Almost there!
The flight indicated “refreshments” though I was never offered any. I did find this set up in the Business Class galley, however and I snagged a Toblerone. I think I prefer the AA policy of hot cookies over a cold snack basket.
We're here! Almost right on time too. As I was about to deplane, the purser asked me “so, are you Continental or United?” I said “United” and he and I had a very nice ten minute talk of our favorite memories. We went on about the 767-200s in great deal. He also said “I bet you're going to SF to work” based on my button down and blazer and I said “no, I just like to dress up sometimes” which astonished him. Finally, I said “sorry about my seatmate, he didn't seem very nice” and he frowned and said “yeah, but you made up for it” which made me feel really good.
So what's my P.S. First Verdict? Had I done this a year ago I would have been kicking myself for the mile expense. As it's on its way out, I'm glad I did it just to say that I did but wow, what a pale image of what used to be a stellar product (or so I've read). If I was flying this route regularly and had the bucks, I'd be on American. While UA's C product beats AA's, this F was a far cry of American's. Though I think the UA seats have more recline and you get more rolls, that's about the only advantages I can see. Still, it was a good flight, though hardly a great one.
UA 263 LAX-SFO A-320 2238-2357
I emerged at LAX into what could kindly be called organized chaos. We'd docked at the end of Terminal 7 by the 747 to SYD which meant for a very crowded gate area. Also, weather on the west coast and in ORD meant more flights were delayed than one could shake a stick at. It looked like every LAX-SFO since 6 PM was still sitting around and while mine said “on time” I knew that was a lie.
See? Lies.
Thankfully I was able to escape the gate area and head to the LAX Global First Class Lounge. Now unlike JFK, this FEELS like an F Lounge. First of all, the agent working was beyond great. She spent over 20 minutes working against SHARES (having to make phone calls to do so) to get me into First Class for the SFO leg. So many agents would have said “go to the gate” or “it can't be done” but she did not. I of course have contacted UA about her. Her alone made me wish I was Global Services.
WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!
Best mural ever!
As you can see, booze selection was slightly better (and there was a drinks fridge) although they oddly enough only had sparkling wine.
The food in these trays which included sushi, shrimp, salad, fruit, noodles and a few other items were display only. A roving bartender would come and ask if you wanted anything and bring it from the kitchen. At one point she brought me fresh limes and very graciously refused a tip. It made this feel very First Class like.
From my comfortable seat at the window I could watch my A-320 not boarding because our delays began. Once the SYD flight left, I was the only person in the lounge. The agent came over to tell me I was welcome to stay until 11 PM when the lounge would close but they were going to start putting things away. She did add that if I wanted anything up until 11 to ask and it would be provided. Despite being alone and I'm sure both the agent and bartender had better things to do, they kept checking on me. It was a really, really nice feeling and the nicest part of my F redemption. Even though the flight wasn't going to be boarding for a bit, I did have one stop I had to make first.
It's not a flight through LAX unless I sign our board at the United Club! It's very kind of the agents to let us stash it. I did ask them if they were staying open late with all the delays but was told they weren't. Apparently the Terminal 6 Club is open until 1 AM though. When I went to leave at 11 PM I did tell the agents they were going to have to flip a coin for who was going to have to go wake up a sleeping (and snoring) woman.
Thankfully, right after I left the plane boarded. My seat today as you can see was quite a step down from my last flight, but better than my originally scheduled 7F.
Legroom on a UA 320 if you're not on an Ex-Ted aircraft is awful in row 1 as I learned today.
Full pre-departure service on delayed flights always impresses me. Despite the massive flow of humanity shuffling to the back the F/As braved it to serve drinks (though not to hang jackets). We ended up taking off just after midnight but not before my friend texted me “Next year you can only have one connection and have to arrive earlier than 9”. Yeah, like I'm going to do that, and you claim to have known me since 1995!
Service was limited to drinks today, not that I was hungry but I like the option of food. These glasses also had CO logos on them. I wonder if they or the old UA ones hold more liquid? Channel 9 was off though which was annoying because we had a protracted approach to SFO that the pilots later admitted was compounded by some form of mechanical issue. Wish I knew what it was!
Solid ground! Great to see it. Of course the day wouldn't be complete without some more annoyances. I had arranged a cab through Bay Cities Cab Service and when I arrived I had a voicemail from the driver saying only “call me when you land”. Well, he didn't leave his number so I couldn't. I called the dispatcher and all of a sudden they'd never heard of me and claimed they never took reservations after 11. I ended up having to hail a city cab to get to Redwood City and he got very lost. I was very happy to finally arrive at Josh's place at 2 AM and fall tiredly into couch.