Carfield
Feb 8, 00, 2:25 pm
Hi Everyone,
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! This is the year of dragon, BTW!
I went back to LA for the occasion, and it was a day of getting red pocket money, saying nice things to family and friends, and eating lots of noodles (which symbolize long lives). United is once again the choice of my carrier and the service, however, was very disappointing on this pair of roundtrip.
UA 1643
ABQ-DEN Boeing 727-200
N7253U 1803 departure 1912 arrival
My original flight, UA 592, with a 4:45pm departure, was cancelled due to last minute mechanical problem. I did not realize the problem until I arrived at the check in line. That means I had only forty minutes to connect to my LA bound flights with two checked bags. I was very concerned because UAL lost my bags last time. Anyway, I was still confirmed in F class with 1A, and I went to the observation deck for a bit. I managed to take some pictures of a SWA Boeing 737-700. It was nice. The plane came in from Denver on time and we began boarding at 5:30pm. The flight was full due the cancellations (later I found out) of both the 2:45pm and 4:45pm departure (two flights in a row), and the ground staffs worked nonstop to accommodate all the connecting passengers. They were even sending passengers to other airlines, such as TWA and SWA and AA. What a smart move, United!
Pre-takeoff beverage was offered to everyone in F class, and the flight pushed back at 6:04pm and we took off after ten minutes (quite a lengthy wait for ABQ… There was only one AA's MD-80 in front of us, but I guess there were some military activities around). Typical beverage service after took off in both F and Y class, and the staffs were very senior, friendly, and professional… reminded me a bit of international service.
We landed at 7:05pm and never got into a gate until 7:26pm. It was unbelievable. My last flight from SFO and Denver in Jan arrived early, but never got a gate till 45 minutes later. What was going on with United! I was very nervous because the connection was tight and I had bags. I saw two empty gates, B33 and 35 (where our plane was waited) and there was a out-of-service Boeing 727 occupying Gate 37. It was waiting to be towed back to the maintenance base. The highlight was that we were parked at B15 - the furthest gate from anywhere in the terminal. The wait at Denver's tarmac had already happened once since the Millennium began. I really want to know what is up with United's operation at DEN…
UA 1639
DEN-LAX Boeing 747-400
7:50pm departure 9:13pm arrival
I ran to gate B30/32 and boarding already took place. I went to the upper deck and headed towards my seat at 12A. I looked around and the flight was pretty full. There was a full pre-takeoff beverage today and our flight was not pushed back till 7:57pm due to unknown reason (waiting for bags - thank you!). After we pushed back, our flight did not move for the next twenty minutes and there was no announcement made. Everyone just sat and slept, and I could not wait till the plane took off to get my snack - I did not have time to grab food… and the food at ABQ was horrific and I did not want to eat BaskinRobbin ice-cream for dinner. Fortunately, there was the Chinese music channel and I had fun listening to some nice canto and mandarin pops. Finally, we took off at 8:27pm and the captain made a really vague announcement about the delay - I did not understand the pilot anyway.
Drinks were served after takeoff, which followed by a snack service. Today's snack was a choice of Chicken Sandwich with fruit appetizers (pineapple, kiwi, strawberry, and grapes) and a side spinach salad or a Ham with chopped walnut salad with warmed white roll; both with a prepackaged shortbread biscuit. I had the chicken sandwich, which was a bit on the dry side, but I was too hungry to complaint about anything. The fruit slices were however quite sweet and fresh today. There was the usual short subject presentation on both the PTV and mainscreen system. I watch the sitcom and moved on to the cartoons for a while before landing. No Skymap…
Our flight landed perfectly and beautifully at 9:22pm and we were parked at Gate 68B. Another problem… The baggage claim operated by United at Terminal 6 was closed for unknown reason and we had to hike back to Terminal 7/8 for bags. It was a long walk and we even had to walk outdoor due to the international arrival center between T6 and T7/8. It was not a pleasant walk, but my bags made it…
Returning on Sunday on UA 1014
LAX-DEN Boeing 747-400
N183UA with old first class seats 1445 departure and 1757 arrival
Once again the check-in line was empty but the boarding took place at Gate 68B. Anyway, I got the chance to take a couple CO's Boeing 737-800 pictures. Boarding took place at 2:15pm with a chaotic scene because United decided to use only one jetway for this jumbo jet. I took my seat, 6A, at the main deck, and was offered a choice of orange juice, champagne, mimosa, and water for pre-takeoff beverage. I had no neighbor today and the flight was half full in F class section. The door was closed at 2:45pm and took off at 3:04pm. I saw the trio of Air Pacific's Boeing 747-200, ANZ, and QF's Boeing 747-400s parked at the remote stands. I also saw an US Airways's A319 took off - what a beautiful sight.
