Was supposed to have taken the red eye from SEA-PIT late on 18 April but I didn't get in as US had weather problems in PHL that evening.

19 April US104 SEA 0650 PHL 1450 A-319 N729UW Seat 4D

Wake up at 0500 to see checkin already started (US toll-free advised me it was open at 0600). The process is tediously slow here (seems to take an average of 3-5 minutes a pax and I am used to sub 2 minutes for flights on CP, including international ones). Agent wants to charge me the $75 change fee but decides to waive it when I show her my delay explanation slip. Agent gets me a bulkhead seat for this flight and an exit seat for the next.

Boarding is underway when I get to the gate at 0630. Have 4E empty which is nice. Legroom at the bulkhead isn't too bad. The aisle is rather skinny so it seems US uses the extra fuselage width for wider seats. The seats aren't as comfortable as HP's 320s (don't recline as much) and the vaunted extra pitch seems to be missing (or at least it's taken up my deeper seat cushions).

The a/c is slow on the taxi to the runway (no a/c in front) heading south for a 4:25 hr flight. Get passed by a Kitty Hawk DC-8 which is on its way to I always knew DC-8s were fast but on the ground too? Takeoff just after 7am with the a/c heading a ways south before heading NW for a flight line that would arch to near the 49th parallel before heading south from the MN-WI border. Flight crew points out scenery along the way, which again is rare.

After selling head sets for the 'King and I' (which should have been taken off after 15 April), the FAs come around with breakfast and beverages soon after take-off. Breakfast was a choice of pancakes and omelette. Chose the latter which was served with one small sausage and some sauteed potatoes, and came with a small fruit salad and yoghurt. Not bad for economy. Coffee and more drinks offered as the trays were cleared. No service other than a round of drinks before the flight lands slightly behind schedule. The landing was supposed to be from the north but ends up being from the south so it takes longer. Only interesting note on this flight is the woman in 5C who has a dachshund dog taped up in her carryon bag! It's well-sedated and only whines when the a/c approaches PHL (from the south).

Back to back A319s. Interesting about the A 319 toilets. The door has an ashtray despite no smoking on any U.S., let alone US a/c since the A-320 went into service in the U.S. Sop to the French and Germans? Sink and counter top is an interesting faux marble instead of the normal and universal stainless steel. The drainage is very slow in these sinks. Other note is US's choice of in-seat power. Something called Sky power which uses a DIN-like socket. Just to make things difficult and different from emPower users which seems to be more widespread.


19 April US1817 PHL 1545 FLL 1829 737-300 N650AU Seat 10A

This flight is oversold and with a late incoming a/c (announcement of a gate change -- swap from an a/c that was already on the ground - was made as I disembarked). Being Easter, the flight is oversold. Asked a gate agent if there were looking for volunteers but there was a long line so I decide to keep to schedule. Boarding starts at 1530-35 and is finished, remarkably by 1550. Board early but the emergency exit seat has plenty of leg room as I out my bags within easy reach. This aircraft is an old livery 737 which brings back memories of the many US flights I took from 1988-94. A bit tatty so I guess it'll leave the fleet soon. The person is 10B is wide shouldered so shoulder room is limited. The seat doesn't feel right perhaps because the seat cushion is not level.

Door close and pushback at 1556, and then a 5-6 plane wait for takeoff to the north. Of all my 10 flights on US so far, all have pushbacked ahead of schedule except for flights leaving from PHL. Flight crew announces a 2 hour flight time so this flight schedule is well-padded. Interesting flight in that the flight crew actually introduce themselves by name (standard on CP but the first time in 10 US flights). FAs provide a drink service and a boxed snack pack containing a ham & cheese roll, tortilla strips and salsa, peanut butter cookie and Cadbury chocolate bar which was unexpected for such a short flight. The routing takes the a/c turning east before heading over water. The flight turns west and overflies FLL to the north before turning and landing from the west at 1824. Plane is at the gate right on schedule. The schedule is well-padded so that a late departure yields an on-time arrival at the gate. Luggage comes out soon enough but had to wait for mine.


26 April US1412 FLL 1220 CLT 1422 737-400 Seat 11D

Membership is starting to have its privileges as I find out after making basic elite status. Call US early in the week and get pre-assigned emergency exit seats.

Get to FLL at 1130. The lines are long so I haul my bags through security (and encounter my first ever laptop swab test). Check in at gate and volunteer for bumping. Boarding is strung out and it turns out the plane isn't 100% full. US has an interesting policy of not assigning away your seats until they are needed so you keep them. Board at 1215 and ask agent to get a gate check tag. He forgets to take my ticket stub which I hand to a FA who hands it to him just before door close. A/c pushes back at around 1248 Flight time is only 1 ½ hours so the lost time is made up.

The snack, announced over the intercom, is good and substantial, air-sealed presliced croissant with u-fill chicken salad (source of food poisoning, jokes my seat mate), baby carrots with dip, a cookie and a small Cadbury's snack bar. These snacks are almost as good as some meals. Drinks are brought first.


26 April US 101 CLT 1645 SEA 1913 A319 N730US Seat 9D

Lots of time in CLT so I just hang out. CLT is bad for getting online due to the limited number of dataport phones. Boarding is on time and I take my elite early boarding privilege. Lots of leg room in this emergency exit row. Best of all, there is no one for the centre seat. The A-319, possibly delivered to US a week after my SEA-PHL flight a week earlier, must be a slow aircraft. Scheduled flight time for today is 5:21 which leaves almost no padding for the schedule. Start to notice the difference in Boeing an Airbus trolleys. The Airbus ones that US uses are the small ½ trolleys while the Boeing planes have the full-sized trolleys. Cabin crew today are 3 tall (5'8-9"+) blondes.

A/c pushed back just after scheduled time but a runway change and rain causes some delay in takeoff which isn't until after 1715. Crew does only a slight sight seeing announcement (of Cincinnati airport, pointing out it is in Kentucky), the Ohio river, Chicago and Helena. Pilots do seem to make a point (also noticed on the SEA-PHL A-319 flight a week earlier) that inflight announcements do not disrupt the movie as the frame is frozen. Flight is pretty uneventful. Drinks are served ½ hr into flight, followed by another served with lunch which is a choice of either meatless lasagna or chicken , small salad and cheesecake is served. Coffee is offered later. 1 ½ hrs prior to SEA arrival, pretzels and drinks are served. I remember US serving a mid-flight ice cream in the late '80s/early '90s. Note that US seems to use plastic cutlery in Airbuses and metal on the Boeings. One note of interest is my sweaty-smelling seatmate in 9F who alternates reading this novel called Forever Man and some porno book (couldn't help notice the naked women one some pages). Must be the panty pervert? Flight lands in SEA at 1940 and gets to gate at 1944. Baggage delivery is a bit slow but not too bad.



[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 05-01-2000).]