From the Flight Deck

It's been a whirlwind of flying around these last few weeks. I dread to think what my carbon footprint is.

I did finally manage to self-check-in on United Airlines. Perhaps a Saturday afternoon business traveller no longer fits the profile. Or perhaps UA now has the same copy of the list as AA, where I've never had any problems.

The single greatest benefit which UA offers to their frequent flyers is access to Economy Plus seating. Unfortunately, they no longer offer it to Star Alliance Gold members who are not Premier Executive members in their Mileage Plus program. However, a sympathetic gate agent may sometimes grant a concession to a harried Saturday afternoon business traveller...

The other special feature is Channel 9 on the audio entertainment system, which gives you an ear on the communications with air traffic control. It also lets you listen in on the amusing exchange that takes place when your plane misses its turn on the taxiway, slams on the brakes, then tries to make a hard left turn, but can't do it with one engine shut down. The ground controller then has to choreograph an intricate ballet involving hundreds of tons of metal.