Review: United Airlines 737 Max 9 Economy Los Angeles-Boston
- Konrad Tillman
- Jul 8
- 6 min read
Intro
For the first portion of my trip back East for babysitting duties 😅, I flew on United Airlines from Los Angeles to Boston in economy. The LAX-BOS market is highly competitive with B6, UA, DL, and AA all serving this route multiple times daily. However, seeing as I was chasing 1K status on United, I figured I might as well be running the race with them 😒.
Well, how was it? I’ve gotta be honest, I just love the new cabins that United has been installing on these jets. Sure, it’s no lie-flat seat, but I managed a couple of hours of rest, which is better than twiddling my thumbs all flight.
Route- Los Angeles-Boston
Flight Number- UA2210
Seat- 20C
Aircraft- Boeing 737 MAX 9
Date- September 12th, 2024
Flight Time- 5 Hours and 35 Minutes
Price Paid- 258 USD
How I Booked
With such a last-minute schedule and having to take the redeye out, mileage options were off the table. Unless you are flying AA between these two cities, you are most likely not going to find saver fares in premium cabins, as the market is high for premium travelers.
At the end of the day, I ended up booking a cash fare for 258 USD through United Airlines itself. Yeah, I know, a bit boring. Nothing like showing up at an airport in Yemen and asking, “Flight please” 😂.
Check-In
Earlier that morning, I packed up my belongings, kind of made my bed and made my way off for a full day of classes. Thursdays were brutal at this time, with class from 10-7 straight as I was taking 18 credits, but at least I was learning about intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation 😉.
With class all finished up, I made the 50-minute drive up to LAX and ended up arriving right around 8:00 pm, which was more than enough time for the 10:57 departure.
United uses Terminal 7 at LAX, and if you know anything about LAX, it’s a complete and utter clusterf**k (pardon my language). However, at least with Terminal 7, you can bang a quick shortcut, and be dropped off at door 1 within minutes.
Seeing as I was Silver at the time (1K now (just a little flex he)), I had access to the “premier check-in” (sounds so fancy, but unless you are 1K or flying Polaris it’s basically the same 😅) and within 2 minutes I had my boarding pass, and within 6 minutes of arriving at the terminal, I was in the United Club.
Terminal 7 is efficient at LAX, and if you happen to be flying from T6 and see a long line for security, walk to T7, and then walk back to T6 after…
Boarding
Polishing off a couple of glasses of 8$ vino at the drop-dead gorgeous United Club, I made the marathon of a walk over to Gate 84, in Terminal 8. While United tries to prioritize important routes from T7, occasionally they will fly some transcons from Terminal 8, which is a pain.
Boarding began at 10:25 sharp, with GS members being invited to board first, followed by those needing extra assistance, active US military, families with children under 2, and finally 1K. Then came the groups, and even with my Group 2 boarding privileges, there must have been at least 50 people onboard before me. Not as bad as Houston or SFO, though…
There was a really nice gate agent helping everyone out with a smile, so shoutout to him!
The Seat/Cabin
Seats on these cutting-edge 737 MAX 9s are laid out in a 2-cabin configuration, featuring 20 Domestic First (Business Class, whatever 😒) in a 2-2 config, and the rest of the plane in a 3-3 configuration.
The plane today flying us over to Boston was only a year old at the time, so each seat came with ample legroom, more so because I was in an exit row seat (look at me, so boujee 😉, NOT, ha). I felt like I could have stretched my legs all the way to Boston if I wanted 😅.
Individual power ports were located underneath the seat, and a USB charger (not C) was located on the screen in front.
The only issue with the first of the two exit rows, which is what I was seated in today, is that you can’t recline due to safety reasons. Actually, it makes sense, and it’s not one of those things where airlines tell you something that isn’t true. Such as when the staff told me in Senegal that the flight was delayed due to “weather” when it turns out they had “no idea where the plane was” 😂.
IFE+WIFI
With United Airlines making a push to install these “next-gen” cabins (sounds so fancy), the one thing that I personally love is the IFE in the seatback in front of you. Each seat features a decent-sized screen, and the ability to connect your Bluetooth Headphones to the system.
I’ll share the selection back then, but I will also share the current selection as I just flew a MAX 8 yesterday on United below…
Additionally, while B6 and DL offer free wifi, United charges a flat fee of 8$ for mileage plus members, and 10$ for non-mileage plus members. They have been working on Starlink, which is hopefully coming soon to more aircraft, but for now, take out your wallet!
Amenities
While amenities in the domestic economy across the United States is rarer than finding a giraffe swimming in Afghanistan, I was extremely pleased to see United provide a blanket for all economy passengers today. It might be thin, but it’s much better than nothing!
Kept me cozy during the night.
Food
While the only thing on my mind was going into an exit-row hibernation-induced coma, United does offer a drinks service and a snack after takeoff for passengers seated in economy.
Unfortunately, United only offers a buy-on-board Bistro Menu for flights over 1300 miles (which this is), but departing before 9:00 pm. No dice there. However, there is a menu, so if you are planning on taking a daytime flight, you can see it. I highly recommend the new chicken Parm sandwich.
Arrival
Okay, so with an exit row seat, and no window (the flight was almost full, 2 empty seats and one being next to me), I slept for the entirety of the flight and woke up as the wheels hit the ground 10 minutes early in Boston.
We had a short taxi ride in, bid farewell to the cabin crew, and was in the car for a 2-hour drive to Providence, Rhode Island, to take my niece to play soccer (it’s football, but we are not having this discussion) later that day.
Final Thoughts
Flying economy on a 5-hour redeye across the country is never going to be exactly “pleasant”, but it wasn’t bad on this flight with United. With a free exit row seat for being Silver, I was able to sleep for 5 hours, which is exactly what I wanted to do on this flight.
Would I fly United again over Delta, AA, or B6? In economy, yeah, I probably would due to Bluetooth connectivity. However, in business, I would look towards any of the other 3 due to all of them having lie-flat seats, while UA is seasonal.
Stay tuned for an upcoming review of AA A321T Business Boston to Los Angeles!
Back East Series:
Comentarios