tfung
Apr 11, 01, 4:53 am
I arrived at Logon airport at about 17:15, and proceeded to the check-in desk to checkin for UA998. The London flight had a separate check in area, which is situated where the LAX/SFO transcon use to be. The check in agent told me that they have moved the transcon flights back together with the other flights and that area is only used by the London flight now. There were only 2 agents at the check in area, and after I had checked in, the agent offered to walk me over to the new F class lounge and introduce me to the International F class concierge there. She told me that one of their co-workers recently passed away, and a lot of people were going to her funeral, which made them extremely understaffed that day.
At the F lounge, I met the intl conceige Beverly. She was extremely nice and gave me her name card and told me that the next time I am flying out of Logon, I should give her a ring and she'll meet me at the curbside with my boarding pass, etc, so I wouldn't have to wait in line. Anyhow, it's my first time in the new BOS F lounge, and I was rather disappointed that it did not have any windows at all. It's located at the back of the RCC, and very small as well. I was the only passenger in the lounge anyways, so at about 6:10, I left the lounge to board the flight.
The plane that flew this route is a 767-300ER and was equipped with C+ and Y+. The load today was quite light. Beverly informed me that there were only 3 people in F class, 11 in C, and 126 in Y. The doors closed at 6:30 and we pushed back on time. I had the entire 1st row to myself, while the other 2 passengers in F were in 2A and C. I later found out that I was the only revenue pax in F class. The other two turned out to be UA employees when I sneaked a peek at the manifest. Anyways, before takeoff, newspapers and magazines were handed out as well as the menu and amenities kit. After takeoff the first officer informed us that flight time was going to be 5 hours 58 minutes, and we'll be cruising at 35,000 feet. The purser then came around to take orders for dinner. Afterwards, another FA came around to ask for out drinks preference. The wine selection we had to choose from were as follows:
Brut, 1990 Cuvée Winston Churchill, Pol Roger
Meursault 1999, Bouchard Père et Fils
Hanna Russian River Valley 1998
Beringer North Coast 1997
Côte-Rôtie 1996, Ets. Guigal
I picked the Pol Rogers champagne, as I haven't seen it on other UA flights. I have heard that other people having good experiences with it and just had to try it. I wasn't let down! The champagne was served with nuts and also some canapés, which included a smoked salmon on toast and also another vegetarian "thing" on toast. None of the FA's seemed to know what it was, and they asked me to try and tell them if it was good or not. They both turned out quite tasty, and I had to ask for seconds. =)
Dinner took a while to come around, which was strange considering there were only 3 passengers to serve. Anyhow, our choices for this flight were as follows:
To Begin
Chilled Lobster medallions and vegetable slaw
Citrus vinaigrette
Or
Swiss chard package with pork confit, black mission figs
Rice beans and brown butter sauce
Garden salad with Asian sesame or blue cheese dressing
Main Course
Beef tenderloin with red wine onions
Gnocchi and roasted root vegetables
Tamari-mirin glazed scallops with bean thread noodles
Sesame roasted garlic vinaigrette and roasted oyster mushrooms
Breast of chicken with lemon herb crumbs
Roasted vegetables, red onion marmalade and broccoli hollandaise
Tuscan strascinati pasta with grilled vegetables
Tomato basil sauce and fresh Parmesan cheese
Dessert
The world's finest cheese with fresh fruit and Sandeman's Porto
Ben & Jerry's ice cream with sundae toppings
I chose the lobster medallion for appetizer, which came out very disappointing. There were only 3 small medallions, which were completely tasteless. Even dipping them in the citrus vinaigrette didn't help. They were dry and bland. Even the vegetable slaw tasted better. The salad was a typical green salad, but instead of the blue cheese dressing that was on the menu, a caesar dressing was offered. I have also noticed that the salad portions are getting smaller and smaller these days - by at least 50% since half a year ago. As for the main course, I had the chicken breast, since I wasn't very adventurous with some of the other choices. Although it did look very good, the chicken was too dry. Luckily the hollandaise sauce saved the day, and I did manage to finish everything. I also quite liked the red onion marmalade and thought it was a nice touch to the dish. Afterwards, for desert there were cheese and port, followed by Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The ice cream was chocolate and vanilla with walnuts and hot fudge. Strange thing was that the walnuts were just regular walnuts and not roasted ones. I hope UA is not cutting back on the few cents it costs to roast them.. =)
After the meal I was getting quite tired already, and decided to sleep. I went to the bathroom before I dozed off and I was shocked by how clean and nicely decorated the bathroom was. There were 4 or 5 flowers placed around the area, and a bunch of amenities placed next to the sink. I've never seen any crew that had done up the bathrooms like that. After the visit to the lavatory, I returned to my seat and snoozed for 3 hours.
