I flew United Airlines' new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from Denver to Houston to start a mileage run last month. I had seat 4A, but row 4 is missing a window, so my window seat was extra claustrophobic. The business class seats are traditional Continental style, all angled, 2x2x2, and front facing. There is no first class on United's 787's. On my 2 hour flight, I was able to notice the seat needed more padding, very Continental again, so it would be difficult on a long flight to Asia.
The 777 aircraft hasn't grown any wider since it's launch in 1995, but an extra seat in each row has been wedged in. United Airlines was the first 777 operator and had 9 wide seating in coach. Airlines have since increased seating density and now I'm wary of booking a 777 if it isn't not 9 across. Rumor has it that United wants to go 10 wide with their 777-300's on order. This will make me miss the 747 even more; the cabin is 25 in wider than the 777 and has 10 wide seating.
SWISS Wants Less Room in Coach
SWISS is showing off their new 777-300ER in emails, but I was disappointed to see they were 10 wide in coach. Interestingly, there was no premium economy seating.
Super Bowl 50 was actually played in San Jose, not San Francisco like the B-roll coming back from commercials suggested. The two cities aren't far apart, but the Broncos chose to fly out of SJC rather than SFO. This lead to some interesting flights from SFO (United's hub and a widebody base) to SJC (United narrow body outpost) to support charter flights after the game.