This report covers my First in international first class! It was on UA, so I know many FlerTalkers wont count it, but it was a milestone for me! The journey was the return from my previous trip report from TLV-SFO (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1336333-tlv-sfo-via-zrh-ord-lx-c-lx-y-ua-f.html). This journey was from SFO-TLV via ORD and FRA. I hope everyone finds this report useful!
This Trip Report is in multiple parts:
Check-in and United Club, SFO (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18505591-post2.html)
SFO-ORD in UA F (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18505604-post3.html)
Check-in and United Global First Lounge, ORD (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18505611-post4.html)
ORD-FRA IN UA Global First (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18505620-post5.html)
FRA Ground Experience and Lounges (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18505656-post8.html)
FRA-TLV IN LH J
If anyone is interested, here is a listing of my previous reports:
I arrived at SFO at 830ish for my 1039am departure. I knew my upgrade was confirmed and proceeded to Global Services check in. Check in for our group of 5 was efficient and we were thru the Premier Access security pretty quickly. A member of our party is a United Club member so we proceeded there. I forgot to take pictures but the SFO United Club was really nice. It had a huge bar with a good selection. While the Club was probably nicer than the ORD United Club I was in last week, the food and newspaper selection was worse. On offer was juice, a soda fountain, coffee machine, cereal, bread and fruit. No yogurt or muffins like in ORD. There was also only 1 food station and was somewhat crowded. There was plenty of seating though a few more outlets would have been nice. I was able to connect to the TMobile wifi but it was pretty slow. When entering the United Club, my BP was stamped stating that I have access so if I walked out I wouldn't need to get back in line. That was a nice touch that I think should be implemented Systemwide. The Club had a poor selection of reading material. Only newspaper I found was 2 copies of Financial Times lying at one paper station. To contrast, in ORD I saw NY Times, USA Today, Financial Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and maybe 1 or 2 others. After breakfast in the club we went to gate where lots of gate lice crowded around the boarding line.
BA_Jfan
May 3, 12, 5:22 am
UA 972
SFO-ORD
Depart: 1039am (schedule) 1052 (actual)
Arrive: 455pm (schedule) 421pm (actual)
Equipment: Boeing 757-200
Seat: 1E (First Class)
I was on board fast and greeted by a 757 at the end of the board walk. They boarded from the door between F and E+. I turned left and took my seat in Row 1. I immediately noticed that there was less legroom than on the A320 I flew last week. A few minutes after taking my seat, an FA offered each person a PDB, unlike my outbound. Curiously, when she reached row 1 she brought out a tray of coffee and didn't give us a choice as she did for the other pax. The gentlemen seated next to me flagged an FA to complain about the legroom. He said "I bought a first class ticket and I have less legroom than coach". The FA looked confused and she said "well what do you want me to do?". And he said "maybe you should sell the plane to a tiny African country". The FA said she will see what she could do. A few minutes later she moved him to an F aisle a few rows back after getting someone to switch. She offered to move him to coach. He actually considered it for a moment which surprised me. The FAs also took lunch orders before take off. Choices were chicken salad or chicken wrap. As I'm kosher, I asked about vegetarian. I was told they didn't have it. My seat mate said she ordered vegetarian but the FA said she didn't have it. The FAs offered us complimentary snack boxes from coach which I we both took. I was glad she took the initiative. She also complained about the new post merger SHARES reservation system which she said "didn't actually share anything at all". I'm guessing she was an original UA FA. The front TV in F wouldn't work so they did a live safety demonstration. We were in the air at 1052am. Flight time ws announced at 3 hours and 32 minutes. The purser asked the FA where the passenger manifest was the FA responded that they didn't get one but all the pax in F were Global Services. An FA also announced that turbulence was expected about 90 minutes in and during descent. When lunch service began the FA gave me a Savory Snack box. She said they don't normally do it and was an exception. Savory boxed contained dark chocolate pretzel, granola bar, fruit and nut mix, tortilla chips, and salsa. All but the salsa was kosher. Drinks were served with ceramic bowls of nuts though the nuts were cold. As on the outbound all food and drinks were served from a tray not a cart. Once the trays were out the purser came around offering wine. The flight passed uneventfully. I read magazines I grabbed from the United Club. Roughly an hour and a half before landing the purser came around offering warm cranberry white chocolate cookies. Not sure why they couldn't use the same Warmer for the nuts. Closer to landing the purser distributed apology cards because of the broken overhead TV in F. It said it offered a token of good will. Guess I will find out tonight. We landed early and our priority tagged bags came out minutes after we got to baggage claim. Shortly after I got home, I logged onto united.com. The tokens of goodwill were 4500 miles, $100 voucher for travel, or 10% off a flight in coach. I chose the 4500 bonus miles because I had no idea what the terms and conditions for the voucher would be. To be honest, I wouldn't have watched the movie anyway so it was just free bonus miles in my eyes.