For those of you who are interested, an early setting meal was also available. It's for the people who wanted to have a meal all in one go, and not wait around for them to serve the entire meal course by course. On this flight, the early setting meal offered was:
The Early Seating Meal
Appetizer of chilled lobster medallions with vegetable slaw
Poached salmon and shrimp cold plate with Romana salsa
And penne pasta with proscuitto, and assorted cheese
When I awoke, we were just flying into Irish airspace, and the FA's were just starting to prepare for the second meal. We had a choice from the following selection:
Prior to Arrival
Seasoned fresh fruit appetizer
Your choice of fruit yogurt, cold cereal and breakfast breads
Skillet eggs with cheddar cheese and apple-smoked bacon
White truffle tomato sauce.
I wasn't very adventurous with the breakfast and I was still only half awake at the time, so I just picked the fruits. Again, when it came I was disappointed again. It's exactly what the menu said it was, a fresh fruit appetizer that consists of one strawberry, a slice of kiwi, and a slice of melon. Looked like one of the most pathetic fruit plates I have ever seen. By the time I was done, we started our decent into Heathrow already. We touched down at 6am exactly, half an hour ahead of schedule. After leaving the aircraft, I proceeded outside immigration to the Arrivals lounge. I've never actually been to the one at Heathrow before. I think the one at Heathrow was nowhere as nice as the arrivals lounge in SFO. The shower rooms were quite small and the food selection there wasn't that great either. So after a quick shower, I proceeded back into the departure area and went to the international F lounge to wait for my flight to Delhi. I'll post a seperate trip report for my next few continuing flights. =)
As a summary, my thoughts on this flight was that although the food on this flight was rather disappointing, but I must admit that the service I received made up for it. The London based crew was very accommodating to all my requests and were extremely friendly and nice to chat with. Maybe it's because there weren't many passengers, but I must say that the crew I had were one of the best I've had on United so far.
For those of you interested, I picked up a business class menu on this flight, and this was what they had:
BUSINESS
To Begin
Salad with citrus-cured smoked salmon
Ginger almond vinaigrette
Or
Chilled antipasto
Parma proscuitto, marinated artichoke and red pepper
Garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette or Gorgonzola dressing
Main Course
Pasta duet of wild mushroom ravioli and linguine
Marinara sauce and fresh Parmesan cheese
Breast of chicken with lemon herb crumbs
Roasted vegetables, red onion marmalade and broccoli Hollandaise
Tenderloin of beef with whole grain mustard spätzle
Roasted eggplant and garlic, sautéed spinach
The Early Seating Meal
Chilled antipasto salad
Poached salmon and shrimp cold plate with Romana salsa
And penne pasta with proscuitto
Dessert
International cheese sampler with a glass of Sandeman's Porto
Eli's Praline cheesecake
Wines
Brut Carte d'Or non-vintage, Drappier
Brut Fleur de Champagne non-vintage, Duval-Leroy
Pinot Blanc 1999, Alsace Willm
Mâcon Villages 1999, Jos. Drouhin
De Loach California 1999
Robert Mondavi-Coastal Central Coast 1999
Haut-Médoc 1996, Château St. Bonnet
Médoc 1998, Château de By
Kiona Washington 1999
Barossa Valley Estate Barossa Valley 1998
After seeing the Business class menu, I'm rather annoyed off that I chose a main course that was identical to what was offered as one of the courses in Business. I figured that there were no difference between the F and C class versions. Next time I should get a Business menu before I choose what I eat. =P
[This message has been edited by tfung (edited 04-11-2001).]
