Mileage Run: UA897, LAX-SIN, Business Class
Jul 10, 2001, 1:29 pm
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: California
Posts: 88
Mileage Run: UA897, LAX-SIN, Business Class
Trip Report
UA897, LAX-SIN (via NRT)
Business Class
I arrived at LAX at 10:30 am…2 hours before departure. The Terminal 6 International Check-In area for United was pretty busy. I went to the International 1K Check-in line where I was 4th or 5th. Once I reached the desk, check-in took only seconds (as this is a mileage run, I had no bags to check).
I’m a member of the RCC, but I just showed my boarding pass instead of pulling out my card. I was upgraded to Business Class on this flight (SWU). I got a drink coupon when I entered the club and went to the bar and had a Sam Adams. I was looking for my favorite LAX RCC Bartender, but I was told that he wasn’t on until 3. I’ve been going to this RCC for years, and this guy always remembers me. It’s nice. I ask him about his wife and daughter, and he asks me about my house and dog.
After the RCC, I went to the gate. We were still scheduled on-time for the 12:30 departure even though we were not going to board on-time. The plane had arrived late from HKG, and at 11:45 (scheduled boarding time), the flight attendants were just boarding the aircraft.
Boarding started around 12:00. I was in the first group to board as I was in Business Class. The 747-400 for our flight was Nose #8099 (typically, I never get this info, but after reading other trip reports, I figured you might give a crap). Contrary to what I was told on the phone, this plane had 84 Business Class seats…which means that it did not have the extended pitch. Also, my seat was not as well positioned as I thought it would be. I was in 24A. Not far off the galley. If it was a re-configured plane as I thought, I would have been a bit further back. Configuration: 14-84-270.
Even with the late boarding, flight attendants served water, OJ, and champagne for pre-departure drinks. Can I make one comment on the pre-departure service….can we please LOSE the Bouvet champagne! Frankly, I can’t stand it. And apparently, it’s the champagne they use in domestic F. Maybe they’re using a lousy champagne to keep the consumption down. Business class was completely full (my upgrade cleared the week before). We pushed back only 10 minutes late, and arrived in NRT at 3:05 pm (well ahead of schedule due to favorable winds).
Shortly after takeoff, one of the FA/s came around to the 1K’s asking for lunch orders. I’ve heard so many favorable things from other FT reports regarding the Obento meals that I ordered one.
Flight attendants soon came around with drinks and nuts. Apparently there were not enough nuts… the guy sitting next to me didn’t get any nuts because he was in the restroom when they were being handed out. Believe me, he didn’t need them.
The Obento meal was fantastic. I highly recommend it. You can pre-order it with United. I’m definitely going to do this for future flights. On this flight, the lower deck of business has 56 seats. I checked the printout in the galley: they boarded 23 beef (some sort of fillet), 23 chicken (macadamia nut crusted) and 10 Obento. There were some people who wanted the Obento and didn’t get it because of previous selections. I later asked the flight attendant why they didn’t board more Obento meals, and she said it was because of the cost.
Here’s the rundown on the meal: The tray is served with the appetizers on it along with a green tea cup and the ‘dessert’ (which I didn’t eat). It comes with chopsticks and no fork/knife (which worked fine for me…except, whenever I use chopsticks, my hand cramps up toward the end of the meal. I know I’m not holding them right, but that’s the only way I can get the food in my mouth). The presentation was very nice.
After the appetizers, the main course is served in the box. Is it true that Obento means ‘lunch box.’ I heard that once. It makes sense. The best thing about this meal is variety! Many different flavors. Many different textures.
Here’s the Obento meal. I’ll skip writing up the beef and chicken entrees. Frankly, they didn’t seem too earth shattering.
Japanese Obento Selection:
An appetizer of salmon sushi, rolled egg with salmon roe, chicken roll, marinated fried shrimp, and buckwheat noodles. A main course of braised white fish and vegetables with mushroom, dried daikon, Japanese beef steak, and steamed rice with peas.
Dessert – wagashi served with green tea.
Hey, I don’t know much about Japanese food, but I liked this. The only part that could have been improved was the beef: flavorful, but tough.
