Check In and Security
I arrived at Heathrow’s Terminal 2 at 8:45 a.m., a bit over 3 hours before my scheduled departure time of 12:05 p.m. I arrived via an uber because I was staying at a Heathrow hotel, but yesterday I had taken the Elizabeth line to the airport and I’ll say that it was very easy to use and didn’t take long at all to get from Bond Street in Central London to Heathrow. I do recommend it!
Anyways, United and all of the Star Alliance carriers (including SAS still even though they are now Skyteam) operate from T2.
The check in hall at T2 is massive, and has multiple zones. There’s a departure board that will tell you where your airline’s check in desks are. But if you go all the way to your right as you enter the terminal, you’ll find the United check in.
United has several areas for check in, including some self service kiosks. There’s also a Premier Access lane, a Global Services lane, and a Premier 1K and Polaris lane. I went to the 1K and Polaris lane and was the only one in line. The friendly agent checked me in and printed my boarding pass. She asked if I wanted to check my bag and I said no and was on my way.
I then proceeded to security and the Gold Track lane. Gold Track is available for anyone who is Star Alliance Gold or flying in business class plus one guest.
Security was very quick. There were only a few other people there. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the Gold Track lane at T2 now has the new scanners where you don’t have to take anything out of your bags, which I love, because taking out my laptops and liquids and such is a hassle.
Lounges at T2
If you’re in business class or Star Alliance Gold, you can access so many different lounges at T2, and I love T2 and show up early so I can lounge hop!
I took the tunnel to the B gates and started in the Singapore lounge for some food, then I moved to the Air Canada Lounge where I could relax because it’s the quietest. And then, about 30 minutes before boarding, I went to the United Club in order to grab a drink because they have the best bar in my opinion. It’s truly an airline lounge lovers delight!
I’ve reviewed these three lounges previously and nothing has changed so I’ll link them here:
Singapore and Air Canada: https://flight-report.com/en/report/71733/united-ua919-london-lhr-washington-iad/
United Club: https://flight-report.com/en/report/66557/united-ua958-london-lhr-chicago-ord/
While I was in the Air Canada lounge, I saw my inbound aircraft arrive!
Boarding, the Cabin, and Seat
We began boarding a few minutes early, around 11:10. I think the ground staff were confused because for some reason, they said “oh you’re 1K!” And just said “Go ahead and board because we have other passengers who need assistance and you won’t be in their way!” So, I was the first one on board today.
As a result of this, they directed me to board through door L1. I quickly found my seat, 15L, the last window seat, on the right side of the aircraft.
The Polaris cabin on the 777-200ER has 50 total seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The forward cabin contains 8 rows, totaling 32 seats. The second cabin is smaller, with 4 full rows (rows 9-12) of 16 seats, with row 15 consisting of 2 seats, for a total of 18 seats in the second cabin.
At the seat, I found my bedding, with the gel pillow and the day blanket, as well as the duvet, and the amenity kit.
The seat controls are located next to the right armrest, with a wheel that allows you to adjust between fully-flat bed mode, and the fully-upright taxi, takeoff, and landing mode. You can also adjust your footrest, your lumbar support, and your recline with a lot of different combinations.
Ahead of the seat is the IFE screen which is quite large. United has a lot of options to choose from but I’ll talk more about that during the flight.
On the left side of the seat, there’s a faux marble countertop with a vanity mirror and a cabinet where you can store things. I think it’s a perfect place to store my headphones and my amenities.
Pre-Departure, Taxi and Takeoff
Before anyone else had even boarded, a flight attendant came by to ask if I wanted my jacket hung up or if I wanted my pre-departure beverage of either water or sparkling wine. She took my coat and came back with my water a few moments later.
At 11:40, a flight attendant came by to confirm my meal choice. I am attaching photos of the menu, but note that United allows you to preorder your meal beginning 5 days before departure.
At 11:55, our female captain came on to welcome us aboard and announce our flight time of 7 hours and 42 minutes from takeoff to touchdown, which is fairly short.
