Friday 19th February 2016

After dropping the car back at the rental counter and waving goodbye to Horseman for the final time, I walked along the walkway into the Omaha terminal. It was time to head on home. Alaska has their check in at the opposite end of the airport to the Car Rental area (the southern end). It was an easy 2-3 minute walk past the counters for Southwest, United, past some baggage claims and the car rental counters.

Alaska’s check in area was covered in balloons in Green and Gold for some reason. I didn’t ask why at the time, but it was going to be my first attempt at the Self Tag facility, since that was the only choice. I started the process but it turns out the only record locater I had accessible was not the Alaska one, so the system crapped out on me. Thankfully they allow you to look up by name! The Omaha staff was right by my side to offer assistance and even put the bag tag on for me. They were fantastic and a special shot out to Gloria who was hilarious and very helpful.

After checking in and handing off my bag I headed upstairs to the departures level. I decided against purchasing steaks (sorry Heidi) and had a quick look around in the pre security area. There wasn’t much and there was signs saying there was more stuff after security, so I headed down. Didn’t have to wait long at all (this is Omaha after all) and soon enough was through security (after a pat down.. sigh).

There was some things after security, but not much. There was a bar with ramp views and power points so that was going to be good enough. I bought a bottle of water and camped out by the windows watching the few planes coming and going. The two hornets that flew past while I was on my way to the airport were parked on the far side and were joined later on by 4 more! Watching them do standard Navy approaches was fun and I managed to get a few half decent photos with my point and shoot. Soon enough the inbound aircraft showed up so it was time to pack up and head to the gate.

Alaska Airlines – AS3469
Omaha to Seattle Tacoma
1500-1650
Canadair – CRJ-700 (N216AG)
Economy Class – Seat 2A
Boarding: 1426 (Gate A9)
Push Back: 1450
Take off Roll: 1458 (Runway 32L)
Top of Descent: 1604
Touch Down: 1625 (Runway 16R)
Shut Down: 1630 (Gate C16)

While I waited at the gate for boarding to be called I had a chat with Gloria who remembered me by name from the check in area. The benefits of working at a small airport. I watched the staff in action with all the guests coming off the plane and they were fantastic. No wonder they get rave reviews here. Boarding was called and I had to wait to be the last group to board. Sadly without Alaska status it is how I have to deal with boarding. I made it on eventually to have to settle into my seat. That wasn’t easy as I was in 2A (not sure how I snagged that seat) and since it was a CRJ, there is no way to store my camera bag up top. The camera bag went under the seat in front (barely) and the backpack went up top. Which never works right? Because I want to access the stuff in my backpack and now I can’t? Sigh! I am going to be one those seat mates today it seems.

We sealed up tight not long after I boarded and pushed back early. Things work nice and easy when you fly an RJ and you work at an outstation. I should do this more often! We taxied away from the gate and headed for the runway. I did not realize there were multiple runways at Omaha and we had a bit of a longer taxi than I expected. The view out my window was not all that fantastic due to a very scratched and dirty window. I took what photos I could and would deal with whatever turned out later.

We climbed out and away from Omaha and left the Midwest behind. I wanted to sit back and catch up on some TV that I had brought with me and was yet to finish, and with the sun coming directly into my window, I had to drop the blind. The guy in the aisle didn’t mind about that, what he hated was my constant fidgeting of my feet. The camera bag wasn’t helping either of us, so when I got a chance, I asked the flight attendant if there was a place to store it. She offered up the closet where they store their bags (so much space available) and I accepted and thanked her profusely.

Now that I could actually move about a bit, I settled in to watch TV and read for the rest of the trip and with a flight time of 3.5 hours, it was not going to be all that comfortable. To be honest after spending 9 hours or more stuck in the driver’s seat of a car, even that was more comfortable than the cramped confines of the CRJ today. O well!

The flight went past ok, a couple of drink runs by the 2 flight attendants and a lot of time for them to stand around chatting in the galley and we hit descent about 35 minutes out of Seattle. I packed up my stuff and stashed it at my feet, deciding not to interrupt my seat mate again. We came out of the clouds from our descent over Totem Lake to the north of Kirkland and tracked for a South Flow landing. Coming in over downtown and the Museum of Flight, we were vectored in for a 16R landing. This would put us on at least a 5-10 minute taxi to the gate… on a good day.

