UAPremExecflyer

Dear fellow Flyertalkers
This is my first trip report … be gentle with me … perhaps the first part of my report isn’t as detailed as others have been, but I think I make up for it with the back half. I used 50,000 miles to upgrade the UA flights to business class from economy, and paid for the Singapore Airlines and Vietnam Airlines legs. Many thanks to Sendosian and Carol Hahn for their tips earlier in the year in helping me plan the Vietnam end of things. The overview of the trip is as follows:
11/25 UA837 IAD-SFO in Y+
UA837 SFO-NRT in C+
11/26 UA897 NRT-SIN in C+
11/27 SQ174 SIN-SGN in J
11/29 VN382 SGN-DAD in C
12/02 VN246 HUI-HAN in Y
12/05 SQ175 HAN-SIN in J
12/10 UA890 SIN-NRT in C+
UA838 NRT-SFO-IAD in C+

Sunday 25 November – IAD-SFO on UA837: Airbus A319
Got to Dulles around 6am and as I rambled through the main concourse noticed horrible queues at the security checks. For a moment I thought I had a made a mistake in changing the first leg of my trip to IAD from BWI. But then I realized I was looking at the Delta area and not United!! After a couple of bad experiences since 9/11 at BWI, I called United and changed the first leg to Dulles, giving up a guaranteed upgrade in favor of a waitlist. Further down the terminal, the line at United was very short. Relief all around! Went to check in hoping that my waitlisted upgrade would clear. No such luck. Checked in very quickly. Was handed my boarding passes … check-in agent wasn’t hopeful about the upgrade. When I got to the gate, I realized the plane was an A319, not the A320 I thought. Only eight F seats instead of 12! One lucky soul got the only upgrade … I shuffled on board and took my seat in the exit row. Plane took off on schedule at 7.15am. Breakfast turned out to be a quite an edible combo of pancakes and sausage. Tried to sleep, but no real luck. Arrived at SFO on time, and having read various threads here about security lines and delays, made my way straight to the international terminal. Got there just in time before the security screening process went completely to hell in a hand basket. One of the two people checking tickets and passports was deputized to one of the scanning machines. That left one person to manage an ever-lengthening and anxious and vocal line of passengers. The whole thing was a mess. Made my way to the RCC, which was actually quite nice and airy, though it was very full, barely a seat to be had. A quick phone call to check the result of a match involving my favorite football (soccer) team brought grim news … beaten 3-1 after a couple of dreadful errors by the goalkeeper! On that note made my way down to the gate for the 10.50am boarding. It was like a zoo down there! Two or three lines merging into one.

SFO-NRT on UA837: B747-400
Finally made it on board … and found my seat … 22G was right beside the galley! Had originally booked a seat upstairs … but in the aftermath of 9/11 etc. that disappeared and I got this one downstairs instead. By the time I read here that upstairs was open again, all the seats were gone!! I moved one row back to allow two colleagues traveling together to sit beside one another. Departure was delayed by almost an hour as the movable walkway got stuck and wouldn’t budge. When that was resolved, the captain came on to say we would be facing headwinds of 200mph making the flight nearly 11.5 hrs!!! A quick computation told me that would make for a tight connection at Narita. Settled into the B+ seat, which was comfy and had plenty of room … much better than the old set-up. I’m afraid I misplaced the menu, but it was a printed version. Can’t remember what I ate. The flight seemed to last forever, though I was distracted, briefly, by watching Angelina Jolie in “Laura Croft: Tomb Raider”. Mindless titillation. Also laughed my way through “Bridget Jones’ Diary”. I think I dozed a little, but the airshow map kept showing lots of water between Tokyo and me! Then to make matters worse, we were further delayed by having to hold over Narita because the airport had been briefly shut for some sort of incident. The chief purser announced those with connecting flights (to SEL and BKK) would be ok despite our late arrival. No mention of SIN. I mentioned my concern to one of the flight attendants … she said she would check. But didn’t have any information.
As soon I got off the plane, there were several agents directing those of us connecting to Singapore to a concierge who hustled down a corridor and down some stairs and onto a waiting bus.

