GSP flyer
Mar 29, 02, 5:03 pm
I have been meaning to post the full report of this trip FOREVER, sorry it took sooooo long.
-GSP
Part I; GSP-DFW-SJC (OLD)
Check-in/Pre-flight
GSP American Eagle Counter
I arrived at the airport at about 215P in order so that my family and me could eat lunch one last time before I left for California for the week. I checked my two bags all the way to SJC at the counter and got my boarding passes and AAdvantage miles. The staff was very friendly and helpful to me, and I was very pleased. I then went up to eat lunch in the terminal, and came down to greet my delegation of 5 (including me), and helped them get checked in. We had one serious problem though, one of the kids going to the science fair had a HUGE backboard which would be hard to fit in our ERJ to DFW, finally after about 10 minutes of arguing, they finally took it on, and managed, somehow to get it onto the plane. Otherwise, check-in went smoothly. At about 350P we went up to Gate A4 to board.
May 5, 2001
AA3768/Operated by American Eagle
GSP-DFW
ERJ-145
Scheduled: 420P Departure/ 610P Arrival
Actual: 423P Departure/ 608P Arrival
We commenced boarding at about 405P for our flight. They boarded all rows at the same time, and I said goodbye to my parents for the week. We boarded the ERJ-145 through a jetway, and not with stairs(one thing I like much better about the ERJ vs. the CRJ). I settled into seats 7A & 7B and we finally pushed back at about 423P(note there were about 30 pax, not bad for a Saturday evening flight), a few minutes late, but I didn’t care. We taxied out just as a US Airways Dash-8 was arriving from either CLT or RDU and another Eagle ERJ-145 was arriving from ORD. We soon took off on the 2:50 flight, and leveled off at cruising altitude about 15 minutes later. As we ascended I noticed how clean the cabin was, but the leather seats were a little worn, but once again, I didn’t care that much. Inflight, the flight attendant found out that she only had 6 sandwiches for the 30 of us (she had mistaken some empty boxes for being full), so meals would be on a first-come/first served basis. I declined having just eaten a chicken sandwich and fries, but took a coke and pretzels. Along the way west, I regarded the Mississippi River with awe as we passed over. As we approached the DFW metroplex area, the pilots warned us that we may have a bumpy ride down due to T-Storms in the area. When we flew over the DFW area I was shocked at the endless suburbs that the area boasted. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we landed at DFW and began to taxi over to the American Eagle Satellite (Concourse A-Uses gates A2A-A2N). The flight attendant told us our connection gates (ours was B9) My impressions as we taxied in were that this had to be American’s version of Atlanta/Hartsfield, as all you could see was bare metal everywhere. I was very impressed at the sheer size of DFW (is it still the world’s largest in terms of land acreage???). When we finally arrived at the Satellite Terminal, we were informed that we would have to wait for a gate, which I found odd because there were 5 or so available. Finally, they told us that we were “Alpha” which meant that we would deplane via stairs(in light rain) and ride a bus to Terminal A, which we did.
Connection Time: Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
We arrived at the A0-A5 Eagle area downstairs on Concourse A (this is where they board out most of the Saabs & ATRs (the satellite terminal is primarily for the ERJ-135s/145s). We walked upstairs and immediately headed for the TrAAin station across from gate A12. The TrAAin immediately headed for the B5 station, thankfully, and we were on our way. The TrAAin, in contrast to those I’ve ridden at PIT and ATL, seemed to be fairly jerky and bumpy, but it was OK. We were at Terminal B by 615P and at our gate by 625P, not so bad. When I saw our gate area, I was moderately amused at the situation- Gate A8 was boarding AA1425 to SMF (CA)(MD80), A9 was boarding AA2491 to SJC (CA-My flight)(B757-200), and B10 was boarding AA2469 to LAX (CA)(B757-200). Three flights to California, leaving from three adjacent gates, all departing within 10 minutes of each other, what a coincidence (or not, does AA do this intentionally?)! Three of our group members decided to eat at some Bistro place by B8, another member and me headed down to the Pizza Hut by B13 to get a Pan Pizza Combo. We got our meal and headed back to eat dinner at the bistro, and along the way I picked up the “Early Edition” of the Dallas Morning News for the flight to SJC. We finished our meals by 655P and headed to B9 where AA was already boarding our 757 to SJC. All in all, I came away feeling that DFW, for what it is-is a better facility than ATL.
