Chris McGinnis reported last week that United Airlines will remain in Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport through at least the end of January 2014.

According to his sources, the renovation of the E concourse (American’s old gates from 60-67) has been delayed for several factors, pushing the expected completion back from its intended October 2013 target.

Yakel explained that the delay is due to, “the addition of items in the project scope, including additional airline and concession space as well as expanded wayfinding. The biggest single item was the addition of another elevator, which required the creation of a new elevator shaft.”

Additionally, United will gain gate 47 in the interim in Delta’s C concourse in Terminal 1 beginning July 1. There’s no word if it’ll also be used for United Express flights, as is the sole function of United’s operation in T1 (with some Express flight operating out of T3, as well).

Free Airport Tours Extended

So what this means, then, is that United passengers connecting in SFO who have gates in both T1 and T3 (or inbound SFO passengers arriving in T1 with checked bags) will continue to use shuttle busses between terminals.

Initially the process was confusing with United assigning phantom gates to boarding passes, which directed them to shuttle stop locations. But the process has improved greatly and in my experience, works quite smoothly.

And for #avgeeks like myself, it provides a free tour of the airport apron and views we travelers would normally never see in the bowels of the terminals. I love it!

My other favorite “tours” include the ride at LAX between American’s Terminal 4 and the remote Eagle gates, from United’s C concourse at Chicago O’Hare to the F gates, the moon buggies at Washington Dulles and the always frequent remote stand arrival in Frankfurt.

Do you have a favorite “tour?”

Related posts:

Flight Review: United Global First San Francisco to Tokyo

United Airlines ‘Geeks United’ Video Montage

• Oy, more 787 issues as an All Nippon Airways (ANA) jet makes an emergency landing in Osaka. This is breaking as I type, so further details will certainly emerge.
• United Airlines will lay off 472 workers at Newark Liberty Airport. A spokesman at United confirms it’s due to outsourcing of cargo operations, but adds the airline will help them find other jobs with the airline.
• A shipment of 18 human heads was seized at Chicago O’Hare Airport. A mix-up in paperwork reportedly delayed the shipment and subsequent delivery of the medically-researched heads on their way for cremation.
• San Francisco International Airport could soon be renamed after the legendary gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Voters will decide on the potential name change/addition this November.
• Air China may soon fly nonstop from Houston to Beijing. The airline announced the route today, which still requires government approval. It might bring decent Star Alliance award availability into play.
• United Airlines is (finally) introducing Wi-Fi to their international fleet. The satellite-based Wi-Fi service is presently equipped on one Boeing 747-400 and two Airbus A319s, with plans to roll it out to 300 more aircraft this year. Fingers crossed one of the two United 747s I’m flying next week is the sole -400 offering the service so I can try it out.
• Hilton has a 24-hour promo beginning tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. EST. Part of the Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale, it offers up to 40 percent off weekend stays and 2,500 bonus points. The sale is ongoing through January 31, but book tomorrow for the bonus points.
• The moron who called in a fake bomb hoax will submit a written apology to each of the passengers on the US Airways flight forced to return to Philadelphia airport resulting from his call. That’s not nearly as bad as the fines and prison term he’s facing.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: January 14, 2013

United smartly postponed their planned Twitter chat on Friday due to the horrific events in Connecticut. It was to discuss and debut the new look for United Clubs, beginning with the brand new Chicago O’Hare Terminal 2 location set to open next week.

Lounge entry rendering

The Chicago Business Journal ran their piece on the United Club redesign on Friday, which included a few actual pictures of the new T2 club.

I’m digging the color scheme and wood floor walkways. A crescent-shaped bar area appears to be located underneath the multiple hanging lighted globe chandeliers where someone is seated in the picture above. I suppose those monitors will broadcast television if that is indeed the bar area. Here’s the opposite side:

The sizable bottom cushion of that long couch looks like it might prevent one from comfortably leaning back all the way. Are those circular armrest divider thingies movable? Probably not. I love the tarmac view and ample seating along the windows, complete with tabletop power outlets by the looks of it:

The old United Club in the F-concourse of T2 will close (thankfully) once this 13,000-square foot mezzanine level lounge opens, according to the article. And United will be spending $50 million in 2013 to renovate additional club locations with the look of O’Hare’s new lounge being the template.

No word yet from United on when the rescheduled Twitter chat will occur.

