14 Flights, 17000 Miles FAI-SFO-MCO-SEA-MCO-FAI in First and Coach on AS & UA
Jan 24, 2002, 10:54 pm
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,145
14 Flights, 17000 Miles FAI-SFO-MCO-SEA-MCO-FAI in First and Coach on AS & UA
I've just returned from nine days flying from Alaska to California for an airline collectibles convention. Following the show, I did a mini-Mileage Run, crossing the continent three times in three days before then flying back to Alaska from Florida. The first three flights offered no service and because of the late hour I slept through most of them so feel free to scroll down to later flights when I was allowed to upgrade to First Class on most of them. Here's the trip report:
15 January
FAI-ANC Alaska 182 First Class
DC-9-83 N982AS Seat 2F
500p – 600p
I arrived at Fairbanks International at 415pm. People often wonder why this airport has “International” appended to its name since Anchorage is the most commonly recognized point of entry for international flights into Alaska. FAI has a fully staffed U.S. Customs facility and is served year round by Air North which operates a weekly nonstop F27 from Dawson City, just across the border in Canada’s Yukon. As well, 747 cargo flights from Air France, Cargolux and Lufthansa transit daily from Europe and Asia. During the summer months, Condor 767s shuttle in German tourists once or twice a week.
No one was waiting in the MVP check in line when I arrived but three agents languished behind the counter, waiting to service me. It was almost dreamlike! If only all check-ins could be like this! Five minutes later I was relaxing with a cold one upstairs at the Bush Pilot Lounge.
I watched as our DC-9-80 landed and disgorged a full load of passengers. The ramp rats accomplished a turnaround that would’ve done even Southwest Airlines proud and we were airborne and on our way to ANC at 5:15pm.
It’s a short flight down to Anchorage - only 40 minutes. I remember when this late afternoon flight used to rate a snack service. Today I was left with only my memories and an icy cold Heineken. Speaking of alcohol, I remember when this was flight 90, one stop service to SEA via ANC. It was very popular with the oil field workers coming off their two or three week shifts on the north slope where no booze was allowed. Because many of these same workers tried to make up for lost time in the alcohol department first in the airport bar and then aboard AS 90, the airline instituted a two drink limit on everyone, all the way to SEA. This rule was limited to AS 90 only and business executive or oil worker, the limit was strictly enforced.
We touched down smoothly in ANC and with almost seven hours to wait until my next flight, I joined a friend for dinner in town.
16 January
ANC-SEA United 1603 Coach Class
737-322 N319UA Seat 7A
1250a – 450a
United offers only one daily flight out of the 49th state during the winter months, departing to Seattle at 12:50am. To me, this is a terrible time to fly, especially as it’s such a short flight to Seattle. It’s hard enough to sleep in an airline seat and with flight time on the ANC-SEA run averaging about 2 hr 45 min, you’ve only just begun to get some decent sleep before the cabin lights come on, flight attendants are exhorting you to return your seatback to the full upright position and wham! - you’ve arrived in Seattle at the inglorious hour of 4:45am. Still, if you must fly United you have no choice.
I emerged from the jetway in Seattle bleary eyed and groggy. A quick check of the nearby TV monitor revealed that the same aircraft that delivered us from Anchorage would be operating my next flight down to SFO as well. With a little more than an hour to go until that flight, I stretched out on the floor off to the side of the gate area and slept fitfully for the next hour.
SEA-SFO United 1297 Coach Class
737-322 N319UA Seat 3A
600a – 830a
This flight was all about sleeping so I really have nothing to report except that the bulkhead seat on this 737-300 allowed me to stretch out completely but did not offer much of a recline. Our approach into SFO was from the south. It was a beautiful day and I looked forward to grabbing a cup of strong coffee and picking up my rental car for the 370-mile drive down to Mojave, seventy miles east of Bakersfield. Over the next three days I’ll be continuing on to Zion National Park in southwest Utah, then back across the desert to Los Angeles for the Southern California Airline Collectibles show. The show ends on Saturday afternoon at 3:00PM and I’ve then got to drive all the way back up to the Bay Area in order to continue this trip Sunday morning.
20 January
SFO-IAD United 838 Coach Class
777-222 N777UA Seat 22J
1130a – 712p
Today’s flight was my first under the new security procedures regarding explosives and passenger luggage so I figured I’d best check in just a bit earlier than usual. I remember checking my watch as I pulled into the Payless Rental Car lot off San Bruno Avenue. It was 9:55am. Payless–SFO does not have a streamlined rental return procedure, nor are they located in the off-airport SFO Car Rental Center. This meant that after finally getting my paperwork taken care of, I had to take the Payless shuttle over to the SFO Car Rental Center, then hop on one of their busses over to SFO. By the time I showed up at the United ticket counter, it was 10:40am. Payless had by far the best rate going outta SFO but be warned if you tend to show up at the last minute for your flight.
Check in was no different than it’s ever been – Neither my backpack nor my suitcase full of airline postcards was ever inspected in my presence for explosives. I was handed my boarding passes and told to head right over to security as the lines were long. Meanwhile, the elderly couple in front of me were checked in, then directed to take their luggage to a large contraption that looked like one of those full body CAT scan machines one sees in hospitals. It was very quiet for a machine of its size. I would have expected at least some noise, perhaps some grinding or crunching sounds, but it really was exceptionally quiet.
It’s tempting to describe the chaos that was the security checkpoint in Terminal 3 but no doubt we’ve all experienced it in one form or another since September 11th so there’s little point in rehashing it. Suffice to say that three different lines and confusion on the part of both United and local security staff resulted in frustration and even anger by some passengers. It didn't help matters when the line for Coach Class passengers moved much more quickly through security than the First/1K line. I arrived at the gate just as my name was being called. The gate agents told me they were only a couple of minutes away from initiating removal of my checked baggage. I was surprised that they hadn’t been appraised of the situation at the security checkpoint.
My upgrade didn’t come through so I headed back into Economy Class and took my seat in Economy Plus row 22J. United claims its Economy Plus offers “Up to 5 inches of more legroom”. There’s the rub – “Up to”. I’ve noticed considerably improved legroom in some rows aboard some aircraft, perhaps even the full 5 inches, but it’s never been consistent. On this three class 777, I’d describe the improvement as maybe a couple of inches in my row. The row you want is 21 on the righthand or J side. Although there’s no exit of any kind adjacent to these seats, they nonetheless offer exit row legroom.
Unfortunately, on these three class 777s the Economy Plus rows are located right atop the massive wing so there’s really no view to be had if you're into that sort of thing. I am.
We pushed back on time, taxied briskly out to our runway (The AirShow map indicated a ground speed of 18mph) and took off to the north. When it comes to take offs, the triple seven’s an impressive aircraft. Those two big Pratt and Whitneys spool up impressively, you hurtle down the runway and climb out at a fairly steep angle. By comparison, a 747 seems to lumber down the runway and then ease up into the skies.
The inflight movies were, to me at least, mostly forgettable. United offers free headsets throughout coach but if the movies aren’t worth watching, this is hardly a cherished amenity. I’d gladly pay four or five bucks to watch something decent and indeed UA does offer what I’d consider some interesting choices. The problem is those movies always seem to be shown on the international flights. I noticed that “Big” with Tom Hanks was being offered on some international flights. Geez, that movie must’ve come out 13 years ago! If they can offer that, surely they can offer stuff like The Sting, Scent Of A Woman, maybe a John Wayne Western, or even some old classics from the 40s or 50s. Let’s not forget such classics as Clerks and Caddyshack either. But enough rambling. I suspect mine is a minority opinion as most people seem more than satisfied with the choices. Time for the Discman and the Dead’s amazing second set from May 8th, 1977 at Cornell University!
Lunch was a choice of chicken or pasta. I opted for the chicken and got a somewhat dry but nonetheless tasty chicken breast (It must’ve been a Guinea Fowl or a Cornish Game Hen breast – it sure was small!) smothered in a tomato sauce with carrots and rice. A small salad accompanied the meal (About the same size as the current First Class salad but with head lettuce instead of mesclun or “seasonal” greens) Bread was a little packet of sesame breadsticks and dessert was a packet of raspberry shortbread cookies. They were delicious!
Today being Sunday, the NFL Playoffs offered two great matchups. The Pittsburgh – Baltimore game was pretty well decided by the time I boarded but I was pleasantly surprised when the Captain announced that he would do his best to pick up radio signals across our route of flight in order to bring us the St. Louis – Green Bay game. Although at times the reception was not unlike what I imagine listening to radio in North Korea in the 1940s might have been like, having the game on provided an enjoyable diversion and made this four hour flight seem much shorter than it was.
While listening to the game, I was also able to watch the AirShow map. At one point, we had tailwinds of 156 mph with a ground speed of 721 mph. By my watch, we landed at Washington-Dulles after a flight of only 4 hours 3 minutes. This may well be the fastest I have ever done a trans-con flight. Anyone out there broken four hours on a trans-con? That’d make an interesting thread: What’s the fastest time you’ve ever crossed the continent in?
I picked up a copy of the Business Class menu as I exited the plane in Washington. I asked for the First Class one as well but no menu was used in First Class today. This meal looks really good for a Business Class service. Compare it to the First Class menu from tomorrow's westbound flight 181 IAD-SFO. I’d say this menu is much nicer. Here is a transcript of the meal:
BUSINESS CLASS LUNCHEON
To Begin
Chilled Antipasti Plate
Proscuitto, coppa ham with black pepper, mozzarella cheese, oven-roasted beets, artichokes and Kalamata olives
Heartland Field Greens with carrots and yellow bell peppers
Offered with Balsamic vinaigrette or classic Caesar dressing
* * *
Main Course
Deluxe Double American Cheeseburger
Served with mustard potato salad
Chicken Breast stuffed with pepper Jack cheese, tomatillo sauce
Offered with Southwestern brown rice with beans and peppers, grilled zucchini
Portobello mushroom stuffed gnocchi with basil cream sauce
Topped with toasted pine nuts and shredded Parmesan cheese
* * *
Dessert
Eli’s Peach Blueberry Tart
IAD-MCO United 357 Coach Class
A320-200 N411UA Seat 6C
900p – 1113p
What can one possibly write about a half full, 1 hr 50 min flight with no meal service in the dark of night? Given that nothing dramatic happened during the flight, I can think of nothing really to add.
Wait! There is one thing! For you detail buffs, the captain did in fact announce that we’d be cruising down to Orlando at 37,000 feet! Despite this, no discernable excitement was noticed amongst the passengers seated around me. I ordered a couple of beers and as I gazed out my window now and again I marveled at how similar the view was to the last time I did this flight at 33,000 feet!
Also worth noting was that 24 hours out, and even as close as 7 hours out, I was still on the priority waitlist for a First Class upgrade for this flight. When I boarded however, four out of twelve seats were empty and one seat was occupied by a UA employee. Hmmm.... Maybe alot of people didn't show up? In any event, I'd removed my name from consideration when I couldn't get upgraded on the trans-con portion.
More to come..... in First Class...
[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 01-26-2002).]
15 January
FAI-ANC Alaska 182 First Class
DC-9-83 N982AS Seat 2F
500p – 600p
I arrived at Fairbanks International at 415pm. People often wonder why this airport has “International” appended to its name since Anchorage is the most commonly recognized point of entry for international flights into Alaska. FAI has a fully staffed U.S. Customs facility and is served year round by Air North which operates a weekly nonstop F27 from Dawson City, just across the border in Canada’s Yukon. As well, 747 cargo flights from Air France, Cargolux and Lufthansa transit daily from Europe and Asia. During the summer months, Condor 767s shuttle in German tourists once or twice a week.
