dsimon
Dec 29, 00, 9:25 am
December 26
HP2809 PHX-SFO A320 5:13p-6:15p
Actual B757 6:00p-6:50p
I checked in at the HP Club on the upper level of the A concourse at 3:30, in part to slow down a little bit before my flight, and also to meet Tolarian Wind. I enjoyed meeting and talking to him for the first time for a brief 45 minutes before I had to leave to tie up some loose ends and board my flight. Or so I thought. It turned out that our inbound plane from SEA was behind schedule, and was not due into the gate until 5:05. As of 5:00, HP was still showing an on-time departure.
The flight actually did arrive at the gate a few minutes before 5:00, and with a fairly quick turnaround, we are all set to board at 5:20, except for the fact that one of the flight attendants was running late, and because of that we had to wait in the gate area (we were not told whether she was coming from a connecting flight or not). She showed up at 5:30, and boarding commenced soon after.
The load on this flight seemed especially light, perhaps because the original scheduled aircraft was an airbus. The cabin up front was slightly more than half full (8/14), and I had the adjacent seat open next to me in my bulkhead 2D. In fact, the entire row behind me was empty. The interior of the cabin was tired and worn looking with the grayish-blue leather seats. The fact that catering and cleaning did a quick “spot clean” did not help either. There were also two uniformed pilots seated in 4CD. I find it difficult to believe that there was not another single elite on board from either HP or one of it’s partners that could have upgraded. Unless of course there were families in the back that did not want to separate.
Even with the rushed boarding, the flight attendants made two passes through for pre-departure drinks. We departed from the south runway and took off to the east before circling over South Mountain on our way up to SFO. There was a light snack service that consisted of a southwestern garnish of grilled chicken, corn, black beans, a piece of cheddar and tomato that accompanied a large clear bag of tortilla chips. The portion was fair-sized, but the taste was rather underwhelming. After an incorrect drink refill, I did not see a flight attendant for the duration of the flight, and I was just fine with that, though I am not certain why she could not remember my drink order when she went one row at a time, and I was the only person sitting in my row.
There was no in-flight entertainment on this short hop, so I spent some time with my trusty Palm Pilot, and catching up on my reading of Joe Dimaggio: The Hero’s Life by Richard Ben Cramer. Before I knew it, I set my watch back and we were on final approach to SFO. The pilot indicated that ATC had given him a shortcut, so we made up a few minutes in the air before we gave it back again when we arrived at the gate to the surprise of the agent standing at the jetway. We must have caught her off guard because she immediately proceeded up the jetway neglecting her duty to attach the jetway to plane so people could disembark. After five minutes the pilot called inside to inform her that we were planning to stay, so she could in fact, move the jetway toward the plane.
All in all, we were only 35 minutes behind schedule after leaving 45 minutes past departure time and spending an additional five or ten minutes waiting at the gate to disembark. And I thought only CO was guilty of ridiculously padding their schedules.
My general impression of HP remains intact: It is better than people give it credit for, but not to be mentioned in the same breath as other top tier airlines like CO or UA. I have had another good year flying with HP again, and they have delivered on all of my expectations and not left me stranded. The truth remains, though, that I only fly with them when I need to while on the west coast. All things being equal (and they are not), I would find it difficult to choose them over CO on a trans-con or a non-stop to PHX.
Upcoming: Cross country on CO on two DC-10s.
[This message has been edited by dsimon (edited 12-29-2000).]
HP2809 PHX-SFO A320 5:13p-6:15p
Actual B757 6:00p-6:50p
I checked in at the HP Club on the upper level of the A concourse at 3:30, in part to slow down a little bit before my flight, and also to meet Tolarian Wind. I enjoyed meeting and talking to him for the first time for a brief 45 minutes before I had to leave to tie up some loose ends and board my flight. Or so I thought. It turned out that our inbound plane from SEA was behind schedule, and was not due into the gate until 5:05. As of 5:00, HP was still showing an on-time departure.
The flight actually did arrive at the gate a few minutes before 5:00, and with a fairly quick turnaround, we are all set to board at 5:20, except for the fact that one of the flight attendants was running late, and because of that we had to wait in the gate area (we were not told whether she was coming from a connecting flight or not). She showed up at 5:30, and boarding commenced soon after.
The load on this flight seemed especially light, perhaps because the original scheduled aircraft was an airbus. The cabin up front was slightly more than half full (8/14), and I had the adjacent seat open next to me in my bulkhead 2D. In fact, the entire row behind me was empty. The interior of the cabin was tired and worn looking with the grayish-blue leather seats. The fact that catering and cleaning did a quick “spot clean” did not help either. There were also two uniformed pilots seated in 4CD. I find it difficult to believe that there was not another single elite on board from either HP or one of it’s partners that could have upgraded. Unless of course there were families in the back that did not want to separate.
Even with the rushed boarding, the flight attendants made two passes through for pre-departure drinks. We departed from the south runway and took off to the east before circling over South Mountain on our way up to SFO. There was a light snack service that consisted of a southwestern garnish of grilled chicken, corn, black beans, a piece of cheddar and tomato that accompanied a large clear bag of tortilla chips. The portion was fair-sized, but the taste was rather underwhelming. After an incorrect drink refill, I did not see a flight attendant for the duration of the flight, and I was just fine with that, though I am not certain why she could not remember my drink order when she went one row at a time, and I was the only person sitting in my row.
There was no in-flight entertainment on this short hop, so I spent some time with my trusty Palm Pilot, and catching up on my reading of Joe Dimaggio: The Hero’s Life by Richard Ben Cramer. Before I knew it, I set my watch back and we were on final approach to SFO. The pilot indicated that ATC had given him a shortcut, so we made up a few minutes in the air before we gave it back again when we arrived at the gate to the surprise of the agent standing at the jetway. We must have caught her off guard because she immediately proceeded up the jetway neglecting her duty to attach the jetway to plane so people could disembark. After five minutes the pilot called inside to inform her that we were planning to stay, so she could in fact, move the jetway toward the plane.
All in all, we were only 35 minutes behind schedule after leaving 45 minutes past departure time and spending an additional five or ten minutes waiting at the gate to disembark. And I thought only CO was guilty of ridiculously padding their schedules.
My general impression of HP remains intact: It is better than people give it credit for, but not to be mentioned in the same breath as other top tier airlines like CO or UA. I have had another good year flying with HP again, and they have delivered on all of my expectations and not left me stranded. The truth remains, though, that I only fly with them when I need to while on the west coast. All things being equal (and they are not), I would find it difficult to choose them over CO on a trans-con or a non-stop to PHX.
Upcoming: Cross country on CO on two DC-10s.
[This message has been edited by dsimon (edited 12-29-2000).]