SFO-SIN Mileage Run - Part I
Oct 31, 2000, 12:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Programs: UA/AA/VS/EK
Posts: 264
SFO-SIN Mileage Run - Part I
In need of some miles before the end of the year, I booked a weekend mileage run from SFO-SIN which would bet me approx 17,000 YTD miles and 3X that in my account thanks to the 100% PE bonus, and SFH bonus.
Found a great fare (upgradeable using 1K Systemwides) and was able to use one of the UA 15% off certs! Base fare was $580, and with the discount cert and a few UA credits from other delayed flights over the summer, the ticket was essentially free.
I checked in at SFO and the check-in agent asked about my short itinerary, and she was quite interested when I told her I was doing a weekend mileage run – plenty of laughter between the two of us!
Made a quick path to visit my favorite UA Angel/1st Class Concierge, Don. Unfortunately, Don was not working the day I was traveling, but Jennifer, the UA Concierge in the 1st class lounge asked if I would like to use the lounge while waiting for my flight – who was I to say no? I had used the UA 1st class lounge before, but I had enough time (2 hours) on this visit to really enjoy the lounge. Compared to SFO’s old, cramped and dark RCC’s, this was a breath a fresh air. I had a few sodas, enjoyed a nice lunch of Sushi, Salmon and other beautiful appetizers, read the paper, checked my email, and proceeded out to Gate 55 (5 feet from the 1st class lounge door) where the UA805 was parked. Boarding area was a total mob scene. 300+ people milling around and many people forming a long line at the ticket counter. Jenifer made sure that I was able to use the other entrence to gate 55 and I was able to bypass the entire line.
We boarded right on time and I proceeded to my seat, upstairs in 15h – as everyone has mentioned in other reports, this is the best seat on the plane – 6+ feet of legroom! Doors were closed and we pushed back right on time. I did catch a glimpse of 1st class when I boarded the plane and it did have the 1st Suites, and a number of uniformed employees.
The pilot briefed us on our flight – due to the lack of headwinds over the pacific, we would be flying directly across the pacific and in fact, would fly directly over Hawaii on the way to Hong Kong. This route would give us a scheduled flying time of 14 hours.
So the flight proceeded with only a few (very minor) glitches. I spend most of the flight working on my laptop, trying to use the inseat power (it was not working for most people upstairs), which greatly disappointed me. I brought lots of work and a dozen DVD’s to watch on my laptop, so with only 4 hours of battery life, I knew I was going to be without games/DVD’s for the majority of the flight. Seats were quite good (the new C class seats) , food not too bad either -for lunch I had a Martin Yan dish with noodles, Scallops and a Cantonese
sauce. Appetizer of large shrimp was also very good. Crew was SFO based, and was very attentive, but disappeared for a few hours in the middle of the flight, but prior to this they wheeled out the snack cart with lots of food, drinks etc.
We landed in HKG Saturday evening as scheduled, approx. 30 minutes early, and since I was only traveling with carry on luggage, I blew through transfer desk and into the Red Carpet Club in less than 5 minutes. I wanted to get a shower, but both shower rooms were being renovated after a major plumbing leak. So instead of getting cleaned up, I logged onto the free AT&T computer and checked Flyertalk, email etc and then proceeded down to the gate for UA #1 continuing on to Singapore.
UA #1 boarded and departed on time, again sitting in 15h. From the moment I boarded the flight, there was a noticeable difference in the flight crew. The Hong Kong/Singapore based flight crews were extremely friendly, very attentive and by far the best crew I have seen in some time. In fact, when I fell asleep prior to the meal service, the flight attendant did not think to wake me to ask me my preference for dinner. Instead, when I awoke about an hour after the meal was cleared, she simply asked me if I would like dinner and had all 3 meal choices available for me to choose from. Not even a hint of inconvenience, which made me feel very welcomed and comfortable. Additionally, the meal on this sector was quite superior. I chose the Ritz Carlton Singapore special, which was a very good Chicken dish. The Scallop appetizer was also quite good (I have all the menus from this trip, so email me if you would like a copy).
Laptop power did not work on this flight as well, and when I began to question whether my power cord was malfunctioning, two other passengers noted the same problem. My seat mate was a UA Flight attendant traveling back from vacation in Europe and the US. She told me that she was able to travel in 1st or C class on all of her flight segments on her vacation. Since our flight was quite full, and I remember seeing people trying to upgrade at the gate, I began to wonder if her presence in C class was prohibiting a paying (or cert totting) passenger from flying in C class.
We arrived on time, and I was through customs within 5 minutes. Due to a mix-up by the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, the car that was supposed to be sent for me did not show up so I jumped into a taxi and was at the hotel in about 25 minutes. Upon check-in, a very apologetic check-in staff told me that they had a suite available for me if I wanted to pay the additional $25 per night for the upgrade. I heartily accepted and was led to a very nice suite in the Valley Wing. It was approx. 1000 sq ft, contained a large sitting room, bedroom and bathroom/dressing areas larger than any other hotel room I had ever seen. I was asleep by 2am.
I’ll post Part II later today (to include UA delay, CX bliss, HKG delights and a “scarey” return)
Happy Flying!
