cblaisd
Apr 2, 01, 8:47 pm
Wish I had some exciting international trips to report on, but no such luck. So here is a run of the mill domestic UA trip report, probably like lots of them that happen every day domestically....
Mar 30
UA#774 OAK-DEN
My upgrade request had been waitlisted, and when I arrived at the airport (over an hour early) ticket counter check-in agent said "It looks good; you're number one. You'll probably get it at the gate." No joy, though, in that a couple of 1K's showed up and claimed. Pushed on time. Y was full. Seat 5C (could see the folks in F having my favorite fruit plate breakfast while I declined to eat the wretched eggy-burrito thingy. Maybe I could make 1K this year http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )
I had forgotten that this flight is one of the few that arrives in DEN in the A concourse. Arrived 15 minutes early and no sweat to take the train to Concourse B with time to spare.
UA#1280 DEN-STL
Didn't request upgrade because was meeting an associate in DEN and we were flying to STL together (he has no UA status). Did get him into E+ seats 10D and E which is the row on that aircraft with no window seats, so essentially we both get what amounts to an aisle seat. (When I'm alone and in Y, I prefer 11 A or F for the same reason). Plane arrived a few minutes early in STL.
APRIL 1
Had booked (for the segment credit) STL-ORD-DEN-OAK but was tired and willing to forgo the extra segment and skip ORD -- has worked for me before to make that same day change). No chance, given the b-ball games in STL that day, so off we went... The check-in agent was puzzled about why anyone would every want to fly three segs when you could do it on 2 ? Explained to him about segments and miles and he said he'd never heard of folks' behaving that way.
UA336 STL-ORD
UA had moved the departure time for my connection in ORD up 10 minutes so I was a bit worried about the connection. But before departing, checked the flight status and -- wonder of wonders -- deterimined the arriving STL gate and departing DEN gate were adjacent. Quit worrying. This upgrade had cleared and for such a short hop, seat 1B was fine. (One small bone to pick -- the FA helpfully hung my jacket on the hooks behind row 4. Then forgot to get it for me. Then of course when the plane finally arrives at the gate, I have to "excuse me" my way back a couple of rows to retrieve said jacket. This happened twice that day. Small thing, but midly annoying). Flight made up much of the time and we arrived more or less on time. But then we sat through about 6 attempts to get the jetway to positioned correctly! Started worrying again. Pilot said there was a problem and a mech was working on it. Finally, whatever worked worked and off we went.
UA#959 ORD-DEN
Got to the gate with about 25 minutes to spare. (Had quickly checked on the 7:50pm nonstop ORD-OAK but there were only scattered middle Y seats available.) Flight was oversold and it was a bit of bedlam at the gate. Took my DM card to the agent and said any chance of my (previously waitlisted) upgrade clearing? To my utter suprise she said "Probably. Stay at the gate area." So I did. At precisely 20 minutes of departure they begin releasing reservations/seats because of no-shows. At about 12 minutes til departure, a guy checks in (he had not been on a connecting flight which would have made me more sympathetic) and said "I've paid for FC and don't give away my seat to an upgrade." I would have had more sympathy if it had been a connecting flight, and I asked him if it was and he said "No, but what matters is that I'm here now." Anyway, the story turns out happily for all, in that both he and the two of us who were told to wait did get upgrades. 4B to DEN. And although we left about 20 minutes late, we made up all the time. Good supper and an extremely nice and helpful FC FA.
UA#1819 DEN-OAK
Went immediately to the gate where the 7:50pm flight for OAK was boarding. Asked about FC availability (I was confirmed upgrade FC on the 9:51pm flight). She said not likely, but there's lots and lots of room in Y. I was tempted (particularly if I had known the end of this story) but she said my luggage would go on the originally booked 9:51pm flight -- which meant I'd have to get back to the airport this week and claim it. Not worth the hassle). So, went to the RCC to kill a little time and check email. Boarded #1819 which left a couple of minutes early. Helpful and affable FA's. Seat 4A, perfect for napping. Near the end, listening on Channel 9, due to flow into SFO everything into the Bay Area was being slowed to 250 kts over the Sierra (the SFO bound flights were actually having to fly holding patterns over MOD area). We arrived about 10 minutes late because of the speed reduction. And then -- at 11:30 at night at Oakland! -- there were no gates available! So we sat on the taxiway. And sat. And sat some more. 32 minutes by my count. I'm sure there is some reason I don't understand, but don't know why they couldn't have borrowed a WN gate, even if all the gates at Terminal 1 were indeed full. Finally got to the luggage carousel and all the bags spewed out, but not mine. I happened to look over toward the UA luggage office, and, along with a bunch of other bags, there was my suitcase sitting outside the door. It had indeed been put on the 7:50pm flight which I had foregone since I'd have ostensibly been luggage-less. Argh. There was also nobody nearby and I just walked over and took it. (That may raise its own set of security issues?)
