Heading off to Shanghai for business for a week and while I was flying United and had the opportunity to take one of their last 747 flights out of SFO. I was able to book Polaris "First" in seat 1A. I've flown business in 747s plenty of times before on the upper deck, but I was incredibly excited about the opportunity to sit in the nose of a 747.
I got to the airport with time to visit the Global First Lounge which will eventually be phased out.
It's a tired lounge, but much better than the older and worn United Club lounges. The food spread was decent and I enjoyed some dim sum with Moet and OJ.
Some great plane spotting!
I headed to the gate only to find we were delayed due to staffing and towing the aircraft to the gate. It provided me with a fun opportunity to chat with the pilots and it was the FO's second to last flight before he retired.
Our bird eventually showed up and it was time to board!
I was super excited to get onboard and into the Polaris First cabin in the nose.
The seat was a herringbone layout and while not that private, was very comfortable.
View of 1K across the way
And the part I was most excited about was the curved fuselage and being able to see "forward" from the windows!
The entertainment system is obviously very dated, but workable. The new Polaris Saks bedding was excellent.
I got lucky with a friendly and attentive crew, who were quick to bring by some Ayala champagne with the new Polaris chocolates.
Next up were the pajamas.
And amenity kit which had the usual suspects inside.
The menu was descent, but wines were not inspiring for a F product.
A look backwards in the nose and the bar area.
After pushback we were on our way to 28L.
The awesome views and plane spotting out of 1A on a 747! It was great we had LH and AF A380s taking off right in front of us.
Sad VX will be no more soon enough :(
Germany vs France
The shadow of the nose, I'm going to miss that as these birds retire :)
Line up for 28L
So cool to be able to look forward down the runway!
Smooth climb out of SFO and out to the Pacific.
About 20 minutes over the Pacific the meal service started with our friendly crew at the helm.
Starting with some warm mixed nuts and skewer of mozzarella and dried tomato was nice.
That was followed up with United's new wine tasting option, nothing that exciting, but great presentation.
The tuna appetizer was fresh, but not inspiring.
The soup was fantastic, I could've easily had another bowl.
I ended up going with the spicy chicken and noodle dish which was a good move since it had the most flavor and the chicken wasn't dried out.
Unfortunately the cabin lights were really dim and I didn't get a good shot of the ice cream trolly, I promise I'll get a pic on my return flight!
I also didn't get a picture of the turn down service and bed which was comfortable and I slept great for over 6-hours.
Upon waking up there was still a little bit of sun as we were flying over Japan and would soon start our descent into PVG.
Foggy descent.
Looking towards 1K who had a view of Shanghai proper.
Final approach (sorry blurry pic).
And touchdown with a fantastic view, I could do this all the time.
We pulled up next to a Qatar 77W
Overall I had a great flight, the crew was awesome and the hard product, while not private and dated, was very comfortable. I was really grateful to have had the opportunity to fly in 1A only 2 weeks before this plane retired. It's sad the aviation world is going to twin-engine planes, I'm such a fan of the beauty of the 747 and comfort of the A380. I hope both jets make a comeback before it's too late.
Trip links:
- Shanghai
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