Conclusion: These days people like to speak about the decline in domestic F. My experience with this flight and the inbound shows that not much is wrong. Overall I was very happy with both flights and I'm not really sure what angers the naysayers so much.
BA_Jfan
May 3, 12, 5:24 am
I got to Ohare at 320pm for my 616pm departure. The Global Services lobby had no line and I was checked in minutes. The security line was also fairly quick. I accidentally got in the nude-o-scope line, so after putting my bags in I de died to try and go thru regular metal detector. The "officer" pointed me to the nude-o-scope. After getting out of it, they gave me a full pat down anyway because I forgot to remove my wallet. Than they decided to search and rescan my carry-on because I had a salami which didn't clearly show. I then proceeded to the C concourse where the Global First Lounge (IFL) was located. It took me a minute to locate, as there's no sign and the door is barely marked. I was greeted upon arrival, and the dragon explained the lounge to me, and offered me a wifi card. I asked about showers and was told showers are only for arriving pax. Even pointing out my Global Services status didn't help. I entered the lounge. It's quite underwhelming. The facility is very nice, but small. The food buffet had finger food like wraps, cheese platter, cookies, fruit, cake, and bags of potato chips. There was also instant soup mix. A refrigerator contained shrimp cocktail and some sort of salmon. A pot contained chicken noodle soup. There was a serious coffee machine with a bowl of mini Andes mints and Toblerone. There was a drink fridge with standard soft drink and beer. The champagne on offer was Veuve. There was a nice self serve bar, with a chrome shaker. I've never seen a shaker at any lounge bar. It's a shame the drinking age is 21 :( Not long after I arrived, an LH flight was called. Not one person moved. It took a few minutes to connect to the wifi and was really slow, and impossible to get anything done. My last 2 visits to UA lounges also had bad wifi. They also had the same little bowls of cold nuts I was served yesterday. I inquired about the slow wifi at the desk. Dragon said it comes from the United Club next door and when too many people log on it gets slow. Really shoddy for an F lounge. When a United flight to Munich was called, most of the lounge cleared out. 2 minutes after Munich was called 3 flights were called in quick succession. Another followed a minute later. It seems all of UA's Europe departures leave in the 6-7pm hour. For some reason no boarding call was made for Frankfurt so at 530pm I left the lounge and found boarding in progress.
Verdict: The IFL was a few notches above the United Club, but certainly not First Class worthy. I would call it a mid-level business class lounge. The lack of showers is especially annoying for Asian departures.
