The return of our rental car at Budget in the newly built rental center of SeaTec was easy and problem-free. There wasn't much going on that Saturday morning.
At the check-in there were the first problems. United's computers seem to have problems with our two similar first names. After all, they differ by only one letter. :) But we were able to get the tickets and the luggage was checked in, even free of charge.
UnitedClub Seattle
Thanks to Premier Access through my Star Alliance Gold status, I quickly went through the FastTrack to the security scan. After that was done, we walked towards gate A14. On the way we stopped by the UnitedClub. A really nicely designed lounge, unfortunately without a view of the apron. There was a bar where you have to pay for alcoholic beverages (except beer and wine), typical for United. But it was too early for alcohol, even for me, even if it's vacation. So we chose something at the breakfast buffet. Normally, the United Lounges are a "carrot and cracker" paradise, but they even had muffins, bagels and fruit. Super!
Flight UA 696 to San Francisco
After 20 minutes we made our way back to the gate. The boarding for our group 1 was already completed, but we still quickly scurried in front of boarding groups 4 and 5. Our Airbus A320-200 (UA 698) was almost fully booked, so full were the overhead bins.
Still looking for a flight to San Francisco?
Zurich International Airport can be reached from many German cities all year round. You can find cheap flights through online travel agencies such as Flugladen.de, Bravofly, ebookers.de, Expedia, lastminute.de or Skyscanner.
The A320 was equipped with inflight Wi-Fi. We would have had to pay for the internet, but entertainment and flight information were free via the browser. For the majority of the films, however, you need a separate app from United for the iPad. So you should get them beforehand. There is not much to say about the service on the two-hour flight: a round of drinks!
Am grandiosesten des Fluges war zweifellos der Ausblick. Wir hatten bestes Wetter und selbstverständlich Sitze am Fenster auf der “richtigen” Seite (A & B). Ein Höhepunkt war der wolkenlose Blick auf die Golden Gate Bridge und San Francisco Downtown.
When we arrived in San Francisco, we realized that the pilot should be a little over parking at the gate. Unfortunately, after bringing the plane to a stop, he was standing a yard too far back, so the gangway couldn't get close. We were then pulled again by the tugboat. But it's better to be too early than too late.
We then took the Airtrain to the Car Rental Terminal. Unfortunately, our landlord Alamo had the longest queue. But after half an hour of waiting, the paperwork was done and we went into the parking garage. Alamo operates a so-called "Choice Line" in San Francisco. So we could simply choose one of the cars in the full-size range. Unfortunately, the selection was limited, besides a few Toyota Camry's in different colors, a VW Beetle caught my eye. But the trunk of the car is a joke. We wouldn't even have been able to fit a suitcase in there properly. When I had already resigned myself to a Toyota, a white Chrysler 200 came around the corner just at that minute. We rushed over before a Chinese couple could grab the Chrysler. The trunk was nice and big and the car was quite new. It had only driven 4000 km. A great feature, but it took some getting used to, was the built-in Keyless Go.
