Crown Royal among the liquor selections.

MD-80's with 14 seats in F and 2-3 Y seating (super quiet up front!)

i completely forgot about that. crown used to flow like water in F. even under age, there were many times when the FA would tell me that i had finished all the crown on the entire AC. at that point it was time for water any how.

at least you can still get it intl. at least you could on my last one.

For those EWR PC members, remember when CO first moved some flights to A, and we had to share AA's club where we got the free drink chits and AA guys had to pay? -- Then moved it to that round club in the center of the gate area?

I remember the round club right down in the middle of A2(used to be the TWA Ambassador lounge I believe).

Dan

Those midnight calls to the Elite Desk used to be hysterical for me, espescially when I was on the road and enjoying a couple of adult beverages during the evening. You wouldnt believe the times and places I made the calls at 00:00:01!

I remember the true BF flights EWR & IAH-LIM in 2000 & 2001.

Those were the best ever. Three to four pax in the BF cabin made for extra special attention ;) .

--727's EWR/PWM and ewr bgr(Portland and Bangor Maine) for $39 each way I miss them
--The COEX terminal at ewr ( where the snazzy new terminal is at EWR). Don't miss that.
--every month getting cert for $199 rt anywhere in the country and then getting UG's both ways transcons everytime. Miss those.
--Getiing like quadraple miles on above fares from status and promotions so earned a free trip every transcom. Miss those.
--Calling at midnight for UG's. Don't miss those.
--Callling for reservation. Don't miss that.
--Meals at meal time. Miss that.
---A300's on transcons. Miss those.
---Getting a letter each year telling me I was in top 3% flyers out of EWR. Miss that they used to care about my business.

I remember taking CO 1 : IAH-HNL not long after it started.

the BF attendants on that flight were beyond phenomenal - i don't think they stopped the whole 8+ hours...

the menu on that thing was beyond amazing - i remember not only the ice cream sundaes, but also the fruit and cheese course, the freshly baked cookies, as well as the huge 2nd meal prior to arrival in HNL.

Not to mention the Mai Tais.... ;) ;) ;)

I remember the first flight on Continental in 1993, on a plane with seats of different colors - blue and orange with no apparent pattern whatsoever. It must have been during the hardship years.

I also remember the first flight in BF - IAH to LGW - in a brand new 777. I thought it was heaven.

Last but not least, flying on a 735 from IND to IAH and taking off in front of a storm. The plane bounced and shook like it was about to break apart. In the process a bottle of wine fell from the cart and started rolling towards the back. Since I was in 2B I just pushed my leg forward and stopped it. The FA came on the PA and announced that whoever catches that bottle gets to keep it. I shared it with my seat mates and a good flight it was.

I remember getting upgraded on all my flights during my first year as a PLAT. This year I have 76K EQMS and 4 upgrades so far. :(

Gordon's security video...

"You're flying on a...<pause>...modern jet aircraft!"

Let's see...

-I miss the 727, those were gorgeous airplanes. Sleek and graceful, especially climbing out over the Turnpike as I came over the ramp at 13A.
-I miss the DC-10, my namesake. They had a distinctive buzzsaw sound on takeoff which I'll never forget. Also, the first BF experience I had was on a DC-10, and at the time thought it was the greatest product in the world, because the service really was like everyone else's F, and it actually was cheaper! Plus, who could forget the Pubs of the late 80s/early 90s when they were an advertised feature...great on late-nights, although I am told their prior incarnation (from the early 1970s, before my time) was even nicer. Lastly, in the days before the 777 and 767-400, those windows were a treat. Probably the only airplane I would go out of my way to book a window seat on.
-I miss when First Class meant good meal service on all but the shortest flights. Today, the service is so basic and predictable, but I'm glad it still exists, in some form.
-I miss the Denver hub, certain destinations on the West Coast were much easier to connect to via DEN, and service on Rocky Mountain Dash-7s to ASE was awesome. My wife and I (before kids) would take a trip to Aspen every year in F on an A300 or DC-10 EWR-DEN, then connect on COEx DEN-ASE. I was disappointed to see that service go, let me tell you, even with BAe-146 jet service on UAX offered at the same time.

