United’s Oldest 777s Provide a Good if Not Distinctively Hawaiian Ride to Honolulu (Trip Report)

Trip Reports, United

Back in May, I had a boys trip planned to go hiking on Molokai, and then Mother Nature had other plans. An abnormally wet storm moved through and made it questionable whether we’d be able to do our remote hikes. We opted to postpone until September just to be safe, and Iʻm sure glad we did. Here, for example, was our unreal view at the end of the Pēpēʻōpae Bog Trail on Molokai, one we never would have had been able to reach in May.

Of course, you arenʻt here for hiking photos. Youʻre here for airplanes, and I have some stories to tell. Today, Iʻll start with the flight from LA to Honolulu on one of Unitedʻs oldest 777s.

There were three of us coming from the LA area, so we decided to meet in the middle of the region and fly from LAX. We focused on United and Delta as our two best choices, and the similarities were notable. Both were on ancient widebody aircraft at nearly identical times. You’d think Delta would have won the battle with a 2-3-2 across 767-300ER compared to the United 3-4-3 across 777-200, but there was one deciding factor… wifi.

Deltaʻs 767 wifi doesn’t work over the Pacific, at least not yet. United, however, has usually-somewhat-functioning wifi. One of the three of us was going to try to do some work on the airplane, so United it was. It was only $168.20 one way each in coach.

I was admittedly a little hesitant. I havenʻt flown Unitedʻs oldest batch of 777s in years. The last time I flew one of the “A” models, it had overhead screens and a sea of seats in a 2-5-2 configuration. I remember it being a pretty miserable experience then, and now there was an extra seat in each row. These are also the airplanes that had the Pratt & Whitney engine failure that kept the fleet grounded for some time. Thatʻs been resolved, but I had a vision of an uncomfortable and unreliable experience ahead. I was wrong.

To try to help make it better, we decided to sit way in the back. Nobody wanted to take the middle, so we waited until row 48 where the cabin narrows and it becomes 2-4-2. I grabbed my window, one friend was in the aisle, and the other was across the way.

I took a Lyft up to LAX, and it was a slog to get there during the morning rush. It was nearly an hour before we crawled to a stop in front of Terminal 7.

I walked in to the TSA Precheck line, and I was hoping to try out my fancy new mobile driver license that California just enabled. There were signs all over the airport for it, but when I got to the front, the agent just said “no.” I had to give her my ID and scan my boarding pass. Bummer.

I got to the crowded gate area that was thinning out as a next door Newark flight boarded. That’s where I found one friend. The other showed up a few minutes later, and then it was time to board right after he arrived.

United 1158
September 4, 2024

From Los Angeles
➤ Scheduled Departure: 835a
➤ Actual Departure: 828a
➤ From Gate: 76A
➤ Wheels Up: 840a
➤ From Runway: 25R

To Honolulu
➤ Wheels Down: 1047a
➤ On Runway: 8L
➤ Scheduled Arrival: 1116a
➤ Actual Arrival: 1052a
➤ At Gate: G6

Aircraft
➤ Type: Boeing 777-222
➤ Delivered: June 13, 1995
➤ Registered: N769UA, msn 26921
➤ Livery: 2019 Blue Globe Colors

Flight
➤ Cabin: Coach in Seat 48A
➤ Load: ~95% Full
➤ Flight Time: 5h19m

Once we got on, a flight attendant was waiting at the door with a moist towelette, something United has kept since the pandemic because it gives that extra interaction opportunity.

I had expected this airplane to look severely dated, but it wasn’t. Yes, it’s the old school front-back business cabin, but the coach cabin has nice and new-looking leather seats. Not bad for a nearly thirty-year-old 777.

It is a little weird to see the seatback with no screen, but it does have personal device holders in there. I was surprised to see a blanket on the seat waiting for me, though I didn’t need it. I always dress warm when I fly.

I took notice of the boarding music (Sophisticated Hula, I believe). It was the only thing Hawaiian about this entire flight. For an airline that used to really make it feel special to go to Hawaiʻi with unique uniforms, the Halfway to Hawaiʻi game, and more… this is pretty sad.

We pushed back a little early. I noticed on the ramp display it said this was a “priority flight,” so lucky us. We took off quickly and climbed to altitude where I logged on and watched The Fall Guy.

Since we were at the back, it was a very, very long wait for drinks, over an hour. They came through with food for purchase, but I passed. There were no mai tais, so I had a ginger ale and United’s version of the salty death mix.

I did flip on wifi, and it worked well. This wasn’t super high speed, but it did the trick for what I wanted. The power outlet worked as well, and since the row in front of us had 3 seats and we only had 2, we each had our own outlet.

I asked a flight attendant who walked by about all the Hawaiian trimmings. He said the mai tais have been gone from coach since COVID. He also said that the Halfway to Hawaiʻi game still sometimes happens if they provision it. They did not on our flight. It sounds like it’s rare now.

The flight attendants came through regularly with water and then did another service as we got closer to the islands. It wasn’t long before I could see the Big Island out the window. We descended in over the corner of Oʻahu and then circled around through a pretty gusty approach before touching down.

