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Home  >  Argentina • Trip Reports • United Airlines  >  XI: Buenos Aires to Washington, DC in United Economy
ArgentinaTrip ReportsUnited Airlines

XI: Buenos Aires to Washington, DC in United Economy

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 7, 2010December 6, 2016 4 Comments

2010 SOUTH AMERICA TRIP REPORT

I: Introduction

II: Los Angeles to Washington Dulles via Denver in United First

III: Washington to Buenos Aires in United Airlines Business Class

IV: Business Class (Cama) Bus Service from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls on Crucero del Norte

V: Breakfast in Paraguay, Lunch in Brazil, Dinner in Argentina + Brazilian Side of Cataratas

VI: Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian Side + Sheraton Iguazu Falls

VII: First Class (Super Cama) Bus Service from Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires on Rio Uruguay

VIII: Exploring Buenos Aires

IX: Day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

X: Review: Park Hyatt Buenos Aires

XI: Buenos Aires to Washington, DC in United Economy

XII: Outstanding Service on United from IAD-LAS-SFO-LAX

—

After a long bus ride in from central Buenos Aires, I arrived at EZE about an hour and a half before departure. Most United passengers, it seemed, had already arrived and there was no wait to check in.

As one agent was checking me in, another one sitting nearby said, "Hey–you want to fly in business class tonight?"

ME: "Yes."

AGENT: "It’s only $449 to upgrade tonight."

ME: "Can I use a systemwide upgrade?"

AGENT: "Let me check." <she checked> "Nope. Your ticket doesn’t allow for it."

ME: "Well you’ve got a lot of open seats in business class, why not just take one of my upgrades and let me get some sleep tonight?"

AGENT: "Nope. But you can have it for only $449!"

ME: "Thanks anyways."

Boarding pass in hand, I quickly cleared security and immigration and checked into the Red Carpet Club. A couple of agents there, who looked very SEA-eque (if you know what I mean) greeted me.

For the heck of it, I asked if I could use a systemwide upgrade from my account to move up to business class. Both looked confused and one started tapping on her computer screen. She said to her colleague, "It’s telling me no. Why?" I knew why, but didn’t say anything. She picked up the phone and called her supervisor (who might have been the woman downstairs I spoke with earlier for all I know…) who must have straightened her out. When she got off she told me that I could not upgrade my ticket, failing to even offer me the buy-up or a miles+co-pay upgrade.

I would characterize the lounge as one of the nicer Red Carpet Clubs in the system. The furniture and interior was a bit worn, but not to the point of needing replacement. Alcohol was free and the snack selection was about the same as any domestic Red Carpet Club, though there was some decent bread (rather than just crackers) to go along with the cheese. Wi-Fi was also free for everyone.

A boarding announcement was made and most people hastily gathered their belongings and boarded early, but I hung around for a while: I was in no mood to get to my economy seat any earlier than I needed to.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
About 20 minutes before departure I walked out to the gate (right outside the Red Carpet Club) and asked one more person, the gate agent, about an upgrade to business class. Again no dice. They follow the rules in Buenos Aires and I can’t fault them for that.
 
UA846
Depart EZE 9:20p
Arrive IAD 6:42a
10 hours, 42 minutes
767-300E/R
Dinner, Snack
 
The crew onboard, at least in the back, appeared to be in a jovial mood. I was one of the last to board and a female FA stopped by seat (exit row 20, seat B) to insure that I had found sufficient overhead space for my bag.
 
Departure was delayed for 20 minutes, but the captain announced that the time would be made up in the air and we would still be landing at Washington Dulles about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
 
I put on my Bose headsets and must have zoned out because I missed my name being paged on the overhead system once we leveled off. I had ordered a low-fat meal and apparently the FA’s couldn’t find me. When the meal carts rolled up a few minutes later, I asked a FA if my special meal had been loaded and he said, "Oh, you’re Mr. Klint. Didn’t you hear us paging you?" I apologized and he said he would go back and get my meal for me (btw, isn’t that what a manifest is for?).
 
As it turned out, my meal was just one of the options offered to everyone else–a chicken thigh with mashed potatoes and green beans. The chicken was bit cold, but acceptable. The salad, minced iceberg lettuce, was unappetizing. Especially unappetizing was the Redwood Creek red wine. Ugh. Don’t even bother ordering wine in United Economy–anything worse than "Two Buck Chuck" is not fit for human consumption.
 
 
 
 
The problem with sitting in an exit row is that the seats are not padded as much as standard economy seats. That makes a ten hour flight hard on the rear and I got absolutely no sleep. Typically, I can get a couple hours so I will not be sitting in an exit row on future longhaul overnight flights in economy. The movie selection (individual monitors with eight channels of looping movies/video) was decent, though the only thing I had not seen was "Date Night" with Tina Fey and Steve Carell. Eh…
 
I got up and chatted with a couple of the FA’s in the rear galley for an hour about United and the merger with Continental. Both were optimistic (which I have found is prevalent amongst UA FAs) that the new airline would benefit them. I’m still not so sure.
 
A light breakfast was served prior to landing consisting of a small fruit cup (pineapple and grapefruit) and a couple crackers (the low-fat choice). Everyone else received a danish and yogurt.
 
As the captain promised, we landed a half hour early. 
 
The flight was fine. What more can I say? Economy is economy and it was very uncomfortable (by my spoiled standards) despite having plenty of legroom. Service was more than acceptable and although the food and IFE pales in comparison to airlines like Air New Zealand, Singapore, or even Lufthansa, it was adequate.
 
If you do find yourself stuck in economy on a trip to or from Buenos Aires, United is not a bad choice.
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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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4 Comments

  1. Darren Reply
    October 8, 2010 at 1:05 am

    Nice report, Matthew… thanks. Always wondered what the EZE RCC looked like. I’ll still take 20AB or 20JK on that airplane though. While I agree about the hard-as-a-rock seat, I still want that ample legroom.

  2. Matthew Reply
    October 9, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    @Darren: It certainly is a tradeoff! When I’m in Economy, I find myself up and hanging out in the rear galley (unless I have a center section to myself), so in the end it doesn’t matter all that much too me!

  3. Sami Reply
    October 18, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    Legroom on UA Y is a lousy 31.”

    Enjoyed your report. I was in Iguazu in 1978 and they really seem to have made improivements for tourists. Would like to take a longhaul bus in Argentina one day. I took the plane.

  4. Matthew Reply
    October 18, 2010 at 9:55 pm

    @Sami: Thanks for your comments. UA Y is tight, but Economy Plus is great (for a coach seat)…

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