aw

UA 138 SFO-ORD
Jul 3 - Seat 10E J/C
Dept 0900A - EQP:763

Some time ago I decided to burn all my US Dividend miles so I decided to visit Geneva at the height of the summer season. Since this is a holiday wknd, the airport was a zoo when I arrived. The J/C line was already snaking to the entrance and I decided to stand on the F/C line and take my chances of not being pulled by the line police. The scene was very chaotic and agents were being assaulted by people with questions and pulled all over the place. Luckily I was never challenged. Besides, being a US Silver member I have the privilege of using the F/C check-in counter. The agent that checked me in was pleasant and quickly issued me my boarding passes on both UA and LO.

After security, I decided to check the Red Carpet Club in the domestic side. The lounge is pretty spacious and there were a variety of tropical juices available along with coffee, a basket of apples, bananas and individually wrapped pound cakes. Pretty soon it was boarding time so I headed to the gate.

Today's flight was about 3/4 full so upon boarding I decided to take one of the empty middle seats in row 9 since I was not in the mood to seat next to someone who was already snoring. Shortly after take off FA's began to take the orders. Breakfast consisted of a choice between Omelette or Fruit plate. I am not a breakfast person and neither choice appealed me so I asked the FA to surprise me. Drinks were offered along with a Biscoff cookie. Linens were placed on the tables followed by hot towels. Afterwards the entree was served and I was offered the Omelette which came with sausages and a portion of sliced potatoes. In addition there was a bowl with sliced cantaloupe, pineapple and strawberries. A selection of bagels, danish or croissants were offered from a basket. Service was excellent and FA's were chatty. The only negative experience was the baby crying his lungs out over at row 8. The seats were the standard international ones so they were pretty comfy. Channel 9 was available and our flight was delayed by about 30 min. due to thunderstorm in ORD.

Once we landed in ORD, I paid a visit to the Red Carpet Club in terminal C I believe. There was a good assortment of tidbits which consisted of crudites, Ranch dressing, cheese and crackers, Apples, Biscoff cookies and Toblerone chocolates. The lounge was pretty big and was divided into different sections which allowed for some sort of privacy.


LO 4 ORD-WAW
Jul 3 - Seat 2E J/C
Dept 2120 - EQP: 762

After spending some relaxing time at the Red Carpet Club, I headed to the Intl Terminal for my LO flight. At the counter, I had to check-in again even though I already had a boarding pass issued by UA. It seems that the alliance 's promise of seamless travel is not so smooth after all. The agent was friendly and wished me a good trip. After going through security I realized that he failed to issue me the boarding pass for the connecting trip WAW-MUC. No big deal, since I will get it at the transfer area at WAW (this proved to be a very frustrating experience as you will read later on). I was extended an invitation to a generic club that was used by other carriers so instead I opted to go to the SAS Business Lounge. The lounge was decorated in typical Scandinavian functional design, with emphasis in simplicity and clean lines. There was a buffet with cold cuts, breads, crackers, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Adjacent there was a fridge with some cold beers, OJ and mineral water. On the other side, the lounge area was inviting and tucked in a corner there were 4 terminals with free internet access. The lounge was almost empty which was a welcome sight.

Soon it was time to head to the gate and I regretfully left my safe heaven. The gate was chaotic with people standing everywhere getting ready to board. Next to us was an AI flight destined to FRA and then DEL. Agents were making announcements and advising customers to check in if they were holding a UA boarding pass. Upon boarding, there was a cart at the entrance of the aircraft with newspapers and magazines. The BC section was half full and the seat next to me was empty. A FA greeted me and offered help while making some light conversation. Pre-departure drinks were offered with a choice of water, OJ or champagne. Due to the stormy weather, we stood in line waiting for take off for about 35 - 40 min. Once airborne, FA's came around offering magazines and an amenity kit. Hot "towels" were distributed and these were not really towels but rather some sort of flimsy paper napkin material that had water dripping from it. Drinks were taken and afterwards the Purser passed the menus around which was enclosed in leather-like holder. The menus was as follow:

Everything came in one tray except for the dessert. The whole tray seemed like a "glorified" economy class meal. Portions were on the small side. I had the fish entree and it tasted good. Vegetables included celery and carrots which were not overly cooked. Wines were either red or white. There was not a separate wine list nor any detailed description of the wines available. Each psg received a small separate tray with a cup for the dessert service. The purser will then come around with an assortment of cakes on a tray and serve it on one's plate. Service was friendly and efficient, but did not go beyond what was called for.

