Review of United flight Frankfurt → Washington in Business

spontaneous trip to europe

This is my the last segment of my last-minute trip to Barcelona.  All good things must come to an end.  After the delay on LH1061 caused me to misconnect, I was rebooked on the next available United flight back to IAD.  I could have also chosen to sit in the upper deck of the 747 on the LH flight, but direct-aisle access outweighed the rarity of the upper deck for me.

In case you were wondering, I did try to get EC261, but because it was a weather-related delay, the compensation was rejected. 

frankfurt am main airport

The United premium check-in at FRA was actually moving fairly slowly.  There was a document checker at the front of the line that added a sticker to your passenger–this would come in handy later.

When I got through security and turned into the terminal, this was the sight that greeted me.  What a line for the Z Senator/Business lounge! This is like those pictures on the blogs of the lines to get into Sky Clubs at various Delta hubs.

lufthansa senator lounge z

That being said, the line moved fairly quicky.  They were strictly enforcing the Business/Senator divide.

I also had the choice of flying first class on the 747 back the next day, but I decided that the extra points weren't worth it this time given that I had already flown F and got a duck on this trip.

It's quite a large lounge, but as you can see, it's absolutely packed.  I've never been to a LH Lounge where I couldn't quickly find a seat.

I didn't take very many pictures of the buffet because there was quite a line and I didn't want to get in people's way.  There was a decent breakfast spread of the usual: sausages, eggs, bread, cold cuts, and fruit.

While there was a decent view from the lounge, the blinds got in the way of a good picture.

You can see the plane that will take me home from the lounge.

ua988

On the way to the bank of gates that United flies out of, there was another set of lines for document checks.  However, once the agent saw that I already had my documents checked with the "magic sticker," he waved me through.

My flight home would be on N2748U, a 4-years old 777-300ER.  Preboarding began at 10:16am.

The 777-300ER is the largest plane in United's fleet.  There are 60 Polaris business-class seats spread across two cabins.  I was seated in 9D, the bulkhead middle seat in the second Polaris cabin.  I did not have much of a choice left given I was rebooked to this flight the previous evening, so I was pleased to have an "inside" seat even if I wouldn't get a window view.

Here's another look at 9A.  As before, we have the bedding and amenity kit already placed at your seat, as well as a bottle of water.

I've reviewed the Polaris seats quite a few times, so I won't go into details again.  The 777-300ER is not different than the seats on United's other planes.  While more cramped than reverse herringbone seats, these Zodiac Optima seats tend to have consistently sizeable footwells for sleeping, which is a big plus.  The main downside is the relative lack of storage.

One advantage of the bulkhead is that there is this little area where you can temporarily place something.

As usual, my PDB and amenity kit picture:

Orders were taken before takeoff.  Passengers were addressed by name, but not by status (i.e. not GS/1K recognition).  United has consistently returned printed menus to long-haul flights.  I asked for a pair of slippers at this time.

The captain came on around the scheduled departure time to inform the cabin that the entry and cargo doors were still open, so that it was going to be a while.  The purser then informed us that this was a rather special flight as the captain's wife, mother, brother, son, and daughter were all onboard as he was retiring this week and it would be one of his last flights.

Doors closed at 11:15am and we pushed back 6 minutes.  It was hard to tell what was going on from the middle seat, but we took off at 11:38–no matter where you sit, the roar of the GE90 is unmistakable.

As you can see, we started off with decent tailwinds, but would run into fairly stiff headwinds across the Atlantic.

The tray tables in these seats are easy to operate–they slide in/out and then fold out into a bigger tray table.  I also took the chance the first time someone passed by to again ask for a pair of slippers.

Service began at 18 minutes after takeoff with a hot towel.

A blue table cloth was then laid across the tray table.

On this flight we had Duval Leroy NV as the champagne.  It was okay.

I started off with champagne, water, and a ramekin of nuts.

The starter and main were served all at once on a tray.  The pork coppa was actually quite decent, but the salad really left a lot to be desired.

Unfortunately, back in January the ice cream sundae cart was not yet back.  Toppings were pre-added and served from the galley.  That said, it was still a satisfying dessert.

After the meal service, I checked out the lavatory.  Boeing tends to have smaller lavatories, but the 777 was at least bigger than the others in United's fleet (787, 767).  We are still going with the Sunday Riley amenities, which were perfectly fine.

After dinner service, I finally received the slippers after asking several times for them.  The FA was quite surprised, "You still haven't gotten them?"

WiFi pricing was on the expensive side and I did not opt to get it.

I dozed off for roughly 2-3 hours, but wanted to make sure that I didn't sleep for very long so that I could adjust back to Eastern Time when we landed.  When I woke up, I went to check out the snack basket set up in the galley.  They were quite depleted.  An FA passed by and noticed the same and quickly replenished them.

Here's the more fulsome snack setup.  As you can see, there are chips, fruits, cheese, and crackers.

I asked for a cup of tea instead, which was brought out promptly.

An FA also came around with a basket of other snacks.  I chose this chocolate chip roll, which was tasty.

Breakfast service began with a hot towel at 12:37pm ET (a little under 1.5 hours before landing).

I opted for the classic Wellington burger.  It's not very healthy, but it reheats well and is a staple breakfast option on United.

Not much else left to the flight.  I learned that the FA serving my aisle was actually the retiring captain's wife.  We chatted for a bit–he still had another turn to Europe (I forget which city) before actually retiring.  I asked her if captains get a water cannon salute on their last flight at a hub and she said she's not sure if they do it for all captains, but definitely not in January.

We landed at 1:59pm ET and reached our gate 5 minutes later.  Then it was off to the Dulles people mover to take us to customs.  Sometimes I wonder what people who are visiting the US for the first time think if the Dulles people mover is their first arrival "experience."

Thanks to Global Entry, I was through customs very quickly and curbside a few minutes later.