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Well it looks like it's time for another flight review. This one will encompass my recent trips on United Airlines from Denver to Newark and from Newark to Denver. The main reason my mom and I went on this trip was to see my uncle who lives in North Arlington, NJ, just outside of Newark and to have an opportunity to see the Big Apple. Don't worry, I know the report is a little detailed, but there are pleanty of photos below.
Why I chose United and other possible choices:
My family and I are UA Mileage Plus members and we had a ton of UA miles left over from our LH trips to India, so we bought our tickets with miles. The only other airline serving the DEN-EWR route was Continental Airlines.
Flight #1 (DEN-EWR, UA flight 750)
Date: Friday, January 9, 2009
Cabin: Economy, seat 19E
Actual Departure: 1:31 pm (Scheduled 12:19pm)
Actual Arrival: 6:52 pm (Scheduled 6:08pm)
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Registration: unknown, it was in the old UA livery. I would be happy if someone could find it
Departure Gate: Concourse B, Gate B33
Arrival: Terminal A, Gate A17
Weather in Denver and Newark that day:
Weather in Denver: overcast skies, mid 40s (Fahrenheit)
Weather in Newark: extremely cold, occasional snow, high wind gusts (25-45 mph), high 32 degrees.
Check-in:
For this flight I used United Airlines' Easy Check-in Online feature. The online check-in process was relatively easy. One thing I liked about UA was that the airline allows you to choose your seats at the time of purchase, thus you only have to confirm your seats when you check-in online. Why can't British Airways adopt this system!!!
Anyway, the process was really easy to use and it allowed you to pay your bag fees on-line with a 20% discount.
So my mom and I carried one bag each ended up paying $24.00 for the bags.
At Denver International Airport it was nice to see that UA had set up special UA Online Bag Check kiosks, so you could go and check-in really quickly. One thing that many people forget, is that after 9/11 all major US airports require your bags to be checked-in 45 minutes prior to departure. This is to allow the TSA adequate time to screen baggage.
Back to my trip, the man at the counter was very nice and checked our IDs and our baggage and we were on the way.
Experience at Denver International Airport:
Overall, I liked the check-in areas at DIA as they were plenty of counters and the area appeared to be very spacious. After check-in we went straight into the main area of the Jeppensen Terminal.
I always am amazed by the stunning architecture in this area. It really gives the airport a massive and open feeling.
A wikipedia.org photo of the Jeppensen Terminal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:De...t_terminal.jpg
About an hour before departure, we headed downstairs to the South Security Station. The security waits were hardly two minutes, the staff was pretty friendly, and it was nice to see that the US government finally decided to change the uniforms to a nice, new light blue color. Of course, I had to go through the usual hassles of security like taking out my laptop, any medications, toiletries, and my shoes.
Once we cleared security we were on our way to the train. I like how the train has nice sound effects like bells and whistles. I also like the nice rotating fan display outside the train. Basically, there are a thousand small siliver fans and when the train passes them they rotate giving a nice blurred sensation to the passengers.
Here's a cool link explaining about that piece of art: http://www.flydenver.com/guide/art/installation.asp
The underground tram took about 3 minutes to get to Concourse B, once outside we got on the escalator and passed below a large white UA canopy with stained glass. Concourse B usually has some of the best shops in the airport and the gate areas were very spacious.
A photo of the United Airlines Canopy at Denver: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UnitedDenver.jpg
Unfortunately, our flight got delayed due to the 40mph winds in the New Jersey area and I used the time to surf the internet on the airport's free wifi connection. The UA gate agent provided frequent updates on the delay and seemed to be apologetic so it wasn't all that bad.
Denver International Airport Rating: 4.4/5
The Boarding Process:
UA boards by seating areas 1,2,3, and 4 and the process was very smooth. The only thing that was annoying, was finding space for my carry-on as the overhead bins were full of heavy and oversized carry-ons. Guess, this is the major consequence of those ridiculous baggage fees.
The flight:
Once we were seated the pilot came on the PA system and apologized for the long delay, but said that we had good news because of the 100 knot tailwinds our flight time to NJ would be only 2 hours 54 minutes (typical flying time of 3.5 hrs). He also said that we would be expecting some heavy turbulence once we approached the NY/NJ area and that Channel 9 would be turned on, so we could listen to Air Traffic Control.
Afterwards, we pushed back and the IAE V2500 engines were started and we spent about 15-20 minutes taxing to runway 16L/34R, the runway had just recently been reopened after the CO 1404 flight incident. Unfortunately, there were about 3 UA planes ahead of us, so we had to wait. Once it was our turn the engines roared and we had a very powerful take-off. The engine noise was pretty loud until we reached our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet.