-I don't miss the A300s, they weren't in such great shape and you could count on a mechanical delay at least every few flights with them. Heck, sometimes they couldn't even make EWR-LAX and we would be stopping someplace to take on fuel during the heat of July or August. I didn't mind stepping down to 757s once they came online, at the time they were brand new and never had to make a tech stop. While on the topic of the A300s, does anyone remember the configuration with something like 48 domestic F seats? Only a few ships had this layout, for a brief period around 1990 or so, but I remember getting one on a midday EWR-DEN flight or similar at that time. Not only did every Elite get an upgrade, but I'm pretty sure anybody with a OnePass number did as well. Imagine the possibilities today with the EUA system and something like a 48/150 arrangement...eh, they'd still find a way to screw it up!
-I don't miss the DC-9, never really felt safe on them for whatever reason, even though I was part of an evac on a United 737-200, and I have no problem with the Baby Boeings. I was in Houston one day about 10 years (maybe more) ago when one of those came down on its belly. Later found out that the pilots flat-out forgot to lower the gear, but it only served to make me feel worse about the planes. Couple that with the ValuJet and USAir crashes around that time, and I booked away from them whenever possible. My irrational fear has cooled a little with age, and now I don't really mind a NW DC-9 from EWR to DTW or MSP, just as long as I get that almost-guaranteed NW EUA.
-I don't miss the mob scene that was the upper level at Terminal C on weekday mornings before the dawn of OLCI and the midlevel domestic check-in facility. Even with shorter FC/Elite lines, I would usually skycap with a $5 tip just to get my boarding pass and avoid the hassle.
-I too don't miss all the antics we would have to go through to secure domestic upgrades as low-level Elites 'back in the day'. The system is much more user-friendly now, despite all its well-documented shortcomings.

-I remember the C-2 Presidents Club at EWR, which is now the CO credit union or something along those lines. It was always less crowded there than the huge club in C-1, except when the Air France flights were operating from the concourse. There were always a number of French speakers in there, so I assumed their ride was the 747 parked a few doors down.
-I also remember the Terminal B Presidents Club at EWR, which was smaller and not quite the same as the other clubs, probably because it was a former Eastern Ionosphere lounge. It was convenient when CO international flights used B, but became redundant and was closed a while back. It was nice to use the VS Clubhouse when the London flights were operated from B.
-I remember the GSO 'hublet' operation. There were a couple north-south East Coast banks with flights to several cities west which ran from a small concourse with 5-6 gates, primarily a CO Lite operation. I thought it was nice, but connecting along the East Coast is always a pain and the place offered little hope for expansion. No surprise then that place was shut down.
-I remember what a big deal it was when CO first took delivery of the 777s, and how state-of-the-art they were. It's hard to believe that in a few years we are going to see the advent of the 787 with CO, which will come into service with technologies that make the 777 obsolete. again, hard to believe because the 777 was so cutting-edge at the time.
-I remember how great Continental was circa 1998, with employee morale at all-time highs, which coincided with profits of the same magnitude. This translated into awesome service for the customer, and tremendous (renewed) loyalty. I'd like to think the carrier is headed in that direction today, and though we might not be there yet, the future does look pretty bright.

Great posting, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Did anyone every have to park way up by the old terminal? I think the D lot was restricted when the monorail was being built in the mid-90's. Your posting reminded me of parking in that lot, when a 727 came overhead. Those things were noisy. So noisy in fact, that it set off car alarms all around the parking lot, creating an ungodly cacophony. The cars all went back to sleep after a few minutes. However, while waiting for the bus, if another 727 flew overhead, the cars started screaming again! :)

Time does go by quickly. I remember feeling the same way the first time I flew a 737-800, even though it was just an updated version of an older aircraft.

By the time the 787s start arriving, the oldest of CO's 777s will have been in service a full decade, along with some of the 73Gs and 738s.

here's what I remember (not much)
-getting the little kid booklets that had pics of the 747-200, Dc-10, 727, DC-9, and A300. The only 737 was the 300/500.
-visiting the cockpit in-flight (this was on LH IAH-FRA-IAH)
-getting my first Domestic First trip about 5 yrs ago OMA-IAH-SAT.
-my mom's bronze elite card from '97
-the dungeon at IAH for the Express ATR flights
-flying on the ATR (i really loved those planes!)
-the old Coprus Christi terminal, where we would have 2-3 737/727/DC-10 ( i've heard these stories from agents in CRP) and like 9 ERj flights.
-when the new Terminal C3 in EWR was built
-the excitment of flying for the first time on the ERJ. It wa not long until i missed those ATR flights
-my dad's champagne glass from the inagural ERJ flight.
-the first 767-400 flights not but 3 years ago, it was amazing to have your own IFE (we always flew LH prior to this)

Just thought of this....upgrade coupons (I think it was four or six) that came with the prestige packs. Even though they were last in terms of priority, I still managed to use them all.

I got mine in '97. The first coupon I used was going IAH-PHX. It was a zoo at the gate and I approached the GA and politely asked about using one and he said "hang tight and I'll see what I can do." I stood nearby and about three minutes later he stuck his hand out to the side with my new BP.

Another time I was going IAH-MCO on a DC-10. This was memorable because a) it was a widebody going to Orlando; and b) it was my first time in BF. I realized THAT is the way to go.

By the time I used my last coupon, I was bronze and got a whole new set of them. Been Elite ever since.