Paris, France: I wasn't planning to go to Paris in late January, but was delighted to get the call from my boss to make a mid-Winter trip to France to work on a special project. Little did I know that I would be heading to Europe in the midst of one of the fiercest cold waves in recent years. In the end this turned out to be a good thing – I worked 16 to 17 hours each day and had no time for sightseeing. My body may have been in Paris, but my mind and energy were at the office.
I was given my marching orders on January 15th, with instructions to be in Paris from Wednesday, February 1st through Tuesday, February 7th. I decided to depart San Francisco on Monday, January 30th, which got me to Paris on Tuesday, January 31st.
Per my firm's travel policy, I am permitted to fly business class on flights of 7 hours or more; however, I could not find a roundtrip business class fare on any airline (either nonstop or one stop) for less than $8,000. As a United Airlines 1K customer, I tried to get confirmed, upgraded business class seats in both directions. Unfortunately, there were no upgrade seats available for the outbound journey, although I was able to upgrade on the return trip.
In the end, I spent over $4,000 for confirmed, paid business class seats on United/Lufthansa to Paris (via Frankfurt) and upgraded business class seats home to San Francisco (via Chicago). The entire trip gave me more that 15,000 toward my 2013 1K status with United. With trips to Hong Kong, Chicago (at least 3) and New York on the horizon, plus weekly roundtrips to Los Angeles, I should requalify as a 1K with miles to spare.
UA 900, SFO-FRA
Monday, January 30, 2012
Seat 16A, Boeing 747-400
On the day of departure, my trip started with a beautiful, yet chilly ferry ride from my home in Marin County, California to downtown San Francisco. I spent a few hours in the office before hopping on the BART train from the Embarcadero Station to SFO. The $8.10 ride is pleasant, and the train stops inside the international terminal. If time permits, I always prefer the BART to a cab when heading to SFO from downtown San Francisco.
I checked in for my flights the night before, although the United website would only issue me a boarding pass for my SFO-FRA flight. Upon arrival at SFO, I proceeded to the 1K check-in line in the international terminal. The very pleasant United representative quickly issued me a new boarding pass for UA 900 from SFO to FRA, as well as a boarding pass for LH 1034 from FRA to CDG. I checked one bag.
UA 900 was scheduled to depart at 1:54 p.m. I completed the check-in process at 11:00 a.m. and proceeded to the security check point. Because it was the peak time for United's departures to Asia, the TSA checkpoint at International Terminal G was very crowded, so I walked over to the premier domestic checkpoint at Terminal 3 and breezed through security in about 5 minutes.
I spent about an hour at the United Club in International Terminal G, primarily to take advantage of the free wireless service, but also to get a small snack (cheese and crackers) before departure. The United Club is spacious, comfortable and offers good views of the field. The food offerings, however, are dull and paltry.
At 12:15 p.m., I decided to stretch my legs and walk through the terminal. After some browsing in the duty free shop, I made my way toward Gate 102. I knew from checking FlightAware.com that my plane was coming from Sydney, Australia and would not arrive until 12:20 p.m -- more than an hour behind schedule. Given the delay, I assumed my flight would not depart SFO on time. When I arrived at the gate, my flight attendants were still in the waiting area. They did not board the aircraft until 1:15 p.m.
I watched as the boarding area filled up and decided to line up on the blue carpet before boarding began. I finally made it to my seat (16A) on the upper deck of the 747-400 at 1:45 p.m. Two flight attendants greeted me warmly and quickly offered me a pre-departure beverage (I opted for the water) as I settled in for the long flight to Germany. At 2:05 p.m., the captain announced that we would be delayed about 10 more minutes so that maintenance could fix the door to one of the overhead storage bins. At 2:20 p.m., I heard the thump of the boarding door closing and watched as the jet bridge was pulled away from the aircraft.
At 2:23 p.m., we pushed back from Gate 102 and shortly thereafter began our taxi to Runway 28L. Our wheels left the ground at 2:35 p.m. We headed nearly due west after takeoff and out over the Pacific Ocean before turning toward the northeast. I caught excellent glimpses of Mt. Tamalpais, San Quentin and San Rafael. I could clearly make out the blue-roofed Marin County Civic Center, which is just a stone's throw from my house.
Our route took us north of Lake Tahoe, across Nevada, north of Salt Lake City and then on a straight line over Minneapolis, Montreal, Newfoundland and out over the Atlantic Ocean. Toward dawn, we crossed over the Irish Coast, passed just south of Dublin and continued eastbound directly over London. After crossing the North Sea, we flew directly toward Frankfurt and made our final approach from the west to land on Runway 7R at 9:55 a.m., about 30 minutes late. We parked at Gate Z15 and I was off the plane at 10:10 a.m., which gave me plenty of time to make my 11:45 a.m. connection on Lufthansa to Paris.
