Review: United First Class Q400 Denver To Salt Lake City

That propeller effect has to do with how phones take pictures. They actually record the image top down (or sometimes bottom up) and one line at a time. Since this is a relatively slow process compared with how fast a propeller rotates you get the bent prop effect.

This explains the propeller phenomenon pretty well: https://scalarmotion.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/propeller-image-aliasing/

Short version: a digital camera scans an image line by line relatively slowly vs the speed of the propeller, so you're getting an image that reflects the propeller's rotation during the scan.

It is called "rolling shutter". Please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_shutter

Thanks Andrew! I've wondered about this when looking at prop photos I've taken aboard Porter's Q400s and Air Botswana's ATR-72s.

So Ben is still banned from UAL. Are you still working with them to have that reversed, as it really does negatively impact the value of OMAAT and seems to be quite unfair, both to you and your readers.

I like flying on props as a change of pace every once in awhile. The sensation of "flying" is a lot more visceral on them.

On short hops from BOS-EWR I've been on flights where 8,000ft was the cruising altitude- great view!

He wasn't banned, it was a conscious uncoupling!

"And to all those who grumble that you never get a United First class trip report around here, this one’s for you."

Yeah, but this wasn't exactly the TR we had in mind. I mean, it was interesting and whatnot, but most of us want to see United first and business class TRs to compare them to the long haul ones we see on American.

@wwk5d According to the recent article, Ben was indeed banned by UAL and made an unsuccessful effort to be reinstated. He does not dispute this.

Sigh. The picture of the patient with her legs up on the bulkhead -- would you do this at home? Or at a restaurant? Some people....

A Q400 with two classes of seating! Whatever will they think of next...

Good to read this report. Sad to see what they served you for first class.
Not to brag, just being honest and putting things into prospective. I once flew on a pro plane from Venice to Munich on air Dolomiti. It was a day flight and I marveled at the Austrian alps as we flew right over Insbruk.
The flight was all economy and I was blown way at the service for breakfast. Cold cuts, cheese and crackers with warm bread. I could not believe it. It was an international flight on a ATR, but still, the food was a huge surprise.
Safe travels.

@wwk5d: Ahem, there's this one that a certain someone wrote...

It's always interesting to learn about the hard and soft product standards of other airlines. QantasLink services in Australia (also operating the Dash 8 family of aircraft, along with the B717) are mostly all-economy and on flights as short as an hour serve a complimentary refreshment as comprehensive as rice crisps, crudites with blue cheese dip, a piece of chocolate and water.

@Stuart Falk: I think that was intended as a joke.

Those aren't Popchips, those were Popcorners. Both are great alternatives to actual potato chips, though.

Everybody else is right on the camera. You can tell from the way the propellers go that your camera takes left to right

I flew a Q400 from DEN to EGE a few weeks ago. It's a short 20 minute flight, and the views are great. At least you weren't put at the remote-ish gates at the end of the terminal (high 60s and low 70s).

One of the downsides of being based in SFO is that there is no direct flight to EGE.

Thanks for the great trip report. I enjoyed it.

I wish people would not put their feet on the bulkhead wall. Such poor manners.

The real reason that the propellers look that way is because it is not uncommon for propellers to melt and fall off during flight...you were lucky to live through it. This must be true because I saw it somewhere on the Internet...or someone told me that...either way, that's SCIENTIFIC PROOF!

@Steven L.

We have a winner!

@Nick

Yeah, I'm still waiting 😉

Prop flights are fun. My favourites are on small/weird full-service airlines. Calm Air flies from YWG to places North, serve full hot meals on ATRs. I will be flying Air St.-Pierre later this year YUL-FSP-YYT... That should be interesting too (3.5 hours on a ATR 42!).

But the only "full" business class on props I know of is on UA and some African airlines. Otherwise eg. AT (Royal Air Maroc) has different coloured seats and Euro-carriers simply block as many seats as they need.

@Brian,

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. The airlines really should start the equivalent of the no-fly list that is the no-bulkhead row list. If you are caught putting your feet on the bulkhead wall, you are banned from sitting on the first row. Period. Better yet, make it the no-bulkhead/no-upgrade list.

Another flight with great views is DFW - SLC, right over Moab/Arches/Green and Colorado rivers...stunning parts of the world (including western CO!)

The views are awesome but that lav is tiny!

P.S. Slightly off-topic, but has anyone been on those Antarctica flights out of Australia? Wish THOSE could be booked with miles! 😉

I used to be a regular (at least 2-3 times a month) on Alaska's RNO-SJC Q400 flight when I was living in Lake Tahoe and working in Silicon Valley. It's a 45 minute flight that was spectacular scenery and often $60 each way. Only disappointing thing is that it departed RNO at 6am so for much of the year it was dark both on departure and arrival.

It could just be me, but I often feel like the Q400 (and other props) offer a better flight experience on short hops in bad weather. On RJs in bad weather, I often feel like we're bouncing around, riding the weird winds and precip. On props, I feel like the props are clawing through the muck.

Could just be me though.

Love the Q400, sad to see them phased out.

I remember an ATR-42 flight I had from Corpus Christi to IAH many years ago, the woman sitting next to me was nervous because she never walked outside to board a plane before. Halfway through the flight, we hit some turbulence and dropped pretty rapidly. Suddenly, I felt the top of my right arm in a grip - like a "tourniquet grip" where I started losing feeling. I looked over and she said, "I'm sorry, I've never flown in a prop before." I replied, "That's ok." She then said, "I don't think I can let go of you" to which I replied, "You're going to have to - I'm losing feeling in my fingers." 🙂

Just what's wrong with putting up one's feet against the wall of a bulkhead seat? Sure, one should not put up one's feet against the seat in front - any movement of the feet will cause a bumpy jerk to the poor fellow sitting in front. Also, due to proximity, the smell on one's feet will more likely reach the nose of said poor fellow, before it dissipates away. But, for crying out loud, this is a bulkhead seat! There is no one sitting in front who would be disturbed. And unless you have this strange tendency to like leaning your back against the wall of a bulkhead seat, your super-clean clothing will not be dirtied. I am no foot fetish, but hey, if you have a nice pair of feet, I don't mind seeing them on display. And if you don't, heck, I have more things to look at on a plane than to find your feet an eyesore. So what's the problem? Stop being so prim and proper!

To all those who lament the absence of reports on United First Class, you're not missing anything.

I just took United Global First from Chicago to Shanghai and will not be doing so again.

Not only does United seem very sad relative to all the Asian airlines Ben does write about, but there is barely any advantage in going First rather than Business - the seats are old and don't go fully flat, the food is unimpressive, the wines poor (though Nicholas Feuillate 2005 champagne was OK), and the attendants ignorant and uninterested.

I chose the Chicago-Shanghai route in order to do Global First on the 747. In June I went Business on the Dreamliner from LAX to PVG. It was better than First on the 747. But I'm looking forward to taking Ben's advice and going Cathay or Singapore for future trips.

All of United s Q400s are actually operated by Republic Airlines, one of many regional carriers for UA.  They are configured with 71 seats; seven in first class, 10 in Economy Plus, and 54 in economy.

You scared the dang propeller! They're tired of being compared to jets, and they get all embarrassed, if you will.

Now, I didn't see this in the pic of the lav, but was there running water to wash your hands? Because Horizon Air, at one point and maybe that's changed, removed the sinks from the lavs in the interest of saving weight. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.