The Details
- Flight: UA2266
- Aircraft: B737-900ER
- Class: Economy
- Seat: 22A
- Route: George Bush Houston (IAH)-San Diego (SAN)
- Distance: 1,344 miles
- Duration: 2hrs 33min
- Departure: 17:27
- Arrival: 18:00
The Preflight
After spending an almost four-hour layover in Houston at the American Express Centurion Lounge, I made my way to the C concourse where my flight to San Diego would be departing from. Just as I got to the gate, I heard a loud crack of thunder, and rain began to pour. Luckily, the thunderstorm passed quickly for an on-time boarding at 4:05PM.
Our B737-900ER, registration N27421, was a 13-year-old aircraft originally delivered to Continental Airlines in April 2008. She was transferred to United in November 2011 after the merger between the two airlines.
The Flight
United Airlines has three different B737-900ER configurations with the difference being between the size of the Economy Plus cabin. Each aircraft has a total of 20 Domestic First seats as well as 159 economy seats. This particular aircraft had a total of 45 Economy Plus seats and 114 economy seats arranged in a 3- 3 configuration.
I was seated in 22A, in the row directly behind the emergency exit. The Collins slimline seats each had 17.3″ of width and a pitch of 30.3″. These seats also featured the old IFE screens in the seatback which I appreciated.
There was a simple tray table as well as literature pocket in the seat back.
We pushed back at 5:15PM and took off at 5:27PM with some views of downtown Houston.
40-minutes after take-off, flight attendants came through the cabin with a snack and beverage service. I ordered a Buffalo Trace with Coke Zero. Small pretzel bags were also handed out.
The rest of the flight was entirely uneventful with smooth cruising at 37,000 feet.
We landed in San Diego at 6:00PM with the classic downtown views on our approach to runway 27.
We pulled into the gate at 6:02PM.
United offers a very standard economy-class service domestically within the United States. I did appreciate the seatback screen and friendly service onboard this particular flight.