200904 A trip for interview
 

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This trip was for a world premiere concert and to interview a musician for our upcoming
event. In addition, I missed Seattle a lot. It is such a beautiful city that I want to keep visiting.

Few years ago, a friend of mine was doing pilot training in Seattle. We only chatted on the
internet and he invited me to visit Seattle. He also promised me he would take me fly. I then made
a stopover in Seattle on my way to Asia. It was such a pleasant trip. Harry took me fly and I visited
this charming city for few days. Later, Harry became one of the China Airlines' pilot and I always couldn't
forget the experience when I was in Seattle. Now, it was such a good reason and chance to visit it
again.

The supervisor of local rental car company was very familiar with me so he just randomly picked
a car for me. I figured out that there was no licence plate on that car after I got home. There was
only a paper which showed "Nebraska in transit" and had expired for few days. I was aware but
he was already off. I only could pray that everything would be fine.


As you may know, I always have bad luck when I travel. On the way to the airport, I got a
message from UA's easy update which showed that my flight would be delayed for 18 minutes.
The first message:
Flight Number:505
Estimated Departure Time:7:32 p.m. on time
->Estimated Departure Time:7:50 p.m.
I felt that 18 minutes delay wouldn't be a problem so I didn't bother to say hi to my friend
there since she was busy in handling other passengers. Suddenly, I got another message:
The following flight time has been revised:
Flight Number:505
Estimated Departure Time:8:21 p.m.
Oops...it's not good!! At the same time, there were many people reached the counter due
to the delay would make them miss connection. I decided to asked Ms. L to assist me now.
Bibi~~bibi~ oh no...my cell phone rung again. Another message came and it showed the new
departure time would be 8:51 p.m. During that time, the UA employees at MCI still had no idea about
the further delay. After I told them, they checked their computer and comfirmed that the flight delayed
again due to mechanical problem(MX) and it was still on the Gounod in ORD. There were more and more
people came and the line became longer and longer. My other flight from DEN to SEA was in danger
too. Due to a coming snow storm, the flight might be cancelled. The report said that the snow might
be more than 6 inches. Even I could take UA 505 to Denver, I might miss the last flight to Seattle. In
addition, if I stayed in Denver, they might cancel all the flights following day due to the storm. The
agent protected me on another flight through ORD next day. Since the delay was caused by UA
MX, I was offered a hotel room nearby the airport. I knew it would be a hard night for those agents so
I bought them 5 beverages and then headed to the hotel.

The Four Points hotel in MCI was so so and the service of the restaurant in it was terrible.
I found out there was a FlyerTalk BBQ do in Kansas during that time. I planed to participate but
I figured out that it was not worthy to rent a car. The price for rental car was $24 but the surcharge
was $18.23. In addition, the LDW was $24. So I decided not to go.
Surcharge 18.23 USD
- $0.52 per day (Energy Recovery Fee)
- $2.15 per day (Reimbursement Charge)
- $3.00 per day (Customer Facility Charge)
- $4.00 per day (Kansas City Area Fund)
- $2.00 per day (Transportation Fee)
- 11.11% (Concession Recovery Fee)
Tax ( 7.975% )
I then turned to the restaurant in the hotel. I waited for a while because no one took me to
my seat. They told me they would come to make the order soon but I waited for another 10 minutes
and no one came. The people next to my table arrived later than me but they already ordered.
The sandwich was ok but the service was really poor. When I paid, I asked for the last refill. The
waitress said ok but I only got my bill. I waited for another few minutes and I decided to leave.
I also made a note, you forget to refill, on the merchant receipt. Anyway, it's a crappy restaurant.
My friend, an American, and I both can't understand why the tips become requirement in the US
when the service is terrible. In other country, we only tip because we receive good service.

