Ever get a feeling of dj vu?
Well, well get to that. Originally, I had planned to go to the Rowing History Forum in Mystic, CT this weekend. I enjoyed it three years ago. Had to cancel two years ago due to work (and eat my ticket and fee thanks, government). Didnt even see the email last year a good thing, since they cancelled due to blizzard.
I couldnt find really good flights, though, although HVN would have been an interesting new airport for me, and when AS came out with the 79 fare to LAX, I decided to revert to form and go there instead, since that was the only possible weekend. Turned out to be a good choice, since the Forum was again cancelled again due to blizzard. Of course this meant AS two weeks in a row, and even the same outbound flight, which was a bit silly, but at least the return would be different. And lunch. Mmmm. lunch.
12 FEB 06
DCA-LAX        AS5 T        10A        B737-790        N622AS (30165)
As the previous week, I arrived early in hopes of an upgrade (when I checked the night before, one F seat was available). The agent said they were full, though, although he agreed to list me when I pressed. Im starting to recognize the AAgents working AS. Since I wasnt in a rush this time, they brought the plane over at 8:20, in plenty of time.
There was one particularly annoying pax at the gate. He kept bugging the agents about stupid things, then did the same with the F/As on board, asking for example where he could stow his fragile carryon (in the overhead, they replied). They announced that F had checked in full, then began boarding. I boarded with elites, and was pleased to see that my seat was the first blue row. Unlike the previous week, the flight was almost full, but I was again next to an empty middle seat. Yay. On the downside, there was a very loud squirmy kid behind, who tormented me for most of the flight. The mother was trying very hard to control him, though, and I felt a bit sorry for her (as well as for myself, of course).
As we were leaving, it began to rain the leading edge of the big snowfall. The captain told us flying time would be 5:12, and that we would encounter strong headwinds enroute that were bringing the snow. And we were off.
Annoying guy was bugging his neighbors, and then decided it wasnt enough. For some reason, he decided to take my empty adjacent middle seat, making the trip very uncomfortable. <scowl> As he sat down he whipped out his laptop, then literally tried to elbow me and aisle seat off the armrests, to the point where we exchanged words. <scowl> Guy on the aisle was pretty interesting turns out he was part of a band, Fort Minor, on a big tour. And in Y too. Go figure.
Breakfast, not surprisingly, was the same as previous week, except that the psalm was 107:1, and we were given Christmas napkins. The Alaska Magazine was the same as the previous weeks too, of course. It had a Dodge truck ad that strangely had a full-page listing of northwestern dealers, one of which was Sundance Dodge, Inc., which is of course in never mind. (Yes I did save that from last week). I also read a couple of Aviation Weeks, with three interesting pieces an article on the new public RNP approach into DCA, pioneered by AS, which it reported had flown 10 of them since September, three of which were saves that would otherwise have had to divert. And there were a couple of articles about the brilliant Stardust probe, including one which mentioned that its reentry was expected to be visible from never mind again. Ad there was an interesting piece on Airbus and their strategies to sell more 340s, which quoted AF chairman Spinetta saying that Airbus should work on improving reliability rather than redesigning the aircraft although he said AF was satisfied with its 340s and 777s. Hmmm
Annoying guy instructed the F/A to retrieve a sandwich hed left in the seat pocket, complained that the cream was bad (surprising, since it came from the same batch as mine), and complained about the lavs, all the while maneuvering for more armrest space. All in all, made for an unpleasant flight, and I was looking forward to landing, while understanding why some people dont like to fly.
The weather cleared up again over Colorado, and the pilot began to point out features, almost all on the wrong side: Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Durango/Silverton (complete with railway), and the Grand Canyon. On my side there was Shiprock and he alleged Monument Valley, which I love, but couldnt pick out.
We finally arrived at 11:45, this time well ahead of schedule, and this time right ahead of a CI 744. I noticed that there were lots of flowers growing in the grass between the runway and taxiway I guess they must have been there the previous week too. Taxi to the gate was very slow; the captain apologized but told us we were following a widebody under tow (Air Tahiti Nui 340 slow even on the ground). En route spots were NZ, KL and CX 744s, three QFs in the usual spot, the DL/FedEx MD-11, another Tahiti Nui at a remote stand, and a title-less L10 in basic ATA colours. The CX was special colours, I think Asias World City.
