United A319 Economy Plus Review From Baltimore to San Francisco

Trip Report Series Introduction:

Back in August, Hong Kong Airlines had amazing business class fares from San Francisco to Shanghai for less than $600 per person roundtrip. This was due to the fact that the airline accidentally created a mistake fare for transpacific flights for prices similar to economy class. As my parents and I have always wanted to visit mainland China, we booked the incredible fare back then for the three of us. Surprisingly, Hong Kong Airlines honored the fare (they aren’t legally bound to), as many airlines cancel mistake fares as such when they happen. The only problem was that we don’t live in San Francisco – we live in the Washington DC area. We then just booked roundtrip tickets in economy plus on United using miles from Washington Dulles to San Francisco. Please note that as of the time that I am writing this article, I have only flown on one of the flights liested below (the one that I am reviewing), so flight reviews and the aircraft types are subject to change.

China Review Series:

• United Airbus A319 Economy Plus From Baltimore to San Francisco
• Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A350 Business Class From San Francisco to Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A350 Business Class From Hong Kong to Shanghai (PVG)
• Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A320 Business Class From Shanghai (PVG) to Hong Kong

The Flight At A Glance:

Aircraft:	Airbus A319
Origin:	Baltimore-Washington International Airport
Destination:	San Francisco Inrtternational Airpo
Flight Time:	5h 20m
Date:	March 21, 2019
Class of Service:	United Economy Plus
Airline:	United Airlines
Satisfaction:	7/10
Flight Number:	UA2059
Seat Number:	8A
Time of Departure:	7:20 PM EST
Time of Arrival:	9:40 PM PST
Departure Terminal:	Terminal D

Pre-Flight:

As our flight was supposed to leave at about 7:00 PM, so we arrived at the airport around 4:30 PM. On the way to the airport, I first saw some of Southwest’s 737 MAXs which are still grounded due to the two recent tragic crashes on both Ethiopian Airlines and on Lion Air.

On this trip, we are only traveling with hand-luggage as it would simply be too complicated if we were to check bags and we don’t really need them as we are only traveling for a week. Therefore, since we had checked in online, we could go straight to TSA Pre-Check at the airport, and we got through security in about 5 minutes. I then wanted to walk around the airport a bit to take some photos of airplanes. Terminals D and E are connected airside at BWI, so I visited both terminals. Terminal E and the connector between D and E are both very modern, while Terminal D itself at BWI is very old and reminds me of Dulles’ Terminals C and D.

Since there wasn’t a United Club there (we have access due to having a United Club Card) or any other Star Alliance lounge at BWI, we weren’t able to go to a lounge before the flight. United only has three gates at BWI at the end of Terminal D, which isn’t a surprise as they have a hub at (relatively) nearby Dulles. Their three gates there are pretty crowded and don’t have much seating. At about 40 minutes before our departure time, boarding was called. United’s new boarding system of having only two lanes (green and blue) makes boarding much less hectic. Now, group 1 boards in one lane while group 2 lines up in the other lane. After group 2 is boarded, group 3 lines up in group 2’s old lane and so on while group 1’s lane remains open for late arriving passengers. The new process allows everyone to stay in their seats longer and not have to stand up so early for boarding.

The Flight:

Our flight-time was blocked at six hours, although the flight time was scheduled to be about 5 hours and 15 minutes. The Airbus A319 consists of a cabin of 8 first class seats (although this year it will be enlarged to contain 12) which have United’s “new” first class seat. There then are 42 Economy Plus seats on the aircraft. I then found my seat 8A in which I would spend the next 6 hours. United’s Airbus A319s were retrofitted a few years ago with new economy class and first class seats. Economy class featured new slimline seats and were in a 3-3 configuration. That meant that the seats were extremely thin and therefore were uncomfortable; I wouldn’t have wanted to spend any longer in that seat than the six hours I spent in it. The seat also had plenty of legroom for someone at six feet like me; my knees didn’t touch the seat in front of me. The seats also featured two power outlets per every three seats in Economy Plus. Aditionaly, the seat had a headrest which could be adjusted in multiple directions and helped out with the seat’s comfort.

I then checked out the entertainment selection. United doesn’t feature personal on-demand entertainment (seatback screens) on its A319s but it does feature Personal Device Entertainment. That means that I can stream movies and TV shows through the United app to my device. United had a pretty large selection of moves in its selection, although didn’t have as much as its long-haul aircraft do through personal screens. However, the entertainment system certainly did keep me entertained throughout the flight.

About 10 minutes early, we pushed back from the gate. Unfortunately, after pushing back, there was some problem with the aircraft which the captain said had to do with the heating and air conditioning. After 30 minutes of sitting on the tarmac, whatever the problem was seemed to be fixed, and we taxied towards Runway 15 for takeoff. At about 7:20, 35 minutes after we were supposed to, we finally took off and began our journey to San Francisco.

After some turbulence after takeoff, we were finally on our way to San Francisco. About 20 minutes after taking off, the crew came around with the first drink service. Then, about 15 minutes later, they came around with meal service. On domestic flights, United doesn’t offer free meals to passengers as it does on long haul flights. However, it offers a buy-on-board menu of snacks and meals on its longer domestic flights. First, the crew came around with complimentary pretzels which they gave to everyone on the flight. Then, they took orders for meals to buy. I bought both a cheeseburger and a Select Snackbox to save for later in the flight. The cheeseburger was warm and had lettuce and tomato on the side to put on. It actually was really tasty and good and was probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had on United in economy class. The Select Snackbox contained popcorn chips, chocolate cookies, gummy bears, nuts, a chocolate granola bar, and pumpkin seeds.

In terms of service, the flight attendents were friendly enough and didn’t seem to completely hate their jobs like many other United flight attendents that I’ve flown with. After that, I used the entertainment selection for the majority of the flight. I eventually slept for about an hour towards the end of the flight which was surprising because usually, I find it hard to sleep in economy class seats. I then also used the lavatory and walked around the cabin.

After about five hours of flying, the captain announced that we would be landing in twenty minutes and that we had started our descent into San Francisco. We then landed on Runway 28R in San Francisco parallel to another United 737. We then waited for about two planes to land at runway 28L and then crossed that runway and taxied to gate 64 at Terminal C. After that, we exited the airport quickly and headed to the airport hotel to sleep before our flight on Hong Kong Airlines the next day.

Conclusion:

This flight actually surpassed my expectations in a couple ways. First, the buy on board food was actually much better than I was expecting it to be. Second, the seats actually weren’t as uncomfortable as I was thinking they would be, although I still wouldn’t say that they were comfortable. The flight went by quickly due to the entertainment selection via personal device entertainment. Also, because of Economy Plus, I had no problems with being too tight in the seat. Overall, United’s A319 Economy Plus is a very solid way to cross the country, and while my experience in any way wasn’t extraordinary, it was slightly better than I expected it would be.