Chasing the Sun: UA DEN-ANC-ORD-DEN (with pics!)
Aug 30, 2004, 9:29 pm
#1
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Join Date: Jun 2001
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Chasing the Sun: UA DEN-ANC-ORD-DEN (with pics!)
When a trip starts with a rush, it doesn't end until you hit the pillow that night. Such began our trip to Alaska 2004. Drew was flying in from Arizona and with plenty of time to spare, I shrugged off the inclination to take the toll bypass and steered my car through town. I should have known better. Traffic, construction, and stone-age bus drivers helped time slip away. I didn't hit the 1K check-in desk until 38 minutes before scheduled departure -- 2 minutes inside the required check-in time for baggage. Since I'm rather young, I often get estranged looks from United agents (and other passengers) in elite lines. I think our "outdoor Alaska" scrubs doubled that effect. The 1K agent was almost looking forward to turning us away -- "Uh, sir, this is the 1K line. Are you a 1K?" I must admit, it does give me just a little bit of pleasure during those moments when I confess that, yes, I am. (Sometimes I enjoy playing a little. In an elite line, the person that rushed into line behind me began to interrogate me: "This is the 'Premier' line, are you a 'Premier'?" ... "Premier? What's that?" ... "Someone that flies over 25,000 miles every year." ... "Oh. So I fly 100,000. Can be here??")
The agent was a supervisor. She was able to over-ride gate control of the flight and check my bag. She summoned a personal cart carrier to whisk it away to the plane. Drew and I ran down to the security line, untying our shoes as we shuffled through the elite line. By the time we got to the gate, the flight was boarding and we sauntered on. I had confirmed our seats with CR-1's, a good thing since the flight was full.
I was looking forward to today for various reasons. First, this flight would be a sample of United's new service offerings in First class. I had yet to enjoy a domestic flight over 1,500 miles. Clocking in at 2,405 miles, DEN-ANC on a 757 would definitely put UA's flight attendants to the test. Unfortunately, longer domestic flights like this also attract those senior flight attendants who have forgotten how to smile. Service was strictly by the book tonight, if that. No pre-departure drink, cold nuts, and a slow start to the drink and meal service. I think the pursar was pregnant -- but I've learned (from the Drew Carrey show) that you never ask a women if she's pregnant unless it is beggingly obvious. Even then, divert.
With clearance from air traffic control, the captain took us up over the clouds and soon we disappeared from sight. In fact, we saw nothing but the dark clouds below us the whole flight as we pursued the setting sun westward to Anchorage. The clouds would be an omen of things to come "and yet to be."
The pursar came around with drinks and took meal orders according to status. A few people had switched seats to accomodate couples and friends traveling together. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she carved the new seating assignments in her manifest with her pen. I guess it was a burden to have us there. Dinner selections were as follows:
TO BEGIN
Mixed greens with julienned bell peppers and cherry tomatoes
offered with Asian Sesame or Ranch dressing.
ENTREES
Roasted Rack of Lamb
served with garlic mashed potatoes and carrot saute
Pecan-crusted Chicken Breast
served with wild rice and green beans
Four-Cheese and Beef Lasagna
served with steamed vegetables
A selection of warm breads is available.
DESSERT
Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream
topped with whipped cream and hot fudge
The rack of lamb was excellent, probably one of the best meals I've had on a plane, certainly on a domestic flight. If a bit more attention had been paid to the chewy carrot saute, it would have been quite an exquisite meal. The ice cream sundaes, served from a cart, hit the spot and "filled in the cracks." The pursar disappeared and left water runs through to the cabin to the rest of the crew on-board.
Drew and I settled back in our chairs to enjoy the remaining 2 hours of flight. Carrey's movie, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", was thought-provoking if not a little bizarre. It brought up some good discussion about past dating relationships (would we erase the memory of "her" if we could?) and some of the decisions we had made about women in the past. My book for the trip, "FIASCO: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader", wasn't a good complement for the discussion by any means, but it was an entertaining read about derivatives trading in emerging markets. (Fascinating, right?)
