das

17-Dec US 782 SEA-PIT, 7:30am – 2:58pm, A319
17-Dec US 1471 PIT-CLT, 4:00pm – 5:25pm, 757
17-Dec US 94 CLT-LGW, 8:20pm – 9:15am +1 , A330
18-Dec EZY 817 LGW-BCN, 7:05pm – 10:15pm, 737-700

29-Dec JK 505 ALC-MAD, 8:30am – 9:25am, MD-83
29-Dec US 11 MAD-PHL, 1:10pm – 4:19pm, 767-200
29 Dec US 111 PHL-SEA, 5:55pm – 9:03pm, A319


Background –

I qualified for Silver Preferred in 2001 and therefore earned a SWU that was burning a hole in my pocket. Since US SWUs are now more restrictive, I wanted to put this confirmable SWU to good use, even though it got me stuck with a rather inconvenient routing. I bought the intra-Europe tickets separately (each was about $70 USD), as US was quoting me outrageous through fares.

I decided to route the trip to Europe via CLT so I could try the A330, and also because the CLT-LGW flight is the latest and longest US flight into LGW (to allow maximum sleep).

You'll find that I keep comparing US to UA. In fact, this was my first transatlantic trip in Business Class – all my previous international C class flying has been on UA across the Pacific or to South America.

17-Dec US 782 SEA-PIT, 7:30am – 2:58pm, A319

Even though I lied to the shuttle company that I had an 8am flight, I still had a 5am pickup, which meant I only got about 3 hours of sleep. Arrived at SEA way too early around 5:30am; the coach line was busy, but the F line was empty. I spent the next few hours hanging out at the gate charging my laptop computer, as I needed to do some work on the flight.

A call was made for volunteers. I wasn’t interested due to my split tickets and my confirmed upgrades, but as it turns out no volunteers were needed. I was one of the last passengers to board, but still managed to get a pre-departure beverage.

I was seated in 2C, my favorite choice on the A319. Row 1 has lousy leg room, and row 3 is the last to get served or get meal choices taken. I’m quite fond of the A319 – the service flow in F seems much smoother with one F/A per 12 passengers vs. two F/As per 24 passengers on the 757 (or 26 on the A321). Of course the fact that SEA is now all A319s means that upgrading is tough.

Meal choices were a spanish omelet, waffles, or cereal. Service began with a fruit bowl (pineapple, strawberry, kiwi) and warm croissants and muffins. Seconds were offered on the breads (this hardly ever happens). The omelet was fairly tasty, but coach-sized. It had a nice meat/veggie filling and salsa sauce, but it was small. The accompanying hash browns seemed to contain more grease than potato, and the Canadian bacon looked exactly the same as what I remember from coach. I’m not a huge fan of US F breakfasts, but the service was fairly attentive. I noticed on this flight we were catered with 12 hot breakfasts and 3 cereals, so everyone could have a hot breakfast if they wanted. Is this common policy for US?

I then spent a few hours working on my laptop, and then about an hour or so out of PIT, the standard snack basket (potato chips, cereal bars, cashews, cookies, etc.) made an appearance. Overall a fairly good flight.


17-Dec US 1471 PIT-CLT, 4:00pm – 5:25pm, 757

I spent the layover in the B concourse US Club with one main mission – to charge my laptop so I could do some more work on my performance review during the next flight. Since I had an Envoy ticket, I was offered a drink coupon, and my flight details were meticulously logged before the coupon was issued. Time in the lounge passed quickly with a few phone calls, and I was one of the last to board the CLT flight.

The F cabin was completely full, and Y also looked full as well. Several familiar faces from the SEA flight were on board. The captain announced there would be bumpy air and therefore the seatbelt sign would be on for the entire flight and that no service would be offered.

In F, we managed to get 2 rounds of drinks and a snack basket, once the post-climbout turbulence cleared up. The captain apologized for the inconvenience, and I’m sure the F/As in Y were very pleased to have no work to do. Personally, I think they should have attempted a service once the turbulence cleared, and the captain was going a bit overboard in canceling the service before the flight even took off.

