United Airlines Boeing 777-200 Economy Plus Review [LAX to IAD]

Airline: United Airlines (UA)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Flight #: UA2032
Route: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Date: February 4, 2024
Duration: 4 hours, 40 minutes
Cabin and Layout: Premium economy class (Economy Plus), 3-4-3
Seat: 41G
Cost: $168.90

To commemorate completing my goal of visiting every country, I had an appointment for a special tattoo near Washington, D.C. That’s pretty far from my home in Southern California, however.

To get there, I went from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., with United, receiving an upgraded seat in Economy Plus and enjoying a decent deal on this transcontinental flight. There were several mishaps along the way, and I wouldn’t choose this seat again, but it was a good flight overall.

Here’s a look at the highs and lows of my recent trip and how to choose a less frustrating seat on this plane.

Booking United Airlines

I paid cash for this round-trip booking. The total was $337.80 — $168.90 each way. I could’ve saved $20 each way by flying in basic economy, but as a United MileagePlus Premier Silver member (courtesy of my Marriott Titanium Elite status), I’m eligible for preferred seats so long as I’m not flying in basic economy. Choosing a better seat and not getting stuck in a middle seat across the country was worth the extra $20 for me.

If I’d redeemed miles, most days would cost 15,000 United miles in each direction. You can find cheaper pricing, but it’s spotty. Redeeming 15,000 miles would give me a redemption of 1.09 cents per mile, and I try to redeem my United miles for more than that.

Since this was a paid flight, I earned 7x MileagePlus miles for 1,182 total miles. And since I paid with The Platinum Card^® from American Express, I earned 5x Membership Rewards points on my airfare.

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

80,000 points

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$1,760

Annual Fee

$695

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Why We Like This Card

When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

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Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
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• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
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• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card^®.
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• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck^® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card^®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
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• $695 annual fee.
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Even when redeeming miles, you’ll always have a cash co-pay. Paying with the right credit card for airline purchases can earn you extra points and miles and add important travel insurance protections to your trip.

Los Angeles International Airport

Check-In

United flies out of Terminal 7 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). If I’m being honest, it’s always pandemonium in the check-in area.

If you’re flying with carry-on bags only, skip the main check-in queues and head to these kiosks near the window, closer to the security checkpoint. If you haven’t checked in online or using the United app, there’s usually no line here.

As I’d checked in using the app and wasn’t checking any bags, I headed straight to the security checkpoint. I zipped through the line with just 1 person in front of me at TSA PreCheck.

Boarding

My flight to Washington-Dulles departed from gate 77. We actually managed to depart 2 minutes early and arrive 7 minutes early in D.C. Given the extremely disorganized boarding, these numbers were surprising.

After preboarding for those with lap infants and in wheelchairs, anyone and everyone boarded next. As a United MileagePlus Premier Silver member, I was assigned boarding group 2. The people in front of me were in group 6, and the couple in front of them had group 5. Gate attendants made no announcements or any semblance of effort to enforce boarding groups. You got on when you got on. Though this picture looks like there’s a line, people were cutting in whenever they felt like it.

The gate agents were friendly, but the lack of organization made me feel like I was boarding a rural airline in a third-world country again, not at a major airport in the U.S. After flight attendants greeted passengers at the boarding door, they gave big smiles and directed passengers to the correct aisle to use to find their seat.

On Board United Airlines’ Boeing 777-200

This plane was an old Continental aircraft, recognizable by the 2-4-2 layout in business class. This wasn’t the plane we were slated to use when I checked in online 24 hours before departure. That created further chaos during boarding.

Instead of United just swapping the aircraft, they marked the flight as “canceled,” which was alarming to wake up to on the morning of my flight. Interestingly, I’d been rebooked on a new flight at the same time on the same route, also flying a Boeing 777-200, just with a different layout.

During boarding, people arrived with tickets for seats that didn’t exist on this plane. The other plane (the original one) had a 3-3-3 layout in economy with lavatories in a different row. Flight attendants had their hands full, finding seats, upgrading a few people, and then getting everyone situated. Luckily, no one had to de-plane. How the gate agents boarded people with non-existent seat assignments is anyone’s guess.

Premium Economy and Economy Class Cabin

Economy and Economy Plus seats were laid out in a 3-4-3 configuration on this flight, with restrooms in the middle, creating a front and rear economy cabin. Seats furthest to the front and at the bulkhead behind the restrooms had extra legroom and were designated as Economy Plus.

Despite being in boarding group 2, everyone around me had already boarded by the time I got to my seat, located in the first row after the mid-cabin restrooms. I had an aisle seat, 41G.

However, I wouldn’t recommend this seat. Given the zig-zag in the aisle here, what looked like a lot of space turned into many opportunities for people to bump into me throughout the flight.

