My route: DUB-EWR-IAH-DCA (overnight) DCA-MSP-SNA-SLC-IAD (overnight) DCA-IAH-EWR-DUB
Prelude:
So here we go again- less than two months after my last trip (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/996902-cali-back-hell-ork-lhr-phx-sjc-den-iah-phl-lhr-ork.html). I'm headed for The States again, this time on a pure mileage run- my first one (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mileage-run-discussion/978306-quite-possibly-craziest-thing-i-will-do-while.html). Originally this was to help me make silver in combination with the CO flights I had for my other trip but I had to cancel those. I was in danger of not making silver then but the double EQMs promotion saved me so this will get me there in one go :)
This will be a long TR so I'll just launch straight into it.
DUB at 4:30 in the morning. Can't believe how busy it was -
it's come a long way since being the tiny airport I remember from when I was a kid!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/4028509709_0e882b8795.jpg
Area 14. Still have to go down there every time, it's that cool
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/4029264986_661491c0e2.jpg
Some German humor (a Germanwings handluggage size checker if you're wondering :p)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2612/4028510367_6cc13c52b9.jpg
There she is, always good to start off a trip on a 757
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/4028510939_6accec94b1.jpg
EI A330 parked alongside, tough choice if I could choose which to fly!
Flight 1
DUB-EWR
Flight No.: CO 23
Date: Saturday, 17th of October '09
Departure: 9:00 scheduled, 8:53 actual
Arrival: 11:25 scheduled, 11:04 actual
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200, N14107
Seat: 17D (aisle)
Load Factor: ~95% Y, ~20% C
Firsts:
-nada!
I'd flown this flight before, but in the other direction and in a middle seat because I was on standby after missing the SNN flight. The FAs were grumpy and fairly indifferent and as this was my only international CO experience thus far I was eager to see if this time they would set the record straight. Indeed they did! Everyone was exceedinly friendly and assertive, I would put the standard a notch above my (already very good) previous CO domestic experience.
The flight itself was a bit of a drag. I had close to four hours at DUB due to an overnight bus from Limerick being the only option to get there in time. Let me tell you, a couple of hours of patchy sleep the day previous is not the way to start a 3+ day milleage run! Selecting aisle seats was another mistake I made. This was my initial selection months ago and for whatever reason the seat selector didn't let me change it and I forgot to ask at check-in. Because it's all one flight number I was stuck with it all the way to IAH :( Other reasons for this flight being a tough one were the demanding middle-aged couple next to me and the hardly functional IFE. The wife spent a considerable portion of the 7-hour flight complaining about the meal at 10:30 Irish time being a dinner and how no one could ever eat that much that early. Her request to get their meals held until two hours later due to her husband being a diabetic was immediately granted but she still found the idea outrageous. Some people are never happy! The IFE had a weird programming error that meant the movie you selected was never that movie but some other one. I thought I could figure out a simple pattern like the titles being swapped but to no avail :( This error was acknowledged by the head FA but he informed us that it can't be solved by a reboot because it's a programming error. On top of that what little IFE functionality I had was lost over an hour before the end because my IFE decided to reboot and not come back up again.
I was anxious we'd get stuck in a holding pattern coming into EWR because there'd been 2+ hour delays the previous day due to weather but we got in right away, the weather not being nearly as bad as forecast.
A quick dip outside at EWR to catch some fresh air
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2612/4030282934_5e8076f5fb.jpg
DL MD-something taking off with New York skyline in background
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2542/4030294576_7375dda0d8.jpg
Kalitta Air 747 classic
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2519/4029270480_b335c7af93.jpg
Time for number two
Flight 2
EWR-IAH
Flight No.: CO 23
Date: Saturday, 17th of October '09
Departure: 13:45 scheduled, ~14:20 actual
Arrival: 16:25 scheduled, 16:58 actual
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200, N34137
Seat: 17D (aisle)
Load Factor: ~100% Y, 100% F
Firsts:
-again a blank. First domestic 757 if I have to come up with something...
