mweiss
Nov 4, 99, 7:02 pm
Wednesday, October 27, 1999
CO120 SEA-EWR
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. This is the fourth trip on CO120 in just over a month. I got to the airport at 6:15, checked in at the new e-Service machine (I like it much better than the old E-Ticket machines), and went straight to the gate. They had just started boarding this 757 from the second door when I got there, so I got on and took my seat in 6B. This cabin had the old overhead bins, but the new seats that I love so much. The cabin was clean and well-maintained.
They came by to take drink orders, and then breakfast orders, at the gate. Boarding itself seemed to be orderly.
The door was closed three minutes before the 7:00 scheduled departure, and pushback commenced precisely at 7. To my surprise, they just managed to fit in both the preflight video and the movie preview before we got to the runway. There was literally not a second to spare; the FAs appeared to have been caught off guard by the short taxi...they didn't even get to turn off the cabin lights like they're supposed to. Too much time at EWR made them complacent, perhaps? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
The breakfast choices were the same as last week (no surprise there). They had a choice of the cheese omelette (which I opted for this time) with the dry hash brown cake (that wasn't quite as dry this time as last time), peach crepes (which I had last week), and the usual seafood pasta medley. The fruit plate and breads matched last week, and the cheese and crackers were on the cart still. Unfortunately, the cookie this time was oatmeal raisin, and I don't like raisins. They came by with milk, which was again a nice touch. I'm feeling much better about CO120 again.
The flight was choppy for about the first hour, but smoothed out after that. Descent was choppy again, but the on-time landing was smooth.
We pulled into Gate 82, which meant we were able to deplane through the second door! I thought that would never happen again!
This flight rates a 9. It really doesn't get much better than this on a transcon flight.
Marriott World Trade Center
Like last week, I got an AirLink bus to Newark Penn Station, and took the PATH to WTC. It certainly doesn't get much more convenient than that when you're actually staying at WTC. The whole trip took just under an hour from the gate to my room.
The room itself was nice. Nothing exceptional, but nice nonetheless. The phones had two lines, but I couldn't get higher than 22kbps out of them. At least this hotel doesn't charge for 800 phone calls.
Checkout was easy. The bill was slipped under the door in the early morning hours, and video checkout was a breeze.
Overall, this hotel rates a 7.5. Certainly better than the average place.
Catman and the West Bank Café
Catman dutifully met me at 6:30 in the lobby of the hotel for dinner at the West Bank Café, where just a short time before there was a larger NY FT Get-together. Unfortunately, I missed that one, but I did manage to have a lovely dinner of rare tuna with our fearless feline leader, and make good on my promise to repay him for the previous dinner at the Carnegie Deli. This also gave me a chance to see 42nd Street in greater detail than I was able to the past two times in NYC.
To my surprise, the Port Authority Bus Terminal was really not bad at all. I expected it to remind me of the old Los Angeles bus terminal, but it was quite a bit better than that. Down at the subway platform was a pretty hefty contingent of NYPD officers. Catman suggested that they were probably wrapping up a case of someone on the tracks. I refrained from informing them that their authority was nothing compared to the authority of the one and only CMDR CATCOP, but it was a genuine effort on my part. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
We grabbed the second subway train (the first was so crowded we wouldn't have been able to breathe), and went our separate ways at the World Trade Center, since I was having trouble staying awake. I really desperately need to catch up on sleep still, even after a few 11-hour nights! But it was another memorable evening with the infamous Catman!
Friday, October 29, 1999
CO125 EWR-SEA
Getting to EWR was an interesting treat. See, as you already know, I was staying at the Marriott WTC. My meetings were at Chase Plaza, about three blocks east. So when I checked out, I left my flight back with the concierge at the Marriott. No point in lugging it to and from the meeting, and it's easy to get a sedan from the front of the hotel to the airports.
I neglected one little minor detail, however. Apparently, some professional sports team from the Bronx won some important game a couple of days prior, and the residents of New York felt compelled to honor them with a parade from Battery Park to City Hall. Now, if you ask me, it would have been far more interesting to see how they would have managed a parade in the Bronx, but hey, that's just me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Anyway, they went right up Broadway, which just happened to be exactly halfway between Chase and WTC. The parade started at noon, and we broke our meeting at 1.