No one was waiting in the MVP check in line when I arrived but three agents languished behind the counter, waiting to service me. It was almost dreamlike! If only all check-ins could be like this! Five minutes later I was relaxing with a cold one upstairs at the Bush Pilot Lounge.
I watched as our DC-9-80 landed and disgorged a full load of passengers. The ramp rats accomplished a turnaround that would’ve done even Southwest Airlines proud and we were airborne and on our way to ANC at 5:15pm.
It’s a short flight down to Anchorage - only 40 minutes. I remember when this late afternoon flight used to rate a snack service. Today I was left with only my memories and an icy cold Heineken. Speaking of alcohol, I remember when this was flight 90, one stop service to SEA via ANC. It was very popular with the oil field workers coming off their two or three week shifts on the north slope where no booze was allowed. Because many of these same workers tried to make up for lost time in the alcohol department first in the airport bar and then aboard AS 90, the airline instituted a two drink limit on everyone, all the way to SEA. This rule was limited to AS 90 only and business executive or oil worker, the limit was strictly enforced.
We touched down smoothly in ANC and with almost seven hours to wait until my next flight, I joined a friend for dinner in town.
16 January
ANC-SEA United 1603 Coach Class
737-322 N319UA Seat 7A
1250a – 450a
United offers only one daily flight out of the 49th state during the winter months, departing to Seattle at 12:50am. To me, this is a terrible time to fly, especially as it’s such a short flight to Seattle. It’s hard enough to sleep in an airline seat and with flight time on the ANC-SEA run averaging about 2 hr 45 min, you’ve only just begun to get some decent sleep before the cabin lights come on, flight attendants are exhorting you to return your seatback to the full upright position and wham! - you’ve arrived in Seattle at the inglorious hour of 4:45am. Still, if you must fly United you have no choice.
I emerged from the jetway in Seattle bleary eyed and groggy. A quick check of the nearby TV monitor revealed that the same aircraft that delivered us from Anchorage would be operating my next flight down to SFO as well. With a little more than an hour to go until that flight, I stretched out on the floor off to the side of the gate area and slept fitfully for the next hour.
SEA-SFO United 1297 Coach Class
737-322 N319UA Seat 3A
600a – 830a
This flight was all about sleeping so I really have nothing to report except that the bulkhead seat on this 737-300 allowed me to stretch out completely but did not offer much of a recline. Our approach into SFO was from the south. It was a beautiful day and I looked forward to grabbing a cup of strong coffee and picking up my rental car for the 370-mile drive down to Mojave, seventy miles east of Bakersfield. Over the next three days I’ll be continuing on to Zion National Park in southwest Utah, then back across the desert to Los Angeles for the Southern California Airline Collectibles show. The show ends on Saturday afternoon at 3:00PM and I’ve then got to drive all the way back up to the Bay Area in order to continue this trip Sunday morning.
20 January
SFO-IAD United 838 Coach Class
777-222 N777UA Seat 22J
1130a – 712p
Today’s flight was my first under the new security procedures regarding explosives and passenger luggage so I figured I’d best check in just a bit earlier than usual. I remember checking my watch as I pulled into the Payless Rental Car lot off San Bruno Avenue. It was 9:55am. Payless–SFO does not have a streamlined rental return procedure, nor are they located in the off-airport SFO Car Rental Center. This meant that after finally getting my paperwork taken care of, I had to take the Payless shuttle over to the SFO Car Rental Center, then hop on one of their busses over to SFO. By the time I showed up at the United ticket counter, it was 10:40am. Payless had by far the best rate going outta SFO but be warned if you tend to show up at the last minute for your flight.
Check in was no different than it’s ever been – Neither my backpack nor my suitcase full of airline postcards was ever inspected in my presence for explosives. I was handed my boarding passes and told to head right over to security as the lines were long. Meanwhile, the elderly couple in front of me were checked in, then directed to take their luggage to a large contraption that looked like one of those full body CAT scan machines one sees in hospitals. It was very quiet for a machine of its size. I would have expected at least some noise, perhaps some grinding or crunching sounds, but it really was exceptionally quiet.
It’s tempting to describe the chaos that was the security checkpoint in Terminal 3 but no doubt we’ve all experienced it in one form or another since September 11th so there’s little point in rehashing it. Suffice to say that three different lines and confusion on the part of both United and local security staff resulted in frustration and even anger by some passengers. It didn't help matters when the line for Coach Class passengers moved much more quickly through security than the First/1K line. I arrived at the gate just as my name was being called. The gate agents told me they were only a couple of minutes away from initiating removal of my checked baggage. I was surprised that they hadn’t been appraised of the situation at the security checkpoint.
My upgrade didn’t come through so I headed back into Economy Class and took my seat in Economy Plus row 22J. United claims its Economy Plus offers “Up to 5 inches of more legroom”. There’s the rub – “Up to”. I’ve noticed considerably improved legroom in some rows aboard some aircraft, perhaps even the full 5 inches, but it’s never been consistent. On this three class 777, I’d describe the improvement as maybe a couple of inches in my row. The row you want is 21 on the righthand or J side. Although there’s no exit of any kind adjacent to these seats, they nonetheless offer exit row legroom.
Unfortunately, on these three class 777s the Economy Plus rows are located right atop the massive wing so there’s really no view to be had if you're into that sort of thing. I am.
We pushed back on time, taxied briskly out to our runway (The AirShow map indicated a ground speed of 18mph) and took off to the north. When it comes to take offs, the triple seven’s an impressive aircraft. Those two big Pratt and Whitneys spool up impressively, you hurtle down the runway and climb out at a fairly steep angle. By comparison, a 747 seems to lumber down the runway and then ease up into the skies.
The inflight movies were, to me at least, mostly forgettable. United offers free headsets throughout coach but if the movies aren’t worth watching, this is hardly a cherished amenity. I’d gladly pay four or five bucks to watch something decent and indeed UA does offer what I’d consider some interesting choices. The problem is those movies always seem to be shown on the international flights. I noticed that “Big” with Tom Hanks was being offered on some international flights. Geez, that movie must’ve come out 13 years ago! If they can offer that, surely they can offer stuff like The Sting, Scent Of A Woman, maybe a John Wayne Western, or even some old classics from the 40s or 50s. Let’s not forget such classics as Clerks and Caddyshack either. But enough rambling. I suspect mine is a minority opinion as most people seem more than satisfied with the choices. Time for the Discman and the Dead’s amazing second set from May 8th, 1977 at Cornell University!
Lunch was a choice of chicken or pasta. I opted for the chicken and got a somewhat dry but nonetheless tasty chicken breast (It must’ve been a Guinea Fowl or a Cornish Game Hen breast – it sure was small!) smothered in a tomato sauce with carrots and rice. A small salad accompanied the meal (About the same size as the current First Class salad but with head lettuce instead of mesclun or “seasonal” greens) Bread was a little packet of sesame breadsticks and dessert was a packet of raspberry shortbread cookies. They were delicious!
Today being Sunday, the NFL Playoffs offered two great matchups. The Pittsburgh – Baltimore game was pretty well decided by the time I boarded but I was pleasantly surprised when the Captain announced that he would do his best to pick up radio signals across our route of flight in order to bring us the St. Louis – Green Bay game. Although at times the reception was not unlike what I imagine listening to radio in North Korea in the 1940s might have been like, having the game on provided an enjoyable diversion and made this four hour flight seem much shorter than it was.
While listening to the game, I was also able to watch the AirShow map. At one point, we had tailwinds of 156 mph with a ground speed of 721 mph. By my watch, we landed at Washington-Dulles after a flight of only 4 hours 3 minutes. This may well be the fastest I have ever done a trans-con flight. Anyone out there broken four hours on a trans-con? That’d make an interesting thread: What’s the fastest time you’ve ever crossed the continent in?
I picked up a copy of the Business Class menu as I exited the plane in Washington. I asked for the First Class one as well but no menu was used in First Class today. This meal looks really good for a Business Class service. Compare it to the First Class menu from tomorrow's westbound flight 181 IAD-SFO. I’d say this menu is much nicer. Here is a transcript of the meal:
BUSINESS CLASS LUNCHEON
To Begin
Chilled Antipasti Plate
Proscuitto, coppa ham with black pepper, mozzarella cheese, oven-roasted beets, artichokes and Kalamata olives
Heartland Field Greens with carrots and yellow bell peppers
Offered with Balsamic vinaigrette or classic Caesar dressing
* * *
Main Course
Deluxe Double American Cheeseburger
Served with mustard potato salad
Chicken Breast stuffed with pepper Jack cheese, tomatillo sauce
Offered with Southwestern brown rice with beans and peppers, grilled zucchini
Portobello mushroom stuffed gnocchi with basil cream sauce
Topped with toasted pine nuts and shredded Parmesan cheese
* * *
Dessert
Eli’s Peach Blueberry Tart
IAD-MCO United 357 Coach Class
A320-200 N411UA Seat 6C
900p – 1113p
What can one possibly write about a half full, 1 hr 50 min flight with no meal service in the dark of night? Given that nothing dramatic happened during the flight, I can think of nothing really to add.
Wait! There is one thing! For you detail buffs, the captain did in fact announce that we’d be cruising down to Orlando at 37,000 feet! Despite this, no discernable excitement was noticed amongst the passengers seated around me. I ordered a couple of beers and as I gazed out my window now and again I marveled at how similar the view was to the last time I did this flight at 33,000 feet!
Also worth noting was that 24 hours out, and even as close as 7 hours out, I was still on the priority waitlist for a First Class upgrade for this flight. When I boarded however, four out of twelve seats were empty and one seat was occupied by a UA employee. Hmmm.... Maybe alot of people didn't show up? In any event, I'd removed my name from consideration when I couldn't get upgraded on the trans-con portion.
More to come..... in First Class...
[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 01-26-2002).]
Jan 26, 2002, 3:57 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,145
21 January
MCO-IAD United 1502 First Class
757-200 N518UA Seat 4D
945a – 1145a
Check in today was a breeze. Friendly and efficient counter agents, no lines at security and no wait for the train to the remote terminal gates made for an overall experience that could almost be described as extraordinary. Unfortunately, once again I was unable to upgrade throughout the trip due to my lowly status as a “Mere Premier” traveling on a discounted ticket at that. I did however clear for my one hour forty minute SFO-SEA flight later this afternoon. Oh Boy!
Many folks at FlyerTalk have earned fairly lofty status in the various mileage programs out there and enjoy predominantly First Class service as a result. Although I used to fly up front about 80% of the time, these days I’m back in steerage about 60% of the time. Nowadays, Premier Execs and 1Ks routinely deny me a seat up front. Why those no good… Seriously though, I have no quarrel with those folks. They’ve earned that First Class seat. Still, for a mere Premier like me, lately my best shot at having an upgrade confirmed 24 hours out seems to be either into Business Class on a 777 or on a shorter flight with no meal service. I’ve got the upgrades but so far am batting zero in my attempts to use them.
So, I’m sitting in the gate area reading and reveling over the Steeler’s victory against the Baltimore Ravens when suddenly I heard my name called to approach the podium. Huh? Wha!? Apparently Coach was oversold and in order to create more room the gate agents decided to upgrade a few of us garden variety Premiers. Well now… guess I’d better go comb my hair.