Related posts:

United Club Rates to Increase January 1

United Red Carpet Club Survey

When I returned to gate C20 after a brief visit to the United Club, the gate room was as packed for the departure as it was for the arrival. A line of 25 to 35 people had already jammed the boarding lanes and after a brief delay, boarding began for flight 1510 bound for Houston.

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Introduction

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Pre-Departure Festivities

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1116 IAH to ORD

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Chicago Arrival Celebration

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1510 ORD to IAH

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1209 IAH to LAX

There were several of us taking the return flight back to Houston after having just arrived on the inaugural. And there were a few very enthusiastic first-time riders, as well, most of whom were sitting in BusinessFirst. I purposely decided to fly coach on this flight to see how the ride was in back and selected 16A, the bulkhead window seat.

Besides row 7 on United’s Airbus(es), this was the most spacious bulkhead seat I’ve experienced (exit rows excluded). I had a fantastic seatmate in 16B, Chris Sloan of Airchive.com, and a United employee sat in 16C.

We pushed back nearly on-time with minimal fanfare, though a few people watched us taxi away. I heard a couple of claps upon liftoff, but nothing like the inaugural round of applause.

Once airborne, Captain Starling came on the PA welcoming us on the 787 and gave a brief review of our flight path. As I usually do, I pulled up the IFE screen from the armrest to activate the map.

I was impressed with the size of the screen and absolutely love how new and undamaged it was. Those poor things get banged around so much that I’m certain by now they’ve seen some abuse. The control unit is located in the hard-walled seat divider (no movable armrests in the bulkhead).

I took a quick trip to the lav before beverage service started and noticed the unique ashtray next to the door.

Once we hit cruising altitude, the crew began their service. Chris and I began a friendly and informative chat with the United employee in 16C and Jack Harty of Airways Magazine joined us in the bulkhead. What was unusual is it seemed that we were the only four really enjoying the ride and having a mini party while the rest of the cabin remained silent. Perhaps more was going on ahead of the curtain.

A little piece of Continental Airlines made its way onto this flight in the galley.

The flight sailed by as Chris, Jack, the United employee, myself and another enthusiastic rider who sat further back in the cabin were deep in conversation on all things United and aviation.

Houston weather was pleasant when we landed and pulled into gate. There were some new riders waiting for the next flight to LAX and many of us who disembarked headed over to the windows to capture a few photos of this beautiful aircraft.

I had nearly two hours before my final flight of the day back to LAX, so I said goodbye to Chris and Jack and headed to the United Club to upload my pictures and video on my laptop.

Up next: UA Flight 1209 IAH to LAX and my overall impressions of United’s 787

Related posts:

United 787 Inaugural: Takeoff Video

United 787 Inaugural: Chicago Arrival Celebration

United 787 Inaugural: Flight 1116 IAH to ORD

One week ago yesterday, I flew on United’s inaugural Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight from Houston to Chicago.

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Introduction

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Pre-Departure Festivities

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1116 IAH to ORD

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Chicago Arrival Celebration

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1510 ORD to IAH

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1209 IAH to LAX

The excitement following the pre-departure festivities at gate E5 in Houston culminated with very crowded boarding lanes for flight 1116 bound for Chicago.

I was among the first dozen or so to make it onboard and each passenger was greeted at their seat with a “Proud to fly the 787 Dreamliner” folder. It contained an inaugural flight certificate, 787 infographic card and an invitation to share pics and video with United’s social media team.

I was seated in 4A for this historic inaugural and my seatmate was to originally be Bruce (NonRevAdventure.com), but he fell victim to a mysterious and non-self-initiated seat change. I was very curious to find out who the “seat poacher” ended up being.

I settled in as boarding continued, lightened my electronic window shade that took quite a long time (all were darkened upon boarding) and snapped a couple of pics.

The flight attendants did an amazing job ushering everyone onboard and directing them to the appropriate aisle to walk down. Virtually everyone was taking pictures or video as they boarded. It would be a while before the seat poacher appeared, but he eventually did.

Mr. Hxxxxxx sat down in 4B and didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about the occasion. Hmm. He kept to himself as I was busy investigating my surroundings and occasionally standing up to snap additional photos and chat with people I knew. He was, however, gracious enough to honor my request for a picture of me in 4A.

