United GlobalFirst Suites, AA First Class, Times Square Hotel FLL✈EWR✈ORD✈DFW✈MIA
Jan 8, 2015, 3:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
United GlobalFirst Suites, AA First Class, Times Square Hotel FLL✈EWR✈ORD✈DFW✈MIA
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
Routing for this across-the-USA just for fun trip.
---
---
My 19th birthday trip: United GlobalFirst Suites First Class on the Boeing 767-300, United Domestic First Class on the Boeing 737-800, Executive King Suite in the Marriott Courtyard Times Square, Shopping in and a tour of Times Square in New York City, New York, American Airlines Domestic First Class on the "Boeing" McDonell Douglas MD-80, American Airlines Domestic First Class on the 737-800, and finally a Cuban Coffee in Miami, thus, United First Suites+AA F MD80 FLL✈EWR✈ORD✈DFW✈MIA
---
FOREWORD
---
November 7th, 2014 would be my 19th birthday on this planet (it's not like I'm from any other planet, oh never mind...
) and, months before, I had been planning for what I would do the day after, November 8th. Before I went on this somewhat impromptu trip: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/260050/ (which was on the Saturday before this trip, I add), I had never been on United GlobalFirst suites, and noticed a GlobalFirst - equipped 763 on EWR✈ORD nearly every weekend as part of a repo op. Since GlobalFirst is only disappearing these days, I booked the trip.My original routing was a rather simple FLL✈ORD✈EWR✈FLL. However, resident ORD expert and good friend LFutia (Leo) reminded me that American Airlines uses their Super 80s/MD-80s out of ORD, and that was an aircraft type that I've always wanted to catch with AA (they do not run them out of the MIA hub, much to my dismay) because they SUPPOSEDLY aren't going to be repainted and are somewhat being retired in a rapid fashion. Searching up fares two weeks before this trip, I was delighted to see an ORD✈DFW✈MIA routing with both an AA S80 and 767-300!! However, my excitement was dulled a bit when I saw that the last 763 routing out of DFW left just a bit too early for my UA itinerary to link up with it. I ended up booking a less-exciting itinerary that still contained a S80 and a 738 (a type which I had not caught with AA), with barely over an hour to connect, so this was going to be one epic daytrip. I kept my UA ORD✈FLL tickets as a backup plan should the GlobalFirst EWR✈ORD flight be delayed.
However, it doesn't stop there. Looking over my itinerary just after I booked the United tickets, I came upon a small button proudly declaring "UNITED Hotels - Book now and save!". Glancing down into my FLL✈ORD✈EWR✈FLL schedule, I noticed that I had a connection time of over five hours between FLL✈ORD and ORD✈EWR. While I've been on Long Island in previous reports (notably, http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/217437 and http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/228132 ), as well as the city itself many times, I wanted to visit yet again but I wanted a nice, high hotel room in which I could not only have a dynamic vista to gaze at, but also to rest and store my luggage while I perused the city. I had Times Square, the epicenter of the metro with many unique shops and department stores, on my mind from the beginning, and I ultimately narrowed down my search to two hotels: New York City Marriott Marquis and New York City Marriott Courtyard Manhattan Times Square. I went for the Courtyard and booked my dayroom (daysuite doesn't sound right..).
Last edited by LPDAL; Jan 8, 2015 at 4:04 am
Jan 8, 2015, 3:47 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
KFLL (Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport) ✈ KEWR (Newark Liberty International Airport)
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. First Class | International First Class | United Airlines
5. North American Premium Cabin Inflight Dining | United Airlines
FlightAware for this flight. Copyright © FlightAware 2014
A 5:25AM-boarding-time flight, despite the early departure time, doesn't seem to perturb me too much. It's only when I am obliged to go somewhere that I don't desire to visit (namely, high school) that waking up becomes an exercise of frustration. Today, however, I manage to wake up right on time at 3AM and snore all the way to the airport. Instead of immediately visiting the dead Terminal 1, I instead visited Terminal 3, which houses US Airways, American Airlines, Norwegian Long Haul, and JetBlue, so I could check into my AA flights much later in the day. However, despite finding my EXACT AA frequent flier number, ticket number, and six-letter confirmation code, it still spat out an error message card asking me to speak to an AA agent. Well, since the AA agent was nonexistent at this hour, I threw the towel in, scampering up to the top of the Hibiscus parking garage to perform some impromptu spotting before heading into T1's UA Premier Access lane to receive some receipt paper boarding passes.
AA's presence at FLL can best be described as scant--all we have are ORD, DFW, and PAP for scheduled destinations. This is due to the MIA hub being only 21 miles to the south, but still, the thrice of destinations is a disappointing state of affairs for FLL. I hope they don't cut FLL even more when US is completely merged into AA.
It's too early for consternation, let's just go spotting.
Walking through a chilly parking garage to reach the FLL spotting area.
For my 757 lovers: Delta 757-200s N669DN and N557NW. Also notice the Fort Lauderdale skyline, all lit up.
US Airways Arizona logo-jet tucked away between the standard flag liveries.
My 738 for today, N24202 (rear).
Heading over FLL's across-the-road bridge leading up to the Terminal 1, Concourse C TSA checkpoint.
Heading up to the ticketing hall, which is almost devoid of all human life at this hour.
Since details on FLL's history are murky and pretty spotty, I was glad to find this large plaque dedicated to when T1 was opened in April 2001.
It is closed. Thankfully, 20 minutes later, a chirpy agent comes around and unlocks all the kiosks for use.
Concourse C at FLL, my personal favorite area of the airport, and arguably the nicest. I always enjoy when architects attempt to create a faux village within a building, very homely and classy looking.
Down in Concourse C, I wondered what tragedy had besieged this 737 to require a cockpit window pane replacement. I also wonder about who is going to remove all those stickers and tape?
I spot a Tulip towbar! Looks like the Florida sunshine has yellowed it so much that it has turned orange.
As I walked into the United Club after wandering around Concourse C for a bit, I was excited to see the newspaper / United Hemispheres deliveryman there with the newest editions of several publications I enjoy. I asked the agent if it would be okay to grab a few for the flight--she didn't mind, which was a relief. My 5:25 AM departing flight to Newark would be the earliest outbound routing out of CCC besides DL's early morning fight to ATL, so no one was really in much of a hurry to do anything, also a relief. Luckily, the gate agents seem to be just as sleepy as the rest of us and only make a few announcements before boarding commences.
I have to say, I really like the accent that cherry mahogany gives a room-very calming and relaxing in tandem with low lighting gives the club a very comfortable feel.
Cider, Hemispheres, WSJ, and UA all make for a pleasant early morning wakeup.
Luckily, the AA app allows me to check in for my second-half-of-the day flights back home without a hickup.
Checking out my gate. This gate, C6, and C5 are also used by G4 and AS--both airlines I'm trying to try, with G4 being in my sights first as the MD-83 sounds like a lot of fun in seat 25A. Or 25F. Not to mention they even have a FLL-AVL flight! I love Asheville, NC...
Sorry for the really bad reflector-picture but this is my ride up to Newark today, N24202, an almost 15-year-old 738 delivered fresh to CO in the early 2000s.
Boarding, nice and quiet at this hour....
My seat, 5A. Despite the bulkhead being behind my row, I didn't have any problem reclining.
Onboard, I realize the irony of having screwed-shut ashtrays and DirecTV monitors on the same hard product!
I was quite thirsty at that moment, so I decided to have a cup of water as my PDB.
Someday I'll get on them, for now, I love seeing the moodlighting through the windows.
The flight crew for this flight, as with most flights I've been on ex-FLL, seem to be on their millionth rotation as very strangely they start their safety briefing that supplements the main video ("Safety is Global") before the main boarding door is shut. When it is shut, we push back and take off without even the slightest it in front of us, not counting the cruise ships of which there are plenty in the nearby harbor. Our takeoff is relatively tame compared to a similar UA 757, but the pilots still manage to wag the airliners tail several times as we follow the standard FLL Atlantic departure path before turning northeast to begin our journey to the northeast.
Not long after the seatbelt sign was switched off, breakfast orders were taken and hot towels were passed out. UA only offers two options nationwide in domestic first class, a hot egg sandwich, or a bowl of cereal. Not feeling in the mood for eggs or sandwiches, I took the cereal, which had changed from Raisin-Bran to some sort of Life concoction from the last time I flew on a breakfast flight.
A rather quick taxi to the runway.
Blasting off.
For my cruise ship fans--a very busy Port Everglades below us. From left to right; M/S Oasis of the Seas, M/S Voyager of the Seas, M/S Noordam, and finally the Emerald Princess just returning from a two week long Caribbean adventure.
The gigantic Emerald looks like a kid's toy from up here.
Whoa, that's a really beautiful Floridian sunrise, especially with the little lunar dot.
Even though I'm only 19, I enjoy reading the paper sometimes--especially when it contains interesting stories such as this one. I was wondering about the status of Roebuck and Co!
Note that this picture was taken on November 8th, 2014, 19 days before Thanksgiving and 20 days before Black Friday. Is it just me, or do companies try to push Christmas on us sooner and sooner?
Hot towel service to begin the breakfast round. I don't think they do this on DL.
Of course, my caffeine level had taken a nosedive (what a terrible pun), so I start out my breakfast of champions with an ice cold glass of cola.
The main course: Chex Cereal with white milk, small fruit cup, Chobani Strawberry Greek Yogurt, and banana. I wouldn't know if this is disappointing or not (hard to criticize a bowl of cereal and Chex is one of my personal faves), because I don't know what UA / CO served back in the day. What did they serve back in the day for breakfast?
Later, a choice of freshly-baked warm pastries including croissant or cinnamon roll. Very delicious!
The moon remained alongside our winglet for most of the flight. Gazing at the moon, I wondered if the flag planted by Neil Armstrong on July 21st, 1969 was still there. Looking it up on the inflight Wi-Fi, the flags still there--albeit completely white.
Watching Bloomberg, a show / channel my father got me addicted to. The opening bell is in 5 minutes!
PHL.
More than a few closed airfields.
That little strip looks very fun to fly into, doesn't it?
Beautiful Fall scenery in the northeastern US.
Quite a scenic approach on this field as well, no?
Those houses look perilously close to the edge of the mine...surely that's a safety hazard?
Nice and low over the suburbs of Newark, New Jersey.
