United Airlines posted pictures of its new amenity kits on Facebook yesterday. The Global First version looks quite nice and an upgrade from the current version, though the case might not be as reusable. Sadly, the BusinessFirst version doesn’t appear to be much of an upgrade from the current United Business Class model – and a significant downgrade from the Continental BusinessFirst version. I’ll be sure to get my hands on both soon for my Amenity Kit Review series. I’m flying BusinessFirst internationally next week, so I’m hoping they’ll be boarded.

What’s your take based on the pictures below?

Courtesy: United Airlines

Courtesy: United Airlines

Courtesy: United Airlines

Not too long ago, Delta Air Lines introduced a new amenity kit for Business Elite passengers and I’ve selected the new version for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. I also reviewed the previous red cylindrical offering. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please refer to my introductory post.

Bag/Container: This beige canvas zipper bag is a major upgrade from their previous version. It’s very well manufactured, the zipper operates smoothly and I love the detachable “snap on” handle. Leather (or leather-like) trim surrounds opposing sides and a small patch with the Delta – and SkyTeam – logo is sewn into one edge. Reusability is high in my opinion as its size and flexibility are ideal for a travel case. For a hybrid Business-First bag, this one is pretty darn good. Score: 6

Skin Care: Delta again chose Greek company Korres as their partner to supply skin care products in the kit, as well as the lavatories. The full retail-sized lip balm is effective and has a subtle Shea butter flavor. I’ve been a fan of pomegranate scented skin care products since United introduced Murad-branded items in their premium cabin lavatories, but the moisturizing cream from Korres sort of lacks a similarly appealing scent. It does, however, apply smoothly and absorbs fairly quickly. An antiseptic wet wipe infused with Aloe Vera and a lemony-citrus scent is also included. Score: 4

Oral Care: A medium-bristled mini toothbrush is enclosed in plastic along with a small tube of Colgate toothpaste and a DenTek fresh mint floss pick. If you’ve been reading my amenity kit reviews, you know that I wish more airlines would include mint-flavored toothpaste, but I’m slowly getting over it. I’d be less picky about it if mints or mouthwash were included and whereas the previous Delta kit included mints, this one does not. Ah well, Delta still gets an adequate rating here. Score: 4

Comfort Items: It’s hard to really come up with an “exceptional” sock, but I have to give Delta some props for theirs. The bottoms have little foam gripper thingies that I think are pretty cool. The eyeshades are an upgrade from the last kit and feature a Velcro strap to adjust the tightness to your liking. Also upgraded are the earplugs, which are larger than the last ones and very soft. A shoehorn and Delta-branded shoe polisher are also included. Score: 5

Intangibles: The kit is well stocked and provides just a little extra bit of luxury you expect when flying internationally in a premium cabin. Delta’s branding is subtle, yet welcoming and airlines that add a full-size pen get an extra hat tip in my book. For a hybrid Business-First product, Delta did very well. Oh, and there’s a “romance card” included from Korres offering a 20% discount on their in-store and online products. Score: 6

Total score & comments:

The last kit scored 3.95 and while 4.75 might not seem like much of an upgrade, it really does rank exceptionally better. Some of the items I was critical of in the last review – the earplugs, toothpaste tube size and moisturizing cream – were all improved. The pen, too, is better, if you can believe it. Nicely done, Delta, and manufacturer Wessco.

Cathay Pacific recently posted a video tour of their new First and Business Class lounge at San Francisco International Airport and it’s a pretty darn good one. The only thing I’ll miss about the British Airways Terraces lounge they used to use is the “back door” boarding directly from the lounge for gate A6. A small price to pay for what looks like a significantly upgraded experience.

I previously posted the international configuration of a TWA L-1011-100 TriStar and I’ve selected the airline’s domestic version for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

This L-1011 also had three classes of service, but the business class – Ambassador Class – cabin was in a 2 x 4 x 2 layout versus the more spacious 2 x 2 x 2 found on the other bird. First Class also appears to have a tighter pitch, though the description still labels the seats as “Sleepers.”

Seating a total of 275 passengers, there were 28 seats in First, 48 in Ambassador Class and 199 in coach. Like the international configuration, there were no dedicated lavatories for Ambassador Class, which I find a bit odd.

In First Class you’d find me in row two or three, row eight or nine in the middle cabin, or row 17 or 18 in coach.

