Carfield
Apr 3, 01, 10:37 pm
Trip Report
Hi Everyone,
Here is Carfield's latest adventure of flying… it is long and will take a while to write and will post parts by parts…
Let begins with the detour to San Francisco on Alaska and American.
March 21, 2001
AS 473 LAX-SEA Lv0941 Arr1217
McDonald Douglas MD-80 N974AS
Check-in - the agent was new and tried to make me use two upgrade coupons for the complete upgrade to Anchorage. Fortunately, the gate agent reaffirmed me that you only needed one coupon and returned one of them to me. Bags checked through to Anchorage, which was a mistake…
Plane-spotting at LAX:
QF's Boeing 747-400 VJ-OJP was pushed back for its continuation to JFK.
PR's Boeing 747-400 N753PR
VG's MD-11, and MX's Star Alliance A320
Boarding took place on time and we took off at 9:55am from R/W24L. Flying time was two hours and eight minutes.
In-flight service - this flight was an average Alaska flight and the F/As are not super friendly, but did their jobs. Y class got a beverage service and F class got a fruit plate, which consisted of 2 cantaloupe slices, ½ strawberry, and a slice of kiwi, and a plain scone with Marionberry Preserve and butter.
We landed at 12:03pm on Runway 34L and parked at Gate D8.
Long layover - I ate at the Seattle Express café, took pictures of AA's B777 to NRT, and played around at the Laptop lane.
Plane-spotting notes:
AA's Boeing 777-200 N783AN
Aeroflot's Boeing 767-300ER VP-BAV
Martinair Cargo's MD-11 PH-MCW
British Airways' classic livery Boeing 747-200 & the brand new livery SAS's B767-300ER
AS 181 SEA-ANC Lv1638 Arr1913
Boeing 737-400 N769AS
The flight got in on time from Phoenix and it would be nice to get into ANC on time because I needed to claim my bags and checked in for my flight to ORD. Seeing the plane arrived early from PHX made me happy, but problems soon popped up. One of the lavatories in the aft cabin was having a flooding situation. The poops were heading the opposite way and the mechanics had to fix it. Finally, they pressurized the plane and forced the poops down. They fixed it but then the clean up crews had to clean the bathroom up. Finally, we began boarding at 5:18pm and the door was not closed till 5:40pm. We took off at 5:51om from Runway 34R and the pilot told us that our flying time was three hours and thirty-six minutes due to strong head winds. Flying attitude was 31,000ft.
The F/As were excellent and both cabins received a hot dinner service. The meals were delicious and here was the menu…
Green Salad (lettuce, 2 tomato wedges, 3 slices of radish, endives, and shredded red cabbages)
Accompanied by Caesar dressing and a sourdough roll
Main Courses
Beef fillet with green peppercorn sauce
Or
Bowtie pasta with chopped spicy Italian sausages, carrots, & mushrooms with a tomato based sauce
It was nice and I enjoyed it.
Dessert
Pound cakes with blueberries, jam, and icing
Delicious…
We finally made it to ANC at 8:18pm and I literally jumped off the plane immediately. I went to gate B1, the gate for AS 136, immediately and checked in. I told the check in agent the problem and she told me to either head down to baggage service center now or filed a claim later at ORD. I chose the first option and the lady at the baggage service center immediately asked me to give her the description of the bag, copied down the claim number, and she would try to send a guy to rush the bag once the bag came out. Fortunately, the AS flight was boarded on time, but was still refueling when I settled in. Due to the efficiency of AS, the agents came to the plane before the door closed and told me the bag made it on this flight. I was happy. Once again, AS impressed me and I would definitely send them a thank you card. They literally had twenty minutes to complete the task. Thankfully, Anchorage was small and not busy during this late winter/ early spring season.
AS 136 ANC-ORD Lv2044 Arr0530+1
Boeing 737-700 N624AS
This plane was one of the latest ones delivered to Alaska on November 2000. I did not know any boarding detail, since I was among the last passengers boarded. Fortunately, I found an overhead space. F class was full and Y was not particularly full, but still okay. I was glad to see Sonny again. He was the purser again and I was on his last ANC-ORD flight too. He was a wonderful gentleman and definitely brought the spirits of the other two F/As and passengers up. Door closed at 8:40pm and we were able to take off at 8:50pm on a quiet night at Anchorage.
My neighbor was an urologist, who worked at Anchorage and told me about his two adopted daughters from China and his travels to Hong Kong. It was a nice gentleman and he was heading off to Chicago for a conference.
Inflight service - the best that AS offers. There was a menu offered and was a brand new one. As usual, a bowl of warmed mixed nuts with your choice of beverage before the meal began. Sonny was excellent and an expert on doing to ORD flights. He offered wines and drinks constantly.
Here were the juicy details with my remarks at Italic.
To Begin
Winter Pear, Toasted Walnuts on a bed of Mesclun Greens
4 pears, shredded red peppers, walnuts, & other fresh greens filled the salad plate and two containers of Naturally Fresh's Olive Oil & Vinegar dressing were offered as well. The salad was fresh and nice.
Choice of Entrees
Ginger Prawns served with Teriyaki sauce
Grilled Rice Pancakes and Stir Fried Vegetables
An alright entrée, but too heavy for supper… the coating for the prawns was awful and I had to scrap it before eating it. It was a bit dry. The rice pancakes were tasteless, but the veggies were fine.
