And tired for two days after. Poor lamb!
Baaaaa…
You’re complaining and you were in first class? At least your ass wasn’t being squished and your knees up to your chest. As far as having to clean your own trays and the bathrooms filthy maybe a call to the Dept of Health in your departure or destination city might get United’s attention? And I do agree your meal looked awful and no wi-fi is just wrong. Business flyers especially those in first class has to be catered to. Yes?
Yep, I’m complaining.
The IFC provider for the MAX aircraft is ViaSat, which works well, when it works. I’ve worked in the IFC industry for 15 years, it’s difficult to catch INOP IFC aircraft and get them working, Even then, the Tech may spend hours trying to determine the fault and the fix. Not an excuse, just reality.
Now, Starlink took a much simpler approach-remove and replace. The only “boxes’ are the Wireless Access Points (WAPs), everything else is in the antenna structure. No spending hours troubleshooting the magic black boxes, take out the old unit, replace with new one, get it online and test it. The whole process would take 1-2 hours. The challenge is having replacement units available. If an aircraft overnights at an off station, there is no opportunity to address the problem.
Like you, I do use the Wi-Fi to catch up on work (usually expense reports), so I get your frustration.
Oof. That looks like an economy-class meal from an era of cutbacks.
Thank you for your measured critique. Here’s my observation, as a Frequent Flyer w/UNITED since early 1990’s.
If UNITED treats its Cabin Cleaner workers in Chicago or elsewhere the way they’ve treated workers in NJ, I’m not surprised that cleaning isn’t what it should be–unfortunately. But when you downgrade workers from Full time to Part time & rip away Health Benefits*, it tends to affect morale.
I’ve flown UNITED, ANA or JAL from east coast USA to Japan, 2x/yr for decades–always thankful for a safe flight–but the differences in Cleanliness and Service comparing JAL to UNITED are many. As well, ANA (also a Star Alliance partner w/UNITED), has cleaner planes and more consistent Attendants than UNITED. And food? Always better on the Japanese lines.
UNITED can do better, and they might, if only CEO Scott Kirby ($33.9 million/yr) and Pres. Brett Hart ($23.6 million/yr) would share a standard meal in Economy Class, which is far worse than what they stuck you with on this flight.
* https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-expresses-concern-urges-transparency-in-letter-to-united-airlines-regarding-change-in-status-for-hundreds-of-ewr-workers
@ Matthew — Take a nap,.and you can live without wifi for 4 hours. Contrary to what you think, we do not need constant access to wifi.
That meal is an embarrassment United. Come on Kirby…
I have had WIFI problems on every one of the carriers at some point or another. Planes are in motion and sometimes equipment fails. While it would be nice for them to announce this to help set expectations, it likely would not influence your immediate situation short of deplaning and taking another flight. Airplane food on the domestic airlines is hit and miss. AS seems to be a tad stronger, but every airlines has its moments – always good to have a protein bar or similar just in case. Not defending United here, but if you had a good crew and you land safe and reasonably close to schedule, then it was a good flight. When the food is also good, the tray tables at least appear clean(er), and the WIFI functions, then it is a great flight. Comes across as sour grapes.
Gosh, I am so sorry you were subjected to such trauma, it must have been like having incurable cancer.
Somehow I’ll survive.
Matthew is usually generous in his flight reviews, it makes me sad for anyone to be disappointed. That pastatia meal makes the gas station cheeseburgers appear luxurious. Could they have at least tried with a larger salad!
I’m blown away by how so many people actually eat food on airplanes! The food is generally garbage.
I only fly first and business class and will occasionally try the food out as part of my exploratory analysis of a new product (e.g., my upcoming round-trip Polaris Studio flights SFO-SIN). Otherwise, do we really expect an airplane dining experience to rival that of a Michelin-starred restaurant?!? Can you not afford to eat a proper meal at a restaurant before or after your flight? Do you not possess the mental or physical fortitude to avoid eating for 4, 8, or even 12 hours straight? Pathetic.
Is United cutting corners to offset higher cost of fuel?
Just wondering.
Your stylish shoes are in good condition, but the same can hardly be said for the lavatory on the brand new UA B737 MAX 9 jet that you were on!
Gosh, the wifi didn’t work. You’re flying on one of the finest, safest airplanes in the world with an excellent flight crew and all you can say is the wifi didn’t work? How soon we forget the purpose of transportation is to get from point A to point B. In the real world, you sat in your seat and looked out the window or took a nap – there was no wifi to play with or movies to watch.
*sigh*
UA and one of its 152 B737 MAX 9 aircraft (with an average age of 2.8 years) should not have given you this negative experience… To the attention Scott Kirby & Co.!
Matthew’s flight departed from Chicago O’Hare, an UAL hub, not outstation. The plane interior should not be filthy, especially for business/first class section.
Sir, what is this clickbait? You fly a lot more than I do, but you are being a bit of a dramatic diva. I primarily fly American and Alaska, and have experienced no Wi-Fi on the entire flight or extremely slow/bad connections on both domestic-only itineraries… in 2026. So, I’ll pat your head and say “there, there”, life will go on, and cheer up, Buckaroo, we will survive this. Always good to expect and encourage better, but this feels “ranty”. Hope everything is ok.
Should’ve just ordered the Tapas box
Lousy seats w/really tight pitch, filthy cabin, disgusting meal, no wi-fi—and one way or another paid for “first class”. I’d walk but where? Delta’s A-321 Neo F seating is hard, uncomfortable and good luck if you are in a window seat because you are not ever getting out. Alfred Kahn made sure everyone flies but everyone is miserable.