Taxi time today was fairly average and we pulled up at Gate C16 today. With a CRJ on the ramp at SeaTac it means that Horizon are looking after the plane and that means boarding onto the ramp. So much fun on a rainy Seattle day  O well could be worse. It could be pouring rain and blowing a gale. I was off the plane fairly rapidly and with most of my stuff in hand, I was on my way to the gate. Most people had to wait around for their gate checked bags, me I was heading into the terminal post haste. I stopped by work to check my roster for Sunday (making sure it had not changed) and then it was downstairs to get my bag.

My bag was trundling around the belt by the time I got there. It’s sad; because I wanted to get some extra points to help out with the fact my accounts were now all bone dry. It was off to the shuttle bus for me, ending this trip the same way it began. Now the problem was trying to remember where I left the truck.

Tuesday 16th February 2016

Up at O Dark 45 this morning to get myself ready to head to Raleigh to begin my big drive. It was dark and quiet in Orange County and after staying at the Sketchiest hotel I have stayed at in years (this is what I get for being cheap) I headed onto the freeway and to the airport. I dropped off the car at SNA and had to hunt around to find the drop box, but eventually found it.

It was quiet in the terminal as I entered and found check in quick enough. I had to wait a little bit to finally see someone but was checked in and had my boarding passes soon enough and my bag (with priority sticker) on it’s way into the bowels of John Wayne Airport. The TSA today was funny as everyone was walking straight past an open checkpoint to another one. I was so confused, but hey… whatever. No line is no line! I was through security pretty quickly and spent more time putting my stuff back together than I did getting it all out and through security.

Once through I walked through the terminal a bit before heading up to the Admirals Club when it opened. This was going to be my first time flying American properly and I had scammed access via a status match with Air Berlin. I had mainly done that so that I had access to lounges on my way to Australia. The lounge opened up at 530am and with that I had somewhere to grab a coffee and use the restroom, away from the gate lice. I headed down to the gate early and this was my first mistake. When I got down there I realised that everyone was down there as well… but something was up.

The gate staff were not making any announcements about their boarding process or anything. They were calling people up at random, but not saying anything else. My thoughts was that it was connecting flights internationally and they were checking passports etc, but not sure. Then boarding time passed, and nothing. Delay was about to strike, I positioned myself in such a way that I could get to the club quickly if I had to. When the announcement was made that there would be a delay I was halfway to the club and barely heard the reason. A dead battery? Really AA? Lame!

I was the first person into the club and the line formed after me and I was quickly helped. I was told to just sit tight if I wanted to keep my first class seat (I sure as hell did!) and that they would protect me on the next available flight from DFW to Raleigh. This was one of these moments that helped for sure, but I was just frustrated! I was protected but it meant waiting around for several hours and told that there was nothing else at all. Changing airports was not really an option since it would get me there way to late tonight. I came back to the desk after a little while to get a seat assigned and all that was left was Aisles 🙁 ugh. But i guess with a night flight that will be ok.

I sat around in the club just chilling out, trying to relax. I fixed up my travel plans for that day, reaching out and letting people know about the delay (was meeting someone at Dallas and seeing a friend in RDU). I changed around the pick up time for my car hire tonight and also let the hotel know I was coming in late… *sigh*. About an hour before the new flight time was meant to depart, I headed up to check if it was still going on time and tried to entertain myself somehow.

After walking around the terminal a bit, I returned to the gate in the hope we would get more information. Nothing. They made one announcement to say that the battery was “on site” however there was not a single person moving around the aircraft to do anything. It was hard to know what was going on when no one was saying anything! So rather than head back to the club, I stuck around the gate area and just waited it out. I was quite bored just standing around but I figured if I left something was going to change and I would miss it.

So the 9:30am departure became 10am, the 10am became 10:15. It just kept dragging on and on without any word. The battery did show up at the aircraft around 10am and it was installed pretty quickly. About 10 minutes later boarding was called and the bum rush for the gate began!

American Airlines – AA1627
Orange County to Dallas Ft Worth
0645-1155
Boeing 737-800 (N928NN)
First Class – Seat 4A

Boarding: 1012 (Gate 7)
Push Back: 1100
Take off Roll: 1111 (Runway 20R)
Top of Descent: 1510
Touch Down: 1534 (Runway 36L)
Shut Down: 1545 (Gate A14)

First Class was called and it seemed everyone was in First Class because they rushed the boarding area. I scooted around the side and did my best “Screw you I am boarding when I want” look, cutting in front of someone else (who turns out was not in first class). I was going to milk every last bit of this points redemption to RDU today.

