Soon enough Sunday morning rolled round, and as usual, it was a first thing in the morning start (5am starts) - which sums up this run completely. it was time to head off over to the SkyTrain and on the Canada line straight to the airport.
As an automated system, it was on time, and I was dumped back at the Airport, and after a hike, I was back at International arrivals. A wander upstairs showed a packed economy queue. That was ignored for a few seconds whilst I filled in my customs declaration. It was a case of then pulling out my BMI*G card out, and headed over to the Elite Queue, where I was checked in for the three remaining legs on Continental metal back to Dublin.
After confirming no bags were being checked in, I was sent on my merry way to security where my external hard disk seemed to give their X-ray machine a hard time
and then it was off to the joy that is the US Border.
The agent looked at me oddly when I stated why I was in Canada for a short time, and asked me to repeat a few details in my passport. That seemed to satisfy him, and the passport was stamped again. It was then off to customs, where I turned my form in without any issue, and wandered off to the Maple Leaf Lounge for breakfast.
Lounge Stop: Air Canada Maple Leaf Trans-border lounge
I was welcomed into the comparatively small, but busy lounge. As it was breakfast, cereals and toasts were out. Which for the mood I was in, was ok. The airport WiFi was also on, which also helped me phone home and update a few things before heading off.
The view from the lounge
Lounge space
Beer...
Whilst not the largest place in the world, I feel a few hot items (not toast. Toast is hardly a hot item) would suit it better as an international lounge. But it was a place to get away from the world for a bit - which was nice. The only major complaint about the lounge is the distinct lack of toilet cubicles - all of 1 in the mens section....
7am rolled over - and I bagged everything up and after picking up some maple leaf cookies (for the office), I saw my fight was boarding
CO288 Vancouver International Airport - Houston George Bush Intercontinental, Texas
Continental Airlines , Boeing 737-900ER
1979 miles flown, 1979 miles earned
I was welcomed aboard, and the crew were seemingly in a good mood this morning. I settled in, popped the bag in the overhead and saw a lovely DirecTV infront of me. The flight itself was packed, with not a single seat free. Of course, I utilised all the space I could being near the window to dump the coat and the day bag.
Soon enough, the plane filled up, and free headphones were offered, with reminders that DirecTV was $6 a shot. A quick browse showed no map or anything, so I shut it down pretty quick, only to bring it back to life for the safety demonstration - with Jeff Smeick giving his introductory speal... and him not blinking throughout (is it me, or that slightly disturbing?)
The plane pushed back and we taxied onto the runway for a rolling takeoff.
Youtube takeoff video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpGoDeBEMxc
Taking off
Of course, DirecTV had little intrest for me for a 4 hour flight. I therefore booted up the iPhone and set up IFE system number 2..
Both IFE systems
Service on this flight was BOB, and for once - I took part as the cereals didn’t do much for me in the lounge. I therefore risked the breakfast muffin. And here it is in all it’s morning glory.
Well it was warm, so I’ll give it that at least. The fruit was nice and fresh at least. Worth $4.75. I’m not too sure to be honest.
Overview
Hot Breakfast Muffin
Fruit Salad
The service was cleared down, and I settled in for the long 4 hour hop southwards to Houston, dozing off here and there and shooting random photos as you do.
There was a water run or two during the flight, with the crew in a reasonable mood, whilst not bending over backwards.
Bumpy decent
As we begun our approach into Houston, the cabin was cleared down in a hurry and the cabin crew secured quickly as the captain had warned of a few bumps on the decent.
And boy, there was lot of bumps as we made our decent on the way down with a few pockets bumping the plane around, and the rain was falling as we landed.
Youtube landing video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNmUbsXymC4
IAH - Continental Land
My next ride....
After pulling off the runway, we headed for the D gates, and after docking at the gate, it was a matter of waiting for the plane to empty, and boy those 737-900ER’s are *long*
Overall: Not so bad for a domestic flight - I’ve had plenty worse, but nothing outstanding really. Continetal’s US Domestic service isn’t that bad, but it would be nice to throw in a free map or audio channels in the DirecTV product....
A Houston Stopover.
Well some people say everything is bigger in Texas. I’d agree with the hike to and from the gates and lounges.
I found a machine and quickly checked the load on the flight - and to my delight, the back of the plane was emptying. I reset the my seating selection from a packed row of 3 people to a quiet row of 2 at the back of the plane.
After hiking down to the E gates, and passing a guitar, I wandered into the Presidents Club and discovered - like it seems with the Newark PC’s that it was rammed solid with very little space in the lounge. Seems that not everything is bigger...
Didn’t stop me having a couple of vodka’s and diet cola’s to keep me going.
In terms of snacks, it was the same sort of thing as useul - a mix of Crisps, Cornsnacks, Pretzels and that’s about it. The WiFi was pretty stable, and suitable for Skype calling - which is useful.
It was a short enough stop, and soon enough, I repacked the bag and headed off to E4 for the next fight
Again, my boarding pass was rescanned and verified as a document check was required, and I boarded the flight to London.