I asked the flight attendant for some Sake to go with my meal. On the menu, they list Gekkeikan White Porcelain and Gekkeikan Silver Sake as the two available in Business class. The flight attendant (more about her later) recommended chilled sake with my meal and offered to get me some from First Class. She said something like: “you’re one of our 100,000 mile fliers, so I’ll see what I can do.” She brought back a full bottle (at least 12 oz) of this chilled sake. I don’t remember the name of it (there was only ONE English word on the bottle…it started with an H). It was fantastic. Very smooth. I highly suggest the Sake with your Obento meal. And if you can get some from First, then all the better for you.
No Godiva chocolates: get over it.
So, I had this GREAT flight attendant. I’ll refrain from posting her name here, but suffice to say, she was awesome, and I have written a letter to UA to compliment her. So often (and I’ve written about it here) we run into lousy flight attendants that we don’t take the time to recognize the good ones. This one flight attendant was smiling and attentive from the moment I got on the plane. We had a nice chat in the galley during mid-flight and talked about stuff. It was fun.
After the meal service, I was totally bored. I brought my PC and my empower plug so that I could watch some DVD’s, BUT the **** empower plug at my seat was busted. Doesn’t it just figure! It actually didn’t matter that much. I was very restless and walked around for a while and chatted with my favorite flight attendant. Then I came back to my seat and read a bit. The only thing good I could find on the personal video was some Discovery channel show on the saber toothed tiger. Fascinating!!!!…especially when they took a modified backhoe (to sort of be like a tiger!) and then had it rip a hole in the neck of a buffalo to prove a point. I love science.
One of the things that I dread about flying is getting a lousy seatmate. This was such an experience. You know when you’re sitting in your seat, and you see someone walking down the aisle, and you think “please, do not sit here!!” And of course, he sits right next to you. He just had this sour look about him. I said hello, and he just grunted. You know, I don’t want to chat your ear off or be your best buddy, but if I have to sit next to your for 10 hours, you can at least be pleasant.
Last week, I saw “Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me” (again!) on Cinemax. My seatmate reminded me of one of the characters…the LARGE character. When I saw him walking down the aisle, I expected him to say “GET IN MY BELLY!…I’m gonna eat ya!” So, try to sit next to someone for 10 hours with that going through your head.
About ¾ of the way through the flight, I was staring at the Airshow like a zombie when we started seeing Japan on the display. The first city that showed up was Sapporo….and then that got me thinking. I thought….I need a beer. So, I asked the flight attendant if they had any Sapporo beer, but they didn’t. They only had Kirin. I didn’t see Kirin on the map, but I decided to drink one (okay…more than one!) anyway. I had to have a Japanese beer to keep with the theme of the flight.
The route of the flight was different than I’ve experienced on other LA to Asia flights. Typically, we fly up close the Alleutian islands and then curve down. Because of the winds, this flight was much less “curved” and more straight than the others.
During the flight, I was hanging around the galley (yeah, I’m a galley ho) when the “captain” came downstairs and went in the restroom. All I could think is: geez, what a porker. You would think that if you made $292,000 a year flying a plane (and only working 80 hours a month) that you could at least hire a personal trainer. No more Eli’s Cheesecake for you!
The mid-flight snack was fairly sparce: there were the rice crackers, some orange/vanilla ice cream cups, and some almond cookies. Pretty lousy for a mid-flight snack. Apparently there was some fresh fruit also, but it went VERY quick. Prior to arrival, they served a “light dinner” or so they called it. I flew this route back in February, and it was the exact same thing. Penne Pasta with chicken (some fruit on the side), or a fruit platter w/ yogurt. I had the pasta. It was passable, but I actually didn’t eat much. I was kind of feeling bloated after flying so much.
We arrived into NRT early into gate 23. I went through the security screening and then went to the RCC near Gate 26 to change my seat for the NRT-SIN flight (didn’t want to sit next to you-know-who again). I got an aisle seat and then walked to Satellite 1 to visit the Singapore Air Silver Kris Lounge. Someone from a previous post on here recommended it.
Walking from Sat 2 to Sat 1 takes around 10 minutes. The airport was hot as an oven. It was weird…there were hot spots and cool spots, but overall, I was pretty uncomfortable.
The Silver Kris Lounge was empty! Just me and one other guy. I showed my 1K card and my boarding pass, and the attendant checked me in quickly. In terms of looks, this lounge is fairly basic (the RCC has nicer furnishings), but the food/drink selections here are awesome. I wasn’t really hungry. I mainly wanted to visit the lounge to see what it was like. There was a great selection of sushi (MUCH better than the RCC!), assorted sandwiches (I broke down and had a smoked salmon sandwich…excellent), rice balls, and of course the freezer of Haagen Daaz that someone wrote about previously. The booze selection was standard. They did have a chilled bottle of Mumm champagne. I would highly recommend visiting here if you have time. Much less crowded than the RCC.