Our approach had to have at least five turns, and I was seriously wondering why we were turning so much. New York airspace congestion, perhaps? No matter, as soon we are treated to an outright gorgeous view of the city, which is way too large to frame in one shot, before smacking down into the pavement in EWR and taxiing into our gate. I retrieved my coat from the purser, and slid it on as I vacated my ride. My seatmate caught up to me and whispered "This isn't as cold as it gets in January, enjoy your time in Newark!" I most certainly will.
Midfielding what I assume is a major GA airport. Any help with this one? Teterboro?
Unique New York, much too big to be shot in one frame so here's two.
The recently completed Freedom Tower, the replacement for the twin towers. Never forget...9/11/2001....
Short final....
Touchdown, dirtying the airframe to slow to a stop.
Taxiing in past DL.
Pulling up to the gate.
Deplaning into a chilly Newark, New Jersey.
- Airline: United Airlines
- Airline IATA Code: IATA Code # UA
- Airline IACO Code: IACO Code # UAL
- Airline Callsign: Radio Callsign UNITED
- Airline Flight Number: # UA 1419
- Aircraft / Equipment Used for Flight : 737-824(WL)
- Aircraft / Equipment Registration: Registration # N24202
- Airline Aircraft / Equipment Fleet Number: # 0202, formerly 202 with Continental Airlines at delivery as of June 12th, 2000
- Aircraft / Equipment Nationality: United States of America - FAA - Registered Aircraft / Equipment
- Aircraft's First Flight: May 25th, 2000
- Aircraft's Age as of Date of Flight: 14.6 Years Old as of November 8th, 2014
- Aircraft Test Registration: N1786B (United States of America)
- Aircraft Config: F16W48Y90
- Aircraft Construction Number (MSN) : 30429
- Aircraft Line Number: # 581
- Aircraft Delivery Date: To United Airlines as N24202: October 1st, 2010, to Continental Airlines as N24202: June 12th, 2000
- Aircraft Powerplant (s) : 2x CFMI CFM56-7B26 High Bypass Turbofan Engines
- Aircraft Owned by / Leased from: OWNED by United Continental Holdings
- Meal: Breakfast
- Cabin: United Airlines Domestic First Class
- Seat Assignment: 4A
- A/C Equipped with IFE: Yes, DirecTV - branded PTVs in all classes
- A/C Equipped with Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access: Yes, GoGo InFlight Wi-FI available for purchase
- Airline Flight Date: November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Call Time: 5:41 AM EST, November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Zone: 1, Premier Access
- Departure Time: 6:11 AM EST, November 8th, 2014
- Departure Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway C8, Concourse C, Terminal 1, FLL
- Arrival Time: 8:33 AM EST, November 8th, 2014
- Arrival Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway C80, Terminal C, EWR
- Time Aloft: 2 hours 22 minutes (144 minutes)
- Filed Speed: 460 KIAS
- Filed Cruising Altitude: 37,000 feet
- Flight Distance: Direct: 1,068 SM | Planned: 1,160 SM | Flown: 1,129 SM
- Routing Waypoint (s) : FLL ZAPPA3 ZAPPA PERMT AR16 EMCEE AR16 ILM J109 FAK PHLBO3 EWR
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. First Class | International First Class | United Airlines
5. North American Premium Cabin Inflight Dining | United Airlines
FlightAware for this flight. Copyright © FlightAware 2014
A 5:25AM-boarding-time flight, despite the early departure time, doesn't seem to perturb me too much. It's only when I am obliged to go somewhere that I don't desire to visit (namely, high school) that waking up becomes an exercise of frustration. Today, however, I manage to wake up right on time at 3AM and snore all the way to the airport. Instead of immediately visiting the dead Terminal 1, I instead visited Terminal 3, which houses US Airways, American Airlines, Norwegian Long Haul, and JetBlue, so I could check into my AA flights much later in the day. However, despite finding my EXACT AA frequent flier number, ticket number, and six-letter confirmation code, it still spat out an error message card asking me to speak to an AA agent. Well, since the AA agent was nonexistent at this hour, I threw the towel in, scampering up to the top of the Hibiscus parking garage to perform some impromptu spotting before heading into T1's UA Premier Access lane to receive some receipt paper boarding passes.
AA's presence at FLL can best be described as scant--all we have are ORD, DFW, and PAP for scheduled destinations. This is due to the MIA hub being only 21 miles to the south, but still, the thrice of destinations is a disappointing state of affairs for FLL. I hope they don't cut FLL even more when US is completely merged into AA.
It's too early for consternation, let's just go spotting.
Walking through a chilly parking garage to reach the FLL spotting area.
For my 757 lovers: Delta 757-200s N669DN and N557NW. Also notice the Fort Lauderdale skyline, all lit up.
US Airways Arizona logo-jet tucked away between the standard flag liveries.
My 738 for today, N24202 (rear).
Heading over FLL's across-the-road bridge leading up to the Terminal 1, Concourse C TSA checkpoint.
Heading up to the ticketing hall, which is almost devoid of all human life at this hour.
Since details on FLL's history are murky and pretty spotty, I was glad to find this large plaque dedicated to when T1 was opened in April 2001.
It is closed. Thankfully, 20 minutes later, a chirpy agent comes around and unlocks all the kiosks for use.
Concourse C at FLL, my personal favorite area of the airport, and arguably the nicest. I always enjoy when architects attempt to create a faux village within a building, very homely and classy looking.
Down in Concourse C, I wondered what tragedy had besieged this 737 to require a cockpit window pane replacement. I also wonder about who is going to remove all those stickers and tape?
I spot a Tulip towbar! Looks like the Florida sunshine has yellowed it so much that it has turned orange.
As I walked into the United Club after wandering around Concourse C for a bit, I was excited to see the newspaper / United Hemispheres deliveryman there with the newest editions of several publications I enjoy. I asked the agent if it would be okay to grab a few for the flight--she didn't mind, which was a relief. My 5:25 AM departing flight to Newark would be the earliest outbound routing out of CCC besides DL's early morning fight to ATL, so no one was really in much of a hurry to do anything, also a relief. Luckily, the gate agents seem to be just as sleepy as the rest of us and only make a few announcements before boarding commences.
I have to say, I really like the accent that cherry mahogany gives a room-very calming and relaxing in tandem with low lighting gives the club a very comfortable feel.
Cider, Hemispheres, WSJ, and UA all make for a pleasant early morning wakeup.
Luckily, the AA app allows me to check in for my second-half-of-the day flights back home without a hickup.
Checking out my gate. This gate, C6, and C5 are also used by G4 and AS--both airlines I'm trying to try, with G4 being in my sights first as the MD-83 sounds like a lot of fun in seat 25A. Or 25F. Not to mention they even have a FLL-AVL flight! I love Asheville, NC...
Sorry for the really bad reflector-picture but this is my ride up to Newark today, N24202, an almost 15-year-old 738 delivered fresh to CO in the early 2000s.
Boarding, nice and quiet at this hour....
My seat, 5A. Despite the bulkhead being behind my row, I didn't have any problem reclining.
Onboard, I realize the irony of having screwed-shut ashtrays and DirecTV monitors on the same hard product!
I was quite thirsty at that moment, so I decided to have a cup of water as my PDB.
Someday I'll get on them, for now, I love seeing the moodlighting through the windows.
The flight crew for this flight, as with most flights I've been on ex-FLL, seem to be on their millionth rotation as very strangely they start their safety briefing that supplements the main video ("Safety is Global") before the main boarding door is shut. When it is shut, we push back and take off without even the slightest it in front of us, not counting the cruise ships of which there are plenty in the nearby harbor. Our takeoff is relatively tame compared to a similar UA 757, but the pilots still manage to wag the airliners tail several times as we follow the standard FLL Atlantic departure path before turning northeast to begin our journey to the northeast.
Not long after the seatbelt sign was switched off, breakfast orders were taken and hot towels were passed out. UA only offers two options nationwide in domestic first class, a hot egg sandwich, or a bowl of cereal. Not feeling in the mood for eggs or sandwiches, I took the cereal, which had changed from Raisin-Bran to some sort of Life concoction from the last time I flew on a breakfast flight.
A rather quick taxi to the runway.
Blasting off.
For my cruise ship fans--a very busy Port Everglades below us. From left to right; M/S Oasis of the Seas, M/S Voyager of the Seas, M/S Noordam, and finally the Emerald Princess just returning from a two week long Caribbean adventure.
The gigantic Emerald looks like a kid's toy from up here.
Whoa, that's a really beautiful Floridian sunrise, especially with the little lunar dot.
Even though I'm only 19, I enjoy reading the paper sometimes--especially when it contains interesting stories such as this one. I was wondering about the status of Roebuck and Co!
Note that this picture was taken on November 8th, 2014, 19 days before Thanksgiving and 20 days before Black Friday. Is it just me, or do companies try to push Christmas on us sooner and sooner?
Hot towel service to begin the breakfast round. I don't think they do this on DL.
Of course, my caffeine level had taken a nosedive (what a terrible pun), so I start out my breakfast of champions with an ice cold glass of cola.
The main course: Chex Cereal with white milk, small fruit cup, Chobani Strawberry Greek Yogurt, and banana. I wouldn't know if this is disappointing or not (hard to criticize a bowl of cereal and Chex is one of my personal faves), because I don't know what UA / CO served back in the day. What did they serve back in the day for breakfast?
Later, a choice of freshly-baked warm pastries including croissant or cinnamon roll. Very delicious!
The moon remained alongside our winglet for most of the flight. Gazing at the moon, I wondered if the flag planted by Neil Armstrong on July 21st, 1969 was still there. Looking it up on the inflight Wi-Fi, the flags still there--albeit completely white.
Watching Bloomberg, a show / channel my father got me addicted to. The opening bell is in 5 minutes!
PHL.
More than a few closed airfields.
That little strip looks very fun to fly into, doesn't it?
Beautiful Fall scenery in the northeastern US.
Quite a scenic approach on this field as well, no?
Those houses look perilously close to the edge of the mine...surely that's a safety hazard?
Nice and low over the suburbs of Newark, New Jersey.
Our approach had to have at least five turns, and I was seriously wondering why we were turning so much. New York airspace congestion, perhaps? No matter, as soon we are treated to an outright gorgeous view of the city, which is way too large to frame in one shot, before smacking down into the pavement in EWR and taxiing into our gate. I retrieved my coat from the purser, and slid it on as I vacated my ride. My seatmate caught up to me and whispered "This isn't as cold as it gets in January, enjoy your time in Newark!" I most certainly will.
Midfielding what I assume is a major GA airport. Any help with this one? Teterboro?
Unique New York, much too big to be shot in one frame so here's two.
The recently completed Freedom Tower, the replacement for the twin towers. Never forget...9/11/2001....
