October 5, 2010
Alaska Airlines Los Angeles – Seattle 840p – 620a – 859a 737-800 First Class
Delta Air Lines Seattle - Atlanta 112p – 903p 757-200 Economy Class
Delta Air Lines Atlanta - Charlotte 1000p – 1111p DC-9-80 Economy Class

LAX is a horrible place to spend the night, so after turning in my car I headed over to the LAX Hilton. Thanks to Priceline I scored a room for $100.00 less than what the Hilton was asking on its website. I found it interesting to compare my $169.00 per night room at the Hilton with my $33.00 per night room at the River Valley Motor Lodge in Needles. Both rooms were quite spacious, but only the River Valley Motor Lodge provided me with a fridge and microwave. Both hotels provided large 27” televisions, but the Hilton’s was set up for pay per view movies and games. Also, the TV remote at the River Valley Motor Lodge needed a new battery. The bed at the Hilton looked nicer but, for me at least, was actually somewhat less comfortable to sleep in. The bathroom at the Hilton was much more nicely appointed, with large, fluffy towels and a hair dryer. Also, the room at the Hilton provided a superior work desk and chair. However, the River Valley Motor Lodge provided free wireless Internet. Wi-fi at the Hilton cost $10.00 per day. Of course, the Hilton offers many more amenities such as room service, a business center, on premises dining and a gym but I only required a quiet room for the night and so that’s all I compared. Without question the Hilton offers a superior room but was it $136.00 a night better? For my money, no. One night paying the rack rate at the Hilton would have gotten me five nights at the River Valley Motor Lodge. The Priceline rate for the Hilton with taxes and fees was $66.80.

We had a full load up to Seattle this morning. The Flight Attendant came around with a tray of water but I managed to talk her into bringing me a cup of coffee. Breakfast was my old favorite – the scrambled eggs with French toast and sausage. Unlike many of Alaska’s breakfast plates where a few pieces of fruit are placed on the side of the plate, this meal was accompanied by a separate and delicious bowl of fruit that included pineapple, honeydew melon, blueberries and a strawberry. The Flight Attendant was only too happy to provide me with a few pieces of lime to squeeze over it all.

It was a pretty day in Seattle and I enjoyed the chance to get outside for a bit, if only just to walk out to Horizon’s Q400 awaiting myself and 38 others. Just as we were all settled in, the captain announced a minor problem with the door seal and called out some mechanics who determined that it wasn’t so minor after all. Off we went back into the terminal while Horizon found us another aircraft. Unfortunately the new departure time gave me no chance to make my connecting flight in Portland, so I had to drop the Portland flight and go nonstop to Atlanta out of Seattle, thus depriving myself of 1500 miles.

I got myself rebooked on the 1:12pm nonstop to Atlanta and headed over to Delta’s “new” Sky Club to while away the next couple of hours. Last time I was in this facility it was a WorldClub. Other than rebranding it, Delta doesn’t appear to have done anything with the rather staid interior. Delta’s old Crown Room over on the A Concourse was much nicer in terms of stylish furnishings and over all ambience.

One new addition to the club offerings is small, microwaveable entrees such as Chicken Teriyaki over Rice or Shrimp Fried Rice or Lasagna. I requested a serving of the chicken teriyaki and was presented with a small plastic dish of reasonably tasty food. Best of all, they were free. It certainly won’t be confused with the dining room at Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal, but it’s an improvement over pretzels and nuts if you’re a bit hungry.

The 757 that flew us to Atlanta was a 21 year old bird that I last flew fourteen years ago when she was still young and frisky. Takeoff may have taken a few seconds longer, but I dare say the old gal could still kick up her heels, getting us down to Atlanta in comfort and on time.



Atlanta bound aboard Delta’s winglet equipped 757-200

While inflight I amused myself with the inflight trivia, setting the daily record of 7100 points, then never coming closer than 6200 the rest of the flight. That seat back television and game console goes a long way towards making a long flight shorter. That plus offering the most wi-fi equipped airplanes makes Delta a most attractive option for the casual flyer. I’ve never used inflight Internet and must admit I’m not all that excited about it. I’d rather have a power port for my laptop. But that’s me more so than most people, I’m sure. I mean, when the Internet first came out I was quite taken with it but over the years I tend to use it more for reference than for entertainment. Heck, I’m only an occasional visitor to Flyertalk these days. I used to troll the Trip Reports forum pretty regularly but now that most reports are photo reports, my interest level has dropped way off. But again, I reckon that’s just me. Most FTers seem to prefer the quick and simple approach that is a photo report. Alas, I just don’t have it in me to resort mostly to photos. At the rate we’re going, I’ll probably be banned someday for writing trip reports that are too long.

