I just came across a recently prepared matrix showing the availability of in-flight wifi, TV/Movies, Music, and Games on domestic airlines. Best airline for in-flight entertainment appears to be Virgin America (I've flown them once and enjoy the experience, even if less than 2 hours); the worst is clearly Spirit Airlines (never flew them; probably never will).
http://www.jaunted.com/special/ife-status-update-2011
Showing posts with label Airlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airlines. Show all posts
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Monday, April 19, 2010
Memorable Travel Moments I
Sometimes the most memorable travel moments arethe simplest. I had attended my cousin's wedding near Devils Lake, North Dakota. My next destination was Ireland (via Minneapolis, Chicago and London!). So when it was time to board by United Express flight to Minneapolis (via Jamestown, ND), a number of my relatives drove up to see my off. The Captain, seeing the gathering crowd, suggested I do the "Presidential" wave at the aircraft door. And to the cheers and waves of the crowd, I began the continuation of my journey. Almost ten years have passed, but its still a profound memory of my travels. Travel and the stories that travel generates are best when they are personal - and worth sharing! Journey On!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Travel Observations
I just returned from a 2 week trip to Peru, attending a photo book workshop (more on that later) and visiting the Sacred Valley, including Machu Picchu. In the course of the trip, I made several observations which I think are worth passing on.
1. When reclining your seat on an airplane, do so SLOOOOWLY and only as far as you need to. The person in the seat behind you will be appreciative! This applies in Business/First class as well. I experience the guy in front of me reclining his seat as fast and as far as he could at the first possibly moment in flight and then forcing it back even more by pressing his feet against the bulkhead and then bouncing in the seat. I would almost have rather been in an exit row in coach than in the domestic first class seat. (Note: "almost" is the operative word here.)
2. Always carry an extra pair of socks in your carry-on bag in case you beat your luggage to your destination. It was easy to get toothpaste and a tooth brush; not so easy to get a pair of socks during the 30 hour delay in getting my checked bag in Cusco.
3. After an all day and all night flight, avoid a 5-hour layover before your final connecting flight. 'Nuff said.
4. Airport security varies WIDELY among airports. I went through security screening at Seattle-Tacoma, Lima, Cusco, Lima and Miami on this trip. Shoes off at SeaTac and Miami, thorough carry-on baggage search in Cusco and Lima, body pat-down on the return flight from Lima. Never took more than 5 minutes to get to the front of the security line.
5. American Airlines serves the BEST ice cream sundies in its business class cabin!
6. The Alaskan Airlines digiEPlayers are an interesting feature - a dozen or so movies, television programs, music, etc. I kind of prefer the seatback systems that the major airlines use on their trans-continental and international flights, but its a reasonable alternative. And certainly beats the lack of personal video entertainment systems on the American Airlines 757 fleet. As soon as they've scrapped their MD-80 fleet, they need to purge their domestic-type 757s. And, believe it or not, TACA airlines actually had in-flight entertainment on their Airbus 320 planes on the 70 minute flight between Lima and Cusco. Nice planes too.
7. The check-in agents at American are great; not so great at Alaska suprisingly. On board, its the opposite - Alaskan flight attendants are THE best, while it was more of a mixed bag at American.
8. All 8 flight segments were on-time and I made it safely back home. That's really all I can ask.
9. If you want to go to Machu Picchu by train, do so quickly. The line just re-opened after a two month closure due to floods, mudslides, etc. The trackbed still looks precarious and its hard to imagine that the tracks can survive another round of torential rains like they experienced earlier this year.
10. In spite of delay luggage and other minor inconveniences, the trip was definitely worth it - as are nearly all trips! So, Journey On!
1. When reclining your seat on an airplane, do so SLOOOOWLY and only as far as you need to. The person in the seat behind you will be appreciative! This applies in Business/First class as well. I experience the guy in front of me reclining his seat as fast and as far as he could at the first possibly moment in flight and then forcing it back even more by pressing his feet against the bulkhead and then bouncing in the seat. I would almost have rather been in an exit row in coach than in the domestic first class seat. (Note: "almost" is the operative word here.)
2. Always carry an extra pair of socks in your carry-on bag in case you beat your luggage to your destination. It was easy to get toothpaste and a tooth brush; not so easy to get a pair of socks during the 30 hour delay in getting my checked bag in Cusco.
3. After an all day and all night flight, avoid a 5-hour layover before your final connecting flight. 'Nuff said.
4. Airport security varies WIDELY among airports. I went through security screening at Seattle-Tacoma, Lima, Cusco, Lima and Miami on this trip. Shoes off at SeaTac and Miami, thorough carry-on baggage search in Cusco and Lima, body pat-down on the return flight from Lima. Never took more than 5 minutes to get to the front of the security line.
5. American Airlines serves the BEST ice cream sundies in its business class cabin!
6. The Alaskan Airlines digiEPlayers are an interesting feature - a dozen or so movies, television programs, music, etc. I kind of prefer the seatback systems that the major airlines use on their trans-continental and international flights, but its a reasonable alternative. And certainly beats the lack of personal video entertainment systems on the American Airlines 757 fleet. As soon as they've scrapped their MD-80 fleet, they need to purge their domestic-type 757s. And, believe it or not, TACA airlines actually had in-flight entertainment on their Airbus 320 planes on the 70 minute flight between Lima and Cusco. Nice planes too.
