UA 608, SFO-TOR

Flight Details:

• Date: April 7, 2019
• Departure: 10:25am (scheduled) 10:45 (actual)
• Arrival: 6:25pm (scheduled) 6:10pm (actual)
• Aircraft: A320
• Seat: 3E

Experience

This was my only my second time flying United in the past ... 15 years, and the longest United flight I've ever taken.  I ... tend to avoid at all costs.  But my options for flying to Toronto were extremely limited after the Boeing 737Max grounding, and Air Canada cancelled many flights.

Thus, United it was.  At least I was in first class.

The cabin layout is only 3 rows, 2-2.  I was in the last row adjacent to economy, separated by a curtain.  Single FA for our cabin, reasonably friendly, service took time though, and we were last.

The seats were ... ok.  Ridiculously uncomfortable if you recline, no foot rest, and tray tables that were annoying to pull out, as they hit the drink table on the way.

Storage.

There was in-seat power (not USB), easy storage for magazines or laptop, and little other storage space.  Wifi was available for a fee, and was slow and spotty. Entertainment required downloading their app on your device, which was not available for Chromebooks.

Food & Drink

The meal service was lunch, and began a while after departure.  We were presented with hot towels to begin.

Meal choices were described to us, no menu available.  Options were ... chicken or chicken.  No vegetarian option, no ability to order, in advance, a special meal.  Enjoy your chicken. 

The choices were cold cobb salad with chicken on the side, or hot chicken with a ginger sauce.  Both served with a pretzel bun, butter, and chocolate cheesecake.  My dining companion and I opted to split both.  We also ... had backup with us.

Warm Nuts.

Drink orders were taken row by row, delivered with a bowl of mixed nuts (almonds, cashews).

The nuts were served warm, which was a nice touch.  Not salted though, and almonds and cashews aren't particularly exciting.  Still, points for warm nuts.

I was also pleased that they have sparkling lime water, slightly more exciting than regular plain sparkling water, although they recently discontinued Sprite Zero, which I usually like to mix with my sparkling water.

Chardonnay.

Two wine choices were available, a 2017 Californian chardonnay for white, and a Bordeaux for red.

I opted to try the chardonnay.  It was actually quite fine, not too acidic nor harsh, slightly buttery on the finish.  I was pleased.

Hot Chicken Option.

The hot option was only described as "chicken with ginger sauce", but it turned out to be chicken curry over pad thai style noodles.  On the side was a slaw with edamame, and the "sesame sauce" was just a container of sesame dressing to go with it.

The slaw was moderately fresh, but the dressing *way* too sweet.  The curry sauce was uninteresting, the noodles one big clump.  I didn't try the chicken itself since I dislike chicken anyway.

The pretzel roll was better than expected, served warm, and it had a nice salt level to it.  Packet of butter on the side.

Cold Chicken Option.

Next we had the cold option, a salad, with cold chicken on the side.  Described as Cobb salad, but ... it wasn't really.

The salad had reasonably fresh chunks of romaine, black beans (uh, what, not in Cobb salad?), mealy tomatoes (boo), and small slices of hardboiled egg.  No avocado, nor bacon, both of which I'd expect in a Cobb salad.  On the side was lackluster ranch dressing.  I didn't try the chicken.

Dessert was a chocolate cheesecake, with chocolate ganache on top.

The texture was ok, creamy, but I just don't like chocolate cheesecake.  The flavor combo just doesn't work for me. I did like the thick rich ganache on top.

Overall, this was not exactly an exciting meal.  The pretzel roll and chocolate ganache, and the wine, were all I actually really consumed, opting for the food I brought on board instead.  Which, um, I recommend you do.