Review of United flight Atlanta → Chicago in Domestic First

At the risk of giving too much away about who I am or what I do IRL, since I am in a new industry, this was my first business trip where I had to make solo presentations and not help out with those of other people. I was very nervous! The trip wound up going well, thankfully. I didn't take many pictures on my Economy flight to ATL - even though it was my first time in Atlanta or Georgia itself, the flight was pleasant and unremarkable. I sat in a window seat and had great views!

I gave myself an extra day to explore Atlanta itself, since I was not in the city for my business dealings and such. I stayed at a hotel that was actually in the city, and I got to experience Atlanta for almost 24 hours without any work obligations, knowing I had finished such a milestone. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to have my first-ever first class voyage. I've been extremely lucky to travel across Europe as a kid with my family, but we certainly never were in business/first because there were 5 of us and that is expensive as hell (remember to factor in hotel rooms, dining, etc.!). I saw that the first class upgrade for a short 2-hour flight was, about a month ago, around $150, which was still a bit much for me. I then saw the price went up, which I didn't think it would, but that was also because I rescheduled the flight haha. It was now about $650 a few days prior. Then, a few days after this (2 days ago maybe?) it was $450. I thought that I could dip my toe in the pool by paying with miles. Of course, they want your money, so cash alone meant you're guaranteed a spot in first, but I tried miles for the waitlist. I thought nothing would come of it, and I'd get the 20,000 miles plus $75 refunded anyway. (You might think 20,000 miles is a ripoff for a 2-hour domestic flight. Probably! I might be a big idiot. One of my friends is already judging me for this. Even so, I did a cursory search and saw examples of similar domestic upgrades costing this amount, mileage-wise. I don't really think this flight itself was worth it, but you live and you learn. Some say you can never go back to economy after this, but it was a mediocre experience, and I would definitely live another day to fly mostly economy with the occasional deviation!)

Surprise of surprises…I checked in and saw my seat assignment was different. The row was single digits! I was shocked. The upgrade worked?! I thought a Saturday would be super busy (it was), but I suppose Domestic First is busier during the work week for business/first. I changed my seat to a window seat. I didn't put two and two together that it's bulkhead, so not having everything in my backpack near me was kind of annoying. I've done bulkhead seating in economy, but it's been a while, and I'm short, so legroom is never a motivating concern ;)

Time to leave the Atlanta airport! You will need comfy shoes here; the sprawl is real.  Why are the ceilings so low, especially after renovation, when that's less common these days?

 This is probably just me being paranoid, but it almost feels like you're being punished for not flying Delta (the dominant carrier here/hub). American and United are shuffled to the end of the terminal, to the point where there is one dining option and no retail option. Anything else and you are walking 10-15 minutes each way. It's great to get steps, but this is tough if you are making a connection, etc. I am aware that airports often provide expensive food that is not justified in its prices, and I see it whenever I go! But something about a crappy pre-packaged sandwich for $15 felt particularly insulting. And that was at our one dining option! Hmm.  

^The "end of the line"

I hear you guys like planespotting! I was there early and took some sweet pics for everyone to enjoy.

Let's get on our flight! I was forgetful and didn't realize where Group 1 was already lining up. Then I joined them…d'oh.

Now I was on the plane! I did not take a lot of pictures of my seat, because as glad as I was to be in group 1, I was not one of the first to board, so it was a busy settling in period for people who would've seen me taking pics. Also, the guy next to me was a TOTAL pro. It was not his first first class rodeo. All he got was water (clearly the free alcohol thing was not a big pull for him). He had a sharp blue suit on with tasteful loafers and a nice-looking watch. I didn't want to fawn over my seat too much or take too many pics (though I took my cheesiest ones when he was in the bathroom!). Also, I struggled with the tray table and needed his help, even though I've used the bulkhead style table before with success…basically, I wanted to crawl into a hole.
 

Being so far forward in the plane that you see the jetway connector (for lack of a better term?) out of your own seat…it's crazy. I settled in and my seat was comfy but kind of clicked in its non-recline position. The best comparison I can make is when you have a table at a restaurant and one leg is a tiny bit shorter than the others, so it rocks a bit. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was kind of annoying, especially in a cabin that requires hefty sums of money and/or miles!
Our dedicated flight attendant was kind enough to help me with my suitcase, which they usually don't do, and I felt bad because it was hard to fit into the compartment. Oddly, it fit just fine in economy on the way there and didn't get larger with new things. Oh well! The bins must differ. Despite how helpful the attendant was there, overall, he seemed a bit annoyed by everyone.
Things improved for me when I saw that I got something I've only seen in other blogs and reports on here…a pre-departure beverage ;) 

Once in the air, I excitedly awaited my onboard drink order of sparkling wine and sparkling water. (I love sparkling water!) He brought out my sparkling water, but it was regular flat water. I felt bad, but I asked him if I could get the sparkling water. It actually took a while to track him down, since he would rush past everyone most often. When I got him, he felt terrible and I assured him that it was not a big problem at all. Then I got my sparkling water. Sparkling water in the clouds is always a treat, regardless of cabin class. I always enjoy it :)

Embarrassingly, it took me a while to notice the United branding on the glass. This was so cool to me. I had never had real glass on the plane, certainly not with airline branding. Many might think this is banal and uninteresting, but it was really special to me in the moment. I was in a crappy mood because I'd been staving off a cold (yet opted for sparkling wine, I know, bad life choices). And I was questioning how "worth it" this was. But between this cool "official" sign of first class, as well as a pre-downloaded episode of Top Chef, I was happy.
Then I took the iconic shot! It helped that my seatmate was in the bathroom and couldn't see this process ;) 
For food, it was marked as a flight without food. I doubt economy got snacks, even! This is because first class received the barest of minimum snacks. The attendant walked around with Skinny Pop and similar things. That is some of the most common snack food in the US, not terribly pricey, something I eat with frequency. It was actually hilarious to see first class peddling Skinny Pop. It almost felt insulting, but then they kept refilling my glass, so yay for that. 

I am not sure why I was surprised by this, but the flight attendant kept refilling my glass! The sparkling wine tasted great and wasn't some crappy afterthought brand, from what I could tell. Perhaps this explains why I felt mildly confused navigating my home airport.

Views from the clouds:

After some more flight time, we began our descent into the beautiful city of Chicago, whose skyline never fails to inspire and thrill me. I am used to it, but I appreciate a good ORD (or MDW) descent anytime. 
Below you will see a small piece of the seat setup. I was impressed by how much random storage there was! The whole setup was a bit scuffed and dirty, so that was sad to see, but I liked having options for where to put things, not just the pouch in the front. Also, it was my first flight in a while on a plane with seatback entertainment. I didn't use it, but it was great to see it. Less great was the captive-audience announcement about their travel credit card. So tacky and manipulative IMHO. I had made it so many United flights without that! We were getting so far :(

At some point, I should mention the bathrooms. I didn't want to take my phone with me for pics, so do your best to believe me ;) I was excited for new cabin bathrooms. Ours were disgusting. There were tissues stuffed into their receptacle, toilet paper stuffed elsewhere, scraps of toilet paper and tissues on the floor, and so much else that would gross you out (no unidentifiable fluids or bad smells, but is that the bar we want to set in any cabin class?). It is all the more annoying when you spend lots of money and/or use miles for this flight and get borderline-abandoned bathrooms. What a shame to see that.

Back in another hub, ORD! Above you will see a Lufthansa picture. I figured that after my coterie of domestic planes, you might want some international flavor. Speaking of flavor, I'll leave you with the picture my wine-addled self took of the ever-iconic light show linking concourses B and C at O'Hare.