Seat1A

I found out about the end of Concorde reading flyertalk the day it was announced. I didn't find out until that evening, tho, so by the time I called DL to book an award ticket, all that was left was a CDG-JFK flight on May 22. So I booked that, with an outbound on a 777 on May 20. A few days before the trip, more seats started opening up, and I was able to switch to a Concorde on the outbound on May 21. I live in Boston, but I had business on Long Island for part of the week, and JFK-CDG fit in perfectly.

I didn't know my NYC schedule when I booked the Concorde trip, so I booked JFK-CDG-JFK/LGA-BOS. But I ended up flying LGA-BOS at a different time when award seats weren't available, so I bought the BOS-LGA-BOS flights, on AA.


Sunday, May 18
BOS-LGA
AA 4737
Sched 6:00p - 7:30p
Actual 5:55p - 7:00p
ERJ-135
Seat 4A


If I was looking for omens, an AA BOS-LGA flight arriving half an hour early was certainly a good one! For once, I had a perfect Eagle flight, which is to say there was nothing memorable about it. Checkin was quick, boarding was on time, and departure was early. I had a glass--err, cup--of wine. Bolla Soave. Better than the stuff AA mainline serves in coach, but then, so is cough syrup. We arrived half an hour early. An even bigger shock--our gate was available! I had dinner at the food court at LGA to avoid getting to hertz too early--I didn't want a manually printed contract with the correct time on it, since I was planning to return a bit late on Tuesday.

My midsize car from Hertz was a Ford Explorer with 400 miles on it. Yay. I drove out to Ronkonkoma, and checked into the Holiday Inn, which is basically next door to ISP. hey, LGA is cheaper, and earns 2500 miles each way! The Holiday Inn had no A/C. This was a bad thing. Monday, before going to work, I checked out. Ahh, well, four hotel nights this trip, and four different hotels.

Monday night, I stayed at the Wyndham Wind Watch, which is farther away from where I want to be, but only by about 10 minutes, and it's much nicer. I'll stay there in the future if I can get good rates.

Tuesday night, I started driving back toward JFK. My original plan was to fly on Tuesday, so my hotel arrangements were last minute. Since I didn't want to spend actual money, I used a free night certificate at the La Quinta JFK Airport. (I'm La Quinta Gold. is that sad or what?) I don't recommend it. If I wasn't so amused to be in such a dump the night before my Concorde flight, I'd be really unhappy. The shuttle took forever to arrive, so I decided to allow an extra hour to get back to JFK.

Wednesday, May 21
JFK-CDG
AF 001
Sched 8:00a - 5:45p
Actual 8:00a - 5:45p
Concorde
Seat 17A

I set an alarm for 4am, and a wakeup call for 4:30. This was a good move--it took both to get me out of bed at that hour. A quick shower, and I was downstairs at 5:01. The desk clerk called the shuttle for me, and it was actually there quickly. I was at Terminal 1 by 5:20. The counter opens at 6:00, so I had a bit of time. I was in line behind an older French couple, and two younger French men. More people kept showing up--I was a bit surprised. If I didn't have such a lousy seat assignment (26A), I would have shown up much later.

As people arrived, I observed very few Americans. The crowd was largely French, and mostly European. The counter opened promptly at 6:00, and I got to the desk a few minutes later. I asked for a window seat farther forward. The agent gave me 21D, and said the lounge might be able to do better for me. I've read similar accounts from others on FT, so I wasn't surprised.

I noticed that they still had a sign up from the night before, stating that AF9 was oversold, and they were seeking volunteers. I felt a twinge of disappointment at missing the opportunity to try to get bumped onto the Concorde flight. It passed quickly when I realized how little I'd value an Air France bump voucher....

Security was very quick--10+ TSA's for a flight with 66 people on it. Terminal 1 is very very quiet in the morning. I went to the lounge, stopping briefly by the gate to observe the plane. I was pleased to see that it was F-BVFA--that means I can later go to the Smithsonian and see the same plane I flew. Satisfied, I went to the lounge and asked about getting a better seat. They held my boarding pass, and told me to check back before boarding. The lounge was nice, but did not have a view of the plane. I had some breakfast, and some excellent orange juice, followed by a mimosa. Normally, I don't drink mimosas, but this was good at 7am.

