gba

United JFK-LHR-JFK w/ Op-Up

I'll be the first do admit that for many on this forum transatlantic business class, let alone coach, is as boring as it gets and you have no interest in reading a trip report about it. For me, however, I rarely have the privilage of travelling internationially and all of my front cabin travel comes on Alaska, which, as anyone who has glanced at the Alaska forum knows, is quickly declining. Thus, this vacation was much anticipated. Even flying JFK-LHR in coach would merit a substantial report in my travelogue. When I had the privilage of being upgraded to business class on the return, I felt the experience was worth sharing. I hope you all agree. For those of you just interested in the meat and potatoes (the business class), it is the return flight.

March 11, 2005

JFK – LHR
United #904
Equipment: 777-200 (N768UA)
Seat: 42A
Scheduled (Actual) Departure Time: 9:30pm (9:30)
Scheduled (Actual) Arrival Time: 9:25am + 1 (9:40 + 1)
Total Travel Time: 7:10

Taking the Subway to Jamaica and then the AirTrain to JFK proved more time consuming then I previously anticipated and so we arrived at Terminal 7 about 7:50 in the evening. Though I thought my chances of improving my horrendous seat assignment (call as I might, the computer had assigned me the last row at the 24 hours ‘til flight time mark, and could not be improved in advance) there was a long line for the normal check in and, as we had no bags to check the empty Easy Check in kiosk seemed to be the better option. This was probably a mistake as, for an international flight, one must enter all of the information on one’s passport into the machine by typing with the onscreen keyboard. This is horribly inefficient, a problem made worse by the fact that the keyboard wasn’t quite aligned with the touch sensors on the screen. Furthermore, the machine refused to show a seat map on this packed-to-the gills flight. Once boarding passes printed, it was a short walk to security and only about a five minute wait to pass through.

I guess I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with JFK. While I stand in awe of the variety of traffic that passes through, and enjoy what is probably the highest concentration of “heavies” in the US, the chaotic layout, perpetual traffic jam, and often depressing terminals lead me to avoid it as much as possible. That said, terminal seven had a shine it lacked the last time I was there (during its recent renovation) and the AirTrain makes moving around a breeze. Still, though the interior was modern and had decent airside amenities, the low ceilings gave the terminal an uncomfortably cramped feeling. The gate area was especially hectic as less than 50 seats were available for all the pax on this full 777. Boarding began 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure and went by class of service, then elite status, before reverting to the group numbers printed on the boarding class. While two doors (gates nine and ten) were used to speed up boarding, only one jet way led into door 2L. I suppose the advantage of being in the last row is that you get to board early and we had no problem finding bin space for our bulky carry ons. Each coach seat had headphones, a pillow, and blanket, awaiting its occupant. Noting that row 42 is marked as red by SeatGuru I feared the worst. In all honesty, it wasn’t much worse than any other E- seat, and definitely better than any of the middles in the dreaded 5 across. The back had a somewhat intimate feel, the seat did recline a couple of inches (probably not as far as a normal economy seat) but the curvature of the plane allows the occupant to slide his or her feet to the left of the seats in row 42 (between the seat anchor and the wall) allowing one to stretch out even with a bad under the seat in front.

Boarding proceeded at its usual lull but soon enough everyone was seated and we were able to push back on time and taxi out to runway 31L for takeoff. We waited in a long queue behind a diverse range of airlines: Pakistani, Kuwaiti, BA, AF, VS, AA, SQ, CX, and B6 and did not take off until about 10:04. A forceful 777 liftoff was followed by an immediate left turn as we circled over the bay and made a three quarters circle before pointing ourselves to the East. We initially cruised at FL350 and then climbed to FL370 over Moncton. Channel 9 was on for the entire flight, which was quite nice. I especially enjoyed hearing the accents on the controllers over Ireland and into Heathrow.

As soon as we reached an appropriate altitude, passengers in coach received a full drink service accompanied by snack mix which was served from both the front and back of the cabin. As always, Untied provides full cans of soda. Hot, lemon scented towels followed and soon the flight attendants were running special meals to those who had requested them. The hot entrée with my girlfriends meal was quite nice but for her sides she received a tray entitled “breakfast” when questioned on this the flight attendant maintained that this was correct however for the second service she received a unite box full of more normal dinner accompaniments.

