First Class Flavor

4am and the alarm rings, but I’m already up. Actually, I never got to sleep. My plane doesn’t leave until 6:50am but of course it takes time to take that last shower and get ready, calling a taxi and hoping they arrive quickly at such an early hour, and of course extra lead time the airlines want you to give them to go through security screenings and standing in line.

It usually happens when I am traveling with an early morning departure. I always tell myself I will get to sleep early so I can be nice and rested for the travel, but it never works that way. I have too much energy right before a trip, thinking about all the details and trying to make sure I don’t forget anything, at least not something important. Sleeping and getting some rest to start fresh is pretty much out of the question.

This time was different, they weighed only my check-in bag, which was a pretty good guess, at 18 kilos. They didn’t care about my carry on bag and my camera bag. It’s always like that in Russia, the procedure and rules can be radically different, but still very strict, depending on who is working that day, or even what kind of mood they are in. I am guessing my carry-on is a bit heavier than 20 kilos even though it was smaller than my checked bag. Good tip, pack the heaviest stuff in the smallest bags and work up. My biggest bags usually just have clothes and other light items. This method usually evens out the weight, disregarding sizes. This is important because even if your airline will only allow you to check 1 bag, and then disallows you to carry-on another one of your bags, you will save a lot of money. Look at luggage as the weight it can hold, not the amount of stuff it can hold.

If you overload a bag, you will pay significantly more for that extra weight than if you just checked an additional bag. I have been charged $50 for an extra 50 pound bag before, and had another incident when the gate agent tried charging me $250 for an 8 pound overage. Do yourself a favor, buy a luggage scale and know exactly what your weights are.
I got lucky again this time, didn’t pay any extra bag fees or over weight fees, so checking in was pretty simple, go through passport control and security screening and wait about an hour for my flight to Moscow. It seems that I was the first person at the airport for the first flight of the day, arriving about the same time the gate agents did. This made my processing very quick, much quicker than I was expecting so I have a lot of extra time. I don’t mind the wait, I always feel better knowing I am where I need to be next, even if it’s early.

The airplane that Saratov Airlines uses is called a YAK. I remember when we got the tickets to Moscow for my mom after one of her visits and she learned that she was flying home in a Yak; of course there were lots of curious looks and jokes.

The plane is relatively comfortable, even in coach. On United, I have a difficult time being comfortable because it seems they are squeezing every little millimeter of space out of each seat. Being a large guy, this usually means too little room sideways as well as leg room. On the Yak, my favorite thing is that the arms on the chairs do actually move up and out of the way, even in the aisle. This gives me all the room I want. I understand the theory behind not allowing aisle arms to move up, it makes it more difficult for the flight attendants to use the aisles if people are encroaching that space. I will say one thing, it does make a big difference for the passenger when you are trying to stuff 10 pounds of passenger in a 5 pound seat.

The flight from Moscow to Saratov is only about an hour, and when we were taking off, I sent my last text messages to Veornika, letting her know we were taking off, and wishing she was with me. The flight was uneventful, though the temperature in the plane was way too hot. We all ate our box breakfast of bread roll, few slices of sausage, a slice of cheese and coffee.

Getting off the plane is really straight forward. There is only one way to go, and there is no chance of getting lost. You come down the halls and end up exactly at the baggage claim. Like any other airport, Domodedovo has screens that tell you which carousel will spit out your bags. Even though I am traveling all the way to California today, Saratov Airlines does not have a baggage code share with United, or any other airline that I know of, and so I have to collect my checked bag, and then go to the United desk in Moscow and check it in again. As I said, It’s really not inconvenient since I am walking through that way anyway. I just need to stop and wait for my bag before I continue.

I grab my bag and walk to the departures area to check in. It will be another hour before anybody will be at the check-in desk, so I went to a nearby table and had some water. Yes, I’m a little excited. From now until California, I’ll be flying first class. The ticket agents arrive and I check in, get my boarding passes printed, and give them my bag. The agent strapped 2 red luggage identification tags on my bag with big bright letters saying “priority”.

