Background and Booking
I was doing a quick weekend trip to Portland, Maine, and the time I could fly offered a flight on United and JetBlue. The United flight was the lowest price, so I decided to book with United.
Flight Details
United Flight 1342
Newark (EWR) to Portland, ME (PWM)
Seat/Cabin: 12F/Economy Plus
Scheduled Duration: 1 hour 24 minutes
Status: On Time (15 Minutes Early)
Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 8
Check-In and At the Airport
Since I have United MileagePlus Premier Silver status, I was able to grab complimentary Economy Plus seats 24 hours before the flight during online check-in. I was traveling in a group of three, and only one companion received a complimentary Economy Plus seat. We decided to pay for the 3rd Economy Plus seat, and it cost $33.
Our flight left from Terminal C at Newark Airport, which is pretty nice, and since the flight was departing at 10 pm, the terminal was quite empty and had a lot of seating.
Boarding
Boarding was scheduled 40 minutes before our scheduled departure, and it was completed 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time.
The United App is quite cool, and even showed how many passengers were boarding and that it was completed at 122 passengers. So, with a flight occupancy of 164, we had a flight load of about 74%. And, as a United MileagePlus Premier Silver, I ended up #9 on the first class upgrade list.
I appreciated that upon boarding, they had sanitizing wipes & headphones to grab on the way to your seat.
Upon stepping into the cabin, I was pleasantly surprised at the updated cabin and seatback screens. Our inbound flight was a cross-country flight from Seattle, so I figured that there was a chance we might get a nicer plane. Our plane was delivered just under 5 years ago.
Now, if they used this on the Newark to Orange County route, I’d be quite happy, as the Boeing 737-700 I was on last year was quite a different experience.
The Flight and Seat
The captain let us know it would only be 56 minutes in the air. We ended up leaving the gate early and only took off 10 minutes after our scheduled departure time.
On the United Boeing 737 MAX 8, rows 7-15 are Economy Plus and offer 34 inches of pitch. The exit rows at rows 20 and 21 are also Economy Plus but offer 39 inches of pitch, according to AeroLOPA. This is more than the standard economy pitch of 30 inches.
The seat-back IFE screen was nice and featured plenty of movies, TV shows, and audio.
Power outlets and USB-A charging were also available. The only bummer was that Wi-Fi is $8 for MileagePlus members, free for T-Mobile members, and free messaging.
Since the flight was so short and there was some turbulence, a water service was provided.
The next thing I knew, we were already getting ready to land. We ended up arriving 15 minutes early, which was nice.
The Verdict
Overall, my short hop on the United Boeing 737 MAX 8 was nice and comfortable. It was nice having a seatback IFE screen, and we landed early!
Have you flown on a United Boeing 737 MAX 8? How was your experience? Comment below!
Happy travels,
Ty
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