United 767-300 Business Class ORD-EWR
Date: December 2015
Route: ORD-EWR
Aircraft: 767-300 #6456
Configuration: International 3 cabin
Seat(s): 6A
On Time: Yes
Reward Flying Experience: 4.4 of 10 ✈
Reward Availability:
Rare
A bit of luck
✔︎Often
This was the first leg of an reward ticket to Taipei going east instead of west. United allows this feature which is great if you want to enjoy multiple routes and airlines. The continuing legs from EWR-CDG on United and CDG to TPE on EVA Airlines which was an experience I was looking for. I marked this as an reward with regular availability. When looking for this flight I found a number of routes with First and Business class availability from United US hubs to Paris on this particular day.
Value for Reward per redemption point:
✔︎Sky High: >.08
Great: 0.04-.08
Deal: .02-04
Poor: <.02
The point value of this reward, from ORD to TPE was about 12 1/2 cents per point based on the rather high fare on United to Paris of $7,500. Basing the value on ORD-CDG only, the value would have been .13 cents per point. $7,500 fare / 57,500 points. The total fare for my specific flights was about $10,000 so I received a 12 1/2 cent per point value. $10,000 / 80,000. However when determining value often it is instructive to look for the lowest fare to the destination regardless of airline, route and aircraft. In this case the lowest fare from ORD to TPE was $4,078, which of course can change daily. Based on this fare, my point value was about 5 cents which is great. Another way to look at it is distance. Chicago to New York to Paris to Taipei, about 21 hours for 80,000 points. Not bad. However a business class fare from ORD-EWR is readily available for around $400.00. It takes 25,000 saver points resulting is a poor valuation of 1.6 cents.
Reward Availability: 6 of 10 ✈
Value (ORD-EWR) : 2 of 10 ✈
Ticketing Process:
✔︎Online
Call
Completed on United’s mobile app. Everything was fine except 3 days before departure the 3rd leg of my trip from CDG to TPE on EVA Air disappeared. I caught it and contacted United. They quickly reinstated the ticket blaming it on EVA who I then called and they promptly returned the blame on United. No harm, no foul as it was caught. Lesson is, check your ticket from time to time.
Mobile App
✔︎Search for Reward tickets
✔︎Book Ticket
✔︎Seat Selection
✔︎Checkin
✔︎Boarding Pass
United’s mobile app is really a nice product. It allows fare and reward search along with all important information about your reservations, current flight status, mileage plus account and more. You can view and change seats, request upgrades, check in and get all the information you need. The only thing it can’t do is change a reservation. United has stated they have allocated a lot of resources into mobile applications and it shows. It is by far the most functional airline app I’ve used.
Cabin:
Gorgeous
✔︎Attractive
What were they thinking?
Pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of this cabin. Traveling on a 22 year old aircraft but this interior seems to have just been refurbished.
Seat Comfort:
Just like home
✔︎Comfy
Get me off this plane
Very comfortable seat with a lot of cushion. They pack 6 across so you do not have a lot of width but for a short haul route it was more than adequate. I will never understand the reverse seating however.
Sleep Comfort:
Like a Rock
✔︎Restless
Counting sheep.
I did not extend the bed, but it is narrow. Yet as mentioned the seat is very comfortable so the bed probably is as well. The problem is there is no privacy with this seating arrangement. Sitting in 6A I faced backwards to the tail of the plane. You have a person next to you sitting the same direction. But across the aisle in 6C/H they sit facing forward. It’s almost like sitting at a table facing the other person, which is fine, but not trying to sleep on an overnight flight in my opinion. Sitting backwards was not an issue for me. At least sitting backwards in 6A you get a nice view of the engine!
Hard Product (Cabin/Seats): 4 of 10 ✈
Amenities:
Pajama’s
✔︎Typical stuff
Why bother?
Warm towel, headset, blanket and pillow.
Drink Selections:
✔︎Champagne
Wine Menu
Full bar in cabin
Aperitifs
Multiple coffee selections
Multiple tea selections
The person across the aisle had a glass of champagne, so it was onboard.
Food; menus, selections and extras:
Printed, multiple cuisines
Printed, single cuisine
✔︎Verbal by flight attendant
Special meals
Order prior
Mid flight snacks
Two lunch selections, both chicken. A sandwich or salad.
Meals.
Presentation:
Fine dining
✔︎Nice try
Aluminum trays
Food Quality:
Compliments to the Chef
Fine dining with a miss or two
✔︎No rave reviews
Get me a meal from economy
Typical airline food. The sandwich was huge and tasty, but was warmed too long and the bottom crust was hard. But for an hour flight what can be expected???
Soft Product (Amenities/Food/Drinks): 3 of 10 ✈
IFE:
Can I stay and watch some more?
✔︎Watched a fav and went to sleep
400 cable channels and nothing to watch
Glad I brought my tablet
Good selection of tv shows, movies and audio. This flight offered channel 9 and the air show, which I always enjoy.
InFlight Entertainment: 6 of 10 ✈
Flight Attendants: 6 of 10 ✈
Made the flight special
✔︎Did their job
Did they board?
All were very nice on this flight.
Aircraft: 3 of 10 ✈
Didn’t realize was on a plane
✔︎As expected
Time for a trade-in
Tail 6456, original UA 767. With the new cabin this was a very acceptable aircraft, for a 90 minute flight.
Comments:
I was very much surprised with the cabin as I had originally booked a United 767 to Europe but decided the 767 business class to be inferior to some other options. It would not have been so terrible in this cabin going overseas with the exception of the sleeping arrangements. However for a 6-7 hour flight the business class seat is adequate. If nothing else is available or If the price is right, take the plane.
Do you have any United experiences you'd like to share? Feel free to leave a comment.
