My recent experience in United 737 MAX 9 first class was much-needed reassurance that we are making progress as a society. Not only do the seats look great, the cabin is filled with everything you would expect in a modern (and competitive) domestic US first class experience:
Large video screens
Pretty decent food
Power outlets and USB-C ports
Generous overhead bin space
Skin-staining mood lighting
It’s essentially a giant middle finger to everyone (including me) who has been criticizing their old domestic first class product lately. I (we) totally deserve it.
UA2325
San Diego, CA (SAN) – Chicago, IL (ORD)
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Aircraft: 737 MAX 9
Registration: N37535
Duration: 3 hours 27 minutes
Seat: 3A (first class)
United Airlines 737 MAX 9 (N37535) side view illustration by NorebboStock.com.Our route from San Diego to Chicago today as UA2325.
My full review of United 737 MAX 9 first class from San Diego to Chicago (ORD)
At the time of this writing, Chicago O’Hare is the farthest destination from San Diego where United is utilizing the 737 MAX 9. I had no need to go to Chicago, but I had much need to try out first class on the MAX (for the MAXimum amount of time as possible).
Arrival at the San Diego Airport
The scheduled departure time for this flight was 10:52 AM. I arrived at exactly 8:52 AM (and mentally berated myself for arriving too early as I made my way to the security checkpoint in Terminal 2 West).
It’s kinda hard to believe that a guy named Scott (who calls himself ‘SANspotter’) has never started a San Diego based airline review from the S zone before. How did I not notice this until now?The U zone (aka ‘the United check in area’) here in Terminal 2 West is very familiar territory though.I’ll spare you the details, but this was my 5th attempt at a United 737 MAX first class review since April (something always went wrong). Can you believe that the ceiling hasn’t collapsed and killed me dead yet?Hallelujah! This arriving United 737 MAX 9 is the plane that (fingers crossed) is going to take me back to where it came from (Chicago – not Everett).I think that’s the captain for my flight. Please don’t die of a heart attack please don’t die of a attack please don’t die of a heart attack…
The boarding process for flight number 2325 to Chicago
As I waited for the boarding process to begin, I couldn’t help to think about the number of people who fly between San Diego and Chicago on any given day.
Not only does United do this multiple times in a 24-hour period, so does American Airlines and Southwest. Nearly every one of these flights is on at 737 of some kind. Let’s hope this 737 MAX 9 experience will be the bestest of them all…
Contain your excitement. Holding up my boarding pass like this isn’t necessarily a guarantee that you are going to see a United 737 MAX 9 first class review today.The anticipation builds here at gate 39. Most everyone in this picture is probably anticipating a nice flight to Chicago. Me? I’m anticipating a fiery meteorite to take out that MAX 9 at any moment.Perhaps I should be more optimistic. Other than the boarding process starting several minutes early, nothing out of the ordinary has happened yet. Is this really going to happen?It’s really happening!Nice. I like how they hit you over the head with the United brand colors (and logo) as soon as you step onto the plane. This kind of confidence leads me to believe that this might be a little better than what you saw my United 737-900ER first class review.Oh yeah. Based on the large overhead bins and non-wrinkly seats, I can already tell that this is going to be better. When do you suppose the meteorite is going to hit?Row 3 (seats A and B). I’ve got the window seat today (which will no doubt offer an excellent view of impending doom).
The seats
I can count the number of times I’ve been to church on one hand, but it was hard for me not to mutter things like “Lawd have mercy!” when sitting in a United 737 MAX 9 first class seat for the first time. I saw these seats briefly while trying out United 737 MAX 9 Economy Plus a while back, but getting the chance to experience this firsthand was refreshing (to say the least). This is so much better can be old domestic first class product!
Interesting! The colors and textures in these seats are very similar to what you’ll see in United A320 first class. You won’t see a giant video screen like this though – I’m diggin’ that like a ditch.Legroom is about as good as you would expect in an aircraft named MAX. I can work with this.A slight pause in the review as I take a moment to enjoy the crap out of this video screen. It’s so nice to (finally) see decent in-flight entertainment in United domestic first class!The review continues with a picture of the storage bin located underneath the armrest (while still thinking about that video screen tho).This United tag on the headrest is both cool and classy (two words I don’t believe that I’ve ever used in a United domestic first class review before).The only words I can think of describe the electrical outlets and USB-C ports between the seats are dirty (because of how extremely nice and hard to find they are).Yup. This is an awfully nice place to wait for a meteorite to hit!It’s coming. I just know it is.
