johna
Jun 1, 00, 12:59 pm
I don't normally file trip reports unless there was something particular about the experience; this trip had several incidents worth sharing. For those who want just the highlights, look for Concorde and LHR-IAD in BA First
By the way, many of you are aware that my stamina has been less than wonderful since I my hospital stay 2/29-3/17. But I did fine on this trip, even though my room in Florence was 55 steps up and in Venice 75; in fact I even climbed to the top of the Campanille in Florence (414 steps, but I took my time!).
5/11/00 SFO-EWR on UA #70 in First
For the second time in six months, I woke up on flight day with my gut in violent rebellion…but of course I wasn't about to cancel or delay the trip - I had theatre tickets that night! Normally I prefer the window in first class (I like to watch the geography, and even carry a small atlas for that purpose), but this time (as before) I explained to my seatmate that I was likely to be up frequently during the flight and it might be in his best interest to change. Both agreed easily, and the subsequent flights proved the veracity of my predictions.
This time I stayed awake just through the taking of the breakfast orders, United's usual choice of breakfast sampler or fruit plate. I explained that I couldn't eat anything now, but would choose the fruit plate if they could hold it for me until the end of the flight when it would be a much safer choice than the deli cart. No problem, and I was off to sleep.
By the way, at SFO the UA employee guarding the different lines insisted that the "First Class" line is only for those who are ticketed in first, not those with in coach with confirmed upgrades. I've never run into this before - has anybody else?
New York City 5/11-15
Six shows in four days (I'm a theatre nut):
Contact
Fully Committed
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Copenhagen
Dirty Blonde
Rose
I highly recommend the first two as just plain fun; the next three were excellent, and Rose was good but suffered by such extravagant comparisons.
And I had been able to arrange lunch with RichG - always good to meet another FlyerTalker.
5/15/00 JFK-LHR on BA #004 (Concorde)
Years ago United had a winter award of BA Concorde for 90,000 miles; I've been kicking myself for not taking advantage. Yes, I'm familiar with the thread here last summer ("It's old and it's cramped, and unless time is of the essence I'd rather fly Business Class."). Still, I've always wanted to fly it.
BA has a 110,000 award that's Concorde JFK to LHR, then business class back. That would seem to be perfect, but I decided to burn an extra 15,000 miles for their award that's Concorde both directions. That way my return LHR to IAD would be in first instead of business, plus the larger award included onward travel in Europe. That's how I decided on Venice and Florence: "Where have I wanted to go in Europe that would otherwise be the most expensive ticket to buy?!"
And why am I thanking FlyerTalk in the title to this thread? Because I didn't even have a BA account last fall, but was able to do a few mileage runs and qualify for the OneWorld 100,000 mile bonus on American. It was on FlyerTalk somebody pointed out I could credit the returns to a different airline, and get the bonus twice; that (plus the runs) got me 104,000 miles in my (new) BA account. Add 16,000 miles from Diners Club (7,000 during last fall's 2-for-1 deal!) and $100 to "buy up" the last 5,000 miles, and voilá: 125,000 miles and I'm on the Concorde!
First and foremost the service was wonderful, and it certainly was FAST, but I'd have to agree with the consensus that it ain't worth it unless speed is critical. The seats are about the size of domestic first class (without foot rests); international business (let alone first) would be more comfy. I'm 5'6" and could only stand "tall" in the aisle because the curve over the seats is rather steep.
I wasn't aware of the speed (the display in the front of the cabin showed Mach 2.0 most of the way), but the additional altitude (we flew at 55,000 feet) was obvious looking out the window - even the cloud layers were way further down! Yes, you can see the curvature of the earth, but just barely - I don't think I would have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it. At the end of the flight, the descent was steep enough to be noticeable - we came down to Mach .96 and 37,000 feet, and flew there the last 20-30 minutes. Sunset / dusk / darkness progressed much faster, of course, because of our faster speed.