UA 7605 Flight Information
Route: From (MCI) Kansas City, MO, US to (ORD) Chicago, IL, US
Duration: 1h 23m
Equipment: Embraer 170 (Scheduled)
Codeshares: This flight is marketed as a codeshare flight by the following carrier(s):
(US) US Airways 7691
(NH) ANA - All Nippon Airways 7751
(AC) Air Canada 4655
(UA) United Airlines 7605

Departure Information
Departure Status Details
Airport: (MCI) Kansas City International Airport
City: Kansas City, MO, US
Scheduled: 6:00 AM - Sat Apr, 2009
Actual: 5:46 AM - Sat Apr, 2009


Arrival Information
Arrival Status Details
Airport: (ORD) O'Hare International Airport
City: Chicago, IL, US
Scheduled: 7:25 AM - Sat Apr, 2009
Actual: 7:09 AM - Sat ApR, 2009
Gate: C6 (Terminal 1)

I have to say that the pilot and purser on this flight should apply a model job.
They were both good looking. I fall asleep after take off until I felt a big shake. It was like we
hit something in the air and the flight rolled to the left side which almost reminded me about
the UA 585. I was glad that we landed
safely eventually.



UA 189 Flight Information
Route: From (ORD) Chicago, IL, US to (SEA) Seattle, WA, US
Duration: 4h 08m
Equipment: Boeing 757-200 Passenger (Scheduled)
Codeshares: This flight is marketed as a codeshare flight by the following carrier(s):
(US) US Airways 6937
(JJ) TAM Linhas Aereas 7294

Departure Information
Departure Status Details
Airport: (ORD) O'Hare International Airport
City: Chicago, IL, US
Scheduled: 8:05 AM - Sat Apr, 2009
Actual: 8:18 AM - Sat Apr, 2009
Departed gate 13 min later than scheduled
Gate: B9 (Terminal 1)

Arrival Information
Arrival Status Details
Airport: (SEA) Seattle/Tacoma International Airport
City: Seattle, WA, US
Scheduled: 10:28 AM - Sat Apr, 2009
Actual: 10:26 AM - Sat Apr, 2009
Gate: N16


The purser on this flight was a black lady. Her sound was loud and clear.
She saw me was taking photos and she asked me that was I a Nikon user. I told her no and I used
Canon. She then told me that she majored in photography before. Wow...you really can meet
all kinds of people on the plane.
A lady sat next to me was from China and studied at UIUC. 2 of her friends and her were
bumped to first class due to oversold although they were not even Mileage Plus members.
How lucky they were!!
I really enjoyed the view as we came close to Seattle. Upon arrival, I visited the RCC at SEA.
It was a quiet RCC and the agents were helpful.

During this visit, I saw the beauty of this city again. In addition, the University of
Washington was such a beautiful place to visit during the cherry blossom. I promised to cook for
my friends so I brought a pan with me. In fact, it was the only thing in my checked luggage.
I cooked 2 New Yorker, one fillet Mignon and 2 rib eye steaks with side salad and mashed potato
plus grilled asparagus. for them. We were all satisfied and this meal only cost $8 per person.


The reception of the premiere was host at Wann Japanese Izakaya. It was
good. If you want to try, here is the address:
Wann Japanese Izakaya
2020 2nd Ave.
Seattle, WA 98121

After finishing everything, when we went home, it was 12 am. I packed until 2 a.m. and the
shuttle bus would pick up at 3 a.m. So....painful....


On the way to SEA, I saw the beautiful night scene of Seattle. It was pity that
I couldn't take a picture. While I was waiting for check in, I heard a passenger was trying to show off
to his friends that he was a UA premier member. Come on, there are too many 1Ks and you were only
a premier.........When I check in by using the KIOSK, it showed that it couldn't locate my e-ticket.
Therefore, an agent helped me to check in. I guessed that it was due to reroute. My seatmate was
a UGS (UNITED GLOBAL SERVICE) and he "tried hard" to show his boarding pass. He put his boarding
pass in the seat pock and a part of them that you could see "GLOBAL SERVICE" clearly. Yes and Yes,
we all knew your company paid a lot for tickets. The sunrise was really beautiful. When I arrived, it
was 2 pm and the courses was until 7:30 p.m. So...tired.......


http://pigx5.com/Photos/2009/04/2009...mages/0063.jpg