The Cranky Flier » Trip Reports

Trip Report: Good Times on Northwest’s Aging Aircraft

CF — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:33:09 +0000

Considering how much we were talking about aging aircraft last week, it’s fitting that I flew the king of aging aircraft this past weekend . . . Northwest Airlines. Sure, our flight home was on a relatively new 8 year old A319, but our other two flights were on a 22 year old 757 and a pristine, nearly 39 year old DC-9. Did I feel unsafe because they were older? Not at all.

Even more surprising than that, this was a pretty good experience flying Northwest, an airline I hadn’t flown in six years (on purpose). For this trip, we needed to be in Indy on Saturday but we didn’t want to miss any work. That meant we had to take a Friday night redeye. Our original plans to fly Midwest were foiled when they started slashing their flights, so we had to look for other options. In the end, we settled on Northwest and paid $320 each to fly. Why did we choose them? Two reasons:

Their Detroit hub has a great early morning operation that allowed us to get in to Indy 2 hours before anyone else could get us there. (This is a nice competitive advantage for them)

On the way home, we could take the only nonstop around

Let’s get into the details.

August 22, 2008
Northwest #338 Lv Los Angeles (LAX) 1000p Arr Detroit (DTW) 515a
LAX: Gate 27, Runway 24L, Dept OT
DTW: Gate A34, Runway 22L(?), Arr 20m Early
Aircraft: N515US, Boeing 757-251, Silver Compass, 100% Full
Seat: 41A
Flight Time: 3h38m

It was no secret that I wasn’t looking forward to this flight. A sub-4 hour redeye meant that I wouldn’t be getting much sleep at all that night. We arrived at LAX about an hour early and despite an annoyingly slow ID checker who felt the need to comment on everyone’s photos (I apparently look better in person), it only took 10 minutes to get through security.

Terminal 2 was absolutely hopping that night. There was a delayed Virgin Atlantic flight to London, a late night Air France trip to Paris, one of the Air New Zealand runs to Auckland, and a mass of humanity. They started boarding our jam-packed flight with pre-boarding, First Class, and elite members. Then instead of tiered boarding, they just called for “all rows” and a huge pile of people lined up to board. Not sure why Northwest has given up on structured boarding, but this was how they handled every flight on this trip. Needless to say, telling 200 people to board at once is not exactly the best way to keep stress levels low.

I was pissed to find out earlier in the week that our 757-300 had been downgauged to a 757-200. So our previously ideal seat assignments had been replaced with the window and middle in the very last row. Row 41 only exists on the left side on this plane, and we were right up against the galley. My best efforts to get these changed failed, so we just had to put up with it.

We took our seats and surprisingly found a blanket and pillow laid out for everyone. We cozied up in our little corner of the plane and tried to sleep through the flight. Redeyes are one of the few times where I prefer airlines, like Northwest, that offer no inflight entertainment. It keeps the cabin nice and dark, or at least it would have if we weren’t sitting next to the brightly lit galley the whole flight (at left). Oh yeah, and the wingtip lights kept shining in as well, but at least we could close the window shade.

Ok, so maybe this wasn’t the best redeye experience, but we got in nice and early and that gave me a chance to poke around Detroit’s airport. The new terminal in Detroit is really, really nice. It’s easy to get around with a tram riding overhead (at right), and there’s plenty of room to find a quiet place. After leaving a pretty nasty terminal 2 at LAX, this was a very welcome, and as far as connections go, this place has to be at the top of the list. And this was my impression at 5a in a very groggy state. I can’t imagine what it would have been were I actually awake.

August 23, 2008
Northwest #1005 Lv Detroit (DTW) 615a Arr Indianapolis (IND) 727a
DTW: Gate A49, Runway 21R, Dept 4m Early
IND: Gate A3, Runway 23R, Arr 6m Early
Aircraft: N613NW, Douglas DC-9-32, Silver Compass, ~25% Full
Seat: 6A
Flight Time: 42m

We wandered over to our flight and saw that it was not going to be a full one. I peaked out the window to see our trusty bird parked at the gate, waiting for us to wake her up. This particular DC-9 was a series 30 model and was built in late 1969, nearly 39 years ago. I didn’t think I’d have a chance to fly another DC-9 before they all ended up in the boneyard, so this was a fantastic treat.

The pilots (including self-proclaimed Captain Steve) were in a good mood that morning and you could tell they were having fun up front. By the time we took the runway, there were slivers of light coming up over the horizon illuminating the partly cloudy skies. The -9, with a light load, lept off the runway and rocketed us into the morning twilight.

This was a quick trip, so we had a choice of OJ or water and then soon after, it was time to descend. In traditional Indy style, the long taxi from the end of the runway to the terminal seemed to take almost as long as the flight. After we parked, Captain Steve offered to take a picture of me sitting in the old school DC-9 cockpit. You really don’t see cockpits like these anymore. How great that was.

August 24, 2008
Northwest #771 Lv Indianapolis (IND) 645a Arr Los Angeles (LAX) 816a
IND: Gate A4, Runway 23R, Dept 6m Early
LAX: Gate 24A, Runway 24R, Arr 23m Early
Aircraft: N320NB, Airbus A319-114, Silver Compass, ~60% Full
Seat: 8C
Flight Time: 3h51m

We had an enjoyable wedding shower Saturday night (seriously, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had envisioned a shower to be - no stupid games and lots of drinking), and then we headed to an airport hotel for a very short sleep before our far too early flight home. It was worth it to take this early flight because it’s the only nonstop of the day, and it was worth it to stay in an airport hotel to avoid the 45 minute early morning drive from my fiancee’s parents’ place.

We were at the airport an hour before departure and we sailed through security. As we headed to the gate, we saw a lot of people gathering down the hall. What for? Starbucks of course. It hadn’t opened yet, but the growing masses outside started to look desperate. I think this captain was getting ready to organize an invasion. We, however, were not interested in staying awake on the flight, so we just went to the gate and waited.

Once again, they did the whole “mass boarding” thing, but with only about 60% of seats filled, it wasn’t nearly as bad. We took our seats and shortly after, the flight attendant announced that everyone was onboard, so we could move around and get comfortable. My fiancee and I found a row to ourselves (even if it was non-reclining).

I tried to sleep but I couldn’t, so I wandered back to the galley and hung out with the flight attendants for awhile. Since most people were asleep, there wasn’t much for them to do. They seemed surprisingly upbeat about the impending Delta merger. Or maybe they were just indifferent. Either way, they seemed to think it would all be fine for them in the end.

Two of the flight attendants are what they still call “Green Tails” - meaning they used to work for Republic before that airline was swallowed by Northwest 20+ years ago. (The Northwest people are “Red Tails”) Considering those differences still remain today, I wish Delta luck in integrating all these workgroups together.

I finally went back to my seat to find my fiancee completely sprawled out. I wedged my way into the aisle seat and drifted in and out until we landed nice and early in LA. The best news of all? We had the whole day to sleep and recover.

Trip Report: First Ride on the Embraer 190

CF — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:30:17 +0000

I know I’m a little late with this one. When I rode the A380, very few others had seen the inside. The Embraer 190, however, has been in service for awhile now and it, along with its slightly smaller and larger siblings (Embraer 170/175/195), has seen plenty of customers around the US. That being said, it’s still my first time riding it, so I thought I’d comment for those who haven’t had the chance yet.

For JetBlue, the Embraer 190 was an opportunity to serve smaller markets that could only fill 100 seats instead of the 150 on the A320. Other airlines have used the aircraft in this family as a 70 seat regional jet (United, US Airways) and a mainline 100 seat aircraft (eg DC-9) replacement. (Yes, that’s Northwest.) It was supposed to give the feeling and comfort of a big aircraft cabin but still only hold 70 to 110 people. It’s sort of a hybrid between a regional jet and a traditional narrowbody. Did it live up to its billing?

