United Airlines 777 Rear Facing Business Class Seats

I always wondered what the rear facing business class seats on United were like, so I grabbed one (with an upgrade) last month on a flight from Denver to Chicago to find out; I didn't want a longer test in case I didn't like the feeling. I really didn't notice a difference in flight.  The bigger issue with seat 9A was a missing window and claustrophobic feeling.  The forces experienced at take off and landing are reversed too; it wasn't uncomfortable, but just felt a little off.  

United Airlines 777 Seat 9A Rear Facing Business Class Seat

Denver Snow Day

It's a snowy day in Denver, but things are running smoothly at DEN. I can't wait to get someplace warmer.

Frontier Jets at De-Icing

United MileagePlus Program Changes in 2013

I looked at the MileagePlus benefits chart today and saw that it was "Effective March 3, 2012 through January 31, 2013."  I'm worried about what changes will be coming.  Airlines are especially bad at announcing changes in advance and program changes tend to be drastic.

United 757 at Newark

UPDATE:  Massive inflation!!!  There will be two award charts, one for United and one for partners.  Premium cabins on partners will not be worth while.  Book now while your account still has value.

2013 Travel Has Started - Booking At Least

I booked my first trip for 2013. Just a cheap (sub $200) to PHL with an out of the way stop in each direction. Never too early to start re-qualifying for status.  There are some cheap fares in January and February too. I found my fare using ITA Matrix and searching for UA, UA+ in the advanced routing codes for airports within 500 miles of LGA.

Even United Knows I'm Flying For Miles

United Express ERJ145 Exit Row

Exit rows are the first class of Southwest Airlines and 50 seat regional jets. The ERJ-145 has a ton of leg room in row 12 and is my favorite 50 seat jet. It feels much more spacious than the CRJ-200, it's main competitor.  You can really notice the difference, especially on longer flights.

Exit Row 12 on United Express ERJ-145

United Express ERJ Going to Chicago

United Airlines 787 Dreamliner Spotted at Denver

I spotted United's new 787 Dreamliner at DEN last night. It looks slick and a little like a 767. The cockpit windows and nose section really stand out and there were quite a few people stopping to take a look.

United Airlines' New 787

United Airlines' 787 Wingspan Looks Huge

Time to Start Planning 2013 Adventures

Now that I made 1K for 2012, I am able to relax about status (SPG stays #24 and #25 are booked, so I’m safe).  It feels great not to worry.  The problem is 2013 is just around the corner and my business travel won’t get me close to 1K in 2013.  I’m looking for cheap United flights early in 2013 to get a status head start and maybe find some cheap deals to new places.

Sunset at Denver Airport on United 737

Denver isn’t the cheapest airport and there isn’t a close alternative (COS is 2 hours drive, but the fares aren’t great there either).  There are a few flights to Oslo or Stockholm for about 6.5c per mile flown.  Not bad, but not great.  I haven’t been to either city, so I’m tempted to book.  The price is a little high for just the miles and the fare has a two night stay required.  I wouldn’t mind a short vacation, but I’d rather go when it’s warm and there is sunlight.

US Airways Jet in New York

Domestic flights aren’t any cheaper from Denver; I’m looking at 8c a mile.  There are some cheap transcon flights (BOS-SNA for 4.5c / mi), but I’d need to reposition to a coast and that’s not cost effective unless I fly a few round trips.  There aren’t any cheap day trips out there, so very frustrating.  I guess I’ll go back to ITA Matrix and search some more.

United Shop Discount Code

The United Shop is offering 10% off purchases November 26th with promo code UNITEDCYBER12.

ANA 777-300 Business Class Flight Tokyo to LAX

After my amazing stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, it was time to return home.  The Narita Express was on time and check in was a breeze.  Narita airport (NRT) has some great duty free stores and I was excited to check them out.  Unfortunately, the strong Yen took all the fun out of duty shopping in Tokyo.  If it were 100:1, the prices would be great, but at 80:1 I didn’t find any deals.  I did spend my leftover money on some Hello Kitty stuff for my niece, she liked it.  

