El Cochinito
Dec 10, 01, 12:23 pm
Over the weekend I completed my first mileage run; I needed approximately 4600 miles make Premier Exec for the first time ever. The fare was an ok $221 using a $50 off coupon, not as good as some of the other recent west coast to Florida fares, but not bad. I also booked a Priceline overnight stay at the Tampa airport Hilton for $40.
I requested upgrades using certs for all segments, which were all surprisingly granted to this previously lowly Premier at the 24 hour cutoff window.
Sat 12/07 UA1406 SMF-DEN (B757 aircraft – seat 4D) – Departure on-time; Arrival on-time
I got to the airport around 5:30 am and was surprised to find an absence of crowds. During the week the UA counters in the morning are a virtual zoo, but today it was kind of slow. However the American Airlines counter was a mess as their line stretched across the terminal floor. Of course now the TWA desk is gone, so the AA folks were checking in the morning departure to DFW as well as the former TWA flight to STL. In any case UA quickly checked me in. There was essentially no line for security this morning and the rent-a-guards manning the checkpoint were civil instead of surly for a change. Even the borrowed-MP was wishing passengers a pleasant flight.
We started our “very full flight today” boarding at 6:35am. A pre-departure OJ or water was offered to us and breakfast orders were taken while on the ground. The choice was (drum roll please) “Bistro Eggs” or “Cereal With Fruit”. Hmmm…seems familiar to what I was eating in the back of the plane during my trips to Denver on this flight earlier in the year. Now of course the coach passengers on this flight do not get anything to eat at all. Having had the bistro eggs once before I chose cereal.
Normally the flight from SMF to DEN is not a movie flight, but our purser announced that he had just enough time to show a movie so “The Princess Diaries” was played. I passed on the movie.
Table linens were passed out after reaching a “comfortable cruising altitude” and we were served breakfast. We were offered warmed rolls, bagels, or croissants with our breakfast selection. Beverages were kept full by the attentive F/A and trays were removed right away when we finished eating. Nothing really special about the breakfast itself, other than the fact that at least we were given something to eat. The pax in coach got a beverage service.
Channel 9 was active so I passed the time listening to ATC on our run to Denver. On approach into Denver we got a TCAS (collision avoidance warning) as we were passing over a small airfield east of DEN. ATC couldn’t see what was causing the TCAS and apparently it was caused by something at ground level. I looked out the window and saw a biplane taxiing on the airstrip and guessed that he must have just turned on his transponder as we were passing overhead. After we landed I asked the captain about it and he confirmed that is likely what had happened.
One of the F/As asked where I was going today and I told her about my mileage run. She thought that was a neat idea and thanked me for supporting United and said she really appreciated my business.
No delays getting to our assigned gate and I was pleased to see that my connecting flight to Tampa was next door to our arrival gate.
Sat 12/07 UA342 DEN-TPA (A-320 aircraft – seat 1B) – Departure on-time; Arrival on-time
Again we boarded as scheduled starting at 10:40am. The coach cabin looked about 75% full and first was completely full. A pre-departure beverage was not offered but drink orders were taken. After reaching ding-dong altitude (that’s when the chime rings and the F/As are allowed to get up), we were given our drinks and the golden snack mix. Lunch orders were taken; we were offered shrimp stir-fry or a pasta dish. I chose the shrimp.
The F/As were having a hard time getting the video system to work. After several false starts they finally managed to start the movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I passed on the movie. Channel 9 was on so that’s what I listened to.
This time table linens were not passed out. We were given a tray with our food, still with real plates and silverware. Nice decorator touch, the plastic knife was black instead of white. My shrimp stir-fry was tasty, consisting of five nice sized shrimp with several kinds of vegetables over rice with a soy based sauce. Served along with the main dish was a small non-descript salad and a warm roll. Dessert was some kind of chocolate mocha cheesecake which was ok. Again, the coach passengers got just a beverage service on this three hour flight.
Our arrival into TPA was right on schedule. I called the Hilton from the courtesy phone and they came right out to pick me up. My room reservation was in order and I was given a complimentary continental breakfast coupon without asking and an upgrade to the Hhonors floor as a Gold. This particular property isn’t anything special; there is no Hhonors lounge and the room was smaller than other Hilton’s I’ve visited. But for my purposes and for the price it was perfect.
Sun 12/08 UA433 TPA-ORD (B757 aircraft – seat 1C) – Departure on-time; Arrival 16 minutes ahead of schedule
I took the 5:30am shuttle to the airport, hence forgoing my continental breakfast as the hotel doesn’t start serving until 6:30am.
The UA counter doesn’t open until 6:00am but there was already a line forming when I got there at 5:45. The regular line had probably two dozen passengers waiting and the premier line had 5 pax in front of me. The UA personnel came out right on time and opened up. Almost immediately there was some angst at the counters. The 1K in front of me on his way to what I think was Sydney had a backpack that he wanted to carry on the aircraft. It didn’t look out of the ordinary to me, but the agent said that it was too big to carry on the plane. They got into a “discussion” and finally the agent pulled out a cloth tape measure and announced that the bag exceeded the maximum dimensions by one inch. His choice was to either check it or leave it. He pulled out some personal items from the bag and elected to check it. Not a pleasant scene this early in the morning.
