Intro: Squeezing the American West Coast (MS, LH, AS, WN, UA Y)
Feb 7, 2015, 9:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Posts: 56
Intro: Squeezing the American West Coast (MS, LH, AS, WN, UA Y)
So this trip has been in the talks ever since 2008 and would come up 1-2 times a year and always does a reason come up to make it fail. This time it all went so smooth and quick that I was doubting it would come true. I mean, I got the idea on Sunday in a sports lesson (yes, we have school on Sundays) at approximately 9:30am, and by the time I was in the Physics lesson (1:00pm) I was already booking the flights. It was very exciting booking a transatlantic flight mid-lesson, btw. :P
Anyways, I named the trip “Squeezing the American West Coast” because I found myself squeezing whatever activities I could fit in 12 days to an extent that was overwhelming. You’ll notice in the upcoming reports just how much was done in this relatively short period.
I also made a point by flying as many airlines and different aircraft types as possible as you will see below. The trip is due to start in 2 months (exactly 53 days) and I will be reporting every activity as soon as I’m done doing it.
In the following are a few stats about the trip:
Total mileage: 17049 miles
Total flight cost: $1249
CPM: 7.33
Total flight time: 43 hours 20 minutes
Flight cost:
$860 Lufthansa CAI-MUC-SFO-FRA-CAI + $35 to secure seat on A380 upper deck (5.72cpm)
$177 Alaska OAK-SEA-SFO (13.1 cpm)
$73 Southwest SFO-LAX (21 cpm)
$104 United LAX-SFO (31 cpm)
Aircraft used:
- Airbus A320
- Airbus A330-200
- Airbus A340-600
- Airbus A380-800
- Boeing 737-300
- Boeing 737-400
- Boeing 737-800
- Boeing 737-900
- (C172)
Airlines flown on:
- EgyptAir (2x)
- Lufthansa (2x)
- Alaska Airlines (2x)
- Southwest
- United
Reports:
- MS C CAI-MUC (MS787 - B738)
- LH Y MUC-SFO (LH458 - A346)
- Touring San Francisco
- AS Y OAK-SEA-SFO Daytrip to Seattle featuring Boeing Everett Factory (AS345, AS300 - B734, B739)
- WN Y SFO-LAX (WN478 - B733)
- The Westin Pasadena - Superior 2 Double Beds
- Touring Los Angeles & C172 Introductory Flight
- UA Y LAX-SFO (UA848 - A320)
- LH Y SFO-FRA A380 Upper Deck (LH458)
- MS C FRA-CAI (MS786 - A330-200)
What's different about this report is that most reports here are about Americans/Europeans travelling to Europe/Asia, while this is an African travelling to the US. Different perspectives matter!
I hope you will enjoy my trip reports and please feel free to recommend any activities or ask me to review anything specifically.
Last edited by rimoabdallah; Jul 11, 2015 at 10:18 am Reason: LA Hotel changed to The Westin
Jul 10, 2015, 8:23 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Posts: 56
Cairo-Munich EgyptAir Boeing 737-800 Business Class
I left home at 8:30am for my 10:55am flight to Munich, only to find my neighbour who happens to be a 738 pilot in the elevator. "Where are you headed" I asked. "Munich." was his reply. I couldn't stop laughing and he didn't get why, until I explained that I was booked on his flight. He instructed me to wait by the gate area until all passengers have boarded then give him a call and he'll see whether he can upgrade me.
I headed to Cairo Airport, enjoying the empty streets of Cairo for once. Upon completing the security check (in Cairo, you pass through security before you check in) where I had to present my passport, itinerary and visa, I headed to the check-in counter dedicated to MS785 (to Frankfurt) and MS787, before handing my passport, e-ticket and a chocolate, of course, to the check-in agent, who was amazed that a 14-year-old was about to travel 7,500 miles alone. Oddly, the customs officer was probably having a bad day, so he basically took my passport, stamped it and returned my passport without looking me in the eye once. "Very weird", I thought, since they always require a notarized letter of consent from the parents when minors travel alone, which I did not have notarized this time because I had no time. #lucky
I spent the next hour working on my laptop in the Häagen Dazs café, admiring the breathtaking tarmac views, especially given that it was rush hour at CAI, so traffic was busy. (highly recommend at CAI)
I waited for boarding at gate F1, where I met a friend of mine who had been assigned the seat next to me. "Sadly" I was upgraded so I wouldn't be able to sit next to my friend.