Broadway was an absolute zoo (Bronx Zoo?). There must have been around 4000 people at that one intersection alone. And about 20 cops. But we got there just as the tail end of the parade was passing by. I was getting irritated that the NYPD officers weren't removing the barracades, but I misunderstood the ways of the City. The local residents were kind enough to relieve the NYPD officers of their duties, and promptly moved the barricades themselves. Once I realized that there was safety in numbers, and that the officers had neglected to bring riot gear, I happily melded into the crowd and made my way to WTC.
Getting the bag was no problem at all. Getting transportation, on the other hand, was. After having been to the Marriott many times, I was completely unprepared for the sea of emptiness in front of the hotel. West Street was as empty as I've ever seen it, and there were no cabs or sedans in front of the hotel. None. I managed to convince the bellhop that I was first in line for a cab, and he proceeded to try to get me one. No small feat, as the dozens of cabs passing by already had fares. To my delight, after about 10 minutes, a cab pulled up to drop a woman off. The bellhop, with appropriate NYC savvy, immediately put the bags into the trunk, and we were off! 25 minutes and $50 later we were at EWR. It was some of the lightest traffic I had ever seen in Holland Tunnel.
Well, suddenly I found myself with a couple of hours to kill, so I hung out in the upstairs P-Club. I was quite parched, so I spent the time consuming copious quantities of water. Then, about 30 minutes before departure time, I headed over to the gate.
It had been about six weeks since I flew on CO125, but it's still familiar enough to me that I know the routine. Showed up at Gate 113, at the end of the concourse, and boarded through the forward door on the 757. What made this time a little different was a couple of things. First of all, they were calling for all rows by the time I got there. I know it takes longer to board a 757 from the front, but I was startled that they had gotten that far that long before departure time. Secondly, the LED display showed the flight as destined for DCA. Wrong Washington, guys... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif The gate agents assured us that it was going to the big Washington, and SeaTac in particular.
By the time I managed to get on board, the overhead bins were nearly full. However, to my delight, they were the new bins, so I was able to finesse a little movement to get my bag in the deep way, rather than the long way. I then plopped myself into 3E, and settled into one of the old-style seats. Boarding was starting to wind down a bit, but there was enough time for them to serve drinks still.
About ten minutes before scheduled departure, the man who was about to become my seatmate showed up. We started to strike up a conversation a few minutes before the door closed. They closed the door at 4:14, one minute before scheduled departure.
Pushback was delayed seven minutes, as the luggage hadn't been fully loaded on time. Once back from the gate, taxi and takeoff were relatively quick for EWR. As with 120 outbound, they showed both the safety video and a preview of the movie before we got to the runway. They also got dinner orders in that time.
Once in flight, I managed to learn who my seatmate was. Certainly, I wouldn't recognize him under any circumstances, but he's a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering aerospace topics in the Pacific Northwest. That dovetails nicely with my educational background, and we had a truly entertaining time.
After reaching cruise, they began the normal dinner routine for this flight. The nuts were served at room temperature, followed by some very nice lobster claws, breads (I got my usual sourdough, which I love a great deal; they came by only once again this flight with the breads, to my consternation), mixed green salad, and the entrée (I chose a delightful salmon over rice, with chutney). Ice cream sundaes and coffee with liqueurs rounded out the meal.
Service was generally very good. They made sure to keep my water glass full for nearly the entire flight.
The flight itself was mostly smooth, but there were intermittant periods of moderate turbulence.
We landed about 10 minutes late in light mist, and pulled straight into Gate B-11. I much prefer that to parking over in the South Satellite. Deplaning was through the second door.
Overall, this flight rates an 8.5. I still hate boarding through the forward door, I would have liked a second piece of sourdough bread, and I want the new, comfortable seats!
Paying for parking at the new machines is a breeze at SeaTac now. It's saving me at least 10 minutes every time I go through there!
