Category Archives: Travel

According to this story, American Airlines will change their policies on 8 July to allow broader use of cellphones while an aircraft is on the ground. According to the story, passengers can use their phones until the boarding door is closed (nothing new) and during taxi to the arrival gate. I’m not sure what to think about this. On one hand, it legitimizes what many people already do– fire up the ol’ cellphone as soon as they’re back on terra firma. On the other, it might be useful to be able to check emai lor voicemail first thing after a transcon flight.

I haven’t flown much on Continental, with the occasional exception of trips to Newark (which I try to avoid as much as possible). In both Atlanta and Huntsville, CO had service but it was far inferior to Delta’s; now I live in Toledo, which CO doesn’t serve at all. However, they had, by far, the best deal on flights between Shreveport and Seattle, so I booked my trip on them: SHV-IAH and IAH-SHV on Embraer regional jets, IAH-SEA on a 737-800, and SEA-IAH on a 757-200. Since CO and NW have an alliance, I can earn NW miles (and get upgraded) on CO metal.

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We’re right in the middle of Camp Bloch, our annual women-and-children-only family gathering. I got a special dispensation to visit for a day or so, so I flew down to Shreveport with Arlene and Matthew, then headed back to SHV to catch a flight from there to Houston to Seattle. Originally, I was on a 5pm flight that would get me to Seattle about midnight PDT; I booked it so I could spend today with my grandfather, who was going to come to camp today. he came yesterday, though, so I decided to hop an earlier flight. Long story short, thanks to weather in Texas, my airplane couldn’t leave Beaumont; therefore, it didn’t make it to Houston, therefore it didn’t get to Shreveport. Accordingly, I’ve gotten to spend some extra time at SHV waiting for my original 5pm flight. Apart from the obligatory TV (which, in this case, is broadcasting reruns of Roseanne, perhaps my most-hated TV show of all time) and the hard seats, the waiting has been productive. Thanks to my new phone I’ve been able to get some work done. I’ll post a fuller review in a week or so once the MGB excitement is done.
I tried really hard to find a spiritual angle on this, but apart from being thankful that I don’t have to drive to Seattle, I’m drawing a blank. Actually, when I think about it, I am thankful that I got to spend some unexpected family time with my grandparents, who are getting up there in the age department. I spent a good time with my wife and sons, my mom, two aunts, and some cousins, and I ate some good food. In years past, I’d have been stuck at home eating canned beans, so this is a pretty good deal.

I promised to post a trip report for my return flight on ATA. To copy Julie’s five-word format: Noisy, crowded, cramped, and sleepless. I won’t say that I’d never fly ATA again, but I certainly will avoid their redeye ex SEA like the plague. It leaves an hour later than everyone else’s, yet it arrives earlier than DL’s flight to ATL or NW’s to DTW, and the chatter of all the folks who are too excited to sleep is maddening. By contrast, my TechEd flight from TOL-CVG-DFW on Delta was a delight: on time, uncrowded (thanks to a last-minute upgrade at the CVG departure gate), and full of the friendly, professional attention that I’ve always enjoyed about Delta.

I normally fly Delta or Northwest, the former out of habit and the latter because they (generally) offer the least obtrusive way to get from home to SEA, my most frequent destination. However, I recently had to take a short overnight to SEA. NW wanted $1927 for their nonstop ex DTW, and DL couldn’t meet my departure or arrival time requirements. I went out on a limb and tried American Trans Air to see how it works.
Leg 1: TOL-MDW on a Saab 340. I don’t mind turboprops for short hops; the 340 is noisier than a CRJ, but no less comfortable. I used ATA’s web check-in; apart from a minor security surprise, I was able to print boarding passes and use them to get through TOL security, just like on Big Air (although ATA’s app is less sophisticated and can’t do wireless checkins yet). The TOL gate staff was friendly; the FA on my flight to MDW was OK, although her English was heavily accented and she could have benefited from either a good bath or a better grade of deodorant… but I digress. We arrived on time, but there were ominous thunderheads off to the west, and I counted 8 ATA and Southwest 737s lined up awaiting departure as the shuttle took us from one side of the field to the main terminal.
Leg 2: MDW-SEA on a 737-800. I hadn’t flown through Midway in at least 10 years, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The A, B, and C concourses are arranged like spokes radiating from a central food court, where I had a not-awful turkey sandwich. No wireless or wired Internet connectivity, and few power plugs, meant that I had to forego getting any work done; I was saving my battery for the plane ride. ATA doesn’t seem to handle irregular ops very well; there was a constant flow of conflicting PA announcements about arrival and departure times for various flights, and our flight was gate-changed four times. Boarding was by row and proceeded pretty smoothly. I’d estimate that the flight was 80% full, maybe more. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t see a lot of road-warrior types– there were lots of retirees, plus many toddlers with one or both parents.There were a few of the uptight-looking middle-aged white guys that I’m used to seeing in the F cabin on DL and NW, but none sat near me 🙂
We eventually departed about 70 minutes after our scheduled time. The flight itself was uneventful. I sat in 2D, the right-hand bulkhead aisle seat. Legroom on the bulkhead row is less than on the corresponding row (10) on DL or NW iron. Cabin service was briskly professional; of course, there was no food, but I’d laid in a supply of Fig Newtons ahead of time. Unlike NW’s DTW-SEA flights, this aircraft had an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system, but it only showed music videos, and that for only about 90 minutes. Given how awful DL’s movies normally are, this is probably not a bad thing. Given our late start, and the fact that we were traveling westbound, I expected a late arrival, but we actually got in 10 minutes late– not too shabby. I’ll write about the return flight tomorrow, after I get back.

I’ve had a big soft spot for Australia since my visit there in 2000. Accordingly, let me wish all of my friends Down Under a happy Australia Day! (To celebrate, I was going to post my 2000 travel blog here, but it’s all HTML and will take a while to MT-ify.)

I’m not happy with Delta’s recent punitive changes to the SkyMiles program. I was a Platinum Medallion in 2002, which means I’m guaranteed to be Gold Medallion in 2003 and Silver in 2004, even if I never fly another mile on their airline. Since the changes greatly reduce the benefit of Platinum or Gold status, I decided to give another airline a try. Northwest responded to my comp request and gave me Gold status, so I’m going to use them as my primary carrier this year.This was a tough decision for me; some years ago, I’d sworn never to fly NW after they went on strike and stranded an out-of-town visitor at our house for an extended, and unwelcome, addition to their stay. However, DL’s decision to slash benefits for their most frequent flyers has made me reconsider that old grudge. (Note to Virginia Avenue: restore the benefits and I might consider coming back.)

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