United 395 IAD-ORD 11th May 2009 (F)

Dropped the car off at Avis around 1100 and hopped on the bus to the terminal. This was to be first trip on an American carrier and it was actually a 4 class 767-300 on the short trip with First, Biz, Ecomony Plus and Economy so I was looking forward to it.

Used UA's electronic check in thingy and it recognised that I was going to Edinburgh via Zurich but asked me to get assistance from an agent. I asked for my bag to be checked all the way through to EDI which was done but she couldn't print off any of my other boarding passes so I had to take care of that in Chicago.

Made my way through security without fuss and onto one of those crazy mobile lounge contraptions. I had been on a 'plane mate' too on the way in and found the whole setup just bizarre! I had read on FT that even though I was on an F ticket, on a plane with 4 classes and connecting to a same day Star Alliance flight in F I wasn't technically entitled to ANY lounge access so, I decided to chance my arm.

I arrived at the UA Intl First lounge and things were looking good with the agent as I explained about my *A F connection in ORD until her colleague butted in with the fact that this was a domestic F leg and despite all the rest I wasn't getting in. My nice lady apologised and sent me packing to the Red Carpet Club where on arrival yet another lady agent was just finishing a call saying 'he's not got access here either but you've sent him now so. . . ' Yes it was me she was referring to but was making an exception this time as her Flounge colleague should have known the rules.

Result! I thought, so toddled off towards the bar and ordered a G&T with LIME - thank you Sir that'll be $6! [:0] My god, I'm on an F ticket (so what if it's a redemption?), I'm not allowed ANY lounge access and the one I am GRACIOUSLY allowed to enter charges me for drinks? I departed as soon as my glass contained only ice and fresh air then set up camp in the little bar adjacent to my gate (C12) and enjoyed a couple of Buds and some spicy wings.

The departure screen at the gate showed loads of info including type of aircraft, the load factor, weather at the destination, who was on the standby list and who had been waitlisted for an upgrade to F! Very impressive I thought until I spotted MY name on the upgrade list! I double checked my boarding pass and yes, it still said 1K so I went over and asked the desk agent what was going on? 'Nope, no problems you're good for 1K'.

Boarding was called so I settled my check and wandered aboard. I had looked at pics of UA's first suites but they don't really do them justice - these are excellent seats and I have never seen so many storage cubbies.



There are 2 rows of 3 on the 763 with the k seats being perfect for solo flyers. Of note is that 2k is a crew rest seat on long hauls and you can see the blackout curtain that can be pulled around it in this shot.



I was offered a drink immediately on arrival and settled into the suite - the best seat for me on a plane so far in my limited experience of UC, BA F , BA NCW and NNCW. It reaaly was good. I had a look in J and those seats looked pretty good too.



You can see the large, fixed IFE screen in this shot. the system is excellent but the choices of movie/music could be better. Channel 9 and the skymap on at the same time is great for a geek like me!!

I can't comment on the full UA F service as there was no food service on this flight. I had a couple of beers and we landed 1hr 39 mins after takeoff into the vast ORD.

I am going to make a point of using UA again for sure in future if the opportunity arises as if they can combime a decent cabin service with this seat then they've got a winner. [y]

John

[Scrooge]

The new UA F suite does look very nice, a friend of mine gets to try it every couple of weeks and he rav's about it as well, there is a good chance I will get to try it next year and being an anorak I am looking forward to it.

It's a shame about the lounges, but I am guessing that they bring in a lot of revenue right now.

One thing I forgot to mention is there were no revenue passengers in the F cabin on that flight. I was on bmi miles and the other 5 pax were off duty UA staff from what I could gather.

John

[Scrooge]

quote:Originally posted by JAT74L
One thing I forgot to mention is there were no revenue passengers in the F cabin on that flight. I was on bmi miles and the other 5 pax were off duty UA staff from what I could gather.

John


Hence the reason i should be able to try it next year, my friend is a 744 captain for UA.

quote:Originally posted by Scrooge
quote:Originally posted by JAT74L
One thing I forgot to mention is there were no revenue passengers in the F cabin on that flight. I was on bmi miles and the other 5 pax were off duty UA staff from what I could gather.

John


Hence the reason i should be able to try it next year, my friend is a 744 captain for UA.


Perfect!

John

Thanks much for the TR, nice pics!

On internal flights, you will get the standard United F service with meal on flights over two hours at allotted times in both J and F cabins (unless you are flying the PS service), from what I believe. 767s are our best bets for trying these seats on internal flights, as the aircrafts get moved around a great deal between SFO, ORD and IAD to be positioned for international flights.

The J seats are quite a different story. They are quite narrow, and though they are flat bed seats, you get completely trapped in if in a middle or window seat, when your neighbor is lying flat. On a 747 (and on the 777s, from what I can tell) each middle set of seats will have four seats aligned (unlike NCW which alternates direction), which means the two middle seats will be quite claustrophobic. It's a nice idea how they've done this, and fine if you are the kind of person who will just lie down and go out for six hours on a long night flight, but if you are restless and need to get out, you might well be quite uncomfortable on half the seats on the bigger planes. The VS herringbone is quite clever in combining density with privacy, IMO, and makes UC still a superior product.