At 7:30, I got my new boarding pass for seat 17A, which turned out to be perfect. The view is just fine from the front rows of the rear cabin. And, since the flight was 2/3 full, the front cabin was packed, and the rear cabin was not. I ended up with no seatmate. The seats really aren't that roomy in the shoulder/elbow department, so I was pleased. Predeparture juice was offered.

We pushed on time, and had a safety demonstration. The captain made an announcement about our departure. He said we would be departing to the northwest, on Runway 31L, and would immediately turn left for noise abatement. I'm glad he warned us!

Acceleration on the takeoff roll was quick, and when we got up to what felt like takeoff speed, we just kept rolling, and rolling. When we finally reached Concorde takeoff speed (at the 6,000 foot sign), the nose pitched up, the wheels left the ground, and the left wing dipped sharply. The next 15 seconds felt and sounded like a wooden roller coaster in a long left turn--lots of vibration, and lots of noise. Hopefully it spared the neighbors the sound of our afterburners...

Less than a minute into the flight, it felt like the plane tried to stop. I lurched forward a bit in my seat, and it got a lot quieter. Afterburners off, nose up. It was bumpy on the climbout, but not too bad, and we quickly got above the weather, and got up to M0.92.

The flight attendants offered souveniers. This crew was well prepared for a planeload of first-timers. Everyone got a stationery folder, a pen, the technical details booklet, and a menu. Very nice, tho I was amused by the number of typos in the technical details booklet. I guess they didn't put much effort into editing the English text.

The captain came on the PA and made another announcement. He said we would shortly feel the afterburners start again, in two bursts, and shortly after, we would pass mach 1. Almost immediately after the announcement, I felt the two afterburner kicks, and the machmeter quickly climbed to M0.99. The ticks to M1.00 and M1.01 were slower, but they came and went. If not for the machmeter, you really wouldn't know you had just broken the sound barrier--the event itself is quite anticlimactic, but satisfying nonetheless.

As we continued to climb and accelerate, the brunch service started. The menu was identical to the one posted in Alpha Golf's Trip Report, with one exception: The champagne was Krug Grand Cuvée, instead of Dom Perignon.

I chose the seafood platter, which was small, but tasty. The fruit timbale was good, and the deserts were very good. I had the Chablis with and after the meal. Definitely my kind of wine--I thoroughly enjoyed it. Service was at a comfortable pace, and once the meal was completely cleared away, I had about an hour to read before we started the descent into Paris.

I was hoping to get a picture of myself with the machmeter, but except for a few quick ticks, it spent almost the entire flight pegged on M1.99. Who wants a picture with a machmeter reading M1.99??? :-) Oh, well, I'll try on the return.

Flight attendants came by with certificates for everyone. Except me! A few minutes later, I asked one of the FA's if I had been missed, and she promised to look into it. She took my boarding pass for spelling. She returned shortly after with the certificate, which had been filled out, but tagged for 7A instead of 17A. No problem, I got it! The certificate is actually quite nice. I'm having it framed, which will cost almost as much as I spent on the trip.

Next was the caviar service. I turned down the caviar, but did have a glass of Krug for the descent.

The captain announced the descent, then pulled back the engines. We quickly slowed down, and passed back to subsonic speed. It was a cloudy day, both in NYC and Paris, so there wasn't much sightseeing to do. We touched down just under 3.5 hours after takeoff, and made the long taxi to the gate. We passed a large crowd of photographers gathered to greet Concorde. I tried to wave, but my hand is almost bigger than the window. We arrived right on time.

One of my more frequent flights is BOS-DFW on an AA MD-80. This flight actually reminded me of that in many ways--the length is similar, so my pacing was also similar--a comfortable meal service, and a bit of time to relax before the descent. The seating was four across, and comfortable, tho not quite wide enough. And aside from the slightly different takeoff and landing, it felt just like a regular flight. It didn't really hit me that this was any different until I got off the plane, and realized I was in France. Why am I in France?????