Where would you sit?

I saw this on someone’s Facebook wall the other day and thought it was pretty darn funny. I end up doing a lot of “What I really do” in order to do “What society thinks I do.” I’m sort of at a loss for the meaning/translation of “What my boss thinks I do.” Any ideas?

Last week, the Chicago Tribune published an insightful article focused on a United-Continental merger related item not often reported in such detail – the consideration given to airline meals and galley equipment. Reporter Gregory Karp spent a day at the United Airlines test kitchen in suburban Chicago speaking with chefs, executives and other staff who make the decisions about what we as passengers eat and which items are best suited for onboard preparation and service.

Effective May 1, 2012, we as passengers will be experiencing the new menu, wine and service items under consideration in this article when we travel in First or Business class. According to John Yeng, United’s Director of Product Marketing, “We’re serious about this merger. Part of the reason we’re going through these details is that we want our customers to know that it’s not just merging things together. We’re paying attention.”

Fortunately, the article hints at the fact that chefs are “trying to emulate Continental’s food, which traditionally received high ratings, compared with United’s food, which usually scored poorly.” I tweeted a picture of my breakfast on United earlier this month noting how good it was for a change and one of my followers mentioned it’s Continental’s influence already being seen.

My recent domestic dinner flight also was a pleasant surprise with a salmon appetizer and a main dish including gnocchi.

Some decisions have already been finalized as to which way to go – the United way or the Continental way. Among them are:

• Continental’s slimmer, sleeker serving pot for coffee.
• Continental’s salt shakers vs. packets on United.
• United’s metal bowls for serving hot fudge and salad dressing.
• United’s longer, safer oven mitts.
• Continental’s cloth hot towels vs. United’s paper.
• United’s custom of serving warmed nuts in a ramekin.

The article goes deeper into the logistics and factors that determined the “winners” in each category, so I’d encourage you to read it to get a behind the scenes look into just how many decisions are made for what many travelers take for granted.

United Airlines today announced the rebranding of international cabin classes and the upgrade of food, entertainment and amenities on those flights. United First will be named United Global First on three-cabin aircraft and Continental’s BusinessFirst name will replace United Business beginning March 3, 2012. The enhanced amenities will include:

• Additional in-flight food choices, including a fourth entrée selection in BusinessFirst.
• An ice cream sundae dessert option with a choice of six toppings.
• Expanded wine selections chosen by Doug Frost, Sommelier and Master of Wine.
• New amenity kits featuring Philosophy-brand skin care products.
• Duvet-style blankets and higher-quality pillows and hot towels.
• Improved in-flight entertainment including noise-reduction headsets.

Domestically and on some limited international flights, United will keep the monikers United First and United Business and offer enhanced amenities, most of which are seen today and include:

• Warmed, all-natural scones and cookies, made from scratch exclusively for United.
• Warmed cinnamon rolls on breakfast flights.
• Pasta salads as a light snack.
• Premium snacks including all-natural pop chips, Emerald nuts, Cliff organic energy bars, Toblerone Swiss milk chocolate and fresh fruit.
• Warmed nuts offered in a small china bowl on all lunch and dinner services.
• Ice cream sundaes on many transcontinental lunch and dinner services.
• Complimentary snackboxes on United Express flights longer than two hours.

Later this year, additional improvements will be seen including larger overhead bins on Airbus A319s & A320s, satellite-enabled inflight internet service and an overhaul of the premium service 757 p.s. fleet that will include flat-bed seats in BusinessFirst.

I’ll be certain to review the new amenity kit as soon as I acquire one for my Amenity Kit Review series. Here are my reviews of the current First Class and Business Class offering on United, and I hope United greatly enhances the Business Class kit, which scored terribly and is currently one of the worst in the industry. Perhaps they’ll simplify things and offer just one amenity kit for all premium cabins as American Airlines has done.

My next favorite United Airlines flight out of LAX after any of the premium service departures to JFK is the morning 777 to Washington Dulles. I’ve never missed an upgrade on it and the flight is perfectly timed for a great array of connection opportunities at IAD.

I flew it again this past week, but I didn’t clear the upgrade at the 100-hour 1K window. I assumed I would the next day, though, as I’ve noticed lately that my complimentary upgrades rarely confirm right at the window on heavily booked flights. It didn’t clear the next day, however, or the day after that.