BA_Jfan
May 3, 12, 5:27 am
UA 940
ORD-FRA
Depart 616pm (schedule) 632pm (actual)
Arrive 955am (schedule) 848am (actual)
Equipment: Boeing 777-222
Seat: 1K (First Class, New Configuration)
Load: 8/8
The plane was boarding thru the first set of doors. FA didnt greet me by name or show me to my seat. Already put a hamper on my First First by not having the excitement of turning left. When I got to my seat, a menu and amenity bag were waiting. There were also noise canceling headphones. On the seat was a small pillow, large pillow, and blanket. The blanket and amenity kit were wrapped in plastic, in my opinion it's shoddy for F. The seat had PLENTY of storage space. Minutes after boarding, an FA entered the cabin and said that everyone in F was Global Services and UA thanks us for our business. It was a nice touch. Another FA came around offering drinks on a tray. There was champagne, water and OJ. The water and OJ were in plastic cups. Again, shoddy for F. Both of my domestic F flights and the last 2 weeks served all drinks in glass. Newspapers were offered from a cart, this being the only cart service on the flight. LX and BA both hand distribute them. The purser came around taking dinner orders. Looking at her manifest, she asked "are you mr. BA_Jfan?" I confirmed I was. It was the first-and only-time I was greeted by name. I asked about my KSML and she said there was no record of it. I pointed out that a confirmed it with the GS desk Saturday night. She double checked and lo and behold it was on board. She said it was her first flight where inventory didn't match the manifest. She blamed the error on Jeff Smisek and the new reservation system. Pilot announced that he was expe ting to land 46 minutes early. Take off was 632pm. There was a long take off line behind us containing a few UA planes, a jetBlue plane, and a tiny little plane with a tail resembling the AF tail, but no other markings. Not long after take off, the purser announced that it was OK to use approved electronics, an announcement I haven't heard before. Due to turbulence, service didn't start till 20 minutes after take off. An FA came to my seat and gave me a glass of cold wAter and a WARM!! bowl of nuts. I didn't ask for the water but it was nice and refreshing. She also asked if I wanted anything else to drink. I ordered Diet coke and it came promptly. A moment later refills on nuts were offered which I gladly accepted. A table cloth was put on my tray seconds later. Hot towels were offered, but they could have been a tad hotter. Butter, salt and pepper, and silverware were set on my table. Bread rolls were offered which I declined. A shrimp cocktail was placed on my table by an FA, but the other FA quickly reminded her that i ordered KSML. The F came and held out the appetizer tray in front of me and told me to take what I want. I actually like it better to be given the choice rather than have the tray shoved in front. Oddly, everything on the tray was labeled "Kosher for Passover" despite Passover being over. Tray contained lox, some kind of diced fruit, matza (Passover crackers) and orange juice. I have a feeling it's a breakfast tray. My water glasses was also refilled. There was also a pat of margarine. The non-kosher butter was discreetly removed by an FA. The main came out. It was stuffed chicken and broccoli soufflé. The packaging said F/C on it. It was produced by KoshAir. It was decent but in first class I expect meat. The lights went off seconds after they offered dessert which I thought was a bit too early. My table was cleared quickly and bottles of water were offered. I reclined my seat immediately after dinner and decided I would try and sleep. After a while I realized I couldn't fall asleep which commonly happens to me on airplanes. I decided to test out the IFE. Movie selection was pretty good and I watched Hangover 2. Noise canceling headphones weren't amazing but did the job. My major complaint about the IFE is that the screen is far from the seat and immovable. After the movie, I walked up to the galley to check out the snack selection. There was a small basket of Kettle chips and Kettle popcorn. There was also bottled water and wine. I grabbed a bag of chips and some water and went to the J galley for some Diet Coke. There was no curtain between F and J in either aisle. J looked pretty dinky. Seats appeared really narrow and I don't think my 6'2 frame would be comfortable. There was an FA manning the J galley who gladly gave me a Diet Coke. As soon as I teetered J, I was greeted by an FA. She apologized that I had to go all the way to the J galley. I was impressed. I'm wondering if the galley has a camera. She brought a bag of popcorn to my seat which I thought was a nice touch. I have to say the mid-flight snack selection is pretty bad. Below J standards. About 3.5 hours out I put my head down hoping to fall asleep. No luck. I de odes to catch up on some reading on my iPod. An FA noticed I was awake and immediately came over to offer me a drink. About 90 minutes before landing, I was offered breakfast. This time I just got a tray. It contained 2 packages of matza, some kind of fruit, and a container of orange juice. I ordered additional PJ and coffee from the main service. The main was vegetable frittata and roasted potatoes. The packaging was really hot and I nearly burned my fingers taking it off. The first bite of my frittata was warm. The next few were cold. I tried the potatoes. Cold. I couldn't send it back to be reheated because of kosher rules. But I ordered a bowl of cereal from the main menu. I got a bowl of granola and a carton of milk. The granola looked and tasted like raw oatmeal but it was the only cereal they had. The frittata probably would have been good of it was hot. Hot towels were offered 30 minutes before landing. We landed at 848am. We landed 1 hour and 10 min early. We were assigned a remote stand. I notice after deplaning that the aircraft was painted in the old livery.
Verdict: UA's Global First is a really solid Business Class product. But it's not First. I'm especially disappointed because this was my First trip in international 3-class F. The one exception was the service. Service was outstanding and definitely what I had in mind when I think of F. I'm impressed by UA. Best service I've ever had on a UA flight. But the hard product, food, and bathrooms could use work.