Short final....
Touchdown, dirtying the airframe to slow to a stop.
Taxiing in past DL.
Pulling up to the gate.
Deplaning into a chilly Newark, New Jersey.
Jan 8, 2015, 3:49 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
---
Newark Liberty International Airport (IATA: EWR, ICAO: KEWR)
Newark, New Jersey
New York City, New York
Times Square Marriott Courtyard
---
Walking back into EWR (from the week before) I couldn't stand my excitement to make my own independent trip into NYC. Luckily the airport had good signage and I quickly made my way to the NJ Cab Stand, queuing a bit before sitting in a toasty cab of my own. The driver is friendly enough but doesn't seem to know where he is going (and keeps mentioning being "tipped" over and over again-yes, I will tip you, no need to mention it a ton)--he manages to get me to Manhattan but drives right past my hotel and was on his way to the Marquis before I stopped him and told him that my actual hotel was a couple of blocks back. Not wanting to waste any time, I told him to turn around and I was quickly dropped off at the Marriott New York City Courtyard hotel.
Checking in, the agent seemed a bit slow (as compared to the fast livelihood that "the city that never sleeps" is known for), and hands me a room key sleeve marked 201. I found it a bit strange considering I booked a high level room and large accommodations, but headed up to the third floor anyhow. What I found was the exact opposite of what I booked, a tiny room with an even tinier window and single bed...Shocked, I went down to the reception desk and in the most calm way possible explained that there had to be some sort of mistake, that this isn't what I booked. Stammering, the agent spoke to a manager who then apologized as his clerk had assigned me to the wrong room-my correct room was 3201, and he quickly printed me a $30 voucher for the Breakfast buffet which I most graciously thanked him for. Next, I headed no less than thirty two floors up above the ground and entered the correct room I had booked...And had a nice 30 minute nap.
EWR wasn't as bad as I heard from some horror-story reviews.
Going to the Taxi stand.
Adding an NJ-tagged Crown Vic to my collection of taxis.
With the proper attire, of course.
Running through Holland Tunnel to get to Times Square.
Finally in NYC. They've really got every type of cuisine you can imagine here--Turkish too.
Heading into my hotel.
Now we're talking! I wonder what awaits me inside...
Ooooh...doorbell too!
Oh my.....I love this so much...
Check out the view from the bedroom!!!
After my nap, I plugged all my juice-parched devices in, and set out to explore the Big Apple. Luckily, I have more than a few friends from the Tri-State area who knew their way around this massive metro. A lady friend from Hunterdon, NJ is the first I'm able to contact and I ask her how to get to the Abercrombie flagship store in Times Square. "Just go straight up the street you're on", she replied. What....Well, I took a risk and followed her advice...
Just going straight up from here, I suppose!
Reuters and the NYPD.
Times Square!
So awesome!!!
Of course, every city is required to have a great Irish Pub...No time for munching now, though!
Hustling and bustling holiday shoppers throughout.
Hollister's Flagship NYC store. Hollister may be owned by Abercrombie but this isn't the store I'm looking for.
A 19-year-old wandering around a city he has no idea how to navigate in! How can this possibly go wrong? Oh, and I'm losing my Floridian tan in this cold weather already. :-D But I did, indeed, find the Abercrombie Store, so I'm happy. Thanks a bunch, lady friend...
After receiving my necessary dose of retail therapy, I decided to seek out some New York City Pizza, which took all of a few steps. It was actually pretty good, as you can see I was mega-hungry as teenagers get.
Of course, this is New York City, so I have to ride the quintessential subway back to my hotel.
And I emerge here, ready to pack up and move onto Chicago.
Just four hours in New York City after I had dropped my stuff at my hotel, I prepared to go back to EWR. As soon as I had stuffed all my NYC goodies and other electronic doodads into my green backpack, I called a NYC cab and told the driver to bring me to EWR. I was slightly sad to leave such a great city behind, but excited for my second GlobalFirst Suites routing of the year, this time on a 767-300 instead of a 777-200. I only had a few hours before my flight as I had attempted to spend as much time in NYC as possible, so I was a bit nervous on my way to the airport. What would I do if I missed my flight to ORD, I wondered...
Luckily, I got a jolly cab driver who told me humrous stories all the way to EWR, so the ride wasn't so boring.
Most NYC Taxis now have touch screen personal entertainment for the passengers including news, maps, weather, and TV shows. Unfortunately, all of this media was laden with pop-up ads every few minutes.
Cruising down Holland Tunnel.
UA Advertising new EWR-HNL-EWR service.
The actual city of Newark, wonder if they have any fun stuff as well?
Jet Airways, an Indian LCC, passing low over downtown Newark.
Arriving into EWR. Notice defunct virtual airline "PeoplExpress" listed on the terminal roster despite going defunct a month earlier.
Newark Liberty International Airport (IATA: EWR, ICAO: KEWR)
Newark, New Jersey
New York City, New York
Times Square Marriott Courtyard
---
Walking back into EWR (from the week before) I couldn't stand my excitement to make my own independent trip into NYC. Luckily the airport had good signage and I quickly made my way to the NJ Cab Stand, queuing a bit before sitting in a toasty cab of my own. The driver is friendly enough but doesn't seem to know where he is going (and keeps mentioning being "tipped" over and over again-yes, I will tip you, no need to mention it a ton)--he manages to get me to Manhattan but drives right past my hotel and was on his way to the Marquis before I stopped him and told him that my actual hotel was a couple of blocks back. Not wanting to waste any time, I told him to turn around and I was quickly dropped off at the Marriott New York City Courtyard hotel.
Checking in, the agent seemed a bit slow (as compared to the fast livelihood that "the city that never sleeps" is known for), and hands me a room key sleeve marked 201. I found it a bit strange considering I booked a high level room and large accommodations, but headed up to the third floor anyhow. What I found was the exact opposite of what I booked, a tiny room with an even tinier window and single bed...Shocked, I went down to the reception desk and in the most calm way possible explained that there had to be some sort of mistake, that this isn't what I booked. Stammering, the agent spoke to a manager who then apologized as his clerk had assigned me to the wrong room-my correct room was 3201, and he quickly printed me a $30 voucher for the Breakfast buffet which I most graciously thanked him for. Next, I headed no less than thirty two floors up above the ground and entered the correct room I had booked...And had a nice 30 minute nap.
EWR wasn't as bad as I heard from some horror-story reviews.
Going to the Taxi stand.
Adding an NJ-tagged Crown Vic to my collection of taxis.
With the proper attire, of course.
Running through Holland Tunnel to get to Times Square.
Finally in NYC. They've really got every type of cuisine you can imagine here--Turkish too.
Heading into my hotel.
Now we're talking! I wonder what awaits me inside...
Ooooh...doorbell too!
Oh my.....I love this so much...
Check out the view from the bedroom!!!
After my nap, I plugged all my juice-parched devices in, and set out to explore the Big Apple. Luckily, I have more than a few friends from the Tri-State area who knew their way around this massive metro. A lady friend from Hunterdon, NJ is the first I'm able to contact and I ask her how to get to the Abercrombie flagship store in Times Square. "Just go straight up the street you're on", she replied. What....Well, I took a risk and followed her advice...
Just going straight up from here, I suppose!
Reuters and the NYPD.
Times Square!
So awesome!!!
Of course, every city is required to have a great Irish Pub...No time for munching now, though!
Hustling and bustling holiday shoppers throughout.
Hollister's Flagship NYC store. Hollister may be owned by Abercrombie but this isn't the store I'm looking for.
A 19-year-old wandering around a city he has no idea how to navigate in! How can this possibly go wrong?
Oh, and I'm losing my Floridian tan in this cold weather already. :-D But I did, indeed, find the Abercrombie Store, so I'm happy. Thanks a bunch, lady friend... After receiving my necessary dose of retail therapy, I decided to seek out some New York City Pizza, which took all of a few steps. It was actually pretty good, as you can see I was mega-hungry as teenagers get.
Of course, this is New York City, so I have to ride the quintessential subway back to my hotel.
And I emerge here, ready to pack up and move onto Chicago.
Just four hours in New York City after I had dropped my stuff at my hotel, I prepared to go back to EWR. As soon as I had stuffed all my NYC goodies and other electronic doodads into my green backpack, I called a NYC cab and told the driver to bring me to EWR. I was slightly sad to leave such a great city behind, but excited for my second GlobalFirst Suites routing of the year, this time on a 767-300 instead of a 777-200. I only had a few hours before my flight as I had attempted to spend as much time in NYC as possible, so I was a bit nervous on my way to the airport. What would I do if I missed my flight to ORD, I wondered...
Luckily, I got a jolly cab driver who told me humrous stories all the way to EWR, so the ride wasn't so boring.
Most NYC Taxis now have touch screen personal entertainment for the passengers including news, maps, weather, and TV shows. Unfortunately, all of this media was laden with pop-up ads every few minutes.
Cruising down Holland Tunnel.
UA Advertising new EWR-HNL-EWR service.
The actual city of Newark, wonder if they have any fun stuff as well?
Jet Airways, an Indian LCC, passing low over downtown Newark.
Arriving into EWR. Notice defunct virtual airline "PeoplExpress" listed on the terminal roster despite going defunct a month earlier.
Jan 8, 2015, 3:50 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
KEWR (Newark Liberty International Airport ✈ KORD (Chicago - O'Hare International Airport)
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. First Class | International First Class | United Airlines
5. North American Premium Cabin Inflight Dining | United Airlines
I arrived at EWR with just 50 minutes to spare (what was I thinking), but still took a bit of time to admire the terminal. EWR is widely lambasted across travel forums and websites, but I don't think that it is truly that bad. The main two problems plaguing the terminal as far as I could see were 1) the heavy reliance on natural light, and 2) the decor was a bit bare.
Looking at EWR's Terminal C (top) reminded me most of MEM (bottom, trip report coming soon).
It's not so bad in here, just a bit barren and the lighting could use some work.
Perfect for me! Though, I am starting to take more one-night trips. Stay tuned...
