das
Dec 24, 00, 7:42 pm
Warning…this is long. If you want something to the point, skip this post. I am posting a long report, because I have found that I learn a tremendous amount from fellow FlyerTalkers when they go into detail.
Took a quick trip to Europe. The motivation was to make some use of an unused transatlantic ticket that I had purchased for Thanksgiving. I decided to exploit the fare rule to its fullest and scheduled ITH-LGA-DCA, DCA-PHL-MAD, FCO-PHL, PHL-PIT-SNA. So I did a double open jaw and stopovers in DCA and PHL, since stopovers of up to 24 hours are free on international tickets. The whole ticket priced at $595, but since my unused ticket was $629, US required me to upgrade the ticket to $857, since apparently an unused transatlantic ticket can only be applied towards a more expensive ticket. Oh, and I got between MAD and FCO on a $50 Virgin Express fare. It was a routing through BRU, but at least it was cheap.
Dec. 15, ITH-LGA (Ithaca to NY LaGuardia), 6:10am, Dash 8
I was up by 4am, after 3 hours of sleep, but I messed around and didn’t call a taxi til 5am. Bad idea because cabs were very busy, but I was finally picked up at 5:30am and got to the airport by 5:45am. Cab charged me a $5 luggage surcharge, which is weird because I had just one suitcase. I need to investigate if that was legit, but I was in no mood for arguing because there was a long line and my flight was about to leave! I was finally checked in at 5:55am. I had a 8 hour layover in DCA, so the agent would not check my bag straight to Madrid, because she said anything over 4 hours is not a connection. On an international ticket, I thought a connection could be up to 24 hours…and UA once checked my bags straight through when I had a 9 hour international connection in SFO. But again, I was running late, so no arguing.
Flight was full, since the previous evening’s LGA flight was cancelled. Pilot makes an announcment that we have a ground stop in LGA and we are delayed 1 hr 40 min. He says he cannot understand since the weather is good and it is early in the morning. After the captain investigates, he finds out he received wrong information and there is no ground stop. We get deiced and are airborne by 6:30am.
Beverage service, and a mint before landing. We actually land on time at 7:30am and have a quick (for LGA) taxi to the gate. I quite like the Dash 8 service to LGA, when it is on time. Apparently the 6:10am flight is popular because it is very reliable.
I was ticketed on the 9am Shuttle to DCA, but I decided that I’d rather take the 8am Shuttle because I had stuff to do in DC. (No, I didn’t do this crazy routing for the miles, although it is a nice bonus!) A nice thing about taking the 8am Shuttle is that my bag would be on the 9am and therefore there would be an ‘excuse’ for me not picking it up til my evening flight.
Dec. 15, LGA- DCA (NY LaGuardia to DC National), 8am, A320
There was no problem getting on the 8am Shuttle, which was a new A320 which was about 2/3 full. I picked up some free magazines and got on just before the doors closed. I thought it would be a nice easy flight, but we were in a long take off line and didn’t take off til 8:30am despite an on time pushback.
Onboard service was excellent…there was a short subject news program and audio entertainment with free headsets. Juice and coffee, and a fresh bagel with cream cheese. Excellent snack service…but I guess given how expensive Shuttle fares are, I guess it’s no surprise. Upon landing at DCA around 9:15am, they deplaned through both doors, the back door via airstairs. Nice timesaver! I was on the Metro by 9:30am for a busy day working in DC.
I decided to head back to DCA around 4pm, because I needed to pickup my bag and check it to MAD. Arrived at the airport around 4:20pm and found by bag with no problem. There was a long check in line, but I was all checked in by 4:45pm. Then, it was off to Legal Seafood (my favorite airport restaurant) for a quick bite to eat. The food is great and the value is excellent, but the service is disorganized and slow. I must have waited 15 minutes after I was done eating for my check. Still, I will definetely go back…as long as I’m not in a rush
Dec 15, DCA-PHL, DC National to Philadelphia, 5:59pm, A319
I get to the gate and see they are taking volunteers. Big surprise because the flight didn’t look full when I checked the night before. But I figured I couldn’t volunteer because my luggage was checked to an international flight. I noticed ORD and ATL flights on other airlines were cancelled, so I guess US picked up lots of last minute bookings.
