Eastbay1K
Oct 7, 07, 2:08 pm
5:45 am came too soon. I didn’t want to get up quite that early, but the Bay Bridge in the morning is a few minute wait if I leave at 6:15, but can be a lot longer 15 minutes later. After a short wait at the toll plaza and quick drive over, those words San Francisco International Airport welcomed me. Unfortunately, I haven’t flown out of that lovely terminal with those nice words on the building in quite some time.
UA SFO/ORD UA security was no more than 10 minutes total in the premium line, and I was in the RCC, enjoying a bland cup of Papa Smurf (or whatever it is called) coffee. The morning wheat-based packaged grease au plastic didn’t seem appealing, and so I didn’t have any. Finally, boarding commenced on a 2 cabin 767. As I was in row 1, I needed to get onboard rather quickly, as, predictably, the F bins filled up quite rapidly, and so did the closets. The flight itself - a choice of omelette or a fruit plate, with a basket of bakery items. Breakfast was actually tasty, and the crew was more than pleasant and attentive. The inflight movie of Evan Almighty occupied the time, as well as Channel 9, and a couple of NBC sitcoms which I had never seen before, and finally, a relatively on-time ORD arrival. After a quick visit to the C RCC (which I left, as it was rather full), and then a visit to the B RCC (which I left, as it was rather full), I went to the F RCC, which was rather full, but there was nowhere else to go, and my flight was from the F gates. I snagged a small table in the bar area, and awaited the remaining time.
UX ORD/BUF (Mesa) What a marginal airline. This was the 2 cabin CR7 - I was in row 1. Service consisted of a beverage. The plane appeared dingy and dirty. I had a plasticup of a fine 2008 room temperature witewine The flight attendants looked pained when a few of us asked for a 2d beverage. No snackiecakes, no nuts, no nothing. The cabin was prepared for arrival long long prior to arrival. The seat was comfortableish-enough (especially after a 2 cabin 767 in F). The good news was that the flight was also, relatively on -time.
Doubletree Club Buffalo - I called the day prior as I learned they had an airport shuttle (it is located in the city), and the attendant took my name and flight arrival information, telling me to call if I had any schedule change. Apparently, the hotel did nothing, because I went out to the hotel shuttle area (they even have a parking lot to wait) and there was no Doubletree van. I called the hotel and this was the first the desk had heard of it. “We’ll send someone now.” I wish I’d have called when I stepped off the plane, because it was another 25 minutes AFTER I called before the van got there. Upon arrival at the hotel, the desk clerk was on the phone. After his call, he started to check me in. He interrupted the check-in by taking 4 additional phone calls while checking me in. He then handed me my key packet and I asked about the Diamond breakfast benefit, because the hotel made no effort to recognize it, nor had the key packet prepared with coupons, etc. (However, the key packet was prepared in advance). He then gave me a coupon (good for Au Bon Pain, connected to the hotel), and then told me there were no Doubletree welcome cookies at that time. I then went up to the room, where I was given an oddly-shaped one bedroom suite. I then went down to the bar to have a snack and drink. I asked the waitress (very nice) what kind of red wine she had. She said “shar-do-nay” and “peeno greejoe.” Knowing that these excellent-sounding reds had great potential, I asked her again, to learn that there was now Kabernay, Murloe, and Sherahz. I had a glass of the 2006 Chateau Plasticork Sherahz. When I was done, she asked me if I’d like another glass of Murloe. I declined. I also had an order of obligatory Buffalo Wings, served with enough blue cheese dressing to kill about 3 cows. Seriously, there was a pudding serving-sized cup with the stuff. I then retired from the bar. Eventually, I ended up in bed, only to try and relax in seriously-pilled sheets which were really uncomfortable. I finally fell asleep at about 2am. Before I knew it, the 8am wakeup call woke me up along with 2 cellphone alarms. I went down to breakfast - basically, with the coupon, you can order whatever you want from the menu. Mmmm - french toast - I haven’t had it in ages. After several minutes, the server comes out to tell me that they don’t have any bread to make the toast with. How about a waffle? Sure - sounds good. After awhile, a plate with 2 full (but seriously-underdone) Belgian waffles came out with a big glop of whipped cream, and some sliced berries. The faux-maple syrup came from Canada, which I found amusing. I ate most of one of them, along with 2 cups of marginal coffee, and then showered, checked out, and awaited my ride for my meeting.
BUF/ATL - I got a ride back to BUF to encounter no security lines and a quick machine check-in, and had plenty of time to kill. Finally, and just a few minutes late, DL Connection (SkyWest) boarded - a CR9. Basically, the same plane as the CR7, but a different world on SkyWest. The passengers in F had more service before take off (water at the seat at boarding, and a full beverage service pre-take-off) than I did the day before on UX (Mesa). A friendly, bright and attentive crew passed around a snack basket, as well as made sure our plasticups were full of our preferred beverages throughout.
