Posted by Seth on October 29, 2007 under Uncategorized | 
There are many, many times where the flight attendants may appear to be behaving in a manner that just doesn’t make sense, especially with regards to safety and security. That being said, every now and then it seems to make a lot of sense in very specific situations. Today’s flight (my first on UA’s p.s. service, but that’s a different post) showed me just how quickly a seemingly normal passenger can come a bit unglued and what happens when the FAs deal with it. And I got to watch it up close and personal, as it happened with a guy in my row.
One of the advantages of bulkhead seats is no one in front of you to recline into your personal space. It makes using a laptop lots easier, which is the main reason I choose these seats, even if the leg room is a bit restricted due to the wall. The bulkheads come with a disadvantage as well – no storage space for your bags except in the overheads. Normally this isn’t a problem. Most people are aware of it, or when informed they comply reasonably. Today’s specimen, however, seemed to think that this rule wasn’t particularly applicable to him. So when the FAs came through and had the three other people in the row put their bags overhead, he assumed that it didn’t apply to him. More entertaining was during the push-back portion of the flight when he decided that the rule really shouldn’t apply to him, and stood up to retrieve it. Needless to say, the second time he was forced to stow it he was even less happy, and he expressed his displeasure to the FAs, and shared with his row-mates how much of a letdown the service was – something that I can’t particularly figure out, as the plane has a lot of FAs and they all seemed pretty nice to me, including remaining calm with this guy for 3+ hours.
Episode 2 was about 1:45 into the flight. Time for a bathroom break. Instead of walking back to use the facilities in the rear of the plane, the passenger decided to walk forward into the business cabin. This is definitely not an FAA-mandated rule or anything of the sort, but the airline made the announcement shortly after take-off and expected that it would be followed. So when the guy was asked to return to his ticketed cabin, you’d think he might respond positively. You’d be wrong. He eventually made it back to the E+ seats in the back of the plane, and didn’t actually appear to use the lavatory, so apparently that wasn’t part of the actual plan anyways.
Episode 3 was about 3:00 into the flight. At this point he’d already been talked to by three or four different FAs, so he was effectively on double secret probation. So his decision to stand up in the aisle at the bulkhead between business and E+ seems like a particularly poor choice. Even worse, however, was his response when the purser asked him to not stand there. Thanks to noise-cancelling headphones the conversation was pretty clear to me, and when things escalated it was mostly because the guy was very suspect of the request (though the purser did help to move things along, so to speak). “You need to either go to use the lavs at the rear of the plane or take your seat, but you can’t stand here,” was the request issued to the guy. His response was to inquire as to what problem the purser had, and why he was being singled out. Certainly, as the only one behaving strangely, the answer to the latter half of that question is pretty obvious. And so things escalated to shouting and threats to have the cops meet us on arrival in SFO.
Eventually the guy sat down, and the purser retired to the rear galley to write up a brief report, and I used the opportunity to go to the lav and talk to the FAs about the guy. They haven’t notified the pilot of the “problem” yet, so things are not likely to really get out of hand on landing, unless this guy is as stupid as he’s been behaving and he decides to push his luck, but I’m betting against that.
And as for UA, in addition to Channel 9, now there’s live-action entertainment available on select flights 
Posted by Seth on October 28, 2007 under Uncategorized |
Most of the big news lately with regards to airplanes has been about the launch of the new A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Today’s story, however, is about an airplane being pulled out of circulation. And before any AA or NW fliers get excited about the MD-80s or DC-9s finally retiring, it isn’t those.
SAS has decided to pull the DASH-8-Q400s out of their fleet following several unfortunate incidents with regard to the landing gear failing on landing several times in the past few months. The planes are the latest edition of the DASH-8, a workhorse of the turbo-prob airplane fleet worldwide. I’ve flown on the DASH-8 for many years, as far back as the mid-80s when they were one of the planes that we used to get out of GNV. I’ve flown them from LaGuardia to Ithaca and many other routes as well.
It turns out, however, that the latest iteration of the planes seem to not land so well. And seeing how landing is a pretty important part of the whole flying process, having that part not work all the time is a bad thing. So SAS has pulled their 44 out of the fleet. There are ~120 others in service around the world (including one that also had landing issues in Japan back in March) and other airlines have announced plans to implement them in the near future, though those plans are now going to need to be re-examined.
