We had a smooth check-in expeirence using the Star Gold line and with premium security we were in the lounge in about 10 minutes. This is my second time here in a year and it is as remembered, although this time less crowded.
Initially had an espresso and some beef consommé
Ended with a highball and some Japanese curry.
About 20 minutes before boarding we headed to the 7-11 to stock up on snacks and souvenirs before making to the gate right as boarding began.
UA 804
3:46pm-3:42pm (-13 Hours)
777-200ER
Seat 20A
Home for the next 13 hours.
Cool new Wrexham amenity kit. Polaris got Wrexham pajamas which we were envious of.
The bulkhead gave me plenty of room for my drink stash.
25 minutes after take off the seatbelt sign came off and the crew sprung into action. 5 minutes later, we had a drink and snacks. I love how united serves Asahi ex-HND. Unfortunately, at this point the crew had everyone close the windows as we had already reached the ocean and I guess people sleep after the meal.
There ended up being turbulence that required the FAs to be seated, so it took an hour to get our main. This actually is perfectly fine for a daytime flight where there is no need to rush to eat. The chicken was extremely tough and the dish was pretty uninspired.
Our tray was cleared 2hrs and 15 min after take off, but the crew kept coming through and offering drinks. Here, another Asahi with some of our 7-11 haul.
6 hours in we got a snack bag with a disgusting roll and a Kit Kat. Then, 1 hour 15 min before landing the pre arrival meal which was a choice between pancakes and fish. The fish was better than the dinner.
1 hour before landing the crew cleared the breakfast trays and I enjoyed a last bit of looking out the window as we descended into Dulles.
All in, another data point that supports our theory that a bulkhead PE seat on a day slight is perfectly comfortable. Definitely think for us going forward ex-Europe PE will be the way to go, and now that we have done it twice ex-Asia I think it is not something to avoid.
I’ll wrap this up tomorrow with some concluding thoughts.