Loose Cannon
Dec 7, 06, 4:09 pm
As mentioned in my last Trip Report, I was summoned to a mandatory safety meeting to be held in Burlington, Ontario the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA. I was not happy about the timing of the meeting, nor the short notice but I think I did pretty good in making the best of a not so great situation.
I decided to fly Saturday because I am not keen on flying Sunday as I don't want to miss church and I definitely did not want to fly this particular Sunday at the end of Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I looked for air tickets to Toronto and Buffalo and there were options so I settled for a codeshare: United to Denver then change to Air Canada on to Toronto. I've been wanting to fly on the B-777 for quite sometime and finally got my wish. Also I've been wanting to try Air Canada and as a bonus got to fly on the new E-190 for the first time.
I got a shuttle to LAX Terminal 7 and was unable to use the kiosk to check in so a live person checked me in and checked my bags. I was unable to get Economy Plus but did snag an exit row behind door 3L at the front of Economy Negatory as one other poster likes to put it. I cleared security with no hassle and no secondary screening.
United #976 LAX-DEN B-777-200 Seat 30A Exit Row Cruising altitude 37,000' Estimated flying time 1:47, actual 1:41 Scheduled departure 11h15, actual 11h16 Scheduled arrival 14h29, actual 14h35
It was announced this would be a full flight. Boarding commenced through door 2L. The configuration of this aircraft was 12F/49J/197Y for total capacity of 258 passengers. Configuration in J was 2-3-2 and Y was 2-5-2. My seat as mentioned before was directly behind door 3L so there was no seat directly in front of mine but when I wanted to stretch I had to angle my feet to the right to avoid hitting the emergency slide. I found a pillow and blanket at my seat along with headphones in the side pouch. I found out that 196 of 197 seats in Y were occupied but the load up front was lighter and there was a crew of 10 on board.
Pushback was 1 minute late and taxi/hold was 26 minutes. Announcement was made requesting passengers to use lavatories in their ticketed cabin. Takeoff was to the west as usual over the ocean then turn south. I saw the oil refineries in El Segundo, Palos Verdes Peninsula, ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Seal Beach, Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and Los Alamitos JFTB, and the junction of Interstate 405/California 22.
Landfall was in the Huntington Beach area. Later I saw junction of Interstate 10/California 62 and the Palm Springs and Thousand Palms areas followed by a turn more to the northeast over Indio. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:21 and the weather in Denver was announced at 54F with scattered clouds. I listened to Channel 9 and watched the airshow that showed ground speed of 637mph and outside temperature of -68F.
There was one drink run and I got entire can of soda and was served pretzels. I saw the Grand Canyon and later an announcement came that Shiprock, New Mexico could be seen from the right. A slow descent started over southwest Colorado around 1:10 but descent began in earnest at 1:21 and seatbelt sign came on at 1:28. The Front Range was visible and there were some good sized bumps, enough that the FA's were unable to collect garbage as they usually would do before landing. I saw downtown Denver to the north and we made turn and approached from the south. Gear was down at 1:39 and we landed south to north and taxi was 11 minutes followed by arrival 6 minutes late at B38.
Air Canada #1042 codeshare with UA #8426 E-190 Seat 22A Cruising altitude 39,000' Estimated flying time 2:54, actual 2:32 Scheduled departure 15h25, actual 15h33 Scheduled arrival 20h28, actual 20h20 Ticket cost: $241.08
I went to B46 and waited at the desk for a few minutes and a lady came and said "Mr. Parkes." I checked in and got window seat. The configuration of the E-190 was 9F/84Y for total capacity of 93 passengers. Seats in F were arranged 1-2 in F and 2-2 in Y with video screens in each seatback. There were about 50 passengers on this flight and it appeared that F was empty.
Pushback was 8 minutes late. F/A came through offering newspapers. Taxi was 10 minutes followed by takeoff to the east. Initial climb was steep and seatbelt sign went off at 0:06. F/A came through offering Buy on Board options. I declined as I did Buy Before Boarding. There was a drink run and I got whole can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
The video in the seatbeack in front of me had main choices of News, Movies, TV, Audio, Games and Kid Stuff. There were 11 channels on Audio and also options of Radio, Library, Album and Playlist. There were 19 channels on TV.
I felt descent begin at 1:55 and announcement was made that we made good time so we would be at gate 9 minutes early. The IFE was shut off and headsets were collected during descent. Seatbelt sign went on at 2:20, and after a turn to approach from the east I saw the lights of downtown Toronto. Gear went down at 2:29 and we landed east to west. Taxi was 5 minutes and we arrived at gate 241 8 minutes early.