Or
Broiled Filet Mignon with Shiitake Demi Glace
Pancetta Parmesan Risotto and Steamed Fresh Asparagus with Baby Carrots
Selection of Warmed Rustic Breads
Sourdough or wheat breads
Dessert
Maple Apple Torte on Vanilla Sabayon
Excellent dessert
May we offer you a little something prior to your arrival
Breakfast Snack
Fresh Fruit Plate
Kiwi, orange segments, grapefruit segments, and grapes
Warmed Cinnamon Roll and choice of beverage
We proudly feature Seattle's Best Coffee
During the flight, In-motion entertainment sponsored the DVD players for first class passengers. I was surprised to see a less heavy and a nicer model of DVD player. Sonny told me that they were brand new and AS started to use them ten days ago. The battery lasted longer and I used it to view some Chinese VCDs and listen to some CDs. Then an hour prior to landing, Sonny came by with the fruit plate and breakfast pastry.
Due to tail winds, flying time was five hours and seven minutes with a cruising altitude of 37,000ft. We landed at 5:07am and there were five planes waiting to land. We parked at Gate G6, which was among the American Eagle flights, and it was quiet. Bags took a while to come out but I was happy to see my bag.
March 22, 2001
AA 303 ORD-SFO Lv0840 Arr1128
Boeing 737-800 N933AN
I was anxious about my flight with AA. I flew AA's West Coast service last year, but the midcon flight was brand new for me. I issued this set of first class ticket using 40,000miles from my Alaska's account and the whole redeeming process was simple. I called Alaska's partner desk, found the flights, made the reservation, and issued the ticket on AS ticket office.
Check-in: AA's check-in areas at ORD's Terminal three was very confusing. It was a while before I found the first class lines, shared with Executive Platinum lines. There was a separate Gold and Platinum line. I was checked in by a friendly agent, who addressed on my last name basis. This did not happen much with United. She issued the boarding pass, and then I asked her where the ticketing line was. I needed to reissue my ticket from TPE to LAX with the upgrade. She told me that she was happy to do it now. She quickly got my ticket and my coupon, and worked on it immediately. The whole experience was pleasant and the agents were efficient. It certainly beats most UA agents… not to mention the agents at SFO and DEN. Anyway, she reissued the ticket and wish me luck on the inaugural TPE flight. She told me that it was nice to do the upgrades here because the TPE staff may not know what to do on the first day.
Boarding - AA had an efficient boarding system and they never tore those boarding passes. I got to keep the boarding pass on the whole…not just the tiny tips of it. I was welcomed by two F/As and took my seat at 6A. I immediately noticed the amount of legroom. It was better than any UA's two class a/cs. Even the bulkhead rows had tons of spaces. But the problem was the new seats. The headrest was very hard and made your necks uncomfortable. There was pre-takeoff orange juice service.
We took off from R/W 32R at 8:53pm and climbed to 33,000ft, which was up to 35,000ft later. The F/As started the movie, Men of Honor, after the seat belt sign turned off. You need to pay $5 in coach. They later showed the CBS' Eyes on American program, which consisted of 60 minutes (which made me want to squeeze the neck of Mike Wallace and the program was 10 times worst than Dateline NBC), CBS comedies, David Letterman, and other shows.
Food service - no menu and no linen… Only the linen that covered the breakfast tray… But AA had the hot towel service. The F/As put a glass of water with the dry ice in the middle of his towel trays. They were cute. The breakfast was comparable to United - a choice of hot and cold breakfast.
Hot Breakfast was a French Toast and scrambled eggs dish, which basically had two slice of ¼ sized bread, some scramble eggs using egg beaters, and some sausages - pretty cheap. It also came with a fruit plate, which had 3 slices of cantaloupes, white grapes, grapefruit, & strawberry. The Cold breakfast had the same fruit plate, but with a larger potion of the same fruits. They also got the Special K. Everyone was offered a Upstate Farm's Blueberry yogurt, a choice of blueberry muffin or plain bagel, and fruits. The hot entrée could use a larger portion… Anyway, AA at least got the yogurt for everyone.
The flight continued with me napping but the F/As were continuously serving drinks to everyone. The plane landed at 11:10am at Runway 28R. We parked at Gate 61 and I took the San Francisco Airporter to the Argent Hotel, which was not a fun experience. The hotel staffs were not very nice and my room could not be farther away from the elevator. Then constructions began at 4am on the buildings opposite from the hotel. Then there was no TV the first night I was there, and then the telephone system went down the next day. Nonstop problems… $205/night was not cool at all. Although my mother and sister came to join me (it would make the room more worthwhile), it was still expensive. I do not recommend the hotel to any HT/FT fellow members here. I stayed there for three nights. Stayed at the W Hotel… But the conference went fine. I got three interviews, with one very productive. I hopefully will get a second interview.