I’d say it did, although the slightly small overhead bin means that larger regular-sized carry-ons need to be gate checked. If that’s the biggest problem I have, you know it’s not bad at all, even if the inconsistency is a bit nagging. Read below for the full trip report which included an A320 on the way up and the Embraer 190 back down.

August 16, 2008
JetBlue #220 Lv Long Beach (LGB) 700a Arr San Jose (SJC) 815a
LGB: Gate 2A, Runway 30, Dept OT
SJC: Gate C4, Runway 30L, Arr 6m Early
Aircraft: N624JB, Airbus A320-232, “Blue-T-Ful”, ~99% Full
Seat: 7A
Flight Time: 54m

I’ll keep this part brief because there wasn’t much to say. The security line in Long Beach took a whopping 15 minutes. I was surprised until I realized that the bottleneck was the incredibly slow ID checker and the lines to get through the security checkpoints themselves were non-existent. How frustrating.

But it didn’t matter. We made it with plenty of time and leisurely boarded our early morning trip up north for a friend’s wedding. I passed the short flight time by watching Olympic basketball, and before I knew it we were on the ground. I haven’t been to San Jose in a long time, but they are really doing a number on this airport. Terminal B is finally being built, and the old Terminal C, where JetBlue flies, is on its last legs. I’ll still take it over the overcrowded and inadequately-sized Terminal A any day.

After a great wedding, we had hoped to fly back around midday. Unfortunately, JetBlue’s schedule leaves a huge hole in the middle of the day, so we had to wait until an afternoon flight. Fortunately, we had no trouble filling our time by wandering around my old Stanford stomping grounds. I still miss that campus. (And if you’re ever up there, make sure you stop in for a sandwich at JJ&F.)

August 17, 2008
JetBlue #225 Lv San Jose (SJC) 340p Arr Long Beach (LGB) 454p
SJC: Gate C4, Runway 30R, Dept 23m Late
LGB: Gate 4, Runway 30, Arr 25m Late
Aircraft: N193JB, Embraer 190-100 IGW, “Peek-A-Blue”, ~99% Full
Seat: 3A
Flight Time: 59m

We made it back to San Jose with plenty of time, so we grabbed a seat and relaxed. The screen said that our flight was boarding, but the inbound hadn’t even arrived yet. The agents did come on the PA and say that we would be only 10 to 15 minutes late. The plane finally arrived just before our departure time and boarding began.

The agent made an announcement that this was one of JetBlue’s “express” aircraft. (I don’t think they call it that, and if anyone over there is reading this, they might not be too happy.) But the point was that the overhead bins were smaller and wouldn’t fit the bags that you can fit on a regular-sized aircraft. I just had a backpack and a garment bag, but my fiancee had a roller that she thought she’d try to fit.

Upon boarding, my fiancee turned to me and pointed out what looked like duct tape holding the engine onto the wing. I know it’s speed tape, and I’m sure that it’s not actually holding it on the wing, but it still caused some concern among other passengers. I tried to get a picture of it inflight, but it didn’t really come out very well (at right).

Once onboard, the roller bag did fit, but it only fit sideways and her bag was relatively thin so it barely made it. Unfortunately for my garment bag, the bins were short enough to prevent me from fitting the bag on top of other bags. That wasn’t good.

But other than that, the product was similar to what you’d find on any other JetBlue airplane. It was nice only having 2×2 seating so there was no middle seat, but it definitely gives a more claustrophobic feel to the cabin. It was at least a taller cabin than a regional jet, and the cabin height was plenty for most people.

The only other thing that stood out for me was the window size and spacing. The windows were nice and big, but they were relatively far apart. It left for plenty of wall space and imperfectly placed windows, as you can see at right.

I had plenty of time to pay attention to these things since the television system, though working on the ground, shut off before departure and didn’t start up again until we were at cruise altitude. They were clearly having trouble with the system on that flight, but it did finally stabilize. We came down to the west of LA and had a spectacular view all the way down. Then we flipped around over Catalina and came in for a nice landing to the northwest.

Flying the Emirates A380 in Business and First (Part Two)

CF — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:29:54 +0000

Now let’s see, where did I leave off after yesterday’s post? Ah yes, we were leaving coach behind and heading up to business class. (As a reminder, you can see all the pictures and videos here.)

At the top of the rear stairs, we entered the rear galley area and then saw the lav (bathroom). This thing is decked out with wood trim throughout and a nice big window. It’s too bad they couldn’t have the toilet face the other way so you could actually stare out into the blue while you do your business.

If you can’t see the galley and the lav, click here

After the lav, you enter the super cool guy lounge. If this were on the ground, I’d probably be denied at the door since my name clearly wouldn’t be on the list. Ok, maybe it’s not that cool, but this is probably the best that’s been on a commercial jet since the 747 upper deck lounge days many years ago. There’s a fully stocked bar in the middle along with couches and a big screen lining the walls.

If you can’t see the lounge and the cabin, click here

Keep moving and you walk into the business class cabin. This has a 1-2-1 configuration, and it seems like these seats take up a huge amount of space. It’s interesting how they’re set up. On the sides, one row’s seat will be right on the window while the one behind it will have the seat more on the inside. You’ll have to take a look at this video with my friend, Paul Tomasiello from Expedia, explaining the pros and cons of the cabin layout to get a better idea.

If you can’t see Paul talking about the business class layout, click here

Ok, enough about business class. Let’s head to the big show . . . First Class and the suites. There’s no doubt these are really nice from the moment you walk in. How do they stack up to the Qantas and Singapore suites? Good question, and I’m not sure I can answer it. I didn’t have enough time to play with them all, and they’re all really nice so it’s tough to pick a winner without actually taking a flight in each. That probably won’t happen anytime soon, so let’s just leave it by saying that I’d gladly fly in any of them. I do have to give Emirates a pat on the back for the personal minibar. That’s completely excessive but kind of fun. No matter what, you’ll have plenty of privacy and a lot of luxury. Take a look at the video for a tour of the cabin.

If you can’t see the First Class cabin, click here

The one thing that Emirates First Class passengers have that nobody else will is the onboard spa. There was a question about this when I talked about it last week, and I’ve confirmed that the water does stay stored in a tank after it’s used. It’s not expelled during flight, so they carry all that extra weight around. It’s clearly not an environmentally friendly option in any way, but it is definitely an impressive differentiator.

The two spas are located way up front on the upper deck on either side of the front stairway. These areas couldn’t be used for seating because of the stairs, so it’s a smart use of otherwise wasted space. The shower water didn’t turn on when we were there, but we were assured that you get full, “five-star hotel” quality water pressure. The attention to detail is unreal. They even have heated floors. Take a tour for yourself.

If you can’t see the onboard spa, click here

And that was about it. As you might have heard in the video, we were the last tour and we had to return to our seats for landing. I won’t bother embedding these last two videos, but you can see us turning toward the west with my home in Long Beach in the distance and then finally landing if you’re interested.

And that was it. After we got off the plane, I dropped Paul off at the airport for him to fly on a seemingly tiny 737 back to his home up north, and I headed on my way back to work. Emirates has really put together a great product here. If I get the chance to fly it one day, it will probably be in the back of the bus, but I wouldn’t mind. Even in the back, it’s a very nice experience.

Flying the Emirates A380 in Coach (Part One)

CF — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Sorry it took me an extra day to put this together, but it was no easy feat. The A380 is one big plane, and I have plenty to talk about. Because of that, I’ve decided to split this post in half. Today, I’ll cover life on the lower deck, in the economy cabin. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to the fancy pants world of business and first class on the upper deck. I’m also doing things differently this time in that I’m focusing on videos instead of photos. If you want to see all the photos and videos, go here.

You might remember when I flew on the A380 demo flight out of LAX late last year. At the time, I talked about the airplane itself, but the interior didn’t matter because it was just the Airbus house interior. This time, it was outfitted with the full Emirates product, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on here . . . mostly.