May 5, 2001
AA2491
DFW-SJC
Boeing 757-200
Scheduled: 718P Departure/903P Arrival
Actual: 732P Departure/908P Arrival
I boarded the B757 and went back to my seat (28D) and immediately noticed MRTC, and how wonderful it was to be able to actually move my legs. I had been told by one of the flight attendants that the flight out to SJC would be fairly empty, and that I’d probably get a row (28DEF) to myself. Just as I thought we were about to push back, we were informed that there were a few passengers coming, so we’d have to wait about 10 minutes. I got to watch all the AA jets leave (except for one MD80 down by B3) Terminal B for other points. Finally, after a handful of passengers came we pushed back for San Jose. We passed some CO 737s and UA 737s and a F9 737 but not much else. We took off and climbed up to cruising altitude. About 25 minutes after take off, dinner was served (either a Chinese Garden Salad or a hot Steak & Cheese sandwich). I chose the Steak sandwich, which came with a sugar cookie, a bag of chips, and something resembling mashed potatoes. I got a ginger ale to go with it and started eating (everything but the potatoes), all in all it wasn’t bad-especially the cookie. About 15 minutes after dinner, CBS Eye on American was turned on, and I watched that until the end of it’s showing (AA really should put a movie on a segment such as this). During Eye, I got another soda (Coke). After Eye, I read Clancy’s The Cardinal of the Kremlin (IMHO, the best of the Jack Ryan series) and American Way all the way to San Jose. As we approached the San Jose metropolitan area, I saw the lights of the city, and saw that suprisingly, it didn’t seem that much larger then Greenville. We touched down at 903P and taxied to gate A9 where we deplaned. Our group collected itself (I was the last one off, the rest of the group was in Rows 16 & 18) and headed to baggage claim. My two bags got in fine, as did everyone else’s bags (even the enormous backboard). We then caught a bus to our hotel.
Part II: SJC-DFW-GSP (New)
After spending a week in the Bay Area for an international conference of mine I headed back to my home in South Carolina. After spending a week in California I have a healthy respect for anyone who lives there(traffic, real estate prices, energy problems,etc.). I would like to thank the City of San Jose and the State of California for the wonderful treatment I received…I had a great time and hope to go back this summer for another conference. I have to admit that Northern California is the greatest place that I’ve ever visited.
12 May 2001
AA2452
San Jose International to Dallas-Fort Worth International
Boeing 757-200
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 620A/645A
Scheduled/Actual Arrival:1146A/1210A
Woke up at 430A to head home. I showered and headed down to the lobby to meet my group. We took a cab to SJC’s Terminal A and headed for the check in area. At the check in I noticed several banners promoting AA’s new nonstops to CDG and TPE. It took us 15 minutes to reach the counter where our bags were checked to GSP. I was given Seat 10A(window behind the bulkhead row). We cleared security quickly and headed to Gate A9 for departure. I grabbed that mornings San Francisco Chronicle (something I’m really going to miss) . We were at the gate by 550A and quietly sat down to wait. I sat reading the paper for a while. At 610A I sensed something was up. They finally started to board at 615A, and we pushed back 25 mins. late. Late, with only a one hour connection to the infamous A2 Eagle terminal. We taxied out and took off behind a pair of UA 737s. Breakfast was served about 20 minutes after takeoff. It consisted of cereal, a banana, a carrot muffin(at least I think it was…..), orange juice, and a soda on the side. Soon we leveled off at cruising altitude. In flight entertainment consisted of CBS’s Eye on American. The flight passed quickly, and soon we were on approach to DFW, and during the flyover I saw the Ballpark at Arlington(it looked fantastic from the air). We touched down 25 minutes late and were supposed to head to Gate C27, which wasn’t too bad for a running connection(we had about 20 minutes at this point). However…lady luck put us in at B10….the FARTHEST POSSIBLE gate from the A2 Terminal due to the configuration of the TrAAin(B to C to A), and the A2 area is the last stop on the route.