7. The check-in agents at American are great; not so great at Alaska suprisingly. On board, its the opposite - Alaskan flight attendants are THE best, while it was more of a mixed bag at American.
8. All 8 flight segments were on-time and I made it safely back home. That's really all I can ask.
9. If you want to go to Machu Picchu by train, do so quickly. The line just re-opened after a two month closure due to floods, mudslides, etc. The trackbed still looks precarious and its hard to imagine that the tracks can survive another round of torential rains like they experienced earlier this year.
10. In spite of delay luggage and other minor inconveniences, the trip was definitely worth it - as are nearly all trips! So, Journey On!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Overnight at an Airport
Next time you're stuck at an airport overnight (yikes), here's how to make the best of your time - make a video! Hilareous and inventive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv1va9Jdt7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv1va9Jdt7g
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Go With The Flow 1
Travel is about experiences - good and otherwise. And in the end, an "otherwise" experience, which leads to a story later, is good as well. One just needs to go with the flow while traveling and see where the stream takes you. Here's the first of an occassional series on Going With The Flow.
The dozen or so of us had already made our way through passport control at Siberia's Magadan Airport. Our Alaska Airlines 727 was on the ground ready to take us on the next leg of our journey to Khabarovsk. As departure time get closer and closer, there didn't seem to be much happening either near the aircraft, which was parked out on the tarmac, nor in our waiting area. Departure time came and went and finally the Alaska Air agent popped by to tell us that "there was a problem." Not with the aircraft, but with Soviet customs and immigration. It seems that the chief who had approved of this flight was out of town on business and his assistant had not been briefed on this most serious of issues - foreigners taking a foreign airline on a domestic flight. No way. No how. Our agent was "working the issue" and told us to relax. In the meantime, through the bank of windows overlooking the tarmac and runways, we saw "our" Alaska 727 taxi away from its stand and before we knew it, it was airborne. "Cool" was my first thought - this should be interesting. "Panic" was the first thought of some of my fellow travelers (no, not in the Communist sense!). The agent came back a few minutes later and said that our luggage was on its was to Khabarovsk on the Alaska flight and that we would be on our way shortly - on Aeroflot. The "Panic" folks went into high gear - "We're going to die. All Aeroflot planes crash. No way am I getting on Aeroflot. How dare this happen to us. I knew we should have taken this tour." Of course, in the hour or so that of al this transpired, a half-dozen or more Aeroflot jets and landing and taken off, and not one had crashed! I was getting more excited by the moment - another experience - another airline - another aircraft type! Yes. We then noticed a dozen or so folks getting off of an Aeroflot jet. Our jet! Basically, Aeroflot kicked off the 12 passengers in the 1st two rows of coach on their flight to Khabarovsk and sold the seats (I'm sure at a greatly inflated price) to Alaska. We boarded, many reluctently, to the intense stares of the other 150+ coach passengers. The doors closed, the plane shot down the bumpy runway and 90 minutes later we touch down in Khabarovsk - we didn't crash, we enjoyed (or some of us enjoyed) our snack of a roll and a boiled egg, and our luggage was waiting for us. And the group, both the panicked folks and the cool folks, had another story to tell when they got home. Its what traveling is about. Cool.
The dozen or so of us had already made our way through passport control at Siberia's Magadan Airport. Our Alaska Airlines 727 was on the ground ready to take us on the next leg of our journey to Khabarovsk. As departure time get closer and closer, there didn't seem to be much happening either near the aircraft, which was parked out on the tarmac, nor in our waiting area. Departure time came and went and finally the Alaska Air agent popped by to tell us that "there was a problem." Not with the aircraft, but with Soviet customs and immigration. It seems that the chief who had approved of this flight was out of town on business and his assistant had not been briefed on this most serious of issues - foreigners taking a foreign airline on a domestic flight. No way. No how. Our agent was "working the issue" and told us to relax. In the meantime, through the bank of windows overlooking the tarmac and runways, we saw "our" Alaska 727 taxi away from its stand and before we knew it, it was airborne. "Cool" was my first thought - this should be interesting. "Panic" was the first thought of some of my fellow travelers (no, not in the Communist sense!). The agent came back a few minutes later and said that our luggage was on its was to Khabarovsk on the Alaska flight and that we would be on our way shortly - on Aeroflot. The "Panic" folks went into high gear - "We're going to die. All Aeroflot planes crash. No way am I getting on Aeroflot. How dare this happen to us. I knew we should have taken this tour." Of course, in the hour or so that of al this transpired, a half-dozen or more Aeroflot jets and landing and taken off, and not one had crashed! I was getting more excited by the moment - another experience - another airline - another aircraft type! Yes. We then noticed a dozen or so folks getting off of an Aeroflot jet. Our jet! Basically, Aeroflot kicked off the 12 passengers in the 1st two rows of coach on their flight to Khabarovsk and sold the seats (I'm sure at a greatly inflated price) to Alaska. We boarded, many reluctently, to the intense stares of the other 150+ coach passengers. The doors closed, the plane shot down the bumpy runway and 90 minutes later we touch down in Khabarovsk - we didn't crash, we enjoyed (or some of us enjoyed) our snack of a roll and a boiled egg, and our luggage was waiting for us. And the group, both the panicked folks and the cool folks, had another story to tell when they got home. Its what traveling is about. Cool.
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