Happy Middle? United Premium Plus Houston to London

Welcome to this review of United Premium Plus Houston to London, United’s Premium Economy service on one of it’s flagship international routes. United offer Premium Plus on all long haul international flights on it’s widebody aircraft. Like British Airways, it is as consistent an experience as it can get.

United is an airline that has grown on me recently, where as the reverse has been happening with Delta Airlines.

Flight Details

Route: Houston – London Heathrow
Flight No: UAL5 
Date: February 2024
Departure Time: 20:00
Flight Duration: Blocked 9:20 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat 22A

United Premium Plus Advertised Offering

As you might expect, a United Premium Plus ticket comes with several perks to make your journey just that bit more comfortable. These benefits are both in air and on the ground enhancements with Premier Access which provides

• Priority check-in – these are the same desks/lanes as those travelling in Business Class.
• Priority Boarding – usually right after Business Class
• Priority Security
• 2 x 23kg Checked Bags with Priority Bag handling

On The Air

• Bigger and wider seats – 18.5 or 19″ wide seats
• Recline with extra legroom and a footrest – 38″ Pitch, 6″ more than regular economy. 6″ recline –
• Premium Amenity kit and blanket
• 13” inflight entertainment screen
• Meals served in China cutlery / upgraded dinnerware
• Free wine, beer and spirits
• Noise reducing headphones

Besides these, you off course earn more miles in whichever program you credit your Star Alliance flights to. For Aegean, the standard Premium Plus fare code R credits with 100% of miles, which is the same as Business Class miles !

Check-In & Lounge

This flight was part of my New Orleans trip, and thus my check-in was at New Orleans. New Orleans MSY is a small efficient airport.

As alluded above, your check-in experience would be enhanced due to your Premium Plus ticket, though this would be significantly more noticeable in a hub airport like IAH/LAX

United Premium Plus does not include lounge access. Due to my Star Alliance Gold status, I was able to use the United Club Lounge in New Orleans as well as for the 2 and half hour connection in Houston.

United Premium Plus Seating

Premium Plus is it’s own exclusive cabin on United. On this 777-200, there are 24 Premium Economy seats arranged on a 2-4-2 configuration, that is 2 whole less seats than an Economy row…

On 787 the cabin is a little smaller with 21 Seats in a 2-3-2 config.

The cabin and seats do look rather stylish and Premium with adjustable purple headrests adding a signature look.

The leather seats are not as deeply padded or plush as Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy, but they felt comfortable enough.

I chose the last row 22, primary because there was no one else next to the seat assigned, which was not the case with either window options in row 20.

Each seat comes with a 13″ high quality touch screen that is adjustable. There is some literature storage right below it..

There is then a mini IFE controller beside the side console, where you also have the basic seat controls for reclining and brining up the calve rest..

You also have a footrest that swings down from the seat in front..

In terms of storage, there is not much else beside a little space on the other side where you could store some items like iPads etc.

Best Premium Plus Seats

For such a small cabin, there is little in the way to differentiate the seating arrangements. For some, the bulkhead seats in row 20 may be more preferable, as there is no-one in front of you and you may have a little more legroom. You will also be served first.

This can easily have some drawbacks in some situations. For example, you cannot store small belongings under seat in front of you etc

If you may need regular trips to the restroom, I would suggest any aisle seat, it’s just easier than having to bother someone else who may be sleeping.

Premium Plus Comforts + Amenities

Upon boarding, each seat already had in place a paper ribboned blanket, Saks Fifth Avenue pillows and an amenity kit by Therabody

There are also some “noise-reducing” headphone, which were of ok quality.

The full contents of the Therabody amenity pack was rather impressive, with lotions, lip balm, a face cleansing sheet, as well as good thick eyeshades alongside essentials such as earplugs, tissues and dental kit..

United Premium Plus Houston to London Service

United did not provide any welcome drinks or any pre-departure service to speak of. During the boarding process, the crew did seem rather busy going back and forth between the Economy cabin.

Post departure, the crew started out with a drinks service. There were several options on offer than would satisfy most people, with a choice of a beer/wine or a range of spirits.

I did not fancy any hard stuff so simply opted for a cranberry juice, which was serviced with ice and a mini pack of almonds..

It was a refreshing drink indeed!

About 30 minutes later, dinner service began. There was no menu to speak of (  then again United sometimes doesn’t even bother with menu’s with even Business Class )

The choice was between Chicken and Beef something and I opted for the chicken option..

While, it doesn’t look anything special, I rather enjoyed the meal. The grilled veg could have been better seasoned, but the sauce provided came to the rescue..

After the dinner, there was another round of drinks service, where I opted for a night cap.

Mid-way through the flight, there was a snack service, but I decided to sleep through this. I know this because I briefly woke up and United provide you with rough service plans in the IFE

Then with just under 2 hours before landing, breakfast service began. This was described as a English breakfast..

Unfortunately I do not eat pork related products so mostly just ate the fruits and yogurt.

Sleep A Major United Premium Economy Drawback

United Premium Plus seat recline of just 6″ is on the lowest end of the Premium Economy spectrum in the market today. This is rather a poor choice, when even many good Economy carriers offer 4/5″ of recline.

In this 9 hour overnight flight, I only managed about 3 hours of sleep.

United Premium Plus Pricing

From UK/Europe the cheapest Premium Plus tickets tends to be around the East Coast, with New York/Boston and even Chicago often available for around £800-900

Prices tend to follow a pattern of being more than 50% more expensive than entry level Economy pricing.

I managed to find this fare for £1029 and is currently available for not much more

Amex Cash Back Offer

If you have American Express Platinum/Gold cards, they occasionally have cashback offers for United booking over an X amount, usually 700+. In this instance, I managed to get a £300 cashback rebate, which made my flight a very reasonable cost.

Overall Thoughts

For an overnight flight into London, United Premium Plus made this a pleasant enough experience. The seats were noticeably and practically more comfortable than Economy. The amenities provided from Saks Fifth pillows to the amenity kit was impressive and certainly elevated the journey.

On the service front, I found the crew were friendly and courteous. The meals were acceptable but more on par with an average Economy experience perhaps. As I have mentioned before, catering is a weak point with even United Business Class offering, so this is not entirely surprising here.

So is United Premium Plus worth the extra money? For me, on this occasion it was. Especially given Business Class pricing was close to 4k for my route at the time. If your expectations can be pared in that fundamentally, a Premium Economy seat in itself is not a half way house to a flat bed business seat, you will not be disappointed.

Would I go out of my way to fly United Premium Plus though? Most likely not.