The departure out of San Diego
Rain in San Diego is one thing, but…lightning? That’s rare. They actually had to close the ramp for a few minutes before we were scheduled to push off the gate due to lightning strikes in the area. Still, through all that drama, we were able to depart only few minutes behind schedule.
Never in all my years of flying out of San Diego have I been on a flight delayed because of lightning strikes in the area. And you thought I was being silly about the meteorite thing.Oh hi! Look what just arrived from Washington Dulles. Those of you wondering why this thing is here should probably read my United 777-200 domestic first class review.I think she’s counting down the hours until this flight is over (and she can get away from the annoying AvGeek bro sitting next to her).OK. I can now say that (after 4 failed attempts) I’ve officially flown in United 737 MAX 9 first class. Even if we nose dive straight into the ocean from here – I technically did it.Spoiler alert: you’ll see scenery even more stunning than this later in the review (an admittedly bold statement considering we’re headed straight to the heart of the Midwest).
In-flight entertainment
The best thing about in-flight entertainment in United 737 MAX 9 first class is the fact that it is Bluetooth enabled. Sure, the catalog of movies and TV shows is excellent (as it has always been on United), but being able to watch all that content with my noise canceling AirPods made the experience so much better.
Please stand by. I’m customizing my in-flight entertainment experience…Niiiice. Not only is it possible to pair your Bluetooth headphones to this in-flight entertainment system, it actually works.Shhhhh. I’m trying to think of something critical to say about this Bluetooth connectivity thing (but nothing is coming to me). I told you – it freaking works.
Another significant change from the older in-flight entertainment product is the fact that there is no more DIRECTV (live TV programming). It won’t be missed, IMHO.
Basically, ain’t nobody gonna be bored with an in-flight entertainment menu as robust is this.You may suffer from indecision (and indigestion) as you try to decide what to watch though. F**k me there are a lot of choices!I’d like to think that this handheld remote is a result of the nasty accurate things I said about the armrest-based remote in my United 737-800 first class review. At least they’re listening.There’s a built in meditation app too! Anyone brave enough to smuggle hallucinogenic drugs through the security checkpoint is gonna enjoy the hell out of this.Oh – and the screen is adjustable as well. A much-appreciated feature considering how glossy it is.
The food
It’s been a while since I’ve flown United domestic first class on a lunchtime flight. I was mostly curious to see if the meal choices would be any different from the dinner options. Guess what? They weren’t. It turns out that lunch is dinner on United, just as dinner is lunch. At least the food (and the service from the cabin crew) was good.
Muchas gracias for the entire can of Coke!Well…sort of. It was actually was one of those little (7.5 fl oz) cans (and I’m not complaining). It’s basically impossible for a guy to be disappointed with anything that exaggerates the size of his nuts.Lunch is served. It’s a chicken meatballs (chicken balls?) kind of day I guess.Look at my balls! (*sigh* I promise you that testicle references were not the goal in this review – but it’s not entirely my fault. United needs to share the blame for making it too freaking easy.)Also on the tray was a green salad, fresh(ish) bread, and a piece of crumble cake (the best part of the entire meal). The stuff under the chicken you-know-what’s is polenta I think.Everything was really good (though perhaps a little dry). My only real criticism of this meal is that the chicken testes had me thinking of meteorites again…
Seat (and cabin) comfort
I will say that the first class seats here on the MAX 9 are a little less squishy than the old first class seats. They recline just as steep though, and the leg room is just as good. They’re a little thin that’s all, and I definitely would’ve appreciated a little more padding.
Other than the large video screen (and the chicken balls swimming around in my belly), this felt a lot like my United A319 first class experience. The seat is just as firm, legroom is similar, and the colors and textures are all pretty much the same.Seat recline is just about the same as well. ‘Satisfyingly unexceptional’ is all you need to know.The overhead air vents can be described as ‘pleasantly violent’. To put that in better context, these things would’ve saved my life on that flight from LAX to EWR back in 2017 (in United 757-200 P.S. business class). I can’t believe that I never lost consciousness from the stench of my seatmate’s bucket of homemade garlic asparagus!Well, well, well. Look what we have here?Shoutout to all the fine folks down there in Scott City, Kansas. My peoples!Ain’t nothing ‘MAX’ about the first class lavatory IMHO (unless you’re just dying to read more male anatomy jokes). At least it was clean.
The decent and arrival into Chicago O’Hare
Sunset arrivals are the best. They’re even better when you arrive pretty much exactly on time (as we did), but honestly? We could’ve been an hour late and I wouldn’t have minded a bit. The sunset was that good.
