UA [First Class] ORD-BRU
 

Flight: UAL972
Route: ORD (Chicago O'Hare) to BRU (Brussels National)
Date: June 18th, 2010
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Seat: 1K

I continue where I left off in my last report, UA [First Class] YVR-ORD. I waited for my friend with whom I was going to do some spotting today. Around 9am, we met up. After exchanging some stories, we decided to head to the C concourse to watch some of the seasonal flights depart. The weather had turned unusually humid, which would cause many problems later on.

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We decided to take the Express Shuttle which departs from C9 to the Express terminal, driving through the ramp.

We arrived at the Express terminal and were told to run inside because of the approaching weather system. There had been reports of winds up to 80MPH only 5 miles west of ORD, so we knew this was going to be big. With weather programs on our laptop, we made the long walk from F2 to C20, to watch the departure of UAL958 to London Heathrow and the approaching storm.

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The gate agent told everyone to sit down and shut up so they could get out before the ground stop, which would end up being two and a half hours. The flights was packed and I noticed that many of the standbys were listing for the Brussels flight. When I checked the loads, there were 26 people waiting for 4 seats in the United First cabin. No problem! We headed to C11 to meet N651UA which would be bringing me to Europa.

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EasyInfo turned on and I was number one on the list. After talking with some fellow employees we were called up to the podium. I was assigned 1K, the private United First suite on the right hand side of the aircraft. The best seat on the plane! I boarded using the Premier Line and headed to the plane.

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I was offered a pre-flight drink and stowed my belongings in one of the many bins located all over the seat. The First cabin would be occupied by employees tonight, as four others to the left side of the cabin, with the captain rest seat behind me. Menus were handed out. We were delayed for over 40 minutes and finally pushed. We taxied to join the massive congo line headed for runway 28. O'Hare was closed down.

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The crew was very friendly, as usual since we are all part of the same family. One FA asked if I wanted a picture in my First Suite to put on Facebook. I handed her my camera and...

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I decided to watch The Simpsons and Man vs Food as we waited with our engines off. Twice we turned one on and moved a few spots. After two hours we were number three for departure. Channel 9 suddenly came on and then it was Time To Fly.

"United 972 Heavy, after the departing triple seven, runway 28 position and hold. Traffic 6 out."

"United 972 Heavy, fly runway heading, expect 320 on rotation, remain this frequency, runway 28 cleared for takeoff, wind 230@33 Gust 45."

"United 972 Heavy, heading 320 contact Chicago Departure, good day"

We made a quick turn to 320 and climbed up to FL330. We were asked what our meal choice was, and I decided to go with the Braised Short Rib of Beef served with potato pancakes and over roasted root vegetables.

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The appetizers were orange and ginger duck confit with pear and peppered walnuts, eggplant parmesan and pickled celery.

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This was continued with red rock seafood bisque.

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After the soup, the salad was presented. It was described as fresh seasonal greens with red bell peppers, yellow teardrop tomatoes and seasoned croutons served with your choice of dressing: Lite Ranch or Roasted Garlic Red Wine Vinaigrette. I chose the ranch.

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It was very good. My tray was cleared and I was presented with my main course.

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The suite during dinner to desert transition.

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Ice cream with the works was served.

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After that, I watched Up In The Air again, changed into my t-shirt and decided to go to sleep.

This was the first time I actually slept well on a plane, including my flights in Business. Being 6'1, I really need to First Suite to be comfortable and it sure was. I was woken up one hour prior to arrival, as requested, for my breakfast.

It consisted of a Mushroom and Cheese Omelette served with hash browns and turkey Canadian bacon. I chose that over the fruit plate as always.

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My tray was cleared and I used the items in the amenity kit to freshen up and prepare for my arrival. After changing back to my dress code, I took my seat and enjoyed the landing into Brussels.

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We cleared the runway and headed to the gate about and hour and thirty minutes late.

I took a last shot of my ticket as it was returned to me with my jacket.

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I also added in my flight into Hemispheres. This is a game we play in the UA forum where we try to find each other.

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I went to the ATM, took out some Euro and proceeded to arrivals and then went to the Brussels Airport station and bought a ticket to The Hague for 20 euros. I would need to go to Brussels Central station.

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Well, I got to Brussels Central and bought a real belgian waffle. This is when my camera turned against me and went to sleep. I took the 13:22 train to Amsterdam and got off at Den Haag HS. The dutch national team had just beat Japan 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup and the celebrations were in full swing. I entered the door and crashed. Five hours later, I leave you with this. Until the next flight!

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OD

Nice report!
Their food looks like it's improving.

I have a serious question for people.

