My wife and I had a very pleasant transpacific journey to Papeete, Tahiti on United Airlines in a 787-8 in business class to begin our special anniversary trip. The service onboard was spectacular, more than making up for the mediocre food.
United Airlines 787-8 Business Class Review (SFO-PPT)
After a quick connection in SFO with no time to visit the Polaris Lounge, we boarded our Dreamliner that would transport us to French Polynesia, a destination neither Heidi nor I had previously visited.
United 115
San Francisco (SFO) – Papeete (PPT)
Monday, May 13
Depart: 1:30 PM
Arrive: 7:15 PM
Duration: 8hr, 45min
Distance: 4,188 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Seat: 5A (Polaris Business Class)
Onboard, we turned left down the first aisle and settled into our seats in the rear of the forward business class cabin.
Seat
The 787-8 is United’s Dreamliner geared toward leisure destinations. With only 28 business class seats, it offers a far smaller Polaris cabin than the 787-9 (48 seats) or 787-10 (44 seats). Business class is split into a forward cabin with five rows of 1-2-1 seating and two rows in a rear cabin with a galley in-between.
United’s seats are proprietary, but based on the Safran Optima platform. Each seat is 20 inches wide and converts to a lie-flat bed that is 6 foot, 6 inches long. Bulkhead seats have been more room for your feet and are recommended.
Seat recline is controlled by a knob (forward for down, back for up) and I find the seat comfortable in all positions.
All seats are equipped with universal AC and USB-A sockets and there are individual air vents.
The aircraft and seat were clean overall (no trash or grease or grime that I could see), though there was a dust build-up around the air vents:
I maintain that United does bedding better than any other carrier in business class and the soft duvet, cooling gel pillow, and larger pillow make for a great rest, especially when you add a mattress pad (available upon request). There’s also a soft day blanket, though I prefer the larger duvet.
I took a nap after lunch and slept well for about three hours…a nap is always appreciated especially since we were gaining three hours flying to Tahiti.
Service
I must give a huge shoutout to Depash, the purser, who was simply perfect.
Before you dismiss me as just being a “United fan boy” you should really fly with him. He was gracious, attentive, and kind in a way that even exceeded my very positive recent flight from Seoul to San Francisco. And it was not just me or Heidi that he was kind too…I watched from my perch in the rear of the cabin as he doded over everyone.
I received a note shortly after boarding that it appeared other United 1K and Global Services members received thanking me for my business.
When Depash found out we were celebrating our anniversary, he drew us a beautiful card:
What a beautiful touch…and it wasn’t just the cards. He constantly checked on us during the flight, offering snacks and refills of our drinks.
Depash a superb purser!
Food + Drink
Speaking of food, I’d say the food on United is improving but still not up to par with American Airlines or Delta Air Lines.
Here’s the food menu for the flight:
and drink list:
Lunch
After takeoff, service began with a hot towel, mixed nuts and a beverage (Sanpellegrino with lime – I skipped all alcohol on this trip).
For my appetizer, I selected smoked duck (with parsnip purée and grilled Granny Smith apple wedges) over burrata (with cracked black pepper. balsamic glaze, cherry tomatoes, basil, and frisée). The burrata is generally a safe bet and I should have stuck to that, as the duck tasted like cold, slimy lunchmeat.
United offers meal pre-orders starting five days before takeoff. Both my wife and I pre-ordered the fish entree.
Seared turbot
with lemon caper sauce. asparagus sauteed mushrooms roasted potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes
The entire meal was served on a tray, with bread, salad, appetizer, and main course (starting this month, United is now serving the main course as a separate course after the appetizer and salad).
The fish entree was mediocre…the fish itself was fine, but the mushrooms were rubbery and the asparagus lacked any flavor and were overcooked.
On the plus side, the garlic bread was warm and buttery:
To finish off the meal, I enjoyed a cup of coffee and an ice cream sundae with caramel sauce topped in whipped cream and shaved almonds. I don’t eat ice cream at home, so it is always a treat to get it on a plane. Other dessert choices included a fruit and cheese plate and a raspberry cheesecake.
Mid-Flight
Between meals, a snack basket and whole fruit were offered, with Depash frequently bringing it around the cabin.
Pre-Arrival Meal
While most United transpacific flights serve breakfast before landing (even those that, like this, arrive in the afternoon or evening), on this flight a light dinner was served before landing. The choices were between grilled chicken (with Bordelaise sauce, polenta, and broccolini) or a Thai vegetable green curry with coconut sticky rice (I’ve had that before here).
The chicken was really of poor quality and seemed like chicken pieces blended together to create something that looked like a breast with fake grill marks. It was served with a side of fresh-cut fruit, more garlic bread, and a cookie.
While the food was not bad, a little more focus on quality and taste would be highly appreciated.
Amenity Kit
United currently is offering a fanny-pack style Therabody-branded amenity kit with contents including:
- skin mist
- eye serum
- lip balm
- hand cream
- dental kit
- eyeshade
- earplugs
- pen
- tissues
- socks
All passengers are offered a sanitizing wipe during boarding:
IFE + Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi was available for purchase onboard ($19.99 for a flight pass or $8.99 for one hour) but I used a T-Mobile pass to connect on my phone for no charge.
The in-flight entertainment library included hundreds of movies and TV shows and I did spend much of the flight enjoying the content. There were also live news updates, which are not available on all aircraft.
Heidi and I watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof together, a classic that neither of us had previously seen…and we loved it.
Then I finished watching the last two hours of Chernobyl, the 2019 HBO miniseries chronicling the 1986 disaster outside of Kyiv. Fascinating stuff!
United offers noise-cancelling headphones in Polaris.
Views out of a very tinted window during takeoff:
Lavatory
Two lavatories are located in the front of the aircraft for business class passengers. Skin creme, garment cleaner, and facial mist were available in addition to hand soap.
CONCLUSION
We landed ahead of schedule to a balmy evening at Fa’a’ā International Airport in Papeete. We departed via air stairs, quickly proceeded through passport control, grabbed our bags, and were soon on our way via taxi to our hotel, just a few minutes from the airport.
Both Heidi and I agreed that it was one of the best United flights we have ever experienced thanks to the kind service of Depash. Sure, the food is still a work in progress, but overall this was a very nice flight and helps to show why I am still partial to United.
