Having little to do over Memorial Day weekend, I planned a last minute (less than 12 hours in advance) one day trip to visit a friend in Charleston, SC. I felt as though a bit of a traitor as this would be my first non-TW, non-AA flight in well over a year.. but AA has no service to CHS and TW would have cost many hundreds of dollars more.

27 May 01

US0726 A319 STL-PIT

Not being a morning person, I slept in as late as I could for the 8:00am departure, waking up at 6:35 and leaving home at 7:05. I arrived at the airport by 7:35, got boarding passes at the ticket counter and walked up to the gate where boarding was almost complete. The flight was about 50% full and I ended up with an empty middle seat next to me.

Service was "breakfast in a box" with a bagel, cream cheese, yogurt and a Nutrigrain bar -- good for me, since I'm not a big breakfast fan. It was filling enough to satisfy me quite well.

Departure was about 5 minutes early with an arrival about 20 minutes early. Weather in PIT was a little cloudy and showery, so the early arrival was a bit of a surprise.

Overall grade: B -- Good, but unspectacular.

US4079 Dornier 328 PIT-CHS

This flight was operated by USAirways Express and has to be one of the longer turboprop flights in the country at 528 miles. I had over 90 minutes to kill with my early arrival, so I wandered down to the USAirways Express (E) concourse to watch the action at ground level.

Boarding took place about 15 minutes before departure and we left with 30 of the 32 seats filled. I had seat 10A, on the 1 seat side, two rows from the rear.

The most disappointing fact about this flight is that it was listed on US' website as a snack flight but we were served only a soda and pretzels -- which seems a little skimpy for a 1:54 flight leaving at noon.

As much as I dislike commuter aircraft, the 328 provided a very smooth, comfortable, relatively quiet flight, aside from a little turbulance on approach into CHS. We departed and arrived several minutes late.

Overall grade: C+ (for the discrepancy between the snack and the pretzels)

28 May 01

US0688 (?) M80 CHS-CLT

Going from my longest turboprop flight ever, this would be my shortest jet flight ever at just under 200 miles. This flight showed sold out in all classes on ITN, so I volunteered to be bumped upon check-in. The agent said the flight was only over by 3 passengers, but it was weight-restricted. (How can an M80 be weight restricted on a flight of 189 miles?!?!?)

Upon check-in at the gate, I was told to not board in the event I was needed. Passengers kept arriving at the gate up until about 10 minutes prior to departure, making things a bit confusing for the agents. In the end, I was not needed as a volunteer and the flight left full.

Flying time was only 33 minutes. Service was, as expected, non-existant. Departure and arrival were on-time.

Overall grade: B+

US1718 Fokker 100 CLT-STL

This flight appeared close to full in coach, so I volunteered again at check-in only to be told they were fine. Boarding began quite early and I settled into 18C.. an aisle just about next to the engine.

We sat for quite a while after scheduled departure waiting for pushback. While waiting, the aircraft became quite warm and the ventilation provided on the F-100 is minimal at best -- yet another reason I cling to hope that AA will replace theirs with a 717 order post-TW merger.

The flight itself was uneventful, aside from a bit of turbulence. Service was drinks and nuts, but I was tided over by a Mrs. Fields' Cookie while at CLT.

Arrival was delayed about 10 minutes into STL due to an ATC hold.

Overall grade: B- (would have been higher on a different aircraft!)

That's it.. next trip is back to AA in two weeks.

Comments welcome..
Greg