We went out with an empty seat or two, so I guess no volunteers were needed. We pushed back early and were airborne within 15 minutes. This flight was about 30 minutes, but since it is so short, no service whatsoever. Long list of connections read, I guess this flight gets very little local traffic.
I headed over to Terminal A for my flight to Madrid.
Dec 15, PHL-MAD, Philadelphia to Madrid, 8:05pm, 767-200
By this time I was very tired, after very little sleep and a busy day. We boarded early but didn’t push back til 8:30pm due to late connections. I had requested an exit row but immediately requested a seat change after seeing the seat. Never sit in an exit row on a US 767 – it is a bulkhead seat with very little legroom. Luckily, there was an empty aisle seat where I moved to. The 767 really showed its age, and the seat pitch wasn’t too good. Coach was about 85% full, while Envoy looked very empty.
We took off around 8:40pm and flew over New Jersey and then east across the Atlantic. Following a beverage service, dinner was served. Choices were chicken breast or roast beef. I picked the chicken, which was decent, but to tell you the truth I wasn’t too hungry because I was tired. Took about 2 to 3 hours into the flight for the dinner service to wrap up, at which point I politely informed my chatty seatmate that I really needed some rest. The F/As were great – they could see my seatmate trying to teach me Spanish and were teasing my limited Spanish speaking skills.
I had a decent sleep for about 2 to 3 hours, but then it was time for breakfast. (This flight time is only 6:35.) The breakfast was some fruit and a roll. Nice and light, but I was still very tired. The approach over Portugal and into Spain was beautiful. It was a sunny, clear day and the topology of Spain is different from anything I have seen before. Landing was on time right at 9am. We had a long taxi to our gate, and surprisingly deplaned by jet bridge and not airstairs. Many planes had airstairs.
Upon deplaning, there was a long walk to customs and then a very long line. Brilliant me picked the slowest line. The lines on either side moved literally 3 times as fast. But surprisingly I cleared very quickly, the officer just stamped my passport and sent me on my way.
Then, I picked up some cash from an ATM and then got on the city bus to Plaza Colon, where I caught a cab to my hotel (Best Western Los Condes). Madrid is a very inexpensive city – the dollar is very strong and everything is so cheap. My trip from the airport to the hotel cost about $5 (bus and cab).
The Best Western Los Condes is well located, just off Grand Via, but the rooms are small and the breakfast was just a bread roll. The next night, I was booked at the Best Western Santo Domingo, which is also off Grand Via, which is a much nicer hotel, with a full breakfast and nicer rooms. Rooms were both very small, but for about $50 per night for a central city location, I can’t complain at all!
I did lots of sightseeing in Madrid, seeing the museums on the Prado, visiting various bazaars, looking at the Spanish architecture, the Royal Palace, etc. I was too tired for any nightlife, and restaurants were a pain, because they don’t open for dinner til 8:30pm. With my jet lag, that made life tough….but the food was excellent and cheap. Madrid has an excellent subway system, but I explored mostly on foot, because there is so much to see.
Anyway, after 2 days in Madrid, it was off to Rome.
Dec 18, MAD-BRU, Madrid to Brussels, Virgin Express (Ireland), 737-300
I took a shuttle from the hotel to the airport. We got in traffic, but I still had plenty of time. Upon check in, I was informed the flight was delayed one hour. I had a 4 hour layover in BRU (was originally scheduled for 2 hours, but there was a schedule change), so I was disappointed because I wanted to explore Brussels.
Scheduled departure was at 12:50pm (delayed til 2pm) and we did not have a gate assignment until just after 1pm. At 1:15pm, there was a Spanair flight departing from our gate. After some arguing between the Virgin Express agent and the Spanair agent, we moved to another gate, where we boarded a bus to our plane.