But first, let me say this. My seat this time was right on top of the unbelievably massive wing, fairly close to the engines. The noise from those engines was significantly less than I remembered sitting behind the wing last time. It was virtually silent from where I sat, and that was impressive in itself considering its size. This plane feels like a tank, in a good way.

But getting on the plane would have to wait. It all started out slowly when our aircraft was delayed. As we waited for the plane to arrive outside the fantastic Flight Path Learning Center at LAX, we were all of a sudden taken aback by an American 757 landing against the traffic pattern (to the east). Needless to say, it was the emergency landing that the news covered thoroughly. That actually delayed the A380’s arrival by another 15 minutes since they had to briefly close the south runways.

Once the plane arrived, there was the usual press conference, handshaking, blah blah blah. You guys don’t care about that (and neither did I, really). Let’s get to the plane itself. I was seated in coach while my friend and still photographer (at least for this event) Paul Tomasiello from Expedia was seated in business class. (Not sure how he pulled that one off.) So they had everyone in coach board using the rear stairs and everyone in business board using the front stairs. Nobody was seated in first, as far as I know.

If you can’t see me boarding the aircraft, click here

Once onboard, the first things that caught my eye were the gigantic seatback televisions. They are truly massive for a coach seat. Emirates has set this up so that the entire bottom deck is a sea of coach, so seeing all the screens flicker in unison was an interesting sight. I walked for a few miles before finally reaching my seat over the wing. (They need water stations every mile or two on that thing.) The aircraft is set up in a 3-4-3 configuration, and I had the middle seat on the left side. Shortly after sitting down, the guy in the window somehow self-upgraded himself and I never saw him again. So, we had a nice empty middle seat.

If you can’t see me walking to my seat, click here

The economy seat itself proved to be comfortable. There is a good amount of legroom on board, to the point where my knees didn’t get very close to the seatback. I was surprised to see that the seatbacks were stuffed full of inflight magazines and catalogs, so clearly they haven’t gone paperless just yet. Once they do, there will be even more room.

If you can’t see me exploring the seat and IFE, click here

The seats have a nice recline. It’s the style of recline that brings the front of your seat forward so you don’t disturb the person behind you as much. That can be a pain when there isn’t much legroom, but in this case it worked out well.

Let’s talk about connectivity. This thing is seriously connected. There’s a universal power outlet in each armrest and a USB port in the back of each seat. There’s also a place to hang a coat on your seat as well as a cupholder that spins loosely to keep your cup level regardless of the pitch of the airplane.

Then there’s that big pretty screen. You can do all kinds of great stuff with this system. There are something like 1,000 movies, tv shows, games, music, etc. They also have the ability to share screens - which I believe means that you and your seatmate can watch the same thing at the same time on your own screens.

There’s a great map (which may be the same one that Air New Zealand uses?) and it even shows you the registration number of your airplane. That gets the official seal of airline dork approval. There are also three different camera views. One is taken from the nose pointing forward, one is taken from the tail pointing forward, and another looks straight down. I saw this on a South African A340 once before, but that didn’t prevent me from being entertained by it for a long time.

After making myself comfortable, it was time to get airborne. Check out this massive wing. Believe it or not, that’s a wingtip in the distance.

If you can’t see our takeoff roll, click here

August 5, 2008
Emirates #7224 Lv Los Angeles (LAX) 1204p Arr Los Angeles (LAX) 133p
LAX: Imperial Terminal, Runway 25L
Aircraft: A6-EDA, Airbus A380-800, ~250/489 passengers
Seat: 61B
Flight Time: 1h29m

Shortly after takeoff, the seatbelt sign came off, but I waited for the crowd rush to die down before taking my own tour of the plane. While we waited, they brought by some very tasty appetizers (mmmm, foie gras) followed by ample, flowing Dom Perignon.

I waited for Paul to come downstairs to visit us peons before we heading backwards on the guided tour. We stopped by the crew rest facility taking up the middle of the last few rows of the plane, passed the row with oxygen masks hanging down, and finally reached row 88, the last row in coach. After that, we took a trip up the winding rear staircase (felt like a cruise ship back there), and finally made it up to the rarefied air of the upper deck.

As I mentioned, this post is getting long, so come back tomorrow and I’ll have all the details on the upper deck. If you can’t wait, you can see all my pictures from the trip here.

Trip Report: Back to the Bay

CF — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:40:53 +0000

This weekend, we had a quick trip up north to do some more wedding planning. We took JetBlue up since Long Beach is always our first choice. But we saved over $100 flying back on Southwest, and they had a better schedule for us anyway. Since a friend offered to pick us up at LAX, it was a done deal. Flights were good both ways.

July 26, 2008
JetBlue #242 Lv Long Beach (LGB) 8a Arr Oakland (OAK) 917a
LGB: Gate 2A, Runway 30, Dept 3m Early
OAK: Gate 9, Runway 29, Arr 2m Early
Aircraft: N566JB, Airbus A320-232, “Blue Suede Shoes”, ~90% Full
Seat: 18F
Flight Time: 52m

We left home at 7a for our 8a flight. Security lines were short, and we had plenty of time to spare. They boarded the front rows of the plane first, strangely. Apparently they hadn’t pulled up the stairs to the back of the plane yet, so they just made us wait. When they did get that ready, we went toward the back and I snapped this great shot of the tail. I love boarding via airstairs.

Not much else to say about this flight. It was good and the flight attendants were friendly. The only thing of note (at least in my warped mind), was the snack selection. Apparently Frito Lay has given up innovating completely and has now decided, “Hey, why don’t we just throw all of our chips into one bag and sell it as something new and cool?” Behold, the Munchies. They also threw in some of those fancy 70% organic cookies. I still think that’s funny.

We landed and grabbed our Budget rent a car (with the awesome 9,999 bonus Delta miles). It was a nice weekend, and we got everything done that we needed to do. The only downside was that it was race weekend in Sonoma, so we ended up paying $150 for a Quality Inn that should have been half that price.

July 27, 2008
Southwest #1655 Lv Oakland (OAK) 2p Arr Los Angeles (LAX) 320p
OAK: Gate 28, Runway 29, Dept 5m Late
LAX: Gate 5, Runway 24R, Arr 5m Early
Aircraft: N455WN, Boeing 737-7H4, Canyon Blue, ~99% Full
Seat: 12E
Flight Time: 54m

We did our work in Napa yesterday morning and then we raced to the airport, hoping we’d make our 2p flight home. We dropped the car off and took the 30 hour shuttle ride back to the terminal. Man, that thing is far. It took 10 minutes to print our boarding pass and get through security, and then we went to the brand new concourse that Oakland probably is now regretting they built (traffic . . . dropping).

One complaint for the folks at OAK. There are some prime airplane watching areas when you’re walking down toward the new concourse (picture above), but they covered it up with art. Give me windows! When you get into the new area, it looks a lot like a nice version of LAX Terminal 8. There are stores on one side and gates on the other. They couldn’t have built gates on both sides, because that’s basically at the perimeter of the airport and planes don’t enjoy parking in the bay.

Southwest has rolled out some parts of its new gate area design here and it’s pretty nice. They had normal gate area seating, but there were a couple rows at each gate with these comfy chairs. The best part? You can see the USB ports and power outlets in there. Nice.

Anyway, boarding worked as well as it should these days. Nobody lined up until the gate agent called for it. And then, plenty of people tried to cheat the system. The gate agent stopped them all and said it happens all the time. Glad to see they’re enforcing it.

For some reason, Southwest couldn’t get their stuff together here and we pushed back 5 minutes late for no good reason. At this point, the captain apparently decided it was time to make up for lost time. I can’t think of a shorter taxi that I’ve had at an airport before. We headed right out to the runway and entered it part of the way in (taxiway U for those who care). I don’t think he used the brakes at all when we taxied and soon enough, we were airborne and through the low cloud layer.

It seemed like we were ascending pretty quickly and my ears were feeling it. It wasn’t long before we settled at the extremely high altitude (for such a short flight) of 41,000 ft. They threw a few peanuts and drinks at us and then it was time to land. We were at the gate 5 minutes early and on our way home in no time.

