Seattle to Omaha (oh boy!) and return
Feb 4, 2000 | 2:48 pm
#1
Original Poster
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,291
Seattle to Omaha (oh boy!) and return
I mentioned elsewhere on the boards that I was to visit a company in Omaha regarding an employment opportunity here in Seattle. They invited me for a visit and sent me tickets on F9 (Frontier). Disliking the schedule and preferring to fly UA to accrue miles (and Hilton points with the current promo), I sweet-talked my lovely city ticket office staffmember into changing it over to UA at no charge even though the UA ticket was costlier.
2/2/00 Seattle - Denver
I walk up to check-in to be informed that my 11:24am flight was cancelled. Before I can even respond, the agent tells me that I was already moved to a flight that leaves a few minutes earlier at 11:15am and actually gets into DEN 9 minutes earlier. No big deal except I was booked on a 757 in 11C which was a roomier Economy Plus seat right near the exit and placed on a 757 in 44853B, a middle seat somewhere near Pakistan. Oh well, it's not that long of a flight. At least I was seated between two thin ladies. What annoyed me was spying two UA employees seated in the much coveted exit rows over the wings. Lunch consisted of a wilted little salad and a silly looking calzone that was stuffed with sliced beef and green peppers. Actually, it was rather tasty and there weren't any strange chewy chunks of mystery meat. Dessert was a Rice Krispies marshmallow bar.
2/2/00 Denver - Omaha
Very short layover in DEN and a very short walk as the connecting 757 flight was only two gates away. Another fully packed flight. Who are all these people going to Omaha?!? I had seat 21A and enjoyed the view over NE Colorado and western Nebraska. Flew right over Lincoln which is easy to tell since they have one tall building; the state capitol building. Saw a TW 757 not far away scream past us in the opposite direction during flight. It's pretty cool to see the effects of the combined speed of two jets passing - something between 900 to 1100 mph!
Spent the night at Hampton Inn Central. Clean room, firm bed and a little bottle of shampoo; good enough for me. It's a shame they aren't associated with the Hilton program yet.
2/3/00 Omaha - Denver
Had a successful eight hours of interviews with five individuals, extensive factory tour (they manufacture medical emergency and prescription dosage carts) and a fantastic tasty lunch. Yes, thank you letters have been Fed Ex'd and I am hopeful for an offer next week as they said I should know by then.
Check-in agent in OMA was a real witch! She looked at my Frontier ticket that had been assigned to UA and said it would cost $320 more to switch to UA. I maintained a pleasant attitude and told her that a UA rep changed the ticket in Washington state and I already used half of the ticket on UA. She wanted to see proof of this and I showed her my boarding pass stubs from the outbound journey. She called over her supervisor who asked why I was doing this. My reply was to give them my loyal business as I did not have a voice in the choice of carrier when the ticket was purchased. She actually smiled and appreciated this answer, printed out my boarding passes. Seat 27C, Starbucks Frappucino and a bag of half-inch little pretzel sticks mixed with unflavored orange rectangles that might have been imitation miniature Cheez-Nips.
2/3/00 Denver - Seattle
Tried unsuccessfully to go standby on an earlier 767 flight that would have got me home two hours earlier. This flight was actually oversold. Killed time surfing the web for free at a kiosk and people watching. My 757 finally boards, seat 11D. I finally get to try Economy Plus. Hey, it ain't no biz class but those extra 5 inches of legroom make a world of difference! It makes flying coach ten times better. Economy Plus - like an exit row but without the door! Snack service consisted of a smoked chicken and swiss cheese sandwich (tasty), a container of potato salad (did not even bother to open) and a full-sized milk chocolate bar (yum!). Read over some product literature, watched the Frasier show on the celing monitor and got home on time. Celing monitors are dumb, I like the screens on the Airbus 319/320 that come down from underneath the overhead bins much more.
Even with the cancelled flight, all four segements were on time or early. Good job United! Another 3038 miles and another 3038 Hilton points for me...yay!
------------------
Addicted to airline miles? Check out: The Airline Mileage Workshop
[This message has been edited by MileageAddict (edited 02-07-2000).]
2/2/00 Seattle - Denver
I walk up to check-in to be informed that my 11:24am flight was cancelled. Before I can even respond, the agent tells me that I was already moved to a flight that leaves a few minutes earlier at 11:15am and actually gets into DEN 9 minutes earlier. No big deal except I was booked on a 757 in 11C which was a roomier Economy Plus seat right near the exit and placed on a 757 in 44853B, a middle seat somewhere near Pakistan. Oh well, it's not that long of a flight. At least I was seated between two thin ladies. What annoyed me was spying two UA employees seated in the much coveted exit rows over the wings. Lunch consisted of a wilted little salad and a silly looking calzone that was stuffed with sliced beef and green peppers. Actually, it was rather tasty and there weren't any strange chewy chunks of mystery meat. Dessert was a Rice Krispies marshmallow bar.
2/2/00 Denver - Omaha
Very short layover in DEN and a very short walk as the connecting 757 flight was only two gates away. Another fully packed flight. Who are all these people going to Omaha?!? I had seat 21A and enjoyed the view over NE Colorado and western Nebraska. Flew right over Lincoln which is easy to tell since they have one tall building; the state capitol building. Saw a TW 757 not far away scream past us in the opposite direction during flight. It's pretty cool to see the effects of the combined speed of two jets passing - something between 900 to 1100 mph!
Spent the night at Hampton Inn Central. Clean room, firm bed and a little bottle of shampoo; good enough for me. It's a shame they aren't associated with the Hilton program yet.