There were only 40 of us on board, no real surprise since Virgin Express only has one flight a day to Madrid so is therefore uncompetitive in the market. This plane appeared quite new inside and there was a snack service (bag with sandwich and chocolate bar). Water, coffee, and tea were free, but there was a charge for soft drinks, juices, and alcohol. There was also in flight duty free shopping.
The entire way to Brussels it was cloudy and it was starting to get dark just as we landed after 4pm. We parked at a jetbridge, but exited the jet bridge onto the tarmac where we boarded busses. I guess we parked at international arrivals, but since this was an intra-EU flight, no customs for us.
I then found out the connecting gate for my flight to Rome and headed on the train into town. The train runs every 10 to 15 minutes and takes about 25 minutes into the city center. I went to the central station, and spent about an hour walking around the area. Downtown Brussels is modern for a European city, but there is some interesting buildings and shopping. It was all dressed up for the holidays… I was not particularly impressed, but then I hadn’t really made plans to see anything.
I got back to the airport just in time for my flight to Rome.
Dec 18, BRU-FCO, Brussels to Rome, Virgin Express (Belgium), 737-400
We boarded buses at the gate to take us to the plane. Upon boarding, I was told that I needed a seat number (I was given a handwritten boarding card in MAD) and was assigned a window seat. I asked for an aisle, but they said some were open, but it was too late to change seat assignments. In MAD they told me it was open seating. Oh well, who cares.
After a long bus ride, I boarded the plane and took my seat. There was much less legspace in this plane vs. the one I flew on from Madrid. This was a codeshare flight with Sabena, and from what I could see on people’s boarding passes, there were mostly Sabena passengers. There are also a few rows of seats at the front that are curtained off..I assume for premium Sabena passengers. Same seats as coach, though, but perhaps a different in flight service?
We took off about 10 minutes late and had the same in flight service as MAD-BRU. Landed in Rome about 10 minutes late, after about 2 hours flight time. After being hustled by taxi drivers, I finally found the airport train station. (You have to go upstairs above departures.) The Express train from the airport to the Termini station runs every half hour and is 17,000 Lira (about $8). I was lucky the flight was not later, because the last train is at 10:57pm, I was able to board the 10:27 with a few minutes to spare.
Upon arriving at Termini, I took a cab to Hotel Gabriella, a 2 star property booked through Hotel Reservations Network (HRN) on Travelocity for $60 per night. Rome looked expensive and this was the cheapest well located property I could find. It was actually walking distance from the train station, so the cab driver was furious at me and attempted to up my 8,500 Lira fare to 20,000 Lira. I compromised and paid 15,000 Lira.
This hotel is bare bones, but it is a good location and has a decent continental breakfast. The room was not well soundproofed, but the street wasn’t too noisy…and I was so tired anyway, it didn’t matter. Tile floors, though, which made it a bit cold.
I spent the next day exploring Rome…Spanish Steps, Colosuem, Vatican, etc. Rome is a very nice walking city and the weather was good. The only problem is that I ran out of time to see all the museums that I had wanted to visit. But in the Vatican, I did climb this castle and was able to see a 360 degree outlook of the city – very nice view! I guess I will need to go back sometime.
For dinner, I visited the Westin Excelsior and had their dinner buffet. My reasoning is that I wanted to try lots of different dishes…it was 38,000 Lira (about $18) and included tax and tip. The entrees weren’t impressive, but the antipasti and dessert selections were marvelous, and it was an adventure to try a little bit of everything.
Rome is a great city but it is very dangerous crossing the streets, even at lighted intersections. The motorcycles and cars are very aggressive and there aren’t always that many pedestrians.
On Wednesday morning, I was running a bit late. I checked out of the hotel at 9am and ran to the train station to catch the 9:20am train (it was a 5 minute walk to the station, but the track to the airport is at the far end of the station). The ticket machines were not taking credit cards, so I got into a panic because I had no Liras left. Oh well, I will just take the train with no ticket and buy a ticket upon arriving at the airport. No dice because there was a ticket check….but then I remembered I had US Dollars. They gladly sold me the 17,000 Lira ticket for $10. Whew – close call. Arrived at the airport at 9:50am for my 11:15am flight.
