October 29, 2011
Philippine Airlines Las Vegas – Vancouver 720p – 1010p A340-300 Economy Class

Philippine Airlines’ early evening departure to Vancouver allowed me a few extra hours to take advantage of a roundabout route from Yuma back to Las Vegas. Yes, that may have been me you saw in that burgundy Ford Taurus rippin’ along under the mid-afternoon sun on old Route 66 between Amboy and Essex, California. It was 5:30pm by the time I was dropped off at McCarran International Airport’s Terminal 2.

Terminal 2 is used by International and charter airlines, and since I have flown neither of these into or out of Las Vegas, this would be my first time departing out of this terminal. First impressions were not good. The check-in area for Philippine Airlines and Air Canada could just as easily have been in in Murmansk, Russia during the bad old days of the communist regime. It was a big basement of a room with low ceilings, poor lighting and worn carpet. The line of Fiesta Class passengers waiting to check-in for PR106 to Vancouver was not all that bad – only about 15-20 people –and with five agents on duty it moved along at decent clip. Even so, it occurred to me that as an elite level flyer on Alaska, with check-in benefits that extend to flights on Delta and American, it had been a good long while since I had stood in line to check-in for any flight. Even my overseas travel of late has been in either First or Business Class, and now here I was mixing with the masses of everyday travelers.

Included amongst the masses was fellow FlyerTalker wheresDG, himself quite an accomplished traveler as well as a veteran of many flights in the forward cabin. Now laboring toward a doctoral degree, DG no longer has enough time to maintain his once lofty status as an MVP Gold in Alaska’s Mileage Plan. Indeed, he currently has no status with any airline at all. Nonetheless, I agreed to let him stand next to me in line being as he has deigned to put up with me as a travel companion for the next eighteen hours or so.

Interestingly, PAL has a weight limit of 15 pounds for each piece of carry-on baggage. As such, we both ended up having to check our small rollaboards. On a positive note, it really was quite nice not having to drag them through the airport, and as such we made good time to the nearest bar, conveniently located directly across from our departure gate. There we plunked down a total of $34.50 plus gratuity for four 16oz glasses of Sam Adams Lager, thus making these the most expensive beers I have ever purchased in America.

The A340-300 operating our flight tonight was the very first one delivered to Philippine Airlines, way back in 1997. We entered through door 2L and so had to pass through the second, smaller Business Class cabin. The seats appeared to be the original 1997 issued units, providing decent enough width and pitch but with limited recline. Certainly these seats were a long way from the lie flat seats now available even on U.S. carriers.

Moving on to the Economy cabin, we were greeted by 220 seats upholstered in light blue fabric. Although DG and I had been assigned seats on opposite sides of the cabin, we easily relocated to an empty row of four center cabin seats. Boarding was accomplished extraordinarily quickly, no doubt due to the low Saturday night load out of Las Vegas. The fact that people weren’t wrestling bulky carry-on suitcases into overhead bins was also a contributing factor.

This was DG’s first flight aboard an A340, and we were both impressed by the subdued cabin noise level aboard the big four engine airliner during takeoff. We climbed smoothly away from Las Vegas toward flight level 390 while adopting a northerly heading towards Vancouver, 990 miles distant. I reclined my seat a bit and awaited the cabin service soon to start.

Economy Class meal service between Las Vegas and Vancouver, though euphemistically referred to as a “Light Meal”, was in reality a decent enough snack consisting of a warm turkey sandwich accompanied by a bag of sliced apples. Beverages were limited to a few soft drinks, tea and coffee. Interestingly, no alcohol is available in either class between Las Vegas and Vancouver in either direction. Even in Business Class.



Philippine Airlines Snack Service LAS-YVR

Inflight entertainment was limited to the safety demonstration video featuring a befuddled passenger who did everything wrong from climbing on seats to store his bag in the overhead bin to attempting to smoke while in his seat. It was an interesting approach to educating people on proper inflight etiquette, though nowhere near as enjoyable was watching the lovely Katherine Lee talk us through the safety demonstration on Delta.

While PAL’s Boeing 747 and 777s are equipped with modern AVOD inflight entertainment systems, the A340 fleet has yet to be refurbished. Nor were our old seats equipped with personal TVs, so the IFE was limited to a 15” drop down TV at the front of the cabin along with a very few smaller units scattered overhead. Aside from the safety video, no entertainment options were available on our two and twenty minute flight up to Vancouver.