At the F lounge, I met the intl conceige Beverly. She was extremely nice and gave me her name card and told me that the next time I am flying out of Logon, I should give her a ring and she'll meet me at the curbside with my boarding pass, etc, so I wouldn't have to wait in line. Anyhow, it's my first time in the new BOS F lounge, and I was rather disappointed that it did not have any windows at all. It's located at the back of the RCC, and very small as well. I was the only passenger in the lounge anyways, so at about 6:10, I left the lounge to board the flight.
The plane that flew this route is a 767-300ER and was equipped with C+ and Y+. The load today was quite light. Beverly informed me that there were only 3 people in F class, 11 in C, and 126 in Y. The doors closed at 6:30 and we pushed back on time. I had the entire 1st row to myself, while the other 2 passengers in F were in 2A and C. I later found out that I was the only revenue pax in F class. The other two turned out to be UA employees when I sneaked a peek at the manifest. Anyways, before takeoff, newspapers and magazines were handed out as well as the menu and amenities kit. After takeoff the first officer informed us that flight time was going to be 5 hours 58 minutes, and we'll be cruising at 35,000 feet. The purser then came around to take orders for dinner. Afterwards, another FA came around to ask for out drinks preference. The wine selection we had to choose from were as follows:
Brut, 1990 Cuvée Winston Churchill, Pol Roger
Meursault 1999, Bouchard Père et Fils
Hanna Russian River Valley 1998
Beringer North Coast 1997
Côte-Rôtie 1996, Ets. Guigal
I picked the Pol Rogers champagne, as I haven't seen it on other UA flights. I have heard that other people having good experiences with it and just had to try it. I wasn't let down! The champagne was served with nuts and also some canapés, which included a smoked salmon on toast and also another vegetarian "thing" on toast. None of the FA's seemed to know what it was, and they asked me to try and tell them if it was good or not. They both turned out quite tasty, and I had to ask for seconds. =)
Dinner took a while to come around, which was strange considering there were only 3 passengers to serve. Anyhow, our choices for this flight were as follows:
To Begin
Chilled Lobster medallions and vegetable slaw
Citrus vinaigrette
Or
Swiss chard package with pork confit, black mission figs
Rice beans and brown butter sauce
Garden salad with Asian sesame or blue cheese dressing
Main Course
Beef tenderloin with red wine onions
Gnocchi and roasted root vegetables
Tamari-mirin glazed scallops with bean thread noodles
Sesame roasted garlic vinaigrette and roasted oyster mushrooms
Breast of chicken with lemon herb crumbs
Roasted vegetables, red onion marmalade and broccoli hollandaise
Tuscan strascinati pasta with grilled vegetables
Tomato basil sauce and fresh Parmesan cheese
Dessert
The world's finest cheese with fresh fruit and Sandeman's Porto
Ben & Jerry's ice cream with sundae toppings
I chose the lobster medallion for appetizer, which came out very disappointing. There were only 3 small medallions, which were completely tasteless. Even dipping them in the citrus vinaigrette didn't help. They were dry and bland. Even the vegetable slaw tasted better. The salad was a typical green salad, but instead of the blue cheese dressing that was on the menu, a caesar dressing was offered. I have also noticed that the salad portions are getting smaller and smaller these days - by at least 50% since half a year ago. As for the main course, I had the chicken breast, since I wasn't very adventurous with some of the other choices. Although it did look very good, the chicken was too dry. Luckily the hollandaise sauce saved the day, and I did manage to finish everything. I also quite liked the red onion marmalade and thought it was a nice touch to the dish. Afterwards, for desert there were cheese and port, followed by Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The ice cream was chocolate and vanilla with walnuts and hot fudge. Strange thing was that the walnuts were just regular walnuts and not roasted ones. I hope UA is not cutting back on the few cents it costs to roast them.. =)
After the meal I was getting quite tired already, and decided to sleep. I went to the bathroom before I dozed off and I was shocked by how clean and nicely decorated the bathroom was. There were 4 or 5 flowers placed around the area, and a bunch of amenities placed next to the sink. I've never seen any crew that had done up the bathrooms like that. After the visit to the lavatory, I returned to my seat and snoozed for 3 hours.