I'd been stuck for 2+ hours at EWR before so I didn't particularly want to go spotting. I was really tired too so I did a quick lap of the terminal and then plonked myself down at the gate. I looked at the plane and honestly thought there'd been an equipment swap to a 739. Since I despise 737s and was looking forward to the 757 I was very disappointed. When I boarded someone was in my seat because he and someone else had identical seat assignments for another seat. This seemed to confirm my suspicions of an equipment swap. My seat pocket had a 752 safety card in it. I was so convinced that I just dismissed this little detail... until I saw every seat pocket in the vicinity also had a 752 safety card in it! I'd completely miss-id'd the plane! You'd be mistaken for doing this from an aisle seat on the inside, but from the outside? I put the presence of two sets of doors and an extra emergency exit down to the fact that the -900 has more exits than the -800 :) Let's just blame all this on sleep deprivation, alright folks ;)
Surprisingly the ground situation at EWR was fairly normal. The forecast for that day was the same as the previous day (15 mph winds, low visibility, rain) but I suspect the winds weren't as high as forecast and the visibility a bit better. The previous day the mean delay was 150 minutes at one point so I was a bit nervous about the IAH getting too late to catch the DCA flight.
Even though boarding was completed surprisingly early (doors closed around 25 minutes before scheduled departure) , we did take off about 40 minutes late due to an inoperable APU. This also caused the cabin to be intolerably hot. I had a fun conversation with a Mexican couple sitting next to me, the guy couldn't believe I was going to D.C. via Houston :p He said I could get a shuttle ticket for a hundred bucks (hence the thread title!), I countered by telling him that that was 40% of my total ticket price and that my fare could only be routed through IAH, which wasn't true, of course I could have gone via CLE or direct to DCA but I didn't want to come across as a complete nutter :D
So I witnessed my first hand start of an engine (on a 757 no less!), but only heard it because I didn't have a window seat in front of the wing :( The sounds were amazing in their own right though.
Not much to say about the actual flight, it passed quickly because I had working IFE this time around!
Paramedics at gate of IAH-DCA flight
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4029273074_8f17145d74.jpg
The ambulance was there too
Flight 3
IAH-DCA
Flight No.: CO 658
Date: Saturday, 17th of October '09
Departure: 18:50 scheduled, ~18:50 actual
Arrival: 22:43 scheduled, ~22:40 actual
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800, N78506
Seat: 20F (window)
Load Factor: ~100% Y, 100% F
Firsts:
-first time at DCA
-first CO 737-800 flight
During the layover I leeched a bit of free wifi from PC south :) I also gave my friend in Philly a quick call to tell him I was doing well on my crazy trip to The States. Heading to the gate I saw that the inbound must have had a medical emergency because there was a medics truck and an ambulance at the ramp. The affected person was still at the gate and being taken good care of. I didn't stare over too long but it looked like she passed out so thankfully nothing too serious!
I remember next to nothing about this flight because I was comatosed. I was glad to finally get a window but I couldn't take full advantage because I slept from takeoff until approach. Boy am I glad not to have slept through that part though! I love turbulence and rainy landings, but this one was pretty hardcore. Approach felt like a descent into hell, which, on reflection, is fairly accurate considering D.C. is overrun with politicians ;). It was shaky, rainy, poor visibility and the additional lights on the wing seemed to reflect off the fog-like clouds so it looked a bit like lightning. Once we broke through the clouds it was breathtaking. I think they call it the river approach, rightly so! I was waiting for the runway to appear, starting to think the pilot was planning to set us down on the water! Spectacular.
