VX23 JFK-SFO Nov19, 2009 1st
Posted: 20 Nov 2009, 22:34Check-in was very smooth, 1 I was early and 2 most people now check in on line. I didn't have access to a printer, so I had upgraded for $250 to 1st class the day before. Agent produced my boarding card in about 30 seconds and I was on my way.
JFK Terminal 4 is quite nice, I bought some books and grabbed a coffee at Peets before heading through a small security line into the gate area.
Boarding was announced a few minutes early, ironic because we then had to stand on the jetway! Once aboard I stowed my stuff and settled into 2C. Their are only 8 seats in First, so it's often hard to bag one. But business travelers have not yet discovered the joys of Virgin America, so competition for upgrades to either Main Cabin Select or First is not that strong, and on the BOS-SFO their is always availability at the gate. For SFO-JFK you need to get it done when online check in opens up.
I declined alcohol, but sucked down a couple of bottles of water (I had been at wine 2.0, the night before, and awoke a little more fragile than I expected) and settled into read my book. The IFE works from boarding at the rear of the plane, but in First the screen has to be stowed for take-off and landing.
Once we could leave our seats I retrieved my laptop and hooked into the inflight internet (free through January courtesy of Google)and did some work. I watched 'Thank You For Smoking' on the satellite TV, then Adventureland on the in flight movies. The rest of the entertainment was Scrubs again on TV - love the blonde chick!
Lunch was in 3 courses, first came a beautiful slice of granary bread - maybe the best piece of bread I've ever had on a flight (I asked for a second piece!) and a salad of grilled vegetables with a balsamic reduction - very good, simple, but well done.
The main course was a plate of diced turkey, with some stuffing cubes, dried cranberries and pureed butternut squash. This was delicious, the Turkey was flavorful and moist - again, very well thought out, and executed perfectly. VS UC has some lessons to learn.
My alcohol choices were a Marzen from Gordon Biersch, served in a plastic beer bottle - excellent, then I tried a 21st Amendment IPA, also very good.
We landed on time and I was soon catching the shuttle back to my car at Park SFO. Highway 101(N) was at a standstill due to an injury accident at Oyster Point, so I took the S.Airport Blvd exit, got back onto the freeway but took 380, then 280 north to SF, skirted in front of ATT Park, then up 2nd, to grab the last ramp onto the Bay Bridge at Bryant (note for car pools, 3+, after 3pm) and I was back in my office by 3pm.