After printing my boarding passes at the Premier Access "carry-on only queue", I walked over to the security line, but found there was no Premier line. Considering I only had 30 minutes left at that point, I desperately asked an airport worker if there was a Premier Access security lane, and was told it was near the regular check-in lines. I stashed my camera away and sprinted across the terminal, and found the well-hidden priority security line. However, it was loaded as well! Though, I had nothing to lose, so I stood in it anyway, but it was moving so slow that I quickly became very irritated. At one point I commented about some security-related issue and a small brunette behind me agreed with my concerns. We then struck up a bit of small talk, and I snuck a peak at her boarding pass "EWR - FLL - NEWARK TO FORT LAUDERDALE". I have to admit I had to giggle at that one. She seemed like an awesome-enough girl, however I just couldn't take my mind off the flight being less than half an hour from departing and forgot to ask her for her number. faskjlfjkl;adsfk;jljkladsfjlk!!! Oh well, plenty of fish in the sea I suppose. Once I finally made it through the nudoscope and retrieved my bag, my flight was less than 15 minutes away from departing, so I made a run for it to the "finger" that my gate was attached to, only to figure out that gate C110 was at the very end of this very long corridor! My body was begging for mercy at this point however I fought the pain and ran down the corridor. When I finally reached the end, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as my aircraft was still there and the boarding door was open. I waved to the gate agents and walked over to the window to take a picture of my 767-300, sweat dropping down my forehead, N660UA. After which I boarded the widebody aircraft and was so thankful that my seat was lie-flat...
TEN MINUTES LEFT! RUN COLBY RUN!
Oh thank the lord it is still there! *breathes heavy sigh of relief*
Where's the boarding door?
United GlobalFirst is UA's international first class product featured on all three-class 767-300, 777-200, and 747-400 aircraft. The 767-300 has six first class suites (only two in the center due to lack of space for a second column of suites), the 777-200 (what you're viewing above) has eight suites, and the Grand Poobah 747-400 (which, unfortunately like most Grand Poobahs, will be retired and replaced in position in the not too distant future) has twelve of the spacious seats spread out in the nose on the lower deck.
United GlobalFirst is unfortunately rapidly disappearing on certain aircraft, replaced by the awful B/E diamond PMCO "BusinessFirst" business class product, most evidently on the PMUA 767-300 fleet where even Hemispheres makes a note of the "767-300 Refurbishment Product":
Airliners.Net Photograph Copyright Ⓒ Airliners.Net and Associated Photographer Ben Wang, Modhop.com Screenshot Copyright Ⓒ Modhop.com and associated owner Jake Redman
Here you can see this very subpar JC hard product, used not only by UA on their 777-200, 757-200, 767-300, and 767-400 A/Cs but also by Delta Air Lines on their transcontinental and interport 757-200s, and finally AA on their new transcon-configured 321Ts. Not only does the foot rest not reach the ottoman, but the seat is narrow, hard, and you have to turn into a full-fledged circus ringmaster to vacate your seat should your seatmate decide to snooze a bit in full-flat mode...Guess I'll have to enjoy GF while it lasts...
Anyway, back to GlobalFirst. According to several FlyerTalkers in the UAMP forum, this cabin has very little difference in terms of catering even on international legs compared to business class--you'll be lucky if you get a different salad and soup choice than J. This isn't very much different than the case at AA, however, where J/F catering is identical on MIA-LAX (save for some hair-splitting service anomalies).
GlobalFirst on the 767-300 isn't severely different from the 777-200 as seen on my previous report: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/260050 , there are just a few small differences. First, to accommodate the very large first class suite there are only two of them in the center row instead four as seen on the 772. Second, there's only a bulkhead and no galley between first and business class, which some fliers might find to be annoying. Finally 2K on the right side of the aircraft has a makeshift curtain setup for crew rest, which I'm pretty sure is not allowed to be used by pax.
Even on domestic flights, UA gives you a duvet, two pillows, and mattress pads on request in GlobalFirst....Bless you, UA... I'm so happy to be back in this seat, it is literally the most comfortable product I've flown in so far, beating out even AA's 772 Flagship First.
Ahhhhhh.........
The purser up front is a friendly female who inquires about why I'm sweating so much..."First time flier"? No, I just ran half a mile in formal dress shoes so my feet are kind of feeling like I just dipped them in molten lava (sorry feet...), may I please have a glass of Coca-Cola to soothe my muscle cramps? Thanks a ton! Smile My PDP is delivered soon enough and I am very grateful to have a large ottoman to prop my aching legs onto. As I arrive only a mere five minutes before the door is closed, it is only another few minutes before the L1 door is slammed shut, Smisek explains why his pilots are the best in the industry, and I gaze out the window in awe at all the activty in EWR.
Pushback from Gate C110 at EWR.
Brown BBJ, a Gulfstream, and a Maple Lafe-adorned 727...most exciting catch of the trip?
A better view of the brown-striped BBJ. And a cute UA 777 sticking out from behind the hangar.
Turning past the hold short markers onto our runway, another UA 737 already on final behind us.
A very nice bit of wing flex as we blast of from 4L at EWR right past the 737 that was previously on final behind us.
I was just in the city only three hours earlier, I find air travel so amazing...
Cabin at cruise.
Service on this leg was quite brief, and strangely performed in quite a fast manner. Unlike my last GF flight, no warm nuts were handed out, and I only had a single drink service after the initial run. On hub to hub flights, UA provides meals outside of normal windows, however, this also includes "Snack", which basically means a light meal instead of a full one. On this leg, it was a southwestern vegetable and grilled chicken plate with chips and salsa. Since I was craving a bit of desert cuisine I was very pleased by the dish. I only wish I could have gotten some seconds, but planned to get food on the ground in ORD anyway.
After I wolfed down my small snack, I made my bed (shoutout--thanks mom for teaching me how to do that many years ago) and funnily enough as soon as my head hit the cloud-soft pillow I started seeing random things and soon drifted off into an early-evening siesta. With the thick cloth padding, dual pillows, and nice duvet how could I not sleep like a baby? Unfortunately, sleepy-time appears to accelerate your body clock by 10, so not much more than seemingly a few minutes later I was shaken awake by a sweet voice kind of almost humming "Mister McCormack....Mister McCormack?" I groggily folded up my duvet and pillows, placed them away and prepared for landing.
A hot towel and fizzy beverage to start out the meal service, but no warm nuts.
Snack service in GlobalFirst on EWR-ORD, Grilled chicken, roasted corn, shaved carrot, and shredded onion salad with chips and salsa as a side. Very decent and tasty, only wish I could have received a bit more food as you can see the portions are quite tiny.
Continental Airlines in GlobalFirst? That isn't right....Just kidding. It's always a little amusing to see these PMCO glasses in use alongside UA-branded glassware.
Peeking back into Business Class. This is "United Business", the widely panned PMUA J class product that is six-across here and eight across on the 777 and 747. "BusinessFirst" is the PMCO business class product, which the merged UA highly favors (even installing it on all the new 788s) and so do PMCO employees-but their product was not much better with 6 across and no direct aisle access. If it was me, I would rip out United Business and United BusinessFirst and install more GlobalFirst as the system-wide business class product, but alas, that doesn't seem economical (could you fit GlobalFirst on the PMCO 752?), so I don't think there is any chance of that happening.
A much, much needed nap after my impromptu 5K.
Only to wake up about an hour later on final over Lake Eden.
Heyo, Chicago!
What a beautiful city. The black monolith all the way in the rear is the SEARS Tower (not the Willis crumpet tower or whatever they call it) where UA's headquarters are located. Wouldn't it be awesome to have an office on or near the top floor, watching planes fly by all day? :-)))))
No leaves-trees on short final, something we don't see very much in Florida.
Touchdown.
Aer Lingus A330 EI-EDI
MQ CRJ-700 and ERJ-145
We pulled up right along sister 767-300 N661UA and the jetway attached as soon as it could.
Goodbye N660UA...Such a sweet, gorgeous girl, eh? I'll be back to GF soon, promise... :'[
- Airline: United Airlines
- Airline IATA Code: IATA Code # UA
- Airline IACO Code: IACO Code # UAL
- Airline Callsign: Radio Callsign UNITED
- Airline Flight Number: # UA 224
- Aircraft / Equipment Used for Flight : Boeing 767-322(ER)
- Aircraft / Equipment Registration: Registration # N660UA
- Airline Aircraft / Equipment Fleet Number: # 6460
- Aircraft / Equipment Nationality: United States of America - FAA - Registered Aircraft / Equipment
- Aircraft's First Flight: May 3rd, 1993
- Aircraft's Age as of Date of Flight: 21.6 Years Old as of November 8th, 2014
- Aircraft Test Registration: N660UA
- Aircraft Config: F6C26W71Y80
- Aircraft Construction Number (MSN) : 27115
- Aircraft Line Number: # 494
- Aircraft Delivery Date: May 17th, 1998
- Aircraft Powerplant (s) : 2x PW PW4060
- Aircraft Owned by / Leased from: OWNED by United Continental Holdings
- Meal: Snack
- Cabin: United GlobalFirst Suites First Class
- Seat Assignment: 2A
- A/C Equipped with IFE: Yes, PTVs in all cabins
- A/C Equipped with Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access: Yes, GoGo InFlight Wi-FI available for purchase
- Airline Flight Date: November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Call Time: 1:15 PM EST, November 8th,2014
- Boarding Zone: 1, Premier Access
- Departure Time: 1:50 PM, November 8th, 2014
- Departure Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway C110, Concourse C, EWR
- Arrival Time: 3:21 PM CST, November 8th, 2014
- Arrival Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway C16, Concourse C, ORD
- Time Aloft: 1 hour 31 minutes (91 minutes)
- Filed Speed: 460 KIAS
- Filed Cruising Altitude: 32,000 feet
- Flight Distance: Direct: 718 SM | Planned: 809 SM | Flown: 789 SM
- Routing Waypoint (s) : EWR COATE Q436 HERBA Q436 EMMMA WYNDE5 ORD
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. First Class | International First Class | United Airlines
5. North American Premium Cabin Inflight Dining | United Airlines
I arrived at EWR with just 50 minutes to spare (what was I thinking), but still took a bit of time to admire the terminal. EWR is widely lambasted across travel forums and websites, but I don't think that it is truly that bad. The main two problems plaguing the terminal as far as I could see were 1) the heavy reliance on natural light, and 2) the decor was a bit bare.
Looking at EWR's Terminal C (top) reminded me most of MEM (bottom, trip report coming soon).
It's not so bad in here, just a bit barren and the lighting could use some work.
Perfect for me! Though, I am starting to take more one-night trips. Stay tuned...
