I'm in the process of buying a house on The Big Island, and had to fly down to see it in person. Due to work commitments, I needed to keep the trip as short as possible. I flew nonrev on my brother's flight benefits.
Outbound leg: UA1721/14Mar: B737-900ER N61887 Seat 22A
Scheduled: 08:50 - 11:28
Actual: 09:10 - 11:23
Due to Hawaii's very strict COVID regulations, all passengers were required to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. You must then log on to the Hawaii Safe Travels website, upload your negative test results, and then 24 hours before departure, fill in a health questionnaire. You are then given a QR code. UA set up a Hawaii Safe Travels Center at SFO between gates F16 and F18 where all Hawaii bound passengers present their QR code and get a United branded wristband to expedite arrival.
Boarding: UA has temporarily done away with zoned boarding and now boards from the rear forward "for your safety", yet still lets First Class board early, which sort of defeats the purpose on a single aisle front-boarding aircraft.
This 737-900ER had the new interiors with the pivot bins. I was just carrying a small backpack, so I didn't even worry about the bins. The seat next to me was empty so I just stowed the bag there. Service was basically non-existent. You're handed a disinfecting wipe as you enter the aircraft door. After take-off, you get a clear plastic bag containing a mini bottle of water, a bag of pretzels, and a sweet item (either Biscoff cookie or Stroopwafel). That's it for the entire 5+ hour flight. OK. I sat down, put my ear buds in, connected my phone to the streaming entertainment and watched a move. We landed.
If you've never been to Kona, it's Hawaii 60 years ago. You deplane via stairs/ramp and walk to the terminal which is a series of open air huts. On arrival, everyone must get a rapid test. The operation at Kona Airport was very impressive. What was once an open air plaza between the huts has been reconfigured with temporary tents into a massive testing center. Pity the person who didn't have a smart phone, because as you enter the testing center, someone holds up a laminated QR code, which you must scan with your phone. It will connect you to the health app they're using for testing. As you snake your way through the line, you complete the required personal information. You then get to the actual test, which is just a very quick nasal swab and off you go. There must have been a staff of over 50 people making sure everything kept moving. It honestly was very impressive.
I got my rental car and drove to the house which is just on the edge of town in a really quiet subdivision (everything in Kona is a subdivision of one sort or another). I liked what I saw, and then my real-estate agent and I had a late lunch down at Huggos on the Rocks, a fun seaside bar and restaurant. I spent some more time at the house, looking around the neighborhood and enjoying a beautiful warm afternoon. Time to check out a few things on the way back to the airport.
For some reason, I couldn't use the UA app to check in for the return leg. When I got to the airport I found that my 737-900ER had been swapped for the smaller 737-800 and that pax from a cancelled Denver flight were reprotected on my flight. My flight originally had 100 open seats, and I was #1 for upgrade to F. Well, that was now out the window, but there were still 50 open seats in the back. Checked in, grabbed a sandwich for dinner and waited to get my seat. I was #2 on the standby list, and was given the emergency exit, with the row to myself.
Return leg: UA1092/14Mar: B737-800 N27239 Seat 20F
Scheduled: 22:15 - 06:17 +1
Actual: 22:25 - 05:59 +1
The flight was freezing! Due to covid, no blankets so I just shivered the entire way back to SFO. Same minimalist service. I tried sleeping but it was difficult. The cabin finally warmed up on descent.
And that was it. +/- 10 hours in the air, +/- 10 hours on the ground.
Look, it's been swell, but the swelling's gone down.