I agree what you say about UC. I didn't realise what the privacy factor did for a premium seat but now having flown the old Swiss F seat I do now and when I flew NCW and NNCW I was fortunate on both occasions to have a bulkhead where I didn't have to climb over anyone and an aisle seat on the overninght return.

I would not enjoy being trapped in by other pax as even if you didn't want to get out it's the reassuring feeling of freedom of choice that sets the two apart IMHO.

John

[buns]

John

Thanks for the second illustrated chapter of your saga[y][y]

Given it was a relatively short flight, the comfort and service you received makes one want to give it a try anyway[:D][:D]

Less said about US airline lounges the better[}:)]

buns

[Scrooge]

quote:Originally posted by buns
John

Less said about US airline lounges the better[}:)]

buns


Actually the DL one at CVG is pretty nice, but the majority suck.

quote:Originally posted by Scrooge
quote:Originally posted by buns
John

Less said about US airline lounges the better[}:)]

buns


Actually the DL one at CVG is pretty nice, but the majority suck.


It's not really the fact that the Red Crapit Lounge 'sucked' so to speak but more that passengers travelling in F on a plane that has 4 classes and is connecting onto a same day *A F flight doesn't get ANYTHING? [?]

I've not even looked to see what the $ tag is for a IAD-ORD flight in F on flight 395 yet. I bet it's not cheap.

John

Ok so I've just looked for next Monday - 90 bucks one way in Y, 760 bucks one way in J and a mere 1730 bucks and 60 cents in F.

God bless United!

John

[honey lamb]

I'm fascinated by the criteria used by US airlines for lounge admission. Some years ago I got into the Red Carpet Club in SFO while in economy as guests of friends who had *Gold thanks to a status match. Two years previously we had been refused entry to the Crown Club Lounge in the same airport although flying in First with Delta. However Aer John, then aged 14, blagged our way in there for us because, to quote the concierge 'he asked ever so nicely'. I'm sure his Irish accent also helped!

quote:Originally posted by honey lamb
I'm fascinated by the criteria used by US airlines for lounge admission ...


Me too - though unlike UA, when I recently flew F from LAX-ORD-LHR using miles I got to use the F lounge at LAX before the internal flight. Whether my luck or entitlement I do not know.

John - those UA F seats look excellent, as does the experience though I've had reportage on the UA J seats and the hemmed in nature of them not to mention that weird backwards thing for half the cabin! F all the way transcon I say!

God is admission ever an arcane witchcraft/divination exercise ... HL, guesting is standard, and *A Au get to access lounges for international flights across the network, and can take in guests. On purely internal flights, you get nothing. The overwhelming majority of people flying F/C on an internal flight only are upgrading so they don't get the benefit.

If you are in F on an internal flight, say, connecting to F on an international flight on the same PNR, you will receive admission since strictly speaking you are US-UK, and the rule for international flights is that you get access to lounges if flying C or F, all the way.

More than enough to give you a headache. Easier to just try it, turn on the charm and hope for the best - though as said the best is seldom good enough

UA's RCC in SFO's domestic terminal (or international for that matter) is a nice enough space, but the general offerings are a joke. You get some drinks coupons if on an international C flight, otherwise you pay (Continental, though, is free). Food is funny/sad. This is not consistent. In San Diego, for example, they put in place a few nice small touches, like serving proper bagels and croissants (not silly, mini version thereof) and putting a toaster on the counter for people to make the damn things edible. Some places try. At SFO/ORD/IAD United is huge, and you have to wonder whether it is worth spending any time inside the lounges at all, especially at SFO where the concessions are all local businesses, delivering decent food at fairly reasonably prices.

quote:Originally posted by MarkedMan
If you are in F on an internal flight, say, connecting to F on an international flight on the same PNR, you will receive admission since strictly speaking you are US-UK, and the rule for international flights is that you get access to lounges if flying C or F, all the way.




That's not what they told me at IAD. The F lounge agent said that IAD must be the international gateway for access. I was ticketed on the same PNR all the way to Edinburgh too. The folks on FT also seemed to think that there is no access for domestic F regardless of onward connection unless you hold some sort of status on UA or *A.

John

quote:Originally posted by JAT74L

That's not what they told me at IAD. The F lounge agent said that IAD must be the international gateway for access. I was ticketed on the same PNR all the way to Edinburgh too. The folks on FT also seemed to think that there is no access for domestic F regardless of onward connection unless you hold some sort of status on UA or *A.

John


You might be right there. I distinctly remember AA having this policy as I accompanied a friend to the airport not long ago who was connecting on AA at JFK with biz class ticket, and they were told they had access; I have never done this with UA and it might not apply - though I think it's bizzarre.