On a recent trip to Denver, Mrs. ATX, ATX Jr., and I flew in United Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 First Class on the two hour flight between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Denver International Airport (DEN)
Booking
When it came time to book our first trip with ATX Jetsetter Jr., Mrs. ATX and I had one priority, easy and direct flights. I headed to my favorite flight search tool, Google Flights, to look at direct options out of Austin. After finding a decent First Class fare to Denver with United, I paid $555 per-person round-trip which I booked through United.com.
Pre-Flight
Since this was our first trip with ATX Jr., we had quite a few extra items that we needed to account for. That meant we had to check bags so we arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) two hours prior to departure. Fortunately for us, there wasn’t anyone in the Premier Access lane and we had our bags tagged and dropped in seconds.
After dropping our bags, it was a short walk to the TSA PreCheck security checkpoint. We had to go through some extra screening due to the baby items we had with us but, we were still through in a couple of minutes.
We were airside with an hour and a half left before departure so it was time to grab some breakfast. United doesn’t offer hot meals on flights under 900 miles and, at 775 miles, the Austin to Denver flight would only feature a snack basket.
Since we had time to kill and needed to eat, we stopped at Tacodeli for some breakfast tacos before heading to the gate. One of the things I love about the Austin airport is the fact that they have a ton of local eateries. You won’t find any McDonalds hamburgers at AUS.
United also operates a United Club at the airport for eligible travelers. Unfortunately in the United States, most airlines don’t give lounge access to passengers flying on First Class tickets domestically.
Tacos in hand, we headed over to the gate area to relax before boarding.
N73299, a roughly 19 year old Boeing 737-800, was already waiting for us at the gate, having arrived the night prior from Denver. While the plane was older, it was sporting United’s new Evo Blue livery.
Boarding
Prior to boarding, I headed up to the podium to speak with the gate agent. Since it was our first trip with ATX Jr., we had a ton of extra baby gear with us including a stroller that we needed to gate check.
The agent working our flight couldn’t have been friendlier, congratulating us on the trip, providing our gate checked tags, and inviting us to stand off to the side of the podium to wait for pre-boarding.
Preboarding began a few minutes before our scheduled departure time. United allows passengers needing extra assistance, active duty military, Global Services and Premier 1K members, and families traveling with children under two the chance to preboard. We headed down the jet bridge, leaving our stroller right next to the airplane door.
United Airlines
UA 1303
AUS-DEN (Austin-Bergstrom International – Denver International)
Seat: 4E (First)
B737-800 (N73299)
Scheduled: 8:45a-10:05a
Actual: 8:38a-9:55a
United Boeing 737-800 First Class Seat
United’s First Class cabin on the Boeing 737-800 consists of 16 seats spread across 4 rows in a 2-2 configuration. The airline is currently undergoing an interior refresh on its aircraft and, while there are a few telltale signs, you never really know what interior you’re going to get at the moment. Our flight was operated by a legacy Continental aircraft featuring the BarcaLounger style seats, which I find to be quite comfortable.
I assigned us seats 4E and 4F, located in the last row on the right side of the aircraft. In addition to comfy, padded seats, there’s plenty of legroom for my 6′ 2″ frame.
Unlike American, United has elected to keep seatback IFE screens in its aircraft and is even retrofitting older aircraft with seatback IFE. This aircraft had the older style screens which were lower resolution but still featured live television via DirecTV. The credit card reader next to the screen was a bit of a blast from the past.
Between the seats is a tray table that was large enough to hold a couple of drinks and smaller items.
A secondary tray could be extended to provide additional space.
The IFE remote is located on the outside edge of the tray, facing the seat. While it isn’t a huge issue, I did bump the panel a few times during the flight, changing the channel or adjusting the volume inadvertently.
The tray table is located in the armrest closest to the aisle. When released, the tray table can either be fully extended or folded over in half, depending on your needs.
