Introduction
Seattle to New York
New York
New York to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver to Seattle
Conclusion
Monday 27th May 2013
It’s Monday morning and I am in a hotel room, this isn’t normal. So what do I do? I try to act like normal! A run in the hotel gym (pushed hard to work off the weekend of crap) and some quick push ups and burpees, to my brain this is normal Monday work out. Originally today was going to be a little bit different to how they panned out. After my work out I was originally going to head into the city, drop my suitcase at the station and have some breakfast somewhere. However today after the work out, i packed my bag and tried to drop it at the Alaska Airlines check in.
If you read the introduction you would of seen that I had planned to use the Bolt Bus home, well things changed when the I5 bridge over the Skagit River fell down. I was a bit worried about traffic and actually making it home at a fairly decent time. Being memorial day weekend I was expecting a fair amount of traffic so I knew it would of been a possible slow journey home. This would make things even worse.
I looked at my options and the train was $55 at 6am… pass. I had two options for using points to get home. Alaska or American points. American had a cheaper points outlay on 12,500 points however the flights were 7am and via Portland. 2 flights for 12,500 points is pretty good value. However what was not so good was the $120 outlay in taxes… pass! Alaska was a direct flight for 20,000 points and only $50 outlay. So I ummed and I ahhed. I asked friends opinions and after some convincing arguments, I bit the bullet. $50 later (plus a bag fee later on) and I was booked to get home.
As I was heading to breakfast at Tim Hortons I figured I would try and drop my bag off to the Check In desk and then go back to the hotel to do some work before heading through immigration. Smart right? Wrong! Apparently you can’t do that at all and you HAVE to go straight from check in to immigration. No going back at all! That’s crap. So rather than lug my bag all the way back upstairs, I just stored it with the Porters at the door and went to get my usual canadian breakfast. Tim Hortons bagel & coffee.
After a bit of catch up on work emails, some personal email clearing out as well, I left my room 2 hours prior to my flight departure. I checked out easily (grabbed the card for the marketing manager for a future story pitch) and headed to check in. I checked in with a very cute canadian blonde and headed through to drop off my bag after paying my $21 bag fee. $71 in costs and a $20 forfeited bus fare meant I was going to get home at a reasonable time. Worth it!
The transborder gates at YVR have a very wierd system. You have your bags tagged but you have to self load onto a conveyer at about 4 or 5 different stages you have your boarding pass scanned (even security) and then you make it into the US Immigration pre clearance. Pre Clearance was easy as hell, no forms now so I was through quickly and easily! I wish it was always that easy.
From here I had about 35 minutes till boarding so I went in search of a coffee (one last Timmies hit!) and then walked out to the “Shed” where all the Transborder Prop flights depart from. I didn’t expect any facilities out there, but the free wifi worked, they had a small combined cafe/shop and plenty of seating. Sounds good to me! I sat down and did a bit of work on some of the articles I have due at the moment. With at least 3 from the weekend alone and a few more in the pipeline, Mal has some serious work to do!
Pretty soon without even realising it, the flight was being called. The gate had swapped twice it seemed and I hadn’t heard the latest update from Tripit come through to my phone (although I may have and had just ignored it). I was sitting outside Gate E94 which we had swapped to after I checked in. then apparently we went back to E96. So I went back over to the other side of the “Terminal”. I was a bit worried about my camera bag in the Dash 8 overhead bins and was thinking I might have to gate check it.
The gate staff assured me I wouldn’t have to and I moved a few things about to make sure that it was as small as possible anyway. I walked around a bit knowing that I would be cramped for the upcoming flight.
Alaska Airlines – AS2267 (Operated by Horizon Air)
Vancouver to Seattle Tacoma
1030-1119
Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 (N438QX)
Economy Class – Seat 6A
Boarding: 1000 (Gate E96)
Power Out: 1031
Take Off Roll: 1041 (Runway 8R)
Top of Descent: 1100
Touch Down: 1111 (Runway 16R)
Shut Down: 1118 (Gate N12A)
There was a hell of a lot of pre boards (but then it is cruising season and a lot of old folks do cruise in Alaska) and eventually boarding began with a laundry list of Elites who can board. Alaska Elites, Delta Elites & American Elites all in the one list. The elites is a scrum on its own! When general boarding was called it was on for young and old at the gate. Everyone was swamping their way in as much as possible.