I joined the queue and handed my passport and declaration card to agent and was sent to immigration. There was no wait and after explaining the purpose of the visit my passport and declaration card were stamped and I was off to baggage claim to collect my bags. I got the last of my bags at
20h39 and there was a queue to exit Customs and I handed my card to agent and exited Customs at 20h46.
I went to Hertz and as a new member of the Hertz #1 Club I saw my name in lights for the first time. I got car and went to motel for the night.
Sunday Services, Quick Trip to Niagara Falls
Next morning I motored to the Toronto Free Presbyterian Church for Sunday morning service. Then I went back to motel, changed clothes and took a quick trip to Niagara Falls. This was the second time I went to the Falls; first time was in summer of 1979 on the U.S. side. I think the view was better from Canada. I took some pictures of the Falls and then back to Toronto Free Presbyterian Church for Sunday evening service. After the service there was a reception for one of the parishioners who turned 90. Then back to the motel for an early rise.
Next day was the safety meeting which went quicker than expected. After that I was offered a run from Quebec to Florida. I consulted the other company I contract with and was offered a run from Waverly, IA to Bakersfield, CA. I accepted the latter and declined the former run. I had time to make travel arrangements then was taken to dinner.
Following day I turned in rental car at YYZ and picked up another rental car for BUF. I got a view of the outside of Dundurn Castle in Hamilton and it was quite foggy. The fog cleared by the time I approached the border. I saw the Niagara River and got photos of Buffalo and crossed the Peace Bridge into the USA. I was questioned by Customs agent at the booth about the purpose of my trip to Canada then was asked to pop the trunk and at least one of my bags was searched. The agent asked me what state the licence plate was from so I answered and was asked why I had it and I explained then was cleared to proceed.
I got to BUF, turned in the car and had short queue at the Southwest counter before I used my bump voucher to purchase ticket and was reissued voucher for the difference, checked bags and got "B" boarding pass. I cleared security and there was no secondary and my carry-ons were not searched.
Southwest #368 BUF-MDW B-737-300 Seat 22F Cruising altitude 32,000' Estimated flying time 1:20, actual 1:25 Scheduled departure 16h25, actual
16h25 Scheduled arrival 17h10, actual 17h02 Ticket cost: $123.80
There were 96 passengers and 5 crew on board. Pushback was on time, taxi/hold was 8 minutes and takeoff was to west. I saw downtown Buffalo, Ft. Erie and Lake Erie and a nice sunset over Lake Erie and the NY Thruway. There were a couple bumps during initial climb. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:20 and there was one drink run and "Plane Snacks" and peanuts were handed out. Descent started at 0:53, seatbelt sign went on at 0:56. Announcement was it was overcast at MDW with winds gusting out of south to 29mph. There were some bumps on approach and I saw downtown Chicago to the distance. Landing was followed by taxi of 4 minutes and we arrived 8 minutes early. I got last of my bags at 17h26 then headed to Hertz to pick up rental car.
I stopped at the Hinsdale Oasis for dinner and there were a few raindrops. I spent the night in Rockford and the following morning it was raining and 54F. I headed west and the temperature dropped and it quit raining. I turned in care at Waterloo Airport and got taxi to motel and later was taken to Wednesday evening church at Lighthouse Baptist in Waterloo. The temperature in Waterloo was in the 19F with a wind chill of 1F. Next morning it was 10F and I got cab to Waverly where I picked up the truck and got started.
Trip: Waverly, IA to Bakersfield, CA 1,838 paid miles Routes: Iowa 3 to US218 to US20 to Interstate 35 to Missouri 152 to Interstate 435 to Interstate 70 to Kansas 156 to US56 to US283 to US54 to Interstate 40 to Old Route 66 Main Street to California 58 to California 99 Maximum elevation: 7,335 feet
I held short in Des Moines the first night due to concerns about what a storm to the south was going to do. I did not want to run Interstate 80 for various reasons this time. I had an excellent dinner at the Iowa Machine Shed. Next day the storm had gone through so I proceeded and did not experience any precipitation at all the entire trip but in Missouri and on the Kansas Turnpike there were wet roads and I found the spray aggravating. I also saw snow on the ground to the side of the road. It was 10F when I woke up in Des Moines but warmed to the upper 30s in the Kansas City area.
Sunday morning I attended church at Fellowship Baptist in Liberal, Kansas. It was in the 30s all day through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. I saw snow on the ground much of New Mexico (except ABQ) though the roads were dry. It warmed up to the 50s in Arizona and 60s in California. However the nights were cold. It was hazy in Bakersfield when I delivered.