------------------
Michael
OnePass Platinum
CO120 SEA-EWR
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. This is the fourth trip on CO120 in just over a month. I got to the airport at 6:15, checked in at the new e-Service machine (I like it much better than the old E-Ticket machines), and went straight to the gate. They had just started boarding this 757 from the second door when I got there, so I got on and took my seat in 6B. This cabin had the old overhead bins, but the new seats that I love so much. The cabin was clean and well-maintained.
They came by to take drink orders, and then breakfast orders, at the gate. Boarding itself seemed to be orderly.
The door was closed three minutes before the 7:00 scheduled departure, and pushback commenced precisely at 7. To my surprise, they just managed to fit in both the preflight video and the movie preview before we got to the runway. There was literally not a second to spare; the FAs appeared to have been caught off guard by the short taxi...they didn't even get to turn off the cabin lights like they're supposed to. Too much time at EWR made them complacent, perhaps? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
The breakfast choices were the same as last week (no surprise there). They had a choice of the cheese omelette (which I opted for this time) with the dry hash brown cake (that wasn't quite as dry this time as last time), peach crepes (which I had last week), and the usual seafood pasta medley. The fruit plate and breads matched last week, and the cheese and crackers were on the cart still. Unfortunately, the cookie this time was oatmeal raisin, and I don't like raisins. They came by with milk, which was again a nice touch. I'm feeling much better about CO120 again.
The flight was choppy for about the first hour, but smoothed out after that. Descent was choppy again, but the on-time landing was smooth.
We pulled into Gate 82, which meant we were able to deplane through the second door! I thought that would never happen again!
This flight rates a 9. It really doesn't get much better than this on a transcon flight.
Marriott World Trade Center
Like last week, I got an AirLink bus to Newark Penn Station, and took the PATH to WTC. It certainly doesn't get much more convenient than that when you're actually staying at WTC. The whole trip took just under an hour from the gate to my room.
The room itself was nice. Nothing exceptional, but nice nonetheless. The phones had two lines, but I couldn't get higher than 22kbps out of them. At least this hotel doesn't charge for 800 phone calls.
Checkout was easy. The bill was slipped under the door in the early morning hours, and video checkout was a breeze.
Overall, this hotel rates a 7.5. Certainly better than the average place.
Catman and the West Bank Café
Catman dutifully met me at 6:30 in the lobby of the hotel for dinner at the West Bank Café, where just a short time before there was a larger NY FT Get-together. Unfortunately, I missed that one, but I did manage to have a lovely dinner of rare tuna with our fearless feline leader, and make good on my promise to repay him for the previous dinner at the Carnegie Deli. This also gave me a chance to see 42nd Street in greater detail than I was able to the past two times in NYC.
To my surprise, the Port Authority Bus Terminal was really not bad at all. I expected it to remind me of the old Los Angeles bus terminal, but it was quite a bit better than that. Down at the subway platform was a pretty hefty contingent of NYPD officers. Catman suggested that they were probably wrapping up a case of someone on the tracks. I refrained from informing them that their authority was nothing compared to the authority of the one and only CMDR CATCOP, but it was a genuine effort on my part. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
We grabbed the second subway train (the first was so crowded we wouldn't have been able to breathe), and went our separate ways at the World Trade Center, since I was having trouble staying awake. I really desperately need to catch up on sleep still, even after a few 11-hour nights! But it was another memorable evening with the infamous Catman!
Friday, October 29, 1999
CO125 EWR-SEA
Getting to EWR was an interesting treat. See, as you already know, I was staying at the Marriott WTC. My meetings were at Chase Plaza, about three blocks east. So when I checked out, I left my flight back with the concierge at the Marriott. No point in lugging it to and from the meeting, and it's easy to get a sedan from the front of the hotel to the airports.
I neglected one little minor detail, however. Apparently, some professional sports team from the Bronx won some important game a couple of days prior, and the residents of New York felt compelled to honor them with a parade from Battery Park to City Hall. Now, if you ask me, it would have been far more interesting to see how they would have managed a parade in the Bronx, but hey, that's just me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Anyway, they went right up Broadway, which just happened to be exactly halfway between Chase and WTC. The parade started at noon, and we broke our meeting at 1.
