United 'Average' Airlines C Class: SYD-SFO-JFK

Airgroove had the pleasure of flying UA to SFO and NYC and was not overwhelmed and not disappointed, either... The flights were OK, it went a little like this:

Boarding was fine with a swift check-in, and my seat choice of 18H on the top deck was honoured, as Premier Executive status, they also blocked the seat next to me - a nice touch from the check-in agent. United now use the Air New Zealand Lounge, which is great, it sure does beat the small little pokey room that UA called home... So I settled in for a few glasses of fine NZ Chardonnay before the long flight.

Boarding the 747 was done with order and I promptly climbed the stairs into the bubble to find my 'double' seat waiting for me. I was somewhat annoyed to hear that the new business class config was starting on a regular basis to SYD 2 weeks after my travel date! Damn! I guess there will always be next time... But for now, I had my lazy recliner to enjoy for the next 14 hours... It's not so bad, but clearly not the best. Flying out of SYD is always wonderful and we happened to fly the best angle out of the city...

First up was the customary warm bowl of nuts and a cold fizzy glass of Pol Roger NV Champagne, one of my favourite drops! This was the first of many to come...

It has been discussed numerous times that the UA flight crew are uninterested and at time rather rude, I have to say that I lucked out on my flight, they all seemed happy and the service was not forced, but pleasant... The crew were efficient and helpful throughout the flight, the team on the upper deck worked well together and after pouring me another glass of Pol Roger, dinner orders were taken, to begin, I opted for the Air dried Beef and Smoked Trout followed by the Pan seared Barramundi fillet with lemon butter sauce. It was edible but nothing special, the wines were much getter, I enjoyed a glass or 7 of Fevre Champs Royaux Chablis, delicious, it gave added flavour to the food :-)





After dinner, I opted for a little cheese with a few glasses of Jaboulet Le Paradou 2006 Beaumes-de-Venise and again the wine was better than the food! The cheese platter seemed very 'Economy Class' not my style, at all! The crackers were individual serves wrapped in plastic and the cheese itself was very supermarket shelf... Not that there is anything wrong with that, but when sitting in Business Class, you expect a fabulous cheese like many other Star alliance airlines serve... See for yourself...



After eating and drinking like a fish, it was time for Airgroove to nap... I managed to get a good few hours sleep and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for breakfast, although when it arrived, I did not feel like it, the eggs were rubber like and the only good thing was the grilled tomato and the fruit with croissant...





The International leg soon came to an end as the jumbo tyres touched down at SFO Internationl Airport. The crew were great on this flight but the food was a let down... Little things like the salt and pepper came in little paper sachets, the crackers were in packets, everything seemed very disposable like when it came to the meal service, a sign of cost cutting? The other upside, besides the out of the ordinary crew was the impressive wine list, I enjoyed great Champagne, lovely chablis and great Grenache all from France... I drank ll 3 in abundance, I am Airgroove, afterall...

After a quick refresh in SFO Airport and a visit to the UA Lounge (average) I boarded the 757 Premium Service jet to JFK and nestled into seat 11C. At this stage, I was so tired that the seat I was in seemed like a bed. There is great leg room on the 757 P.S service, much better than any other UA domestic aircraft, so I was happy... The crew, again on this flight was great! I lucked out twice! The aviation angels were smiling down on me!

Again, the meal service was average on this flight, I opted for the 'Fresh Lettuce Wedge', which was literally just a wedge! It was like all their knives had gone blunt in the catering kitchen - here cut it yourself! And the Lemon Grass Chicken with Thai BBQ Sauce, was a very American version of something Asian... However, I was most pleased to see that they were serving a delicious robust Shiraz from Australia, a little bit of home in my glass...! And a fine drop it was!







All in all, this was not a bad flight with United, the crews were great and the food was average, if the crew was bad, i would have been more scathing, but they made up for the lack of cuisine! The wines were good and sometimes, that's all Airgroove cares about, so they pass this time!