The last evening, we moved to the Hilton Garden Inn Burlingame/SFO. It was a nicer hotel and surprisingly more quiet than the Argent. Of course, planes were taking off all morning long… couple flights in the late night hours as well…
March 26, 2001
AA 682 ORD-SFO Lv1043 Arr1644
Boeing 767-200ER N317AA
Check-in - another great experience and agents had great times chatting with passengers
Boarding began at 10:15am and the flight was rather full. For those unfamiliar with AA, it only operates two classes of service on these flagship planes, except the transcontinental routes labeled as the flagship service. First class section features the real sleeper seats, and business class seats are used as a premium seating area for elite and full fare passengers. I got the nice window seat, 3J, and the sleeper seat was very nice - gray leather with a wool cover. The seats are new because there were side tables for DVD players and a snake style personal light. The lumbar and legroom buttons are electronic style. Business class also features the new seats with 50 inches legroom, but no personal TV. After boarding was completed, an American ground staff wearing a Hawaiian style dress came to the a/c and thanked every Executive Platinum passengers. Good impression!
We pushed back early, but was held up on the taxiway between Runway 1R and 1L due to ATC at Chicago O'Hare. I saw lots of actions - MX's A320, AC's B737, CO's M80… We finally received our slot and took off at 11:16am from Runway 1R.
Elizabeth, our purser, was excellent and began the lunch service in no times. First, she took our beverage order and then brought out a bowl of warmed mixed nuts. Then, she took our lunch order. Once again, there was no menu. The choices for lunch were a Chauterbraid sandwich on sourdough bread, tortilla soup with chicken, or a shrimp dish. I had the shrimp, which was basically like crab cakes. Chopped shrimps and flour mixed together… deep fried… and there was a sweet and sour sauce. There was a string bean side salad. Not a good choice. The meal began with a linen service. Elizabeth rolled up each linen, so she could just roll it out on our tables. Then she brought us our salad, which was Greek style. Feta cheese, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and lettuce were the main components, which were accompanied by a choice of Italian vinaigrette or peppercorn cream dressing. After the entrée, there was a choice of sundae (vanilla ice-cream with choice of toppings… I had the butterscotch and nuts) and a fruit plate (pineapple, cantaloupe, kiwi, and grapes). Then Elizabeth continued with beverage refills once every twenty minutes. The enetertainment today was free with the complements of the F/As. The movie was You Can Count On Me, and CBS' Eyes on American featuring an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond continued. Unfortunately, there was no cookie service on this American flight.
We began our descent at 4:16pm. Elizabeth than passed out a basket of mint/ coffee candies and thanked each of us for flying American, which was a nice gesture. We finally landed at Runway 4R at 4:52pm and parked at gate K5. I saw the KL's Boeing 747-300 PH-BUK taxiing to runway. Then I saw the new SAS's new livery again. LOT's Boeing 767-300ER and Austrian's Airbus were parked at the International terminal with the usual AA and UA's planes. In conclusion, I am very impressed with American and if United cuts back too much, I may switch to it. There is no menu, but the service seems to be courteous and the ground staffs seem to bit more friendly and helpful. Also, you can get elite bonus when flying the oneworld carriers too, which is nice. I called American that evening and joined the Gold Challenge beginning April 1, 2001. After my trip on the inaugural AA's TPE-SJC service, I was more than qualified for the gold membership.
I stayed at the Ramada Plaza Chicago O'Hare, which was nothing special to tell you. I got a surprise package from Elmhurst Nick and thank you very much. I had a nice dinner (Bowtie pasta with chicken and mushrooms) in the coffee shop and got a nice room for watching planes. I saw the LOT's Boeing 767-300ER taking off and saw the LH's A340 landed early from Frankfurt. I saw a bit of AA's and UA's planes come and go, but I saw an AA's Boeing 737-800 making a missed approach because he came in too high. Interesting plane action!
March 27, 2001
AS 135 ORD-ANC Lv0855 Arr1224
Boeing 737-700 N615AS
I went to the Alaska' check-in counter early and found a rather deserted area. I overheard the ground agents telling her colleagues that the flight was pretty light for this week. But when I boarded, the load was about full in first class and 65% in economy class. I guess that is the reason for the $268 web specials. Anyway, American Airlines was in charge of the ground handling and I received the usual good service. Boarding began at 8:24am at Gate G6. A bottle of pre-takeoff minute maid orange juice was already placed on each first class seat. The door was closed at 8:49am after the last connecting passenger arrived. We pushed back two minutes later and taxied to Runway 4L. We took off at 9:03am after a United's Boeing 737 took off in front of us. On a side note, I saw the landing of an ANA's Boeing 777 plane from Narita. The pilots took us the flying time was six hours and thirteen minutes, and we cruised at an attitude of 39,000ft. We flew over Minnesota, Alberta, Canada's Northwestern Territory, Juneau, and then into Anchorage.
Cherie was our first class flight attendant and purser, and once again was excellent. She passed out the beautiful first class menu, which featured a new meal service arrangements and the entertainment guide. She took our beverage and meal orders shortly after takeoff. Here was the menu:
For Starters
Continental Breakfast to include
Seasonal Fresh Fruit Plate
2 slices each of pineapples, cantaloupes, & melons, orange segments, kiwi, and strawberry with three slices of cheese (brie, cheddar, and Swiss… the fruits were fresh and the cheeses were fine…good starters
Freshly baked Brioche offered with Berry Jam (Alaska Tribal Cache's Wild Blueberry Jam)
We proudly feature Seattle's Best Coffee
(Here is the coach menu, which was a very nice fold up menu… better than UA's international Y menu:
For Starters
Selection of juice, coffee, and assorted beverages
As well as a warmed scone - Pumpkin spice scones)
Then Cherie passed out the In Motion DVD players and the choices of movies are Autumn in New York, Contender, Dinosaur, Dr. T & the Women, Get Carter (2000), Hollow Man, Disney's the Kid, and What Lies Beneath. Not an impressive choice for movies, but I got my own things to watch. I also chatted with Cherie a bit and she told me that they were excited about the new Boeing 737-900s. They would serve the SEA-ANC, and SEA-LAX routes exclusively for now. Four F/As would service the a/c, but she told me that they wanted five, due to shorter flying times on some of the routes. Anyway, she also told me about the possiblility of a second ORD-ANC summer flight, which would be nice. AS was working with American now.