The neat thing about flying into Chicago (one of the biggest cities in the world) is that even during the descent, it looks no different than flying into a little farm town somewhere deep in Oklahoma. Yeehaw!“This is WZAZ in Chicago, where disco lives forev…”$20 says that the guy in front of me was thinking of that exact same quote as we passed over top of downtown Chicago on our downwind approach just now. It was a little close lol.See? I told you the scenery was going to be epic!No comment (other than the fact that Mother Nature is the GOAT).Welcome to Chicago!Not only were we treated to stunning scenery all the way in, we’ve arrived 5 minutes early. Not too shabby for a flight that was supposed to get taken out by a meteorite, right?Even that ramper standing under the jet bridge here at gate C21 seems surprised to see us. It’s not just me who was skeptical.So… was it worth the wait? Kind of. While I do find first class here on the United 737 MAX 9 to be a huge improvement over the current 737-800 (and -900) configuration, it’s not quite as good as what you saw in my United A321neo first class review. I highly recommend checking that out next…
Pros and cons of first class on the United 737 MAX 9
There’s really not much to complain about if I’m being honest. This is a very competitive and modern domestic first class product, pretty much in line with what I would expect on any major airline. For the record, I do consider Delta A321neo first class to be better than this, but not by much. Here are all the pros and cons…
Pros
Being able to pair my wireless headphones to the in-flight entertainment system made me wonder how I ever lived without this feature before. It’s nice.
The video screens are huge! Browsing (and consuming) content is comfortable and convenient.
The storage bins under the armrests are a good use of space.
Cons
Even though I’m a huge fan of the large video screens, they are extremely glossy (and hard to see in daylight).
The placement of the electrical outlets and USB ports are a bit awkward. You’ll never find them without bending way over (looking as if you’re examining your seatmate’s crotch).
I got to fly this a while back. Loved the screen, Bluetooth, and movie selection. Hated the service. I know OMA-DEN is not a long flight, but to only come through the cabin once to offer drinks and no food is less than you get flying Southwest. I would have loved to be offered some balls.
Trust me…you could have lived without the balls lol. But yeah, the only way to get the most out of US domestic first class these days is to be on a flight longer than 2 1/2 hours. Food is basically nonexistent on flights shorter than that.
It’s nice to see that you finally got to give United’s newest interior a try. Based on this and all the other reviews I’ve read/seen about this product, I have to say that I really like the direction UA is going in. Not only are they installing high-quality IFE screens on all their narrowbodies (with Bluetooth connectivity to boot), I also really like their current brand colors/image. Light blue and white/gray is a very sharp, modern, and classy color combo, and I’d honestly say that this is one of the best-looking narrowbody interiors out there. Everything from the bulkhead, to the seats, to the IFE interface looks fantastic IMO. The Sky Interior doesn’t hurt either.
Yeah, it only took 5 attempts, but I’m glad that I was finally able to scratch it off my list. Better late than never I guess. I think the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that they’re still holding onto that beige and blue color scheme. I thought the beige was a thing of the past, but apparently not.
Jason
I got to fly this a while back. Loved the screen, Bluetooth, and movie selection. Hated the service. I know OMA-DEN is not a long flight, but to only come through the cabin once to offer drinks and no food is less than you get flying Southwest. I would have loved to be offered some balls.
Scott (SANspotter)
Trust me…you could have lived without the balls lol. But yeah, the only way to get the most out of US domestic first class these days is to be on a flight longer than 2 1/2 hours. Food is basically nonexistent on flights shorter than that.
Peter
It’s nice to see that you finally got to give United’s newest interior a try. Based on this and all the other reviews I’ve read/seen about this product, I have to say that I really like the direction UA is going in. Not only are they installing high-quality IFE screens on all their narrowbodies (with Bluetooth connectivity to boot), I also really like their current brand colors/image. Light blue and white/gray is a very sharp, modern, and classy color combo, and I’d honestly say that this is one of the best-looking narrowbody interiors out there. Everything from the bulkhead, to the seats, to the IFE interface looks fantastic IMO. The Sky Interior doesn’t hurt either.
Scott (SANspotter)
Yeah, it only took 5 attempts, but I’m glad that I was finally able to scratch it off my list. Better late than never I guess. I think the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that they’re still holding onto that beige and blue color scheme. I thought the beige was a thing of the past, but apparently not.
Can’t wait to try the A321neo though!