Trip Reports - UA959 /UA321 LHR -> PDX Trip Report

First trip report... enjoy!

LHR-ORD flight was full back in steerage/economy. I thought I was going to get lucky, since they wouldn't let me change seats on Mr. Chicken... but no luck. I *know* they must have op-upped somebody, but at a lowly 2p on a S-fare, I was at the bottom of the list. Almost got lucky and got the only econ+ seat with no partner (22G/F), but then somebody in back needed to switch to help out a family, and as a favor sent him packing up to my extra legroom space. =( One question -- should I not have boarded with "group 1" -- more on this later -- or should I be asking the GA something to get up front?

ps -- is LHR the only place they "board" you into a waiting room and then really board you?

FAs were pretty "curt" on this flight. When they handed out the snack boxes (why do they have to put mayo on those sandwiches?) when they came to collect them they instructed us, over the PA to "put your trash in the box, separate out the cans, and close it". Now, I usually do this as a courtesy, but... well, I just found that sorta rude.

Boarding -- ugh. They announce they are boarding *G, *S, etc.. and then well, they just open the door and a FLOOD of people just start to board. Nobody to check BPs or anything. BAD. It was almost funny. I almost stopped and prevented anybody else from going by to wait for the GA, but was gonna get run over. So I boarded, too. *thats* why I'm gate lice.

From ord-pdx, they could see that the incoming flight was delayed getting in, but they didn't update the outbound departure time until literally 10 minuted before scheduled departure. Considering they were saying "boarding in 15 minutes" and there was no inbound plane... ugh.

This was my first use of the e500 upgrades -- yay 757! -- I can certainly see that the seats are more comfy, but not $1500 more comfy. Wouldn't pay for them. FAs were good -- only water for pre-departure drink because we didn't have a galley. They were fairly attentive for the first 30-60 minutes of the flight and then disappeared. Is this normal / right for a night flight?

Got headsets which would only work for channels 2-6. Unless you put it halfway in, then you could hear the movie on 1. (and channel 9). That was fun holding the plug in for a flight. Until I tried my neighbors jack when he went into the bathroom and it didn't work there either.. should have figured out it was a headset problem (and not a jack problem)... stupid me.

Due to weather (was kind of a bumpy flight) we were 1.5 hours late getting into pdx -- anybody find it odd that the light rail quits running at ~11pm. Tought to rely on public transport and ORD flights with that combination. Ah well... cab fare is still cheaper than parking.

One question -- should I not have boarded with "group 1" -- more on this later -- or should I be asking the GA something to get up front?

Boarding -- ugh. They announce they are boarding *G, *S, etc.. and then well, they just open the door and a FLOOD of people just start to board. Nobody to check BPs or anything. BAD. It was almost funny. I almost stopped and prevented anybody else from going by to wait for the GA, but was gonna get run over. So I boarded, too. *thats* why I'm gate lice.

Did they board *G and *S BEFORE the flood began? 2P is the same as *S so thats when you should've boarded. Sometimes at LHR they don't always call the boarding zones like they should.


Craig

Did they board *G and *S BEFORE the flood began? 2P is the same as *S so thats when you should've boarded. Sometimes at LHR they don't always call the boarding zones like they should.

I flew IAD-CDG, LHR-IAD. On the way to CDG they boarded GS and 1k, then literally 2 seconds later they boarded 1st Seating. On the way back to IAD from LHR, they boarded with two doors (1k, 1st, C, GS) in one door and everyone else in the other, but by the time I got through 1st and C to get to E+, 50 people had already entered in from the send door. I can't win.

Thanks for posting; moving this over to the Trip Reports Forum for a wider audience.

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United Mileage Plus Forum

... Got headsets which would only work for channels 2-6. Unless you put it halfway in, then you could hear the movie on 1. (and channel 9). That was fun holding the plug in for a flight. Until I tried my neighbors jack when he went into the bathroom and it didn't work there either.. should have figured out it was a headset problem (and not a jack problem)... stupid me....

Don't feel stupid. Given the state of maintenance on UA's IFE, it could have been a jack issue for both seats. Come to think of it, it could have been both the headsets and the jacks.

Did they board *G and *S BEFORE the flood began? 2P is the same as *S so thats when you should've boarded. Sometimes at LHR they don't always call the boarding zones like they should.


Craig

No, they said something to the effect of "we'll board *g,*s,1p,2p in just a second." Then they opened the doors. With nobody there to check tix or manage the boarding, it was a literal flood of people streaming through. Funny, but then I was in front. =)

ps -- is LHR the only place they "board" you into a waiting room and then really board you?

When you're flying ex AMS or ex DUB to the US, you'll also need to clear into some sort of holding pen first (ex DUB, you're also pre-cleared for US immigration)