After printing my boarding passes at the Premier Access "carry-on only queue", I walked over to the security line, but found there was no Premier line. Considering I only had 30 minutes left at that point, I desperately asked an airport worker if there was a Premier Access security lane, and was told it was near the regular check-in lines. I stashed my camera away and sprinted across the terminal, and found the well-hidden priority security line. However, it was loaded as well! Though, I had nothing to lose, so I stood in it anyway, but it was moving so slow that I quickly became very irritated. At one point I commented about some security-related issue and a small brunette behind me agreed with my concerns. We then struck up a bit of small talk, and I snuck a peak at her boarding pass "EWR - FLL - NEWARK TO FORT LAUDERDALE". I have to admit I had to giggle at that one. She seemed like an awesome-enough girl, however I just couldn't take my mind off the flight being less than half an hour from departing and forgot to ask her for her number. faskjlfjkl;adsfk;jljkladsfjlk!!! Oh well, plenty of fish in the sea I suppose. Once I finally made it through the nudoscope and retrieved my bag, my flight was less than 15 minutes away from departing, so I made a run for it to the "finger" that my gate was attached to, only to figure out that gate C110 was at the very end of this very long corridor! My body was begging for mercy at this point however I fought the pain and ran down the corridor. When I finally reached the end, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as my aircraft was still there and the boarding door was open. I waved to the gate agents and walked over to the window to take a picture of my 767-300, sweat dropping down my forehead, N660UA. After which I boarded the widebody aircraft and was so thankful that my seat was lie-flat...
TEN MINUTES LEFT! RUN COLBY RUN!
Oh thank the lord it is still there! *breathes heavy sigh of relief*
Where's the boarding door?
United GlobalFirst is UA's international first class product featured on all three-class 767-300, 777-200, and 747-400 aircraft. The 767-300 has six first class suites (only two in the center due to lack of space for a second column of suites), the 777-200 (what you're viewing above) has eight suites, and the Grand Poobah 747-400 (which, unfortunately like most Grand Poobahs, will be retired and replaced in position in the not too distant future) has twelve of the spacious seats spread out in the nose on the lower deck.
United GlobalFirst is unfortunately rapidly disappearing on certain aircraft, replaced by the awful B/E diamond PMCO "BusinessFirst" business class product, most evidently on the PMUA 767-300 fleet where even Hemispheres makes a note of the "767-300 Refurbishment Product":
Airliners.Net Photograph Copyright Ⓒ Airliners.Net and Associated Photographer Ben Wang, Modhop.com Screenshot Copyright Ⓒ Modhop.com and associated owner Jake Redman
Here you can see this very subpar JC hard product, used not only by UA on their 777-200, 757-200, 767-300, and 767-400 A/Cs but also by Delta Air Lines on their transcontinental and interport 757-200s, and finally AA on their new transcon-configured 321Ts. Not only does the foot rest not reach the ottoman, but the seat is narrow, hard, and you have to turn into a full-fledged circus ringmaster to vacate your seat should your seatmate decide to snooze a bit in full-flat mode...Guess I'll have to enjoy GF while it lasts...
Anyway, back to GlobalFirst. According to several FlyerTalkers in the UAMP forum, this cabin has very little difference in terms of catering even on international legs compared to business class--you'll be lucky if you get a different salad and soup choice than J. This isn't very much different than the case at AA, however, where J/F catering is identical on MIA-LAX (save for some hair-splitting service anomalies).
GlobalFirst on the 767-300 isn't severely different from the 777-200 as seen on my previous report: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/260050 , there are just a few small differences. First, to accommodate the very large first class suite there are only two of them in the center row instead four as seen on the 772. Second, there's only a bulkhead and no galley between first and business class, which some fliers might find to be annoying. Finally 2K on the right side of the aircraft has a makeshift curtain setup for crew rest, which I'm pretty sure is not allowed to be used by pax.
Even on domestic flights, UA gives you a duvet, two pillows, and mattress pads on request in GlobalFirst....Bless you, UA...
I'm so happy to be back in this seat, it is literally the most comfortable product I've flown in so far, beating out even AA's 772 Flagship First.Ahhhhhh.........
The purser up front is a friendly female who inquires about why I'm sweating so much..."First time flier"? No, I just ran half a mile in formal dress shoes so my feet are kind of feeling like I just dipped them in molten lava (sorry feet...), may I please have a glass of Coca-Cola to soothe my muscle cramps? Thanks a ton! Smile My PDP is delivered soon enough and I am very grateful to have a large ottoman to prop my aching legs onto. As I arrive only a mere five minutes before the door is closed, it is only another few minutes before the L1 door is slammed shut, Smisek explains why his pilots are the best in the industry, and I gaze out the window in awe at all the activty in EWR.
Pushback from Gate C110 at EWR.
Brown BBJ, a Gulfstream, and a Maple Lafe-adorned 727...most exciting catch of the trip?
A better view of the brown-striped BBJ. And a cute UA 777 sticking out from behind the hangar.
Turning past the hold short markers onto our runway, another UA 737 already on final behind us.
A very nice bit of wing flex as we blast of from 4L at EWR right past the 737 that was previously on final behind us.
I was just in the city only three hours earlier, I find air travel so amazing...
Cabin at cruise.
Service on this leg was quite brief, and strangely performed in quite a fast manner. Unlike my last GF flight, no warm nuts were handed out, and I only had a single drink service after the initial run. On hub to hub flights, UA provides meals outside of normal windows, however, this also includes "Snack", which basically means a light meal instead of a full one. On this leg, it was a southwestern vegetable and grilled chicken plate with chips and salsa. Since I was craving a bit of desert cuisine I was very pleased by the dish. I only wish I could have gotten some seconds, but planned to get food on the ground in ORD anyway.
After I wolfed down my small snack, I made my bed (shoutout--thanks mom for teaching me how to do that many years ago) and funnily enough as soon as my head hit the cloud-soft pillow I started seeing random things and soon drifted off into an early-evening siesta. With the thick cloth padding, dual pillows, and nice duvet how could I not sleep like a baby? Unfortunately, sleepy-time appears to accelerate your body clock by 10, so not much more than seemingly a few minutes later I was shaken awake by a sweet voice kind of almost humming "Mister McCormack....Mister McCormack?" I groggily folded up my duvet and pillows, placed them away and prepared for landing.
A hot towel and fizzy beverage to start out the meal service, but no warm nuts.
Snack service in GlobalFirst on EWR-ORD, Grilled chicken, roasted corn, shaved carrot, and shredded onion salad with chips and salsa as a side. Very decent and tasty, only wish I could have received a bit more food as you can see the portions are quite tiny.
Continental Airlines in GlobalFirst? That isn't right....Just kidding. It's always a little amusing to see these PMCO glasses in use alongside UA-branded glassware.
Peeking back into Business Class. This is "United Business", the widely panned PMUA J class product that is six-across here and eight across on the 777 and 747. "BusinessFirst" is the PMCO business class product, which the merged UA highly favors (even installing it on all the new 788s) and so do PMCO employees-but their product was not much better with 6 across and no direct aisle access. If it was me, I would rip out United Business and United BusinessFirst and install more GlobalFirst as the system-wide business class product, but alas, that doesn't seem economical (could you fit GlobalFirst on the PMCO 752?), so I don't think there is any chance of that happening.
A much, much needed nap after my impromptu 5K.
Only to wake up about an hour later on final over Lake Eden.
Heyo, Chicago!
What a beautiful city. The black monolith all the way in the rear is the SEARS Tower (not the Willis crumpet tower or whatever they call it) where UA's headquarters are located. Wouldn't it be awesome to have an office on or near the top floor, watching planes fly by all day? :-)))))
No leaves-trees on short final, something we don't see very much in Florida.
Touchdown.
Aer Lingus A330 EI-EDI
MQ CRJ-700 and ERJ-145
We pulled up right along sister 767-300 N661UA and the jetway attached as soon as it could.
Goodbye N660UA...Such a sweet, gorgeous girl, eh? I'll be back to GF soon, promise... :'[
Jan 8, 2015, 3:50 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
---
Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, US (IATA: ORD , ICAO: KORD)
---
ORD is one of my favorite airports and one I have very fond memories of, having used the airport once in 2010 and again the following year in 2011 to attend the Brickworld fan convention, which at the time was located in the Westin North Shore in Lincolnshire, IL. While I didn't pay much attention to the airport at the time, it seems largely unchanged in the four years following the CO/UA merger (except, of course, by removing all the tulip signage and replacing it with golden globes, outraging a few I'm sure). More recently, I visited in this report: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/252548 The airport itself is quite spacious and has many food, retail, and convenience outlets to choose from.
When I entered the airport from my 767, N660UA, I felt the strangest sensation: I didn't feel like visiting the United Club nor the Admiral's Club at all! I couldn't really explain it, but I just felt like I knew what was inside and didn't feel like going in even though I hold memberships to both. Perhaps it was just because I didn't feel hungry, or that airline clubs, especially in these busy mega-hubs, can be just as loud as the main terminal areas, but I felt weirdly content just wandering around and watching all the planes fly by and wander about the field. It just seemed more fun to photograph planes rather than stick around in a boring airline lounge at the moment, which was a sensation I had not felt before. So, I did just that: I wandered around and photographed the various aircraft to my heart's content.
Loving the curved architecture of ORD.
Hey, a Tulip 763 N655UA on November 8th, 2014!!!!! Of course I have to take billions of pictures of it. This must be the last Tulip 763 in existence! And there's even a tulip-branded tug attached to it--perhaps a ramper became a bit sentimental at the sight of the old livery pulling in.
Heading over to switch over to AA in Concourse K through ORD's under-the-ramp twisty neon light pathway.
An advertising campaign promoting Illinois's.....corn industry. What....Why? I've never heard of Atlanta, IL (no, not ATL, Atlanta, Illinois), but has anyone heard of the following cities in Illinois: Lakemoor, Lincolnshire, and Skokie? All places I've heard of or know people from. On the other hand, I haven't seen many Midwestern cornfields, still a sight I've yet to behold (along with Bloomington / Normal and Springfield).
Lovely decor!
Butch O'Hare's Grumman Wildcat has been moved from the right side of the room it is located in to the left, which must have been an interesting logistics operation.
Now with AA, and I'm ready to board my second MD-80 operator!!)
We don't see this kind of detailed Vignelli Associates Eagle branding down in MIA, so it's nice to see it so omnipresent here in ORD.
Unfortunately a water cannon salute ends just as I walk up to my gate, for unknown reasons...
Whoa, what's happening here?
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A deployed veteran returns to his hometown in ORD and hugs his dad for the first time in 24 months--having around a 60% military family I know exactly how this feels so I join in the thundering applause and cheering. USA! USA! USA!
My MD-80, 26-year-old N490AA was manufactured in 1989 and has been with AA for its entire lifespan.
Walking down Concourse K to see the other interesting traffic that is parked around the structure.
Another perspective of N490AA as it is catered.