The taxi was quick, and we sat for about 3,000 hours until the other 47 rows in front of us got off. When we did get off, I was able to snap this shot showing how the 2 seats are positioned.

The flight passed really quickly, and it was a much better experience than I expected. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly this airplane again.

Once off the airplane, we went over to grab some food and wait for the other two who were coming in on Delta from LAX and Seattle. They were both about an hour behind us, so after grabbing food, went to the cultural gardens and then waited in the breeze.

Once the five of us had connected, it was time to get to the shack better known as Honolulu Terminal 3 for our flight on Mokulele. But that is a story for a future post.

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20 comments on “United’s Oldest 777s Provide a Good if Not Distinctively Hawaiian Ride to Honolulu (Trip Report)

  1. Not sure the tag about AirFrance trip reports is tha best one…

    So basically, United is just providing a commuter train or bus experience on a 5 hours flight : no entertainment unless you bring your own device and no feast unless you splurge for it (and how are the options in term of selection and pricing ?) !…

    I wonder why they don’t let you out the back for a faster deplaning experience …

  2. I have flown quite a few LONG haul flights in a 3-4-3 777. The 2 seats in he back is a neat trick, we did that on Turkish IST-SFO.

    I slept about 8 hours on a PVG-SFO flight laying in the middle 4, and then forced myself to wakeup and moved back to the double seats for breakfast and landing.

  3. You said it took over an hour once service began to get a can of ginger ale and snack? That is completely unacceptable but it is the norm on United because they only go with FAA minimum staffing on these cattle car domestic 777s. With 8 total flight attendants onboard and 3 being up front in first class that only leaves 5 flight attendants to serve 336 passengers.

  4. I looked up this hike and I am wondering how you got to the trailhead. When I looked this hike up on the internet it says it about a mile from the trailhead but it looks to be a long way by 4 x 4 to get to the trailhead. Some reviewers on AllTrails were saying a 45 minute drive to get to the trailhead.
    Google maps shows a path but it looks to be just dirt most of the time.

    1. Buddy – It is not easy to get there. It is a very long and bumpy ride up to the trailhead. You need a true 4WD vehicle on the best of days (not AWD) and no rental car agencies will allow you to go. We had found someone through Turo with a Tacoma who was going to let us pay more to do it on our own, but there was some recall on his vehicle so Turo canceled the booking on us.

      The Nature Conservancy oversees this place, the Kamakou Preserve, and they lead monthly hikes during the drier season, but it wasn’t while we were there.
      https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/kamakou/?tab_q=tab_container-tab_element_316

      We ended up hiring Molokai Outdoors which has a pickup that can seat 5. We did see someone else there who just took a jeep up from the rental car company, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t get dinged for it. Molokai is really dirty in the sense that the red volcanic dirt is EVERYWHERE. It’s hard to hide if you go off road.

      But it is totally worth finding a way up there.

    1. I copied and pasted the trail name in order to spell it correctly – hence the questionable question marks, LOL. ?? ?

  5. Did you get out to the West End of the island?

    I was there about eight years ago, and that ghost Sheraton that is there was very interesting. I’m just wondering if the buildings are still there.

    1. John G – Yep, we stayed at Paniolo Hale this time which is just north of the old Sheraton. I actually really enjoyed staying on the west end for the first time. The buildings are still there and abandoned. Apparently the idea seems to be to keep them in decent enough shape that somebody somebody can come and fix and reopen them. Good luck with that.

  6. They refer to it as the Noah’s Ark 777. Adorned with college dorm style business class seating. I had the pleasure of flying one OGG-DEN last year.

  7. I last flew United 8 or 9 years ago LAX-ITO on a 737-800 and it was a miserable experience…….narrow seat and no leg room on a 5-6 hour flight; a ridiculous aircraft for such a long flight. Ever since I have flown Hawaiian’s A330 and that has become my favorite plane and airline…..I haven’t flown United nor any 737’s since. Hopefully Hawaiian will stay Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines won’t ruin it.

    1. AA 321neos in E- on that route are also not great. HA 330s are perfectly fine on that route, even in back.

  8. Thanks for this trip report. Perfect timing as I have us booked in seats 48A and B SAN-IAD next week. My only fear has been amplified, however, by the time it takes to deplane from the back of the bus, as we have a 1 hour connect time at IAD. While I wouldn’t bet half a cent on AA’s operations I’m putting some faith in United’s (please don’t make me look like a fool UA!).

  9. I feel you. If my wife and I can’t snag one of the exit row seat pairs on Southwest, we will just sit across the aisle from each other. Not romantic, but no middle seat.

  10. The plane is perfectly fine for a trunk route like this, and a wide body is always generally more comfortable than a narrow body. Those 777-222A’s though are old. The first batch delivered to UA in 1995 (UA being the launch customer for the 777). Personally, I am increasingly avoiding these and the 767-300ERs at UA (and at DL). These birds are 30-35 years old and have frequent dispatch reliability issues.

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