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Back in August, I found some cheap flights on United. They were only $79 each way. I was taking a few flights on one of my favorite airplanes, the 757. I originally was supposed to be going to Denver, but there was a schedule change. The 757 was replaced, with a 737. After finding a new flight, I called United and was able to get my flights switched to Los Angeles. My plan was to go from SYR-EWR-LAX, on an E145 and 757-200. The return flight would be LAX-IAH-ORD-SYR, on two 757-300s and the new CRJ-550. It would be my first time on a UA 757-300, and the CRJ-550. The day before the flight, I got a text from United. It said that one of my flights was full, and I could switch to another flight free of charge. I had the option to switch to a 767-300. Since I had never been on a United 767, I decided to switch my flights around. I also still got to fly on a 757-300.

United Express “CommutAir” 4951
Syracuse, NY (SYR) – Newark, NJ (EWR)
Embraer E145
N12163
Seat 23A
Scheduled Departure Time – 12:05pm
Actual Departure Time- 12:11pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 1:27pm
Actual Arrival Time- 12:50pm
39 minutes





N12163 after arriving from Newark



My plane on the airport webcam



Right before the door was closed, the gate agent made an announcement. He said that this was the first flight from Syracuse to Newark in more than 5 months. This flight was suspended back in the spring. We pushed back at 11:57am, and were in the air about 15 minutes later

Climbing out of SYR



We climbed up to 19,000ft, for the short flight down to Newark. It was a really quick flight. After only a few minutes at cruise, we were already starting the descent





Final 22L over Teterboro





It was a really hard touchdown with heavy breaking. There were not many planes taxiing, so we pulled into gate C111 a few minutes later

Pulling into the gate next to N739YX, departing later in the day to New Orleans



N12163 flew up to Burlington next



I had a few hours until my next flight to Denver.

United 245
Newark, NJ (EWR) – Denver, CO (DEN)
Boeing 737-900ER
N63890
Seat 26A
Scheduled Departure Time – 2:45pm
Actual Departure Time- 3:18pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 4:53pm
Actual Arrival Time- 5:00pm
3 hours 42 minutes





N63890 pulling into the gate, after landing from Denver







26A next to N48127, getting ready to depart to San Francisco



Once the door was closed, the captain made an announcement. After giving us the details of the flight, he said there was a problem with the jetway. They were not able to remove it. We ended up having to wait for 15 minutes. After it was fixed, he said that our wing walkers had gone to another flight. After another 5 minutes, we were pushing back

Pushed back, next to N408UA going to Phoenix





Once we actually got going, it was a quick taxi. There were only two planes ahead of us







We quickly climbed up to 32,000ft. Once we leveled off, the flight attendants handed out bags with snacks. Then they came through with drinks. They also gave out the entire can to everyone, as opposed to just pouring it into a cup. The only other time I have flown United, during the pandemic was at the end of May. During those flights they did not do any service.







Cruising



The flight passed quickly. Before long, we were descending into Denver

Descending on the CLASH2 arrival





Final 34R



Touchdown



Pulling into the gate, next to N53442 getting ready to depart to Newark



N63890 spent the night in Denver, before flying to Spokane the next morning



I had a little over 2 hours until boarding for my next flight was supposed to start

N206FR getting ready to depart to Fresno



United 1613
Denver, CO (DEN) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Boeing 757-300
N75851
Seat 18A
Scheduled Departure Time – 7:45pm
Actual Departure Time- 8:20pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 9:21pm
Actual Arrival Time- 9:09pm
1 hour 49 minutes





N75851 arriving from Houston





18A



It was a very full flight, and it took almost 45 minutes for everyone to board. The door was closed one minute early. It took a few minutes to push. The captain said that he was waiting on updated paperwork from dispatch. We ended up sitting at the gate for 25 minutes, before we pushed back



Once the engines were started, we quickly taxied out to runway 25. It was a long and powerful takeoff. We used most of the runway. Once we were in the air, we turned to the southwest and climbed up to 36,000ft