There was no pre-takeoff drink service (although they did take orders for once we got started); while this would be a demerit in most trip reports it's mitigated by the fact that the Concorde lounge had a full open bar (with wonderful-looking canapés, but who wants to stuff themselves before the flight itself?). And "pre-takeoff" was only about 10 or 15 minutes - they didn't board us until the last minute (with only 26 passengers they didn't need to!).
Concorde includes a "souvenir" gift Concorde writing implement from a London stationer (I forget the manufacture, but recognized the name); I got the mechanical pencil.
Service started soon after takeoff: drinks served with a small tray of 6 canapés that were as artsy as they were tasty. The caviar service was an exercise in conspicuous consumption: instead of serving it from a cart like United used to do in international first, each tray was set with a 30-gram jar of caviar (just over an ounce!), as well as the accompaniments (grated egg yolk, chopped onions, chopped egg white) on a separate plate in "bullseye" fashion. That was worth a photograph (yes, I was tacky and took a few photos enroute). Only the toast rounds were served from the cart.
Salt and pepper were not in United's tacky tubes, or even in glass shakers (with tacky plastic tops): each tray had a individual grinders for both salt and pepper.
Entrée choices were pepper crusted fillet steak (which I had; it arrived medium rare, which seems to me quite an accomplishment on an airplane); grilled monkfish; wild mushroom risotto; and salad of seared chicken and cold meats. And of course dessert (a lemon tart that was just OK) and cheese (Carfield would approve!) and chocolates - all this in under 3½ hours! (They also offer an alternative of freshly made sandwiches "as an alternative" to the full menu.)
I asked for extra menus for Carfield (it's on its way) and my ex (whose jealousy won't prevent his salivating over the menu - I wrote him a stream-of-flight postcard on the Concorde stationery provided); she brought two more than I needed; e-mail me if you're interested!
The bathroom was lovely (as airplane bathrooms go) - no larger than normal, but nicer fittings, including cloth towels.
Interesting side note: the Concorde runs eastbound rather empty (normal is ~40 out of 100 seats; we only had 26) and much more full westbound (~75; the night before my flight the manifest was 96 passengers so they needed a 7th flight attendant (anytime over 80), who of course had to return with us so we had 7 attendants for 26 passengers! This explains why BA offers that 110,000 award mentioned above (Concorde eastbound; business class westbound). And I think the reason for the relative loads has to do with the business people who make up most of their clientele: eastbound the Concorde costs them a day of business, whereas in first (which they can afford if Concorde is the alternative) they can work in NYC, sleep overnight to LHR, and work the next day there. But westbound the opposite is true: the slow flights burn a business day, but with Concorde they can work in the morning in LHR, fly west (arriving before they left!) and work the afternoon in NYC.
I overnighted at the Ibis Hotel near LHR (RichG was right: small rooms with tiny TV's, but I was only there 8 hours at night so fine for my pursposes, then on to Venice in the morning.
5/16/00 LHR-VCE (Venice) on BA #588 (business class)
A morning flight, so a typical breakfast of cheese omelet, bacon, etc. The views over the Alps were spectacular, and the view of Venice as we landed gave me some perspective on the geography. The airport is right at the water's edge - the easiest way to Venice proper is the water taxi, a boat whose dock is just outside the arrivals gate!
BA broke one wheel off my suitcase on this leg, which made getting around the rest of the trip a bit more difficult. But they should pay for the repair, which won't cost much anyway because of the bag's lifetime guarantee.
Three days in Venice and three in Florence were just about right - I had been to both in 1996 (three nights/two days each), so this time concentrated on things I hadn't done before, which meant smaller crowds since I was further from the tourist track. I took the train roundtrip between the cities; second class was just fine on the Eurostar. That was under $25USD each direction; first class was nearly double.
