Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Part 11: SFO-DFW United FIRST CLASS








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Part 11: SFO-DFW United FIRST CLASS
By the time I got on board, there was no more overhead space in First so the Flight Attendants let me use the front closet for my roll-on board luggage and vase set while I put my "food" bag under the seat in front of me.  Pre-departure beverages of water or orange juice were provided and we were on our way to Dallas shortly after the Gate Agent tried to Hawk Premium Economy seats to passengers wanting to upgrade to more leg room.  Nobody took up on their offer and after a last minute check to see if everyone was going to Dallas we were ready to go.






Anne was the First Class flight attendant taking care of the front cabin and she was very nice throughout the whole flight.  She was the one who helped me find space for my baggage during boarding.  Hot towel was given out after the slight smoothed out and she greeted passengers by name.  The food options were Sesame Chicken Salad (my choice) or a Warm Black Forrest Ham & Cheese Sandwich/Sunchips both served with vegetarian bean chili.  She then served everyone hot mixed nuts and I took mine with Sprite Zero (wanting to minimize caffeine intake and maximize sleep for the night).  The salad was surprisingly good and I only ate about half of the chili since it was subpar.


The overhead movie was Megamind so I got my laptop out to catch up on blogging as well as charging my phone as it died somewhere between the First Class Lounge and me boarding the plane.  I was a little disappointed to see that there was 6 people on the stand-by list and 20 seats were still available so no chance of a bump for today's flight. The passenger seating in the window seat next to me was also on my flight from Shanghai and he had about a 100 mile taxi ride waiting for him to OK when he lands at DFW.  He works for Chevron overseas and travels to China every other month.  As a United 1K/Global Services member he also has racked up miles on Lufthansa.  We chatted briefly during boarding and take off but when we smoothed out, he put his head phones on to watch the movie and then slept soundly (and snoring loudly!) after a few glasses of Chardonnay.  He did manage to wake up when I was eating and was the last one to be served in the cabin.  The passenger sitting across from me had a diabetic meal but I did not get a close look at what he actually got to eat.
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Part 10: San Francisco Airport United First Class Lounge









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Part 10: San Francisco Airport United First Class Lounge
We landed at 8:15 AM and I quickly rushed to the C & I hall as I was the third passenger out of the door but the first one to reach Immigration.  I quickly proceeded to the Global Entry Kiosk and it only took me about two minutes to get through the prompts and my cleared receipt out.  I then went to baggage claim and turned on my phone to catch up on my text messages/voicemails from the last three weeks.  Made a few phone calls to family members and texted my boss to see what my work schedule for the week would be (since I would be working the next three days.) 
I waited about twenty minutes before my bags came out and clearing customs was a breeze.  I had to re-check my luggage at the transfer counter upstairs in the International Terminals and somehow forgot that I had an invitation to the United Arrivals Lounge.  I got by ceramic vases out and would carry them on as I am paranoid about them being broken along with a shirt and I stashed my United amenity bag into my checked luggage and then went to go through security to my connecting flight onto Dallas by gate 73A.  I went to the priority line and for some reason the TSA agent made everyone wait in line for the body scanner and the metal detector was forgone until she caused a backup and a supervisor had to explain that the body scanner only required one passenger to wait while the metal detector line was to be open. 

I made my way to the Red Carpet Club (RCC) to inquire about the First Class Lounge which the agent had to call to see if I had access to it.  She asked me why did I not use the Arrivals Lounge and I told her I did not know about it.  She told me to proceed to gate 98 to use the First Class Lounge and to get a quick shower in before my next flight.  I then went to Terminal 2 to the American portion of the airport to use the Admiral's Club (AC) and inquired about the possibility of misconnecting on my next trip to China and the agent was very nice in explaining that I would be taken care of due to being an Executive Platinum member as long as I was booked with the proper connecting time on my separate ticket on MU.  I stayed for about 45 minutes to catch up on my emails and then headed to the international terminal to use the United First Class Lounge at about 10 AM (55 minutes before my next flight) with a ten minute wait to get there.