Monday 26 November – NRT-SIN on UA897: B747-400
Within 40 minutes of landing at NRT, I was again airborne! Headwinds of 200mph were still blowing. Flight was scheduled for 6.5 hrs. Was quickly offered some OJ and a flight attendant hung up my jacket. Back in 22G and managed to doze a little. Finally arrived in Singapore at about 12.40am. Bags materialized quickly. Into a taxi and off to the Shangri-La.

Tuesday 27 November – SIN-SGN on SQ174: Airbus A310-300
After a somewhat sleepless night, though no fault of my sumptuous surroundings at the Shangri-La, a good breakfast sorted me out. A minor panic over film for my camera was resolved with a quick phone call to the local Kodak rep. Having read so much about the Silver Kris Lounge, I though I should make it back to Changi in good time to check out this wondrous oasis. Flight was scheduled to depart at 2.30pm, so I got to check-in around 1pm. No one else at Raffles Class check-in. Security seemed almost absent. Got my boarding card, which noted my UA status, and off I went through immigration and up the escalator. The Silver Kris Lounge was quite a revelation. RCC eat your heart out!! Lots of drinks and food … I had a really nice spicy Malay seafood noodle dish. Then went over to the PCs and noticed the FREE broadband web service!! Spun through my personal e-mails and caught up on the latest soccer news from Europe. Then rambled off to catch the plane to Ho Chi Minh City. When I boarded, I thought business class was going to be half empty, but it quickly filled up. Pre-departure drinks offered up … OJ or Apple Juice or water or Champagne. I’m afraid I was chatting too much to my Aussie seatmate that I neglected to note the menu offerings, though I did partake of a couple of glasses of rather good Chianti Classico Reserva. The seat was comfy enough, though it was one of the old Raffles seats with not a lot of legroom. More like an old, but slightly wider version of the UA domestic first class seats that didn’t go back very far. The captain came on to say it would be a 90-minute flight. The service seemed a tad overly attentive (I know I’m probably committing heresy here by criticizing the seat and the service!) On touchdown, I noticed several aging Vietnam Airlines planes of Soviet vintage rusting away outside what looked like an even older terminal than the one we were heading to! When we landed, flight attendants were posted at the curtains dividing the cabins to make sure all the first class folks got off first and then Raffles travelers existed before those in economy were let loose! Immigration at SGN was pretty straightforward, contrary to what I feared.

Thursday 29 November – SGN-DAD on VN382: Airbus A320
After a couple of days in Ho Chi Minh City, it was off next to Da Nang. Also my first time on Vietnam Airlines … and what a pleasant experience it turned out to be! Arriving at the airport at 10.20am for an 11.20am departure, I saw a rather large crowd of people standing in front of the business class check-in. I quickly realized it was a tour group milling around, not the line to check in! Offered up my ticket and passport to the woman behind the counter, who asked me if I preferred a window or an aisle seat? I took the window to check on the countryside below. The boarding pass was a distinctive green with my name, flight details and seat hand-written. I was also given an invitation to the lounge. Muddled through the security line and up the stairs inside the rather pokey terminal. The lounge was somewhat small and pretty full. I managed to find a seat and took a bottle of mineral water. Most of the lounge occupants seemed to be foreign business types, mainly Aussies, but there was also a smattering of folks I suspected to be Communist Party officials, given the reverential way they were greeted and deferred to. Each of them had a flunkie to carry his bag! At 11.05, an airline attendant came into the lounge to announce the departure of the Da Nang flight. We were led outside to Gate 2 and down the stairs to a waiting minibus that said “business class passengers” on the side. A Vietnam Airlines 767 was loading up at Gate 1 and out on the tarmac there was a Fokker-70. The bus pulled off and drove to the middle of the tarmac where our A320 awaited. As we boarded, I noticed that economy was already seated and full. The plane is configured with 12 in F and 138 in Y. Settled into my window seat (3A) and took a glass of OJ to quench my thirst. The seat was very much like the J seat on the SQ A310. Comfy, but not much legroom. A couple of minutes later, a Mercedes pulled up to the aircraft door and out hopped a middle-aged gent with flunkie and bag in tow!! Flunkie went to economy while the party apparatchik sat in 1A. After the usual safety demonstration, the captain (an Aussie) came on to tell us the flight would be 55 minutes and smooth. Shortly after take-off, a wondrous smell wafted down the aisle from the galley … and I was dreaming of a spicy meal. No such luck. In addition to a drink, we got what looked like a Cornish Pasty (for those of you not familiar with English cuisine, a pasty is like a meat or vegetable pie made with puff pastry). It was edible enough … washed down with more mineral water. Just as we began our descent into Da Nang, the captain came on to say we would be slightly delayed due to Vietnamese Air Force activity at the airport!!!! Turns out the air force was practicing take-offs and landings in what looked like pretty ancient MiGs. Once on the ground, all the biz class passengers were driven to the small terminal in another minibus. We stood around for about 10 minutes, and then just as the economy passengers were getting off their big bus, the bags started to come out. Off then for a couple of days R+R at the Furama Resort.