I guess my bag will be flying first class too. I sent Veronika a text message saying that maybe next time she could hide in my bag with our cat Johnny since it looks like the bag is getting such special treatment too. Of course it was just a bad joke.

I knew that Domodedovo does not have a United Red Carpet Club, but I decided to ask anyway. No harm in asking. The agent of course answered no, but then said that they use Austrian Airline’s VIP club. Oh really? That means my first class ticket will get me in there? Absolutely. I’m excited my luxury starts early. At least I won’t have to worry about the $15 baked potato from my last trip through Moscow Airport.

I head upstairs and sailed through security and passport control. The VIP lounge was located very conveniently near the gate I needed to be at. I went inside and they took my coat to hang, and I asked for the nearest bathroom. I went in and cleaned myself up a little and came out to see what amenities were available. I was directed to the coffee area, and they had lots of available drinks and things to eat. I still had 3 hours to wait for my flight, so I was much happier to be waiting here rather than in the terminal area where I wasn’t too comfortable last time.

I grabbed some bottled water and found a seat near the window where I could take some pictures of the planes outside. Later I did have a couple of their sausages with some steamed cabbage. They had cereals and muffins and confections available, but I was glad to eat something hot. The sausage was fresh, and hot, and pretty good. Actually, I have to admit, the prepared mustard was the real star of the sausages. Nice way to wake up my taste buds for this trip too.

When it got close to boarding time, I said my thank you’s and moved to the gate. There was a long line of people waiting for boarding to start. I was able to walk up to the red carpet priority line which was empty and showed them my boarding pass. They had me wait in a side room and after about 5 minutes I was allowed to go to the plane before anybody else. I got in and put my carry on bags in the overhead compartment and took out my camera to take a few shots of the first class seats. I noticed first the width of the seat. I guess I don’t have to worry about losing circulation in my legs due to my wide butt being vice-gripped by the seat arms as usual.

The Boeing 757 on this international flight has only 6 first class seats, each with plenty of room and no drawbacks. I settled in and waited for the rest of the plane to board. There is no complimentary upgrades on international flights like they do on domestic flights if seats are open. So, there was only 1 other person in first class with me in the next seat.

She was a happy Russian girl in her mid-20’s with a huge diamond on her finger and about 6-7 months pregnant. She didn’t speak a word of English and didn’t understand when the flight attendants told her a few times that she needed to put her bags in the overhead compartment. I noticed she didn’t understand any English so I spoke to her in Russian and offered to put her bags away for her. She was grateful and another international incident was avoided. Strange that the flight attendants weren’t trying to speak to her in Russian since it seemed they all spoke Russian too. Anyway, I was offered some champagne and strangely, so was she even though it was pretty obvious she was pregnant. I chose to have sparkling water instead and waited for the rest of the plane to board.

The first class experience was really pretty nice. Since there was only 2 of us in first class, we got lots of extra extra attention. Francisco was the attendant that was taking care of us, and he did a good job. He started off by drawing our attention to the menu and taking our orders for dinner he would serve us shortly after take-off. Francisco has a Latin accent but spoke perfect English and Russian. I never did ask him where he was from, but he was an impressive man.

Our flight would take over 10 hours to fly from Moscow to Washington D.C., Dulles Airport (IAD) and I was looking forward to every minute. I started to calculate in my head how many years I had been saving frequent flier miles for this and quickly put it out of my head. I started to feel like Christmas, where all the anticipation is probably more exciting than the actual day and I knew that soon the flight would be over, but anyway I was going to enjoy this as much as I could.

I started to investigate the seat features and my personal space conveniences. There is 3 compartments in the seat itself for storage enclosed by doors that are accessed through a simple button. I put my point-and-shoot camera and cell phone in one, the blankets and pillows they had on the seat in another, and started pushing buttons and opening and closing things like a kid who finds the automatic window buttons in the car for the first time.