A quick call to the hotel confirmed that the last shuttle bus was gone. I inquired if a cab was the best option, knowing it was under two miles. Turns out I could also take the metro one stop to Crystal City. A good idea because I could get a bit of fresh air and familiarise myself with the ticketing system so there would be no hiccups on my IAD-DCA transfer the next day. The hotel was wowing, I was on the 15th floor in a kingsize. What a pitty I only had under five hours to take advantage of it :(
Republic Embraer on Midwest flight number
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/4029275574_10f7f52133.jpg
Terminal A's NW gates. Will be gone for good in December
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/4028520087_157c54c733.jpg
Time for some European engineering
Flight 4
DCA-MSP
Flight No.: NW 1709
Date: Sunday, 18th of October '09
Departure: 6:35 scheduled, ~7:10 actual
Arrival: 8:20 scheduled, ~8:15 actual
Aircraft: Airbus A319-100, N334NB
Seat: 10C (aisle)
Load Factor: ~100% in Y, 100% in F
Firsts:
-first time on an A319
-first NW flight
-first time at MSP
Watching Angels v. Yankees game two I nearly dozed off without setting an alarm- that would probably have ended my MR and silver aspirations right there! I decided on a very conservative 4:10, because I had to check in at the desk (itinerary was a bit too whacky for nwa.com or delta.com to handle :cool:). Surprisingly three hours of sleep can do you a world of good. Interestingly the shuttle at five into the airport was almost full, one of the other guests was a pilot. I secretly hoped he would get off at my stop so I'd have a reason (and time) to strike up a conversation about planes, the merger and everything in between with him but alas, he stayed on when I got off. Terminal A at DCA is tiny! I can see why people call it outdated, I'd call it cozy. Pretty cool to go on an all-NWA flight: check-in, operations and metal. My first and ultimately last time as you'll find out later :( As I expected checking in took a bit longer, the agent took my (full-page) itinerary off me and hacked away at a computer for a few minutes before producing a single boarding pass for all four segments. I can only guess what cheats and workarounds he had to use to make this happen. This is jumping the gun a bit but it turned out that the boarding pass gave some sort of minor error all four times it got scanned that day, once forcing the agent to manually input the PNR instead of scanning the barcode. This probably had something to do with the check-in hackjob, not that I'm complaining, anyone, human or computer, would be a bit confused by my itinerary!
The plane wasn't run down and shoddy like many people say of NWA's planes, however I immediately noticed how much smaller Airbus windows are than Boeing's. I'd never taken much notice of it before but now, with the direct comparison, I noticed it straight away. That's right folks, I'm admitting that the A320 family is inferior to the 737 in one category! A miracle for me as a die-hard Airbus Apologist :p
There's not much to note about the flight. Taking off in the dark at DCA didn't have the same zing landing did, partly due to the improved weather. The flight had no AVOD (or any other form of IFE) and I was stuck in an aisle seat so my favourite form of IFE (looking out the window) was unavailable to me. Due to this, this flight could have gotten very boring but I was able to catch up on some of the double-digit sleep deficit I'd accumulated to this point. I ordered a pink lemonade because I like the stuff and it was breast cancer awareness month. The FA reacted a bit oddly to my request, maybe because pink lemonade is seen as girly and guys aren't supposed to care about breast cancer and if they do it's probably because they're having a bit of an injoke with someone? I'm probably reading a bit too much into this, beginnings of MR delirium perhaps? ;)
The flight crew looked Minnesotan to me. Kind of weird, considering I'd never been to Minnesota and only met one or two Minnesotans in my life. Somehow I knew they were Minnesotan though. Maybe because they looked more German than American? If so, it's no wonder I could spot them a mile away, I'm an expert at spotting Germans because they're everywhere and I like to avoid them at any cost! (no offense, fellow Germans :) ) Which is hard because they're everywhere.
I vaguely remember an announcement about there only being one runway in use (two days previous there were 2+ hour average delays due to 'runway construction' according to Flightstats) but we got in on time anyway, which is just as well because I had a relatively tight connection.
Sex in aluminium form
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2507/4029278442_b6980e07e0.jpg
Since when does NW have Embraers? Someone enlighten me!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2423/4032735376_aea32185d8.jpg
Some military action. Wish we had that in Ireland!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/4028521623_99d1da578f.jpg
My ride to Cali (yes I said it again :D slap me!)
Flight 5
MSP-SNA
Flight No.: NW 1424
Date: Sunday, 18th of October '09
Departure: 9:20 scheduled, actual
Arrival: 11:18 scheduled, actual
Aircraft: Airbus A319-100, N375NC
Seat: 15F (window)
Load Factor: ~95% in Y, 100% in F
Firsts:
-first time at SNA
Minneapolis / St. Paul is a great airport. Simply because there's lots of DC-9s, MDs and Red Tails. And because it's a hub for Delta/Northwest, home of DC-9s, MDs and Red Tails! It has a nifty little observation platform too, a feature which 101% of airports either don't bother with or got rid of due to "security concerns''. Now, don't ask me why but I got a sense from the people I met, the views, the weather and general atmosphere during my brief 40 minute stint at MSP that this was a place I wanted to visit again. Not that you could count an airport stopover as a visit.