Sunday 2 December – HUI-HAN on VN246: Airbus A320
Made my way overland from Da Nang to Hue. The flight was scheduled for 2.30pm. I got to the airport at 12.30pm just as a couple of busloads of French tourists arrived, also making for Hanoi. At about 1.00pm, a sign went up for Biz class check-in. I asked my interpreter to see if I could upgrade as I had a Y2 ticket. She came back and told me there was NO business class on this flight!! Whatever. Managed to squeeze in between two competing tour guides and get a seat assignment … 19C. Take it or leave it!! Made my way to the departure lounge and plonked myself in front of the window at the front. Shortly before 1.30pm, our plane arrived from Hanoi. The ground crew had the cargo pallets off in less than 10 minutes and new ones loaded. At 2.00pm we were bussed out to the plane and loaded via the back door. I noticed biz was empty. Then I realized it was being held for Communist Party officials, as my interpreter had told me the night before there were a number of senior apparatchiks in Hue on Saturday evening. Sure enough, a couple of blokes with their families got on at 2.10pm. We taxied out to the runway and at 2.24pm the captain came on to say we were waiting for six minutes for another plane to land before we could take-off. Right on cue at 2.30pm I saw an ATR-72 come down at the far end of the runway and taxi off towards the terminal. We were off. I dozed off, but did notice that little lunch boxes with a donut-thingy was served. The flight was just over an hour and we landed at Hanoi’s shiny new terminal. It is bright and airy and nicely sign-posted. My interpreter (a different one this time) told me it had opened only three months ago!! Off then to the Sofitel Metropole Hotel.