In the seat are some electronic ports. There is a 110w electrical plug where it is probably most common to plug in a laptop or a cell phone charger. There is a USB port probably for charging USB devices too.

The information about the seat said there is also iPod & iPhone connectivity so you can watch your own movies or listen to your own music on the seat monitor, so maybe this USB port has that ability also. I did notice another round port that looked like it was probably for this purpose, along with the advertisement in the in flight magazine for a cable to connect your iPhone to this round port. They also have a standard network plug but I don’t know if that will actually get you internet service. I kind of doubt it, but I’m not sure why else that port would be there. Probably it was added when they created the chair just for flexibility for future feature upgrades they might think of. I was impressed enough with the power outlet and the USB port already so I didn’t investigate too much into the other ports that are available.

Take-off was pretty standard. I did notice that since my seat sits at a slight angle to take advantage of the space, that during take-off the inertia was slightly sideways but it was certainly nothing to complain about. I was just waiting for when I could start pushing buttons on the seat controls to recline the seat and check out all the positions. I had read that this seat reclines completely 180 degrees so that it lays flat. Once the seat belt light went off, I began playing with the controls. I found lots of comfortable positions and settled on one that was about a half-recline.

When I stopped playing with the seat adjustments, I was pleasantly surprised by Francisco bringing a glass of ice-water, a bowl of warmed nuts that were so tasty, and a glass of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Earlier, he asked what I would prefer to drink with my dinner order and I jumped at the opportunity to taste this fabulous french wine, foregoing the Napa cabernet. I guess he was getting me started early. I wasn’t going to stop him. This wine had such a pleasant, deep, rich flavor without being heavy that I just haven’t tasted in any wine before. I highly recommend trying wines from this region of France. Throughout the first half of the flight, Francisco kept my glass full at all times until I had to finally stop him before I had too much. I didn’t want to end up passing out and missing my whole first class flight.

Francisco also handed us each a bag of goodies. Inside the United amenity bag is a toothbrush and toothpaste, a pen, mouth wash, ear plugs and tissues, a bag of Murad lotions, hand sanitizer, a sleeping mask and fresh socks. Socks? well, I didn’t wear them, but it’s pretty cool they are there if you need them I guess. I thought this bag was great, and I could see everything having it’s use. If you were in a situation when you needed them, the bag would pay off big. For me, I guess it’s just a souvenir, although I did use the toothbrush and toothpaste during my layover later in LAX.

While I was enjoying the warmed nuts and the fantastic glass of wine, I could hear Francisco busy in the airplane kitchen. He came out and opened my table and covered it with a white linen cloth. Really? It’s a nice touch. I was impressed and smiled. Earlier I was talking to Francisco and wanted to know his name because I wanted to convey that I really appreciate his effort and I know that my experience has everything to do with how he will treat me. I am glad I did, because he was really a great guy, and he provided service above and beyond expectation. I hope that somebody from United will read this and give him some credit. In fact, I think I’ll go find an employee feedback form on their site and put in some effort of my own to show my appreciation.

The white linen table cloth soon was joined by a complete table setting: silverware and napkin, miniature salt and pepper shakers, a bread plate and a butter dish. Wait, slow down Francisco! We are not even an hour into this 10 hour flight. I want to open my Christmas presents slowly, not all at once. Let me savor this experience. Fortunately there was plenty more pleasant surprises to come.

Appetizer: Zucchini cuplet with eggplant caviar, sauteed prawns, roasted red pepper sauce.

Next came a soup that was just so surprisingly tasty. I really love soups. It was very hearty and flavorful. Moroccan tomato soup.

There wasn’t a choice of soup or salad, we got both. The greens in the salad were very crisp and pleasantly fresh. I had a choice of 2 dressings, creamy citrus or Asian-style vinaigrette. I went with the vinaigrette and it was very tasty. The dressing had spice; a little hot but really great. I finished it all.

