Long Train Runnin

Trip 6 Working with a Client in Mexico February 10st to February 14th

After being home long enough to basically sort my mail and swap out my clothes. It was time to get back out on the road. It was also my first trip of the year where I get to do my favorite part of my job. Go out into the field and do actual engineering support. The beginning of the year started out with all kinds of conferences, and corporate events. I was looking forward to finally getting to roll up my sleeves and do some hands-on work. This trip would take me to San Luis Potosi, the capitol city of the Mexican state of the same name. I had done work in this city a couple of years ago for a different client. I enjoyed what I saw at that time and was hoping to see a little bit more of the city this time.



The last time I went down there I decided to try and transit MEX airport. An experience that most people would recommend you avoid at all costs. I figured I had to give it a chance at least once. It turns out that the majority of people are right, it really is not an ideal transit experience. Since, there are no direct flights to SLP from to the Northeast I decided to make my connection point on this trip IAH.



February 10st, 2020 EWR-IAH on United Airlines Flight 335 Boeing 737

I used to fly United all the time and growing up my dad was a big fan of Continental Airlines and was a top tier elite with them for pretty much my entire childhood. It wasn’t until I started traveling on my own that I took my first flights on airlines other than Continental and Northwest back when they were tied together for mileage redemption. However, the habits from my dad still rang through and out of almost habit when I started traveling heavily in 2014/2015 I built up status with United Airlines. Then I flew my first mistake fare and tried AA and met some Flyertalkers who told me AA Explat was really the way to go at that time. I decided they must be right, they are Flyertalkers! For the next few years I was all in on American and worked hard to maintain my Explat status for a few years.



What I have found now is that spreading things out works best for me personally. 2019 was a fun year for me as I was able to fly enough to earn AAdvantage Platinum, Alaska MVP, Delta Gold, and thanks to my first year as a Bonvoy Titanium I was given United Silver. I decided that it has been 5 years, and the new PQP system looked interesting. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to give United another try. I know silver status doesn’t do much for you, but I figured at least taking a trial run on United starting at silver would be better than starting as a Chase credit card holder just barely.



So with all of that in mind it was time for my first revenue flights on United in quite some time. A couple of years ago I did a lot of United flying as I was fortunate enough to have a buddy pass through a good friend of mine who is a commercial pilot. The good times ended when he was able to take a much better job with a different airline. As his friend I was quite happy for him, but also devastated to lose my flight benefits, that is a tough genie to put back in the bottle.



It is only a two train shuffle over to EWR, so it is much easier to get to. You might be reading this and wonder why I almost always take the train to the airport. For me the choice is easy. I would rather know that my car is waiting for me at home. I have had too many IRROPs situations where rerouting to a different airport turns into a bigger hassle just to go retrieve my car and drive it home.



When trips really go sideways, and I know my car is sitting securely at home my list of airports I am willing to be rerouted through grows about 10-fold. I basically will accept a rerouting from BWI up to BDL and anywhere in between just to get to the East Coast. From there it becomes easy to jump on a train and get back home some how some way. At least that is how I approach things these days. Also, look at my behavior and my username I am always ready for a journey on the rails!



I got to Newark Airport Terminal C around 45 minutes before boarding was set to begin on my flight down to Houston. It was pretty quick to get through the TSA at that time luckily. As a freshly minted silver I was something like 74th on the upgrade list on this hub to hub routing. I wasn’t even able to snag an E+ seat on a route like that at 24 hours. As expected more than half the airplane was in either group 1 or 2 along with the GS and 1K preboard. I wasn’t even able to get my carryon bag near my seat by the time I boarded towards the end of Group 2. It was a good reminder that this experiment would have been even worse with no status.




United 737 Seat 24D Seat Ptich




The flight down was one that I can’t say was memorable in way. Other then the reminder that flying not in E+ is not the most comfortable experience in the world. There are only 2 flights a day on United down to SLP and I had roughly a three-hour layover until my hop down to SLP. I am pretty sure when I booked this my thought process was, I could use the layover to sit in a lounge and get some work done. As I walked down the jet bridge staring at a three-hour layover at IAH airport I couldn’t help but wonder what I was thinking weeks ago.



I decided to do something a little different on this layover since I had so much time. I took the people mover over to the international area and checked out the KLM lounge via Priority Pass. It was an okay lounge, and I was able to get a decent seat and power through some work while I waited. I rounded out my layover by having some dinner.



February 10st, 2020 IAH-SLP on United Airlines Flight 6283 Embraer 175

On this flight I decided to pass up the chance to move to E+ and instead took an empty row further back in the regular economy cabin. I figured it would give me more space overall. I don’t have any photos, or any real memories from the flight. I know that my row did stay empty, and they did a beverage service while passing out immigration cards for Mexico.



