AS's SFO-ANC N/S, UA's Decline Premium Transcon & Excellent YX meals
Jul 22, 2001, 9:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
AS's SFO-ANC N/S, UA's Decline Premium Transcon & Excellent YX meals
Dear all,
I have returned to Hong Kong and had traveled a bit during the past few days. I finally settle down a bit and get the chance to write a trip report. I am not going to write about each segment. Instead I select to write about a couple interesting flights – both good and bad flights.
July 14, 2001
AS 105 SFO-ANC Lv1237 Arr1633
Boeing 737-700 N614AS
Choosing SFO as a mileage run destination is a major mistake. I flew the 7am SEA-SFO for straight two days and both were late for an hour. Of course, the inbound aircraft on this seasonal Anchorage nonstop flight came in from Seattle (the 9am flight), which meant we would be late. Fortunately, we were only late for an hour and half. Anyway, this West Coast nonstop flight had excellent F/As, but the in-flight service was disappointing. I could not believe that the lunch featured on this four hours and thirty minutes flight was no different from a lunch service on your LAX-SEA flight.
For first class, we got a choice of a warmed Italian steak sandwich with a side salad featuring some cheese cubes, turkey dices, pastrami dices, spring onion, and goya beans or Grilled chicken breast accompanied by a penne pasta salad and a warm roll. I had the steak sandwich, which was good, but I personally thought that a proper full hot meal should be served. This is a long flight. Y class got the lunch basket with a hot Italian chicken sandwich (not even a choice), and that was pretty bad. The F/As gave us tons of honey roasted peanuts and refilled our drinks throughout the whole flight. The only special thing was an ice-cream service prior to arrival. F class got an ice-cream sundae bowl (like AA) with hot fudge, Kraft’s cool whip, and chopped nuts. Y class got a full size snicker ice-cream bar.
This flight was a real long one and we flew only on 35,000ft. The Boeing 737NG usually took a higher attitude. Anyway, the F/As were super and they even walked through the cabin writing down all the information regarding tight connections. Despite of the disappointing meals (pretty unacceptable, especially Y class), the F/As made it an excellent flight. Also, I qualified for MVP Gold on 2002.
General comments on AS – only one of my AS’s five flights during this trip was on time. Also most of them were related to SFO. It was pretty bad, even on the ANC-SEA flight, it was late for an hour due to mechanical reasons.
July 15, 2001 SFO-MKE Lv1150 Arr1750
MD-88 N701ME
I finally got to fly Midwest Express again, which was excellent. Although the F/A service seems to be pretty weak, all other aspects excelled. The phone reservation agent was kind and went out of her way to help me exchanging tickets. They even called me later when the ticketing office told me that YX at SFO did not accept electronic ticket. They told me what to do and no problem was caused. (BTW, US Airways handled SFO’s ticketing for YX). The ground agents were pleasant and one F/A was at the gate to welcome passengers. Yes, YX still does not have a boarding pass system. They simply wrote your seat assignment on your paper ticket coupon and collected them as you boarded. Your ticket envelope will have all your seat assignment information. The aircraft came in early from MKE, despite of the low ceiling at SFO. YX used Gate 5 at SFO. The flight was pretty full, except the last few rows.
I had the emergency exit row aisle, which had more seat pitches than my AS’s F seat on the MD-88 and Boeing 737 Classic. The plane was decently clean and the brown leather seats are very comfortable. The plane pushed back on time from the gate and there were four F/As stationed on all YX flights. The safety demonstration was live and there was no audio or video entertainment options. We took off from Runway 1R at 12:01pm. The pilot announced that our flight was only three hours and thirty-two minutes, and we cruised at 29,000ft.