As per usual, I boarded with the last few people and was right behind two pilots in uniform that I presumed to be non-revving. They were discussing an issue with bits of rubber off a contaminated runway getting into some part of the plane and gumming up, too bad I didn't get the whole gist of the tale :( As we boarded the two pilots made their way into the cockpit for a chat with the pilots on duty. I don't think they came out again! First was full without them anyway and they definitely didn't come back to Y. Does the A319 have two cockpit jumpseats? There were no announcements from the cockpit at takeoff so I'm assuming they four boys were sharing the banter and that that was the cause of our unexplained 10-minute delay :)
Coming down through the Midwest was impressive scenery for the flatness and uniformity of the land. It was like a giant checkerboard with its many square, neatly demarcated plots of farmland. Coming over the Grand Canyon and the Rockies was great too, but the approach into Santa Ana can only be narrowly beaten by the one into Reagan National, and that's just down to the 'better' (read worse) weather in D.C. Twisting and turning through the hills of L.A. Was spectacular, even though I expected a rougher landing, judging by the strict noise restrictions and the resulting steeper approach path.
To be honest my seating assignments on this MR up to this point really weren't fleshed out to the fullest. I had too many boring aisle seats in there. Aisles are supposed to give you more room than windows but I get bumped into by FAs and random passing people enough for it to feel like the opposite. Unfortunately I know no way to change these assignments on Delta when online check-in doesn't work, but after the Delta part was over I resolved to try hard to get more window in there for the CO return part- which I did: Bulkhead window on DCA-IAH, window on IAH-EWR and bulkhead window on EWR-DUB. Looks like there's a trick to getting good seats on CO. On BA I got bulkhead both times by checking in at 24 hours to the flight, on CO waiting until fairly close to the flight is a good policy. During booking, bulkheads and exit rows are shown as premium seating but it seems like they get released at T-24 hours? Also, some of them might open up again after being selected by an elite, due to the elite's upgrade clearing. The only CO flight I couldn't get bulkhead on was on a 777. So is this 'trick' known? I'm probably the last FTer to catch onto it! :)
Saying goodbye to to NWA - by looking at a plane in DL livery :(
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4032246809_0dda3a99de.jpg
Some general aviation at SNA
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2586/4033013216_37e02bed27.jpg
A little quiz for you: 737 classic with winglets or 737NG with eyebrows?
(probably too easy, got me thinking anyway)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2761/4032261981_5be67d7b6e.jpg
Solution: look at the nosewheel :)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/4029285974_6e4db43131.jpg
American Eagle getting filled up
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2552/4029283478_a287c78e67.jpg
Finally it's time for my first Mad Dog flight!
Flight 6
SNA-SLC
Flight No.: DL 1224
Date: Sunday, 18th of October '09
Departure: 12:55 scheduled, 12:55 actual
Arrival: 15:44 scheduled, 15:25 actual
Aircraft: MD-90, N906DA
Seat: 35E (window)
Load Factor: ~90% Y, 100% F
Firsts:
-first time on an MD-90
-first time at SLC
Santa Ana is a nice little airport, even so, this initially was a weird part of the MR for me because it represents the half-way point, both in terms of flights remaining and it being the furthest point from Ireland on my trip. Even so, euphoria about my first flight on a DC-9 derivative soon took hold as I saw her taxi past while sitting at another gate. I didn't hurry back fast enough to see the whole parking procedure, only the jetway wasn't attached yet :( At this point I took a few pictures and then made my only use of coffee on this whole trip- I wanted to be fully awake for the highlight of the whole thing- takeoff at SNA in a Mad Dog!
Once again my ticket took a while to scan. I would have strangled someone if I had been denied boarding, I was that wound up in anticipation of the takeoff. A quick glance into the cockpit- crazy crowded compared to a 320 or 737! Seat 35E. I wanted to be one or two rows further back, but it sure was good enough because my heart was already doing 250 beats per minute as we stood there waiting to be towed away from the gate. I knew I was in for a disappointment from the engine noise (no JT8Ds) but they were adequately loud, loud enough not to make her feel gimpy and weak.
Takeoff was neither lame nor breathtaking. It was over too quickly but good while it lasted- it was very, very steep! At one point a girl in the row in front of me gave out a little surprised shriek.