Trip Report: Jetting on JetBlue

CF — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:45:53 +0000

As my wedding quickly approaches, the trips up north to do wedding stuff seem to get more frequent. This time, we crammed a million different things into two days, and really, I’m exhausted. But, I have to commend JetBlue for an almost flawless performance. The flights were on time, the legroom was great, the flight attendants were excellent, and we had an welcome surprise on the return. For $139 roundtrip per person, I have no complaints. (And I wouldn’t have had any complaints at a higher fare either.) If this is why they say they no longer “fly” but rather “jet,” then I guess I much prefer “jetting.”

June 7, 2008
JetBlue #246 Lv Long Beach (LGB) 11a Arr Oakland (OAK) 1218p
LGB: Gate 3, Runway 30, Dept ~On Time
OAK: Gate 9, Runway 29, Arr ~On Time
Aircraft: N520JB, Airbus A320-232, “Blue Velvet”, ~90% Full
Seat: 13A
Flight Time: 55m

How often can you leave your house 1 hour before departure time and still have 10 minutes to sit at the gate and wait? That’s the beauty of Long Beach Airport for us. We left one hour prior to departure with our boarding passes already in hand. Security took 10 minutes (longest I’ve ever seen at LGB), and we were at the gate with plenty of time to spare. The terminal was a madhouse. I really can’t wait for them to build the new one.

We boarded early and took our seats just behind the exit row. Unfortunately, only 10 of the 37 channels actually worked on the TV on this flight, but hey, 10 channels is still plenty to keep me entertained for an hour. That being said, the map is NOT one of those channels. Even with the upgrade to the new Google Map, it’s really pretty weak. You don’t get much info, there’s a ton of advertising on the channel, and the airplane is so big that it takes up half the state. See the picture at right to see the most useless map - the one that was zoomed way out. Fortunately, some were better than this but they still were lacking.

Our flight was a perfect example of how crowded LA airspace is. They held us at the end of the runway for a couple minutes so they could space us properly with LAX flights. Then we departed and headed slightly northwest, holding at 9,000 ft in what felt like slow motion until we turned north over Malibu. Once around Simi Valley, we finally throttled up and climbed on our way to Oakland.

The flight attendants came through with a choice of blue chips or chocolate chip cookies (which were proudly 70% organic - huh?). Then, it was time to descend. We touched down, made it to the gate, and got off the plane in less time than it took to take the bus to the new rental car center, which I believe is located in Berkeley. (Translation: It’s friggin’ far away.)

June 9, 2008
JetBlue #251 Lv Oakland (OAK) 320p Arr Long Beach (LGB) 443p
OAK: Gate 9A, Runway 29, Dept ~On Time
LGB: Gate 4A, Runway 30, Arr ~On Time
Aircraft: N646JB, Airbus A320-232, “Bravo Lima Uniform Echo”, ~99% Full
Seat: 20F
Flight Time: 1h5m

After a morning up in the Napa area, we headed back down to Oakland for our flight home. We dropped our car off at the rental car center and went to the terminal. (Note: Fox Rent a Car tells us that a PT Cruiser is anywhere from an Economy to a Mid Size, so don’t bother renting a Mid Size from these guys - you’ll pay more for the same car.)

The terminal was empty, and we walked all the way down to the JetBlue counters to print out our boarding passes from the kiosks. Then we walked all the way back to the entrance for security screening. (This is why I love common-use kiosks - they’re much more conveniently located.) Security was empty, and I sailed through. My fiancee, however, got stopped for some reason. They looked through her bag, found nothing, and she was on her way. Then we just waited in the terminal which seems to have every single eatery and shop under renovation right now.

I’m not sure why, but our flight didn’t board until 15 minutes before departure. It had been sitting there for awhile, so that wasn’t the reason. The nearly full flight (the seat next to us was the only empty seat I saw) boarded very quickly, and the flight attendants thanked us for helping them get back on schedule. We pushed just about on time, maybe a couple minutes late.

It was a beautifully clear weekend in the Bay Area, and we shot up into the sky for one of my favorite departure views. Just a few seconds after getting airborne, the pilot came on and said while he usually didn’t speak this early in the flight, we had received a gift. The controllers had granted our request for an aerial tour of the Bay Area before we headed on our way. I had done this once on an America West flight out of SFO but never out of Oakland.

So, he leveled off at 3,000 ft and stayed around 220 kts (according to FlightAware) as we looped around the City. Unfortunately, I was on the right side so my views were primarily of the East Bay, Angel Island, and Marin. Up above you can see the view of the new Bay Bridge under construction. And below you can see Treasure Island. The old Pan Am flying boats used to come and go in the area at the bottom of the picture.

Once our tour was through, we were on our way. I watched tv and enjoyed watching the vast Pacific out the window as we headed south. After the drinks had been served, a flight attendant came on and asked that everyone who had a soda can take the pull tab off and hand it to her. She personally collects the pull tabs to donate to her local Ronald McDonald House, and they apparently get a penny for each one they turn in. That was a really nice gesture, and apparently she does this all on her own. Another flight attendant said JetBlue had given her an award for it.

We soon started descending. On my side, I could see glimpses of the Channel Islands and Catalina through the holes in the thin marine layer. We swung around and landed in LGB right on time, but only after touching down closer to the middle of the runway than the beginning. Glad they built that thing for long haul Douglas jets - there was plenty of room. Since we were in the back, we got off on the rear stairs and walked on the tarmac into the terminal and then straight to the curb.

It was a great trip, highlighted by the ease of flying out of LGB. As much as I like trying other airlines when I can, it’s hard to justify doing that when JetBlue can fly me up to the Bay Area out of LGB. I’ll be back again soon.

Trip Report: Inca-redible Peru

CF — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:38:48 +0000

As promised, I spent the weekend putting together my photos and this trip report from our excellent Peru trip. If you’d like to see photos, I’ve posted them here. My fiancee is involved with Adventures by Disney, so they invited us to join them on a dress rehearsal of one of the guided trips. Needless to say, we jumped at the chance and we were lucky enough to get the Peru trip, our first choice. (And please go easy on me for the title of this post. That piece of cheesiness was the Disney theme for one of the days of the trip.)

I asked you guys to recommend how you would go about getting there, and the LAN nonstop won out. I’m certainly glad we went that way because it was really convenient. Service was ok at best, but we were on-time and it was easy. Disney put us on Star Peru for the flight from Lima to Cusco, and that was an interesting experience. Let’s get into the details.

April 27, 2008
LAN (Peru) #605 Lv Los Angeles (LAX) 150p Arr Lima (LIM) 1225a
LAX: Gate 108, Runway 24L, Dept ~On Time
LIM: Gate 14, Runway 15, Arr ~:15m Early
Aircraft: CC-CEB, Boeing 767-316ER, White Star, ~75% Full
Seat: 20A
Flight Time: 7h50m

It was a hot day in LA, but instead of going to the beach, we spent the morning packing. We arrived at LAX at noon for a 150p flight, and there was no line at the LAN counter at the Bradley terminal, despite the fact that there were two flights leaving within a half hour of each other. I haven’t flown out of the Bradley terminal in a few years, but I still get that same excitement I used to get as a kid. Flying out of Bradley always meant we were going somewhere exciting.

An agent took our names and entered them into her portable device when we entered the line, because, we were told, the airline wanted to make sure everyone was in the right place and they wanted to see how long it took to get to the front. It took us just a couple minutes, and we found an agent who was able to help us with everything we needed. Well, ok, we couldn’t get an upgrade to business, but the agent confirmed the flight wasn’t very full, and she gave us an exit row.

After wandering the shops for a few minutes, something that was to be a theme of this trip, we headed toward security. The line minders from the TSA were barking orders at people despite that fact that it was painfully obvious most people didn’t speak English very well if at all. At one point, a TSO yelled at an Asian couple for not keeping their boarding passes with them through security, and they had no idea what he was saying. He angrily held up the line until he could get a supervisor. It’s this kind of offensive behavior that gives tourists a bad impression of the US.