Passport control and customs were trivial--I didn't speak a word, and for the fourth time, I didn't get a stamp in my passport. Do they even have stamps in France? Baggage delivery was relatively slow for a flight with 66 people, and a belt close enough to the plane that I could still see it. While I waited, I chatted with a gentleman from Atlanta who was also planning to return the next morning. We agreed it was an excellent use of miles. My bag arrived, and I walked it thru customs.

I wandered the airport for a while, and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Then, I went outside to find the bus to the Radisson SAS hotel. The bus came quickly, and I got to my room at about 7:30pm. I was pleased to see that the room had high speed internet. I chatted about my trip with friends online. Around midnight, I went to sleep. (This was not a problem after getting too little sleep the night before.) I woke up at 7am, refreshed and ready to go. Flying to Europe without jet lag rules.

Of course, I wasn't staying long.....

Thursday, May 22
CDG-JFK
AF 002
Sched 10:30a - 8:25a
Actual 10:30a - 8:30a
Concorde
Seat 15A

This was my chance to experience the business travel advantages of Concorde. I had a full day's business on Long Island, and would be home in Boston that night.

I was content with my seat assignment, so I really wasn't in a hurry to get to the airport. I took a leisurely shower, and caught up on some email. I left the room around 8:10am, checked out, and got on the 8:15am shuttle to the airport. The shuttles were running late, tho, so they turned it into the 8:30, and filled it. Traffic was bad, but Hall A was the first stop, and I got to the ticket counter shortly after 9am. The line moved slowly, and I wasn't checked in until about 9:15. I walked around a bit, then cleared passport control and security. I didn't have to take my laptop out of its bag, and when my shoes set off the metal detector, they wanded my feet (with shoes still on them), and let me go. I had to go all the way to France, but I experienced a sane airport security check!

I proceeded to the lounge. It was a bit smaller than the JFK lounge, and there were more people. But I didn't care--this one had an excellent view of the plane! I got a Coke Light, and proceeded to take pictures. I had my picture taken in front of the plane, and I took pictures for other people. This was a very touristy crowd. I looked out the window at one point, and saw the flight crew standing on the wing taking pictures of each other. On the flight over, I may well have been the youngest person on the plane (I'm 29). Clearly not so today--a much younger crowd.

Boarding was announced, and I boarded. They were hand wanding everyone as we boarded, but it was quick. I took my seat in 15A, and waited as everyone boarded. My seatmate was among the last to arrive--just as I thought I was going to be one of the lucky ones. The plane was filled to capacity, but capacity leaves 8 empty seats, due to weight restrictions resulting from modifications after the Paris crash.

The captain's boarding announcement was sad. He announced that he and his crew were "happy to fly this Concorde to New York for the last time". From the tone of his voice, i think he's going to miss the plane more than we are.

With a completely full flight, the service definitely suffered--the meal service took a *long* time. They didn't quite have enough stationery. There were no duty free sales. This flight was a bit higher and faster than the flight over. I did detect just a bit of curvature on the horizon, and a definite purple tint to the sky. As the flight went on, the sun dropped in the eastern sky. (Not that you can actually see the sun thru the tiny windows, but the rays coming thru the windows got flatter as the flight went on.)

Immediately after the meal service was cleared, I went to the restroom, and asked a flight attendant to take my picture with the machmeter (which was bouncing between M2.00 and M2.01 on this flight). She got it at M2.00. nice. I spent 10 minutes or so talking to a British couple across the aisle from me. It was nice to stand for a while--with two large men seated together, Concorde is rather cramped! The heat coming off the walls doesn't help, either. (Actually, the worst heat is right near the exit doors in the center of the cabin. It's *HOT* over there.)

At one point in the conversation, I said "if it wasn't for the machmeter, you'd never know". I turned and pointed, and noticed it was showing M1.4. We were already descending. I returned to my seat, and almost immediately, another gentleman approached and identified himself as DeltaFlyingProf. He was in the front cabin for the flight, but came back to say hello. We chatted a bit about the excellent use of SkyMiles.

Before long, we were subsonic, and descending into a cloudy New York. We didn't see much of the ground until just before touchdown. The approach is very much nose up. We touched down on 31L three hours and 32 minutes after takeoff from Paris, and 24 hours and 9 minutes after I took off from the same runway on the same plane the day before. Arrival was just a few minutes after our scheduled 8:30.