BA_Jfan
May 3, 12, 5:31 am
UA 940
ORD-FRA
Depart 616pm (schedule) 632pm (actual)
Arrive 955am (schedule) 848am (actual)
Equipment: Boeing 777-222
Seat: 1K (First Class, New Configuration)
Load: 8/8
The plane was boarding thru the first set of doors. FA didnt greet me by name or show me to my seat. Already put a hamper on my First First by not having the excitement of turning left. When I got to my seat, a menu and amenity bag were waiting. There were also noise canceling headphones. On the seat was a small pillow, large pillow, and blanket. The blanket and amenity kit were wrapped in plastic, in my opinion it's shoddy for F. The seat had PLENTY of storage space. Minutes after boarding, an FA entered the cabin and said that everyone in F was Global Services and UA thanks us for our business. It was a nice touch. Another FA came around offering drinks on a tray. There was champagne, water and OJ. The water and OJ were in plastic cups. Again, shoddy for F. Both of my domestic F flights and the last 2 weeks served all drinks in glass. Newspapers were offered from a cart, this being the only cart service on the flight. LX and BA both hand distribute them. The purser came around taking dinner orders. Looking at her manifest, she asked "are you mr. BA_Jfan?" I confirmed I was. It was the first-and only-time I was greeted by name. I asked about my KSML and she said there was no record of it. I pointed out that a confirmed it with the GS desk Saturday night. She double checked and lo and behold it was on board. She said it was her first flight where inventory didn't match the manifest. She blamed the error on Jeff Smisek and the new reservation system. Pilot announced that he was expe ting to land 46 minutes early. Take off was 632pm. There was a long take off line behind us containing a few UA planes, a jetBlue plane, and a tiny little plane with a tail resembling the AF tail, but no other markings. Not long after take off, the purser announced that it was OK to use approved electronics, an announcement I haven't heard before. Due to turbulence, service didn't start till 20 minutes after take off. An FA came to my seat and gave me a glass of cold wAter and a WARM!! bowl of nuts. I didn't ask for the water but it was nice and refreshing. She also asked if I wanted anything else to drink. I ordered Diet coke and it came promptly. A moment later refills on nuts were offered which I gladly accepted. A table cloth was put on my tray seconds later. Hot towels were offered, but they could have been a tad hotter. Butter, salt and pepper, and silverware were set on my table. Bread rolls were offered which I declined. A shrimp cocktail was placed on my table by an FA, but the other FA quickly reminded her that i ordered KSML. The F came and held out the appetizer tray in front of me and told me to take what I want. I actually like it better to be given the choice rather than have the tray shoved in front. Oddly, everything on the tray was labeled "Kosher for Passover" despite Passover being over. Tray contained lox, some kind of diced fruit, matza (Passover crackers) and orange juice. I have a feeling it's a breakfast tray. My water glasses was also refilled. There was also a pat of margarine. The non-kosher butter was discreetly removed by an FA. The main came out. It was stuffed chicken and broccoli soufflé. The packaging said F/C on it. It was produced by KoshAir. It was decent but in first class I expect meat. The lights went off seconds after they offered dessert which I thought was a bit too early. My table was cleared quickly and bottles of water were offered. I reclined my seat immediately after dinner and decided I would try and sleep. After a while I realized I couldn't fall asleep which commonly happens to me on airplanes. I decided to test out the IFE. Movie selection was pretty good and I watched Hangover 2. Noise canceling headphones weren't amazing but did the job. My major complaint about the IFE is that the screen is far from the seat and immovable. After the movie, I walked up to the galley to check out the snack selection. There was a small basket of Kettle chips and Kettle popcorn. There was also bottled water and wine. I grabbed a bag of chips and some water and went to the J galley for some Diet Coke. There was no curtain between F and J in either aisle. J looked pretty dinky. Seats appeared really narrow and I don't think my 6'2 frame would be comfortable. There was an FA manning the J galley who gladly gave me a Diet Coke. As soon as I teetered J, I was greeted by an FA. She apologized that I had to go all the way to the J galley. I was impressed. I'm wondering if the galley has a camera. She brought a bag of popcorn to my seat which I thought was a nice touch. I have to say the mid-flight snack selection is pretty bad. Below J standards. About 3.5 hours out I put my head down hoping to fall asleep. No luck. I de odes to catch up on some reading on my iPod. An FA noticed I was awake and immediately came over to offer me a drink. About 90 minutes before landing, I was offered breakfast. This time I just got a tray. It contained 2 packages of matza, some kind of fruit, and a container of orange juice. I ordered additional PJ and coffee from the main service. The main was vegetable frittata and roasted potatoes. The packaging was really hot and I nearly burned my fingers taking it off. The first bite of my frittata was warm. The next few were cold. I tried the potatoes. Cold. I couldn't send it back to be reheated because of kosher rules. But I ordered a bowl of cereal from the main menu. I got a bowl of granola and a carton of milk. The granola looked and tasted like raw oatmeal but it was the only cereal they had. The frittata probably would have been good of it was hot. Hot towels were offered 30 minutes before landing. We landed at 848am. We landed 1 hour and 10 min early. We were assigned a remote stand. I notice after deplaning that the aircraft was painted in the old livery.