Atlanta airport sure is a good place to get some exercise. It seems like all my flights into here arrive at or depart from near the ends of concourses. Tonight we parked way out on the E Concourse and my connecting flight to Charlotte left from way down at the end of the A Concourse. By the time I emerged on the lower level at Charlotte, I reckon I probably walked a couple of miles today.


October 6, 2010
Delta Air Lines Charlotte - Atlanta 610a – 725a DC-9-80 First Class
Delta Air Lines Atlanta - Portland 845a – 1111a 737-800 First Class
Horizon Airlines Portland - Seattle 1230p – 117p DHC-8-400 Economy Class
Alaska Airlines Seattle – Los Angeles 300p – 536p 737-400 First Class



Sunrise MD-80 climbing out of Charlotte

Following a short flight into Atlanta, I enjoyed a breakfast of bran muffins, yogurt and coffee at the B Concourse Sky Club. Then it was all the way down to B1 where a shiny new winglet equipped 737-800 awaited our patronage. Flight time to Portland was a relatively quick 4 hours and 27 minutes, during which I tried but again failed to top my 7100 points in inflight trivia. I was pleased to see that while some of the questions were the same, many new ones were sprinkled in as well.

Our early arrival into Portland allowed me time to visit the local Sky Club. Like any airline club, it was nicer than the gate lounge but otherwise this lounge was nothing special. I stayed long enough to enjoy a cup of coffee before heading across the terminal to Alaska’s Boardroom. The PDX Boardroom is not a large facility, but it’s bright and spacious with a nice variety of food and drink available, including today’s tasty Pasta Fagouli Soup with Sausage.

Alas, I would not be adding to my collection of hitherto unflown Horizon DHC-8-400s this afternoon. Instead I stepped aboard N411QX, the one Q400 that I’ve flown more than any other aircraft in the fleet. After this afternoon’s short hop up to Seattle, I’ll have logged six flights totaling 1240 miles on this aircraft.

My 3:00pm flight to LAX was departing from the North Satellite, gate N9. United’s Red Carpet Club is located downstairs at train level, just a short escalator ride from the gates above. I wasted no time in heading over there for a cold beer and a bit of work on this trip report.

Although the 3:00pm flight down to LA was scheduled aboard a 737-700, waiting at the gate was Tinkerbell, aka 737-400 N791AS, the second of Alaska’s Disneyland themed aircraft. Sadly, its partner, ship 784, the original Disneyland themed aircraft, flew its last revenue flight for Alaska last December and was returned to its owners, International Lease Finance Corporation. When last seen, it was bearing an all white livery in preparation for its new life as TC-TLD for Tailwind Airlines of Turkey.

Two hours and seventeen minutes down to Los Angeles on this sunny afternoon. Enroute we were served a salad comprised of spinach, chicken, pecans, cranberries and blue cheese. As salads go, this one was pretty good. Our approach started out over the Pacific and took us inland to about the 605 before pulling a big U-Turn and landing into the setting sun. I spent the next couple of hours in the Boardroom drinking Sierra Nevadas and chatting with a group of Aussies on their way home to Sydney via the V Australia flight later that night. Australians enjoy their beer as much if not more than most any nationality on the planet and all of these folks found Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale quite to their liking. Pity that we only seem to export Miller and Budweiser to most foreign countries. No wonder so many folks overseas think so little of American beers.

Tomorrow I’m headed to St. Louis, but from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. I spent a fair bit of time researching inexpensive methods of getting there via public transit but none existed at this time of day so I paid out $37.00 (with tip) for an airport shuttle van straight from LAX to SNA.


