No PAL review this time. Instead, I chose to come home quickly from Singapore…in economy class. And I’m so glad I did.
I asked for your feedback and appreciated your feedback, which was fairly evenly-divided between taking the quick United option home or taking the more exotic Scoot + Philippine Airlines option.
> Read More: Two Very Different Flight Options From Singapore – Your Thoughts?
Had I been able to get out of Singapore same day on PAL, there is no question I would have taken that option. But when I weighed the extra night in Singapore coupled with a night in Manila and a night in New York, it just became too much. I missed my wife and son too much. I could not bear being away longer. I’m gone so often already.
Life has been a roller coaster lately. While the blog has been a thankful source of stability, my other business has been…well, a beautiful challenge. Even when I’m home in LA, I’m in my office long hours and sometimes I simply have to remind myself that I work to live, not live to work. And two of my greatest blessings in life are my wife and son. I love them so much and it’s not just about providing resources for them: time is the currency of love.
The 15-hour flight to San Francisco was fine. I was seated in a window seat in the third row of EconomyPlus and the flight went out many open middle seats, including mine. That made all the difference in allowing me to eat dinner after takeoff and then sleep for the next seven hours.
Speaking of food, I was not about to risk 15 hours without a solid meal so I ordered Nando’s via Grab to my room at the Andaz. We still don’t have Nando’s in Los Angeles and I just love it.
Inflight Dining
And this was a wise choice, not so much because the food was bad on United, but because of the menu choices. Since UA28 leaves Singapore at 9pm and arrives about the same time in San Francisco, two dinners are served. For both meals the choices were pasta or chicken with rice. I looked at the chicken and it was not a chicken breast…it was gristly, fatty strips of meat in a sweet sauce. Yuck.
The pasta, however, was quite tasty and filling. The first pasta course was cheese ravioli served with salad and ice cream. A midflight snack was sliced chicken on white bread with a Kit Kat bar, which I did not eat. Before landing, the pasta was noodles in a cream sauce with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and fruit + cookie on the side.
Was it economy class food? Yes. Did it lack protein? Yes. Was I thankful I ate at Nando’s before the flight? For sure. But was the food bad? Not at all.
All my blog posts for the day were done and the internet did not work, so after waking up I spent the rest of the flight binge watching another new show (for me), called The Man in the High Castle.
It’s by Amazon and envisions a world in which the Germans and Japanese had prevailed in World War II. Quite an interesting show.
SFO Switcheroo
I arrived in SFO on-time and with great delight noticed that the last San Francisco to Burbank flight had been delayed four hours. I was scheduled to fly into Los Angeles (my upgrade had even cleared), but flying into Burbank would save me 40 minutes. An agent in the United Club happily moved me over. I then had some dinner in the SFO Centurion Lounge before boarding the 50-seat CRJ home. From BUR, it was a 15-minute Uber trip home. My wife and son had already gone to bed, but I kissed them goodnight and was able to soon fall asleep.
I’m suffering from jetlag, but it’s not too bad…
CONCLUSION
I love taking my son to get coffee with me. Yesterday we were in Orange County and stopped at a cool coffee shop in Costa Mesa called MoonGoat. Augustine loves using a spoon to scoop up milk foam from my cup. And I love to see his smiling face.
PAL can wait. Because my little pal and my dear wife are more important. Heaven knows I travel enough as it is (more trips are in the works). These extra two days meant the world to me. It’s good to be home.
Nice post! I particularly enjoyed the pictures of your son.
Like you, I made the decision to fly back to BUR on a CRJ-200 instead of to LAX (this will be next week) to get back home to my family a little sooner. The main difference between us here is that I didn’t sacrifice an upgrade to do it. 😉
Getting a free middle on a 787 with 9 across is an absolute god-sent. And with it, the wonder of being able to get halfway across the world in 16hrs is still a marvel and very survivable as you nicely document.
The man in the high castle is also a very intriguing series, like a lot of Phillip K Dick’s work.
You made the best call in respect of the flight.
Why don’t you carry some HPLC bars with you, if you’re looking for easy protein?
I generally do, but since I was traveling through Australia and they are so picky I left my snacks at home.
You did the right thing. Earlier this year, I had a J ticket on an AZ flight (MXP-JFK) which got cancelled due to lightning strike and opted to take an economy seat in Emirates same day rather than wait 24 hours for the next AZ flight. I would do it again to see my wife and daughter.
Good for you.
Did you get a free SDC to BUR or did they have to reprice?
Also, that 787-9 has been upgraded to the latest IFE. It didn’t used to have the same menu/options as the 787-10 and refitted 777-200s, good job UA.
Yes, free SDC. I find UA agents are so flexible (and wonderful) in this regard. Did not even have to ask for a favor.
I would have made the same choice – at your age. Not so sure now, being a few years on and with creaky bones and grown kids. But mainly, you lucked out with an empty flight. The worst thing about international economy back when I did fly it (almost exclusively) was the other passengers on packed flights – the don’t recliners, the haven’t bathed in a weekers, the obnoxious drunks, the seat poachers, and so on. Good call on the Nando, too.
If that middle seat next to your had been filled – especially if by a POS or other non-optimal kind of neighbor – I bet you would be signing a very, very different tune. Getting an empty middle next to you makes a world of difference. It’s nearly as good as business class. But it’s all up to chance. You just got lucky.
Agree that I would have regretted it if there had been a POS in the middle seat. But even a row in coach doesn’t compare to business. 😉
Not even the full economy experience with the non-Economy+ seats and a middle seatmate; so not quite what « the rest of us » experience. Of course, I don’t fault you for making use of the resources you have to get a better seat
Great article. Family is the most valuable thing in our lives. Enjoy your wife and son every second.
Love Nando’s!
I’m thankful our grocery stores have Nando’s sauces. At least I can somewhat make my own at home!
Thank you for this review. It’s more useful to me than PAL.
I was in Hong Kong probably about 20 years ago now. I had a full ‘C’/paid business class flight to come home on United in 3 days but I needed/wanted to come home immediately. All the flights were full – I ended up in a middle seat in the back of coach but I got home 2 days earlier than my ‘C’ ticket would have allowed.. I was glad to be home – it was worth it. Much as I want/like to travel in comfort when you want/need to be home that is all that matters. Thanks for the review – I hope all is well @ home.
It’s so true your family is your why you get up in the morning nice to read your story.
My husband is an aircraft mechanic with United on a personal level we have 8 now adult children and 16 grandchildren and we know how important family is. So glad it worked out for you
Thanks Carol!
I love how you keep your blog personal and why you make the choices you do based on your situation (family, orange juice preferences to name a few, lol). It makes it more real and how not every review or post can be about a delivery flight, inaugural route flight or something fancy. Yes you often fly first or business, as is displayed here you do fly economy if its the best choice for yourself. I often appreciate these reviews so much more as it displays the real world side of flying and redeeming.
Thanks Derek! I very much appreciate your comment.
I fly the SFO-SIN or SFO -LAX direct round trips a few times a year.
The food is always terrible. Service is ok
Good movies.
Got me home in 15 hours