Once we leveled off, the same service was done as the pervious flight. It was a smooth flight all the way to LAX





Before starting the descent, the captain mentioned the weather. It was a nice night with clear skies, light winds and 78 degrees





Touchdown



Pulling into the gate



N75851 next flight was the redeye to Houston. That is the flight, I was originally taking





I had an hour and a half, until my flight back across the country

United 1165
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Newark, NJ (EWR)
Boeing 767-300
N658UA
Seat 31A
Scheduled Departure Time – 10:45pm
Actual Departure Time- 11:27pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 6:39am
Actual Arrival Time- 7:01am
4 hours 34 minutes



Boarding



After the door was closed, we sat at the gate for almost 30 minutes. The captain never made an announcement, about what the reason for the delay was. Once we were in the air, we climbed up to 33,000ft. After the flight attendants came through with drinks and snacks, I tried to get some sleep





Climbing out of LA on the OSHNN9 departure



Cruising



Sun starting to come up





Getting closer to EWR





40 minutes before landing, the captain announced the weather at EWR. He mentioned that there were winds and rain. He also said there would be turbulence during the descent, and asked the flight attendants to sit down early. The lights were quickly turned on, and the flight attendants came through to collect trash and make sure the cabin was ready for landing





Final for runway 4R



A really smooth touchdown







N658UA at gate C108. It spent the day in Newark, before flying to Paris later in the day





I had a little over an hour, until my next flight was departing

United 288
Newark, NJ (EWR) – Washington DC, Dulles (IAD)
Airbus A320
N468UA
Seat 10A
Scheduled Departure Time – 8:20am
Actual Departure Time- 9:08am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 9:41am
Actual Arrival Time- 9:49am
41 minutes



N468UA at gate C103, before its first flight of the day. It had arrived late the previous night from Houston







10A, next to N850UA going to Boston



It seemed like a pattern this trip. Just like all the other flights, once the door was closed we sat at the gate. There was another airplane that was blocking us. We sat at the gate for 15 minutes, before pushing back. Once the engines were started, we began the taxi. There was a decent line for takeoff, we were about the tenth plane in line for takeoff

Getting in line behind a jetBlue A320 going out to Phoenix



After about a 35 minute taxi, we were in the air. We climbed up to 20,000ft, for the short flight down to Dulles. There were some bumps on the climb out. Once we were on top of the clouds, it smoothed out. The clouds started to clear half way through the flight, and by the time we were descending it was a clear sunny day







Descending on the HYPER7 arrival



Final for runway 19C





N468UA at gate D19, before its next flight right back up to Newark



I had a little over an hour, until my last flight of the day

United Express “Air Wisconsin” 3788
Washington DC, Dulles (IAD) – Syracuse, NY (SYR)
Bombardier CRJ-200
N440AW
Seat 12A
Scheduled Departure Time – 11:05am
Actual Departure Time- 11:16am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 12:16pm
Actual Arrival Time- 12:03pm
47 minutes





Boarding N440AW, for its second flight of the day. It flew down from Bangor, earlier in the morning



12A



We pushed back a few minutes early, and the flight attendant performed the safety demo. The engines were quickly started, and we taxied to runway 1C

Line up And Wait, with a 777-200 taking off runway 30 to Houston







We leveled off at 27,000ft. On this flight, the flight attendant did not do any service. The flight passed quickly, and before long we were descending







Descending



Final runway 28





Touchdown



N440AW at gate 26. It spent a few hours on the ground, before flying back down to Dulles



It was a long day of flying, but I am always happy when I get to fly on the 757. I have only flown a few flights on the 757-300 and the 767-300, and never flown either on United. With airlines retiring older planes, I hope to fly on many more 757s.

Great report!

Jeremy

Wow, so you basically just booked a joyride across the continent and back? Even so, why didn't you stay one night at an airport hotel at the other end in order to catch up on rest and such?... At any rate, thank you for sharing!

What a fun report with so much variety and so many old types. That Air Wiconsin CRJ looked very tired.