Verdict: UA's Global First is a really solid Business Class product. But it's not First. I'm especially disappointed because this was my First trip in international 3-class F. The one exception was the service. Service was outstanding and definitely what I had in mind when I think of F. I'm impressed by UA. Best service I've ever had on a UA flight. But the hard product, food, and bathrooms could use work.
BA_Jfan
May 3, 12, 5:32 am
Sorry that the ORD-FRA post was posted 2 times.
BA_Jfan
May 3, 12, 5:35 am
When we got to the terminal a massive line met is at passport control. With no premium line in sight, I was resigned to waiting in line. When finally thru after 15 minutes I attempted to locate the LH Welcome lounge. It was just outside immigration. My UA BP was accepted without question and I made a bolt for the showers. The shower concierge didn't speak much English but she communicated to me that I was assigned to shower 5. The shower room was nice with L'Occitane amenities. There were 2 shower heads. A roof mounted one and one on an arm that slid up and down on the wall. I used the roof mounted head and it was quite strong. Nice to have a hot shower. After exiting, I went to the buffet. Plenty of fruit and bread. I was eyeing cereal but there was none. There was a soda fountain and a coffee machine as well as water and club soda in glass bottles. Plenty of alcohol on display. There were also 2 beers on tap: Becks and something local who's name I couldn't pronounce. I opted for the local brew even tough it was 1030am because getting tap beer in an airport is something I've never seen. After a little while it was time to explore Frankfurt. I asked for directions to the train upon exit and was told to walk out of terminal and go straight. After running around for a while I finally located the right platform and had to use a ticket vending machine as there were no counters. This is a big problem, IMO. Public transit must be clearly signed. It would help if free maps were also distributed.
After a 2 hour river cruise and a few hours of roaming around I got bored and cold so I decided to return to airport. I knew that UA Global Services pax get Senator Lounge access at FRA, which is better than the normal J lounge. But I heard they wouldn't let me in with no card. So I went to the UA desks and waited 20 min and the agent cleared my Senator Lounge access with Lufthansa. She advise me to get a new BP on LH card stock as well. I walked a few desks down and quickly was issued a BP and I headed to security. LH check in is at the A gates and my flight was at C gates, a 15 minute hike. The security screener didn't want to let me thru because I was 6 hours early, but eventually he relented. Premium security was quick. I followed signs to the Senator lounge which was up an escalator. My BP was scanned at the door and I was invited in no questions asked. Lounge is pretty nice. Lots of finger food, salted pretzel rolls, and an Asian soup bar. Pastry and snack selection was non existent though. I got in the shower queue and was called pretty quickly. I was surprised that there were only 2 showers. What happens when the lounge is full? It was the largest shower suite I'd ever seen. I have neighbors who's home bathrooms are smaller. There were 2 bottles by the sink. 1 shampoo and 1 body lotion. I was surprised at the lack of conditioner or body wash but the showed was reinvigorating. I came back out and hung out in the now empty lounge. There were about 5 people other than me. Seriously. Lounge overlooks airport operations and I saw 2 A380s roll by, the LH and the KE. Big deal for me as the only other A380 I'd previously seen was the QF so I'm still excited. The Senator lounge has a smoking lounge, but no free cigars unlike the FCL and FCT. I suspect that it's because the C gates Senator lounge is a combination of Star Gold, LH F, and M&M Senators and the perk would be too expensive. I popped over to the J lounge to see what it was. The dragon actually greeted by saying "go to the Senator lounge, you are gold". I like that kid of pro-active dragon who reminds you of your perks. I'd say the furnishings are on par with a domestic United Club, but the food is J lounge quality. It was also fairly empty. After a few minutes I returned to the Senator lounge. I napped for about an hour in my chair and when I woke up, I found that the lounge was beginning to fill. At 920pm no boarding call was made but I left anyway because there are extra security measures going to TLV and it creates long backups. When I got to the gate I realized how right I was. Unfortunately, there's no premium line for these extra security checks so I had to wait in line.