So after living like a lounge lizard for a while, I walked back to Sat 2 for the continuation of UA897 from NRT to SIN. The flight boarded on-time. We boarded at Gate 24. The plane I had arrived on from LAX (at gate 23, nose 8099) was in its final boarding process and was headed to ORD. Nose number for my NRT-SIN flight was 8174. This was a reconfigured aircraft with 73 seats in business. This made a huge difference. Some seats are better than others: for example…I don’t see any difference in rows 6, 7, and 8….just my opinion. You should have seen the space in front of row 25 C, D, and E!!! You could have thrown a party in that row.
I mentioned earlier that I changed my seat at the RCC to avoid contact with my previous seatmate. I arrived at 24B only to find that he had the same seat. What is up with my luck? The flight attendant took our boarding passes and went to sort it out. I hung out in the galley and had some champagne while I waited. The flight attendant returned and gave me 24B and sent the other guy up to 6C (he was kind of pissed).
One thing I have to say about the operations at NRT: they are efficient. The flight boarded in a very quick and orderly fashion.. The Singapore based flight crew was very attentive and efficient. They wear grey uniforms instead of the standard United blue. Frankly, I think the grey ones look better. Prior to pushback, the flight attendants came around with menus and headsets. Minutes later, they came around for dinner orders. I didn’t save the menu, but there was a seafood appetizer, a chicken main dish, a pork main dish, and a cod main dish. I ordered the cod.
One VERY interesting point (okay..at least to me). I’ve always had a pet peeve about the announcements that the flight attendants make after take-off…they always say: flight attendants are here primarily for your safety, but if you need anything, just ask. Yeah, sounds nice enough, but in flight attendant code language, that means: “I’m a self-professed so-called safety professional, so don’t even think of ringing that call button.” BUT, after the departure to SIN with the SIN based crew, the purser said: “flight attendants are here for your safety AND (emphasis added by the purser, not by me) to serve you. Please let us know what we can do to make your journey to Singapore more comfortable.” That’s the biggest difference between Asia based crews and US based crews. The Asia based crews actually understand that their job is one of service. The US based crews see that as a sort of sideline to their primary “safety” duty. I’m not downplaying safety, but please!….if that 747 goes down in a catastrophic way, no amount of flight attendant training is going to help me. I’d rather have another drink.
We departed the gate and took off shortly after that. Once we were in the air, the purser came on with the announcements and said that our flying time to Singapore would be 6 hours and 13 minutes. It was at this time (feeling very tired, sticky, and worn out) that I said: uh, why the hell am I doing this? This Mileage Run thing sure seemed like a good idea when I booked it, but after hours and hours in transit with hours and hours to go, it just seems stupid! I felt groggy. The flight attendants served the meal and actually had to wake me to eat it. I had the cod (steamed with some sort of tofu on top that looked like whipped cream). I had some of it and then slept.
I slept on and off for the flight. Every now and then, I would wake up and guzzle my glass of water that the flight attendants had left for me. 20 or 30 minutes later when I was restless and woke again, my glass would be refilled with water. This crew didn’t miss a beat.
We arrived in Singapore on time at around 11:35pm into gate C-20. Upon deplaning, I saw the monitor already had our gate set up for UA890 in the morning (my flight back on the mileage run).
I made my way to the Transit Hotel in SIN. This was my first time in the SIN airport. Frankly, it’s the best airport I’ve ever seen (cactus garden! Very cool.) I could go on and on about it. Some people have said that you can go to the “quiet zone” and get a nice comfy chair instead of getting a hotel room (and they’re right, they do look like nice chairs, and at this time of night, you wont be disturbed), but I really wanted a room. I checked in at the Transit Hotel for a basic room (not a budget room) for S$57 (USD$35) for 6 hours. It was a very basic room w/ no windows, but it just felt great to take a shower and lay in a bed. I slept for about 3 ½ hours and then woke up and was out of the room by 4:15.
I checked in for UA890 at 4:30 at the T2 transfer desk. Upon checking in, they gave me an invitation to the SATS Premier Lounge (shared lounge). I went up to the lounge that was somewhat empty but was starting to fill up with UA890 and UA805 (to HKG) starting to check in. The lounge is nothing special, and in fact, they have too many chairs packed in there. There was one shower room there, but I don’t know the rules for using it. I figured that if some of you are doing mileage runs and don’t want to spring for the transit hotel or the shower facilities, you could use that if you wanted.
