fredmartens
Feb 17, 04, 5:38 pm
AS90, SEA-MCO, Tuesday 10 February
The night life. I live for it. I'm scheduled to take AS90 out to MCO tonight for the first of four "mileage run" legs; I figured I'd get my MVPG qualifying out of the way early this year along with the triple mile bonus while I can still book FC upgrades ahead of time. This is one way to go about it, I guess, and besides, work's a little slow right now. Boarding starts at D3 about 10:07 PM for a 10:45 departure; this is a good thing, as the preboard call for families with small children numbers over 50. The upcoming TANGO clearly doesn't apply to this flight. It's 10:25 before first class and MVP are called...in line, the front cabin natives are now restless. When finally boarding our 737-900, I find the entryway littered with strollers and infant car seats. It looks like a virtual Babies R Us selection in the jetbridge.
Departure is to the north tonight, the weather's really quite nice as we climb out, eventually making a right turn southeast towards MCO. Tonight's route of flight, according to the skipper, is over Moses Lake, followed by a string of unintelligible cities. You see, I'd popped a nice little chemical sleep agent half an hour before boarding, and other than flying over Colorado, Arkansas and New Orleans, I really didn't catch much else. Inflight service, at least that for which I was conscious, was continuous throughout the flight. A cheese, cracker & fruit plate was served about 45 minutes into the flight; DigEplayers were also passed out. I recall asking for more water and consuming it. I heard my seat neighbor opening a quite crackly package followed by munching about 45 minutes before landing, so I assume we were also given some sort of packaged snack as well. The only reason that I was awake to provide this tidbit of information is that my 2A neighbor decided to climb over me on the way to the lav....I must have really been out of it. Hope I didn't snore too loud. Landing was uneventful at 6:47 A.M.; the weather, overcast and 61 degrees F. We taxi to gate 6 and disembark at about 6:53 A.M. (that's 3:53 SEA time for anyone counting).
Since I've blown off the snackage that AS passed out during the overnight flight, I wander over to the nearest concessionaire, strangely named "Azalea", where a "Classic Breakfast Sandwich" awaits me at the reasonable price of only $2.99. It's a microwaved biscuit with cheese (probably Velveeta), scrambled egg and ham. I scan over the fat content of the sandwich package label and shrug it off. What the hell, somebody's gotta eat these things. Along with coffee and a face wash in the nearby restroom, I feel as if I might survive this. Rather than risk sleeping through the return boarding, after my sumptuous breakfast I head down the to the AA gates to see if there might be an Admiral's Club or anything interesting down there, such as a wireless signal. Well, there's neither, so it's over to a pay phone for dialup to check e-mail. Connecting through the cell phone is just too doggone slow.
AS83, MCO-SEA, Wednesday 11 February
It's an ontime departure, and true to form so far, I've slept through the meal service on AS83 on our return to SEA. I can report that it's baby o'rama again, with no fewer than 4 "lap" children up front. Thank goodness for silicone earplugs (I can't stand headphones). One special group of six in row two (yup, that's mom, dad, two kids and the grandparents) are told prior to pushback that, since the FA's have to have an extra oxygen mask available at each row, there can't be six people in the row. So, little ol' half asleep 3D moi and my very-nice-looking-but-married 3F seatmate are asked to move up to row 2D & F...only to have the back of my seat kicked for the first 2 hours of the flight. After being woken up for the fifth time, a brief chat with daddy and we're all straight on a passenger's preference not to have their seat kicked. Dad and Grampa retaliate by using my seatback as a hand operated diving board every time they get up to chat with Mommy and Gramma or go to the lav. Mental note to Fred at this point: you should have known that this would be packed with kids...which I suspected, but a) didn't think would be so prevalent up front midweek and b) that their parents would be so ignorant. Shoulda known better.