As always, certain people had arranged to be far away, so I rented a car. The Hertz bus was waiting outside the terminal, so I was in my car within about 15 minutes of arrival. I was upgraded again, to a Ford Taurus, which was too big for me but seemed pretty nice, although it lacked NeverLost. As I exited the lot, though, I encountered a rare Hertz error the cars license plate didnt match my contract. So the exit agent eventually brought me another car, and I was finally on my way. I didnt notice what it was, till I realized I couldnt see out the back and couldnt get the A/C to blow on me. So I looked down, and sure enough it was a proud product of Gnarly Motors (a Chevy Cobalt).
I had decided to head up to Pasadena, which should have been a nice easy drive but was marred by tons of traffic and a couple of navigational errors. My first destination was the Gamble House, a sprawling arts-and-crafts style house designed by Greene and Greene, and recommended by a reliable source. After touring the house, I went on a walk around the neighborhood, which featured a number of other G&G houses, as well as a Frank Lloyd Wright textile block house. Done with architecture, I headed to the Norton Simon Museum, where I had just enough time to see everything before closing. I drove back to the LAX area, and had a nice dinner at In-and-Out while watching arrivals. Highlights: NW 753 and BR 744. From there, I returned the car and went to TBIT to pick up my hotel shuttle, in between picking up an LX timetable and quick looks at QF, BA, CI, BR and CX 744s, with another QF at the AA terminal. (They split ops, for some reason). Oh, and an MX 320.
13 FEB 06
LAX-DCA        AS6 T        9A        B737-790         N611AS (29753) NOT
I wasnt sure how the snow would affect my return, so I monitored AS flifo carefully. Flight 4 the early Saturday flight from SEA had made it in, but the other three WAS flights were all cancelled. I called again on Sunday morning, and learned that 4 had made it off on time, so it seemed Id be OK. Again, of course, I was hoping for an upgrade, so I took the 7 a.m. shuttle to the airport just to check in.
Im on flight 6 to DCA.
Did you call to find out what youve been rebooked on?
Well they said its on time.
<after eyeroll> Oh, youre right. It is. Here you go.
There had been two open F seats on Friday, but she told me it was now overbooked, and declined even to list me. I was lucky to have a seat at all, she said, given how many pax had been stranded and were clamouring to get onto the flight.
So I returned to the hotel for breakfast and a swim, then returned to the airport. I also had some hope of a bump the flight had shown pretty full on Friday, and there were all the refugees from the cancelled flights around. So I got to the airport nearly two hours before scheduled time. Where I had one of those TSA encounters.
Shoes Off.
Theyre very thin. Look.
Shoes Off.
Theyre within the rule.
Shoes Off.
Isnt the rule 1 inch?
Shoes Off.
Ah, I felt so safe. So I took them off and the idiot puffed out his chest. What an achiever! Im sure his remedial school teacher was proud.
I was surprised to see an agent already at the podium, where the display was already requesting volunteers. I knew the only option would be SEA and the IAD redeye, and she confirmed that she would put me on those. So I volunteered. Dont know whether I was #1 or not, but she was very grateful, so I thought my chances were good. I tried to read my L.A. Times while I waited, but the tension was too great. I was surprised, though, at how jingoistic the Times Olympics coverage was. While waiting, I saw an NH 777 depart (Id seen it arrive earlier near the hotel), and two Nui 340s together. They now have two PPTs and a CDG on Sundays. Busy.
The gate area became very crowded, with lots of confirmed pax and lots of standbys. I heard a few people asking about the bump, but most demurred when told theyd have to take the redeye. Id made another mistake, though: I had taken the earlier CSA at her word and not asked again about an upgrade. But as boarding was about to commence I heard the agent telling someone It looks good, have your credit card ready. And sure enough, she sold him an upgrade. I was pretty ticked, and immediately got in line to ask if there was another seat, but I overheard her telling the other agent to page me. They were going to use my seat, mine only.