17-Dec US 94 CLT-LGW, 8:20pm – 9:15am +1 , A330

I had a few hours to kill in CLT, and decided to head over to the US Airways Club to finish up my performance review. I also checked out the wonderful food spread – pretzels, cashew packets, and apples. There was also a tea/cappuccino/coffee machine with proprietary “flavor bags” that you couldn’t steal from the club because they only worked with that machine. I enjoyed a few green teas while writing a glowing review about myself.

Once I finished my review, I needed to get it emailed. I had asked on FlyerTalk, and it was fairly clear there were no internet terminals available in CLT. My laptop doesn’t have a dialup connection, so I really needed to get to an internet terminal. Since the club had a “Business Center”, I thought one of the attendants would be able to figure out a way for me to get online, but I had no such luck.

Then it dawned on me that maybe I should just Fedex my review on disk, but by that time it was 7:15pm, and 7pm was the Fedex collection time. Oh well, I deferred sending it off until I reached London, but saved the file and was now officially ON VACATION!

I headed over to the D concourse, a very spacious terminal where the international flights depart from. There were large windows, lots of open space, and even rocking chairs. I’ve spent some long layovers in CLT just lounging around the D concourse. The LGW gate was quite crowded, as the flight was oversold and they were desperately seeking volunteers. The reroute option wasn’t pretty – a flight and overnight in IAD, and then a flight to LHR the next day on UA. Even though the compensation ($600 travel credit or $400 cash) was attractive, my split tickets and confirmed upgrade made it infeasible.

I was one of the first to board the A330, and headed to my seat, 4B. I’ve flown the US A330 before in Coach, but never in Envoy.

My first impression was a really new, bright, and spacious cabin… probably because I had spent all day on an A319… but in hindsight it’s really fairly comparable to UA. Shortly after I sat down, my coat was hung, and pre-departure beverages were offered (OJ, Mimosa, Champagne). Orange juice was refrigerated Minute Maid… an upgrade from the shelf-stable stuff that US serves domestically.

Meanwhile, there were some seating complications in the Envoy cabin. An elderly woman announced she would not be sitting next to a baby on such a long flight, and some major seat shuffling ensued. The confusion was compounded because there was an empty Envoy seat that is the designated pilot rest seat and can’t be occupied by passengers.

We pushed back about 10 minutes late, most likely because of sorting out the oversell situation. Most of Envoy appeared to be legitimate upgrades; there was no last minute rush on the cabin. Amenity kits were then distributed. They are in a plastic case with a ribbon; cheap materials, but classy look. Contents included toothbrush/toothpaste, lip balm, lotion, tissues, eye shades, socks, and ear plugs. Then, the newspaper cart came through with a variety of newspapers and magazines to choose from.

Take off was very smooth and graceful – the 330 is so large you can hardly feel it rotate. Immediately after take off, curtains separating First, Envoy, and Coach were all closed for the remainder of the flight (as has been policy on US since 8-02). The First cabin had its own dedicated crew, even though from my understanding they have the same meal service as Envoy.

The personal TVs on the 330 in Envoy are huge. Probably double the size of what UA has in its Business cabin. But, alas, there was no Air Show channel. That’s the kind of movie I like to watch, especially when I’m tired.  We got noise canceling headsets which were fairly comfortable.

Service began with two packets of cashews and beverages. Four F/As were serving the Envoy cabin, perhaps with an additional F/A working the galley. Since I was in the forward Envoy cabin, I wasn’t able to observe the galley activities.

The service went really slowly, which was unfortunate because I was tired and hungry. Tablecloths were not laid until 9:50pm, 1:20 after take off. At that time, hot towels were also handed out.

Here is the dinner menu:

Hors d’oeuvres

Smoked Salmon Timbale
Layers of smoked salmon, spinach leaves, cucumber and shaved red onion presented with a sour cream herb sauce

Salad Cart

Seasonal greens offered with your choice of dressing and salad garnish

Entrees

Baked Halibut Imperial
Alaskan halibut topped with seasoned jumbo lump crabmeat, served with creamy mustard sauce, old fashioned spoon bread, sautéed spinach, sweet potato and butternut squash

Grilled Sesame Glazed Beef Filet
Beef filet napped with sesame glaze, baby carrots, stir-fried baby bok choy with a sautéed scallion and squash cake

Braised Chicken
Chicken breast braised in a Sherry and Morel mushroom cream sauce, accompanied by sautéed green beans with shallots and vermicelli rice pilaf