At 8:23PM local time, the 757 set down softly on Anchorage International's tarmac, surrounded on two sides by Gompterz Channel. I was amazed at the number of 747s at the airport -- EVA Air, China Airlines, Cathay, Singapore... what were they all doing here? Clearly a lot of cargo-only aircraft, but quite a few passenger craft mixed in between. Either ANC is a popular refueling station, or lots of Asians prefer artic vacations to Disneyland. We gathered our books, iPods, headphones, digital cameras and carry-on luggage and moseyed our way to baggage claim.
One thing you have to understand about me is that I hate checking bags. It's not necessarily because they might get lost. It's because it means I have to wait. I hate waiting. It seems so unproductive. For this reason, I have not checked a bag in two years. And I would pay dearly tonight. After everyone had left, our hiking sack with all our gear and camping equipment never came. The only bag on the belt was brown box with a rip. Not ours.
Wes The Agent at the baggage service office was friendly for someone who gets abuse all day. He immediately discovered that our bags would be on a later flight from Seattle and get into ANC around 11PM. That's 1AM Mountain time and I was tired. I explained that our livelihood was in that bag and that I was hoping not to sleep in the airport. He just kinda shrugged and suggested we drive downtown to window shop. Uh... Window show? It was 9PM. "Wes, I would really prefer a hotel," sneaking my boarding stub over the counter with "Premier Executive 100K" printed across the top. He stared at me. I stared at him. "That really would be most convenient, Wes." He stared at me. I stared at him. Then he picked up the phone and started dialing. Ten calls later, we finally found a hotel with vacancy.
All told, the lost luggage worked out well. It was raining hard in Anchorage, and setting up a tent in the rain on soggy soil would have been about just as much fun as a gravel-eating contest. The hotel, Long House Alaskan, was only a five minute drive from the airport. The accomodations were reasonable (2*-2.5*) and a free continental breakfast was provided. As we settled into our beds, the phone rang. "Sir, this is Gloria at United. I just wanted to let you know that your bags will not be coming on the 11PM flight as planned, but will be in Anchorage at 9AM tomorrow. I hope that is satisfactory." Whew. That would have been a lot of window shopping.
The agent was a supervisor. She was able to over-ride gate control of the flight and check my bag. She summoned a personal cart carrier to whisk it away to the plane. Drew and I ran down to the security line, untying our shoes as we shuffled through the elite line. By the time we got to the gate, the flight was boarding and we sauntered on. I had confirmed our seats with CR-1's, a good thing since the flight was full.
I was looking forward to today for various reasons. First, this flight would be a sample of United's new service offerings in First class. I had yet to enjoy a domestic flight over 1,500 miles. Clocking in at 2,405 miles, DEN-ANC on a 757 would definitely put UA's flight attendants to the test. Unfortunately, longer domestic flights like this also attract those senior flight attendants who have forgotten how to smile. Service was strictly by the book tonight, if that. No pre-departure drink, cold nuts, and a slow start to the drink and meal service. I think the pursar was pregnant -- but I've learned (from the Drew Carrey show) that you never ask a women if she's pregnant unless it is beggingly obvious. Even then, divert.
With clearance from air traffic control, the captain took us up over the clouds and soon we disappeared from sight. In fact, we saw nothing but the dark clouds below us the whole flight as we pursued the setting sun westward to Anchorage. The clouds would be an omen of things to come "and yet to be."
The pursar came around with drinks and took meal orders according to status. A few people had switched seats to accomodate couples and friends traveling together. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she carved the new seating assignments in her manifest with her pen. I guess it was a burden to have us there. Dinner selections were as follows:
TO BEGIN
Mixed greens with julienned bell peppers and cherry tomatoes
offered with Asian Sesame or Ranch dressing.
ENTREES
Roasted Rack of Lamb
served with garlic mashed potatoes and carrot saute
Pecan-crusted Chicken Breast
served with wild rice and green beans
Four-Cheese and Beef Lasagna
served with steamed vegetables
A selection of warm breads is available.
DESSERT
Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream
topped with whipped cream and hot fudge
The rack of lamb was excellent, probably one of the best meals I've had on a plane, certainly on a domestic flight. If a bit more attention had been paid to the chewy carrot saute, it would have been quite an exquisite meal. The ice cream sundaes, served from a cart, hit the spot and "filled in the cracks." The pursar disappeared and left water runs through to the cabin to the rest of the crew on-board.