After making my way thru the security maze, I got to the gate. It was a self boarding flight so I scanned my BP and headed for the plane. They were using to bridged to board the plane but the F/J/Star Gold bridge was closed. The main bridge led into the area between J and Y. I turned left (finally!) and found the oldest J seat I've seen in years. I settled in quickly. Shortly after an FA came around offering PDBs. Choices were OJ, water, and champagne. I opted for water. Seat was comfortable though it didn't look like it would be easy to sleep in. Unlike last nights flight, no in seat storage is available on this plane. I would say this J seat is what was popular 8 years ago when flat beds in J were first introduced. The recently announced refit of the J cabin is badly needed if they want to stay competitive. My drink glass was taken. No refill offered. No amenity kit or menu offered either. There was also no welcome announcement from the crew of the pilot. 15 minutes after boarding and still only interaction with FA was PDB service. It turns out that the amenity kit and a bottle of water was hidden in a seat compartment. Menus were distributed not long after take off. Unlike the announcements, menu was in Hebrew as well. Service began with an offering of drinks, from the cart. I ordered Doet Coke. I was offered only the little 6oz glass and not the full can. That's shoddy by Y standards. No sign of any FAs to commence dinner service 10 minutes later. On a day flight this wouldn't be awful but on a short night flight when I want to sleep 5 minutes can make all the difference. Foot res t is attached to bottom of seat which is very annoying if you are tall. At some point my empty coke glass was cleared though I didn't notice till later. I took that as a bad omen of what was to come. Eventually, the food came. It was catered by Sohar, a kosher restaurant in Frankfurt. The tray was full and the FA plopped down my hot main dish on the tray. I had to balance half my tray off the table for all of it to fit. Really shoddy. An hour into the flight, I started wondering about the legendary LH service and premium products. I felt like I was on Spirit. All right, not Spirit. Some other US carrier. It was especially disappointing when coming after the stellar ground product. Anyway KSML was: some sort of chocolate cream thing, Asian style noodles, a fish appetizer, bread rolls, and main was chicken and potatoes. I would call that OK for J. bA serves meat. After my tray was cleared I reclined the seat and put in an eye mask to try and sleep. The angled lie-flat is not comfortable at all for sleeping and is a bit too narrow. 30 minutes after service was completed, the main cabin lights were on for some reason, despite the fact that nearly everyone was sleeping. Eventually they did go off. I never got the USB port to work which was pretty annoying. I didn't touch the IFE but it didn't look too impressive. Cabin lights were turned on 20 minutes before landing. I have to say it was shoddy of them to not offer coffee or OJ in J. There was also no hot towels offered till landing, I would've liked an additional hot towel service before dinner. I requested OJ from an FA and it was promptly served in a plastic cup. We landed 1/ minutes late at 322am.
Verdict: LH's ground product is excellent. Check-in is efficient. The lounge are well-signed and well appointed. Only complaint about lounges is that the selection of both food and reading material should be bigger. In the air, LH was awful. Definitely the worst experience I've ever had in premium. I doubt very much that I will be flying LH in J for a long time. Maybe when their new product comes out. That said, I would love to try LH F and my experience in J hasn't changed that. What I found interesting was that 10 days ago when I flew LX in J the situation was the opposite. In the air they were stellar. On the ground they were ok, though not awful. Maybe LX and LH's execs should get together so LH could teach LX how to create a lounge and LX could teach LH how to create a nice J cabin.
wolf539
May 3, 12, 8:38 am
Than they decided to search and rescan my carry-on because I had a salami which didn't clearly show.