The agent asked me where I was and that she had been waiting for me for a long time.  She called downstairs to have them prepare one of the showers for me and instructed me on how to get there.  She cautioned me that I had about fifteen minutes before I had to board and I hurried downstairs towards the shower.  One of the attendants met me downstairs and had me proceed to use shower #2.  It was big and the only thing missing was a toilet.  Towels and toiletries were available for use and it all took me about ten minutes to get refreshed and revitalized.  A warm shower after a long haul flight is one of the best feelings in the world and definitely worth it after a long overnight flight.  It is one of the reasons I bought an AC membership and almost for certain that I will renew it this year.  I then packed up my belongings and hustled to the dining area to grab some sandwiches and a few drinks before heading off to my connecting flight in Terminal 3.  I packed away some of the wraps and a few bottle of waters just in case the food on my flight is not what I expected.  The food selection was definitely better than the FM lounge back in Shanghai and I only regret not spending more time in the lounge.







I got out to the second floor and thanked the agents for their help as they would call the gate to let me know that I was coming.  I was informed that the lounge was only for First Class passengers on United, Lufthansa, and ANA. I suppose that that the Asiana premium and other Star Alliance Gold passengers had to use the RCC and Singapore (SQ) had their own Silver Kris Lounge but could use the RCC probably with their Star Gold Status if applicable.  I got in line to board at gate 73 and by card was flagged red as I went to the wrong line (the flight was headed towards LA on a regional jet).  I went to the correct line of 73A and the premium line was closed so I boarded with Group 3 of general boarding.
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Part 9: PVG-SFO United FIRST CLASS









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Part 9: PVG-SFO United FIRST CLASS

I was the last passenger boarded in First Class and had trouble getting my roll-on board luggage into the overhead compartment (being as it was a 747 plane).  I took out my camera, laptop, and rearranged some of my luggage so that it could fit over head.  I was presented a menu and amenity kit (no pajamas or slippers).  Overall, the First Class seat/suite is very nice, similar to the way to other carriers have their international First Class Product (American, British, US, Cathay Pacific, etc).  The TV screen is about 14 inches and puts the one of Lufthansa Old First Class product to shame.  I was offered a pre-departure beverage (still water/no ice) and we departed from PVG on a dreary afternoon with some rain.  My seat of 2A was perfect as I was between the window and the divider/drink area in the front nose section of the plane.  Seats 1A and 1K are the closest seat of the plane and rows 3 & 4 are 4 seats across.  When I checked last night, all the window seats were taken with 8 passengers in the cabin, but when I boarded, there were two additional passengers in the middle two seats of row 3 which I think are either non-revenue, on award tickets, or perhaps were upgraded as I later discovered that business class was very full.




 For some reason, the last few times I left PVG, the rain has been present.  Before the plane took off and the fasten seat belt sign was turned on, I used one of the two bathrooms in the cabin (which each had a lovely "First Class Passengers only please, Thank you" sign taped on the door).  I then asked Rita, one of the flight attendants, if I could have a Band-Aid as my right thumb skin was cracked and the blood was dried.  We left a few minutes ahead of schedule to hopefully compensate for the bad weather we will encounter on our way into SFO (with an expected delay of twenty minutes).  The climb was smooth but we did hit a small patch of turbulence limiting movement in the cabin.  My television screen froze during the first thirty minutes of the plane ride and I had to get the purser to reset it so I could follow along the flight on the airshow.  I had to use the bathroom again (due to me gulping down a lot of liquid at the FM lounge) and another flight attendant (Patty) asked where I was seated.  I replied "2A" and made my way into the bathroom on the right side (since the left side was occupied.)  I guess she thought I might have been confused and came in from the Business section (which other passengers in-fact did) and apologized to me after finished using the facility to which I told her that it was not a problem.  She wanted me to know that she was protecting my territory for me (for which I thanked her).  Dinner selections were taken and I told the purser that I wanted to eat after everyone else since I was not hungry (since I filled up on subpar food in the lounge) but I am not sure she noted down the time I had requested for dinner service to commence for me.