In Florence I put up a note looking for a doctor or nurse who could change the dressing on my IV line. The pensione was convinced there weren't any, since none had registered - I guess the Italian love of titles means that Italians would register as So-and-So MD or RN! But I quickly got a call from a nurse (who happens to live 75 miles north of San Francisco!), and we had a nice chat while she changed the dressing. Of course, while I was out during the day I picked up some chocolates to leave for her.
Returning to Venice I stayed at a cheap-o place near the airport: only one star, but under $35USD! It was fine for a night or a very tight budget; I've discovered that I'm perfectly happy in 2-star European hotels.
5/23/00 VCE-LHR on BA #587 (business class)
My return from Venice was also a morning flight: similar menu, except plain omelet and Cumberland sausage in addition to the bacon.
5/23/00 LHR-IAD on BA #217 (first class)
Then First Class from LHR to IAD, in whatever BA calls their sleeper seat! The menu is more varied (and more choices) than on the Concorde; when I didn't want a salad he suggested the soup in addition to the asparagus (and then forgot to bring the soup). Other appetisers (sic) were king prawns and green salad.
Main Course choices were rack of lamb with a Boursin herb crust (my choice; it was wonderful); chicken curry; grilled sea bass; and basil polenta with goat cheese. "Lighter Options" were a steak sandwich and two different pastas. That's 7 choices in all, for a cabin that seats 16 and only held 8 my day! BA offers "A la carte dining," where you can have whichever elements you want, whenever in the flight you want them…but most people went fairly traditional and ate soon after our 12:30 takeoff (heck, I was hungry!). Desserts included fresh berries with créme fraiche and shortbread, and (my choice) a praline and dark chocolate mousse (excellent, and very rich - much better than the Concorde's lemon tart). And of course cheese, fruits, and chocolates again. In both directions, by the way, I left my main course unfinished in order to leave room for the items still to come.
The "Afternoon Tea" was fine - the pastries looked a bit wanting, so I skipped them in favor of just the sandwiches and the scones with preserves and clotted cream. You have to draw the line somewhere: I can get pastries here, but clotted cream is hard to find here, hence my priorities!
I mentioned the sleeper seat. Of course I took a photo of it unoccupied in upright position, as well as had the flight attendant take one of me lying prone ready to sleep. And certainly my 2-hour nap was more restful than on most flights. On the other hand, it's a bit tight, and a lid would complete the "coffin" experience. And my dream was definitely triggered by the sleeper seat experience.
I can only guess that these photos conveyed my excitement at the whole process, since that's the only explanation I can think of for the thrill still to come: about 15 minutes before landing, she came over to tell me that the Captain was wondering would I like to witness the landing from the flight deck?!! I almost had to ask her to repeat, since I was sure I'd mis-heard, but clearly that's what she was offering and it was a terrific experience. I took several pictures, and had two taken of me; one will definitely go into the "photo collage" I send out with my Christmas card each year.
DC and Williamsburg were fine - I've been to DC a zillion times (lunch with Kokonutz, plus I caught two current exhibits, Vikings at Natural history and Treasures from Topkapi Palace at the Corcoran, but the Impressionist exhibit at the National Gallery of Art opened just that weekend and the lines were horrendous). Even Williamsburg was my third time (including last summer), but always a pleasant few days. This part of the trip was with friends from the Bay Area - he had a conference in DC (which dictated the overall schedule for my trip), and she flew in for the weekend.
5/29/00 IAD-SFO on UA #947 (not!) in business class (not!) and UA #203 in coach
All good things have to come to an end, and this turned into the trip from hell when I got to the airport. Flight #947 (5:30pm departure) was "delayed", and in any event they couldn't use business class because the exit slide in that section was broken. There went my confirmed upgrade (but I did get a downgrade coupon - confirmable single segment upgrade - even though I never had given over coupons for the upgrade, a minor profit.)
Apparently our aircraft got hit by lightning coming in from Amsterdam; while this happens all the time, it was more severe this time - they took it away to do lots of mechanical, including replacing rivets, had to test all systems, etc… I settled in for a long wait; they promised more news at 7:00.