Broadway was an absolute zoo (Bronx Zoo?). There must have been around 4000 people at that one intersection alone. And about 20 cops. But we got there just as the tail end of the parade was passing by. I was getting irritated that the NYPD officers weren't removing the barracades, but I misunderstood the ways of the City. The local residents were kind enough to relieve the NYPD officers of their duties, and promptly moved the barricades themselves. Once I realized that there was safety in numbers, and that the officers had neglected to bring riot gear, I happily melded into the crowd and made my way to WTC.
Getting the bag was no problem at all. Getting transportation, on the other hand, was. After having been to the Marriott many times, I was completely unprepared for the sea of emptiness in front of the hotel. West Street was as empty as I've ever seen it, and there were no cabs or sedans in front of the hotel. None. I managed to convince the bellhop that I was first in line for a cab, and he proceeded to try to get me one. No small feat, as the dozens of cabs passing by already had fares. To my delight, after about 10 minutes, a cab pulled up to drop a woman off. The bellhop, with appropriate NYC savvy, immediately put the bags into the trunk, and we were off! 25 minutes and $50 later we were at EWR. It was some of the lightest traffic I had ever seen in Holland Tunnel.
Well, suddenly I found myself with a couple of hours to kill, so I hung out in the upstairs P-Club. I was quite parched, so I spent the time consuming copious quantities of water. Then, about 30 minutes before departure time, I headed over to the gate.
It had been about six weeks since I flew on CO125, but it's still familiar enough to me that I know the routine. Showed up at Gate 113, at the end of the concourse, and boarded through the forward door on the 757. What made this time a little different was a couple of things. First of all, they were calling for all rows by the time I got there. I know it takes longer to board a 757 from the front, but I was startled that they had gotten that far that long before departure time. Secondly, the LED display showed the flight as destined for DCA. Wrong Washington, guys... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif The gate agents assured us that it was going to the big Washington, and SeaTac in particular.
By the time I managed to get on board, the overhead bins were nearly full. However, to my delight, they were the new bins, so I was able to finesse a little movement to get my bag in the deep way, rather than the long way. I then plopped myself into 3E, and settled into one of the old-style seats. Boarding was starting to wind down a bit, but there was enough time for them to serve drinks still.
About ten minutes before scheduled departure, the man who was about to become my seatmate showed up. We started to strike up a conversation a few minutes before the door closed. They closed the door at 4:14, one minute before scheduled departure.
Pushback was delayed seven minutes, as the luggage hadn't been fully loaded on time. Once back from the gate, taxi and takeoff were relatively quick for EWR. As with 120 outbound, they showed both the safety video and a preview of the movie before we got to the runway. They also got dinner orders in that time.
Once in flight, I managed to learn who my seatmate was. Certainly, I wouldn't recognize him under any circumstances, but he's a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering aerospace topics in the Pacific Northwest. That dovetails nicely with my educational background, and we had a truly entertaining time.
After reaching cruise, they began the normal dinner routine for this flight. The nuts were served at room temperature, followed by some very nice lobster claws, breads (I got my usual sourdough, which I love a great deal; they came by only once again this flight with the breads, to my consternation), mixed green salad, and the entrée (I chose a delightful salmon over rice, with chutney). Ice cream sundaes and coffee with liqueurs rounded out the meal.
Service was generally very good. They made sure to keep my water glass full for nearly the entire flight.
The flight itself was mostly smooth, but there were intermittant periods of moderate turbulence.
We landed about 10 minutes late in light mist, and pulled straight into Gate B-11. I much prefer that to parking over in the South Satellite. Deplaning was through the second door.
Overall, this flight rates an 8.5. I still hate boarding through the forward door, I would have liked a second piece of sourdough bread, and I want the new, comfortable seats!
Paying for parking at the new machines is a breeze at SeaTac now. It's saving me at least 10 minutes every time I go through there!
------------------
Michael
OnePass Platinum