thumbun

After a slow start to the travel year, May has been jam packed with days “on the road” and in the air. Last weekend was the second of two trips this month to the New York metro area for family events. I reported the first under the title “PS – I Love You.” See, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...t-sfo-jfk.html

Although I have flown to EWR too many times for my own good, I’ve decided that any future trip to the New York area from either SFO or LAX will be to JFK. (News to me – UA no longer flies nonstop between LAX and EWR.) As I mentioned in my previous posting, I think the UA’s PS product (especially in F or C) is superior to any other product servicing those routes, regardless of carrier.

This weekend’s sojourn actually started on Wednesday morning – 24 hours prior to departure -- when I printed our boarding passes for UA 90. This flight would be on an A319 and we opted for seats 1C/D.
UA 90 was scheduled to depart SFO at 8:40 am (PDT) on Thursday. We drove to SFO from Marin County and parked on Level 3 of Parking Garage G, which is adjacent to International Terminal G. See my previous reports for the advantages of parking here as opposed to long-term parking or one of the off-airport lots.

We arrived at SFO at 6:50 am, checked our two bags at the 1K desk and were through the premium security lines at 7:12 am. Because we were leaving from Gate 73A, we didn’t make the trek to the RCC; instead we walked over to the International Terminal using the new “post security” walkway near Gate 75. ^ On this particular morning, it was too early to see much action at the international gates, although there were two early morning Virgin America flights (Gates 98 and 100) bound for the east coast and an Air Canada flight (Gate 101) bound for Montreal (decked out its Trans-Canada “retro” livery.) At 7:50 am we were back at Gate 73A, just in time to see our A319, arriving as UA 35 from DFW. Unfortunately, either there was something wrong with the equipment (or something wrong with the gate agent,) because a maintenance person was called to extend the jetway to the door of the aircraft. Nevertheless, because of the light load coming in from DFW, the aircraft was turned around quickly, allowing boarding for UA 90 to begin at 8:15 am.

The FAs had drinks in our hand only a few minutes after we settled into our seats. They also made the appropriate number of announcements about carry on bags, stepping out of the aisle, etc., so that we were ready to go at 8:35 am. But wait, we have a problem! Apparently, there was something wrong with the fabric covers for seats 24A/B, so we had to wait for a maintenance person to replace them. Luckily, this took no time at all and the doors closed at 8:45 am, only 5 minutes behind schedule.

Channel 9 was available. ^ We pushed back from the gate at 8:48 am and began our taxi to Runway 1R via Alpha and Alpha 1. The captain announced that due to weather on the east coast and limited visibility at SFO that our “wheels up” time was 9:00 am; however, we ran into a traffic jam at Runway 1R and did not takeoff until 9:21 am.

The snarky make FA took our drink and breakfast orders about 15 minutes after takeoff. As usual, I had my morning tomato juice and the egg and cheese omelet, with potatoes, two sausage links, a piece of Canadian bacon, fruit and a croissant. This is the standard F fare for morning flights out of SFO. I don’t think UA has changed this menu in over four years. Of course, I always order it and eat it, so I shouldn’t complain. The FA made a number of inquiries during the flight to see if we needed anything. Despite his sour demeanor, I appreciated the fact that he was efficient and non-obtrusive. He also strictly enforced the bathroom rules and wouldn’t allow anyone from Y to wander up front.

The flight itself was smooth until just before landing and I took the opportunity to read about 150 pages of my book, while listening to Channel 9 (although I did take a 20 minute break to watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory.)

Ok – here comes the nerdy part. Next time I should take pictures and make this more interesting.

Once airborne we turned to 030 degrees, which took us over OAK. Leaving 7,000 feet we were cleared direct to SMF. The captain told us that because of the weather we would be taking a northerly route. UA 8 from SFO to JFK was behind us the entire way across the country. Here are the highlights of the flight:

9:47 am – abeam Lake Tahoe at 35,000 feet
9:50 am – cleared to Battle Mountain (Nevada)
9:55 am – handoff to Salt Lake Center
10:42 am – handoff to Denver Center
11:25 am – handoff to Minneapolis Center, clearance to 37,000
11:34 am – cleared to the Cesna intersection (Burnett County, Wisconsin)
12:15 pm – cleared to the Pendo intersection (near Barrie, Ontario)
12:40 pm – excellent view of Green Bay and Door County, WI and Lake Michigan
12:50 pm – handoff to Toronto Center
1:15 pm – cleared to cross the Tuleg intersection (near Oswego, NY) at 29,000 feet
1:29 pm – handoff to Boston Center
1:40 pm – cleared to the Sparta intersection (Sussex County, NJ – northwest corner of state)
2:06 pm – handoff to New York approach; directed to Shaff 6 arrival and ILS approach to Runway 22L
2:25 pm – touchdown on Runway 22L at EWR; flight time = 5 hours and 4 minutes

We taxied via Victor, Romeo-Bravo, Alpha to Gate 16, and the doors opened at 2:32 pm (5:32 pm – EDT). My partner headed to baggage claim while I hopped on the EWR AirTrain and headed to the Hertz lot to retrieve our rent-a-car for the weekend. This is where I had my brain fart for the weekend. At EWR, the Hertz Gold board only tells you from which wall slot you can get your rental contract. You still need to stop at the agent’s desk for verification. As Hertz has a tendency to do, it upgraded me to an SUV. I asked to be downgraded to a midsize car, and the agent made the swap quickly. He told me that my car was in stall 277, but for some reason (I really can’t blame jet lag,) my brain took me to stall 227. Luckily, the guard at the exit to the lot caught my mistake. I felt like an idiot. I finally got to the correct car, and by the time I made it back to Terminal A, my partner was waiting with our bags. By 6:10 pm we were off to Rockland County, NY.