A pity this segment was only an hour and a bit, because of the MD-90 but also because I got my first go of GoGo. Not bad at all, could get used to IM'ing and texting people from a plane. It was also a good opportunity to plan "minor" details like the early morning IAD to DCA transfer I had coming up. A notorious friend of mine who met a girl on a plane a few months previous texted me asking if I'd had any luck :rolleyes:. I replied "Yep got a girl, she lets loads of people ride her at the same time and swings both ways but charges. She is sleek and perfectly shaped. In fact I'm on her this minute. Her name is MD-90." I'd say he just shook his head at that joke, not being of the same sophistication as Flyertalkers ;) :p
Flight 7
SLC-IAD
Flight No.: DL 1264
Date: Sunday, 18th of October '09
Departure: 17:05 scheduled, 17:12 actual
Arrival: 23:19 scheduled, 23:22 actual
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800, Ship #3725
Seat: 13C (aisle)
Load Factor: ~90% Y, 100% F
Firsts:
-first time at IAD
-first time on a DL 738
So at this point I was coming up against my limit in terms of overtiredness. I wanted to make sure I'd get in a good sleep on this flight so I had a couple of beers at "Squatter's". The waiter was really friendly and he seemed to know his beers. First I went for a "Coffee" dark ale brewed by the pub itself, sure enough it did taste like coffee! I've got 130+ beers on my facebook beer rating application but I've never had a beer like this. Not sure if I liked it. The second one was just bland. I think the waiter pushed the homebrew a bit too much, I asked about some local beer for the second pint and he just replied "you're drinking one right there!". Ok, maybe I should have specified other local brew...
The beer did its job. I remember close to nothing about that flight. The landing was only ok, nothing in comparison to DCA. I'd been forewarned about the people movers at IAD, otherwise I would have been even more surprised when I noticed the door signed "connecting flights / baggage claim" actually went straight into a thing twice the width of a train that lowered down slightly before moving off like some massive digger or something! I knew the last hotel shuttle would be gone so I got a cab. The driver took up the "Country" part of the address as "Hendon", go figure :confused:. Maybe he was just trying to jack up the fare because he had to go slow to fiddle around with his GPS to find this imaginary Carlton Hotel in Hendon... Then he asked how much he should give back out of a twenty for a 12.50$ fare, not sure what the custom is in the U.S. but that's a bit forward by Irish standards. I gave him a 2.50$ tip so as not to pee him off too much.
I still hadn't figured out my IAD-DCA transfer properly and my semi-delusional state didn't help. Why the hell did I book this abomination? I think the other option was SNA-ATL-DCA for the same price. No MD-90 though. Scrap that, I was right to book to IAD :D Eventually it dawned on me that it would be easier to get the shuttle back to IAD than to figure out a bus stop close to my hotel. I was nervous there wouldn't be a shuttle early enough. I got myself conscious enough (and dressed enough!) to head down to the desk to ask. First shuttle at 5:00. First 5A bus downtown at 5:40. Perfect! Time for another three hours of comatose.
What I wouldn't give...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/4029299142_009105f788.jpg
An airline and type I'm very eager to try
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4029301230_9526be6f4e.jpg
The Capitol about to get chopped to bits by wings :)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/4028545087_12714c0cf3.jpg
Sun just peeping out, more 738 blandness for me...
Flight 8
DCA-IAH
Flight No.: CO 659
Date: Monday, 19th of October '09
Departure: 8:30 scheduled, 8:34 actual
Arrival: 10:41 scheduled, 10:50 actual
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800, N27239
Seat: 14A (exit row window)
Load Factor: ~100% in Y, 100% in F
Firsts:
- zilch
The 5A to metro transfer went very well. It was before T-90mins when I got to check-in. I waited to get the agent's attention, and she tried scanning my passport two or three times, already proclaiming it strange that it wouldn't work- little did she now she was up for another few surprises :D
Agent (in a Mexican accent): "Why are you doing that? Flying Newark-Houston-Washington, Washington-Houston... do you like it??"
Me:"Yes, but it was cheap too."
Her (skeptical): "How cheap?"
Me: "240$ return"
Her: "To Dublin? Round trip??"
Me: "Yep"
(At this point her jaw dropped for about twenty seconds :D)
Her:"Where did you find that? Do you have a website?"
Me:"Yep, it's called Flyertalk!"
Her:"What is it, Flyer..?"