The seat was the typical United's new Business class seats, but the individual reading lamps were no longer around. They no longer existed and I was curious why United took off those lamps. Our flying time was one hour and forty-six minutes with the cruising attitude of 37,000ft. Jesse was shown in the mainscreen and the personal TV system showed a couple short subjects and the movie, "The Muse." I watched cartoons again, listened to the Divas' concert - Whitney Houston, and Channel 14 (ATC) for a bit. The snack was exact the same as the outbound flight. I had the chicken again. The fruit is not as good, but it is a nice snack. Our flight landed at 5:49pm and was parked at Gate B30/32 quickly.
UA 1407 Boeing 737-300
DEN-ABQ N361UA with new seats
The flight came in from Detroit but the boarding did not begin till 7:35pm due to the late arrival of the cleaners. The F/As today were Tampa-based and were not too enthusiastic about serving us. The plane did not push back till 8:14pm because we were waiting for many Washington DC passengers, and the plane was completely full. We even waited for their bags because our flight was the last one to ABQ. During that thirty minutes, the F/A decided to sit around with the pilot and copilot at the cockpit, and ate a big pack of real pretzels. There was no pre-takeoff drink, despite of sufficient time.
Our flight finally took off at 8:26 pm. Our flying time was only 47 minutes and stayed at 31,000ft for the whole time. There was the typical beverage service for both F and Y class. The flight landed at ABQ at 9:14pm - ten minutes later only. I was thankful to be back. The wait for bags was long just like most ABQ's nightime flight. My bag came out within the first bunch.
Next trip: NYC in two weeks…
------------------
Carfield
Menu Scavengers
Inflight food critics
[This message has been edited by Carfield (edited 02-08-2000).]
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! This is the year of dragon, BTW!
I went back to LA for the occasion, and it was a day of getting red pocket money, saying nice things to family and friends, and eating lots of noodles (which symbolize long lives). United is once again the choice of my carrier and the service, however, was very disappointing on this pair of roundtrip.
UA 1643
ABQ-DEN Boeing 727-200
N7253U 1803 departure 1912 arrival
My original flight, UA 592, with a 4:45pm departure, was cancelled due to last minute mechanical problem. I did not realize the problem until I arrived at the check in line. That means I had only forty minutes to connect to my LA bound flights with two checked bags. I was very concerned because UAL lost my bags last time. Anyway, I was still confirmed in F class with 1A, and I went to the observation deck for a bit. I managed to take some pictures of a SWA Boeing 737-700. It was nice. The plane came in from Denver on time and we began boarding at 5:30pm. The flight was full due the cancellations (later I found out) of both the 2:45pm and 4:45pm departure (two flights in a row), and the ground staffs worked nonstop to accommodate all the connecting passengers. They were even sending passengers to other airlines, such as TWA and SWA and AA. What a smart move, United!
Pre-takeoff beverage was offered to everyone in F class, and the flight pushed back at 6:04pm and we took off after ten minutes (quite a lengthy wait for ABQ… There was only one AA's MD-80 in front of us, but I guess there were some military activities around). Typical beverage service after took off in both F and Y class, and the staffs were very senior, friendly, and professional… reminded me a bit of international service.