I can only tell you that the food smelled pretty good, one entree was scrambled eggs with sausage & potatoes, the other was an omelette with cheese. The quality of the ride back, however, has been pretty choppy to this point as we fly over Denver. By this time, the FA's have pretty much retired to cleaning up things in their respective galleys, and we pax are left to our own devices, which, once again, include theDigEplayers. For me, it's taking turns looking at the number of rocks (18? 20?) on my seatmate's left hand and catching little naps. Thou shall not covet, Fredrick. An ontime 11:39 arrival into SEA, which the captain is still predicting despite our 50 knot headwinds, means I'll have plenty of time to make it over from N8 to the SEA-PHX leg, which boards at 12:10 out of D9. Had I been awake for the main meal service, I can say that I probably would have enjoyed it. A cheese, cracker & fruit plate snack is presented, which I consume as the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole pass by on our right. I can remember back in college, in the spring of 1987, when 3 buddies and I took that leap off the top of Corbett's Couloir...the craziest double black diamond I ever attempted. While surviving it, I'd never run it again...I'd never seen such insane vertical drop before. I still have that 100,000 vertical foot pin around somewhere. It's off to Idaho Falls and on for Seattle as the bumps continue...typical winter flying over the Rockies, Tetons, Bitterroots and finally, the Cascades. Our approach to 34L is uneventful, and we touch down at 11:22 to a beautiful 50 degree sunny midday at SeaTac.
SEA-PHX, AS 752, Wednesday 11 February
How we got from fourth to fourteenth in the departure lineup I don't know, but we're about 20 minutes late getting off 34R and out of SEA. I hope this weather holds; after all, I'll be back in town tomorrow and there's a couple of Harleys in the garage wanting a little exercise. Our FA is funny and positively effervescent during her cabin service today; chatting with all of the passengers that are interested in being vocal, some of the banter between us goes as such: "Sandwich or salad?" (while she's holding a salad). Me: "I hate to make you do two trips, but can I have a sammich?" "You know that I'm here to serve you". "Oh. I thought you were here primarily for our safety". Minor chortles and yucks. My seatmate in 2F and I are drinking Diet Coke, but before we can say a word, we are refilled with straight Coke. She asks, "Happy? I brought the whole can for you two to share; I'm here to serve you". "That's great, thank you! Especially since we were drinking Diet!" "That's right, you were", she replies, looking momentarily perplexed about the FC cabin. "So, where's my Coke?" I hold up my ESPN magazine with highly tattooed NBA ballers on the cover and reply "I'll bet that's a question at least one of these guys has asked once as well". So it's kinda one of those flights. We chat on and off during the flight (turns out she knows my sister's neighbor Wendy, the NW FA that wrote "Around the World in a Bad Mood") and swap some inflight horror stories, but as I expected, she's got much better ones than I do...like the ANC-ORD flight where the guy decided to relieve himself in the aisle. She'd worked that one, the lucky girl. Other than that and the usual "sex under the blanket" stories, she confides that it's being handed the soiled diapers that she dislikes most. I think I'd have to agree with that, however, cleaning up orally tossed foodlets would rank right up there.
Today's route of flight in our 737-700 takes us over Yakima, Pendleton, down the eastern Oregon / western Idaho border, over Elko, Ely, the Grand Canyon and into Phoenix Sky Harbor airport from the east. We're right on time, unlike last Saturday, when one of the runways was closed here. It's in the low 60's, very nice and sunny as I exit terminal 2 to wait for the hotel van. Well, at least it's a night's rest in a real bed at the airport Wyndham before heading back to SEA and the office tomorrow morning. Wonder if I can find anyone hanging around the hotel wanting to go over to Mesa and get some hot wings at Papillons Too?
