Before I had the chance to try United 777-300ER Premium Plus, I imagined it to be a soulless and unremarkable premium economy experience.
Turns out I was right. I recently got to try it out on a flight from Tokyo to San Francisco, and it was every bit as run-of-the-mill “United” that I thought it was going to be.
It was, however, comfortable. Like, really comfortable. So comfortable that I’m actually thinking about doing it again. Turns out soulless and unremarkable ain’t all that bad if it’s comfy!
UA838 Tokyo, Japan (NRT) – San Francisco, CA (SFO) Saturday, July 26, 2025 Aircraft: 777-322ER Registration: N2846U Duration: 9 hours 4 minutes Seat: 21D (Premium Plus / Premium Economy)
United Airlines 777-300ER side view illustration by NorebboStock.comOur route from Tokyo Narita to San Francisco this evening as UA838
My full review of United 777-300ER Premium Plus (premium economy) from Tokyo / Narita to San Francisco
This was an award redemption that I paid way too much for. What do you think? Is 170,000 MileagePlus points for NRT-SFO-SAN too much? What if I told you that the SFO-SAN segment was basic economy? Wait. Don’t answer that.
Arrival at Terminal 1 Narita Airport
This flight to San Francisco was scheduled to depart at 5:25 PM. I had to check out of my hotel (the International Garden Hotel Narita) at 11 AM, and after a 30 minute bus ride, I arrived at the entrance to T1 just before noon. The plan? To eat a leisurely lunch, get a bit of work done, and wait. And wait. And wait.
Welcome to Terminal 1 at Narita! And I can’t think of anything else to say about this pic!“Just wait until they hear what I have to say about this…”Aha! I thought of something really good to say: United Premium Plus passengers do not get their own dedicated check in lane. Intermingling with lowly economy class passengers is the only way forward unfortunately.The Chosen One (the United 777-300ER they chose to assign to this flight to SFO).This has gotta be one of the last United 77W’s wearing the old livery I reckon. I wonder what other kind of important maintenance they’ve deferred on this bad girl?“At the very least, I hope it’s had an oil change and a tire rotation sometime in the last three months. And don’t look at the camera!”
The boarding process for United 838 to San Francisco
Even though the plane had been parked at the gate for hours, the gate agents didn’t show up until 30 minutes prior to the scheduled boarding time. I thought for sure we were going to be running late. But nope. Turns out I’m overly pessimistic. Who knew?
My purely purple, pretty, perfect, Premium Plus boarding pass. Dang it, now I gotta pee…Something exciting is about to happen here at gate 31. After families with small children, Global Services, active duty military, Premier 1Ks, and Business Class passengers go first…of course.Through this boarding door lies something more purple(ish) than red. With a bit more legroom as well!
United 777-300ER Premium Plus cabin and seats
The Premium economy cabin on the United 777-300ER is pretty small actually. There are only three rows Premium Plus seats (24 total), and they are arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration. It’s cozy.
Welcome United Airlines 777-300ER Premium Plus. The purple boarding pass kinda makes sense now, doesn’t it? Somebody at United was using their noggin’.
First impressions: this is a good looking cabin IMHO. The dark gray and purple materials are dark and dreary, but it’s sophisticated enough to look like a proper long-haul premium economy seat. I like.
These seats are lot like the ones you’ll find in ANA 777-300ER premium economy, except they’re a bit more purple. The fact that they smell like hotdogs, apple pie, and the Fourth of July is a slight difference as well.Remember that scene in Pulp Fiction where Jules asks Vincent if “we happy?” Well…we happy. These are really nice premium economy seats.On every seat you will find a blanket, pillow, headphones, and an amenity kit (assuming nobody stole yours of course). All of this Saks Fifth Avenue stuff is nice!Perhaps my only criticism of these seats (one that hit me right off the bat) is the fact that window and middle seat passengers don’t have direct aisle access. Getting out won’t be easy.That doesn’t mean legoom is abysmal or anything (it’s pretty good as a matter of fact). All I’m saying is that if the person sitting next to you is stretching out like a total a**hole, it will involve a bit of high steppin’ to get over them. Kicking them in the nuts on the way out “on accident” is fully justified IMHO.It’s going to require a lot of acting to “accidentally” reach the crotch area though. There’s a lot of room in these seats! Watch out for the retractable foot rests though. It would be pretty embarrassing to trip over that as you’re attempting to kick aisle seat guy in the junk. Karma for him, not for you.Video screens. Big ones too! These are the exact same seats you’ll find in United 787-9 Premium Plus BTW.That bulkhead row window seat looks awfully nice IMHO. Shoulda coulda woulda like a mofo on that one. Next time!