The lunch service commenced immediately after the pilot turned off the seat belt sign. YX served more food on this flight than my AS’s SFO-ANC flight the previous day. The F/As began with a cocktail service. YX used the fancy plastic classes (like those used on pre-takeoff drink services on UA’s F class) and used silver bucket for ice. They gave us a whole can of drink and a pack of Gardetto’s original snack mix. The snack mix was better than the summer harvest mix or various snacks attempted by United. But I will prefer peanuts… Then they came back with our lunch and another beverage service. They used the ½ size trolley for meals, so the F/A will always face you, but they need to run back to the galley for a new trolley after serving five rows or so. The lunch unfortunately was a cold one, but still good and better than AS’s F class lunch. The main entrée was a chilled deli plate, which had a slice of turkey, ham, and pastrami, and 2 slices of Swiss cheese. It also had various vegetable sides – tomato, cucumber, pickles, radish, olive, and lettuce. Then it had a huge bowl of delicious pasta salad, which was a bit spicy and Southwestern style. For the bread roll, it was a foccacia bread with cheese and sundried tomato topping – not too good. Then there was a huge plate of fruit salad, which had diced watermelon, diced cantaloupe, and diced melon. The presentation was excellent, and the meal did not end here. BTW, F/A offered complimentary red and white wine throughout the lunch and after meal. There was yet another round of beverage service, which featured good coffee and tea. Then the galley F/A came out with a fresh cart filled with chocolate chip cookies. You got two cookies each (United…shame on you) and they were delicious.
For a crazy inflight catering freak, this meal service is excellent. I don’t think any US airline can achieve the level of Midwest Express. The flight went by quickly and we began our descent onto a pretty windy but sunny afternoon at MKE. We touched down on Runway 7R at 5:34pm and found our gate at D41.
YX 9 MKE-LGA Lv1930 Arr2229
MD-81 N804ME
This aircraft has a different set of seats from the previous MD-88. The seats are still brown and leather, but the recline buttons were different and the meal trays were located on the inner seat panel. Nevertheless, it was an on time flight once again. We pushed back from Gate D39 four minutes early and took off from Runway 7R at 7:35pm (after a TWA’s Boeing 717 landed). Flying time was an hour and thirty-seven minutes with a cruising attitude of 33,000ft. A full hot dinner was served, but there could not be any separate cocktail service.
The F/As passed out the dinner pretty much after the seat belt sign was turned off. A full beverage service with complimentary red or white wines came side by side with the meal tray. The dinner was magical and there was a choice of hot and cold entrée. My neighbor had the chilled beef Wellington, accompanied by white grapes, sour cream, and tomato wedges. I had the hot entrée, which featured a lobster cake (like crab cakes, but used lobster meats instead) and a casserole full of cheese ravioli. To accompany the entrée was a bowl of fresh green salad, a tub of Ceasar dressing (still the Naturally Fresh’s brand), a cold Olive roll, and an excellent Black Forest pie. Of course, the F/A managed another round of beverage service.
The plane landed twenty minutes early at Runway 31. Busy at LGA, but we got an excellent night view of Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan Skyline. Finally I got to see the torch on fire… Anyway, we parked at gate B1 and the ground agent personally thanked everyone at the gate, and the bags were already on the way out as we walked into the bag claim.
Can I say more about Midwest Express?
July 16, 2001 JFK-SFO Lv1135 Arr1431
Boeing 767-200 N618UA
United’s desks at JFK were pretty quiet, despite of the cancellation of the 8am flight to LAX. I arrived a bit early (9am) at the airport, since I was originally booked on UA 17 (10am flight to LAX) and then onto UA 3083 to SFO. Knowing the bad scene at SFO the past three mornings, I took the agent’s offer to switch to the nonstop flight to SFO. United possibly needed the seats on the 10am flight to LAX. I was still upgraded to F class and finally got to try the so-called premium transcontinental flight offered by United. Of course, I got no invitation to lounge, but had fun using the free internet service on T6. Anyway, I got to Gate 2 on time, and boarding began on time at 10:57am. Me and one other F passenger were paged by the gate agent. They told us that both our original seats had no video service. The other passenger said that it did not matter, but I asked her to switch my seat. I got 2F and appreciate United’s effort on informing us about bad seats. But having two bad seats on one plane was pretty bad (20% of F) and United tried to minimized maintenance costs these days. (With the huge loss on second quarter, more cost cuts will happen on United.) Nevertheless, I took my window seat and got a coke as pre-takeoff beverage. They had newspapers (USA today, WSJ, Financial times, and NYT) and the F/A offered me a second beverage. The F class cabin was half full until the last minutes rush. Employees filled the rest of the cabin. The F/As were all men for F class today and one of them was really cute and handsome. Channel 9 was switched on and JFK was quite on this early afternoon. I saw both NRT and HKG flight pushed back. Due to bad weather at SFO, we were given a wheel up time at 11:51am. Nevertheless, the pilot took off from Runway 22R a minute early. Flying time was five hours and thirty-one minutes, plus the usual ATC hold time. We flew mainly at 31,000ft but was temporarily up to 39,000ft to avoid storms in the middle part of the nation.
