Flight test: United Airlines business class

BusinessFirst, seat 6H.

TIME IN THE AIR

Thirteen hours, 15 minutes.

THE SEAT STUFF

Seat pitch of 76 inches and width of 20 inches. The bed is six feet four inches.

BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

Business class comes with two checked pieces up to 32 kilograms each, as well as one bag and one personal item for carry-on.

COMFORT FACTOR

The cabin palette is muted to the point of monochrome, and the 2-4-2 layout feels a little tight in places. But the plush seats are well suited to international travel, reclining to flat bed for a snooze with the large fluffy pillow. The attractive amenities bag is a keeper, filled with earnest Philosophy products such as "Hands of Hope" (moisturiser) and "Hope in a Stick" (lip balm).

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

Sometimes the passengers on a plane are entertainment enough: the man to my left is wearing Google Glass, poking his temple and talking to nobody; the woman to my right is an off-duty flight attendant full of fascinating stories of life in the air. But, even in the quiet moments, there are plenty of distractions. United's crisp seatback display offers a decent line-up of movies, games, audiobooks, and music. The in-flight magazine, Hemispheres, is also engaging: my issue features an article on a middle-aged grandmother of seven in the "male-driven world of Texas auto auctions." Welcome to America.

THE SERVICE

Customer service on US carriers is often wildly unpredictable, but the staff attending this cabin are uniformly excellent - warm, charming, and quick to laugh without ever sacrificing efficiency.

FEEDING TIME

A chilled appetiser of smoked duck with black-bean cucumber salsa is followed by four options for the main course: I choose a fillet of ocean trout with chunky tomato sauce, herbed couscous, and green beans. The fish is moist and the sauce has an unexpected bite. The varied wine list is assembled in consultation with master sommelier Doug Frost, though my two preferred choices are not available on this flight. The restriction of dessert to a single option of "ice-cream with your choice of toppings" has me raising my eyebrows - until I see the sundae cart. Then I'm raising my spoon.

ONE MORE THING

United finished its merger with Continental in March, forming one of the biggest airlines in America. This means it's possible to include connecting flights to nearly anywhere in the country without the need to change carriers.

THE VERDICT

The best review of any flight is that you disembark feeling light and sharp. I have many hours of travel still to go when I reach San Francisco, and BusinessFirst gets me there feeling ready for the onward journey.

FREQUENCY

United offers daily non-stop service from Sydney and Melbourne (via Sydney) to both San Francisco and Los Angeles. See united.com.

NOTE

United Airlines recently announced it would be replacing its Boeing 747s with Boeing 777 aircraft on its Australia-US route from April 1, 2014. The 777s will feature the same BusinessFirst seats as those found on the 747s.

Tested by Lance Richardson, who travelled as a guest of United Airlines.