Avis du vol entre Denver et Frankfurt en classe Economique avec United

Hello aviation fans and travelers and welcome to part 2 of my trip report from Kansas City, Missouri to Frankfurt, Germany, via Denver, Colorado!
Having just arrived from MCI, I was ready to head to my flight home. I had to transfer from Terminal B to Terminal A, where United typically operates for international flights as well as many other airlines from all over the world.

Hope you enjoy, and please take the time to provide some feedback and let me know if you enjoyed it! :)
Thanks everyone, and have a great week! :)

Denver International Airport officially opened on February 28, 1995, replacing the original Stapleton Airport. Since its opening, DEN has become one of the world's busiest airports, with nearly 70 million passengers passing through in 2022. This made Denver the third-busiest airport in the world, according to the airport's website (www.flydenver.com).

The Train to the Gates (or the Automated Guideway Transit System) connects Jeppesen Terminal and all three DEN concourses. The ride from Concourse B to A is only about three minutes, and after that, it was going to be another 5-10-minute walk to my gate.

And there we are… my ride home to Germany :) My plane for the flight across the pond is a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which I have flown a few times before. I really enjoy traveling on this aircraft as it is very quiet and spacious. The Boeing 787's internal cabin pressure is equivalent to 6,000 feet (1,829 meters), which means that it results in a higher pressure than that of older, conventional aircraft, which are set to 8,000 feet (2,438 meters); according to a study conducted by Boeing. This difference significantly increases passenger comfort levels on board, which makes it easier to sleep during the flight and overcome the jetlag sooner. 

One thing that surpised me (in a positive way) is that, while the agte agents announced that the flight might get delayed because it had arrived from Frankfurt a little behind schedule, the ground crew was still able not only to catch up, but get the plane prepared in record time, and the boarding process started several minutes ahead of schedule, so that we were able to depart early as well. What a fantastic job they did! :)

Both United and Lufthansa fly from Denver to Frankfurt, although this Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 is heading to Munich, which is its second base. Lufthansa mostly uses its Boeing 747-8 for the DEN-FRA route, however, now with their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the airline is planning to use that aircraft in the future, just like United does.

Right before 3 o'clock in the afternoon, it was time to board. I was in boarding group 3, and my seat was 46A, almost in the very back of the aircraft. 

After taking my seat, I did what I always do when having booked a window seat: getting a good picture of the wing. :)

As you can see, our ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) was expected to be 8:42 a.m. local time, which actually was the time that we touched down, so we were almost 40 minutes ahead of schedule, whereas our scheduled arrival time was 9:20 a.m. So great job United! :)

Our route was pretty standard for this flight - after departure, we were going to head Northeast towards the Western tip of Nebraska, heading into South Dakota, and then Minnesota before entering Canadian airspace. After passing Hudson Bay, we would begin our Atlantic crossing and reach Europe over Scotland, flying over the North Sea towards Amsterdam, and finally starting our descent somewhere between Duesseldorf and Cologne.
Just a few minutes before pushback, the Captain made his announcement and gave us some information about our flight, saying that our flight time would be 8 hours and 50 minutes.

Pushback began shortly afterwards, and ahead of schedule. In the picture, you can also see another United Boeing 787, whcih will be heading to London, and an Air France Airbus A350 that had just arrived from Paris, and is getting prepared for its return flight to France.

One interesting fact about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is that it can start both its engines simultaneously, although pilots still start mostly one at a time. The reason for this special ability is that, unlike older traditional aircraft, the 787 is equipped with electrical power instead of a bleed air system.

Extending the flaps for takeoff. As the engines are being started and the hydraulic pump is being activated, the aileron (the flaperon that was "dropped down" in the previous picture) raises and goes into its position. The aileron controls the plane's roll, which allows it to turn as it flies.

Here is a short video of the take off. Hope you enjoy! :)
You will notice that the ailerons drop down again as we accelerate. That is because once the pilot pushes the throttles forward to takeoff power and the engines spool up, the computers in the cockpit cut power to the ailerons. The purpose of that is to avoid stress damage to the ailerons caused by the thrust. They freefloat and lift as we gain more and more speed. Once the aircraft reaches 80-100 knots (92-115 mph), the pressure is reapplied and the ailerons return to their original position. The average takeoff speed of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is 140 knots (161 mph).