Mixed nuts and drink were offered later and I went with only still water/no ice.  The mixed nuts were refilled by Rita as she came by with a bowl and a ladle to each passenger.  I had to ask her how to pull out the tray table (which marked me immediately as a newbie.)  The US customs and travel forms were distributed by the purser and I happily declined since I have Global Entry and SFO is one of the twenty or so airports approved in the program.  She also came around to see if I wanted to buy any duty free items on board and I declined.  My TV was restarted/fixed so I left it on the airshow while I caught up on my travel report.  I was able to catch up on a good deal of the travel report so that I would not forget any details during the dinner service (which started while we were passing over Japan).  Towards the end of it, there was some turbulence again so the fasten seat belt sign went off right when I needed to visit the bathroom again.  Plus my water spilled out of my glass during the turbulence (good thing my computer was on the tray table).  My dinner service request was to eat about thirty minutes after everyone else and I went with the stir-fried chicken entrée over the Beef tenderloin (heavier meal) since I wanted to sleep a bit during the flight.  The other available options were crab cakes or salmon.  The main cabin lights were dimmed after the dinner service so that passengers wanting to sleep/rest could do so if they wanted so I had my reading light turned on.





I spoke with Patty after the dinner service was over to let her know that I was ready to eat.  She told me that my main course would take about thirty minutes to cook and she would serve my appetizer, salad, and soup first while she got that ready.  The appetizer was served with a piece of bread/butter and it consisted of shrimp with a roasted red pepper jalapeño sauce served with a walnut and bleu cheese soufflé.  The shrimp was very good but the soufflé was a little dry but tasty.  I chose the balsamic vinaigrette over the creamy wasabi dressing for my salad and it was good.  I ate it all (except the croutons and the olive).  The tomato soup was ok, not too hot or cold but served temperate.  My main was amazing.  It puts the one I had on Delta last fall to shame as the sauce was good.  The cashews were crunchy, the mushrooms were chewy and the sauce was sufficient to help "glue" all the ingredients together. 






I very much enjoyed the main course and made sure to tell all the flight attendants about it.  I chose the Häagen-Dazs sundae over the cheese/cracker and fruit tray.  I wanted everything on it but somehow only got butter scotch (minus the hot fudge and whipped cream) when it was served.  I still ate a good portion of the sundae and it was good.  I finished all of the vanilla ice cream and butter scotch but left some of the chocolate ice cream behind.  The meal was serviced with a glass of red wine for the appetizer/main and then decaffeinated coffee for a night cap.   I finished another episode of the Amazing Race 16 during dinner so I am almost a season and two-thirds behind now in the actual time span of the Amazing Race with the current season being number 18: Unfinished Business. 
After dinner was over and taking an Ambien in anticipation of sleeping on the plane, I asked if I it was possible for me to walk around the plane to explore all the cabins. I wanted to walk after dinner and it has also been a very long time for me to be on a Boeing 747 since American does not use them in their fleet currently.  I was disappointed by the upper deck as there was just a bunch of business class seats. I was surprised that the business class was filled to maximum capacity while economy was half full as some passengers had a whole roll of seats to them to stretch out on.  





I was able to chat with some of the other flight attendants along the way mainly in business class as they stopped me from entering into the upper desk.  I appeased them by showing them by 2A seat on my boarding pass.  I spent about an hour getting to know them and vice versa while they were on break and they were very nice.  I was surprised to learn that they have had lawyers and nurses that became flight attendants on United.  After was over, we had about 5 hours left of the flight and I decided to turn my seat into the bed position.  It slid down and connected with the futon to make a 6 feet lie-flat bed that was very comfortable.  I had two pillows and a light blanket.  

With ear plugs, I got about three hours of sleeping in and felt quite refreshed and happy that I got some sleep on the plane.  I took off my sweater and on the air-nozzles for the evening to stay cool/refreshed.  There was some slight turbulence during the evening so I got awaken slightly due to the movement and subsequent fasten your seat belt announcement.  I woke up to use the bathroom and ate a banana to help ward off hunger.






