Val and I are traveling together again this weekend. We’re technically going to Evanston not Chicago for the wedding we’re attending, but on Sunday we’re planning on seeing some Friends who live in the Bucktown neighborhood. I haven’t been to Chicago in a few years, COVID and what not, but last time I went was also for a wedding.
As most people can tell, I’m usually a Delta flyer. They have good coverage from GSP and I think they treat me well. However, I can ride on United or American directly to ORD. Due to the schedule we are riding United on the outbound and then American on the way home. What’s also kinda fun is that we’re flying both the United E175 and American E175. So sometime in the future look out for a ERJ175 UA vs AA vs DL review on that aircraft. Anyway, let’s get into it.
In This Trip
1 :Lets go to Chicago: United ERJ175 Economy Review
1.1: GSP Airport
1.2: GSP Airport Escape Lounge
1.3: United ERJ 175 Economy Review
1.4: Ohare Airport
1.5: Final Thoughts
2: Let’s go to Chicago: The Graduate Hotel Evanston Review
3: Let’s go to Chicago: American Airlines ERJ 175 Economy Review
GSP Airport
Welcome back to the walk from the economy long term lot to the terminal. A pro traveler trip here is to exit the long term lot near the old pay booth. There’s a cross walk here that leads to the old short term lot. Then just walk through that parking lot to the terminal. It’s faster than walking to the exit and along the main entrance to the airport. Also, if it’s raining, walk though the parking garage and you can stay dry.
At the end of the short term lot the terminal is on the left. Time for us to mask up and go check in. We got to the airport about an hour early. Because we’re on Basic Economy fares for our United ERJ175 flight, we have to check in at the counter and prove we don’t have a carry-on sized bag, only personal item. No problem for us as this is just a weekend trip and we’re backpacking.
There was no one in line at the check in counter and the agent said “I thought that would be you guys” once we handed over IDs. Boarding passes in hand we went through an empty security. We had about a half hour to kill before boarding so we went to the newly reopened GSP Escape Lounge.
I soon got a boarding notification in the United app so we finished our drinks and walked to the gate.
We arrived to a completely empty gate area and we were the last to board. It’s not a particularly heavily loaded flight so not surprising that it was fully boarded only a few minutes after the process started.
United ERJ 175 Economy Review
Our United ERJ175 waiting to take us to Chicago.
We sat down and there’s a few differences from Delta right away. No power in the seat, no hand sanitizer wipes, and slimline seats. It’s probably been 5 years and a few hundred flights since I’ve flown United. They just don’t have great coverage from GSP. We’re on a basic economy fare today so sitting next to each other wasn’t insured, but it was a gamble I was willing to take. Fortunately we got lucky and the plane isn’t that full and we got nice seats next to each other.
We were given the usual safety announcement and we pushed back a few minutes early. Great start to our weekend.
They didn’t yet tell us our flight time, but did tell us the flight should be smooth. We soon taxied for a North East departure. That Southwest 737 is on the ground after it diverted to GSP for an engine issue a few days ago. It was Southwest flight 1092 flying from CMH to SRQ, landed just fine here in GSP.
GSP is doing some taxiway construction so we have to taxi to the end of the runway on the runway. Once we’re at the end, we turn around and depart. LCY does this same arrangement, but not because of construction.
Even though we took off to the North East, we made a long turn to the South then all the way around to the North West.
The very friendly flight attendant in the coach cabin came around with the drinks cart. No snack, but I had a coke. United does a nice job here in economy. Nothing fancy but a good service for such a short flight.
The seat belt sign was turned off and I drank my drink and relaxed a little bit. It was a pretty day for flying, nice and smooth with only a few clouds. The overhead panel on the United ERJ175 is about what you would expect. The air-conditioning was more than adequate.
Over Kentucky we got a little bit of turbulence, but not enough for the seat belt sign to make an appearance. I think other airlines are a little more forgiving than Delta when it comes to the seatbelt sign.
When it comes to flying north in the evening, the right side of the plane is the better side. No sunset view, but the pictures are great and no eyeball searing afternoon light. I like to look out the window and this is where to sit.
It then got a little rougher and the seatbelt sign came on as we crossed over southern Indiana. The flight attendants also made a quick trash pickup before sitting down themselves.
We passed through a few clouds as we descended into view of the lake. The flight attendants made one more pass for trash and they made the normal landing announcements. It was a little hazy as we approached Illinois.
Looks like we’ll be landing to the east today. We sadly won’t be anywhere near the loop in this trip. Snagged a nice view of downtown as we crossed north on the way to O’Hare. Also got a pretty shot of ORD with the lake in the background.
The sun is just starting to set here in Chicago as we head west before turning back east towards Ohare. Also got a pretty shot of ORD with the lake in the background.
We touched down into Chicago nice and early. It’s always a bit of a worry flying into ORD, but not today. We’re almost a half hour early.
Ohare Airport
We pulled into our gate here in United land. Our United E175 fits right in.
Terminal 2 here at Ohare is almost exclusively Untied flights. We arrived all the way at the end of the B concourse. I like the architecture here. It always makes me thing of Home Alone. I wanted to find an ATM before we went outside, I forgot to get cash at home.
Outside an waiting for our Uber to Evanston. The pickup area here is easy to find, but the waiting area for the drivers is far so be prepared for a little bit of a wait. We’d usually just take the train, but we’re usually going downtown, Evanston isn’t that well connected to ORD via public transport.
Final Thoughts
This was a perfect trip. The United ERJ175 is a nice ride, but I don’t think I’ve had a bad flight on any of the ERJ170/190 aircraft. I’m not a huge fan of the slim line seats, but this flight was short enough that it didn’t really matter. The short beverage service was just was what needed.
I do miss having power in the seat. It was the end of the day and I like to hit the ground running when going to a new city. I ended up needing to use my power-pack in the Uber to keep my phone alive. I’m not sure how to feel about United basic economy, on the one hand the ERJ175 doesn’t have bad seats so the lack of seat selection isn’t a big deal. The restriction on carry on luggage and having to check in at the counter is a bit of a pain. Out of GSP it’s not a big deal, but at a major airport like ORD it would be a real pain.
It’s hard to complain about a perfectly on-time flight. In the end, I’d gladly take this route again. It’s the last direct flight to ORD in the day and was exactly what we needed.