This may be the funniest thing I've ever read on FT...! :D
ironmanjt
May 3, 12, 11:32 am
The gentlemen seated next to me flagged an FA to complain about the legroom. He said "I bought a first class ticket and I have less legroom than coach". The FA looked confused and she said "well what do you want me to do?". And he said "maybe you should sell the plane to a tiny African country". The FA said she will see what she could do.
Hahhahah that's awesome!
1P
May 3, 12, 1:25 pm
When entering the United Club, my BP was stamped stating that I have access so if I walked out I wouldn't need to get back in line. That was a nice touch that I think should be implemented Systemwide.
It's probably not a nice touch at all, but a hangover from the days when they would stamp your card to make sure that if you left the club and came back in they wouldn't give you another set of drink chits. :D
1P
May 3, 12, 1:28 pm
The gentlemen seated next to me flagged an FA to complain about the legroom. He said "I bought a first class ticket and I have less legroom than coach". The FA looked confused and she said "well what do you want me to do?". And he said "maybe you should sell the plane to a tiny African country".
The gentleman, like yourself, clearly wasn't aware that if he had booked 1A or 1B he would have had the cut-out in front of the seat and rather more legroom than on your side of the plane. It pays to be aware of these things.
1P
May 3, 12, 2:32 pm
The blanket and amenity kit were wrapped in plastic, in my opinion it's shoddy for F.
What a silly comment. The plastic wrapping is to make you feel that the contents are clean and sanitized. I think that's important for a blanket.
My major complaint about the IFE is that the screen is far from the seat and immovable.
Once again, ridiculous. Most F cabins have screens that are immovable and some distance away. But most of them are big, too, like UA's. Do you need glasses for distance vision?
was a small basket of Kettle chips and Kettle popcorn. There was also bottled water and wine. I grabbed a bag of chips
You grabbed a bag of something that was definitely not Kosher, alas.
Service was outstanding and definitely what I had in mind when I think of F. I'm impressed by UA. Best service I've ever had on a UA flight. But the hard product, food, and bathrooms could use work.
It may be difficult to take, but I think your experience would have been rather different if you hadn't needed Kosher food. The problem is that US post-merger is not geared up to this, and Continental was notoriously bad at it. If you need Kosher food, fly another airline until they have the merger problems sorted out.
rittenhousesq
May 3, 12, 7:24 pm
Thanks for writing your trip report. In the future you should write your narrative in smaller paragraphs, as writing in one big paragraph makes the report hard to read.
BA_Jfan
May 4, 12, 1:18 am
Kettle chips most certainly are kosher. I buy them at home.
I apologize for jumbling everything into 1 paragraph. I typed it on Pages on my iPod touch.
Maybe its just me, but I just don't think that plastic wrap is nice.
ORDnHKG
May 11, 12, 12:38 pm
From your reports, you sound like your GS status was granted from whatever companies you worked for without flying much UA at all ?
As those you said are pretty common in both UA domestic F and int'l F experience: plasitc cups on the ground and real glass in the air, I had never seen glass on the ground (6 legs the past 2 weeks including one yesterday, all plastic), not sure what you were getting. There are no merger of PMUA and CO FA yet, so of course PMUA FA work on PMUA planes only, and PMCO FA work on PMCO planes only. Of course SFO-ORD on 757 is with PMUA, as that config only exist on PMUA 757.
Special meals for all domestic flights (except PS, EWR-LAX/SFO, Hawaii) had been discontuned since Oct 1st of 2011, I would expect a real GS fly that much a year would know about this long time ago, I mean are you saying as a GS you haven't flown any UA flights for 6 months ?
What other airlines TV in F is not far and immovable from the seat ? Can you even name one ?
I hate to say this, but you sounded like one of those DYKWIA, especially when you think just because of your status you can use the showers in ORD IFL, and because of your GS status you can use SEN lounge in FRA.
The plastic wrap on blankets and amenity kits are definately not shoddy, like the other poster mentioned, it is for sanitary reason. Believe or not, some airlines will reuse amenity kits and slippers, use the same blankets from the last pax without washing, when those items are not plastic wrapped. I had seen dirty slippers both on LH and OZ, as well as missing items in OZ's C amenity kits, and none of those gave out plastic wrapped.