This week I decided to try out United’s new Premium Plus product for my trip to Frankfurt. As far as premium economy products go, this one is a winner.
I was on UA926, United’s retrofitted 777-200 from San Francisco to Frankfurt. The aircraft has United’s latest Polaris Business Class seat as well as three rows of Premium Plus. This was a last-minute booking and initially I was booked in a middle seat (the config is 2-4-2). Thankfully, an aisle seat opened due to a no-show in business class and I was able to move while onboard.
The seat itself felt a bit slimmer than a domestic first class seat but had decent padding and good recline. I managed to sleep for most of the flight, though it was often interrupted by trying to find a more comfortable position. A plush pillow and Saks Fifth Avenue blanket also helped.
(The photo above is a stock photo, all others are mine)
Meals onboard also resemble what you might except in domestic first class. Dinner included a salad, bread (from economy class), and a main course of ravioli or buffalo mac & cheese with chicken. Although I like United’s mac & cheese, I wanted something lighter and ordered the pasta. It needed more sauce but was nevertheless tasty.
Dessert included a cookie and ice cream (same ice cream as economy class).
Prior to landing, a breakfast of omelet or fruit was offered. The omelet and fruit were identical to what is served in business class.
Service was tremendous on this flight…the FAs were well-intentioned and kind, particularly the FA who worked my side of the aisle and always had a smile on his face.
Premium Plus passengers receive a business class amenity kit.
CONCLUSION
I’ll be honest, I took Premium Plus because my upgrade to business class did not clear. On the one hand, I was glad to try United’s new premium economy product. On the other, it is not a replacement for business class. But overall, I was pleased with the product and found it better than Lufthansa’s premium economy product.
Matthew – just curious – to Asia, would you spend 70k miles to fly fauxlaris United biz on a 789, or choose to pay $600 for AA Prem Eco (looks identical to UA Premium Plus)? My quantitative brain and my heart are at odds on this one. Never flown either product. Thanks!
Depends. I sleep very well in Fauxlaris. If you value sleep, take business class. But $600 is a hard fare to pass up!
Is that the normal published fare?
I am doing the SFO – LHR and the product is not that bad however they should have done 2-3-2. More room. Food same United not all fhat good. Late as usual on United and all the FA’ are between 60 and 70. Wish the FA’s were cheerful and not mean old ladies however this is the United Way.
Matthew – I can’t tell from your photo, does the bulkhead have a cutout at the bottom for your feet (like on some 757’s and A320s)? Unsure if I should avoid that row since I like to stretch my legs straight out…thanks
Hi Steve, there is no bulkhead cutout.
“…it is not a replacement for business class.”
Music to an airline executive’s ears. I’m sure Emirates would love to replicate this.
Thank you for sharing this. I was curious about the premium plus. While I stick to business or first for business trips, this will definitely save me some $$$ while traveling for leisure trips with the entire family.
Figures that Matthew loves anything from United. If you put lipstick on a pig …
It was a decent product. A big step up over EconomyPlus, but still far closer to that than business class.
How would you rate the comfort and recline of this seat compared to United’s old recliner 2-3-2 Business class seat from the late 90’s early 2000 period? I flew that seat to Europe several times as a non-rev and remember always finding it quite comfortable.
I was quite young when I flew the old lounger chairs but my experience in Premium Plus is quite similar. Old business had more leg room and reclined a bit more but P+ is a big step over E+/E.
Depending on how tall you are, you may prefer the bulkhead row because it has a built in footrest instead of the footrest coming off the seat in front. I’ve tried both and at first I liked bulkhead but now prefer the other rows since my legs were a bit too long for the built in rest.
@121pilot: I flew the old business class many times and the new Premium Economy is not nearly as nice. The old business was wider and had better recline.
@Jared H: I also prefer the second or third row to the first row, despite the better footrest in row one.
Only row one has that last piece that sticks out flat attached to the bottom of the footrest?
The evolution of PE is going to be very interesting to watch because so far what we are seeing is a near duplicate of how Buisness class came to be.
The real key I suspect will be corporate travel policies. Will they continue to pay for J or will they start pushing employees into PE given the prices for J class flights these days. Especially east coast to near Europe transatlantic where the flights are short enough your often not getting much sleep anyway. The airlines may have shot themselves in the foot by creating a product that is just enough better than Coach that, like buisness class before it, it begins to siphon off demand from the front and leads to that class going away or getting shrunk.
It will also be interesting to see if competitive pressure drives the sort of arms race we have seen with buisness class. An arms race that has essentially killed off International First.
I am taking a United 767-300 that apparently has 4 rows of Premium Plus. Row 20, the first of the four rows, is an exit row. Do you think that will offer more leg room for a flight to London and I should grab a window/aisle pair for me and my partner ? I’m trying to determine the best pair of seats but the Exit row on 767 has me wondering if there is limited recline etc or if I should nab it. Alternately I could just play it safe and take the window/aisle behind it.
Generally, it is the only the row in front of the exit row that has limited recline. That said, I have not yet flown on this configuration. Please let us know once you travel if Row 20 is a good choice.
looks better than AA’s equivalent. nice big screens
Good point. Screens are excellent and great IFE. Since you’re in law school, you’d appreciate the movie I watched, On the Basis of Sex. No matter your political viewpoint, an excellent legal movie.
Thank you for your comments, Matthew! I am going to travel from EWR to TLV next week. I found a good fare in Premium Plus on UA. I am wondering if the last row of Premium Plus seats which is in front of a door exit row reclines less than other seats in this class. As a former F/A I remember this being the case on exit aisles. It might be only window exits, though.