I was taken to the Amtrak station and got ticket for $27 to Anaheim. That trip consisted of the Amtrak Thruway bus to Union Station in Los Angeles followed by the Pacific Surfliner to Anaheim. Then I took a cab home for the end of this tour of duty.
I decided to fly Saturday because I am not keen on flying Sunday as I don't want to miss church and I definitely did not want to fly this particular Sunday at the end of Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I looked for air tickets to Toronto and Buffalo and there were options so I settled for a codeshare: United to Denver then change to Air Canada on to Toronto. I've been wanting to fly on the B-777 for quite sometime and finally got my wish. Also I've been wanting to try Air Canada and as a bonus got to fly on the new E-190 for the first time.
I got a shuttle to LAX Terminal 7 and was unable to use the kiosk to check in so a live person checked me in and checked my bags. I was unable to get Economy Plus but did snag an exit row behind door 3L at the front of Economy Negatory as one other poster likes to put it. I cleared security with no hassle and no secondary screening.
United #976 LAX-DEN B-777-200 Seat 30A Exit Row Cruising altitude 37,000' Estimated flying time 1:47, actual 1:41 Scheduled departure 11h15, actual 11h16 Scheduled arrival 14h29, actual 14h35
It was announced this would be a full flight. Boarding commenced through door 2L. The configuration of this aircraft was 12F/49J/197Y for total capacity of 258 passengers. Configuration in J was 2-3-2 and Y was 2-5-2. My seat as mentioned before was directly behind door 3L so there was no seat directly in front of mine but when I wanted to stretch I had to angle my feet to the right to avoid hitting the emergency slide. I found a pillow and blanket at my seat along with headphones in the side pouch. I found out that 196 of 197 seats in Y were occupied but the load up front was lighter and there was a crew of 10 on board.
Pushback was 1 minute late and taxi/hold was 26 minutes. Announcement was made requesting passengers to use lavatories in their ticketed cabin. Takeoff was to the west as usual over the ocean then turn south. I saw the oil refineries in El Segundo, Palos Verdes Peninsula, ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Seal Beach, Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and Los Alamitos JFTB, and the junction of Interstate 405/California 22.
Landfall was in the Huntington Beach area. Later I saw junction of Interstate 10/California 62 and the Palm Springs and Thousand Palms areas followed by a turn more to the northeast over Indio. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:21 and the weather in Denver was announced at 54F with scattered clouds. I listened to Channel 9 and watched the airshow that showed ground speed of 637mph and outside temperature of -68F.
There was one drink run and I got entire can of soda and was served pretzels. I saw the Grand Canyon and later an announcement came that Shiprock, New Mexico could be seen from the right. A slow descent started over southwest Colorado around 1:10 but descent began in earnest at 1:21 and seatbelt sign came on at 1:28. The Front Range was visible and there were some good sized bumps, enough that the FA's were unable to collect garbage as they usually would do before landing. I saw downtown Denver to the north and we made turn and approached from the south. Gear was down at 1:39 and we landed south to north and taxi was 11 minutes followed by arrival 6 minutes late at B38.
Air Canada #1042 codeshare with UA #8426 E-190 Seat 22A Cruising altitude 39,000' Estimated flying time 2:54, actual 2:32 Scheduled departure 15h25, actual 15h33 Scheduled arrival 20h28, actual 20h20 Ticket cost: $241.08
I went to B46 and waited at the desk for a few minutes and a lady came and said "Mr. Parkes." I checked in and got window seat. The configuration of the E-190 was 9F/84Y for total capacity of 93 passengers. Seats in F were arranged 1-2 in F and 2-2 in Y with video screens in each seatback. There were about 50 passengers on this flight and it appeared that F was empty.
Pushback was 8 minutes late. F/A came through offering newspapers. Taxi was 10 minutes followed by takeoff to the east. Initial climb was steep and seatbelt sign went off at 0:06. F/A came through offering Buy on Board options. I declined as I did Buy Before Boarding. There was a drink run and I got whole can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
The video in the seatbeack in front of me had main choices of News, Movies, TV, Audio, Games and Kid Stuff. There were 11 channels on Audio and also options of Radio, Library, Album and Playlist. There were 19 channels on TV.
I felt descent begin at 1:55 and announcement was made that we made good time so we would be at gate 9 minutes early. The IFE was shut off and headsets were collected during descent. Seatbelt sign went on at 2:20, and after a turn to approach from the east I saw the lights of downtown Toronto. Gear went down at 2:29 and we landed east to west. Taxi was 5 minutes and we arrived at gate 241 8 minutes early.
I joined the queue and handed my passport and declaration card to agent and was sent to immigration. There was no wait and after explaining the purpose of the visit my passport and declaration card were stamped and I was off to baggage claim to collect my bags. I got the last of my bags at
20h39 and there was a queue to exit Customs and I handed my card to agent and exited Customs at 20h46.