Me:"Flyertalk"
Her:"Flyer-T-U-G?"
Me:"Nope, T-A-L-K!"
Her:"Ahh ok, no bags of course?"
Me:"Just hand luggage"
Her:"And just for two days, of course... are you a resident in Ireland? Do you have a resident's card or visa or something?"
(I was a bit taken aback by this, surely everyone knew about free movement and residency for all E.U. citizens in all of Europe?)
Me:"No, but I don't need one, it's the E.U."
Her:"Yes but I need to see something"
I remembered the page opposite the picture page had my permanent address in Ireland written on it, so I showed her that. It made her happy but really she should have known better- if she had needed to see a resident's card, that was definitely not it!
Anyway that was just minor, we both had a few laughs in that conversation and it left me smiling all the way to security :) At security I smiled again because there was a guy going through with a Dell desktop PC in his hand luggage :)
The flight was uneventful. It was good to be back in a window seat and even better that it was an exit row one. But really I was already thinking about IAH-EWR on a 777! Definitely the second highlight on this trip.
The pilot apologized in advance about the long taxi because we'd be landing on 8L/26R, and boy is it in the middle of nowhere. My layover had whittled away close to nothing because this flight was late, the next one was from concourse E (with DCA arriving in C) and it was only an hour to begin with anyway. A shame because I wanted to leech some wifi off PC south and go shopping because I've already started to despise EWR because of the string of boring layovers I've had there. Anyway, a freaking 777 was waiting so I could hardly complain :cool:.
That runway is in the middle of nowhere
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/4029306110_2baa211371.jpg
757-300. Wow she's long
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2572/4028551375_bfef20b521.jpg
That's the T7. Was at a weird gate so that was the only view I got
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/4028551801_fb7d467195.jpg
Those 90's are massive!
Taking the big one up to Newark
unityofsaints
Oct 20, 09, 2:47 pm
Flight 9
IAH-EWR
Flight No.: CO 152
Date: Monday, 19th of October '09
Departure: 11:45 scheduled, actual
Arrival: 16:18 scheduled, actual
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER, Tail # 16
Seat: 24A (window) on BP, 16E (middle bulkhead) actual
Load Factor: ~95%, 100% in F
Firsts:
-first time on a CO 77E
-first domestic widebody flight
So here we go, the last real standout flight if the MR. I hadn't flown a T7 in ten years (it was a BA 777 to St. Lucia) and at the time I was too young to fully appreciate what I was flying :) Looking at the screens at the gate, I was a but shocked to see that F was full- 27 paid and 23 upgrades :eek: CO plats must really prefer this beast vs. the narrowbodies flown on this route at other times of the day.
While boarding I was impressed by the sheer amount of space in the cabin- much better than a 747 or 767. My last Airbus widebody flight is so long ago that I can't comment :( I had a suspicion my seat would be taken, and sure enough it was. Before I had time to gather my thoughts about how I was going to approach this, an FA came up to me asking where I was going. I told her 24A, showing my boarding pass. Before she came up with a definite judgment on what should be done, the head FA (whatever they call that position at CO, the one with the diagonal stripe on his sleeve :)) came over, asked me what type of seat I had originally (window), led me to the nearest exit row and told me to wait for just one moment. He came back saying he didn't have a window available and proceeded to show (and describe!) the options he had available to me: an aisle close to the front of Y or a middle bulkhead! I chose the bulkhead and thanked him, he thanked me for my flexibility and explained that a family's seat assignments had been scattered all over the plane, they were reseated next to each other and the situation "snowballed on us". I thought his handling of the problem was very professional and it left me with a smile on my face, mostly because I got my bulkhead, making it 3 out of 3 for the day :) To top it off I got a free headset later, a small gesture but it worked. In general I thought all of the FAs were very experienced and professional. It really showed that only the cream of the crop gets selected for CO's Hub-to-Hub, flagship service.
The flight was exceedingly comfortable, even though I could see absolutely zero at takeoff, sitting at the dead center of that massive fuselage. A weird feeling for someone who's used to bending forward for an orientating view out of the window when not seated directly at the window. How cool would widebody service DUB-LON or LON-FRA be? I suppose one can dream... if only the 787-300 got off the ground, then the airlines wouldn't have the "all widebodies are optimised for long haul, flying them short haul is a waste" excuse anymore!
