blairvanhorn
Sep 29, 01, 7:45 pm
Quick trip report for UA 961 CDG-SFO 9/28.
UA 961 CDG 11:10 SFO 13:35 Boeing 777 Seat 8H
Took a taxi to CDG and arrived just before 9:00 AM. Airport is very quiet for a Friday morning (though luggage carts still hard to find). Roissy is very interesting as a building, but the architecture is entirely dysfunctional for an airport terminal today.
The United check in area was actually more orderly than usual. 1P, 2P, 1K and Business passengers were in one line for pre-check in security; Y pax were in another. First Class pax have a separate check in which, due to CDG's particular design, many pax mistake for the main check in. It took about 10 minutes to get through the Business Class security. Agents were pleasant, professional and thorough.
Check in was fast and friendly with smiling, helpful agents. More security questions. NB: SFO is the first UA flight of the day from CDG (I believe). I would expect that things can get bogged down as the day goes on and the ORD and IAD flights start checking in. If you are flying Economy, arrive well in advance of your flight.
Outgoing Immigration and Customs was quick. Duty free shops were empty except the newsstand, where the French pax stood strong against popular sentiment and remained pushy and petulant.
Surprising security at the RCC. Two agents: one to check your hand luggage, the other to pass a metal detector over your bod.
RCC was nice, friendly and well-stocked, as usual (could use some more snack food, e.g. light sandwiches).CNN on the TV; pax subdued.
Left before the boarding call, which was helpful because the last security checkpoint out to the satellite took a long time. Boarding was on time and through two jetways for the 777, which is not always the case at CDG.
Champagne and OJ right off from an extremely pleasant flight crew. Boarding was orderly and I was surprised as the doors closed to see 1st and Business full (Y was about 2/3 full).
I've never seen a safety demonstration so closely watched (and appreciated) by fellow passengers.
Captain Wilson gave a short and sweet welcome aboard. He said his thoughts and prayers were with the victims of the recent tragic events and reassured all passengers that their safety was United's #1 priority and would remain so; he also gave his heartfelt thanks for flying United. This message was repeated verbatim in perfect French, as were all messages throughout the flight - felicitations United!
Channel 9 was available during the entire flight. A bravo to ATC and pilots everywhere who work with pressure and accents that many of us would throw our hands up at.
Take off about 20 minutes behind schedule.
Drinks and snack service followed by lunch. Jospeph Perrier champagne. No bells at 18000 feet. Wine was opened in the First Class galley, recorked and brought back to Business class.
Entrees were Plastic Knife Friendly: chicken breast, red snapper or prawns. The chicken was very good, but the plastic knife ridiculous. The bread or the fork were as dangerous ...
Films had been changed, but I never watch them, so I don't know what was substituted for the regular programming.The announcement that the films had been changed due to "recent events" was translated into French as "recent attacks". So much for French being a diplomatic or romantic language ...
Flight time ended up at 10 hours and 49 minutes. Landing at SFO was the usual stunning flight over Point Reyes and "The City". Arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule. While taxiing, I noticed a lot of UA jets parked in the service area at the UA maintenance yard just north of the airport. Are these due to the recent cuts??
New International Terminal at SFO: wow, finally! My first time through since the renovation. What a pleasure. It's nice to go through INS before collecting your bags. All staff pleasant and helpful. A breeze. Priority tagged bags were first out.Where are the dogs?
Thanks to some kind FTers here on the board, I came out of Exit G (as advised) and because I was so early, I waited for my family under the Meeting Point sign just to the left of Exit G. Easily found, easily schlepped to the waiting car. Rarely have I had such a hassle-free trip.
Overall impressions: I am a United fan through and through, though I do have my issues. I am happy to say that my first United flight since 9/11 was a true pleasure, especially for a long-haul. I can't say enough about the friendly and helpful attitude of the entire flight crew (and it was nice to see some familiar faces on my favorite United route).
