Greetings from Doha, Qatar! I’m exactly halfway through my insane American Airlines premium cabin mileage run. I’m in Doha because of an incredible Qatar Airways business class fare sale from Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam to the United States.
As you can guess there’s one small issue with this particular mileage run; it begins in Vietnam! Typically positioning flights are normal to begin a mileage run, but a positioning flight to the other side of the world makes things a little more difficult.
Because my mileage run is ultimately going to take me an entire week, I decided I didn’t want to start my trip tired and miserable. To solve that problem I booked an Asiana A380 Business Class flight from LAX to Vietnam with points. That itinerary included this flight, a United Economy Plus flight from Chicago (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX) on a Boeing 757.
In total this entire award itinerary from Chicago to Vietnam cost me just 80,000 United MileagePlus miles which I acquired by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to the MileagePlus program. While it’s not the best use of points out there, it got me to where I needed to go which sometimes is priceless.
Arriving At Chicago O’Hare International Airport
One of my goals of this mileage run was to spend as little money during the trip as possible. I say this because I’d generally try to take public transportation to get to the airport. From nearly anywhere in Chicago the trip to O’Hare takes approximately an hour. Usually I’d take a bus to the train (CTA Blue Line) and transfer to the L.
However, my United flight departed at 6:20am. Even though United says 6:20, in actuality the door closed at 6:10am and we left the gate early. United (and other domestic carriers) tend to close the boarding door 10 minutes early to achieve an on time departure, this is often referred to as D0.
Instead of the train I decided to take an Uber. Since this was my first Uber of the month I received a $15 credit thanks to my American Express Platinum card. In the end, my trip from the near north side of Chicago to O’Hare cost just $25 and took well under an hour.
I arrived at Chicago O’Hare Terminal 1 which is now the only Terminal at O’Hare which offers United check in counters. I had to visit a human check in counter because my itinerary ended in Vietnam which requires a visa. After a quick check of my passport and visa documentation I received my boarding passes and proceeded through security.
Rainbow Tunnel To The Terminal 1 C Concourse
Since I have TSA PreCheck (thanks to my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card) I made it through security in less than 5 minutes. Once through, I needed to take the famous underground neon tunnel to the C Concourse. The Psychedelic tunnel is interesting to say the least.
As you can see from the above image, multi-colored neon tubes line the ceiling of the tunnel. Translucent glass tiles line the walls of the tunnel which are backlit by various colors of the rainbow.
I’m always excited to pass through the Underground neon tunnel. It’s a truly unique experience. I especially love how the United theme song plays over the speakers as you make your way to the C gates.
United’s Boarding Process At Chicago O’Hare
As with most domestic carriers, United uses a numbered boarding process. United numbers boarding groups 1-5. At my gate, United designated clearly defined boarding lanes based on group number. United assigns your group number based on your class of service flown, elite status, or if you’re a United credit card holder. As of today, United’s group number are based on the following:
- The first boarding group, group one, is reserved for First/Business class passengers, Premier 1K, and Platinum elite members.
- Group 2 is reserved for United MileagePlus Gold and Silver members as well as Chase co-branded credit card holders.
- Groups 3-5 are general boarding groups, but if you purchase a basic economy fare, you’ll earn yourself a spot in group 5 and be one of the last to board.
I appreciate that United creates distinct and separate numbered boarding lanes. Typically right before boarding begins, customers form a mob and surround the boarding door. This makes it difficult for high boarding group passengers to get through the mass of passengers to enter the boarding door when called. United essentially eliminates this issue with their separate boarding lanes.
United Boeing 757 Economy Plus Seat
I boarded with Group 2 thanks to my United MileagePlus Explorer credit card. For our flight we boarded through the L2 boarding door which is just between the First Class and Economy cabins. The 757 features a 2-2 seating arrangement in First Class and a 3-3 arrangement, similar to the 737, in Economy.
