Review of United flight from Houston to Calgary in Economy

Layover at IAH

This report is a continuation of UA2096, which includes the check-in process of my itinerary onboard United. Our layover lasted a couple hours, and besides the usual relaxing, eating, shopping, and plane-spotting there is not much to do at IAH.

Right now the airport has on-going construction, but for connecting passengers the impact is minimal. The skytram took us to our gate within minutes, with occasional plane spotting opportunities. 

Mixed opinions about new terminal, and new boarding system

If you are bored, check out Terminal D/E for some shops and places to rest. Not long before departure, we headed to Gate C9 for departure, located in the renovated part of the Terminal. The new terminal isn't that great, unless your not spending much time at the gate. While there was a very ample supply of power outlets, the new design didn't feature much seating for rest, primarily high chairs and tables for productivity. 

When we boarded, although we were asked to bring out our passport along with our boarding pass on the intercom, at the gate we were only required to look at a camera before heading onto the plane. The turnaround time on United was very short, with boarding starting only 10-15 minutes after the plane arrived the gate. 

The windows are also pretty bad for plane spotting, due to these lines which I believe are there for the summer heat.

Feels like a new seat, even with its age.

The design and cleanliness of these seats makes them feel very new, while the lack of a IFE screen shows that this aircraft hasn't received United's "Next" retrofit.

The seat, as seen in the photos, was practically spotless, with not a single mark or sign of wear, As opposed to the retrofitted aircraft with the new IFE screens, the seat features a holder for seatback safety cards., In addition, the seat features a tray table with a cup holder, large bottom pocket, and universal power outlet. The legroom was also pretty good. 

Multiple complimentary snack items, and frequent complimentary water cups!

Dinner options (not complimentary) were two non-veg sandwiches and one veg Fruit and Cheese Tray. Bistro Canada isn't available going to Canada, but is available going out of Canada. 

About a hour after takeoff, cabin crew came by with multiple options for the complimentary snack, including a Stroopwafel and Dark Quinoa Crisp, all of which are vegetarian! I appreciate United providing both a kosher-free and gluten-free snack item, as opposed to airlines like American which only give one item. If the complimentary are not enough, some other snacks were available, though they can be pretty pricey in comparison to what other airlines offer for the price. 

Various drinks were available on todays flight, though keep in mind that the cabin crew will give you the whole can if you get a soda! After the main complimentary service, complimentary water cups were passed out throughout the flight, which I appreciate since you can get quite thirsty on long flights like todays. Cabin crew were great and very friendly all throughout the flight!

The savory snack mix was great!

Broken washroom door, long wait times

One of the washrooms had a broken door at the back of the aircraft, so the wait times were pretty long on todays flight. 

Flightaware and fast messaging speeds available for free, good Wi-Fi price

Free messaging with images/video uploads (though uploading images and videos isn't supported and can be slow) were available, along with free access to FlightAware which I appreciate United for including. The Wi-Fi can be purchased for a cost of $8 for the entire flight with streaming if you have MileagePlus (Uniteds reward program), and $10 without MileagePlus. 

Various movies and tv-shows were available for free on the Unitedwifi.com website.