Express Meal

Sesame-crusted Ahi Tuna Cold Plate
Seared, sesame-crusted ahi tuna presented rare with a delightful mix of filed greens and mango dressed with a citrus vinaigrette, accompanied by cucumber sushi

Cheese and Fruit

Camembert, Manche and Sage Blue cheese served with crackers
Fresh seasonal fruit

Dessert

Lemon Raspberry Swirl Cake


Since this flight was to the UK, all the silverware was plastic. The appetizer was fairly small, but very tasty. The sauce had a very nice dill flavor. With the appetizer, bread was offered, I had a really tasty jalapeno sourdough roll.

Soon after, the salad cart rolled through the aisle. Bowls were filled with greens and additional toppings (cucumber, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, ground pepper) and dressings were available. I tried everything, with an olive oil-balsamic dressing. The salad cart included the wine selections, and the wine service was rather classy. They had separate red wine and white wine glasses, and you were asked to taste the wine and inspect the label before the glass was poured. I had a very unimpressive French white, but I liked this wine service better than “white or red” -- and far better than service from an individual screwtop bottle that I once experienced in domestic F on AA.

Now it was time for the entrée, which you can tell from the description was really elaborate. It came with a lemon half, wrapped in cheesecloth to stop the seeds from coming out. The portion was generous and the side dishes all delicious.

At this time, trays were all cleared, and once the cabin was cleared, the dessert cart came through with fruit, cheese, and dessert. Unlike UA (when they used to offer a fruit and cheese course as a substitute for dessert), the food was plentiful and you were welcome (and encouraged) to have everything. I tried all the cheeses, with a variety of crackers, and the dessert, all of which was plated right in front of you. Also on the cart were a variety of cordial bottles (not the minis) and a variety of tea bags, including herbal. F/As were also glad to make a cappuccino or espresso.

The cheese, port, mint tea, and fruit (green apple slices and grapes) were all delicious, but by this time I was tired and stuffed. The fruit must have been sliced on board, because the cut apples would easily go brown if they weren’t freshly cut. It was now 11:15pm, almost 3 hours after takeoff when the dinner service was concluded. I was ready for bed.

The A330 Envoy seat has all electronic recline and footrest controls, and I spent some time playing around with the seat until I figured out how to get it into maximum recline. I then figured out there is an “express” button to recline the seat. I dozed on and off, but didn’t really get too much sleep. During the night, the snacking station had water bottles, wine, and the standard snack basket fare available, but I was sufficiently satisfied with dinner, that the water bottles were all that interested me.

At 8am London time (about 4 hours after the dinner service concluded), it was time for the pre-arrival refreshment, or what the menu affectionately calls out as:

“Our light breakfast service will be served prior to arrival. Please ask your flight attendant for today’s selection.”
It started with a glass of orange juice. Then a small tray with a small fruit plate (cantaloupe, strawberry, kiwi), small croissant, and butter was distributed. The F/As then offered coffee and tea, and were also pleased to make Espressos or Cappucinos upon request. (Since the Cappucino machine is only on the A330, I just had to try one.) Despite being a small meal, it was the small presentation rather than the small portions that was more of the problem. I did like it how it was served very close to arrival, to allow for maximum sleep. I am still a bit puzzled why they served butter with a croissant, but oh well.

We then touched down to a sunny (but cold) day in Gatwick, shortly after 9am, and I was one of the first passengers from our flight through immigration. The FastTrack pass distributed on board wasn’t useful, as there was no line. After clearing immigration, I had to wait in a “holding cell” for about 10 minutes before our baggage carousel was on the screen. And then my bag took about 20 minutes to come off. The fact that my Priority tag had somehow gotten torn off didn’t help matters.

Then I was off to the US Gatwick arrivals lounge, which opened a few months ago. Since my bags were so late, I was the last passenger to enter the lounge, but they gladly set me up with a much needed shower. By the time I was done with the shower, I was the only person left in the lounge, but I was invited to stay and eat some breakfast. I enjoyed some yogurt, fruit, tea, and pastries. At no time I was I rushed to leave the lounge, even though I was the last passenger from the last arrival.