Wednesday 5 December – HAN-SIN on SQ175: Airbus A340-300
Another cloudy morning in Hanoi. Checked out of the hotel at noon and was driven to the airport. When I got there about 45 minutes later for the 2.30pm flight, the check-in area for Singapore was chock full … there were long lines for economy. Business had only four people in front of me … first class had only two people. I was beginning to settle in for a long wait as the bloke right in front of me was trying to check in about 12 boxes as personal luggage! One of the SQ reps kept telling him he could only have three. Thankfully someone who looked liked a supervisor in the FC line waved me over, and I was checked-in in no time. The agent also handed me an invitation for the lounge. The man with the boxes seemed to have resolved his problem by dividing the surplus boxes among a couple of newly arrived mates. Off then to immigration. No delay there. Then to my horror, I thought my planning had gone completely pear-shaped … I had held back US$11 to pay the departure tax, only to see a sign that said $14!!! Where was I going to find the extra three bucks? No ATMs in sight … all sorts of desperate scenarios loomed. Then I looked in my wallet again and saw I had S$28 (Singapore dollars) … I proffered a mixture of currencies as payment … no problem and got back US$2 as change! Another line, this time to hand over the departure tax receipt and to screen hand baggage. Through there I noticed a sign for lounges … the first was for CX and EVA Air, amongst others. A little further down I saw a cardboard cutout of a Singapore girl inviting me in! The lounge is a little disappointing … in addition to SQ, the sign says it is shared by AF amongst a plethora of other carriers. I hope they have all scheduled their flights well apart because there’s not a lot of room!! In this brand new airy terminal, they have managed only a couple of nice, but somewhat small lounges. When I arrived, it was pretty full and it only got fuller as departure time neared!! Shortly after 1pm, I noticed the tailfin of the A340 pulling into the gate opposite. There was no official departure announcement, everyone just to know when to board. I rambled over to the plane just after 2pm and was guided down the walkway for F and J … the walkway for Y was jammers. Quickly found my seat – 15K – in the second half of the biz cabin. It is configured 2-2-2 and the plane is laid out with 10 in P, 30 in J and 225 in Y. Biz was full as was economy … don’t know if the very front was full. Settled into my seat … and swallowed some OJ as a pre-departure drink. Also was handed space age noise-reducing headset … UA still dishing out crummy headsets in biz. The bloke beside me had a PPS tag on his carry-on … as we rolled out for take-off, he asked me if I was on business. When I said I wasn’t, he very quickly lost interest in chatting!! Take-off had to wait more comings and goings from the Vietnamese Air Force as MiGs roared off ahead off ahead of us. Lunch orders came shortly after lift-off. I really fancied the spicy fish (see menu below) but was suffering from a somewhat delicate stomach and intestine that was chock full of heavy duty antibiotics that I decided to pass and go for the pork.
Here’s the menu and wine list (in full):
APPETIZER
Smoked Turkey with potato and walnut salad
MAIN COURSE
Fondue of chicken in forestiere sauce with tomatoes and fettuccine;
Braised pork with yam with red bean curd, leafy greens, carrots and fried noodles;
Vietnamese-style braised fish with chili and lemon grass with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice
CHEESE
Cheese with garnishes
DESSERT
Sherry trifle
PRALINES
TEA AND COFFEE

WINE LIST
Champagne – Duval Leroy Blanc de Chardonnay 1995
White – Rheingau Riesling Spatese Balthasar Reserve 1999; Montagny 1er Cru 1998 Laboure-Roi
Red – Chateau Beaumont 1998 Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois; Chianti Superiore Ducq 1997 Poggio al Cassone.

My previously inquisitive friend was having some sort of special meal … but it seemed to consist entirely of fruit. After two courses of fruit he was getting pretty tired and testy. The purser agreed fruit was a bit of a cop-out and tried to offer him something from FC … eventually they settled on the sherry trifle. My pork was very nice … and the trifle was pretty ok … hadn’t had trifle for years. Used to get it at home when I was a kid with Sunday dinner. The J seat on the A340 is better than on the A310 – that’s not saying much. To be honest, I didn’t much care for it from a comfort point of view. I’m only 5’10 and the footrest extension doesn’t stretch out fully leaving my knees pushed up. In fact, I had to put away the footrest to eat my lunch as the foldout table wouldn’t lie flat on top of my knees!!! Service, though, was very good. About halfway through the flight, a young woman from Y dared to try to use one of the toilets in biz. She was intercepted with a “can I help you?” from one of the male flight attendants. She was quickly pointed to her place in the netherworld at the back of the bus!! I didn’t get into the Krisworld entertainment system as I was engrossed in a funny book about Japanese soccer and its societal quirks – required reading as I’m hoping to make the World Cup next summer (in Japan and South Korea) and see the boys in green stuff Germany, Saudi Arabia and Cameroon in the first round. After that everything will be a lark! As we descended into Changi as the sun set, the plane turned in over the Singapore Straight loaded up with tankers and bulk carriers. It was quite a sight! The two blokes behind me were an Aussie and New Zealander … both had layovers of four hours or more before. We landed shortly before 7pm … as usual, I had my bags and was out of the airport in a taxi within 15 minutes of touching down. Off to the sumptuous surroundings of the Horizon Club floor of the Shangri-La (more of which in the Shangri-La forum when I get around to it).