Both DG and I agreed that for the two and a half hour flight between Las Vegas and Vancouver, PAL’s old A340 was a great way to go, especially given the low $130.00 one way fare we paid. The Economy Class seats offered a good 33” seat pitch and footrests but felt hard and uneven in spots while providing fairly limited recline. The prospect of sitting in one of those seats for the thirteen and a half hour flight between Vancouver and Manila was about as inviting as a root canal.

We landed in Vancouver right on time and parked next to Cathay’s Hong Kong bound 777-300. Overall Philippine Airlines offered a great price and a decent service on this 990 mile flight. Hopefully PAL will either refurbish its A340s or put a 777 on the MNL-YVR-LAS run. Until that time, were I given the choice of equally priced flights to Manila via CX’s connection through HKG or PAL’s nonstop, I’d give my back a treat and travel with Cathay, especially if traveling in Business Class.

I’d originally planned to sleep in the airport and take the train into Vancouver in the morning, but when wheresDG decided to come along, we chose to split the cost of a room at an airport hotel instead. Travelocity’s Top Secret Hotel option got us a double room at the Airport Holiday Inn for just $60.00 all in.


October 30, 2011
Amtrak Vancouver – Seattle 640a – 1105a Cascade Business Class
Alaska Airlines Seattle – Denver 105p – 425p 737-800 First Class

The exterior of Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station is far more attractive and interesting than the station’s interior. I would love to have taken a picture of this grand old building, but it was both dark and rainy when we arrived at 6:15am. I did however find a nice photo of the station taken at sunrise. I found it at the wikipedia site, but the link won't load so I'll show it via my Fotki pictures:



Vancouver's Pacific Central Station
Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

Unlike Amtrak’s eastern trains to Toronto and Montreal which clear immigration and customs at the border, we cleared U.S. immigration at the station in Vancouver. We were informed that U.S. Customs officers would board the train at the border to collect our immigration forms and conduct any baggage inspections if deemed necessary. Our baggage was then X-rayed and we passed through an airport style security checkpoint before entering a special, fenced in platform where we boarded the train.



ViaRail Domecar behind the fence

Amtrak’s Cascade trains operate between Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and Eugene, Oregon. Most of them are scheduled between Seattle and Portland, but two per day make the run between Vancouver and Seattle, and one extends down to Eugene. The Cascades are unique because they utilize a consist known as the Talgo Train. The Talgo was built in Spain and incorporates an enhanced suspension system that allows the train to travel more smoothly at higher speeds. Today’s consist included two Business Class cars, the Bistro car and six coaches. Both the cars and the engine are painted in an attractive green, brown and white color scheme.



Amtrak Cascades

Coach class seating is the standard 2 x 2 arrangement while Business class offers slightly wider seats in a 1 x 2 configuration. Both classes offer a 110-volt outlet beside each row of seats for laptop connections. Mounted on the ceiling of each car are TV monitors that display trip information much like the Sky Map on airplanes. Half the screen is taken up by a map that indicates our exact location with a flashing dot and beside that is indicated our next stop, the estimated arrival time to our final destination, the current time and the temperature.



Amtrak Cascades Business Class Seating

Departure from Vancouver was right on time as we accelerated smoothly out of the station and soon were rolling through the city’s southern suburbs at speeds approaching 60 mph. I made a mental note to ride this train again in the spring when daylight would enhance the countryside between Richmond and Bellingham.

One of my favorite things about riding a train is the ability to get up any time and pay a visit to the lounge or dining car. Food and lounge service aboard Amtrak’s Cascades is provided in the Bistro Car, conveniently located right next door to our Business Class car. One of the perks of traveling in Business on the Cascades is that you get a coupon good for $3.00 off anything in the Bistro. The menu offered everything from oatmeal to breakfast sandwiches but as DG and I had already eaten prior to the trip, we settled for a couple cups of coffee. Seating was available at either a counter with six stools or in buffet style seating in the lounge area.



Cascades Bistro Car Counter



Cascades Lounge Seating

This was a good train trip. The cars were new and reasonably comfortable, the price was right, the food affordable and tasty, the scenery pretty and the service quite good. If Amtrak continues to operate its shorter intercity trains in this fashion, passenger rail service will not die out in America.