Thanks for posting

SESGDL wrote:

Great report!

Jeremy

Thanks for reading it.

MarcoPoloWorld wrote:

Wow, so you basically just booked a joyride across the continent and back? Even so, why didn't you stay one night at an airport hotel at the other end in order to catch up on rest and such?... At any rate, thank you for sharing!

I wanted to fly on the 767. The only flight that was on it, was the overnight flight.

Kent350787 wrote:

What a fun report with so much variety and so many old types. That Air Wiconsin CRJ looked very tired.

Thanks for posting

It was a nice variety of planes. A fun day of flying!

jetblue01 wrote:

MarcoPoloWorld wrote:

Wow, so you basically just booked a joyride across the continent and back? Even so, why didn't you stay one night at an airport hotel at the other end in order to catch up on rest and such?... At any rate, thank you for sharing!

I wanted to fly on the 767. The only flight that was on it, was the overnight flight.

Did you have 767 in your log previously? I flew them in the 90s quite a bit, but not since 2008. They've been out of regular service in Australia for over 5 years.

Kent350787 wrote:

Did you have 767 in your log previously? I flew them in the 90s quite a bit, but not since 2008. They've been out of regular service in Australia for over 5 years.

Yeah. I have flown on two other 767-300s, both DL. The first was from MXP-ATL. The other was from LAX-JFK, after a 767-400 had a mechanical issue which ended up causing an 8 hour delay. I have also flown on two other DL 767-400s. I also have a flight booked for next spring, on a UA 767-400 from AMS. We'll see if that sticks around. I like the 767, but I prefer the 757. Where did you fly the 767?

jetblue01 wrote:

Kent350787 wrote:

Did you have 767 in your log previously? I flew them in the 90s quite a bit, but not since 2008. They've been out of regular service in Australia for over 5 years.

Yeah. I have flown on two other 767-300s, both DL. The first was from MXP-ATL. The other was from LAX-JFK, after a 767-400 had a mechanical issue which ended up causing an 8 hour delay. I have also flown on two other DL 767-400s. I also have a flight booked for next spring, on a UA 767-400 from AMS. We'll see if that sticks around. I like the 767, but I prefer the 757. Where did you fly the 767?

We've never had a regular 757 domestic service in Australia, and I think Royal Tonga around 10-15 years ago was the only service at all. Boeing tried to sell them to QF for JetStar, but QF chose A320/321.

767s (200 and 300) were workhorses on the MEL-SYD-BNE routes for much of their life, plus international, for both QF and AN. Apart from those routes, I flew QF763 SYD-CNS as well as KL AMS-LHR and AMS-MXP. The only 763s still operating in Australia are freighters - QF, Tasman Cargo and for the last few months ATI under contract to Amazon.

Wonderful report! Wondering what UAL is like these days-contemplating XMas home from IAD. Love the 2nd climbout shot from IAD, you got my apartment! Nice.

KLASM83 wrote:

Wonderful report! Wondering what UAL is like these days-contemplating XMas home from IAD. Love the 2nd climbout shot from IAD, you got my apartment! Nice.

All my flights on UA were good, I have another flight booked on them through IAD, at the end of next month. That's awesome that I got your apartment! How far do you live from IAD?

Thanks for bringing us along on your ride. Sounds like UA is having a tough time with on-time departures!

jetblue01 wrote:

KLASM83 wrote:

Wonderful report! Wondering what UAL is like these days-contemplating XMas home from IAD. Love the 2nd climbout shot from IAD, you got my apartment! Nice.

All my flights on UA were good, I have another flight booked on them through IAD, at the end of next month. That's awesome that I got your apartment! How far do you live from IAD?

I'm just to the left to where the wing starts to rake more rearward.It's a mere 1 mile (as the crow/CRJ flies) from IAD.

christao17 wrote:

Thanks for bringing us along on your ride. Sounds like UA is having a tough time with on-time departures!

Yeah. All of the mainline flights were delayed pushing back, for one reason or another. The only flights that weren't, were the RJs.