Connection Time: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
If any of you have ever seen any of the Home Alone movies with the family dashing through O’ Hare to make their AA flight to CDG or MIA, just substitute in our group at DFW, not ORD. We got off the plane, ran all the way to the TrAAin station in Terminal B(B5)…we should have taken the skywalk to Terminal A instead, but took the TrAAin instead. We got off at the A12 station. The two others said they had to use the bathroom and for me to go to the Eagle terminal and try to hold the flight. I ran down to the AA Eagle area at Gates A0-A5(noticing an AA MD-80 going to CLT at A7 in a half hour…just in case we didn’t make it). I waited for the bus knowing that we had probably missed the ERJ to GSP. The two others arrived and we all took the bus together. When we got to Gate A2H, we found out our plane had been delayed due to maintenance, so we were in luck as were a group from SMF. We waited for 10 mins then boarded our ERJ-145 to GSP.
12 May 2001
AA3768
Dallas-Fort Worth International to Greenville/Spartanburg International
Embraer ERJ-145
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 1240P/130PA
Scheduled/Actual Arrival:350P/410P
I finally boarded the ERJ and took Seat 9A. The plane was packed going home I think there were only 3 empty seats. We pushed back at about 110P and got taxied all the way down to Terminal E (Deltaland), where we got stuck right in the middle of a Delta push. It took 20 mins to take off. Flight afterwards was smooth, I had a ginger ale and slept most of the way. We touched down 20 mins late at GSP and had to deplane manually (the jetway was being used by the ORD flight). I met my parents and headed down to baggage claim where both my bags had made it safely.
General Notes:
1)AA could profitably serve GSP with F100s, there’s a good amount of O & D traffic between the cities; especially from Lockheed Martin. This especially true in light of US’s pull out from GSP with mainline jets.
2)Could the A2 Eagle Terminal be any worse, especially for Terminal B and C connections?
-GSP
Part I; GSP-DFW-SJC (OLD)
Check-in/Pre-flight
GSP American Eagle Counter
I arrived at the airport at about 215P in order so that my family and me could eat lunch one last time before I left for California for the week. I checked my two bags all the way to SJC at the counter and got my boarding passes and AAdvantage miles. The staff was very friendly and helpful to me, and I was very pleased. I then went up to eat lunch in the terminal, and came down to greet my delegation of 5 (including me), and helped them get checked in. We had one serious problem though, one of the kids going to the science fair had a HUGE backboard which would be hard to fit in our ERJ to DFW, finally after about 10 minutes of arguing, they finally took it on, and managed, somehow to get it onto the plane. Otherwise, check-in went smoothly. At about 350P we went up to Gate A4 to board.
May 5, 2001
AA3768/Operated by American Eagle
GSP-DFW
ERJ-145
Scheduled: 420P Departure/ 610P Arrival
Actual: 423P Departure/ 608P Arrival
We commenced boarding at about 405P for our flight. They boarded all rows at the same time, and I said goodbye to my parents for the week. We boarded the ERJ-145 through a jetway, and not with stairs(one thing I like much better about the ERJ vs. the CRJ). I settled into seats 7A & 7B and we finally pushed back at about 423P(note there were about 30 pax, not bad for a Saturday evening flight), a few minutes late, but I didn’t care. We taxied out just as a US Airways Dash-8 was arriving from either CLT or RDU and another Eagle ERJ-145 was arriving from ORD. We soon took off on the 2:50 flight, and leveled off at cruising altitude about 15 minutes later. As we ascended I noticed how clean the cabin was, but the leather seats were a little worn, but once again, I didn’t care that much. Inflight, the flight attendant found out that she only had 6 sandwiches for the 30 of us (she had mistaken some empty boxes for being full), so meals would be on a first-come/first served basis. I declined having just eaten a chicken sandwich and fries, but took a coke and pretzels. Along the way west, I regarded the Mississippi River with awe as we passed over. As we approached the DFW metroplex area, the pilots warned us that we may have a bumpy ride down due to T-Storms in the area. When we flew over the DFW area I was shocked at the endless suburbs that the area boasted. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we landed at DFW and began to taxi over to the American Eagle Satellite (Concourse A-Uses gates A2A-A2N). The flight attendant told us our connection gates (ours was B9) My impressions as we taxied in were that this had to be American’s version of Atlanta/Hartsfield, as all you could see was bare metal everywhere. I was very impressed at the sheer size of DFW (is it still the world’s largest in terms of land acreage???). When we finally arrived at the Satellite Terminal, we were informed that we would have to wait for a gate, which I found odd because there were 5 or so available. Finally, they told us that we were “Alpha” which meant that we would deplane via stairs(in light rain) and ride a bus to Terminal A, which we did.