The aircraft for this flight was outfitted with a brand new interior I’d never seen before. Coach seating was all one color – a dark bluish grey. The overall effect was fairly bland, I thought. At least the old coach seat fabrics, though predominantly light grey, had a few streaks of color in them that brightened up the interior just a bit. Up in First Class, the new style seats were also dark bluish grey but with a subtle pattern added. Though I felt this was an improvement on those old grey leather seats, some carpeting on the bulkheads would have warmed up the overall cabin ambience considerably.
We taxied out to the runway through what was left of the morning fog and took off into low clouds and partial sunshine. After a few minutes of climbing, we emerged into total sunshine. Ah… that’s more like it…
Once we’d leveled out, the captain came on over the PA, requested that no more than two people line up for the lavatories at any one time and advised us that we’d be cruising at 37,000 feet up to Washington. It seems that each flight crew has its own approach to keeping things secure around the cockpit door. On this flight, no more than two people up front but I’ve also heard some pilots say NOBODY allowed to wait outside the forward bathroom. In that case, they were told to wait at the curtains between F and Y classes.
Service on this flight consisted of beverages only. I requested a cup of United’s “Special Starbucks Blend” and plugged into the Empower unit located in the seat divider. I had just recently purchased my Targus Auto/Air Universal Adapter and this was to be its first use. Nothing happened. I called a flight attendant and discovered that Empower was not working on this aircraft. Further, the FA allowed that this problem was more than commonplace on many other United aircraft as well. Grrr…
Flight time was only an hour and forty minutes. We taxied into a gate way down near the end of the C side of United’s Mid-Field Terminal and I remember thinking I’d probably be looking at quite a walk to my connecting flight to SFO. Happily, I discovered it was almost directly across the Concourse. I then had to walk all the way over to the D Concourse anyway to get a cup of Starbucks since their C side kiosk was closed for some reason.
IAD-SFO United 181 Coach Class
A320-200 N442UA Seat 8A
110p – 400p
I checked at the gate to find that I was still on a Priority Waitlist for one of two remaining unsold First Class seats. True to form, a couple of 1Ks showed up and pirated them away. I’ve got to devise a scheme to deal with those darned 1Ks! So far though, I am Wily Coyote to their Roadrunner. Sigh... I need to fly more…
If you can’t get an exit row on United’s A320s, the other excellent seats are on the bulkhead. Lots of legroom! Soon, I was joined by one of the largest men I’ve ever seen. This fellow was a good 6’ 6” and had to weigh a good 250 pounds, very little of it fat. Just big bone and muscle. He really needed a First Class seat! Turns out he was a Danish policeman heading to California to visit with family there. A very nice guy though I wouldn’t want to be caught misbehaving on his beat.
Lunch was again a choice of chicken or pasta. Neither entrée looked particularly remarkable. I had the chicken and found it to be pretty good though. In fact, I'd have to say that in today's post 9/11 environment, UA beats out AA and CO for economy class meal service. After the meal, I drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours. When I awoke, we were in the second half of United’s movie double feature (Serendipity and Hardball) I glanced out the window and found the view more entertaining than the movie.
Having recently completed a 1600 mile drive around the Desert Southwest, I had my Rand McNally Road Atlas along for this flight. I also set my stopwatch during each flight starting with the takeoff roll. I do this not only to establish flight time for my log book (Flight time is often different from the captain’s initial stated estimate due to headwinds, ATC delays at the destination, etc) but also to give me a sense of where I am over the continent based upon how long we’ve been in flight. Some people get off on cruising altitudes but I think it’s really cool to know exactly where I am and see places where I’ve been from on high as well as places where I haven’t been. There’s no SkyShow available on these smaller aircraft but in any event the Rand McNally is far more detailed once I get a fix on my position. Looking out the window now, we were just over three hours into the flight, which had been projected at 5 hours 25 minutes due to headwinds. The land below was obviously the Midwest. Having flown from the East Coast to Denver well over one hundred times, I strongly suspected that we were somewhere over Nebraska. All I needed was a distinctive looking lake or river that I could match up with towns and roads in the area. I found what I was looking for in Harlan County Lake just north of the Kansas border about halfway across Nebraska. Many would argue that the Midwest is not too interesting from any elevation but what my position told me was that Colorado’s Rockies would be coming up in about half an hour. Any of you who’ve read my bio have seen my map of roads driven in my present vehicle, a 1988 Mazda truck. I’ve driven pretty much every main highway west of Colorado, not to mention having ridden trains and hitch-hiked through a lot of the west as well. Here’s a link to the map:
http://www.abmazda.com/Mazda/page_co..._images/10.jpg
As we approached Denver, most people were watching Keanu Reeves experience difficulties in teaching his young baseball team the finer points of the hit and run play. Outside the airplane windows, it was beautifully clear and we were being treated to a spectacular view of Denver International Airport, including seeing aircraft positioning for approach way below us. As well, I saw the Pepsi Center and both Mile High and Invesco Field, home of my beloved Broncos. (Wait’ll next year!!) We continued on across the Rockies with great views of all the ski areas and many of the big mountains such as Mts. Elbert and Massive, the two tallest mountains in the state. I watched as the Colorado River was joined by the Eagle River at Gypsum, Colorado and flowed on into Glenwood Canyon and across the state through to Grand Junction where it was joined by the Gunnison River (Thus the name Grand Junction, from back in the days when the Colorado was known as the Grand River)
While Keanu Reeves and Diane Lane made small talk on the big screen, we crossed into Utah with a beautiful view of Canyonlands National Park and, just a few minutes later, Desolation Canyon on the Green River. I’ve rafted through all this area back before it was discovered and overrun by Outside Magazine readers in the 80s. It is magnificent country! Maybe on my next flight through here I could get United to show my VHS copy of “Ten Who Dared”, the film about John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers through what was then totally uncharted territory. Yeah, right! Still, for me at least, the view through the port window was far more entertaining than the view on the big screen. Except of course when the camera was on either of this flight’s movie starlets, Kate Beckinsale or Diane Lane, to my eyes truly two of the loveliest actresses ever to grace the big screen.
We touched down in San Francisco at 4:25pm, after a flight of 5 hours 56 minutes. All things considered, a very nice flight.
I picked up a copy of the First Class menu from this flight as I departed. Here is a transcript of it:
LUNCHEON
To Begin
Black pepper-crusted tuna with vegetable slaw
Offered with Wasabi and Asian Sesame dressing
* * *
Main Course
Deluxe Double Cheddar Cheeseburger
Served with mustard potato salad
Shrimp Paella with a tomato and olive ragout
Sautéed shrimp in brown rice with a bell pepper medley
The above entrees are accompanied by a Southwestern Salad with roasted corn and tortilla chips and Asian sesame ginger or Thousand Island dressing
Pretzel-crusted Breast of Chicken over a mixture of seasonal greens
Bell pepper confit with honey dijon dressing
Served with a fresh fruit appetizer
* * *
Dessert
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream with sundae toppings
This flight is scheduled for 5 hours 50 minutes. I would have thought it would rate a greater and more diverse selection of foods. Instead, the entrees are one heavy hamburger, one essentially light meal (I’ve seen the Shrimp Paella entrée – tasty but not that much food) and one salad entrée. Had I seen this menu before attempting to upgrade, I would have immediately withdrawn my request. A six-hour flight deserves better.
SFO-SEA United 1536 First Class
A319-100 N806UA Seat 2A
530p – 728p
I’ve got eight 500 mile upgrades and one HK-49 to my name. I'm not sure how I got this type of upgradeand I didn't ask questions when informed I had one. I’m saving it for my MCO-ORD-SEA-ANC leg in a couple of days. As we were now within the 24 hour period for clearing any upgrades for tomorrow’s flights, I checked with United only to find that once again I’d been placed on Priority Waitlist. As I’d never sat up front on an A319 before, I decided to essentially waste a couple of 500 milers on the short beverage only service up to Seattle.
United’s 319s only offer 8 seats in First Class. That’s probably fine on a run like this but what are they doing on routes like BOS-LAX or IAD-PDX?!! Memo to United: If you’re going to use a little plane like the A319 on Trans-cons, add at least another row of seats to your First Class cabin! AA’s got 16 seats up front in their DC-9-80s, and 20 in their 737-800s! Even NW offers way more First Class seats!
Though this was a beverage only service, our First Class FA was herself First Class in every respect! She offered a stellar service of which United or even Cathay Pacific would be proud! It started with a ramekin of mixed nuts (Seen only on trans-cons prior to this – I’ll bet she served us from her own supply!) followed by a nice fairly cold beer. I say “fairly cold” because it is a rare instance when I’ve been served a properly chilled lager or pilsner from UA. AS and AA routinely accomplish this, so what’s with UA? I guessing they place round cans on flat dry ice. There’s simply not enough surface contact to thoroughly chill the beer.
In any event, I asked for a Heineken if it were truly cold, otherwise I’d have a La Croix. When I have broached the subject of cold beer with some flight attendants, they’ve looked at me with all the comprehension of a Hereford cow pausing whilst chewing its cud. And hey! I’m really quite nice about it, too. I don’t demand cold beer. Rather, if I can’t have the beer cold, that’s fine – I’ll have something else. In the meantime, if they might please put a can on ice I’d be most appreciative. The amazing thing is that many of these UA FAs seem totally unaware that their beer is often cool but not cold. Worse, some of them don’t seem to care. On more than one occasion, after having first requested a truly “cold” beer I’ve had my beer delivered cool anyway. Yuck! This flight was different. This wonderful lady not only delivered my first beer cold, she advised me that she had also put a couple more cans in ice and water should I want another beer later in the flight. I hadn't even asked her to do that. Now that’s service! Those little things mean a lot. May her golden years be filled with happiness, health and unlimited First Class Pass privileges on United. In the meantime, I will fire off a note to United singing her praises for she definitely took pride in her service and went above and beyond for a lowly Premier like me!!
It was a dark and stormy night in Seattle when we landed and I hurried off to the Doubletree to catch up on some sleep. God forbid I do any more writing!
22 January
SEA-SFO United 216 First Class
757-200 N504UA Seat 1D
820a – 403p
One of the best things about arriving in the west from the east is the three-hour time difference. Since I had an 8:00am departure this morning, I’d requested a 6:00am wake up call. That’s 9:00am eastern time, so I at least felt like I’d slept in.
I arrived at the check in counter to discover that despite being on Priority Waitlist, once again none of my upgrade attempts had cleared. The agent looked over my itinerary to Orlando, SEA-SFO-IAD-MCO and asked if I might be interested in a more expeditious routing direct through IAD where he’d be able to upgrade me all the way to Orlando. Well… fewer miles but then again it would be nice to experience an actual meal in First Class. Especially on a trans-con. After all, meals are for me the real highlight of the First Class experience. I quickly accepted his offer and selected a window seat on both flights. It sure was nice to start the day with a gold ticket jacket again!
It seems that in exchange for my good fortune however, I’d been selected for extra security screening via the Explosive Detection Machine. This was the same contraption I described when flying out of San Francisco two days ago. It was a pretty basic process, just like carry-on screening except with your actual baggage. It was also another line to stand in. Fifteen minutes later, I was deemed explosives free and was on my way to the North Satellite.
I grabbed a newspaper and a Starbucks and boarded the plane. It appeared to be only about half-full except of course in First Class where every seat was taken. Pre-flight juice and coffee were offered along with a copy of the Financial Times. Boring. I’ll take a juice and a copy of Ping Pong Digest, thanks. My seatmate had a broken arm and reams of paperwork to keep him busy. Unfortunately his broken arm was his writing arm and he had to make a lot of notes as well. His handwriting was rendered scratchy and childlike but he pushed on throughout the flight, pausing only for breakfast.