The TPA airport has a nice selection of shops, including a very cool aviation store, but nothing was open at the crack of dawn. So I headed over to the people-mover where the Argen-no-so-bright rent-a-guard was diligently checking boarding passes against identification. There was no line at the security check and I quickly passed through.
We started boarding around 7:00am. F was full and Y looked like it was 2/3rds full. Again breakfast was a choice of eggs or cereal, I took the cereal. For the only time this trip I noticed that F/A asked the 1Ks what they wanted first. Pre-departure juice or water was passed out. Meal service started a bit late. I noticed that this time breakfast didn’t come with table linens. Essentially the same breakfast as I had the previous morning, except this time the cereal was Rice Krispies instead of Total.
Once again How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the movie. I passed on the movie and listened to channel 9 instead. As we started our descent into ORD, there must have been some traffic spacing issues as our controller instructed our captain to descend to 19,000 feet “immediately”. And he was advised to keep our speed at 330 knots or greater. Well we “immediately” dropped down to our assigned altitude and the pedal was pushed to the metal. You could tell we were really moving, as there was a noticeable vibration in the airframe. We kept that speed up most of the way across Lake Michigan before we were allowed to resume normal speed. After we landed, I asked the captain how fast we were going and he said that he pushed it up to 335 knots which he said was 5 knots below the redline at that altitude.
Sun 12/08 UA503 ORD-SMF (A-319 aircraft – seat 1C) – Departure on-time; Arrival 5 minutes behind schedule
Seat 1C on the Airbus is a little better than on the 757, but not by much. At least on the Airbus they have a cutout on the floor to give you a little more room. Anyway, I digress. The crowds Sunday morning in Terminal B at ORD were light. We started boarding at 10:00am; full in first and maybe 75% full in coach. No pre-departure beverage was offered. Right before the doors closed, the F/A came around and offered to hang up the coats the F pax brought on board. Lunch orders were taken after we reached ding-dong altitude; we could pick between a breaded chicken, scallops with warm Dijon honey sauce over salad, or a cheeseburger. No table linens on this flight either. Prior to the meal we were offered drinks and assorted nuts (ice cold nuts by the way). I chose the scallops which were ok. Dessert was some kind of fruit torte which wasn’t that good. My seatmate ordered the cheeseburger which didn’t look appealing (and I like cheeseburgers). He asked if there was any mustard or ketchup and the F/A said that none were available. After lunch our F/A disappeared to work on a crossword puzzle. Once again How the Grinch Stole Christmas was shown. I passed on the movie and slept for the entire flight. I was back home by 2:00 that afternoon.
I requested upgrades using certs for all segments, which were all surprisingly granted to this previously lowly Premier at the 24 hour cutoff window.
Sat 12/07 UA1406 SMF-DEN (B757 aircraft – seat 4D) – Departure on-time; Arrival on-time
I got to the airport around 5:30 am and was surprised to find an absence of crowds. During the week the UA counters in the morning are a virtual zoo, but today it was kind of slow. However the American Airlines counter was a mess as their line stretched across the terminal floor. Of course now the TWA desk is gone, so the AA folks were checking in the morning departure to DFW as well as the former TWA flight to STL. In any case UA quickly checked me in. There was essentially no line for security this morning and the rent-a-guards manning the checkpoint were civil instead of surly for a change. Even the borrowed-MP was wishing passengers a pleasant flight.
We started our “very full flight today” boarding at 6:35am. A pre-departure OJ or water was offered to us and breakfast orders were taken while on the ground. The choice was (drum roll please) “Bistro Eggs” or “Cereal With Fruit”. Hmmm…seems familiar to what I was eating in the back of the plane during my trips to Denver on this flight earlier in the year. Now of course the coach passengers on this flight do not get anything to eat at all. Having had the bistro eggs once before I chose cereal.
Normally the flight from SMF to DEN is not a movie flight, but our purser announced that he had just enough time to show a movie so “The Princess Diaries” was played. I passed on the movie.
Table linens were passed out after reaching a “comfortable cruising altitude” and we were served breakfast. We were offered warmed rolls, bagels, or croissants with our breakfast selection. Beverages were kept full by the attentive F/A and trays were removed right away when we finished eating. Nothing really special about the breakfast itself, other than the fact that at least we were given something to eat. The pax in coach got a beverage service.
Channel 9 was active so I passed the time listening to ATC on our run to Denver. On approach into Denver we got a TCAS (collision avoidance warning) as we were passing over a small airfield east of DEN. ATC couldn’t see what was causing the TCAS and apparently it was caused by something at ground level. I looked out the window and saw a biplane taxiing on the airstrip and guessed that he must have just turned on his transponder as we were passing overhead. After we landed I asked the captain about it and he confirmed that is likely what had happened.
One of the F/As asked where I was going today and I told her about my mileage run. She thought that was a neat idea and thanked me for supporting United and said she really appreciated my business.