During approach the pilot announced a 30-minute holding pattern and five minutes later told us it had been cancelled. Weird, maybe they mistook probably the most important domestic flight in the system for a jungle jet? :D They corrected their mistake soon enoungh anyway!
So getting out at EWR was a sad affair because I knew I'd be on my last layover (at my least favourite airport of the whole bunch) and my next flight was a known quantity going to an even more known, mundane quantity: home :(
SQ21 just across from my plane!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2728/4028554639_15a0af8246.jpg
My last day in The Land of the Free comes to an end...
Flight 10
EWR-DUB
Flight No.: CO 22
Date: Monday, 19th of October '09
Departure: 19:00 scheduled, 19:02 actual
Arrival: 6:55 (+ 1 day) scheduled, 6:21 actual
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200, N57111
Seat: 8F (bulkhead window)
Load Factor: ~90% Y, ~30% C
Firsts:
-first time I made an elite level :D
So it was time to go home again. This mileage run went amazingly quick, I felt like I was up for another three days of solid flying but work was calling :( After a few walks around Terminal C (it didn't get any prettier the third time around :p) I reluctantly headed to the gate. Immediately I noticed Dublin accents left, right and center- now, if you're not familiar with the Dublin accent, count yourself lucky! Sorry to any Dubliners on this board but I don't have a very high opinion of the place or the people since I lived there briefly a couple of years ago. The SNN flight is so much better in this regard, the down to earth to pretentious know-it-all ratio is much higher on that flight...
Anyways I forgot about where I was going very soon because I saw something out the window that encapsulates three legends: A legend of an airline, a legend of a flight and a legend of a plane. SQ21 getting loaded up, across the way from where my flight was parked. We'd be taxiing past her! Holy sh..! That made boarding a little less painful for me :)
There was a guy ahead of me trying to board with an expired U.S. passport- seriously, who travels with an expired passport? And boards close to dead last? He seemed to be looking for trouble, but the gate agent left him through after telling him in no uncertain terms that they'd get fined and that it isn't ok to travel like that! Rightfully so.
The seat was sweet. A window and enough room to get out without disturbing anyone- what more do you need? My eyes were locked onto the gorgeous SQ A345 behind and to the right of us- thank God I got bulkhead on that side of the plane, I had her in view all the way through pushback and while we taxied past. I desperately want to fly that flight, in fact I want to make that my first award ticket, if I can somehow get past SQ's Star blocking.
We were 14th in line for takeoff. Beside us was an AF A332, gorgeous plane but not an airline I'm in any rush to try. Sundry CO 738s, Embraers and 757s completed the lineup. Takeoff was great because for the first time for as long as I can remember I had a window seat in front of the wing- so different! Behind the wing you see some flaps action, in front you get some Rollerporn, there's no comparison! We immediately made a tight right after takeoff so I could see EWR very clearly from the air. Seeing all the blinking lights in the lineup for takeoff was dumbfoundingly surreal. Seeing NYC at night from the air was twice as good as that. I really, really, really, can't understand those people who turn down window seats! As far as I'm concerned, flying is one of the few remaining true miracles- how could anyone turn their head the other way? It never gets old.
I slept 80% of the rest of the flight. The other 20% was spent eating and writing this report :D Better to keep track of everything while it's happening, lest I forget ;)
Delightfully we got in 20 minutes early which meant I was able to catch my bus directly to my part of Limerick instead of transferring in Dublin city centre. To all of you who are thinking of coming to Ireland illegally, it's really simple- just arrive on an early morning flight from the USA and go through the E.U.-only lane- the guy hardly looks at the passport. Ok with me though, got me out onto the street 5 minutes after the doors opened :)
Taxiing past the biggest looker in the skies
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/4028556063_bfb7f9f14c.jpg
New York, New York
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3516/4029311772_803579978d.jpg
The two Rs
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4028556907_83819c4bac.jpg
Why did I bother coming back?
Conclusion
Phew, that took as long to write as it did took to fly the bloody thing! :D It was worth it. I doubt the MR made sense in the strict cent-per-mile sense but it's something cool to tell your grandkids ;) I was surprised by how easy and relaxing the whole affair was- I'm definitely up for a race to CO Gold next year when I'll have more time off.