I had a very conspiracy-theory-like feeling when I discovered that I would be flying SU-GDD again, the aircraft I had just flown earlier SSH-CAI (http://bit.ly/1NZvWwh), so that was the same registration two flights in a row.
Flight details:
Avg. Groundspeed at Cruise: 400kts (Mach 0.79)
Cruising altitude: 38,000 feet
Takeoff weight: 67,600 kg (~149,000 lbs)
Fuel on-board: 13,000 kg (~29,000 lbs)Takeoff runway in HECA/CAI: 23C
Landing runway in EDDM/MUC: 26L
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800WL SU-GDD
Total trip mileage: 1490 nmi, 1715 mi, 2760 km
Seat: 11A (Business Class)
Flight:
Boarding late did have its cons, however, since I didn't have the chance to check out the cockpit of my favorite aircraft. I couldn't see it in MUC either due to a crazily tight connection. There were 6 passengers (capacity 20) in Business class and Economy class was full. The cabin manager and two F/A were serving the cabin, which is a great crewax ratio, in my opinion.
Upon boarding, I was presented with a choice of guava or apple juice as a PDB (EgyptAir is a dry airline and I'm underage). I went with guava, which was served in a snifter of sorts and was rather tasty. I was also presented with one ofEgyptAir's heavenly blankets, which all Egyptians agree are just AMAZING. The cabin manager also offered magazines and newspapers in Arabic, English and German.
Legroom was unlimited, as is always the case in EgyptAir.
About 30 minutes into the flight, the F/A came to every seat and asked whether we would like to have lunch, all passengers responded with 'yes' in great contrast with the return leg, so hold on to that! Oddly, there was no choice for food, but little did I know, that was only the first course.
The first course consisted of three parts, a salad, which was uninteresting (I didn't even bother), a cheese plate, which was mozzarella, cheddar and roman cheese, accompanied by grapes and a flour croissant. The third part was extremely delicious and consisted of a crêpe with smoked salmon inside, a well-marinated piece of prawn and some beetroot. There was also a container of Thousand Island dressing, bread and butter.
Needless to say, I was full. When the F/A came to clear the tray, she asked me about my preference for the second course, which I totally did not expect. I declined her offer before she really insisted that I try it at least so I did. Options were a filet of beef, paella or a prawn dish. I opted for the beef.
As this is the taste of most Egyptian people (unfortunately
), the beef was well-done. It was very nice nevertheless and (surprisingly) tender. It had caramelized onions and an onion sauce of sorts on it and was presented with a boring fettuccine and some sautéed vegetables. Overall a very nice meal.
I spent the following two hours watching The Crazy Ones, which was there amongst the large selection on the IFE.
EgyptAir B738 IFE controls
EgyptAir B738 business class seat with adjustable headrest
EgyptAir B738 seat controls, bottom button is to return seat to upright position
Before arrival, I was handed a bag of mixed nuts and a container of chocolate as a gift.
Due to strong headwinds of over 70 knots, we arrived via the NAPSA 1A arrival about 40 minutes late into MUC, which was not very nice given my 65-minute connection in MUC, now 25 minutes only. Approach was very scenic, however.
Surprisingly enough, I made the connection and arrived at gate H14 just as boarding of flight LH458 commenced.
I headed to Cairo Airport, enjoying the empty streets of Cairo for once. Upon completing the security check (in Cairo, you pass through security before you check in) where I had to present my passport, itinerary and visa, I headed to the check-in counter dedicated to MS785 (to Frankfurt) and MS787, before handing my passport, e-ticket and a chocolate, of course, to the check-in agent, who was amazed that a 14-year-old was about to travel 7,500 miles alone. Oddly, the customs officer was probably having a bad day, so he basically took my passport, stamped it and returned my passport without looking me in the eye once. "Very weird", I thought, since they always require a notarized letter of consent from the parents when minors travel alone, which I did not have notarized this time because I had no time. #lucky
I spent the next hour working on my laptop in the Häagen Dazs café, admiring the breathtaking tarmac views, especially given that it was rush hour at CAI, so traffic was busy. (highly recommend at CAI)
I waited for boarding at gate F1, where I met a friend of mine who had been assigned the seat next to me. "Sadly" I was upgraded so I wouldn't be able to sit next to my friend.
