Is it wrong that I consider United 737-700 first class to be somewhat rare and exotic? I’ve been trying for years to put together an itinerary that would allow me to review it, but it never seemed to work out. Until recently.
In my defense, United doesn’t send the 737-700 to Southern California all that often. But – seeing one pop up as an option for some flying I was doing out east recently made me giddy, and therefore, I had no choice not to accept it.
I know. It’s a first class product which is nearly identical to the first class products of nearly every other aircraft in the United fleet. It’s old, slightly uncomfortable, and oddly colored. But it was satisfying as hell to to scratch off my list.
UA2335
New Orleans, LA (MSY) – Houston, TX (IAH)
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Aircraft: 737-724
Registration: N38727
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
Seat: 3F (First Class)
United Airlines 737-700 (N38727) side view illustration by NorebboStock.com.Well, that’s one way to get from MSY to IAH.
My full review of United Airlines 737-700 first class from New Orleans to Houston
Opening this review with a statement about how excited I was to try first class on the United 737-700 was maybe a bold choice. I mean, once you see how basic the seats are (and how much they look like other first class seats on other UA aircraft) you’ll start questioning my sanity.
Arrival at the airport
Let me just say this: the all new Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is impressive. Nay, it’s ******* rad. Seriously, they spared very little expense on the main structure (and it shows).
Welcome to MSY! If you think the departures level entrance looks curvy……just wait until you see the inside! This is a seriously impressive airport terminal.
Immediately after wiping the drool off my chin, I set off to track down the United ticketing counter in order to get checked in. Let’s just say that it wasn’t all that hard to find.
The United check in area was slightly less impressive. Why does it look like they lost a bet and had to set up shop in the farthest / darkest corner of the building?Once you make it through the security checkpoint, it becomes fairly obvious that this is where the budget for all the curves ran out. It’s nearly all straight lines from this point forward.Straight can be beautiful though. Concourse C is lookin’ sharp!That’s my ride to IAH this afternoon peeking out from behind the jet bridge (with all the grandiosity of a wee regional jet).
The boarding process for flight number 2335 to Houston
The more I fly first class on United, the more I’m convinced that it’s America’s corporate airline. Taking a look at the queues for boarding groups 1 and 2 is all you need to verify this. The people in these lines just reek of being corporate business travelers, and it was no exception here at gate C5 in New Orleans today.
No offense to anyone who considers either MSY or IAH to be sexy and / or exotic (there’s gotta be at least one of you), but I’ve certainly taken pics of more exciting boarding passes in recent months. That moment when everyone in boarding group 1 stares down the gate agent with persuasive glares that seem to say “Yo lady…we gonna do this or not?”It worked! Sort of. Here on United, boarding group 1 is actually boarding group 6 (behind customers with disabilities, active military personnel, United Global Services, families with children age 2 and under, and Premier 1Ks).“I’m sorry sir, but all the overhead bin space has been taken by our Premier 1Ks, active military personnel, and families traveling with small children. Boarding group 1 is for losers.”Loser crew checking in.
My first impression of the United 737-700 first class seat
If I was feeling lazy, I would just send you over to my United A319 first class review and call it a day. Everything you saw in that review (the seats, the colors, the textures, the legroom, etc) is identical to what I’m going to show you right now. Ironically, what you’re about to see is slightly better than what you saw in my United 737-800 first class review. I’m not sure how the -700 ended up being nicer than the -800, but it is what it is.
The United 737-700 first class cabin looks great IMHO (very similar to United 737 MAX 9 first class actually). Not everyone is a fan though – the lady in the white sweater seems to be offering her seat to anyone who will take it.There’s no way I’m giving up my seat though. Nice to see a solid wall separating first class from economy!Legroom is typical for US domestic first class, and very much appreciated. Spoiler alert: that appreciation fizzled once I realized they weren’t going to be serving any snacks on this flight.Of course, I didn’t realize that yet, so excuse me while I enjoy the **** out of all this space.How cool is it that there are video screens (featuring live TV) at every seat? I was so naïve to think that I’d have something tasty to snack on while keeping up with the latest news and entertainment later.I mean, I was already envisioning how I would arrange both my drink and snack on this scruffy little table in the center console. It was gonna be great!If you’re curious, no, there’s no way for the window seat passenger to squeeze by the person in the aisle seat without it being an extremely intimate experience. A challenge for even Prince Charming, for sure.Considering that I’ve got about as much charm as an adult diaper, let’s just hope I can survive this flight without having to get up to use the lavatory. First class is cozy on the 737-700!The moment you wonder why you never thought of wearing an adult diaper when flying before.