Drew and I settled back in our chairs to enjoy the remaining 2 hours of flight. Carrey's movie, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", was thought-provoking if not a little bizarre. It brought up some good discussion about past dating relationships (would we erase the memory of "her" if we could?) and some of the decisions we had made about women in the past. My book for the trip, "FIASCO: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader", wasn't a good complement for the discussion by any means, but it was an entertaining read about derivatives trading in emerging markets. (Fascinating, right?)
At 8:23PM local time, the 757 set down softly on Anchorage International's tarmac, surrounded on two sides by Gompterz Channel. I was amazed at the number of 747s at the airport -- EVA Air, China Airlines, Cathay, Singapore... what were they all doing here? Clearly a lot of cargo-only aircraft, but quite a few passenger craft mixed in between. Either ANC is a popular refueling station, or lots of Asians prefer artic vacations to Disneyland. We gathered our books, iPods, headphones, digital cameras and carry-on luggage and moseyed our way to baggage claim.
One thing you have to understand about me is that I hate checking bags. It's not necessarily because they might get lost. It's because it means I have to wait. I hate waiting. It seems so unproductive. For this reason, I have not checked a bag in two years. And I would pay dearly tonight. After everyone had left, our hiking sack with all our gear and camping equipment never came. The only bag on the belt was brown box with a rip. Not ours.
Wes The Agent at the baggage service office was friendly for someone who gets abuse all day. He immediately discovered that our bags would be on a later flight from Seattle and get into ANC around 11PM. That's 1AM Mountain time and I was tired. I explained that our livelihood was in that bag and that I was hoping not to sleep in the airport. He just kinda shrugged and suggested we drive downtown to window shop. Uh... Window show? It was 9PM. "Wes, I would really prefer a hotel," sneaking my boarding stub over the counter with "Premier Executive 100K" printed across the top. He stared at me. I stared at him. "That really would be most convenient, Wes." He stared at me. I stared at him. Then he picked up the phone and started dialing. Ten calls later, we finally found a hotel with vacancy.
All told, the lost luggage worked out well. It was raining hard in Anchorage, and setting up a tent in the rain on soggy soil would have been about just as much fun as a gravel-eating contest. The hotel, Long House Alaskan, was only a five minute drive from the airport. The accomodations were reasonable (2*-2.5*) and a free continental breakfast was provided. As we settled into our beds, the phone rang. "Sir, this is Gloria at United. I just wanted to let you know that your bags will not be coming on the 11PM flight as planned, but will be in Anchorage at 9AM tomorrow. I hope that is satisfactory." Whew. That would have been a lot of window shopping.
Last edited by JohnnyP; Aug 30, 2004 at 9:32 pm
Aug 31, 2004, 2:05 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The road less traveled
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Posts: 5,118
For further reading...
More stories about what we actually did in Alaska are available on our blog at: www.nakedsky.org ! I'll post details on the return trip once we're done. 
Sep 2, 2004, 12:22 pm
#3
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Anc-ord-den
The Anchorage International Airport is a tastefully assembled and thought-out facility. Alaska spent $230 million redeveloping the airport terminals just a few years ago in 1999. And it still looks great! After a quick check-in at the Premier/First Class line, we headed over to security. I was pleased to see that Anchorage has an elite line hidden just off to the left of the ID-check podium. We scurried through, avoiding the discriminating stares of other passengers probably wondering why a couple of scrubby guys were cutting them in line.
The average age of passengers transiting through Anchorage that day was about 65 years old. In front of us, there were already two passengers with pacemakers and the predominant hair color ranged from "none" to "white." As a result, the one open security line was moving geriatrically slow. But most of the elderly people managed to get through without getting marked as terrorists.
As most of these people were on our flight, the pre-boarding announcement was a popular cattle call and we waddled aboard after the masses to our seats in First. As an 8:30PM departure, there would be no dinner served on board, so we had eaten a lip-smacking meal in town at Sacks -- pine-nut-crusted halibut on a bed of strawberry rissotto served with asparagus spears. I doubt United could top that!