Ah, breakfast. And a snack too! And a trans-con menu perhaps? No. The choices were described as either Eggs with Corned Beef Hash, Pancakes Stuffed with Apples and Walnuts (How do you stuff a pancake?) or the ubiquitous Fruit Plate. My seatmate opted for the pancakes and I chose the eggs. More coffee was poured and soon our meals were delivered. They looked better than their descriptions because they were better and different from those descriptions. My Eggs with Corned Beef Hash turned out to be a plate of scrambled eggs with a creamy chive sauce accompanied by nice thick asparagus spears and hash browns. I was pleased. The pancakes weren’t stuffed but rather were topped with crushed nuts and an apple compote. They looked delicious and my seatmate paused long enough to quickly wolf them down before returning to his paperwork. Both entrees were accompanied by a bowl of fresh fruit and the pancakes came with a slice of Canadian bacon and a link of turkey sausage. This surely ranked as one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever eaten aboard United. Please keep up the good work!
The seats in this aircraft were also outfitted with Empower connections and this time they worked. I spent the next hour and a half catching up on correspondence and writing this trip report. Time flew by and before long our flight attendants were back passing out table linens for the afternoon snack service. Whaaaat?! We’d only just finished breakfast like an hour and a half ago. Yeah, so? We’re gonna be landing in about an hour from now. You want to eat or what? That’s not exactly verbatim from our FA but it captures the gist of her delivery. Hmmm… well, I hate to turn down airline food, especially First Class fare so I cleared my tray table and prepared for more food. Well, suffice to say that this snack was just plain excellent! We were presented a tray with a mixed salad topped with seasoned chicken strips and a chicken and corn chowder served piping hot in a huge bread bowl. I washed this down with a glass of Chardonnay and spent the last few minutes before landing enjoying the beautiful Virginia countryside gliding by beneath us. We touched down at Dulles ten minutes early and once again I was blessed with a short transit to my connecting flight, D10 to D4.
IAD-MCO United 1849 First Class
757-200 N577UA Seat 1D
505p – 717p
I recall hearing that Florida is one of the top five most popular foreign destinations for German tourists and this flight certainly validated that. I felt like I was boarding the Munich – Frankfurt shuttle based upon the conversations around me.
I also felt like I could have been on a Red Cross mercy flight as once again my seatmate had suffered a debilitating injury, in this case a dislocated knee. He was on his way from Hamburg, Germany to Orlando for a golf trade show and would be on crutches the entire time, not to mention well into the next month or two.
I specifically chose a seat on the right side of the cabin because it would be facing the west and the setting sun. I was not disappointed as we were treated to a beautiful sunset and a lingering evening sky for about half the flight. This flight used to offer a dinner back in the Good Old Days but now offered only United’s Party Mix, in itself nothing to celebrate about although I did try with a couple of Heinekens. The two FAs working the front cabin of our 757 did a great job, stopping by often to offer more beverages and Party Mix. I chatted with my seatmate for most of the flight and after only an hour and forty minutes we landed in Orlando.
I’d originally planned to arrive in Orlando at near midnight and as such would have happily grabbed my spot in the big lobby adjacent to the airport Hyatt but as I’d arrived so early I used my Bestfares.com membership to score a $29.00 room at the Days Inn-Airport. I assure you this room was hardly worth any more than that but it did at least afford a measure of privacy and comfort that was appreciated. The TV was practically an antique with all functions requiring pushbuttons that themselves required much pushing before they actually did their job.
23 January
MCO-ORD United 1111 First Class
767-300 N671UA Seat 2A
1150a – 141p
The redemption of my one Confirmed North America Upgrade today delivered me three flights in First Class totaling 4,180 miles. This also includes a lunch, a dinner and a snack enroute. No Priority Waitlists for me today! As you might imagine, I’ve been looking forward to this day almost as much as a small child anticipates Christmas Day!
When I checked in, the agent advised me that this was my last HK-49. I feigned a look of shock. “It is?!” I cried, aghast at the horror of it all. “Maybe I’d better save it until I’ve accrued a few more of them!” She looked at me rather oddly for a moment and then caught on that I was only kidding. We bagged my backpack in an Air Canada bag as UA was out and I headed on out to security. The gentleman checking boarding passes in my line appeared to be quite challenged by the task. At first, I waited patiently while he thoroughly scrutinized each passenger’s boarding pass with all the aplomb and comprehension of a chimp working a Rubix cube. He was stuck on one family for at least a full minute. Still, I waited patiently. Finally however, when he began talking with one of the passengers about his last trip to California or wherever, I gave up and moved to the next line over. Where do they get these people?!
This flight was aboard a 767-300, outfitted in the two-class configuration. To be honest, I find the Business Class seats on the three class –300 to be more comfortable than these First Class seats. Still, better here in 2A than back in Economy Plus. Pre-flight drinks were offered and once again were limited to water or orange juice. Personally, I’m fine with either but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen anyone on UA offer anything alcoholic should someone desire. I wonder if this is yet another cost cutting move?
This was a luncheon flight and our choices today were an Oriental Chicken Salad or a Cajun Chicken Sandwich. I chose the chicken salad along with a La Croix and a wedge of lime for after takeoff – my drink of choice up until it’s Beer:30, usually about 5:00pm.
We pushed back right on time and taxied most of the way out to the runway when suddenly we stopped and the Captain came on to advise us that Chicago was experiencing weather related congestion so ATC wouldn’t allow us to take off until 12:21p, another 20 minutes away. The engines were shut down and I took the opportunity to catch a little shuteye. When I awoke, we were just turning onto the active runway so I grabbed the headphones and tuned in to Channel 9. By the way, I’ve seen a couple of threads questioning whether United might be discouraging the use of CH. 9. So far this trip, just about every flight I’ve been on the Captain has specifically made mention of it and welcomed people to listen in.
We took an interesting route up to Chicago today. Rather than flying the old straight-line route, we avoided some storms by flying west across Florida and out over the Gulf of Mexico before turning north to the Second City. From thirty some odd thousand feet on a sunny day, the Gulf looked quite stunning with its shallow waters providing many different hues of blue.
Lunch was served from the back of the cabin forward. While the presentation was nothing special, (No linens, no hot towels) my salad was actually quite good with plenty of chunks of chicken, slivered almonds and snow peas accompanied by a flavorful Asian style dressing. This was also accompanied by a fruit bowl and a bread roll. Dessert was another one of Eli’s many cakes that was delicious as always. I noticed the Cajun Chicken sandwich across the aisle. A breast of chicken on a medium sized hoagie roll served with a small pasta salad and dessert. I was glad I chose the salad as the sandwich looked like more bread than chicken. A cup of Starbucks finished my meal off quite nicely and I spent the rest of the flight writing an overdue thank you note from Christmas and bringing my flight log up to date.
ORD-SEA United 315 First Class
A320-200 N414UA Seat 1A
440p – 708p
After spending a couple of hours in the combined NW/CO World/Presidents Club, I hurried back over to gate C10 for my flight to Seattle. I’d estimate that distance at almost half a mile. No kiddin’! I’ll bet if you got off at the end of United’s C Concourse and for whatever reason had to catch an American flight at the end of the H or J Concourse, you’d be looking at a walk of about a mile. Still, that underground walkway from Concourse B to C at United is fun with all the lights and spacey music. I remember wandering through there after a Dead concert once with those lights and… well, what a long strange walk it was...
The word from the cockpit was four hours and three minutes to Seattle this evening, cruising initially at 35,000 feet. Then, after a couple of hours we’d climb up to 39,000 feet for the duration of the flight. No complaints here. The usual pre-flight beverages were dispensed and I had a glass of water. Dinner? A choice of Salmon or Meatloaf was offered. No menu, no descriptions, just salmon or meatloaf. I was seated in 1A and, interestingly, was the first person asked about my dinner selection. Status starts in row one tonight, I guess. Cool. I love meatloaf but in First Class I’ll opt for the salmon every time.
My seatmate was an inventor who claimed he flies 1,000,000 miles per year! The FA and I were flabbergasted at this! “How come you’re not listed as a Million Miler with us?” the FA challenged him. He replied he was spread out over all sorts of airlines. “Do you realize how much time that is in the air each day?!” I asked him. It’s 2,740 miles per day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year. Every day. Today he’s flying ORD-SEA-YVR. Tomorrow he’s flying YVR-SFO. Later in the week, he’s meeting his wife for four days in LA and the surrounding area. He’s gonna need to do a lot of flying to keep that average up. I suspect he said a million because it sounded like a good round number. Has anybody ever heard of someone other than an astronaut flying 1,000,000 miles in a year? I flew 529,000 miles in a year, and I felt like I had to work at that even though I enjoy flying!
Dinner was served promptly after leveling off. My tray was delivered with everything on it except for dessert. I got a slab of salmon accompanied by gnocchi and some spinach. In a small container on the side was some kind of creamy sauce. Also included were a small salad and a dinner roll. I complimented this with a glass of Chateau Los Boldos Requinoa, a fairly tasty cabernet from Chile. What was missing was an appetizer! I love appetizers! Especially on a plane. Something for the captive audience to nibble on with a drink in anticipation of the meal to come. Even Northwest offered an appetizer on their 300 mile shorter MSP-SEA service.
Herein lies the crux of my complaint with United regarding their meal service. When it comes to complaints about airline food, most people complain about the quality. Not me. Taking into consideration the inherent difficulties in serving restaurant quality food at 35,000 feet, I think that for the most part the airlines do a pretty good job. More to the point, I think United’s First Class fare is generally quite good. The problem as I see it is that we’re losing more and more of the traditional First Class meal service every year. It wasn’t that long ago that we were presented menus and mixed nuts to start a Chicago to West Coast flight. Next we had our table set and were served an appetizer. This was followed by a salad and then a choice of three entrees. Finally, the piece de resistance, an ice cream sundae. Dessert today was a little piece of cake from Eli’s kitchen. No more sundaes except on trans-cons apparently. No hot towel service was offered at any time during the flight either. First Class used to be special.
I seriously doubt that if and when United returns to profitability we’ll see any return to the old ways. The main reason for this as I see it is that in America as opposed to say, Europe or Asia, the people flying in First Class today don’t expect either the level of service or an attempt at a quality meal. I brought this issue up over at the United forum with regard to hamburgers showing up in First Class and the overall despoliation of domestic First Class service in general. The response was interesting. When I wasn’t being derided for being snobbish or just plain foolish to expect any more than what’s served today, the general consensus seemed to be that it’s foolish to expect quality food at 35,000 feet and as far as hamburgers go it’s better to serve a simple well prepared meal than to fail at a more elaborate one. So nobody’s ever enjoyed a more elaborate menu that turned out well? Read the trip reports! What’s amazing to me is how often people seem to focus on the negatives despite a preponderance of positives over the years. Sure, we've all had the hockey puck masquerading as a fillet mignon or crunchy pasta but from my experience, which is substantial, those meals are the exception rather than the rule. It's easy to joke about airline food but the reality of it is that good food is possible inflight. I say that while the efforts don’t always turn out perfectly, and sometimes are downright poor, a fair percentage of the time the airlines do a pretty nice job with their First Class meal service. I’ve had excellent chateaubriand, superb stuffed chicken breast, moist and tender salmon or trout fillets and wonderful venison and lobster on flights. I don’t expect gourmet restaurant quality meals yet am often surprised at how close the airlines come at times. I’d hate to see these things disappear in First Class. Unfortunately, I sense I’m just a voice in the wilderness on this issue as most people today, many of whom have never experienced the levels of service offered in the sixties, seventies and eighties, don’t seem to mind the reductions. Bring on those hamburgers then! While they last, that is…
SEA-ANC United 1771 First Class
737-322 N322UA Seat 2A
840p – 1115p
I had almost an hour and a half layover in Seattle, more than enough time to take the train back to the main terminal and visit Alaska’s Boardroom. I had hoped to check on my e-mail on the single computer provided in the lounge but it was occupied first by a couple of kids and then by some lady doing some extended shopping. Oh well. I ordered a MacTarnahan’s Ale and asked the receptionist about the upcoming expansion of the SeaTac Boardroom. I was told that the plan is to remain open through most of the work which will be starting very soon.
