Morocco
Wrapped up a behind the scenes tour with United at Dulles International Airport (IAD), then hopped straight up to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) for United's inaugural flight from Newark to Marrakesh, Morocco. Of course, had a bit of a delay, so ended up skipping the club and going straight to gate C123 for the pre-flight festivities. Social media influencers/celeberties including laxtoluxury, freakwentflyer, Travel with Romaine, Eric Rubens, and Zach Honig all made it, along with a bunch of fellow United frequent fliers including Jay and Bob, Katy and Robert, Sue and Alice, Warren and his parents, and at least one other whose name escapes me at the moment. A horde of United employees also made it, including one of our favorite international pursers, Amy (and her husband!). So some new faces, some familiar faces-- t'was great to see everyone (again)!
Moroccian snacks including stuffed grape leaves, date cupcakes, and chicken skewers awaited, along with tea and inflused water, plus (if you looked) flag pins, keychains, and a few other bits that ran out long before I got there. Obligatory speeches soon commenced, with I believe one United employee MC'ing the event, then Senior Vice President Patrick Quayle being the main speaker. A deputy mayor and a few other dignataries spoke as well, and then all too soon it was time to line up and board-- holding off, of course, for the VIPs and media to get their photos onboard before the masses arrived.
Due to crazy demand bringing equally crazy pricing, plus the relatively short 7 hour flight time, I opted to stick it out in economy for the trip. Snagged a bulkhead window seat at least so I could get up whenever I wanted, while most of the United frequent flier group was in Premium Plus (premium economy), along a few lucky Global Services-tier passengers who managed to get into the Polaris (business class) cabin; despite United using a "high-J" configuration 767-300ER for the flight, all 46 seats up front filled up long before boarding. Even Senior Manager of Alliances at United, Kevin Velovitch, ended up in Premium Plus and not in Polaris (!), and a gaggle of positive space United employees including a 777 captain ended up in economy (!!!).
Was still a great crowd, a ton of cool people, and even though the economy cabin got noticably less swag than Premium Plus or Polaris, still got a printed flyer, welcome letter, keychain, and postcard-- plus all of the swag that other frequent fliers brought onboard (and shared some to other passengers!). Warren in particular was over the top with his trademark costume, camels for his friends, and a scroll for everyone to sign.