At 100-hours out, the business cabin showed availability as C9 D9 Z9 with oodles of seats unassigned, so I wasn’t worried. When Premier Exec’s usually clear at 72-hours out, availability again showed C9 D9 Z9, so I assumed they were just holding off upgrade space, possibly due to an aircraft swap. At 48-hours out, availability went to C2 D0 Z0. Wow, this would be a first for me to miss an upgrade if it really remained a 777, even if it did swap to a new configuration aircraft with fewer business class seats.

When I checked in for the flight, I noticed via United’s mobile iPhone app (love the transparency it provides) that I was number two on the upgrade list of about 20 or so passengers. I didn’t like my chances, though, since I knew more 1Ks or Global Service passengers would check-in and likely be on higher fares than my ridiculously cheap G-fare.

The aircraft did end up switching to a new configuration lie-flat International Premium Travel Experience 777 after I checked in, so I assumed that’s why United’s Inventory Management held off on releasing space. Later that day (since I obsessively check and re-check my flights), I noticed my name was gone from the upgrade list on the mobile app. I had to call three times until I finally got an agent that was able to get me back on the list, and again I was number two for a business class seat. I resigned myself to accepting it was going to be a battlefield upgrade at the gate.

When I got to the airport, I inquired with an agent at the United Club what my position was on the list. I was still number two, but it looked good with three seats open an hour before departure. I headed to the gate and took a seat close to the counter.

A fellow mileage runner with whom I’ve flown with previously noticed me and came over to say hello. He mentioned his upgrade cleared right at the window and that he, too, was on a G-fare. Ack! Why didn’t I clear? In the end, I did end up getting my upgrade and survived a middle seat in the business class cabin, but I realized a mistake I made and wanted to share it here.

When my upgrade didn’t clear at the 100-hour window, a new segment did appear in my itinerary showing the waitlisted segment, so I just assumed NC (upgrade) space was indeed zero. Each time I checked availability, I simply looked at standard flight availability and didn’t go deeper into the “Book with miles” (advanced mode) option to view NC space. Big mistake.

Had I gone in and viewed the total picture of availability, I would have likely seen that NC space was available and then called in to confirm my upgrade. In the grand scheme of things it really wasn’t a big deal, of course, but when I saw availability drop to C2, I have to admit I was sort of panicked.

So… this post is a friendly reminder to investigate deeper if your upgrade doesn’t clear as expected since automation does sometimes fail and human intervention is required. I’ll certainly be more vigilant my next waitlisted upgrade.

I’ve grown accustomed to the inconsistency I experience and witness when flying these days. From above and beyond service all the way down to outright rudeness, it’s not one specific work group that’s exempt from the swings of customer service etiquette.

Last week I observed the laziness of a United Airlines gate agent at Washington Dulles airport. I was flying to Atlanta on a CRJ-700 and had already been upgraded at the 100-hour window for 1Ks. At the gate, I noticed there were nine people on the upgrade list with zero seats left and the notice, “United First has checked in full.”

Boarding commenced and I settled into seat 2A and went back to my Words With Friends game with Alec Baldwin (kidding). About 15 minutes prior to departure, seats 1D and 1F were still unoccupied and I heard a gentleman in 4D ask the flight attendant in coach about upgrading as he was on the list and noticed the empty seats.

The coach flight attendant advised the purser (do they call the lead FA a purser on regional airlines?) and she told the gate agent who arrived a moment or two later with the flight’s paperwork for the pilots. There was still a good 10 minutes until scheduled departure time, if not more.

The gate agent replied, “Oh… yes, there were misconnects.” The purser continued, “Can you upgrade him, then?” His reply… “Oh, I’d have to go change it in the system. Just tell him the cabin is technically full… it was booked full.”

Proactive gate agents, like many I’ve seen, will process upgrades once realizing there will be misconnects and come find the passengers onboard to give them the open seats. This agent, however, was just plain lazy and didn’t do it in advance, nor was willing to sacrifice a minute or two to investigate if that customer was next on the list.

I couldn’t hear what the coach flight attendant said to the passenger, but I did hear his response, “Okay, that’s understandable.” Ack! No it’s not, actually. Granted IAD-ATL is a relatively short flight and the service difference is incredibly minor between cabins, but that’s not the point. The gate agent basically blew off a valid request when there was enough time to check. I know they prefer to shut the cabin door 10-minutes prior, but that hasn’t been happening lately in my experience.

