A few long days through three alliances: Star, Skyteam and Oneworld

by Grant Martin on

The confluence of a pleasure trip out to Boston to see my girlfriend, an engineering conference in Pittsburgh and a meeting at (The) Ohio State University this past week brought me the opportunity of flying on three different carriers throughout the East and Midwest. Since my native carrier, Northwest was offering some truly hideous fares on my desired routes, I decided to give each alliance, Star Alliance, Skyteam and Oneworld a try on my three legs to see how the industry was faring while I was away on NW. Along my journey I kept the following diary:

Leg 1: DTW-NYC-BOS – Delta Airlines

Detroit – New York – CRJ900 Operated by Comair
Boarding and Gate Area

I don’t get over to the B/C concourse at Detroit’s McNamara often enough. While they do have a killer A&W Rootbeer stand, most Northwest flights depart out of the A terminal so I have little reason to visit the other half of the building. It’s nice being on this side once in a while.

Due to what seemed to be some last minute booking and jockeying by the gate agent, we started boarding ten minutes late, but since the aircraft was so small, the twenty minutes was plenty of time to board the entire aircraft.

As usual, the typical gate lice nested around the boarding area, but they quickly cleared out once first and “elite” passengers boarded.
Predeparture

Settling into 9D, I was treated to narrow leather seats, some overhead soul music and a nice view of the larger MD-80 next to me that I would have much, much rather been on. I nestled into my leather seat and greeted the voracious software consultant to my left, and the deer tick in between the window panes on my right.

During the preflight security speech, the young woman next to me noticed the gentlemen in the back of first class messing with the flight attendant – I would later find out that the two were from the hiphop group, Yung Joc with his Swagg Team.

Inflight

The nice thing about flying east in the afternoon is that you get the sun shining over your shoulder. Delta’s CRJ was fairly new, clean and quiet and the young woman next to me kept me busy trying to figure out what “Swagg Team” actually meant, so the ride was quite pleasant.

Once we got close to cruising altitude two flight attendants came back through the aircraft serving (free) soda and peanuts while sandwiches were offered at 7$ apiece. I decided to wait to eat in JFK, which, I would soon learn would be a mistake.

We landed a few minutes early, and even with the long taxi of JFK airport I still got into the the terminal in good time. What a pleasant flight.

New York – Boston – CRJ 900 Operated by Comair
Pre departure

I now know why my New York based girlfriend was always so stressed out when leaving from The City on a Friday evening. On entering Delta’s terminal at JFK, I was greeted by a throbbing mass of people mashing around for space and gates.

Most of the small CRJ aircraft that I was bouncing between this weekend board from ground gates at JFK, and the way Delta arranges them is that they all filter into one outdoor walkway that links to one gate inside of the terminal. So at any particular time you can have several flights departing or arriving from one doorway (in my case, 25) at the end of the terminal.
And if one of those is delayed, like my flight from New York to Boston (due to a late inbound aircraft – flight congestion), the crowd around the single door begins to pile up with stray passengers.

I can’t blame Delta for the congestion – any other solution would require many more gates — but the throng of people in the terminal was truly stifling. After I learned that my flight was delayed by forty minutes I walked over to Wendys to try to grab a burger. With the line well out the front facade though, I wasn’t willing to wait in line. Instead I camped out under a cart of courtesy phones and checked in on the blog from my phone.

Finally, fifty minutes past departure time we made it onto the plane and waited while the ground crew patiently loaded the luggage…. putting us another ten minutes behind. Fortunately, the pilot came on the PA and noted that the flight to Boston was a short 37 minutes, so by the time we got airborne we were only twenty minutes late.

Inflight

Had I not known that my aircraft had just arrived to take us to Boston, I could have arrived and departed out of the exact same plane. Cleanliness, leather seats and operation were effectively the same, although instead of sitting in 9D in this CRJ I was now sitting in the exit row, 12A, with plenty of leg room to spare.

Since the flight was so short, the cabin crew didn’t have much time to offer snacks and drinks, so I was mostly left alone to read Devil May Care and reflect. I didn’t even bother firing up my computer for the 12 minutes that electronics were allowed.

Once we cleared the massive flight delay known as New York City, things went smoothly and we landed in Boston without event.