Regular meals were served from front to back and dinner was a choice between pasta and beef. The pasta was lasagna which, while tasty, had excessive amounts of low quality ricotta cheese. I’m usually a fan of chicken meals and was disappointed that United did not offer this normal option however it’s probably a cost-saver to have one of the normal meals be vegetarian. The entrée was accompanied by a fancy mixed greens salad, a roll, a square of carrot cake brownie, and a package of crackers with brie cheese and grapes, far and away the best part of the meal. A second beverage service immediately followed the entrée cart and coffee and tea were offered after all passengers had been served. All of the flight attendants were friendly, professional and even seemed happy to be there but by the time the service reached the back of the plane they often seemed disorganized and even skipped over me during one of the bev services, a problem they were able to correct when asked. It seems like once the rear f.a. on the bev cart finished the back row (43 in the center group of seats) they considered themselves finished.

Lights were turned off about two hours into the flight after a quick run through of duty free items and liqueurs. They were turned on again a little over an hour out (kudos to United for waiting as long as possible for the final service so everyone has as much time to sleep as possible). The breakfast was in the typical United box and consisted of a warmed croissant/roll type thing, a cup of orange juice, and a cup of fruit. The meals were followed by a final beverage service and then landing cards for the UK which somehow did not make it to the back row until requested.

Decent from 37,000 feet began about 40 minutes out and headsets were collected about 25 minutes later as the cabin was prepared for landing. I listened into Channel 9 with my own headset and heard us enter a hold around 10,000 feet and then get talked down step by step to Heathrow’s Runway 27R. Landing was unusually jerky perhaps due to a crosswind. Upon arrival, it was a short taxi to Terminal 3’s gate 20 and the passengers were able to deplane through the forward left two doors making for an efficient exit even from the back row, though it was to be followed by a seemingly interminable walk to Immigration and Customs from the Amero-pier.

March 19, 2005

United #957
Equipment: 777-200 (N219UA)
Seat: 11E
Scheduled (Actual) Departure Time: 6:00pm (6:15)
Scheduled (Actual) Arrival Time: 8:50pm (8:31)
Total Travel Time: 7:16

Arriving at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 only about 100 minutes in advance of our flight, we pushed through a crowded ticketing area to reach a deserted United ticket counter. We had been originally assigned seats 21 A and B and I was happy to be in Economy Plus after the outbound leg in the back of the bus. From the ticket counter we went up stairs to security. After a wait of about 15 minutes, we were screened by a surprisingly low-key group of screeners (especially compared to the TSA and my expectations of Heathrow, arguably one of the more vulnerable international airports). It has been said before that “the BAA is great at building shopping malls and horrible at building airports” and T3 is a great example of that with duty free shops that shimmer and gates that are a mile from the ticket counters. By the time we cleared security, it was nearly 5:00 and our gate had been posted so we began the long walk out towards gate 20. From the walkway to the pier, I could see our glimmering new-colors 777, N219UA awaiting us at the gate.

There were two doors into the seating area, approaching the one without the line we offered our boarding pass and passport, which were matched to one another and then directed to a gentlemen, I assume the equivalent of a gate agent despite his unusual location at the entrance to the boarding area. He entered our names into the computer and told us, to our surprise and delight that we had been upgraded to business class. He walked across to the agent at the other line, I assume to get our new boarding passes, tore them and handed us the stubs to seats 11D and E, and informed us that we were about to get $6000 worth of travel for free. Profuse thanks were offered, though no explanation was given. I do not have, and have never had, status on United and had not even flown them in the past year. I assume the upgrade was due to an overbooking of coach, why we specifically were chosen, I can only speculate. We were traveling on very low S fares, so it may have been simply dumb luck. I assume any flyers with status on United would have been upgraded before us. Both me and my girlfriend have United Mileage Plus accounts and since there seemed to be many on the flight returning from spring break that may have been enough to put us ahead of the pack. Looking around the business class cabin, I doubt we were the only op-ups, though in this day and age neither a person’s age nor dress may be very good indicators of their ticketed class.

With hearts aflutter, we boarded through the premium class jet way after business class had been called (first class was announced first). As I settled into 11E, unfortunately the middle seat, I still could not believe my good luck. Far superior to the domestic first class seats I’ve experienced many times on Alaska, I could barely kick the bulkhead when sticking my feet out. I’d say it was a good 30 inches from the seat to the wall. It was truly a comfortable flying experience. Though recline was not flat I felt I could sleep for many hours in the spacious seat and wished I had a longer flight so that I might do so. Of special note were the headrests which seemed to be adjustable in any direction to fit ones desired positioning. Though I could see how taller pax might want a bit more room to stretch out, for myself, I can’t complain at all. Also, the inclusion of a reading light was wise as this allows you to read without having the shine of the overhead lights bother the person next to you.