The seat itself is your standard Continental BusinessFirst seat, which I find infinitely more comfortable and spacious than pre-merger United’s lie-flat offering. As boarding continued, people were a flurry around the cabin mingling and sharing their enthusiasm.

It was an exciting start to a memorable flight. We pushed back on-time amongst a throng of United employees watching from the tarmac. Here’s the video showing our departure, including the takeoff and champagne (or cider) toast by Jeff Smisek once we were in-flight.

Once the seat belt sign came off (and even before), many people were filing up and down the aisles filming the momentous occasion. Television crews and other media outlets were occupying Jeff Smisek’s time post-toast. Meanwhile, I took a closer look at the seat and my surroundings, including the fan-like overhead air nozzles.

Prior to breakfast being served in BusinessFirst, I headed to the nearby lavatory just forward of door two. It’s an incredibly spacious handicap-accessible lav with an inward opening door that took me by surprise. The touchless flush and sink features were fantastic. Now, if Boeing could just come up with a mechanism to avoid having to lift the seat/lid…

Back at my seat, Mr. Hxxxxxx sat there unenthusiastically as he had from the beginning watching the IFE. My curiosity was peaked as to who he was exactly and I was fascinated that he kept such a stoic and thoughtless presence about himself. Oh well. Not everyone is an aviation enthusiast.

Breakfast arrived and I was incredibly unimpressed. I thought United always served a choice of an omelet or cereal dish, but maybe that’s just on my constant mid-con or greater mileage flying. This was a ham muffin with egg, as well as fruit, yogurt and either a croissant or cinnamon roll. Ehh.

After eating, I was rarely in my seat. Everyone (except 4B) was milling about, chatting away, taking pictures and simply standing in the aisles sharing their excitement. It was a fantastic experience and it came to an end far too quickly.

Before I knew it, we were descending for our approach into Chicago. Settling back into my seat, I brought my video camera out again and… (sorry FAA)… filmed the approach. You’ll see that in the next installment.

The in-flight crew on this inaugural were simply fantastic. They were consummate professionals in handling the occasion while at the same time equally enthralled by the experience. Kudos to them!

Much more is to follow, including my overall impression (pluses and minuses) of the 787.

Up next: Chicago Arrival Celebration

Related posts:

United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Inaugural: Introduction

United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Inaugural: Pre-Departure Festivities

United 787 Inaugural Takeoff Video

Inaugural day had arrived with my alarm going off at 3:30 a.m.

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Introduction

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Pre-Departure Festivities

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1116 IAH to ORD

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Chicago Arrival Celebration

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1510 ORD to IAH

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1209 IAH to LAX

I was very thankful for the extra hour of sleep due to daylight savings time ending, but it was still a slight struggle to wake up. My excitement for the day ahead and downing a couple of cups of coffee quickly shook off my grogginess, and I arrived at the airport at about 4:45 a.m.

I first bumped into Jack Harty, of Airways Magazine, as we were both on the quest for a cardstock version of our boarding pass. All of the machines in the lobby area, however, only printed out the thermal paper type. I’d end up waiting until I was airside to get the heavier printout to keep as an unadulterated (non-TSA abused) memento.

At 5:00 a.m., those of us with invites met with members of United’s Media Relations team for a rundown of the morning’s festivities (mentioned in this post). Shortly after, I made my way through security and headed down to gate E5 with Chris Sloan of Airchive.com.

United had the gate area decked out with balloons, tables, banners, TV monitors showing 787 specs and a very generous assortment of continental breakfast items, including 787 cookies.

At about 5:30, members of the media were invited onboard for a tour. First, my pictures:

And here’s the video version:

I was in the first wave of media people through, so back in the gate area, I had plenty of time to catch up with good friend Bruce of NonRevAdventure.com. And I even had the pleasure of meeting some of my blog readers and other enthusiasts. By now, the gate area was bustling with excitement while TV and newspaper journalist were interviewing passengers.

Around 6:30, Stephanie Buchanan, United’s vice president of the Houston hub, kicked off the other festivities, including a speech by CEO Jeff Smisek and ribbon cutting ceremony.

And with that, it was time to board!

Up next: UA Flight 1116 IAH to ORD

Related posts:

United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Inaugural: Introduction

United Flight 1116: Inaugural 787 Takeoff Video

I was planning on writing up a single post covering the United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner inaugural on November 4, 2012. But with the volume of pics and video I’d like to share, I’ve decided to use a more traditional trip report method by breaking the posts up.

