The Details

• Flight: UA289
• Aircraft: B757-300
• Class: Domestic First
• Seat: 1A
• Route: Boston Logan (BOS)-Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
• Distance: 947miles
• Flight Time: 2hrs 12min
• Departure: 6:00PM (EST)
• Arrival: 7:12PM (CST)

After arriving from Frankfurt on board the Lufthansa A340-300, we had a few hours before our final flight home to Chicago. Just as we landed in Boston, I got a push alert from United that our flight had been delayed. The originally scheduled departure time of 4:55PM had been pushed back to 6PM.

We collected our bags from Terminal E, passed through customs quickly thanks to Global Entry, and made our way to Terminal B landside which took about 10 minutes via walkways. Once we dropped our bags off we made our way to the Clear lane with TSA Precheck and we cleared security in just five minutes.

Although we had landed in international business class and we were departing in Domestic First, we did not have lounge access thanks to heavily restricted Star Alliance and United rules. United is probably one of the worst airlines when it comes to lounge access for premium customs in the United States when compared to Delta or American.

Luckily, we were allowed in thanks to a few United Club passes I still had from my United credit cards.

There were a fair amount of comfortable sofas arranged along the window overlooking the apron.

A few high tables and dining tables were arranged near the bar area.

Individual seats arranged along the windows at the far end of the lounge also had great views of the apron.

Beverage options within the lounge included self-serve espresso coffee as well as regular coffee.

Food options included cheese and salami cups, cheesecake, and clam chowder.

Cold food choices included salad, hummus, quinoa, and pita bread.

There were also chips and fruit throughout the lounge.

Ten minutes after our original scheduled departure time, our B757-300 pulled into the gate area from Denver.

Registration N78866, she was originally delivered to American Trans Air back in March 2002. After that, she was transferred to Continental Airlines in January 2006 and then to United Airlines after the merger in 2011.

Due to the delay, the United gate staff had set up a small snack area with Goldfish and water. Boarding finally began at 5:32PM.

As usual for B757s, we boarded through the second door on the left side of the aircraft.

The Flight

United offers 24 Domestic First class seats onboard their B757-300s arranged in a 2-2 configuration between the first and second set of doors.

My fiance and I were seated in 1A and 1B. Each seat had 38 inches of pitch and was 20.4 inches wide.

Seats 1A and 1B are my favorites since they feature footwells. Add on the fact that no one was in front of us meant we had a large amount of space in the first row.

There was a small tray table in between the seats for drinks.

The tray table was stored in the armrest on the center and below the armrest was a small storage space.

Each seat also had a 110V outlet. United did not install USB power on their seats.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we were served predeparture drinks on a domestic flight. Options on a tray included water, orange juice, or sparkling wine.

The doors were closed at 5:48PM and we pushed back three minutes later. Our taxi took eight minutes to runway 33L and an hour late, we finally took off for Chicago.

We had incredible views of downtown Boston on the climb out.

Once we reached cruising altitude, the service began with drinks. I had my usual Bloody Mary which was served pre-mixed.

Dinner was the standard hot sandwich which I’ve had multiple times. The two options were either chicken or tomato basil.

The rest of the flight was uneventful as we cruised westward.

As we neared Chicago, I went to use the forward lavatory. It was fairly generic but clean.

The approach into O’Hare from the east provided some cloudy views of downtown Chicago. We landed at 7:12PM on runway 27L and taxied quickly to the gate. Thanks for the ride!