Awaiting us on our seats were normal (unlike airplane-style) pillows and thicker-than-coach blankets as well as an amenity kit containing, in a nylon(?) bag: socks, an eye shade, hand lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, breath mints, tissues, ear plugs and a card telling us how nice the lotion was. The socks, mask, toothbrush and toothpaste were somewhat comparable to the kit I’d received in coach on British Airways in 2000 but it had the additional lotion, mints, tissues and ear plugs and a nice carrying bag. In the seat back pocket attached to the bulkhead were nicely padded headphones which, when plugged into the seat, became noise canceling. This was most impressive and, when combined with the ear plugs, would make for a most quiet journey.

As business class filled in, pre-takeoff drinks were offered: a choice between sparkling wine, o.j., and water served in nice plastic cups. Printed menus were also distributed. The aircraft door was closed before 6:00 yet due to a wait for departure we did not push back until 6:15. During this time, the flight attendants did the safety briefing. I was surprised to be on an aircraft with PTVs where the briefing was done by hand but realized now, which I hadn’t on the outbound, that many person’s tv’s were retractable into the armrest and thus they wouldn’t be able to see a video briefing. After the safety briefing, entrée orders were taken from front to back and the flight attendant attempted, with moderate success, to identify people by name off the manifest. A transcript of the menu follows:

To Begin
Italian salami and grilled artichoke appetizer
Tomato and mozzarella salad with pine nut pesto dressing

Fresh seasonal greens
Athena feta cheese or creamy garlic dressing

Main Course
We have boarded addition servings of vegetables for our customers who are restricting their consumption of carbohydrates.
Let your flight attendant know if you would like today’s selection of broccoli and julienned red peppers.

Filet mignon with béarnaise sauce
Sweet potato and parsnip hash and sugar-snap peas

Oven-roasted chicken with creamy porcini mushroom sauce
Spinach risotto with an asparagus and carrot sauté

Kashmiri subzi
Rice, vegetable and cucumber raita

Dessert
International cheese selection
Shropshire Blue and Cornish Yarg Cheese

Haagen-Das ice cream

Prior to Arrival
Your selected entrée will be served with assorted bread, clotted cream and fruit preserves.

British Tea Service
Crab salad, cheese with onion and turkey with cranberry sandwiches

Or

Cheese plate with fresh seasonal fruit
Shropshire Blue and Cheddar cheese

A list of two champagnes, four red and four white wines, which I have not typed here was also listed on the menu, please let me know if you have questions about what was available.

We took off from Runway 9R at about 6:48 and quickly climbed to FL360. About 20 minutes after liftoff flight attendants came around and offered beverages off of a well-stocked cart and served each passenger a small cup of warmed nuts including almonds, cashews and hazelnuts. The joys of business class. Some passengers were offered seconds on nuts from a larger serving bowl (perhaps from first class?). A second beverage service, again from a cart, was offered as nut bowls were cleared. A hot towel service, with real towels, followed.

A few minutes later, the carts appeared again this time with our first courses. Salads were dressed in front of the passenger and presented on a tray with the pre-assembled appetizer course, a glass of water, and an empty wine glass. A variety of warm rolls and choice of wines was offered after the tray was presented. The salad was of typical airplane variety and as one would expect. The appetizer was quite tasty but seemed to be two dishes combined into one, a salami and artichoke dish and a tomato with mozzarella dish, the former being more flavorful and of higher quality than the latter. Also included was a pine nut pesto dressing (served on the side) without any clear function.

Finished dishes were cleared promptly and after the entire cabin had devoured the beginning of their meal the main courses were carried out of the galley in pairs. I had the fillet mignon which consisted of a very good piece of meat that had been a tad overcooked (as could be expected) by the caterers. The hash on the side seemed to be a combination that could only be conceived by someone trying to be excessively fancy. It was tasty but the potatoes were a touch hard in the center. My girlfriend had the chicken which was, like the steak, a tad overdone. The creamy risotto was the more boring of the two sides, though possessing a good texture and the vegetables served with both meals were satisfactory (I can’t say I go for the veggies). With both dishes, the sauces served in cups on the side saved the day as they were flavorful and cut down on the dryness that is inevitable when reheating food. Overall, I felt the food service was a worthy effort on the part of United and their caterer and I cannot complain about the quality or portion size at all. That said, it would not compare with a similar meal served straight out of a restaurant kitchen on the ground. On a side note, I found the inclusion of a Japanese entrée on the menu somewhat surprisingly and could not see anyone eating it from where I was seated.