Here’s hoping that you aren’t flying on one anytime soon.
Posted by Seth on October 21, 2007 under Uncategorized |
I know that it is big. Really big. It is called the “whale” for a reason. And yet still, on seeing the seat map for the new A380 that goes in to service this week for Singapore Air, I still can’t quite get over how big it is. There are 467 seats on the plane, including 12 First Class Suites. Four of those suites are situated such that pairs of them can be combined into double beds for couples traveling together. There are another 60 Business class seats and 399 coach seats.
It is just huge.
I probably won’t get to fly on one for a while – heck, I still haven’t flown on an A330 or A340 either – but I’m hopeful that I will get on one eventually, preferably in one of the F Suites.
Of course, Air France operates a 747-300 with 510 seats on it in an all Y configuration and a 777-300 with 472 seats in an almost all Y configuration, so this A380 isn’t the highest capacity bird out there, though it certainly carries ~70 of its passengers in much greater style than the AF 743.
Posted by Seth on October 20, 2007 under TSA |
Apparently it is OK to miss 75% of the test runs in Kip-ley land. Or, more specifically, it is OK if the tests are harder than they used to be.
A recent test run at LAX, SFO and ORD revealed that screeners in LA missed the dangerous goods 75% of the time. Chicago was a close second at 60%, while San Fran showed a respectable 20%. Back in ‘99 – in the pre-TSA days – the average was 40% missed. So all those millions are providing a lower level of security. Top notch.
Particularly entertaining is the quote from Kip Hawley justifying the misses:
[T]he tests often include bomb parts the size of a pen cap rather than fully assembled explosives. We moved from testing of completely assembled bombs… to the small component parts.
And another great quote from the PR folks over at TSA:
We want to have higher failure rates because it shows that we’re raising the bar and the tests are harder. You might score more points against a high-school team, but your skills are going to be improved if you’re playing against an NBA team.
Here’s a friendly reminder that on 9/11 the security worked perfectly – everything brought on each airplane as part of the hijackings was 100% legit. And yet we’ve overreacted so far as a country that we’re now celebrating the fact that we’re worse at security than we used to be.
More discussion on the topic here.
Posted by Seth on October 18, 2007 under Uncategorized |
The freakonomics blog over at the NYTimes has an interesting post about the future of the US airline industry. They got a few big names together and asked them about what was going on in terms of consolidation, delays, product and all sorts of other fun stuff. And the responses are pretty entertaining.
Ideas range from charging more for landing fees for smaller planes and/or peak times to putting music and mood lighting in the bathrooms (thanks, Branson/Virgin Atlantic :/), with lots of other stuff in between.
My favorite comment, however was from a pilot who noted that there are really two major things wrong (security and delays) and many things right (cost, flexibility, etc.) with travel. On the security front, he writes:
Most passenger disappointment is driven by two things: security hassles and
flight delays. The existing security protocols are, for the most part, immensely
absurd and tedious, but there is only so much the airlines themselves can do
about it. What the situation will be like ten years from now is anyone’s guess.
Here’s hoping that as time goes on, the TSA revises its more wasteful and
arbitrary policies, improving the flow of passengers through terminals. The
likelihood of that happening depends partly on the mindset of the traveling
public. Thus far, spooked by the specter of “terrorism,” be it real or
perceived, travelers have expressed a rather troubling willingness to accept
nonsensical, intrusive, and humiliating policy in the name of security.
So apparently all it takes is everyone (especially the politicians) realizing that there is no palpable difference in the security povided today versus 10 years ago, despite the enormous costs and hassles associated with today’s version, and flying will be back to “normal” in no time.
Here’s hoping he’s right, and that they get it – sooner than not.
