United Airlines’ Star Alliance Boeing 767-400ER From Washington Dulles To Sao Paulo

I arrived at Dulles International Airport (IAD) about five hours before the flight to São Paulo. Because of the timing, it was better to spend my layover in a lounge with food and a shower than in an airport terminal. As the Etihad lounge recently reopened at IAD, and I have one annual access to the Chase-operated lounges in the US, I thought I would go there. To my surprise, the lounge was not open to Priority Pass guests at the time and would not open until about 21:00.

Since the Etihad lounge was near the Air France lounge, which I had visited before, and it had a good food offering and a shower, I went there. Once again, this lounge was closed to Priority Pass customers. The app does say that PP members can enter after 18:00, but at that point, it was about 20 minutes past, and the employee at the front desk said there were extra flights and they would not be able to accommodate PP until 21:00.

That left me with two options: Lufthansa’s lounge or Turkish Airlines’ lounge. I went to Turkish Airlines, which was often regarded as the best PP lounge in the US, and thankfully, it was open. So, that is where I spent my layover, eating, working, and taking a shower before heading to my gate.

At the gate

At 21:20, I left the lounge and headed to my gate. I was at the B gates, and my flight was out of C5, which meant I needed to change terminals. I saw a sign saying there was a walkway to the C gates and realized the sign was deceiving. I walked back to the main terminal, and from there, there was a mobile lounge that took me to the D gates. By the time I reached my gate, boarding had already started.

Boarding was scheduled to start at 21:45, and at 21:43, United sent out a push notification that boarding was ready to begin. This meant that I would board almost immediately after arriving at the gate. I was surprised to see that a widebody flight was boarding out of C5, which is a small gate, and passengers started to crowd into the walkway before boarding.

As a United Explorer Card
holder, I get priority boarding on United flights and board with Group 2. Within a few minutes of boarding commencing, Group 2 was called up. The gate agents for this flight were cracking down hard on the two-item rule, even for those with small purses, and barring passengers from boarding without consolidating.

As the flight had tons of open seats in economy, I asked to be swapped from a window seat in the very back of the plane to a row in economy plus right behind the bulkhead. I was given a courtesy upgrade and the gate agent emphasized that she should have charged me for it but did not. I was very grateful, as this meant I would be able to lie flat across three seats.

On the plane

When I boarded, the economy cabin was still nearly empty, as I was in the second boarding group. I found my seat, which was 39F, but because there was no one next to me, I sat in the middle and put my belongings on either side of me. Other passengers saw there were plenty of open seats and swapped, leading the crew to make several announcements that we would not depart if passengers did not return to their original seats.

Boarding was complete at 22:11, and within four minutes, the purser told the crew to prepare to arm doors and cross-check, which took place at 22:21. We pushed back at 22:29, six minutes ahead of schedule, which is rare for the flight to São Paulo. When we pushed back, there was a massive line of aircraft taxiing to runway 30, but fortunately, we were sent to runway 1R and took off after 15 minutes of taxiing.

By 23:20, the crew began their dinner service, which in economy, was either a chicken dish or a vegetarian pasta dish. The chicken was a new-er dish on the route, and had BBQ sauce, green beans, and what appeared to be some mac-and-cheese (but did not really taste like cheese). For an airplane meal, I was satisfied. As always, a side salad accompanied, as well as a bread roll and some dessert.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

As I had already eaten at the lounge, I was content with what I had, but I usually ask for more food. Immediately after eating, like a good Brasilian, I went to the lavatory to brush my teeth before lying down to sleep. When I returned to my seat, I made my own “Polaris” knockoff on the three seats I had to myself.

Shortly after lying down, we hit a good amount of turbulence, prompting the captain to tell the crew to take their seats. After the turbulence seemed to have passed, we hit more. Eventually, we passed it all and I was able to sleep for nearly six hours before deciding to get up before the breakfast service.

The breakfast service is the most disappointing part of flying with United. Today, it is limited to a small Chobani yogurt and a biscotti. One might think that this is due to pandemic cuts, but I flew from Houston to São Paulo in 2021 and had a hot sandwich with my breakfast. What United serves now is extremely minimal, but that is expected in most countries in 2024. Over the years, airlines have cut back so much on their offerings.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

At about 08:20 (Eastern Time) the captain came on and announced that soon he would be turning on the fasten seatbelt sign. He told us we would be landing early and that soon we would begin our final descent. Within 10-15 minutes, the crew came by and did their final checks for landing. For landing I moved to a window seat for the view and I was chatting to one of the flight attendants in the jumpseat in front of me. It turned out we had mutual friends.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

After landing, we taxied over to Terminal 2, which surprised me. For years, all of United’s flights are operated out of Terminal 2. When we finally parked, I realized we were at a hardstand at Terminal 2, which really excited me. Getting to deplane on a set of stairs and stand next to the aircraft is always fun.

Overall, the United experience was fantastic. This is always highlighted by the United app, the best of any airline worldwide. And now, with the iPhone 14 and 15 lineups, the live activities are very helpful. As a frequent flier between Brasil and the US, United remains my number one choice of the American carriers for flying between the two countries.