Flying in Row 1 with My Mom

I recently went on a trip to Ohio with my mom for my cousin's wedding. Thanks to my sister's crazy status with United and some regional premier upgrades (RPUs) we were able to fly in the front round trip.

Airline mileage programs are really complicated. It actually takes some time to sit down and read the rules to understand what's going on. After all, it is bad for business to make redeeming free flights too easy. I think my sister and I know enough for us to get by and we do bounce questions off of each other. Please be aware that I am just talking about United MileagePlus. Each loyalty program has its own nuances.

Mom looking out the window in Seat 1A

I think we do forget that what we do know isn't actually common knowledge and there are a lot of people that don't actually know that much. One of these people is my Mom. Coupled with her personality it leads to some hilarious times at the airport and on the plane.

Guadalajara, Mexico - A New Dot on my Travel Map

B and I went to Guadaljara, Mexico about a month ago. To be completely honest, we were initially apprehensive to go. We were worried about our safety due to all of the drug wars going on. In the end we were surprised at how much fun we had and the genuine hospitality of the Mexican people. The only regret would have been to not go.

Of course it does help that we had locals to bring us around. I hope that they will visit us in the US again soon so that we may return some of the hospitality.

Mi casa es su casa

"Can I switch seats to sit with my friend?" - SFO-LAX in Seat 1E

I was recently on UA1247 SFO-LAX on a Boeing 737-900. BT and I had somehow managed to score a free upgrade to First due to my premier status with the airline. Unfortunately we ended up sitting separately with me sitting in 1E and him sitting in 3A.

Not sure where I got this photo

Flying on United's First 787-9 [N38950]

There's flying for the destination and then there's flying for the sake of flying. It wasn't like this was a mileage run either. I have enough flights booked to regain my status for next year. This trip really was just for flying on United's new 787-9. Crazy? Only if you don't like airplanes.

Rhapsody in Blue please!

United Airlines p.s. Premium Service UA914 JFK - LAX Business Class

Continued from earlier post.

Before we knew it, BT and I had to leave NYC for our flight back to LAX. The night before we were automatically checked in and received our electronic boarding passes.

"Why does my boarding pass say Row 1?" he asked me.
"Surprise!"

Little did we know it would be one of the best flights we've ever had with some of the most top notch service I've ever had from United.

United BusinessFirst p.s. Premium Service Seat

United Airlines p.s. Premium Service, UA912 LAX-JFK

For my first review I decided to review the very thing that inspired me to do it. BT and I had the pleasure of trying out United Airlines's p.s. Premium Service. This service is for transcontinental flights and operates only on the SFO/LAX - JFK city pairs. I got to experience both economy and business class cabins on this trip. In this report I'll talk specifically about my LAX-JFK leg.

The 15 aircraft used for these flights are all Boeing 757-200s that have been specifically reconfigured for these flights. All seats now have in-flight entertainment systems. The domestic first class seats have been removed in favor of the business class lay flat seats from Continental's days. There are two cabins of business class separated by a galley and lavatory (more on that in my next entry). The rest of the plane is a mix of economy plus and economy seats.

United p.s. Economy Plus seats