This must be a recent addition to the schedule, because the
taxi driver I talked to was adamant about there not being
any flights out of the airport until 0605. He turned out to
be right this day, but that's not what the schedule says.
It's been a while since I've flown Virgin anything; as before
I got the impression that they were well-meaning amateurs; in
this case, the amateurism was worse than usual - it was like
Southwest without the competency. In Adelaide we endured a
gate change and a maintenance delay. We boarded up about 15
minutes late, and at every stage from taxi to the runway and
taxi to the gate, we lost a few minutes, so even though I had a
sizable cushion, the anxieties started setting in after a bit,

VA 401 ADL SYD 0600 0815 738 6D was 4C

The plane itself was clean enough and the flight attendants
okay, and the catering was the usual minimal. No quarrels.
The flight was bumpy, and we came in a bit over half an hour
late. Apparently people had close connections, because we
were expedited to the gate and gained back several minutes.

The offerings were the usual soft drinks plus a Kez's Free &
Naked choc mud bar, which though small packed a big punch,
being made mostly of dates, so very carbolicious and sweet.
Not much chocolate flavor but a hint of generic nut taste that
wouldn't probably be countenanced on a US flight. This was so
mouth-coating that I just had a cup of water to go with.

I had thought I'd be clever and take a flight that came into
Terminal 2 rather than Terminal 3 (Qantas), because I was
leaving from Terminal 1. Hah - as in Paris, the numbers are
out of order - there, 2-1-3, here, 1-3-2. Not that big a deal,
as the free shuttle bus takes only 10 or 15 minutes in any case.
So I took the bus, which deposited me at Terminal 1 not so far
from the United desk. Though I'd already printed a boarding pass
in case my connection got really messed up, I got another at
the counter, because not only did it look more official, the
agent also gave me a fast track pass, which saved probably 15
minutes at security, customs, and emigration. As it was, I had
an hour to savor the ANZ lounge, where I did the e-mail and had
a glass of Sainte Louise Napoleon French brandy, which though
not Cognac and more importantly without any appellation,
actually tasted okay, with plenty of grapiness but also some
oak and depth. It was not unsmooth, a surprise, as in most
places with a sizable Asian clientele, the booze tends towards
the fiery. I had time for snacks, but the offerings were too
breakfastlike for my palate, so I did without. As I was #1 on
the upgrade waitlist, I decided to go a bit early to see what
was what. I inquired at the gate for my friend Annie and was
told to see her on the plane, so I cut the line and did so.

UA 870 SYD SFO 1130 0715 789 16C

The famous Annie used to rule the roost at the Sydney station
from her desk at the Red Carpet Club; now she is semiretired and
serves mostly as a meeter and greeter and smoother of ruffled
feathers. Since my upgrade hadn't cleared and obviously wouldn't,
my feathers were a bit on end. I took my assigned seat, which
truth be told was not a bad one, and presently she came by, and
we had a good chat, which bemused the guy in the window seat.
She's retiring in 2021, she made sure to let me know - when I
first came to Sydney in the '90s I was sure she was near retirement
already. I'm not sure if it was her influence or my relatively
exalted status on this airline, but the middle seat stayed empty.

Service was okay, and I was offered more alcohol than I needed or
even wanted.

We were fed some sort of quite spicy again Asianish chicken, not
bad, with mushy rice and mushy veg (both not good). Dessert was
another ice cream, local product, also not bad.

There was a reasonable assortment of movies and TV episodes, but
I just tried to get some sleep (was fairly successful and got
at least 6 hours in two goes out of 15).

Midflight there was a turkey roll sandwich, edible, followed by
a Tim Tam; I did a slam with Redwood Creek Cabernet, and the
cookie stayed intact and was improved by the wine.

The flight got in a bit early, and immigration a piece of cake
despite the easy peasy machines now reserved for foreigners.
Back inside after a two-minute PreCheck, I checked the weather,
which was crummy from the midwest to the east coast, so instead
of chancing it on my original flight (with a possible upgrade,
which I would have had to pay for), I stood by for the earlier.
I automatically popped up to the top of the standby list, so I
had the wonderful choice of a middle seat in economy minus or a
nonreclining window one in the last row of the plane, row 40
something. I chose the former.

UA 768 SFO BOS 0830 1704 752 23B
was UA1865 SFO BOS 1040 1915 752

It actually wasn't that awful a flight, with three grumpy guys
actually coordinating bathroom breaks and otherwise keeping
quiet and semi-occupied with the United Private Screening
movies (or, in my case, overaged travelogues and Food Network
reruns). At mealtime I get free food because of my status so
ordered a pack of Pringles. The flight attendant was not
accustomed to a high elite in a middle seat in the wayback
and asked for my bona fides before handing out the little can.
After a substantially bumpy trip we landed half an hour late.
It turns out that my original flight went through pretty much
the same weather system and was 45 minutes late.
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