Iberia A330
Getting a chocolate shake with espresso at Starbucks before my flight.
Checking the military seals out on gate K3 before boarding my flight.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, US (IATA: ORD , ICAO: KORD)
---
ORD is one of my favorite airports and one I have very fond memories of, having used the airport once in 2010 and again the following year in 2011 to attend the Brickworld fan convention, which at the time was located in the Westin North Shore in Lincolnshire, IL. While I didn't pay much attention to the airport at the time, it seems largely unchanged in the four years following the CO/UA merger (except, of course, by removing all the tulip signage and replacing it with golden globes, outraging a few I'm sure). More recently, I visited in this report: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/252548 The airport itself is quite spacious and has many food, retail, and convenience outlets to choose from.
When I entered the airport from my 767, N660UA, I felt the strangest sensation: I didn't feel like visiting the United Club nor the Admiral's Club at all! I couldn't really explain it, but I just felt like I knew what was inside and didn't feel like going in even though I hold memberships to both. Perhaps it was just because I didn't feel hungry, or that airline clubs, especially in these busy mega-hubs, can be just as loud as the main terminal areas, but I felt weirdly content just wandering around and watching all the planes fly by and wander about the field. It just seemed more fun to photograph planes rather than stick around in a boring airline lounge at the moment, which was a sensation I had not felt before. So, I did just that: I wandered around and photographed the various aircraft to my heart's content.
Loving the curved architecture of ORD.
Hey, a Tulip 763 N655UA on November 8th, 2014!!!!! Of course I have to take billions of pictures of it. This must be the last Tulip 763 in existence! And there's even a tulip-branded tug attached to it--perhaps a ramper became a bit sentimental at the sight of the old livery pulling in.
Heading over to switch over to AA in Concourse K through ORD's under-the-ramp twisty neon light pathway.
An advertising campaign promoting Illinois's.....corn industry. What....Why? I've never heard of Atlanta, IL (no, not ATL, Atlanta, Illinois), but has anyone heard of the following cities in Illinois: Lakemoor, Lincolnshire, and Skokie? All places I've heard of or know people from. On the other hand, I haven't seen many Midwestern cornfields, still a sight I've yet to behold (along with Bloomington / Normal and Springfield).
Lovely decor!
Butch O'Hare's Grumman Wildcat has been moved from the right side of the room it is located in to the left, which must have been an interesting logistics operation.
Now with AA, and I'm ready to board my second MD-80 operator!!
)We don't see this kind of detailed Vignelli Associates Eagle branding down in MIA, so it's nice to see it so omnipresent here in ORD.
Unfortunately a water cannon salute ends just as I walk up to my gate, for unknown reasons...
Whoa, what's happening here?
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A deployed veteran returns to his hometown in ORD and hugs his dad for the first time in 24 months--having around a 60% military family I know exactly how this feels so I join in the thundering applause and cheering. USA! USA! USA!
My MD-80, 26-year-old N490AA was manufactured in 1989 and has been with AA for its entire lifespan.
Walking down Concourse K to see the other interesting traffic that is parked around the structure.
Another perspective of N490AA as it is catered.
Iberia A330
Getting a chocolate shake with espresso at Starbucks before my flight.
Checking the military seals out on gate K3 before boarding my flight.
Jan 8, 2015, 3:51 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
KORD (Chicago - O'Hare International Airport) ✈ KDFW (Dallas / Fort Worth - International Airport)
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. Boeing MD-80 (S80) - American Airlines
5. First Class Cabin - American Airlines
6. First and Business Class dining | American Airlines
7. SeatGuru Seat Map American Airlines McDonell Douglas MD-80
FlightAware for this flight. Copyright FlightAware © 2014
Just as I walked up to my gate, pre-boarding wrapped up and I arrived just in time for first class boarding. Scanning my boarding pass and going through the usual rigmarole to go down the jetway, I was quickly strolling down the incline to my first AA MD-80.
What was inside the aircraft was entirely non-expected, the interior was quite vintage and this made sense because the section for the "Super 80" on AA.com was the most scant of them all. The overhead panels appeared to be 1980s-vintage, the seats looked quite worn, and the cabin itself was quite dark due to either poor lighting or perhaps the colors of the cabin. On the upside, the first class seats were quite old, and thus thickly padded (unlike the new slimline first class seats on Delta MD-88s and MD-90s), so I was very comfortable for the short midwestern hop down to Dallas.
AA has these interesting plaques dedicated to individual airports or employees within certain aircraft, very visible during boarding.
Sneaking a peak into the cockpit while boarding.
A quite vintage cabin. I'm sorry for the awful photos, the cabin was quite dimly lit.
Settling into my seat, 5A, in the vintage first class cabin.
A bit of a tight squeeze for legroom here.
"S80" Safety card.
Very unique seat recline mechanism as well.
A nice cup of water supplements my shake quite well.
During the pre-takeoff announcements, I heard some eccentric lines here and there such as "If you don't want to fly today, this is your last chance to leave the aircraft" by the very senior purser upfront who also happens to provide some of the best service I've seen during a domestic flight, beating out the earlier GlobalFirst flight by a longshot. You'll see why once we're in the air, speaking of that, after a few more strange lines we pushed back out of the gate and briskly taxied away from the K Concourse ramp. One of the hallmarks of the MD-80 series of aircraft is the quite quiet operation provided you're in the front of the airplane--if you're near the engine, prepare for some loud noise! As promised our takeoff was quite silent--I could only hear the slightest dull whirr of the fan blades spinning tens of feet behind my seat.
.
---
VIDEO - AMERICAN AIRLINES MD-80 / S80 *TAKEOFF* FROM CHICAGO O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - VIDEO
.
If you have having trouble watching this video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / On this sentence to download it directly to your computer for viewing.
---
.
Pushing back past Chromies and New Americanies.
I didn't know AS had Scimitar-equipped birds! Seems everyone is flying them around these days...
BA or UA? UA for me...
Not even stopping at the hold short markers before we blew out of ORD.
Turning southwest to head down to Texas.
Upon reaching around 15,000 feet and just prior to the meal service, my window trim popped completely out and was hanging by a few pieces of metal marked "March 11th, 2001" in thin stencil writing...I reported it to the flight attendant, who attempted to shove it back in, but it just popped right out. Now I know that this isn't catastrophic, and no reason to divert, however, my main concern would be it scaring a less-knowledgeable traveler. Great work, AA mechAAnics! Hopefully the new US guys got this window shade fixed up real good.
Quite broken.
After apologizing for my broken shade, the dinner service started. I was astonished at the quite senior F/A's level of service on a simple domestic hop--first a full ramekin of nuts, then the main course with a bread basket passed around, followed by hot towels, and finally a mint service with a dry ice fog fountain. If there's one thing AA does right, it is the domestic catering!
Starting out with a large ramekin of warm nuts.
Dinner service: Italian ravoli drenched in marinara sauce, mixed greens and fruit salad with your choice of dressing, your choice of a warm cheese or sourdough bread roll, and your choice of a molten cookie or blueberry muffin for desert.
Cabin during sunset.
Tracking our flight on GoGo Inflight WiFi's map....
...And posting a thread on A.Net about the broken window trim which can be found here: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/278375/
Before the mint service, the purser came around with our connections and gave us directions with a sincere smile from ear to ear. "Good evening Mister McCormack, and thank you for flying American Airlines! I see you're connecting to Miami, your gate is D21, just ride the train all the way down to the last station and the gate is in the middle of the concourse."
Mint service with a very amusing fog fountain. This is probably the best service I've had on a non-Flagship domestic flight!
Cabin just before we were on approach. Notice the exit signs are glow-in-the-dark.
1980's vintage passenger advisory signs.
Before I knew it, the captain came aloud on the PA and I was yet again on approach to another airport--DFW. Despite being pitch black outside, the majority of the metro area of Dallas and Fort Worth--combined, colloquially referred to as the "Metroplex", was lit up for my full viewing--sans, amazingly enough, the actual skyline, which was just as pitch black as the outside sky. We fly parallel to the beautiful city for about ten minutes before flying a relatively straight-in flight into DFW.
Views of Dallas Fort Worth, with disappointingly only the two buildings on the left lit up.
A very shadowy wing on long final to DFW.
A nice, smooth touchdown in AAville.
If you're worried about catching an AA MD-80, come to DFW--they're lined up everywhere!
Pulling in past the old and the new at DFW.
The purser told me to tell the captain about my seat window issues so he could report them to maintenance--since I needed some cockpit shots, I didn't see why not.
- Airline: American Airlines
- Airline IATA Code: IATA Code # AA
- Airline IACO Code: IACO Code # AAL
- Airline Callsign: Radio Callsign AMERICAN
- Airline Flight Number: # AA 2343
- Aircraft / Equipment Used for Flight : McDonnell Douglas MD-82
- Aircraft / Equipment Registration: Registration # N490AA
- Airline Aircraft / Equipment Fleet Number: # 490
- Aircraft / Equipment Nationality: United States of America - FAA - Registered Aircraft / Equipment
- Aircraft's First Flight: January 7th, 1989
- Aircraft's Age as of Date of Flight: 26 Years Old as of November 8th, 2014
- Aircraft Test Registration: N490AA
- Aircraft Config: F16Y124
- Aircraft Construction Number (MSN) : 49683
- Aircraft Line Number: # 1563
- Aircraft Delivery Date: February 6th, 1989
- Aircraft Powerplant (s) : 2x PW JT8D-217C High Bypass Turbofan Engines
- Aircraft Owned by / Leased from: OWNED by American Airlines Group
- Meal: Dinner
- Cabin: American Airlines Domestic First Class
- Seat Assignment: 5A
- A/C Equipped with IFE: No
- A/C Equipped with Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access: Yes, GoGo Inflight Wi-Fi available for purchase
- Airline Flight Date: November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Call Time: 4:25 PM CST, November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Zone: 1, Priority AAccess
- Departure Time: 4:45 PM CST, November 8th, 2014
- Departure Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway K2, Concourse K, ORD
- Arrival Time: 6:32 CST, November 8th, 2014
- Arrival Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway A15, Terminal A, DFW
- Time Aloft: 1 hour 47 minutes (107 minutes)
- Filed Speed: 431 KIAS
- Filed Cruising Altitude: 30,000 feet
- Flight Distance: Direct: 803 SM | Planned: 867 SM | Flown: 849 SM
- Routing Waypoint (s) : ORD ACITO ARLYN STL RZC FSM RRNET SEEVR1 DFW
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. Boeing MD-80 (S80) - American Airlines
5. First Class Cabin - American Airlines
6. First and Business Class dining | American Airlines
7. SeatGuru Seat Map American Airlines McDonell Douglas MD-80
FlightAware for this flight. Copyright FlightAware © 2014
Just as I walked up to my gate, pre-boarding wrapped up and I arrived just in time for first class boarding. Scanning my boarding pass and going through the usual rigmarole to go down the jetway, I was quickly strolling down the incline to my first AA MD-80.