I then asked the lounge attendant how I could email my file – she mentioned that the internet café in LGW had closed recently, but made some phone calls and found that the conference center rents out private offices for 7 pounds per half hour. At this point, I was price inelastic and headed up to the Norfolk House conference center to send my $12 email. Then, I stored my luggage and hopped on the Gatwick Express to spend the afternoon in London.

My main objective for the afternoon in London was to beat the jetlag and my sleep deprivation. So that meant keeping really active. From Waterloo station I walked all over the city, to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Hyde Park, across the Thames, etc. I was in London several years ago, so I didn’t really do much tourist stuff – was just trying to stay awake.

18-Dec EZY 817 LGW-BCN, 7:05pm – 10:15pm, 737-700

I arrived back at LGW around 5pm to check in for my Easy Jet flight to Barcelona. EasyJet makes Southwest look premium. It’s no fun to buy a ticket from, and no fun to fly. The ticket on the web site as advertised as a low 25 pounds. So I click to buy it and it adds in some taxes, then some airport charges, and then some credit card processing charges, and the ticket ends up costing 45 pounds, still very cheap, but I certainly felt a bit nickled and dimed.

Then they have a 5 kg. carry-on limit. I blew that number away, but I never got stopped because my laptop bag is so compact. Check-in is super efficient. The transaction took about 30 seconds, and I was given a printed boarding pass with a boarding number, and the baggage claim check attached to my passport (!).

I then milled around the duty free shops. I couldn’t go to the gate, as at LGW gates aren’t announced until boarding time, to keep you in the duty free shops. Departure time of 7:05pm came and went. No delay announcement, no gate assignment, no estimated boarding time. I asked a security officer what was going on, and he bluntly told me to watch the screen for my gate. No airline personnel were around anywhere, but plenty of other confused passengers.

So I stood staring at the screen, terrified of sitting down, falling asleep, and missing my flight. Finally we get a gate assignment at 7:30pm. At the gate, tickets are lifted upon entering the departure lounge, while the inbound passengers deplane. We then board and are off about an hour late. No apologies or mention from the crew about the delay. Seating was open, and since the 737-700 was only about 2/3 full, it was easy to score an aisle.

Seat pockets are see-through and contain only a safety card and airsick bag. Magazines are distributed by the F/As, and for those passengers who don’t want to take the magazine home, the F/As collect them at the end of the flight. Service is all at a fee – coffee or tea is 2.5 Euros, water 1 Euro, sandwich 5 Euros. Since I didn’t know if they would be selling anything good, I bought all my food and drink in the airport to bring on board.

We landed in Barcelona about an hour late, around 11pm. In typical EasyJet efficiency, the plane was turning around back to Gatwick at that late hour, and it appeared a healthy load was waiting for the plane in BCN for the trip back.

Verdict on Easy Jet – it’s cheap, it’s easy, but it’s not fun. As far as the total non-communication about the delay, I’m not sure it’s a LGW issue or an EasyJet issue, but in the US that wouldn’t work.


<< The trip in Spain -- I was sneaking in on the middle of my parents trip -- spent a few days in Barcelona, then on to Valencia by train, then by car down the coast – I’ve been to some of the cities in Spain before, but this was my first time off the beaten path -- I really enjoyed being more absorbed in the Spanish culture and seeing the countryside. It’s amazing these small “hole in the wall” towns that Americans have never heard of are actually huge cities with lots of culture. This report is getting too long so I am not going to do a travelogue in this report… >>

29-Dec JK 505 ALC-MAD, 8:30am – 9:25am, MD-83

Alicante airport was quite hectic this morning, but since I am a UA 1P and Spanair is a UA partner, I figured I’d try my luck in the Business Class line (technically this is a no-no because Spanair isn’t in the Star Alliance)…. No problem at all… I then headed to the gate to wait for the flight.

Like all Spanish airports, most flight departure announcements are automated. And Alicante has typical Spanish efficiency. The terminal has gates, but the gates lead to buses. The buses drive you to the plane, and you board via stairs. This airport has not yet discovered the jetway.

Since my seat was in row 26, I got to board through the tailcone door. The flight was fairly full and we left right on schedule. Flying time to Madrid was a short 40 minutes. Service was quite simple. It began with a basket of chocolates being passed around. It ended with a basket of mints being passed around. Beverages were not part of the service, although a few glasses of water were brought to people who especially requested it. The Business class cabin seemed to get a breakfast service, although curtains were drawn so it was hard to tell.