These are the F class tickets that United charges around $9000 US for the public to buy, yet they offer them to their staff for a small amount as standby, correct?

Wouldn't United make more money by lowering the cost of the F ticket to actually sell more of them, or offering their paying passengers a pay-up to F?
That is, rather than giving them to staff/selling them to staff at a very low price?

Or in the USA do they pay their staff such low wages that they have to give away travel to make up for it?

I am serious in asking these things, not trying to start a row - I just don't understand the economics of this. It seems that all the US airlines place their staff in their most expensive seats rather than selling them off?

Why don't these carriers do away with F class altogether if they can't sell it to the public, the way that Delta and NW have done? Wouldn't they be able to sell more business seats in that space if people won't pay for F?

How do they stay in business with these practices?

Totally agree----this sort of thing wouldnt happen on quality carriers like LX or LH.

United is only one of two US airlines that still have 3 cabin service. It's part of the legacy and they have committed to keeping it. It actually is a money maker on other routes. Always booked full. Chicago - Brussels is a new route and always sees Business full.

As to the benefits. We gave up our pensions for the airline. It's a benefit we have in our contract. If this was changed, trust me, there wouldn't be a single UA employee at work.

Thanks for the insight.
They do not have a retirement plan for their employees? I thought in the USA this is the norm?
On the other routes, where it is "booked full", do you mean they actually sell the seats?
Do they sell them to companies at a discount to fill the cabin?
It seems that people would pay to go with another carrier (non-US) otherwise.

After 9/11, the employees had to take major pay cuts and lose their pensions to get UA out of bankruptcy. Upgrades are actually very rare. There are no double-upgrades, so you must be booked in Business. They actually sell very well on many other routes, FRA, LHR, CDG, AMS usually at full price. I don't believe they sell them to companies. There are no agreements. As for other airlines, americans are going to fly their own airline to save their own economy. That makes sense.

Thanks for answering my questions.
Wow - lose their pensions? That doesn't seem quite fair if you've been with them, for say, 15-20 years!
Is United out of bankrupcy now?
I think they sell tickets at lower corporate rates to companies, but I'm guessing that is mostly in business class (for business customers).
Their prices for F to the places you've listed are basically the same prices as those of their competitors (British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa), so I am surprised to hear that they are still selling out their F cabins as the products are so different, not only in the air but also on the ground.
I am guessing that American companies are probably buying tickets on US-based airlines, even if they're more expensive(?).

A lot of the (individual) Americans that I know actually choose to fly with foreign carriers for the service aspect, and I am guessing they expect United and the others to improve their products to compete before they will chose them over, say, Lufthansa? Which has excellent service in the air and the great lounges in Germany.

I think it's fair to say that how UA prices and configures its premium cabins is completely independent of the policy of leftover seats being available for employees. If UA felt the revenue-maximizing decision was to sell out F on every flight to paying customers, I have no doubt they would rationally do just that.

I am "guilty" of having non-revved in International F, but it's never a sure thing as passenger demand varies from flight to flight and route to route. Sometimes F is booked to 0, other times it is booked full. On other occasions, Business and/or Economy are oversold, requiring op-ups to F to minimize denied boardings.

Remember that non-revs are not guaranteed a seat on the plane, so while it's a great benefit that I'm thankful for, it is fully predicated on paying customers ALWAYS coming first.

Deleted

That UA is selling out its F cabin internationally is a total myth. Check the seat maps. I suspect that very few are paying full retail like they might on quality airlines like LH, LX or SQ.

C'mon everyone. This is a nice trip report by what seems to be a nice guy. The politics of UA employees in the F cabin has been rehashed ad vomitus, for years and years.

Would you trade jobs to get the free seat in F?
 

+1. First off, very nice TR to the OP. Thanks for posting this, and thanks for being honest about being a non-rev.

Although I share the frustrations of the posters who feel that non-revs should not be in F, I do see the point of the non-revs also. The question then becomes to the 1k's/GS's: would you trade jobs with a non-rev so you could sit in F for free? If it is such a perk makes us so envious of the non-revs, would you want to switch positions with the non-revs? I think most people would say no. I suspect that being an FA is not great pay, and it can be very tiring without tremendous gratitude from the patrons. So I do think that a perk of getting an occasional F seat (when truly empty, of course), is not an unreasonable bonus for this job.

Thanks for the nice TR!

Thanks for the TR. That waffle looks yummy!! ^

Well, but how much lower ? Many companies nowadays won't pay their employees to fly F, not even C. By lowering the fares it just make UA lost revenues for the companies they have contract with.