Sitting at the bulkhead, I had ample foot space, plus the added benefit of no one reclining their seat in front of me.

Overhead, we had air nozzles and reading lights. Despite closing all of them, arctic cold air flowed out of the overhead compartment throughout the flight. I put on my coat and used the hood during the flight.

The overhead bins on this plane were smaller than I’m used to on jumbo jets. I had to turn my roller bag sideways to fit into the bin, which wasn’t deep enough to hold larger carry-on bags. This ate up more space, so passengers spent extra time jostling items around and procuring bin space if they boarded near the end of the process.

We had a screen for the safety video on the bulkhead walls and signs for when the restrooms were occupied.

There was a pocket at the bottom of the bulkhead, and it easily held my 13-inch laptop.

My armrest held the tray table. Normally, you’ll find a knob or string of some type to pull the tray table out, but this one had neither. Getting it out was tricky.

The table came out folded with a divot for a cupholder.

When unfolded, the table was a good size, but it wasn’t very sturdy since it only had support on 1 side (the side from which it folded out).

However, the table easily had enough space for my laptop.

Food and Beverage

As a domestic flight in the economy cabin, no meal service was included on this flight. Instead, we had a selection of drinks and snacks. Snack options included pretzels or a chocolate quinoa cookie. This sounded weird the first time I heard of it, but I’ve grown to love the latter option.

Drinks included coffee, hot tea, water, and sodas. Catering forgot to load apple juice and orange juice on this flight, from what a flight attendant told me, so the only juice was tomato juice.

There were also various snack boxes for sale if you wanted something more to eat.

Given the location of my seat and the number of people who bumped into me or my tray throughout the flight, I wound up holding my drink with a death grip until it was finished. Otherwise, someone would’ve tripped into my laptop as I worked during this flight. That’s why I wouldn’t choose this seat again. Instead, I’d aim for a seat not located next to where the aisle zig-zags, something not in the front row after a lavatory, or at the window instead.

Amenities

This flight wasn’t replete with amenities, but it did have a few worth highlighting.

Entertainment System

Each seat had a personal entertainment system. A control was built into the plastic molding on the aisle side of my seat (next to the button for reclining). All this controlled was the flight attendant call button and overhead reading light.

At foot level, under the armrest, a personal entertainment screen is folded out on an adjustable arm.

However, getting it out was a bit tricky. When it wouldn’t come out, I assumed there was a button or latch to release it, which I found at the top of the arm.

The home screen showed your seat number and allowed you to choose your preferred language.

The entertainment system had a ton of options. There were numerous movies.

And you could read the latest news in multiple categories.

You could check the weather for countless places.

TV options were abundant, as well.

The audio section was a bit odd, however. You could listen to mixes, podcasts, and the flight deck. However, you couldn’t just listen to an album by a particular artist.

The wellness section had relaxation elements, such as scenes of nature.

You also could turn the screen to relaxing imagery.

There were a handful of games available as well.

And there was a dedicated children’s section.

Lavatories

We had 6 lavatories for economy passengers. There were 4 in the mid-cabin and 2 in the rear. They offered the standard features — a toilet, sink, and mirror — but nothing beyond that.

Onboard Wi-Fi

You could access complimentary messaging or pay to use Wi-Fi during our flight. Wi-Fi costs $10 for the general public or $8 for MileagePlus members.

Upload speeds were pretty slow at 3.53 Mbps, but the downloads were decent at 16 Mbps. It was enough to complete my work without interruptions or lag, and the connection was stable throughout the flight.

Service

Once we closed the boarding door and everyone was seated, the flight attendants were friendly and did a good job. However, getting to that point was a long time coming.

I can’t understand why United “canceled” our flight when swapping the aircraft, and it continues to confuse me that passengers boarded with tickets for seats that didn’t exist. The boarding process was also extremely disorganized.

The flight attendants took what they were given and made the best of it, remaining cheerful and helpful throughout the ordeal. They upgraded a few passengers to create seats for those whose seats didn’t exist, which made people happy. And I’m sure flight attendants fielded a few complaints when there was no orange or apple juice, but the flight was pleasant overall. They made lemonade out of lemons.

Arrival

Once we landed at Washington-Dulles, we had a quick taxi to our gate. We used the middle door, which was located between economy and business class. The process was efficient, including announcements about where to find baggage claim, which door to use for getting off the plane, and how to find information at the airport.

Final Thoughts

I chose my seat poorly, and the elements of the flight before the boarding door closed were odd, to say the least. However, the actual flight was good.

Flight attendants were friendly, all of the features at my seat worked as expected, the Wi-Fi was reliable, and I arrived safely (and a few minutes early!) at my destination. All this at a fair price.