Leg 2: BOS – PIT – US Airways – Embraer 170
Predeparture

My Sunday evening flight from Boston departed from terminal 2, a slightly older terminal than the normal T5 that I usually fly out of. Despite the floors being heavily worn I found the terminal pleasant and because of the overhead music, almost jovial.

Almost an hour before departure the gate agent briefly came over the loudspeaker to mention something about luggage but almost immediately cut out – and continued talking into her dead microphone for a few minutes. She then made another announcement that never even reached the PA.

Curious, I sauntered over to the gate and mentioned that the PA wasn’t working.

“I know. I’m not management,” the gate agent replied.

“Can you tell me what you said?” I asked.

“I made an announcement about luggage,” she replied “We’re boarding early.”

I smiled and left. She seemed agitated. True to her word, we boarded about ten minutes early and obediently filed onto the Embraer. When I got back to 10D I noticed that my seat had gum worn into the leather. Being my assigned seat, however, I had not choice but to sit in it, and I knew it wasn’t worth my time to complain.

Most of the preflight revolved around passengers attempting to fit giant, giant bags into the smaller overhead compartments (hint: if the wheels on your 400$ Tumi are larger than dinner saucers, you’re going to have trouble), and having a medium sized backpack I was unfortunately asked to shove it under my seat to make room. Now, with gum all over my thigh and nowhere to stretch my legs I too was starting to get agitated.

Inflight

Needless to say, the rest of the flight went fairly smoothly. About twenty minutes after departure one of the two flight attendants wandered down the aisle asking if anyone wanted to purchase a bevvy or snack (US Airways no longer offers free snacks or drinks on their flights) – I didn’t see anyone bite – so they returned to their stations and didn’t bother us for the rest of the journey. Twice, near the end, they came through the cabin and collected refuse, but that was about it.
I guess that makes less congestion in the aisle if the flight attendants aren’t milling around with beverage carts, but I’m starting to wonder how much revenue US Airways is earning from paid snacks and drinks.

Once again we were on time arriving into Pittsburgh, and on transferring to the land side terminal I was out of the airport fairly quickly.

Leg 3: PIT – ORD — CMH American Airlines — Embraer Regional Jet operated by American Eagle

Pittsburgh – Chicago
Preflight

Pittsburgh’s airport is surprisingly large, sprawling and pleasant (more on that later). After circling the grounds about 12 times trying to figure out the maze of roads, I still found myself two hours early so beached up to a gate, plugged in and logged into the free wireless to get some work done. The boarding area was a little dated, but clean and pleasant, and before I knew it we were being called to board the evening flight.

My seat on this ERJ was 2A, which I forgot didn’t have an overhead compartment above it, so after a second of fiddling with my backpack under the seat the flight attendant took pity on me and told me that “she would take care of it.” After everyone had boarded, she took my bag and put it in the crew closet, which I thought was a very gracious thing to do. Later, she crammed two other people’s bags into other compartments as well.

Unfortunately, due to weather and air traffic control restrictions, we sat in the penalty box next to the runway for nearly an hour waiting for a departure slot. As I dozed, I thought about picking up beers with Gadling’s Scott Carmichael when I reached O’hare, and it seemed like for ever before we took off.

Inflight

Rather than accomplish the 28 things that I need to do on the flight, I elected to keep napping to save energy for the evening. The nice flight attendant stopped by to offer free beverages and 3$ snacks, but half asleep I waved her away.

It seemed like I had been napping for ever by the time we punched back through the clouds to a rainy Chicago airport – but since my phone wasn’t on I didn’t know for sure. By the time I flipped it on after landing I was surprised to find that we were over an hour late – this meant my layover had been reduced from 1:40 to :10. Hopefully they hadn’t already closed the gate.

Chicago to Columbus – ERJ Operated by American Eagle
Preflight

It’s been a while since I’ve experienced the mayhem of O’hare first hand, and entering the terminal my expectations were fairly on par. As one of the largest airports in the country, O’hare moves a lot of people and it’s difficult to keep people orderly and happy en masse – especially if there are weather delays.