Overall, the flight was very smooth until we reached New York area where we faced heavy turbulence on the descent. Due to heavy traffic we had to be put into two holding patterns and we finally got clearance to approach runway 4R/22L. The approach was extremely bumpy and the pilot had to perform a crab-landing, a typical approach in heavy cross-wind landings, but we touched down fairly smoothly on the runway and had some super-heavy braking. We finally reached our gate at 6:52 pm NJ time and the crew once-again apologized for the inconvenience.
Cabin Crew, IFE, Food, Beverages, and Service:
On this flight we had 3 F/As, all of whom were male. There were two F/As serving the main Economy/ Economy Plus cabin. After take-off, the head F/A announced that there would be four snack boxes for sale and that non-alcholic beverages were free.
As soon as we reached our cruising altitude the beverage service began and the IFE was switched on. I don't remember the name of the movie, playing on the overhead screens, but it was some stupid drama about a husband and a wife who didn't get along, but the husband died and the wife realized how much she loved him.
Thankfully, the headphones were free!
The crew came around with a beverage service and I got a SmartPack snack box for US$6 and a full 12oz can of Coke. The snack box was pretty good as it had a pack of baked bagel chips with dip, cashew crunch bars, a pack of applesauce, and an excellent flaky cookie. The crew came around twice with trays of water and just before our approach into Newark they came around with a second beverage service, I had a glass of milk.
Comfort and Condition of the plane:
The plane was relatively new looking, but it was annoying to see that some of the armrests and sidewalls were a little dirty. In addition, my tray table was broken and it took a lot of effort to get the tray table to lock back into place.
The blue seats were new, had headrests, and the legroom was average. Like most airlines' economy classes, it was annoying when the person in front of you reclined their seat. The seat was comfortable enough to get some sleep and there were blankets and pillows available for free on request. UA's economy class, wasn't spectacular, but it was certinly more comfortable than that of AA, US Airways.
United Airlines also offers an Economy Plus section, which gives passengers 35" pitch seats, everything else is the same, including the seat width. Economy Plus upgrades cost $59 for my flight, but I declined.
Baggage Retrieval at Newark Airport:
Once we landed we taxied to gate A16 and within 5 minutes we were off the plane. Unlike the recently improved Terminal C, Newark terminal looked abit old and very gray, however, the terminal and restrooms were clean. It was nice that the signs were easy to follow.
The baggage claim was a short walk from the gate and we had to wait about 20 minutes for our bags. The baggage claim area looked really old with large circular flourescent lights and my bag came about 20 minutes later. I was a little surprised by the slowness of the baggage, as at most airports the bags will start come out about 15 minutes after the plane disembarks. Another weird thing was that people with oversized bags had to wait for a UA employee to unlock the room where their bags were held. Many people were waiting over 45 minutes! Wonder, why Newark airport can't just have a separate carousel.
Newark Airport Arrival Rating: 3.5/5
Flight Ratings:
Cabin Crew: 7/10
IFE: 6/10
Comfort:7/10
Condition of the plane: 7/10
Food (Snackbox for purchase): 8/10
Selection of free beverages: 8/10
Aircraft Rating (Airbus A319): 9/10
United Airlines Star Rating for this flight: 2.9/5
Overall, I would call UA an average US domestic carrier, as the airline offers few ammenities and even though the service was pretty good, there was nothing really special about flying UA. Personally, I hate checked bag fees, you should get one checked bag for free! However, this is common on most US carriers, with the exception of Southwest Airlines, so I can't really hold that against UA. UA, isn't a bad carrier and if the price was good, I would recommend UA to anyone.
Some General Information about UA, if you want to skip, go ahead:
Company check-in baggage policy: $15 first bag, $25 second bag each way. On-line: $12 first bag, $25 second bag each way.
Snack Box link: Here's the UA website page displaying the contents of the four snack-boxes of flights over 3 hours in length. UA also offers A la Carte snacks (Twizlers, M&Ms, lays stacks, almonds,etc.) for US$3.00 on flights over 1.5 hours in length and fresh food for $9 on flights longer than 5 hours.
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51257,00.html (I bought the SmartPack on this flight and it was pretty good!)
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51284,00.html (Fresh food menu)
Photos:
An old picture I had of DIA Concourse A, UA's Concourse B is similar looking:
Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. The weather was really overcast and it messed up my photos. I used a Canon Rebel XSI with the 18-55mm lens in Manual mode, shutter speed 1/60 focal length 5.6. If anyone, could offer some pointers to shooting in those conditions I would be happy. The Concourse was shot really quickly on a Canon Powershot A540 so sorry about quality there, too.
