I booked all three of us on United, in First Class LAX - SAT via IAH and for the return, MCI - LAX via DEN, a compact with Hertz and 6 hotel locations with Starwood. This trip would be taking us to: San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, stop in Little Rock, Memphis, Saint Louis, and finally Kansas City.
UA1614 LAX - IAH Boeing 737-900
We parked our car at Van Nuys Flyaway terminal and took the bus to the airport. The traffic at LAX was PACKED and it took a while for our bus to finally arrive at terminal 7. Entering the terminal, I found 1 free agent in Premier Access and walked right up to check our bags. At first she could not find my reservation by name, and I had to give her our reservation number. The process was quick and painless but the new checkin area feels quite hospital like and not very warm.
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Now due to the construction going on at terminal 7, you have to go outside and walk to a different entrance to get through security. The TSA Pre line was closed and everyone had to lineup outside and have their boarding passes checked before being let in. Also, the premier line was not visible from the back of the line and many people including myself were not too thrilled having to stand in the main line. Just then, an employee walked to the back asking for premier access people.
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So the situation was like this at security, there was a regular line which was LONG and then a premier line. When you got to the front and were also TSA Pre, you didn't have to take off your shoes and only had to go through the metal detector. The the problem was, you had to go through the people waiting to go through the body scanner to get to the metal detector after putting your stuff of the belt to be checked. Really was not a efficient setup.
TSA also decided to swab my macbook for explosive residues and the one doing it wasn't that pleasant to deal with. After finally getting everything back into by backpack, we headed directly for United Club. The main one is closed for renovations and only the tiny temporary(I think) is open. The club is small, and was definitely missing some of the food items that you usually find at the bigger clubs such as Chicago. The soup on offer was really good and the bartender was kept busy by the people in the club.
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View From United Club
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After some snacks and glass of wine and a beer, it was time to head out to the gate. It didn't take long for the gate lice to start congregating near the boarding lines. During the boarding process, I heard quite a bit of the "Wrong Group" beeps in group 1. We were about halfway in group 1 line and by the time we got on the aircraft, the overhead bins were already full with a$$h*le$ who decided to put their bags in longways, including the guy below. By pushing stuff out of the way, I managed to make some room for our personal items.
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At our seat, was a blanket wrapped and sealed in plastic, and I also noticed that my armrest was not fully closed. I tried to see what was blocking it but could not find what was obstructing the tray table from going completely in.
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In between, coach passengers boarding, one of two FA's working First Class came around taking PDB orders. I ordered gin and tonic and my mom just water, and my dad red wine. I always give my mom hard time for drinking only water on the plane when I'm paying for First / Business class seats. I've been trying to get her to drink more booze / wine when flying but she won't budge.
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We departed on time and after an uneventful takeoff, I finally got up 30 min into the flight to use the bathroom. Now, the seat belt sign is still illuminated and the FA's are still seated, but when nature calls what can you do. The FA's who were in their jump seat, the first one, told me "The Seat Belt Sign Is Still On," I told her cant wait any longer and the FA's looked at me and said they just have to say that and go ahead and use it. On other foreign airlines, when the 10,000 feet ding chimes, all the FA's spring to action, but I noticed on UA they all stay seated till the seat belt sign in off. Is this a United thing?
After we reached cruising altitude, the seat belt sign went off, and the FA's sprang into action. FA 2 of 2 went around taking drink orders, 2 at a time, while FA 1 of 2 was in the gallery prepping the drinks and snack basket. I ordered gin and tonic again and once again my mom ordered water.
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After the initial drink service, FA 1 of 2 came around with the snack basket. When she got to my mom and I, I asked if I could take a picture of the basket. At first she gave a ... look but then held out the basket for me to take the picture. After the snack basket went around, they came through asking if anyone wanted refills.
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After the drinks and snacks, my parents and I all tried to get some sleep, but we quickly realized that sleep was not going to happen on this flight. The First Class seats in United's 737-900 are so uncomfortable reclined that they cause massive pressure on your lower back and cause pain. Quite a few people in First Class could be seen rubbing their lower back after landing. Also the lady in front of us was coughing SO much that we could not sleep and also felt grossed out. She's a classy one ain't she.
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More on the lady in row 1. She shoved her roller and another bag LONG ways into the overhead bin above us so there was no room for my stuff, but obviously she thought it was ok to ask me to get her HEAVY ... bags down for her. Mind you I've pulled my left scapula muscle before and it gets easily inflamed if I'm not careful. I'll risk it for my mom and dads bag but not some odd stranger with now tact or clue. If you can't get your sh$% down, then CHECK IT!!!!
Our plane on arrival.
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In conclusion, the FA's on arrival were too busy talking and giggling with the pilot to greet the passengers while we were getting off. Also, I was not greeted when I boarded. Why do I mention these two things? Because United sent me a survey and actually asked if the FA's did exactly that. I would rate United on this flight a solid B.
After landing, my parents and I headed directly to United Club, near the C gates. The club was pretty empty this time in the morning and we were able to grab ourselves window area couches. Breakfast items were setup in the lounge, with assorted breads / toaster, muffins, fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, granola, cold cereal coffee and juices.
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While our original plan was to stick around in the lounge for couple hours, it ended being a lot longer since our 8:55AM flight got delayed multiple times. United's email notification and app promptly warned me of the delay and also of the gate change as well. In the end, UA1772 ended up being an hour late and departing at 9:55AM due to late inbound flight from New Orleans.
The club did get very crowded on multiple occasions before quickly emptying out again. The bartender lady was on her A game, and was very cheerful greeting everyone that wanted a drink with a welcome and then a thank you. Dishes were constantly cleared and tables wiped down. All in all a great club and I have nothing to complain about. As soon as the United app showed that our plane had landed, my parents and I headed for the gate.
People were already starting to lineup even though passengers were still deboarding the plane. Boarding started immediately after everyone was off the plane.
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The seats on this plane were different from the one on the Boeing 737 earlier and much more comfortable. Just sitting down, you can feel the difference vs the one in the earlier plane, but the legroom was definitely less than before. Our Airbus also had BYOD entertainment but I did not end up using it due to the short flight time.
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I counted 3 FA's on this flight as they came and went through first class. The one working First Class was very nice and all smiles, while the second one that was doing the safety demo in First Class not only looked mean, but I could hear her mutter a bunch of stuff about couple of the passengers in the back plus she threw down the safety demo kit on the galley counter. She was the type that you should not make any eye contact with, ask for anything and just stay quiet unless you wanted a heap of hurt.
After another uneventful takeoff expect for those unusual noises that only the Airbus narrow bodies make, the solo nice and smiling FA did a round of refreshment service of beverages, and warmed blueberry muffins, along with a second round of drinks and finally going around asking passengers if they wanted more muffins, all served from a silver tray with a cloth napkin on top.
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It was not long before landing and our solo FA began scrambling to get the cabin and the gallery ready for landing. We were on the ground shortly and the taxing to the gate quick. By the time we got the baggage claim, the United App sent me a message saying that our luggage had arrived on an earlier flight and to go directly the the luggage office to pick them up.
I have to give high marks to United's App and their email notifications. I was notified of delays and changes way before the FID or the agent in the United Club even knew about the delay and changes. United gets a solid A for this flight.