Amenity kit
As if the Saks Fifth Avenue blanket and pillow wasn’t enough, they also provided full blown (business class quality) amenity kits. Amenity kits aren’t something you can always expect in premium economy, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it on United. They surprised me.
The dinosaur-skinned (themed?) Therabody amenity kit. Hoping to see some Pterodactyl bones in this bad boy. I need them to complete my collection!No dinosaur bones unfortunately, but lots of the usual good stuff (socks, eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, hand wipes, etc). Nothing purple though. The hell?
Our departure from NRT
We pushed off the gate at 5:23 PM, which was two minutes ahead of schedule. The 5 o’clock hour is prime time for NRT however, so we had to sit in traffic on our way out to runway 16R. Total taxi time was 33 minutes. Oof.
Premium economy is nice and all, but it wasn’t all that difficult to think back to how awesome my United 777-300ER business class experience was. “Maybe one of them will choke on their pre-departure champagne, be sent to the hospital, and I’ll be upgraded?” A guy can dream…This Flightradar24-style map feature seemed pretty cool until I realized that it only updated once every five minutes. The disappointment really set in when it showed us taxiing in a rice field adjacent to the airport. To be fair though, I wasn’t sitting by a window, so I can neither confirm nor deny the shortcut with any amount of confidence.Speaking of windows, nearly every window seat passenger here in premium economy shut their window shades before we even took off. This whole world (at least window seat passengers who hate looking out windows) is going to hell.“…as visions of sugarplums dual GE90’s at 115,000 pounds of thrust each danced in his head.”
In-flight entertainment
Way (way) over exaggerating how “awful” it is to fly United long-haul is fun, but wrong. The honest truth is that some parts of it (such as the in-flight entertainment) are really good. As a matter of fact, it one of the things that I like the most. United does it so much better than other airlines.
The text on the home screen at my seat says “Next stop, San Francisco.” The text on the screen of every passenger sitting at a window seat who shut their window shade before we even took off says “Next stop, Hell” (probably).The main menu. United Airlines isn’t perfect (not by a long shot), but I’m not afraid to admit that they have one of the best in-flight entertainment systems of any airline in the world. This is good.
I especially like how customizable user interface is. I can set it up exactly how I like it, choose my favorites, and even use my own headphones via the Bluetooth connectivity. And the selection of movies and TV shows? Omg. Whatever you got a hankerin’ to watch, they got it.
I loves me some good Bluetooth connectivity! Especially since the noise canceling headphones they provide aren’t that great.“These aren’t that great” he whined. But then he remembered that he didn’t even get noise canceling headphones in Lufthansa A350-900 premium economy, and suddenly, he had a change of heart. “These things are pretty awesome!”
The first meal service
Snacks and drinks were served approximately 30 minutes after takeoff. Immediately after that came the full meal service (and another round of drinks).
Quite the flurry of activity as the flight attendants came down the aisle offering snacks and drinks. They timed this perfectly, because I was feeling another change of heart coming on in regards to the headphones. “Screw that. These things actually su… uh…Diet Coke please!”Ain’t nothing like a full can of Diet Coke and a bag of mini pretzels to take my mind off a mediocre pair of noise canceling headphones. What was I talking about again?
There were two meal choices on this flight: chicken or beef. I ain’t got no beef with that. The chicken was good.
That’s a good looking (and overflowing) tray of food! Losing the salad over the side wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but you’re darn right that I was protecting everything else as if they were my own children.It’s chicken. I think. Not sure what the yellow stuff is. Polenta maybe? All I can hope for is that you didn’t come here for a TED Talk on fine dining.The salad never fell off the tray. Oh well.
Seat and cabin comfort
The second best thing about United 777-300ER Premium Plus (after the in-flight entertainment) is how comfortable the seats are.
The Saks Fifth Avenue blanket and pillow combo goes a long way towards making this one of the most comfortable premium economy experiences I’ve ever had. This was a lot more comfy than Air France A350-900 premium economy IMHO.
A Saks Fifth Avenue blanket, eh? Let’s see what this bad boy can do…“OMG I like what it’s doing. A lot!”
Premium economy lavatory
The lavatories for premium economy passengers are located just behind row 22. Note that there’s nothing stopping the riffraff basic economy passengers from using these lavatories, so be prepared to hold it if there’s a line.
What do you suppose the toilet is thinking as I’m standing here looking down at it?
Mid flight snack
The third best thing about United 777-300ER Premium Plus (after the in-flight entertainment and seat comfort) is the mid flight snack. It was more of a meal than a snack IMHO, and I almost couldn’t finish the entire thing. It was ginormous!
