CHA-CVG-CMH-CVG-CHA
Jul 5, 1999, 10:03 pm
#1
Original Member
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Chattanooga, TN, USA**US Airways Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,338
CHA-CVG-CMH-CVG-CHA
Leg I--CHA-CVG on OH
(OH, by the way, is the 2-letter code for Comair, the DL*/SN* carrier for the Cincinnati and Orlando hubs. They don't use it for flight numbers anymore, but they still have it--Delta's commuter carriers are the only ones I know of that promote themselves as anything but extensions of the main line.) After determining that the flight is only a quarter full, I ask to move back a row, and thus achieve the grail of coach flying--alone in an exit row! Flight proceeds uneventfully, and I notice that OH serves its water in little foil-topped OJ-like containers. If you get a chance, fly on the west-facing window on a late-evening flight--God has created few sights more spectacular than a sunset over the clouds (I was on the east, but still got a pretty good view).
Leg II: CVG-CMH on DL
This one's a full flight, think it was a 727. The best seatmate in coach is an empty seat, but I do get the next-best--a young girl, guessing she was 8 years old. (They don't take up much room, and are less likely to attempt to drive you crazy than boys of that age.) Turns out she was on her very first airplane trip (third plane--routing PHX-SLC-CVG-CMH). If you ever start to get burned out on air travel, find a cousin or colleague whose little kid is flying for the first time and sit with them--the sense of wonder they have will be a good recharger.
Courtyard Columbus Downtown
Start off with a van into the hotel (my little book said the last one is at 11, but in reality, they run through the last flight). No probs.
Hotel was pretty standard Courtyard. One amusing technical difficulty--the remote control was not working properly. Every button you pressed acted as channel-down!
The convention went ok (there was much amusement as I screamed in triumph after winning one game there--breaking an 0-12 lifetime run in that particular card game...)
The main downside was the weather. Even at night, it was oppressively hot, and the indoor path from the Convention Center to the Courtyard (listed as two blocks, but here in Chattanooga, we'd call it five and change--and it's the third-closest hotel) was locked up.
Sunday night proves to be a problem. I have exhausted my supply of cash, and both ATM's at the CC have also been drained. I wind up walking downtown to find one that's working, only to realize that there's no such thing as downtown Columbus on a Sunday, especially in the evening. See one poster for a deli saying "open tonight until midnight"--but apparently that poster meant Friday night (when they held Red, White & Boom!, billed as the biggest fireworks show in the Midwest). It was in fact closed. Make my way back to the hotel--did I mention their Courtyard Café doesn't serve an evening meal?--and mercifully found cookies at the front desk.
Monday morning, I head down a few blocks for breakfast at Tim Hortons. I had noticed on previous trips that Canadians tend to make better donuts--and I can now report that TH has brought donuts here that are just as good as the ones you pay loonies for. (I recommend the chocolate glazed.) No cold water, so I head back to the hotel for a Coke. I soon find myself explaining to the waitress that in Tennessee, "Coke" is used as a generic term for any cola drink. I get a standard hotel-restaurant glass *and* the can with the rest in it (it was, in fact, the P-word). She didn't even recognize me as one of the gamers (guess I looked too normal), and did not charge for the drink (made up for the $1.75 can at the CC--I later discovered a food court with normal restaurant-priced drinks).
Then it's off to explore Columbus (5:30p flight). Check out City Center mall, and then decide to go up to the Continent. Unfortunately, I discover that the day (the FIFTH of July) is considered a holiday for bus purposes, which means a Sunday schedule. And it seems that the 88 crosstown (which goes there) doesn't run Sundays! So it's wait for a bus back, and mercifully, I discover they do transfers like the new DC style (good for out-and-back or stop-and-shop within a time limit, as well as to other routes). If they hadn't, I had insufficient coins and no bill smaller than a sawbuck...
Then decide to follow it out to Southland Mall. Again an error--all that's left of it is a three-screen movie house. Eat (there is a strip-mall), and back downtown.
An observation--riding a bus like that is a wonderful way to really get to see a city. I saw nice apartments, vintage housing, and projects, schools, shops, and heavy industry (complete with picket line), and even the State Capitol, all for $2.20--a darned sight more interesting than what the tour companies show you, and a lot cheaper.
Back to the hotel, and find out the van won't get me to the airport in time. So I have them call a cab. Someone really ought to start a non-smoking cab company... and discover that CMH has to be the smallest airport for a city that size anywhere. Also the first one I've seen where HP controls a concourse's security (I imagine PHX is another, but this is no hub...) Not even a lottery vendor, so I'm stuck with a $4 winning ticket (will try to sell it to the big boss next time he journeys in from the Cincinnati office--for $4, of course).