In Bellingham we boarded about one hundred Seahawks fans. Seattle’s King Street Station is located right next door to both the football and baseball stadiums, so the train is a great way for fans who don’t live in the city to not only get to the stadium but also save a bundle on parking fees. Despite the early hour, many of the fans headed straight for the Bistro Car where beer prices were considerably lower than those to be found inside the stadium. They were a fun and rowdy group, giddy with the anticipation of a Seahawks victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately for the Hawks fans, the Bengals are a much improved team this season while the Seahawks are not. Three hours later the Bengals firmly established that fact in the form of a 34-12 victory. I’m glad I wasn’t booked on the evening train back up to Vancouver as the anticipation of victory, however unlikely, is much more enjoyable to be a part of than the reality of stinging defeat.

In Everett we were treated to a great view of the Nimitz Class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. At 1092 feet long, it is second in size only to the U.S.S. Enterprise. From Everett the tracks run along the shore of the Puget Sound all the way down to Edmonds. Had it been a nicer day I would have taken a few pictures but rain notwithstanding, this was a section of the trip where it was worth putting down your book and checking out the scenery.

Arrival in Seattle was ten minutes early, good news for me as I had just two hours before the departure of my flight down to Denver. Seattle’s King Street Station is located right across the street from the International District station from which Sound Transit’s light rail trains depart to the airport. DG accompanied me to the station, patiently suffered through my half-hearted diatribe about the paucity of ticketing machines at such a busy station (there was only one machine), and then headed upstairs to meet a Seattle based friend while I sped off to the airport, arriving just half an hour later. Twenty minutes after that I was enjoying a hot bowl of red beans, rice and sausage soup while downloading pictures for this report into my Fotki account.

When visiting Alaska’s SeaTac Boardroom, I am reminded of 1980s television show “Cheers” and its theme song "Where Everybody Knows Your Name". After 954 flights on Alaska, over 1150 flights into or out of Seattle and continual Boardroom membership or access since the 1980s, most everybody working the reception desk knows my name. I even keep in touch with a couple of the gals via email. I’m sure that many of you enjoy similar relationships at your most heavily visited lounges. These kind of relationships go a long way towards making air travel for us frequent flyers a much more pleasant experience than it is for those stuck out in the gate lounges.

I’m flying down to Denver so that I can return to Fairbanks via a DEN-FAI ticket I purchased this summer for just $156.00 one way. Add to that my $95.00 fare between Seattle and Denver and the total cost is still less than I’d have paid for a one way flight from Seattle to Fairbanks. Go figure… (Thanks go out to Frontier Airlines for instigating a summer long fare war on the DEN-FAI route)

Flight time to Denver was projected to be two hours and seven minutes. Smooth conditions were forecast and for those of us in the forward cabin a Turkey Ciabatta sandwich would be served. Both seatmate and I signed on to the inflight internet in order to follow both the Broncos – Lions game as well as the progress of our respective fantasy teams. Unfortunately for us Broncos fans, the Detroit Lions demonstrated via a 45-10 shellacking that our team is even worse than the Seahawks. I tuned out after halftime and focused on my fantasy team where I am a two time defending champion enjoying considerably more success.

I spent the night at my sister’s house where a good spaghetti dinner and a couple of movies made for a nice evening.


October 31, 2011
Alaska Airlines Denver – Seattle 1205p – 154p 737-900 First Class
Alaska Airlines Seattle – Anchorage 320p – 557p 737-900 Economy Class
Alaska Airlines Anchorage – Seattle 700p – 754p 737-900 First Class

As a charter member of Continental’s Presidents Club, I have spent many an hour in their beautiful clubroom located high above the center of DIA’s A Concourse. Unfortunately Continental’s merger with United resulted in its move to the B Concourse where the comparatively bland Red Carpet Club (now known as the United Club) is the principal facility for both airlines.

The old Presidents Club is now operated as an Admirals Club by American. Unfortunately, American’s approach to operating an airline club is nowhere near as generous as Continental’s, but I am nonetheless thankful that Alaska Boardroom members have access to it, especially since it’s so conveniently located to Alaska’s gate at A51.

Although First Class passengers could expect to be served a fairly tasty Turkey Ciabatta sandwich on this noontime departure to Seattle, I like the Original Sandwich at Schlotsky’s Deli much better. I was first introduced to Schlotsky’s Deli back in 1981, and it was love at first bite. At the time I worked just a short distance away from a Schlotsky’s Deli, and over the next two weeks the Original Sandwich was pretty much all I ate for lunch. Now, with a Schlotsky’s concession located just one hundred feet from Alaska’s gate at DIA, the anticipation of a reunion with my favorite sandwich was simply irresistible.