7:00 came and they revised to 8:00 (to their credit, United was good at updating us when to expect news, and reminding the masses every 15-20 minutes where things stood even if there were no new developments). The 7:40 flight took off oversold with no standbyes. At 8:00 they said 9:00 or 9:15, so at this point I went to the 1K desk to ask about the last flight out (at 9:50). It was also oversold, and even the standby list was closed…but Sue Noerr was fabulous: she phoned and typed and relatively quickly printed out a boarding pass (I was just looking to get on standby!). So I took Flight #203 instead of #947 (which still hadn't departed when I got to SFO, but had to go eventually because they needed to do the slide repair in SFO plus all flights in the morning were sold out as well, and they just didn't have enough seats available to offload a full 777).
Of course, my bags (two, note two) were still on #947, so I filled out a baggage claim form. #947 arrived around 1:45pm 5/30 (nearly 18 hours late!), and late in the afternoon they called that they were sending out my bag(s, I thought). At midnight the driver called that he had been hit by another car(!); I told him to deliver in the morning, which would be 30 hours after I'd arrived.
But only one bag was delivered! Called United, and it seems they had only entered one claim ticket into the system (even though they had taken two from me, and on my form I had entered both ticket numbers). Mistake #1 by United. At least the bag was in SFO, and would be delivered that afternoon. But the driver called me again - he had noticed (as United had not) that United had put my delivery tag on a bag whose nametag listed somebody else - they gave him the wrong bag (and when I called they had the gall to say that he had picked up the wrong bag)! Mistake #2 by United. The correct bag was finally delivered around 10:00pm - that's 45 hours after I landed, and even 32 hours after the bag landed!
Needless to say, United is getting a nasty note since the delay was entirely due to their two mistakes. I'm asking for $100 flight voucher - should I go higher? At least the problem was on the homebound leg, where I have clothes and medications on hand - outbound this would have been a disaster.
Other than the ending, it was a wonderful trip and a terrific experience!
[This message has been edited by johna (edited 06-01-2000).]
By the way, many of you are aware that my stamina has been less than wonderful since I my hospital stay 2/29-3/17. But I did fine on this trip, even though my room in Florence was 55 steps up and in Venice 75; in fact I even climbed to the top of the Campanille in Florence (414 steps, but I took my time!).
5/11/00 SFO-EWR on UA #70 in First
For the second time in six months, I woke up on flight day with my gut in violent rebellion…but of course I wasn't about to cancel or delay the trip - I had theatre tickets that night! Normally I prefer the window in first class (I like to watch the geography, and even carry a small atlas for that purpose), but this time (as before) I explained to my seatmate that I was likely to be up frequently during the flight and it might be in his best interest to change. Both agreed easily, and the subsequent flights proved the veracity of my predictions.
This time I stayed awake just through the taking of the breakfast orders, United's usual choice of breakfast sampler or fruit plate. I explained that I couldn't eat anything now, but would choose the fruit plate if they could hold it for me until the end of the flight when it would be a much safer choice than the deli cart. No problem, and I was off to sleep.
By the way, at SFO the UA employee guarding the different lines insisted that the "First Class" line is only for those who are ticketed in first, not those with in coach with confirmed upgrades. I've never run into this before - has anybody else?
New York City 5/11-15
Six shows in four days (I'm a theatre nut):
Contact
Fully Committed
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Copenhagen
Dirty Blonde
Rose
I highly recommend the first two as just plain fun; the next three were excellent, and Rose was good but suffered by such extravagant comparisons.
And I had been able to arrange lunch with RichG - always good to meet another FlyerTalker.
5/15/00 JFK-LHR on BA #004 (Concorde)
Years ago United had a winter award of BA Concorde for 90,000 miles; I've been kicking myself for not taking advantage. Yes, I'm familiar with the thread here last summer ("It's old and it's cramped, and unless time is of the essence I'd rather fly Business Class."). Still, I've always wanted to fly it.