Anyway, three hours prior to arrival, Cherie began to take main course orders. She passed out more beverage and a pack of nuts first. Then she passed out the meal tray…
Later in the flight we will offer you a choice of Hot Entrees
Begin with a Salad of Fresh Mesclun Greens and Alaskan Smoked Halibut
Accompanied by the Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing… A nice salad but the smoked fish is too tasty for me…
Choice of Entrée
Filet of Sole stuffed with Pacific Snow Crab served with a sauce Newburgh
Rice Pilaf and Snap Peas
Surprisingly good… the fish was not smelly at all. The rice was nice and the snap peas were crispy.
Or
Alaskan Amber Ale Tenderloin Beef Stew served in a Sourdough Bread Bowl
Warmed Rustic Loaves
Selection of Country French or Whole Wheat
Each tray came with both loaves… one each…
Dessert
Vanilla Bourbon Cake resting on a Caramel sauce
Y class got
Choice of Entrees
Jambalaya with Alaskan Reindeer Sausage, Chicken and Shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce, Served with rice
Or
Grilled Breast of Chicken with "Yukon Whiskey Gravy"
Garlic "Smashed" Potatoes & Vegetables complete the entrée
Green Salad, Wheat Roll & Chocolate Decadent Cake accompany your meal
Another great Alaskan flight… F/As passed out a basket of Ghiradelli' Mint Chocolate squares after the meal services. But there was no hot towel service on this flight…
We began our descent at 2:44pm and landed at 12:13pm ANC time. We quickly parked at Gate B1.
AS 160 ANC-SEA Lv1645 Arr2105
Boeing 737-700 N615AS
Same plane but with a different set of flight attendants… Check in went by with no problems! The gate agent tried to persuade me to take an earlier flight with no upgrade. I told her "no" because I needed the bonus miles (50%). The plane came in on time from Fairbanks and we began boarding at 4:23pm. The load was 12F and 74Y. The door was closed four minutes early and we took off from R/W 24L at 4:50pm. The pilot told us that a nice tail wind had shortened our trip to two hours and forty-eight minutes, but possible ATC delay might happen. Our cruising attitude was 37,000ft.
The F/A was a bit cold tonight. She closed the galley curtain immediately after she began to work. She took the beverage and entrée orders on an orderly fashion and passed out everything in the same time. The service was fine, but not like your typical funny and warm AS service.
The dinner service began with a terrific salad of romaine hearts, lettuce, 2 slices of cucumbers and 2 tomato wedges with the Caesar dressing and chopped eggs on top of the veggies. There was also a soft Olive roll. The choices for entrees are chicken breast with a white sauce, rice pilaf, carrots, & celeries, and Veal Scalloppine with orange gravy, broccoli and carrots. The veal tasted fine but the orange sauce was strange. Anyway, the dessert was a nice Chocolate torte with strawberry mousse. The F/A finished off the service with more beverage and came around two more times. She was hiding in the galley for the rest of the flight.
Of course, the rainy weather at Seattle was holding us on the sky. We circled for almost twenty minutes before receiving our clearance. We landed at 8:56pm at Runway 16L. We still made it two minutes early at Gate D9. I saw a brand new Boeing 737-700 (N626AS) passed by. Nice catch!
March 28, 2001
AS 190 SEA-LAX Lv1129 Arr1356
Boeing 737-400 N788AS
I checked in an hour before takeoff and spent a bit time at the Laptop lane. Boarding began early due to the early arrival of the flight from Anchorage. The F/As were very funny and our flight pushed back right on time, and we took off from R/W 16L at 11:41am.
Lunch was featured today and the entrees were still not too good. I sat at 3F, which meant "no choice." There was a choice of grilled chicken pizza with green salad or an Asian chicken salad (chicken breast, lo mein, bamboo shoots, peanuts, waterchestnuts, shredded carrots, tomato wedges (2), and lettuce with a sesame vinaigrette dressing, and a sourdough roll. The salad was strange but I was not too hungry this afternoon. The pizza looked fine. Of course, the single lonely piece of Almond Roca candy finished off our meal. Economy class passenger got the turkey and Swiss sandwich on a potato bun for lunch.
We landed at 1:51pm at Runway 24R after much circling along the coast. I literally saw an AC's A320 crossed below us… We waited for SQ's Boeing 747-400 (9V-SPG) to taxi to the runway for its flight to Narita before entering our gate, 31B. I also saw the landing of a beautiful BA's Boeing 747-400 Chelsea Rose G-BNLL.