The SATS lounge had Movenpick ice cream in a frezzer. Excellent snack before boarding the next flight (UA890 back to LAX via NRT)
UA890 on the way back was fine. Everything was on-time. I slept for most of the trip. It was kind of fun doing this run. I’ll definitely do it again.
UA897, LAX-SIN (via NRT)
Business Class
I arrived at LAX at 10:30 am…2 hours before departure. The Terminal 6 International Check-In area for United was pretty busy. I went to the International 1K Check-in line where I was 4th or 5th. Once I reached the desk, check-in took only seconds (as this is a mileage run, I had no bags to check).
I’m a member of the RCC, but I just showed my boarding pass instead of pulling out my card. I was upgraded to Business Class on this flight (SWU). I got a drink coupon when I entered the club and went to the bar and had a Sam Adams. I was looking for my favorite LAX RCC Bartender, but I was told that he wasn’t on until 3. I’ve been going to this RCC for years, and this guy always remembers me. It’s nice. I ask him about his wife and daughter, and he asks me about my house and dog.
After the RCC, I went to the gate. We were still scheduled on-time for the 12:30 departure even though we were not going to board on-time. The plane had arrived late from HKG, and at 11:45 (scheduled boarding time), the flight attendants were just boarding the aircraft.
Boarding started around 12:00. I was in the first group to board as I was in Business Class. The 747-400 for our flight was Nose #8099 (typically, I never get this info, but after reading other trip reports, I figured you might give a crap). Contrary to what I was told on the phone, this plane had 84 Business Class seats…which means that it did not have the extended pitch. Also, my seat was not as well positioned as I thought it would be. I was in 24A. Not far off the galley. If it was a re-configured plane as I thought, I would have been a bit further back. Configuration: 14-84-270.
Even with the late boarding, flight attendants served water, OJ, and champagne for pre-departure drinks. Can I make one comment on the pre-departure service….can we please LOSE the Bouvet champagne! Frankly, I can’t stand it. And apparently, it’s the champagne they use in domestic F. Maybe they’re using a lousy champagne to keep the consumption down. Business class was completely full (my upgrade cleared the week before). We pushed back only 10 minutes late, and arrived in NRT at 3:05 pm (well ahead of schedule due to favorable winds).
Shortly after takeoff, one of the FA/s came around to the 1K’s asking for lunch orders. I’ve heard so many favorable things from other FT reports regarding the Obento meals that I ordered one.
Flight attendants soon came around with drinks and nuts. Apparently there were not enough nuts… the guy sitting next to me didn’t get any nuts because he was in the restroom when they were being handed out. Believe me, he didn’t need them.
The Obento meal was fantastic. I highly recommend it. You can pre-order it with United. I’m definitely going to do this for future flights. On this flight, the lower deck of business has 56 seats. I checked the printout in the galley: they boarded 23 beef (some sort of fillet), 23 chicken (macadamia nut crusted) and 10 Obento. There were some people who wanted the Obento and didn’t get it because of previous selections. I later asked the flight attendant why they didn’t board more Obento meals, and she said it was because of the cost.
Here’s the rundown on the meal: The tray is served with the appetizers on it along with a green tea cup and the ‘dessert’ (which I didn’t eat). It comes with chopsticks and no fork/knife (which worked fine for me…except, whenever I use chopsticks, my hand cramps up toward the end of the meal. I know I’m not holding them right, but that’s the only way I can get the food in my mouth). The presentation was very nice.
After the appetizers, the main course is served in the box. Is it true that Obento means ‘lunch box.’ I heard that once. It makes sense. The best thing about this meal is variety! Many different flavors. Many different textures.
Here’s the Obento meal. I’ll skip writing up the beef and chicken entrees. Frankly, they didn’t seem too earth shattering.
Japanese Obento Selection:
An appetizer of salmon sushi, rolled egg with salmon roe, chicken roll, marinated fried shrimp, and buckwheat noodles. A main course of braised white fish and vegetables with mushroom, dried daikon, Japanese beef steak, and steamed rice with peas.
Dessert – wagashi served with green tea.
Hey, I don’t know much about Japanese food, but I liked this. The only part that could have been improved was the beef: flavorful, but tough.
