I took a United flight from London back to San Francisco a week ago. There are two United flights on this route: one is a 777-300ER (reviewed separately); this one was a -200, but refitted with the new 1-2-1 Polaris business class and — more pertinently — 10-abreast economy seating versus the previous 9-abreast.
They changed the plane’s configuration after I reserved my seat — I noticed at check-in that my seat had been changed. For the better, it turned out: they assigned me an aisle seat (what I’d originally booked before the aircraft swap) with no one between me and the window passenger. And it stayed that way through the flight, even though it was relatively full.
Food
There was a vegetarian option for lunch, still available by the time the cart reached my seat (about halfway through the rear cabin) — a contrast with the availability on my outbound flight. The pre-landing snack had turkey, with no alternative (outside of special meals). And even though lunch had a vegetarian option, the meal wasn’t particularly appetizing. That seems to be a theme with United meals lately.
Infotainment, space, staff
In many respects the same as the -300ER — same options, and the same lack of them. Once again, “From the Flight Deck” was not enabled. Pity.
Restroom
Here there was a difference from the -300ER: a smaller sink, and a spring-loaded tap instead of auto-sensing. Both make wudu (ablution) more difficult. Some restrooms had cups, others didn’t. There were plenty of paper towels to clean up the restroom once I was done.
Originally posted on the old ReviewSity, October 2019.