Have you ever had that “itching to fly” feeling? You know – the one that says, “I haven’t been on a plane in a while … I need to go somewhere.” I started getting that about 4 days before this trip, making it very timely.
A quick 15 minutes on the Metro rail to Union Station and a ride on the FlyAway bus brought me to LAX. On the way to the airport, we passed the 10 Freeway, which has a sign in Santa Monica calling it “the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway.” Unlike Chris, I would actually find India on this trip. Hopefully.
Flying United, I had to wait a while for my turn to disembark at LAX. I’m not a frequent UA flyer, as I’m more likely to fly DL or AA domestically. It’s been at least 4 years since I flew UA to Hawaii on a ghetto bird.
Arriving at LAX. Despite this building recently turning 50 years old, I can't imagine it not being here ...
This was my first time flying UA internationally in sixteen years, the last time being on the old UA #1: LAX-HKG-DEL on a 747, with the infamous Kai Tak approach. While I got off in DEL, the flight number continued with a 767 to LHR to JFK back to LAX. I found it fitting to be flying an LAX-HKG itinerary that included this aircraft, albeit going the other way (and sans checkerboard landing).
And yes, given that this flight was to FRA, I did try my best to change to an LH flight, but there wasn’t any availability. Okay, I’m lying: there was, via YVR or DFW on old-cabin A340s, but it involved a $150 change fee that I wasn’t keen on paying. I’m also not a fan of the short East Coast – Europe flights from IAD or JFK. A lot of FTers would smack me upside the head for not taking that up.
One half of me was holding out for surprise availability on LH’s A380 from SFO.
The other half of me was longing to stay on a Boeing 747. In the past 7 years, I’ve flown the 747 just once, compared to an average of over once a year before that. It was in AF Y, albeit on the more spacious upper deck thanks to my Skyteam status; my first time on the upper deck and it made me fall in love with the aircraft all over again.
I remember landing at CDG and seeing an AF A380, my first time seeing one in person, and yet I felt that I was in the more refined machine. Not only that, but I’m a huge fan of SFO and long for my (otherwise better) half of the state to catch up in airport infrastructure.
With UA placing F in the nose section, I could finally experience the front-most seat on an aircraft (including the pilots).
But back to the actual trip at hand...
I headed over to the left-most United line at T6, the one reserved for Global Services and Global First passengers. A United agent asked, “Global Services?” That was nice of her, since I really don’t look the part. “No, but I’m flying First from San Francisco to Frankfurt.”
“Global First or BusinessFirst?”
“First First.”
“There’s kiosks over there you can use.”
Sorry, but if there’s anything the past 3 months of reading FT has taught me, it’s to not trust UA’s “new” computer system. I’ll take my chances with an agent.
The agent at the GS/F desk did a double take as he looked up my reservation. “I’ve never seen a routing like this before!”
Unfortunately, SFO was under an ATC hold, and my original flight would get me in far too late. When I originally booked this ticket, I left a 4-hour stopover in SFO. A schedule change made that stopover longer, so I used this opportunity to squirrel my way onto an LH flight via SEA for free. However, phantom *A availability reared its ugly head, and I was unable to switch to that flight. Meanwhile, the US Airways rep decided to switch me to a later LAX-SFO flight, leaving me only about 2 hours before my flight to FRA. I didn’t realize this until after I hung up the phone, and when I called back, all earlier LAX-SFO flights were full, in both F and Y. I tried to explain that 2 hours at SFO is not enough due to the morning marine layer at LAX and fog at SFO, but the CLT-based agent would have nothing of it, explaining, “2 hours is plenty of time, sir.”
The UA agent put me on an earlier flight, but since upgrades had cleared, only coach seats were available. I asked if there was space on the LH direct to FRA, which would be on the 747. He checked, but only business class was available. I had checked availability of several LH flights that morning, just in case of IRROPS, and most flights that gave me ample time at FRA had been 0’d out in F.
I got a bit nervous when the agent kept clickety-clacketing on the keyboard with a furrowed brow, only to realize that he was still having trouble with SHARES, 6 weeks after the transition. Fortunately, the Apollo-era computer system spit out 2 tags all the way to HKG. I was given an exit row seat to SFO and BPs to Zurich, as the HKG flight had yet to open. A baggage handler told me to take a picture of my bags, since it’d probably be the last time I see them, given the routing.
See you in Hong Kong ... hopefully!
Whilst my flight departed T7, I headed over to T6, since I know from experience that one line there doesn’t have the nude-o-scope machine. A civilized metal detector pass-through and a brisk walk down a hallway placed me in T7, with reps hawking the new Chase United Visa as I walked past.
The United Club was packed so I skipped that for the LAX International, err... Global First lounge a bit down the way. It’s not a particularly amazing lounge, but it had the peace & quiet that was otherwise lacking in the UC. At most only 4 people were in the lounge at one time. The staff was incredibly welcoming, and joked about how I was accessing the club as an Economy passenger to SFO.
Peaceful and serene
Drink selection
Subpar breakfast selection
A bit too early in the morning ...
View from the GFL
The lounge agent told me to keep an eye on the screens, but came by the tell me that she thought boarding would begin soon. Indeed, she was correct, as boarding began about 1-2 minutes after I arrived at the gate. Despite my new boarding zone number (7), I showed my F ticket from SFO to FRA and explained to the GA that I had been rerouted on an F ticket. Not that I absolutely need to board first, but on domestic routes in coach, I'd rather get my bags on as soon as possible.
UA 954
LAX-SFO, 1h26m
Airbus A320
Seat 21A, E+
There were several passengers on this flight who were in similar predicaments as me, as many had a tight connection to PEK. I was given 20A on my BP but mistakenly sat in 21A (the 2nd of the two exit rows). 21A later arrived and I had a “D’Oh” moment as a potential seat poacher. I then noticed that there was another passenger in 20A … the seat poacher got poached? Turns out we were both assigned the same exact seat on the flight. Way to go, SHARES. Fortunately, all parties were understanding, and the passenger assigned 21A found an E+ aisle seat he preferred open in row 22.
At least it's better than Euro J ...
With ATC still placing holds on SFO traffic, we were placed in a taxi holding pattern, visiting parts of LAX I’ve never even seen before. Channel 9 kept me up to date, and the pilot actually told the truth as to why we were delayed. We were able to take off during a short window of availability.
Taxiing in a before unknown area of LAX ... double alpha??
The flight was nothing to write about, just your normal LAX-SFO run.
Phew ... finally at SFO.
A uniformed gate agent met the flight for those with tight PEK connections, the first time I've actually seen one when the FAs promised one. I still had about an hour to go until my FRA flight started boarding, so I headed toward the IFL. GFL. Whatever.