She asked me if Id prefer to wait in SEA or LA; I chose LA since Id have time to get out of the airport. (The SEA option would have meant two more hours at LAX, then arriving in SEA close to 5). There were two flights that would have worked well a 6:02 and a 7:00. I thought I would ask for whichever had F, but as soon as I broached it she said shed already comped the upgrade the whole way. She offered only the 6:02, for a safe connection, which was fine. (Later I found out that the 7:02 was seriously oversold and also significantly delayed, so I could well have misconnected). She confirmed that I had no bags checked and then told me that was why shed picked me. I think they keep the BTTs under tight control, and she had to send someone to get one. And as a parting gesture, she printed me two food vouchers while continuing to thank me profusely for volunteering. Really, my pleasure.
Before leaving I had meant to put together a bump contingency plan, but had forgotten. So I retreated to something I knew and took the bus to Santa Monica. I strolled around the pleasant pedestrian mall there (passing a great sign: This is an Unreinforced Masonry Building (URM). A URM may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake), then went down to the beach and pier. Three interesting things there some folks had put together on the beach something they called Arlington West, a mass of national cemetery-type crosses for the troops that had died in Iraq. A sign noted that had they put them up for the Iraqis victims, theyd have needed the whole beach. Nearby was an interesting artwork a giant concrete roller with a topographical image of LA that would imprint on the sand as it was dragged. And in the parking lot was a large structure, comprised mostly of shipping containers and fabric. At first I thought it was a construction site, but as I approached I saw that it was actually a really cool and innovative building, the Nomadic Museum, which contained a photography show. The lines were too long for me to go in, though. On the pier I had a churro (theyre $15 in the Magic Kingdom), and then returned to LAX.
LAX-SEA        AS279 Y        2A        B737-990        N303AS (30016) NOT
As we drove in I saw a VS340 (not even a 74 to LAX!), AF777 and HA 76. And at TBIT there were a non-crippled AI 744, Tahiti N. pushing back, an SQ 340 (ugh), and an AS 73. I blew my snack voucher on some sushi and edamame to tide me over till the flight, then returned to ASland, where this time the TSAgent just smiled and wished me a pleasant flight. I wont post details, but some folks ahead of me had something which they managed to have not screened at all. BDIFS! My gate was the same as for AS6, and I headed over. Greed knows no bounds, and I was a bit hopeful of another bump to the 7:00, but they never called for volunteers and even a couple of standbys got on our flight, while I heard them tell people that the 7:00 was over. There was no aircraft though, and they explained that it had come in from SJD and needed to be towed from TBIT. Yes, it was the through flight that had been my bump hope the week before.
The aircraft finally arrived and boarding got underway. It was a mess. There was one pax in an electric wheelchair, who needed an aisle chair and for his to be disassembled. There were a couple of other wheelchair pax, and two UMs. Meantime, I was surprised to hear myself and another pax being paged. A seat switch to put people together, perhaps? No! He told us that two F seats were inop, and that he had selected us for downgrades, even though my seat wasnt one of the inops (dont know whether the other guys was). Agent was surprisingly unapologetic and the other guy kicked up quite a fuss; a couple of minutes later the agent told him there was one F noshow, so he got that seat. I was relegated to an exit window. Oh, the humanity! Oh, the cruel and unusual! And a snack flight, too Oh Alaska, why hast thou forsaken me?
LAX-SEA        AS279 Y        16F        B737-990        N303AS (30016)
I boarded with F anyway, and saw that the back of 3C had been jammed forward, blocking access to 3A. Two F/As were standing at my row, and I asked them about it. They had just boarded, so didnt know what had happened, but thought that A was unusable because emergency egress would have been hampered by C. They told me they would comp me drinks though. All they could do.
So off we went. The sun was setting just as we left, so there was no sightseeing, and instead I read my Times. An interesting piece on a town called Vernon. Apparently it ha lots of taxpaying businesses, but only 93 residents. The city officials have been in office for decades, and dont allow anyone to move in, lest they be opposed. In fact, they cancelled the last election. And of course, they take good care of themselves. The former City Administrator (now retired) took home $600,000 last year; his son is the acting City Clerk.
Anyway, the pax behind me told her neighbour that she had been bumped from a BUR flight and planned to use her BTT for SEA-LAX, a route she flew often. The other guys in my row were rather rambunctious, and the one next to me needed a shower, so it was none too pleasant. We all drank Alaska Ambers, which I noticed came in bottles, as opposed to the cans Ive seen in F. I dont think they noticed that I hadnt paid for my first one; after the second they had an issue with change and offered to pay for mine, but the F/A told them I had been comped. They then offered the $5 as a tip, which she declined.
