While I’m not typically the type of passenger to book a basic economy fare, sometimes a good deal is just too good to pass up. Whether it was a mistake fare or just an unusually low fare in response to the post-summer lull, Lufthansa offered a fantastically low $325 fare on Star Alliance partner United’s service between New York and London that I simply could not resist.

Although I booked our tickets through Lufthansa, that would be the last time I interacted with the German airline. Once I plugged the PNR into United’s system, everything appeared as if I were a United passenger flying on a United fare on a United aircraft using United’s amazing app. This level of integration is, sadly, quite rare in the industry. Looking past the scary basic economy warnings about seat assignment and checked bags, things were seeming like any other United flight.

In this instance, I was less concerned about choosing basic economy because both flights were to be operated by the Boeing 767-300ER, meaning I had a very slim chance of ending up in a bad seat simply because there aren’t many on the venerable 767! That gamble paid off for myself and my travel companion on both flights.

Shortly before the check-in window opened, United automatically assigned seats to basic economy passengers, and we lucked out. We were assigned center aisle seats in the same row on the first flight. But when I offered the middle seat passenger an “upgrade” to an aisle seat, we quickly found ourselves sitting in adjacent seats. On the return flight, we ended up in a window-side pair in extra-legroom Economy Plus, the best possible outcome for this situation. What luck!

On the way out of Newark I burned two United Club passes to visit the relatively new Newark C123 lounge location, looking for some relaxation and a small meal before the flight. Being the largest United Club in the network at nearly 30,000 square feet, it handled the Friday evening crowd well, but only just.

We were able to find seats in the lounge but the space was bustling. I even managed to take a quick shower to wash off the NYC commute grime before the flight, a feature I was especially thankful for in this a regular, non Polaris-specific lounge.

This lounge featured a full hot buffet, ready-made sandwiches, a full bar, and coffee station with a barista. Although the food at the buffet was well stocked, the options really lacked any discernible flavor. The saving grace were the delicious hot Cuban sandwiches.

Both flights were operated by United’s premium-focused 767-300ER, with just 56 economy and 43 Economy Plus seats, the latter featuring a little more seat pitch than coach.

The cabins on these 25-30 year old aircraft are visibly dated but seem to have held up well. Seats were reasonably comfy, but I admit I felt a little bit of lower back pain several hours into each flight.

The biggest weak point on these elderly aircraft is without a doubt the aging Panasonic seatback entertainment system. The screens were slow to respond to touch, the UX was laggy, and the entire system on both flights had to be rebooted multiple times. This was a far cry from the excellent Panasonic system and interface deployed by United on its newest and refurbished aircraft.

On the return flight the screens in the entire economy cabin were offline until I mentioned it to the crew after boarding finished, requiring a manual safety demo.

United isn’t likely to pour money into a new entertainment system on these old birds, so it’ll be a long few years of constant system reboots for passengers. At least United has crammed the system as full of content as a reasonable passenger could expect. Both flights also offered Panasonic-powered Wi-Fi, with free messaging available to all users.

United gets mixed reviews on its premium cabin catering, but the airline managed to really shine in economy. Although service was delayed due to turbulence out of Newark and really dragged on, both the vegetarian cheese ravioli and chicken with noodles dishes were quite tasty.

The main dishes were great, but the tasteless bread roll and dressing-less salad could be improved.

A mere three and a half hours later, breakfast egg sandwiches were distributed. Again, this meal exceeded expectations. Had it been presented on a plate with a side of fruit, it could have been served in premium cabins.

The return flight to Newark started with a lunch service, offering either cheese tortellini or a chicken curry with rice dish. Both dishes were again quite good, arguably punching above United’s reputation.

Before landing United offered another snack, this time a choice between a delicious cheese or pesto pizza twist.

Outside of the elderly entertainment system, United really shone on this pair of flights. I’ll miss the venerable 767 when they’re finally retired, but after three decades of service their time is nearing an end.

As for flying on a basic economy ticket, it’s not something I would likely jump at again in the future. But at least this time the hundreds of dollars saved proved to be an excellent decision.

All images credited to the author, Jason Rabinowitz