The same aircraft that flew me up to Seattle was also scheduled to operate the 3:20pm departure on to Anchorage. Since we were parked way down at D7, I took a seat in the gate lounge and waited to see if I would clear the waitlist for First Class. My name was number one on the list, and with 35 minutes to go before departure, 15 out of 16 seats had checked in. Well, I was indeed paged to the podium about fifteen minutes later but it wasn’t for the anticipated upgrade. Instead they wanted to verify that I’d requested wheelchair assistance at Anchorage. Whaaaaat?! Not me!

The upgrade never cleared, but Alaska softened the blow with a complimentary DigiPlayer and a bottle of Kona Longboard Lager. This is an excellent example of two of the little things that Alaska does that so endear it to its elite flyers. Whereas the product in Alaska’s First Class is mediocre at best, the overall service in both cabins is generally quite good. Indeed, Alaska has won recognition from J.D. Power and Associates for having the highest customer satisfaction rating among traditional North American airlines for four years in a row. As a Super Duper Diamond Encrusted Kryptonite Level flyer (MVP Gold 75K), I enjoy the following benefits:

• Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades anytime on qualifying fares, or 120 hours prior to departure on other fares.
• Unlimited ability to upgrade one companion into First Class when they are traveling with you.
• Four one-way Complimentary Electronic Guest Upgrades awarded annually upon reaching MVP® Gold status.
• 4 complimentary Board Room Day Passes
• A complimentary Premium Beverage of your choice during your flight when traveling in the main cabin.
• Complimentary digEplayer When Flying in the Main Cabin
• Complimentary Upgrades on Delta Airlines within the U.S. (excluding Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, and select Caribbean destinations.
• First Class Check-In privileges at Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
• Priority AAccess™ Check-In when traveling on American Airlines
• Waivers on Mileage Plan service charges and ticket change fees on Alaska Airlines tickets.
• Checked Baggage Fee Waiver for first two bags on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines for MVP® Gold member and persons traveling in the same reservation. Companion waiver does not apply to group bookings.
• Express Security Lines at Select Airports.
• Priority Boarding on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.
• Free Same Day Standby for MVP® Gold member and persons traveling in the same reservation.
• Priority Standby and Waitlist for full flights on Alaska Airlines.
• Preferred Seating on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.
• 100% Bonus Flight Miles on Alaska Airlines, Air France, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, or LAN.
• Initiation Fee Waived for Alaska Airlines Board Room membership.
• Dedicated phone lines and staff for Alaska Airlines Reservations and Mileage Plan™ Customer Care.
• Opportunity to Nominate a Friend or Family Member to MVP® Status
• 50,000 Bonus Miles When You Attain the MVP® Gold 75K Level

That’s a pretty impressive collection of benefits and while I’d like to see an improvement in the First Class product, such as offering meals that are distinctly better than those available in Coach, the reality is I’m usually up in First Class as the result of a free upgrade.

Truth be known, when it comes to inflight service I’m a bit of an “old school” guy who still expects – perhaps unrealistically in today’s environment – that the First Class product should be substantially distinguished from the Economy Class product, especially with regard to meals. But then, I have always viewed First Class inflight meal service as the ultimate form of inflight entertainment. I mean, I can sit in a big comfortable seat and enjoy a nice view anytime down on terra firma but for some odd reason being wined and dined at 38,000’ on what most other people consider mediocre food and drink really hits home with me. Most other U.S. airlines offer pre-departure beverages and a choice of hot meals on longer flights such as Seattle to Chicago or Los Angeles to Anchorage. Perhaps Alaska will someday match these service levels, but I’m not holding my breath. As such, I provided my own packet of delicious Blue Diamond lightly salted almonds to accompany my beer.

It was snowing heavily during my one hour layover in Anchorage. Once again, despite three separate flight numbers, I re-boarded the exact same aircraft that I’d begun the day on in Denver. This time I returned to the First Class cabin and joined seatmate, a wildlife biologist, in an interesting conversation about Alaska’s various caribou herds, in particular our little herd in Denali National Park. As one whose job involves talking with park visitors about the wildlife we see each day in the park, I’m always looking to learn more. Seatmate was a wealth of information.

The short forty minute flight provided just enough time for a quick round of drinks before the lights of Fairbanks became visible in the distance. We touched down smoothly on runway 2L and finally, after seven weeks and 50,000 miles of travel, my journey had come to an end.

The night was clear and cold in Fairbanks, with the thermometer outside my cabin reading -6°F. Adjusting the Monitor heater inside my cabin to 68°, I popped a cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and took a seat in The Comfy Chair next to the heater. Ah… it’s good to be back home in Alaska!