We got to the gate an hour before departure to find boarding beginning. We had to get on a bus for a remote gate at the west end of the airport, so they really started early. Upon finding our seats, we noticed the plane had been outfitted with the new AVOD system, and that made our day. We pushed back on time and slowly made the long trek to the runway for departure.

Once airborne, the captain said we’d have a nice ride, so he turned off the seatbelt sign. With the exception of a 15 minute period, it stayed that way most of the flight. The flight attendants came around and served drinks as well as lunch. I had the chicken and potatoes and the chicken wasn’t bad but the potatoes were dry and not good at all. (That’s saying something, because I LOVE potatoes.) Once finished, I sat back and started watching movies. The system was a good one, but I actually couldn’t find too many movies that interested me. So I watched TV, played games, etc. I think my favorite feature of the system was that you could pull up the map in the corner showing where you were while you were in any movie or TV show.

After lunch, we didn’t see the flight attendants again until a couple hours before arrival when they served a midnight snack. Around that time, we were tracking along the dark coast of South America and we began our descent an hour later. There were no lights around until we were fairly close to the ground. We landed after midnight and had the unpleasant task of waiting in a 45 minute immigration line before grabbing our bags and heading into town.

April 30, 2008
Star Peru #1117 Lv Lima (LIM) 930a Arr Cusco (CUZ) 1035a
LIM: Gate 5, Runway 15, Dept ~On Time
CUZ: Gate 3, Runway 28, Arr ~On Time
Aircraft: OB-1823, Boeing 737-2T2, Peruvian People, ~95% Full
Seat: 3A
Flight Time: ~1h

After a couple days in Lima, it was time to join the tour group. I had thought we were taking LAN over to Cusco, but when the coach pulled up at the airport, I was surprised to be handed a Star Peru boarding pass. Who?! I had never heard of them, so I started asking around.

Apparently, we were put on Star Peru because they make things much easier for tour groups. Disney was able to just give all our luggage to them, and they loaded it on the plane. Then they gave our group leaders a boarding pass for everyone and we didn’t have to wait in line once.

The Lima airport is very small and very easy to navigate. We went through domestic security and passed to a small holding room from where many domestic flights leave. That’s when I got my first glimpse of our nicely painted 737-200. According to Airfleets.net, this aircraft was delivered to Western Airlines at the end of 1982. Delta had the plane until 1995 when it was sent to Lithuanian Airlines. Star Peru picked it up in early 2006. Notice that Varig never had this plane. That’ll mean something in a second . . . .

We left the crowded waiting area to board our plane via air stairs. That’s always something that I love. Though the plane looked clean on the outside, it was a little scratched up on the inside. The interior didn’t look very old, but the old 737 moniker on the window shade didn’t exactly look new. Now that I know the airplane never flew with Varig, it seems very strange that each belt buckle had the Varig logo on it. They must have picked them up at a fire sale when that airline went down.

We took off to the South and turned toward the East for our flight to Cusco. The Andes start very close to the coast in Peru, so we were soon skimming the tops of tremendous mountains with an incredible view as far as the eye could see. The crew came through with drinks and a sandwich for everyone, and then soon enough it was time to descend.

Flying into Cusco is a bit tricky. The airport lies in a valley 11,000 feet above sea level. The mountains on the West are too high for a straight in approach, so you fly over the airport and do a quick descent as you spiral around from the East. Then you land on the runway right as you straighten out. This is all done by hand flying as there are no instrument systems. All flights land to the west and depart back toward the east. Flights also mostly operate in the morning because of the hot, high, and windy conditions. LAN now has an afternoon flight, but that’s a relatively new addition. During the rainy season, low clouds mean flights get scrubbed until it clears up. Fortunately we didn’t have any of those issues when we landed, and soon we were on our way.

Our time in Peru was fantastic. The scenery is something you must see in person, and the people were all extremely friendly. As I mentioned, if you’d like to see pictures from our trip, click here.

May 6, 2008
Star Peru #1118 Lv Cusco (CUZ) 1105a Arr Lima (LIM) 1210p
CUZ: Gate 3, Runway 10, Dept ~:30m Late
LIM: Gate 13, Runway 15, Arr ~:30m Late
Aircraft: OB-1823, Boeing 737-2T2, Peruvian People, ~67% Full
Seat: 4B
Flight Time: ~1h

Soon enough, it was time to head back home. We had a morning flight on May 6 to go back to Lima and then we had a redeye back to LAX. We were originally told our departure time was at 1055a, but when we received our boarding passes when we arrived at the airport around 10a, they said 1105a. Once again, we never saw our luggage, so we went straight through security. The Cusco airport is small but modern and functional with just a little holdroom for a handful of gates and a couple shops.

Our flight wasn’t even on the board yet when we got to the gate, and that made me a little nervous. There also were no Star Peru personnel around. LAN and Aerocondor flights came and went, but we were creeping closer to our departure time with no info. Finally, our flight popped up on the board saying 1135a. I’m assuming that was delayed from the original time and not just a new schedule about which we didn’t know.

The plane landed, and they turned it around pretty quickly. We had the same plane that we had on the way out, so I’m assuming they just run this one back and forth a couple times every morning.

It was getting toward noon, and it was heating up outside. We had a relatively light load for a short flight, so I figured there wouldn’t be any problems, but it was still going to take a while to get airborne. Sure enough, our takeoff roll lasted for a loooong time. It seemed like we used all 11,000 ft of that runway, and once we were airborne, we were slow to climb.

What made things worse was the pressurization system that had everyone’s ears popping a little. My fiancee had a head cold, and it didn’t take long for her head to start feeling like it had been stabbed with an ice pick (her words, not mine). Once at cruise, she was fortunately able to get it cleared out in time for the flight attendants to do their food and drink service.

I have a friend who collects safety cards, so I asked one of the flight attendants if I could take one. That’s not an easy thing to do since most rows had one card if that (on the way out we had none). But the flight attendant offered to get me a new one. When she returned, she had two, but asked if I would fill out a comment card about the service the crew had provided. She even gave me the names of the entire crew. Pretty smart, if you ask me. To be honest, the service was quite good, so I had no qualms about filling it out.

Shortly after, we were over the foothills of the Andes and we started our fighter pilot descent into Lima. You could tell this guy was having fun, because he was coming down at a pretty good clip. We also came in fast, and he ended up dropping the gear about 15 minutes before landing so he could slow us down rapidly. It was actually pretty fun.

Once on the ground, we taxied back to the gate and went into town for our afternoon farewell lunch. We had a hotel that night, but we only used it for a few hours until we had to return to the airport for our flight home.

May 7, 2008
LAN (Chile) #600 Lv Lima (LIM) 105a Arr Los Angeles (LAX) 740a
LIM: Gate 15, Runway 33, Dept ~On Time
LAX: Gate 105, Runway 25L, Arr ~:10m Early
Aircraft: CC-CQA, Airbus A340-313X, White Star, ~75% Full
Seat: 12A
Flight Time: 8h20m

Disney arranged for everyone to be picked up three hours prior to the departure of their flights. Ours left at 1240a, so we left at around 930p for the long and slow drive to the airport. We arrived at about 1015p and went to check in.

It took about 20 minutes in line before we reached the front. There are separate lines for the US flights because those require talking to an agent. All the other LAN flights can use the kiosks to check-in.

The agent gave us our boarding passes and I noticed that it was for a flight departing at 105a. Huh? That was the other flight; the LAN Chile flight (instead of LAN Peru). Well, the agent said that the second flight wasn’t operating that day. I think this was canceled long ago, but we didn’t quite get the message until I looked at the boarding pass.