My walk from G18 to G1A was short, and on the way I discovered that my original flight scheduled to depart at 8:10 was pushed back to 9:25 – but that an earlier flight leaving at 7:10 was also delayed to 8:10 – and it departed from the same gate. So when I showed up at the gate I asked the agent if I could standby. No problem. Five minutes later I was on the aircraft, for a grand total of about seven minutes spent in the airport. I guess I’ll see O’hare and Scott later.

Inflight

After a nice nap on my earlier flight I was ready to get some work done, and from 15C with no seatmate in this ERJ, I had the opportunity to do that. Despite the fact that legroom was minuscule, I was still able to open my Thinkpad X31 and get a fair amount of blogging done, which is really all anyone can ask for on an aircraft this size.

It took a while to get out of the Great Lakes weather and the flight was turbulent – even passing through 20,000 feet I could still see the strobe lighting up rain showers all around the aircraft.

As expected, the flight attendant showed up about 30 minutes into the flight, which effectively left me about 20 minutes to slam a cran-apple juice and get ready for touchdown. But I was just happy to be on the ground again. Finally, arriving only 10 minutes after my original flight was supposed to land, we made it into Columbus.

Summary

It’s difficult to have many excellent experiences when flying around the country in regional jets. Leg room is always restricted, service is truncated and the noisy flights are often too short to get the full experience. If I had to choose my favorite leg though, I would pick my Detroit – New York flight on Delta. Clean seats, a clean plane, free drinks and an on-time arrival are all you can ask for in today’s economy — in fact, with the direction that airlines are heading in, I would say that getting those four things on any flights these days is pretty fantastic.

As I sit behind my bedroom desk at home though, it sure is nice being able to relax and stretch out. It’ll be awhile until I book another regional flight again.

Galley Gossip: What is RIGHT with the airlines? (There’s got to be something!)

by Heather Poole on

When I was growing up, my parents taught me that traveling by airplane was a luxury, not a right, and it was a luxury I would not experience until I was 16 years old when I flew to Los Angeles, California with a high school friend (and her mother) on American Airlines for an exciting weekend getaway. I’ll never forget that flight. Then, at 17, I flew to Santa Clara, California, to visit a boyfriend in college on Southwest Airlines. I’ll never forget that flight, either. I couldn’t even believe I was on it. Back then just being on the flight itself was an exciting experience, never mind the drinks and the food and the service, which I don’t even remember. But I’m sure a can of coke and a bag of peanuts were involved.

What I remember most about those two flights was the awe of flying, of looking out the window at the tiny houses below as we climbed up, up, up, until the incredible view became obstructed by something even more magnificent, billowing clouds.

A few years ago I actually met a flight attendant whose very first trip by airplane was to airline headquarters for an interview for the airline he works for now. That flight took place at age of 21. Today, things have changed drastically in the aviation business, and not for the better, if you ask a passenger. Yet the flights are all full, and with more and more children traveling these days. That, alone, makes me wonder, has travel really gotten so bad? Or are our expectations skewed?

“I never got to travel,” said my mother, a flight attendant, who started working for a major US carrier in 1997, three afters I had my wings pinned to my blue lapel. “My first flight was with your father to Hawaii, when I was 21, because your father got stationed there in the navy. I got to go home to Texas once – in three years. And because your father spent most of his time at sea, I spent many holidays alone. That’s just the way it was. We couldn’t afford to travel.”

Now that I’m a flight attendant and have the opportunity to fly for free (in coach), I usually take along my two-year son, who has traveled once a month, at least, since he was born. I always get a kick out of watching him leaning against the window, tapping on the glass, as we fly in and out of the clouds, causing him to exclaim at the top of his lungs, “WOW!” I wonder if he’ll grow up to appreciate the privilege of travel? I do hope that one day he realizes just how lucky he is. How lucky we all are to be able to get from point A to point B for just a few hundred dollars.

As someone who works for a major US carrier, someone who has to deal with the me me me first attitude of the flying public, passengers who expect something for nothing when fuel prices keep rising and ticket prices remain fairly low, I have to say, there’s something wrong with THAT. There’s something wrong when you can purchase a one way ticket from New York to Las Vegas for lower than a cab ride from New York’s JFK international airport to Manhattan. NOT WHEN everyone and their mother (as well as the kids) are traveling on my flight.