Route of flight was pretty far inland (near Reno) and with no delays (and no sightseeing) we were in SEA by 8:45, and taxiing to the North Concourse. Id never been there before, and didnt even realize AS used it. I blew my dinner voucher at the Pacific Marketplace before heading back to C9 the same gate as the previous week. On the way I passed the gate from which 555 had left, and noticed on the monitor that jetBlue was valiantly going to fly to JFK delayed from 11:35 p.m. to 2:20 a.m. What fun! (It actually left at 2:34).
SEA-IAD        AS26 F        3A        B737-790        N647AS (33012)
I thought the flight would be really full because of the previous days cancellations, and indeed the crowd at the gate was a contrast to the previous weeks emptiness. I couldnt have accepted a bump even if offered, though, and we did go out with some seats empty. Funniest at the gate were two small boys in pajamas. Haha I wasnt too happy that someone was sitting next to me, since I expected (rightly) that she would fall asleep, meaning I couldnt get out if I wanted to and that I should keep my light off. At the last minute two pax took the remaining F seats they were employees, and I eavesdropped a bit. One thing they remarked on was the number of daily flights to never mind. (6/day just from SEA).
Service was exactly the same as the previous week, not surprisingly, all the way down to the psalm. The F/A serving F was nice, as AS F/As always seem to be, but her English was remarkably poor and heavily accented. This time I decided to watch Everything is Illuminated, which at first seemed really silly, but I persevered and really enjoyed it. Takeup was better than the previous week 6 F pax took DigEs, and one other took the snack, although I alone enjoyed breakfast. Soon enough the sun was rising, and we were descending into a snowy IAD. On the ground I saw what were presumably artifacts of weather delays the AZ 76 on the ground, and two, rather than the usual one, TACA Airbi. Approaching the gate, I could hear the loud and sustained barking of a dog down below, perhaps awakened by landing. A 737, so not barking hydraulics.
So, another nice trip, despite the coach flights. And I have the BTT to get me to Adak this summer. Anyone interested?
Well, well get to that. Originally, I had planned to go to the Rowing History Forum in Mystic, CT this weekend. I enjoyed it three years ago. Had to cancel two years ago due to work (and eat my ticket and fee thanks, government). Didnt even see the email last year a good thing, since they cancelled due to blizzard.
I couldnt find really good flights, though, although HVN would have been an interesting new airport for me, and when AS came out with the 79 fare to LAX, I decided to revert to form and go there instead, since that was the only possible weekend. Turned out to be a good choice, since the Forum was again cancelled again due to blizzard. Of course this meant AS two weeks in a row, and even the same outbound flight, which was a bit silly, but at least the return would be different. And lunch. Mmmm. lunch.
12 FEB 06
DCA-LAX        AS5 T        10A        B737-790        N622AS (30165)
As the previous week, I arrived early in hopes of an upgrade (when I checked the night before, one F seat was available). The agent said they were full, though, although he agreed to list me when I pressed. Im starting to recognize the AAgents working AS. Since I wasnt in a rush this time, they brought the plane over at 8:20, in plenty of time.
There was one particularly annoying pax at the gate. He kept bugging the agents about stupid things, then did the same with the F/As on board, asking for example where he could stow his fragile carryon (in the overhead, they replied). They announced that F had checked in full, then began boarding. I boarded with elites, and was pleased to see that my seat was the first blue row. Unlike the previous week, the flight was almost full, but I was again next to an empty middle seat. Yay. On the downside, there was a very loud squirmy kid behind, who tormented me for most of the flight. The mother was trying very hard to control him, though, and I felt a bit sorry for her (as well as for myself, of course).
As we were leaving, it began to rain the leading edge of the big snowfall. The captain told us flying time would be 5:12, and that we would encounter strong headwinds enroute that were bringing the snow. And we were off.
Annoying guy was bugging his neighbors, and then decided it wasnt enough. For some reason, he decided to take my empty adjacent middle seat, making the trip very uncomfortable. <scowl> As he sat down he whipped out his laptop, then literally tried to elbow me and aisle seat off the armrests, to the point where we exchanged words. <scowl> Guy on the aisle was pretty interesting turns out he was part of a band, Fort Minor, on a big tour. And in Y too. Go figure.