ANA 777-300 NRT-LAX

After shopping, I went lounge hopping.  First stop was the United Club.  The lounge is huge, bigger than any in the USA.  They had lots of yummy sushi (for a westerner) and a draught beer machine that pours a perfect pint.  Next up, thanks to Priority Pass form the Palladium Card, was the Korean Air lounge.  It was small and nicely decorated, good liquor, but limited food items.  Finally I visited the ANA business class lounge.  I might have been the only westerner in the place.  The lounge is large and had some good views of the field.  The snacks were more Japanese in focus, but I still enjoyed a few sushi rolls and beer.

ANA Business Class Lounge Tokyo - NRT

United Club Tokyo - NRT

I left the lounge in time to make it to the gate before boarding started.  I was really excited to fly the 777-300 (my first trip on the stretched model), fly with ANA (first time in their care), and experience a new business class (new to me and the world).  I was such an excited nerd; I even wore a Boeing t-shirt.  The seats are great.  They are in an offset staggered layout, so no one is next to you.  It feels very private and is exceptionally quiet.  The seat is a little narrow and maybe 5’10’’ long when flat.  I’m 5’10’’ so it felt a little cramped.  I was also the tallest person I saw, so I guess these were designed with the home market in mind.  The TV is large and had a good selection of movies, more than enough to keep me entertained over the Pacific.  ANA doesn’t hand out amenity kits, but has slippers waiting at your seat.  There is a basket of goodies at the small lounge in the rear of business class with eye masks, ear plugs, lotions, and a few other items.  A fun observation is the lavatories have a built in bidet system like on Japanese toilets (I didn’t try it out).  Every seat in business class was booked, but it didn't feel crowded.

ANA 777-300 Business Class Seat

ANA 777-300 business Class Flat Seat

Forward Business Class Cabin ANA 777-300

ANA 777 Business Class Leg Room

ANA Business Class Seat Storage Area

The meal and drink service started shortly after takeoff.  I opted for the western meal and a martini.  The meal was very good, but the steak was outstanding.   After the meal service ends, flight attendants won’t come by unless you ring the call button (a different method than US carriers), but they are quick to respond and friendly (again, different from US carriers).  There is a list of meals and snacks available any time on demand.  I went for a breakfast cheese burger instead of the omelet.  I also got a cheese plate to add some Roquefort cheese to the burger and try to replicate the best burger ever at The Spotted Pig in New York.  It still didn’t compare, but was still good.

ANA Business Class Western Appetizers

Delightful Steak Tender and Tasty 

Fun and Tasty Parfait Dessert 

Roquefort Cheese Snack - ANA Business Class

ANA Cheese Burger Snack, Add Some Roquefort

Once on the ground at LAX, it was a lengthy taxi to the gate, then a breeze through customs (the American citizen line was fast at least).  An earlier flight to Denver was boarding, so added my name to standby and grabbed a quick bourbon and Coke at the United Club.  I went back to the gate and waited.  I was the only standby to clear and got an exit row seat.  I was happy to trade first class for 3 fewer hours at LAX.

United Airlines First Class Meal Reviews - Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

I've been doing some flying and have been enjoying the finest food (and a gross Continental cheese burger) United Airlines has to offer domestic first class passengers.  Here are some reviews of United's food service.  Meals are served on flights 700 to 2,299 miles long (approximately 2 – 5 hours).  On shorter flights, flight attendants just pass around the snack basket with chips and Clif bars.

Breakfast:
Egg McMuffin, fruit, and some yogurt on a 737 ride to Houston.  The Egg McMuffin creation is really good. A warm cinnamon bun or croissant follows after everyone is served.  The cinnamon bun is great, but really sticky, so keep a napkin handy.

United Airlines First Class Breakfast 737

Lunch:
Shrimp salad and soup!  Both rock.  This is United's most consistent meal and a favorite.  It is very flavorful and filling.  The soup option was a great seafood with spice creation.  I could have that soup every flight and not tire of it.  The cookie was oatmeal raisin, too healthy to be fun.

United Airlines Shrimp Salad Lunch First Class A320

Dinner:
The cream of mushroom soup doesn't look appealing, but it tastes great.  United's soup guy is on a roll. The warm wrap was a good south-west chicken thing, filling and comforting item.  United's warm meal options can be hit or miss. I also got a chocolate chip cookie, fun and yum.