We landed in Madrid, and lucky for us, we got to park at a jetway, and we didn’t have to get bussed in. Finding the baggage claim was a challenge, and once I found the baggage claim there was a 30 minute wait for bags. But since I had such a long layover, it was no problem at all. I then walked over to the international terminal to check in for my trip in Envoy back to SEA.

29-Dec US 11 MAD-PHL, 1:10pm – 4:19pm, 767-200

Since it was only 10am, the check-in line was empty, and as soon as I arrived I was greeted by an ICTS security agent who had plenty of questions for me. Recently I’ve flown SK, LH, and SR transatlantic, and when I did, there was very little security questioning. But US has quite elaborate security in place – and this was also the case before 9/11 – I recall similar set up in FCO when I flew US out of there back in 2000.

I was asked where I had been in Spain, I was asked for my business card, my train receipt, the name of the hotels I had stayed in, etc. I think she was trying to make sure my answers to her questions were truthful. Once the grilling was over, I was quickly checked in and directed to the Ciebles lounge.

The Cibeles lounge was a huge disappointment. There was a huge alcohol selection, but it’s too early for that, and I drink really lightly on long haul trips. There were also some pastries, but they didn’t look that good. At 11am, prepackaged tuna sandwiches and ham sandwiches were put out. Not too appetizing. The non-smoking part of the lounge was also in an enclosed room with no windows (the main part of the lounge was the smoking section). I got bored really quick, so I headed into the terminal for some exploring and wine shopping.

I was one of the first to board the 767, and immediately realized this was no A330. Both planes have Envoy in a 2-2-2 configuration, but the 330 is much wider. The 767 seats also have all mechanical (not electronic) controls, the TVs are much smaller, and there is no support for noise reduction headsets (or perhaps they just weren’t loaded for this flight). No gooseneck lamps on the 767 either. The 767 also has a really awkward set up for the Envoy lavatory -- it’s right at the cockpit door, right in the middle of the galley, and you have to pass a curtain to get to the lavatory (the crew religiously kept this curtain closed the entire flight).

We had the standard pre-departure service (OJ/Mimosa/Champagne) along with amenity kits and menus, followed by the newspaper cart. We pushed back from the gate about 10 minutes early. There was not a full load today, only about 16/24 in Envoy and probably only about 70% full in coach.

After takeoff, the service began with beverages and two packages of cashews. After several refills of drinks, hot towels and tablecloths were distributed for the main service.

Here is today’s lunch menu:

Hors d’oeuvres
Bayshrimp canapé, cured ham with wild mushrooms, and asparagus tartlet

Salad cart
Seasonal greens offered with your choice of dressing and salad garnish

Entrees

Monkfish and King Prawns
Sauteed filet of monkfish and king prawns, complemented by a mushroom sauce and served with Catalonian-style spinach

Chicken Pirenaico
Breast of chicken with orzo and spinach, enhanced by sauce au jus, presented with sautéed zucchini and buttered vegetables

Wild Mushroom Medley in Puff Pastry
Puff pastry filled with wild mushrooms, offered with saffron linguine and garlic-roasted Mediterranean vegetables, topped with a white wine truffle cream sauce

Express Meal
Smoked Norweigan Salmon
Served chilled with duck pate and asparagus in a light vinaigrette

Cheese and Fruit
Idiazabal, San Simon, and Roquefort Cheese served with crackers
Fresh seasonal fruit

Dessert
Baked pear custard


The appetizers were small, but very elaborately done and nicely presented. The salad cart offered tomatoes and grilled zucchini as the vegetable toppings, and the salad greens had nice variety. The breads were excellent as well, I had some nice caraway rolls. Unlike on CLT-LGW, seconds on the bread were offered. Since this wasn’t a flight from the UK, we had metal forks, but plastic knives.

The wine service was the same as CLT-LGW (although with different selections); I had a nice French red and enjoyed getting to see the label before I tried it. Interestingly, no Spanish wine was on board…which is a surprise because it is so inexpensive to buy wine in Spain. Water and orange juice service was done from carafes, which is fine for the OJ, but I prefer water to be served from a bottle so I know it’s not tap. I did some snooping and figured out the OJ was Tropicana Premium.

