United LA-Sydney
Jan 3rd, 2008 by Nick
After the adventure involved in getting to Los Angeles, the actual flight from LA to Sydney was a breeze. The only little scare was that they forgot to turn on the in-flight seat power to the upper deck, and I had to remind the flight attendent to do so.
United’s 747s are old and ratty, but the upper deck of a 747-400 is still a great place to be. I had an emergency exit window seat, so I had nobody reclining into me, and I didn’t have to climb over the guy in the aisle seat. I usually hate window seats for that reason. The upper deck window seats also have a little cabinet between the seat and the window, because the window curves sharply and you can’t sit right next to it. I was able to put my backpack contents in there, and rest my laptop on the ledge for most of the flight.
The dinner service was actually surprisingly good (take the chicken). I was disappointed, however, that for a 14-hour flight United does not serve any more food than they would for a 7-hour Chicago-London flight. Just the dinner, a few tiny snacks set out next to the galley, and a fruit plate for breakfast. If I had not brought a meal replacement bar and some almonds, I’d have been starving.
The only messy thing about the flight was trying to get through customs at the Sydney airport. It takes forever, even the “express” line for business and first class customers.