Once everyone had finished their meal, the dessert cart rolled out of the galley. We were offered a choice between the cheeseboard and the ice cream. I took the ice cream, which was hard as a rock but when thawed was a generous, quite refreshing portion of vanilla and pralines and cream. The cheese plate looked more ordinary and was, somewhat uncharacteristically, served with packaged crackers. Tea and coffee were offered immediately after dessert. Like on the outbound, duty free items were offered and after everything was cleared, the cabin lights were finally dimmed almost exactly two hours after takeoff.

Water glasses were refilled with some regularity during the flight though if you wanted anything else to drink you would have to go to the galley or ask for it specifically as there wasn’t any attempt to recall what passengers were drinking after the meal service had been completed. In general, the service was quite good, professional and organized. Unfortunately, we had one flight attendant who seemed to have a personal vendetta against my girlfriend because she asked him to help her close an overhead bin whilst he was offering nut refills. As a result, she had to ask for drinks one or two more times than she should but generally the service progressed as could be expected. Sitting in the middle seat, I’d worry that each aisle’s flight attendants would assume the other side was taking care of me but rather both sides offered drink refills and were otherwise helpful.

We had an announced flight time of an outstanding 6:42 and according to the map display in-flight we had a tail wind most of our way across the North Atlantic. Unfortunately, Channel 9 was not available. We climbed to FL370 and then 380 some time into our flight, probably to avoid the bumps which seem to creep up in NATS. Again, I didn’t pay much attention to the route as it seemed to be a typical pond crossing.

A little over an hour out, lights were turned up and the second service began. I had the tea sandwiches and my girlfriend had the fruit and cheese. Both were served with a choice of scone or roll. The scones, when smothered in the accompanying jam and clotted cream were far and away the highlight of the meal and my last little bite of England for a while. The tea sandwiches were still feeling the affects of the refrigerator. The turkey with cranberry sauce was fine, the cheese and onion had an unusual yet not unappealing flavor and the crab was bland. Especially given that such a large meal was served only three hours earlier, the fruit and cheese is probably the better option. The fruit was quite good and fresh for an airplane. Customs forms and tea and coffee were also presented. As we approached New York the crew warned everyone to make any final adjustments to personal belongings before the seat belt sign came on. We were given a second and final hot towel service (which, I might add, would have been nice to have in coach on the overnight outbound flight and would not be too much to ask) and then all service items were cleared.

We left FL380 about 35 minutes out of JFK and the cabin was quickly prepared for landing. Donations were also solicited at that time for breast cancer research, a good way for the airline to help a cause while helping passengers make use of any foreign currency they might have with them. We made an unbelievably smooth landing from the east (I didn’t see exactly which runway) about 8:22 local time and taxied quickly to Terminal 7’s gate 9 at 8:31 eastern time. Almost immediately thereafter we were off the plane and competing with pax from other flights to make our way through immigrations and customs and into the perpetually hectic arrival area.

Overall, I was completely thrilled to be upgraded and recognize this is indeed a rare occurrence. While I surely don’t believe the fare I paid justified the service received on the flight, I tried to approach this report as would a paying or elite passenger. In conclusion, I have few complaints about the business class product, while I lack the ability to compare it to the competitors (I don’t doubt that Virgin Upper Class is far superior), other than some minor hiccups in the service, I have no negatives to report and look forward to my next trip in a front cabin.

I appologize if I have been long winded and appreciate your taking the time to read this report. Your comments, questions, and criticisms are always welcomed.

Happy travels,
gba

Bretteee

<< I’m usually a fan of chicken meals and was disappointed that United >>

Me too. I always thought that picking chicken was safe until I flew on Continental Airlines. To save cash they serve the cheapest part of the chicken: the thigh. Under the meat which tasted uncooked I discovered mostly chicken fat.

I am impressed that United give cheese in coach. I think it is the only US carrier that does so.

