Flight #11: IAH-LAS, UA 338, 757-200, N570UA, Ch9
Scheduled: 1152a-119p Actual: 1159a-112p. Flight on-time, not upgraded #3 on list behind 2 GS
Flown Miles: 1222 EQMs Running Total: 78492 Delta to 1K: 21508
I am now typing this from the ORD lower B gates lounge. The service in Y on this flight was outstanding. One of the flight attendants personally came up to the couple across the aisle from me and introduced himself and let them know if they needed anything they would be taken care of. This happened to be a couple where the husband was a GS stuck in coach. They were the only 2 ahead of my on the upgrade list (I assume). I think I would have actually been upgraded on this because when the sweeps were running I was still showing as Gold level but when I checked in I was Platinum, moving me towards the top of the list (only under the GS and his companion).
As predicted I was back to my house prior to 2p. After grabbing some lunch on the drive home I took a 2 hour nap. After visiting with my wife and having dinner for a few hours, I checked on the status of all my flights. I quickly saw that my IAH-ORD leg looked to be operated by a 767-400 now instead of the 787. If this indeed stayed then I would be 0/2 on trying to schedule the 787. I also saw there was zero shot of upgrade on the flight, double bummer. I guess instruments will have to be the way to go to get upgrade on the 787 – I will not burn one for a flight under 4.5 hours. After watching a little TV and discussing the weekend plans, I took another nap prior to returning to the airport at 1130p. I’m so glad I am close to the airport – being able to make it from my house to the gate in less than 30 minutes is great.
Flight #12: LAS-IAH, UA 555, 757-200, N551UA, Ch9
Scheduled: 1250a-533a Actual: 12xxa-535a. Flight on-time, upgraded at 48ish hours before
Flown Miles: 1222 EQMs Running Total: 79714 Delta to 1K: 20286
So, presumably, we had everyone onboard the flight about 20 minutes prior to departure because the door closed quickly after that. I can’t remember the last time I saw the first class cabin go out with empty seats but it did this flight. It wasn’t because there were people on the upgrade or standby list, there was really no one else to upgrade.
As I said the service was outstanding on this flight, so much so, that I am going to write a note into UA commending the crew. For this 2h34m flight, the crew provided two full drink services, one coffee service and two water services for Y. They also were more than happy to get me another beer when I was running low without much prompting from me. This has to be the best service I’ve had in Y in a long time.
As you can imagine, like my last redeye, I slept this whole flight. The only thing I can comment on it that it took a while to get the weight and balance numbers at the end of the runway and we sat there for a while. After the numbers were delivered we took off to the west and I was asleep before the turn back to the east.
When we landed in Houston, the fog was very very thick. On final I was wondering if it was a marine layer effect like LAX, but it was indeed fog. Without Ch9 it was tough to know the exact visual range but after landing the complete length of Runway 27 (not sure if that is normal) and pulling into our E gate I can say it was tough to see the aircraft parked at the other pier/spokes.
After seeing this thick fog and taking advantage of our on-time arrival I check the departure board for an earlier ORD flight. Knowing that I was no longer flying the 787 and seeing that the 6a ORD flight was departing 3 gates away I went to talk to the GA. I asked her how full the flight was and she said it was wide open. After confirming that I could get an aisle seat with no one in the middle (she did mention it was in the rear of the plane), I opted to be put on this flight to get to ORD earlier.
Flight #13: IAH-ORD, UA 486, A319, N804UA, Ch9 ^
Scheduled: 6a-836a Actual: 556a-837a. Flight on-time, no upgrade (standby), but was #3 on list when flight closed
Flown Miles: 925 EQMs Running Total: 80639 Delta to 1K: 19361
After settling in my E- seat I immediately remember why I like E+ so much. This is what frequently happens when I end up in E-. My last work task was in Denver. The flight time is like 85-90 minutes to and from Vegas. I would routinely standby to get home earlier and occasionally end up in E-. Each time I would just remember how good E+ and the exit aisle were. However, that said, I think for a flight of IAH-ORD length (2.5 hours) I would take an E- seat with no one in the middle over an E+ with someone in the middle (remember it’s always a gamble with how much space people take up – with wide shoulders it is really tough on me…)
Flight time on this flight ended up being 2h4m. It took us quite a while to take off. This was the first flight in this trip report that had Ch9 on and because it was turned on I was able to get all the visual conditions updates. At times on the taxi out planes were unable to see other planes about 1500 feet away. The RVR (runway visual range) was being reported between 1400 and 2000 feet with an average of 1600. In fact due to the visual conditions an United flight had to do a go around. Even though we were #3 for takeoff and in position at about 610a, ATC did not clear us to take off until 625a. I could only imagine what the 730a departures were going to look like if the fog held up… (turns out my original IAH-ORD is currently due in about 10 minutes late – not worth the risk IMO at the time).
Again, I slept pretty much this whole flight so I am unable to speak on the service. We pulled into the high C gates on time and I made my way to the lounge thinking about the possibility of getting onto the earlier BOS flight. As my flights stand now, my BOS connection to EWR is a tight 41 minutes and it looks like a terminal transfer from C to A (there is an airside van that will do it). I am currently upgraded on the 1057a ORD-BOS flight and EWR-LAS flights. In addition, my BOS-EWR flight looks grossly oversold (seat map zeroed out for about the last week). That said, having extra time in BOS would serve two things: 1) Help me make my connection to EWR and preserve my upgrade on the 6h (blocktime) EWR-LAS flight and 2) Give me more time to be in the gate area for a bump for the EWR-BOS flight. However, after looking at the 945a ORD-BOS flight, it is very full and the only seats left after about 2 middles in E+ and 2 in E-. While I’d love to get the bump, I have decided that it is not worth it to sit in a (possibly) E- middle for 2.5 hours (vs my confirmed F seat on the 1057a flight).
Well, I have about another hour until my BOS flight and with the short layover in BOS I wouldn’t expect an update until I get to EWR. I have 1h20m in EWR before my LAS flight. I always try to avoid EWR on mileage runs due to the ATC delays that always occur so, knock on wood, hopefully we are good today. I didn’t have much of a choice as I need to maximize mileage on these end of year mileage runs and the EWR route is the longest UA route from Vegas.
I think on my next update I will try to talk about my cost per mile (cpm) criterion for mileage runs and how I book my runs.