We landed at 7:05pm and never got into a gate until 7:26pm. It was unbelievable. My last flight from SFO and Denver in Jan arrived early, but never got a gate till 45 minutes later. What was going on with United! I was very nervous because the connection was tight and I had bags. I saw two empty gates, B33 and 35 (where our plane was waited) and there was a out-of-service Boeing 727 occupying Gate 37. It was waiting to be towed back to the maintenance base. The highlight was that we were parked at B15 - the furthest gate from anywhere in the terminal. The wait at Denver's tarmac had already happened once since the Millennium began. I really want to know what is up with United's operation at DEN…
UA 1639
DEN-LAX Boeing 747-400
7:50pm departure 9:13pm arrival
I ran to gate B30/32 and boarding already took place. I went to the upper deck and headed towards my seat at 12A. I looked around and the flight was pretty full. There was a full pre-takeoff beverage today and our flight was not pushed back till 7:57pm due to unknown reason (waiting for bags - thank you!). After we pushed back, our flight did not move for the next twenty minutes and there was no announcement made. Everyone just sat and slept, and I could not wait till the plane took off to get my snack - I did not have time to grab food… and the food at ABQ was horrific and I did not want to eat BaskinRobbin ice-cream for dinner. Fortunately, there was the Chinese music channel and I had fun listening to some nice canto and mandarin pops. Finally, we took off at 8:27pm and the captain made a really vague announcement about the delay - I did not understand the pilot anyway.
Drinks were served after takeoff, which followed by a snack service. Today's snack was a choice of Chicken Sandwich with fruit appetizers (pineapple, kiwi, strawberry, and grapes) and a side spinach salad or a Ham with chopped walnut salad with warmed white roll; both with a prepackaged shortbread biscuit. I had the chicken sandwich, which was a bit on the dry side, but I was too hungry to complaint about anything. The fruit slices were however quite sweet and fresh today. There was the usual short subject presentation on both the PTV and mainscreen system. I watch the sitcom and moved on to the cartoons for a while before landing. No Skymap…
Our flight landed perfectly and beautifully at 9:22pm and we were parked at Gate 68B. Another problem… The baggage claim operated by United at Terminal 6 was closed for unknown reason and we had to hike back to Terminal 7/8 for bags. It was a long walk and we even had to walk outdoor due to the international arrival center between T6 and T7/8. It was not a pleasant walk, but my bags made it…
Returning on Sunday on UA 1014
LAX-DEN Boeing 747-400
N183UA with old first class seats 1445 departure and 1757 arrival
Once again the check-in line was empty but the boarding took place at Gate 68B. Anyway, I got the chance to take a couple CO's Boeing 737-800 pictures. Boarding took place at 2:15pm with a chaotic scene because United decided to use only one jetway for this jumbo jet. I took my seat, 6A, at the main deck, and was offered a choice of orange juice, champagne, mimosa, and water for pre-takeoff beverage. I had no neighbor today and the flight was half full in F class section. The door was closed at 2:45pm and took off at 3:04pm. I saw the trio of Air Pacific's Boeing 747-200, ANZ, and QF's Boeing 747-400s parked at the remote stands. I also saw an US Airways's A319 took off - what a beautiful sight.
The seat was the typical United's new Business class seats, but the individual reading lamps were no longer around. They no longer existed and I was curious why United took off those lamps. Our flying time was one hour and forty-six minutes with the cruising attitude of 37,000ft. Jesse was shown in the mainscreen and the personal TV system showed a couple short subjects and the movie, "The Muse." I watched cartoons again, listened to the Divas' concert - Whitney Houston, and Channel 14 (ATC) for a bit. The snack was exact the same as the outbound flight. I had the chicken again. The fruit is not as good, but it is a nice snack. Our flight landed at 5:49pm and was parked at Gate B30/32 quickly.
UA 1407 Boeing 737-300
DEN-ABQ N361UA with new seats
The flight came in from Detroit but the boarding did not begin till 7:35pm due to the late arrival of the cleaners. The F/As today were Tampa-based and were not too enthusiastic about serving us. The plane did not push back till 8:14pm because we were waiting for many Washington DC passengers, and the plane was completely full. We even waited for their bags because our flight was the last one to ABQ. During that thirty minutes, the F/A decided to sit around with the pilot and copilot at the cockpit, and ate a big pack of real pretzels. There was no pre-takeoff drink, despite of sufficient time.
Our flight finally took off at 8:26 pm. Our flying time was only 47 minutes and stayed at 31,000ft for the whole time. There was the typical beverage service for both F and Y class. The flight landed at ABQ at 9:14pm - ten minutes later only. I was thankful to be back. The wait for bags was long just like most ABQ's nightime flight. My bag came out within the first bunch.
Next trip: NYC in two weeks…
------------------
Carfield
Menu Scavengers
Inflight food critics
[This message has been edited by Carfield (edited 02-08-2000).]