UA823 ORD-EZE, Seat 2F

Arrived at the ORD C concourse UA F lounge at 2000hs. Checked my email and had a message from some fellow FTers/MMilers that wanted to see if we could meet up. Unfortunately I got there too late and wasn't able to reach anybody on cell phones so I settled in. Had a positive experience at this lounge, of which I'm reporting separately (see thread in the UA forum).

Left the lounge at 2100 sharp and headed for gate C15. The flight was oversold, and there was quite a lot of tension at the gate�. Agents looking for volunteers for bumps and angry pax with lots of complaints. I evaded the crowd and went straight to the door, wished the agent a Merry Xmas and was on my way down the Jetway. The F cabin was full, with only my seat and that of the pilot still empty. Settled in next to what was to be my partner for the 10+ hour flight, the fellow turned out to be a friendly Brazilian physicist that trains surgeons� Purser came along to greet me and take my jacket, she also helped me store my Tumi roller in one of the closets in the front section of the cabin. Newspapers, amenity kits and drinks came shortly thereafter. I was happy to see that the noise reduction headsets actually worked. Just before doors closed, menus were distributed and meal choices were taken, 1Ks being served first. I thought this was the case since I was approached first and my seatmate was ignored "I shall return to you in a second, sir", the purser noted. I later confirmed this as I gazed at the manifest during my bio-run to the facilities before dozing off onto cloud no. 9�.. (zzzzz) In any event, let me get back to the service before my snoring�

[to be continued]

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Gaucho100K

"I shall return to you in a second, sir", the purser noted.

I still think that is a most obnoxious practice on United's part.

After we leveled off, warm nuts and drinks were served. I decided to continue with the Dom I had kicked-off at the lounge. It was impeccably chilled. After the initial round of drinks, the FA's served the back-up pilot an early seating meal and then started to attend to the pax. I noticed the purser and one FA serving the F cabin. Hot towels came along with the linens. The menu stated the following:

To begin:

Warm crab cake with marinara sauce
- garlic and shallot saut�ed spinach

(or)
Beef carpaccio with red onion brule
- sun dried tomato and Parmesan cheese

Garden salad with balsamic Dijon vinaigrette or creamy Gorgonzola dressing
Assorted of specialty breads fresh from the bakery

Main Course:

Grilled veal tenderloin with portobello mushroom reduction
- cheddar mashed potatoes and vegetable saut�

Salmon and halibut in a zucchini wrap
- Israeli couscous and tomato onion stew

Woodland mushrooms and asparagus
- Treccie dell'Orto pasta and white truffle oil

The Early Seating meal

Beef carpaccio with red onion brule
Chilled marinated shrimp with charred tomato salsa, avocado cream
Chaumes and Bavarian blue cheese

Dessert

International cheese sampler
Chaumes, Emmenthal and Bavarian Blue Cheese

Ben&Jerrys ice cream with sundae toppings

Fresh seasonal fruit

Breakfast - prior to arrival

Breakfast sampler
Ham, cheese and seasonal fruit

Scrambled egg timbals with corned beef hash
- Hollandaise sauce

Featured Wines

Champagne - Brut, Dom Perignon
Malbec - Trapiche Oak cask, Mendoza 1997
Port - Sandeman's Porto

I was surprised to see no white wine, other than the champagne on the menu. Nevertheless, there was a non-sparkling white offered, although I didn't catch the label. I selected the carpaccio and the mushroom/asparagus pasta.

The carpaccio was fine, although it was more like a micro-mini steak (well done) than anything close to what I know as carpaccio. Not rare, and not thinly sliced�. Perhaps some of the back-up chefs that UA's catering service is currently using need some cooking lessons�.??? In any event, the pasta main course made up for the unique carpaccio�. The pasta was good, with adequate texture, good sauce and at the perfect temperature. A positive surprise.

Service was good, with the FA filling my glasses very often, and an overall attentive service. I finished up with a double dessert, both the cheese & grapes and the B&J ice cream with extra fudge and cream - albeit no nuts.

I chose not to have bfast and slept until the last minute before landing at Ministro Pistarini International Airport, where we had an on-time arrival. Overall I think this was a good flight, considering all the cutbacks that UA has been doing lately. It left me with a glimmer of hope that maybe things will slowly get better...


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Gaucho100K

Thanks for the great report. I have take AA frlm JFK-EZE in F many times. Must say that the Flagship Suite seating arrangement is fabulous compared to the 767. Happy Holidays

sarecca-- How about F&B and service on AA, is it better to what you've experienced on UA?

It does sound nice. Thanks for the report!

Thanks for the comments. I will see if I have the nerve to take some pictures from my upcoming flights. BTW, does anybody know how to post the photos...?

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Gaucho100K

Enters celbrian, the FTer who saved Christmas:

Open a free account with www.geocities.com and create a web site.
They will provide you with a very easy to use freeware that'll enable you to load pictures on it. Your address will look like something like this: www.geocities.com/Gaucho100K/...

Merry Xmas!

Thanks celbrain, I will do just that.... Bonne Natale to you!!

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Gaucho100K

Whaat?!! No cheeseburgers?!

I have only flown United�s Business Class to EZE and found it quite good. I enjoyed one of the better airline entrees I�ve ever had in any class on any airline on the way down, a Cornish Game Hen stuffed with an apple-cumin mixture. Scrumptious!

Just curious ~ if should you happen to grab a Business Class menu on your return, does UA still offer essentially the same fare in Business as First Class?

Re. comparisons to AA�s First Class service on this route: If only judging from tfung�s reports, AA offers a more extensive menu on services to EZE and in general all longer flights. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002023.html

Thanks for the fine report.


[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 12-26-2001).]

Nice hearing about UA int'l F. Thanks for the quick report!

Thanks to all for the comments.

Seat 2A-- I just got off my return flight and didnt see your post... sorry, didnt grab a business class menu. However, I did fly C this November and found that the cutbacks in food in Business Class were also quite relevant. Having said that, in F you still get the salad course separately (but no more soup), and the dessert does come by itself and not served on your tray.

Stay tuned for more reports, I have a EZE-ORD coming up in the next couple of minutes and then I will report on ORD-NRT-SIN.