Our 737-300, like all the recent A320s I’ve flown had the new seats in First Class but no Empower hooked up. I hope United gets moving on this soon. All of AA’s MD-80s and 737-800s are so equipped, and also offer this benefit to Coach Class passengers as well.
Unlike every other United flight I’ve been on this past week, pre-flight drinks including alcohol were offered. Even so, I opted for a glass of water and settled in for this final leg of a long day. Three hours and twenty-seven minutes was the planned flight time this evening, but I don’t recall hearing anything about cruising altitude. Let’s call it 35,000 plus or minus a couple of thousand feet.
Despite the late hour, this flight recently started serving a full dinner in First Class and a snack in Coach. Historically, it’s been a snack up front and nothing in the back. Considering United’s post 9/11 cutbacks, I find this surprising especially since the primary competition, Alaska, doesn’t serve any food on flights after 7:30pm. My seatmate had just flown up from SFO on the same flight that I was on a couple of days ago where I’d been surprised to receive mixed nuts despite getting only the Party Mix and Nut Supreme Mix on much longer flights. He too had gotten the mixed nuts and was as surprised as I. Hmmm…. I recall seeing a thread in FT not too long ago about Alaska’s fairly aggressive overtures to UA’s Mileage Plus members, so possibly this may be one of United’s responses in markets they compete with AS on. We sure had a lot more food on my recent SEA-IAD flight than anything I’ve seen on Alaska’s menus.
Dinner tonight was described as a choice between a Stuffed Chicken Breast or Ravioli stuffed with cheese and artichoke bottoms. They both sounded pretty good and both my seatmate and I were thankful to snag the last chicken entrées. This entrée was just plain delicious! The chicken breast was stuffed with a cheese and spinach mixture, then topped with a creamy sauce and accompanied by asparagus spears and roasted potatoes. Through the space between the seats in front of me I could see the Ravioli entrée. It consisted of two large pillows of red and green ravioli topped with a tomato sauce and olives. It looked pretty good though I noticed the guy in front of me only ate about half of his. Both entrees were accompanied by a good looking mixed green salad, a dinner roll and some kind of creamy chocolate cake that was also quite good.
After dinner, I entered this flight into my log and discovered that this was the 100th time I’ve flown the SEA-ANC route on United, and the 152nd time overall. I’ve kept a log of my flights for just about as long as I can remember. Back in the mid-eighties I bought a Pilot Master Log and thereby expanded my statistics per flight considerably. For example, as of this flight, I have flown United 1,164 times totaling 1,208,580 miles and 2,774 hours 50 minutes of flight time. (As far as Mileage Plus is concerned, I've only flown about 540,000 miles revenue with UA. The rest was either pre-MP or 50 State Marathon/Award mileage)It is my 120th flight aboard a 737-300 for 110,630 miles and 251 hours even. Overall, this was my 2,766th flight for a total of 2,274,970 miles over 5,316 hours 30 minutes. This was also my 1,107th flight for a total of 1,117,150 miles in First Class. A lot of these details were the result of a space being available in the log, an active imagination and a lot of time on my hands at the time. Still, I enjoy keeping up with it but limit this kind of attention to detail in my life for the most part to my Flight Log.
We landed quite smoothly in Anchorage – I hardly felt the wheels touch down – and, after collecting my baggage I headed down to the commuter gates for some sleep.
24 January
ANC-FAI Alaska 81 First Class
737-400 N791AS Seat 3A
934a – 1030a
After checking in, I headed over to Alaska’s Boardroom for coffee and a bagel. I called friends in Fairbanks to arrange for a ride from the airport and heard that it’s presently 31 below zero. Welcome home.
It’s only a 40 minute hop up to Fairbanks from Anchorage and the sun was just coming up as we took off out of Anchorage. Lots of folks flying north this morning – First Class was full and Coach was pretty close to full. I took seat 3A in hopes of getting a nice view of Denali but the skies were pretty hazy today so I wasn’t holding out much hope.
We took off to the north and the Captain informed us that the temperature in Fairbanks had warmed up to –24. Oh boy! I had a coffee, some apple juice and some almonds – a combination that may have me in search of Rolaids after the flight. Because of the clouds we never did get a good view of The Mountain as Denali’s known up here. It was a routine flight and landing at Fairbanks International and I am happy to be home in my cabin after nine days of travel.
MCO-IAD United 1502 First Class
757-200 N518UA Seat 4D
945a – 1145a
Check in today was a breeze. Friendly and efficient counter agents, no lines at security and no wait for the train to the remote terminal gates made for an overall experience that could almost be described as extraordinary. Unfortunately, once again I was unable to upgrade throughout the trip due to my lowly status as a “Mere Premier” traveling on a discounted ticket at that. I did however clear for my one hour forty minute SFO-SEA flight later this afternoon. Oh Boy!
Many folks at FlyerTalk have earned fairly lofty status in the various mileage programs out there and enjoy predominantly First Class service as a result. Although I used to fly up front about 80% of the time, these days I’m back in steerage about 60% of the time. Nowadays, Premier Execs and 1Ks routinely deny me a seat up front. Why those no good… Seriously though, I have no quarrel with those folks. They’ve earned that First Class seat. Still, for a mere Premier like me, lately my best shot at having an upgrade confirmed 24 hours out seems to be either into Business Class on a 777 or on a shorter flight with no meal service. I’ve got the upgrades but so far am batting zero in my attempts to use them.
So, I’m sitting in the gate area reading and reveling over the Steeler’s victory against the Baltimore Ravens when suddenly I heard my name called to approach the podium. Huh? Wha!? Apparently Coach was oversold and in order to create more room the gate agents decided to upgrade a few of us garden variety Premiers. Well now… guess I’d better go comb my hair.
The aircraft for this flight was outfitted with a brand new interior I’d never seen before. Coach seating was all one color – a dark bluish grey. The overall effect was fairly bland, I thought. At least the old coach seat fabrics, though predominantly light grey, had a few streaks of color in them that brightened up the interior just a bit. Up in First Class, the new style seats were also dark bluish grey but with a subtle pattern added. Though I felt this was an improvement on those old grey leather seats, some carpeting on the bulkheads would have warmed up the overall cabin ambience considerably.
We taxied out to the runway through what was left of the morning fog and took off into low clouds and partial sunshine. After a few minutes of climbing, we emerged into total sunshine. Ah… that’s more like it…
Once we’d leveled out, the captain came on over the PA, requested that no more than two people line up for the lavatories at any one time and advised us that we’d be cruising at 37,000 feet up to Washington. It seems that each flight crew has its own approach to keeping things secure around the cockpit door. On this flight, no more than two people up front but I’ve also heard some pilots say NOBODY allowed to wait outside the forward bathroom. In that case, they were told to wait at the curtains between F and Y classes.
Service on this flight consisted of beverages only. I requested a cup of United’s “Special Starbucks Blend” and plugged into the Empower unit located in the seat divider. I had just recently purchased my Targus Auto/Air Universal Adapter and this was to be its first use. Nothing happened. I called a flight attendant and discovered that Empower was not working on this aircraft. Further, the FA allowed that this problem was more than commonplace on many other United aircraft as well. Grrr…
Flight time was only an hour and forty minutes. We taxied into a gate way down near the end of the C side of United’s Mid-Field Terminal and I remember thinking I’d probably be looking at quite a walk to my connecting flight to SFO. Happily, I discovered it was almost directly across the Concourse. I then had to walk all the way over to the D Concourse anyway to get a cup of Starbucks since their C side kiosk was closed for some reason.
IAD-SFO United 181 Coach Class
A320-200 N442UA Seat 8A
110p – 400p
I checked at the gate to find that I was still on a Priority Waitlist for one of two remaining unsold First Class seats. True to form, a couple of 1Ks showed up and pirated them away. I’ve got to devise a scheme to deal with those darned 1Ks! So far though, I am Wily Coyote to their Roadrunner. Sigh... I need to fly more…
If you can’t get an exit row on United’s A320s, the other excellent seats are on the bulkhead. Lots of legroom! Soon, I was joined by one of the largest men I’ve ever seen. This fellow was a good 6’ 6” and had to weigh a good 250 pounds, very little of it fat. Just big bone and muscle. He really needed a First Class seat! Turns out he was a Danish policeman heading to California to visit with family there. A very nice guy though I wouldn’t want to be caught misbehaving on his beat.
Lunch was again a choice of chicken or pasta. Neither entrée looked particularly remarkable. I had the chicken and found it to be pretty good though. In fact, I'd have to say that in today's post 9/11 environment, UA beats out AA and CO for economy class meal service. After the meal, I drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours. When I awoke, we were in the second half of United’s movie double feature (Serendipity and Hardball) I glanced out the window and found the view more entertaining than the movie.
Having recently completed a 1600 mile drive around the Desert Southwest, I had my Rand McNally Road Atlas along for this flight. I also set my stopwatch during each flight starting with the takeoff roll. I do this not only to establish flight time for my log book (Flight time is often different from the captain’s initial stated estimate due to headwinds, ATC delays at the destination, etc) but also to give me a sense of where I am over the continent based upon how long we’ve been in flight. Some people get off on cruising altitudes but I think it’s really cool to know exactly where I am and see places where I’ve been from on high as well as places where I haven’t been. There’s no SkyShow available on these smaller aircraft but in any event the Rand McNally is far more detailed once I get a fix on my position. Looking out the window now, we were just over three hours into the flight, which had been projected at 5 hours 25 minutes due to headwinds. The land below was obviously the Midwest. Having flown from the East Coast to Denver well over one hundred times, I strongly suspected that we were somewhere over Nebraska. All I needed was a distinctive looking lake or river that I could match up with towns and roads in the area. I found what I was looking for in Harlan County Lake just north of the Kansas border about halfway across Nebraska. Many would argue that the Midwest is not too interesting from any elevation but what my position told me was that Colorado’s Rockies would be coming up in about half an hour. Any of you who’ve read my bio have seen my map of roads driven in my present vehicle, a 1988 Mazda truck. I’ve driven pretty much every main highway west of Colorado, not to mention having ridden trains and hitch-hiked through a lot of the west as well. Here’s a link to the map:
http://www.abmazda.com/Mazda/page_co..._images/10.jpg
As we approached Denver, most people were watching Keanu Reeves experience difficulties in teaching his young baseball team the finer points of the hit and run play. Outside the airplane windows, it was beautifully clear and we were being treated to a spectacular view of Denver International Airport, including seeing aircraft positioning for approach way below us. As well, I saw the Pepsi Center and both Mile High and Invesco Field, home of my beloved Broncos. (Wait’ll next year!!) We continued on across the Rockies with great views of all the ski areas and many of the big mountains such as Mts. Elbert and Massive, the two tallest mountains in the state. I watched as the Colorado River was joined by the Eagle River at Gypsum, Colorado and flowed on into Glenwood Canyon and across the state through to Grand Junction where it was joined by the Gunnison River (Thus the name Grand Junction, from back in the days when the Colorado was known as the Grand River)
While Keanu Reeves and Diane Lane made small talk on the big screen, we crossed into Utah with a beautiful view of Canyonlands National Park and, just a few minutes later, Desolation Canyon on the Green River. I’ve rafted through all this area back before it was discovered and overrun by Outside Magazine readers in the 80s. It is magnificent country! Maybe on my next flight through here I could get United to show my VHS copy of “Ten Who Dared”, the film about John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers through what was then totally uncharted territory. Yeah, right! Still, for me at least, the view through the port window was far more entertaining than the view on the big screen. Except of course when the camera was on either of this flight’s movie starlets, Kate Beckinsale or Diane Lane, to my eyes truly two of the loveliest actresses ever to grace the big screen.