October 7, 2010
Alaska Airlines Orange County – Seattle 700a – 948a 737-700 First Class
Alaska Airlines Seattle – Los Angeles 1100a – 137p 737-700 First Class
American Airlines Los Angeles – St. Louis 325p – 855p 757-200 Economy Class

The first time I flew into Santa Ana Airport was back in 1980 aboard a Hughes Airwest liveried DC-9 wearing Republic titles. Republic was formed from a merger between North Central and Southern Airways. Hughes Airwest had just been taken into the fold and I was a bit sad that this meant the end of their bright yellow flying bananas in western skies. Ultimately Republic was purchased by Northwest which was itself recently purchased by Delta. The ex-Hughes Airwest DC-9-30 that flew me into SNA back in 1980 was finally retired by Delta just two months ago. Many of the old North Central DC-9-50s are still flying though, looking quite nice in their new Delta livery.

The aircraft operating this morning’s flight up to Seattle was my old buddy N615AS, an Alaska 737-700 upon which I’ve logged eight flights for 13,680 miles, more than any other Alaska 737-700. The Alaska jet upon which I’ve logged the most mileage is N548AS, the dark blue Alaskaair.com liveried aircraft. Twelve flights for 19,460 miles so far.

Virgin America doesn’t fly the SNA-SEA route, so I was curious how today’s breakfast offering might match up against the scrambled egg and French toast plate served on the LAX-SEA run. Well, curiosity sure disappointed this cat, as it were. We were offered a Hawaiian Breakfast Sandwich, served all by itself on a plate. It’s a ham and egg sandwich with a slice of pineapple. Not my favorite flavor combination in the morning. And hey! Don’t they sell these exact same sandwiches to passengers back in Coach for $6.00? With yogurt included? What’s it doing in First Class? Catering mistake or catering cutback?

Luncheon on my 11:00am flight down to Los Angeles was much better ~ a Chicken Pesto with Bacon sandwich accompanied by the usual side salad and a bottle of Kona Lager. October marks the third anniversary of Alaska’s service to Hawaii and the airline is highlighting it with Hawaiian themed meals and drink offerings. Actually, I don’t think you can get a Mai Tai on a domestic Alaska flight, but it would have been preferable to the rather bland tasting Kona Lager.

My two hour layover at LAX allowed me plenty of time for a visit to Alaska’s Boardroom before catching the American Eagle shuttle bus over to Terminal 4 for my American flight to St. Louis. This inter-terminal bus is perhaps my favorite part of a visit to LAX as it operates out on the tarmac and affords its passengers excellent close up views of aircraft taxiing or parked nearby. Today’s highlight was my first glimpse of an Alitalia 777-200 parked at the gate. Moments later, we paused as an Korean Air 747-400 taxied by just eighty feet away. I found it interesting that Qantas had one A380, three 747-400s and one A330 in town. I didn’t know Qantas operated the A330 into LAX. I should imagine it would have to operate via Hawaii as I’m not sure it has the range for an Auckland or Sydney nonstop.

American’s 757-200 was only 60% full and so I was to be able to exchange my window seat back at row 25 with an aisle seat in the forward exit row at door 2. No window but lots of space! I also found it interesting to note that drinks were being served in both First Class and Coach less than twenty minutes out of LAX. I don’t know that you’d never see that on Alaska, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen their crews commence service on any level less that 30 minutes into the flight.

Flight time to St. Louis was 3 hours and 8 minutes, plenty of time to enjoy a sandwich. Until, that is, I saw the sandwich that seatmate had ordered. Where’s the meat? $10.00 and the only meat included is a thin layer of turkey along with a bag of chips. No thank you. The lady across the aisle ordered the cheese and cracker tray for $4.50. She got a single pack of Pepperidge Farm crackers, a single portion of whitish colored cheese, a packet of nuts and a box of raisins. Geez, you’d think that for $4.50 you’d get a little better cheese and maybe more of it. I guess I’ll eat in St. Louis. A few pages from the book Dear American Airlines kept me occupied and amused until our arrival in St. Louis at 8:50pm.

Apparently there’s some kind of FlyerTalk Do going on here over the next couple of days. It would be fun to stop by incognito for a few minutes “So you guys just all like to fly around then, is that it?” but I booked these flights a long time ago and to change them now would be a most expensive proposition. Hope you all had a great Do in St. Louis!