Part II and III will come up tomorrow with reports on the AC/SQ transpacific runs and AA's inaugural TPE-SJC flight
Hi Everyone,
Here is Carfield's latest adventure of flying… it is long and will take a while to write and will post parts by parts…
Let begins with the detour to San Francisco on Alaska and American.
March 21, 2001
AS 473 LAX-SEA Lv0941 Arr1217
McDonald Douglas MD-80 N974AS
Check-in - the agent was new and tried to make me use two upgrade coupons for the complete upgrade to Anchorage. Fortunately, the gate agent reaffirmed me that you only needed one coupon and returned one of them to me. Bags checked through to Anchorage, which was a mistake…
Plane-spotting at LAX:
QF's Boeing 747-400 VJ-OJP was pushed back for its continuation to JFK.
PR's Boeing 747-400 N753PR
VG's MD-11, and MX's Star Alliance A320
Boarding took place on time and we took off at 9:55am from R/W24L. Flying time was two hours and eight minutes.
In-flight service - this flight was an average Alaska flight and the F/As are not super friendly, but did their jobs. Y class got a beverage service and F class got a fruit plate, which consisted of 2 cantaloupe slices, ½ strawberry, and a slice of kiwi, and a plain scone with Marionberry Preserve and butter.
We landed at 12:03pm on Runway 34L and parked at Gate D8.
Long layover - I ate at the Seattle Express café, took pictures of AA's B777 to NRT, and played around at the Laptop lane.
Plane-spotting notes:
AA's Boeing 777-200 N783AN
Aeroflot's Boeing 767-300ER VP-BAV
Martinair Cargo's MD-11 PH-MCW
British Airways' classic livery Boeing 747-200 & the brand new livery SAS's B767-300ER
AS 181 SEA-ANC Lv1638 Arr1913
Boeing 737-400 N769AS
The flight got in on time from Phoenix and it would be nice to get into ANC on time because I needed to claim my bags and checked in for my flight to ORD. Seeing the plane arrived early from PHX made me happy, but problems soon popped up. One of the lavatories in the aft cabin was having a flooding situation. The poops were heading the opposite way and the mechanics had to fix it. Finally, they pressurized the plane and forced the poops down. They fixed it but then the clean up crews had to clean the bathroom up. Finally, we began boarding at 5:18pm and the door was not closed till 5:40pm. We took off at 5:51om from Runway 34R and the pilot told us that our flying time was three hours and thirty-six minutes due to strong head winds. Flying attitude was 31,000ft.
The F/As were excellent and both cabins received a hot dinner service. The meals were delicious and here was the menu…
Green Salad (lettuce, 2 tomato wedges, 3 slices of radish, endives, and shredded red cabbages)
Accompanied by Caesar dressing and a sourdough roll
Main Courses
Beef fillet with green peppercorn sauce
Or
Bowtie pasta with chopped spicy Italian sausages, carrots, & mushrooms with a tomato based sauce
It was nice and I enjoyed it.
Dessert
Pound cakes with blueberries, jam, and icing
Delicious…
We finally made it to ANC at 8:18pm and I literally jumped off the plane immediately. I went to gate B1, the gate for AS 136, immediately and checked in. I told the check in agent the problem and she told me to either head down to baggage service center now or filed a claim later at ORD. I chose the first option and the lady at the baggage service center immediately asked me to give her the description of the bag, copied down the claim number, and she would try to send a guy to rush the bag once the bag came out. Fortunately, the AS flight was boarded on time, but was still refueling when I settled in. Due to the efficiency of AS, the agents came to the plane before the door closed and told me the bag made it on this flight. I was happy. Once again, AS impressed me and I would definitely send them a thank you card. They literally had twenty minutes to complete the task. Thankfully, Anchorage was small and not busy during this late winter/ early spring season.
AS 136 ANC-ORD Lv2044 Arr0530+1
Boeing 737-700 N624AS
This plane was one of the latest ones delivered to Alaska on November 2000. I did not know any boarding detail, since I was among the last passengers boarded. Fortunately, I found an overhead space. F class was full and Y was not particularly full, but still okay. I was glad to see Sonny again. He was the purser again and I was on his last ANC-ORD flight too. He was a wonderful gentleman and definitely brought the spirits of the other two F/As and passengers up. Door closed at 8:40pm and we were able to take off at 8:50pm on a quiet night at Anchorage.
My neighbor was an urologist, who worked at Anchorage and told me about his two adopted daughters from China and his travels to Hong Kong. It was a nice gentleman and he was heading off to Chicago for a conference.
Inflight service - the best that AS offers. There was a menu offered and was a brand new one. As usual, a bowl of warmed mixed nuts with your choice of beverage before the meal began. Sonny was excellent and an expert on doing to ORD flights. He offered wines and drinks constantly.
Here were the juicy details with my remarks at Italic.
To Begin
Winter Pear, Toasted Walnuts on a bed of Mesclun Greens
4 pears, shredded red peppers, walnuts, & other fresh greens filled the salad plate and two containers of Naturally Fresh's Olive Oil & Vinegar dressing were offered as well. The salad was fresh and nice.
Choice of Entrees
Ginger Prawns served with Teriyaki sauce
Grilled Rice Pancakes and Stir Fried Vegetables
An alright entrée, but too heavy for supper… the coating for the prawns was awful and I had to scrap it before eating it. It was a bit dry. The rice pancakes were tasteless, but the veggies were fine.
