anc-ord772
Mar 18, 05, 7:53 am
Just flew ORD-SFO-NRT-PEK on 3.16/17
ORD-SFO
UA 842
The flight was supposed to be a 752, but when I checked in I noticed my BP said 5A instead of 1A and NC instead of NF. I used the F/1K check in because no one was at the international counters (it was 5:45am) Check-in was smooth (carry on luggage) and I went to the RCC to inquire about my seat and check out the new furniture, which is nice and comfortable. The flight had been switched to a 3 class 763. As I had not experienced C on a UA 763 I was very pleased. The gate area was very chaotic as many people had to have seats reassigned and the flight went out full in F,C and Y. I suspect that UA put some passengers on this flight to connect with my SFO-NRT and my NH NRT-PEK flight instead of ORD-PEK nonstop. I met a group of travelers in NRT that mentioned they got bumped off their nonstop, UA gave them $200 and put them in C SFO-NRT. The flight took off on time and arrived in SFO 15 minutes early. Breakfast was an omelet, very tasty. Finals had ended the previous day, so I slept through the entire flight after breakfast. C on the 763 is noticeably tighter than on the 772 and 744, but it still beats Y and was nicer than the 752 I was expecting. Channel 9 was on, and I do love the moving map! San Francisco was clear and we came in parallel to a UA A320. I decided to walk between the domestic terminal and the international terminal since I had never been to SFO. I had to clear security again, but I enjoyed the walk. The walk ways at SFO seem very narrow at times. On one side there are stores, and the other gates. There is very little room for foot traffic and at times I was walking in a single file line.
SFO-NRT
UA 837
The SFO intl RCC is huge! I had never been before, but I was impressed by its size. Its like taking all three ORD RCC's and putting them together with way better furniture and nicer restrooms. Upon entering I was promptly given two drink chits no problem and headed upstairs. Before me a few 2P in WHY class were politely denied entrance. It seemed that the lady giving the announcements for flights was actually Japanese as her english was horrible! After a while (some fruit and cokes) I headed to exchange currency and then to the gate area, which IMO was designed poorly. There were a lot of people trying to board two 744's and the downstairs gate area could not have been designed for that. In line I met up with LarryU and StephM and we proceeded on board. It was good to be back on the 744! The FA had no problem with all three of us storing our rollerboards in the back storage area and we took our seats. We took off full in F,C and Y on time and were scheduled to arrive into NRT about 15 minutes early. The nuts were warm and the obento was good. I was full from the obento, but I would not say it was as tasty as the juicy looking hunk of beef my seatmate had. My seatmate did offer me his appitizer, which I accepted (guess he wasn't a seafood fan). The goodie cart was placed in front of 15 G/H and I was surprised that there were no instant noodles stocked. My ORD-PEK flight had noodles and I certainly thought going to Japan noodles would be boarded. There was a nice warm egg and ham sandwich available though. The FA was very attentive the whole flight and my glass was never empty. He mentioned that this was not his usual route and was called in. He also said that he was a new FA, although I couldn't tell because he did a great job. The flight had a lot of lite chop with a little medium thrown in here and there. Once the pilot asked the FA's to sit down, but for the next five minutes there was no chop at all. I usually stay on the UD, but I had a chance to look around and the 747 is huge! it took 5 minutes just to walk the length of the plane and back. I felt really bad for the people in E- as it looked so cramped :td: The FA's in Y were also of good spirits laughing and joking with me about my pajamas and talking about how it reminded them of Michael Jackson the day he went to court in PJ's. My only other transpac flight was ORD-PEK and I didnt realize that SFO-NRT is a day flight the whole way, which I certainly liked. I continue to enjoy the fact that on transpac flights breakfast is warm (unlike transatlantic) even though its being served around dinner time. UA should give more day flight options US --> Europe. Weather at NRT was rain/overcast and we had to circle for a bit, but arrived into NRT on time. NRT looks like a US airport. I counted 9 UA widebodies and >12 NW aircraft. Because I was transfering, I only had to go through security, and Larry, Steph and I were the only ones there. Because I had never been to NRT, I decided to rush off to NH and terminal 2 to get my BP for my continuing flight. If only I had known how much free time I would have had, I would have gone to the RCC. I'll have a chance on the return to try the famous NRT beer machine.