Note the flight review for UA flight 731 is coming soon!
This is my second flight review and I hoped you enjoyed reading. As always, questions, comments, or helpful tips to improve are appreciated!
Regards,
Rohan
Why I chose United and other possible choices:
My family and I are UA Mileage Plus members and we had a ton of UA miles left over from our LH trips to India, so we bought our tickets with miles. The only other airline serving the DEN-EWR route was Continental Airlines.
Flight #1 (DEN-EWR, UA flight 750)
Date: Friday, January 9, 2009
Cabin: Economy, seat 19E
Actual Departure: 1:31 pm (Scheduled 12:19pm)
Actual Arrival: 6:52 pm (Scheduled 6:08pm)
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Registration: unknown, it was in the old UA livery. I would be happy if someone could find it
Departure Gate: Concourse B, Gate B33
Arrival: Terminal A, Gate A17
Weather in Denver and Newark that day:
Weather in Denver: overcast skies, mid 40s (Fahrenheit)
Weather in Newark: extremely cold, occasional snow, high wind gusts (25-45 mph), high 32 degrees.
Check-in:
For this flight I used United Airlines' Easy Check-in Online feature. The online check-in process was relatively easy. One thing I liked about UA was that the airline allows you to choose your seats at the time of purchase, thus you only have to confirm your seats when you check-in online. Why can't British Airways adopt this system!!!
Anyway, the process was really easy to use and it allowed you to pay your bag fees on-line with a 20% discount. So my mom and I carried one bag each ended up paying $24.00 for the bags. At Denver International Airport it was nice to see that UA had set up special UA Online Bag Check kiosks, so you could go and check-in really quickly. One thing that many people forget, is that after 9/11 all major US airports require your bags to be checked-in 45 minutes prior to departure. This is to allow the TSA adequate time to screen baggage.
Back to my trip, the man at the counter was very nice and checked our IDs and our baggage and we were on the way.
Experience at Denver International Airport:
Overall, I liked the check-in areas at DIA as they were plenty of counters and the area appeared to be very spacious. After check-in we went straight into the main area of the Jeppensen Terminal.
I always am amazed by the stunning architecture in this area. It really gives the airport a massive and open feeling.
A wikipedia.org photo of the Jeppensen Terminal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:De...t_terminal.jpg
About an hour before departure, we headed downstairs to the South Security Station. The security waits were hardly two minutes, the staff was pretty friendly, and it was nice to see that the US government finally decided to change the uniforms to a nice, new light blue color. Of course, I had to go through the usual hassles of security like taking out my laptop, any medications, toiletries, and my shoes.
Once we cleared security we were on our way to the train. I like how the train has nice sound effects like bells and whistles. I also like the nice rotating fan display outside the train. Basically, there are a thousand small siliver fans and when the train passes them they rotate giving a nice blurred sensation to the passengers.
Here's a cool link explaining about that piece of art: http://www.flydenver.com/guide/art/installation.asp
The underground tram took about 3 minutes to get to Concourse B, once outside we got on the escalator and passed below a large white UA canopy with stained glass. Concourse B usually has some of the best shops in the airport and the gate areas were very spacious.
A photo of the United Airlines Canopy at Denver: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UnitedDenver.jpg
Unfortunately, our flight got delayed due to the 40mph winds in the New Jersey area and I used the time to surf the internet on the airport's free wifi connection. The UA gate agent provided frequent updates on the delay and seemed to be apologetic so it wasn't all that bad.
Denver International Airport Rating: 4.4/5
The Boarding Process:
UA boards by seating areas 1,2,3, and 4 and the process was very smooth. The only thing that was annoying, was finding space for my carry-on as the overhead bins were full of heavy and oversized carry-ons. Guess, this is the major consequence of those ridiculous baggage fees.
The flight:
Once we were seated the pilot came on the PA system and apologized for the long delay, but said that we had good news because of the 100 knot tailwinds our flight time to NJ would be only 2 hours 54 minutes (typical flying time of 3.5 hrs).
He also said that we would be expecting some heavy turbulence once we approached the NY/NJ area and that Channel 9 would be turned on, so we could listen to Air Traffic Control. Afterwards, we pushed back and the IAE V2500 engines were started and we spent about 15-20 minutes taxing to runway 16L/34R, the runway had just recently been reopened after the CO 1404 flight incident. Unfortunately, there were about 3 UA planes ahead of us, so we had to wait. Once it was our turn the engines roared and we had a very powerful take-off. The engine noise was pretty loud until we reached our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet.
