CLT-PHL-YUL and return US/USX
Dec 3, 2005 | 8:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Greer,SC,USA
Posts: 899
CLT-PHL-YUL and return US/USX
Part I
As my summer was winding down, and wanting to make it count, I decided to go to Montreal for my last week of vacation. Needng to be cheap, I Pricelined a ticket ex-CLT for $334 on US Airways 7 days in advance. Then Katrina showed up, making it a much pricier trip because gas shot up by about $1.50 a gallon and was somewhat difficult to obtain. In addition, there were reports of avgas shortages at major southern hub airports, including CLT. However, I was able to make it in and out of CLT fine.
Segment 1
September 3, 2005
US Airways 225
CLT-PHL
Boeing 737-300
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 335P/340P
Scheduled/Actual Arrival: 510P/504P
Seat: 21F
I arrived at CLT around 205 for this 335P departure and had my Mom drop me off at US Airways domestic. Surprisingly I was told that I should check in at International, all the way at the other end of the check in counter. Once there, I waited in a 15 minute queue before I arrived at the counter. I had attempted (smartly as it turned out) to pass my large duffel as a carry-on but was told: "If it bigger than a three year old, you have to check it". Being that this was a cheapo ticket, I expected middle seats all the way, but was pleasantly surprised when I was handed seats for 21F and 18A. I then cleared security and headed down to C11, where my 737 was already at the gate. I thought that a 733 seemed kinda small to handle the hub-hub route which mates up with a lot of international connections at US's transatlantic hub. In any event, boarding was soon called, and I boarded. Turns out that this was a 100% full flight. Due to late loading of luggage, we pushed back 5 minutes late, but nothing major.
This particular 733 was in filthy condiition. Upon inspection, my tray table had some sort of substance on it. Inflight service consisted of a small bag of snack mix and a half a glass of ginger ale. We touched down a few minutes early and taxied to B2. Upon landing, connecting gate information was given. Almost of the connections were international, except for two to HPN and SWF.
Connection Time
Philadelphia International Airport
I disembarked US225 to find a situation akin to the old DTW (at least in B/C). In fact, the gate areas are even worse than old DTW. Lets just put it this way: new carpet, chairs, and paint would go a long way. A-West and F are very nice though, giving US's hub operations a slightly schitzophrenic air). The (generic) food selections at the food court aren't that good, and I wished they'd put a Genos or a Pat's in there for some local flavor. As is, I got two slices of cheese pizza for dinner, and spent most of the time walking around PHL. About 50 minutes before departure, I changed over enough money to cover my transit costs to downtown YUL from Dorval (yeah, I know its Trudeau, but I like the old name better).
Segment 2
US Airways 394
PHL-YUL
Boeing 737-300
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 810P/755P
Scheduled/Actual Arrival: 954P/920P
Seat: 18A
My connecting flight left from B4, which is right next to my CLT arrival gate (this will be significant later). Boarding commenced early, and we managed to pushback 15 minutes early and beat the rush (most of US's transatlantic fleet was at A-West and A-East, an impressive sight). The flight was only about half full in economy, and I had a whole row of three seats to myself. This was probably the most pleasant flight I've had in awhile. The plane was cleaner than the last one, I got a whole can of soda and two bags of snack mix. I sat and read my book and looked out the window, noticing along the way how almost unpopulated upstate NY north of ALB is. Soon we were on approach to Montreal. We ended up passing the downtown area, which looked really beautiful at night, especially Olympic Stadium. A few minutes later we touched down at Dorval and taxied to Gate 54. Upon deplaining, I thanked God once again that I didn't have to walk a mile to get to baggage claim/customs/immigration as passengers used to have to do. The new customs area is really nice. After clearing immigration, I headed down to pick up my bag and catch the Aerobus to downtown.
However, fifteen minutes after the bags from US394 came off, I realized that amazingly, my bag hadn't made it (you'd think moving one bag 30 feet from B2 to B4 in three hours would not be too taxing). Although in fairness to PHL's baggage handlers, my guess is that the bag never made it to PHL in the first place because of the fact that the 733 probably couldn't hold all of the international connecting bags on a chock-a-block full first flight and was put on US70, a 767 that left two hours later, but failed to make the connection . Then I had to go to US's baggage claim office to fill out a (french) customs form for the lost bag. By now, it was almost 1000P and I just wanted to get to my friend's appartment. I bought a one way on the Aerobus, which took me into town. From there, I headed down to the Berri-UQAM metro stop, helped somone get their bike over the barrier, watched some TV on the huge screens which are set up (really cool if you ask me) and then boarded the green line to McGill, where I was met by my friend.
