Off to LAX, Zurich and Paris

Today I’m off on a quick 3 day trip to Zurich and Paris.   DFW_CK and I are meeting at LAX to fly Swiss First to Zurich and complete the return half of the Lufthansa/Swiss First ticket we started in Athens two months ago.   Our original plan was to connect to Stockholm but Sweden’s new ban on Americans killed that idea.

Unfortunately, the Centurion Lounge was at capacity and had a 15-20 waiting time.   So I headed back downstairs to an empty Southwest Gate and waited for the “come on over” text.

My favorite part of the Centurion Lounge, the private suite… aka The Phone Room.

This month's lunch offerings looked noticably weaker than previous months... pasta, rice and pasta.  The Chicken Milanese has so little chicken that I thought Amex had gone vegan.

The 2018 Terlato Pinot Grigio was quite nice.

At T-50, I headed for the train and the short ride back to the B Concourse.  

Boarding started at the scheduled T-40.

United's version of the garbage 737MAX cabins.

Today's PDB offerings... the now all too familiar zero, zip, nada.

Once in the air, service improved.  United continues to be the best domestic airline for short haul food as they offer hot meals on all hub-to-hub routes, regardless of length or seemingly even time of day or night.  However, the non-breakfast options have been the same for the past three months... chicken orzo or enchilada.  Probably a little boring for United regulars.  Although I enjoyed the chicken orzo on my last United meal flight, I decided to try the enchilada.  

It was pretty tasty although I only had a few bites, not wanting to stuff myself before what was to come later in the day.

Plus there was no way I could not eat the Pie in the Sky, one of the best chocolate chip cookies... period.

We landed at LAX on time and headed to Gate 71.   More LAX construction, having now spread to Terminal 6.

Pulling into Gate 71A, so excited to see my Private Suite BMW waiting for me.