I used to enjoy frequent premium cabin upgrades when I was a premier 1k elite. In the first half of the year, I received upgrade karma, but in the second half of the year, only two of my flights got upgrade karma.
When I upgraded to business class on a recent flight back home from a trip to Mexico, I was curious to see if United could give me a better experience than I would get in coach.
The experience was described here.
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport is one of the airports where United has regularly scheduled service.
Unless you're traveling on the Newark flight, you're almost certain to be on an A320 traveling on United in or out of Puerto Vallarta.
Leaving the U.S. for Mexico in the morning and returning to the U.S. in the afternoon is the same schedule. I returned from Mexico on a flight to the US.
The service on the return flights from Mexico to the US is not as good as it would be if the flights were out of the United States.
The basic economy, economy and United Business fares are available for passengers to choose from.
The United basic economy fares from Puerto Vallarta to Denver start at $186.15 one-way, but with the various restrictions in this booking class, I paid an extra $40 to book a standard economy seat.
You can sign up for our newsletter.
My 1K status earned me a total of 1,419 MileagePlus miles and 129 premier qualification points.
One-way business class fares from Puerto Vallarta to Denver start at $490, while regular economy class fares start at just over $225.
It will cost you at least 11,700 miles or 30,000 miles in economy or business class if you redeem one-way awards. Unless you have a co branded United credit card with an annual fee, you won't be able to get a complimentary premier upgrade.
My computer cleared 96 hours before the flight.
The United App.
There were two empty seats in business class on this flight, which was a very rare occurrence this year.
United Airlines elite status is worth something.
I was impressed with the airport when I arrived in Puerto Vallarta. It was the same as my departure.
There was no check-in line at United's counter, which was a pleasant surprise since the airline has a lot of afternoon departures from the city.
There wasn't a queue for Polaris business class or Global Services customers when there was a premier access lane. I checked my bag at the last moment. There could have been trouble if there had been a line.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
Both domestic and international passengers pass through a body temperature screening area before clearing the same security checkpoint since there's no passport control after your departure. There was no priority lane and the security hall was very busy. Passengers are told to take out their liquids.
The security officer gave me an "aprate" when I took out my second laptop at the airport.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
Passengers exit the main terminal through a duty-free store. The lounge is five minutes from the store.
Star Alliance Gold customers and United business class passengers are left without a lounge. There are three lounges with priority passes. The lounge was close to my exit gate.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
There weren't many open seats despite the lounge being renovated. Some passengers abandoned their phones in the lounge to charge them up because the power outlets weren't easy to find. The entire space felt cramped with just a few tinted windows
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
The lounge downstairs was almost empty. The space was quiet and clean despite not having an elevator. The main level of the lounge had showers which were closed, as well as sofas, high-top tables, and cleaner bathroom.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
I received a text from United about 10 minutes before my flight was supposed to start. I was the only passenger who went to the gate and was the first person on the plane.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
Unlike some passengers, I wasn't given a secondary security screening when I arrived.
There are 12 seats in the business class on the A320. The seats have a standard 19 inches of width with 6 inches of recline and a generous 39 inches of pitch. The extra inches made me stretch out properly.
Business class is separated from the economy cabin by a divider in row 3 and 7.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
I was able to fit my laptop with the extended tray table. The phone was built into the tray table.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
The latest version of United's short-haul business-class seats does not have seatback entertainment. You can use the United wi-fi network to stream entertainment. There is more to come on personal device entertainment. There were two power outlets in the United Business section. Business class passengers had their own power outlets, while Economy Plus passengers had to negotiate between two outlets.
The overhead bins were large enough to hold everyone's luggage but only 74 of the seats were occupied.
Each passenger on the plane was given an alcohol wipe.
Seat 1F was chosen for my journey to Denver. Since I was working on the flight, it was more important to make sure that a seat in front of me wouldn't recline and that my laptop wouldn't get damaged.
The economy class seats with extra legroom located close to the front of the plane made it necessary for passengers to upgrade to Economy Plus. The flight attendants announced that they would be happy to process an upgrade charge to Economy Plus for any passengers who wanted it. The economy plus seats cost more. At check-in, United premier silver members have access to complimentary Economy Plus seats, while premier gold and higher members can reserve Economy Plus seats for free.
The A320 in Economy Plus was reviewed from New York to Denver.
There were no amenity kits or paper menus on this flight. There were blankets available, but they weren't as comfortable as the ones found on Polaris flights.
I was able to stream entertainment through the United app on my flight despite there being no seatback entertainment. "Top Gun: Maverick" and "King Richard" are just two of the films I counted through the United app. There were some fan favorites on the TV show.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
After connecting to the internet, passengers are directed to united wifi.com, where they can use free inflight messaging services. For a fee, full-flight wi-fi was also available. If you want to maximize your Mileage Plus miles, you should avoid paying for wi-fi using miles.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
When I traveled to Mexico before the Pandemic, United's planes wouldn't have free wi-fi south of the U.S. border, but on this flight, it was available. I wasn't able to run a speed test, but the upload and download speeds were fast enough to run internet searches and email.
Business class passengers on United have access to a single lavatory. It had not been updated like the seats. The fluorescent lighting and wallpaper were reminiscent of the 1980s. In a COVID-19 era, the sink was touchless and out of date.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
The flight crew served drinks in cups. The passengers were given a choice of drink.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
I was able to pre-order my meal on the United app after I upgraded. I tried the Zatar chicken with orzo on another flight and decided to go with the Impossible meatless meatballs.
The flight attendant took meal orders from passengers who hadn't pre-ordered and confirmed my entree. Passengers were offered a drink in cups. Lunch was served soon after.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
A cup of ripe fruit was presented to lunch and it tasted great. The dessert was served on a shared saucer with a cold wheat roll below it. The other baked item on the saucer was dessert and my seatmate inadvertently took a bite out of the pie in the sky between the fruit and main course.
The meatballs were vegetarian and I enjoyed them. The gamey flavor was counterbalanced by the pearl-sized couscous. I'd order this entree again.
I appreciated that the flight attendant retrieved my tray when I got back to work after eating.
Inflight hamburgers were compared to see which one was the best.
I didn't expect the service on this flight to be anything special.
The flight attendants spent an hour talking loudly, which made some passengers uncomfortable. The flight attendant sat in the galley for the rest of the flight.
He immediately gave me a drink refill after I asked him for it.
It was the middle of a long day. The purser flew from Denver to Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta to Denver, and then from Denver to Madison, Wisconsin'sMSN.
It was understandable that the crew was hard at work. It was odd that the crew did not acknowledge my status, which is a standard feature on premium-cabin United flights.
I couldn't get a larger seat in coach and a hot lunch at United Business. It was expected that there would be no special Mexican touches to make you feel like you were in for a treat specific to this route.
The $8 wi-fi and generous movie selection were the best parts of the A320 service and can be enjoyed in both economy and business class.
Due to the lack of a lounge for business-class passengers in Puerto Vallarta and subpar inflight service, I wouldn't upgrade to United Business for more than $75 or $100, even though I was happy to have the complimentary upgrade.
It seems like a lot of people think paying for United Business on a route like this is not worth it.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