I asked the flight attendant for some Sake to go with my meal. On the menu, they list Gekkeikan White Porcelain and Gekkeikan Silver Sake as the two available in Business class. The flight attendant (more about her later) recommended chilled sake with my meal and offered to get me some from First Class. She said something like: “you’re one of our 100,000 mile fliers, so I’ll see what I can do.” She brought back a full bottle (at least 12 oz) of this chilled sake. I don’t remember the name of it (there was only ONE English word on the bottle…it started with an H). It was fantastic. Very smooth. I highly suggest the Sake with your Obento meal. And if you can get some from First, then all the better for you.
No Godiva chocolates: get over it.
So, I had this GREAT flight attendant. I’ll refrain from posting her name here, but suffice to say, she was awesome, and I have written a letter to UA to compliment her. So often (and I’ve written about it here) we run into lousy flight attendants that we don’t take the time to recognize the good ones. This one flight attendant was smiling and attentive from the moment I got on the plane. We had a nice chat in the galley during mid-flight and talked about stuff. It was fun.
After the meal service, I was totally bored. I brought my PC and my empower plug so that I could watch some DVD’s, BUT the **** empower plug at my seat was busted. Doesn’t it just figure! It actually didn’t matter that much. I was very restless and walked around for a while and chatted with my favorite flight attendant. Then I came back to my seat and read a bit. The only thing good I could find on the personal video was some Discovery channel show on the saber toothed tiger. Fascinating!!!!…especially when they took a modified backhoe (to sort of be like a tiger!) and then had it rip a hole in the neck of a buffalo to prove a point. I love science.
One of the things that I dread about flying is getting a lousy seatmate. This was such an experience. You know when you’re sitting in your seat, and you see someone walking down the aisle, and you think “please, do not sit here!!” And of course, he sits right next to you. He just had this sour look about him. I said hello, and he just grunted. You know, I don’t want to chat your ear off or be your best buddy, but if I have to sit next to your for 10 hours, you can at least be pleasant.
Last week, I saw “Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me” (again!) on Cinemax. My seatmate reminded me of one of the characters…the LARGE character. When I saw him walking down the aisle, I expected him to say “GET IN MY BELLY!…I’m gonna eat ya!” So, try to sit next to someone for 10 hours with that going through your head.
About ¾ of the way through the flight, I was staring at the Airshow like a zombie when we started seeing Japan on the display. The first city that showed up was Sapporo….and then that got me thinking. I thought….I need a beer. So, I asked the flight attendant if they had any Sapporo beer, but they didn’t. They only had Kirin. I didn’t see Kirin on the map, but I decided to drink one (okay…more than one!) anyway. I had to have a Japanese beer to keep with the theme of the flight.
The route of the flight was different than I’ve experienced on other LA to Asia flights. Typically, we fly up close the Alleutian islands and then curve down. Because of the winds, this flight was much less “curved” and more straight than the others.
During the flight, I was hanging around the galley (yeah, I’m a galley ho) when the “captain” came downstairs and went in the restroom. All I could think is: geez, what a porker. You would think that if you made $292,000 a year flying a plane (and only working 80 hours a month) that you could at least hire a personal trainer. No more Eli’s Cheesecake for you!
The mid-flight snack was fairly sparce: there were the rice crackers, some orange/vanilla ice cream cups, and some almond cookies. Pretty lousy for a mid-flight snack. Apparently there was some fresh fruit also, but it went VERY quick. Prior to arrival, they served a “light dinner” or so they called it. I flew this route back in February, and it was the exact same thing. Penne Pasta with chicken (some fruit on the side), or a fruit platter w/ yogurt. I had the pasta. It was passable, but I actually didn’t eat much. I was kind of feeling bloated after flying so much.
We arrived into NRT early into gate 23. I went through the security screening and then went to the RCC near Gate 26 to change my seat for the NRT-SIN flight (didn’t want to sit next to you-know-who again). I got an aisle seat and then walked to Satellite 1 to visit the Singapore Air Silver Kris Lounge. Someone from a previous post on here recommended it.
Walking from Sat 2 to Sat 1 takes around 10 minutes. The airport was hot as an oven. It was weird…there were hot spots and cool spots, but overall, I was pretty uncomfortable.