2/3/00 Omaha - Denver
Had a successful eight hours of interviews with five individuals, extensive factory tour (they manufacture medical emergency and prescription dosage carts) and a fantastic tasty lunch. Yes, thank you letters have been Fed Ex'd and I am hopeful for an offer next week as they said I should know by then.
Check-in agent in OMA was a real witch! She looked at my Frontier ticket that had been assigned to UA and said it would cost $320 more to switch to UA. I maintained a pleasant attitude and told her that a UA rep changed the ticket in Washington state and I already used half of the ticket on UA. She wanted to see proof of this and I showed her my boarding pass stubs from the outbound journey. She called over her supervisor who asked why I was doing this. My reply was to give them my loyal business as I did not have a voice in the choice of carrier when the ticket was purchased. She actually smiled and appreciated this answer, printed out my boarding passes. Seat 27C, Starbucks Frappucino and a bag of half-inch little pretzel sticks mixed with unflavored orange rectangles that might have been imitation miniature Cheez-Nips.
2/3/00 Denver - Seattle
Tried unsuccessfully to go standby on an earlier 767 flight that would have got me home two hours earlier. This flight was actually oversold. Killed time surfing the web for free at a kiosk and people watching. My 757 finally boards, seat 11D. I finally get to try Economy Plus. Hey, it ain't no biz class but those extra 5 inches of legroom make a world of difference! It makes flying coach ten times better. Economy Plus - like an exit row but without the door! Snack service consisted of a smoked chicken and swiss cheese sandwich (tasty), a container of potato salad (did not even bother to open) and a full-sized milk chocolate bar (yum!). Read over some product literature, watched the Frasier show on the celing monitor and got home on time. Celing monitors are dumb, I like the screens on the Airbus 319/320 that come down from underneath the overhead bins much more.
Even with the cancelled flight, all four segements were on time or early. Good job United! Another 3038 miles and another 3038 Hilton points for me...yay!
------------------
Addicted to airline miles? Check out: The Airline Mileage Workshop
[This message has been edited by MileageAddict (edited 02-07-2000).]
Feb 4, 2000 | 5:01 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: SNA, LAX
Programs: UA 1K, SPG Plat, Hertz P Circle
Posts: 1,628
Great report! It always amazes me when agents can't grasp the idea that we actually want to fly UA as opposed to another carrier.
EconPlus is about the best thing UA did for their economy passengers. I now book my flights according to the equipment that features EconPlus! Wish they would expand it into international flights!
You've gotta teach me the "sweet talk" for CTO agents. I'll see if it'll work on my next international flight...
Good luck on that job!
EconPlus is about the best thing UA did for their economy passengers. I now book my flights according to the equipment that features EconPlus! Wish they would expand it into international flights!
You've gotta teach me the "sweet talk" for CTO agents. I'll see if it'll work on my next international flight...
Good luck on that job!
Feb 6, 2000 | 9:46 am
#5
Original Poster
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,291
News Update:
I got a call Saturday morning, hashed out some details and accepted an offer. I'm back to Omaha next Monday for a week of product training, back home for the weekend, a week in Denver with another regional manager for field training, weekend home and them another week in Omaha. It's gonna be a busy month for a mileage run!
------------------
Addicted to airline miles? Check out: The Airline Mileage Workshop
I got a call Saturday morning, hashed out some details and accepted an offer. I'm back to Omaha next Monday for a week of product training, back home for the weekend, a week in Denver with another regional manager for field training, weekend home and them another week in Omaha. It's gonna be a busy month for a mileage run!
------------------
Addicted to airline miles? Check out: The Airline Mileage Workshop
Feb 7, 2000 | 12:08 pm
#8
Commander Catcop
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 10,259
Terrific Mileage Addict! I've sent some postiive cat vibes to you and your family that you would find something very soon.
Congratulations but Sad
that your business travel doesn't include NYC! I am a good host and I will show you a great time in the greatest city in the world!
HEY! If you come we can have a MIleage Addict celebration (like BlondeBombers!)
Congratulations but Sad
that your business travel doesn't include NYC! I am a good host and I will show you a great time in the greatest city in the world! HEY! If you come we can have a MIleage Addict celebration (like BlondeBombers!)
Feb 7, 2000 | 3:19 pm
#10
Original Poster
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,291
Thanks to all of your offering congrats to me.
I forgot to mention in my trip report that one of the 757's I was on had brand new seats in coach that have those adjustable headrests. The flexible winglets on these things makes taking a nap much easier.
I haven't offered any sweet bribes to my CTO agents lately but I think I should very soon. I haven't received my tickets for the travel to take place in the next few weeks but I did ask to be booked on UA if possible. Hey, I'm not going to be demanding about something that is really not that important but UA does have better schedule flexibility than Frontier.
------------------
Addicted to airline miles? Check out: The Airline Mileage Workshop
[This message has been edited by MileageAddict (edited 02-07-2000).]
I forgot to mention in my trip report that one of the 757's I was on had brand new seats in coach that have those adjustable headrests. The flexible winglets on these things makes taking a nap much easier.
I haven't offered any sweet bribes to my CTO agents lately but I think I should very soon. I haven't received my tickets for the travel to take place in the next few weeks but I did ask to be booked on UA if possible. Hey, I'm not going to be demanding about something that is really not that important but UA does have better schedule flexibility than Frontier.
------------------
Addicted to airline miles? Check out: The Airline Mileage Workshop
[This message has been edited by MileageAddict (edited 02-07-2000).]