harold
Dec 12, 00, 10:28 am
In late October when I determined that I may come up short in re-qualifying for Gold with US, I booked my first mileage run of any sort. I chose Frankfurt since it would get the miles needed, I could fly on the A-330, and most importantly, get into Envoy using a system-wide.
Since I have two small children and didn't want to leave the wife alone with both of them for any longer than necessary, this would be a true mileage run…..get there, turn around and fly home.
I'll skip the domestic pieces and cut straight to the over water legs.
PIT-FRA US#782 A330-300
No Envoy lounge in PIT, but the regular US lounge was willing to provide drink coupons without asking.
Passports were checked a total of three times…..at check-in on the domestic leg, at the gate for FRA, and again when boarding passes were collected at the door.
Champaign, mimosas, menus and amenity kits were handed out as I settled into 3C. The amenity kit from Crabtree and Evelyn contained a toothbrush, hand lotion, lip balm, socks and eye shades. I also checked out the much touted first class cabin where the FA on duty was proud to show off the lay-flat seats and bedding supplied to each pampered quest, which in this case was only one.
Pushback was delayed for an hour as they attempted to rebalance the fuel load. Once in air, I immediately went to playing with the fully electronic seat. Unfortunately, the leg rest would not comply with my commands so I summoned the FA for help. He couldn't get it to lift either (apparently there are no manual overrides) so he asked me to sit tight while he summoned more help. Like any FT'er worth their salt, I thought this might be the hidden route to the land of double upgrades. I had my plea all worked out…"You can't expect me to sit here with no footrest for 8 hours, so please move me up to the first class cabin." But a couple of minutes later the first class FA dashed my hopes when she asked me to move to 5C, taking one of only two open seats in Envoy.
After hearing about the A-330 first class lavatory on FT, I was anxious to see what all the hoopla was about. It is large and well lit, with flowers and fragrances and lotions for the well-heeled traveler. Upon exiting the lavatory, I was greeted by a male FA. He politely informed me that as an Envoy passenger, I was expected to use the lavatory in Envoy so as not to disturb the first class passenger…..first time in all my flying that I've been asked to avoid the first class lav.
Having now been humbled back into my lowly Envoy existence, I returned to my seat and began to watch The Perfect Storm. The personal video system on the A-330 is simply amazing. Fully interactive and coupled with noise reducing headphones, I can't imagine a better in-flight entertainment system. I loved being able to pause or rewind the show at will. The headphones worked well but they weren't very comfortable. The headphone plugs are unique to the aircraft, so not only would it be useless to remove the headphones from the plane, I don't know if any of the NR headphones on the market would be adaptable.
Dinner service began with appetizers and salads prepared from carts in the aisle. I chose pasta and lobster as my entrée and enjoyed every bite. (I kept the menus if anyone is interested) Assorted cheeses and/or a chocolate grenache cake were offered for dessert. The cake was delicious. A snacking station was setup in the mid-section galley in between the two meal services. A light breakfast of pastries, bagels, fresh fruit and a mediocre egg quesadila was served about 90 minutes out of Frankfurt. Arrival lounge access cards were passed out about 30 minutes before touchdown.
Thanks to our delay in PIT, we arrived FRA about 45 minutes behind schedule. To compound matters, our gate was occupied with a Malaysian 747. After about 15 minutes, the 747 was towed to a holding tarmac and we were allowed to deplane. I immediately went to the Cathay lounge where I showered and changed before my 2.5-hour airport shopping spree and return flight. Customs, which is AFTER, the arrivals lounge was a breeze. I headed straight for the US counter and checked in for my return flight. Much to my delight, the agent failed to ask for my system-wide upgrade…..but more on this later.
Return flight report to follow.
[This message has been edited by harold (edited 12-12-2000).]
[This message has been edited by harold (edited 12-12-2000).]
Since I have two small children and didn't want to leave the wife alone with both of them for any longer than necessary, this would be a true mileage run…..get there, turn around and fly home.
I'll skip the domestic pieces and cut straight to the over water legs.
PIT-FRA US#782 A330-300
No Envoy lounge in PIT, but the regular US lounge was willing to provide drink coupons without asking.
Passports were checked a total of three times…..at check-in on the domestic leg, at the gate for FRA, and again when boarding passes were collected at the door.
Champaign, mimosas, menus and amenity kits were handed out as I settled into 3C. The amenity kit from Crabtree and Evelyn contained a toothbrush, hand lotion, lip balm, socks and eye shades. I also checked out the much touted first class cabin where the FA on duty was proud to show off the lay-flat seats and bedding supplied to each pampered quest, which in this case was only one.
Pushback was delayed for an hour as they attempted to rebalance the fuel load. Once in air, I immediately went to playing with the fully electronic seat. Unfortunately, the leg rest would not comply with my commands so I summoned the FA for help. He couldn't get it to lift either (apparently there are no manual overrides) so he asked me to sit tight while he summoned more help. Like any FT'er worth their salt, I thought this might be the hidden route to the land of double upgrades. I had my plea all worked out…"You can't expect me to sit here with no footrest for 8 hours, so please move me up to the first class cabin." But a couple of minutes later the first class FA dashed my hopes when she asked me to move to 5C, taking one of only two open seats in Envoy.
After hearing about the A-330 first class lavatory on FT, I was anxious to see what all the hoopla was about. It is large and well lit, with flowers and fragrances and lotions for the well-heeled traveler. Upon exiting the lavatory, I was greeted by a male FA. He politely informed me that as an Envoy passenger, I was expected to use the lavatory in Envoy so as not to disturb the first class passenger…..first time in all my flying that I've been asked to avoid the first class lav.
Having now been humbled back into my lowly Envoy existence, I returned to my seat and began to watch The Perfect Storm. The personal video system on the A-330 is simply amazing. Fully interactive and coupled with noise reducing headphones, I can't imagine a better in-flight entertainment system. I loved being able to pause or rewind the show at will. The headphones worked well but they weren't very comfortable. The headphone plugs are unique to the aircraft, so not only would it be useless to remove the headphones from the plane, I don't know if any of the NR headphones on the market would be adaptable.
Dinner service began with appetizers and salads prepared from carts in the aisle. I chose pasta and lobster as my entrée and enjoyed every bite. (I kept the menus if anyone is interested) Assorted cheeses and/or a chocolate grenache cake were offered for dessert. The cake was delicious. A snacking station was setup in the mid-section galley in between the two meal services. A light breakfast of pastries, bagels, fresh fruit and a mediocre egg quesadila was served about 90 minutes out of Frankfurt. Arrival lounge access cards were passed out about 30 minutes before touchdown.
Thanks to our delay in PIT, we arrived FRA about 45 minutes behind schedule. To compound matters, our gate was occupied with a Malaysian 747. After about 15 minutes, the 747 was towed to a holding tarmac and we were allowed to deplane. I immediately went to the Cathay lounge where I showered and changed before my 2.5-hour airport shopping spree and return flight. Customs, which is AFTER, the arrivals lounge was a breeze. I headed straight for the US counter and checked in for my return flight. Much to my delight, the agent failed to ask for my system-wide upgrade…..but more on this later.
Return flight report to follow.
[This message has been edited by harold (edited 12-12-2000).]
[This message has been edited by harold (edited 12-12-2000).]