This report documents my flight on UA's 787 Dreamliner last winter during my trip to China. I flew on United's recently inaugurated (and unfortunately, now canceled) route from SFO to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, which is only about 120 miles south of Shanghai. Flying in December, I was able to purchase tickets for about $1000 round trip, which I consider to be a fairly reasonable price for this time of the year. Because of this, I opted to upgrade to United Economy Plus for extra legroom.
I've also made a video report for this flight, which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3wVhO-65zM&t=41s
Some info:
Flight: UA982
Route: San Francisco (SFO) to Hangzhou (HGH)
Date: December 24, 2016
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Registration: N38950
Class: Economy Plus
Seat: 24L
San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal
Our flight today leaves from gate G97 in the G concourse
ANA 777-300ER (JA780A) pushing back for Tokyo-Narita (NRT)
Air Canada Express CRJ pushing back for Calgary (YYC)
Air China 747-8 (B-2486), preparing for departure to Beijing (PEK)
United 747-400
Our aircraft is towed in, it arrived from Singapore this morning.
N38950 is United's first 787-9, and was delivered in the September of 2014.
At the gate area
Boarding occurred on time at 12:15 pm, Pacific time
Cabin view
Displaying the Christmas spirit
Wing view
This flight was only about 60% full, with most rows only having a few people in them.
Pushing back on schedule
Safety video
Taxiing out to runway 28L for departure
For a full video of pushback and takeoff, click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jshXBVEJHg4
We get a good view of the City of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge post-takeoff
We initially head up along the Lost Coast of California, and then turn west towards the Pacific
In preparation for the first meal service
A vegetable chow mein with salad and roll. This tasted exactly like the microwave chow mein they sell at Costco.
Ice cream is served for desert
Flying up towards Alaska
The IFE had a decent selection of entertainment available
Lavatory is of a typical economy class setup
A mid-flight snack consisted of a small sandwich and a bag of M&Ms
Now off the coast of Hokkaido
Mountains of northern Honshu
Slowly but surely, the night catches up with us
2nd meal service is initiated over the East China Sea
Tuscan style skillet with turkey sausage, along with fruits and a roll. This appears to be some sort of breakfast, which seems strange given that it isn't breakfast time in either California or China at this time.
As we approach the Chinese coast, the seat belt sign comes on and we prepare for landing
Over the Hangzhou Bay
It is fully dark at this point
Lined up for runway 06 at HGH
You can view the landing with this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNLNZtHi92w&t=216s
Landed right on time, 6:25 pm CST into a rainy Hangzhou
Disembarking
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, International/HK/Macau/Taiwan Terminal
Bags didn't take too long to come out
Here I wait for the bus to Wulin Square in downtown Hangzhou
And this concludes my first trip report. Overall, I found this flight to be enjoyable. Thank you for reading! The following is a picture of the Qiantang River waterfront at the Citizens Center. Visible in the background is the building where the G20 was held not too long ago.