Leg III--CMH to CVG on DL
Standard short-hop. Not even drink service (same as on the way up. Seatmate is male
, but we are both more interested in reading than chatting anyway.
Leg IV--CVG to CHA on OH
CVG is a seriously overrated airport. (I'll take it over ATL to connect in, but it can't hold a candle to Charlotte--except in the food category.) Also discover the main flaw of the Canadair Regional Jet--it gets really hot on the runways if the weather is hot. Even the FA commented. Seatmate is a cute gal about my age (the third-best kind), but she too is more interested in reading than anything else... And an embarrassing moment when I can't open my water packet (the FA had to use one of those coffeestraws--the plastic was damaged a bit).
Back in Chattanooga, I manage to outsmart myself waiting for my bag. I figure that since there are two flights coming in at about the same time, they'll put the baggage for one on belt 1 and the other on belt 2. Error. They wait until most of the stuff coming in from Atlanta is picked up from 1, then load ours onto 1 also! Here's your sign... but that's only a slight delay, and I'm soon at home, with Lightning reporting for petting on my bed, Valerie reclaiming me as her territory, and Yoda panicking when I touched him (he tends to be a scaredycat).
Random observations:
I saw four different liveries on the Comair planes. The most common was the Delta Connection logo on the plane and the Comair logo on the tail (Atlantic Southeast is similar). Other variants: the same, but with "DELTA CONNECTION" in plain roman all-caps; a Comair-only livery (gray, three red stripes running the length of the plane and turning diagonal to underline the Comair logo on the plane); and one I only saw the tail of, but the logo was Sabena's!
Also, no symbol on the cups of ice (if you look at the bottom of the glass on a US flight, you'll see their little flag logo).
ASA and Comair each also have their own magazines (called Connections and Wingtips.) The planes still have Sky, but you can pick those up at the airports.
And what is with the folks at trip.com anyway? 7C (a near-wing aisle) on a near-empty flight with my prefs set for forward window?
[This message has been edited by silverpie (edited 07-05-1999).]
(OH, by the way, is the 2-letter code for Comair, the DL*/SN* carrier for the Cincinnati and Orlando hubs. They don't use it for flight numbers anymore, but they still have it--Delta's commuter carriers are the only ones I know of that promote themselves as anything but extensions of the main line.) After determining that the flight is only a quarter full, I ask to move back a row, and thus achieve the grail of coach flying--alone in an exit row! Flight proceeds uneventfully, and I notice that OH serves its water in little foil-topped OJ-like containers. If you get a chance, fly on the west-facing window on a late-evening flight--God has created few sights more spectacular than a sunset over the clouds (I was on the east, but still got a pretty good view).
Leg II: CVG-CMH on DL
This one's a full flight, think it was a 727. The best seatmate in coach is an empty seat, but I do get the next-best--a young girl, guessing she was 8 years old. (They don't take up much room, and are less likely to attempt to drive you crazy than boys of that age.) Turns out she was on her very first airplane trip (third plane--routing PHX-SLC-CVG-CMH). If you ever start to get burned out on air travel, find a cousin or colleague whose little kid is flying for the first time and sit with them--the sense of wonder they have will be a good recharger.
Courtyard Columbus Downtown
Start off with a van into the hotel (my little book said the last one is at 11, but in reality, they run through the last flight). No probs.
Hotel was pretty standard Courtyard. One amusing technical difficulty--the remote control was not working properly. Every button you pressed acted as channel-down!
The convention went ok (there was much amusement as I screamed in triumph after winning one game there--breaking an 0-12 lifetime run in that particular card game...)
The main downside was the weather. Even at night, it was oppressively hot, and the indoor path from the Convention Center to the Courtyard (listed as two blocks, but here in Chattanooga, we'd call it five and change--and it's the third-closest hotel) was locked up.
Sunday night proves to be a problem. I have exhausted my supply of cash, and both ATM's at the CC have also been drained. I wind up walking downtown to find one that's working, only to realize that there's no such thing as downtown Columbus on a Sunday, especially in the evening. See one poster for a deli saying "open tonight until midnight"--but apparently that poster meant Friday night (when they held Red, White & Boom!, billed as the biggest fireworks show in the Midwest). It was in fact closed. Make my way back to the hotel--did I mention their Courtyard Café doesn't serve an evening meal?--and mercifully found cookies at the front desk.
