Observations from My First Milage Run

I completed my first mileage run, yesterday early this morning. Chris, his GF and I flew from DC to SFO for lunch. It was a great experience and I came away with some interesting observations in my journey.

1) Flying across the country for lunch is AMAZING and also great conversation starter!

         I was a little drunk still when Chris picked me up at 3:45 yesterday. See, I went out drinking
         the night beforehand and telling  girls that you are "flying to San Fran tomorrow for lunch and
         coming right back"  is a great conversation/pick-up line. I may need to keep that in my
         arsenal for use more often.

        Similarly, the club agent at ORD thought it was funny that I was coming right back to BWI last
        night. He comment that he "only thought airline employees fly to go get lunch," and told us
        that he takes his family to lunch in Boston, New York and Miami all the time.

2) Getting bumped from First Class is worth at least $500

        This did not happen to me. However, on our flight home from SFO to BWI they
        upgraded/oversold too many first class by 1. They asked for a volunteer to bump down
        to Economy Plus and were offering $500 to do so. Someone jumped up and took the offer
        within seconds of the offer. Most likely a person who was upgrade with status.

3) The United Fleet Is Old

        On everyone one of my three flights, I notice that the United Fleet is showing its age. Two
        of my seats were not secured properly making for some fun landings:

     

        The paneling on any other flight was peeling:

                                                       

Chris mentioned to me that the 757-200 we were flying is being replaced with the new 737-900s United purchased. So, that's a good sign.

   4) United Lets A Ton of Economy Plus Seats Go Unsold

        On each of my three flights yesterday, Economy Plus, which I was sitting due to Chris's
        status, was 1/2 empty, while the rest of economy was full. When I checked in Saturday
        morning they wanted $17 for an economy plus seat and Saturday evening they wanted $87.
     
        Why doesn't United firesale these seats? It doesn't cost you anything more for people to sit
        there. This is income that United is leaving on the ground. If day of flight, you have 1/4 or 1/2
        of Economy Plus empty, why wouldn't you auction them off or sell them for $5. This is going
        to sound weird, but "shame on you United for leaving money on the ground." That's almost
        as leaving points on the table!

   5) The Plant Burger Does Not Taste Good

        We went to the Ferry Terminal for lunch and I got the Plant Burger, a beet burger:

                   

 
  6)  Boudin Sourdough (SFO Food Court) Rocks!

       The GF, on the trip, told me I needed to get a sandwich from this place. I got the
       Turkey Cranberry for my dinner on the way home and it was amazing. Also, they had
       bread bowls filled with soup that look yummy! If you have a layover in SFO, go to Boudins!

Boudin's at SFO Food Court

7)   A Street Performer's Sign Can Sum Up A Trip

             

Chris and I in Front of the Ferry Terminal

SFO thanks for a great day!

     

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