Dubai
One last visit to Dubai to see Rick before he (probably) moves on to the next stop in his grand world tour. Had an unexpected start with an omelet bar at the United Club at LAX-- not sure if this is new or just new to me, but it was a lovely surprise to start the trip. The upgrade to domestic first class also helped, with a surprisngly good cobb salad and even better updated in-flight entertainment on the flight to Newark. The new maps are finally competitive with Air Canada, Emirates, and their ilk, with multiple 3D views including simulated windows and cockpit.
Brief layover at EWR for a quick beef barley soup at the still new and shiny United Club near gate C123, then sweated out the upgrade list and scored an upgrade as boarding started. The Polaris hard product remains decent, the soft product on board United still leaves much to be desired. At least the lamb was only moderately overcooked, and the prawns were massive. The crews, including this flight, are often pretty good, but only so much they can do when catering is so meh.