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Introduction

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Pre-Departure Festivities

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1116 IAH to ORD

United Dreamliner Inaugural: Chicago Arrival Celebration

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1510 ORD to IAH

United Dreamliner Inaugural: UA Flight 1209 IAH to LAX

I booked my reservations on August 31, the day before Dreamliner availability went live (see this post for my reasoning). My first LAX-IAH-LAX ticket was paid with cash and I upgraded the IAH-LAX portion immediately with a Regional Premier Upgrade. I booked the IAH-ORD-IAH ticket as an award as the same-day roundtrip fare was in excess of $1,000, a bit more than I was willing to spend. While BusinessFirst was available in both directions, I opted to fly coach on the ORD-IAH segment for the sake of experiencing both cabins.

I flew into Houston on Saturday morning November 3^rd to buffer in enough time in case of delays or cancellations (eh hem… Bruce aka @NonRevAdventure). There was no way I was going to miss the inaugural. Oh, and Bruce did make it down from Chicago in time, happily, but a tweet from him mid-Saturday afternoon noted his original flight canceled. And as a non-revver, that could’ve spelled a load of trouble for him getting to Houston.

On Saturday morning at LAX, I signed the FlyerTalk board (using my handle “UNITED863″) in the United Club noting my itinerary before heading off to the gate for my 737-800 flight to Houston.

It was a fairly uneventful flight, though the video safety demonstration wasn’t playing properly. The flight attendants kept trying to restart it as we taxied to the runway to no avail. As such, the pilots had to pull onto a parallel taxiway and pause until the flight attendants were able to complete the now-necessary live safety demo. Afterwards, we were airborne quickly.

Breakfast in first class consisted of a cheese omelet with sausage and a spinach-filled quiche type thing, along with fruit, yogurt and a croissant or cinnamon roll.

As the safety video had its issues, the in-flight entertainment system was also non-operational the whole flight. No live TV for me this time. Cloud buildup was dense as we approached Houston and I do quite love the view it provides.

After landing and arriving on-time at the gate, I waited more than an hour for the courtesy shuttle to my hotel. While waiting, the clouds darkened and once I got to the hotel, thunderstorms blew through for the next hour or so. Afterwards, it was a cool and partly cloudy evening, so weather looked like it wouldn’t be a factor for the 7:20 a.m. departure on Sunday.

Up next: The Pre-Departure Festivities

Related posts:

United Airlines Boeing 787 Inaugural Takeoff Video

United 787 Inaugural Info, Plus Delivery of Second Dreamliner

Video Tour Inside United’s First Boeing 787

I had a fantastic day of flying yesterday on United’s inaugural flight(s) of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I flew on the first three revenue flights from Houston to Chicago, Chicago back to Houston and from Houston to Los Angeles. Phew. I’m exhausted (but in a good #avgeek way).

A full trip report will be coming soon to Frequently Flying, but in the meantime… how about a takeoff video of flight 1116 on November 4, 2012 from IAH to ORD:

I’m getting excited for United’s inaugural of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on November 4! And they sent me a little preview of what to expect at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport on Sunday morning. First, the basics:

Flight 1116 is scheduled to depart from IAH at 7:20 a.m. with an arrival at Chicago O’Hare at 9:51 a.m. The flight will depart from gate E5 with boarding estimated to begin at 6:35 a.m. But the fun starts earlier than that.

I’ll be at the airport at 5:00 a.m. for a sponsored media event, and then the festivities for everyone (assuming you’re airside) open up, as follows:

At 6:25 a.m., we will begin our pre-departure event. Jeff Smisek, United’s president and chief executive officer, will make remarks at the gate and there will be a ribbon-cutting with members of the crew.

There will be an opportunity to talk with customers, United executives and employees before and after the pre-departure event.

At 6:35 a.m., general boarding will begin. At 7:20 a.m., the flight departs.

Inflight, we will have a brief toast prior to the normal beverage and snack service. After that service is completed, you will have some time to shoot video and take photos inflight. We expect to arrive in Chicago at 9:50 a.m.

After arrival, we will have a short post-arrival event at the gate at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

I didn’t specifically ask, but I’m hoping United issues inaugural flight certificates to every passenger as they did for the 777 in 1995 (as well as other goodies).