Warmed mixed nut and a full beverage service began this so-called premium transcontinental service. The F/As were very nice, but the meal was less than premium that United advertised. Here is the menu transcript – don’t be surprise about the lack of cheese service and only three main course choices.
To Begin
Smoked salmon and dill cream cheese filled crepe
Mesclun greens and balsamic vinaigrette
A nice refreshing appetizer… I ate the whole appetizer.
Shrimp and Lobster Bisque
Chardonnay wine, cream and paprika
I love soup and found the soup to be excellent, but see no shrimp or lobster meat at all. I think United can afford a few shrimps and pieces of lobster meats.
Garden Fresh Salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms, oven-roasted tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese
Tossed in front of you…the bowl was transparent and nice.
Main Course
Chicago-style tenderloin sandwich with caramelized yellow onions
Fusilli pasta with basil pesto and grated Parmesan cheese
I chose this entrée and it was dry and bad. Serving steak sandwich is simply cheap in first class. Not even cheese…
Bread of chicken with a Burgundy and morel mushroom sauce
Roasted potatoes, baby carrots and asparagus
Fettuccine with a roasted shiitake cream sauce
Fresh mozzarella cheese and sun-dried tomato
Dessert
Ice-cream sundae
Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla and Totally Nuts ice-cream
Hot fudge sauce, wafer and whipped cream
This lunch service is pretty disappointing, especially United calls it “Premium”. If I pay the full fare F, I will fly AA instead. Steak sandwich is no first class food, and the lack of cookie and godiva chocolate make this flight an awful one.
Of course, the flight was on hold as we got closer to SFO. As we were beginning our final descent, the ATC decided to hold us a bit and let the aircraft held on the North to land first. The ceiling was pretty low for late afternoon and my nightmare continued. We finally landed at Runway 28L at 2:34pm. We were parked at Gate 83.
A second trip report will be posted after I got the time to write them up. It will be more interesting, as I stepped onto an ex-CP's Boeing 747-400 again.
Carfield
I have returned to Hong Kong and had traveled a bit during the past few days. I finally settle down a bit and get the chance to write a trip report. I am not going to write about each segment. Instead I select to write about a couple interesting flights – both good and bad flights.
July 14, 2001
AS 105 SFO-ANC Lv1237 Arr1633
Boeing 737-700 N614AS
Choosing SFO as a mileage run destination is a major mistake. I flew the 7am SEA-SFO for straight two days and both were late for an hour. Of course, the inbound aircraft on this seasonal Anchorage nonstop flight came in from Seattle (the 9am flight), which meant we would be late. Fortunately, we were only late for an hour and half. Anyway, this West Coast nonstop flight had excellent F/As, but the in-flight service was disappointing. I could not believe that the lunch featured on this four hours and thirty minutes flight was no different from a lunch service on your LAX-SEA flight.
For first class, we got a choice of a warmed Italian steak sandwich with a side salad featuring some cheese cubes, turkey dices, pastrami dices, spring onion, and goya beans or Grilled chicken breast accompanied by a penne pasta salad and a warm roll. I had the steak sandwich, which was good, but I personally thought that a proper full hot meal should be served. This is a long flight. Y class got the lunch basket with a hot Italian chicken sandwich (not even a choice), and that was pretty bad. The F/As gave us tons of honey roasted peanuts and refilled our drinks throughout the whole flight. The only special thing was an ice-cream service prior to arrival. F class got an ice-cream sundae bowl (like AA) with hot fudge, Kraft’s cool whip, and chopped nuts. Y class got a full size snicker ice-cream bar.
This flight was a real long one and we flew only on 35,000ft. The Boeing 737NG usually took a higher attitude. Anyway, the F/As were super and they even walked through the cabin writing down all the information regarding tight connections. Despite of the disappointing meals (pretty unacceptable, especially Y class), the F/As made it an excellent flight. Also, I qualified for MVP Gold on 2002.