BA has a 110,000 award that's Concorde JFK to LHR, then business class back. That would seem to be perfect, but I decided to burn an extra 15,000 miles for their award that's Concorde both directions. That way my return LHR to IAD would be in first instead of business, plus the larger award included onward travel in Europe. That's how I decided on Venice and Florence: "Where have I wanted to go in Europe that would otherwise be the most expensive ticket to buy?!"
And why am I thanking FlyerTalk in the title to this thread? Because I didn't even have a BA account last fall, but was able to do a few mileage runs and qualify for the OneWorld 100,000 mile bonus on American. It was on FlyerTalk somebody pointed out I could credit the returns to a different airline, and get the bonus twice; that (plus the runs) got me 104,000 miles in my (new) BA account. Add 16,000 miles from Diners Club (7,000 during last fall's 2-for-1 deal!) and $100 to "buy up" the last 5,000 miles, and voilá: 125,000 miles and I'm on the Concorde!
First and foremost the service was wonderful, and it certainly was FAST, but I'd have to agree with the consensus that it ain't worth it unless speed is critical. The seats are about the size of domestic first class (without foot rests); international business (let alone first) would be more comfy. I'm 5'6" and could only stand "tall" in the aisle because the curve over the seats is rather steep.
I wasn't aware of the speed (the display in the front of the cabin showed Mach 2.0 most of the way), but the additional altitude (we flew at 55,000 feet) was obvious looking out the window - even the cloud layers were way further down! Yes, you can see the curvature of the earth, but just barely - I don't think I would have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it. At the end of the flight, the descent was steep enough to be noticeable - we came down to Mach .96 and 37,000 feet, and flew there the last 20-30 minutes. Sunset / dusk / darkness progressed much faster, of course, because of our faster speed.
There was no pre-takeoff drink service (although they did take orders for once we got started); while this would be a demerit in most trip reports it's mitigated by the fact that the Concorde lounge had a full open bar (with wonderful-looking canapés, but who wants to stuff themselves before the flight itself?). And "pre-takeoff" was only about 10 or 15 minutes - they didn't board us until the last minute (with only 26 passengers they didn't need to!).
Concorde includes a "souvenir" gift Concorde writing implement from a London stationer (I forget the manufacture, but recognized the name); I got the mechanical pencil.
Service started soon after takeoff: drinks served with a small tray of 6 canapés that were as artsy as they were tasty. The caviar service was an exercise in conspicuous consumption: instead of serving it from a cart like United used to do in international first, each tray was set with a 30-gram jar of caviar (just over an ounce!), as well as the accompaniments (grated egg yolk, chopped onions, chopped egg white) on a separate plate in "bullseye" fashion. That was worth a photograph (yes, I was tacky and took a few photos enroute). Only the toast rounds were served from the cart.
Salt and pepper were not in United's tacky tubes, or even in glass shakers (with tacky plastic tops): each tray had a individual grinders for both salt and pepper.
Entrée choices were pepper crusted fillet steak (which I had; it arrived medium rare, which seems to me quite an accomplishment on an airplane); grilled monkfish; wild mushroom risotto; and salad of seared chicken and cold meats. And of course dessert (a lemon tart that was just OK) and cheese (Carfield would approve!) and chocolates - all this in under 3½ hours! (They also offer an alternative of freshly made sandwiches "as an alternative" to the full menu.)
I asked for extra menus for Carfield (it's on its way) and my ex (whose jealousy won't prevent his salivating over the menu - I wrote him a stream-of-flight postcard on the Concorde stationery provided); she brought two more than I needed; e-mail me if you're interested!
The bathroom was lovely (as airplane bathrooms go) - no larger than normal, but nicer fittings, including cloth towels.
