London & Paris after 21 years (United's Elevated Boeing 787-9 Economy Class)

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Now came time to explore the lavatories which United really keeps clean consistently throughout the flight





Was able to get a shot of the Polaris 2.0 cabin



Premium Plus cabin



Larger bathroom between the Economy and Premium Plus cabin







You had lotion and moisturizer



Economy Class



Around 11:45AM or closer to Noon they gave a light snack service which had more items - Mood lighting was nice





Getting closer to San Francisco





Foldable tray table







For a light snack they gave the 4-cheese pizza twist along with fruits, which was decent but surprisingly lukewarm.



Our first officer came with an announcement we would descend into San Francisco around 1PM PT and pleasant weather overall





Approaching the California Coastline.





If there's a positive about United (and there are many) as we get closer to San Francisco they tell you what side has the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco etc if you were curious

Bay Bridge and Downtown San Francisco on a clear afternoon



Golden Gate Bridge on a clear day with not much fog to speak of



Banking left













Downtown San Francisco



Salesforce Tower



Speedbrakes







Banking left

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Banking right and landing at San Francisco International Airport around 1PM PT












San Francisco Bay









San Mateo











Couple of planes lining up to take off



ANA Boeing 777-300ER and some narrowbodies



An United 777-300ER









Smooth landing touchdown at San Francisco







For some reason we stopped short of the runway for about 5 minutes but we could see N61101 (United's first Elevated Boeing 787-9 in the 100 years livery heading to London as UA901)





















We taxied to Gate G10





N2138U which would head

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We deplaned around 1:15PM Pacific Time











Last glimpse of the Elevated Boeing 787-9 interior and as we parked at the gate the window shades dimmed to the third level setting though you could still have autonomy to adjust as you'd like





Premium Plus cabin







Polaris 2.0 Business Class





More or less an uneventful 10 hour flight which flew by very quickly. Only one problem was we had a cranky flight attendant who often covered her eyes because she could not see and often I had to apologize (I did not film her just to be clear but I was anxious and scared as if I did something wrong), but she was nice at times.

Except for that one overworked flight attendant (Look, I know how hard people work, but you gotta keep that composure as much as possible there is no excuse for that kind of behavior)



We got our bags relatively quickly. Regarding customs and global entry, we know SFO it's the quickest but unfortunately the machines did not work so all they asked us was did we have anything to declare and we didn't even have to show our passports, which was weird and they let us go without any issues.

My father was at the door picking us up by my car a few minutes after that and we got home around 2:30PM with not much traffic to speak of. This would be different if I had landed at 4PM or 7PM.

Now we may not be morning people but taking this flight and reaching early afternoon works in our favor usually

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This now concludes my trip report but two more posts giving my thoughts both about Europe (UK and France) and United on the return.]

Thoughts about London? Heathrow Airport took some time but not a lot but there's a LOT more walking between the gates and customs and getting luggage and getting a car. Heading out of Heathrow (Hounslow) in the early morning had a lot of traffic whereas coming out of London to the airport not much traffic except a small stretch between the terminals.

As far as London, compared to 2005, it is a culturally diverse city with multiple nations combining into a single country like Indians, Asians, Middle Easterns, etc and any restaurant you go to, not only is there a lot of hospitality but they go as far as asking if you have dietary restrictions like for example, vegetarian or someone being vegan, allergies, etc and they don't deny you service, they adjust and substitute to your expectations.

Much of the younger crowd my age, seemed friendly and humorous enough when we asked for help and some could even strike up a conversation when you least expect it.

For London, and frankly let's just say anywhere else I learned my lesson cold and hard - If you book a flight that lands at 6AM, especially peak season, book a previous night so that you are guaranteed to get a room to rest rather than sleeping in a sofa near a restaurant.

London still has a lot of charm otherwise in terms of sightseeing, attractions, etc. Summer is the best time to go if your aim is to also visit Buckingham Palace. I hope to be back here in 5 or less years from now (Not 21 years).

Paris? That's where it's a little different but nowadays if you converse in English you can get by without issues but it never hurts to learn a little French and speak it because you are respecting their culture. Classic, beautiful but old city too.

The later sunsets would blow our mind away especially in the Summer. In France lots of people are very nice too and often warm and helpful at times.

We enjoyed our trip overall.

I think what could be improved (And SQTalkers, please weigh in and correct me if I am wrong anywhere) - London and Paris hotels need to have more plugs whether the hotel is for business or leisure. They cannot just have their own plugs and expect you to plug their own sockets. While USB-C's are nice and so are A's, someone could also be coming with something else incompatible and have to rely on a powerbank. Now I tell you this because this is embarrasing for someone to plug and charge say a power bank or laptop in a bathroom. I did that a few times and this is not how it should work. Is this a problem in any hotel in London and Paris? Or am I imagining and should have stayed somewhere better? It's 2026 after all.

I hope to also be back in Paris in hopefully 5 or less years (less than 10 years for sure) because it's a magical place.

Another thing that we learned the hard way and this is for any future non-India trip is for any sightseeing attractions, AVOID GUIDED TOURS if you are not super interested in deep history but a small overview and book a ticket that comes with an audio tour. We booked guided tours because we couldn't get tickets for a regular tour from the official website. For Summer travel the same time you book your plane tickets (3-4 months in advance) the same should be done for most sightseeing places.

For the Rome trip we are going to do 1 but the rest an audio tour as much as possible while following things at our own pace that will significantly cut down a time by 50-75% overall.

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Final thoughts on United on the way back and overall?

They are very decent for travelling international but they can improve on the entertainment system especially on individual songs, artists, and especially on the pillow if possible.

Their seats are actually more comfortable than SQ's seats whether it be the A350 or 787 which are both cramped. United's 787 was reasonably comfortable even on a full flight. The screens were super modern overall and so was the Boeing 787-9 which did not cause much jetlag at the end of my trip

In general the crew are very friendly and service is good and efficient and the food if you do not do special meals is also really good as well. Except for the one bad apple crew who often tried to block her eyes for whatever reason, said sorry often or behaved like she was in a bad mood, everyone else was happy to help and kept their composure.

Now I'm not expecting a ton of fanfare like Asian hospitality but I expect a respectful tone at the minimum.

Would I fly them again internationally to Europe? Yes I would if the price and timings were right.

Thanks for reading!