Dec 20, FCO-PHL, Rome to Philadelphia, US Airways, A330
The lines weren’t too long because I was quite late. But it was not a single line, but lines behind every counter. Of course, I picked the slowest line, so I waited over 30 minutes to get check in. In the meantime, I went through an extensive security questioning.
I didn’t really have any free time before boarding the flight and settled into 23C. The A330 of course looks very new, and the seats are comfortable, but the leg space is compromised in certain seats (including mine) by the entertainment system control box. I asked to move to the exit row, but I was informed that those seats are for crew rest.
The flight was relatively full, the preliminary load figures I saw when boarding were 0 in F, 10 in C, and 172 in Y. Fourteen flight attendants… I think we only had 6 or so in Y, so those 10 Envoy passengers must have had lots of attention. Push back was right on time and we were in the air by 11:30.
Following take off, the in seat TVs were activated. This system is different to what I’ve experienced before. There are several movies and programs that can be viewed on demand….they aren’t running in a cycle. But there were no video games. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of US news programs/documentaries. Seemed to be plenty of European ones. The movies kept me nicely occupied during the flight…..
The meal was chicken or beef, I chose the beef which was a very tasty stew. There was a side salad, cheese and crackers, and apple pie. There were beverages offered before, with, and after lunch. Good food, excellent service. Mid flight, orange juice and water were offered every 90 minutes or so. I thought it was a good sign that I never went back to the galley for drinks, like I continually do everytime I fly UA’s Sydney flight.
What was weird about this flight is that the captain kept the seatbelt sign illuminated the whole time. I understand that I need my seatbelt on while seated, but it is nice to have the sign go on and off so you know when it is safe to use the restroom.
About 2 hours out of Philadelphia, some focaccia bread, turkey, and provolone were served. The foccacia was dried out, but the meats and cheeses were good. There was also a nice fruit salad and chocolate bar. We landed early in Philadelphia, around 3pm, and it was dismally cloudy and cold.
I got through immigration and customs relatively quickly and was on my way to the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square ($40 per night through Priceline) by 4pm. Immigration was a bit odd because they wanted an I-94 form from me, and gave me a departure card (I am a permanent resident). Apparently, this only is happening as a test program at PIT, PHL, and MSP. I think it is a bit silly that as a permanent resident I need to carry a departure card with my passport.
Anyway, I spent the evening exploring downtown Philadelphia and doing some last minute holiday shopping. I called it an early night because I was badly jet lagged. The next morning, I visited Independence Park and the Liberty Bell and explored downtown a bit more. Then, it was time to catch my flight to SNA.
Since I was only allowed a 24 hour layover, and there are only 2 PIT-SNA flights per day, I had a long layover scheduled for PIT.
Dec 21, PHL-PIT, Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, US Airways, MD-80
I was checked in by 1:15pm for this 1:55pm flight. It was looking wide open, but managed to go out 100% full. We got a lot of passengers on the cancelled PHL-DTW flight who were rerouted through PIT.
We had a full beverage service for this 1 hour flight…not much else worth reporting, except that US has very few MD-80s and this is my third MD-80 flight this year (and I’ve only done 17 segments…with 4 of them on props).
Dec 21, PIT –SNA, Pittsburgh to Orange County, US Airways, A319
I had a 3 hour layover in PIT..I used the time to visit the food court and handle some ticketing at the AA counter. I was tired, though, and was ready to get on my way. I checked if they needed volunteers (the flight was close to sell out when I checked before leaving), but they weren’t oversold. We did manage to go out completely full and pushed back right on schedule.
After take off, beverages were served, followed by dinner. The meal was a nice beef dish with rice and vegetables, cheese and crackers, a salad, and cheesecake. The crew on this flight (4 F/As) wasn’t particularly cheerful, but they got the job done. I was fairly tired, so I slept most of the way. We landed in SNA about 10 minutes late, probably due
to winds.