For those of you who are interested, an early setting meal was also available. It's for the people who wanted to have a meal all in one go, and not wait around for them to serve the entire meal course by course. On this flight, the early setting meal offered was:
The Early Seating Meal
Appetizer of chilled lobster medallions with vegetable slaw
Poached salmon and shrimp cold plate with Romana salsa
And penne pasta with proscuitto, and assorted cheese
When I awoke, we were just flying into Irish airspace, and the FA's were just starting to prepare for the second meal. We had a choice from the following selection:
Prior to Arrival
Seasoned fresh fruit appetizer
Your choice of fruit yogurt, cold cereal and breakfast breads
Skillet eggs with cheddar cheese and apple-smoked bacon
White truffle tomato sauce.
I wasn't very adventurous with the breakfast and I was still only half awake at the time, so I just picked the fruits. Again, when it came I was disappointed again. It's exactly what the menu said it was, a fresh fruit appetizer that consists of one strawberry, a slice of kiwi, and a slice of melon. Looked like one of the most pathetic fruit plates I have ever seen. By the time I was done, we started our decent into Heathrow already. We touched down at 6am exactly, half an hour ahead of schedule. After leaving the aircraft, I proceeded outside immigration to the Arrivals lounge. I've never actually been to the one at Heathrow before. I think the one at Heathrow was nowhere as nice as the arrivals lounge in SFO. The shower rooms were quite small and the food selection there wasn't that great either. So after a quick shower, I proceeded back into the departure area and went to the international F lounge to wait for my flight to Delhi. I'll post a seperate trip report for my next few continuing flights. =)
As a summary, my thoughts on this flight was that although the food on this flight was rather disappointing, but I must admit that the service I received made up for it. The London based crew was very accommodating to all my requests and were extremely friendly and nice to chat with. Maybe it's because there weren't many passengers, but I must say that the crew I had were one of the best I've had on United so far.
For those of you interested, I picked up a business class menu on this flight, and this was what they had:
BUSINESS
To Begin
Salad with citrus-cured smoked salmon
Ginger almond vinaigrette
Or
Chilled antipasto
Parma proscuitto, marinated artichoke and red pepper
Garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette or Gorgonzola dressing
Main Course
Pasta duet of wild mushroom ravioli and linguine
Marinara sauce and fresh Parmesan cheese
Breast of chicken with lemon herb crumbs
Roasted vegetables, red onion marmalade and broccoli Hollandaise
Tenderloin of beef with whole grain mustard spätzle
Roasted eggplant and garlic, sautéed spinach
The Early Seating Meal
Chilled antipasto salad
Poached salmon and shrimp cold plate with Romana salsa
And penne pasta with proscuitto
Dessert
International cheese sampler with a glass of Sandeman's Porto
Eli's Praline cheesecake
Wines
Brut Carte d'Or non-vintage, Drappier
Brut Fleur de Champagne non-vintage, Duval-Leroy
Pinot Blanc 1999, Alsace Willm
Mâcon Villages 1999, Jos. Drouhin
De Loach California 1999
Robert Mondavi-Coastal Central Coast 1999
Haut-Médoc 1996, Château St. Bonnet
Médoc 1998, Château de By
Kiona Washington 1999
Barossa Valley Estate Barossa Valley 1998
After seeing the Business class menu, I'm rather annoyed off that I chose a main course that was identical to what was offered as one of the courses in Business. I figured that there were no difference between the F and C class versions. Next time I should get a Business menu before I choose what I eat. =P
[This message has been edited by tfung (edited 04-11-2001).]