I had a very conspiracy-theory-like feeling when I discovered that I would be flying SU-GDD again, the aircraft I had just flown earlier SSH-CAI (http://bit.ly/1NZvWwh), so that was the same registration two flights in a row.
Flight details:
Avg. Groundspeed at Cruise: 400kts (Mach 0.79)
Cruising altitude: 38,000 feet
Takeoff weight: 67,600 kg (~149,000 lbs)
Fuel on-board: 13,000 kg (~29,000 lbs)Takeoff runway in HECA/CAI: 23C
Landing runway in EDDM/MUC: 26L
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800WL SU-GDD
Total trip mileage: 1490 nmi, 1715 mi, 2760 km
Seat: 11A (Business Class)
Flight:
Boarding late did have its cons, however, since I didn't have the chance to check out the cockpit of my favorite aircraft. I couldn't see it in MUC either due to a crazily tight connection. There were 6 passengers (capacity 20) in Business class and Economy class was full. The cabin manager and two F/A were serving the cabin, which is a great crew
ax ratio, in my opinion.Upon boarding, I was presented with a choice of guava or apple juice as a PDB (EgyptAir is a dry airline and I'm underage). I went with guava, which was served in a snifter of sorts and was rather tasty. I was also presented with one ofEgyptAir's heavenly blankets, which all Egyptians agree are just AMAZING. The cabin manager also offered magazines and newspapers in Arabic, English and German.
Legroom was unlimited, as is always the case in EgyptAir.
About 30 minutes into the flight, the F/A came to every seat and asked whether we would like to have lunch, all passengers responded with 'yes' in great contrast with the return leg, so hold on to that! Oddly, there was no choice for food, but little did I know, that was only the first course.
The first course consisted of three parts, a salad, which was uninteresting (I didn't even bother), a cheese plate, which was mozzarella, cheddar and roman cheese, accompanied by grapes and a flour croissant. The third part was extremely delicious and consisted of a crêpe with smoked salmon inside, a well-marinated piece of prawn and some beetroot. There was also a container of Thousand Island dressing, bread and butter.
Needless to say, I was full. When the F/A came to clear the tray, she asked me about my preference for the second course, which I totally did not expect. I declined her offer before she really insisted that I try it at least so I did. Options were a filet of beef, paella or a prawn dish. I opted for the beef.
As this is the taste of most Egyptian people (unfortunately
), the beef was well-done. It was very nice nevertheless and (surprisingly) tender. It had caramelized onions and an onion sauce of sorts on it and was presented with a boring fettuccine and some sautéed vegetables. Overall a very nice meal.I spent the following two hours watching The Crazy Ones, which was there amongst the large selection on the IFE.
EgyptAir B738 IFE controls
EgyptAir B738 business class seat with adjustable headrest
EgyptAir B738 seat controls, bottom button is to return seat to upright position
Before arrival, I was handed a bag of mixed nuts and a container of chocolate as a gift.
Due to strong headwinds of over 70 knots, we arrived via the NAPSA 1A arrival about 40 minutes late into MUC, which was not very nice given my 65-minute connection in MUC, now 25 minutes only. Approach was very scenic, however.
Surprisingly enough, I made the connection and arrived at gate H14 just as boarding of flight LH458 commenced.
Last edited by rimoabdallah; Jul 11, 2015 at 10:21 am
Aug 2, 2015, 5:46 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Posts: 56
Munich-San Francisco Lufthansa A340-600 Economy Class
Surprisingly enough, I reached Gate H14 with time to spare despite my connection being just 25 minutes. To clarify, I could've made the connection in 10 minutes. It was very easy and quick. Upon leaving the aircraft, there was a brief passport check, followed by riding the escalator a few floors up to the terminal then going through very efficient security and a long hallway and you're basically there. Maybe it's just my being efficient, but I really loved how MUC was designed for short connections! Heck, I even had time to change my seat assignment.. #teamaisle
Upon boarding the aircraft, I was greeted by the amazing female purser, with whom I would chat for the remainder of the flight. Prepared for the worst-case-scenario -and the longest flight of my life- I settled in 32H with a fully-loaded iPad (20h of entertainment).
