Alone in First Class
 

GSO-EWR
11-23-19
E70

Took a very rare GSO-EWR flight with F seating (they're usually 145's) and had the whole section to myself. SDC'd to this flight at T-8, did OLCI, then was upgraded about 5 minutes later. Small snack basket, G&T, and my own FA for 1:50 of blocked time, so more of a novelty than anything else,

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0482ce6cd4.jpg

What I found odd was the number of booked E+ seats. Nearly all of these seats had already been assigned when I checked in. They couldn't have had Elite status, as I was the only one on the Upgrade list. There were plenty of open E- seats. Would this many people have actually paid for E+ on such a short flight? Isn't the E+ charge on a per-segment basis, so paying for E+ on the connection wouldn't give you E+ on the first leg? (Or does one fee cover both legs of a connection?) Very little difference between the number of occupied E+ seats at T-8 vs pre-boarding, so it wouldn't have been courtesy "upgrades" by the GA. Just curious.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d2aedb9b2b.jpg

Only one elite on a UA flight? This seems like some sort of unprecedented singularity!

I was once on an AC IAH-YEG flight that had a completely empty front cabin, though.

This has been discussed before. The usual answers are non-revs, B fares, E+ subscriptions, elites on award tickets, couples who don't split up, etc.

UA has tagged GSO as one of the first to get the new 550's. The local newspaper even ran a story about it. United's Regional Jet Brings New First Class Service.

The last time I saw an empty F seat was BUF-EWR on a Q400 at least 5 years ago. Total unicorn sighting, for me...

This is precisely why I hope UA will send the 550 to FAR someday. I'd actually be able to score the occasional CPU, and though short, it'd make the hop to DEN or ORD more pleasant.

Been alone last year MUC-BOS ... oh wait ... that was real First Class ;)

In the good old days when PMUA had a Latin America hub at MIA, they were using three class 777 flying between MIA and IAD (prior IPTF), I was alone in F all by myself on a weekday flying from MIA to IAD.

Another time, almost, NRT to LAX on the 744. I was the only F passenger until they moved a non-rev from C to F. They were only 16 passengers on the entire 744. This was in the 1996 when UA started a second flight between NRT and LAX, and it was its second day of service.

I'm glad to see the OP did the right thing and selected 2A as their seat. The "only" seat to have in that cabin :)

-RM

Actually in this case I would (and in a similar case I did) choose 2D. It is nice to have the seat next to you to put down your effects at leisure, and it is more removed from the aisle, so it feels slightly sequestered.

I also had an empty beside me once in the 789 2-2-2 J cabin SIN-LAX. Couldn't believe my luck.

I would have also chosen 2D, and asked the FA to leave the snack basket in 2C...:p

OP was like Kevin in home alone...Was it lonely?

Flew SFO->TUS last week - UA5396 on a ERJ175. Flight appeared to be about 1/2 full. Twelve seats in F, I was the only one. Fairly confident I've never seen this before.

Last time it happened to me was on a Copa flight from Panama to NY. It was awesome. Like a good pax I kept my assigned seat! There were 2 FAs in F on that flight. My drink was always full!