The United Airlines service between SFO and FRA was excellent. The flight attendants were pleasant, attentive, and not overly obtrusive. The beverage service began about 15 minutes after takeoff. I opted for water and tomato juice with lemon (I rarely drink alcohol). The appetizer was a fresh green salad with a slice of smoked salmon. I opted for the garlic vinaigrette dressing. It was adequate, but nothing to write home about.
For the main course, we had three options: chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, cheese ravioli or braised short ribs with fingerling potatoes. I surprised myself and chose the short ribs, and was even more surprised that I really liked them. The meat was tender and juicy, and braised in a delicious sauce. The potatoes were tender and seasoned with just the right amount of salt. My only complaint was the roll, which was warmed in a microwave and turned into a rock before I could eat it.
For dessert, I should have taken the fruit, crackers and cheese, but decided instead for the chocolate-covered raspberry ice cream ball, and a cup of decaffeinated coffee. Dinner service concluded about 2.5 hours after takeoff. I probably should have done some work after dinner (as we were traveling east, the sun was already down); instead I decided to watch a movie -- The Debt, starring Helen Mirren. It was excellent. When it ended, I took a 45 minute power nap, and then watched another move that was so forgetful that I don't even remember its name. I then watched some episodes of Harry's Law and The Big Bang Theory. By that time, our plane was rapidly approaching the Irish Coast.
The flight attendants came by every so often to check on me and to fill up my water glass. About two hours prior to arrival, they brought me a hot cup of coffee and my breakfast. I chose the cheese omelet with sausage, stewed tomato and a wonderful potato pie. By the time I finished, we were over Belgium and about to start our descent into Frankfurt.
Overall, this was a very pleasant flight. I was comfortable, well-fed and entertained. Despite the delayed departure from SFO, I arrived in FRA with plenty of time to spare.
Once in FRA, I proceeded without delay through European passport control and made my way down to the "A" gates for my flight to Paris, scheduled to depart from Gate A26. I did not have to pass through another security checkpoint. I decided to forgo a trip to the Lufthansa lounge and wandered through the very long "A" terminal watching all of the activity as planes came and went to various parts of Europe.
LH 1034, FRA-CDG
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Seat 3A, Airbus 321
I boarded LH 1034 to Paris-DeGaulle at 11:20 p.m. I took my seat (3A) and almost immediately felt a wave of exhaustion. LH's business class for its European flights has its good points and its bad points. On the good side, we were served a delicious cold meal and drinks during the 50 minute flight to CDG. The service was quick and efficient. Yes -- I was hungry again and the salad, roll and chocolate mousse hit the spot. On the bad side, the narrowbody A321 has 3-3 seating, with poor legroom. Lufthansa blocks out the "B" and "E" seats in business class so that everyone has either a window or an aisle seat. There is no inflight IFE and the rows are very narrow. I prefer the United A319/320 business class sections that have 2-2 seating, an IFE system and more legroom.
We pushed back from Gate A26 at 11:50 a.m. and taxied to Runway 18. Our wheels left the ground at 12:03 p.m. and touched down on Runway 9L at CDG at exactly 1:00 p.m. I was off the plane at 1:10 p.m. My bag was number 3 on the carousel at Terminal 1, and I was in a cab heading for central Paris at 1:25 p.m.
As noted above, work kept me hopping the entire time I was in Paris, so I did not get a chance to see any of the sights. In any event, it was so cold that it would not have been fun to be out and about. Paris is a great walking city, but my exercise on this trip was limited to running around the office. Needless to say, I was very happy to head home to the warm California weather.
UA 943, CDG-ORD
Tuesday, January 7, 2012
Seat 8K, Boeing 767-300
I bounced out of bed on Tuesday morning, got dressed and after breakfast with the boss, hopped in a cab bound for CDG. Of course, I ended up in France during the same week that airline and airport workers decided to go on strike. Air France bore the brunt of the strike and cancelled a number of flights. Luckily, United was unaffected. I took no chances, however, and made sure that I was at the airport in plenty of time for my 12:40 p.m. departure. I checked in the night before, but as is usual with flights heading to the United States I had to get my boarding passes at the airport.
I arrived at CDG Terminal 1 around 8:30 a.m. and made my way to the United check-in desk. There was no one in line, so after a few security questions about who packed my bags and the purpose for my trip to France, I was checking in for my flights. Unfortunately, I was told that I had to pay a French departure tax of 36 Euros. I assumed that all fees and taxes were included in the ticket price. I was wrong. The check-in agent personally walked me over to the United sales desk where I had to fork over the cash. Only then did I receive my boarding passes. Because I was flying business class, I also received an “Access No 1” card, which allowed me to go to the front of the passport control and security screening checkpoints. Because I was at the airport so early, it was not necessary to do so because the crowds had not yet arrived.
