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The Stars Were Out: A sneak peek at the new Terminal C North in Houston

Stars overhead in the new C North of IAH

Scott Kirby, President of United
It was a star-studded night in IAH as special guests were treated a soiree Texas-style in the new C North Terminal. Granted, these were mostly stars hung from the rafters of the spacious new terminal, still being finished out. Oh, there were stars from those closely related to the building of the new United Terminal, as well as from the city, and the airline, such as Scott Kirby, United Airline’s new President.
He touted the pride felt in seeing this new facility, comparing it to another terminal he was familiar with only several hundred miles north, referring to his stint working with American Airlines at DFW. He drew applause when commenting that he hopes to turn IAH into the number one airport in the great state of Texas.
Penguin, Scott, Jason and Clinton
It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Kirby, who asked me to call him Scott, so I asked the same of him. He was warm and personable, taking a moment for a photo and talking about family and travel. I also enjoyed meeting other United employees and corporate representatives from OTG. As the beverages flowed, so did the good spirits of the attendees.
The event was as grand as the space, allowing guests to sample the food. which in a few short months will be enjoyed by the traveling public. Along with an assortment of wines and specialty cocktails, we were treated to panini sandwiches, tacos in the variety of chicken, shrimp and fried avocado, seared tuna, prime rib, hand-tossed pizzas, sushi as well as an assortment of hors d’oeuvres passed out on silver platters. For dessert. therewere cookies and brownies, as well as a huge white cake shaped like the new terminal building, upon which were projected images making the edible building seem to come to life.

Enjoying some treats

As with terminal openings I’ve attended in the past, there were also lots of photographers taking photos of everything from guests, to food, and of the ever so important amenities that will soon be open to the traveling public. Guests were offered photo flip books and professional take home images in front of a banner wall of logos.
Penguin with ice sculpture
 

Terminal-shaped cake

The terminal was grand and makes a wonderful first impression, with it’s large space and central court spread out under a field of waving stars. It was almost as if the space were created for aircraft instead of people, it was so grand in scale. Large windows allow for ample natural light, and when the Texas sun set, the space was warmly illuminated in blue hues, seemingly picked from the color palette of United Airlines, herself, aligning well with Polaris, the airline’s new first class product.

Hues of blue

Grand spaces

Night lighting

Not all of the gates were available for viewing, and as witnessed from looking out of the numerous windows, there is still a lot of construction going on to get the facility ready for opening day, billed as Marchof 2017. This was, after all, a sneak peek, not an opening, but the peek was impressive.
Special guests enjoy the evening
Prominent in the proceedings of the evening was OTG, a restaurateur which operates more than 300 restaurants and retail concepts in tenairports across North America. If you’ve seen the upgraded Newark airport, you know what to expect. The new Terminal C North has modern eating areas with electronic tablets set up for placing food and drink orders and appsto occupy the time of passengers in transit. The chairs were bolted to the floor, so no worries about strangers elbowing you, here. If the food served to guests is any indication, any discriminating palette can be accommodated, but it has the potentialtoleave the wallet a bit starved.

Bar

Guests were presented gift bags, which contained 
The paperweight commemorative sits on my shelves at home
more food samples and a paper weight to commemorate the building. It was red carpet from start to finish and everyone seemed to delight in the spectacle. The $277 million, 265,000-square-foot terminal was built by United in partnership with the Houston Airport System will soon house new United gates, including gates designed for the new 787 and 777-300 aircraft in her fleet. On one of the walls in the bar area, it was appropriatelystated, the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of the Texas!

Texas pride

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Adventures in Flight: Closing a Chapter

 

I walked into the terminal at SFO all smiles and my head held high. Sure I was going to Beijing, and there is a lot to smile about in going to China. However, as I filed down the hallway among other airport employees and flight attendants, I had a feeling much like that of just after I was hired. There was a newness, a feeling that I was standing at the edge of a great adventure, knowing my life among the clouds was about to begin, that my travel lust would certainly be entertained.
Planes of the SFO International Terminal
This was to be my last flight as a San Francisco-based flight attendant; and perhaps it came too soon – I still have business cards not handed out!
For me, it was a momentous day. I parked on level 7 of the employee parking garage, as I always do. It affords such a wonderful view of the airport and of our gates at SFO. I can see the metal birds tearing down the runway and taking to flight. Often, I arrive early just to sit and watch, as I did on this day, taking a photo for posterity. For others, it was just a day, but I appreciated all the things I was going to miss about living in the Bay Area and being based at SFO. I was going to miss this view when parking for work, but I was also excited for the adventures that lie ahead for me in Houston.

The view of SFO from where my car was parked.
When I walked into the briefing room, the purser had arrived early and placed in each of the chairs our briefing sheet a puzzle page from the newspaper and a small bag of M&Ms. I had flown with this purser a year ago, when I last visited Beijing, and she had done the same thing. She must get Christmas cards from M&Ms! What a great way to start my trip.
There were 15 flight attendants working a 747. Normally, I am the most junior, number15, and I don’t have to choose where I’ll be working, I simply take what ever position is left. Today, however, there were 2 junior to me. It’s been years since I’ve worked in the premium cabins, as they always go senior. I know the service well in the back of the plane and I do well interacting with customers and reacting to minor medical issues that arise from time to time. Today, however, I would have a choice of 3 positions from which to choose, and when they got to number 13, the upper deck galley, a business-class position, was still available.
I remember my first flight on a 747. I’d been flying less than a year and got a trip to Narita, Japan. Those days, we were staffed fully and there were 19 flight attendants. Somehow, I was juniored into the upper deck galley position. The crew was great about it, saying they’d work with me. I worked with 2 great people who would help me along, telling me what to do next in the galley as they went into the aisle with queen carts. I did a great job, in the end, garnering quite a few kudos.
When I get to Houston, there will be no more 747s to work. Until things change, which in this business, they always are, this would be the last time working a 747. There’s talk of retiring the fleet. I will miss working this wondrous bird if they go away.
747 taxiing at SFO
When seeing that the upper deck galley was still open, I decided to go for it. What better way to spend my last flight on the 747 before leaving SFO than working upstairs and having this experience bookend my first flight?
Now that there is only 1 aisle flight attendant, there is more work involved than my first experience upstairs. I worked with a girl named Lulu who shared my enthusiasm and positive attitude. We worked quite well together and had a good time. I soon realized that I preferred working in economy. Upper deck is much less social. When Lulu left for her break, I was left all alone for two hours with no one to talk to.
The service went swimmingly and had I been more familiar with that galley, I could have worked much smarter. Fortunately, the purser came up to give us some help. Help? Sure, while greatly appreciated, she would leave my galley a terrible mess where I am normally very organized.
It was good to finally reach the stage of flight where I took my jumpseat for landing. I could have been landing anywhere in the world. The upper deck jumpseat has no window and the passenger windows I had visuals with, all two of them, were closed. I had to sense the plane to determine at what point to assume my landing position which I got, spot-on.
It’s sad to be leaving but I’m anxious for the next chapter of my life, returning to my home town of Houston and enjoying life in new skies. It’s sad that I won’t be working 747s very much, if even at all, but at least I still have the wondrous metal birds to take me to my next adventure. Onward and upward!