In between the seats, underneath the beverage tray, is a small storage compartment. The compartment isn’t huge and can really only hold a phone or possibly a small tablet. On this flight, the cleaning crew left some of the nuts from the previous flight in case we got hungry.
Individual air nozzles, reading lights, and flight attendant call buttons are located above each seat. Aside from the old school seats, this was the place that I noticed the most wear and tear on the aircraft.
Departure
During boarding, the flight attendant working the First Class cabin came around offering pre-departure beverages with a choice between water and orange juice. I had water while Mrts. ATX selected the orange juice.
It was a warm morning in Austin and the plane itself got quite warm while we waited to depart. Fortunately, we pushed off of the gate 7 minutes ahead of schedule and started our taxi out to the runway. We pushed back to a United A319 and headed over to the east side for departure.
After a 12 minute taxi, we were cleared for takeoff from Runway 18L.
We took off to the south before making the turn to the northwest to head towards Denver.
In-Flight
As we climbed out of Austin, the cabin crew announced that the Wi-Fi on this flight wasn’t working, bummer. Also, the DirecTV was working but no headphones were offered prior to departure. Flight attendants remained seated until we reached our cruising altitude. At that point, the Captain came over the PA and predicted a smooth ride all the way to Denver.
Once the crew was given the go-ahead, they were up and in action. The flight attendant working First Class was great but on the slower side. She would take two drink orders, head to the galley, make drinks, and then resume making orders. While this isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it made for a lengthy wait for service.
When the flight attendant reached our row, Mrs. ATX and I ordered mimosas and water, both of which were served in real glassware. Headphones were also offered at this time.
United doesn’t offer meal service on flights shorter than 900 miles. At 775 miles, Austin to Denver is on the long end of the spectrum so we only got a pass of the snack basket. I grabbed some pretzels and popcorn which I shared with Mrs. ATX.
After the snack service, I headed to check out the lavatory. If you’ve seen one 737 lavatory you’ve seen them all but, the pilots really seemed to like it as the visited 5 times during the 1.5 hours we were in the air.
There weren’t any additional amenities in the lavatory aside from hand sanitizer and soap but, it was tall enough for me to stand up and was kept clean throughout the flight.
Unfortunately for Mrs. ATX and I, ATX Jr. decided he didn’t want to remain clean on this flight. This required a trek to the rear of the aircraft where the baby changing table is located on the Boeing 737-800.
Back at my seat, I spent the remainder of the flight watching College GameDay and entertaining the little one. The flight attendant working the First Class cabin was proactive with refills on snacks and beverages throughout the flight.
As we began our descent, the captain informed us that he expected some bumps on our approach to Denver and asked that the cabin crew take their seats early.
Arrival
We approached Denver from the southeast and overflew the airport before looping around to land from the north.
It was a beautiful day in the Mile High city with Downtown Denver and the Front Range visible off in the distance.
We landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule and taxied over to the penalty box to wait as our gate was still occupied. The Captain did a great job of keeping us informed during the wait.
After a short wait we taxied over to Gate B41 where we still blocked in 10 minutes ahead of schedule. We were some of the first people off of the plane but, I had to wait in the jet bridge for five minutes to pick up the stroller.
With the stroller secured, we headed off to baggage claim to pick up Mrs. ATX’s checked bag. Fortunately the train was working during our trip. It has been having a ton of issues in recent months.
United Boeing 737-800 First Class Summary
Though the plane was older and hadn’t yet gone through the retrofit it still had very comfortable seats and seatback IFE with live DirecTV which I appreciate. However, the plane hadn’t been cleaned very well despite sitting in Austin overnight and the Wi-FI was inoperable. The crew was fantastic and made sure we had everything we needed which was appreciated with a squirming three month old.
As a United frequent flyer I’ve flown on their 737s many times and don’t see that changing anytime soon (our return trip was on another, identical 737-800). I also wish they offered something more substantial than just a snack basket on an almost 800 mile flight but, it won’t stop me from flying them on this route again.