Also, is it just me? My fellow pax were generally more friendly, calm and helpful than usual. I'd like to see this continue.
UA 961 CDG 11:10 SFO 13:35 Boeing 777 Seat 8H
Took a taxi to CDG and arrived just before 9:00 AM. Airport is very quiet for a Friday morning (though luggage carts still hard to find). Roissy is very interesting as a building, but the architecture is entirely dysfunctional for an airport terminal today.
The United check in area was actually more orderly than usual. 1P, 2P, 1K and Business passengers were in one line for pre-check in security; Y pax were in another. First Class pax have a separate check in which, due to CDG's particular design, many pax mistake for the main check in. It took about 10 minutes to get through the Business Class security. Agents were pleasant, professional and thorough.
Check in was fast and friendly with smiling, helpful agents. More security questions. NB: SFO is the first UA flight of the day from CDG (I believe). I would expect that things can get bogged down as the day goes on and the ORD and IAD flights start checking in. If you are flying Economy, arrive well in advance of your flight.
Outgoing Immigration and Customs was quick. Duty free shops were empty except the newsstand, where the French pax stood strong against popular sentiment and remained pushy and petulant.
Surprising security at the RCC. Two agents: one to check your hand luggage, the other to pass a metal detector over your bod.
RCC was nice, friendly and well-stocked, as usual (could use some more snack food, e.g. light sandwiches).CNN on the TV; pax subdued.
Left before the boarding call, which was helpful because the last security checkpoint out to the satellite took a long time. Boarding was on time and through two jetways for the 777, which is not always the case at CDG.
Champagne and OJ right off from an extremely pleasant flight crew. Boarding was orderly and I was surprised as the doors closed to see 1st and Business full (Y was about 2/3 full).
I've never seen a safety demonstration so closely watched (and appreciated) by fellow passengers.
Captain Wilson gave a short and sweet welcome aboard. He said his thoughts and prayers were with the victims of the recent tragic events and reassured all passengers that their safety was United's #1 priority and would remain so; he also gave his heartfelt thanks for flying United. This message was repeated verbatim in perfect French, as were all messages throughout the flight - felicitations United!
Channel 9 was available during the entire flight. A bravo to ATC and pilots everywhere who work with pressure and accents that many of us would throw our hands up at.
Take off about 20 minutes behind schedule.
Drinks and snack service followed by lunch. Jospeph Perrier champagne. No bells at 18000 feet. Wine was opened in the First Class galley, recorked and brought back to Business class.
Entrees were Plastic Knife Friendly: chicken breast, red snapper or prawns. The chicken was very good, but the plastic knife ridiculous. The bread or the fork were as dangerous ...
Films had been changed, but I never watch them, so I don't know what was substituted for the regular programming.The announcement that the films had been changed due to "recent events" was translated into French as "recent attacks". So much for French being a diplomatic or romantic language ...
Flight time ended up at 10 hours and 49 minutes. Landing at SFO was the usual stunning flight over Point Reyes and "The City". Arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule. While taxiing, I noticed a lot of UA jets parked in the service area at the UA maintenance yard just north of the airport. Are these due to the recent cuts??
New International Terminal at SFO: wow, finally! My first time through since the renovation. What a pleasure. It's nice to go through INS before collecting your bags. All staff pleasant and helpful. A breeze. Priority tagged bags were first out.Where are the dogs?
Thanks to some kind FTers here on the board, I came out of Exit G (as advised) and because I was so early, I waited for my family under the Meeting Point sign just to the left of Exit G. Easily found, easily schlepped to the waiting car. Rarely have I had such a hassle-free trip.
Overall impressions: I am a United fan through and through, though I do have my issues. I am happy to say that my first United flight since 9/11 was a true pleasure, especially for a long-haul. I can't say enough about the friendly and helpful attitude of the entire flight crew (and it was nice to see some familiar faces on my favorite United route).
Also, is it just me? My fellow pax were generally more friendly, calm and helpful than usual. I'd like to see this continue.