The departure out of New Orleans
Pushing back from the gate on a United 737-700 is every bit as boring as it sounds. Today was a (slight) exception. Why? Well, somehow we managed to push out the gate a full 12 minutes early. I didn’t even know that that sort of thing was possible, but who am I to complain?
I love the squared off window frames on these old Boeing 737s!And if you’re wondering what seat offers the best engine views on the United 737-700, it’s hands down (without a doubt) 3F.Guess what? We’re pushing off the gate a full 12 minutes early. Take that (and shove it up your nether regions) United haters!That’s the old (abandoned) MSY terminal over there – along with two parked Breeze Airways A220-300s looking as if they’re waiting for servicing. Should we tell them?A quick check of my watch during the takeoff roll revealed that yup – we’re still 12 minutes early so far. Why can’t this sort of thing ever happen when I desperately need it? This extra time will be of no use to me and my upcoming 2.5 hour layover.Nostalgia city, man! The last time I flew out of that terminal was on a Continental Airlines MD-82. Destination: IAH.Thing is, I don’t remember Louisiana being this beautiful. She’s been working out!Can’t say that I didn’t feel more than a little remorse for not booking a riverboat to IAH instead. Maybe next time.
In-flight entertainment
Even though the in-flight entertainment in United 737-700 first class isn’t all that great, it does exist. This isn’t the case for *all* aircraft in the fleet (which you saw in my United A320 first class review).
Basically, it’s live TV or nothing (courtesy of DIRECTV). The video screens are small, hard to see in bright sunlight, and the only way to interact with them is with a moody remote control permanently fixed to the center armrest.
Remember when watching TV meant choosing between whatever was currently showing on an assortment of individual channels? That’s exactly what you’ll get here on the DIRECTV-equipped United Airlines 737-700s.< mom > You’ll watch whatever is on. And you’ll like it! < /mom >To make matters worse, the way to control the screen is via a remote control permanently attached to to lower section of the armrest. I felt like it looked like I was picking something out of my butt every time I interacted with it.FYI, the way to turn the screen off completely is to press and hold the brightness button on the remote until it goes to zero. You’re welcome.Unfortunately you’ll still be at the mercy of whatever it is that the person in the row ahead of you is watching.There’s WiFi (and free messaging) too!It didn’t work though. And nope, hitting the “Refresh this page” button over and over again didn’t do ****.Inoperable streaming entertainment and WiFi or not, it’s still nice to know that there are full sized electrical outlets in the center console. It’s not all doom and gloom.
The food
At the time of this writing, United uses their 737-700s on shorter regional routes. As a reminder, United doesn’t serve for meals in first class on any flight less than 2 1/2 hours in length. That means that most of the time, all you’re going to get is a drink and a small bag of snacks. However – we didn’t even get snacks on this flight. So it’s never a guarantee.
“Ok Scott, I know you’re thirsty, but don’t guzzle this down right away. Save some for the coming snack!”I’ve got all the restraint of a 3 year old. Which ended up working in my favor today, because the snack basket never came. Boooo!If for whatever reason you find yourself on a 737-700 flight that’s over two and a half hours in length, this pic of the breakfast from my recent United 737-900ER first class experience offers a good idea of what to expect.
Seat comfort
I’ve written extensively about the comfort of these seats in other reviews, and I stand firm with everything that I’ve said in the past. Although not very attractive, these are perfectly fine seats for flights under three hours in length. They’re somewhat squishy, the legroom is generous, and the recline is decent. They ‘aight.
