Things in the Sky

Back at the AAAE conference in PHL a few weeks ago, I met with Rhett Workman, the Director of Corporate Real Estate for Philadelphia and International Destinations for US Airways after a session where he was one of three panelists. I wanted to learn more about his job (I’m trying to learn about various career paths while I’m still in school), so I decided to shoot him an e-mail. Much to my surprise, he told me that it would be easier to explain his position by showing me around the airport and invited me to come down. Obviously, I accepted!

Today, I have my usual flight reviews, and later I’ll be sharing my experiences at the airport in another post.

This trip was an interesting experience for me, because it was my first time traveling on a buddy pass (thanks, Rhett!). The perk of such a trip, obviously, is the lower cost in fare, but it’s only on a space-available basis. I was listed on flights that looked pretty good – the 7:10 AM down and the 3:55 PM on the way back.

But, alas, thanks to the help of SeatCounter I noticed that the 7:10 had only one seat left for booking, so it was already overbooked. I decided it would be a smart move to be at the airport for the first flight out just in case, which ended up being the right move.

I walked into the terminal around 4:45 to find a relatively short check-in line at the US Airways counters with plenty of open kiosks. But, either everyone ahead of me needed extra assistance or didn’t know have to use them, and only went up when one of the agents became available. The kiosk for elites, however, was moving very fast. I could also tell why US Airways is now charging extra to check bags at the airport (Wednesday was the last day before that came into effect) as that seemed to be what was slowing most things down. I’m not the biggest fan of fees, but at least this one has the potential to make things move faster (and increase revenues).

Soon one of the agents started to get people to get to the open kiosks. When I told her I was on a buddy pass, she told me to try the kiosk myself, and let her know what happened. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, but she was able to help me very quickly. When I asked about my prospects, she told me that both flights were full, but while the 7:10 am flight had a few standbys, I would be the only one on the 5:50, so we both agreed that I should be listed on that flight and see what happened.

Security, as usual, was very quick. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my checkpoint friendly bag as it broke (and currently on its way to the manufacturer), so I brought the uber-stylish Bryant University laptop backpack, which I believe is going to be a very hot item for the Fall 2009 season.

I walked to gate 6 and arrived about ten minutes prior to the 5:20 boarding time (since I last took the first flight out, the departure time has been moved ten minutes earlier). Once an agent arrived at the gate I asked about my chances, and he told me to wait until everyone boarded, but a minute later he walked up to me and handed me a boarding pass. Nice!

I can’t say I was excited to be on a CRJ instead of a 319 (I’ll be happy when the first flight is upgraded to an E-190 later this summer), but it meant I was getting there. My seat was 3C, which I noticed would be the first time in many years I would be in an aisle instead of a window. It was also weird to using a “real” boarding pass instead of one printed online. I really do wonder how much money airlines save by encouraging people to print online, and now they’re getting ad revenue that way.

US Airways Express Flight #3655 (Operated by Air Wisconsin)
July 8, 2009
Depart Providence (PVD):  5:59 AM
Arrive Philadelphia (PHL):  6:58 AM
Duration:  0:59
Aircraft: Bombardier CRJ-200 (N423AW)
Seat: 3C

When I received my boarding pass, it was already a few minutes past boarding time, but it’s not like it takes that long to fill a CRJ anyway. The gate agents were quick to pass out tags for bags that would need to be gate checked, and then boarding got started. I noticed that unlike my last flight on US Airways, they said people who checked in online could board with Zone 3, which I believe is how it should be.

Heritage sticker.

I plopped down into my seat and it was a short wait for departure (we pushed back early). Our flight attendant was just hilarious, telling everyone not paying attention to the safety demonstration would be tested, and that if we had to evacuate, he didn’t want to hear all the people who didn’t pay attention complain! It was enough to earn him a round of applause.

We taxied over to runway 5. Behind me was a pilot taking his family down to Disney World, and I could hear him teaching his daughter a few things, like that since why runways are numbered, which I just found really cute. We took off and were in the clouds pretty quickly, and then passed through to see the morning sun (one of my favorite moments in flying).

The flight itself was pretty normal. (Yes, I do realize I’ve written over 700 words to explain what happened before I boarded.) The flight attendant did a drink service, and I just flipped through the inflight magazine. The FA also listed connecting flights, which was not done on my last flight three weeks prior.

Soon we began our descent and came in on runway 35, and if memory serves this was the first time I had landed on it. I later learned during the day that it makes good operational sense to have the CRJs land on that runway as it is a short taxi to
Terminal F.

We arrived at gate F33, and then I walked over to the bus stop to get to Terminals B/C. I was pretty excited for some nice ramp views during the ride, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ll really miss the old color scheme – I always found it to be very classy and elegant.

Since I landed right around 7 in the morning, I needed to spend some time waiting since I wasn’t supposed to meet Rhett until 8:30. I then headed to the food court since I hadn’t had breakfast yet. On the way, I got a nice shot of one of the few aircraft in Republic Airways colors.

After breakfast, I wanted to head to Terminal A-West. First, I think it’s the nicest terminal in the airport. Second, I forgot to get a picture of the Liberty Bell made out of Legos (one of my favorite toys “back in the day”).

I explored a bit more and then went up to the US Airways Club to meet with Rhett at 8:30. Interestingly, the corporate offices used to be part of the club, but were converted after 9/11. Rhett wasn’t around yet, but the agents at the desk were very nice and let me wait in the lounge. They also checked my flight back, and said it would be tight, but the 1:50 PM flight looked good.

And, I’ll fast forward to the end of my day…

Once our day was over, Rhett was very nice and said I could wait for my flight in the US Airways Club. Because we had such a full schedule, I only had about half hour to enjoy it, not that I’m complaining! I really don’t have a lot of experience in airport lounges so I can’t compare it to anything, but I was pleased. There’s a great view, and it’s obviously a step up from the terminal. Before I left, I made a point of eating some Biscoff cookies as Fish suggested. (They are indeed delicious!)

After my brief visit in the lounge, I walked down to gate C31. The agent there was really friendly, and was able to hand me a boarding pass for seat 8C right away. Great!

US Airways Flight #1842
July 8, 2009
Depart Philadelphia (PHL): 2:05 PM
Arrive Providence (PVD): 2:40 PM
Duration: 0:35
Aircraft: Embraer 190 (N968UW)
Seat: 8C

I was excited for this flight as it would be my first ride on the Embraer 190, and I was very impressed. It was pretty easy to see why the E-Jets often get high marks from travelers. The cabin was nice and spacious (especially compared to the CRJ I was on), and the leather seats were pretty comfortable.

Taken in flight.

We pushed back a couple of minutes early, and began our taxi to runway 27L. The captain came on to tell us that it would be a 10-15 minute wait to takeoff, but a minute later he addressed us again to let us know that the order had been reshuffled, and we taxied to the runway and took off. I’m pretty sure that was my fastest departure out of PHL ever!

One thing I noticed was the mesh curtain between coach and first. I have since found out that this is an industry standard, which I didn’t know (I guess that’s what happens after flying Southwest for awhile). For some reason, being able to look through made me think of a variation of a Pam Ann joke: “Look, economy! First class gets snacks – free snacks!”

Anyway, the flight attendants were prompt with their drink service, and after a very quick flight we were touching down on runway 5 and then pulled into gate 5, and it was time to go home, after a very exciting day.

Parked at gate 5 at PVD.