Senegal
As United Airline's sixth destination in Africa, and the first one in Senegal, honestly had no idea how big a deal this new route was going to be. Cape Town, Johannesburg, Marrakesh, Accra, and Lagos all had their share of fanfare, and Dakar continued the trend. A ton of excitement, including the usual musicians and dancing and flag pins and speeches, including Deputy chief of mission, Dr. Isidor Sene, Senegal Embassy, Henry Bird, managing director IAD for United, Jack Potter, presdeint of Dulles MWAA, and of course, Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President for Global Network and Alliances at United.
Marcel Fuchs, Vice President Atlantic and Pacific Sales for United, was also present, as well as Senior Vice President Airport Operations / Chief Customer Officer David Kinzelman at United were also present for a heavier-than-usual amount of senior leadership from United, along with a few others I'm sure I'm missing.
Tried not to go too crazy on food at the gate, although maybe I should have. The flight iself was barely 7.5 hours and a hair over 4,000 miles (4,006 miles great circle), so it was pretty short. There was plenty of inaugural flight swag on board, including keychains, pajamas, and teddy bears for everyone, and the food was surprisingly decent. Just to add to the fun, plenty of fellow frequent fliers made it out, including Warren in his trademark full costume (!) as well as special gifts for everyone (!). Jay, Bob, Katy, Robert, Will, Alex, and a few others whose names escape me at the moment as well. About the only real problem with such a short flight is that by the time meal service is done, you don't have much time to sleep before the early morning arrival.