I finally got a good look at our aircraft when I boarded and was happy to see the Boeing Sky Interior. That meant that I could actually charge my phone as well because the seats would have power, however no seat back tv, just wifi to your own device. Eh whatever! I took my seat by the window and got myself situated. Boarding followed after that and it was an utter mess with people everywhere. They wanted us on and seated as quickly as possible, even though we were just going to sit there.

We sat and waited onboard while the rest of economy boarded and I joked online if I was going to get a Pre Departure beverage. Well moments after I made that joke, I was offered a water or an orange juice. Now that is the cheats way out of it for American, but it was better than nothing right? Water it is today! I sat back while the flight attendants shuffled around the galley, drinking coffee doing nothing.

We finally heard from the cockpit saying that they were waiting for us to be fully gassed up before we could do anything else and that meant we waited some more. I had a prediction with a fellow passenger we wouldn’t leave until 11am and I looked like that was going to be spot on. I sat back, texting my wife, joking with friends and just trying to relax and enjoy myself. Even leaving at 11am I would still have plenty of time in DFW.

We buttoned up at around 10:50 and pushed back right on 11am, as predicted. We had to hold on the taxiway a while, waiting for traffic. We were right on the runway threshold entrance so we could just hold in position until it was our turn. After a Southwest 737 departed we made our turn onto the active runway. We had to wait a little bit longer at the hold point for another Southwest 737 to land and then it was our turn.

I had heard so much about departing from SNA and their unique departure. Due to noise abatement they had strict rules on how and when you could depart Orange County. Firstly no jet movements before 7am in the morning. The line up to get underway at 7am in the morning was like 15 or 16 aircraft and they were backed up everywhere, all waiting. When it is your turn to depart, due to the short nature of the strip it is full throttle, balls to the wall. But once you are in the air the noise abatement comes back into play. SNA is surrounded on all directions by housing, so you can only climb at power till 5000 feet and then you must throttle back until you cross the coast. Once across the coast you can then throttle back up to climb power. When it was finally our turn, it was full throttle and then off we go!

We climbed but the level off and power down wasn’t as evident, so I was a little bit disappointed. I know that sounds stupid, but I wanted to hear the engines wind back down. Guess not! We kept climbing albeit a little bit slower and crossed the coast and it seemed we were going to do so at the same rate. Maybe we were light today and everything was offloaded to other flights? I know that this flight was non rev express with every man and their dog cleared onto the flight. So maybe that was it.

We turned back east and climbed over southern california. I could see down below us as we passed what looked like Ontario and kept tracking east over Palm Springs, Palm Desert and the Coachella valley. The sky was as blue as it could be and the contrast against the desert below was stunning. We kept cruising east and the pilot came on to tell us a little about the flight (flying East over the Texas Panhandle etc, flight time of 2h30 mins and an ETA on the ground that would give me 2.5 hours).

Drinks were delivered just after the speech and then once that was handled the flight attendant working the cabin decided to do service by cart. That was a little bit different for first class, but hey, whatever. Breakfast orders had been taken on the ground and I was thankful I did not pre select today, because otherwise I would have been boned. Originally I was going to go for a light breakfast of oatmeal, about the best idea after a weekend of indulgence. Thankfully I didn’t do this because I would have been disappointed when we had an almost lunch time departure. I went with the “Hot” option which was a Quiche of some kind with potatoes, fruit and a biscuit on the side. Pretty decent light lunch if you ask me (could have done with some vegies, but hey… whatever).

I consumed my “breakfast” fairly quickly because I was pretty hungry and it looked good. The taste was ok, so I was not going to complain. The biscuit was pretty decent for being in the air so that was good (no seconds offered although there was plenty spare… but be good malcolm!). We had a few lumpy bits somewhere about an hour into the flight (nothing serious) and I went back to working on my laptop on the trip report). After a while I decided to pack that in (I had plenty of time to write it) and catch up on some tv.

By the time i finished watching TV, my flight was about to begin descent so I packed up all my stuff, taking a little bit of compensation from the aircraft with me 😉 By the time that had done we were into our descent and my seat mate started packing up his stuff as well. Pretty soon we were on our way down into DFW. The landing was pretty picturesque on the way in and we did a downwind past the airport and over AT&T stadium (aka the new Texas Stadium) and the Baseball stadium for I think the Texas Rangers. Right next to that was also a theme park and it looked like I might have seen my first ever Six Flags (judging by the Batman and Superman logos I was assuming Six Flags over Texas?).