PHX-SEA, AS 715...err, ah, 753, Thursday 12 February
The morning starts off innocently enough at 5:00AM, but the day's first surprise isn't far off. After a few cups of coffee to get the ol' ticker started, it's off to the Wyndham lobby to check flight status on the laptop. Lessee, log into Boingo roaming, then on to the AS website....mmm, now day of flight, punch in 715. Yep, there's our departure at...10:30 AM? Wha' happened? I thought we were scheduled at 8:00AM? A quick call to the MVPG desk confirms it, sorta. "We don't have any information other than it's a delay on the inbound" I'm told. Funny, I thought that aircraft overnighted here; wrong again for the umpteen-millionth time in my life. Lucky me, there's room on the 7:10, but now the race is on. I'm in the Wyndham lobby, the shuttle's another 10 minutes away and it's now 6:17 A.M. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. It turns out that it is my day, after all; I make it to check-in at 6:31 and am through the MVP line at Sky Harbor in 4 minutes....walking up to gate 12 just as rows 1-6 are boarding...oh, man, if it wasn't for that elite line, I'd have never made it. What's that old Amex tagline, membership has its' priveleges? Ahhh, row 6 AB&C all to myself. Who says there isn't a God?
Food service up front appears to be the egg, peppers, cheese & mystery meat tortilla wrap that has recently surfaced on the coastal flights, so I don't really feel as if I'm missing anything. I will admit that it beats the "egg quesadilla" that is served on many of the AA SEA-ORD or DFW morning flights. In coach, it's muffins, but they've been catered several short due to all the last minute pile-ons from the 8:00AM. I'll raid the boardroom for a bagel when I get into SEA...after all, I am a last minute add-on to the flight. I'm just grateful to be here (what am I, nuts? I'll be getting into the office an hour earlier than I'd planned...). Our FA this morning is quite affable and we briefly chat about the recent food cutbacks along with the article in today's WSJ on AS simplifying their fare structure. She mentions that many of the FA's aren't real happy about the food cutbacks either, as it gives them less to do during the flight and increases the boredom factor. Our FA returns about 20 minutes later, and I am offered a few bags of nuts from first class; I am grateful and accept. My coffee is also refilled, but this time it returns in a first class mug. What a sweetie. A few bumps over the Grand Canyon, but the ride smooths out as we head northwest to SEA; another sunny Pacific Northwest day, what a shame I have to head to the office. An ontime landing in the Emerald City; I breathe a sigh of relief.... this one's in the books.
The night life. I live for it. I'm scheduled to take AS90 out to MCO tonight for the first of four "mileage run" legs; I figured I'd get my MVPG qualifying out of the way early this year along with the triple mile bonus while I can still book FC upgrades ahead of time. This is one way to go about it, I guess, and besides, work's a little slow right now. Boarding starts at D3 about 10:07 PM for a 10:45 departure; this is a good thing, as the preboard call for families with small children numbers over 50. The upcoming TANGO clearly doesn't apply to this flight. It's 10:25 before first class and MVP are called...in line, the front cabin natives are now restless. When finally boarding our 737-900, I find the entryway littered with strollers and infant car seats. It looks like a virtual Babies R Us selection in the jetbridge.
Departure is to the north tonight, the weather's really quite nice as we climb out, eventually making a right turn southeast towards MCO. Tonight's route of flight, according to the skipper, is over Moses Lake, followed by a string of unintelligible cities. You see, I'd popped a nice little chemical sleep agent half an hour before boarding, and other than flying over Colorado, Arkansas and New Orleans, I really didn't catch much else. Inflight service, at least that for which I was conscious, was continuous throughout the flight. A cheese, cracker & fruit plate was served about 45 minutes into the flight; DigEplayers were also passed out. I recall asking for more water and consuming it. I heard my seat neighbor opening a quite crackly package followed by munching about 45 minutes before landing, so I assume we were also given some sort of packaged snack as well. The only reason that I was awake to provide this tidbit of information is that my 2A neighbor decided to climb over me on the way to the lav....I must have really been out of it. Hope I didn't snore too loud. Landing was uneventful at 6:47 A.M.; the weather, overcast and 61 degrees F. We taxi to gate 6 and disembark at about 6:53 A.M. (that's 3:53 SEA time for anyone counting).
