Before I begin, let me start by saying a big "thank you!" to United for getting rid of change fees. We'd be out hundreds of dollars if the old system was in place. But allowing us to change our itineraries worked out perfectly, and United got a LOT of our money in ancillary revenue!
THE ORIGINAL PLAN
My mom lives in Bakersfield, and my husband and I live in San Diego. The original plan - from the summer of 2020 - was obviously postponed. Mom and a friend were to fly BFL-DEN for two days to visit a friend of theirs, and then fly DEN-LIT for a family reunion. We were going to fly SAN-DEN and meet them there (mom's friend was just flying BFL-DEN-BFL), and then the three of us would continue to Little Rock, and reverse the itinerary on the return, splitting up at DEN.
The reunion was rescheduled for September, 2021, and we re-booked. Unfortunately, mom's friend is in declining health, and the Denver portion was canceled.
Which is just as well, because United re-scheduled the morning DEN-LIT flight to before the earliest SAN-DEN could arrive. That threw the schedule into chaos as well, so we re-worked the plan.
Given that I have a two week fall vacation from my teaching job (a year-round schedule), I decided I would drive up to Bakersfield and get her, and return her afterwards. So, we called United and spoke with a wonderful person, gave her our new itineraries, and she re-booked us exactly how we wanted. It could not have been easier!
Flight #1: SAN-IAH
Thursday, September 23, 2021
United #2472
N27503
737-9MAX
Seats 10 D/E/F (Economy Plus)
The last time I was in the rotunda of Terminal 2 West at SAN, I remember the seating area was so cluttered that it was nearly useless. But this time it felt spacious and roomy, with LOTS more seating. Of course, every other seat had a "no seating" sign on it, but even with our full flight (and apparently other full flights as well), it didn't feel cramped or crowded.
As it turns out, our neighbor was one of our flight attendants!! She looked after us quite well, and the flight attendants couldn't have been sweeter.
This was my second MAX flight, and it was as quiet and smooth as I remember. Freakishly quiet, in fact. And for some reason, the bathroom wasn't as ridiculously cramped as I remember. Did United change the lavatories on their MAX fleet?
United's new seats are incredibly comfortable, and E+ legroom is entirely worth the extra cost!! We will always being doing this from now on. We didn't feel tired after 2+ hours at all!
Our flight to IAH was a straight shot to Phoenix, then to El Paso, then a direct line to IAH. Smooth as silk, no bumps whatsoever. We landed perfectly and taxied to C1, and said good-bye to the great crew. It was a short-to-medium walk to the B gates, but our connecting flight to Little Rock left from the northeast banjo (B88), so no need for the terminal link.
Flight #2: IAH-LIT
United (Mesa) #6188
N85354
EMB-175
Seats 9 A/B/C (Economy Plus)
It started with a lovely welcome onboard, followed by finding our similarly comfortable seats. Once airborne for our one-hour flight to LIT, a beverage service commenced.
And then the flight attendants disappeared. Completely. Not a single pass-through for the entire trip.
Okay, that's fine, but we began our descent into LIT, and the ground kept getting closer. And then the captain announced "we're on our final approach into Little Rock, please return to your seats and put up your tray tables and prepare for landing".
Kind of hard to do when there's trash on everyone's tray tables. Talk about a contrast with mainline! It wasn't really an issue, but it was kind of surprising - even just one pass-through in the middle of the flight would have been appreciated. But otherwise, there wasn't anything wrong with the flight at all. We arrived, picked up our checked bag (which was already on the carousel), got our rental car, and began the adventure.
Flight #3 LIT-IAH
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
United (Mesa) #6114
N89321
EMB-175
Seats 16 A/B/C
We arrived at LIT and returned our rental car. We then checked in for our flights, printed our boarding passes, got through the quickest security checkpoint I have ever experienced, and proceeded to gate 7.
Our original itinerary for the return was United #4361, and EMB-145 to IAH. We arrived early, just in case, and planned for about an hour's wait at the airport to sit and read and relax. It had been a fabulous vacation, but we were tired and ready to go back home. Now, when we checked in, all the monitors said, "on time".
When we arrived at gate 7, the earlier LIT-IAH flight, #6114 was in the final stages of boarding. And then the sign changed...
"Next Flight: United 4361 - DELAYED. New time: 2:49 PM" Whoops! Well, now THAT is going to put us into IAH too late to connect to our SAN flight...
Fortunately, all three of us were seated nearby, and the INCREDIBLE gate personnel got to work on re-booking us - onto that very airplane getting ready to depart! A call was made over the radio to pull the checked bag, boarding passes were re-printed, and instead of an hour's wait, we were headed down the jetbridge!
Even more fortunate, this flight was only half full. The seats they provided us were split up, but we were able to migrate to row 16, which had been completely empty. As a side note, NO ONE will ever give me grief about arriving at the airport too early ever again...well, not grief, but teasing.
The captain came on and announced that we were going to be avoiding thunderstorms in the Houston area, so we might be circling for a while. And he wasn't kidding - here's our flight path:
The normal one hour flight took an hour and 51 minutes! Turbulence, yes, but nothing extraordinary. Just a longer than usual flight.
Sad to say, but the flight attendants were efficient but not terribly friendly. Nor did they do any pass-throughs, although the final one was completed long before our final descent.
Flight #4: IAH-SAN
United #658
N13248
737-824
Seats 8 A/B/C
I wish airlines would offer, as options, longer layovers at connecting airports. Two hours at IAH was enough time to get from the C41 to E17, including our lovely meal in between. I hate having to run between planes without enough time to stop and enjoy the amenities. Thankfully, we had enough time to rest and relax and get a bite to eat before our final flight.
Despite all our wishing and hoping, our flight attendant neighbor wasn't onboard. Oh well...but this crew was just as sweet and friendly. And they were for the entire flight!
This aircraft had the screens at all seats, and we had free DirecTV for this flight. It was raining moderately (for the Houston area), and we taxied out and took off.
Just like our other mainline flight, this crew was happy, friendly, and came through the cabin often - such a contrast with our Express flights. The rain was headed east, and we were headed west, and very quickly any signs of turbulence disappeared as we headed home. And just like our SAN-IAH flight, this one was smooth as could be and nearly a straight line.
We arrived back into SAN into the exact same gate, and made our way to the luggage pick-up area for our checked bag. We waited a grand total of about 90 seconds, and there it was. After a quick Uber ride back to our North Park home, and that was that!
Overall, a great trip, although Mesa airlines flight attendants really should make at least one more pass through the aircraft. But that's just splitting hairs. However, on our end, being aware and being early to the airport really saved the day - as did the no change fees!
Thank you, United, for a great trip, and for helping the family reunion go off without a hitch.