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| Business Class |
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Merit
April -
2008 |
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4
Stars & 4 Stripes
Overall - 'Service & Comfort' |
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The Ultimate Award:
Seven Stars and Stripes™ |
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| It isn't often that you get a chance to visit China
once in your life and fulfilling that dream has always been high on my personal
bucket list! (Things you need to accomplish before you kick it). When I found
out that I would be heading in that direction with my wife Phyllis and a group
of good friends for vacation, I also noted that the flight would be about 14hrs
to Beijing. What I didn't know was that we would be flying by way of the North
Pole! Yes, apparently that's the shortest route to China from New York.
Shocking! We're talking nothing but Polar ice, Santa-land and Nanook of the
north and pretty much nothing else for hours on end. Well, to make matters a
little more palatable as exciting as that seems, we couldn't think of a better
way to evaluate the whole experience than by flying business class. We were not
to be disappointed. Star Alliance member United Airlines provided the direct
flight service from Washington Dulles direct to Beijing via 747 jumbo jet. Our
crew of six friends couldn't have been more satisfied with the fact that we
were all placed together in the upper deck of the behemoth-like aircraft. There
was only about thirty or so seats above the lower cabin just a few steps up a
small stairway. Flight attendant K. Jill Gordon, who we found out later was
celebrating her 25th year of service with United greeted us amiably as we
fumbled around with our carry-on luggage. First things first and Jill
immediately recognized the need for a round of mimosas made with
Philipponnat NV Brut Royale Reserve, to toast to our impending China
adventure as well as a nod of recognition to her outstanding years of
professional service. |
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| Riding high in the
upper deck of the jumbo jet is quite the experience. There are only about 30
seats arranged neatly in two rows of twin seats separated by a corridor leading
from the galley to the flight deck. With plenty of room to sit it was like
having your own private space separated by stairs from the rest of the plane.
Dinner would start soon after take-off and was ample in portion size although
mundane in the creativity department. Sweet Crab Salad on Fresh Bok Choy
was somewhat of a standout and this was followed by a main course of Shrimp
and Scallops with Ginger, Spring Onions and Garlic. Dessert of Eli's
Crème Caramel Cheesecake took the prize for the most outstanding
selection. Of course, what would dinner be without a good selection of wines?
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| United Airlines - Northpole |
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| United offered eight wines, two champagnes and a
number of aperitifs, cocktails, liqueurs and beers, including Tsing Tao on this
flight, all of good solid quality. I particularly liked the Sandeman
Founders Reserve Porto because of its powerful fruit and fire producing a
brilliant and clean taste to the palate. On the ground just before we departed
United offered us access to the Red Carpet ClubSM at JFK International airport,
which of course we took full advantage of. Upon check-in at the counter we
received priority baggage handling with a big red tag attached which read
'PRIORITY'! UA’s business class resulted in many hours of comfortable,
restful sleep in the fully adjustable ergonomic seats with lumbar support and
leg rest for us. I got a good solid eight hours lying almost flat with my own
personal reading light and video screen. The individual video screen offered
nine channels, plus XM™ Satellite Radio and noise-reducing headsets.
Unfortunately we just missed the new business class rolling out with the
180-degree true lie flat seats. UA's entire international fleet is being
refurbished, which started with the first 767-300 converted in October 2007,
and the 747-400s and 777-200s that began conversion in early 2008. |
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| United
Ailrines - NEW - Business Class |
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It is possible that United could hit a
'grand-slam homerun' with the new Business Class as it will outclass all other
US carriers International offerings and compete directly with the top-ranked
business class products from British Air, Virgin Atlantic and Singapore
Airlines. This could be the start of a whole new ballgame! |
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by John Lomitola
Editor: John
Lomitola
Editor-in-Chief: Ingrid Lemme |
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| © 2008 ~ Seven Stars and Stripes,
Inc. |
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