Chicago O'Hare

I left the hotel much earlier than I had to, but I was awake quite early and deiced to do some lounge hopping at ORD. Although United Clubs - the former Red Carpet Clubs and Continental Clubs – are not the nicest places, they are usually not too crowded on a Saturday morning.

The Shuttle driver of the Four Points dropped me at the United terminal and I headed to the dedicated counters for Premier, Premier Associates, Star Gold, Star Silver, Business and First Class Passengers. There were two counters open and both were busy checking in other guests, so I had to wait a couple of minutes before an agent became available. I was greeted by the agent and she checked me and my luggage in. She was friendly and even addressed me by name. Security had no lines and I passed it in less than five minutes and soon was on my way to the United Club close to gate B 6. I overlooked it first, because I am still not used to the new logo of the United Club. The agent there was not overwhelming friendly in contrast to her colleagues at check in as she took my credentials like Senator Card and boarding pass.

The club was not very full and whole parts of the club were empty, so it was not difficult to find a seat. I grabbed something to eat from the buffet and a cup of cafe latte. It was the usual selection of muffins, bagels, cereals, bananas and apples, yoghurt and Philadelphia cheese and marmalade, orange juice and water. After 45 minutes in the lounge I decided to move over to the Club at the C concourse.

The lounge was busier than the one at the B Concourse but I had no problem to get a seat, in fact only the area at the windows were busy, the rear part were quite empty but become busier in the next hours. A few minutes before boarding time I left the lounge and walked to the gate. The gate was close to lounge and boarding had not started yet. And unfortunately I was also unable to read the registration of the plane, so this has to wait until Vancouver. But I got the tail number, which helps to track the registration number of the plane.

As boarding started an announcement was made, that all passports had to be checked at the podium and only those passengers, whose boarding passes were marked with a red line were allowed to board. Very annoying for many passengers, as they had to see the podium now and therefore lost their place in the line. Five minutes later I was able to board the 757.

02 June 2012
ORD – YVR
[Chicago O’Hare International – Vancouver International]
UA 220 (United Airlines); Boeing 757 (N537UA)
Gate C 17
09:18 – 11:40 [effective 09:18 – 11:44]
Business Class
Seat 05 F

Several passengers were queuing at the door, but since I could turn left it does not cause a further delay for me. My seat neighbor asked me, if I would mind to change seats, which I agreed, though it was an aisle seat and not window seat. I was now on 4 C.

I had no problem to store my belongings in the overhead compartment, which I later put under the seat in front of me, so that my new seat neighbor could store his belongings. A flight attendant came and asked me, if she should hang my jacket and what I like to have a pre-departure drink. I choose an orange juice. All passengers in Business Class, which was the same type of cabin which was former the First Class Cabin, had already boarded.

This Boeing 757 had 24 seats in First / Business Class offering a seat pitch of 38 inch and a seat width of 20.5 inch. There were also 50 seats in Economy Plus with a seat pitch of 36 inch and the regular Economy Class with a seat pitch of 31 inch.

Our Boeing 757-222 was delivered to United Airlines on July 18, 1991 and equipped with two PW2037 engines. It had already the new United post-merger-color-scheme. The Boeing 757 is a mid size narrow body which was built between 1991 and 2004. It followed the narrow body Boeing 727, which had three engines. For a short time Boeing had considered a new variation of the 727 but with the development of the 7N7, which later became the 757, the most airlines lost interest in a renewed 727 as two engines instead of three engine meant more fuel efficiency.

In 1986 the FAA approved Boeing 757 powered by RB211 engines for extended range twin engine operational performance standards over the North Atlantic. The Boeing 757 planes with the PW2000 engines received the same approval in 1992. Due to some accidents with smaller planes following the 757 the FAA updated air traffic control regulations requiring a greater separation behind a 757. The 757 is also the only sub 300000 pound (136 tons) plane which is classified as “heavy” jet. This classification usually only applies for wide bodies, in so fat the 757 is the only heavy narrow body.
The Pratt & Whitney PW 2037 had a maximum thrust of 36.600 lbf or 162.8 kn

The captain came over the microphone and welcomed us on board and gave us an update of the weather in Vancouver as well as the expected flight time. The safety video with the usual introduction and welcome note of Mr. Smisek was shown while we were still at the gate.

We were pushed back at 09:18 and taxied for the runway. The audio system was not turned on and channel 9 was unfortunately not available. We taxied for runway where we took off at 09:33 and climbed into the sky over Chicago. Meal orders were taken on the ground and the choices on today’s flight were shrimp salad and Angus beef burger. The orders were taken by seat rows rather than by status. However I do not know if they looked at the status if they ran out of options.

After five minutes in flight the crew went for their stations and the entertainment system was started and soon restarted as there was no sound on the headphones.

The service in Business Class started with assorted warm nuts and a beverage service, which was done individually by the crew. Two flight attendants were serving Business Class and one was taking orders while the other one was preparing the beverages in the galley. The crew members were friendly and attentive, but the passengers were not addressed by name.

Aperitif

Ginger Ale and assorted nuts

Main Course

Burger

The passengers, who choose the salad, were served first while the burger was heated in the oven. Again the trays were brought row by row and not with the cart. Refills of wine were offered and beverage orders were taken as well. Despite the early hours, I had a glass of white wine the burger. A soup was part of the menu as well and also a small bowl of fruits. The onion, cucumber and salad were placed in its own bowl but I decided not to “build my own burger” and instead eat them aside with fork and knife.

Trays were collected while the flight attendant was walking through the cabin and noticed the passengers who had finished their lunch and cleared their trays.

Later cookies were offered, which were warm and quite good. I requested a coffee to accompany the cookie. Later I was offered a second one, which I accepted with another coffee.

The flight was uneventful and the most passengers relaxed, slept, listened to their iPods or watched movies on their iPads or worked with their laptops. I had earlier in the flight a short conversation with my seat mate over the power outlets, which were empower outlets. I had not adapter with me, as my laptop is running close to eight hours on batteries if I reduce the brightness of the screen.

The plane was in good condition and everything was clean. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to see the cabin in such a good condition. Maybe, I have been too often in US Airways Cabin in the past?

Soon enough we began our arrival procedure and descended into Vancouver International Airport. The sky was cloudy and since I had no window seat could not see anything from downtown Vancouver. We touched down at 11:40 and taxied to our gate, which was a short taxi. During taxi I had noticed the Cathay Pacific Plane arriving and I hoped to reach immigration before the passengers of this plane were able to deboard their plane. Unfortunately we had to wait on the tarmac as there was no one available to operate the jetbridge for our plane. In the meantime the Cathay Pacific plane had arrived as well and they had someone to operate the jetbridges. After 15 minutes or so, we were finally able to get out of the plane. Immigration had long lines and it took me close to an hour to enter Canada. Questions were quite strict and they wanted to know every detail of my trip. My luggage was already on the belt. I passed customs without further inspection and walked over to the station of the Canada line train to downtown Vancouver.

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