If it were me and I knew I was next on the list and saw two open seats, I’d approach the gate agent myself and kindly request to be upgraded. It helps that I know a thing or two about the process, of course, but for this other passenger, while he seemed appeased, I truly wonder if that’s his actual sentiment.

I’d like to think the laziness I witnessed is the exception and not the norm, but as I type this from my Business Class seat on a United 777, I see one open seat in the cabin when there was a list of 53 passengers awaiting an upgrade this morning (and I don’t think it’s an INOP seat).

I’ll be in the air as this post goes live for another long day of flying. Fortunately, all my upgrades cleared in advance.

When I launched this blog in November 2010, my very first Vintage Airline Seat Map was a United Airlines DC-10-10, my second favorite aircraft after the 747. It was the configuration I flew most frequently, but the one appearing below was seen flying in the 1970s and included a First Class lounge with swivel seats.

Seating a total of 254 passengers, First Class offered accommodation for 40 passengers (lounge seats included) in the common 2 x 2 x 2 layout. Coach had a total of 214 seats in the 2 x 5 x 2 configuration. The amazing thing about coach “back in the day” (pre-deregulation) was the seat pitch… 36” throughout!

In First Class you’d find me in 3A or 3F and in coach, my favorite seat was 10A for a great view forward and that of the engine.

Where would you sit?

I flew with Asiana Airlines this past November in First Class to Seoul (its amenity kit review here) and Business Class on the return. Below is my review of the Business Class offering for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category, and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introduction post here.

Bag/Container: The gray zipper bag is sturdy canvas-like vinyl and lined with soft-padded nylon. Two small elastic pockets are available on each side of the interior along with a tag denoting LSG Sky Chefs supplied the bag. The Asiana logo graces one edge of the well-manufactured kit and while not luxurious in any sense, it meets the acceptable range in this category. A finger handle might have been nice on the opposing side of the logo.  Score: 4

Skin Care: Asiana partnered with L’Occitane for their Business Class amenities and this kit includes lip balm, hand cream and skin milk. Both the lip balm and hand cream are infused with shea butter and each are effective, though I find the hand cream to be a bit too greasy for my taste. Its scent, though, is light and pleasant and includes jasmine and ylang-ylang. The Orange Soft Skin Milk, on the other hand, applies smoothly and instantly absorbs without leaving a greasy feel. I was expecting a true orange/citrus scent, but it actually smells more like a feminine perfume. Additional items including lotion and facial spritz were available in the lavs, so this category gets a slight nudge up. Score: 5

Oral Care: A very, very mini tube of Colegate toothpaste is found in the kit and maybe it’s my “man” hands, but as soon as I take the cap off, it goes flying off onto the floor (or worse). Not a big deal, though, as it really is meant to be a single-use tube. Asiana does stock additional toothbrush/paste sets in their Business Class lavs. The kit’s toothbrush is a notch up from the norm. When the brush portion is inserted into the case, it’s full-sized and also has notches where your thumb is normally positioned when brushing to prevent slippage. This category gets a very slight bump up due to the extra supplies in the lavatory, but I’d still like to see mouthwash or mints standard in premium classes. Score: 5

Comfort Items: Earplugs and eyeshades are included inside the kit with slippers already awaiting you in your seatback pocket when you sit down. The earplugs are soft and the usual style found with most amenity kits. While definitely not nearly as soft as the First Class offering, the Business Class eyeshades are sufficient and also feature an adjustable Velcro strap. I’ll take slippers over socks any day as an amenity, and while my size 11.5 feet extend a bit further out back from the edge, they’re still a nicer option. Combs are also available in the lavatories. Score: 5

Intangibles: Both the kit and slippers are at your seat awaiting you and I couldn’t help but immediately be disappointed when picking up the bag as compared to the First Class offering. Still, though, this kit provides a slightly above adequate impression and the separate slippers seal the deal. Score: 5

Total score & comments:

Essentially, this amenity kit contained just about everything that I’d expect from a Business Class offering. There was nothing exceptional about it, but it did meet and slightly exceed average when compared to others. The branding was subtle and I was even happy to see it on the slippers.