I think this article is ridiculous – I was expecting a truly horrible experience and all it really was is WiFi? Seriously? That is an absolute click bait title. Plan your days and trips around it not working and thats it – surely that can’t be so hard to plan for someone so accustomed to frequent travelling. It’s a plane flying high up at hundreds of miles an hour to complain about wifi not working is just nothing but entitlement IMO.
Every time I fly across our great country I think of my ancestors who took 90 days for the same journey or didn’t survive an early winter in western Wyoming. Please appreciate how much we have progressed in 175 years. I have been an United frequent flyer for 38 years and all I expect is a safe trip from start to finish. Anything else above or beyond is just an added bonus.
It seems we have common ancestry. I also have ancestors who died crossing Wyoming in the 1840’s, walking and pulling a handcart. I think of that every time I fly over the vast expanse of the US. My parents marveled at being able to cross the country by train in the early 1900’s. I miss the old CO airlines. When it merged with UA, the whole travel vibe changed for the worse.
Did United stop paying you?
United is always like this….not awful. Not good. But always with awful catering
They’ve never paid me and no, my flights are not usually like this, hence this story.
I think it’s really sad that the standards people have come to expect from airlimes in the USA are so low that you are being roasted in these comments for considering no wifi, a bad meal and a dirty plane to equal a bad flight, especially in first class. Those should be the bare minimum of expectations in 2026. Your review is more than fair.
Surely Untied and a Max is bound to end up in disappointment even if you do fly safely and manage to land on a runway.
Seems like closer to an average United flight than an outlier to me.
– UA 1 K
Are you sure the meal served was actually the meal you ordered? That salad is directly off one of the “special meal” tray setups. On second thought, after viewing a different photo of what the entree is supposed to look like, I can guarantee that’s not what you ordered. The galley FA either didn’t care enough to relay that information or didn’t check and just served what they thought you ordered. Unfortunate in any circumstance.
Sometimes things break and it sucks. Would you have preferred they cancel
The flight and take the plane out of service to fix the WiFi? This is why I bring books and other things.
Wow Matthew, I don’t get the negative reactions here. You’re writing a travel blog and gave your honest and measured assessment of your flight. It’s not like your some stranger sitting next to me at a bar yapping on about his recent flight. But, so many are expressing the silly “first-world problem” BS. Being without wifi, given the IFE was OK, would be no inconvenience to me. But, it’s not important if it is important to me. It is to you and others who work on planes.
Good review, Matthew, and you’re absolutely justified in calling out United. The crap wifi and dirty cabin aside, flight crews can make all the difference. A few months ago, Houston to San Jose, Costa Rica, my wife and I were in first class. An elderly woman in the back row was separated from her son who was next to me in row 2. I offered to switch so they could sit together. They were very appreciative and the woman moved forward a few rows. Meal time: The FA got to me and I asked for the United signature dish they had out of Houston. The FA had no idea what I was talking about. I said, fine, just bring me an entree. Ay entree. I hadn’t eaten all day. She just stared and didn’t know what I meant. I’m thinking she was really new. She offered a salad or maybe one of the boxed up hamburgers they were selling in economy. Fine. She returned and said an entree just became available, I’m guessing because the FA who had claimed it didn’t want to be caught eating it. It was embarrassing for me (I never, ever complain to a FA) because I’m old and just want to get where I’m going without trouble.
Flip side: That trip was Des Moines to Costa Rica. First flight on a Monday afternoon to Houston was canceled. Nothing else available. Nothing available on Tuesday. Wednesday yes, but it was three hours late. The flight attendants were sitting next to the gate when I explained to the agent we’d been trying to get out of Des Moines to ANYWHERE for three days. We boarded but had a tight connection in Houston. As I said I’m old (disabled vet) and we were worried about making our plane. The purser, who apparently had heard me talking to the gate agent, came by and explained how to get to our gate in Houston in a different concourse. Then he stopped by with a bottle of wine for us to take along and three drink-size bottles of Buffalo Trace so I could have a proper drink once we got to our rental in Costa Rica. Then another flight agent walked us — walked us, mind you — to our connecting flight. Incredible service.
Anyway, it goes both ways. Same with TSA and gate agents. I like to remember my second example, even with the cancelations and delays.
Did Güntürk’s AI get annoyed at all of the attention and start writing bad reviews of your reviews of bad flights?? so much hate for one article (at least no one mentioned the normal off topic person on here)
United’s 100th anniversary special meals are disappointing. Visually they are terrible: a pile of brown slop. And they only taste marginally better.
I’d still prefer an overcooked Beef Wellington to this.
How to Fix This
Either…(1) pay more, the airline hires more staff to clean,, cook. More food. Actual wifi.
Or… (2) skip this airline.
Choice #2 may be coming our way, with rising prices for jet fuel becoming part of unaffordable tickets.
Matthew –everyone has his/her personal preferences and expectations when it comes to flying (as well as almost everything else.). While I tend to share the opinion of some of your harshest critics in these comments (I couldn’t care less about wifi, don’t tend to use it when it is available, and don’t look forward to the future ways my fellow flyers will use it once it becomes more widely available), you stated your preferences/prejudices in a straightforward manner from the beginning. No one should give you a hard time for that.
I am much more concerned about cleanliness and sanitation onboard. There should be standards that all carriers are required to meet as this is a potential public health issue. Thanks for reporting those issues.
I flew from Newark to Berlin and back, upgraded the flights to Polaris class with lie-flat seats. So stoked.
8 hour flight there, 9 hour flight back. Setback ads touting new Starling wi-fi service… except, it didn’t work! On the flight out they said they would ‘re-boot’ the system and it would take 20 minutes… but still didn’t work right.
Super annoying on a long-haul flight in any class, but especially so in Polaris.
The food was exceptional though, not like what you had on your flight.