It’s logical to think that I’d know how to look cool reclining a seat by now. It’s not that easy, ok?Seat recline is pretty good by ‘crusty old airplane’ standards actually (almost as good as what you get in first class on their A321neo’s). No complaints from me.This ain’t half bad! There’s enough room to cross my legs, seat recline is decent, and we’re still on schedule for an early arrival. The lack of a snack is unfortunate though, and to say that a bag of empty calories would be fantastic right about now is an understatement.
The descent and arrival into Houston
Just prior to starting the descent into Houston, the captain made a doozy of an announcement. Essentially, he told us to “hold onto our butts” because it was gonna be a rough ride all the way in (I’m paraphrasing).
Not only that, IAH had been temporarily shut down due to storms in the area, so we were going to have to do laps out over the Gulf of Mexico for a bit. Yay.
“Gee, could the weather be any more perfect for flying today?”5 minutes later, IAH is closed due to thunderstorms and we’ve been relegated to doing racetrack patterns out over the Gulf.5 minutes after that, and the weather is beautiful again. Talk about an emotional roller coaster!I don’t need any more reasons for extreme butt clutching during the final approach anyway, so this worked out for the best.Welcome to Houston!Would you believe that we still managed to arrive 8 minutes early? I thought for sure that all the sightseeing we did out over the Gulf would have squashed our chances at an early arrival today.Seems as if the ground crew can’t believe it either. Where is everyone?Scratching my testicles, or unbuckling my seatbelt?By the way, if it wasn’t obvious by now, I’m sorry to say that these first class seats aren’t anywhere near private enough to scratch your junk without anyone noticing. You’re gonna have to save it for later.Well, that got awkward. Good thing this review is just about over.Speaking of awkward: never make eye contact with anyone who is trying to sell you a credit card!
Pros and cons of United Airlines 737-700 first class experience
Maybe the best way to sum up my feelings about first class on the UA 737-700 is to say that I would always choose this over any regional jet. It’s a choice that many travelers have to make on a daily basis actually, especially given the fact that United uses these aircraft on shorter regional routes (mostly). Having real first class seats (something many regional jets don’t have) is a huge plus.
Pros
They may be old (and a little ugly) but the seats are large enough to rightfully be referred to as domestic first class.
Having live TV at every seat is better than nothing.
The legroom is generous, and well worth the upgrade for longer flights.
Cons
Wear and tear on the seats is noticeable. Everything is scuffed up, there are paint chips everywhere, and stuff is going to malfunction.
The video screens are small and very hard to see in bright sunlight.
Interaction with the video screens is also quite difficult thanks to the odd (fixed) location of the remote control.
How do these airlines get away with charging the exorbitant prices they do for first class and delivering…nothing except a few more inches of legroom. Seriously, they could probably provide a snackbox for everyone in First Class on that airline for a fraction of the cost difference paid by one passenger for the First Class upgrade. Who makes these decisions? Some MBA in middle management at the airline who wants to brag that he saved the company $50 per flight at the long-term cost of sending passengers to a competitor forever? The cheapness is unbelievable. Even Southwest gives you a bag of peanuts (or pretzels) on every flight.
A 2 1/2 hour flight is a long time. That’s Southern California to Denver, or even Southern California to Seattle. You may be able to convince me otherwise, but that’s just greed on the part of the airline.
Yeah, the lack of a snack really surprised me on this flight. There was plenty of time for it, so the only thing I can think of is that there was a catering snafu at MSY.
Is it just me, or was this review slightly more positive than your A319/A320 First Class reviews? I guess the screens helped, even if they’re not that great. As an anecdote, I remember flying on a few older UA 737’s (in Economy) back when the only thing you could control was the map. You had to pay to not endure credit card ads, at least in Economy, until 2019.
As for MSY, I think it might be one of the best airport terminals in the US. It’s beautiful, large, very airy, and easy to navigate. That being said, it was sad to see the older part of the airport without any taxiway markings. Hopefully they’ll give it new life instead of tearing it down!
