Indurain
Sep 6, 00, 6:48 pm
The long-awaited end-of-summer holiday weekend finally arrived, and I happily left the office after a day of labor to begin my Labor Day weekend. We're scheduled to meet Catman after LarryU, QuietLion and HoneyBear. A short drive was all it took to reach E-Z Airpark next to SNA for my SFO rendezvous with Honeybaby and her first ever flight in business class. Honeybaby and I have a friendly rivalry in our choice of airlines - she prefers WN and I'm a UA loyal, so she is sure to be in her "critic's mode" on our flights (her report will follow).
The Usual UA Delays
SNA was surprisingly normal in the eve of the last long weekend of the summer. I took the elevator up to the RCC to check in, and the agent upgrades me all the way through but gently pushed the upgrade cert back to me saying I should save it for another flight. A few snacks later I bid the agent a good weekend and roamed the terminal jotting down registration numbers for my upcoming UA project. A quick bite later I called Honeybaby to confirm the flight is on-time, as flight paging and video monitors told me. No sooner had I called, the gate agent says we have a ground hold of 30 minutes. Rats, I'll miss the connection! I call again to tell her the bad news as I get in line behind a bunch of unhappy faces. The agent was a bit relieved to see a not-so-unhappy face when I approached. We checked out alternatives after I explained to the agent that I cannot re-route via LAX since my companion is waiting for me at SFO. Then it dawned on me that I can just check the electronic timetable sitting in my laptop, and it quickly yielded several possible routes, all providing lots of connections and extra miles. It was a relief when flight paging beeped that the connection is also delayed, we can just stick to the original itinerary. We finally board 40 minutes late, and as I turned left towards my seat, a mechanic was walking out with a MFD from the cockpit. Turns out, they had to deliver a replacement unit from LAX, which added to our delay.
UA206 SNA-SFO
This aircraft is one of the few remaining 757s in the fleet without new seats. After receiving my preflight drink, my seatmate showed up. She is an auditor in her 3rd year as 1K traveling 70% of the year. Wow, one of the few females in first class that isn't an employee. Some more delays while paperwork is being done, and we killed time with discussions of upgrades, FlyerTalk, and the recent delays. She was surprised that my certs don't have my name on them, as she claims all her certs have her last name, so she can only give them to immediate family members. She was lukewarm about FlyerTalk, so I doubt we're getting a new member. We finally push back about 1 hour late, and sadly, channel 9 switched to top pops after engine start. It was a rather bumpy flight, but I slept most of the way, which happens when I stay up late packing. A smooth landing at SFO, and 3 gate changes later we finally settle on a gate and park. As I emerged from the gate Honeybaby's face lit up with a huge smile.
Musical gates, and now Musical Planes
We head to the gate for our connection before going to the RCC for a snack and find the 767-200 being pushed away. I inquire with the gate agent, and he informs me there is an aircraft change. I ask in obvious excitement if it will be replaced with a -300, and the agent turns to the captain for the answer, but the captain replies, "that's what I wanted to know, they didn't tell me what I'll be flying." Oh well, off to the RCC, we'll find out about the plane change later.
UA4 SFO-JFK
We reach the gate at 11pm for the rescheduled 11:15pm departure. Not only is the replacement aircraft not a 763, it is in fact N601UA, the first 762 in UA's inventory, delivered in 1982. Boarding has already begun, so we get in line and quickly found our seats. The overhead bins on the 767s are now the smallest in the fleet, now that all narrow-bodies have updated enlarged bins. I had to place one of our rollers in the closet because the bin will not hold two of them. Once in our seats, we waited and waited and waited, but the door remains open, and ground crew after ground crew board, talk to the flight crew, and wander down the aisles looking at passengers. The captain finally comes on the PA to say he decided on the plane change because they're expecting a bumpy ride and the other aircraft had some problem which is not good for bumpy rides, and they are now trying to transfer fuel between the tanks to balance them properly. The doors finally close past midnight, and we're off and flying soon after. Channel 9 was available, but I fell asleep soon after takeoff. Honeybaby will provide a detailed report of the meals on this red-eye, I slept the whole way. It turned out to be a fairly smooth flight, not many bumpy moments at all. We arrive 2 hours late, and upon arrival, as I swam upstream to retrieve the bag from the galley closet, Honeybaby had a celebrity sighting which left her giddy with excitement. Its definitely something she and Rudi can talk about in next weekend's SFO meet.