At 11:58, the boarding door was closed and the safety demonstration began.
At 12:09, slippers were handed out. These are generally a good idea to have on flights especially when going to the lavatory as it keeps your own shoes clean.
At 12:10, we began our pushback.
We waited in line for departure, but as an AvGeek, I didn’t mind this. Heathrow has some of the best plane spotting!
Including this A321XLR for JetBlue and a BA 777 and A350!
At 12:30, we lined up and started rolling down runway 27L for departure.
I love that this 777-200 has GE-90 engines, I love hearing those GE-90s roar during takeoff!
Cruise
Because Heathrow has a lot of heavy traffic, I often find that when departing Heathrow, you have to do step- climbs, which means the aircraft will climb and then level off, then climb again, then level off again… etc.
Regardless of that, we reached 10,000 feet at 12:34 pm, and were on our way to Washington.
I settled in to watch “The Alto Knights” which I was excited to watch because I’m a pretty big fan of organized crime, that is, as a movie category!
At 12:44, service began with the distribution of a hot towel.
At 12:48, a tablecloth was brought out.
At 12:50, we reached our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet.
At 12:55, the drink cart came around and I ordered a gin and tonic and it was served with water and a ramekin of warm nuts. She also proactively brought me another bottle of gin, saying that later, we would hit some turbulence, so in case I wanted another one!
At 1:12, my meal was served, all on one tray, but they said that was due to the turbulence that was coming up.
My buffalo mozzarella starter was never served, but that’s ok. It turns out that United’s “trio of appetizers” is mini gherkins, a mint yogurt, and hummus with two pita bites.
I don’t like pickles so I didn’t eat those. The mint yogurt was good and so was the hummus.
The meal was also served with a salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing, which was good.
The Cannelloni was very good, I highly recommend it! Additionally, I was served a pretzel roll, which was warm.
During my meal, I was asked if I wanted any wine. I declined.
At 1:40, my tray was cleared, and I was asked about desserts. On offer today was the traditional ice cream sundae, a chocolate ganache cheesecake or a cheese plate with port.
Given that I’ve had the sundae, what feels like a million times, and I’ve had the cheese plate before, I went with the cheesecake. I was also offered coffee or tea, which I declined.
The cheesecake was, truly, quite good.
After I finished, I settled in to relax and watch movies for a bit.
I ended up falling asleep for about 45 minutes, and when I woke up, I was asked by two different flight attendants if they could get me anything.
United’s IFE has a lot on offer, and has a lot of variety. You won’t get bored. For example, I ended up watching White Lotus and really enjoyed it! And then later on, I wanted some variety, so I started watching Lilo and Stitch (the new one).
At 4:16, a flight attendant came to offer me a drink. I was still feeling a little tired, so I asked for a Coke Zero, just so I could get some caffeine in me.
At this time, I decided to switch my clock to Washington time, meaning that it was 11:24 a.m. in Washington. We had about 4 hours remaining left in flight.
About 3 hours left in flight, I decided to use the lavatory and was pleasantly surprised to find that it had been refreshed mid-flight.
At 1:51 p.m., about an hour before arrival, the pre-arrival service started with a hot towel.
At 2:12, a flight attendant came by to take meal and drink orders. On offer today was either Tagliatelle with Beef Ragout or Paneer Makhani. I went with the Paneer, as well as another gin and tonic.
At 2:19, the Paneer tasted good! It was served with some rice, a side salad, and a brownie. Unfortunately I didn’t get to touch the brownie because we had already begun our descent.
Descent and Arrival
The First Officer came on to announce that we’d begun our descent at 2:30 p.m., he said that we would be touching down in approximately 35 minutes.
At 2:41, the first officer came on to tell the flight attendants that the cabin needed to be prepared fully for landing.
We touched down on runway 19L at 3:04 p.m.
We taxied to the gate and parked at gate C1 at 3:10 pm, for an arrival that was about 25 minutes early!