Baggage claim was complete chaos because lots of flights had just landed, but my bags were out relatively quickly and I was on my way to Irvine for some relaxation after all this crazy travel!!!
Took a quick trip to Europe. The motivation was to make some use of an unused transatlantic ticket that I had purchased for Thanksgiving. I decided to exploit the fare rule to its fullest and scheduled ITH-LGA-DCA, DCA-PHL-MAD, FCO-PHL, PHL-PIT-SNA. So I did a double open jaw and stopovers in DCA and PHL, since stopovers of up to 24 hours are free on international tickets. The whole ticket priced at $595, but since my unused ticket was $629, US required me to upgrade the ticket to $857, since apparently an unused transatlantic ticket can only be applied towards a more expensive ticket. Oh, and I got between MAD and FCO on a $50 Virgin Express fare. It was a routing through BRU, but at least it was cheap.
Dec. 15, ITH-LGA (Ithaca to NY LaGuardia), 6:10am, Dash 8
I was up by 4am, after 3 hours of sleep, but I messed around and didn’t call a taxi til 5am. Bad idea because cabs were very busy, but I was finally picked up at 5:30am and got to the airport by 5:45am. Cab charged me a $5 luggage surcharge, which is weird because I had just one suitcase. I need to investigate if that was legit, but I was in no mood for arguing because there was a long line and my flight was about to leave! I was finally checked in at 5:55am. I had a 8 hour layover in DCA, so the agent would not check my bag straight to Madrid, because she said anything over 4 hours is not a connection. On an international ticket, I thought a connection could be up to 24 hours…and UA once checked my bags straight through when I had a 9 hour international connection in SFO. But again, I was running late, so no arguing.
Flight was full, since the previous evening’s LGA flight was cancelled. Pilot makes an announcment that we have a ground stop in LGA and we are delayed 1 hr 40 min. He says he cannot understand since the weather is good and it is early in the morning. After the captain investigates, he finds out he received wrong information and there is no ground stop. We get deiced and are airborne by 6:30am.
Beverage service, and a mint before landing. We actually land on time at 7:30am and have a quick (for LGA) taxi to the gate. I quite like the Dash 8 service to LGA, when it is on time. Apparently the 6:10am flight is popular because it is very reliable.
I was ticketed on the 9am Shuttle to DCA, but I decided that I’d rather take the 8am Shuttle because I had stuff to do in DC. (No, I didn’t do this crazy routing for the miles, although it is a nice bonus!) A nice thing about taking the 8am Shuttle is that my bag would be on the 9am and therefore there would be an ‘excuse’ for me not picking it up til my evening flight.
Dec. 15, LGA- DCA (NY LaGuardia to DC National), 8am, A320
There was no problem getting on the 8am Shuttle, which was a new A320 which was about 2/3 full. I picked up some free magazines and got on just before the doors closed. I thought it would be a nice easy flight, but we were in a long take off line and didn’t take off til 8:30am despite an on time pushback.
Onboard service was excellent…there was a short subject news program and audio entertainment with free headsets. Juice and coffee, and a fresh bagel with cream cheese. Excellent snack service…but I guess given how expensive Shuttle fares are, I guess it’s no surprise. Upon landing at DCA around 9:15am, they deplaned through both doors, the back door via airstairs. Nice timesaver! I was on the Metro by 9:30am for a busy day working in DC.
I decided to head back to DCA around 4pm, because I needed to pickup my bag and check it to MAD. Arrived at the airport around 4:20pm and found by bag with no problem. There was a long check in line, but I was all checked in by 4:45pm. Then, it was off to Legal Seafood (my favorite airport restaurant) for a quick bite to eat. The food is great and the value is excellent, but the service is disorganized and slow. I must have waited 15 minutes after I was done eating for my check. Still, I will definetely go back…as long as I’m not in a rush
Dec 15, DCA-PHL, DC National to Philadelphia, 5:59pm, A319
I get to the gate and see they are taking volunteers. Big surprise because the flight didn’t look full when I checked the night before. But I figured I couldn’t volunteer because my luggage was checked to an international flight. I noticed ORD and ATL flights on other airlines were cancelled, so I guess US picked up lots of last minute bookings.