I gathered my belongings, deplaned, and headed for immigration. I stopped for a few more pictures in the hallway leading to arrivals. The last picture I took from here is just slightly different from the first one I took on Wednesday--same plane, same gate, just a slightly different angle. It was enough to clearly identify the plane as Fox Alpha, tho, so I was pleased.

The immigration officer decided it was worth asking a few extra questions when I told him I had left the day before, but he quickly decided I was a harmless Concorde enthusiast, and let me go. Bags arrived reasonably quickly, and I proceeded to answer the same questions about my one day trip for customs. Again, they quickly decided I was harmless, and I was out the door and on the curb at 8:40. The Hertz bus took 20 minutes to show up--unusual, and just when I didn't have time for it. But I was in a grand marquis headed east by about 9:10.

The menu on this flight was a bit different than I've seen in other posts:

APERITIF CAVIAR


DEJEUNER


CHOICE OF HORS D'OEUVRE

Foie gras layered with leek confit
Lobster with vegetable escabeche


FRESH GARDEN SALAD


CHOICE OF HOT DISHES

Pan-seared filet of beef, mashed potatoes with truffles, baby carrots and French green beans

Roasted sea bass, zucchini and tomato fan

Risotto with truffles and cepe mushrooms


A SELECTION OF FRENCH CHEESES


DESSERT DUET

Seasonal fruit timbale

Petits fours - Opera cake, spiced mango tartlet, raspberries with chocolate


COFFEE TEA BRANDIES LIQUEURS


I had the beef, which was cooked medium well to well done--too done for me. The rest of it was quite good, tho--the lobster appetizer was very nice, and the desserts were quite good.

LGA-BOS
AA 4740
Sched 6:00p - 7:15p
Actual 6:00p - 7:00p
ERJ-135
Seat 1A

I left Ronkonkoma at about 3:45. (The 4:00 ISP-BOS was sold out, or I would have taken that. Driving to LGA in the afternoon is not worth the 1000 extra miles.) The LIE is always slow, so I tried the Southern State to the Cross Island. It moved well, but it's a long route. It took me about an hour and 25 minutes. I gassed up the car, returned it, and got on the Hertz bus. We made all the stops, and I got to the terminal at 5:40. I went to the F/elite line, and was told I should use the BOS/DCA line instead. Annoyed, I went back to the other end of the checkin area, and got in that line. It was quick, and the agent had no trouble at all checking me in at 5:45 for the 6:00 flight. AA's "shuttle" is slowly but surely getting better.

I stopped at the restroom, and got to the gate at 5:51. The agent had just given away my seat, 11A. She asked if 1A would be OK instead. Even better! I boarded, and sat down. I felt like I was in a corner office--the window was HUGE. (ERJ's have big windows anyway--one of the reasons I actually *like* the plane--but after concorde, this was massive.) The plane was completely full. We pushed on time at 6:00, and we were airborne by 6:10. I asked the flight attendant, "That was Laguardia, right??" We beat the 6:00 USAir shuttle by 20 minutes. We arrived 15 minutes early, and again, our gate was ready for us. Two good AA shuttle flights in the same week--that's a first!

It was a long day--I left Paris at 10:30am, worked 10-4 on Long Island, and got home a bit before 8pm. My business contacts on Long Island thought I was nuts for going to Paris for one day. :-)

[This message has been edited by Seat1A (edited 05-25-2003).]

Seat 2A

Great price on those Concorde tickets!

Thanks for this detailed report, too. A fine read!

BTW, how many miles did a r/t on the Concorde require?


[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 05-25-2003).]

Seat1A

160,000 miles for a skyteam concorde award. cash outlay was $20 in taxes and fees on the free ticket, and $85 for the last 2,000 miles i needed for the award, since i didn't have time right then to do a saturday shuttle run. (fortunately, they let me put the reservation on a 14-day hold so i could top off my account!)

pallensf

Excellent report Seat1A...

29 years old?! Good for you and many safe travels to you.

Blessings...

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Patrick A. Inouye, LMT
volunteer trip reports moderator