United Airlines Dinner Chicken Wrap Meal & Soup

United Mileage Plus Merchandise Awards

There's no such thing as a bad award.  Well, as long as you are receiving more value from your miles than you expected.  Since the value of a mile different for each person (here’s my perspective on the value of a frequent flyer mile), there’s no global minimum value of a redemption for it to be good or bad.  Miles are like money and people won’t spend either on what they view as a bad value.  Some bloggers are adamant that merchandise awards are bad value and should be avoided.  They are less valuable than award flights in most cases, but that shouldn’t be taken as being a bad value. 

United Merchandise Awards Mailed Catalog

A colleague spent 50,000 United miles on a $400 watch and was pleased with the value he got from his miles.  Yes, he could have used 50,000 miles for two award tickets, each worth more than $400, but he would never buy just two tickets because he heads a family of 6 in Salt Lake.  Since his oldest kid is 6, he needs to fly direct to keep his sanity, so he flies Delta.  A nice watch sounded like a much better idea than a connection in Denver.  In absolute terms, not the best value, but in his mind it was an outstanding deal.

Update: United ran a sale on a Tumi carry on bag and I bought one.  I'm delighted with the bag and the value I received from my miles.

United / Continental Airlines Cheese Burger Meal

When United merged with Continental, they got the 787 Dreamliner in 2012.  They also got the Continental cheese burger as a first class meal.  It's gross.  So gross that I couldn't eat it.  It's made of that lousy grade of ground beef that looks grey and tastes like something other than beef.  I had this on a flight from Chicago to Denver and it was the only option.  At least the mystery wraps are edible.  What I would have given for a shrimp salad though, those are always good.  I hope United does a menu upgrade soon and removes this awful option.  

United Airlines Cheese Burger First Class Meal

Almost At 1K Status

Just need more more flight to post and I hit 1K status!

So Close!

United Express ERJ-145 Seat 2A

What's the best seat on a United Express ERJ-145 or ERJ-135?  The pilot's seat.  For the rest of us, all the #A seats are the same, so I went with 2A and liked it.  You might get more leg room in row 12 with the exit row, especially in seats B and C, but it still feels cramped and it takes a long time to deplane.  I like the ERJ-145 better than the CRJ-200 for 50 seat jets, but both feel too small.

Seat 2A on United Express ERJ-145

Fun Coca-Cola Can on United Flight to ORD

Look what I found on my flight from Denver to Chicago!

Israeli Coca-Cola Can

United Airlines First Class 737 Review

The United and Continental merger is complete and the fleets have been nicely scattered around, so you have a good chance of flying on a former Continental 737 (United was an Airbus fan, the merged airline is going 737 for new planes).  These planes will also be staffed by Continental crews, some of the friendliest and most professional in the US.  Here is an overview of what to expect (bold text is from united.com followed by some color commentary).

Onboard amenities

United 737 First Class Seat

Extra-wide leather seats with expanded legroom – The seat is the one thing you can count on.  It’s not as comfortable as the United seats, but still nice and easy to relax in. 

Complimentary blankets available onboard for use during your flight – You have to ask and they might not be available.  Pretty scratchy too, the old united ones were better.  No pillows any more, I bring my own for overnight flights.

United 737 First Class Seat Reclined

Meals and beverages

Pre-departure beverage service – Time permitting and if the flight attendants want to.  Most times they do and take a drink order.

Complimentary beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks and freshly brewed coffee – The new United coffee is miserable, it is undrinkable unless you drop a bottle of Bailey’s in it.  Luckily, they have Bailey’s and are more than happy to mix it in your coffee.  Good selection, same items as in coach, of free drinks.  The mixer/specialty drinks, like the Mojito, are not free though.

Hot towel service – Nice way to freshen up once in the air.

Meal service on flights longer than two hours – The 737 breakfast is great, usually a tasty omelet or egg mcmuffin.  They also have warm cinnamon buns too.  Lunch and dinner is usually a wrap or salad choice.  Both come with tasty soup and a fresh baked cookie.  The food quality is improving, but consistency is not.  Here is breakfast lunch and dinner review, less than flattering meal review and here is a flattering review.

View additional meal and beverages information

Leg Room in United 737 First Class

Entertainment

Audio entertainment with complimentary headsets provided on aircraft equipped with in-flight entertainment – Not every 737 has inflight entertainment.  A few new airplanes were ordered without any entertainment at all.  I flew one 737 with the new Boeing Sky Interior, but no tv or audio to keep me busy. 

Complimentary DIRECTV® on equipped aircraft – Free if they have it, but it’s not a sure thing.