We went out with an empty seat or two, so I guess no volunteers were needed. We pushed back early and were airborne within 15 minutes. This flight was about 30 minutes, but since it is so short, no service whatsoever. Long list of connections read, I guess this flight gets very little local traffic.
I headed over to Terminal A for my flight to Madrid.
Dec 15, PHL-MAD, Philadelphia to Madrid, 8:05pm, 767-200
By this time I was very tired, after very little sleep and a busy day. We boarded early but didn’t push back til 8:30pm due to late connections. I had requested an exit row but immediately requested a seat change after seeing the seat. Never sit in an exit row on a US 767 – it is a bulkhead seat with very little legroom. Luckily, there was an empty aisle seat where I moved to. The 767 really showed its age, and the seat pitch wasn’t too good. Coach was about 85% full, while Envoy looked very empty.
We took off around 8:40pm and flew over New Jersey and then east across the Atlantic. Following a beverage service, dinner was served. Choices were chicken breast or roast beef. I picked the chicken, which was decent, but to tell you the truth I wasn’t too hungry because I was tired. Took about 2 to 3 hours into the flight for the dinner service to wrap up, at which point I politely informed my chatty seatmate that I really needed some rest. The F/As were great – they could see my seatmate trying to teach me Spanish and were teasing my limited Spanish speaking skills.
I had a decent sleep for about 2 to 3 hours, but then it was time for breakfast. (This flight time is only 6:35.) The breakfast was some fruit and a roll. Nice and light, but I was still very tired. The approach over Portugal and into Spain was beautiful. It was a sunny, clear day and the topology of Spain is different from anything I have seen before. Landing was on time right at 9am. We had a long taxi to our gate, and surprisingly deplaned by jet bridge and not airstairs. Many planes had airstairs.
Upon deplaning, there was a long walk to customs and then a very long line. Brilliant me picked the slowest line. The lines on either side moved literally 3 times as fast. But surprisingly I cleared very quickly, the officer just stamped my passport and sent me on my way.
Then, I picked up some cash from an ATM and then got on the city bus to Plaza Colon, where I caught a cab to my hotel (Best Western Los Condes). Madrid is a very inexpensive city – the dollar is very strong and everything is so cheap. My trip from the airport to the hotel cost about $5 (bus and cab).
The Best Western Los Condes is well located, just off Grand Via, but the rooms are small and the breakfast was just a bread roll. The next night, I was booked at the Best Western Santo Domingo, which is also off Grand Via, which is a much nicer hotel, with a full breakfast and nicer rooms. Rooms were both very small, but for about $50 per night for a central city location, I can’t complain at all!
I did lots of sightseeing in Madrid, seeing the museums on the Prado, visiting various bazaars, looking at the Spanish architecture, the Royal Palace, etc. I was too tired for any nightlife, and restaurants were a pain, because they don’t open for dinner til 8:30pm. With my jet lag, that made life tough….but the food was excellent and cheap. Madrid has an excellent subway system, but I explored mostly on foot, because there is so much to see.
Anyway, after 2 days in Madrid, it was off to Rome.
Dec 18, MAD-BRU, Madrid to Brussels, Virgin Express (Ireland), 737-300
I took a shuttle from the hotel to the airport. We got in traffic, but I still had plenty of time. Upon check in, I was informed the flight was delayed one hour. I had a 4 hour layover in BRU (was originally scheduled for 2 hours, but there was a schedule change), so I was disappointed because I wanted to explore Brussels.
Scheduled departure was at 12:50pm (delayed til 2pm) and we did not have a gate assignment until just after 1pm. At 1:15pm, there was a Spanair flight departing from our gate. After some arguing between the Virgin Express agent and the Spanair agent, we moved to another gate, where we boarded a bus to our plane.
There were only 40 of us on board, no real surprise since Virgin Express only has one flight a day to Madrid so is therefore uncompetitive in the market. This plane appeared quite new inside and there was a snack service (bag with sandwich and chocolate bar). Water, coffee, and tea were free, but there was a charge for soft drinks, juices, and alcohol. There was also in flight duty free shopping.