We touched down in San Francisco at 4:25pm, after a flight of 5 hours 56 minutes. All things considered, a very nice flight.
I picked up a copy of the First Class menu from this flight as I departed. Here is a transcript of it:
LUNCHEON
To Begin
Black pepper-crusted tuna with vegetable slaw
Offered with Wasabi and Asian Sesame dressing
* * *
Main Course
Deluxe Double Cheddar Cheeseburger
Served with mustard potato salad
Shrimp Paella with a tomato and olive ragout
Sautéed shrimp in brown rice with a bell pepper medley
The above entrees are accompanied by a Southwestern Salad with roasted corn and tortilla chips and Asian sesame ginger or Thousand Island dressing
Pretzel-crusted Breast of Chicken over a mixture of seasonal greens
Bell pepper confit with honey dijon dressing
Served with a fresh fruit appetizer
* * *
Dessert
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream with sundae toppings
This flight is scheduled for 5 hours 50 minutes. I would have thought it would rate a greater and more diverse selection of foods. Instead, the entrees are one heavy hamburger, one essentially light meal (I’ve seen the Shrimp Paella entrée – tasty but not that much food) and one salad entrée. Had I seen this menu before attempting to upgrade, I would have immediately withdrawn my request. A six-hour flight deserves better.
SFO-SEA United 1536 First Class
A319-100 N806UA Seat 2A
530p – 728p
I’ve got eight 500 mile upgrades and one HK-49 to my name. I'm not sure how I got this type of upgradeand I didn't ask questions when informed I had one. I’m saving it for my MCO-ORD-SEA-ANC leg in a couple of days. As we were now within the 24 hour period for clearing any upgrades for tomorrow’s flights, I checked with United only to find that once again I’d been placed on Priority Waitlist. As I’d never sat up front on an A319 before, I decided to essentially waste a couple of 500 milers on the short beverage only service up to Seattle.
United’s 319s only offer 8 seats in First Class. That’s probably fine on a run like this but what are they doing on routes like BOS-LAX or IAD-PDX?!! Memo to United: If you’re going to use a little plane like the A319 on Trans-cons, add at least another row of seats to your First Class cabin! AA’s got 16 seats up front in their DC-9-80s, and 20 in their 737-800s! Even NW offers way more First Class seats!
Though this was a beverage only service, our First Class FA was herself First Class in every respect! She offered a stellar service of which United or even Cathay Pacific would be proud! It started with a ramekin of mixed nuts (Seen only on trans-cons prior to this – I’ll bet she served us from her own supply!) followed by a nice fairly cold beer. I say “fairly cold” because it is a rare instance when I’ve been served a properly chilled lager or pilsner from UA. AS and AA routinely accomplish this, so what’s with UA? I guessing they place round cans on flat dry ice. There’s simply not enough surface contact to thoroughly chill the beer.
In any event, I asked for a Heineken if it were truly cold, otherwise I’d have a La Croix. When I have broached the subject of cold beer with some flight attendants, they’ve looked at me with all the comprehension of a Hereford cow pausing whilst chewing its cud. And hey! I’m really quite nice about it, too. I don’t demand cold beer. Rather, if I can’t have the beer cold, that’s fine – I’ll have something else. In the meantime, if they might please put a can on ice I’d be most appreciative. The amazing thing is that many of these UA FAs seem totally unaware that their beer is often cool but not cold. Worse, some of them don’t seem to care. On more than one occasion, after having first requested a truly “cold” beer I’ve had my beer delivered cool anyway. Yuck! This flight was different. This wonderful lady not only delivered my first beer cold, she advised me that she had also put a couple more cans in ice and water should I want another beer later in the flight. I hadn't even asked her to do that. Now that’s service! Those little things mean a lot. May her golden years be filled with happiness, health and unlimited First Class Pass privileges on United. In the meantime, I will fire off a note to United singing her praises for she definitely took pride in her service and went above and beyond for a lowly Premier like me!!
It was a dark and stormy night in Seattle when we landed and I hurried off to the Doubletree to catch up on some sleep. God forbid I do any more writing!
22 January
SEA-SFO United 216 First Class
757-200 N504UA Seat 1D
820a – 403p
One of the best things about arriving in the west from the east is the three-hour time difference. Since I had an 8:00am departure this morning, I’d requested a 6:00am wake up call. That’s 9:00am eastern time, so I at least felt like I’d slept in.
I arrived at the check in counter to discover that despite being on Priority Waitlist, once again none of my upgrade attempts had cleared. The agent looked over my itinerary to Orlando, SEA-SFO-IAD-MCO and asked if I might be interested in a more expeditious routing direct through IAD where he’d be able to upgrade me all the way to Orlando. Well… fewer miles but then again it would be nice to experience an actual meal in First Class. Especially on a trans-con. After all, meals are for me the real highlight of the First Class experience. I quickly accepted his offer and selected a window seat on both flights. It sure was nice to start the day with a gold ticket jacket again!
It seems that in exchange for my good fortune however, I’d been selected for extra security screening via the Explosive Detection Machine. This was the same contraption I described when flying out of San Francisco two days ago. It was a pretty basic process, just like carry-on screening except with your actual baggage. It was also another line to stand in. Fifteen minutes later, I was deemed explosives free and was on my way to the North Satellite.
I grabbed a newspaper and a Starbucks and boarded the plane. It appeared to be only about half-full except of course in First Class where every seat was taken. Pre-flight juice and coffee were offered along with a copy of the Financial Times. Boring. I’ll take a juice and a copy of Ping Pong Digest, thanks. My seatmate had a broken arm and reams of paperwork to keep him busy. Unfortunately his broken arm was his writing arm and he had to make a lot of notes as well. His handwriting was rendered scratchy and childlike but he pushed on throughout the flight, pausing only for breakfast.
Ah, breakfast. And a snack too! And a trans-con menu perhaps? No. The choices were described as either Eggs with Corned Beef Hash, Pancakes Stuffed with Apples and Walnuts (How do you stuff a pancake?) or the ubiquitous Fruit Plate. My seatmate opted for the pancakes and I chose the eggs. More coffee was poured and soon our meals were delivered. They looked better than their descriptions because they were better and different from those descriptions. My Eggs with Corned Beef Hash turned out to be a plate of scrambled eggs with a creamy chive sauce accompanied by nice thick asparagus spears and hash browns. I was pleased. The pancakes weren’t stuffed but rather were topped with crushed nuts and an apple compote. They looked delicious and my seatmate paused long enough to quickly wolf them down before returning to his paperwork. Both entrees were accompanied by a bowl of fresh fruit and the pancakes came with a slice of Canadian bacon and a link of turkey sausage. This surely ranked as one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever eaten aboard United. Please keep up the good work!
The seats in this aircraft were also outfitted with Empower connections and this time they worked. I spent the next hour and a half catching up on correspondence and writing this trip report. Time flew by and before long our flight attendants were back passing out table linens for the afternoon snack service. Whaaaat?! We’d only just finished breakfast like an hour and a half ago. Yeah, so? We’re gonna be landing in about an hour from now. You want to eat or what? That’s not exactly verbatim from our FA but it captures the gist of her delivery. Hmmm… well, I hate to turn down airline food, especially First Class fare so I cleared my tray table and prepared for more food. Well, suffice to say that this snack was just plain excellent! We were presented a tray with a mixed salad topped with seasoned chicken strips and a chicken and corn chowder served piping hot in a huge bread bowl. I washed this down with a glass of Chardonnay and spent the last few minutes before landing enjoying the beautiful Virginia countryside gliding by beneath us. We touched down at Dulles ten minutes early and once again I was blessed with a short transit to my connecting flight, D10 to D4.
IAD-MCO United 1849 First Class
757-200 N577UA Seat 1D
505p – 717p
I recall hearing that Florida is one of the top five most popular foreign destinations for German tourists and this flight certainly validated that. I felt like I was boarding the Munich – Frankfurt shuttle based upon the conversations around me.
I also felt like I could have been on a Red Cross mercy flight as once again my seatmate had suffered a debilitating injury, in this case a dislocated knee. He was on his way from Hamburg, Germany to Orlando for a golf trade show and would be on crutches the entire time, not to mention well into the next month or two.
I specifically chose a seat on the right side of the cabin because it would be facing the west and the setting sun. I was not disappointed as we were treated to a beautiful sunset and a lingering evening sky for about half the flight. This flight used to offer a dinner back in the Good Old Days but now offered only United’s Party Mix, in itself nothing to celebrate about although I did try with a couple of Heinekens. The two FAs working the front cabin of our 757 did a great job, stopping by often to offer more beverages and Party Mix. I chatted with my seatmate for most of the flight and after only an hour and forty minutes we landed in Orlando.
I’d originally planned to arrive in Orlando at near midnight and as such would have happily grabbed my spot in the big lobby adjacent to the airport Hyatt but as I’d arrived so early I used my Bestfares.com membership to score a $29.00 room at the Days Inn-Airport. I assure you this room was hardly worth any more than that but it did at least afford a measure of privacy and comfort that was appreciated. The TV was practically an antique with all functions requiring pushbuttons that themselves required much pushing before they actually did their job.
23 January
MCO-ORD United 1111 First Class
767-300 N671UA Seat 2A
1150a – 141p
The redemption of my one Confirmed North America Upgrade today delivered me three flights in First Class totaling 4,180 miles. This also includes a lunch, a dinner and a snack enroute. No Priority Waitlists for me today! As you might imagine, I’ve been looking forward to this day almost as much as a small child anticipates Christmas Day!
When I checked in, the agent advised me that this was my last HK-49. I feigned a look of shock. “It is?!” I cried, aghast at the horror of it all. “Maybe I’d better save it until I’ve accrued a few more of them!” She looked at me rather oddly for a moment and then caught on that I was only kidding. We bagged my backpack in an Air Canada bag as UA was out and I headed on out to security. The gentleman checking boarding passes in my line appeared to be quite challenged by the task. At first, I waited patiently while he thoroughly scrutinized each passenger’s boarding pass with all the aplomb and comprehension of a chimp working a Rubix cube. He was stuck on one family for at least a full minute. Still, I waited patiently. Finally however, when he began talking with one of the passengers about his last trip to California or wherever, I gave up and moved to the next line over. Where do they get these people?!
This flight was aboard a 767-300, outfitted in the two-class configuration. To be honest, I find the Business Class seats on the three class –300 to be more comfortable than these First Class seats. Still, better here in 2A than back in Economy Plus. Pre-flight drinks were offered and once again were limited to water or orange juice. Personally, I’m fine with either but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen anyone on UA offer anything alcoholic should someone desire. I wonder if this is yet another cost cutting move?