Since I've blown off the snackage that AS passed out during the overnight flight, I wander over to the nearest concessionaire, strangely named "Azalea", where a "Classic Breakfast Sandwich" awaits me at the reasonable price of only $2.99. It's a microwaved biscuit with cheese (probably Velveeta), scrambled egg and ham. I scan over the fat content of the sandwich package label and shrug it off. What the hell, somebody's gotta eat these things. Along with coffee and a face wash in the nearby restroom, I feel as if I might survive this. Rather than risk sleeping through the return boarding, after my sumptuous breakfast I head down the to the AA gates to see if there might be an Admiral's Club or anything interesting down there, such as a wireless signal. Well, there's neither, so it's over to a pay phone for dialup to check e-mail. Connecting through the cell phone is just too doggone slow.
AS83, MCO-SEA, Wednesday 11 February
It's an ontime departure, and true to form so far, I've slept through the meal service on AS83 on our return to SEA. I can report that it's baby o'rama again, with no fewer than 4 "lap" children up front. Thank goodness for silicone earplugs (I can't stand headphones). One special group of six in row two (yup, that's mom, dad, two kids and the grandparents) are told prior to pushback that, since the FA's have to have an extra oxygen mask available at each row, there can't be six people in the row. So, little ol' half asleep 3D moi and my very-nice-looking-but-married 3F seatmate are asked to move up to row 2D & F...only to have the back of my seat kicked for the first 2 hours of the flight. After being woken up for the fifth time, a brief chat with daddy and we're all straight on a passenger's preference not to have their seat kicked. Dad and Grampa retaliate by using my seatback as a hand operated diving board every time they get up to chat with Mommy and Gramma or go to the lav. Mental note to Fred at this point: you should have known that this would be packed with kids...which I suspected, but a) didn't think would be so prevalent up front midweek and b) that their parents would be so ignorant. Shoulda known better.
I can only tell you that the food smelled pretty good, one entree was scrambled eggs with sausage & potatoes, the other was an omelette with cheese. The quality of the ride back, however, has been pretty choppy to this point as we fly over Denver. By this time, the FA's have pretty much retired to cleaning up things in their respective galleys, and we pax are left to our own devices, which, once again, include theDigEplayers. For me, it's taking turns looking at the number of rocks (18? 20?) on my seatmate's left hand and catching little naps. Thou shall not covet, Fredrick. An ontime 11:39 arrival into SEA, which the captain is still predicting despite our 50 knot headwinds, means I'll have plenty of time to make it over from N8 to the SEA-PHX leg, which boards at 12:10 out of D9. Had I been awake for the main meal service, I can say that I probably would have enjoyed it. A cheese, cracker & fruit plate snack is presented, which I consume as the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole pass by on our right. I can remember back in college, in the spring of 1987, when 3 buddies and I took that leap off the top of Corbett's Couloir...the craziest double black diamond I ever attempted. While surviving it, I'd never run it again...I'd never seen such insane vertical drop before. I still have that 100,000 vertical foot pin around somewhere. It's off to Idaho Falls and on for Seattle as the bumps continue...typical winter flying over the Rockies, Tetons, Bitterroots and finally, the Cascades. Our approach to 34L is uneventful, and we touch down at 11:22 to a beautiful 50 degree sunny midday at SeaTac.