Monday 10 December – SIN-NRT on UA890: B747-400
Asian adventure almost over (sniff). Got into the taxi shortly after 5am as the plane was due off at 7am. The driver said he was going to speed to Changi as the new security procedures could mean long lines. On the way, he told me about some other traveler he picked up recently who was very late for his flight. Apparently, the driver said he could go 200kmh (140mph+) to get yer man there but it would cost him … S$200 (US$120) … cash up front! If my taxi man got caught, he’d be stuck with a hefty fine and points on his license. According to the driver, his passenger coughed up and was at the airport in less than eight minutes!! My journey was purely pedestrian … a mere 16 minutes! The biz line had only about ten people in front of me. We all had to open the baggage we intended to check for inspection. No worries. Inspector laughed when I told him the bottles in one of my bags contained Vietnamese cobra liquor!!! Checking-in, I inquired about changing seats as I had 22G again all the way back to SFO. Had to stick for the run to NRT but 15H was available from NRT-SFO. Settled in and was handed headset and menu (see details below). The captain came on and was very nice. Said he was making channel 9 available. I tuned in, but there seemed to be an awful lot of static and mush around. We were preceded for take-off by a Malaysian Airlines 737 and followed by an oddly colored Gulf Air A340. I really fancied the noodles, but as often happens, I nodded off on take-off and awoke 40 minutes later to discover the noodles were all gone!! My companion in the next seat seems to a real regular commuting from ORD to SIN at least twice a month! He was recognized by several crewmembers who all warmly welcomed him back. A nice touch. The flight passed fairly quickly as I again nodded off, though the airshow wasn’t working properly. It only showed time at origination and destination.
Menu (in full)
MAIN COURSE
Poached eggs on corned beef hash – Spinach Hollandaise with roasted new potatoes, grilled chicken sausage and a fresh fruit appetizer
Singapore-style fried noodles – Stir-fried noodles with shrimp, crabmeat, bean sprouts, mushrooms and eggs, with a fresh fruit appetizer
Continental breakfast – Selection of breakfast pastries, sliced season fruit, cereal and yogurt

PRIOR TO ARRIVAL
Grilled Cajun breast of chicken – Artichoke, bell pepper and Kalamata olive salad
Spaghetti Bolognese with Parmesan cheese – Spaghetti with minced beef and vegetables
DESSERT
Walnut coffee cake

Touched down at NRT shortly after 2pm. Made my way to the RCC and found a seat by the window to watch the arrivals and departures. A Korean Air 747-400 made way on the nearest gate for a United 777. Next door two American 777s arrived shortly after one another. Pretty poor selection of edibles on offer at the RCC … though I do like their beer machines that tilt the glass so you get a properly poured (sort of) pint!! Met up with a friend of mine for a quick drink before he headed off to LAX. Then rambled off to Gate 17 at 4.15pm or so.

NRT-SFO on UA838: B747-400
Headed upstairs and got settled into 15A. Then the bloke in 15K asked if I would mind swapping so he could sit next to his friend. No problemo. Headset, amenity kit and blanket all nicely laid out on the seats. Had some water before departure.
Captain – Gary Olson, I think – came on and was very informative and welcoming. Flight time would be a merciful 8 hours and 16 minutes compared to the 12 on the way over. He, too, made C9 available. Then the menus were handed out (see below). I went for the Mad Cow, which was pretty good and watched “Pay it Forward” with Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joe Osmert before passing out for more than four hours. Came to about 90 mins out of SFO and had the fruit plate for breakfast. It was very good with pineapple, papaya, melon, kiwi fruit and strawberries.
Menu
TO BEGIN
Chicken terrine with smoked tuna sushi – gari and soy sauce
Garden fresh salad – vinaigrette dressing
MAIN COURSE
Filet mignon with roasted corn and sausage ragout – garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley
Sautéed breast of chicken with porcini sauce – creamy corn risotto and sugar snap peas with dill carrot batonnets
Japanese Obento selection – An appetizer of smoked salmon roll, conger eel sushi, fried rolled tofu, shrimp and buckwheat noodles
A main course of salmon and vegetables with shiitake mushrooms, simmered chicken, vinegared shrimp and steamed rice
Dessert – wagashi served with green tea.
DESSERT
Eli’s peach cheesecake