SFOPremex
[This message has been edited by SFOPremex (edited 10-31-2000).]
[This message has been edited by SFOPremex (edited 10-31-2000).]
Found a great fare (upgradeable using 1K Systemwides) and was able to use one of the UA 15% off certs! Base fare was $580, and with the discount cert and a few UA credits from other delayed flights over the summer, the ticket was essentially free.
I checked in at SFO and the check-in agent asked about my short itinerary, and she was quite interested when I told her I was doing a weekend mileage run – plenty of laughter between the two of us!
Made a quick path to visit my favorite UA Angel/1st Class Concierge, Don. Unfortunately, Don was not working the day I was traveling, but Jennifer, the UA Concierge in the 1st class lounge asked if I would like to use the lounge while waiting for my flight – who was I to say no? I had used the UA 1st class lounge before, but I had enough time (2 hours) on this visit to really enjoy the lounge. Compared to SFO’s old, cramped and dark RCC’s, this was a breath a fresh air. I had a few sodas, enjoyed a nice lunch of Sushi, Salmon and other beautiful appetizers, read the paper, checked my email, and proceeded out to Gate 55 (5 feet from the 1st class lounge door) where the UA805 was parked. Boarding area was a total mob scene. 300+ people milling around and many people forming a long line at the ticket counter. Jenifer made sure that I was able to use the other entrence to gate 55 and I was able to bypass the entire line.
We boarded right on time and I proceeded to my seat, upstairs in 15h – as everyone has mentioned in other reports, this is the best seat on the plane – 6+ feet of legroom! Doors were closed and we pushed back right on time. I did catch a glimpse of 1st class when I boarded the plane and it did have the 1st Suites, and a number of uniformed employees.
The pilot briefed us on our flight – due to the lack of headwinds over the pacific, we would be flying directly across the pacific and in fact, would fly directly over Hawaii on the way to Hong Kong. This route would give us a scheduled flying time of 14 hours.
So the flight proceeded with only a few (very minor) glitches. I spend most of the flight working on my laptop, trying to use the inseat power (it was not working for most people upstairs), which greatly disappointed me. I brought lots of work and a dozen DVD’s to watch on my laptop, so with only 4 hours of battery life, I knew I was going to be without games/DVD’s for the majority of the flight. Seats were quite good (the new C class seats) , food not too bad either -for lunch I had a Martin Yan dish with noodles, Scallops and a Cantonese
sauce. Appetizer of large shrimp was also very good. Crew was SFO based, and was very attentive, but disappeared for a few hours in the middle of the flight, but prior to this they wheeled out the snack cart with lots of food, drinks etc.
We landed in HKG Saturday evening as scheduled, approx. 30 minutes early, and since I was only traveling with carry on luggage, I blew through transfer desk and into the Red Carpet Club in less than 5 minutes. I wanted to get a shower, but both shower rooms were being renovated after a major plumbing leak. So instead of getting cleaned up, I logged onto the free AT&T computer and checked Flyertalk, email etc and then proceeded down to the gate for UA #1 continuing on to Singapore.
UA #1 boarded and departed on time, again sitting in 15h. From the moment I boarded the flight, there was a noticeable difference in the flight crew. The Hong Kong/Singapore based flight crews were extremely friendly, very attentive and by far the best crew I have seen in some time. In fact, when I fell asleep prior to the meal service, the flight attendant did not think to wake me to ask me my preference for dinner. Instead, when I awoke about an hour after the meal was cleared, she simply asked me if I would like dinner and had all 3 meal choices available for me to choose from. Not even a hint of inconvenience, which made me feel very welcomed and comfortable. Additionally, the meal on this sector was quite superior. I chose the Ritz Carlton Singapore special, which was a very good Chicken dish. The Scallop appetizer was also quite good (I have all the menus from this trip, so email me if you would like a copy).
Laptop power did not work on this flight as well, and when I began to question whether my power cord was malfunctioning, two other passengers noted the same problem. My seat mate was a UA Flight attendant traveling back from vacation in Europe and the US. She told me that she was able to travel in 1st or C class on all of her flight segments on her vacation. Since our flight was quite full, and I remember seeing people trying to upgrade at the gate, I began to wonder if her presence in C class was prohibiting a paying (or cert totting) passenger from flying in C class.
We arrived on time, and I was through customs within 5 minutes. Due to a mix-up by the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, the car that was supposed to be sent for me did not show up so I jumped into a taxi and was at the hotel in about 25 minutes. Upon check-in, a very apologetic check-in staff told me that they had a suite available for me if I wanted to pay the additional $25 per night for the upgrade. I heartily accepted and was led to a very nice suite in the Valley Wing. It was approx. 1000 sq ft, contained a large sitting room, bedroom and bathroom/dressing areas larger than any other hotel room I had ever seen. I was asleep by 2am.
I’ll post Part II later today (to include UA delay, CX bliss, HKG delights and a “scarey” return)
Happy Flying!
SFOPremex
[This message has been edited by SFOPremex (edited 10-31-2000).]
[This message has been edited by SFOPremex (edited 10-31-2000).]
