I left the United Club a few minutes before the start of boarding for my flight to Chicago, scheduled 40 minutes before departure, and arrived at the gate just as boarding began.

As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:

Boarding

The boarding starts right on schedule, and begins with the call of the disabled, the military on duty and the United Global Services members.

Then comes the United First boarding, so I was one of the first on board.

Cabin and welcome

The United First cabin of this flight is very dated: it has not been refreshed since the delivery of the aircraft. The seats are not equipped with IFE.

Only the baggage compartments seem to have been refurbished with the SkyInterior ceiling light of the latest Boeing 737 Classic models.

The welcome on board is average.

During boarding, a flight attendant passes by with a tray of welcome drinks without offering a full bar, and I will have water.

The captain introduced himself at the end of the boarding and informed us that departure was almost on time, and that a last security check was in progress.

We will leave with less than 5 minutes delay on our scheduled gate time in Austin.

Service and catering

The service will take a long time to start, at least 30 minutes after takeoff. A stewardess came to confirm my pre-ordered food, and ask me for the drink I wanted. I chose a Bailey’s coffee, but had to wait for her to take all the orders in the First cabin before being served. What a waste of time!

Everything was served on one tray, and the ricotta and blackberry pancakes ordered in advance were excellent.

The croissants served on the tray were warm and tasty, and the coffee with baileys was very good.

When the tray was cleared, I was offered a refill of baileys coffee and accepted it.

Arrival and disembarkation

We arrived at Chicago O’Hare on time. The disembarkation was very easy and I was immediately in the boarding area for my next flight.

Bottom line

An uneventful flight but a service performed without passion… Finally like my United experiences of 2011/2012.

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