Complimentary movies on all flights three hours or longer – If there is no DirectTV, but a monitor in the aisle, then you get a free movie.  If there is DirectTV, then you have free access to the system anyway.

A complimentary copy of Hemispheres magazine – Good magazine to flip though, but don’t feel too special, every seat has a copy.

United 737

Airport arrival and departure

Premier AccessSM check-in, baggage handling, boarding and security lines (where available) – Short lines abound for first class flyers.  Two free checked bags too.  No free United Club access for North American first class flyers though.  

Pretty Picture, Just Because

Enjoy this United Airlines 737-900 picture I grabbed with my iPhone when I was on an early flight out of Denver.  "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - F. Bueller

United 737-900 at DEN

I'm working on a series of posts for my round the world trip and a weighty discussion on customer experience, both just around the corner.

Bad Airline Coffee Epidemic

United Airlines once had good coffee, just last year actually.  US Airways had a decent brew too.  From recent experience, airline coffee, both in the air and on the ground, has been either bad or undrinkable.  This is a serious problem that is growing out of control.  How hard is it to get some Dunkin' grounds and add hot water? I doubt it costs that much more for good coffee than bilge water. Airlines need to fix this quickly because I need a strong cup of Joe before I land, but I can’t grab coffee before takeoff or I can’t sleep. Alaska Airlines just started serving Starbucks on board, so they may be the lone exception to this despicable trend.

US Airways Club Coffee

United Club Coffee

14 Hour Layover in London and 6 Hours in Moline, IL

As the final part of my trip, I scheduled a 14 hour layover in London (stops less than 24 hours don’t count as your free stopover), 2 hour stop at O’Hare, and a 32 minute layover in Moline, IL (MLI).  The London layover was great because I could leave the airport, see a friend, and enjoy London just before the Olympic games started.  The Moline layover was the only way to fly to Denver.  It wasn’t the same aircraft for both segments, so there was a serious chance I would miss my connection (I’ve flown tight connections before on the same plane, making it impossible to miss your next flight).

Olympics Greater

London was great! After reading The Economist, I was expecting long lines at every point in the airport. There was no line at customs and LHR was packed with friendly volunteers to point you on your way. 

London

What is it?

London was putting on their best for the world.  Everything was lit up, there was a large public art display, and most people were exceptionally friendly.  I really enjoyed walking along the river at night.  There was some much happening, great places to eat, and brilliant sights.  There were also dozens of the Olympic statues painted in different ways scattered about town.  The mascot was ugly, but some artists did great work despite the handicap.

Sunset by Arsenal's Emirates Stadium

Lottery Fund Public Art

The blue Tube line doesn’t run 24 hours, so don’t plan on taking the Tube for a very early departure. We decided to play it safe and take a cab; all the horrors of LHR were supposedly in full effect and a minimum of 2 hours was needed. The check in and security line the next morning was miniscule.  We made it from to cab to the Star Alliance lounge (showers, wifi, and a decent breakfast spread) in less than 20 minutes.  This might be the first time The Economist was wrong. I doubt the speedy LHR experience or The Economist being wrong will be repeated soon.

Star Alliance Lounge at LHR

The flight from LHR to ORD on a United Airlines 767 was pleasant.  We booked (yes, my friend still wanted to sit next to me after a week of travelling together) the second exit row on the plane and had plenty of space.  Breakfast was a tasty waffle (adding a pound of sugar to it helped) and I settled in attempting to watch a movie and fall asleep.  Neither activity went well.  After a quick sandwich before landing, we were at O’Hare.  My friend was heading into Chicago and we parted ways.  

Seat 21A on a United Airlines 767 from London

United Airlines Coach 767 Breakfast From London

I saw a departures board and it seemed like every United Express flight was delayed.  I went to the United Club to get some help going to Denver, but a direct flight was cancelled and there were no seats through connection points.  I was left to cross my fingers that my ORD-MLI would arrive in time to catch the MLI-DEN flight.  I missed it by 15 minutes.  After 6 hours of killing time (free wifi, walking the terminal, starting a fire, etc.) the last flight out started boarding and I was heading home. A fast trip that felt interminable at times had come to a close.

Empty Terminal at Moline, IL

My E170 to Denver

Good Morning From IAD

Sunrise is a pretty time to be at the airport, stop for a moment and enjoy it sometime.

Sunrise at IAD