Overall, the flight was very smooth until we reached New York area where we faced heavy turbulence on the descent. Due to heavy traffic we had to be put into two holding patterns and we finally got clearance to approach runway 4R/22L. The approach was extremely bumpy and the pilot had to perform a crab-landing, a typical approach in heavy cross-wind landings, but we touched down fairly smoothly on the runway and had some super-heavy braking. We finally reached our gate at 6:52 pm NJ time and the crew once-again apologized for the inconvenience.
Cabin Crew, IFE, Food, Beverages, and Service:
On this flight we had 3 F/As, all of whom were male. There were two F/As serving the main Economy/ Economy Plus cabin. After take-off, the head F/A announced that there would be four snack boxes for sale and that non-alcholic beverages were free.
As soon as we reached our cruising altitude the beverage service began and the IFE was switched on. I don't remember the name of the movie, playing on the overhead screens, but it was some stupid drama about a husband and a wife who didn't get along, but the husband died and the wife realized how much she loved him.
Thankfully, the headphones were free! The crew came around with a beverage service and I got a SmartPack snack box for US$6 and a full 12oz can of Coke. The snack box was pretty good as it had a pack of baked bagel chips with dip, cashew crunch bars, a pack of applesauce, and an excellent flaky cookie. The crew came around twice with trays of water and just before our approach into Newark they came around with a second beverage service, I had a glass of milk.
Comfort and Condition of the plane:
The plane was relatively new looking, but it was annoying to see that some of the armrests and sidewalls were a little dirty. In addition, my tray table was broken and it took a lot of effort to get the tray table to lock back into place.
The blue seats were new, had headrests, and the legroom was average. Like most airlines' economy classes, it was annoying when the person in front of you reclined their seat. The seat was comfortable enough to get some sleep and there were blankets and pillows available for free on request. UA's economy class, wasn't spectacular, but it was certinly more comfortable than that of AA, US Airways.
United Airlines also offers an Economy Plus section, which gives passengers 35" pitch seats, everything else is the same, including the seat width. Economy Plus upgrades cost $59 for my flight, but I declined.
Baggage Retrieval at Newark Airport:
Once we landed we taxied to gate A16 and within 5 minutes we were off the plane. Unlike the recently improved Terminal C, Newark terminal looked abit old and very gray, however, the terminal and restrooms were clean. It was nice that the signs were easy to follow.
The baggage claim was a short walk from the gate and we had to wait about 20 minutes for our bags. The baggage claim area looked really old with large circular flourescent lights and my bag came about 20 minutes later. I was a little surprised by the slowness of the baggage, as at most airports the bags will start come out about 15 minutes after the plane disembarks. Another weird thing was that people with oversized bags had to wait for a UA employee to unlock the room where their bags were held. Many people were waiting over 45 minutes! Wonder, why Newark airport can't just have a separate carousel.
Newark Airport Arrival Rating: 3.5/5
Flight Ratings:
Cabin Crew: 7/10
IFE: 6/10
Comfort:7/10
Condition of the plane: 7/10
Food (Snackbox for purchase): 8/10
Selection of free beverages: 8/10
Aircraft Rating (Airbus A319): 9/10
United Airlines Star Rating for this flight: 2.9/5
Overall, I would call UA an average US domestic carrier, as the airline offers few ammenities and even though the service was pretty good, there was nothing really special about flying UA. Personally, I hate checked bag fees, you should get one checked bag for free! However, this is common on most US carriers, with the exception of Southwest Airlines, so I can't really hold that against UA. UA, isn't a bad carrier and if the price was good, I would recommend UA to anyone.
Some General Information about UA, if you want to skip, go ahead:
Company check-in baggage policy: $15 first bag, $25 second bag each way. On-line: $12 first bag, $25 second bag each way.
Snack Box link: Here's the UA website page displaying the contents of the four snack-boxes of flights over 3 hours in length. UA also offers A la Carte snacks (Twizlers, M&Ms, lays stacks, almonds,etc.) for US$3.00 on flights over 1.5 hours in length and fresh food for $9 on flights longer than 5 hours.
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51257,00.html (I bought the SmartPack on this flight and it was pretty good!
)http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51284,00.html (Fresh food menu)
Photos:
An old picture I had of DIA Concourse A, UA's Concourse B is similar looking:
Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. The weather was really overcast and it messed up my photos. I used a Canon Rebel XSI with the 18-55mm lens in Manual mode, shutter speed 1/60 focal length 5.6. If anyone, could offer some pointers to shooting in those conditions I would be happy. The Concourse was shot really quickly on a Canon Powershot A540 so sorry about quality there, too.
Note the flight review for UA flight 731 is coming soon!
This is my second flight review and I hoped you enjoyed reading. As always, questions, comments, or helpful tips to improve are appreciated!
Regards,
Rohan
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