I chose the Monkfish for my entrée. Even though I ate lots of fish in Spain and was really out-fished, this entrée was superb. Spinach had a nice garlic flavor, and there was a generous helping of fish. The lemon wasn’t as nicely done as on CLT-LGW – it was cooked with the entrée.

Unlike on CLT-LGW, the cheese and fruit course was served separately from the dessert course, and we only had one cart serving cheese and fruit (instead of one per aisle on the A330). The cheeses were all labeled on the cart (unlike on CLT-LGW), and the fruit also had a bit more variety (strawberries, grapes, red apples, and mango). Unlike CLT-LGW, the cordials were in minis, not whole bottles.

The dessert was absolutely wonderful – I enjoyed every bite of the pear tart. Yum yum. I was really tempted to ask for seconds but felt too greedy. Envoy meals beat United Business hands down – UA does larger appetizer portions, but US wins out with nicer entrees, better side dishes, larger salads, and more creative desserts (I am not a cheesecake fan).

The Envoy cabin crew was 3 older guys – so the scenery wasn’t great – but their service was fairly attentive and professional. They got the job done quite efficiently – trays were cleared within 2:20 after takeoff – and that’s even with doing separate fruit/cheese and dessert courses. The service was nicely paced, and the F/As didn’t play the disappearing act. They came through the cabin every 45 minutes or so offering water and juice, and were very good at clearing things quickly. The snacking station was available with beverages, wine, and the usual snack basket goodies.

About 1.5 hours of out PHL, the afternoon refreshment was served. This meal was not documented in the menu, and was presented really poorly, even though it was a decent portion.

- Chilled grilled chicken breast served with pesto penne
- Hard, dry, cold bread roll
- Packaged cake slices

The meal was nourishing enough and I wasn’t starving after eating it, but warm bread would have been nice, as well as some fresh fruit. A larger tray would also make the presentation look more attractive. We had hot towels with this meal, but no tablecloth.

We landed in PHL about an hour early, around 3:15pm, and luckily we were able to park at a gate and head straight to immigration. The lines were quite long as FCO and MUC flights had arrived before us, but I was all through Customs by 4pm, despite being stopped for a baggage inspection.

29 Dec US 111 PHL-SEA, 5:55pm – 9:03pm, A319

I went to the Terminal A security line to get a First Class express line – the main security line from the intl arrivals area didn’t have an express line. I did some shopping at the Gap, and then headed up to the US Airways Club to relax before the next flight. I was offered (but declined) a drink coupon. I then decided it would be really nice to get changed into some of the new clothes I bought -- was almost as good as a shower, but not quite.

Then it was off to the gate for my flight to SEA. The gate area was chaotic, as they were in an oversell and soliciting volunteers. I should have considered it, but I was due at work the next day and had my confirmed upgrade, so I didn’t even ask.

Why was it when I was in college – and very eager to get bumped -- I hardly ever ended up on oversold flights, and now that my schedule makes it hard for me to get bumped all my flights end up being oversold???

Anyway, I boarded into 2C, my favorite F seat on the A319. Across the aisle was a couple with a baby, and they proceeded to drop and break some jars of baby food. A huge mess had to be cleaned up, but the baby slept for most of the flight.

The appetizer was smoked salmon, which seemed to be identical to what was served on CLT-LGW, minus the sauce, but instead with dill garnish. The salad was quite good – with the tomato basil dressing came a nice bonus of sundried tomatoes. The olive rolls were also really tasty.

The dinner service went downhill from there. Entrees were a choice of pecan crusted salmon, herb crusted filet of beef, and stuffed Roma chicken. Since I had eaten fish almost exclusively for the past week and have had the beef on US transcons plenty of times before (and enjoyed the canned mushrooms so much), I decided to try the stuffed chicken.

Sorry, but that stuffed chicken was definitely factory-fabricated. Some parts of the chicken had thicker skin than chicken meat. After peeling off the skin, there wasn’t much chicken left. It was reasonably tasty, but not what I’d call a quality F meal. Dessert was cheesecake, which made me long for the pear tart on MAD-PHL.