UA actually do offer UFC = Upgrade for cash, meaning Y>C, C>F, it is one class only, very rare double upgrade, it usually happens for for Y>C than C>F, as Y>C the difference is big in terms of seats and meals. C>F happens less as especially on 763 and 744, C seats already go horizontal flat, and meals are only slightly better in F, no big difference, people would rather save several hundred dollars for the upgrade. (upgrade cost for TPAC or TATL flights often cost between $400-$700)



But very few are paying full or even at a discount on LH, LX, or SQ, I often see those airlines flying with an all empty F cabin, if there are pax, those are all on awards ticket.

There are some UA routes do occasionally selling out its F cabin like ORD-HKG and ORD-NRT.

^ +1 - great tr, this is a tr forum, not let's bash UA's NRSA policy ... plenty of other places to do that

I agree that this is the Trip Report forum and there are other places for this discussion, so mod feel free to delete my posts if you wish, but I want to add that I have no problem with employees sitting in First if the seat would otherwise go unoccupied. If OP was #1 on the UG list and there were no other paying pax eligible or requesting UGs, then he and his 4 fellow employees had every right to sit in First.

UA really needs to work on its food, as shown in these photos.
 

I am a huge fan of UA--one of its biggest proponents--and it is my favorite airline, no question.

However, they really need to fire their caterer. When I look at other TR's of patrons who fly AA or CO, it just puts UA's food to shame. This TR here showing an international F product speaks volumes. The food, although acceptable, is not international first class caliber. The main course, with its runny sauce, the appetizer which looks unrecognizeable and is sloppily plated, and the "safe" & standard ice cream (i.e. unimaginative or creative) are things which you would not expect from a world class international F product. In addition, this route, ORD-BRU, is a new route for UA. You would think that UA would want to "showcase" this route with great food and service. Instead, they have the same catering service which--plainly and simply--sucks. Certainly, if you had seen the above menu on SQ or Emirates, you'd think, "What happened? I paid thousands of dollars for this?"

Even if you look at AA or CO, their international C/F product is simply better food-wise. Their food looks appetizing and delicious. UA's food looks barely edible, and not super-delicious. UA's seat, safety, route network, and 1k service are up to par with international standards. The major flaw of UA's product line, however, is their sub-par food.

He said he was #1 in his wonderful trip report.

The caterer prepares what the airline orders. Often, the same kitchens who put inedible gloop in a cup for one airline may make some delectable gourmet selection for another. It is more like "they really need to pay their caterer."

The premium food product on UA is not only a shadow of its former self, but it is pretty sad and sorry, with often uninspired service. (On the other hand, when you end up with a great crew, flying UA is more fun than just about any other airline.)

These days, I am flying mostly an airline that doesn't have an F cabin anymore. I am glad that, even though I rarely take UA on an international trip, I'm still glad there's a real F cabin on all widebody international flights.

Yes, SQ is well known for filling its F cabin with awards tickets. They never sell full fare F.:rolleyes:

How on earth would you personally know who in the cabin is on an award ticket anyway?

Your statement is not based in reality.

There shouldn't be an issue for an Airline Employee sitting in FC. Remember folks, each industry has it's perks. Being a nurse, I have connection at local Emergency Departments, which means, I don't have to wait in the lobby with the other folks. Airline Employee's have free to almost free air travel. As long as the airline employee is dressed according to policy, it shouldn't be a big issue.

I don't see anything wrong in employees getting LEFTOVER F seats.
I have flown F and had airline employees sitting next to me. SO WHAT?

By the way very nice report. When I was your age I used to fly a lot on B707s in F. You should have seen what we got in the 1970s compared to now. Unbelievable progress.

Thanks for the nice pictures.

Nothing is wrong with that EXCEPT a couple of things:

1. It's not uncommon that a NRSA (non-revenue) knows a GA and thus work together to blatantly confirm NRSA in F while let revenue customers who pay full business get stuck in business. I have personally sat next to NRSAs who spilled the beans to me (not sure why) in F while I saw there were a handful of revenue waitlisted.

2. Some of the employees' behaviors degrade the premium cabin. For example, FAs often chat with their NRSA friends in the galley the WHOLE flight not only making it uncomfortable for nearby passengers, but the FAs disappears into the galley to chat as soon as meal service is finished. On Delta, you get some very interesting NRSAs out of ATL. 'nuff said.

That's what.

Yes, I agree with above post 100%. It has happened to me on IAD-PEK route.

Great TR! New UA F looks good, but certainly can't compare with BA/JL/QF/LH/LX/CX/etc.