We landed and quickly got off the runway and onto one of the many taxiways at DFW. What I was now waiting on was getting to the gate, because at DFW, that could take a while. We took a little bit to get to the gate, but nothing over the top. The wait wasn’t horrendous till we had the jet bridge to the door and I was headed out of the plane, into the terminal. I was headed to the D Concourse as I had some time to kill and during my wait I was headed over to a meeting for a quick tour with a coworker. I won’t be specific, so let’s just say it was an eye opening experience.

I stopped by an Admirals Club to get my seat assignment fixed up and they did that, along with reprinting me a boarding pass. That was so easy and I headed over to the C Terminal where my flight was heading from. I camped out in the Admirals Club there (while also snagging myself an extra drink chit for a bottle of water… well 2 actually). I should have known to ask for them earlier! When it came time to head down to the gate, I packed up my stuff and headed out.

The admirals club sure left me a number of questions for someone i know who used to work in one. A number of questions regarding standards etc. But on the whole it was a fine way of just getting stuff done. I went down to the gate and tried to see if the gate staff could tell if my bag made the flight, the only thing left for me to worry about. Unlike other airlines they don’t seem to keep track of it through all stages…. *sigh*. I just waited around the gate area and eventually it became time (I will admit, I gate liced it).

American Airlines – AA1207
Dallas Ft Worth to Raleigh Durham
1820-2155
McDonnell Douglas MD82 (N466AA)
First Class – Seat 3F

Boarding: 1750 (Gate C15)
Push Back: 1813
Take Off Roll: 1830 (Runway 35L)
Top of Descent: 2100
Touch Down: 2139 (Runway 23R)
Shut Down: 2143 (Gate C23)

Boarding was called and I was one of the first people down into the Jet Bridge. Down at the aircraft they were still loading food so I wasn’t sure if we should be onboard or not. I still got on anyway when she said it was ok. I jumped into my seat and stashed my stuff as quickly as I could. I took the Bulkhead because it was the only window available, even though I don’t really like it sometimes (when the storage situation is dire).

Boarding filled the entire plane pretty quickly and the flight attendants did not do a PDB. Scratch all the good things I said about AA…. ever! Nah that is mean, but the FA today was already on my shit list. We ended up pushing back early and set up for a flight time of 2h 5mins giving us a good 30 minute of ground time in the schedule. That makes sense since DFW is the size of a state!

As we pushed back and lined up to leave the apron I realised that up front in the MD80 there is no real noise at all. It was just so quiet from the plane. What you did hear was stuff going on the in the cockpit, the flight attendants gossiping (we had someone non revving in the jump seat). The sunset out my window was fantastic though, just stunning! It made me think just why I fly all the time. Looking out at that sunset over a city below is what makes me happy (and why I want a window seat).

As we climbed out of DFW I settled in to watching out the window till the sun set then went back to watching TV on my tablet. I still had shows to watch and it was something to keep me going right? Service was slow tonight. Drink orders were taken before take off but no meal orders? Confused. Then when we got around to being in the air, drink & nuts came out before the hot towel? Again confused. Mind you none of this was rushed at all, it was slow. Really slow. With a flight time of 2 hours the FA didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry.

Dinner service finally started about an hour into a 2 hour flight (wierd especially when you need to have everything cleared by 30 minutes out) and she followed the old FEBO rules. I figured that would happen eventually & being at the front on an odd numbered flight, I was going to get whatever was left. Sigh. By the time I got my meal about 10 minutes later, I still had both choices & went with the Green Chilli Tamale over the chicken. However 5 minutes after I started eating we had to start packing up as we were heading into turbulence & they wanted everything sorted since when we came out of that we would be in descent. Start scoffing it down!

I packed up my stuff, and got the FA to put it up for me eventually & just sat back watching the descent out the window. I had no idea where I was or what was going on so I just relaxed. I finally saw what looked like an airport & we took a roundabout way to come onto finals.

We touched down very quietly up front but when we turned off those brakes groaned. At the gate it was worse :/ within a few minutes the were set at the gate and I was off the plane and through the terminal. Nice new modern looking terminal bug baggage claim felt like miles away from the gate. Add onto the fact that my bag was one of the last out and you can bet how tired & Cranky I was. O well off to get my car & some sleep.

Friday 12th February 2016

It was a very early start this morning after very little sleep as I worked last night. It is never a good thing waking up at 2:30am and having to head to the airport, even worse when you got home at 10pm the night before from the exact same place. This time though I was not returning to work but for fun!