General comments on AS – only one of my AS’s five flights during this trip was on time. Also most of them were related to SFO. It was pretty bad, even on the ANC-SEA flight, it was late for an hour due to mechanical reasons.
July 15, 2001 SFO-MKE Lv1150 Arr1750
MD-88 N701ME
I finally got to fly Midwest Express again, which was excellent. Although the F/A service seems to be pretty weak, all other aspects excelled. The phone reservation agent was kind and went out of her way to help me exchanging tickets. They even called me later when the ticketing office told me that YX at SFO did not accept electronic ticket. They told me what to do and no problem was caused. (BTW, US Airways handled SFO’s ticketing for YX). The ground agents were pleasant and one F/A was at the gate to welcome passengers. Yes, YX still does not have a boarding pass system. They simply wrote your seat assignment on your paper ticket coupon and collected them as you boarded. Your ticket envelope will have all your seat assignment information. The aircraft came in early from MKE, despite of the low ceiling at SFO. YX used Gate 5 at SFO. The flight was pretty full, except the last few rows.
I had the emergency exit row aisle, which had more seat pitches than my AS’s F seat on the MD-88 and Boeing 737 Classic. The plane was decently clean and the brown leather seats are very comfortable. The plane pushed back on time from the gate and there were four F/As stationed on all YX flights. The safety demonstration was live and there was no audio or video entertainment options. We took off from Runway 1R at 12:01pm. The pilot announced that our flight was only three hours and thirty-two minutes, and we cruised at 29,000ft.
The lunch service commenced immediately after the pilot turned off the seat belt sign. YX served more food on this flight than my AS’s SFO-ANC flight the previous day. The F/As began with a cocktail service. YX used the fancy plastic classes (like those used on pre-takeoff drink services on UA’s F class) and used silver bucket for ice. They gave us a whole can of drink and a pack of Gardetto’s original snack mix. The snack mix was better than the summer harvest mix or various snacks attempted by United. But I will prefer peanuts… Then they came back with our lunch and another beverage service. They used the ½ size trolley for meals, so the F/A will always face you, but they need to run back to the galley for a new trolley after serving five rows or so. The lunch unfortunately was a cold one, but still good and better than AS’s F class lunch. The main entrée was a chilled deli plate, which had a slice of turkey, ham, and pastrami, and 2 slices of Swiss cheese. It also had various vegetable sides – tomato, cucumber, pickles, radish, olive, and lettuce. Then it had a huge bowl of delicious pasta salad, which was a bit spicy and Southwestern style. For the bread roll, it was a foccacia bread with cheese and sundried tomato topping – not too good. Then there was a huge plate of fruit salad, which had diced watermelon, diced cantaloupe, and diced melon. The presentation was excellent, and the meal did not end here. BTW, F/A offered complimentary red and white wine throughout the lunch and after meal. There was yet another round of beverage service, which featured good coffee and tea. Then the galley F/A came out with a fresh cart filled with chocolate chip cookies. You got two cookies each (United…shame on you) and they were delicious.
For a crazy inflight catering freak, this meal service is excellent. I don’t think any US airline can achieve the level of Midwest Express. The flight went by quickly and we began our descent onto a pretty windy but sunny afternoon at MKE. We touched down on Runway 7R at 5:34pm and found our gate at D41.
YX 9 MKE-LGA Lv1930 Arr2229
MD-81 N804ME
This aircraft has a different set of seats from the previous MD-88. The seats are still brown and leather, but the recline buttons were different and the meal trays were located on the inner seat panel. Nevertheless, it was an on time flight once again. We pushed back from Gate D39 four minutes early and took off from Runway 7R at 7:35pm (after a TWA’s Boeing 717 landed). Flying time was an hour and thirty-seven minutes with a cruising attitude of 33,000ft. A full hot dinner was served, but there could not be any separate cocktail service.
The F/As passed out the dinner pretty much after the seat belt sign was turned off. A full beverage service with complimentary red or white wines came side by side with the meal tray. The dinner was magical and there was a choice of hot and cold entrée. My neighbor had the chilled beef Wellington, accompanied by white grapes, sour cream, and tomato wedges. I had the hot entrée, which featured a lobster cake (like crab cakes, but used lobster meats instead) and a casserole full of cheese ravioli. To accompany the entrée was a bowl of fresh green salad, a tub of Ceasar dressing (still the Naturally Fresh’s brand), a cold Olive roll, and an excellent Black Forest pie. Of course, the F/A managed another round of beverage service.