Comfortwise, seats were old without any electronic features. I would describe them as similar to UA's old Connoisseur class seats. The footrest worked properly and on each seat there was a thick blanket and a pillow. No individual TV's so everything was shown on the main screen. After the meal service lights were turned off and I guess I was the only one awake. I asked for a glass of water and noticed that it was not refilled at all. As a matter of fact, when the glass was empty, the FA would just take it away.

Within about 1 hour to landing, the breakfast was served. Cold cuts were ok but the tiny piece of cheese was not enough. The yogurt was really good with slices of cantaloupe on top. Warm breads were offered along with juices and coffee.

to be continued....

anc-ord772

Good report so far! Looking forward to reading the rest!

aw

FA's were pretty quick in doing this second service and they passed around the fruit basket that was left untouched at the galley. I had Blackcurrant juice which was excellent. Not as sweet as grape juice with its own distinctive flavor. Soon we were descending towards Warsaw's Chopin airport. The FA's prepared the cabin for landing and offered to place the bag in the overhead for an older gentleman sitting across from me. I watched in amusement as the older guy had a fit and grabbed his bag back from the FA refusing to be separated from it. The dialogue was conducted in Polish so I had no idea what they heck they were saying to each other. Finally the male FA gave up in frustration muttering something outloud and went to take his position. This scene reminded me of two school kids fighting for a toy.....certainly beats the movie entertainment offered onboard. I forgot, music was provided by the crying babies behind the curtain.....Is it me or is July the official "take your baby onboard" month?

The flight landed smoothly and while taxiing I was able to see a LO 737, 767 and the new Embraer 170. LOT is one of the few carriers operating this new aircraft and it looked pretty sharp.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?i...%3D&static=yes

We stopped short in front of the runway waiting for other planes to taxi and the old guy across jumped out of his seat and walked towards the front galley. The FA said something and then he walked back to the Economy cabin. I guess he wanted to use the rest room and in retaliation the FA sent him all the way to the back. I'm surprised that they did not make him sit instead of letting him roam around. But then again, we are in a different country subject to different rules. After about 10 minutes we continued taxiing and finally arrived at the gate. There was a couple in Row 1 who had a connection too and when they inquired to one of the FA's, she replied that WAW is a small airport so they should not have any problems getting to the gate....right!

According to the information on the inflight magazine, psgs with connections outside of Poland should proceed to the Transfer Area to check-in. After I deplaned, I immediately went to the desk and when I arrived, it was absolute chaos. This is a small area with a triangular shape with 2 desks (one on each side). At the end there is a corridor that connects to the gate area and one must go through security again. There must have been at least 50 people standing everywhere with no lines. People were pushing and shoving each other so I decided to just go through security and get the boarding pass at the gate. I showed my tkt to the female guard and she asked "boarding pass"? I begged her to let me through since I had about 30 min connecting time and I was traveling in Business Class. She told me to wait and when she returned she said that I must have a boarding pass in order to go to the other side. At this point I was panicking so I went behind one of the desks and went directly to an agent with a radio (I assume that since she was not dealing with the maddening crowd and she had a radio, she must have been a lead agt or someone with authority). I showed her my J/C boarding pass from the ORD-WAW flight and explained that I had less than 30 min to connect. She then took my passport and gave it to one of the agents at the desk. In less than 5 minutes, I had my connecting boarding pass and went through security. The female guard told me to just go without putting my bags on the belt.
so I did not protest and just did what she said. On my way to the gate I noticed some news stands and a large duty free store. At the gate, I was surprised that I had to go through another security check and this time I placed my bags through the x-ray machine. I then took a bus to the field where my Embraer 145 flight was awaiting.


LO 353 WAW-MUC
Jul 4 - Seat 1A J/C
Dep 1550P EQP: ERJ-145

The Embraer 145 is a small jet airplane that sits 48 psgs. It is very tiny and there are no overhead bin on one side of the plane (the side where I was sitting, of course). We walked towards the plane and boarded through the attached staircase. I was traveling with 2 carry-ons and an agt had to pull one them and checked it. This link will give you and idea of how it looks inside:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file?i...dg=&static=yes

Once onboard, the 2 FA's got busy getting the cabin ready. There was a curtain that separated J and Y cabins, believe it or not. Take off was very smooth and as a bonus there was a crying baby by row 3. About 15 minutes into the flight the FA's served a meal!!! It was a small tray consisting of a dish with 2 round pieces of pate or some type of forcemeat with nuts, a side potatoe salad and 2 pieces of hollowed cucumbers filled with a berry sauce. This was accompanied by a warm roll and a small bowl of green grapes and strawberry. I loved the meal but I can see that this might not be to the liking of the average American who is not used to terrines and pates. Afterwards a FA followed with a cart offering beverages. Once the trays were taken, the purser came by offering coffee or tea. In a nutshell, the service was EXCEPTIONAL for such a short intra-European flight. The total duration of the flight was about 1:40 min. Arrival into MUC was uneventful and we boarded a bus to take us to the terminal.

