United Express ERJ-175 first class San Diego to Los Angeles

01. Introduction: San Diego to Hong Kong on Asiana, Air India, and United Airlines
02. United Express ERJ-175 first class San Diego to Los Angeles
03. Star Alliance First Class Lounge, LAX
04. Star Alliance Business Class Lounge, LAX
05. Asiana A380-800 first class Los Angeles to Seoul
06. Asiana A380-800 business class Seoul to Hong Kong
07. Hong Kong, day one – Tsim Tsa Tsui, the Star Ferry, and Victoria Peak
08. Hong Kong, day two – blending in
09. Hong Kong, day three – I love this city!
10. Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Tsa Tsui
11. United Club, HKG
12. United Airlines 777-200 business class Hong Kong to Chicago
13. United Airlines 737-900 economy class Chicago to San Diego

This particular flight up to Los Angeles was a bit on the bittersweet side for me. On one hand, it was the first time I’ve flown United Express to LAX since the EMB-120’s were retired earlier this year and I was very thankful for not having to endure the pain of flying on one of those little buzz-bombs.

On the other hand, those little buzz-bombs were neat aircraft and they were always fun to fly on due to how “raw” they felt. It was always a loud and bumpy experience, and it’s a shame that they are gone from the United Express fleet for good. But those new ERJ-175’s are very nice, and it is a much needed upgrade for a busy route such as SAN-LAX.

UA6321
San Diego, CA (SAN) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Friday, September 18, 2015
Aircraft: ERJ-175
Seat: 3A (first class)

Boarding any LAX flight from the main terminal at SAN is a weird (but nice) experience now that the commuter terminal is no longer in operation, so all in all this felt just like going through the procedure for a normal mainline flight. Check in at terminal 2 west, browse the shops, maybe get something to eat – options that weren’t so readily available in the old commuter terminal!

Another nice thing about the ERJ-175 is the fact that they have a real first class cabin. Not only that, but it’s a 1-2 layout, so the A seats are single seats with no neighbor. Very nice, and you can bet that SANspotter grabbed one of those things without hesitation. Keep in mind that these are real first class seats and not the normal (tiny) seats found in the back – so it’s definitely a true first class experience and it was quite comfortable actually.

This mornings flight up to LAX was very predictable – there was a quick beverage and snack basket service, we never climbed past 15,000ft, and we had really nice views of the Southern California coast for nearly the entire duration of the flight.

We touched down on runway 25L just a few minutes early, which didn’t really benefit me all that much – I was looking at a 4 hour layover before my flight to ICN so it wasn’t like I was trying to rush or anything. Regardeless, it was good to be back at LAX (my favorite airport) and make the long walk west to the Tom Bradley International Terminal for my connecting flight.