The plane landed twenty minutes early at Runway 31. Busy at LGA, but we got an excellent night view of Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan Skyline. Finally I got to see the torch on fire… Anyway, we parked at gate B1 and the ground agent personally thanked everyone at the gate, and the bags were already on the way out as we walked into the bag claim.
Can I say more about Midwest Express?
July 16, 2001 JFK-SFO Lv1135 Arr1431
Boeing 767-200 N618UA
United’s desks at JFK were pretty quiet, despite of the cancellation of the 8am flight to LAX. I arrived a bit early (9am) at the airport, since I was originally booked on UA 17 (10am flight to LAX) and then onto UA 3083 to SFO. Knowing the bad scene at SFO the past three mornings, I took the agent’s offer to switch to the nonstop flight to SFO. United possibly needed the seats on the 10am flight to LAX. I was still upgraded to F class and finally got to try the so-called premium transcontinental flight offered by United. Of course, I got no invitation to lounge, but had fun using the free internet service on T6. Anyway, I got to Gate 2 on time, and boarding began on time at 10:57am. Me and one other F passenger were paged by the gate agent. They told us that both our original seats had no video service. The other passenger said that it did not matter, but I asked her to switch my seat. I got 2F and appreciate United’s effort on informing us about bad seats. But having two bad seats on one plane was pretty bad (20% of F) and United tried to minimized maintenance costs these days. (With the huge loss on second quarter, more cost cuts will happen on United.) Nevertheless, I took my window seat and got a coke as pre-takeoff beverage. They had newspapers (USA today, WSJ, Financial times, and NYT) and the F/A offered me a second beverage. The F class cabin was half full until the last minutes rush. Employees filled the rest of the cabin. The F/As were all men for F class today and one of them was really cute and handsome. Channel 9 was switched on and JFK was quite on this early afternoon. I saw both NRT and HKG flight pushed back. Due to bad weather at SFO, we were given a wheel up time at 11:51am. Nevertheless, the pilot took off from Runway 22R a minute early. Flying time was five hours and thirty-one minutes, plus the usual ATC hold time. We flew mainly at 31,000ft but was temporarily up to 39,000ft to avoid storms in the middle part of the nation.
Warmed mixed nut and a full beverage service began this so-called premium transcontinental service. The F/As were very nice, but the meal was less than premium that United advertised. Here is the menu transcript – don’t be surprise about the lack of cheese service and only three main course choices.
To Begin
Smoked salmon and dill cream cheese filled crepe
Mesclun greens and balsamic vinaigrette
A nice refreshing appetizer… I ate the whole appetizer.
Shrimp and Lobster Bisque
Chardonnay wine, cream and paprika
I love soup and found the soup to be excellent, but see no shrimp or lobster meat at all. I think United can afford a few shrimps and pieces of lobster meats.
Garden Fresh Salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms, oven-roasted tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese
Tossed in front of you…the bowl was transparent and nice.
Main Course
Chicago-style tenderloin sandwich with caramelized yellow onions
Fusilli pasta with basil pesto and grated Parmesan cheese
I chose this entrée and it was dry and bad. Serving steak sandwich is simply cheap in first class. Not even cheese…
Bread of chicken with a Burgundy and morel mushroom sauce
Roasted potatoes, baby carrots and asparagus
Fettuccine with a roasted shiitake cream sauce
Fresh mozzarella cheese and sun-dried tomato
Dessert
Ice-cream sundae
Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla and Totally Nuts ice-cream
Hot fudge sauce, wafer and whipped cream
This lunch service is pretty disappointing, especially United calls it “Premium”. If I pay the full fare F, I will fly AA instead. Steak sandwich is no first class food, and the lack of cookie and godiva chocolate make this flight an awful one.
Of course, the flight was on hold as we got closer to SFO. As we were beginning our final descent, the ATC decided to hold us a bit and let the aircraft held on the North to land first. The ceiling was pretty low for late afternoon and my nightmare continued. We finally landed at Runway 28L at 2:34pm. We were parked at Gate 83.
A second trip report will be posted after I got the time to write them up. It will be more interesting, as I stepped onto an ex-CP's Boeing 747-400 again.
