UA 138 SFO-ORD
Jul 3 - Seat 10E J/C
Dept 0900A - EQP:763

Some time ago I decided to burn all my US Dividend miles so I decided to visit Geneva at the height of the summer season. Since this is a holiday wknd, the airport was a zoo when I arrived. The J/C line was already snaking to the entrance and I decided to stand on the F/C line and take my chances of not being pulled by the line police. The scene was very chaotic and agents were being assaulted by people with questions and pulled all over the place. Luckily I was never challenged. Besides, being a US Silver member I have the privilege of using the F/C check-in counter. The agent that checked me in was pleasant and quickly issued me my boarding passes on both UA and LO.

After security, I decided to check the Red Carpet Club in the domestic side. The lounge is pretty spacious and there were a variety of tropical juices available along with coffee, a basket of apples, bananas and individually wrapped pound cakes. Pretty soon it was boarding time so I headed to the gate.

Today's flight was about 3/4 full so upon boarding I decided to take one of the empty middle seats in row 9 since I was not in the mood to seat next to someone who was already snoring. Shortly after take off FA's began to take the orders. Breakfast consisted of a choice between Omelette or Fruit plate. I am not a breakfast person and neither choice appealed me so I asked the FA to surprise me. Drinks were offered along with a Biscoff cookie. Linens were placed on the tables followed by hot towels. Afterwards the entree was served and I was offered the Omelette which came with sausages and a portion of sliced potatoes. In addition there was a bowl with sliced cantaloupe, pineapple and strawberries. A selection of bagels, danish or croissants were offered from a basket. Service was excellent and FA's were chatty. The only negative experience was the baby crying his lungs out over at row 8. The seats were the standard international ones so they were pretty comfy. Channel 9 was available and our flight was delayed by about 30 min. due to thunderstorm in ORD.

Once we landed in ORD, I paid a visit to the Red Carpet Club in terminal C I believe. There was a good assortment of tidbits which consisted of crudites, Ranch dressing, cheese and crackers, Apples, Biscoff cookies and Toblerone chocolates. The lounge was pretty big and was divided into different sections which allowed for some sort of privacy.


LO 4 ORD-WAW
Jul 3 - Seat 2E J/C
Dept 2120 - EQP: 762

After spending some relaxing time at the Red Carpet Club, I headed to the Intl Terminal for my LO flight. At the counter, I had to check-in again even though I already had a boarding pass issued by UA. It seems that the alliance 's promise of seamless travel is not so smooth after all. The agent was friendly and wished me a good trip. After going through security I realized that he failed to issue me the boarding pass for the connecting trip WAW-MUC. No big deal, since I will get it at the transfer area at WAW (this proved to be a very frustrating experience as you will read later on). I was extended an invitation to a generic club that was used by other carriers so instead I opted to go to the SAS Business Lounge. The lounge was decorated in typical Scandinavian functional design, with emphasis in simplicity and clean lines. There was a buffet with cold cuts, breads, crackers, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Adjacent there was a fridge with some cold beers, OJ and mineral water. On the other side, the lounge area was inviting and tucked in a corner there were 4 terminals with free internet access. The lounge was almost empty which was a welcome sight.

Soon it was time to head to the gate and I regretfully left my safe heaven. The gate was chaotic with people standing everywhere getting ready to board. Next to us was an AI flight destined to FRA and then DEL. Agents were making announcements and advising customers to check in if they were holding a UA boarding pass. Upon boarding, there was a cart at the entrance of the aircraft with newspapers and magazines. The BC section was half full and the seat next to me was empty. A FA greeted me and offered help while making some light conversation. Pre-departure drinks were offered with a choice of water, OJ or champagne. Due to the stormy weather, we stood in line waiting for take off for about 35 - 40 min. Once airborne, FA's came around offering magazines and an amenity kit. Hot "towels" were distributed and these were not really towels but rather some sort of flimsy paper napkin material that had water dripping from it. Drinks were taken and afterwards the Purser passed the menus around which was enclosed in leather-like holder. The menus was as follow:

Everything came in one tray except for the dessert. The whole tray seemed like a "glorified" economy class meal. Portions were on the small side. I had the fish entree and it tasted good. Vegetables included celery and carrots which were not overly cooked. Wines were either red or white. There was not a separate wine list nor any detailed description of the wines available. Each psg received a small separate tray with a cup for the dessert service. The purser will then come around with an assortment of cakes on a tray and serve it on one's plate. Service was friendly and efficient, but did not go beyond what was called for.

Comfortwise, seats were old without any electronic features. I would describe them as similar to UA's old Connoisseur class seats. The footrest worked properly and on each seat there was a thick blanket and a pillow. No individual TV's so everything was shown on the main screen. After the meal service lights were turned off and I guess I was the only one awake. I asked for a glass of water and noticed that it was not refilled at all. As a matter of fact, when the glass was empty, the FA would just take it away.

Within about 1 hour to landing, the breakfast was served. Cold cuts were ok but the tiny piece of cheese was not enough. The yogurt was really good with slices of cantaloupe on top. Warm breads were offered along with juices and coffee.

to be continued....