Minnesota Fun Fact
The last surviving member of the Union Army was Minnesota’s Henry Woolsen, who died in 1956 at the age of 106 (source)
Departure Airport: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH/KIAH)
Arrival Airport: Denver International Airport (DEN/KDEN)
Airline: United Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Flight Time: 1:54
Server: Expert
I showed up at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport around 7:30 AM - which turned out to be a mistake. Shortly after clearing TSA (the lines were thankful not as snarled as they were a few days ago), I received a text message from United telling me that my flight was delayed by two hours due to ATC staffing shortages in Houston. It was clear as I walked the terminal that many other customers were faced with similar situations. Luckily, I wasn’t among the 4% who had their flights cancelled, but I was worried that a rolling delay could very easily turn into a cancellation. I was incredibly relieved when, after a couple hours of waiting, they began to board our 757-200, which had been sitting overnight after arriving about 12 hours earlier from Orlando.
Kudos to the ground staff in Houston and the flight attendants, for they got our entirely full flight boarded and off the gate in less than a half an hour. Apparently, a Frontier flight also headed to Denver this morning was cancelled, and a lot of those passengers were transferred to our’s. “We’d like to give you a very warm welcome aboard flight 1970 to Denver from the team at United and especially this Chicago based cockpit crew. We apologize for the late start today; as I’m sure you’re aware, the national air traffic control system is really a mess with the government shutdown. Our computers are showing about an hour and forty five minutes en route today. Should be pretty smooth until we cross into Colorado. Weather on the ground is forty five degrees and sunny. Again, we’re sorry about getting underway so late, but it’s really out of our control. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this flight to Denver.”
There was a short line for departure today, so we ended up waiting about eight minutes as company traffic took off for Minneapolis, Lima, Orlando, Los Angeles, and Portland, plus a Delta A220 to the Twin Cities. Soon enough however, the power of our two Rolls-Royce RB211-535 engines was unleashed and our Flying Pencil was rocketing into the sunny skies of America’s fourth largest city.
We reached our cruising altitude of 38,000 feet somewhere over the middle of Texas. Near Dallas, the meal service started. Being seated in First Class, I had access to a complimentary hot breakfast, the two options today being a spinach and mushroom frittata or a Belgian waffle with caramelized apples. I went for the frittata. It was nicely seasoned, with a good mix of herbs and a hint of cheese. The eggs were slightly on the firm side, but perfectly acceptable. It came with a side of fresh fruit, a buttery croissant, and a small yogurt. The fruit was surprisingly ripe, unlike a lot of prepackaged mixes I’ve seen. All in all, I’d give this breakfast an 8/10.
As we crossed Oklahoma, I took a look around my seat. It wasn’t in the best of shape, and it all felt quite old. The seat lies totally flat in theory, but the controls didn’t seem to be working. There was a large IFE screen with a great array of entertainment options, but the screen was also on the older side, certainly not on par with United’s NEXT product. Sadly, these 757s won’t all see new cabins, as they’re being phased out slowly in favor of the A321neo.
The seatbelt sign came back on near Dodge City, Kansas, as we made our way through some rough air. The flight attendants didn’t feel it was bad enough to discontinue the service, thankfully, and so I got an apple juice and a Stroopwafel from the pre-arrival run.
The approach into Denver International Airport was bumpy, as predicted by our crew. We came in on Runway 34R, which gave us a view of the iconic “mountains” atop the terminal building on final.
“On behalf of United Airlines and especially this Chicago based flight crew, we’d like to be the first to welcome you to Denver. The local time is 2:03 PM, and it’s one hour earlier than Houston. Please remain seated with your seatbelt securely fastened and low and tight across your lap until the captain turns off the seatbelt sign. We do realize that many of you may have connecting flights which may have been impacted by the delay. The dedicated United Airlines team may have rebooked you already - you can check for that in the app. If not, please connect with an agent either digitally or in person as soon as possible. We appreciate your cooperation today, and if this is home, welcome home.”
We made it to our gate about an hour and forty minutes late. Not great at all, but I’d take that over a cancellation any day. This was a really nice experience on a short-haul flight in first class. The cabin was certainly tired, and I think it’d be even better on one of United’s A321neos or 737 MAXs, but the soft product more than made up for the short fallings of the hard one.