The entire way to Brussels it was cloudy and it was starting to get dark just as we landed after 4pm. We parked at a jetbridge, but exited the jet bridge onto the tarmac where we boarded busses. I guess we parked at international arrivals, but since this was an intra-EU flight, no customs for us.
I then found out the connecting gate for my flight to Rome and headed on the train into town. The train runs every 10 to 15 minutes and takes about 25 minutes into the city center. I went to the central station, and spent about an hour walking around the area. Downtown Brussels is modern for a European city, but there is some interesting buildings and shopping. It was all dressed up for the holidays… I was not particularly impressed, but then I hadn’t really made plans to see anything.
I got back to the airport just in time for my flight to Rome.
Dec 18, BRU-FCO, Brussels to Rome, Virgin Express (Belgium), 737-400
We boarded buses at the gate to take us to the plane. Upon boarding, I was told that I needed a seat number (I was given a handwritten boarding card in MAD) and was assigned a window seat. I asked for an aisle, but they said some were open, but it was too late to change seat assignments. In MAD they told me it was open seating. Oh well, who cares.
After a long bus ride, I boarded the plane and took my seat. There was much less legspace in this plane vs. the one I flew on from Madrid. This was a codeshare flight with Sabena, and from what I could see on people’s boarding passes, there were mostly Sabena passengers. There are also a few rows of seats at the front that are curtained off..I assume for premium Sabena passengers. Same seats as coach, though, but perhaps a different in flight service?
We took off about 10 minutes late and had the same in flight service as MAD-BRU. Landed in Rome about 10 minutes late, after about 2 hours flight time. After being hustled by taxi drivers, I finally found the airport train station. (You have to go upstairs above departures.) The Express train from the airport to the Termini station runs every half hour and is 17,000 Lira (about $8). I was lucky the flight was not later, because the last train is at 10:57pm, I was able to board the 10:27 with a few minutes to spare.
Upon arriving at Termini, I took a cab to Hotel Gabriella, a 2 star property booked through Hotel Reservations Network (HRN) on Travelocity for $60 per night. Rome looked expensive and this was the cheapest well located property I could find. It was actually walking distance from the train station, so the cab driver was furious at me and attempted to up my 8,500 Lira fare to 20,000 Lira. I compromised and paid 15,000 Lira.
This hotel is bare bones, but it is a good location and has a decent continental breakfast. The room was not well soundproofed, but the street wasn’t too noisy…and I was so tired anyway, it didn’t matter. Tile floors, though, which made it a bit cold.
I spent the next day exploring Rome…Spanish Steps, Colosuem, Vatican, etc. Rome is a very nice walking city and the weather was good. The only problem is that I ran out of time to see all the museums that I had wanted to visit. But in the Vatican, I did climb this castle and was able to see a 360 degree outlook of the city – very nice view! I guess I will need to go back sometime.
For dinner, I visited the Westin Excelsior and had their dinner buffet. My reasoning is that I wanted to try lots of different dishes…it was 38,000 Lira (about $18) and included tax and tip. The entrees weren’t impressive, but the antipasti and dessert selections were marvelous, and it was an adventure to try a little bit of everything.
Rome is a great city but it is very dangerous crossing the streets, even at lighted intersections. The motorcycles and cars are very aggressive and there aren’t always that many pedestrians.
On Wednesday morning, I was running a bit late. I checked out of the hotel at 9am and ran to the train station to catch the 9:20am train (it was a 5 minute walk to the station, but the track to the airport is at the far end of the station). The ticket machines were not taking credit cards, so I got into a panic because I had no Liras left. Oh well, I will just take the train with no ticket and buy a ticket upon arriving at the airport. No dice because there was a ticket check….but then I remembered I had US Dollars. They gladly sold me the 17,000 Lira ticket for $10. Whew – close call. Arrived at the airport at 9:50am for my 11:15am flight.
