Preflight
SATURDAY JANUARY 15, 2005
American Eagle Flight 4902
LGA-BUF
Scheduled Departure: 9:30 AM
Scheduled Board: 9:00 AM
I had originally planned to spend this weekend moping about my house as my friends were all either home or out of commission and most of my family was out of town as well. However, American had a $104 fare for a LGA-BUF-LGA trip and with the double miles why not take the trip? Plus Jason and his friend Bob were willing to meet me in Buffalo so it was a done deal. However, things didn’t start off very well as on my way out to the car, Jason called and said his JAX-CLT flight had been delayed and he was now going to try and make it through DCA so he’d be arriving an hour later. Still, there was nothing I could do so I put the worries out of my mind and drove southward towards New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Once there I went to check-in and when I was given my boarding pass with “11A – EXIT” on it, I remarked to the agent the plane had been downgraded from an ER4 to an ERD. When she looked at me as if I had two heads, I said slower that there had been an equipment change. Again, she didn’t seem to know what I was saying so I just thanked her and left. On my way to security I heard her say to her colleague “did you understand what he was saying?” It’s bad when I know more than people in a service business. I was through security easily and spent a half hour reading articles at the gate before we were called to board:
Flying
Gate C4
Seat 11A Main Cabin – Exit Row
ERJ-140, N852AE
Actual Board: 9:02 AM
Actual Depart: 9:32 AM – 2 Minutes Late
Take off 12 minutes after departure
As LGA had been socked by harsh weather the previous two days, Eagle’s operations were still recovering. Some flights were boarding via the hanger line and ours was boarding via air stairs. This meant all 30 some odd passengers had to walk across the tarmac in 25 degree weather, many having to wait outside to board and many not wearing coats. The plane was also freezing and I thanked the Holy Ones that there were blankets on board. Soon enough though we got the heat going and the flight attendant barely was able to get out “Are you…” before I said “Yes I’m ready, willing and able to operate this exit in the event of an emergency”. With her laugh we taxied out and took off into the cold, albeit sunny morning.
The flight was a standard routine Eagle flight. It consisted of a 56 minute trip across Pennsylvania and Upstate New York while we were served snack mix and drinks with the full can if we wished. There was a surprisingly heavy load to go up to Buffalo today but that’s good for American and good for people who want to see this route continue. Presently the seatbelt sign came back on (not that anyone had gotten up during the flight) and we touched down in snowy, icy, coldy Buffalo.
Scheduled Arrival: 10:45 AM
Actual Arrival: 10:43 AM
Gate 14
Preflight
American Eagle Flight 4909
BUF-LGA
Scheduled Departure: 5:22 PM
Scheduled Board: 4:52 PM
I stepped out into the bright terminal of what was my 48th US Airport and 63rd overall and began my walk towards USAirways territory. Along the way I took note of the large gates with ample seating but poor amount of concessions. Even so it seemed like a really nice airside overall. I didn’t have to wait long for Jason and Bob to emerge from their ratty 737-300 and we set off to fully explore the terminal. My earlier inkling was correct that the airside was quite respectable, but the landside left something to be desired. While the check in areas were nice, there was nearly no room for expansion (though who else wants to fly to Buffalo?). Also, the baggage claims were a pit, there were too few claims (the US flight from DCA and WN flight from BWI were sharing a claim) and the area was ill-lighted. Overall, however, it wasn’t a bad airport. Following our tiring spelunking and our even more tiring flights, we decided food was in order. After garnering boarding passes we cleared security without a note that our flights weren’t even boarding yet for hours. After a lunch of damn tasty wings (though Bob claims his were dry), we parked ourselves at an un-used gate at the end of the terminal to view landings and arrivals until Jason and Bob’s A319 to PHL arrived. Too soon it seemed they boarded and I was left to fend for myself.
Even so I managed splendidly as I was able to make headway into my book, a fictional account of what happened to TWA Flight 800. As a side note, is it bad luck to read a book about a plane crash onboard an aircraft? Just as the sun was beginning to leave our skies, an American Eagle ERJ-135 landed and I headed off to the gate. Once there I was greeted with an announcement that the lavatory was in-operative on the plane and they were going to delay boarding a few minutes so people could use the bathroom if need be. Once everyone who needed to had relieved themselves, we were allowed to board:
Flying
Gate 11
Seat 1A, 9A Main Cabin – Exit Row
ERJ-135, N732DH
Actual Board: 4:57 PM
Actual Depart: 5:18 PM – 4 Minutes Early
Take off 10 minutes after departure
Once on board, I had scarcely begun to enjoy my prime seat in 1A with extra legroom, first on first off privileges and two windows before I was approached by the FA. He asked me to volunteer to move to the back due to weight and balance issues. I said I was up here for the legroom and he suggested the Exit Row so I ambled on back there. As soon as I got back there he came aft and thanked me again for “volunteering”. While I wouldn’t call it that, I appreciated the gesture of thanking me a few times. Once I had been put in charge again of exit row operations, we were airborne to return to the Big Apple.
Again another routine Eagle flight (though un-routine things may have happened while I dozed for the first ten minutes of the flight). We were all offered the full can and a pack of snack mix AND pretzels by another one of Eagle’s excellent FAs. The best part about this flight was the approach into New York as we overflew downtown Manhattan and Central Park before landing over the Grand Central Parkway. Nothing beats this approach at night, even San Diego cannot compare. The only negative part of the trip came when our gate was occupied due to our early arrival so we spent 10 minutes taxing up and down the ramp waiting for jets to clear. And then it was over and I was off to go back home for all of 20 hours before returning to Fiorello’s Airport.
Scheduled Arrival: 6:30 PM
Actual Arrival: 6:29 PM
Gate D1
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