Or
Broiled Filet Mignon with Shiitake Demi Glace
Pancetta Parmesan Risotto and Steamed Fresh Asparagus with Baby Carrots
Selection of Warmed Rustic Breads
Sourdough or wheat breads
Dessert
Maple Apple Torte on Vanilla Sabayon
Excellent dessert
May we offer you a little something prior to your arrival
Breakfast Snack
Fresh Fruit Plate
Kiwi, orange segments, grapefruit segments, and grapes
Warmed Cinnamon Roll and choice of beverage
We proudly feature Seattle's Best Coffee
During the flight, In-motion entertainment sponsored the DVD players for first class passengers. I was surprised to see a less heavy and a nicer model of DVD player. Sonny told me that they were brand new and AS started to use them ten days ago. The battery lasted longer and I used it to view some Chinese VCDs and listen to some CDs. Then an hour prior to landing, Sonny came by with the fruit plate and breakfast pastry.
Due to tail winds, flying time was five hours and seven minutes with a cruising altitude of 37,000ft. We landed at 5:07am and there were five planes waiting to land. We parked at Gate G6, which was among the American Eagle flights, and it was quiet. Bags took a while to come out but I was happy to see my bag.
March 22, 2001
AA 303 ORD-SFO Lv0840 Arr1128
Boeing 737-800 N933AN
I was anxious about my flight with AA. I flew AA's West Coast service last year, but the midcon flight was brand new for me. I issued this set of first class ticket using 40,000miles from my Alaska's account and the whole redeeming process was simple. I called Alaska's partner desk, found the flights, made the reservation, and issued the ticket on AS ticket office.
Check-in: AA's check-in areas at ORD's Terminal three was very confusing. It was a while before I found the first class lines, shared with Executive Platinum lines. There was a separate Gold and Platinum line. I was checked in by a friendly agent, who addressed on my last name basis. This did not happen much with United. She issued the boarding pass, and then I asked her where the ticketing line was. I needed to reissue my ticket from TPE to LAX with the upgrade. She told me that she was happy to do it now. She quickly got my ticket and my coupon, and worked on it immediately. The whole experience was pleasant and the agents were efficient. It certainly beats most UA agents… not to mention the agents at SFO and DEN. Anyway, she reissued the ticket and wish me luck on the inaugural TPE flight. She told me that it was nice to do the upgrades here because the TPE staff may not know what to do on the first day.
Boarding - AA had an efficient boarding system and they never tore those boarding passes. I got to keep the boarding pass on the whole…not just the tiny tips of it. I was welcomed by two F/As and took my seat at 6A. I immediately noticed the amount of legroom. It was better than any UA's two class a/cs. Even the bulkhead rows had tons of spaces. But the problem was the new seats. The headrest was very hard and made your necks uncomfortable. There was pre-takeoff orange juice service.
We took off from R/W 32R at 8:53pm and climbed to 33,000ft, which was up to 35,000ft later. The F/As started the movie, Men of Honor, after the seat belt sign turned off. You need to pay $5 in coach. They later showed the CBS' Eyes on American program, which consisted of 60 minutes (which made me want to squeeze the neck of Mike Wallace and the program was 10 times worst than Dateline NBC), CBS comedies, David Letterman, and other shows.
Food service - no menu and no linen… Only the linen that covered the breakfast tray… But AA had the hot towel service. The F/As put a glass of water with the dry ice in the middle of his towel trays. They were cute. The breakfast was comparable to United - a choice of hot and cold breakfast.
Hot Breakfast was a French Toast and scrambled eggs dish, which basically had two slice of ¼ sized bread, some scramble eggs using egg beaters, and some sausages - pretty cheap. It also came with a fruit plate, which had 3 slices of cantaloupes, white grapes, grapefruit, & strawberry. The Cold breakfast had the same fruit plate, but with a larger potion of the same fruits. They also got the Special K. Everyone was offered a Upstate Farm's Blueberry yogurt, a choice of blueberry muffin or plain bagel, and fruits. The hot entrée could use a larger portion… Anyway, AA at least got the yogurt for everyone.
The flight continued with me napping but the F/As were continuously serving drinks to everyone. The plane landed at 11:10am at Runway 28R. We parked at Gate 61 and I took the San Francisco Airporter to the Argent Hotel, which was not a fun experience. The hotel staffs were not very nice and my room could not be farther away from the elevator. Then constructions began at 4am on the buildings opposite from the hotel. Then there was no TV the first night I was there, and then the telephone system went down the next day. Nonstop problems… $205/night was not cool at all. Although my mother and sister came to join me (it would make the room more worthwhile), it was still expensive. I do not recommend the hotel to any HT/FT fellow members here. I stayed there for three nights. Stayed at the W Hotel… But the conference went fine. I got three interviews, with one very productive. I hopefully will get a second interview.