Connection Time: Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
We arrived at the A0-A5 Eagle area downstairs on Concourse A (this is where they board out most of the Saabs & ATRs (the satellite terminal is primarily for the ERJ-135s/145s). We walked upstairs and immediately headed for the TrAAin station across from gate A12. The TrAAin immediately headed for the B5 station, thankfully, and we were on our way. The TrAAin, in contrast to those I’ve ridden at PIT and ATL, seemed to be fairly jerky and bumpy, but it was OK. We were at Terminal B by 615P and at our gate by 625P, not so bad. When I saw our gate area, I was moderately amused at the situation- Gate A8 was boarding AA1425 to SMF (CA)(MD80), A9 was boarding AA2491 to SJC (CA-My flight)(B757-200), and B10 was boarding AA2469 to LAX (CA)(B757-200). Three flights to California, leaving from three adjacent gates, all departing within 10 minutes of each other, what a coincidence (or not, does AA do this intentionally?)! Three of our group members decided to eat at some Bistro place by B8, another member and me headed down to the Pizza Hut by B13 to get a Pan Pizza Combo. We got our meal and headed back to eat dinner at the bistro, and along the way I picked up the “Early Edition” of the Dallas Morning News for the flight to SJC. We finished our meals by 655P and headed to B9 where AA was already boarding our 757 to SJC. All in all, I came away feeling that DFW, for what it is-is a better facility than ATL.
May 5, 2001
AA2491
DFW-SJC
Boeing 757-200
Scheduled: 718P Departure/903P Arrival
Actual: 732P Departure/908P Arrival
I boarded the B757 and went back to my seat (28D) and immediately noticed MRTC, and how wonderful it was to be able to actually move my legs. I had been told by one of the flight attendants that the flight out to SJC would be fairly empty, and that I’d probably get a row (28DEF) to myself. Just as I thought we were about to push back, we were informed that there were a few passengers coming, so we’d have to wait about 10 minutes. I got to watch all the AA jets leave (except for one MD80 down by B3) Terminal B for other points. Finally, after a handful of passengers came we pushed back for San Jose. We passed some CO 737s and UA 737s and a F9 737 but not much else. We took off and climbed up to cruising altitude. About 25 minutes after take off, dinner was served (either a Chinese Garden Salad or a hot Steak & Cheese sandwich). I chose the Steak sandwich, which came with a sugar cookie, a bag of chips, and something resembling mashed potatoes. I got a ginger ale to go with it and started eating (everything but the potatoes), all in all it wasn’t bad-especially the cookie. About 15 minutes after dinner, CBS Eye on American was turned on, and I watched that until the end of it’s showing (AA really should put a movie on a segment such as this). During Eye, I got another soda (Coke). After Eye, I read Clancy’s The Cardinal of the Kremlin (IMHO, the best of the Jack Ryan series) and American Way all the way to San Jose. As we approached the San Jose metropolitan area, I saw the lights of the city, and saw that suprisingly, it didn’t seem that much larger then Greenville. We touched down at 903P and taxied to gate A9 where we deplaned. Our group collected itself (I was the last one off, the rest of the group was in Rows 16 & 18) and headed to baggage claim. My two bags got in fine, as did everyone else’s bags (even the enormous backboard). We then caught a bus to our hotel.