PRIOR TO ARRIVAL
Cheddar cheese omelette with chicken fried rice – roasted tomato sauce, pork sausage and fresh fruit appetizer OR
Fresh seasonal fruit late with creamy yogurt.

The lines at immigration were pretty long, as I think three flights arrived together, but the INS chaps did a pretty good job trying to equalize the US citizens/permanent residents’ line with the visitors’ lines … moving people across to speed things along. Needless to say – excuse the jab here – an ugly American (of Asian persuasion) reared his head and was heard complaining loudly about how terrible it was to stand in line for about 15 minutes. An INS inspector did his best to placate him, though to not much avail … eventually he gave in and let the complainer through to short line. I personally would have handcuffed the complainer and banged him up for a couple of hours to make him see reason (good old liberal thinking here!!) After making it through customs, headed for the baggage re-check and then to the domestic terminal. Another fiasco of long lines and slow screening. Made it to the RCC, which was almost chock full.

SFO-IAD on UA838: B777
Settled into 8J. Both F and C were full … though I don’t think Y was packed.
Don’t remember much about this flight as I fell asleep shortly after take-off, waking up 30 minutes before arrival at Dulles. For the record, here’s the menu.
TO BEGIN
Black pepper-crusted tuna with vegetable slaw – Wasabi and Asian sesame dressing
Southwestern salad, roasted corn and tortilla chips – with Asian sesame ginger or Thousand Island dressing
MAIN COURSE
Deluxe double Cheddar cheeseburger – mustard potato salad
Shrimp paella with a tomato and olive ragout – sautéed shrimp in brown rice with a bell pepper medley
Treccie dell’orto pasta with wild mushroom sauce – Asparagus, carrots, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.
DESSERT
Eli’s Apple Crunch cheesecake

FEATURED WINES
White wine – Geyser Peak Sonoma County Chardonnay 1999 and Caliterra Maipo Valley Chardonnay 2000
Red Wine – Chateau Los Boldos Requinoa Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and Cotes-du-Rhone Chateau d’Orsan Grenache 1999.

There you have it … a little longer than I thought. Overall, I give each of the airlines good marks for different things: UA for the C+ seats, which are excellent. Service was also good. SQ for service and the Silver Kris Lounge. VN for very good short haul C product and nice new aircraft.

Deco11

Great Report! I'm thinking you pay a lot of attention to detail!!! I'm a fellow countryman and football fan but I support the team that won 3-1. Yah gotta' love 'Barthez'!!! The 'Plonker' If you're ever interested in a Mileage Run to catch a Premiership match give me a shout.

Slan go foill.

JAP

UAPremExecFlyer,

Let's just sandwich the Scouser with this post !!

I'm with you, and a bit depressed at the moment, but I'm sure that last nights' result will have helped a little !

http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/Tea...562,27,00.html

From a fellow MU-Irishman !!

Deco11

Jap,
The hell I am a 'Scouser' That is nearly worse that calling me a 'Manca'. Look to see who they played Nov 25th and you'll find the BEST team in the country!

JAP

Apologies Deco11 - you're a Gooner then ?

I've been trying to erase the recent memories from my memory banks, so confusion reigns
However, I think we're getting back on our feet again with our 2 recent wins.

Humbly requesting forgiveness

JAP