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Published: October 1st 2006
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New York-Los Angeles in First class
The Boeing 757 from United Airlines that will take me to Los Angeles. So I have made it to sunny California and Los Angeles, and it is in fact quite hot and sunny here.
To get here I used United Airlines Premium Service (P.S) which is only available on the New York-Los Angeles and New York-San Francisco routes.
They offer an upgraded first class on these routes (usually US domestic flights are nothing to write home about) and United P.S First class customers are basically treated like international first class passengers.
I caught the airport bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York to JFK airport. The ride was much quicker than I anticipated so I arrived at JFK almost three hours before departure.
I guess not a lot of people travel on Saturday mornings at 10 am.
At JFK I went to the premium check-in area. The business class/Star Gold line was quite long, but the first class line only had two people waiting.
I wasn't quite sure if I was allowed to check-in at the first class counter as a p.s. passenger, but I gave it a try and the check-in woman didn't say anything, so I guess I was in fact entitled to use it.
The check-in
New York-Los Angeles in First class
The first class check-in desk at New York JFK airport. agent was very friendly and even addressed me by name. My luggage was tagged with the proper United Airlines first class tag, score!
The fast track security was closed, but the regular line was very short anyway so I was through in less than five minutes.
The main perk of flying United Airlines in first on the p.s service is that you are allowed to use the international first class lounge.
The lounge isn't exactly brand new, very dated with an interior that looks very 80's. But the selection of drinks and snacks is quite good with a decent selection of alcohol and even champagne (Moet and Chandon!!).
The lounge was very empty, not more than 8 people in there at any time during my visit, so I basically had a whole section of the lounge to myself.
One lounge attendant was in charge of the first class lounge and came into the lounge to make boarding announcements, she tried to remember who was travelling on which flight to make the announcements personally to each passenger.
Boarding started 30 mins before departure with priority boarding for business and first class passengers.
Once onboard I was greeted my the
New York-Los Angeles in First class
The United Airlines International First class lounge at JFK airport. Looks a bit dated, but the snacks selection is good. purser, my jacket was taken and I was offered a pre-departure drink. It annoys me a bit though that they call the sparkling wine champagne when it is not. Socks, eye shades and ear plugs were also handed out.
During the flight they served a full meal with appetizer, salad, main course (a choice of three dishes) and dessert.
The food was OK, I'm not complaining about it, but it was more suited for American travellers than Europeans with large portions and not the healthiest ingredients to follow.
As a result, very unfortunately, and also due to a very bumpy flight, I got problems with my stomach and didn't really enjoy the rest of the flight that much.
Another thing that annoyed me was that they had a drink list in the menu that all passengers were given with four different types of red wine very properly described, but when I enquired they told me they only had one of the four reds onboard. Why even have a wine list then?
The seat was very comfortable though and could almost be reclined to a lie-flat bed. It is the same seat that Singapore Airlines uses in business class,
New York-Los Angeles in First class
Look! Isn't that a bottle of Moet et Chandon that somebody has left on the counter?! Would be a pity to just leave it there so I think I'll have a glass (or three) before departure.. ;) they call it a skybed.
First class passengers are also given a personal video player with a choice of 10 movies which was a nice touch. I watched one movie during the flight but was too tired to watch a second.
The service onboard was overall OK, although it was not even close to the service offered by other airlines on longer routes (my Transatlantic Lufthansa flight was lightyears better).
They made a few mistakes onboard like mixing the meal orders and the jackets of passengers and after the meal the crew were not very attentive to offer more drinks and check on the passengers.
Landing at Los Angeles airport 45 minutes (!) ahead of timetable and the priority tag worked very well, both my suitcases were among the first on the belt.
I caught the airport bus to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles (yes there is actually an airport bus in this car city) and I am now staying in a hotel just five minutes walk from Union Station.
Since you usually need a car to get around this city (which is kind of a problem for me) I had to pick a hotel reasonably close
New York-Los Angeles in First class
View of the first class cabin onboard. to the airport bus and the subway, but I managed to find a very good one with decent sized rooms and friendly staff. Seems very nice so far and quite affordable as well!
Off to bed now, three hours of jetlag to deal with...
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