Our trip to Hawaii had months of excitement leading up to it. It had been 1+ year since I had been on an airplane and I will admit, I think 1/3 of my excitement was due to the fact we booked first class tickets to and from Honolulu. Paul and I had dabbled in the first class lifestyle on our way to Costa Rica for our Honeymoon and on our return flight from Mexico for my friend’s wedding. But we had never experienced a first class cabin that had flat bed seating. With a ton of United points, credit from cancelled trips, and a little out of pocket, we booked the non-stop from Denver to Honolulu. And yes, it was the same route and airline that had parts of its engine fall off the plane and onto Denver suburbs a few months back. Thankfully, they switched out the airplane and the engines stayed intact for our flight.
With months of excitement leading up to this first class experience, I had some high hopes. I knew that with COVID-restrictions the service may look a little different, but nevertheless, I was pumped. In today’s post, I am sharing our experience in first class aboard the Boeing 777-200.
Boarding:
Paul and I were able to board pretty quickly once the gate agent called for first class passengers. The gate at DIA had two entrances to board the plane, which they used for first and economy. I think a lot of people were in the same boat and hadn’t traveled in awhile because even though the agents repeated which door is for what seats 12 times, people were still confused where to go. Once we entered the aircraft, we were “greeted” (and clearly I use that word lightly”) by the purser. I was under the impression that when you board first class the flight attendants ask you which seats you are in so they can direct you to either side of the galley to ensure you walk down the correct aisle to access your seat. I guess that is just in travel YouTube videos I watch because when we told her our seats asking for a bit of direction, she annoyingly pointed where to go. More on her later.
The seats:
Seating Specs: 1-2-1 flat-bed seating with direct-aisle-access layout. Seats have a length of up to 6 feet 3 inches and a full 180-degree recline. Seat width is up to 22 inches.
Paul and I were in the middle of the cabin with 2 seats next to each other. Overall, I loved our little pods but if you want a window view be sure to get a single seat. We had to creepily peek over to try and see anything outside. Inside the pod, there was plenty of room and I could definitely get used to all the space. There were cubbies everywhere, a coat hanger, and fairly large TV for inflight entertainment. We had a pillow and blanket waiting on our seats, which I took for granted after finding out on our Delta flight on the way home they were not giving them out due to COVID. The seats recline to become a lie down bed, which I only utilized a short portion of the flight. One downside is there were not individual air vents so you have no way to control the temperature if you are getting a little toasty.
The service:
This is where we were disappointed on our first class flight. I completely understand COVID protocols are in place and certain things like pre-flight beverages aren’t allowed. But the crew seemed like they did not want to be there. And maybe they didn’t, but for the price of first class some good service should be included. During the majority of the flight, the first class cabin flight attendants were in the forward galley with a curtain drawn having a pow wow while passengers were getting up and going to them asking for things like bottled water.
The warm meal was the choice of thai chicken or ravioli. Even though Paul and I were seated right in the middle of the first class cabin, everyone but Paul was served their meal. After all the passengers had their lunch (including me sitting right next to him), the flight attendants were no where in sight. We waited about 5 minutes before Paul pressed the call button to nicely ask if he could get the ravioli. The purser came over and when Paul asked, she snapped that they ran out out ravioli but were heating up more chicken. While we waited for Paul’s meal, I got up to use the restroom and two flight attendants were sitting in the galley eating ravioli.
It was a little bit of a headache to get fed, but I will say the food was good. The crew also passed out a snack basket towards the end of the flight. I believe that COVID protocols do limit the amount of beverage service so as of when we flew, only beer, wine and soft drinks were offered. Also, don’t expect your drink to get. refreshed often. If you are like the guy sitting in the row in front of us, you will need to go up to the flight attendant pow wow area with your empty cup, and you will leave with it filled to the brim with wine.
Other thoughts
The bathrooms on board in first were nice and there was always one available whenever I needed to go. On our plane, there was one up front and two in the back of the first class cabin. Something else I noticed was how many young children were in first class. Props to their parents and please let me know what you do for work, because a 3 year old sitting in a first class pod is #goals. Overall the flight was smooth except for about 20 minutes of turbulence about an hour out from landing. We ended up arriving ~30 minutes early but a gate was not ready so we did sit on Honolulu airport runway for 20 minutes or so.
If I were to give a rating for the experience, the first class seats were a 9/10 and the service a 4/10. I definitely think United could have done a better job making their passengers feel more welcome. Regardless if you are sitting in economy or first, people pay to get to their destination safely but we also want to experience good customer service. We did get to fly Delta first on our way home from Hawaii so I will do a review on that flight soon!
My mom organized our Hawaii vacation and planned our daily adventures to beaches around the island as well as other activities. She also helped us navigate the Hawaii State requirements. If you’re thinking about booking a vacation in 2021, reach out to Lisa with Lisa’s Dream Destinations. Working with a Professional Travel Agent can save you both time and money and in turn, reduce stress that comes along with travel planning.
Lisa: Destinationsbylisa@gmail.com
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xoxo Olivia
flying the non stop flight from Chicago to Honalulu first week in Jan 22. Hope our crew has a better attitude.
Flying same from Newark to Honolulu in July…hope 2 meals are there – 11hr trip!
Thanks for the thorough review; very helpful. Will be flying them in a week; here’s hoping things have improved.
Recently flew back home with United out of Amsterdam. First of all Amsterdam airport is a zoo. We were lucky with our check in as the wait for business/first class class was only about 20 minutes. Our friends who usually go standby as he is a former employee, waited for almost an hour an a half to get checked in.
I will say the crew was very good and their attitudes were what we as customers expect. The food took care of putting something in the stomach, but the wine was divine. I am a beer drinker but the white wine, a St. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc 2019, very smooth and relaxing. The steward made sure I never ran out. When we fly to Hawaii in January we will see if our business class can meet or top our last trip.
Thanks for your review. My wife flew United First-class DEN-SMF RT. The service and the handling were the same as in economy with slightly wider seats. Flt attendant spilled hand sanitizer from overhead onto her jacket. I have not flown United since 11/17 (after the dragging of doctor that year). All economy or economy plus. For years we would figure out amount of crew including pilots (or technicians as they say in OZ) and hand out cards with all the United logos over the years on them with $10 coffee cards. They were happy for the vote of confidence and thanks for their efforts. Will be flying same route next month to Hawaii. Hope our service is better than you got. We upgraded from economy plus with 30,000 miles per person per leg.