This was a long flight. 6 hours. I got some shuteye, but those A319 F seats aren’t comfortable coming off an Envoy flight. Finally around 9pm, we land in Seattle, and I’m back home by 10pm, up the next morning at 3am, and still trying to fight off the jetlag.

Overall Evaluation:

- This was an adventure, but completely sub-optimal. The best way from Seattle to Europe is to go on a nonstop transatlantic – to AMS, CPH, or LHR – flying time is about 9 hours eastbound and 10 hours westbound …or in other words about 2 hours longer than flying off the east coast. I would have saved a vacation day doing a more efficient routing, but at least now I can say I’ve tried US Airways Envoy Class.

- Envoy Class beats United Business; the only better thing that UA offers is Air Show, better music channels, and massage in the seats (if the 330 seat has it, I sure missed it).

- Envoy Class food service for the first meal is absolutely wonderful (I like the plating on the cart and wine service), and the second meal needs a better presentation and warm bread.

- The US Airways Clubs in the US have just as lousy a food spread as the RCCs.

- US allows arrivals lounge access to upgraded Envoy passengers, whereas UA does not allow arrivals lounge access to upgrades

- UA has better transcon F meal service than US – bigger appetizers, higher quality entrees, and sundaes. Trouble is that ORD and DEN flights aren’t transcons.

- UA gives me more than 5 flights a day from SEA to choose from

Epilogue –

Since all my business travel has been on the west coast, I really don’t fly US much anymore. But since they had some $100 round trip fares SEA-EWR last summer, and the “Get out more” promo for double status miles, I came really close to hitting Gold Preferred with this trip. I ended the year with 48,377 status miles. Really depressing that I missed 50,000, especially because my “napkin math” estimates showed that I would make it. So my new year’s resolution is to not use napkin math to plan my status.

markbach

Great report, thanks. I got to try out US Envoy class in November, and I agree with your observations in pretty much all respects, especially the pre-arrival snack. It was TERRIBLE!

I look forward to booking my next trip to an A330-served destination.

techgirl

Nice report... after reading your report and markbach's, I'm SOOOO excited about using my four systemwides on US.

Thanks for providing so much detail... this is the stuff that helps make the planning easier.

onedog

Thanks for the trip report.

gba

Great report. You're right about flying transatlantic from the West Coast, its much better for sleeping. What are the advantages of First class over Enovy on US? Is it just the number of FA's to seat ratio?

Tim2008

Excellent report,thanks!

Tim

ws8n

Cool report. I was on US Envoy PHL-AMS just last week, and kicked myself for not getting a routing that flies the A330. The 767's looks quite jaded IMHO. But AMS is a blast

mauld

Thanks for the report, and I agree with your assessment of the 767 vs 330. My first Envoy experience had been on the 767 (CLT-LGW) and I was very dissapppointed with the aircraft and wrote up a pretty disparaging report comparing that to CO's BF 767, I then had the chance to fly on the 330 PIT-FRA, and what a difference

JohnnyP

das, thank you for a well-written, thorough report! You focused in on just the areas that I tend to care about when I travel, so it was especially relevant. As another UA 1P, I hope to sample US' international Envoy product in the near future once the code-share is better integrated.

So, it seems that your impression was that the A330 still had First service? I had understood that those would become "premium" Envoy seats for elite and full-fare customers. Can any US fliers comment?

Seat 2A

Thanks for this report! I particularly enjoyed your observations and attention to detail - While some people can't be bothered with writing any more than a one or two sentence description or comment about the cabin, seats, meal or overall service, it's the little things that overall contribute to a thorough and well written report. Anyone considering flying US Airways domestic First and/or International Envoy will be well served by this report. From start to finish, it was excellent!

Wiirachay

Thanks for the report! Wonder if US will update the seats on the B767s. I think it's kind of weird to have an airline with inconsistent bells and whistles for J class -- like CO.

I was thinking of using a low-cost carrier from the UK to MXP last May; but with all the nickel-and-diming and weight restrictions, I decided to go with AZ. No regrets!

It's funny how writing these FT trip reports are so much easier to do and more fun than our freshman writing seminars back at CU.

- Pat

1K-SFO

Great report! Thanks for posting!

bowdenj

Great report! Lots of details - I've never flown US envoy so I definitely will have to try it!