This is the 2nd part (here is part 1) of a flight from Honolulu to Newark in Continental’s BusinessFirst cabin. I was offered a $300 upgrade upon check-in and jumped all over it. I found the flight attendants very engaging and personable with many of the passengers. The seat was wide, soft and had plenty of recline and leg space.

So why am I calling it “diet” BusinessFirst?  It was a light version of a true BusinessFirst.  There were no noise cancelling headphones, only regular ones. There was only streaming video which didn’t work and the food was mediocre at best.  Dinner tasted like a boiled chicken breast with ketchup on top.  Breakfast was an enigma: fruit and a piece of bread.
It was still worth the $300, but certainly was not the true BusinessFirst that it is marketed as. I wonder what aspects of this flight United will change, if any.

From Newark to Fort Lauderdale, I did recieve a complimentry upgarde on a Continental 757 which featured their “new” flat bed seats. I will post those photos next. Here are the rest from EWR-HNL.

northerly route

passenger in front of me; more room than it looks

“breakfast”

Let me first say that I did enjoy this flight tremendously albeit after I waded through some confusion. United’s upgrade policy states that those passengers holding elite status are entitled to complimentary domestic upgrades on all flights operated by Continental, including flights to Hawaii. I expected to be put on an upgrade wait list for both my outbound and return flight: EWR-HNL-EWR. I did not, however, expect to actually get upgraded as I knew these flights are often sold out and many passengers use their miles to upgrade. No such luck on the outbound flight; business class was indeed sold out.

Before leaving Hawaii, I spent 45 minutes on the phone with both United and Continental inquiring about availability of a complimentary upgrade. After conferring a half a dozen times with her counterparts, the phone agent said that the HNL-EWR flight was not eligible for a complimentary upgrade because the cabin was not a domestic first cabin, but rather a Business First cabin, those used for international flights.  United’s policy does not state this exclusion, but OK, I get it; HNL-EWR is a Business First product.  But is it?

In other words, if your going to exclude this particular flight from complimentary upgrades (never-mind not stating it) you better have a “real” Business First product: noise cancelling headphones, on-demand entertainment, amenity kits, premium food etc…  Not exactly what I experienced, but again, it was quite a pleasant flight thanks, in part, to a great crew. It was well worth the $300 upgrade I was offered when checking in online. Lots of pictures; here is the start.

open air check in & terminals

row 7

generous pitch; 55″

2-1-2 layout

recline

pillow & blanket

em-power

It came as little surprise that as soon as I posted some tips on staying healthy during air travel, I caught a nasty cold. Just in time for my trip to Honolulu. Such is life. After 2 hours of sucking down water, juice and cough drops in Newark, I boarded the 10hr 3min flight, Continental 15, to Honolulu.

I was seated in 22B which seemed to be as good as any seat in the coach cabin. I was impressed by the cleanliness of the cabin. In fact, the condition of the seats, personal video screen and quality of entertainment were all better than United’s Economy Plus product. The first few rows of economy on this 767-400 did have EmPower at each seat.  The center section of row 28 was reserved for crew rest.  Every seat in coach and business first was taken.

What I found to be disappointing was that on a 10 hour flight there was not a single complimentary snack, only food for purchase. Yes, I realize this is not an international flight, however, it is longer in duration than many of Continental’s trans-Atlantic flights.  A few Continental flight attendants I spoke with take great umbrage with providing only food for purchase–more on that later.

I did sample both the cheese plate and Thai chicken wrap- both pretty tasty, but pricey. “Passengers can always bring their own food on board.”  Great, but what food of any significance will stay for 8 or 9 hours in my carry on? Continental (United) needs to provide some type of snack or food on EWR-HNL.  Continental bends the “rules” in other areas for this flight (more on that later too) so they should do the same when it comes to the food policy.

There was a food & beverage service at the start of the flight, another when we made it above the Pacific and then a drink service before arrival.  There was water distributed between services.

EWR-HNL is a very long flight.  Not necessarily in hours, really just mentally.  Particularly if you are used to flying from the East to West Coast or vice-versa.  No matter how many times you tell yourself that you are NOT almost there when you fly over California, you still find your yourself with that hope.  Unfortunately you wind up sorely disappointed.

Special thanks to Erin & Joshua who happily and enthusiastically provided outstanding service for the entirety of the flight!