Economy Plus seats cost extra or are offered complimentary to certain elite members. These seats offer slightly improved leg room when compared to a standard economy seat. Unlike Delta Air Lines, Economy Plus customers do not not receive complimentary premium drinks or alcohol. Although my award booking didn’t get me a first class seat (lame), I did receive an Economy Plus seat since I booked an international business class award ticket. I thoroughly enjoyed the extra legroom during our 4 hour flight to Los Angeles.
My particular flight featured Direct TV on board. Instead of on demand seat back entertainment, passengers can watch live Direct TV for approximately $8 on flights longer than 2 hours.
Two Complaints About My Flight
Although my flight got me safely from Chicago to Los Angels, which is paramount, there were two issues I had with the flight.
The first issue came from the Direct TV seat-back screen. If you don’t pay for Direct TV a constant loop of commercials plays on the screen. This alone wasn’t a problem, but I became increasing frustrated that I couldn’t dim or turn off the screen. Shortly after takeoff the cabin crew dimmed the cabin lighting. The only interior lights came from the bright glow of each passenger’s seat-back screen. There is an option to turn down the brightness and even turn off the monitor, but that functionality was broken at my seat. I couldn’t dim the screen and the constant flashes of light made if slightly difficult to sleep on the flight.
The second issue I had with the flight was the in-flight WiFi. Of course the WiFi wasn’t free, but since Gogo wasn’t the internet provider I didn’t have free messaging from T-Mobile. Additionally, even if I had paid for the WiFi the reliability was terrible. On several occasions during the flight the WiFi disconnected for a few minutes or more. I luckily didn’t pay for in-flight WiFi on this flight.
Now I realize these are very minor issues, but I think they’re worth noting. I don’t have much experience with United’s fleet, but I think it’s important to point these flaws out for those who are looking to book a flight on this particular aircraft. There are some people who need to work during a whole flight and without reliable in-flight internet they may want to avoid this aircraft when flying cross-country.
Our United Flight To Los Angeles
The Flight departed Chicago O’Hare on-time (6:20am) and before I knew it we were in the air. United’s block time for our flight was exactly 4 hours.
As we flew west it remained dark outside for the first 2-2.5 hours. Nearly 3 hours into the flight the sun came up and light flooded the previously cavernous cabin. Most passengers opted to close their window shades, but a few decided to keep them open. This generally doesn’t bother me, but considering how early of a flight we were on it would have been nice if passengers kept their shades closed to allow other passengers to remain asleep.
During the flight the flight attendants circulated the cabin twice with snack and beverage service. During the first pass through the cabin crew distributed stroopwafals along with beverages. I opted for a hot coffee and a water. I highly recommend warming the stroopwafal up by placing it on the rim of the coffee. The caramel waffle tastes much better once warmed up.
Landing In Los Angels
Before I knew it the 4 hours had passed and we began our final approach into LAX. As we descended toward the airport we passed right by the new Los Angels Rams Stadium construction site. I’m still a little bit bitter about that move.
Once on the ground we taxied to the gate, but had to stop short prior to turning into the ally due to a departing aircraft. In total we waited about 15 minutes before we stopped at the gate. We disembarked the aircraft into the heart of Terminal 7. From there I needed to get to the Tom Bradley International Terminal for my Asiana flight.While en route to TBIT I decided to check ou the Terminal 7 United Club. More on that to come soon.
Final Thoughts
Overall I was quite pleased by my United Economy Plus flight on the Boeing 757. I must say I much prefer flying American from Chicago to Los Angeles. American mostly utilizes retrofitted A321 or B738 aircraft from Chicago to LA. Most of those aircraft feature free on-demand seat back entertainment. Additionally, the A321’s also have exit row main cabin extra (MCE) seats with nearly unlimited legroom. Also, American flies a 787 between these cities which makes for an incredible flight.
If I had a choice I wouldn’t fly the United 757 from Chicago to LA again, but since it was part of an award flight I didn’t exactly have an option. That being said, if I had to fly the United 757 cross-country, I couldn’t imagine doing so in a standard economy row with extremely limited legroom.