Posted by Seth on October 16, 2007 under Uncategorized |
Last night we went out to celebrate a birthday, and chose to dine at Wallse at the recommendation of one of my coworkers. I first realized I was in trouble when I sat down at the bar while waiting for Linnea to arrive, and realized that the wine list was completely over my head. The list has an incredible collection of Austrian wines, and I know absolutely nothing about wine from that region of the world, other than that the more syllables you get in the name, the better the wine is supposed to be (trockenbeerenauslese is better than beerenauslese is better than auslese). I actually spent about 10 minutes on my BlackBerry trying to learn about the wines on the list so that I’d have at least a fighting chance when it came time to order.
I found myself quite relieved when we agreed that we’d try the tasting menu for dinner, including the wine pairings. And so, when the Matt Damon-esque sommelier brought over the first wine, described the flavor and characteristics we could expect and then finished with the comment that, “The Auslese is a good place to start,” I knew that we were in for a treat.
The first course was actually an amuse bouche of a bit of their chestnut soup, with a sweet prune at the bottom. The soup had an almost velvety texture an was quite delicious. That was followed shortly by the auslese wine and a serving of foie gras, with a caramelized peach. The foie gras was quite delicious, and it combined well with the peach, though I’m not really sure why one would choose to do that and disturb the pure flavor of the foie gras.
Course number two was the pan-seared sea scallop with a grated apple topping and a puree of beet. It was pretty good, and I love scallops, but the apple was a bit strange on top. This was paired with a rather light white wine of no particular distinction, other than that it tasted exactly like what they said it would.
Course number three was a small piece of bass, paired with another nice (but nothing special)white wine. The bass was actually quite good, with the crispy skin side seasoned with salt & pepper, and a broccoli puree and tiny artichoke heart (one of the two of ours ended up on the floor, but I’m not pointing fingers at anyone).
Course four was lamb chops, served with fingerling potatoes, Brussel sprouts, ciopilinni onions and a delicious red wine reduction sauce. I’m a big fan of lamb chops, and these didn’t disappoint. Plus the various veggies were all top notch, and the sauce was a great balance of sweet and rich to accompany the lamb. We also finally got our one red wine of the evening, a St. Laurent.
And then it was time for our first dessert. We were each served the bittersweet chocolate cream with hazelnut crisp (Linnea’s with a birthday candle), as well as a bonus piece of apple strudel as a special birthday wish. But if the auslese is a good place to start, certainly finishing with a trockenbeerenauslese is a phenomenal way to end. The trockenbeerenauslese has floral and honey flavors and was a delicious pairing with the desserts but even better on its own.
As we wrapped up dinner, I realized that perhaps we had made a mistake in ordering the chef’s menu rather than picking a la carte for ourselves. Among other reasons, we hadn’t tried the spaetzle yet. They are rather known for it, and seeing as how were weren’t planning on being back in the immediate future, I felt compelled to give it a go. So as they were clearing our dessert plates I found myself ordering up a serving of the spaetzle with braised rabbit, corn, Brussel sprouts and mushrooms. I can see why they are known for it – quite tasty.
The other main reason that I’m disappointed in myself for going with the tasting menu is that I was actually hoping for something fun and different to come from it, not just the chef picking a few items off the regular menu and serving them up in smaller portions (and the portions were a bit small – as were the wine pours – in my opinion). There was no real creativity or excitement in the service. I’m not suggesting that the chefs keep a whole different menu stocked at all times, just in case, but it can’t be that hard to have one or two other, special items available to serve to folks willing to put themselves in your hands and experience cuisine the way the chef wants it to be. Maybe it is because they’re between chefs and no one wants to get in trouble, but it just wasn’t quite as exciting as I’d hoped it would be.
On the plus side, however, I didn’t have to pick a single wine to go with everything, so there is definitely some value in the tasting menu.
Posted by Seth on October 16, 2007 under Uncategorized |
With all the talk about carbon footprints and offsets, flying has gotten a pretty bad rap as of late in terms of environmental impact (and it is probably mostly deserved, but that’s a whole different discussion). Sir Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, among other things, has previously announced that he is going to focus all the profits that he brings in from the carrier for a 10 year period on environmental actions. One such action is an effort to fly planes not on Jet A Fuel, but on Butanol, a product of biomass. Virgin Atlantic hopes to run their test before Air New Zealand gets to, and both are expected to happen in late 2008.