Interesting side note: the Concorde runs eastbound rather empty (normal is ~40 out of 100 seats; we only had 26) and much more full westbound (~75; the night before my flight the manifest was 96 passengers so they needed a 7th flight attendant (anytime over 80), who of course had to return with us so we had 7 attendants for 26 passengers! This explains why BA offers that 110,000 award mentioned above (Concorde eastbound; business class westbound). And I think the reason for the relative loads has to do with the business people who make up most of their clientele: eastbound the Concorde costs them a day of business, whereas in first (which they can afford if Concorde is the alternative) they can work in NYC, sleep overnight to LHR, and work the next day there. But westbound the opposite is true: the slow flights burn a business day, but with Concorde they can work in the morning in LHR, fly west (arriving before they left!) and work the afternoon in NYC.
I overnighted at the Ibis Hotel near LHR (RichG was right: small rooms with tiny TV's, but I was only there 8 hours at night so fine for my pursposes, then on to Venice in the morning.
5/16/00 LHR-VCE (Venice) on BA #588 (business class)
A morning flight, so a typical breakfast of cheese omelet, bacon, etc. The views over the Alps were spectacular, and the view of Venice as we landed gave me some perspective on the geography. The airport is right at the water's edge - the easiest way to Venice proper is the water taxi, a boat whose dock is just outside the arrivals gate!
BA broke one wheel off my suitcase on this leg, which made getting around the rest of the trip a bit more difficult. But they should pay for the repair, which won't cost much anyway because of the bag's lifetime guarantee.
Three days in Venice and three in Florence were just about right - I had been to both in 1996 (three nights/two days each), so this time concentrated on things I hadn't done before, which meant smaller crowds since I was further from the tourist track. I took the train roundtrip between the cities; second class was just fine on the Eurostar. That was under $25USD each direction; first class was nearly double.
In Florence I put up a note looking for a doctor or nurse who could change the dressing on my IV line. The pensione was convinced there weren't any, since none had registered - I guess the Italian love of titles means that Italians would register as So-and-So MD or RN! But I quickly got a call from a nurse (who happens to live 75 miles north of San Francisco!), and we had a nice chat while she changed the dressing. Of course, while I was out during the day I picked up some chocolates to leave for her.
Returning to Venice I stayed at a cheap-o place near the airport: only one star, but under $35USD! It was fine for a night or a very tight budget; I've discovered that I'm perfectly happy in 2-star European hotels.
5/23/00 VCE-LHR on BA #587 (business class)
My return from Venice was also a morning flight: similar menu, except plain omelet and Cumberland sausage in addition to the bacon.
5/23/00 LHR-IAD on BA #217 (first class)
Then First Class from LHR to IAD, in whatever BA calls their sleeper seat! The menu is more varied (and more choices) than on the Concorde; when I didn't want a salad he suggested the soup in addition to the asparagus (and then forgot to bring the soup). Other appetisers (sic) were king prawns and green salad.
Main Course choices were rack of lamb with a Boursin herb crust (my choice; it was wonderful); chicken curry; grilled sea bass; and basil polenta with goat cheese. "Lighter Options" were a steak sandwich and two different pastas. That's 7 choices in all, for a cabin that seats 16 and only held 8 my day! BA offers "A la carte dining," where you can have whichever elements you want, whenever in the flight you want them…but most people went fairly traditional and ate soon after our 12:30 takeoff (heck, I was hungry!). Desserts included fresh berries with créme fraiche and shortbread, and (my choice) a praline and dark chocolate mousse (excellent, and very rich - much better than the Concorde's lemon tart). And of course cheese, fruits, and chocolates again. In both directions, by the way, I left my main course unfinished in order to leave room for the items still to come.
The "Afternoon Tea" was fine - the pastries looked a bit wanting, so I skipped them in favor of just the sandwiches and the scones with preserves and clotted cream. You have to draw the line somewhere: I can get pastries here, but clotted cream is hard to find here, hence my priorities!