Breakfast, not surprisingly, was the same as previous week, except that the psalm was 107:1, and we were given Christmas napkins. The Alaska Magazine was the same as the previous weeks too, of course. It had a Dodge truck ad that strangely had a full-page listing of northwestern dealers, one of which was Sundance Dodge, Inc., which is of course in never mind. (Yes I did save that from last week). I also read a couple of Aviation Weeks, with three interesting pieces an article on the new public RNP approach into DCA, pioneered by AS, which it reported had flown 10 of them since September, three of which were saves that would otherwise have had to divert. And there were a couple of articles about the brilliant Stardust probe, including one which mentioned that its reentry was expected to be visible from never mind again. Ad there was an interesting piece on Airbus and their strategies to sell more 340s, which quoted AF chairman Spinetta saying that Airbus should work on improving reliability rather than redesigning the aircraft although he said AF was satisfied with its 340s and 777s. Hmmm
Annoying guy instructed the F/A to retrieve a sandwich hed left in the seat pocket, complained that the cream was bad (surprising, since it came from the same batch as mine), and complained about the lavs, all the while maneuvering for more armrest space. All in all, made for an unpleasant flight, and I was looking forward to landing, while understanding why some people dont like to fly.
The weather cleared up again over Colorado, and the pilot began to point out features, almost all on the wrong side: Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Durango/Silverton (complete with railway), and the Grand Canyon. On my side there was Shiprock and he alleged Monument Valley, which I love, but couldnt pick out.
We finally arrived at 11:45, this time well ahead of schedule, and this time right ahead of a CI 744. I noticed that there were lots of flowers growing in the grass between the runway and taxiway I guess they must have been there the previous week too. Taxi to the gate was very slow; the captain apologized but told us we were following a widebody under tow (Air Tahiti Nui 340 slow even on the ground). En route spots were NZ, KL and CX 744s, three QFs in the usual spot, the DL/FedEx MD-11, another Tahiti Nui at a remote stand, and a title-less L10 in basic ATA colours. The CX was special colours, I think Asias World City.
As always, certain people had arranged to be far away, so I rented a car. The Hertz bus was waiting outside the terminal, so I was in my car within about 15 minutes of arrival. I was upgraded again, to a Ford Taurus, which was too big for me but seemed pretty nice, although it lacked NeverLost. As I exited the lot, though, I encountered a rare Hertz error the cars license plate didnt match my contract. So the exit agent eventually brought me another car, and I was finally on my way. I didnt notice what it was, till I realized I couldnt see out the back and couldnt get the A/C to blow on me. So I looked down, and sure enough it was a proud product of Gnarly Motors (a Chevy Cobalt).
I had decided to head up to Pasadena, which should have been a nice easy drive but was marred by tons of traffic and a couple of navigational errors. My first destination was the Gamble House, a sprawling arts-and-crafts style house designed by Greene and Greene, and recommended by a reliable source. After touring the house, I went on a walk around the neighborhood, which featured a number of other G&G houses, as well as a Frank Lloyd Wright textile block house. Done with architecture, I headed to the Norton Simon Museum, where I had just enough time to see everything before closing. I drove back to the LAX area, and had a nice dinner at In-and-Out while watching arrivals. Highlights: NW 753 and BR 744. From there, I returned the car and went to TBIT to pick up my hotel shuttle, in between picking up an LX timetable and quick looks at QF, BA, CI, BR and CX 744s, with another QF at the AA terminal. (They split ops, for some reason). Oh, and an MX 320.
13 FEB 06
LAX-DCA        AS6 T        9A        B737-790         N611AS (29753) NOT
I wasnt sure how the snow would affect my return, so I monitored AS flifo carefully. Flight 4 the early Saturday flight from SEA had made it in, but the other three WAS flights were all cancelled. I called again on Sunday morning, and learned that 4 had made it off on time, so it seemed Id be OK. Again, of course, I was hoping for an upgrade, so I took the 7 a.m. shuttle to the airport just to check in.
Im on flight 6 to DCA.
Did you call to find out what youve been rebooked on?
Well they said its on time.
<after eyeroll> Oh, youre right. It is. Here you go.