The “5 minutes later” sentence about the weather over the Gulf made me chuckle a bit. That’s Southern weather for you! One minute it’s nice and sunny, then rainy and stormy, before going back to being sunny again.
Lastly, the more I look at the 737-700, the more I like it. The stubby fuselage gives it a lot of character (it looks muscular and powerful), and I love the sharp look of the Split Scimitars.
Interesting! I was trying really hard not to sound overly “grumpy old man (ish)” as I was putting this together, so I guess it worked. Haha! Maybe it was the video screens that made this slightly more positive than the other reviews. I still find it odd that the Airbuses have the exact same seats, but without the video screens.
Prior to this visit, I had no idea that there was an all new terminal at MSY. I hadn’t heard anything about it – Which is surprising considering how beautiful of a terminal it is.
Yep, your attempt to sound more positive definitely worked!
As for the seats & screens, it’s definitely weird how the A319/A320’s have the same seats but no screens. From my understanding the seats are custom-made by UA and they inherited the 737-700 from Continental, so they installed their own seats but kept the screens for some reason. United’s narrowbody interiors are a bit of a mess at the moment (very inconsistent), and the new cabins should help streamline things.
It’s surprising that you hadn’t heard about the new MSY terminal! But, I’m glad to hear that you were pleasantly surprised by it.
JCC
No snacks??!!
How do these airlines get away with charging the exorbitant prices they do for first class and delivering…nothing except a few more inches of legroom. Seriously, they could probably provide a snackbox for everyone in First Class on that airline for a fraction of the cost difference paid by one passenger for the First Class upgrade. Who makes these decisions? Some MBA in middle management at the airline who wants to brag that he saved the company $50 per flight at the long-term cost of sending passengers to a competitor forever? The cheapness is unbelievable. Even Southwest gives you a bag of peanuts (or pretzels) on every flight.
A 2 1/2 hour flight is a long time. That’s Southern California to Denver, or even Southern California to Seattle. You may be able to convince me otherwise, but that’s just greed on the part of the airline.
Scott (SANspotter)
Yeah, the lack of a snack really surprised me on this flight. There was plenty of time for it, so the only thing I can think of is that there was a catering snafu at MSY.
At least that’s what I’d like to think happened!
Peter
Is it just me, or was this review slightly more positive than your A319/A320 First Class reviews? I guess the screens helped, even if they’re not that great. As an anecdote, I remember flying on a few older UA 737’s (in Economy) back when the only thing you could control was the map. You had to pay to not endure credit card ads, at least in Economy, until 2019.
As for MSY, I think it might be one of the best airport terminals in the US. It’s beautiful, large, very airy, and easy to navigate. That being said, it was sad to see the older part of the airport without any taxiway markings. Hopefully they’ll give it new life instead of tearing it down!
The “5 minutes later” sentence about the weather over the Gulf made me chuckle a bit. That’s Southern weather for you! One minute it’s nice and sunny, then rainy and stormy, before going back to being sunny again.
Lastly, the more I look at the 737-700, the more I like it. The stubby fuselage gives it a lot of character (it looks muscular and powerful), and I love the sharp look of the Split Scimitars.
Scott (SANspotter)
Interesting! I was trying really hard not to sound overly “grumpy old man (ish)” as I was putting this together, so I guess it worked. Haha! Maybe it was the video screens that made this slightly more positive than the other reviews. I still find it odd that the Airbuses have the exact same seats, but without the video screens.
Prior to this visit, I had no idea that there was an all new terminal at MSY. I hadn’t heard anything about it – Which is surprising considering how beautiful of a terminal it is.
Glad you enjoyed the review!
Peter
Yep, your attempt to sound more positive definitely worked!
As for the seats & screens, it’s definitely weird how the A319/A320’s have the same seats but no screens. From my understanding the seats are custom-made by UA and they inherited the 737-700 from Continental, so they installed their own seats but kept the screens for some reason. United’s narrowbody interiors are a bit of a mess at the moment (very inconsistent), and the new cabins should help streamline things.
It’s surprising that you hadn’t heard about the new MSY terminal! But, I’m glad to hear that you were pleasantly surprised by it.