Carfield
Jul 22, 2001, 11:09 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Agoura Hills, Ca USA
Posts: 470
As usual this trip report is great.Your reports are always so excellent. I too have sampled UA trans con premium service and found it a joke. I have stiched all of my trans con to AA and found their service far better. In fact their dinner LAX-JFK service is just as good as their international service with caviar and all the trimmings included. Thanks Carfield
Jul 22, 2001, 11:44 am
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Jacksonville, FL/Chesterfield, MO, USA
Posts: 385
Great trip report as always Carfield!
I'm happy to see YX trip reports.... I live in a Midwest Express hub (Omaha) and we fly them when possible. The meal service is always great and I have always had great flight attendants (then again, out of OMA they are all OMA-based flight crews). They serve a hot meal in the morning between Omaha and Milwaukee on a 50-60 minute flight (however there isn't a choice of meals, but that is fine with me). Even their commuter Skyway has the chocolate chip cookies on their DO-328JET flights (and they even serve meals also but they are cold meals).
Do they use US Airways gates in SFO? Here in Omaha they have their own set of three gates and in the mornings offer coffee and newspapers. I've seen iced tea in a pitcher on their ticket counter in the lobby later in the day.
Regarding the lack of a boarding pass system... if you ask for it, they will give you the stub from the flight coupon. I can only recall once or twice where we were given the stubs back without asking so save your full ticket receipt in case the miles don't credit. I keep all of my ticket stubs in my travelogue binders... gets thicker when I fly YX and have to stick in the whole ticket folder.
I will definately miss Midwest Express when I move next month... I will just have to drive a few hours to Orlando to fly them home to Omaha.
------------------
Jason Seiple
OMA
I'm happy to see YX trip reports.... I live in a Midwest Express hub (Omaha) and we fly them when possible. The meal service is always great and I have always had great flight attendants (then again, out of OMA they are all OMA-based flight crews). They serve a hot meal in the morning between Omaha and Milwaukee on a 50-60 minute flight (however there isn't a choice of meals, but that is fine with me). Even their commuter Skyway has the chocolate chip cookies on their DO-328JET flights (and they even serve meals also but they are cold meals).
Do they use US Airways gates in SFO? Here in Omaha they have their own set of three gates and in the mornings offer coffee and newspapers. I've seen iced tea in a pitcher on their ticket counter in the lobby later in the day.
Regarding the lack of a boarding pass system... if you ask for it, they will give you the stub from the flight coupon. I can only recall once or twice where we were given the stubs back without asking so save your full ticket receipt in case the miles don't credit. I keep all of my ticket stubs in my travelogue binders... gets thicker when I fly YX and have to stick in the whole ticket folder.
I will definately miss Midwest Express when I move next month... I will just have to drive a few hours to Orlando to fly them home to Omaha.
------------------
Jason Seiple
OMA
Jul 22, 2001, 8:42 pm
#5
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: DFW, 3.5 MM, AA EXP, LIFETIME PLATINUM, MARRIOTT LIFETIME PLATINUM, STARWOOD AMBASSADOR 223 NIGHTS, AND LIFETIME GOLD, HILTON DIAMOND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE ELITE
Posts: 5,847
That UA so-called premium transcon service sounds like a joke - there appear to be numerous items missing (i.e. fruit and cheese, cookie, hot towel, malfunctioning video).
Honestly - for the money they charge - serving a Steak Sanwich in F on a 3 class transcon.
Honestly - for the money they charge - serving a Steak Sanwich in F on a 3 class transcon.
Jul 22, 2001, 9:57 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
Thanks for the kind comments. I will work on the second part of the trip report tonight.
Jason -- regarding the gate situation at SFO, YX uses US Airways gate agents as well. That is the reason why US Airways cannot handle the electronic ticketing at SFO. YX only flies to SFO from April to December. About choices of meals, YX is a bit random. I remember having a choice of breakfast on the LAX-OMA route, but then there is no choice for dinner entrees on the MKE-LAX route. I read about your trip reports on various websites and am anxious to try the Dornier 328Jet myself. I went to the Skyway terminal and saw many D328J. They are nice.