ATL - I went into 2 of the DL lounges - they were quite odd in that they appeared to try to “upscale” their afternoon snacks, in a most unusable manner. There were these squeezable hummus packets, as well as decent olives, and “cheese” (more like packaged white velveeta) but with no crackers to eat them on. I was squeezing hummus onto pretzels. Odd. Lounges seemed particularly crowded for a Saturday late afternoon.
ATL/SFO - Boarding was only a few minutes’ delayed. As I was in row 1 on a 767, again, the overhead bin issue arose. But alas, there were several empty seats in F. There was plenty of overhead space. Pre-departure beverages offered, and this was my first flight with new DL “signature” cocktails. I figured, “...”, I’ll let the liver suffer a bit. I had the “caipiroska” pre-departure, which is a caipirinha but with vodka, and instead of fresh muddled limes and sugar, a bottled mix. It is kind of like ordering prime rib but they substitute a hamburger with a nice juice made with A-1 sauce and water. Too sweet, but yet with a bitter finish. Then, takeoff. They also have some apple drink. Bourbon, applemix, some fruit juice mix, and ice. I didn’t finish it. Oh yes, the “Big Apple.” New York would evacuate itself if they had to drink these. But at least all beverages in the front cabin on DL are served in glass again. Woo! Dinner was served. Doublewoo. On a 5 hour flight, you get a one tray service. A cup of lettuce with a few cucumber and bell pepper slices, a piece of chicken that time forgot (I could feel the moisture sucked out of my tongue with each bite) with a side of “potatoes au rotten” and canned green beans (which I sent for a low cost burial at sea), and a cheesecake (which was the only thing that was not awful). I ate the meal only because I was hungry and the next food was over 5 hours away, at a time when most things would be closed, and I needed to soak up the previous and impending alcohol. The white wine was a fine Oak Bark Shardoneyney, with added woodchips. The inflight entertainment consisted of (1) all audio channels non-functioning, and (2) a movie where the screen is so bad from the overhead projector that it hurts to look at the screen. Every person has more than 4 eyes (2 full ones, right to left, with duplicates and then another partial one set above the right of the original pair.) Accordingly, there is no functional IFE. The crew couldn’t be nicer. It is too bad that they have such a crappy product to serve. The flight arrived about 30 minutes early. Yay. And so it was good. Amen. The end.
UA SFO/ORD UA security was no more than 10 minutes total in the premium line, and I was in the RCC, enjoying a bland cup of Papa Smurf (or whatever it is called) coffee. The morning wheat-based packaged grease au plastic didn’t seem appealing, and so I didn’t have any. Finally, boarding commenced on a 2 cabin 767. As I was in row 1, I needed to get onboard rather quickly, as, predictably, the F bins filled up quite rapidly, and so did the closets. The flight itself - a choice of omelette or a fruit plate, with a basket of bakery items. Breakfast was actually tasty, and the crew was more than pleasant and attentive. The inflight movie of Evan Almighty occupied the time, as well as Channel 9, and a couple of NBC sitcoms which I had never seen before, and finally, a relatively on-time ORD arrival. After a quick visit to the C RCC (which I left, as it was rather full), and then a visit to the B RCC (which I left, as it was rather full), I went to the F RCC, which was rather full, but there was nowhere else to go, and my flight was from the F gates. I snagged a small table in the bar area, and awaited the remaining time.
UX ORD/BUF (Mesa) What a marginal airline. This was the 2 cabin CR7 - I was in row 1. Service consisted of a beverage. The plane appeared dingy and dirty. I had a plasticup of a fine 2008 room temperature witewine The flight attendants looked pained when a few of us asked for a 2d beverage. No snackiecakes, no nuts, no nothing. The cabin was prepared for arrival long long prior to arrival. The seat was comfortableish-enough (especially after a 2 cabin 767 in F). The good news was that the flight was also, relatively on -time.