Dec 20, FCO-PHL, Rome to Philadelphia, US Airways, A330
The lines weren’t too long because I was quite late. But it was not a single line, but lines behind every counter. Of course, I picked the slowest line, so I waited over 30 minutes to get check in. In the meantime, I went through an extensive security questioning.
I didn’t really have any free time before boarding the flight and settled into 23C. The A330 of course looks very new, and the seats are comfortable, but the leg space is compromised in certain seats (including mine) by the entertainment system control box. I asked to move to the exit row, but I was informed that those seats are for crew rest.
The flight was relatively full, the preliminary load figures I saw when boarding were 0 in F, 10 in C, and 172 in Y. Fourteen flight attendants… I think we only had 6 or so in Y, so those 10 Envoy passengers must have had lots of attention. Push back was right on time and we were in the air by 11:30.
Following take off, the in seat TVs were activated. This system is different to what I’ve experienced before. There are several movies and programs that can be viewed on demand….they aren’t running in a cycle. But there were no video games. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of US news programs/documentaries. Seemed to be plenty of European ones. The movies kept me nicely occupied during the flight…..
The meal was chicken or beef, I chose the beef which was a very tasty stew. There was a side salad, cheese and crackers, and apple pie. There were beverages offered before, with, and after lunch. Good food, excellent service. Mid flight, orange juice and water were offered every 90 minutes or so. I thought it was a good sign that I never went back to the galley for drinks, like I continually do everytime I fly UA’s Sydney flight.
What was weird about this flight is that the captain kept the seatbelt sign illuminated the whole time. I understand that I need my seatbelt on while seated, but it is nice to have the sign go on and off so you know when it is safe to use the restroom.
About 2 hours out of Philadelphia, some focaccia bread, turkey, and provolone were served. The foccacia was dried out, but the meats and cheeses were good. There was also a nice fruit salad and chocolate bar. We landed early in Philadelphia, around 3pm, and it was dismally cloudy and cold.
I got through immigration and customs relatively quickly and was on my way to the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square ($40 per night through Priceline) by 4pm. Immigration was a bit odd because they wanted an I-94 form from me, and gave me a departure card (I am a permanent resident). Apparently, this only is happening as a test program at PIT, PHL, and MSP. I think it is a bit silly that as a permanent resident I need to carry a departure card with my passport.
Anyway, I spent the evening exploring downtown Philadelphia and doing some last minute holiday shopping. I called it an early night because I was badly jet lagged. The next morning, I visited Independence Park and the Liberty Bell and explored downtown a bit more. Then, it was time to catch my flight to SNA.
Since I was only allowed a 24 hour layover, and there are only 2 PIT-SNA flights per day, I had a long layover scheduled for PIT.
Dec 21, PHL-PIT, Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, US Airways, MD-80
I was checked in by 1:15pm for this 1:55pm flight. It was looking wide open, but managed to go out 100% full. We got a lot of passengers on the cancelled PHL-DTW flight who were rerouted through PIT.
We had a full beverage service for this 1 hour flight…not much else worth reporting, except that US has very few MD-80s and this is my third MD-80 flight this year (and I’ve only done 17 segments…with 4 of them on props).
Dec 21, PIT –SNA, Pittsburgh to Orange County, US Airways, A319
I had a 3 hour layover in PIT..I used the time to visit the food court and handle some ticketing at the AA counter. I was tired, though, and was ready to get on my way. I checked if they needed volunteers (the flight was close to sell out when I checked before leaving), but they weren’t oversold. We did manage to go out completely full and pushed back right on schedule.
After take off, beverages were served, followed by dinner. The meal was a nice beef dish with rice and vegetables, cheese and crackers, a salad, and cheesecake. The crew on this flight (4 F/As) wasn’t particularly cheerful, but they got the job done. I was fairly tired, so I slept most of the way. We landed in SNA about 10 minutes late, probably due
to winds.
Baggage claim was complete chaos because lots of flights had just landed, but my bags were out relatively quickly and I was on my way to Irvine for some relaxation after all this crazy travel!!!