The trip started off wonderfully with a fabulous homemade family breakfast and a heartfelt sendoff by my wife (Jody) and kids (Michaela [13] and Jonathan [8]). We arrived promptly at Epply Airfield at 0730 CST well ahead of my 0835 departure time. Check in with United and TSA security was a breeze and all flights were on-time. Thankfully my secretary arranged my flights with a minimum of 90 minutes layovers; something very important as I'll share later.
My arrival at Denver International Airport (DIA) was as scheduled but they were experiencing moderate snow showers with two inches on the ground but melting fast; see the associate photo at DIA. Departure to Los Angeles (LAX) was as scheduled and I enjoyed an economy plus exit row isle opposite the airplane door; this gave me the ultimate legroom... ;-) From LAX I caught another flight to San Francisco (SFO) to catch my international Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. The LAX to SFO flight was delayed 35 minutes due to the high Santa Anna winds which shortened the connection at SFO. Upon arrival at SFO I made a beeline to my Air NZ gate and got in line to verify my check in status. Thankfully I did that as when boarding was called everyone without a Air NZ boarding pass was sent back to the gate counter.
The Air NZ flight was via a Boeing 747-400 and I was ticketed for "premium economy" which as on the upper deck behind the Business Class seats. My seat was essentially the same thing as United's economy plus seating but the in-flight entertainment systems were the same as First and Business Class seating. The night flight out of SFO was amazing as I was able to view the disappearing city lights as they fell below the horizon. The climbout and early cruise was very smooth and comfortable. I was able to watch Contagion after dinner and The Rise of the Planet of the Apes after 5-6 hours sleep. The flight was long, almost 13 hours, but the seating and service made it quite manageable.
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