The last evening, we moved to the Hilton Garden Inn Burlingame/SFO. It was a nicer hotel and surprisingly more quiet than the Argent. Of course, planes were taking off all morning long… couple flights in the late night hours as well…
March 26, 2001
AA 682 ORD-SFO Lv1043 Arr1644
Boeing 767-200ER N317AA
Check-in - another great experience and agents had great times chatting with passengers
Boarding began at 10:15am and the flight was rather full. For those unfamiliar with AA, it only operates two classes of service on these flagship planes, except the transcontinental routes labeled as the flagship service. First class section features the real sleeper seats, and business class seats are used as a premium seating area for elite and full fare passengers. I got the nice window seat, 3J, and the sleeper seat was very nice - gray leather with a wool cover. The seats are new because there were side tables for DVD players and a snake style personal light. The lumbar and legroom buttons are electronic style. Business class also features the new seats with 50 inches legroom, but no personal TV. After boarding was completed, an American ground staff wearing a Hawaiian style dress came to the a/c and thanked every Executive Platinum passengers. Good impression!
We pushed back early, but was held up on the taxiway between Runway 1R and 1L due to ATC at Chicago O'Hare. I saw lots of actions - MX's A320, AC's B737, CO's M80… We finally received our slot and took off at 11:16am from Runway 1R.
Elizabeth, our purser, was excellent and began the lunch service in no times. First, she took our beverage order and then brought out a bowl of warmed mixed nuts. Then, she took our lunch order. Once again, there was no menu. The choices for lunch were a Chauterbraid sandwich on sourdough bread, tortilla soup with chicken, or a shrimp dish. I had the shrimp, which was basically like crab cakes. Chopped shrimps and flour mixed together… deep fried… and there was a sweet and sour sauce. There was a string bean side salad. Not a good choice. The meal began with a linen service. Elizabeth rolled up each linen, so she could just roll it out on our tables. Then she brought us our salad, which was Greek style. Feta cheese, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and lettuce were the main components, which were accompanied by a choice of Italian vinaigrette or peppercorn cream dressing. After the entrée, there was a choice of sundae (vanilla ice-cream with choice of toppings… I had the butterscotch and nuts) and a fruit plate (pineapple, cantaloupe, kiwi, and grapes). Then Elizabeth continued with beverage refills once every twenty minutes. The enetertainment today was free with the complements of the F/As. The movie was You Can Count On Me, and CBS' Eyes on American featuring an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond continued. Unfortunately, there was no cookie service on this American flight.
We began our descent at 4:16pm. Elizabeth than passed out a basket of mint/ coffee candies and thanked each of us for flying American, which was a nice gesture. We finally landed at Runway 4R at 4:52pm and parked at gate K5. I saw the KL's Boeing 747-300 PH-BUK taxiing to runway. Then I saw the new SAS's new livery again. LOT's Boeing 767-300ER and Austrian's Airbus were parked at the International terminal with the usual AA and UA's planes. In conclusion, I am very impressed with American and if United cuts back too much, I may switch to it. There is no menu, but the service seems to be courteous and the ground staffs seem to bit more friendly and helpful. Also, you can get elite bonus when flying the oneworld carriers too, which is nice. I called American that evening and joined the Gold Challenge beginning April 1, 2001. After my trip on the inaugural AA's TPE-SJC service, I was more than qualified for the gold membership.
I stayed at the Ramada Plaza Chicago O'Hare, which was nothing special to tell you. I got a surprise package from Elmhurst Nick and thank you very much. I had a nice dinner (Bowtie pasta with chicken and mushrooms) in the coffee shop and got a nice room for watching planes. I saw the LOT's Boeing 767-300ER taking off and saw the LH's A340 landed early from Frankfurt. I saw a bit of AA's and UA's planes come and go, but I saw an AA's Boeing 737-800 making a missed approach because he came in too high. Interesting plane action!
March 27, 2001
AS 135 ORD-ANC Lv0855 Arr1224
Boeing 737-700 N615AS
I went to the Alaska' check-in counter early and found a rather deserted area. I overheard the ground agents telling her colleagues that the flight was pretty light for this week. But when I boarded, the load was about full in first class and 65% in economy class. I guess that is the reason for the $268 web specials. Anyway, American Airlines was in charge of the ground handling and I received the usual good service. Boarding began at 8:24am at Gate G6. A bottle of pre-takeoff minute maid orange juice was already placed on each first class seat. The door was closed at 8:49am after the last connecting passenger arrived. We pushed back two minutes later and taxied to Runway 4L. We took off at 9:03am after a United's Boeing 737 took off in front of us. On a side note, I saw the landing of an ANA's Boeing 777 plane from Narita. The pilots took us the flying time was six hours and thirteen minutes, and we cruised at an attitude of 39,000ft. We flew over Minnesota, Alberta, Canada's Northwestern Territory, Juneau, and then into Anchorage.
Cherie was our first class flight attendant and purser, and once again was excellent. She passed out the beautiful first class menu, which featured a new meal service arrangements and the entertainment guide. She took our beverage and meal orders shortly after takeoff. Here was the menu:
For Starters
Continental Breakfast to include
Seasonal Fresh Fruit Plate
2 slices each of pineapples, cantaloupes, & melons, orange segments, kiwi, and strawberry with three slices of cheese (brie, cheddar, and Swiss… the fruits were fresh and the cheeses were fine…good starters
Freshly baked Brioche offered with Berry Jam (Alaska Tribal Cache's Wild Blueberry Jam)
We proudly feature Seattle's Best Coffee
(Here is the coach menu, which was a very nice fold up menu… better than UA's international Y menu:
For Starters
Selection of juice, coffee, and assorted beverages
As well as a warmed scone - Pumpkin spice scones)
Then Cherie passed out the In Motion DVD players and the choices of movies are Autumn in New York, Contender, Dinosaur, Dr. T & the Women, Get Carter (2000), Hollow Man, Disney's the Kid, and What Lies Beneath. Not an impressive choice for movies, but I got my own things to watch. I also chatted with Cherie a bit and she told me that they were excited about the new Boeing 737-900s. They would serve the SEA-ANC, and SEA-LAX routes exclusively for now. Four F/As would service the a/c, but she told me that they wanted five, due to shorter flying times on some of the routes. Anyway, she also told me about the possiblility of a second ORD-ANC summer flight, which would be nice. AS was working with American now.