The Silver Kris Lounge was empty! Just me and one other guy. I showed my 1K card and my boarding pass, and the attendant checked me in quickly. In terms of looks, this lounge is fairly basic (the RCC has nicer furnishings), but the food/drink selections here are awesome. I wasn’t really hungry. I mainly wanted to visit the lounge to see what it was like. There was a great selection of sushi (MUCH better than the RCC!), assorted sandwiches (I broke down and had a smoked salmon sandwich…excellent), rice balls, and of course the freezer of Haagen Daaz that someone wrote about previously. The booze selection was standard. They did have a chilled bottle of Mumm champagne. I would highly recommend visiting here if you have time. Much less crowded than the RCC.
So after living like a lounge lizard for a while, I walked back to Sat 2 for the continuation of UA897 from NRT to SIN. The flight boarded on-time. We boarded at Gate 24. The plane I had arrived on from LAX (at gate 23, nose 8099) was in its final boarding process and was headed to ORD. Nose number for my NRT-SIN flight was 8174. This was a reconfigured aircraft with 73 seats in business. This made a huge difference. Some seats are better than others: for example…I don’t see any difference in rows 6, 7, and 8….just my opinion. You should have seen the space in front of row 25 C, D, and E!!! You could have thrown a party in that row.
I mentioned earlier that I changed my seat at the RCC to avoid contact with my previous seatmate. I arrived at 24B only to find that he had the same seat. What is up with my luck? The flight attendant took our boarding passes and went to sort it out. I hung out in the galley and had some champagne while I waited. The flight attendant returned and gave me 24B and sent the other guy up to 6C (he was kind of pissed).
One thing I have to say about the operations at NRT: they are efficient. The flight boarded in a very quick and orderly fashion.. The Singapore based flight crew was very attentive and efficient. They wear grey uniforms instead of the standard United blue. Frankly, I think the grey ones look better. Prior to pushback, the flight attendants came around with menus and headsets. Minutes later, they came around for dinner orders. I didn’t save the menu, but there was a seafood appetizer, a chicken main dish, a pork main dish, and a cod main dish. I ordered the cod.
One VERY interesting point (okay..at least to me). I’ve always had a pet peeve about the announcements that the flight attendants make after take-off…they always say: flight attendants are here primarily for your safety, but if you need anything, just ask. Yeah, sounds nice enough, but in flight attendant code language, that means: “I’m a self-professed so-called safety professional, so don’t even think of ringing that call button.” BUT, after the departure to SIN with the SIN based crew, the purser said: “flight attendants are here for your safety AND (emphasis added by the purser, not by me) to serve you. Please let us know what we can do to make your journey to Singapore more comfortable.” That’s the biggest difference between Asia based crews and US based crews. The Asia based crews actually understand that their job is one of service. The US based crews see that as a sort of sideline to their primary “safety” duty. I’m not downplaying safety, but please!….if that 747 goes down in a catastrophic way, no amount of flight attendant training is going to help me. I’d rather have another drink.
We departed the gate and took off shortly after that. Once we were in the air, the purser came on with the announcements and said that our flying time to Singapore would be 6 hours and 13 minutes. It was at this time (feeling very tired, sticky, and worn out) that I said: uh, why the hell am I doing this? This Mileage Run thing sure seemed like a good idea when I booked it, but after hours and hours in transit with hours and hours to go, it just seems stupid! I felt groggy. The flight attendants served the meal and actually had to wake me to eat it. I had the cod (steamed with some sort of tofu on top that looked like whipped cream). I had some of it and then slept.
I slept on and off for the flight. Every now and then, I would wake up and guzzle my glass of water that the flight attendants had left for me. 20 or 30 minutes later when I was restless and woke again, my glass would be refilled with water. This crew didn’t miss a beat.
We arrived in Singapore on time at around 11:35pm into gate C-20. Upon deplaning, I saw the monitor already had our gate set up for UA890 in the morning (my flight back on the mileage run).
I made my way to the Transit Hotel in SIN. This was my first time in the SIN airport. Frankly, it’s the best airport I’ve ever seen (cactus garden! Very cool.) I could go on and on about it. Some people have said that you can go to the “quiet zone” and get a nice comfy chair instead of getting a hotel room (and they’re right, they do look like nice chairs, and at this time of night, you wont be disturbed), but I really wanted a room. I checked in at the Transit Hotel for a basic room (not a budget room) for S$57 (USD$35) for 6 hours. It was a very basic room w/ no windows, but it just felt great to take a shower and lay in a bed. I slept for about 3 ½ hours and then woke up and was out of the room by 4:15.