I mentioned the sleeper seat. Of course I took a photo of it unoccupied in upright position, as well as had the flight attendant take one of me lying prone ready to sleep. And certainly my 2-hour nap was more restful than on most flights. On the other hand, it's a bit tight, and a lid would complete the "coffin" experience. And my dream was definitely triggered by the sleeper seat experience.
I can only guess that these photos conveyed my excitement at the whole process, since that's the only explanation I can think of for the thrill still to come: about 15 minutes before landing, she came over to tell me that the Captain was wondering would I like to witness the landing from the flight deck?!! I almost had to ask her to repeat, since I was sure I'd mis-heard, but clearly that's what she was offering and it was a terrific experience. I took several pictures, and had two taken of me; one will definitely go into the "photo collage" I send out with my Christmas card each year.
DC and Williamsburg were fine - I've been to DC a zillion times (lunch with Kokonutz, plus I caught two current exhibits, Vikings at Natural history and Treasures from Topkapi Palace at the Corcoran, but the Impressionist exhibit at the National Gallery of Art opened just that weekend and the lines were horrendous). Even Williamsburg was my third time (including last summer), but always a pleasant few days. This part of the trip was with friends from the Bay Area - he had a conference in DC (which dictated the overall schedule for my trip), and she flew in for the weekend.
5/29/00 IAD-SFO on UA #947 (not!) in business class (not!) and UA #203 in coach
All good things have to come to an end, and this turned into the trip from hell when I got to the airport. Flight #947 (5:30pm departure) was "delayed", and in any event they couldn't use business class because the exit slide in that section was broken. There went my confirmed upgrade (but I did get a downgrade coupon - confirmable single segment upgrade - even though I never had given over coupons for the upgrade, a minor profit.)
Apparently our aircraft got hit by lightning coming in from Amsterdam; while this happens all the time, it was more severe this time - they took it away to do lots of mechanical, including replacing rivets, had to test all systems, etc… I settled in for a long wait; they promised more news at 7:00.
7:00 came and they revised to 8:00 (to their credit, United was good at updating us when to expect news, and reminding the masses every 15-20 minutes where things stood even if there were no new developments). The 7:40 flight took off oversold with no standbyes. At 8:00 they said 9:00 or 9:15, so at this point I went to the 1K desk to ask about the last flight out (at 9:50). It was also oversold, and even the standby list was closed…but Sue Noerr was fabulous: she phoned and typed and relatively quickly printed out a boarding pass (I was just looking to get on standby!). So I took Flight #203 instead of #947 (which still hadn't departed when I got to SFO, but had to go eventually because they needed to do the slide repair in SFO plus all flights in the morning were sold out as well, and they just didn't have enough seats available to offload a full 777).
Of course, my bags (two, note two) were still on #947, so I filled out a baggage claim form. #947 arrived around 1:45pm 5/30 (nearly 18 hours late!), and late in the afternoon they called that they were sending out my bag(s, I thought). At midnight the driver called that he had been hit by another car(!); I told him to deliver in the morning, which would be 30 hours after I'd arrived.
But only one bag was delivered! Called United, and it seems they had only entered one claim ticket into the system (even though they had taken two from me, and on my form I had entered both ticket numbers). Mistake #1 by United. At least the bag was in SFO, and would be delivered that afternoon. But the driver called me again - he had noticed (as United had not) that United had put my delivery tag on a bag whose nametag listed somebody else - they gave him the wrong bag (and when I called they had the gall to say that he had picked up the wrong bag)! Mistake #2 by United. The correct bag was finally delivered around 10:00pm - that's 45 hours after I landed, and even 32 hours after the bag landed!
Needless to say, United is getting a nasty note since the delay was entirely due to their two mistakes. I'm asking for $100 flight voucher - should I go higher? At least the problem was on the homebound leg, where I have clothes and medications on hand - outbound this would have been a disaster.
Other than the ending, it was a wonderful trip and a terrific experience!
[This message has been edited by johna (edited 06-01-2000).]