Trip Report SFO-IAD: United Boeing 777-300ER Economy Plus & Breakfast Tacos
Flying back to Spain via the East Coast meant an early start. A shared Lyft Line to SFO turned out to be a pretty decent solution for getting from Oakland over the bay. I could have taken the BART since it starts running pretty early, but this was a lot faster and easier.
The last few trips back to Europe, I’ve tried to get on the afternoon departures from SFO nonstop to Germany, because those flights a) give me more time in SF, b) they connect to flights to Spain that arrive in the evening, so I can go to bed right after, c) they’re longer so they enable more uninterrupted time to sleep, and a more minor point d) the pre-arrival meal is a bit more substantial.
But this time, the flights to/from BCN on United were too good to pass up, so here I was with an early morning departure to IAD.
That meant the first visit in many years to the United Club in the rotunda of the domestic terminal. I feel very nostalgic when I see this walkway.
There are good tarmac views too. It was also pretty empty.
I had some fruit and tea to start off the day.
Then it was time to board the flight to IAD. Originally, we were scheduled to fly on a 777-200 high density version, like my inbound flight from IAD to SFO.
But upon boarding and seeing the Polaris seating and mood lighting, I realized that I was on a recently reconfigured Boeing 777-300ER.
Now, back in Economy class the mood lighting stops abruptly, and it’s just as cramped as the 777-200 high density configuration with 3-4-3 seating. BUT, there are video screens!
I was actually pretty excited to try United’s Buy on Board food for the very first time. First, I knew that they had these new chicken chorizo and egg breakfast tacos, and I love breakfast food, and I love Mexican food. I love great Mexican food, but also mediocre Mexican food, or Mexican-inspired food like Taco Bell, I find pleasant as well. Secondly, I was brandishing my new United TravelBank no-annual-fee card, and I was excited to get a 25% rebate on the purchase.
The tacos come in a tray like this, and the flight attendant offered packets of Cholula hot sauce. Unfortunately, despite my pretty forgiving standards for Mexican food, I didn’t like these tacos very much for one main reason. The tortillas, while a bit crunchy on the edges, were very thick and doughy towards the middle. It was like chewing on a bunch of paste. So these aren’t a menu item that I’d really order again…