I checked in for UA890 at 4:30 at the T2 transfer desk. Upon checking in, they gave me an invitation to the SATS Premier Lounge (shared lounge). I went up to the lounge that was somewhat empty but was starting to fill up with UA890 and UA805 (to HKG) starting to check in. The lounge is nothing special, and in fact, they have too many chairs packed in there. There was one shower room there, but I don’t know the rules for using it. I figured that if some of you are doing mileage runs and don’t want to spring for the transit hotel or the shower facilities, you could use that if you wanted.
The SATS lounge had Movenpick ice cream in a frezzer. Excellent snack before boarding the next flight (UA890 back to LAX via NRT)
UA890 on the way back was fine. Everything was on-time. I slept for most of the trip. It was kind of fun doing this run. I’ll definitely do it again.
Jul 10, 2001, 3:11 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: UA MileagePlus 2MM
Posts: 1,567
yeah i think that was one of the best written trip reports i have seen in a while - you tell it like it is! very good sense of humour imho and good points... seatmates can really be the biggest defining factor as to whether a trip was good or bad, as opposed to the fa's who if are horrible usually do pax the favour of the disappearing act. but i think most ua fa's are great :-)!
question - can i use the silver kris lounge at nrt if i am a RCC member and a business class ticket (upgraded from y) on a ua tkt.
and next time you go to sin you should stay at least one night - the food is awesome and 5-star hotels like ritz or four seasons are around us$150 on weekends. taxis are really cheap as well.
anyway thanks for the great report...
adam
question - can i use the silver kris lounge at nrt if i am a RCC member and a business class ticket (upgraded from y) on a ua tkt.
and next time you go to sin you should stay at least one night - the food is awesome and 5-star hotels like ritz or four seasons are around us$150 on weekends. taxis are really cheap as well.
anyway thanks for the great report...
adam
Jul 10, 2001, 11:01 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2001
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by adambrau:
question - can i use the silver kris lounge at nrt if i am a RCC member and a business class ticket (upgraded from y) on a ua tkt.
adam</font>
question - can i use the silver kris lounge at nrt if i am a RCC member and a business class ticket (upgraded from y) on a ua tkt.
adam</font>
I once tried entering the Silver Kris lounge at NRT with only my C boarding pass. It didn't work, until I whipped out my 1K card. Then all was well. Kinda contrary to the *A brochures though, which state that flying in C gives you access to all *A lounges.
Jul 11, 2001, 1:09 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: BKK - 1P
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
Kinda contrary to the *A brochures though, which state that flying in C gives you access to all *A lounges.</font>
Kinda contrary to the *A brochures though, which state that flying in C gives you access to all *A lounges.</font>
http://www.star-alliance.com/isroot/SA/htmen/1_1.htm
"International Business Class Customers who present an international Business Class boarding pass, regardless of the Star Alliance carrier they fly, have access to all members' designated business departure lounges."
I've printed this to carry with me to NRT.
Jul 13, 2001, 3:14 pm
#10
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
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LOL LOL.........
Excellent trip report. You have a great writing rythm and the killer lines (porker; he didnt need em'; get over it) are placed just brillantly. Ive gotta learn how to write like this.
When's your next trip report...?
[This message has been edited by Gaucho100K (edited 07-13-2001).]
Excellent trip report. You have a great writing rythm and the killer lines (porker; he didnt need em'; get over it) are placed just brillantly. Ive gotta learn how to write like this.
When's your next trip report...?
[This message has been edited by Gaucho100K (edited 07-13-2001).]
Jul 14, 2001, 6:22 pm
#11
Join Date: May 2001
Location: exUA1K, UA MM, lifetime UA1P, AA MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,731
I loved the trip report.
I too apreciate getting my water glass refilled frequently (it never happens by the US based UA FA's, though).
But one important detail was overlooked regarding the NRT RCC: The automated beer pouring machines!
I love the automation! It works PERFECTLY (like everything else that I have seen in Japan)!!!
I too apreciate getting my water glass refilled frequently (it never happens by the US based UA FA's, though).
But one important detail was overlooked regarding the NRT RCC: The automated beer pouring machines!
I love the automation! It works PERFECTLY (like everything else that I have seen in Japan)!!!
Jul 19, 2001, 8:40 am
#13
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Boston, MA
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Excellent trip report...too bad UA doesn't rurn up the service quality a notch to compete better. Doesn't sound like they need to with full flights and all.