WIDEBODY AIRCRAFT
Boeing 747-200ER, 747-400ER (3 class)
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| The flight deck of the 747-400 | Another beautiful west coast sunset |
I came to love the UA 744OP configuration because that was the 9:30 from ORD to SFO for more than a year. For a dozen trips total I paid less than $500 round trip, rode in coach twice and never tendered a single upgrade. How? This one had ~120 business seats and ~160 coach seats. Coach was almost always oversold. So I wait until 20 minutes before departure, they tell me they need my seat, and offer to move me to business. I only flew on two 744OB. They have a larger coach section with new seats and headrests.
Coach on the 747 stinks. You have more middle seats than on any other plane. It it configured 3 seats, aisle, 4 seats, aisle, 3 seats. But the 747 has more carryon room per passenger than any other commercial plane on earth. A typical configuration seats more than 350 people.
Upper deck makes this plane great. What more can I say?
Boeing 767-200, 300ER (2 class and 3 class)
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| The flight deck on the 767-400 |
The 757 and 767 are considered the same family. I like the AA 300ER the most: except for a few trans-con routes in the United States they do not offer biz class service. So as a Platinum member you can request a biz class seat for the non trans-con routes. Coach price. Coach service. Biz seat! UA has several configs but overall this is the most comfortable widebody. It is configured 2 seats, aisle, 3 seats, aisle, two seats so your chances for a coach middle seat are minimal. UA replaced the DC10 on the Hawaii routes with the 767-200ER/Overwater. The only time I rode Biz in the 300ER (configured like American...6 rows of C seats) was on UA from IAD to ORD returning from MXP.
Boeing 777-200 (2 class and 3 class)
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| The flight deck of the 777 | A beautiful day through the mountains |
Absolutely my favorite plane. The engines are MONSTROUS. The plane can fly balanced with only one engine working. I've been in all classes on the variety by UA (yes I got the elusive double upgrade...once). I've never flown a 777 on AA because they are used almost exclusively for transoceanic flights. United uses the 777 for transoceanic and as feeders between hubs. I took the 777 to Malpensa (Milan, Italy primary international airport) from Dulles (IAD) in Business class with the new seats and 'flagship service'. It was completely lush compared to domestic Biz service. From time to time The Learning Channel has a spotlight special on the 777 featuring the first 777 delivered to AA. It's worth checking out.
DC-10-10,-30
What a hunk of junk. I cannot count how many hours I've been delayed due to mechanical problems with these scrap heaps. A pilot in January (01) mentioned that UA only has 3 or 4 in ops and they will be phased off to FedEx or UPS. This plane used to be used by UA on their recreational routes (Hawaii, Orlando, San Francisco at times). Northwest still consistently uses these scrap heaps for their transatlantic service.