There had been two open F seats on Friday, but she told me it was now overbooked, and declined even to list me. I was lucky to have a seat at all, she said, given how many pax had been stranded and were clamouring to get onto the flight.
So I returned to the hotel for breakfast and a swim, then returned to the airport. I also had some hope of a bump the flight had shown pretty full on Friday, and there were all the refugees from the cancelled flights around. So I got to the airport nearly two hours before scheduled time. Where I had one of those TSA encounters.
Shoes Off.
Theyre very thin. Look.
Shoes Off.
Theyre within the rule.
Shoes Off.
Isnt the rule 1 inch?
Shoes Off.
Ah, I felt so safe. So I took them off and the idiot puffed out his chest. What an achiever! Im sure his remedial school teacher was proud.
I was surprised to see an agent already at the podium, where the display was already requesting volunteers. I knew the only option would be SEA and the IAD redeye, and she confirmed that she would put me on those. So I volunteered. Dont know whether I was #1 or not, but she was very grateful, so I thought my chances were good. I tried to read my L.A. Times while I waited, but the tension was too great. I was surprised, though, at how jingoistic the Times Olympics coverage was. While waiting, I saw an NH 777 depart (Id seen it arrive earlier near the hotel), and two Nui 340s together. They now have two PPTs and a CDG on Sundays. Busy.
The gate area became very crowded, with lots of confirmed pax and lots of standbys. I heard a few people asking about the bump, but most demurred when told theyd have to take the redeye. Id made another mistake, though: I had taken the earlier CSA at her word and not asked again about an upgrade. But as boarding was about to commence I heard the agent telling someone It looks good, have your credit card ready. And sure enough, she sold him an upgrade. I was pretty ticked, and immediately got in line to ask if there was another seat, but I overheard her telling the other agent to page me. They were going to use my seat, mine only.
She asked me if Id prefer to wait in SEA or LA; I chose LA since Id have time to get out of the airport. (The SEA option would have meant two more hours at LAX, then arriving in SEA close to 5). There were two flights that would have worked well a 6:02 and a 7:00. I thought I would ask for whichever had F, but as soon as I broached it she said shed already comped the upgrade the whole way. She offered only the 6:02, for a safe connection, which was fine. (Later I found out that the 7:02 was seriously oversold and also significantly delayed, so I could well have misconnected). She confirmed that I had no bags checked and then told me that was why shed picked me. I think they keep the BTTs under tight control, and she had to send someone to get one. And as a parting gesture, she printed me two food vouchers while continuing to thank me profusely for volunteering. Really, my pleasure.
Before leaving I had meant to put together a bump contingency plan, but had forgotten. So I retreated to something I knew and took the bus to Santa Monica. I strolled around the pleasant pedestrian mall there (passing a great sign: This is an Unreinforced Masonry Building (URM). A URM may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake), then went down to the beach and pier. Three interesting things there some folks had put together on the beach something they called Arlington West, a mass of national cemetery-type crosses for the troops that had died in Iraq. A sign noted that had they put them up for the Iraqis victims, theyd have needed the whole beach. Nearby was an interesting artwork a giant concrete roller with a topographical image of LA that would imprint on the sand as it was dragged. And in the parking lot was a large structure, comprised mostly of shipping containers and fabric. At first I thought it was a construction site, but as I approached I saw that it was actually a really cool and innovative building, the Nomadic Museum, which contained a photography show. The lines were too long for me to go in, though. On the pier I had a churro (theyre $15 in the Magic Kingdom), and then returned to LAX.
LAX-SEA        AS279 Y        2A        B737-990        N303AS (30016) NOT
As we drove in I saw a VS340 (not even a 74 to LAX!), AF777 and HA 76. And at TBIT there were a non-crippled AI 744, Tahiti N. pushing back, an SQ 340 (ugh), and an AS 73. I blew my snack voucher on some sushi and edamame to tide me over till the flight, then returned to ASland, where this time the TSAgent just smiled and wished me a pleasant flight. I wont post details, but some folks ahead of me had something which they managed to have not screened at all. BDIFS! My gate was the same as for AS6, and I headed over. Greed knows no bounds, and I was a bit hopeful of another bump to the 7:00, but they never called for volunteers and even a couple of standbys got on our flight, while I heard them tell people that the 7:00 was over. There was no aircraft though, and they explained that it had come in from SJD and needed to be towed from TBIT. Yes, it was the through flight that had been my bump hope the week before.