Narita
I took the transfer bus from terminal one to terminal two which took <10 minutes. Its nice to drive below and among all the widebodies. The transfer desk has about four different airlines occupying it and is to the immediate left when you get off the bus and go upstairs. The NH staff were very nice and after asking which seat I preferred, issued me a BP. I asked about a lounge, which I thought I was entitled to because I was in C, but she asked for my 1K card. She swiped the card and the proper lounge invitation popped out. The showers are located in T1, so I was not able to shower, although if I had known my flight was going to be delayed I would have trekked back. I was offered entrence into the Signet Lounge, but not the Club ANA Lounge, although I dont know what the difference is. The Signet Lounge was small but there was sushi, Johnny Walker black (among other alcohol), a massage chair and laptops with internet usage (not sure if you had to pay). I left to get to the gate at 4:45 for a 5:30 departure, and the gate area was empty. NH started boarding at 5:05. I had some more time to walk around the terminal and watch some CO flights loading. At 5:05 NH boarded C and Star Alliance Gold members first. Since I was both I headed right on to the 763. One thing that threw me off guard was that the Japanese keep apologizing for everything. They are very polite which I knew, but kept saying sorry almost as much as a thank you.
NRT-PEK
NH 955
The flight was about 3/4 full in C, and 1/2 full in Y. The plan took off late and we were scheduled to arrive into NRT about a 1/2 hour late. This NH 763 had the new 777 style interior which was really nice. The seat layout for C was 2-1-2 with ample space (unlike UA). It was really cool to watch taxi, take-off, and climbout on the nose camera. I had never experienced that before and it was awesome! There were heavy winds to PEK so we did have turbulence for a little over half the flight. The Club ANA Asia seat is really nice. Its like the UA C seat only electronic and with AVOD. This was the first time I have ever flown with an AC equipped with AVOD and it is awesome. I played black jack and could pause/rewind my movies. The seat pitch left something to be desired and would only go back far enough to make the sleeping position uncomfortable, but for 4 hours it was fine. A nice dinner was served with choice of Japanese or Western style dish (beef stroganoff). I noticed the knives were plastic, has it affected the whole world!!!
[Comparing UA ORD-SFO and NH NRT-PEK in C on a 763, the NH aircraft was cleaner and newer. On the UA flight the breakfast slid right of the broken tray table and on to the floor of the guy across the aisle. The food was good on both and crew attentive. The electronic seat and AVOD whooped United's butt.]
We arrived into PEK >30 minutes late after a long slow linear decent into the beijing area. De-boarding was quick and customs even quicker. I got in line right before passengers from two other flights qeued. Before at PEK I was stuck behind a trainee, but not this time. As I had only carry-on I was through the gates into the arrival hall and out to the taxi stand quickly.
ORD-SFO
UA 842
The flight was supposed to be a 752, but when I checked in I noticed my BP said 5A instead of 1A and NC instead of NF. I used the F/1K check in because no one was at the international counters (it was 5:45am) Check-in was smooth (carry on luggage) and I went to the RCC to inquire about my seat and check out the new furniture, which is nice and comfortable. The flight had been switched to a 3 class 763. As I had not experienced C on a UA 763 I was very pleased. The gate area was very chaotic as many people had to have seats reassigned and the flight went out full in F,C and Y. I suspect that UA put some passengers on this flight to connect with my SFO-NRT and my NH NRT-PEK flight instead of ORD-PEK nonstop. I met a group of travelers in NRT that mentioned they got bumped off their nonstop, UA gave them $200 and put them in C SFO-NRT. The flight took off on time and arrived in SFO 15 minutes early. Breakfast was an omelet, very tasty. Finals had ended the previous day, so I slept through the entire flight after breakfast. C on the 763 is noticeably tighter than on the 772 and 744, but it still beats Y and was nicer than the 752 I was expecting. Channel 9 was on, and I do love the moving map! San Francisco was clear and we came in parallel to a UA A320. I decided to walk between the domestic terminal and the international terminal since I had never been to SFO. I had to clear security again, but I enjoyed the walk. The walk ways at SFO seem very narrow at times. On one side there are stores, and the other gates. There is very little room for foot traffic and at times I was walking in a single file line.