What was inside the aircraft was entirely non-expected, the interior was quite vintage and this made sense because the section for the "Super 80" on AA.com was the most scant of them all. The overhead panels appeared to be 1980s-vintage, the seats looked quite worn, and the cabin itself was quite dark due to either poor lighting or perhaps the colors of the cabin. On the upside, the first class seats were quite old, and thus thickly padded (unlike the new slimline first class seats on Delta MD-88s and MD-90s), so I was very comfortable for the short midwestern hop down to Dallas.
AA has these interesting plaques dedicated to individual airports or employees within certain aircraft, very visible during boarding.
Sneaking a peak into the cockpit while boarding.
A quite vintage cabin. I'm sorry for the awful photos, the cabin was quite dimly lit.
Settling into my seat, 5A, in the vintage first class cabin.
A bit of a tight squeeze for legroom here.
"S80" Safety card.
Very unique seat recline mechanism as well.
A nice cup of water supplements my shake quite well.
During the pre-takeoff announcements, I heard some eccentric lines here and there such as "If you don't want to fly today, this is your last chance to leave the aircraft" by the very senior purser upfront who also happens to provide some of the best service I've seen during a domestic flight, beating out the earlier GlobalFirst flight by a longshot. You'll see why once we're in the air, speaking of that, after a few more strange lines we pushed back out of the gate and briskly taxied away from the K Concourse ramp. One of the hallmarks of the MD-80 series of aircraft is the quite quiet operation provided you're in the front of the airplane--if you're near the engine, prepare for some loud noise! As promised our takeoff was quite silent--I could only hear the slightest dull whirr of the fan blades spinning tens of feet behind my seat.
.
---
VIDEO - AMERICAN AIRLINES MD-80 / S80 *TAKEOFF* FROM CHICAGO O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - VIDEO
.
If you have having trouble watching this video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / On this sentence to download it directly to your computer for viewing.
---
.
Pushing back past Chromies and New Americanies.
I didn't know AS had Scimitar-equipped birds! Seems everyone is flying them around these days...
BA or UA? UA for me...
Not even stopping at the hold short markers before we blew out of ORD.
Turning southwest to head down to Texas.
Upon reaching around 15,000 feet and just prior to the meal service, my window trim popped completely out and was hanging by a few pieces of metal marked "March 11th, 2001" in thin stencil writing...I reported it to the flight attendant, who attempted to shove it back in, but it just popped right out. Now I know that this isn't catastrophic, and no reason to divert, however, my main concern would be it scaring a less-knowledgeable traveler. Great work, AA mechAAnics! Hopefully the new US guys got this window shade fixed up real good.
Quite broken.
After apologizing for my broken shade, the dinner service started. I was astonished at the quite senior F/A's level of service on a simple domestic hop--first a full ramekin of nuts, then the main course with a bread basket passed around, followed by hot towels, and finally a mint service with a dry ice fog fountain. If there's one thing AA does right, it is the domestic catering!
Starting out with a large ramekin of warm nuts.
Dinner service: Italian ravoli drenched in marinara sauce, mixed greens and fruit salad with your choice of dressing, your choice of a warm cheese or sourdough bread roll, and your choice of a molten cookie or blueberry muffin for desert.
Cabin during sunset.
Tracking our flight on GoGo Inflight WiFi's map....
...And posting a thread on A.Net about the broken window trim which can be found here: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...d.main/278375/
Before the mint service, the purser came around with our connections and gave us directions with a sincere smile from ear to ear. "Good evening Mister McCormack, and thank you for flying American Airlines! I see you're connecting to Miami, your gate is D21, just ride the train all the way down to the last station and the gate is in the middle of the concourse."
Mint service with a very amusing fog fountain. This is probably the best service I've had on a non-Flagship domestic flight!
Cabin just before we were on approach. Notice the exit signs are glow-in-the-dark.
1980's vintage passenger advisory signs.
Before I knew it, the captain came aloud on the PA and I was yet again on approach to another airport--DFW. Despite being pitch black outside, the majority of the metro area of Dallas and Fort Worth--combined, colloquially referred to as the "Metroplex", was lit up for my full viewing--sans, amazingly enough, the actual skyline, which was just as pitch black as the outside sky. We fly parallel to the beautiful city for about ten minutes before flying a relatively straight-in flight into DFW.
Views of Dallas Fort Worth, with disappointingly only the two buildings on the left lit up.
A very shadowy wing on long final to DFW.
A nice, smooth touchdown in AAville.
If you're worried about catching an AA MD-80, come to DFW--they're lined up everywhere!
Pulling in past the old and the new at DFW.
The purser told me to tell the captain about my seat window issues so he could report them to maintenance--since I needed some cockpit shots, I didn't see why not.
Last edited by LPDAL; Jan 8, 2015 at 4:11 am
Jan 8, 2015, 3:52 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
---
Dallas - Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas (IATA: DFW , ICAO: KDFW)
---
I hadn't been to DFW since June 24th, 2006 since I was 11 years old, visiting Smith Fork Ranch in Crawford, Colorado near Montrose, CO (Montrose Regional Airport IATA: MTJ, ICAO: KMTJ , an uncontrolled airport in Colorado). I only remember two things about that trip, 1) that the DFW airport hotel was very nice and featured bathrooms with tons of marble (was it a Hyatt?) and discovering the AA regional jets had hatches above the cockpit. Since I hadn't been to DFW in nearly a decade, I was excited to come back and have a clear view of an airport I hadn't visited in forever.
So how is DFW? Quite okay, if I do say so myself! Even though the airport is quite massive as is everything in TX, the architects did a good job in making sure that it was not so massive so as to cause a feeling of being overwhelmed in customers. You'll notice despite the gigantic size of the airfield, that the interior of the airport is quite manageable. I found the DFW Skylink and quickly made my way down to Terminal / Concourse D.
Looks like my hop down to South Florida is right on time.
Walking over to the SkyLink station.
Probably the fastest airport shuttle I've been on in awhile.
The very modern, clean, and streamlined Terminal D at DFW.
Moodlighting and televisions placed throughout the gate areas here in DFW.
I was feeling a minor bit of hunger, so I found the nearest admiral's club and gave the agent my US Airways Silver card, being very quickly allowed access after being carded. Once I was in the main thoroughfare of the club, I found it to be a bit too noisy and really craved a bit of quiet time, so I found a cozy little nook in the business center which thankfully also had a large window and a few electrical outlets nearby. After I rested, charged my device, had a bit to eat and drink, and spotted a little, I headed down back into the concourse to board my flight down to Miami.
An Admiral's Club? Don't mind if I do!
Very nice, but a little too boisterous for me at that moment.
A very large AA 777-300 heading somewhere far away from Texas.
Looks like someone is ordering dinner in Flagship First Class.
Luckily, I found this silent little cranny in a corner of the lounge,
and this 757-200 was directly under it, which was a real treat to see serviced.
Having a nice, hot mocha as a nightcap.
Dallas - Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas (IATA: DFW , ICAO: KDFW)
---
I hadn't been to DFW since June 24th, 2006 since I was 11 years old, visiting Smith Fork Ranch in Crawford, Colorado near Montrose, CO (Montrose Regional Airport IATA: MTJ, ICAO: KMTJ , an uncontrolled airport in Colorado). I only remember two things about that trip, 1) that the DFW airport hotel was very nice and featured bathrooms with tons of marble (was it a Hyatt?) and discovering the AA regional jets had hatches above the cockpit. Since I hadn't been to DFW in nearly a decade, I was excited to come back and have a clear view of an airport I hadn't visited in forever.
So how is DFW? Quite okay, if I do say so myself! Even though the airport is quite massive as is everything in TX, the architects did a good job in making sure that it was not so massive so as to cause a feeling of being overwhelmed in customers. You'll notice despite the gigantic size of the airfield, that the interior of the airport is quite manageable. I found the DFW Skylink and quickly made my way down to Terminal / Concourse D.
Looks like my hop down to South Florida is right on time.
Walking over to the SkyLink station.
Probably the fastest airport shuttle I've been on in awhile.
The very modern, clean, and streamlined Terminal D at DFW.
Moodlighting and televisions placed throughout the gate areas here in DFW.
I was feeling a minor bit of hunger, so I found the nearest admiral's club and gave the agent my US Airways Silver card, being very quickly allowed access after being carded. Once I was in the main thoroughfare of the club, I found it to be a bit too noisy and really craved a bit of quiet time, so I found a cozy little nook in the business center which thankfully also had a large window and a few electrical outlets nearby. After I rested, charged my device, had a bit to eat and drink, and spotted a little, I headed down back into the concourse to board my flight down to Miami.
An Admiral's Club? Don't mind if I do!
Very nice, but a little too boisterous for me at that moment.
A very large AA 777-300 heading somewhere far away from Texas.
Looks like someone is ordering dinner in Flagship First Class.
Luckily, I found this silent little cranny in a corner of the lounge,
and this 757-200 was directly under it, which was a real treat to see serviced.
Having a nice, hot mocha as a nightcap.
Jan 8, 2015, 3:52 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
KDFW (Dallas - Fort Worth International Airport) ✈ KMIA (Miami - International Airport / Wilcox Field / 36th Street / Pan American Field)
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. Boeing 737-800 - American Airlines
5. Boeing 737-800 First Class Cabin - American Airlines
6. First and Business Class dining | American Airlines
7. SeatGuru Seat Map American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (738) V1
FlightAware for this flight. Copyright FlightAware © 2014
Gate D21, where my flight back home would be departing from.
My ride back home to Florida tonight, American Airlines Boeing 737-800 N869NN, a somewhat brand-new 738 having only been delivered to AA in June 2011, three months before the corporation's subsequent bankruptcy filing in October 2011.
Again, I timed my arrival to my boarding gate just right as they call first class boarding just a few seconds after I step up to the area. During boarding I order a coke to try and avoid passing out as I am quite frankly exhausted by this point--spending the whole day traversing the eastern and midwestern United States had taken quite a toll on my stamina! Luckily I manage to stay awake even throughout the takeoff roll, and quite luckily so as we just so happened to pass a massive Qantas A380 heading back to the land down under.