During our brief three-night visit to New York/New Jersey, we stayed in three different hotels. We spent the first night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Nanuet, NY; the second night at the Holiday Inn Express in Newton, NJ; and the third night at the Hilton Newark Airport. I must admit that spending Saturday night at the EWR Hilton was a stroke of genius. Our return flight to SFO was scheduled to depart at 6:34 a.m. (EDT). Had we spent a second night at the Holiday Inn Express in Newton, we would have gotten up around 3:30 p.m. for the 50-mile drive back to the airport.

We left the EWR Hilton around 4:30 p.m. (neither one of us could sleep) and attempted to navigate our way through the confusing interchanges around the airport and back to the Hertz lot. Unfortunately, we drove on to the wrong ramp and almost ended up heading toward the Holland Tunnel. Eventually, however, we found our way, returned the car and hopped on the AirTrain for the short ride to Terminal A.

We checked in and printed our boarding passes for UA 91 the day before, opting for seats 6C/D on a 757-200. We had no problems checking our bags and quickly made our way through security and over to Gate 17 (the RCC did not open until 6:00 a.m.) The Starbucks in the concourse was scheduled to open at 5:00 a.m., but the two baristas did not start taking orders until around 5:25 a.m., despite some very pointed and rude comments from the unruly mob waiting to get its more caffeine fix. Who has the energy to be that confrontational that early on a Sunday morning? Not me!!!

Boarding was scheduled to commence at 6:04 a.m., but at the very last minute the GA made a gate change announcement and we all shuffled over to Gate 16. Apparently, the aircraft designated for the flight had some major maintenance issues and was going nowhere fast. Luckily, another 757 was parked on the ramp, and the ground crew quickly towed it up to the gate. (BTW – UA canceled Flt. 819 to ORD, its 757 service scheduled to depart at 7:24 a.m.)

Boarding for my flight began at 6:20 a.m. Although we were behind schedule, the captain announced that we had favorable winds and would make up some time in the air. The FAs served the standard juice and water and took our breakfast orders – fruit plate or the standard egg and cheese omelet described earlier. Being a glutton for punishment, I opted for the eggs. Obviously, “glutton” is the operative term.

I have come to expect that many of the UA FAs are miserable and don’t enjoy their jobs. Although service on this flight was adequate, it wouldn’t kill them to smile every once in a while. Still, my breakfast was served quickly and efficiently, and I was asked a number of times if I needed a refill on my tomato juice, coffee and water.

The aircraft doors closed at 6:45 a.m. and we pushed back from the gate at 6:47 a.m. At 6:54 a.m. we began our taxi to Runway 4L via Romeo-Alpha, Bravo, Romeo-Bravo, Victor, Delta, Papa-Delta. Surprisingly, we were #1 for takeoff and became airborne at exactly 7:00 a.m. Channel 9 was not available.

On our initial climb, we had a fantastic view of Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline, from Wall Street all the way to Central Park. About 3 minutes after takeoff we made a turn toward the west and climbed into the clouds. We actually climbed through several layers of clouds and did not break into clear sunshine until 20 minutes or so into the flight. A line of thunderstorms passed through the New York area around 2:00 a.m. and the initial part of the flight was through the back end of the storm front. No chop or turbulence, just thick clouds.

By 7:35 a.m., however, the clouds were gone and I had a clear view of the landscape below. At 7:54 a.m. we flew just south of Cleveland. At 8:36 a.m., I had a clear view of the entire Chicagoland area and at 8:55 a.m. we crossed the Mississippi River near the Quad Cities. When not looking out the window, I listed to music on my trusty iPod and read my book. At 10:35 a.m., we crossed the front range of the Rockies and were treated to spectacular views of the snow-capped peaks to the west of Denver. By 12:01 p.m., we had crossed into California near Mono Lake and began our descent shortly thereafter at 12:10 p.m. We made the standard approach from the east (the Modesto 3 approach), and at 12:28 p.m. – 9:28 a.m. (PDT) touched down on Runway 28L – a flight time of 5 hours and 28 minutes. We taxied via Tango and Bravo to Gate 91, and the doors opened at 9:32 a.m.

As is our tradition, my partner claimed the bags and I made our way back to the car. By 9:55 a.m., we were heading back to Marin County. Although we were tired, we both were happy to be home and to have the entire day to unwind before returning to the weekday rat race.

Next up is a quick trip to Los Angeles this weekend to see my parents. Our next big trip together is 3 weeks and 2 days from now (but who’s counting?) when we head to Amsterdam via London on UA and BD.