SEA-PHX, AS 752, Wednesday 11 February
How we got from fourth to fourteenth in the departure lineup I don't know, but we're about 20 minutes late getting off 34R and out of SEA. I hope this weather holds; after all, I'll be back in town tomorrow and there's a couple of Harleys in the garage wanting a little exercise. Our FA is funny and positively effervescent during her cabin service today; chatting with all of the passengers that are interested in being vocal, some of the banter between us goes as such: "Sandwich or salad?" (while she's holding a salad). Me: "I hate to make you do two trips, but can I have a sammich?" "You know that I'm here to serve you". "Oh. I thought you were here primarily for our safety". Minor chortles and yucks. My seatmate in 2F and I are drinking Diet Coke, but before we can say a word, we are refilled with straight Coke. She asks, "Happy? I brought the whole can for you two to share; I'm here to serve you". "That's great, thank you! Especially since we were drinking Diet!" "That's right, you were", she replies, looking momentarily perplexed about the FC cabin. "So, where's my Coke?" I hold up my ESPN magazine with highly tattooed NBA ballers on the cover and reply "I'll bet that's a question at least one of these guys has asked once as well". So it's kinda one of those flights. We chat on and off during the flight (turns out she knows my sister's neighbor Wendy, the NW FA that wrote "Around the World in a Bad Mood") and swap some inflight horror stories, but as I expected, she's got much better ones than I do...like the ANC-ORD flight where the guy decided to relieve himself in the aisle. She'd worked that one, the lucky girl. Other than that and the usual "sex under the blanket" stories, she confides that it's being handed the soiled diapers that she dislikes most. I think I'd have to agree with that, however, cleaning up orally tossed foodlets would rank right up there.
Today's route of flight in our 737-700 takes us over Yakima, Pendleton, down the eastern Oregon / western Idaho border, over Elko, Ely, the Grand Canyon and into Phoenix Sky Harbor airport from the east. We're right on time, unlike last Saturday, when one of the runways was closed here. It's in the low 60's, very nice and sunny as I exit terminal 2 to wait for the hotel van. Well, at least it's a night's rest in a real bed at the airport Wyndham before heading back to SEA and the office tomorrow morning. Wonder if I can find anyone hanging around the hotel wanting to go over to Mesa and get some hot wings at Papillons Too?
PHX-SEA, AS 715...err, ah, 753, Thursday 12 February
The morning starts off innocently enough at 5:00AM, but the day's first surprise isn't far off. After a few cups of coffee to get the ol' ticker started, it's off to the Wyndham lobby to check flight status on the laptop. Lessee, log into Boingo roaming, then on to the AS website....mmm, now day of flight, punch in 715. Yep, there's our departure at...10:30 AM? Wha' happened? I thought we were scheduled at 8:00AM? A quick call to the MVPG desk confirms it, sorta. "We don't have any information other than it's a delay on the inbound" I'm told. Funny, I thought that aircraft overnighted here; wrong again for the umpteen-millionth time in my life. Lucky me, there's room on the 7:10, but now the race is on. I'm in the Wyndham lobby, the shuttle's another 10 minutes away and it's now 6:17 A.M. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. It turns out that it is my day, after all; I make it to check-in at 6:31 and am through the MVP line at Sky Harbor in 4 minutes....walking up to gate 12 just as rows 1-6 are boarding...oh, man, if it wasn't for that elite line, I'd have never made it. What's that old Amex tagline, membership has its' priveleges? Ahhh, row 6 AB&C all to myself. Who says there isn't a God?
Food service up front appears to be the egg, peppers, cheese & mystery meat tortilla wrap that has recently surfaced on the coastal flights, so I don't really feel as if I'm missing anything. I will admit that it beats the "egg quesadilla" that is served on many of the AA SEA-ORD or DFW morning flights. In coach, it's muffins, but they've been catered several short due to all the last minute pile-ons from the 8:00AM. I'll raid the boardroom for a bagel when I get into SEA...after all, I am a last minute add-on to the flight. I'm just grateful to be here (what am I, nuts? I'll be getting into the office an hour earlier than I'd planned...). Our FA this morning is quite affable and we briefly chat about the recent food cutbacks along with the article in today's WSJ on AS simplifying their fare structure. She mentions that many of the FA's aren't real happy about the food cutbacks either, as it gives them less to do during the flight and increases the boredom factor. Our FA returns about 20 minutes later, and I am offered a few bags of nuts from first class; I am grateful and accept. My coffee is also refilled, but this time it returns in a first class mug. What a sweetie. A few bumps over the Grand Canyon, but the ride smooths out as we head northwest to SEA; another sunny Pacific Northwest day, what a shame I have to head to the office. An ontime landing in the Emerald City; I breathe a sigh of relief.... this one's in the books.