No delays getting to our assigned gate and I was pleased to see that my connecting flight to Tampa was next door to our arrival gate.
Sat 12/07 UA342 DEN-TPA (A-320 aircraft – seat 1B) – Departure on-time; Arrival on-time
Again we boarded as scheduled starting at 10:40am. The coach cabin looked about 75% full and first was completely full. A pre-departure beverage was not offered but drink orders were taken. After reaching ding-dong altitude (that’s when the chime rings and the F/As are allowed to get up), we were given our drinks and the golden snack mix. Lunch orders were taken; we were offered shrimp stir-fry or a pasta dish. I chose the shrimp.
The F/As were having a hard time getting the video system to work. After several false starts they finally managed to start the movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I passed on the movie. Channel 9 was on so that’s what I listened to.
This time table linens were not passed out. We were given a tray with our food, still with real plates and silverware. Nice decorator touch, the plastic knife was black instead of white. My shrimp stir-fry was tasty, consisting of five nice sized shrimp with several kinds of vegetables over rice with a soy based sauce. Served along with the main dish was a small non-descript salad and a warm roll. Dessert was some kind of chocolate mocha cheesecake which was ok. Again, the coach passengers got just a beverage service on this three hour flight.
Our arrival into TPA was right on schedule. I called the Hilton from the courtesy phone and they came right out to pick me up. My room reservation was in order and I was given a complimentary continental breakfast coupon without asking and an upgrade to the Hhonors floor as a Gold. This particular property isn’t anything special; there is no Hhonors lounge and the room was smaller than other Hilton’s I’ve visited. But for my purposes and for the price it was perfect.
Sun 12/08 UA433 TPA-ORD (B757 aircraft – seat 1C) – Departure on-time; Arrival 16 minutes ahead of schedule
I took the 5:30am shuttle to the airport, hence forgoing my continental breakfast as the hotel doesn’t start serving until 6:30am.
The UA counter doesn’t open until 6:00am but there was already a line forming when I got there at 5:45. The regular line had probably two dozen passengers waiting and the premier line had 5 pax in front of me. The UA personnel came out right on time and opened up. Almost immediately there was some angst at the counters. The 1K in front of me on his way to what I think was Sydney had a backpack that he wanted to carry on the aircraft. It didn’t look out of the ordinary to me, but the agent said that it was too big to carry on the plane. They got into a “discussion” and finally the agent pulled out a cloth tape measure and announced that the bag exceeded the maximum dimensions by one inch. His choice was to either check it or leave it. He pulled out some personal items from the bag and elected to check it. Not a pleasant scene this early in the morning.
The TPA airport has a nice selection of shops, including a very cool aviation store, but nothing was open at the crack of dawn. So I headed over to the people-mover where the Argen-no-so-bright rent-a-guard was diligently checking boarding passes against identification. There was no line at the security check and I quickly passed through.
We started boarding around 7:00am. F was full and Y looked like it was 2/3rds full. Again breakfast was a choice of eggs or cereal, I took the cereal. For the only time this trip I noticed that F/A asked the 1Ks what they wanted first. Pre-departure juice or water was passed out. Meal service started a bit late. I noticed that this time breakfast didn’t come with table linens. Essentially the same breakfast as I had the previous morning, except this time the cereal was Rice Krispies instead of Total.
Once again How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the movie. I passed on the movie and listened to channel 9 instead. As we started our descent into ORD, there must have been some traffic spacing issues as our controller instructed our captain to descend to 19,000 feet “immediately”. And he was advised to keep our speed at 330 knots or greater. Well we “immediately” dropped down to our assigned altitude and the pedal was pushed to the metal. You could tell we were really moving, as there was a noticeable vibration in the airframe. We kept that speed up most of the way across Lake Michigan before we were allowed to resume normal speed. After we landed, I asked the captain how fast we were going and he said that he pushed it up to 335 knots which he said was 5 knots below the redline at that altitude.
Sun 12/08 UA503 ORD-SMF (A-319 aircraft – seat 1C) – Departure on-time; Arrival 5 minutes behind schedule
Seat 1C on the Airbus is a little better than on the 757, but not by much. At least on the Airbus they have a cutout on the floor to give you a little more room. Anyway, I digress. The crowds Sunday morning in Terminal B at ORD were light. We started boarding at 10:00am; full in first and maybe 75% full in coach. No pre-departure beverage was offered. Right before the doors closed, the F/A came around and offered to hang up the coats the F pax brought on board. Lunch orders were taken after we reached ding-dong altitude; we could pick between a breaded chicken, scallops with warm Dijon honey sauce over salad, or a cheeseburger. No table linens on this flight either. Prior to the meal we were offered drinks and assorted nuts (ice cold nuts by the way). I chose the scallops which were ok. Dessert was some kind of fruit torte which wasn’t that good. My seatmate ordered the cheeseburger which didn’t look appealing (and I like cheeseburgers). He asked if there was any mustard or ketchup and the F/A said that none were available. After lunch our F/A disappeared to work on a crossword puzzle. Once again How the Grinch Stole Christmas was shown. I passed on the movie and slept for the entire flight. I was back home by 2:00 that afternoon.