That's it for now, stay tuned for more!
The Usual UA Delays
SNA was surprisingly normal in the eve of the last long weekend of the summer. I took the elevator up to the RCC to check in, and the agent upgrades me all the way through but gently pushed the upgrade cert back to me saying I should save it for another flight. A few snacks later I bid the agent a good weekend and roamed the terminal jotting down registration numbers for my upcoming UA project. A quick bite later I called Honeybaby to confirm the flight is on-time, as flight paging and video monitors told me. No sooner had I called, the gate agent says we have a ground hold of 30 minutes. Rats, I'll miss the connection! I call again to tell her the bad news as I get in line behind a bunch of unhappy faces. The agent was a bit relieved to see a not-so-unhappy face when I approached. We checked out alternatives after I explained to the agent that I cannot re-route via LAX since my companion is waiting for me at SFO. Then it dawned on me that I can just check the electronic timetable sitting in my laptop, and it quickly yielded several possible routes, all providing lots of connections and extra miles. It was a relief when flight paging beeped that the connection is also delayed, we can just stick to the original itinerary. We finally board 40 minutes late, and as I turned left towards my seat, a mechanic was walking out with a MFD from the cockpit. Turns out, they had to deliver a replacement unit from LAX, which added to our delay.
UA206 SNA-SFO
This aircraft is one of the few remaining 757s in the fleet without new seats. After receiving my preflight drink, my seatmate showed up. She is an auditor in her 3rd year as 1K traveling 70% of the year. Wow, one of the few females in first class that isn't an employee. Some more delays while paperwork is being done, and we killed time with discussions of upgrades, FlyerTalk, and the recent delays. She was surprised that my certs don't have my name on them, as she claims all her certs have her last name, so she can only give them to immediate family members. She was lukewarm about FlyerTalk, so I doubt we're getting a new member. We finally push back about 1 hour late, and sadly, channel 9 switched to top pops after engine start. It was a rather bumpy flight, but I slept most of the way, which happens when I stay up late packing. A smooth landing at SFO, and 3 gate changes later we finally settle on a gate and park. As I emerged from the gate Honeybaby's face lit up with a huge smile.
Musical gates, and now Musical Planes
We head to the gate for our connection before going to the RCC for a snack and find the 767-200 being pushed away. I inquire with the gate agent, and he informs me there is an aircraft change. I ask in obvious excitement if it will be replaced with a -300, and the agent turns to the captain for the answer, but the captain replies, "that's what I wanted to know, they didn't tell me what I'll be flying." Oh well, off to the RCC, we'll find out about the plane change later.
UA4 SFO-JFK
We reach the gate at 11pm for the rescheduled 11:15pm departure. Not only is the replacement aircraft not a 763, it is in fact N601UA, the first 762 in UA's inventory, delivered in 1982. Boarding has already begun, so we get in line and quickly found our seats. The overhead bins on the 767s are now the smallest in the fleet, now that all narrow-bodies have updated enlarged bins. I had to place one of our rollers in the closet because the bin will not hold two of them. Once in our seats, we waited and waited and waited, but the door remains open, and ground crew after ground crew board, talk to the flight crew, and wander down the aisles looking at passengers. The captain finally comes on the PA to say he decided on the plane change because they're expecting a bumpy ride and the other aircraft had some problem which is not good for bumpy rides, and they are now trying to transfer fuel between the tanks to balance them properly. The doors finally close past midnight, and we're off and flying soon after. Channel 9 was available, but I fell asleep soon after takeoff. Honeybaby will provide a detailed report of the meals on this red-eye, I slept the whole way. It turned out to be a fairly smooth flight, not many bumpy moments at all. We arrive 2 hours late, and upon arrival, as I swam upstream to retrieve the bag from the galley closet, Honeybaby had a celebrity sighting which left her giddy with excitement. Its definitely something she and Rudi can talk about in next weekend's SFO meet.
That's it for now, stay tuned for more!