Upon arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport, I was greeted, as usual, by throngs of people aflutter and confused, searching for customs declarations forms in their language. Luckily, I have a stash at home, and had already completed mine, breezing through the "Goods to Declare" line with nothing to declare, as usual.

Upon arrival at the United check-in area, a long line awaited every class of service. As a Global Services member traveling in C, I used the First class check-in, which was still congested, but not badly. They pre-print boarding passes for F and UGS passengers in China, so I was handed by boarding pass quickly and was sent on my way to customs.

Horribly long lines are the norm at this time of day, so I patiently waited in line while the odd local butted ahead of me. It moved rather quickly, and a very friendly customs agent agreed to squeeze the stamp into a crowded corner of my almost-full passport.

Security was a pain. I didn't have a ziploc bag for my cologne or toothpaste, so they stuck my unbagged goods off to the side while I ran around the airport to find one. Luckily, the kind folks at the cigar shop had some, and gave me one. I ran back, grabbed my cologne and toothpaste, and put it into the bag. Wow -- I felt SO much safer now that these items were inside a cheap ziploc!

I stopped by the business class lounge which, as has been well discussed in these forums, was crowded and mostly useless. But I had some "Indian Beef Puffs" (last time I checked, this was a rather inauthentic concept) and a cup of coffee. China Daily, the government's English-language "news"paper, was packed with interesting, objective and valuable information.

Boarding was announced, and I proceeded to the gate. What a nightmare. Two lines boarding, and both were 100+ people long. The 3P/2P/1P/1K/GS line was significantly longer than the "other" line. Surprise!

They were conducting manual secondary checks on all carry-ons to ensure that we had not removed our cologne from the security of a ziploc bag. (The search consisted up unzipping your carry-on, staring at your neatly pressed shirts, and then re-zipping your bag. Thorough and not at all a waste of time!) Of course, I sat tight and waited for the lines to mostly dissipate until I bothered at all. Should have stayed in the lounge and extra 20 minutes!

Boarding was uneventful. Up the stairs to 15H, and greeted at the top of the staircase by a super-friendly FA -- "Come to the light, my child," she said, as I climbed the stairs. (Her name was Sherry.) We tossed my suitcase into the closet at the back and I climbed into my seat. A gorgeous view of the Beijing smog from up there.

The security briefing was amusing. The same friendly FA came over and gave my seatmate and me the low-down on the upper deck door. Quite detailed and friendly. She demonstrated how to hold the handle and kick the slide out in the event that it didn't automatically deploy. Smiling the whole time. She was fun, and very obviously taking the whole safety thing seriously. No complaints. It was the first time any FA had dedicated so much time and energy to the exit row security briefing.

We took off (roll time was a long 50 seconds..) and the captain switched off the seatbelt sign, told us we'd be early, and advised us to remove our seatbelts BEFORE attempting to get out of our seats. Cute.

First cup of hot nuts arrived with wine. Another, less smiley FA asked me whether I'd like the red or white. I said, with a clever smile, "Could I be more specific than that?" She said, "Sure, red or white?" And I thought she was being a meanie. When I said Cote du Rhone, she poured me something from a 2004 bottle, which I wasn't shown, and gave it to me. Then she explained, "What I was getting at was, if you wanted red, I'd tell you the wines we have on board today."

They didn't have any of the eight wines listed on the menu, and I didn't care for a 2004 anything. But, that's what I got. I wasn't told what the alternative was.

Second serving of nuts offered by Sherry -- the friendly one -- with a super-big smile. Love her. This is where I decided she's definitely getting a chit!

Hot towel service came next. Wish they used nicer towels as on most Asian carriers. These ones feel like they might fall apart.

I ordered the filet mignon with potato wedges. The meat was OK -- tender, but not the highest grade beef around. For airplane food in C, I guess it was fine. The desert was the biggest disappointment: no sundae! Just a choice between a brownie or some cheese. I took the cheese, but it was only two kinds: the "international" selection was simply cheddar and blue cheese. Not a very broad selection of countries, unless Wisconsin is international.

I was unable to sleep, so I worked and watched a movie. (Talladega Nights -- looks stupid, but it's pretty darn funny.) Having flown F on recent flights (all out of SWUs now!), the C seat was a bit tougher to handle. Having one pillow isn't great, and I didn't ask for a second. (They probably would have given it to me.)

I pressed the call button to get some water, and Sherry showed up with a full glass before I had even asked for it. She apologized that mine wasn't kept full in the first place. She kept it full for the rest of the flight. (I suspect that this is when she had taken over from her less-friendly colleague after her break.)

Breakfast was the fruit plate and warm croissant with yogurt. (Also had a choice of omelette.) It was fine. Friendly service, etc.

We arrived early at SFO without anything out of the ordinary. That's the best part of the trip!

After landing, I gave Sherry a "you rock" chit with some friendly comments on the back. She was seated in the jumpseat across from row 15 on the upper deck, opposite me, so I handed it to her while we where taxiing. She was very appreciative.

Overall:
- Check-in process: 5/5: Fast! Best I could hope for in China
- Lounge: 2/5: Blech! BGS... where service comes last!
- Boarding process: 1/5: Awful, terrible, horrible
- Service: 4/5: Patchy, but excellent in places
- Food: 3/5: Acceptable, but wishing they still had sundaes
- Seats: 4/5: Fine, but looking forward to the new C seats
- Aircraft: 5/5: Still love the 747 upper deck!