The bad news? The flight left 25 minutes later than we expected, so that meant we had longer to wait. The good news? We would be on an A340-300 instead of a 767. I had only been on one A340 in my life before, and that was an A340-600 on South African from Cape Town to Jo’burg. So, this was not only my first A340-300, but it was also my first Airbus long haul trip. Cool. On top of that, the agent gave us the very first row of coach on the left side. The middle was occupied by another family on our trip, and the right was blocked off for crew rest, so it was a nice set up for us.

We waited in the restaurant and said bye to people on other flights until it was time for us to board. Once onboard, I noticed out the window that the runways were turned around and we would be able to depart to the north sending us directly home.

We took off and climbed at what seemed to be a very slow rate. It was slow enough that someone else asked me if it seemed we had been climbing very slowly. I pulled out the AVOD system (which isn’t as good as the new one on the 767, but it was adequate), and noticed that yes, we were taking our own sweet time getting up to altitude. Apparently it wasn’t an issue, because we continued on our merry way.

The flight attendants came by and dropped off some drinks before disappearing into the back for the next several hours. I was able to get about 4 to 5 hours of fitful sleep before waking up with the dawn as we passed over Mexico. The flight attendants came by with breakfast, but I wasn’t hungry at that point, so I passed.

As we passed over Mexicali, you could see the marine layer was pretty thick. We followed up the coast until we got near LA, made a few turns, plunged down into the clouds and landed. Fortunately, we were the only plane landing at Bradley at that time, so even after they made everyone wait on board for them to get a sick passenger off, we still made it through customs and immigration in less than 30 minutes.

I know I’ve already said it, but this was a spectacular trip. If you ever get the chance to go down to Peru, do not hesitate.

Trip Report: Flying Virgin America

CF — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:19:41 +0000

Back in early March, I decided it was time to fly Virgin America. Now you know that I’ve been critical of the airline, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to give them a try. So when I saw that fares up to San Francisco were running less than the price of a barrel of oil ($109 roundtrip each) for a planned trip up north, my fiancee and I decided to give them a shot. So what did I think? It was good. Regardless of whether I think there’s a place for them in the world or not, there’s no denying that it was a nice experience for the most part, but not entirely.

Unfortunately, the whole thing started off very poorly. On Thursday evening, I received this email:

Due to delays in the modification of our new planes, the inflight entertainment and select other in-seat services will not be available on your upcoming Virgin America flight. This includes the Red Inflight Entertainment system, which normally features satellite TV, movies, games, Google Maps and a food ordering system. In addition, the plugs at every seat for electronic gear will not be operational for the flight. Why are we sending you this message? We want you to be prepared to have your laptop or iPod fully charged, and ensure you have the latest magazines or newspapers to read while onboard your flight. We’ll do our best to provide some reading material onboard in case you forget.

Are you friggin’ kidding me?!? Not only are you telling me that it won’t be available, but you’re trying to show off exactly what I’ll be missing by describing it in detail. So not cool.

Even worse, the email didn’t say which flight was affected. It just referred to our confirmation number, and that’s annoying. Of course, I don’t care about all these bells and whistles on a one hour flight, but the point was to check out what they offered. If I didn’t get it on either flight, I was going to be really pissed.

April 19, 2008
Virgin America #848 Lv Los Angeles (LAX) 840a Arr San Francisco (SFO) 1000a
LAX: Gate 67B, Runway 24L, Dept :12L
SFO: Gate A1B, Runway 28R, Arr :31L
Aircraft: N628VA, Airbus A320-214, White/Red, ~67% Full
Seat: 11A
Flight Time: 1h15m

The drive to the airport was aggravating. No, there wasn’t any traffic on the 405. There were just three separate Virgin America billboards taunting me with the messages like “Everybody needs an outlet.” That is, unless you’re flying one of their dark planes that hasn’t been outfitted yet, I suppose. These guys spend so much on branding, you’d think that they’d at least try to deliver consistently.

Anyway, parking was easy, and the TSA only gave us a small hassle for having our boarding passes on the same sheet of paper. (Kudos to VX for not wasting a ton of paper printing a little boarding pass.) Soon enough we were at our gate.

The gate areas look really nice, and there was a smiling gate agent waiting to greet us. I asked if the flight was full. She looked and excitedly said, “wow, it’s really full today - booked 113 out of 149.” Um, that’s not really full for any other airline but this one.

They called for boarding, and maybe 20 people fell into the first four groups. Then they called our group and most other people got up. Strange. We made our way down the jet bridge and were greeted by the warm purplish glow of a strip club new airplane with mood lighting.

We grabbed our seats right behind the exit rows and found that this flight did, in fact, have everything working as it should. The seats are a nice looking black leather with a hard shell back in white. The white is not a good idea, because though this airplane wasn’t that old, there was a fair number of visible dirt and scratches on each seat back.

Each seat has a little cup holder that comes down from the back of the seat. I love that feature, but this one was flimsy, and one of the ones in our row was already broken off (as you can see in the picture).

After a short catering delay (catering? really?), we taxied around LAX (had to go all the way from Terminal 6 to the north runways), and then we headed up into the marine layer for a nice flight to SFO. The inflight entertainment system seems like it will be pretty nice when it’s built out, but there are a lot of options that are unavailable for now. My biggest complaint about it? It’s very slow to respond to commands. At least, mine was. Then again, everything was slow. The Google Maps display seemed to be a few minutes behind when showing our position, so it was somewhat frustrating. The system also crashed on me twice during the flight. I just had to wait it out until it reset itself and brought up the home screen again.

The flight attendants were all friendly and came through the cabin handing out drinks but nothing else. When I asked for water, they gave me a little bottle. Score! I know it’s not a big thing, but I really like the little water bottle because I can throw it into the seatback pocket and keep it with me through landing.

Speaking of the seat pocket . . . it’s weird. There’s a hard shell of a pocket meant for magazines and papers, etc. Then there’s a mesh pocket that sits outside of that where you can put anything bulkier. Unfortunately, that just takes away some of your legroom, because I didn’t need the hard pocket for anything, so my water bottle stuck out further than it needed to.

The legroom itself was fine for me. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it was better than Economy Minus on United by a good amount. For me, it was a non-issue, but I’m only 5′ 8″ tall.

Soon enough we were descending, but I wasn’t done playing with everything. Fortunately, the captain knew I needed more time and decided to circle around Monterey Bay for awhile. Ok, so maybe ATC made him circle since the winds were starting to back things up, but it was welcome. If you look at the flight path for this trip, you’d think the pilot was drunk. (I’m kidding, I’m kidding.) After circling, for those who know the Bay Area, we came up over Woodside before turning southeast to follow the Bay down toward San Jose. Then we turned around again and lined up for a landing over the Bay on the 28s. It was very strange.

After a fantastic 24 hours in the Bay Area full of lunch at the Elephant Bar in Burlingame, wine tasting, and then a Passover seder with friends (see the picture from their balcony), we turned around to come back home. We didn’t have a chance to print out a boarding pass beforehand, so we got to the airport and went straight to the kiosks.

April 20, 2008
Virgin America #847 Lv San Francisco (SFO) 125p Arr Los Angeles (LAX) 250p
SFO: Gate A1B, Runway 1L, Dept :03E
LAX: Gate 67A, Runway 24R, Arr :10E
Aircraft: N524VA, Airbus A319-112, White/Red, ~95% Full
Seat: 11F
Flight Time: 1h0m

The check-in area is one place that I think Virgin has done a really nice job. There are tables with flowers and screens on top of them that allow you to check in in a comfortable setting. We swiped a credit card to check in and it worked quickly. The boarding passes printed out one at a time through a small slot in the table. I’ve never seen a boarding pass this size before. It looks kind of like the size of the boarding pass that the gate agent keeps after giving you the stub. Since they just scan the pass, there’s no need for anything bigger. Again, nice way to save paper.

Virgin America flies out of the international terminal at SFO, so I was worried that the midday Asian flights would make for a long line at security. Fortunately, I was wrong, and we were through security quickly. Then we just waited.