Now for the main course. The menu had 4 options. First, pan-seared filet mignon with mushroom sauce which comes with Macedonian potatoes and sauteed spinach with garlic and shallots. When I saw filet was on the menu I was pretty sure I knew what my choice was going to be.

The next choice was grilled herb-marinated chicken with tomato basil sauce which comes with white and wild rice and sauteed green beans. It sounds like a pretty healthy choice. This is what the pregnant Russian girl ordered so when it came, I handed her my camera and asked her to take a picture.

I didn’t get a chance to take photos of the other two main dish options because nobody else was in the cabin to order them but they also sounded very tasty. Breaded pork tenderloin with creamy wine sauce that comes with fried potatoes and a carrot mushroom medley. The last main course dish offered was spinach stuffed cappelletti with marinara sauce and ratatouille. I would love to have seen those last two dishes too. If they were anything like the dishes I did see, I am sure they would be great.

Yeah, there was a simple dessert too. I had the old-fashioned hot-fudge sundae. Other choices included a caramel sundae, just ice cream, or an artisan cheese selection of Cheddar, Brie, and Gouda served with red grapes and crackers. I was just so impressed with the selection. I wonder what happened to all the other menu choices that the 2 of us didn’t order. Is that what the staff gets to eat? I am sure they don’t eat the box lunches that economy passengers are offered.

After a meal of so many wonderful flavors, and a few glasses of wine (hey, they were small), it was time to really get into relax mode. Francisco cleared my table and I broke out the blanket and pillows. The blanket was higher quality than I expected. It was actually nice material, quilted, with a light filling. Certainly it’s not going to measure up to my down comforter at home, but this blanket was quite plush for being so small and lightweight. I started flipping through the channels in my personal entertainment selections and found something to doze off to.

I slept for about 4 hours and when I woke, Francisco offered me some fruit and crackers with cheese. Sure, why not? Another glass of that fabulous wine and I was extending my pleasurable flavor experience.

The Russian girl decided she wanted something hot, so she ordered her lunch early. Lunch options looked equally light and tasty. Roast chicken filet with Chinese vegetables on a seasoned baguette which comes with Lyonnaise potatoes and cilantro barbecue sauce. The other option is a chilled deli plate with Emmanthaler cheese which comes with smoked salmon, Parma ham, salami, asparagus, and an egg wedge. To be honest, now that I am writing this, I didn’t see that deli plate. It looks great. I wish I had ordered that on the plane. As it was, about an hour before we landed I did have the open faced chicken sandwich that the Russian girl ordered earlier.

I was disappointed with the sandwich, mostly because of the bread, but I can’t blame the chef, it has to be all about the logistics of having the food prepared earlier, packaged and shipped to the plane, then prepared on-board. We just can’t expect everything to be kitchen fresh and perfect. Regardless, I do have to give credit to the chef in charge of everything we did eat.

Chef Charlie Trotter is well accomplished with 14 cookbooks, multiple restaurants, tv shows, and awards. It’s impressive that a chef who is already so successful would risk putting his name on food that is inherently riddled with logistical problems like the ones I mentioned above. Logistics will always affect food quality, usually in a negative manner. Anyway, job well done Charlie, I will definitely seek out one of your restaurants on one of my travels just to see what you can do in a truly fresh environment.

OK dear readers, I must make a confession. I am sitting here at my terminal in LAX during my 8 hour layover, taking advantage of the time to write this up. However, the Karen Carpenter Musak and Madonna’s Material Girl played on the pan-flute is about to drive me nuts. I’m going to post this so that you can see how the trip has started out. I’ll finish up the second half of the trip tomorrow after I’ve completed the trip and gotten some rest. Unfortunately, the trip does have some negative twists and turns after I arrive in Washington. William Shatner claims he saw a man on the wing of the plane. Or maybe I will tell you about the rogue squirrel that escaped somebody’s carry-on bag and terrorized the aisles for a couple hours. Who knows, you’ll have to come back and read for yourself what happens. I’m looking forward to finding out how it all plays out too.