Breakfast was a choice of yogurt or a cheese/spinach frittata, bacon, potatoes, sausage, croissant, both served with a mixed fruit bowl of melons/grape/kiwi slice. I was not that hungry yet so I caught up on my trip report.  I chose the cran-apple juice as my morning beverage and everything smelled very good.  I started off with the croissant with strawberry jam and then on to the main course.  The bacon was very good, frittata/sausage/tomatoes were ok, and the potatoes were pretty decent.  The fruit plate was very good and the meal was capped at the end with a good old cup of coffee served with cream and Equal.  I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory during the breakfast service and was very entertained as usual.  Rita did the breakfast service and I complimented her after learning that she has been flying since 1964 and that she took care of herself/have great genes to which she was delighted to hear.  She came back to refill my cup of coffee which I gladly accepted while I watched another episode of The Big Bang Theory with about an hour before landing.  The purser made an announcement that we would be landing at about 8:15AM in an hour or so and there would be some turbulence so the fasten seat belt sign would be illuminated earlier than usual so we needed to take the time to stretch our legs or use the facilities sooner than later.  It was a bumpy descending into San Francisco but overall not too bad.  The flight was very nice and the crew were all very professional/friendly whenever I approached them.  I would recommend flying United in First Class long haul on their newer International First Class cabin (not the old one on the Boeing 777.)
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Part 8: Shanghai Pudong Airport – Shanghai Airlines Business/First Class Lounge









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Part 8: Shanghai Pudong Airport – Shanghai Airlines Business/First Class Lounge
I made my way to the United Counter at Section E of Terminal 2.  There were two lines initially, one for Economy passengers and the other for First/Business/Global Services/1K/Premier Executive/Premier/Star Alliance Gold & Silver.  The second line further divided into other lines and the people in front of me were asked to move to the appropriate line as they were not in Frist Class.  When I arrived at the counter, the same staff member asked if I was in First Class and once I replied, she directed me to counter #4.  I proceeded to give the agent my passport and checked in my one piece of luggage.  He gave me all my boarding passes for my flight from PVG-SFO and then SFO-DFW along with an arrival invitation for SFO and a lounge pass for the Shanghai Airlines lounge that the Star Alliance members use.  Despite leaving the alliance back in October of last year, FM still allows Star Alliance members/carriers to use their lounge (for a fee of course).  I inquired at the Air China desk to see if they had a lounge and the agent told me "not yet," but they will in the future and their own members use the FM lounge as well.  






I wanted to ask about the check-in procedure for American but I had to wait about an hour before they opened their desk so I will have to ask when I return to the US.  The reason being is that American currently only operates one flight from both Beijing and Shanghai daily to Chicago and starting April 5th of this year, a LA-Shanghai flight will commence.  I intentionally booked my next trip to China on American to use my last pair of System Wide Upgrades, to avoid the ORD Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 transfer, and for anticipating a bonus mile offer for the route.  The bonus did materialize finally about two weeks ago so I will get triple miles for LAX-PVG-LAX portion of the trip (new route promotion bonus on top of my Executive Platinum double miles bonus) netting me with net trip balance just shy of 44K AA miles. 
I used the VIP/First Class security check-in area and was prompted to drink my peach juice (from the CSX VIP lounge) as liquids were not permitted but belts/shoes can stay on going through the metal detector.  I asked to see if I could buy some coffee beans but was told it was not available in the airport duty free shops.  I then made my way to the FM lounge near gate 77 and presented my invitation/boarding class.  They had two sections of service (when compared to only one at Cathay Pacific/Dragonair for OneWorld use.)  I went to the First Class section at first and went to the bathroom but it was small and occupied by other passengers. 
I asked if I could use the Business Class side of the lounge and one of the receptionist told me I could.  I went to the bathroom and it was about three times bigger than the First Class side and it was not full.  There were two food bars and the selections consisted of sushi, soup, fried rice/noodles/finger sandwiches, a salad bar (but few greens), fruit bar, a few desserts, and a few drink coolers.  They had about twenty cubicles for use and the Business side was arranged in a circle which I inadvertently exited and then return on the other side of the entrance.  I made my way back to the First Class section and was stopped by another receptionist who let me pass through once I presented my First Class boarding card.  I snapped a few photos during my short time in the Business Area and then went straight for one of the three small business centers in the First Class side.  They had a massage chair (which I did not get to use) and a desk with a computer for use with internet.  I spent the rest of the time between using the internet and going back to the food area to get more food.  The First Class had the same food as the Business Section for the most part and a few more drink selections along with even less passengers (since Star Alliance Gold can only access the Business lounge).  Boarding began at about an hour before departure and I made my way to the gate area at about 45 minutes before departure after all other Premium/Elite passengers had already boarded.  I quickly gulped down the rest of my beverages (tea/water/soy milk) before leaving the lounge as to not waste anything.  I was surprised that the inspection officers did not bother to check my luggage to see if possibly smuggled in liquids (which I did not) or check my passport.  













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