By Shawn Gallagher
A couple of months ago, I flew United for the first time in 10+ years to try out their newly refurbished interiors under United’s “NEXT” project. I’m typically an American Airlines and Delta frequent flyer, but having heard good comments for a while regarding these new cabin interiors, I finally booked a United flight from Chicago to Boston.
United’s massive overhaul of its domestic fleet has been going on for some time now. They feature new inflight technology with a return of inflight entertainment screens, Bluetooth connectivity, and more. Larger overhead bins are also a big piece of this refurbishment project.
These are 3 takeaways from my brief time on this brand new interior onboard United Airlines.
1. IFE and Bluetooth… Obviously.
Without a doubt, the IFE screens by Panasonic dominated my time onboard. These screens weren’t some average thing either; they operated incredibly smoothly and had fantastic UI.
I think these things matter as United and Delta unofficially battle for the title of “America’s premium airline.” Passengers don’t want to have to take their time fighting a laggy, mediocre piece of IFE on an airplane. It’s hard to describe, but the ease of use and the smoothness of the screen can go a long way when considering an aircraft to have “new tech.”
Bluetooth integration also comes with these new IFE screens. I had no issues connecting my AirPods Pro and the connection was consistent.
Again, this is another feature where I could see that “new tech” feel to the aircraft.
2. Larger Overhead Bins Benefits Everyone
An immediate thought I always have whenever I hear about larger overhead bins is how more people won’t have to gate check their carry-on bags. However, you can argue that it makes boarding more efficient as well.
As more space is available, passengers won’t have to scramble around as much when looking to find overhead space for their carry-ons. When overhead bin space isn’t available for passengers immediately above their sit, you can find them shifting up and down the plane as the boarding line awaits behind them. Sure, these bins don’t solve this entire issue, but it certainly lessens the problem.
More bin space -> more passengers able to have their bags above their heads.
Deplaning at the destination becomes smoother as well. That person that squeezes through everybody to grab her bag that’s 6 rows down? There’s a better chance now that she gets to have her carry-on immediately above her seat as each bin accommodates more bags.
It’s a plus for everyone. Even the guy in group 2 sitting in row 36 who never has to worry about overhead bin space can enjoy a smoother time deplaning.
3. The Ideal Combo of IFE + Wi-Fi
The Viasat Wi-Fi on this older Boeing 737-800 was good enough. It comes at a cost of $8 for MileagePlus members ($10 for non-members). This is nothing compared to the cost you’d see on American Airlines, so I can’t complain (although American is now considering free Wi-Fi).
With the addition of the new IFE screens on its single-aisle jets from this Next refurbishment, United has a solid combo of good IFE and reasonably priced Wi-Fi. I argue that this combination is key to the inflight experience as passengers are able to do whatever they choose for the duration of the flight.
Want to watch a movie? Watch on the IFE screen while using your own Bluetooth headphones.
Need to get work done? Wi-Fi is available at a reasonable price.
Being able to choose to do things that you would do on the ground on an airplane is important, and United has come to offer that. With free Starlink Wi-Fi making its way, this will get even better in the near future.
Read my trip report onboard this United flight here.