Boarding my fourth and final flight of the day.
Looking down the safety glass of the jetway onto the side of my airplane.
My seat, 6A.
Luckily, tonight's routing will be on a new 738 with moodlighting, large fold-down screens, and a more general feeling of spaciousness, than say, the UA 738 with the classic interior that I rode in the beginning of this report.
You get no less than three tray tables in these birds!
Pushback, past a gargantuan AA 773.
Taxiing past a gigantic Qantas A380, 777Jet, are you aboard?
Blasting out of DFW.
Turning to face Florida.
Even though our captain promised over the PA system that we'd have a smooth flight and "encounter almost no turbulence", we soon ran into a lot of the bumpy wind, so much so that the seatbelt sign was re-illuminated and stayed that way for another 20 minutes. After the seatbelt sign was extinguished, the two female flight attendants upfront began their service. This was supposed to be a snack-basket only flight, so my expectations were not high in regards to catering, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that AA now stocks their refreshment kits with these awesome six-inch mini subs just like US did--US Management is taking AA in the right direction after all!
After a few passes of the snack basket, and several mini-subs and LPDAL's favorite drinks later, we hit more turbulence, causing my mini-feast to grind to a halt. Unfortunately, this meant that there would not be any more service for the rest of the flight. But, there was only about 20 minutes left at that point as we were just about to intercept the west coast of Florida, so I settled in for a short snooze before we touched down in MIA and I headed right for the Super Shuttle to take me home to Lauderdale by the Sea.
Having a bit of coffee to settle in for the night.
Snack basket service, with those ultra-delicious mini subs.
Snack basket pass, V1.
Snack basket pass, V2. I'm a growing teenager with a voracious appetite...
Long final over the Everglades.
Short final.
Touchdown.
Taxiing to the gate, interesting lighting affects making their way into my shot.
Deplaning....
Deplaning.
Concourse D, MIA. Why do I have a strange feeling of being here a million times?
"Disabilities Take Flight" by a local art institute. I wonder if my Asperger's Syndrome can really be classified as a "disability"?
Taking the Super Shuttle home, to end my first day of being a 19-year-old, November 8th, 2014. Goodnight.
- Airline: American Airlines
- Airline IATA Code: IATA Code # AA
- Airline IACO Code: IACO Code # AAL
- Airline Callsign: Radio Callsign AMERICAN
- Airline Flight Number: # AA 1134
- Aircraft / Equipment Used for Flight : Boeing 737-823(WL)
- Aircraft / Equipment Registration: Registration # N869NN
- Airline Aircraft / Equipment Fleet Number: # 3HB
- Aircraft / Equipment Nationality: United States of America - FAA - Registered Aircraft / Equipment
- Aircraft's First Flight: June 11th, 2011
- Aircraft's Age as of Date of Flight: 3.6 Years Old as of November 8th, 2014
- Aircraft Test Registration: N869NN
- Aircraft Config: C16W48Y90
- Aircraft Construction Number (MSN) : # 40764
- Aircraft Line Number: # 3689
- Aircraft Delivery Date: June 1st, 2011
- Aircraft Powerplant (s) : 2x CFMI CFM56-7B24
- Aircraft Owned by / Leased from: LEASED from GECAS (General Electric Capital Aviation Services)
- Meal: Refreshments
- Cabin: American Airlines Domestic First Class
- Seat Assignment: 6A
- A/C Equipped with IFE: Yes, drop down screens and audio entertainment in all cabins
- A/C Equipped with Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access: Yes, GoGo Inflight Wi-Fi Available for Purchase
- Airline Flight Date: November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Call Time: 8:15 CST, November 8th, 2014
- Boarding Zone: 1, Priority AAccess
- Departure Time: 8:44 PM CST, November 8th, 2014
- Departure Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway D21, Terminal D, DFW
- Arrival Time: 11:56 PM EST, November 8th, 2014
- Arrival Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway D9, Concourse D, MIA
- Time Aloft: 2 hours 12 minutes (132 minutes)
- Filed Speed: 445 KIAS
- Filed Cruising Altitude: 31,000 feet
- Flight Distance: Direct: 1,121 SM | Planned: 1,149 SM | Flown: 1,147 SM
- Routing Waypoint (s) : DFW MRSSH1 ZALEA SWB HRV Q105 BLVNS Q102 BAGGS SSCOT2 MIA
FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):
1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data
2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data
3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data
4. Boeing 737-800 - American Airlines
5. Boeing 737-800 First Class Cabin - American Airlines
6. First and Business Class dining | American Airlines
7. SeatGuru Seat Map American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (738) V1
FlightAware for this flight. Copyright FlightAware © 2014
Gate D21, where my flight back home would be departing from.
My ride back home to Florida tonight, American Airlines Boeing 737-800 N869NN, a somewhat brand-new 738 having only been delivered to AA in June 2011, three months before the corporation's subsequent bankruptcy filing in October 2011.
Again, I timed my arrival to my boarding gate just right as they call first class boarding just a few seconds after I step up to the area. During boarding I order a coke to try and avoid passing out as I am quite frankly exhausted by this point--spending the whole day traversing the eastern and midwestern United States had taken quite a toll on my stamina! Luckily I manage to stay awake even throughout the takeoff roll, and quite luckily so as we just so happened to pass a massive Qantas A380 heading back to the land down under.
Boarding my fourth and final flight of the day.
Looking down the safety glass of the jetway onto the side of my airplane.
My seat, 6A.
Luckily, tonight's routing will be on a new 738 with moodlighting, large fold-down screens, and a more general feeling of spaciousness, than say, the UA 738 with the classic interior that I rode in the beginning of this report.
You get no less than three tray tables in these birds!
Pushback, past a gargantuan AA 773.
Taxiing past a gigantic Qantas A380, 777Jet, are you aboard?
Blasting out of DFW.
Turning to face Florida.
Even though our captain promised over the PA system that we'd have a smooth flight and "encounter almost no turbulence", we soon ran into a lot of the bumpy wind, so much so that the seatbelt sign was re-illuminated and stayed that way for another 20 minutes. After the seatbelt sign was extinguished, the two female flight attendants upfront began their service. This was supposed to be a snack-basket only flight, so my expectations were not high in regards to catering, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that AA now stocks their refreshment kits with these awesome six-inch mini subs just like US did--US Management is taking AA in the right direction after all!
After a few passes of the snack basket, and several mini-subs and LPDAL's favorite drinks later, we hit more turbulence, causing my mini-feast to grind to a halt. Unfortunately, this meant that there would not be any more service for the rest of the flight. But, there was only about 20 minutes left at that point as we were just about to intercept the west coast of Florida, so I settled in for a short snooze before we touched down in MIA and I headed right for the Super Shuttle to take me home to Lauderdale by the Sea.
Having a bit of coffee to settle in for the night.
Snack basket service, with those ultra-delicious mini subs.
Snack basket pass, V1.
Snack basket pass, V2. I'm a growing teenager with a voracious appetite...
Long final over the Everglades.
Short final.
Touchdown.
Taxiing to the gate, interesting lighting affects making their way into my shot.
Deplaning....
Deplaning.
Concourse D, MIA. Why do I have a strange feeling of being here a million times?
"Disabilities Take Flight" by a local art institute. I wonder if my Asperger's Syndrome can really be classified as a "disability"?
Taking the Super Shuttle home, to end my first day of being a 19-year-old, November 8th, 2014. Goodnight.
Jan 8, 2015, 3:53 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
--- Upcoming Reports ---
27. United First Class+BusinessFirst, 777-200, Dash-8-Q400, Silver Airways Saab 340B+, and a night in Portland, Maine + Portland Jetport FLL-IAH-EWR-PWM-EWR-TPA-FLL
---
26. US Airways First Class, TPA Marriott MIA✈TPA✈MIA
---
25. Delta First Class Mile PBI✈ATL✈CVG✈ATL✈MEM✈ATL✈MIA
---
24. American Eagle First Class, E175+RitzC MIA✈JAX✈MIA
---
23. Delta First Class, 747-400/753 FLL✈ATL✈MSP✈ATL✈FLL
---
All finished trip pictures can be viewed here on my Flickr: LPDAL's Photostream on Flickr - Photo Sharing
Add me on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/people/lpdal/relationship/
Add me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/colby.mccormack
27. United First Class+BusinessFirst, 777-200, Dash-8-Q400, Silver Airways Saab 340B+, and a night in Portland, Maine + Portland Jetport FLL-IAH-EWR-PWM-EWR-TPA-FLL
---
26. US Airways First Class, TPA Marriott MIA✈TPA✈MIA
---
25. Delta First Class Mile PBI✈ATL✈CVG✈ATL✈MEM✈ATL✈MIA
---
24. American Eagle First Class, E175+RitzC MIA✈JAX✈MIA
---
23. Delta First Class, 747-400/753 FLL✈ATL✈MSP✈ATL✈FLL
---
All finished trip pictures can be viewed here on my Flickr: LPDAL's Photostream on Flickr - Photo Sharing
Add me on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/people/lpdal/relationship/
Add me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/colby.mccormack
Jan 8, 2015, 10:43 am
#11
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Left
Programs: FT
Posts: 7,285
Great TR once again.
You should have popped up to YYZ for your 19th and I would have bought you a pint!
Those who see my child for the first time, would never know she is disabled, but she has a rather severe cognitive disability. That said, I think we all have things we are good at and not so good at. I'd just wish people would throw out labels and just accept people for what they are and just be more inclusive. Ah, a pipe dream.
You should have popped up to YYZ for your 19th and I would have bought you a pint!
Those who see my child for the first time, would never know she is disabled, but she has a rather severe cognitive disability. That said, I think we all have things we are good at and not so good at. I'd just wish people would throw out labels and just accept people for what they are and just be more inclusive. Ah, a pipe dream.
Jan 8, 2015, 1:52 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Alexandria, Longboat Key
Programs: UA Gold Marriott Gold AA Gold Choice Gold Wyndham PLAT IHG PLAT Avis President's Club Amtrak Select
Posts: 2,263
Your dinner on your ORD-DFW flight appears to be one of the more edible AA meals since 9/1. Any specific comments on the meal? What was the other choice? Before 9/1 you would have received a snack that could be pre-ordered on your DFW-MIA flight.
Jan 8, 2015, 2:50 pm
#14
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,851
DL only uses the Diamond seats on Transcon/TATL 757s (75S post-refurb, 75E pre-refurb). The Interport 757s (Japan-GUM, SPN, ROR) remain with old PMNW domestic first seats with extra pitch.