About United's Premium transcon, it is pretty sad, but I guess I am lucky to get a refill on pre-takeoff beverage and warm mixed nuts. Now the Premium routes are no longer that different from regular transcon -- except you get the soup and somewhat fancier presentation.
Carfield
Jason -- regarding the gate situation at SFO, YX uses US Airways gate agents as well. That is the reason why US Airways cannot handle the electronic ticketing at SFO. YX only flies to SFO from April to December. About choices of meals, YX is a bit random. I remember having a choice of breakfast on the LAX-OMA route, but then there is no choice for dinner entrees on the MKE-LAX route. I read about your trip reports on various websites and am anxious to try the Dornier 328Jet myself. I went to the Skyway terminal and saw many D328J. They are nice.
About United's Premium transcon, it is pretty sad, but I guess I am lucky to get a refill on pre-takeoff beverage and warm mixed nuts. Now the Premium routes are no longer that different from regular transcon -- except you get the soup and somewhat fancier presentation.
Carfield
Jul 22, 2001, 10:29 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 146
A few comments and a question for you Carfield.
Just FYI, the meal service on the SFO-ANC flight is the exact same thing that Alaska offers on their SFO-Mexico flights. However, the SFO-Mexico flights are all shorter than the SFO-ANC non-stop. I guess Alaska just didn't see the point in creating a separate catering standard for just one flight, but I agree that 4+ hours is a bit long of a flight for what your received.
Since the meal service was so lacking, could you tell if one entree option appeared to be more substantial than the other? I'm flying the SFO-ANC non-stop in early August, and I'd like to know which one to steer my wife towards. She's an infrequent, but VERY FUSSY traveller (we all know that type, right?)
You sure seem to be having bad luck with Alaska's on-time performance! For the first half of July, 81.1% of Alaska flights arrived on-time and schedule completion was 99%. I guess it must just be flying out of SFO.
Just FYI, the meal service on the SFO-ANC flight is the exact same thing that Alaska offers on their SFO-Mexico flights. However, the SFO-Mexico flights are all shorter than the SFO-ANC non-stop. I guess Alaska just didn't see the point in creating a separate catering standard for just one flight, but I agree that 4+ hours is a bit long of a flight for what your received.
Since the meal service was so lacking, could you tell if one entree option appeared to be more substantial than the other? I'm flying the SFO-ANC non-stop in early August, and I'd like to know which one to steer my wife towards. She's an infrequent, but VERY FUSSY traveller (we all know that type, right?)
You sure seem to be having bad luck with Alaska's on-time performance! For the first half of July, 81.1% of Alaska flights arrived on-time and schedule completion was 99%. I guess it must just be flying out of SFO.
Jul 23, 2001, 9:53 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
West Coast flier -- remember to check the flight status of AS 344 before you left home. That plane, a Boeing 737-700, will continue to ANC after arriving from SEA.
In terms of meal choices, I will the steak sandwich because it is quite delicious, but the portion is definitely smaller than the chicken with penne pasta salad. But I did not choose the salad because it is cold. I recommend eating a lunch before boarding this flight.
BTW, do AS's Mexican flights feature the ice-cream sundae in F and ice-cream bars in Y?
Hope you have a good flight!
Carfield
[This message has been edited by Carfield (edited 07-23-2001).]
In terms of meal choices, I will the steak sandwich because it is quite delicious, but the portion is definitely smaller than the chicken with penne pasta salad. But I did not choose the salad because it is cold. I recommend eating a lunch before boarding this flight.
BTW, do AS's Mexican flights feature the ice-cream sundae in F and ice-cream bars in Y?
Hope you have a good flight!
Carfield
[This message has been edited by Carfield (edited 07-23-2001).]
Jul 24, 2001, 1:29 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 146
Thanks for the info, Carfield.
BTW, did your recent flights include an evening SEA-Bay Area run by any chance? If so, what was served?
Regarding the flights to Mexico, my brother recently flew AS SFO-ZIH in First Class, and I asked him about the meal service on the flight down, although not the return. Basically, it sounded like Alaska's ubiquitous lunch service with an ice cream sundae later in the flight. I don't know what was served in coach, so I can't say for sure that it is the same thing as was served on the SFO-ANC flight. Who knows, it might be less!
The thing to keep in mind is that Alaska is not going to go overboard on catering in a leisure-oriented market such as SFO/LAX to Mexico.
