noplasticshowers

I flew United through Manchester on my way to Munich. Why? Because an upgrade could be guaranteed at time of ticket purchase. Those lie flat seats are too good to pass up when you travel too much. And the way United treats its frequent fliers these days, it’s best not to bet on an upgrade ever. Honest.

The flight over here was just fine on a reconfigured 757-200 with a decent BusinessFirst section. The only problem was we arrived early leaving even less time for sleep.

That transformed an already problematic four hour layover into an even longer 5 hour layover. I decided to seek a shower.

The good news is there is a Radisson Blu hotel situated between Terminal 2 (where United flies in) and Terminal 1 (where Lufthansa flies out). Popping the security perimeter for a shower is easy enough, especially if you are the second guy off the plane. Customs was a breeze.

The Manchester Airport skywalk.

The showers in the Radisson Blu are located on floor 0 in the gym/pool facility. I was the only person there.

Changing room.

The shower itself was great. Plenty of hot water and tons of room. In fact, the shower facility itself is better than the Senator Lounge shower in Frankfurt. Of course, United has no Arrivals Lounge here, but what do you expect?! It’s United!

Non-plastic shower.

The only problem was getting back into the security perimeter through the awful security line at Terminal 1. The line was very long. No TSApre here! Shoes off, belt off, laptop out, plastic bag of liquids separated. You know the drill (and it sucks).

Security nonsense aside, a shower on arrival in Europe is just what the doctor ordered. And the Serviceair shared lounge in Terminal 1 (the Lufthansa lounge) is just fine for waiting out the rest of the layover, especially since I am clean.

Lufthansa seems to have put me in a middle seat on the way to Munich (I switched to a window since no aisle seats are available). Wow, the star alliance is just awesome. Business class half way.