The aircraft finally arrived and boarding got underway. It was a mess. There was one pax in an electric wheelchair, who needed an aisle chair and for his to be disassembled. There were a couple of other wheelchair pax, and two UMs. Meantime, I was surprised to hear myself and another pax being paged. A seat switch to put people together, perhaps? No! He told us that two F seats were inop, and that he had selected us for downgrades, even though my seat wasnt one of the inops (dont know whether the other guys was). Agent was surprisingly unapologetic and the other guy kicked up quite a fuss; a couple of minutes later the agent told him there was one F noshow, so he got that seat. I was relegated to an exit window. Oh, the humanity! Oh, the cruel and unusual! And a snack flight, too Oh Alaska, why hast thou forsaken me?
LAX-SEA        AS279 Y        16F        B737-990        N303AS (30016)
I boarded with F anyway, and saw that the back of 3C had been jammed forward, blocking access to 3A. Two F/As were standing at my row, and I asked them about it. They had just boarded, so didnt know what had happened, but thought that A was unusable because emergency egress would have been hampered by C. They told me they would comp me drinks though. All they could do.
So off we went. The sun was setting just as we left, so there was no sightseeing, and instead I read my Times. An interesting piece on a town called Vernon. Apparently it ha lots of taxpaying businesses, but only 93 residents. The city officials have been in office for decades, and dont allow anyone to move in, lest they be opposed. In fact, they cancelled the last election. And of course, they take good care of themselves. The former City Administrator (now retired) took home $600,000 last year; his son is the acting City Clerk.
Anyway, the pax behind me told her neighbour that she had been bumped from a BUR flight and planned to use her BTT for SEA-LAX, a route she flew often. The other guys in my row were rather rambunctious, and the one next to me needed a shower, so it was none too pleasant. We all drank Alaska Ambers, which I noticed came in bottles, as opposed to the cans Ive seen in F. I dont think they noticed that I hadnt paid for my first one; after the second they had an issue with change and offered to pay for mine, but the F/A told them I had been comped. They then offered the $5 as a tip, which she declined.
Route of flight was pretty far inland (near Reno) and with no delays (and no sightseeing) we were in SEA by 8:45, and taxiing to the North Concourse. Id never been there before, and didnt even realize AS used it. I blew my dinner voucher at the Pacific Marketplace before heading back to C9 the same gate as the previous week. On the way I passed the gate from which 555 had left, and noticed on the monitor that jetBlue was valiantly going to fly to JFK delayed from 11:35 p.m. to 2:20 a.m. What fun! (It actually left at 2:34).
SEA-IAD        AS26 F        3A        B737-790        N647AS (33012)
I thought the flight would be really full because of the previous days cancellations, and indeed the crowd at the gate was a contrast to the previous weeks emptiness. I couldnt have accepted a bump even if offered, though, and we did go out with some seats empty. Funniest at the gate were two small boys in pajamas. Haha I wasnt too happy that someone was sitting next to me, since I expected (rightly) that she would fall asleep, meaning I couldnt get out if I wanted to and that I should keep my light off. At the last minute two pax took the remaining F seats they were employees, and I eavesdropped a bit. One thing they remarked on was the number of daily flights to never mind. (6/day just from SEA).
Service was exactly the same as the previous week, not surprisingly, all the way down to the psalm. The F/A serving F was nice, as AS F/As always seem to be, but her English was remarkably poor and heavily accented. This time I decided to watch Everything is Illuminated, which at first seemed really silly, but I persevered and really enjoyed it. Takeup was better than the previous week 6 F pax took DigEs, and one other took the snack, although I alone enjoyed breakfast. Soon enough the sun was rising, and we were descending into a snowy IAD. On the ground I saw what were presumably artifacts of weather delays the AZ 76 on the ground, and two, rather than the usual one, TACA Airbi. Approaching the gate, I could hear the loud and sustained barking of a dog down below, perhaps awakened by landing. A 737, so not barking hydraulics.
So, another nice trip, despite the coach flights. And I have the BTT to get me to Adak this summer. Anyone interested?