Part II: SJC-DFW-GSP (New)
After spending a week in the Bay Area for an international conference of mine I headed back to my home in South Carolina. After spending a week in California I have a healthy respect for anyone who lives there(traffic, real estate prices, energy problems,etc.). I would like to thank the City of San Jose and the State of California for the wonderful treatment I received…I had a great time and hope to go back this summer for another conference. I have to admit that Northern California is the greatest place that I’ve ever visited.
12 May 2001
AA2452
San Jose International to Dallas-Fort Worth International
Boeing 757-200
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 620A/645A
Scheduled/Actual Arrival:1146A/1210A
Woke up at 430A to head home. I showered and headed down to the lobby to meet my group. We took a cab to SJC’s Terminal A and headed for the check in area. At the check in I noticed several banners promoting AA’s new nonstops to CDG and TPE. It took us 15 minutes to reach the counter where our bags were checked to GSP. I was given Seat 10A(window behind the bulkhead row). We cleared security quickly and headed to Gate A9 for departure. I grabbed that mornings San Francisco Chronicle (something I’m really going to miss) . We were at the gate by 550A and quietly sat down to wait. I sat reading the paper for a while. At 610A I sensed something was up. They finally started to board at 615A, and we pushed back 25 mins. late. Late, with only a one hour connection to the infamous A2 Eagle terminal. We taxied out and took off behind a pair of UA 737s. Breakfast was served about 20 minutes after takeoff. It consisted of cereal, a banana, a carrot muffin(at least I think it was…..), orange juice, and a soda on the side. Soon we leveled off at cruising altitude. In flight entertainment consisted of CBS’s Eye on American. The flight passed quickly, and soon we were on approach to DFW, and during the flyover I saw the Ballpark at Arlington(it looked fantastic from the air). We touched down 25 minutes late and were supposed to head to Gate C27, which wasn’t too bad for a running connection(we had about 20 minutes at this point). However…lady luck put us in at B10….the FARTHEST POSSIBLE gate from the A2 Terminal due to the configuration of the TrAAin(B to C to A), and the A2 area is the last stop on the route.
Connection Time: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
If any of you have ever seen any of the Home Alone movies with the family dashing through O’ Hare to make their AA flight to CDG or MIA, just substitute in our group at DFW, not ORD. We got off the plane, ran all the way to the TrAAin station in Terminal B(B5)…we should have taken the skywalk to Terminal A instead, but took the TrAAin instead. We got off at the A12 station. The two others said they had to use the bathroom and for me to go to the Eagle terminal and try to hold the flight. I ran down to the AA Eagle area at Gates A0-A5(noticing an AA MD-80 going to CLT at A7 in a half hour…just in case we didn’t make it). I waited for the bus knowing that we had probably missed the ERJ to GSP. The two others arrived and we all took the bus together. When we got to Gate A2H, we found out our plane had been delayed due to maintenance, so we were in luck as were a group from SMF. We waited for 10 mins then boarded our ERJ-145 to GSP.
12 May 2001
AA3768
Dallas-Fort Worth International to Greenville/Spartanburg International
Embraer ERJ-145
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 1240P/130PA
Scheduled/Actual Arrival:350P/410P
I finally boarded the ERJ and took Seat 9A. The plane was packed going home I think there were only 3 empty seats. We pushed back at about 110P and got taxied all the way down to Terminal E (Deltaland), where we got stuck right in the middle of a Delta push. It took 20 mins to take off. Flight afterwards was smooth, I had a ginger ale and slept most of the way. We touched down 20 mins late at GSP and had to deplane manually (the jetway was being used by the ORD flight). I met my parents and headed down to baggage claim where both my bags had made it safely.
General Notes:
1)AA could profitably serve GSP with F100s, there’s a good amount of O & D traffic between the cities; especially from Lockheed Martin. This especially true in light of US’s pull out from GSP with mainline jets.
2)Could the A2 Eagle Terminal be any worse, especially for Terminal B and C connections?