Whoa. I haven’t seen a midflight snack this substantial since Delta A350-900 Premium Select!It’s a tortilla wrap with pork sausage, cheese, chili, and tomato sauce. It was kinda good. It was filling AF. And it made us all smell like pork for the next three hours.$20 says there was somebody back in economy hoping that I would choke on this pork tortilla, and that my body would be stuffed in a closet for safekeeping until we land (resulting in a pretty sweet midflight upgrade for them).Little did they know that the complementary bottled water was flowing freely up here in premium economy. I was able to wash the pork down with ease.
Seat recline
The recline in these seats is pretty good (but not as steep as I recently experienced in Air Premia premium economy). I think United did a pretty good job of balancing comfort for the recliner vs the reclinee.
Still waiting for someone up in Polaris to choke on something. Anything. Nothing yet… “Why won’t anyone die up there already?”
The pre-landing meal
We were presented with two options for the pre-landing meal (a western option, and a Japanese option). Neither sounded all that appetizing due to the fact that I was still feeling quite full from the mid flight snack. I certainly didn’t starve on this flight.
When an American airline attempts to be Japanese. It was a valiant effort.
The descent and arrival into SFO
We began the descent into SFO right on time. Perhaps the most significant thing about the descent was the fact that I wasn’t feeling all that eager to get off this airplane. I mean, I could still wiggle my toes, so it wasn’t that uncomfortable.
Notice how they are refraining from showing us the image of the Golden Gate Bridge draped in fog again as we make the approach into SFO. There’s not a cloud in sight from this angle.Finally! Somebody opened their window shade! Seeing actual sunshine is encouraging.Listening intently for the sound of shrieks and screams coming from the cockpit. It’ll be my only warning should we end up crashing into the Golden Gate Bridge.
We landed on runway 28R at exactly 11 AM, which was exactly 10 minutes behind schedule. Seems we lost a bit of time during the approach. Maybe they couldn’t find the airport through all the sunshine? I don’t know.
“Scott, you sure do worry about crashing a lot for a guy who decided to make a living doing airline reviews.” In my defense, it’s more of a vivid imagination than it is being worried. I’m just weird like that.The aftermath. This probably would’ve looked the same even if we did crash into the bridge.“Holy sh*t I just flew long haul on United and I actually liked it…”
Pros and cons of United 777-300ER Premium Plus
I’m so glad that I got to try this. I’ve never been a fan of flying United (or any US airline for that matter) long haul, but now I can see that they are indeed competitive. It’s a legitimate premium economy experience.
Pros
I love how small the Premium Plus cabin on the 777-300ER is. It feels special. Cozy. Intimate. Kinda private too.
Saks Fifth Avenue blankets and pillows. We normally only see that kind of thing in business class.
Lots and lots (and lots) of food. It’s not the highest quality stuff, but you won’t starve.
Cons
The small cabin size means that you’ll need to plan ahead to get the exact seat you want. With only 24 available, they go fast!
Seat recline is pretty good, but not as steep as what you’ll get on some other airlines.
Finding the headphone jack in these seats is infuriatingly cumbersome. I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t be able to see it without using the flashlight on your phone.
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7 Comments
Premium Plus gets Premier Access – priority check-in, security (depending on the airport; probably not at NRT), boarding, and baggage handling. As a P+ passenger, you could’ve paid for a discounted trip pass to access the United Club at both NRT and SFO (probably around $40-60). Unlike the one-time pass, you’re guaranteed access. Excluding the dated toilets, the NRT UC is a decent place to spend a few hours.
170k miles is expensive for a Business Class one way, and completely insane for Premium Economy. $2-3k out of pocket, while also pricey, would’ve made more sense, IMHO.
I know lol, but nearly every flight back to the US that week was full (and I needed something interesting to review) so I bit the bullet and paid the price. Not my proudest moment.
Thanks for the tip about the lounge access! I didn’t know about that, so I’ll definitely take advantage of it next time.
Honestly, I feel like US airlines are kind of over-hated, especially on long-haul routes. I’ve only flown AA economy long-haul, but, from what I’ve seen, United, American, and Delta seem pretty solid in all 3 classes.
As for it being soulless, I agree that United’s cabins definitely look like something you’d see at a large, faceless mega-corporation. However, the dark blue & gray branding looks pretty sharp IMO (it’s corporate but in a good way). Speaking of looks, the purple seats are an interesting choice, but they actually go pretty well with UA’s brand colors.
Also, as for having a separate section for seat recline, I like how it makes the review more straight-to-the-point, but I’d include it right after the “seat/cabin comfort” one. Placing it 3 sections later, after the lavatory & mid-flight snack, makes it feel a bit disjointed.