Not that I mind that everyone and their mother (along with the kids) are aboard my flight, just the opposite, in fact. Especially when airlines are struggling to stay afloat, when airlines like Alitalia are on the verge of going out of business. However, it’s not easy for me to listen to all the complaining about air travel, particularly about customer service. Seriously, I have hard time believing that flying is all that bad, no matter how much the airline charges per bag, how long the security lines, how small the seats, or how much it costs to purchase a sandwich, or how old the flight attendant. And why does the age of a flight attendant even matter? (This is the 2000’s, is it not?)

After reading letters from readers who responded to the question, What’s wrong with American Airlines? on the Dallas Morning News website, I am forced to pose the question, what is RIGHT with the airlines? I mean whatever happened to the glass is half full mentality? It seems like these days all people want to do is complain, complain about everything, particularly when it comes to bashing airlines and flight attendants. Come on now, there has to be SOMETHING good about air travel, right?

Gadling TAKE FIVE: Week of September 6-12

by Jamie Rhein on

There were some rather unusual stories floating around this week–the kind of odd stories that makes one wonder. Consider these:

  • There is a naked hiker in Germany who is going to continue with his naked hiking.
  • There was a fist fight on a plane that caused it to divert.
  • You can buy a car for 10 million dollars and shave your head to make money from Air New Zealand.
  • American Airlines is facing a lawsuit for losing a dead woman’s body.
  • A man who trespassed on Amtrak property is suing Amtrak for a really, really, really stupid reason, and O’Hare is the best worst airport, according to Josh.
  • In Spain, Abha braved hail stones that looked like they beaned a bird on her patio, Matthew told us about Sumo wrestlers suffering from too much pot smoking, and Jeffrey wondered who can be sued for the false story about United Airlines bankruptcy. United Airlines is not bankrupt.
  • If you are looking for a travel deal, in case you missed this one, Grant told us about dirt cheap cruises to places like the Bahamas. It’s a little odd to be thinking about a cruise when Ike is barrelling down on the Gulf Coast, but Grant said, don’t let a hurricane stop you–unless you are going to Texas.

Okay, that’s more than five, but, like I said, this has been an unusual week. It was definitely a good one for the first episode of a new season of Bizarre Foods.

If you are in Texas, Haiti, Louisiana or anywhere else battling out much, much, much wind and water, here is hoping you are being taken care of and have found safety.

American Airlines faces lawsuit for losing dead woman’s body

by Jeffrey White on

A man from Ecuador is suing American Airlines, alleging the carrier misplaced the remains of his dead wife for four days.

On April 1, Miguel Olaya, 60, says he made arrangements for the body of his late wife, who died of cancer, to be shipped to his hometown of Guayaquil. But when he went to meet the AA plane at the airport the coffin was no on board.

What follows, according to the Associated Press, is a back-and-forth between Olaya and AA in which he got a lot of different stories about what happened.

“First they didn’t know where her body was. Then they said maybe it was in Miami and finally they said it was in Guatemala,” a lawyer for Olaya tells the AP. “Instead of sending it on the flight to Guayaquil, American sent the body to Guatemala City.”

The remains of Olaya’s wife turned up four days later. “The body was missing for four days,” the lawyer says.

AA is not commenting, saying it is investigating Olaya’s allegations.

In the lawsuit Olaya filed last week, he also names the DeRiso Funeral Home in Brooklyn as a defendant. Olaya says the funeral home mishandled the body and had a hand in the AA mix-up. Also, Olaya says when his wife’s remains finally did show up in Ecuador, they were badly decomposed because they had not been properly embalmed.

Olaya is seeking unspecified damages.

Fed up with your airline? Rent a billboard!

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in April, Jeffrey wrote about a new initiative by some American Airlines pilots to try and get public attention to the large number of delays and cancellations the airline was experiencing. At that time, they invited people to their web site, where they could “tell their AA story”.

They have now taken things one step further, with their own billboard. The billboard is about 2 miles away from Chicago O’Hare and next to one of the busiest highways leading to the airport. The Allied Pilots Association is behind the billboard, and they want to make it clear that they don’t think you are AA’s top priority. It’s a pretty eye-catching way of delivering your message, and if I had the money, I’d love to rent one every time an airline messed up my trip.