Following a brief stop at passport control, I made my way to the Terminal 1 duty free shops. After spending time perusing the fabulous duty free shops in Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Seoul on other trips, the CDG shopping was a real let down. I’m sure it is better in Terminal 2 – the newer Air France terminal. The selection of shops and goods in Terminal 1 was poor. Still, I was able to find a beautiful Tissot watch for my partner at a very good price and a Mont Blanc pen for me.
After my mini-shopping spree, I made my way to the United Club – another disappointment. It was small, hot and lacked any views of the field. Luckily, it had free and fast Internet service, and I was able to get some work done before heading to Gate 34. By the time I passed through security and bought some lip balm at the newsstand, it was 11:30 a.m. and I only had to wait 20 minutes before boarding the 767-300 that would take me to Chicago.
Once on board I settled into Seat 8K, a backward-facing business class seat. Again, the flight attendants were pleasant and welcoming. This time I opted for an orange juice for my pre-flight “cocktail.” At 12:30 p.m., we pushed back from the gate and made our way to Runway 9L. We were airborne at 12:45 p.m. After takeoff, we immediately turned back toward the west, and soon were passing over France’s north coast near Cherbourg. We continued west over the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean before turning northwest. Our route just skimmed the southern coast of Ireland and then took us out over the open ocean directly toward the southern tip of Greenland. We then crossed the Labrador Sea and flew over Labrador, northern Quebec and Ontario before crossing into U.S. airspace around Sault Ste. Marie. We then turned south and I had a crystal clear view of the Mackinac Bridge as we flew down the spine of Michigan’s lower peninsula before turning southwest over Lake Michigan. Clouds now hampered my view and I didn’t see the ground again until we were on our final approach to Runway 10. We touched down at 2:40 p.m. (20 minutes early) and quickly taxied to the International Terminal at ORD.
The in-flight service on UA 943 was good. Because of the long week of work, I was very tired and fell in and out of sleep. I honestly don’t remember what I had for lunch, so it could not have been too good. I do remember the very dry and tasteless Turkey Panini that was served about 90 minutes prior to our arrival. While I was awake I watched the last Harry Potter movie, the remake of Footloose and some episodes of “Lost” on my iPad.
This was another comfortable international flight. I know that U.S. airlines are often seen as poor substitutes for European and Asian airlines, but I have no complaints about United Airlines’ international service – whether it is over the Atlantic or the Pacific.
One of the big benefits of first or business class is being able to get off the plane quickly, which I did when we arrived in Chicago. There was no significant line at passport control and my bag came off the carousel very quickly. Next stop San Francisco and home.
UA 907, ORD-SFO
Tuesday, January 7, 2012
Seat 8K, Boeing 767-300
Once I cleared Untied States customs, I rechecked my bag and headed over to Terminal 1 on the O'Hare tram. Unfortunately, because you are changing terminals, you have to proceed through the Terminal 1 security checkpoint with all of the other UA passengers. There is not a separate checkpoint for those passengers transferring from inbound international flights. Luckily, my 1K status allows me to use the priority security lanes, so I was on my way to the United Club at 3:15 p.m. – a mere 35 minutes after landing – that must be some kind of record.
After spending another hour responding to emails and doing some other work in the United Club, I stretched my legs with a brisk walk through the “C” gates. I eventually ended up at Gate C19 and was on the blue carpet about 10 minutes before boarding started at 5:00 p.m.
Again I had Seat 8K on a 767-300. Almost immediately, I fell asleep, but awoke about 25 minutes later as we were pushing back from the gate. This was the only flight of this trip where Channel 9 was operating. We had a fairly quick taxi to Runway 32 and were airborne at 5:40 p.m. Our route took us due west over Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming, before turning slightly toward the southwest as we flew over northern Colorado, Utah and Nevada. We made the standard Modesto 3 approach to the Bay Area and soon were on our visual approach to Runway 28R at SFO. We landed at 7:45 p.m. – almost 45 minutes early. A few minutes later were parked at Gate 83.
Dinner was served about an hour into the flight. No choices were offered. Everyone got the same thing. Very tasty beef short ribs (similar to what I had on the SFO-FRA flight), potatoes, steamed broccoli and some sort of Asian noodle concoction that was very good. For dessert – a warm chocolate chip cookie. I watched a couple more episodes of “Lost” and another forgettable movie.
Once off the plane, I made my way quickly to baggage claim. Lo and behold!!!! My bag made it on to an earlier flight from ORD to SFO and was waiting for me. By 8:05 a.m. I was hugging my partner and we were on our way toward the Golden Gate Bridge and to the comforts of home in San Rafael.
No comments:
Post a Comment