October 8, 2010
American Airlines St. Louis – Los Angeles 940a – 1145a DC-9-80 Economy Class
Alaska Airlines Los Angeles – Seattle 130p – 403p 737-700 First Class
Seattle – Portland 530p – 617p CRJ-700 Economy Class

Alaska’s partnership agreement with American does not include any special perks for Alaska elites, such as priority boarding or seating. I’d heard we could get priority boarding, but the one time I asked about it I was rebuffed by the gate agent. We Golds get double miles and that’s about it. Still, the ability to earn elite mileage bonuses when purchasing a heavily discounted fare on a carrier other than your own is a big perk in my book, so I have no complaints with American. It would be nice to have priority seating available, but I’ve generally had good success with American when requesting exit row or bulkhead seats when checking in at either the counter or the gate.

Upon checking in with AA’s automated kiosk this morning, I was offered the option of upgrading to First Class for just $180.00 more or I could pay an additional $39.00 for a seat in the first two rows of coach. A fool and his money are soon parted and I’m no fool. $180.00 to upgrade on a three hour breakfast flight? Alaska would only be asking $100.00 more for a flight of that length. No wonder American can afford to offer slightly better catering in its First Class cabins. As for paying $39.00 more for a seat in one of the first two rows of Coach – are you kidding me? I’ll take my chances at the gate.

Alas, I guess I didn’t look handicapped enough to the surly old gal working the gate, although the two healthy looking young ladies standing behind me in line evidently did. I was surprised to see them both sitting in row 7 after the gate agent specifically told me that those seats had been needed for handicapped passengers. She was so sorry. Yes she was…

You know, the reality of it is that after twenty-four straight years of enjoying elite status on one or more carriers, I reckon I’ve become pretty spoiled. On those occasions that I’m not seated in First Class, I’m almost always sat in exit row or bulkhead seats. As I type this from my cramped quarters here at 18A, American’s old MRTC (More Room Throughout Coach) program is but a distant memory. On a positive note, I’ve totally caught up on this report and am now current.



Westbound to the Golden State

Our arrival in LA was right on time and as we taxied into our gate I took note of not one but two comparatively ancient 767-200s parked next door. American and Continental are the only two US airlines that still operate the 762, however Continental’s are the much newer 200ER models while American’s airplanes will be 28 years old in a couple of years. It still seems like only yesterday that I was being interviewed by the local news channel while flying aboard the inaugural flight of the 767 on September 8, 1982.

Alaska’s 130pm flight up to Seattle indicates a snack service in First Class. What we were served was the salmon and cream cheese appetizer from Alaska’s transcon service. It’s not very much food, but I reckon it beats a bowl of warmed mixed nuts, especially since I usually bring along a packet of Blue Diamond almonds anyway.

Following a 27 minute CRJ flight down to Portland, I caught the shuttle van over to the Holiday Inn where, thanks to Priceline, a comfortable room awaited.



Boarding Horizon Airlines CRJ-700 for an evening flight to Portland


October 9, 2010
Horizon Airlines Portland - Seattle 830a – 920a CRJ-700 Economy Class
Alaska Airlines Seattle – Denver 1245p – 415p 737-900 First Class

I love flying on rainy days because of the speedy transformation that airplanes provide from rain to shine. I’m reminded of the line from those old Clairol commercials ~ Hate those grays, fly them away!
Doing the honors this morning was Horizon CRJ-700 N613QX, one of only two Horizon CRJs that I’ve not yet flown. So now there is only one left to fly ~ N616QX, the WSU liveried aircraft.

The aircraft awaiting Denver bound passengers at gate N9 was N318AS, Alaska’s largest and most colorful aircraft also known as Spirit of Disneyland II. Although I’d logged 8 previous flights aboard this aircraft, today was the first time I’d flown it in its new livery.

Sat in the First Class cabin on a two hour, 12:45pm departure to Denver, I was looking forward to a luncheon of some type, perhaps a sandwich or a wrap. What was served was another salmon and cream cheese appetizer. And that’s what that little dollop of salmon and cream cheese needs to remain – an appetizer. Something to get your appetite primed and eager for the next course. The main course. You know, I remember when Alaska’s senior management used to be served their own airline meals at their Friday meetings. I wonder how Bill Ayers and the gang would feel if their noon meal were limited to this salmon and cream cheese appetizer?