Doubletree Club Buffalo - I called the day prior as I learned they had an airport shuttle (it is located in the city), and the attendant took my name and flight arrival information, telling me to call if I had any schedule change. Apparently, the hotel did nothing, because I went out to the hotel shuttle area (they even have a parking lot to wait) and there was no Doubletree van. I called the hotel and this was the first the desk had heard of it. “We’ll send someone now.” I wish I’d have called when I stepped off the plane, because it was another 25 minutes AFTER I called before the van got there. Upon arrival at the hotel, the desk clerk was on the phone. After his call, he started to check me in. He interrupted the check-in by taking 4 additional phone calls while checking me in. He then handed me my key packet and I asked about the Diamond breakfast benefit, because the hotel made no effort to recognize it, nor had the key packet prepared with coupons, etc. (However, the key packet was prepared in advance). He then gave me a coupon (good for Au Bon Pain, connected to the hotel), and then told me there were no Doubletree welcome cookies at that time. I then went up to the room, where I was given an oddly-shaped one bedroom suite. I then went down to the bar to have a snack and drink. I asked the waitress (very nice) what kind of red wine she had. She said “shar-do-nay” and “peeno greejoe.” Knowing that these excellent-sounding reds had great potential, I asked her again, to learn that there was now Kabernay, Murloe, and Sherahz. I had a glass of the 2006 Chateau Plasticork Sherahz. When I was done, she asked me if I’d like another glass of Murloe. I declined. I also had an order of obligatory Buffalo Wings, served with enough blue cheese dressing to kill about 3 cows. Seriously, there was a pudding serving-sized cup with the stuff. I then retired from the bar. Eventually, I ended up in bed, only to try and relax in seriously-pilled sheets which were really uncomfortable. I finally fell asleep at about 2am. Before I knew it, the 8am wakeup call woke me up along with 2 cellphone alarms. I went down to breakfast - basically, with the coupon, you can order whatever you want from the menu. Mmmm - french toast - I haven’t had it in ages. After several minutes, the server comes out to tell me that they don’t have any bread to make the toast with. How about a waffle? Sure - sounds good. After awhile, a plate with 2 full (but seriously-underdone) Belgian waffles came out with a big glop of whipped cream, and some sliced berries. The faux-maple syrup came from Canada, which I found amusing. I ate most of one of them, along with 2 cups of marginal coffee, and then showered, checked out, and awaited my ride for my meeting.
BUF/ATL - I got a ride back to BUF to encounter no security lines and a quick machine check-in, and had plenty of time to kill. Finally, and just a few minutes late, DL Connection (SkyWest) boarded - a CR9. Basically, the same plane as the CR7, but a different world on SkyWest. The passengers in F had more service before take off (water at the seat at boarding, and a full beverage service pre-take-off) than I did the day before on UX (Mesa). A friendly, bright and attentive crew passed around a snack basket, as well as made sure our plasticups were full of our preferred beverages throughout.
ATL - I went into 2 of the DL lounges - they were quite odd in that they appeared to try to “upscale” their afternoon snacks, in a most unusable manner. There were these squeezable hummus packets, as well as decent olives, and “cheese” (more like packaged white velveeta) but with no crackers to eat them on. I was squeezing hummus onto pretzels. Odd. Lounges seemed particularly crowded for a Saturday late afternoon.
ATL/SFO - Boarding was only a few minutes’ delayed. As I was in row 1 on a 767, again, the overhead bin issue arose. But alas, there were several empty seats in F. There was plenty of overhead space. Pre-departure beverages offered, and this was my first flight with new DL “signature” cocktails. I figured, “...”, I’ll let the liver suffer a bit. I had the “caipiroska” pre-departure, which is a caipirinha but with vodka, and instead of fresh muddled limes and sugar, a bottled mix. It is kind of like ordering prime rib but they substitute a hamburger with a nice juice made with A-1 sauce and water. Too sweet, but yet with a bitter finish. Then, takeoff. They also have some apple drink. Bourbon, applemix, some fruit juice mix, and ice. I didn’t finish it. Oh yes, the “Big Apple.” New York would evacuate itself if they had to drink these. But at least all beverages in the front cabin on DL are served in glass again. Woo! Dinner was served. Doublewoo. On a 5 hour flight, you get a one tray service. A cup of lettuce with a few cucumber and bell pepper slices, a piece of chicken that time forgot (I could feel the moisture sucked out of my tongue with each bite) with a side of “potatoes au rotten” and canned green beans (which I sent for a low cost burial at sea), and a cheesecake (which was the only thing that was not awful). I ate the meal only because I was hungry and the next food was over 5 hours away, at a time when most things would be closed, and I needed to soak up the previous and impending alcohol. The white wine was a fine Oak Bark Shardoneyney, with added woodchips. The inflight entertainment consisted of (1) all audio channels non-functioning, and (2) a movie where the screen is so bad from the overhead projector that it hurts to look at the screen. Every person has more than 4 eyes (2 full ones, right to left, with duplicates and then another partial one set above the right of the original pair.) Accordingly, there is no functional IFE. The crew couldn’t be nicer. It is too bad that they have such a crappy product to serve. The flight arrived about 30 minutes early. Yay. And so it was good. Amen. The end.