The commute was filled with rain but I coped and the next thing I know I was at the lot waiting for a shuttle to the terminal area. There were a lot of people on the bus this morning and I was thankful for the free parking (even if it meant screwing around for extra time). I was glad I allowed myself extra time when I got to the terminal as even though it was before 4am, this place was packed! Hello Holiday Travel!

I jumped in the line for Southwest as this was my first flight with them in a while and it was painless. I didn’t have to wait long and I had myself checked in. I was filled in that it was a full flight and in fact oversold, so try not to miss your boarding group advice was given. Headed to security next and noticed that it was an absolute zoo with hundreds of people at each checkpoint and it was not going to be a good day. It was before 4am and it already looked bad! I used my old Premium Card trick and was through soon enough. Turns out they opened the checkpoint early because it was so busy.

By the time i got myself back together and ready to move on, it was almost 35 mins till my flight so decided to just head to the gate. With free wifi it meant i could do some work. The WiFi connection at the airport is spotty at best. For instance I could remote home to my computer without a problem, yet connecting to wordpress… no dice! Volunteers for a bump were called but only the offer of a 3 hour delay, via San Jose and a $300 voucher. Pass. I got what work I needed done and within about 10 minutes of finishing, people were called up to the queues.

Southwest Airlines – WN776
Seattle Tacoma to Orange County
0540-0840
Boeing 737-700 (N7746C)
Economy Class – Seat 2A – Boarding Position A53

Boarding: 0511 (Gate B14)
Push Back: 0536
Take off Roll: 0548 (Runway 16L)
Top of Descent: 0748
Touch Down: 0816 (Runway 20R)
Shut Down: 0819 (Gate 13)

We all lined up as instructed and a couple of first timers were struggling with kids not wanting to line up. Tough! I got through pretty quickly, but there was a long long line in the jetbridge. By the time I got onboard i saw a window open up front… in 2A. What the hell? The lady was camping the aisle and just staring people down. I asked if anyone was sitting there and she ignored me, so I did what I normally do. “Excuse me i’d like to get in there”. She moved but with a very sour look on her face. I took the window, got myself settled and waited as the mass of humanity boarded and took every single seat, including the middle. O lady on the aisle, she stashed her bags under the middle seat, even refused to move them. Poor middle seat lady 🙁

We pushed back and headed for the runway in the rain and dark. Nothing much to see apart from rain, rain and more rain. Boring! I turned on my tablet and some videos and just watched them pretty much the whole way to SNA. I occasionally watched the sun out the window as it rose into the sky, and when drinks were offered, I took a coffee and a can of water (and even got a coffee refil). It was not a fancy flight but at 5:40am in the morning, I couldn’t care less to be honest.

I managed to get through 3 videos and then as the last one finished, we hit top of descent. Perfect timing as we skirted down the Los Angeles Coast line, past Long beach and turned towards Orange County. The landing had us come around from the coast over a lot of the suburbs (including Disneyland). We turned back towards the coast for landing and came down steep. REALLY steep. This strip was tiny and as soon as we crossed the fence and hit the lines, brakes came on hard and out came the thrust reversers and every piece of control surface to make some stopping power.

We turned and headed back to the terminal area and pulled in next to a large range of other Southwest Aircraft. We waited a few minutes for the jetbridge and then i was out of there fast. A lot of people were trying to swim upstream for their bags. Not a good idea. I got out into the terminal pretty easily and then tried to fix the first situation that needed addressing… a pit stop. None in site and before I knew it I was at the next gate and hadn’t gotten a photo of the plane. I kept going figuring the bags would be out soon. MISTAKE! Down to the baggage claim (via the first Bathroom i could find) and turns out that Southwest may not charge for bags, but they are the slowest ever.

I waited about 20 minutes or more for my bag and when it did finally come out, I grabbed it and headed to the National desk. It was located in the parking structure but on the basement level. Wierd! When I finally got over to the National Aisle, there seemed to be an executie aisle and not much else. There was a few cars there, very slim pickings but it was cycling fast. The one thing that annoyed me was that Alamo was sending their people over to get cars from the Aisle and so were National for non emerald aisle customers. Hell if you had a standard EA membership, you got to pick from the Exec. So unfair. I asked for a Mustang, none on site that day. So i was heading for a Challenger (per Heidi’s requet) when I spied a 2016 Maxima, one that was only a few weeks old if that. it had 600 miles on the clock and working Sat Nav…. SCORE!

I hit the streets towards LAX and some shenanigans!

Miles Driven: 0
States Visited: 1