SFO-NRT
UA 837
The SFO intl RCC is huge! I had never been before, but I was impressed by its size. Its like taking all three ORD RCC's and putting them together with way better furniture and nicer restrooms. Upon entering I was promptly given two drink chits no problem and headed upstairs. Before me a few 2P in WHY class were politely denied entrance. It seemed that the lady giving the announcements for flights was actually Japanese as her english was horrible! After a while (some fruit and cokes) I headed to exchange currency and then to the gate area, which IMO was designed poorly. There were a lot of people trying to board two 744's and the downstairs gate area could not have been designed for that. In line I met up with LarryU and StephM and we proceeded on board. It was good to be back on the 744! The FA had no problem with all three of us storing our rollerboards in the back storage area and we took our seats. We took off full in F,C and Y on time and were scheduled to arrive into NRT about 15 minutes early. The nuts were warm and the obento was good. I was full from the obento, but I would not say it was as tasty as the juicy looking hunk of beef my seatmate had. My seatmate did offer me his appitizer, which I accepted (guess he wasn't a seafood fan). The goodie cart was placed in front of 15 G/H and I was surprised that there were no instant noodles stocked. My ORD-PEK flight had noodles and I certainly thought going to Japan noodles would be boarded. There was a nice warm egg and ham sandwich available though. The FA was very attentive the whole flight and my glass was never empty. He mentioned that this was not his usual route and was called in. He also said that he was a new FA, although I couldn't tell because he did a great job. The flight had a lot of lite chop with a little medium thrown in here and there. Once the pilot asked the FA's to sit down, but for the next five minutes there was no chop at all. I usually stay on the UD, but I had a chance to look around and the 747 is huge! it took 5 minutes just to walk the length of the plane and back. I felt really bad for the people in E- as it looked so cramped :td: The FA's in Y were also of good spirits laughing and joking with me about my pajamas and talking about how it reminded them of Michael Jackson the day he went to court in PJ's. My only other transpac flight was ORD-PEK and I didnt realize that SFO-NRT is a day flight the whole way, which I certainly liked. I continue to enjoy the fact that on transpac flights breakfast is warm (unlike transatlantic) even though its being served around dinner time. UA should give more day flight options US --> Europe. Weather at NRT was rain/overcast and we had to circle for a bit, but arrived into NRT on time. NRT looks like a US airport. I counted 9 UA widebodies and >12 NW aircraft. Because I was transfering, I only had to go through security, and Larry, Steph and I were the only ones there. Because I had never been to NRT, I decided to rush off to NH and terminal 2 to get my BP for my continuing flight. If only I had known how much free time I would have had, I would have gone to the RCC. I'll have a chance on the return to try the famous NRT beer machine.
Narita
I took the transfer bus from terminal one to terminal two which took <10 minutes. Its nice to drive below and among all the widebodies. The transfer desk has about four different airlines occupying it and is to the immediate left when you get off the bus and go upstairs. The NH staff were very nice and after asking which seat I preferred, issued me a BP. I asked about a lounge, which I thought I was entitled to because I was in C, but she asked for my 1K card. She swiped the card and the proper lounge invitation popped out. The showers are located in T1, so I was not able to shower, although if I had known my flight was going to be delayed I would have trekked back. I was offered entrence into the Signet Lounge, but not the Club ANA Lounge, although I dont know what the difference is. The Signet Lounge was small but there was sushi, Johnny Walker black (among other alcohol), a massage chair and laptops with internet usage (not sure if you had to pay). I left to get to the gate at 4:45 for a 5:30 departure, and the gate area was empty. NH started boarding at 5:05. I had some more time to walk around the terminal and watch some CO flights loading. At 5:05 NH boarded C and Star Alliance Gold members first. Since I was both I headed right on to the 763. One thing that threw me off guard was that the Japanese keep apologizing for everything. They are very polite which I knew, but kept saying sorry almost as much as a thank you.
NRT-PEK
NH 955
The flight was about 3/4 full in C, and 1/2 full in Y. The plan took off late and we were scheduled to arrive into NRT about a 1/2 hour late. This NH 763 had the new 777 style interior which was really nice. The seat layout for C was 2-1-2 with ample space (unlike UA). It was really cool to watch taxi, take-off, and climbout on the nose camera. I had never experienced that before and it was awesome! There were heavy winds to PEK so we did have turbulence for a little over half the flight. The Club ANA Asia seat is really nice. Its like the UA C seat only electronic and with AVOD. This was the first time I have ever flown with an AC equipped with AVOD and it is awesome. I played black jack and could pause/rewind my movies. The seat pitch left something to be desired and would only go back far enough to make the sleeping position uncomfortable, but for 4 hours it was fine. A nice dinner was served with choice of Japanese or Western style dish (beef stroganoff). I noticed the knives were plastic, has it affected the whole world!!!
[Comparing UA ORD-SFO and NH NRT-PEK in C on a 763, the NH aircraft was cleaner and newer. On the UA flight the breakfast slid right of the broken tray table and on to the floor of the guy across the aisle. The food was good on both and crew attentive. The electronic seat and AVOD whooped United's butt.]
We arrived into PEK >30 minutes late after a long slow linear decent into the beijing area. De-boarding was quick and customs even quicker. I got in line right before passengers from two other flights qeued. Before at PEK I was stuck behind a trainee, but not this time. As I had only carry-on I was through the gates into the arrival hall and out to the taxi stand quickly.