We took off about 20 minutes ahead of schedule, and reached our initial cruising altitude of 33,000 feet shortly afterwards. Everything went great, from the flight preparations to the departure, we were making excellent time, and the weather was great for flying too. Couldn't have been better in my opinion! :)

Soon after takeoff, the flight attendants began serving the first round of beverages and snacks. Today a small bag of savory snack mix, and I ordered a coke with some ice as well. 

Following the snack service, dinner was served. As usual, United, like most other airlines, offer a choice between chicken and pasta in the Economy cabin on long-distance flights. I went for the pasta, which came with a small salad, a bun, and a cookie. I guess you should have everything else before the cookie. :)

About two hours into the flight, we had made it into Canadian airspace, approaching Hudson Bay, from where we would proceed further East towards the North Atlantic. 

As we flew over Hudson Bay, the sun began to set. One of the reasons why I always try to get a window seat on the left side is that it gives me the chance to see the beautiful sunset and sunrise on eastbound flights. These views are always breathtaking to see above the clouds - sights that never get old. :)

Time to get some sleep. :) I definitely felt a little tired, and thanks to the fact that this plane is so nice and quiet, I knew that I was going to sleep well! Well, good night! :)

Well, I didn't sleep much, but still more and better than on older planes. :) I woke up to some turbulence, so that was part of it. Overall, it was a smooth flight, but it did get pretty bumpy over the Atlantic, and I eventually couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to continue watching some movies.

United's inflight entertainment (IFE) offers a wide variety of movies, TV shows, songs, and games. The list of available movies includes one of my favorites - Harry Potter (the entire series) as well as the Hobbit. I watched the Sorcerer's Stone and then the Goblet of Fire. :)

On a long flight like this, it is important to get up every now and then, not only to use the restroom, but also to walk around and stretch your legs a bit.

Slowly reaching the European continent.

After nearly 7 hours in the air, the sun came up again, and we were getting closer to Germany. Not much to see down there, and this wasn't going to change because the weather forecast for most of Europe wasn't very promising that morning. Overcast skies, little misty rain and even some thunderstorms in the evening were in the forecast for Frankfurt. Well, what can I say… that's Germany lol :)

Breakfast was served over Amsterdam. This one is a turkey, cheese, and egg sandwich, which was very tasty. I also had a cup of coffee with creamer and sugar. I always need coffee in the morning! :)

As I finished my breakfast, the First Officer got on the intercom announcing our descent into Frankfurt. As expected, we were going to land very early; about 40 minutes ahead of schedule, and we were going to park at a remote stand this time, which means that we would disembark via stairs instead of the jetbridge, and then buses would take us to the Terminal.

Now we can finally see something…:) Soon we would make a right turn to fly past Runway 25R, which we will be landing on, so that we would come in to land from the East. This type of approach is known as a "right downwind approach."

Descending into the clouds and lowering the flaps for landing. Every now and then, the pilots also apply the speedbrakes/spoilers, which helps getting down a bit faster, but also to avoid going too fast. When the aircraft descends, the speed increases, and just like on the road, there are speed limits that air traffic control (ATC) does not want you to exceed, so these speedbrakes are a very efficient tool. 

On final approach. :)

Down there is the famous Autobahn! :) If you haven't already, you really must drive on one of those some day! One of them is the A3, which runs South of the city center. With a length of almost 770 kilometers (478.5 miles), the A3 is Germany's second-longest Autobahn and connects Emmerich, a city by the Dutch border, with Passau in Lower Bavaria.

Here is a short video of the landing. Enjoy! :)

As the First Officer indicated earlier, we were going to park at a remote position, next to another United Airlines plane, a Boeing 777-200.

Rolling past a couple of Lufthansa jets before pulling into our parking position.

We made it! :) Now we just had to wait for the stairs to be docked onto the aircraft, and then take the bus to the Terminal. On a remote stand, passengers can embark and disembark both at the front and the back of the plane. Since I was seated near the back, this is where I got off.

Since the flight was completely booked with nearly 300 passengers, it was going to take some time until all of them made it onto the buses, and we were finally ready to go. When we made it to the Terminal, it was going to be a long walk to passport control and baggae claim, but everything went well and I had safely made it to my destination. :)