[This message has been edited by West Coast Flier (edited 07-24-2001).]
BTW, did your recent flights include an evening SEA-Bay Area run by any chance? If so, what was served?
Regarding the flights to Mexico, my brother recently flew AS SFO-ZIH in First Class, and I asked him about the meal service on the flight down, although not the return. Basically, it sounded like Alaska's ubiquitous lunch service with an ice cream sundae later in the flight. I don't know what was served in coach, so I can't say for sure that it is the same thing as was served on the SFO-ANC flight. Who knows, it might be less!
The thing to keep in mind is that Alaska is not going to go overboard on catering in a leisure-oriented market such as SFO/LAX to Mexico.
[This message has been edited by West Coast Flier (edited 07-24-2001).]
Jul 24, 2001, 1:34 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA Mileage Plus Premier Gold 1MM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,467
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by West Coast Flier:
You sure seem to be having bad luck with Alaska's on-time performance! For the first half of July, 81.1% of Alaska flights arrived on-time and schedule completion was 99%. I guess it must just be flying out of SFO.</font>
You sure seem to be having bad luck with Alaska's on-time performance! For the first half of July, 81.1% of Alaska flights arrived on-time and schedule completion was 99%. I guess it must just be flying out of SFO.</font>
Yes, it's a very sad state that it's come to this, but I'd rather fly with somebody who knew was the score really was and how to roll with the punches.
I've basically told my GF that I'll pay her the difference to book me on the Sh*ttle over AS when it's her turn to pay.
Jul 24, 2001, 3:39 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 146
Jet 'Dillo---I checked the data from Jan 1-May 31 (most recent available) for the SFO-SEA route, and indeed only about 56% of AS flights were on-time on that route.
The problem with the SFO-SEA route on Alaska is that they try and partially isolate these flights from the rest of their route system. As a result, these flights can get really goofed up in poor weather, but AS can stop the delays from cascading down through the system quite as much as they might otherwise.
UA had about 69% on-time during the same period, so it would appear that your observation is accurate.
[This message has been edited by West Coast Flier (edited 07-24-2001).]
The problem with the SFO-SEA route on Alaska is that they try and partially isolate these flights from the rest of their route system. As a result, these flights can get really goofed up in poor weather, but AS can stop the delays from cascading down through the system quite as much as they might otherwise.
UA had about 69% on-time during the same period, so it would appear that your observation is accurate.
[This message has been edited by West Coast Flier (edited 07-24-2001).]
Jul 24, 2001, 11:59 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
West Coast fliers... My SEA-SFO flights were both continental breakfast flights -- fruit plate with blueberry muffin.
I flew LAS-SEA earlier this month, but I did not think it will help you out. Based on my experience, it will be cold sandwich or salad again. No surprise here...
Concerning the on time performance, SFO is problematic and both AS and UA suffered on the SFO routes. Both airlines usually got some of its flights cancelled during the bad days. They will endorse the tickets to each other, as I have noticed on some of the PDX flights (UA will endorse folks to AS).
To me, flying Sh*ttle is an insult, especially on an almost two hours flight. I will rather sit on AS' slightly more comfortable a/c than stuck on a Sh*ttle Y-- seat. During bad days, United tends to offer less amenity to the Sh*ttle folks and AS will treat you just like any regular AS flight.
Also, I know that some AS flights will happen as the evening flights were continuation from couple Mexican destinations. They can divert to OAK, but AS will at least have some flights going.
Carfield
I flew LAS-SEA earlier this month, but I did not think it will help you out. Based on my experience, it will be cold sandwich or salad again. No surprise here...
Concerning the on time performance, SFO is problematic and both AS and UA suffered on the SFO routes. Both airlines usually got some of its flights cancelled during the bad days. They will endorse the tickets to each other, as I have noticed on some of the PDX flights (UA will endorse folks to AS).
To me, flying Sh*ttle is an insult, especially on an almost two hours flight. I will rather sit on AS' slightly more comfortable a/c than stuck on a Sh*ttle Y-- seat. During bad days, United tends to offer less amenity to the Sh*ttle folks and AS will treat you just like any regular AS flight.
Also, I know that some AS flights will happen as the evening flights were continuation from couple Mexican destinations. They can divert to OAK, but AS will at least have some flights going.
Carfield