As much as I enjoy a good Mileage run, it sure is nice to have some time off in the middle of one. Well I’ve got the next nineteen days off and I’m going to start the festivities with a ride aboard the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, operating standard gauge service over La Veta Pass between Alamosa and La Veta, Colorado.


Rio Grande Scenic Railroad
Alamosa – La Veta R/T 900a – 600p Dome Class

Alamosa is about a 200 mile drive south-southwest of Denver. If you take US285 up over Kenosha Pass and down through South Park, you can follow the route of the old Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. The rail bed is still clearly visible over Kenosha Pass as well as up and over Poncha Pass, farther to the south. Narrow gauge rail arrived in Alamosa on June 22, 1878, and on that day an assortment of pre-built buildings from nearby Garland City was brought in by train and put into place that very same day. The story has it that the men who worked the line had breakfast in Garland City that morning, and were later served dinner in the same building that evening – in Alamosa. Alamosa grew rapidly as a rail hub for south central Colorado, northern New Mexico and Kansas. By the turn of the century Alamosa had become the second busiest rail hub in Colorado behind Denver.

The La Veta Pass standard gauge route opened in 1890. That same route is still in use today, starting with my 9:00am departure out of Alamosa aboard the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad’s La Veta Mountaineer. Locomotive power was supplied via engine #18, a nicely restored C-5 Consolidation steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company in 1910. A brass plaque detailed the engine’s history. Originally built for northern Michigan’s Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad to haul iron ore, the C-5 Consolidation was the most powerful locomotive in the fleet. After the LS&I converted to diesel in the 1950’s, the 18 was stored. Later, it was sold to the Marquette and Huron Mountain tourist line, and then to the Grand Canyon Railroad. In early 2007 it was sold to Fleming Locomotive Works and operated in Oregon on the Mount Hood Railroad. The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad acquired #18 in late 2007, and it made its Colorado debut in the spring of 2008.

Directly behind the engine was a full length dome car still wearing the livery of its previous owner, Holland America Westour, who operated the car between Anchorage, Denali Park and Fairbanks. Like old #18, this car also had an interesting history. Built in 1954 for the Santa Fe Railway, they were used on Santa Fe’s luxury long-distance trains between Chicago, the Grand Canyon and the West Coast. In 1970 they were sold to AutoTrain which used them between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida until they were sold to Holland-America Westour in 1988.

The remaining cars were two coaches (originally commuter cars off the Long Island Railroad) and a converted observation car with long pew style seating lengthwise down the center of the car that faces the windows. The latter car was built in 1916 and served travelers aboard the Canadian National Railroad before finding a new home with the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in the 1970s.

I was informed that normally this train carries a few more cars but we’re approaching the end of the season for the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad with lighter loads, the four cars we carried today were more than sufficient. In fact, they were a substantial overkill since all 30 or so of us passengers were booked upstairs under the dome. The seating is far more spacious and comfortable than that found in the coaches, and of course the view is much nicer as well.

Coffee and orange juice were served as we spent a few minutes settling into our new surroundings and getting to know one another. At 8:58am the conductor yelled “All Aboard!” and two minutes later we were chugging away from downtown Alamosa while the locomotive whistled a happy tune and trailed a cloud of steam. I’ll let pictures tell the rest of the story…




Rio Grande Scenic Railroad locomotive arrives in Alamosa



Tracks up La Veta Pass



Mountain railroading through Southern Colorado



Descending down La Veta Pass through Autumn colors


All right, gang ~ that’s all for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip report so far. I’ve got a few more flights coming up on mileage runs to West Palm Beach, Birmingham and Jacksonville that will include my one millionth mile flown aboard a Boeing 737, my 250th flight aboard a 757-200 and my first ever flight aboard a Delta 777-200. Hopefully the reciprocal upgrade situation with Alaska will be resolved by then and I can report on that Detroit to Los Angeles flight from First Class. Assuming, that is, that any of you still wish to read about any more domestic flights when the Trip Report forum offers so many more reports detailing the much nicer accommodations and service aboard foreign carriers.

Happy Contrails