It turns out that THIS was the dark plane we had been warned about. The gate agent said that this was the only aircraft that didn’t have the system outfitted and that it would be finished in July. I have to say, for an airline that focuses so much on its image, this is a really stupid move. They just started service to Seattle in the last month. Maybe they should have delayed that for a week so they could fix this plane up.

We boarded the plane and the first thing I noticed is that not only does it lack inflight entertainment, but it also has no bulkheads. What a strange sight to see an open galley with the row 1 passengers looking right at them. I asked a flight attendant about the plane, and he said that they isolate this to flying short haul routes along the west coast. If that’s true, it makes it better, but it’s still really inexcusable for these guys.

Before we pushed back, the pilot came out and grabbed the mike for a short chat on the PA system. He apologized for the inflight entertainment system being out and then proceeded to tell us about the flight. It was a very nice touch. I just wish I could have heard him better over the screaming college kids behind me.

We took off and turned southeast for the short trip back home. It was a very hazy day all over California, so I couldn’t see much. Without inflight entertainment, I had no idea what to do. Oh wait, yes I did. I read a magazine.

After the flight attendants handed out a granola bar and drinks, I decided to check out the lav. There was nothing special to see there except for a sticker advertising Method soap onboard.

It was only a few minutes before we started descending. Once we dropped down into the haze layer, we bounced, dipped, dropped, and porpoised our way into LAX. It was actually bouncy enough that I found myself getting nauseous and that’s a rare event on a plane.

Once on the ground, we taxied back to the terminal, and I asked the captain if we had been behind a heavy jet creating some wake. He said with a friendly smile that no, it was just rough air and he was kind of surprised himself. Oh well, no big deal. We grabbed our car and went home.

As I mentioned above, it was a very nice experience. The flight attendants were all very good, friendly, and attentive. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly them again, but I’m not sure I’d go out of my way either.

Trip Report: A Stop in Every Time Zone

CF — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:12:35 +0000

Let’s see, where did I leave off. Ah yes, we had a really nice time in Indy. The weather was clear and sunny for the last couple of days, but as you can see at left, we did have some snow over the weekend as well. (This is a pic of the backyard of my soon-to-be inlaws.)

In order to save a vacation day and save some money, we once again decided to fly back on Christmas Day. This meant we could use a Southwest Rapid Rewards freebie for a mere $5 in taxes per person. Unfortunately, Southwest’s Christmas schedule is pared back greatly, and while we could have found an easy one stop flight leaving at 230p, that was too early. So, we ended up flying old-school Southwest with 2 stops along the way.

I hadn’t done a run like that since my college days when flying between PHX and BWI actually required 2 stops on Southwest if you were lucky. This one was an ugly one. Yes, we could leave at 420p in the afternoon (from the Eastern Time Zone), but then we had to stop in Kansas City for 2 hours (Central Time Zone) and Phoenix for 30 minutes (Mountain Time Zone) before finally arriving back home in LA (Pacific Time Zone) near 10p. Normally that 420p flight is a one stop with no plane change that arrives LAX just after 7p.

As you can imagine, it was a long day, but the crews were cheerful and the legroom was good. That being said, I’m still tired.

December 25, 2007
Southwest #712 Lv Indianapolis (IND) 420p Arr Kansas City (MCI) 455p
IND: Gate C9, Runway 23R, Dept OT
MCI: Gate 37, Runway 19L, Arr :14E
Aircraft: N698SW, Boeing 737-300, Canyon Blue, 121/137Y
Seat: 11A
Flight Time: 1h8m

Thinking Christmas wouldn’t be very crowded at the airport, we arrived only about an hour before our flight. We were right. Very few security gates were open, but it took no time at all. Well, it took a little longer because they were a little suspicious about the tea kettle I had packed into my bag. Yes, it was a Christmas present that required some clever packing.

There weren’t very many flights going, but the ones that did seemed to be full. Our plane arrived with plenty of time to turn around, and they got us ready to board 30 minutes prior. Indy has the temporary setup for the new boarding process and it was a tight squeeze. We had checked in very early and ended up with A18/A19. A1-15 is reserved for those who buy the Business Select fare, and there appeared to be only two people who had spent the extra dough. So, we were some of the first onboard.

Instinctively, we went straight to seats 11A and B. The exit row on the left side of the plane has the most unbelievable legroom. I can barely kick the seat in front of me if I’m stretched out fully. Take a look at the picture at right and you’ll see what I mean. This plane has a colorful history starting out with CP Air in Canada over 20 years ago, flying for VASP in Brazil soon after, and finally making its way to Southwest via the Morris Air acquisition. It may have a long history, but the interior was in good shape, and it didn’t show its age.

As you might expect, the crew was in a pretty festive mood, and the lead flight attendant was joking the entire way. He kept involving the kids onboard by asking if they’d had a good Christmas, asking what they got, etc. You could tell he was enjoying his day. That flight went on from Kansas City to San Diego, San Jose, and finally Reno, so I’m curious to hear how he sounded by the time he finished that grueling trip.

It was a beautiful day to fly and we had a smooth trip. Tasty honey roasted peanuts and water kept me happy, and soon enough we were on our way in to sunny Kansas City.

I always forget how far that airport is from . . . everything. It’s clear when you arrive that there’s nothing around, but at least it’s a nice airport. We deplaned and went to the only open restaurant - the Cuervo Tequileria - to eat a little and wait out the 2 hour layover. As I said, I like the airport, but there is one fatal flaw. Everything is outside security and each checkpoint is good for only a handful of gates. So, it’s a great airport for locals but a terrible one for connections.

December 25, 2007
Southwest #1501 Lv Kansas City (MCI) 650p Arr Phoenix (PHX) 845p
MCI: Gate 38, Runway 19R, Dept :18L
PHX: Gate C1, Runway 7L, Arr :04L
Aircraft: N706SW, Boeing 737-700, Canyon Blue (winglets), ~95%Y
Seat: 11A
Flight Time: 2h26m

Soon enough, it was time to head over the gate, so we went through security again and found a seat. This is the first time I’ve seen Southwest’s new gate design fully implemented, and I liked it a lot. They had some sitting areas with tables and little chairs for kids. They have several bars with 110V and USB power ports. Combined with Kansas City’s wi-fi, you can get a lot of work done. But the best part was the big flat screen TVs showing the Suns - Lakers game. There were mostly Suns fans around, so I tried not to gloat too much when the Lakers finished them off.

Once again, we had early boarding numbers, so we hopped into place for boarding. Once the inbound plane was emptied, they let us on, and again we snagged 11A/B. Jackpot! We were staying on the plane in Phoenix, so this would be our home for a long time. This is one of the older -700s in Southwest’s fleet. In fact, it’s pushing 10 years now, but it had a nice clean interior and you wouldn’t have known from the inside.

This time, while the flight attendants were friendly, it was the captain and first officer who were joking around the most. They kept firing off joke after joke and got on the horn a lot during the flight. They also liked to mess with the flight attendants from up front. During the safety briefing, right when the flight attendant said to put on the oxygen masks and “breathe normally,” you heard heavy breathing sounds coming over the PA. Then the flight attendant started laughing. Only when it happened again on the next flight (with different flight attendants) did I realize that it was the captain waiting for the right time before interrupting their briefing.

We blasted out of Kansas City and had a straight shot to Phoenix. Though it was clear, they said we might have a few bumps, and the captain ended up settling at 34,000 ft because it reportedly had the best ride. It was smooth at first, but then the bumps started and the captain put the seatbelt sign on. He was very conservative, because even when it let up, he never turned the sign off again.

Just after we passed Albuquerque, we hit some pretty rough air. One of the pilots had come back to chat with another pilot sitting in the back when we started to bounce. (Should he be doing that?) Then the plane started descending and we saw the pilot hurriedly head back up front. We came down to 30,000 ft where we found a smoother ride on into PHX.

We did a strange approach that I can’t remember ever doing in Phoenix before. We came from the Northeast heading just east of the airport. Then we turned left between South Mountain and the airport and headed out west before hooking a U-turn and landing to the east. I can’t remember doing that approach before. (Sorry for those who have no idea what I’m talking about.)