Monday morning, I head down a few blocks for breakfast at Tim Hortons. I had noticed on previous trips that Canadians tend to make better donuts--and I can now report that TH has brought donuts here that are just as good as the ones you pay loonies for. (I recommend the chocolate glazed.) No cold water, so I head back to the hotel for a Coke. I soon find myself explaining to the waitress that in Tennessee, "Coke" is used as a generic term for any cola drink. I get a standard hotel-restaurant glass *and* the can with the rest in it (it was, in fact, the P-word). She didn't even recognize me as one of the gamers (guess I looked too normal), and did not charge for the drink (made up for the $1.75 can at the CC--I later discovered a food court with normal restaurant-priced drinks).
Then it's off to explore Columbus (5:30p flight). Check out City Center mall, and then decide to go up to the Continent. Unfortunately, I discover that the day (the FIFTH of July) is considered a holiday for bus purposes, which means a Sunday schedule. And it seems that the 88 crosstown (which goes there) doesn't run Sundays! So it's wait for a bus back, and mercifully, I discover they do transfers like the new DC style (good for out-and-back or stop-and-shop within a time limit, as well as to other routes). If they hadn't, I had insufficient coins and no bill smaller than a sawbuck...
Then decide to follow it out to Southland Mall. Again an error--all that's left of it is a three-screen movie house. Eat (there is a strip-mall), and back downtown.
An observation--riding a bus like that is a wonderful way to really get to see a city. I saw nice apartments, vintage housing, and projects, schools, shops, and heavy industry (complete with picket line), and even the State Capitol, all for $2.20--a darned sight more interesting than what the tour companies show you, and a lot cheaper.
Back to the hotel, and find out the van won't get me to the airport in time. So I have them call a cab. Someone really ought to start a non-smoking cab company... and discover that CMH has to be the smallest airport for a city that size anywhere. Also the first one I've seen where HP controls a concourse's security (I imagine PHX is another, but this is no hub...) Not even a lottery vendor, so I'm stuck with a $4 winning ticket (will try to sell it to the big boss next time he journeys in from the Cincinnati office--for $4, of course).
Leg III--CMH to CVG on DL
Standard short-hop. Not even drink service (same as on the way up. Seatmate is male
, but we are both more interested in reading than chatting anyway.Leg IV--CVG to CHA on OH
CVG is a seriously overrated airport. (I'll take it over ATL to connect in, but it can't hold a candle to Charlotte--except in the food category.) Also discover the main flaw of the Canadair Regional Jet--it gets really hot on the runways if the weather is hot. Even the FA commented. Seatmate is a cute gal about my age (the third-best kind), but she too is more interested in reading than anything else... And an embarrassing moment when I can't open my water packet (the FA had to use one of those coffeestraws--the plastic was damaged a bit).
Back in Chattanooga, I manage to outsmart myself waiting for my bag. I figure that since there are two flights coming in at about the same time, they'll put the baggage for one on belt 1 and the other on belt 2. Error. They wait until most of the stuff coming in from Atlanta is picked up from 1, then load ours onto 1 also! Here's your sign... but that's only a slight delay, and I'm soon at home, with Lightning reporting for petting on my bed, Valerie reclaiming me as her territory, and Yoda panicking when I touched him (he tends to be a scaredycat).
Random observations:
I saw four different liveries on the Comair planes. The most common was the Delta Connection logo on the plane and the Comair logo on the tail (Atlantic Southeast is similar). Other variants: the same, but with "DELTA CONNECTION" in plain roman all-caps; a Comair-only livery (gray, three red stripes running the length of the plane and turning diagonal to underline the Comair logo on the plane); and one I only saw the tail of, but the logo was Sabena's!
Also, no symbol on the cups of ice (if you look at the bottom of the glass on a US flight, you'll see their little flag logo).
ASA and Comair each also have their own magazines (called Connections and Wingtips.) The planes still have Sky, but you can pick those up at the airports.
And what is with the folks at trip.com anyway? 7C (a near-wing aisle) on a near-empty flight with my prefs set for forward window?
[This message has been edited by silverpie (edited 07-05-1999).]
Jul 6, 1999, 6:23 am
#3
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: America Central
Programs: CO Gold, AA Gold, HH Diamond, IC Plat Ambassador
Posts: 936
Nice report Silverpie!
FYI -- HP does consider CMH a hub -- they needed something in the eastern part of the country when they first did their major expansions ('85?) and picked CMH...
Congrats on winning the Lottery too!
FYI -- HP does consider CMH a hub -- they needed something in the eastern part of the country when they first did their major expansions ('85?) and picked CMH...
Congrats on winning the Lottery too!
Jul 9, 1999, 2:54 pm
#5
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 2,581
HP got paid off by the CMH business community to put flights in when TWA downsized out of there in the early 90s--at that point TW had ~3 flts/day to LaGuardia, 1 or 2 to DCA, and was making noises about pulling out. They ultimately did which allowed HP in.