This was a luncheon flight and our choices today were an Oriental Chicken Salad or a Cajun Chicken Sandwich. I chose the chicken salad along with a La Croix and a wedge of lime for after takeoff – my drink of choice up until it’s Beer:30, usually about 5:00pm.
We pushed back right on time and taxied most of the way out to the runway when suddenly we stopped and the Captain came on to advise us that Chicago was experiencing weather related congestion so ATC wouldn’t allow us to take off until 12:21p, another 20 minutes away. The engines were shut down and I took the opportunity to catch a little shuteye. When I awoke, we were just turning onto the active runway so I grabbed the headphones and tuned in to Channel 9. By the way, I’ve seen a couple of threads questioning whether United might be discouraging the use of CH. 9. So far this trip, just about every flight I’ve been on the Captain has specifically made mention of it and welcomed people to listen in.
We took an interesting route up to Chicago today. Rather than flying the old straight-line route, we avoided some storms by flying west across Florida and out over the Gulf of Mexico before turning north to the Second City. From thirty some odd thousand feet on a sunny day, the Gulf looked quite stunning with its shallow waters providing many different hues of blue.
Lunch was served from the back of the cabin forward. While the presentation was nothing special, (No linens, no hot towels) my salad was actually quite good with plenty of chunks of chicken, slivered almonds and snow peas accompanied by a flavorful Asian style dressing. This was also accompanied by a fruit bowl and a bread roll. Dessert was another one of Eli’s many cakes that was delicious as always. I noticed the Cajun Chicken sandwich across the aisle. A breast of chicken on a medium sized hoagie roll served with a small pasta salad and dessert. I was glad I chose the salad as the sandwich looked like more bread than chicken. A cup of Starbucks finished my meal off quite nicely and I spent the rest of the flight writing an overdue thank you note from Christmas and bringing my flight log up to date.
ORD-SEA United 315 First Class
A320-200 N414UA Seat 1A
440p – 708p
After spending a couple of hours in the combined NW/CO World/Presidents Club, I hurried back over to gate C10 for my flight to Seattle. I’d estimate that distance at almost half a mile. No kiddin’! I’ll bet if you got off at the end of United’s C Concourse and for whatever reason had to catch an American flight at the end of the H or J Concourse, you’d be looking at a walk of about a mile. Still, that underground walkway from Concourse B to C at United is fun with all the lights and spacey music. I remember wandering through there after a Dead concert once with those lights and… well, what a long strange walk it was...
The word from the cockpit was four hours and three minutes to Seattle this evening, cruising initially at 35,000 feet. Then, after a couple of hours we’d climb up to 39,000 feet for the duration of the flight. No complaints here. The usual pre-flight beverages were dispensed and I had a glass of water. Dinner? A choice of Salmon or Meatloaf was offered. No menu, no descriptions, just salmon or meatloaf. I was seated in 1A and, interestingly, was the first person asked about my dinner selection. Status starts in row one tonight, I guess. Cool. I love meatloaf but in First Class I’ll opt for the salmon every time.
My seatmate was an inventor who claimed he flies 1,000,000 miles per year! The FA and I were flabbergasted at this! “How come you’re not listed as a Million Miler with us?” the FA challenged him. He replied he was spread out over all sorts of airlines. “Do you realize how much time that is in the air each day?!” I asked him. It’s 2,740 miles per day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year. Every day. Today he’s flying ORD-SEA-YVR. Tomorrow he’s flying YVR-SFO. Later in the week, he’s meeting his wife for four days in LA and the surrounding area. He’s gonna need to do a lot of flying to keep that average up. I suspect he said a million because it sounded like a good round number. Has anybody ever heard of someone other than an astronaut flying 1,000,000 miles in a year? I flew 529,000 miles in a year, and I felt like I had to work at that even though I enjoy flying!
Dinner was served promptly after leveling off. My tray was delivered with everything on it except for dessert. I got a slab of salmon accompanied by gnocchi and some spinach. In a small container on the side was some kind of creamy sauce. Also included were a small salad and a dinner roll. I complimented this with a glass of Chateau Los Boldos Requinoa, a fairly tasty cabernet from Chile. What was missing was an appetizer! I love appetizers! Especially on a plane. Something for the captive audience to nibble on with a drink in anticipation of the meal to come. Even Northwest offered an appetizer on their 300 mile shorter MSP-SEA service.
Herein lies the crux of my complaint with United regarding their meal service. When it comes to complaints about airline food, most people complain about the quality. Not me. Taking into consideration the inherent difficulties in serving restaurant quality food at 35,000 feet, I think that for the most part the airlines do a pretty good job. More to the point, I think United’s First Class fare is generally quite good. The problem as I see it is that we’re losing more and more of the traditional First Class meal service every year. It wasn’t that long ago that we were presented menus and mixed nuts to start a Chicago to West Coast flight. Next we had our table set and were served an appetizer. This was followed by a salad and then a choice of three entrees. Finally, the piece de resistance, an ice cream sundae. Dessert today was a little piece of cake from Eli’s kitchen. No more sundaes except on trans-cons apparently. No hot towel service was offered at any time during the flight either. First Class used to be special.
I seriously doubt that if and when United returns to profitability we’ll see any return to the old ways. The main reason for this as I see it is that in America as opposed to say, Europe or Asia, the people flying in First Class today don’t expect either the level of service or an attempt at a quality meal. I brought this issue up over at the United forum with regard to hamburgers showing up in First Class and the overall despoliation of domestic First Class service in general. The response was interesting. When I wasn’t being derided for being snobbish or just plain foolish to expect any more than what’s served today, the general consensus seemed to be that it’s foolish to expect quality food at 35,000 feet and as far as hamburgers go it’s better to serve a simple well prepared meal than to fail at a more elaborate one. So nobody’s ever enjoyed a more elaborate menu that turned out well? Read the trip reports! What’s amazing to me is how often people seem to focus on the negatives despite a preponderance of positives over the years. Sure, we've all had the hockey puck masquerading as a fillet mignon or crunchy pasta but from my experience, which is substantial, those meals are the exception rather than the rule. It's easy to joke about airline food but the reality of it is that good food is possible inflight. I say that while the efforts don’t always turn out perfectly, and sometimes are downright poor, a fair percentage of the time the airlines do a pretty nice job with their First Class meal service. I’ve had excellent chateaubriand, superb stuffed chicken breast, moist and tender salmon or trout fillets and wonderful venison and lobster on flights. I don’t expect gourmet restaurant quality meals yet am often surprised at how close the airlines come at times. I’d hate to see these things disappear in First Class. Unfortunately, I sense I’m just a voice in the wilderness on this issue as most people today, many of whom have never experienced the levels of service offered in the sixties, seventies and eighties, don’t seem to mind the reductions. Bring on those hamburgers then! While they last, that is…
SEA-ANC United 1771 First Class
737-322 N322UA Seat 2A
840p – 1115p
I had almost an hour and a half layover in Seattle, more than enough time to take the train back to the main terminal and visit Alaska’s Boardroom. I had hoped to check on my e-mail on the single computer provided in the lounge but it was occupied first by a couple of kids and then by some lady doing some extended shopping. Oh well. I ordered a MacTarnahan’s Ale and asked the receptionist about the upcoming expansion of the SeaTac Boardroom. I was told that the plan is to remain open through most of the work which will be starting very soon.
Our 737-300, like all the recent A320s I’ve flown had the new seats in First Class but no Empower hooked up. I hope United gets moving on this soon. All of AA’s MD-80s and 737-800s are so equipped, and also offer this benefit to Coach Class passengers as well.
Unlike every other United flight I’ve been on this past week, pre-flight drinks including alcohol were offered. Even so, I opted for a glass of water and settled in for this final leg of a long day. Three hours and twenty-seven minutes was the planned flight time this evening, but I don’t recall hearing anything about cruising altitude. Let’s call it 35,000 plus or minus a couple of thousand feet.
Despite the late hour, this flight recently started serving a full dinner in First Class and a snack in Coach. Historically, it’s been a snack up front and nothing in the back. Considering United’s post 9/11 cutbacks, I find this surprising especially since the primary competition, Alaska, doesn’t serve any food on flights after 7:30pm. My seatmate had just flown up from SFO on the same flight that I was on a couple of days ago where I’d been surprised to receive mixed nuts despite getting only the Party Mix and Nut Supreme Mix on much longer flights. He too had gotten the mixed nuts and was as surprised as I. Hmmm…. I recall seeing a thread in FT not too long ago about Alaska’s fairly aggressive overtures to UA’s Mileage Plus members, so possibly this may be one of United’s responses in markets they compete with AS on. We sure had a lot more food on my recent SEA-IAD flight than anything I’ve seen on Alaska’s menus.
Dinner tonight was described as a choice between a Stuffed Chicken Breast or Ravioli stuffed with cheese and artichoke bottoms. They both sounded pretty good and both my seatmate and I were thankful to snag the last chicken entrées. This entrée was just plain delicious! The chicken breast was stuffed with a cheese and spinach mixture, then topped with a creamy sauce and accompanied by asparagus spears and roasted potatoes. Through the space between the seats in front of me I could see the Ravioli entrée. It consisted of two large pillows of red and green ravioli topped with a tomato sauce and olives. It looked pretty good though I noticed the guy in front of me only ate about half of his. Both entrees were accompanied by a good looking mixed green salad, a dinner roll and some kind of creamy chocolate cake that was also quite good.
After dinner, I entered this flight into my log and discovered that this was the 100th time I’ve flown the SEA-ANC route on United, and the 152nd time overall. I’ve kept a log of my flights for just about as long as I can remember. Back in the mid-eighties I bought a Pilot Master Log and thereby expanded my statistics per flight considerably. For example, as of this flight, I have flown United 1,164 times totaling 1,208,580 miles and 2,774 hours 50 minutes of flight time. (As far as Mileage Plus is concerned, I've only flown about 540,000 miles revenue with UA. The rest was either pre-MP or 50 State Marathon/Award mileage)It is my 120th flight aboard a 737-300 for 110,630 miles and 251 hours even. Overall, this was my 2,766th flight for a total of 2,274,970 miles over 5,316 hours 30 minutes. This was also my 1,107th flight for a total of 1,117,150 miles in First Class. A lot of these details were the result of a space being available in the log, an active imagination and a lot of time on my hands at the time. Still, I enjoy keeping up with it but limit this kind of attention to detail in my life for the most part to my Flight Log.
We landed quite smoothly in Anchorage – I hardly felt the wheels touch down – and, after collecting my baggage I headed down to the commuter gates for some sleep.
24 January
ANC-FAI Alaska 81 First Class
737-400 N791AS Seat 3A
934a – 1030a
After checking in, I headed over to Alaska’s Boardroom for coffee and a bagel. I called friends in Fairbanks to arrange for a ride from the airport and heard that it’s presently 31 below zero. Welcome home.
It’s only a 40 minute hop up to Fairbanks from Anchorage and the sun was just coming up as we took off out of Anchorage. Lots of folks flying north this morning – First Class was full and Coach was pretty close to full. I took seat 3A in hopes of getting a nice view of Denali but the skies were pretty hazy today so I wasn’t holding out much hope.
We took off to the north and the Captain informed us that the temperature in Fairbanks had warmed up to –24. Oh boy! I had a coffee, some apple juice and some almonds – a combination that may have me in search of Rolaids after the flight. Because of the clouds we never did get a good view of The Mountain as Denali’s known up here. It was a routine flight and landing at Fairbanks International and I am happy to be home in my cabin after nine days of travel.