All in all, a pretty good day of flying with some minor annoyances thrown in. And since I got one of those targeted mailings earlier in the year for double miles 4/1-6/15 the day's take with the PE 100% bonus was 2347 miles x 3 = 7041 miles http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Mar 30
UA#774 OAK-DEN
My upgrade request had been waitlisted, and when I arrived at the airport (over an hour early) ticket counter check-in agent said "It looks good; you're number one. You'll probably get it at the gate." No joy, though, in that a couple of 1K's showed up and claimed. Pushed on time. Y was full. Seat 5C (could see the folks in F having my favorite fruit plate breakfast while I declined to eat the wretched eggy-burrito thingy. Maybe I could make 1K this year http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )
I had forgotten that this flight is one of the few that arrives in DEN in the A concourse. Arrived 15 minutes early and no sweat to take the train to Concourse B with time to spare.
UA#1280 DEN-STL
Didn't request upgrade because was meeting an associate in DEN and we were flying to STL together (he has no UA status). Did get him into E+ seats 10D and E which is the row on that aircraft with no window seats, so essentially we both get what amounts to an aisle seat. (When I'm alone and in Y, I prefer 11 A or F for the same reason). Plane arrived a few minutes early in STL.
APRIL 1
Had booked (for the segment credit) STL-ORD-DEN-OAK but was tired and willing to forgo the extra segment and skip ORD -- has worked for me before to make that same day change). No chance, given the b-ball games in STL that day, so off we went... The check-in agent was puzzled about why anyone would every want to fly three segs when you could do it on 2 ? Explained to him about segments and miles and he said he'd never heard of folks' behaving that way.
UA336 STL-ORD
UA had moved the departure time for my connection in ORD up 10 minutes so I was a bit worried about the connection. But before departing, checked the flight status and -- wonder of wonders -- deterimined the arriving STL gate and departing DEN gate were adjacent. Quit worrying. This upgrade had cleared and for such a short hop, seat 1B was fine. (One small bone to pick -- the FA helpfully hung my jacket on the hooks behind row 4. Then forgot to get it for me. Then of course when the plane finally arrives at the gate, I have to "excuse me" my way back a couple of rows to retrieve said jacket. This happened twice that day. Small thing, but midly annoying). Flight made up much of the time and we arrived more or less on time. But then we sat through about 6 attempts to get the jetway to positioned correctly! Started worrying again. Pilot said there was a problem and a mech was working on it. Finally, whatever worked worked and off we went.
UA#959 ORD-DEN
Got to the gate with about 25 minutes to spare. (Had quickly checked on the 7:50pm nonstop ORD-OAK but there were only scattered middle Y seats available.) Flight was oversold and it was a bit of bedlam at the gate. Took my DM card to the agent and said any chance of my (previously waitlisted) upgrade clearing? To my utter suprise she said "Probably. Stay at the gate area." So I did. At precisely 20 minutes of departure they begin releasing reservations/seats because of no-shows. At about 12 minutes til departure, a guy checks in (he had not been on a connecting flight which would have made me more sympathetic) and said "I've paid for FC and don't give away my seat to an upgrade." I would have had more sympathy if it had been a connecting flight, and I asked him if it was and he said "No, but what matters is that I'm here now." Anyway, the story turns out happily for all, in that both he and the two of us who were told to wait did get upgrades. 4B to DEN. And although we left about 20 minutes late, we made up all the time. Good supper and an extremely nice and helpful FC FA.
UA#1819 DEN-OAK
Went immediately to the gate where the 7:50pm flight for OAK was boarding. Asked about FC availability (I was confirmed upgrade FC on the 9:51pm flight). She said not likely, but there's lots and lots of room in Y. I was tempted (particularly if I had known the end of this story) but she said my luggage would go on the originally booked 9:51pm flight -- which meant I'd have to get back to the airport this week and claim it. Not worth the hassle). So, went to the RCC to kill a little time and check email. Boarded #1819 which left a couple of minutes early. Helpful and affable FA's. Seat 4A, perfect for napping. Near the end, listening on Channel 9, due to flow into SFO everything into the Bay Area was being slowed to 250 kts over the Sierra (the SFO bound flights were actually having to fly holding patterns over MOD area). We arrived about 10 minutes late because of the speed reduction. And then -- at 11:30 at night at Oakland! -- there were no gates available! So we sat on the taxiway. And sat. And sat some more. 32 minutes by my count. I'm sure there is some reason I don't understand, but don't know why they couldn't have borrowed a WN gate, even if all the gates at Terminal 1 were indeed full. Finally got to the luggage carousel and all the bags spewed out, but not mine. I happened to look over toward the UA luggage office, and, along with a bunch of other bags, there was my suitcase sitting outside the door. It had indeed been put on the 7:50pm flight which I had foregone since I'd have ostensibly been luggage-less. Argh. There was also nobody nearby and I just walked over and took it. (That may raise its own set of security issues?)
All in all, a pretty good day of flying with some minor annoyances thrown in. And since I got one of those targeted mailings earlier in the year for double miles 4/1-6/15 the day's take with the PE 100% bonus was 2347 miles x 3 = 7041 miles http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif