Quick Thoughts:
This was an on time flight that had some minor issues but generally went well. It was an economical way to get to Cozumel during the busy spring break season. United didn’t wow us, but it was only a four hour flight, and I would definitely consider booking this flight again in the future under similar circumstances when I can’t find any reasonably priced alternatives.
Basic Flight Information
- Who was traveling? – My 8 year old daughter and I.
- Flight Number – UA2015
- Scheduled Departure Time – 9:24AM
- Scheduled Flight Time – 3 Hours 50 Minutes
- Plane Type – Boeing 737-800
- Airport Codes – ORD->CZM
- Connections? – No
- Class of Service – Basic Economy
- Seats – 37D (Aisle) and 37E (Middle) – Second to last row of plane
- Seating Configuration – 3, 3 in Economy
Booking
A little less than two months in advance I booked my flights directly with United on their website using my United Explorer credit card. There are other ways of booking that offer better points earning and credit card insurance such as using your Venture X through the Capital One Travel portal. However, I value the perks of the United Explorer card more highly, especially for Basic Economy (see “The Basic Economy Experience” below) and you have to pay for your tickets with the United Explorer card to get them. And for the benefits to track correctly it is best to book directly through United.
This was a very straight forward booking and the only interesting part from my perspective was that it was my first time using United’s family seating functionality. This functionality guarantees that an adult on the same itinerary as a child under 12 years old will be seated with them at no additional cost. The website automatically opened up a handful of seat options for us at the back of the plane that I could choose from at no cost, or I could pay more to book alternative seats closer to the front of the plane. I chose the free seats in the second to last row and completed the booking.
Total cost per person was $392 roundtrip from Chicago to Cozumel. This includes all taxes and fees (including over $100 of Mexican taxes and fees in case you are wondering why you can’t find cheap flights to Mexico anymore.) Not an amazing price but very good for a weekend departure and arrival during spring break.
Check In & Security
We arrived at the airport early after taking a 6:30AM shuttle from the Marriott Chicago O’Hare where we chose to do a park and fly the night before. At 6:40AM there was no wait to check in and check our bags at the United counters. After checking our bags we proceeded to the TSA Pre-Check line. Similarly there was almost no wait to go through security. After an uneventful pass through security we were cleared and we airside at O’Hare airport by 6:50AM.
Lounge
We arrived early to the airport because we were planning to visit the United Club using one time passes from the United Explorer credit card. When we arrived at 6:55AM the lounge was relatively quietly and we were able to find a nice seat facing the tarmac. By 7:30AM however the lounge was significantly busier and by the time we left to board our flight they had a sign out saying they were not accepting one time passes.
Our visit to the lounge near Gate C10 was a success as we were able to get in a good breakfast and relax before boarding. This lounge was recently renovated and is one of the nicer United Clubs that I have been to.
Gate Area & Boarding
We arrived to gate shortly before boarding and the gate area was quite full. Terminal C at O’Hare has been renovated and the gate areas are generally pretty nice but I find that they often aren’t big enough for the number of people on any given plane. Since we had spent our time at the lounge we just got in line for boarding group 2 and stood there for about five minutes until boarding began. Boarding began on time and we were in our seats with our luggage stowed a little before 9AM. This was a very full flight and boarding continued for quite a while after we were on board. Boarding completed without incident and the plane pushed back at 9:21AM. Unfortunately, as happens so often at O’Hare we sat just outside the gate for 20 minutes before a slot on the runway opened up and then it was another 20 minutes of taxiing before we actually took off.
One thing that was new for us was the use of facial recognition for boarding. Instead of looking at your boarding pass and passport you simply stood in front of a camera with a screen attached to it. The camera snapped a picture and a green check mark popped up saying you could board once you were identified. Impressively this worked for both myself and my daughter without issue.
Onboard
Cleanliness
This was a plus. Despite being what looked like an older plane the seat area was quite clean. Similarly the bathroom was clean, functional, and well stocked 40 minutes into the flight when we used it. In addition to hand soap, sanitizer was also provided.
Seats
While our seats were clean the space between seats was cramped for me as a 5’11” individual. Space was such that it was difficult to read the paperback book I’d brought along. And when the person in front of me reclined their seat it was impossible to read until I reclined my seat a similar amount. The seats themselves were comfortable enough and had just enough leg room for me to almost stretch my legs. For four hours it was ok but on longer trips I’d prefer an inch or two more of space.
Our location in the second row from the back was ok most of the time but did get annoying a few times when people were queueing to use the bathroom. If you have an option to get seats at no cost further forward I’d go for it but I wouldn’t be willing to pay for that privilege unless I was moving up to Economy Plus (which has significantly more space.)
Power, Entertainment, & Wi-Fi
There were no options for charging on the plane we were on. There were in flight entertainment screens in the back of the seats but it was clear these were somewhat old as they still had credit card readers on them. Entertainment provided was a selection of live DirectTV channels and it appeared there was no charge to watch any of them. Selection was reasonable but you could definitely tell this was an older system as there were no streaming options and instead you were coming into the show at whatever point it was during play – ahh, how 90s of them!
The controls for seat 37E’s in flight entertainment didn’t work meaning that one was useless during our flight.
The flight also indicated that it offered personal device entertainment via the onboard wifi. I tried several times to get it to work and was never able to do so (though it did work when we flew back from Cozumel on a similar plane a week later.)
I was able to connect to Wi-Fi but was never able to successfully use the free United messaging service they now provide (this also worked on the return flight). However I was able to very slowly search for a flight on united.com indicating that I did have some level of connectivity.
I’d strongly recommend you come with your own content downloaded, your devices fully charged, and no expectation of connectivity for this flight.
Food & Drinks
On this flight United served a complimentary snack and drink. They also had snack boxes available for purchase for those who wanted something more substantial. Usually there are a few small snack options but by the time they reached us at the back of the plane they had run out of everything except pretzels. The other downside of the snack service in our location was that it took over 15 minutes after the pretzels were delivered before they arrived with the beverages. On the upside they had our preferred drink options still available. Interestingly they also skipped handing out napkins with both the snack and drinks.
Service
Service on the flight was average with nothing standing out as particularly positive or negative.
Arrival
Cozumel is a small airport with only eight gates. The airport has no jet bridges so all boarding is done outdoors using roll up stairs. You then walk to the small terminal and immediately enter the immigration hall. Upon our arrival there was a light rain so that we were just slightly damp by the time we got inside as only part of the walk from the plane is covered.
Paper immigration and customs forms were expected at the airport but oddly the crew didn’t hand them out until we were deplaning. This was particularly annoying because there are no tables in the arrivals hall so you are stuck writing out information against your bag or a book that you brought with you. That said, a 737 is enough to totally fill the immigration hall so we had plenty of time to get the paperwork filled out while waiting in line. The customs and immigration staff were friendly and helpful and we passed through without any incidents.
All in it was about 45 minutes from the time we got off the plane until we cleared customs.
Overall Impressions
Overall we were happy with the flight. It was on time and took us directly from Chicago to Cozumel at a very reasonable time of day – which was ultimately what we were looking for. The price was fair given it was spring break and the experience itself wasn’t comfortable but was entirely adequate.
If I didn’t have the United Explorer card I do think our overall experience would have been significantly worse and it is possible I would have paid extra for regular Economy fare. With the card however I will continue to book Basic Economy fares when if I’m relatively certain I won’t have to change my flights. In fact I’ll be flying with my family on just such a fare tomorrow to Burbank.
The Basic Economy Experience
United’s Basic Economy fares are available on most of their flights and it is not unusual for them to be significantly cheaper than standard economy. They however do have substantial restrictions. Two of the key ones are that no seat selection is included and you cannot bring a carry on bag (only a small personal item). When traveling with a child those aren’t ideal. So why did I book Basic Economy anyhow?
Family Seating
First is that United now has a family seating policy. This policy means that if you are traveling with a child under 12 years old United basically guarantees that the child will be seated with at least one of the adults traveling with them. How this worked in practice during booked was that United opened up a small number of seats at the very back of the plane that I could select from at no cost. On a single aisle plane this almost guarantees you will end up with a middle seat and either an aisle or window, which works well for us.
United Explorer Credit Card
Second is that I hold the United Explorer Credit Card. With an annual fee of $95 if you fly United somewhat regularly this card pays for itself in my opinion. And it is very useful in making Basic Economy fares tolerable because it means that you still get:
- Priority boarding (part of boarding group 2).
- Carry on bags are allowed for all travelers on the itinerary.
- A checked bag for you and one companion.
- 2 United Club lounge passes per year.
Thanks to those two factors the only real drawback that remained for Basic Economy was the lack of flexibility should we have to make changes (Basic Economy flights are non-refundable). For me though that risk was offset by having an annual travel insurance policy. So, in the end Basic Economy worked out as a great deal for us!
Flight Timing
For those interested here is a detailed description of the timing of key travel events during the flight.
Scheduled Times
- Scheduled Departure Time – 9:24AM
- Scheduled Arrival Time – 1:14PM
Actual Times
- Airport Arrival Time – 6:40AM
- Check In Complete – 6:45AM
- Through Security – 6:50AM
- Arrived to Lounge – 6:55AM
- Pushed Back From Gate – 9:21AM
- Plane Takeoff – 10:05AM
- Plane Landing – 1:17PM
- Arrival At Destination Gate – 1:20PM
- Deplaned – 1:30PM
- Through Immigration – 1:54PM
- Luggage Collected – 1:56PM
- Through Customs – 2:15PM