If you’re not flying on the inaugural, be sure to follow me on Twitter as I’ll be tweeting pics and updates throughout the day from Houston and Chicago. And for those of you who will be there, I look forward to meeting you!

In other United 787 news, they took delivery of their second Dreamliner yesterday and it flew to Houston earlier today.

Related posts:

United Airlines Inaugural Boeing 777 Flight in 1995

Video Tour Inside United’s First Boeing 787 Dreamliner

My Strategy For Booking a 787 BusinessFirst Seat

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week…

• A survey of the 50 most popular U.S. destinations conducted by the Global Business Travel Association found Chicago to be the city charging the highest total taxes for travelers. Not to worry, New York was number two so don’t get your hopes up for an inexpensive trip to the Big Apple, but I was kind of surprised it didn’t take the top spot. The lowest tax burden can be found in Ft. Lauderdale with two more Sunshine State locations taking the next two on the list. California sees some love with five cities taking the award for lowest discriminatory travel taxes: Orange County, San Diego, San Jose, Burbank and Ontario.
• American Airlines again suspends New York JFK – Tokyo Haneda (HND) flights from September 3 this year through June 1, 2012. Delta Air Lines also suspended its service from Detroit and United Airlines balked at the government filing an argument to ensure American’s suspension would be capped to match Delta’s. United still sounds pissed to have lost out on access to the close-in Tokyo airport, but I’m sure they’d be in the same boat seeing lack of demand and seeking relief. Separately, American is also dropping San Francisco – Honolulu (you’re welcome United) and Los Angeles – San Salvador service.
• A boutique hotel near LAX airport recently completed a “refresh” and it sounds fantastic. The Custom Hotel offers a “creative, hip and playful” environment including a 12^th floor relaxation room called the Stratosphere, a Transonic gaming lounge with Xbox and Wii games, the LAX Lounge inspired by VIP airport lounges and a lot more. Airport pickup is via their Mercedes Benz Sprinter luxury van complete with complimentary bottled water and hot (or cold) towel service. I’m not flying next month, so I might have to book a stay and review this chic sounding property. (Hat tip: USA Today).
• Staying on hotels for a moment, Club Carlson is offering double points on hotel stays now through September 15, 2011. Registration is required and is available at participating Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn and Park Plaza hotels (apparently not Radisson Blu properties). I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do with my 100,000 points in Club Carlson, but I’m leaning towards converting them into 18,000 American AAdvantage miles. I’d still love some additional advice on that… click here and leave a comment, please.
• Citing unprofitability, Southwest Airlines is cutting four routes from their Philadelphia offering with Jacksonville (JAX), Manchester (MHT), Pittsburgh (PIT) and Providence (PVD) being axed. Service to Boston will also be reduced from eight to five nonstops daily beginning in February. I’ve taken many a mileage run from LAX to MHT and PVD with fares being incredibly inexpensive due to Southwest’s presence in both of those cities, but I doubt these cuts will affect overall fare action.
• Qantas is also looking to make adjustments to their route network and will likely drop their daily Los Angeles – New York JFK flight. Not too long ago it was operated with a Boeing 747, but they downguaged it to an Airbus A330 and still don’t seem to be making enough money with limited through traffic from Australia. As such, alliance partner American will pick up the traffic if Qantas indeed drops the route. Further restructuring is expected in the ailing international arm of the Australian carrier with a detailed announcement schedule for August 24, 2011.
• JetBlue’s All You Can Jet (AYCJ) didn’t return this year, but the carrier is offering a BluePass out of Boston or Long Beach for those seeking unlimited travel from August 22 to November 22 this year. Not quite as nice as the AYCJ in that these passes carry greater restrictions in cities offered and limits open jaw, circle trip & multi-city abilities. Boston is the winner here with the select pass at $1,499 for service to 13 cities or the $1,999 option for the entire JetBlue offering from BOS. The Long Beach pass is $1,299 and opens travel to Las Vegas, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Portland, Seattle, Austin and Chicago.
• And finally, totally unexciting and not at all unexpected, United extended their deal with Visa, Inc. to keep their co-branded credit card deal in place and offer the Mileage Plus Visa once Continental’s OnePass program terminates December 31, 2011. United has offered a Visacard since 1987.