SEA-EWR in AS F
Jul 10, 2006, 11:16 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: USA
Programs: Alaska MVP, Marriott Lifetime Titanium (United Silver), Hilton Gold
Posts: 779
SEA-EWR in AS F
SEA-EWR in AS F
Not the most eventful flight but I realized I’d written up the report and never posted it and figured I might as well. I’ve also got some coach reports from international travel this spring if there’s any interest, though for most people it’s small potatoes and I don’t intend to bore. So enjoy this one and let me know if you’re interested in transatlantic coach travel.
January 7, 2006
Alaska #14
SEA-EWR
Seat 2A
My upgrade had cleared at the 48 hour mark a rare treat for this lowly MVP. This is one of the perks of the afternoon flight (#14) which, like SeaTac itself, was far quieter than it usually is when I’m on the morning flight (#8).
The aircraft was at the gate at the when I got there and boarding started promptly with first class and golds, then MVPs, then general boarding. I waited a bit and boarded when most of the seats up front were already filled. According to SeatGuru, 2A is the best first class sit on the aircraft. Though I can see why people like having space ahead of them to stretch out, I still prefer the bulkhead because it’s nice to not have anybody recline into you. This 737-700 had the new, all leather interior and first class seats with headrests and a somewhat curved center armrest allowing more seat width and the same size armrest surface. Pillows and blankets were at each seat and mini-bottles of water were presented a few minutes before pushback.
The door was closed about ten minutes early but we didn’t pushback until our scheduled 1:30 departure time. We taxied promptly to 16L and took off to the south and through the thick Seattle clouds. Our announced cruising altitude was FL390 and the announced flight time was a fairly impressive 4:14.
Beverage orders were taken before takeoff and as we leveled out drinks were provided along with a warmed nut mix of almonds, cashews, and pecans. Though no menus were provided, the meal service proceeded as follows:
To Begin
Assorted Warm Nut Mix
Greens with Roasted Red Peppers
Served with Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing
Main Course
Breast of chicken with barbeque hoisen sauce
Served with white rice and broccoli
Beef Stew
Served with mashed potatoes, carrots and celery
Dessert
Pumpkin cheesecake
Digeplayers were presented about fifteen minutes before the meal service began. The entire cabin was presented with trays containing the salad and an ordinary white roll. The salad was mostly romaine lettuce and the dressing was pre-packaged and served on the side. Salads were cleared as people finished but the main course did not appear until after a leisurely interval. Orders were taken by front to back and each set of two people was served before the orders were taken for the next twosome.
I had the chicken entrée which was nice and hot, and I was somewhat surprised by the generosity of the portion, though the small size of the plate may have tricked me. The entire dish was smothered in the barbeque sauce (I couldn’t taste the hoisen) which had a good, but perhaps too dominating of a flavor. Drinks were refilled regularly up to and through the meal service and trays were cleared as people finished.
After the entire cabin’s lunch trays were cleared, dessert and coffee were again offered and the f.a. served each twosome before moving on to the next. The pumpkin cheesecake was decent though perhaps could have used a few more minutes sitting the galley thawing after coming out of the fridge. Furthermore, it was also the same dessert I’d had on this flight a year ago and I suspect the more frequent flyers are ready to see it rotated out.
After dessert was cleared, the service subsided until about an hour and a half out of Newark. At that time, drink refills were offered and a tray with a choice of packs of honey-roasted peanuts and snack mix were offered. We were encouraged to take as many as we liked. This is flipped from the service I’ve had in the past when the pre-packaged snacks were offered after takeoff and the warm nuts prior to arrival.
Though the pilot whispered of possible delays coming into Newark but they didn’t appear to materialize as we flew away from the airport and then turned back to land to the south and taxi to the A concourse about twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
Not the most eventful flight but I realized I’d written up the report and never posted it and figured I might as well. I’ve also got some coach reports from international travel this spring if there’s any interest, though for most people it’s small potatoes and I don’t intend to bore. So enjoy this one and let me know if you’re interested in transatlantic coach travel.
January 7, 2006
Alaska #14
SEA-EWR
Seat 2A
My upgrade had cleared at the 48 hour mark a rare treat for this lowly MVP. This is one of the perks of the afternoon flight (#14) which, like SeaTac itself, was far quieter than it usually is when I’m on the morning flight (#8).
The aircraft was at the gate at the when I got there and boarding started promptly with first class and golds, then MVPs, then general boarding. I waited a bit and boarded when most of the seats up front were already filled. According to SeatGuru, 2A is the best first class sit on the aircraft. Though I can see why people like having space ahead of them to stretch out, I still prefer the bulkhead because it’s nice to not have anybody recline into you. This 737-700 had the new, all leather interior and first class seats with headrests and a somewhat curved center armrest allowing more seat width and the same size armrest surface. Pillows and blankets were at each seat and mini-bottles of water were presented a few minutes before pushback.
The door was closed about ten minutes early but we didn’t pushback until our scheduled 1:30 departure time. We taxied promptly to 16L and took off to the south and through the thick Seattle clouds. Our announced cruising altitude was FL390 and the announced flight time was a fairly impressive 4:14.
Beverage orders were taken before takeoff and as we leveled out drinks were provided along with a warmed nut mix of almonds, cashews, and pecans. Though no menus were provided, the meal service proceeded as follows:
To Begin
Assorted Warm Nut Mix
Greens with Roasted Red Peppers
Served with Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing
Main Course
Breast of chicken with barbeque hoisen sauce
Served with white rice and broccoli
Beef Stew
Served with mashed potatoes, carrots and celery
Dessert
Pumpkin cheesecake
Digeplayers were presented about fifteen minutes before the meal service began. The entire cabin was presented with trays containing the salad and an ordinary white roll. The salad was mostly romaine lettuce and the dressing was pre-packaged and served on the side. Salads were cleared as people finished but the main course did not appear until after a leisurely interval. Orders were taken by front to back and each set of two people was served before the orders were taken for the next twosome.
I had the chicken entrée which was nice and hot, and I was somewhat surprised by the generosity of the portion, though the small size of the plate may have tricked me. The entire dish was smothered in the barbeque sauce (I couldn’t taste the hoisen) which had a good, but perhaps too dominating of a flavor. Drinks were refilled regularly up to and through the meal service and trays were cleared as people finished.
After the entire cabin’s lunch trays were cleared, dessert and coffee were again offered and the f.a. served each twosome before moving on to the next. The pumpkin cheesecake was decent though perhaps could have used a few more minutes sitting the galley thawing after coming out of the fridge. Furthermore, it was also the same dessert I’d had on this flight a year ago and I suspect the more frequent flyers are ready to see it rotated out.
After dessert was cleared, the service subsided until about an hour and a half out of Newark. At that time, drink refills were offered and a tray with a choice of packs of honey-roasted peanuts and snack mix were offered. We were encouraged to take as many as we liked. This is flipped from the service I’ve had in the past when the pre-packaged snacks were offered after takeoff and the warm nuts prior to arrival.
Though the pilot whispered of possible delays coming into Newark but they didn’t appear to materialize as we flew away from the airport and then turned back to land to the south and taxi to the A concourse about twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
Jul 11, 2006, 6:54 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SEA (previous locations: DTW, TLV, EWR, BOS)
Programs: AS: 75K; DL/NW: Plat; DL SC: Lifetime; Hyatt: Diamond; HH: Gold; SPG: Plat;
Posts: 3,383
Thanks for the report! I'm scheculed to fly EWR-SEA in F (NWA mileage award ticket, though I did try to get that same flight in CO F...), so I appreciate this report.