Anyway, three hours prior to arrival, Cherie began to take main course orders. She passed out more beverage and a pack of nuts first. Then she passed out the meal tray…
Later in the flight we will offer you a choice of Hot Entrees
Begin with a Salad of Fresh Mesclun Greens and Alaskan Smoked Halibut
Accompanied by the Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing… A nice salad but the smoked fish is too tasty for me…
Choice of Entrée
Filet of Sole stuffed with Pacific Snow Crab served with a sauce Newburgh
Rice Pilaf and Snap Peas
Surprisingly good… the fish was not smelly at all. The rice was nice and the snap peas were crispy.
Or
Alaskan Amber Ale Tenderloin Beef Stew served in a Sourdough Bread Bowl
Warmed Rustic Loaves
Selection of Country French or Whole Wheat
Each tray came with both loaves… one each…
Dessert
Vanilla Bourbon Cake resting on a Caramel sauce
Y class got
Choice of Entrees
Jambalaya with Alaskan Reindeer Sausage, Chicken and Shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce, Served with rice
Or
Grilled Breast of Chicken with "Yukon Whiskey Gravy"
Garlic "Smashed" Potatoes & Vegetables complete the entrée
Green Salad, Wheat Roll & Chocolate Decadent Cake accompany your meal
Another great Alaskan flight… F/As passed out a basket of Ghiradelli' Mint Chocolate squares after the meal services. But there was no hot towel service on this flight…
We began our descent at 2:44pm and landed at 12:13pm ANC time. We quickly parked at Gate B1.
AS 160 ANC-SEA Lv1645 Arr2105
Boeing 737-700 N615AS
Same plane but with a different set of flight attendants… Check in went by with no problems! The gate agent tried to persuade me to take an earlier flight with no upgrade. I told her "no" because I needed the bonus miles (50%). The plane came in on time from Fairbanks and we began boarding at 4:23pm. The load was 12F and 74Y. The door was closed four minutes early and we took off from R/W 24L at 4:50pm. The pilot told us that a nice tail wind had shortened our trip to two hours and forty-eight minutes, but possible ATC delay might happen. Our cruising attitude was 37,000ft.
The F/A was a bit cold tonight. She closed the galley curtain immediately after she began to work. She took the beverage and entrée orders on an orderly fashion and passed out everything in the same time. The service was fine, but not like your typical funny and warm AS service.
The dinner service began with a terrific salad of romaine hearts, lettuce, 2 slices of cucumbers and 2 tomato wedges with the Caesar dressing and chopped eggs on top of the veggies. There was also a soft Olive roll. The choices for entrees are chicken breast with a white sauce, rice pilaf, carrots, & celeries, and Veal Scalloppine with orange gravy, broccoli and carrots. The veal tasted fine but the orange sauce was strange. Anyway, the dessert was a nice Chocolate torte with strawberry mousse. The F/A finished off the service with more beverage and came around two more times. She was hiding in the galley for the rest of the flight.
Of course, the rainy weather at Seattle was holding us on the sky. We circled for almost twenty minutes before receiving our clearance. We landed at 8:56pm at Runway 16L. We still made it two minutes early at Gate D9. I saw a brand new Boeing 737-700 (N626AS) passed by. Nice catch!
March 28, 2001
AS 190 SEA-LAX Lv1129 Arr1356
Boeing 737-400 N788AS
I checked in an hour before takeoff and spent a bit time at the Laptop lane. Boarding began early due to the early arrival of the flight from Anchorage. The F/As were very funny and our flight pushed back right on time, and we took off from R/W 16L at 11:41am.
Lunch was featured today and the entrees were still not too good. I sat at 3F, which meant "no choice." There was a choice of grilled chicken pizza with green salad or an Asian chicken salad (chicken breast, lo mein, bamboo shoots, peanuts, waterchestnuts, shredded carrots, tomato wedges (2), and lettuce with a sesame vinaigrette dressing, and a sourdough roll. The salad was strange but I was not too hungry this afternoon. The pizza looked fine. Of course, the single lonely piece of Almond Roca candy finished off our meal. Economy class passenger got the turkey and Swiss sandwich on a potato bun for lunch.
We landed at 1:51pm at Runway 24R after much circling along the coast. I literally saw an AC's A320 crossed below us… We waited for SQ's Boeing 747-400 (9V-SPG) to taxi to the runway for its flight to Narita before entering our gate, 31B. I also saw the landing of a beautiful BA's Boeing 747-400 Chelsea Rose G-BNLL.
Part II and III will come up tomorrow with reports on the AC/SQ transpacific runs and AA's inaugural TPE-SJC flight