I’m all in favor of a cleaner burning flight, but I sure hope they test those things out. A lot. I’m still not entirely convinced that planes should actually be flying (and I spend a lot of time in them), and seeing something that major change is a little scary.
Posted by Seth on October 10, 2007 under Uncategorized |
I was a passenger this evening on CO 439 (MCO-EWR). Shortly after boarding and settling into my 3-day upgrade F seat on a 752 (Thanks!!) and the receipt of or pre-departure drink service, the pilot informed us of an ATC delay at EWR. Considering the weather that enveloped the NE corridor this evening, I am not all that upset by the delay that my flight endured (though that may just be the entire stock of red wine – yes, they ran out – plus a few V&Ts talking), nor the fact that we were asked to deplane and wait in the terminal rather than in the much more comfortable BF seats. The gate agents in Orlando and the flight crew were all very professional and kept us informed of everything going on throughout the entire delay process (though if you up the mic volume from gate 4 to actually reach the Azalea Café/bar I wouldn’t complain).
We finally got airborne about two hours late, and thanks to the delay a couple confirmed F pax deplaned, allowing me to get the ever elusive companion upgrade for my co-worker on the great 752 – he appreciates it as well. We actually made it from MCO to the Virginia area in about 1:30, which I pretty normal for the route. Sadly, at this point we started a holding pattern that actually lasted slightly longer than it took us to get to Virginia. And thanks to the details provided by the awesome flight map on the fancy IFE that you offer on your 752s, I am very aware that we traveled just over 2000 miles on tonight’s flight, more than double the booked 938 for the route. Having now been airborne for just about 4 hours for a 2 hour flight (plus 2.5 delayed departure), I want to thank the pilot for taking on the necessary extra fuel to handle such a rare event for EWR arrival (ATC/Weather delays) and also ask if it is possible to request that I be credited for the actual miles flown, rather than the scheduled route credit. True, the extra miles might not really mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, but with the extra 1000+ miles I believe that I can forego a scheduled Mileage Run to ANC to requalify for Platinum (Yeah, I messed up the planning on that one) and otherwise gain a few extra RDMs that I think I’ve earned by spending as much time circling VA and PA as I should’ve spent flying to EWR. True, we didn’t have to divert, and perhaps that is sufficient “compensation” (yup, I used that scary word, though I really don’t mean it), but the extra miles really wouldn’t bother me at all.
Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
sbm12
CO HXnnnnnn
Platinum, but only barely
Posted by Seth on October 2, 2007 under Uncategorized |
One of the very nice things about my job is that most of my clients are in major metropolitan areas, and usually in the downtown area. So while I don’t complain too much about a trip to Washington, DC, Boston or even Minneapolis and Orlando, every now and then a visit comes along that is one I’d rather never happened, and certainly noe that I’d hope to not repeat.
This time around the offending destination was Daytona Beach, Florida. Daytona is known for Spring Break, Bike Week and the Daytona 500. All of these events bring huge crowds to the area, many of whom are much more focused on the party side of things than the not destroying the hotel side of things. As such, most of the hotels are pretty beat up, and they don’t bother too much with repairs, as they know the same visitors are just going to come back the following year. I got pretty lucky on the hotel front – Hilton recently took over a property right on the beach and renovated and added to it, creating a bit of an oasis on the waterfront. It wasn’t perfect, but definitely better than many of the others I saw on the strip. (More on the hotel here.)
Worse than the hotel, however, were the dining options. To say that there weren’t any is not truly accurate, but there certainly weren’t any that were particularly appealing. There is a small shopping center type property at the North end of the property, but its options are Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory, Johnny Rocket’s and the World House of Jerky. Yeah…not a lot of fine dining to be found. We ended up at a BBQ place one night that wasn’t terrible, a burger joint that was slightly less appealing and then one night in the hotel due to the monsoon, and that food was terrible.
The only redeeming piece of the trip, other than the few HHonors points I earned, was the view on the last morning there. The ocean view room was a nice upgrade, but when it rained non-stop for three full days it didn’t do me all that much good. Fortunately, on the last morning there the weather cleared up and the sunrise was rather impressive. I managed to grab a couple nice photos that morning while packing up, including this one:
I’m very glad that my visit next week doesn’t include an overnight.