Now that I’ve done United long-haul premium economy, I’m really tempted to give American Airlines long-haul premium economy a try. I already know that Delta is pretty good, but I’m curious to see how it is on American (especially considering that they haven’t been trying all that hard recently).
And thanks for the suggestion! I agree that seat recline is more important than the midflight snack (and definitely the lavatory lol). I’ll keep that in mind for the next one…
You’re welcome! I’d keep the loo review & pre-landing meal sections, but merge the comfort and recline ones. And speaking of the different sections, I like how over the past few months you’ve gotten more “adventurous” with them and added more, such as one for the amenities, amenity kit, and of course, the lavatory.
As for American, yeah, it would be interesting to see a review of them! As far as I know, they’re still pretty solid internationally, it’s just domestically where they’re lagging behind United & Delta.
Scott, how does this United flight compare to that of ANA Premium Economy seats (comfort, recline, amenities, etc.)? How about versus JAL?
I ask because we are planning our trip to Japan for 2026 and looking at United as an option, although the only inconvenience for us is that we would have to fly to SFO from LAX instead of direct.
Hey Marc – the only things better on United in my opinion was the in-flight entertainment and the blanket. I didn’t like the food on ANA, but it was probably because it was a late night departure (they didn’t do a full meal service).
ANA onboard service is light years better than United. The crews actually seem to care! Keep in mind that you also get lounge access with ANA premium economy, which is something you won’t get with United. The seats seemed to be about the same in terms of comfort.
I haven’t done JAL premium economy yet, but it’s on my list!
Premium Plus gets Premier Access – priority check-in, security (depending on the airport; probably not at NRT), boarding, and baggage handling. As a P+ passenger, you could’ve paid for a discounted trip pass to access the United Club at both NRT and SFO (probably around $40-60). Unlike the one-time pass, you’re guaranteed access. Excluding the dated toilets, the NRT UC is a decent place to spend a few hours.
170k miles is expensive for a Business Class one way, and completely insane for Premium Economy. $2-3k out of pocket, while also pricey, would’ve made more sense, IMHO.
I know lol, but nearly every flight back to the US that week was full (and I needed something interesting to review) so I bit the bullet and paid the price. Not my proudest moment.
Thanks for the tip about the lounge access! I didn’t know about that, so I’ll definitely take advantage of it next time.
Honestly, I feel like US airlines are kind of over-hated, especially on long-haul routes. I’ve only flown AA economy long-haul, but, from what I’ve seen, United, American, and Delta seem pretty solid in all 3 classes.
As for it being soulless, I agree that United’s cabins definitely look like something you’d see at a large, faceless mega-corporation. However, the dark blue & gray branding looks pretty sharp IMO (it’s corporate but in a good way). Speaking of looks, the purple seats are an interesting choice, but they actually go pretty well with UA’s brand colors.
Also, as for having a separate section for seat recline, I like how it makes the review more straight-to-the-point, but I’d include it right after the “seat/cabin comfort” one. Placing it 3 sections later, after the lavatory & mid-flight snack, makes it feel a bit disjointed.
Now that I’ve done United long-haul premium economy, I’m really tempted to give American Airlines long-haul premium economy a try. I already know that Delta is pretty good, but I’m curious to see how it is on American (especially considering that they haven’t been trying all that hard recently).
And thanks for the suggestion! I agree that seat recline is more important than the midflight snack (and definitely the lavatory lol). I’ll keep that in mind for the next one…
You’re welcome! I’d keep the loo review & pre-landing meal sections, but merge the comfort and recline ones. And speaking of the different sections, I like how over the past few months you’ve gotten more “adventurous” with them and added more, such as one for the amenities, amenity kit, and of course, the lavatory.
As for American, yeah, it would be interesting to see a review of them! As far as I know, they’re still pretty solid internationally, it’s just domestically where they’re lagging behind United & Delta.
Scott, how does this United flight compare to that of ANA Premium Economy seats (comfort, recline, amenities, etc.)? How about versus JAL?
I ask because we are planning our trip to Japan for 2026 and looking at United as an option, although the only inconvenience for us is that we would have to fly to SFO from LAX instead of direct.
Thoughts?
Hey Marc – the only things better on United in my opinion was the in-flight entertainment and the blanket. I didn’t like the food on ANA, but it was probably because it was a late night departure (they didn’t do a full meal service).
ANA onboard service is light years better than United. The crews actually seem to care! Keep in mind that you also get lounge access with ANA premium economy, which is something you won’t get with United. The seats seemed to be about the same in terms of comfort.
I haven’t done JAL premium economy yet, but it’s on my list!