The Captain came on the PA, announcing that our flight would take longer than scheduled due to winds over the Atlantic, which would require us to take an extremely northern route passing through Scandinavia, above Iceland and northern Greenland. Although that meant a huge delay, views en route were spectacular!
Legroom was acceptable but the seat cushioning reminded me of our kitchen stool. Disturbing for the hips in a 14-hour flight.
About 1 hour into the flight, the flight attendants started taking meal orders. Options were Beef, Chicken or Pasta. I opted for Chicken was unmemorable but most certainly not inedible. It was paired with a very boring salad, consisting of exclusively lettuce and tasty whole-wheat bread. I passed on that. Surprisingly, dessert was not delicious, which is a first in terms of airline meals. I typically look forward to dessert when flying Economy!
The FAs set up a small "bar area" in each of the galleys, which were little shelves that folded down from the wall and they put all sorts of beverages on it, which was a very nice perk. They had all sorts of sodas and juices plus my all-time favorite, German sparkling water
The bar area also had two large boxes with packets of sweet and savoury snacks!!
One of the things that entertain me when flying LH's A340-600s is the fact that the lavatories are downstairs. They are thus larger and they have more of them. There is also a drinking fountain of sorts!
Passing through Northern Greenland for the first time was absolutely spectacular, and so I was basically glued to the window of the galley for an hour or so..
The flight passed relatively quickly given the amount of entertainment I had, the chatting with the FAs and the onboard FlyNet (about $20 for the whole flight), which was reliable and fast, except for the Greenland part, which lasted for 1.5-2 hrs.
Upon arrival, I invited to the cockpit, which was my first time in a 4-engine aircraft's cockpit. Very nice experience!
Immigration was quick and by the time I was done, the bags were there, so kudos to SFO..
Upon boarding the aircraft, I was greeted by the amazing female purser, with whom I would chat for the remainder of the flight. Prepared for the worst-case-scenario -and the longest flight of my life- I settled in 32H with a fully-loaded iPad (20h of entertainment).
The Captain came on the PA, announcing that our flight would take longer than scheduled due to winds over the Atlantic, which would require us to take an extremely northern route passing through Scandinavia, above Iceland and northern Greenland. Although that meant a huge delay, views en route were spectacular!
Legroom was acceptable but the seat cushioning reminded me of our kitchen stool. Disturbing for the hips in a 14-hour flight.
About 1 hour into the flight, the flight attendants started taking meal orders. Options were Beef, Chicken or Pasta. I opted for Chicken was unmemorable but most certainly not inedible. It was paired with a very boring salad, consisting of exclusively lettuce and tasty whole-wheat bread. I passed on that. Surprisingly, dessert was not delicious, which is a first in terms of airline meals. I typically look forward to dessert when flying Economy!
The FAs set up a small "bar area" in each of the galleys, which were little shelves that folded down from the wall and they put all sorts of beverages on it, which was a very nice perk. They had all sorts of sodas and juices plus my all-time favorite, German sparkling water
The bar area also had two large boxes with packets of sweet and savoury snacks!!One of the things that entertain me when flying LH's A340-600s is the fact that the lavatories are downstairs. They are thus larger and they have more of them. There is also a drinking fountain of sorts!
Passing through Northern Greenland for the first time was absolutely spectacular, and so I was basically glued to the window of the galley for an hour or so..
The flight passed relatively quickly given the amount of entertainment I had, the chatting with the FAs and the onboard FlyNet (about $20 for the whole flight), which was reliable and fast, except for the Greenland part, which lasted for 1.5-2 hrs.
Upon arrival, I invited to the cockpit, which was my first time in a 4-engine aircraft's cockpit. Very nice experience!
Immigration was quick and by the time I was done, the bags were there, so kudos to SFO..