As to JFK, I always liked this airport. Even more so now after experiencing dreary Newark.

sllevin

Great trip report!

You're right though, that dress certainly isn't an indicator for business class...I rarely travel in anything other than a black t-shirt and jeans. Sometimes shorts, if it's summer or Asia

Steve

Fliar

^ Congratulations on the op-up! ^

daniellam

It is actually an East Indian entree.

jef7

Thanks for sharing this report gba. I agree, having started my flying experiences with AS, that anything international and aboard "the bigger planes" such as the 777s, will be almost worthy of a trip report. But, wow, there is nothing better than a free op-upgrade, and to experience it with your girlfriend makes it twice heaven.

neilyork

Yep, having taken my first ever transatlantic biz. class trip (with UA also) back in January, I know that buzz to take a seat in the impressively extra wide seat. I just wonder how many people in biz have actually paid the £1600 fare?

jetsetter

Hi,
Thanks for your report, and congrats on the op up? Do any of you UA experts have a theory as to how these pax were picked for an op up? I got a lot of op ups domestically in the early 90's, but I have been flat out told even by people that have given me domestic op ups that they cannot do it intl.

Can you recall at all how it works with ATC when you left JFK? E.g. what centers did you talk too? How do they handle the transition or hand off to the part of ATC that handles the transatlantic crossing? I have heard that ACK (Nantucket) is a common fix for planes setting out to cross the Atlantic? But I have never understood how they handle the hand off for the crossing where there is no radar service? But then again, I have never been on a UA intl flight to hear it.

I too enjoy the intrigue of JFK, and LAX is perhaps second with a lot of international heavy jets. There is a book about JFK that is out of print but which you would probably enjoy and I will try to pull up the data and post it for you.

Thanks again!

gba

As I recall out of JFK we were handed off to New York, Boston, and then Montock (Canada) centers. Didn't hear any specific fixes. The handoff over the Atlantic I don't recall any specific instructions but it was similar to what one poster in a discussion of Ch. 9 in the United forum observed

Similarly, after heading out to see Ch. 9 was quiet until we reached Ireland. I think I slept through the "greeting" was on the far side of the pond but don't recall it sounding much different than any other handoff.

1P

The Kashmiri Subzi is excellent (I sampled it last Tuesday on the LHR-JFK run). Indeed, any of the Indian dishes on US flights from LHR are always good. Though often vegetarian, they are flavorful and make a very pleasant change from the usual beef, chicken and pasta C-class meals.

sbtinme

Really a delightful review, sir. I can well recall my first up-up (actually it was using an old paper certificate for a SWU that I felt certain was useless) that came through literally seconds before I was to board my CDG - PHL flight years ago..... I went from something like 38J to 4C!

It was truly exhilirating at the time for me! So many of us who travel far too often for work get jaded at the whole experience that we forget it used to be fun. Thanks for the memories!

Seat 2A

A nice, thorough, well written Trip Report complete with a menu transcript. Thank you, gba!

Swiss Tony

IME, LHR perhaps doesn't conform to the UA norm. My wife and I were on B Class fares, upped to C using miles. On arrival at the gate, we were handed BPs for F and the two people behind us got our C BPs (having been moved up from Y). This double u/g is - as I understand it - something of a no-no in UA, yet the gate agent just needed to free up seats and we got lucky. Looking around the F cabin that day of I think 11 seats, it's my guess that three pax had booked F and the other 8 were op-ups...

Some days you're just lucky. Don't go expecting the op-up and you won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen

Swiss Tony

IME, LHR perhaps doesn't conform to the UA norm. My wife and I were on B Class fares, upped to C using miles. On arrival at the gate, we were handed BPs for F and the two people behind us got our C BPs (having been moved up from Y). This double u/g is - as I understand it - something of a no-no in UA, yet the gate agent just needed to free up seats and we got lucky. Looking around the F cabin that day of I think 11 seats, it's my guess that three pax had booked F and the other 8 were op-ups...

Some days you're just lucky. Don't go expecting the op-up and you won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen

BTW - thanks for the thorough report. I'm on that flight in a couple of weeks and it's good to know what's coming!

Fraser

Nice report ^
Nice op-up^

Flown UA out of LHR before and am doing the same with my girlfriend in February! Yes I booked that far out! Sadly I am one of the fools who paid the £1780 fare I used BMI miles to get myself a cheap ticket and bought the other!