Trip Reports - Are you sure I can sit in the copilot seat? Cape Air to PVC




catwood
Jul 11, 02, 11:23 am
Hello,

I've never seen a Cape Air trip report on here, so perhaps I am the first.

The morning started out really early, I got on the 6:30AM flight from Philly to Boston on USAIR, very uneventful, however was on an A321 and realized I hadn't flown one before that I could remember. I arrived in Boston on time at about seven forty five and my flight on Cape Air was in Terminal C at 8:30.

So I ran....literally from Terminal B to Terminal C in Boston. Knowing I was running late I decided to be tricky and used my USAIR preferred card in the line at Terminal C. I was asked if I was medallion or whatever it is that airline that starts with a D has, but showed my USAIR card when I said yes. It worked and I used the shorter line.

I made it to the counter pretty promptly and asked if I could sit in the copilots seat. The woman said just to ask the ramp agent that would board you. So when the guy came back from the security gate I asked he said that it would be no problem.

After gathering our group (for each flight # they send two planes, which I think is wierd) they brought us down to the tarmac. He announced, with a serious tone, that "Mr. Atwood" would be sitting in the copilots seat for this trip. It was almost as if I actually was a pilot.

I boarded the plane and met our pilot "Doug S..." and took a look at my seating situation. From my vantage point in the plane I am able to see all controls, hear the radio, and look at all of the windows. For my comfort there is a sunblock thing like in a car. There is no headrest, so for those of you who like business class you are going to have to suck it up.

We started out on Runway 33R which is like the express flight runway in Boston, but ended up changing to 22R and had to wait on the ground. I was like a kid in a candy store watching all the planes take off in front of me. We eventually took off and made our way over Boston harbor to Provincetown Municipal Airport.

Upon landing on this 3500 feet runway we were greeted at the gate...and I mean "the" gate with bottles of cold water, because it was hot out. There were taxis out front and I was off for my vacation.

5 days later I returned to the airport at 5pm for my 6pm flight. Check in was sirprisingly slow, but I was flying back on the 7th and there was a lot of people. We boarded late and took off late, I was in the copilots seat again on this trip.

The pilot let me look at this cool book which has all the runways and approaches for new england airports. We sat on the runway for awhile before we were finally cleared for the VFR flight to Boston.

As we were landing I also saw my SWISS flight that I am taking on the 19th take off, I know they only fly from Boston once a day to Zurich, and it is a beautiful thing to see an A 330 taking off in the sunset.

After landing at about 7:30pm instead of the scheduled 6:20pm I gathered my bag and got out my cell phone to call USAIR and let them know I wouldn't make my 7:45pm flight. There were a lot of other upset passengers who were on other flights that apparently didn't have any other flights that day (Boston to St Louis). The USAIR woman informed me that my 7:45 had been delayed to 9:19pm due to crew scheduling issues. Then I asked about the 6:45 flight...she replied that one had been delayed until 7:45. This whole conversation was being had as I was in motion back to Terminal B. So I hauled booty to B16 and saw that the door was still open and everyone had boarded. The gate agent was nice enough to let me get on the plane, which left the gate promptly after I boarded. I was in philly by about 9pm and home by about 10pm after gettting my car/luggage etc.

I would definitely fly cape air again, however I didn't notice huge time savings with the delays that I encountered.


puck
Jul 11, 02, 1:08 pm
Sweet, the copilot's seat!

I guess no cockpit security doors on Cape Air. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

jsmeeker
Jul 11, 02, 2:34 pm
This was from Boston to where?? I assume Cape Air is some small, part 135 commuter airline?


777Brit
Jul 11, 02, 3:42 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jsmeeker:
This was from Boston to where?? I assume Cape Air is some small, part 135 commuter airline?

</font>

Wasn't it BOS to Provincetown Municipal Airport? (PVC)

catwood
Jul 11, 02, 3:54 pm
Last year Cape Air carried 560,000 passengers, making them the largest independent regional airline in the United States.

fastflyer
Jul 11, 02, 5:00 pm
In the Summer, Cape Air is a critical component of Logan. Many, many pax are connecting via 9K onward to PVC, ACK, MVY, etc. And the crucial high-earner segment of the tourist market travels to the Cape and Islands largely on 9K.

The move of 9K to terminal C from terminal A has made Delta mainline connections much better. I have caught DL flights onward to ATL inside of departure minus 10 minutes (although legal minimums are 30+ minutes at Logan).

Seat1A
Jul 11, 02, 5:37 pm
thanks for the report! one of these days i really need to do a cape air run. i don't need to go anywhere they fly, but i'd love to see logan that way......

BOS-PVC may be a short 45 mile flight, but it's a 117 mile drive, and i expect the driving delays on july 7th made your delayed flight a huge timesaver.

jsmeeker
Jul 11, 02, 5:58 pm
if you want a better time, get a CFI, and sit in the *left* seat.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

nwchgo
Jul 11, 02, 9:43 pm
I've flown many times on Cape Air between BOS-ACK and PVD-ACK. Had the pleasure of the co-pilot's seat a number of times (they weight-balance the planes, so it sometimes depends on the mix of the pax and baggage).

Cape Air is a pretty good airline, though somewhat lax about times. I've seen them run as many as four "sections" on some flights. As of last year, they were consistently profitable-don't know recent results.

Cape Air's safety record is pretty good-no fatalities, I think. In the last year or so a pilot-only flight took off too close behind a 747 and flipped over just off the runway at Logan (minor injuries, I believe). Then there was a flight (maybe MVY-BOS)where the pilot passed out and a Cape Air employee on the flight with some flight training took over and more or less crash-landed (all OK but the pilot was fired). Only one pilot is the biggest danger with Cape Air.

I really love the flights to ACK. The flights back are not as good since I'm leaving that beautiful island...Before 9/11 there was no security between ACK-BOS. Even without 9/11, the switch to Terminal C made security necessary. There is an inside-the-building walkeway between C and B, so you don't have to take the bus if you don't mind a longish walk.

The week around July 4 is always a zoo on the NE Cape Air routes because there is a ton of general aviation traffic in addtion to the regular flights. ACK is the second busiest airport in Mass.

fastflyer
Jul 12, 02, 9:25 am
nwchgo is correct about the two recent incidents involving Cape Air. The flight that had the emergency landing was from one of the islands to Hyannis, and during the pilot's incapacitated phase, the plane continued north almost to PVC. The emergency landing was made in fact at Provincetown municipal.

Some of the 9K old-timers at Logan are gone this Summer, but the familiar faces are still at the airports down the Cape and on the islands.

Cape Air could teach the majors a thing or two with regards to profitability BTW. The commuter books are wonderful; I wish Delta would do something like that BOS-ATL.

BingoSF
Jul 12, 02, 5:13 pm
I can't even count the number of times I've been "selected" to occupy the copilot's seat on 9K flights from BOS/HYA-ACK. Don't get me wrong, I love to fly. I just don't have a disposition to *do* the flying. I'm sure another passenger on each and every flight would get more out of the experience than I. I'm sure it's because I'm relatively small (5'2") and agile - it's no picnic getting situated up front for some folks. Even the neat view is lost on me - I can't see out the windows up front, I'm too short! If you ever see a petite brunette get selected for the seat that you really desire on a 9K flight, just let me know - I'll switch http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif



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