It had been a while since my last vacation and, while it was busy at work, I figured I should be able to slip away for a short week-long trip to Los Angeles, one of my favourite cities in the world. This time I decided to treat myself to United's BusinessFirst service across the Pacific and I was also interested to see how things have changed since the merger with Continental, as my last business class flight on United was back in 2010. I was able to get a return MEL-SYD-LAX flight for AUD 6,300, which seemed like good value.

My flight routings were as follows:

November 2nd, 2012 - UA 840 - MEL-SYD-LAX - B747-400 - Depart 11.55am, arrive 9.50am the same day.

November 8th, 2012 - UA 839 - LAX-SYD-MEL - B747-400 - Depart 10.10pm, arrive 11.20am two days later.

In this trip report, I'll let the photos do most of the talking.

I arrived at the international departures hall at MEL at about 10am, just under two hours prior to departure. I love the old-style moving flight information boards.













Check-in desks for the United flight this morning.










Entry to the immigration hall.




Flight information board showing international departures.




There were long queues at immigration. Being in the premium line made little difference - yes the queue was shorter but there was only one counter processing it. This reminded me how the United States does not have exit controls - this has to be one benefit of flying out of the US.





The entrance to the United Club.




Views of the United Club. I wasn't impressed. It felt cramped and old-fashioned, with poor lighting. I'd had a good breakfast only a couple of hours earlier, so didn't pay attention to the food and drink on offer here. I left after five or ten minutes - I found the airy, renovated international terminal with its panoramic windows much more pleasurable to spend my time in than the lounge.







Our aircraft for today's flight to SYD. I didn't get the registration number. Even 40 years after the introduction of the Boeing 747, there's still something magical about seeing her distinctive form and elegant lines at the gate - she fills me with a sense of adventure and anticipation in a way no other aircraft does. I was also pleased to see the old "Blue Rising" livery - I find it so fresh and light, its graded shades of blue evoking the sea and the skies:










Walking down the aerobridge (or jetway, as they say in America!)




On board the upper deck! I was in seat 16A, by the window. The cabin was clean and fresh.
















I had not previously flown in the upper deck of a 747-400. It really is a special place. It's true how people say it has the feel of a private jet - on today's flight it felt tranquil, cosy and intimate.

I was offered a pre-departure drink, and asked for a glass of water.







Obligatory legroom shot (there was plenty as you can see).




We pushed back on time. Here we are taxiing.






















Turning on to the runway.




Take-off!

























Catering on the short flight to SYD was a drinks round and a bag of pretzels. Apart from water I declined any food or drink.

While Melbourne had been overcast, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in Sydney as we approached the airport from the north-west, revealing classic harbour views including the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Sydney City Centre.





































Touchdown:



















One of the best things about United's tag from MEL is that it arrives direct into the international terminal at SYD so there's no need for a cumbersome domestic-international transfer at SYD.

Passengers arriving from MEL were in the gate lounge for only around 15 minutes before boarding of the flight to LAX was called.

The two United 747-400s at SYD this afternoon. The one in the foreground brought us in from MEL, while the other partially obscured at the end of the long aerobridge is bound for LAX.







On board UA840 to LAX. As I mentioned, even after all these years of 747 service, there's still something so special about ascending the staircase to the upper deck of a 747.




I was able to get a glimpse of GlobalFirst.







I did think about booking in GlobalFirst but, at double the price of BusinessFirst, it just didn't seem worth it in terms of improved seating or catering (for example, the PTVs are the same both in size and content).

Views of the BusinessFirst cabin on the upper deck. Again I was in seat 16A.







The window shades were lowered in the upper deck for take-off, so I couldn't take any photos of our departure from SYD.

Shortly after take-off, warmed nuts and a drink (orange juice for me) were offered:




I had ordered a vegetarian meal, but to my disappointment, the flight attendant informed me that no special meals had been loaded in BusinessFirst for the flight. I had called United twice prior to my flight to ensure my special meal was recorded on their system (as the online booking wouldn't let me select a special meal), so this was clearly some sort of system glitch or problem with catering providers in MEL. Fortunately, there was a vegetarian main course option on the regular menu and the flight attendant said he's guarantee that to me.

Here is the starter. A salad of fresh seasonal greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and croutons, with balsamic or Caesar dressing. The salad was fresh and good. There was also a bread roll and some sort of chicken and pesto side which I left.




As mentioned, I was given the vegetarian main course, spinach cannelloni with four-cheese sauce and roasted tomatoes with parmesan cheese. It was soggy, tasteless and disappointing. To drink I chose a nice Sonoma Valley Chardonnay recommended by the FA.




For dessert, the FA put together an ice-cream sundae for me, with a bit of each kind of topping. It looked good but was a bit too gooey and syrupy for my liking.







After dinner, I and most other passengers stretched out and tried to settle into the long Pacific crossing. I watched the movie "Liberal Arts" and listened to the audio selection on the excellent entertainment system on United's BusinessFirst. I also wandered around the aircraft, including through economy and down to the back of the aircraft. The load factor was almost 100% - nearly every seat was occupied.

After a few hours, I reclined the seat into its lie-flat position and was able to get several hours of sleep, to my surprise, as I normally have trouble sleeping on aircraft.

About an hour-and-a-half before landing, breakfast was served. I was given the cereal and banana option as the others were not vegetarian. This was a standard airline breakfast - nothing fancy, despite this being business class.




Soon after the breakfast dishes were cleared away, we began our descent into the Los Angeles area.
















Touch-down!










Taxiing up to Terminal 7.




US immigration and customs at LAX Terminal 7 were awful. Although I was one of the first to leave the aircraft, on entering the immigration hall I had to join the end of what was already a long queue - a United flight from Mexico City had arrived just before us. I ended up having to wait for over an hour-and-a-half and the process was slow and chaotic.

As the return flight LAX-SYD-MEL was not dramatically different from the outbound flight, a condensed report of that trip follows. The one notable difference over the outbound leg, however, was that catering was much better and I got my special meal.

A sign promoting Los Angeles at the top of the escalators after passing through security in Terminal 7.




The entrance to the United Club.







Views of the United Club. I'm not fond of airline lounges and I didn't linger long. The selection of food and beverage was decent and I did grab a few biscuits and pieces of cheese as a snack. Also wifi was free, open and fast.













On board the upper deck again. This time I was in seat 16K, on the starboard side.







I liked the big storage bins on the upper deck and was able to store all my stuff neatly away in them.










My vegetarian dinner was delicious. The starter was a spicy asparagus, tomato and potato salad, with a warm grain bread roll and a lettuce salad.







The main course was Indian-style yellow rice with peas, served with a warmed wrap stuffed with a spicy tofu-like filling and a tomato gravy.







After dinner, I had a plate of brie and Dutch cheeses, with crackers, grapes and port. The port was nice and I actually asked for a second glass.




Breakfast was served about an hour-and-a-half before landing in SYD. My special order was excellent - a hot spinach pie with a tomato gravy and fried potatoes and vegetables, a fresh fruit salad and croissant.







Some cabin views.




Our approach to SYD.













Touch-down!







At SYD, it was about an hour-and-a-half before departure of our connecting flight to MEL. While waiting I noticed this Delta 777-200LR.




A few final snaps of the seats before disembarking at MEL.