Out into the cold (without my jacket on mind you) and up the steps into the tiny little Dash 8. At least its a Q400 so it has a bit more space inside (not that there is much anyway). I couldn’t fit my camera bag in the overhead so I had to stash it under the seat infront (where it fit easily) and stash my backpack in the overhead. Reverse of the usual! Not good for legroom either as the camera bag took all of it!
People moved onboard pretty quickly and the Horizon staff were proud to advertise that they were Horizon and not Alaska Airlines. In saying that though the staff were pretty nice and friendly. During the Captain’s intro he was quite light hearted and joked around quite a bit. Making sure we were not to congregate around the forward Lav area and that if we did, “we would be in trouble, not that he could divulge what trouble”. A good laugh for the short flight which was announced as 30 minutes from “wheels up to wheels down”.
When the door was shut we powered up and was off the gate dead on time. We taxiied towards the gate with the words from the Captain “Cabin Crew, lets fly!” Why can’t all pilots announce with that! As he said this I turned my head and saw a 747 on the strip ahead of us. Cool! Then I saw the winglets missing… 747-8F! Definately wouldn’t be an -8i as Lufthansa never fly here. Then as we got closer I saw the colour scheme. It was Hong Kong Trader. Cathay Pacific Cargo’s special livery. One of the Freighters I had dreamed of seeing for ages! I got a half decent shot out the window.
As we made it over to 8R the pilot did not even slow down, he turned onto the runway and before we were even straight he was flooring the props. The climb out was noisy (I was sitting next to the propellors) and as we climbed away from Vancouver I snapped a last picture of the city and Hong Kong Trader as well. We then got into the clouds and that was that.
I had hoped the clouds wouldn’t be there as apparently the flight is extremely scenic. Sadly not this one! I saw nothing but white. I read my book and even got a free cup of water! WOW! The funny thing was when I was getting my cup of water given to me, they were pouring on demand and I was instructed to hold it over my own lap, that way if it was my cup that went and got splashed it went on me, not someone else. Nice and all for the other person but what about my pants!
As we tipped over to descend we broke out of the clouds right above my house! Pretty awesome to see your own area as you descend out of the clouds and we came in from the north heading towards what would obviously be a 16 arrival. As we passed the 520 bridge over Lake Washington, I got my first ever view of the draw span open. In over a year of living here I had never seen it open till now. Awesome!
As we passed over Boeing Field there was a number of shiny new 737s on the ramp including both a Qantas & Virgin Australia sitting almost side by side. We landed on 16R spot on time and the pilot felt like he kept the front wheel off for quite some time as though he was skidding it along on the rear wheels only. O did I mention it yet? It was raining. Meh! Nothing like my memorial day weekend last year!
This trip was coming to a quick conclusion as we taxiied over to the north gates and parked up next to a couple of other Dash 8s. First time I have had a ramp walk at the North Gates to finish off my first Horizon flight. Pity it was wet everywhere. Once in the terminal it was down to the train, over to baggage claim and let the timer run. Come on bag, fail me now! Daddy wants some points! I wanted it to be just a minute or two late so I could get some points back. I got my wish, it took my bag 35 minutes to show up!
With bag in hand I headed over to the baggage desk, collected my voucher thanks to the delay and headed towards the shuttles to head over to the car park. It seems that every time I organise my truck to get washed at the car park, it rains. But it needed the clean and minutes later I was looking at my shiny (tho wet) truck. Back in the truck and north I head to the house and some chores to get myself ready for a week of work and more travelling ahead!
@bigmalx Apologies the trip didn’t go as smoothly as we would have liked. Sounds like our team at the airport made sure they took… 1/2
@bigmalx …care of you though *DS 2/2