Heading to Richmond via Newark

Avid readers will know that I moved directly from London to the San Francisco Bay.  However, many of my things were still at my parents’ place in Virginia because I had been bringing things back for a few months before moving.  I started a new job in September, which has flexible working rules, so I headed back to Virginia to finish up the final parts of my move back to the US and was able to work from home.

I had originally booked this flight as a redeye flight from SFO to Richmond via DC on a 777 followed by a CRJ-200. However, shortly after I booked the flight, United cancelled the SFO to DC leg and rebooked me through Newark, so I was still on a 777, but the second flight became a CRJ-550, which was exciting! However, despite me having booked a first class ticket, I was put into coach on the regional leg. I contacted United customer service on Twitter about this, and they informed me that my original flight was in coach so I had to stay in coach, even though I had a first class ticket. I was offered the option to change my ticket for over $600. I could’ve bought a completely new ticket from Newark to Richmond for $250 or take a $99 upgrade offer on the United app. I laughed at the suggestion and politely declined the offer stating that I’d just wait for my complimentary premier upgrade. I have a 100% success rate on Newark to Richmond as a United Premier Gold member (from Cleveland and from London). As expected, 48 hours before the flight, my complimentary upgrade cleared.

I took BART to get to the SFO airport, which is a pretty convenient way to get there.  Pro-tip: if you are in the front most car, you’ll be dropped off directly into the international terminal, which can save you a minute or two.  United has a large self-service area for checking bags, which, in my opinion, is not that well situated for people arriving from the interterminal train, but it is close enough to the TSA PreCheck line.  After clearing security extremely quickly, I continued straight to the lounge.  United offers United Club access for those flying in business class on this route (but not Polaris lounge access) because this flight is branded as United Business, rather than United Polaris.

Continuing my recent trend of minimizing my time in airports (or running late, unclear which), I only remained in the lounge long enough to grab a snack, change, and brush my teeth in preparation for sleeping the entire way to Newark. 

I selected seat 5L.  The A and L seats are generally the best—they’re closer to the window and so are more private (and have more windows).  Row 5 was also sufficiently in the middle of the cabin to minimize disruption from the galleys/lavatories. 

As boarding continued, the flight attendants came around to take everyone’s order. As is customary on United, they started with the 1Ks and Global Services members before coming around to take everyone else’s orders. I was told that both dinner and breakfast would be served. I declined both meals in favor of sleeping. I was impressed that they were planning to serve two meals on a flight that ended up being only being about 4 hours in the air.  I do wonder how many people actually ate the two meals that would’ve been at most 3 hours apart.

Upon landing in Newark, I took the bus from terminal C to terminal A.  Although the transfer wasn’t difficult, I find that transfer to be remarkably janky compared to how most major hubs are set up.  Upon arrival at Terminal A, I made my way to the United Club. The flight to Richmond left from right beside where the bus dropped me off.

The regional gates’ Newark club is less exciting than the San Francisco club, but that makes sense. Interestingly, I had to scan my SFO -> Newark boarding card rather than my Newark -> Richmond boarding card to gain access. I had experienced this previously in Boston when connecting to a transatlantic Polaris flight, but I thought the issue there was that the flights were on different PNRs.

After having some quick breakfast in the lounge, which consisted of a bagel and cream cheese, I made my way back to the gate for my flight to Richmond. The CRJ-550 boards very quickly, given its relatively sparse seating arrangement for a plane of its size. By the time I got back, it was the final boarding call only 10 minutes after starting boarding.

One of the most interesting features of this plane is that it has a snack bar for first class. For a longer flight, this is a welcome addition, since regional aircraft in the US are known for particularly spartan service.

I napped for most of this flight as well and woke up upon landing in Richmond. Honestly, the best domestic flights in the US are the ones you sleep through. It’s like being transported nearly instantly to a new city.

In summary, this transcontinental trip was just about as good as it gets for an overnight trip.  United’s San Francisco Club is one of their best in the US, but not as good as an AA Flagship Lounge or Polaris lounge (4/5).  The club in Newark was pretty similar in terms of offerings but wasn’t as nicely decorated, which makes sense because it was the club in the regional terminal.  Arguably the best way across the country is on a widebody on a lie-flat seat, and the Polaris seat is the best seat on offer domestically (5/5).  The seat on the CRJ-550 is as good as it gets on a regional aircraft as well.  I skipped both dinner and breakfast in favor of sleeping, but I was very impressed that both were offered on a flight that ended up only being 4 hours in the air.  I can’t imagine having dinner and breakfast less than about 3 hours apart.  The snack selection on the second flight was as expected for such a short flight on a United Express flight.  The service was good, but I had minimal interactions with the crew since I successfully slept (4/5).  I didn’t use the seatback TV or the streaming entertainment, but Wi-Fi and power points were also offered (5/5).  Overall, these flights made the best overnight transcontinental trip I could’ve hoped for (18/20).

I paid around $700 for this flight from San Francisco to Richmond on my Amex Platinum card (5x points/$), which earned me about 3 600 Amex points and 5 200 United miles (as well as about 650 PQP).  The total points earned are worth around $115, for a return of around 16%, which is solid.