I went to Hertz and as a new member of the Hertz #1 Club I saw my name in lights for the first time. I got car and went to motel for the night.
Sunday Services, Quick Trip to Niagara Falls
Next morning I motored to the Toronto Free Presbyterian Church for Sunday morning service. Then I went back to motel, changed clothes and took a quick trip to Niagara Falls. This was the second time I went to the Falls; first time was in summer of 1979 on the U.S. side. I think the view was better from Canada. I took some pictures of the Falls and then back to Toronto Free Presbyterian Church for Sunday evening service. After the service there was a reception for one of the parishioners who turned 90. Then back to the motel for an early rise.
Next day was the safety meeting which went quicker than expected. After that I was offered a run from Quebec to Florida. I consulted the other company I contract with and was offered a run from Waverly, IA to Bakersfield, CA. I accepted the latter and declined the former run. I had time to make travel arrangements then was taken to dinner.
Following day I turned in rental car at YYZ and picked up another rental car for BUF. I got a view of the outside of Dundurn Castle in Hamilton and it was quite foggy. The fog cleared by the time I approached the border. I saw the Niagara River and got photos of Buffalo and crossed the Peace Bridge into the USA. I was questioned by Customs agent at the booth about the purpose of my trip to Canada then was asked to pop the trunk and at least one of my bags was searched. The agent asked me what state the licence plate was from so I answered and was asked why I had it and I explained then was cleared to proceed.
I got to BUF, turned in the car and had short queue at the Southwest counter before I used my bump voucher to purchase ticket and was reissued voucher for the difference, checked bags and got "B" boarding pass. I cleared security and there was no secondary and my carry-ons were not searched.
Southwest #368 BUF-MDW B-737-300 Seat 22F Cruising altitude 32,000' Estimated flying time 1:20, actual 1:25 Scheduled departure 16h25, actual
16h25 Scheduled arrival 17h10, actual 17h02 Ticket cost: $123.80
There were 96 passengers and 5 crew on board. Pushback was on time, taxi/hold was 8 minutes and takeoff was to west. I saw downtown Buffalo, Ft. Erie and Lake Erie and a nice sunset over Lake Erie and the NY Thruway. There were a couple bumps during initial climb. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:20 and there was one drink run and "Plane Snacks" and peanuts were handed out. Descent started at 0:53, seatbelt sign went on at 0:56. Announcement was it was overcast at MDW with winds gusting out of south to 29mph. There were some bumps on approach and I saw downtown Chicago to the distance. Landing was followed by taxi of 4 minutes and we arrived 8 minutes early. I got last of my bags at 17h26 then headed to Hertz to pick up rental car.
I stopped at the Hinsdale Oasis for dinner and there were a few raindrops. I spent the night in Rockford and the following morning it was raining and 54F. I headed west and the temperature dropped and it quit raining. I turned in care at Waterloo Airport and got taxi to motel and later was taken to Wednesday evening church at Lighthouse Baptist in Waterloo. The temperature in Waterloo was in the 19F with a wind chill of 1F. Next morning it was 10F and I got cab to Waverly where I picked up the truck and got started.
Trip: Waverly, IA to Bakersfield, CA 1,838 paid miles Routes: Iowa 3 to US218 to US20 to Interstate 35 to Missouri 152 to Interstate 435 to Interstate 70 to Kansas 156 to US56 to US283 to US54 to Interstate 40 to Old Route 66 Main Street to California 58 to California 99 Maximum elevation: 7,335 feet
I held short in Des Moines the first night due to concerns about what a storm to the south was going to do. I did not want to run Interstate 80 for various reasons this time. I had an excellent dinner at the Iowa Machine Shed. Next day the storm had gone through so I proceeded and did not experience any precipitation at all the entire trip but in Missouri and on the Kansas Turnpike there were wet roads and I found the spray aggravating. I also saw snow on the ground to the side of the road. It was 10F when I woke up in Des Moines but warmed to the upper 30s in the Kansas City area.
Sunday morning I attended church at Fellowship Baptist in Liberal, Kansas. It was in the 30s all day through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. I saw snow on the ground much of New Mexico (except ABQ) though the roads were dry. It warmed up to the 50s in Arizona and 60s in California. However the nights were cold. It was hazy in Bakersfield when I delivered.
I was taken to the Amtrak station and got ticket for $27 to Anaheim. That trip consisted of the Amtrak Thruway bus to Union Station in Los Angeles followed by the Pacific Surfliner to Anaheim. Then I took a cab home for the end of this tour of duty.