Immigration took about 15 minutes, and I was stamped in without any questions from the officer. Before jumping in a taxi to the hotel I grabbed some extra bottled water, and also got myself a stash of Mexican Pesos.



4 Days in San Luis Potosi Mexico

Not a lot I can say that would be too interesting about my trip down here. I was able to work with the team that was there, and together we accomplished all the goals that were set out before my arrival. Of course, different things came up over the course of the week, but overall everyone was happy with where we were.



The work naturally ate up almost all of my time, and I didn’t have much time for exploring. My flight back on Friday didn’t leave until around noon, and I was hoping that in the morning I would be able to sneak over to the historic old town of SLP for a quick visit. Naturally, Friday morning I ended up getting sucked into a call that ate up the time I was hoping to use for a little sightseeing. Not a huge deal as it was a business trip, but when you can squeeze in a little fun it's always a nice bonus.



I thought I had booked the same hotel as my first visit, but I learned that the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are about 500 meters apart from one another. Last time I must have stayed in the Holiday Inn. This time I booked the Holiday Inn Express. Not really a big deal as both places were pretty nice, and a cut above what similar properties would offer in the US.




Holiday Inn Express San Luis Potosi




One minor highlight was getting the chance to visit a Home Depot in Mexico. Much like eating at McDonald’s I do enjoy seeing what is the same or different about the chains that operate in multiple countries. The Home Depot was pretty much identical in every way to the stores I have visited in the US. If you are from outside of North America Home Depot a large warehouse type store selling all manners of home improvement items, and construction materials.




Home Depot San Luis Potosi




Other than that, I had a few standout meals with the local team, and also on my own following their recommendations. It is trips like this where I wish my Spanish was better. I can do okay with simple things but have a long way to go to be conversational.



February 14st, 2020 SLP-IAH on United Airlines Flight 6230 Embraer 175

As I said my morning turned into more calls, and nonsense than I was expecting. I ended up taking an Uber to the airport arriving there about 80 minutes before departure. This was the first time an airline asked me about COVID-19. When I checked in with the agent to get my boarding pass she asked me if I had been in Mainland China in the last 14 days. I told her that I had not, and she handed me my boarding passes.



Immigration and security were quick and painless, and I found myself in the terminal area with about 30ish minutes until boarding. There is a Priority Pass lounge at SLP, but since it was around noon I wanted to use my time instead to have a more substantial lunch. I had a forgettable hot sandwich at one of the cafés in the departure lounge. Then we were called to board the plane. The load on the way back was much lighter so I was able to snag an E+ seat and have my own row.



Otherwise, that is about all I can say about that flight. We got to Houston on time, and I had a 90 minute layover for my connection back to EWR. After breezing through the US border formalities I realized that this was the first time I had entered the US via Houston. I was a little unsure about where to go to reclear security. I eventually just made my way to the international check in area, where I found some precheck lanes to us.



At that point I headed straight to my gate area since I didn’t have much time before boarding. I spent the time on the phone with my boss giving me a brief overview of the week I had, and he caught me up on some other projects.



February 14st, 2020 IAH-EWR on United Airlines Flight 1125 Boeing 777

Boarding started earlier than usual because this was a domestic repositioning flight for a United 777. The seatmap right up until 24 hours showed a non Polaris bird with 3-3-3 in economy and the old BusinessFirst seats. I was very skeptical that we would actually get one of the few remaining planes with that configuration. Luckily, I checked in right around T24 and they had loaded the Polaris refit frame in. Even better was this plane now had a Premium Plus cabin being marketed as E+. Since it was inside T-24 I was able to snag one of the Premium Plus seats, which is a big upgrade considering the economy cabin is 3-4-3 on these refits. I was quite happy with good timing on that one.



I have flown in American Airline’s premium economy product a couple of times now and was looking forward to seeing how United’s product compared. I was quite happy with the seat although I found the placement of both the USB and power ports quite hard to use. In terms of seat comfort I think it was a winner. I would gladly fly that seat on a long-haul flight. I would however avoid flying in economy as I find the width is really tight on the 10 across 777 cabins.




United Premium Plus 777




Other than getting to try out the new seat I don’t remember much about the flight. It was certainly a comfortable way to take a domestic midcon. My experience with United was working out pretty well so far.



I got home around 10pm and would have 6 whole days at home until my next trip. At least I could catch up on laundry and other household tasks. As well as get some work done with coworkers in the office.



Thanks again for your continued support. The next trip in the series isn’t the most exciting as it’s a quick overnight trip to Dallas, Texas. Although, it does feature flying both of the larger ULCCs in the US. I flew Spirit down to Dallas and then Frontier on the way home. I will do my best to compare the differences.



Still have 5 more trips until I get grounded. I hope you enjoy the rest!