Non-rev benefits are non-contractual and can be amended, revoked, withdrawn, suspended at any time. As you pointed out many UA employees work at the company for the perks. Some of your peers at other carriers are only permitted to ride in economy class, and only receive a limited number of passes, yet are also paid less to begin with, but they still report for work. People on FT may recall the thread AFA views of unlimited upgrades from last November. It's quite unfriendly to the customer and sends the wrong message. I have had several bad experiences on DL in BusinessElite involving NRSAs, and also in the DL SkyClubs (as they DO permit NRSA access through paid daypass, membership, or Amex Plat unlike other carriers). It doesn't surprise me that others have reported upgrade injustices from UA GAs.

I agree that this isn't the place to discuss employee travel in F. Great report ODTheATC!

Id love to see all F Class seats be sold at cheaper rates and not given away....of course, it benefits me the most this way :D

Back on topic... great trip report!....looks like those full seat belts play hell with trying to keep your clothes pressed and neat looking

UA does not give out PJs even in F?

First, great report ODTheATC! I rarely see a TR from YVR (your other thread)! Thanks for taking the time writing this and I enjoy your photos!

+1 with Bliss especially with #2 and with Delta. You get some very interesting NRSAs out of HKG too in Y. I was on DL 296 HKG-NRT (now DL 639 I believe) earlier this year in Y with 2 NRSAs roaming around the Y cabin, switching seats even before the door even closes (they obviously know which seats were empty), jamming their legs into the seat in front (lucky I was not sitting near them, but still annoyed), talking loudly with the FA multiple times, don't want to stay in their seats with seatbelt sign on, FA even invited them to sit in C (no.. not crew rest) after flight levels and they return to Y very close to touch down.

Just by watching this almost turn me away from DL for long.

Thank you everyone! Have been recovering from jet-lag the last few days. Regarding GA's assigning seats to SA's without first going through the upgrade list, I have never had this happen. I have watched dependents who are 18+ be sent to economy because they didn't have the employee with them, and the F cabin left with open seats. The EasyInfo didn't show a list for upgrades to First, only 3 upgrades to Business which were all processed. If there were pending upgrades to F, they would obviously be processed. As to the behavior of some NRSA's, I can't talk for them, but I always act to the most mature, professional standards. I sit down, pack my stuff, use "please" and "thank you" for every sentence I use, and thank the crew after the flight for putting up with me :).

OD

another nice report. i am very impressed with the food....

as to the perk...it certainly is a nice one and i never get others moaning about the same....in my occupation, i get free legal services....each job has its perks....:D

Wow! You are cute! Let me know if you are ever on a London stop over... I will show you the town! ;)

In all seriousness now, nice trip report! I have a few of my own you may want to read! Planning a trip around the US and central America on AA, via SFO, ORD, MIA and MGA, will be one heck of a TR following that!

Regards,

BingBongBoy

> This was the first time I actually slept well on a plane, including my flights > in Business. Being 6'1, I really need to First Suite to be comfortable and it > sure was. I was woken up one hour prior to arrival, as requested, for my
> breakfast.

I'm puzzled by this comment. At 6'1 you need a First Suite to be comfortable? I'm 6'4 and find the business seats to have plenty of room for sleeping.

I actually find the Business seat a tight fit, both length wise and width. I can only really sleep on my side, so that might be it.

LOL You're not the only one with such thoughts! Why don't I ever get someone that cute sitting next to me on the long-haul flights? :D

Nice report ODTheATC. Glad you got to experience the new F hard product and thanks for including pics! ;)

Hahaha, well I try :p. Thanks again. I look forward to posting my next report!

Interesting. Maybe after so many nights on planes, I've just learned to suck it up. Based on your pic, you look smaller than me and I have no trouble at all sleeping on my side. Of course, maybe you don't enjoy red wine and benedryl, lol....

Yeah, it might just be me but I have always had trouble sleeping on planes until I took this flight. I think it might be the seat width, because when I turn from my side to my back, I always manage to knock over a drink haha.

I'm not denying that sometimes employees violate rules, but there is a fairly strong code of ethics detailing what gate agents can and cannot do. Bypassing a revenue customer's upgrade to accommodate a non-rev is a clear violation of policy, even moreso if the gate agent is friends with the non-rev.

Just FYI, some gate agents will use the upgrade list to "stage" possible operational upgrades because of a potentially oversold flight. This may explain why you see customers who don't clear from the upgrade waitlist screen, yet non-revs seated in the cabin. Unless you are a customer who doesn't clear off the list and have a supported upgrade, it's hard to know exactly what happened.

BTW, shame on that non-rev for not being more discreet.

Great Trip report!

One question: How did you manage to get moved to #1 on the standby list? Was it seniority or does the list sort based on your type of position at UA?

I wasn't moved to #1. That's where I was when the gate was opened. It's based on seniority and boarding priority.