Some of the things I noticed were the rush to the gate and gate-checks at every flight because of baggage fees (what a waste of time), the consistently full flights (genuine hight demand or rock-bottom fares?) and the consistently full front cabins (DEQM effect, anyone?). All anecdotal evidence of course, I'm only a foreigner starting out on his U.S. domestic flying career ;).
One last thing: I had the FlyerTalk tag on my bag the whole way through but never got approached or saw another FTer- next time hopefully! :)
Thank you for reading this far, comments & criticisms are, as always, very welcome. Until next time!
camsean
Oct 21, 09, 8:33 am
Good reading so far. keep em coming.
noirpepper
Oct 21, 09, 9:40 am
^ waiting for the next round :)
greggwiggins
Oct 22, 09, 10:23 am
A very enjoyable TR; and I'm sorry that your visit to DC coincided with some of the worst (cold, dark, damp) weather in months. Of course, almost instantly after your departure it turned sunshiny with temperatures topping out in the mid-20s (Celsius).
unityofsaints
Oct 22, 09, 2:38 pm
Good reading so far. keep em coming.
^ waiting for the next round :)
Sorry for the delay, work got in the way (don't you hate that? :p). All parts now up, Enjoy!
sobore
Oct 23, 09, 6:49 am
Fantastic report! Nice plane photos! ^
Jazzed69
Oct 23, 09, 5:10 pm
Interesting TR!
larrywilmot747
Oct 24, 09, 9:34 am
Hi,
Thanks for a very enjoyable read. I loved your enthusiasm for flying and aircraft. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the MD, too noisy in the back, and not much room for decent F seats. I do however, share your enthusiasm for the 757.
My favourite plane is getting harder to fly on, well that is outside of developing countries, and that's the BAe 146.
Enjoy your new elite status and thanks for putting all that effort into your trip report. I write Disney Trip Reports and I know how much work they are.
Regards Larry.
paulmcgrath
Oct 24, 09, 7:50 pm
Nice to read some other trip reports ex-DUB. Thanks!
RoyalFlush
Oct 27, 09, 10:12 pm
Thanks, great TR!
A little quiz for you: 737 classic with winglets or 737NG with eyebrows?
AA has not flown 737 classics in at least a decade.
ua_to_ord
Oct 29, 09, 11:57 am
I very much enjoyed reading through this epic trip report. The eye for detail is superb, and I also appreciate the many instances of subtle double entendre sprinkled throughout.
Looking forward to your next report of jetting across the United States! ^
unityofsaints
Nov 1, 09, 10:35 am
Hi,
Thanks for a very enjoyable read. I loved your enthusiasm for flying and aircraft. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the MD, too noisy in the back, and not much room for decent F seats. I do however, share your enthusiasm for the 757.
My favourite plane is getting harder to fly on, well that is outside of developing countries, and that's the BAe 146.
Enjoy your new elite status and thanks for putting all that effort into your trip report. I write Disney Trip Reports and I know how much work they are.
Regards Larry.
I flew the 146 waaaayy back, weird being on a 4-holer that small!
Nice to read some other trip reports ex-DUB. Thanks!
I prefer SNN myself, DUB is my second-favourite though ;)
Thanks, great TR!
AA has not flown 737 classics in at least a decade.
That's why I said the quiz is "probably too easy for you" ;)
I very much enjoyed reading through this epic trip report. The eye for detail is superb, and I also appreciate the many instances of subtle double entendre sprinkled throughout.
Looking forward to your next report of jetting across the United States! ^
Thanks! Good to know the TR isn't detailed in a boring way :)
lols
Nov 3, 09, 12:42 pm
Dear Sir,
I'm a longtime lurker of this site. I've read many awe inpiring trips in first class and bussiness class perks. Drooled over many pics.
But your post, compelled me to register. It's obvious of your love of planes and the holy grail of maintaining ones elite status.
Bravo ....
e.d.
ps
After reading this post, I told my bro of what were gonna have to try one of these days to just ... DO IT. ^
unityofsaints
Nov 7, 09, 10:44 am
Dear Sir,
I'm a longtime lurker of this site. I've read many awe inpiring trips in first class and bussiness class perks. Drooled over many pics.
But your post, compelled me to register. It's obvious of your love of planes and the holy grail of maintaining ones elite status.