Trip Report: United BOS-SFO First Class

Introduction

Trip Report: United BOS-SFO First Class

My very long journey to nowhere started out very early at Boston Logan Airport. I had a 6 AM flight, and was at the airport close to 4 AM. Surprisingly security was already open at that ridiculous hour and so was PreCheck, that was a huge bonus for me. I really hate having to disrobe and unpack to get through “normal” security I was out in a flash and ready to take on the airport. I’ve been here before but it’s been a long time, and I frankly can’t remember what terminal United was in but they are now in Terminal B. It’s entirely possible that they were in B before but since this section was recently remodeled and the United Club was moved to the second floor I’m guessing it’s a new space for them.

 

 

I was really impressed by the terminal. It was clean, spacious, had lots of windows, and incredibly great design. The chairs, lighting and common space was really just very soothing, and the colors scheme was also quite relaxing too. Beyond that United has employed automatic gate readers, so when it’s your turn to board you self-scan your boarding pass the door opens and you walk through. Now I don’t think this saves any time, but I imagine it will and does cut down on how many staff are needed to get a plane out. Although in my case there were four people assisting boarding this flight. Additionally, they had tons of power outlets, charging stations and power at the seats plus United has employed a ridiculous amount of kiosks to help you with your travel needs. Overall a really nice move for UA at Logan from where they used to be.

 

Before I boarded the flight I had a chance to check out the United Club and it too had that new car smell. Again a very spacious, modern feel and design. With lots and lots of seating and windows overlooking the gates. I really was impressed with the look and feel of the space. Over the past 2 ½ years I’ve not spent much time in United Clubs, but if this is the direction they are going in I’m impressed. I was used to the old ones at SFO, DEN and LAX, which are all in need of a redo. As you can see from the pictures at 4:30 AM this place was pretty empty but 30 minutes later it was buzzing, but thankfully still lots of seats. Back in December my wife and I were at the LAX club at 10 AM and literally there were just people wandering aimlessly looking for seats, it was awful. This place seems so large I wonder if they have the same issue.

After a quick 45 minutes in the lounge I went down to the gate to get ready to board. People had already cued up and they were just about to start boarding. I had my chance to use the self-boarding lanes and off I went to find my seat. Today I was flying and ex-Continental 757-300 which offers 24 seats in First Class in a 2×2 configuration. This was an old plane or so it felt. It had the barcalounger type seats which are pretty wide and had a fair amount of legroom. Not great, but it’s not like I’m flying in a lie-flat seat. Although the seats and plane are old, I do feel the seats have plenty of cushion unlike so many slim line seats the airlines are offering in newer and refurbished planes. As for entertainment they had Wi-Fi and you could stream to your own mobile device, there were no overhead monitors or even radio stations (do airlines even do that anymore). Unfortunately for our 6+ hour flight the Wi-Fi was not working, so much for new technology. They reset the system three or four times, but to no avail. This made for a really long trip. Sure I have my computer, but I don’t load movies on it and rely on Wi-Fi to get my entertainment or the airplane having even crappy TV’s. Oh well, more sleep I guess.

 

As for food and drink, Manny our flight attendant, was amazing. He hustled the whole flight and did a great job making sure I was well watered. I didn’t take any snaps of the breakfast, but it was actually edible too. He took the time to serve in 2 courses too. The first was a fruit plate with strawberries, pineapple, melon and grapes as well as biscuit or cinnamon roll and a side of vanilla Greek yoghurt. Course two was a crisp waffle with berry compote. Overall I liked the food and enjoyed the presentation and all. Sure it’s an airplane but to be fed and enjoy it’s always a plus.

 

There’s really not much I can say that was remarkable about this flight, besides it departed on time and was only 15 minutes late arriving. The food was good and the one flight attendant I interacted with was really nice. In this case United may not be offering the latest and greatest seats or a modern plane in this case, but it was perfectly pleasant. My only knock is how can you have a fight of 6+ hours w/out working Wi-Fi, in seat power or some form of entertainment, this is 2015 for crying out loud.

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