Jan 26, 2002, 4:00 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,145
Based upon the flights that I've just taken, on a scale of 1-10 for services, I'd rate United as follows:
Reservations: 7
Some agents are great, very knowledgable, but I'd say about 25% of them are quite challenged when it comes to finding the lowest fare and pulling up particulars of the fare rules. Unfortunately, many of these agents seem to be found working the Premier Desk. One of them recently informed me that United did not and never had flown to Alaska.
Check-in: 10
Well staffed, friendly and efficient agents. When Premier/1K/First lines started to get long, more agents would almost magically appear.
Pre-flight: 8
Efficient boarding process, always greeted warmly upon entering, but pre-flight beverages most often limited to OJ and water even though there was plenty of time (15-20 min.) before pushback to serve more. On two occasions no PFBs were offered at all.
Meal Quality - Coach Class: 9
When offered, UA's Y Class fare is as good and sometimes better than most other airlines domestic meals
Meal Quality - First Class: 9
While I lament the loss of some First Class amenities, United still prepares some of the tastiest fare aloft.
Meal Quality - F Presentation: 6
An unfortunate tendency almost systemwide to just put everything on a tray and be done with it. This included all flights of 3 hours or more where there was plenty of time to do a course by course service. I understand that some folks just want their meal served quickly so they can get back to work. Fine, just request that. But on flights of four hours or more I really enjoyed having my salads and entrees served from the trolley like UA used to do.
Flight Attendants: 8
For the most part, very good. I've heard the stories about UA's Prison Matrons but I've found most of them to be superior to the younger crews who are often less attentive and more likely to be found back in the galley doing their nails and chatting with their co-workers. Meal presentation skills are lacking for F Class
On Time Performance 10
Excellent! This starts with the preflight boarding process and all of my flights left on time and in many cases arrived a bit early
Baggage 10
Bags were delivered quickly and UA personnel were always present or nearby for any questions/problems
[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 01-26-2002).]
Reservations: 7
Some agents are great, very knowledgable, but I'd say about 25% of them are quite challenged when it comes to finding the lowest fare and pulling up particulars of the fare rules. Unfortunately, many of these agents seem to be found working the Premier Desk. One of them recently informed me that United did not and never had flown to Alaska.
Check-in: 10
Well staffed, friendly and efficient agents. When Premier/1K/First lines started to get long, more agents would almost magically appear.
Pre-flight: 8
Efficient boarding process, always greeted warmly upon entering, but pre-flight beverages most often limited to OJ and water even though there was plenty of time (15-20 min.) before pushback to serve more. On two occasions no PFBs were offered at all.
Meal Quality - Coach Class: 9
When offered, UA's Y Class fare is as good and sometimes better than most other airlines domestic meals
Meal Quality - First Class: 9
While I lament the loss of some First Class amenities, United still prepares some of the tastiest fare aloft.
Meal Quality - F Presentation: 6
An unfortunate tendency almost systemwide to just put everything on a tray and be done with it. This included all flights of 3 hours or more where there was plenty of time to do a course by course service. I understand that some folks just want their meal served quickly so they can get back to work. Fine, just request that. But on flights of four hours or more I really enjoyed having my salads and entrees served from the trolley like UA used to do.
Flight Attendants: 8
For the most part, very good. I've heard the stories about UA's Prison Matrons but I've found most of them to be superior to the younger crews who are often less attentive and more likely to be found back in the galley doing their nails and chatting with their co-workers. Meal presentation skills are lacking for F Class
On Time Performance 10
Excellent! This starts with the preflight boarding process and all of my flights left on time and in many cases arrived a bit early
Baggage 10
Bags were delivered quickly and UA personnel were always present or nearby for any questions/problems
[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 01-26-2002).]
Jan 27, 2002, 2:49 pm
#6
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: I am usually found in YYC or GIG
Programs: UAL Premex
Posts: 1,858
I couldn't agree with you more about UAL.........every experience with them this year....only 10 segments mind you....has been excellent.
And that huge 777 wing.....it really obstructs your E+ window view. No question there....but without wings...what would we do ?
And that huge 777 wing.....it really obstructs your E+ window view. No question there....but without wings...what would we do ?
Jan 28, 2002, 10:56 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Posts: 175
Hello Seat 2A,
Excellent trip report. I appreciate the detail. You asked for questions/suggestions, so here are a few in no particular order.
1. Feel free to report on more than the flights - I like hearing about what people do in various cities, where they stay, or if a good place to eat or drink comes their way. You often do this, but please continue to do so when the mood takes you.
2. I know very little about consolidators. It seems you may score some tix from a consolidator. I do not know if this is like asking a guy to pinpoint his favoraite fishing spot, but anything you want to share regarding how you get your tickets (even if it just a quick line that you purchased them online off the airlines' web page would be fine) would be appreciated.
3. I cannot wait for your upcoming trips. Please share a report(s) with us.
4.I agree with your take on the slide of service in domestic First Class. Actually, I should say my opinions are limited to NW over the last few years, as it is the carrier I have flown the balance of my flights on.
I note however, that you seem to grade on a curve in your numerical grading system - ie you seem to be comparing current FC offerings with other current FC offerings. This makes sense because we cannot fly, say, 1978 United FC. However, feel free to toss in an absolute score if you wish - pick your pinnacle of Domestic First - whoever, whenever, and compare to them. I'm curious.
5. Kate Beckinsale. Lovely. Agreed.
6. Any trains in your upcoming trips?
[This message has been edited by Shinkansen (edited 01-28-2002).]
Excellent trip report. I appreciate the detail. You asked for questions/suggestions, so here are a few in no particular order.
1. Feel free to report on more than the flights - I like hearing about what people do in various cities, where they stay, or if a good place to eat or drink comes their way. You often do this, but please continue to do so when the mood takes you.
2. I know very little about consolidators. It seems you may score some tix from a consolidator. I do not know if this is like asking a guy to pinpoint his favoraite fishing spot, but anything you want to share regarding how you get your tickets (even if it just a quick line that you purchased them online off the airlines' web page would be fine) would be appreciated.
3. I cannot wait for your upcoming trips. Please share a report(s) with us.
4.I agree with your take on the slide of service in domestic First Class. Actually, I should say my opinions are limited to NW over the last few years, as it is the carrier I have flown the balance of my flights on.
I note however, that you seem to grade on a curve in your numerical grading system - ie you seem to be comparing current FC offerings with other current FC offerings. This makes sense because we cannot fly, say, 1978 United FC. However, feel free to toss in an absolute score if you wish - pick your pinnacle of Domestic First - whoever, whenever, and compare to them. I'm curious.
5. Kate Beckinsale. Lovely. Agreed.
6. Any trains in your upcoming trips?
[This message has been edited by Shinkansen (edited 01-28-2002).]
Jan 30, 2002, 2:39 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,145
Hey Now!
I'm gone just a coupla daze and all these hits! Well, thanks for the interest in my humble report and I'm sorry I couldn't have replied sooner but I was visiting friends who don't have electricity. Just propane. Such is life here in the Interior of Alaska! I love it!!
Shinkansen: Thanks for your observations and suggestions. They've been noted and considered.
I've generally assumed that my approach to travel, which includes hitch-hiking, camping out, and staying in hostels rather than the finest hotels (even if I could afford them!) would be of little interest to readers at this site, many of whom use their accrued miles to pursue a "finer" style of travel. As such, I limit most of my descriptions to experiences aboard planes and trains where I have at least some common ground with readers here as opposed to stories about rides I got while hitch-hiking or meals I enjoyed in your everyday Mom and Pop diner. I send an entirely different accounting of my life and travels back home to friends and family than I post here.
Consolidators buy blocks of seats in advance from an airline and sell them later at whatever price they choose. Out of Anchorage, consolidators offer excellent fares though I rarely use them because they involve airlines upon which I rarely fly and have no mileage program affiliations with.
Normally I buy my tickets on the internet but occasionally I must deal with the res agents in order to get the routing I desire.
As for my pinnacle of all time Domestic First Class service, TWA's Ambassador Service of the 60s and 70s was far and away the best ever offered. Ever! Honorable mention goes to Continental's Golden Table service of the same era.
As for the best Domestic First Class service out there today, I'd have to say that American and Continental run pretty much neck and neck.
As for upcoming train trips, the only one on the horizon will be New Zealand Railways' crack express train The Trans Alpine between Christchurch and Greymouth on the South Island. There's not alot of service on this train - last time I rode it meals were taken at stations along the way, i.e. we'd have a lunch stop and everyone would get off and grab a sandwich or a meatpie or pastie, etc. Do you all still want a report?
Bizjet: You ask about seats and comparative comfort. I like United's new First Class seats in the 737s, 757s and A319/20s. Still, from a comfort perspective, given a choice between any of the above and UA's Business Class seat in the 777s, I'd take that 777 seat every time. My all time favorite most comfortable domestic First Class seats were aboard United's standard DC-8-30s and 50s back during the Red Carpet Service days. In general, the older seats were much more comforatble but then they were much heavier and had much more padding. The worst First Class seat out there: Alaska Air's new seats in their 737-700s and 900s.
I'm gone just a coupla daze and all these hits! Well, thanks for the interest in my humble report and I'm sorry I couldn't have replied sooner but I was visiting friends who don't have electricity. Just propane. Such is life here in the Interior of Alaska! I love it!!
Shinkansen: Thanks for your observations and suggestions. They've been noted and considered.
I've generally assumed that my approach to travel, which includes hitch-hiking, camping out, and staying in hostels rather than the finest hotels (even if I could afford them!) would be of little interest to readers at this site, many of whom use their accrued miles to pursue a "finer" style of travel. As such, I limit most of my descriptions to experiences aboard planes and trains where I have at least some common ground with readers here as opposed to stories about rides I got while hitch-hiking or meals I enjoyed in your everyday Mom and Pop diner. I send an entirely different accounting of my life and travels back home to friends and family than I post here.
Consolidators buy blocks of seats in advance from an airline and sell them later at whatever price they choose. Out of Anchorage, consolidators offer excellent fares though I rarely use them because they involve airlines upon which I rarely fly and have no mileage program affiliations with.
Normally I buy my tickets on the internet but occasionally I must deal with the res agents in order to get the routing I desire.
As for my pinnacle of all time Domestic First Class service, TWA's Ambassador Service of the 60s and 70s was far and away the best ever offered. Ever! Honorable mention goes to Continental's Golden Table service of the same era.
As for the best Domestic First Class service out there today, I'd have to say that American and Continental run pretty much neck and neck.
As for upcoming train trips, the only one on the horizon will be New Zealand Railways' crack express train The Trans Alpine between Christchurch and Greymouth on the South Island. There's not alot of service on this train - last time I rode it meals were taken at stations along the way, i.e. we'd have a lunch stop and everyone would get off and grab a sandwich or a meatpie or pastie, etc. Do you all still want a report?
Bizjet: You ask about seats and comparative comfort. I like United's new First Class seats in the 737s, 757s and A319/20s. Still, from a comfort perspective, given a choice between any of the above and UA's Business Class seat in the 777s, I'd take that 777 seat every time. My all time favorite most comfortable domestic First Class seats were aboard United's standard DC-8-30s and 50s back during the Red Carpet Service days. In general, the older seats were much more comforatble but then they were much heavier and had much more padding. The worst First Class seat out there: Alaska Air's new seats in their 737-700s and 900s.