We taxied quickly and pulled up to the gate only a couple minutes late. Everyone hopped off except for the few of us who were to continue on to LA.

December 25, 2007
Southwest #1501 Lv Phoenix (PHX) 910p Arr Los Angeles (LAX) 930p
PHX: Gate C1, Runway 7L, Dept :14L
LAX: Gate 9, Runway 24L, Arr :18L
Aircraft: N706SW, Boeing 737-700, Canyon Blue (winglets), 100%Y
Seat: 11A
Flight Time: 1h2m

On the ground, our flight attendants left and another group came onboard to take us on our final leg to LAX. The pilots remained the same, but all of a sudden they became mute. We only heard from them once during the entire flight (in addition to the heavy breathing, of course).

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the flight attendants. I’m sure some people were in good spirits if they had just started their journey, but for those of us who had already taken two flights, the last thing we wanted was a perky crew. So when the flight attendant came on and exclaimed, “Merry Christmas Everybody!!!!!!!” I would have paid anything for a set of noise-canceling headphones . . . or a baseball bat.

Once again, Southwest struggled to meet their tightly scheduled turn time and it took us 35 minutes to get back off the gate. Remember the days of 10 minute turns? I highly doubt they’d be able to pull that off these days. I suppose it is harder when everyone is lugging Christmas gifts down the aisle, but people were just really pokey in general. I have to credit one of the flight attendants who was from New England. Her sharp accent was put to good use telling people that the flight was completely full so they should take the first seat they see. I don’t know if anyone listened, but it was a good attempt.

We had a long taxi to the far west end of the field before departing into the moonlight. This flight was similar to the first flight of the day in that I had peanuts and water, and it was a smooth ride. The pilots still played it conservative, however, and left the seatbelt sign on the entire time.

We slowly descended into the sprawling lights of the LA Basin and the view was spectacular (at left, you’ll see my hometown - Long Beach). Apparently, we were coming in a little too quickly, because about 30 miles out, he dropped the gear with a thud. It was pretty startling to hear it go down so early, but we slowed down quickly and came in for a bouncy landing (that’s two in a row for these guys).

Needless to say, we were happy to be home and wanted off the airplane. When the flight attendant started singing on our taxi back, it made me ponder pulling the emergency exit. Fortunately for me, I didn’t and instead waited for us to get to the gate. It was a ghost town in the terminal with only people waiting for US Airways’ redeye flights around. We headed out, grabbed a cab, and headed home to get some sleep.

Trip Report: Why I Don’t Need Inflight Internet

CF — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:14:24 +0000

I’m baaaaaaack. Miss me?

If it’s the end of December, it’s time for Christmas in Indiana. This is my third year having traveled back to spend the long weekend with my fiancee’s family and once again, we decided to split the flying on one airline on the way out and another on the way back.

On the eastbound trip, I was cautiously excited to give Frontier a shot. It was $250.99 all-in per person, and though that was a little more than we could have found on other airlines, I liked flying Frontier back in July and wanted to fly them again. I say I was “cautiously” excited, because you may remember the nightmares of travelers stuck in Denver last year after the major snowstorm. Fortunately, we had none of those issues and the flights were excellent.

December 21, 2007
Frontier #144 Lv Los Angeles (LAX) 625a Arr Denver (DEN) 944a
LAX: Gate 39, Runway 24L, Dept :17L
DEN: Gate A38, Runway 35L, Arr :09L
Aircraft: N947FR, Airbus A319-111, Maya the Jaguar, 100% Full
Seat: 11A
Flight Time: 1h47m

Since it was the Friday before Christmas, we figured we’d need to get to the airport really early to navigate around the inexperienced travelers that come out of the woodwork at this time of year. With a 625a flight that meant a very early wake up call. We pulled up to the curb at 5a and saw no lines in our terminal. It took 10 minutes to get through security thanks to a couple of pokey people in front of us, but then we sat at the gate for awhile. They boarded the plane early, and that was good because the terminal was really cold for some reason. It seemed like everyone was onboard early, but we just sat there for awhile. The captain came on and said there were a couple planes pushing in the alley behind us so we couldn’t go. When we did push out, we ended up sitting short of the taxiway for some time. I got a little restless since I knew we didn’t have the longest connection time in DEN.

The captain finally came on and said that there was a traffic jam at LAX and we would have to wait. He said something about “the lovely air traffic control system you’ve heard so much about lately.” I found out later that LAX was experiencing 30 minute air traffic control delays. Strange.

Once airborne, we climbed into a beautiful smog-less morning in the LA Basin, washed clean by several days of rain. At left, you can see a 757 climbing off the south runways in front of Palos Verdes and Catalina in the distance. The captain said that we wouldn’t need to worry about connections because we had an excellent tailwind that would get us in almost on time. After watching the view for a few minutes, I turned back to the TV.

Frontier has LiveTV like JetBlue, but they only have 24 channels instead of JetBlue’s 36. They also charge you $5 for the pleasure unlike JetBlue, but I had no problem paying for it. I watched Sportscenter for awhile and then flipped around for a few minutes before it was already time to come in for a landing. They had come by with a drink and granola bar service, so they passed through to clean things up early thanks to the captain’s warning that it would be a rough ride on the way in.

It turned out that the ride wasn’t very rough at all, and we had a beautiful view of the front range of the Rockies as we landed from the south. Snow was due later on in the day, but it was nothing but brilliant blue sky when we arrived.We made our way off the plane into the airport that took several hours of our time last July. Fortunately, it was a much quicker visit this time. A short walk to the east end of the terminal led us to our gate, and our flight had yet to start boarding.

December 21, 2007
Frontier #618 Lv Denver (DEN) 1025a Arr Indianapolis (IND) 250p
DEN: Gate A51, Runway 34R, Dept :27L
IND: Gate C3, Runway 5R, Arr :15L
Aircraft: N917FR, Airbus A319-111, Doc the Snowy Owl, 100% Full
Seat: 11B
Flight Time: 1h56m

The plane was apparently late getting to the gate because the flight before it was delayed. So it took some time to get it cleaned and really nobody seemed to be in any sort of hurry. When we did start boarding, it was slow and leisurely, and we sat on the gate for a long time. No announcement was made, but as I saw breathless passengers stumble on to the plane over the next several minutes, I realized we must have been waiting for late connections. That was no big deal for us, and I sat and watched tv.

Once we were in the air, I flipped through the channels and landed on a guilty pleasure, the Game Show Network. As I sat there watching Rayetta (you can see her name tag at left proving that I couldn’t make up a name like that) win at Card Sharks, I realized that I don’t want wireless internet.

If I have internet access in front of me, I’ll end up blogging, checking work email, and doing all the other things that monopolize my day (and night) more often than not. I know you can say that I can turn it off and ignore it, but I’m not like that. If it’s there, I’ll use it and regret it later on. So as I flew Frontier watching a game show I probably haven’t seen since my youth (though this was the pre-Bob Eubanks version with which I grew up), I discovered how incredibly relaxing it could be. If I had internet access, it would be just like I was anywhere else. In an increasingly connected life, I like being forced to unplug.

They gave us a choice of Doritos or SunChips (I took the latter) as we made our way over the foggy Plains below. The less common east wind in IND meant we got to land to the east, a great treat indeed. That meant we didn’t have to circle around Indy, and more importantly, it left us even closer to the distant terminal on the east side when we landed.

When it came time land, we found ourselves in a low fog in IND from about 5,000 ft up. We couldn’t see anything until just a few seconds before we landed, but it was a smooth return to the earth as we slowly drifted toward the end of the runway.

I could see the new terminal on the left, and it looks like it’s coming along nicely. Hopefully by this time next year we’ll be landing there instead. After getting off the plane, we headed out for a nice long weekend in the Circle City.

Tomorrow, I’ll have the story of our insanely long return journey involving 2 planes, 3 flights, and four states.