MUC airport is wonderful. I wish all airports were like this. Modern, roomy, clean and with good assortment of shops/restaurants. I decided to pay a visit to the Business Lounge and upon entering one is greeted by a counter agent who directs you to the respective lounge. The Business lounge seemed like one big open space dotted with chairs and tables. There was an area for drinks and juices with beer on the tap. However, the tidbits selection sucks, IMHO. Unless you are a cookie lover, do not expect savories. The only salty stuff I saw was peanuts. Other than that, there were about 4-5 selection of cookies, gummy bears and some other type of candy that I was not too familiar with. Even the UA's Red Carpet outshines this one when it comes to munchies.


LH 1908 MUC-GVA
Jul 4 - Seat 3C J/C
Dep 1910 EQP: 737-300

I did not stay for too long at the lounge and decided to go to the gate about 30 minutes before dept. There was a rack with magazines and LH catalogs by the gate where one can avail himself/herself of some reading material. Our plane was off site so we had to take a bus again from the terminal to the plane. There were no annoucements for J or Senator pax to board first, I guess because everyone will be thrown together like sardines in the bus anyways. Once we arrived at the plane we were greeted by a cheerful FA. The J section on today's flight was about 6 rows and the middle seat is always vacant. It's about time that they give more space to premium passengers just like AF does. I'm surprised that LH did not implement this policy until recently. Seats were in leather with the usual beige with yellow trims. Once everyone settled, we waited for departure and there was a slight delay due to traffic, so we were taxiing for an extra 10-15 min. This flight turned out to be the Mother of all Flights for crying babies. There were about 3 of them in the back and it all started with one crying...soon the second one followed and finally we had all babies giving us an unforgettable peformance. It got so bad that the purser had to get out of her seat and bring water and some toys. By now, I did not care to see one more baby for the rest of my life.....It was utterly aggravating. Babies should not be allowed to fly at this tender age...why subject them to the pain of ear pressure? By the way, doesn't AF designate all families traveling with children to the rear of the cabin? I thought I've read something to that effect some time ago.

Once we were airborne, FA's served a "Taste of Europe" snack. It consisted of some bread with Prosciutto, another piece of bread with eggplant and marinated red pepper, a small side dish of potato salad, a warm roll and for dessert a square of something clafoutis like (translation: egg based batter pudding) with cherries. There was a LH towel on the tray along with a wine glass, cup and metal silverware. The flight was very quick and smooth. It was a sunny day and upon landing at GVA we got an spectacular view of the lake and its shore with the Jet dÉau. After we deplaned through the jetbridge we were directed to a bus to take us to the main terminal. Why bother going through the jetbridge in the first place? I'm sure all this climbing up and down through the stairs will be appreciated by some people. Overall, this was a great flight and the crew's attitude was fabulous and very accommodating.

Hope you enjoyed reading this. I will post the return portion on a new thread later.

Fliar

Great report , look forward to the rest! ^

Arnur

This is unfortunately the case in all LH Business lounges, the selection of food is limited to cookies, gummy bears etc. This is also the case for most third party lounges used by LH in Europe, including the one in GVA (Horizon lounge). Only SEN lounges have some 'real' food.

I agree that small children can be difficult to travel with - both for parents and for fellow passengers. However, some times flights obviously can not be avoided. As for putting them in one section of the cabin - this is dictated by the location of the special oxygen masks for infants, which are available only in designated rows, the location of which depends on the equipment used.

I was in GVA at about the same time - LH uses one of the two small midfield terminals there, both of which are connected to the main building by underground corridors. However, some construction down there was the reason for having to take the bus, after deplaning through the jetbridge. When I returned two days later the corridors were open again.

sftrvlr

Interesting report. Don't see much about LOT in trip reports. And they don't sound all that good, either!

Waiting for the return ...