N76021 push back for NRT

san francisco taken form the tiny window in the door

here is part 1 of this trip

My guess is, that for inaugural flights, crews are hand selected.  We had some real pros from Miami to London Heathrow.  No, they didn’t pay me (or even pay for my flight) to say that.  It seemed like there were 6 flight attendants working the Business Elite cabin, leaving no chance that someone would be unattended to.  They conversed and interacted with passengers in a subtle, but confident manner.

I mentioned to the purser that I had an extremely tight connection.  She assured me that as soon as we landed, before anyone de-planed, she would inform the agents meeting our flight of my situation.  I have the purser to thank for the service I then received.

I didn’t take many pictures of the seats. I have flown the 767 with flatbed seats and posted the pictures here.  Sleeping was easy on these fully flat seats, but your feet will be in a pretty tight space when in the fully flat position.

There is a significant difference between the seats in the Business Elite Cabin.  I think the key is getting a seat that has the bulkhead between you and the aisle.  It provides much more privacy and you will not get bumped into.  The seats that feature this include 1A, 3A, 5A and so on. Or in the center section 2B, 4B, 6B or on the other side of the middle aisle 1C, 3C, 5C. The far side (starboard) 1D, 3D…  

Regarding the seats in the center section, the space where your legs rest seem to be tighter than in the A or D aisles.  There is barely enough room to sleep on your side and have your legs on top of one another.

The flight, on a 767-400 was scheduled for 10 hours, however, the actual flying time was 8 hours 20 minutes + circling Heathrow a few times. I actually fell asleep between my salad and main course. That was not a reflection of the service, I was just tired. I am not a huge fan of duck, but it was tasty and the steak and shrimp were fine. Thanks to the crew for a memorable experience. Next up: Delta’s arrival “lounge” at Heathrow.

Big fan of going on inaugural flights. There is extra pep in everyone’s step; ground staff, flight crew, even the passengers.  Well, the passenger pep may be a result of the complimentary champagne, but none-the-less.  As if flying wasn’t entertaining enough on its own, inaugurals always seem to produce interesting fodder.
As soon as I checked in at the Business Elite desk, the agent said:

“You can’t do this….   You can just stay in London and come back Monday”
I stared at him, smiled and said nothing. What he mentioned was not an option.
“… you will not make it”
I stared at him, chuckled and said nothing
“…you can try” he then said

He was referring to my mere 70 minute connection before returning to Miami.
Then a 2nd check-in agent and the supervisor were hailed. They were both astounded at 2 things:
1) That Delta let me book the itinerary
2) That I was going and coming right back
The 4 of us shared a good laugh over the whole thing and I re-assured them I was going to do my damnedest to make the connection.

To be sure, yes it was a significant amount of travel in a short period of time, but what’s tougher: a quick turn between 2 long flights or 1 ultra-long haul like LAX-Bangkok???

After a few pops in the Sky Club, I was off to the gate to evaluate the pomp and circumstance. There were balloons, decorations, cakes, champagne and a ribbon cutting ceremony. Similar to the Air France A380 inaugural, but less crowded. Present were many Delta employees beyond the the crew who helped celebrate Delta’s new Trans-Atlantic route. They were all quite proud to be part of the event and the flight crew wore red corsages. We departed at bit late, but the entire gound crew and water cannons sent us off (see pictures below).

Part 2 of the trip, the actual flight, will be posted tomorrow morning. Thanks!

af 744

our plane to lhr pulling into gate

Delta Airlines is launching their Miami-London Heathrow route on March 26. They are offering an outstanding round trip fare of $1500 for Business Elite Travel. Delta will operate this route using a 767-400. Here is what the cabin looks like on the 767′s Delta flies to and from Heathrow. There is plenty of availability in March and April.

This Saturday, Delta is also starting LAX/DTW to Tokyo-Haneda.

Enjoy!

I was like a kid in a candy store here. I had half of a day to kill and knew I could get some pictures at Heathrow, but where? It was raining and windy so I called over to the Renaissance Hotel to see if I could rent a day room as I was staying at The Novotel. The gal at the desk said the Renaissance offers access to their club room which faces the runway for a flat fee. Done!
When I got into the club room, I was bummed that the windows were a hazy mess due to the wind driven rain and condesation. But then it cleared up and the party started. Hope you enjoy.

titan airways

astraeus airlines

ghana international airlines