As my summer was winding down, and wanting to make it count, I decided to go to Montreal for my last week of vacation. Needng to be cheap, I Pricelined a ticket ex-CLT for $334 on US Airways 7 days in advance. Then Katrina showed up, making it a much pricier trip because gas shot up by about $1.50 a gallon and was somewhat difficult to obtain. In addition, there were reports of avgas shortages at major southern hub airports, including CLT. However, I was able to make it in and out of CLT fine.
Segment 1
September 3, 2005
US Airways 225
CLT-PHL
Boeing 737-300
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 335P/340P
Scheduled/Actual Arrival: 510P/504P
Seat: 21F
I arrived at CLT around 205 for this 335P departure and had my Mom drop me off at US Airways domestic. Surprisingly I was told that I should check in at International, all the way at the other end of the check in counter. Once there, I waited in a 15 minute queue before I arrived at the counter. I had attempted (smartly as it turned out) to pass my large duffel as a carry-on but was told: "If it bigger than a three year old, you have to check it". Being that this was a cheapo ticket, I expected middle seats all the way, but was pleasantly surprised when I was handed seats for 21F and 18A. I then cleared security and headed down to C11, where my 737 was already at the gate. I thought that a 733 seemed kinda small to handle the hub-hub route which mates up with a lot of international connections at US's transatlantic hub. In any event, boarding was soon called, and I boarded. Turns out that this was a 100% full flight. Due to late loading of luggage, we pushed back 5 minutes late, but nothing major.
This particular 733 was in filthy condiition. Upon inspection, my tray table had some sort of substance on it. Inflight service consisted of a small bag of snack mix and a half a glass of ginger ale. We touched down a few minutes early and taxied to B2. Upon landing, connecting gate information was given. Almost of the connections were international, except for two to HPN and SWF.
Connection Time
Philadelphia International Airport
I disembarked US225 to find a situation akin to the old DTW (at least in B/C). In fact, the gate areas are even worse than old DTW. Lets just put it this way: new carpet, chairs, and paint would go a long way. A-West and F are very nice though, giving US's hub operations a slightly schitzophrenic air). The (generic) food selections at the food court aren't that good, and I wished they'd put a Genos or a Pat's in there for some local flavor. As is, I got two slices of cheese pizza for dinner, and spent most of the time walking around PHL. About 50 minutes before departure, I changed over enough money to cover my transit costs to downtown YUL from Dorval (yeah, I know its Trudeau, but I like the old name better).
Segment 2
US Airways 394
PHL-YUL
Boeing 737-300
Scheduled/Actual Departure: 810P/755P
Scheduled/Actual Arrival: 954P/920P
Seat: 18A
My connecting flight left from B4, which is right next to my CLT arrival gate (this will be significant later). Boarding commenced early, and we managed to pushback 15 minutes early and beat the rush (most of US's transatlantic fleet was at A-West and A-East, an impressive sight). The flight was only about half full in economy, and I had a whole row of three seats to myself. This was probably the most pleasant flight I've had in awhile. The plane was cleaner than the last one, I got a whole can of soda and two bags of snack mix. I sat and read my book and looked out the window, noticing along the way how almost unpopulated upstate NY north of ALB is. Soon we were on approach to Montreal. We ended up passing the downtown area, which looked really beautiful at night, especially Olympic Stadium. A few minutes later we touched down at Dorval and taxied to Gate 54. Upon deplaining, I thanked God once again that I didn't have to walk a mile to get to baggage claim/customs/immigration as passengers used to have to do. The new customs area is really nice. After clearing immigration, I headed down to pick up my bag and catch the Aerobus to downtown.
However, fifteen minutes after the bags from US394 came off, I realized that amazingly, my bag hadn't made it (you'd think moving one bag 30 feet from B2 to B4 in three hours would not be too taxing). Although in fairness to PHL's baggage handlers, my guess is that the bag never made it to PHL in the first place because of the fact that the 733 probably couldn't hold all of the international connecting bags on a chock-a-block full first flight and was put on US70, a 767 that left two hours later, but failed to make the connection . Then I had to go to US's baggage claim office to fill out a (french) customs form for the lost bag. By now, it was almost 1000P and I just wanted to get to my friend's appartment. I bought a one way on the Aerobus, which took me into town. From there, I headed down to the Berri-UQAM metro stop, helped somone get their bike over the barrier, watched some TV on the huge screens which are set up (really cool if you ask me) and then boarded the green line to McGill, where I was met by my friend.
