Introduction: I was supposed to fly SPI-ORD-LNK-DEN on December 23, 2009, but with the imminent ice storm that was going through the Midwest, I was able to change my flights to SPI-ORD-DEN. I wanted to leave on the 6am SPI departure. With the travel waiver I was able to change my flights. I got through to an agent within a couple of minutes even though they were still picking up the mess from the Northeast blizzard and gearing up for the Midwest blizzard. The reservation agent on the Premier Executive line was unwilling to change me at first because there were no coach seats available to DEN in the morning. She put me on hold and then was able to get me on a flight. I’m assuming she upgraded someone and then put me on board in economy. She booked me in a Y fare bucket, so I was automatically waitlisted for an upgrade. My flight out of Springfield isn’t anything special, so I will skip that.



Once I got into ORD I went directly to the gate, to see where I was in the upgrade list. I was 1 of 3 with 16 remaining seats, so I was confident I would clear. A gate agent didn’t come until about 10 minutes before we started to board, and he first had to get the crew ready to go. Then he started to clear the upgrade and the confirmed waiting for seats lists. There were quite a few op-ups on this flight, but I got my upgrade with no problem.

United 245
ORD-DEN
Boeing 767-300 International
Seat: 6B









6B is a rear facing seat, but I was up for this interesting experience. It was definitely interesting to see the engine through out the flight, especially at takeoff. At takeoff it kind of felt like you were falling as you looked out the window with the objects on the ground getting smaller and smaller.



The seat was very padded. I have read reports that the new Business seat lacked enough padding, but I didn’t really notice it. I didn’t try to sleep on today’s flight, but I know I would have been able to if I tried. My only complaint about the seat is the width. It is kind of narrow, but United does have to differentiate the First and Business cabins in some way.

Once we got to a safe altitude, the flight attendants passed out noise canceling headphones. Mine was kind of annoying because it seemed like it would pickup feedback and make loud noises unless I kept it on my head a certain way. After they passed out the head phones, they started taking drink and breakfast orders. 6AB was the last set of seats they served, so we were well into the flight before they got to us. Breakfast was very tasty and filled me up. The omelet was filled with some type of light cheese and spices. It was nicely done.



The video on demand was pretty cool, but I didn’t really have time to watch any movies on the flight. I just watched some TV programs.





The flight got into Denver ahead of time because of the winds. Overall this was a great flight, and United Business was icing on the cake. I can’t wait to fly the new Business seats again and hopefully on an international trip!