United Airlines has arrived in Australia.
It took United Flight 96 13 hours and 40 minutes to get from San Francisco to Australia.
Officials hailed the new route as opening a new chapter for United, cementing its position as the dominant U.S. carrier in the market, as it also ramps up a new partnership with Virgin Australia.
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United is flying its biggest Australia schedule ever. The Chicago-based carrier resumed flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Melbourne Airport (MEL) and between Sydney Airport (SYD) and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Iah) on Friday.
This was the second time that I have personally covered a United inaugural flight, and it was special. The airline invited the company to a reception in the Polaris Lounge prior to the gate party. United's head of network planning, a top MileagePlus executive and the VP of the airline's SFO hub were among the company's leaders who came to take the flight.
A national Australian TV morning show covered the flight's landing in a big way.
In order to get a spot on the flight, TPG bought a round-trip ticket to Australia that also included flights to and from IAH. 160 PlusPoints were applied to upgrade both the outbound and return flights to and from Australia, as this trip was booked into a discounted T fare, which required more points than what would be required for higher fare classes.
This is what it was like to fly United's first flight from San Francisco to Brisbane.
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The United Polaris Lounge is located in the airport's international G Concourse.
The United's Polaris Lounge in San Francisco was the focus of the review.
I ate at the lounge after arriving very early.
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I took advantage of the lounge's shower suites because I had been in the lounge for a long time. If you're arriving from an international flight and have a meeting, there's a quiet room that you can use to catch some Z's and complimentary garment steaming services. Sunday Riley has a partnership with United that includes its lavatories.
The dining room at Polaris Lounges is one of the best in the U.S. The menu is often locally inspired for the lounges, which are at all of United's hubs except Denver International Airport, but one thing is constant: the Polaris signature burger.
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The importance of Virgin Australia is underscored by the new route.
There is a section of the SFO Polaris Lounge that can be used for events. There is an island that was used to serve drinks.
The guests snacked on premium hors d'oeuvre like shrimp cocktail and lamb lollipops. Wine from Australia was being poured.
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The United executives and local officials were working with the intimate crowd at the event.
Georgia Mae gave some background music and then did a solo performance.
A few executives spoke. United has been eager to point out that the airline was the only one that was able to maintain service between the US and Australia during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Luc Bondar, who is originally from Australia, said that it allowed Australians and Americans to go home.
Gate G2 was the location for the formal gate party after the reception had ended.
There was more than one snack at the gate. Some passengers waiting to board the United flight to Las Vegas also got to enjoy the goodies.
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A koala bear, played by United's director of customer service in San Francisco, stole the show. He was giving out other things as well.
The best part about covering inaugural flights is seeing how special the moment is for the employees, who get into the spirit and take pictures and selfies just like the passengers.
Georgia Mae continued her performance for a larger audience at the gate party, as well as a speaking program featuring Patrick Quayle, United's VP of global network planning.
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Quayle talked about how important it was that United maintained service to Australia during the Pandemic. He said that United allowed heart transplant donor valves to be transported from Australia to the U.S. on one of their last flights.
Quayle said that the flight saved many lives and families.
It was time to board the inaugural flight of United.
The Polaris amenities are one of the best parts of United's most premium cabin. The cooling gel pillow is a customer favorite and was at each seat. The Away- branded kit was there as well. A koala bear, an eye mask, and a message on a postcard were given to each seat. It reminded me of when Polaris passengers received a plush polar bear at their seat.
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All of the Australia themed goodies were given to passengers in United Premium Plus. The Polaris Away kits were given instead of the smaller Premium Plus ones.
The standard provisions for United Economy passengers were a green all-in-one travel pillow and a regular blanket. Koala bears and eye shades were also given to them.
The cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, with odd-numbered rows featuring true window seats, as well as the "honeymoon seat" in the center section that puts two passengers close together. All passengers are close to the aisle. Privacy is provided for passengers who aren't traveling together in the center section.
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My first Polaris flight was in the honeymoon seat, and I was assigned seat 5F. While you get close to your seat mate at the beginning and end of the flight, the divider worked well during the rest of the trip. The odd- numbered window seats were gone by the time I upgraded.
A message from Quayle was on the back of the menus that were given out after everyone got settled.
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There were two fun things to happen before departure.
The koala was on the flight deck for a short time.
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Brian Won, a passenger on the inaugural flight, was given a certificate and a challenge coin by Capt. Laszlo Jon Horanyi, as well as a certificate and a challenge coin. Won is an AvGeek and can often be found flying on United's inaugural flights for the fun of it. In May, we met for the airline's inaugural to the Azores.
Inaugural flights are notoriously difficult to push on time, as a ground crew learns a new aircraft, or the gate festivities pour onto the plane, with people taking extra time to get settled. The other inaugural flights all had delays. Since the 787-9 is a familiar sight at SFO, the flight got off the gate three minutes late. I was impressed with the way he acted.
We were on the ground at San Francisco's runway 28L after a short taxi.
The salmon entree was the one I chose. Many are hesitant to have fish on a plane, but this year I have had excellent business class fish dishes on both United and Lufthansa, so I thought I would give it a try. It was very wet. The meal service was interrupted twice due to turbulence and the flight attendants were forced to leave the fish in the oven longer than it should have been.
I washed the salmon down with a California chardonnay and an asian cabbage salad. It was the first time in a long time that I had seen the cold, protein-based snack return to Polaris. I was told that the meals are part of a new rotation that started on Friday and that the appetizers are back.
The flight attendants were some of the best I have had. Positive customer feedback led to the hand-picking of this crew. I have never had bad service on an inaugural flight but the flight attendants were always in the aisle for 14 hours. It was a top group.
The person was exceptional, that's for sure. She was at my seat immediately after I woke up from a nap. She offered a cheese toastie and tomato soup as a mid-flight snack.
Linda was an exceptional person. She grabbed a mug of my coffee that was half full and said that she would get me more since they had just made a pot.
oatmeal was satisfying for breakfast
A thank you note was signed by the crew at the end of the flight, a gesture some crews do for elite passengers.
The flight was unforgettable due to the service. The mingling in the galley among crew, passengers and United employees made the 14 hours go by quickly.
The festivities didn't stop after the flight arrived at 6:30 a.m.
The media was invited onto the flight deck for a photo.
As the cameras of local media clicked, we went to the rear of the plane for the ceremony.
Passengers arriving out of the immigration hall were greeted by a dance.
United hopes to add a new flight to its schedule in the near future. Quayle has reason to be optimistic as United has a strong partner in Virgin Australia and travel demand is on the rise.
I'm excited to visit Australia for the first time, it's on my bucket list. I'm excited to explore more.
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