A young flight attendant and the pursar, Michael, worked the 757's front cabin with the excellence befitting of a world-class airline. Pre-departure drinks of choice were served and, shortly after takeoff, warm nuts were distributed. No meal, as expected, but a choice between the soon-forgotten deli plate or cobb salad. During the snack, we flew over incredible scenery -- I probably snapped about 10 to 15 pictures of the views from above, the mountains were framed so majestically against the setting sun.
After the snack and the movie, I settled back in my chair for a nap. We would be arriving into O'Hare before 5AM. I've never found it easy to sleep in UA's First class seat, although it beats coach. I was tempted to wander back to coach to see if there were any open rows, but it probably would have been a hopeless excursion. I twisted and contorted my body for a few hours and must have fallen asleep because I awoke 45 minutes away from landing. There wasn't much activity on Channel 9 at that time of day, and the captain set us down softly on the runway.
With three hours until our connection to Denver -- I had expressly booked the 8:30AM 777 so we could get business class -- we found a quiet corner and fell asleep until boarding.
There were very few things notable about the 777 flight ORD-DEN. After the tasteless breakfast burrito and fruit plate were served and eaten, we barely had enough time to catch a few winks before I was back at home and on my way to work.
New entries go up everyday on our blog about our time in Alaska, if that's of interest to anyone! Thanks for reading the trip report; hope it was helpful.
The average age of passengers transiting through Anchorage that day was about 65 years old. In front of us, there were already two passengers with pacemakers and the predominant hair color ranged from "none" to "white."
As a result, the one open security line was moving geriatrically slow. But most of the elderly people managed to get through without getting marked as terrorists.As most of these people were on our flight, the pre-boarding announcement was a popular cattle call and we waddled aboard after the masses to our seats in First. As an 8:30PM departure, there would be no dinner served on board, so we had eaten a lip-smacking meal in town at Sacks -- pine-nut-crusted halibut on a bed of strawberry rissotto served with asparagus spears. I doubt United could top that!
A young flight attendant and the pursar, Michael, worked the 757's front cabin with the excellence befitting of a world-class airline. Pre-departure drinks of choice were served and, shortly after takeoff, warm nuts were distributed. No meal, as expected, but a choice between the soon-forgotten deli plate or cobb salad. During the snack, we flew over incredible scenery -- I probably snapped about 10 to 15 pictures of the views from above, the mountains were framed so majestically against the setting sun.
After the snack and the movie, I settled back in my chair for a nap. We would be arriving into O'Hare before 5AM. I've never found it easy to sleep in UA's First class seat, although it beats coach. I was tempted to wander back to coach to see if there were any open rows, but it probably would have been a hopeless excursion. I twisted and contorted my body for a few hours and must have fallen asleep because I awoke 45 minutes away from landing. There wasn't much activity on Channel 9 at that time of day, and the captain set us down softly on the runway.
With three hours until our connection to Denver -- I had expressly booked the 8:30AM 777 so we could get business class -- we found a quiet corner and fell asleep until boarding.
There were very few things notable about the 777 flight ORD-DEN. After the tasteless breakfast burrito and fruit plate were served and eaten, we barely had enough time to catch a few winks before I was back at home and on my way to work.
New entries go up everyday on our blog about our time in Alaska, if that's of interest to anyone! Thanks for reading the trip report; hope it was helpful.
Sep 3, 2004, 10:18 pm
#5
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Join Date: Apr 2001
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Now that was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the menu transcript AND THE PICS! Glad to hear you had a nice trip in Alaska, and hope we'll see you up here again, someday.
Sep 4, 2004, 10:43 pm
#6
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Originally Posted by Seat 2A
Now that was an enjoyable read.
Quite a compliment coming from such a prolific Trip Reporter such as you, Seat2A! Do you know why there are so many 747's (Asian, predominantly) in ANC?
Sep 6, 2004, 7:46 pm
#8
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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Originally Posted by JohnnyP
Quite a compliment coming from such a prolific Trip Reporter such as you, Seat2A! Do you know why there are so many 747's (Asian, predominantly) in ANC?
Sep 8, 2004, 2:44 pm
#9
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Originally Posted by BenjaminNYC
ANC is a popular refueling stop from NA to Asia.