Last weekend I made a quick trip to Monterey, California; flying into San Jose International Airport. HNL = Honolulu, Hawaii SJC = San Jose, California LAX = Los Angeles, California Saturday, March 8, 2003 American 58 HNL-SJC 757-223 reg unknown Seat 28A skd 2339-0640 Sunday Arrived at HNL about 2030. My brother was scheduled to arrive at about 2100 on Hawaiian flight 9 from LAX. My parents dropped me off curbside at American in Lobby 7 then went to park the car. I sent my to-be-checked rollaboard suitcase through the agriculture x-ray machine, then went to evaluation the situation. Unlike in January when my mother flew on the same flight, there were actually passengers waiting in line to check in. But I saw an unused kiosk so I checked myself in there, then went over to the counter where they collect the checked bags from kiosk users. I was 2nd in line, the people before me were having some sort of problem but the agent had my tag printed out so she quickly checked my ID and tagged the bag and sent it down. I then walked over to Hawaiian's baggage claim area B to meet my brother. His flight came, then we put his luggage in the car and I went back to the overseas terminal to go through security to my gate. There was a bit of a line for security; in addition to my flight American had two flights going to LAX and United had flights going out as well, all going through the same checkpoint. One line lead to the pre-checkpoint screener who checked IDs and boarding passes, then split us up into separate lines for each of the two x-ray machines. At the machine everything had to go through, including the plastic-ID holder that I was wearing around my neck (had a metal clip...). Right at the metal detector, another agent was checking IDs before we could walk through. I made it through without incident and headed off to gate 19. The plane was already there and gate 19 is a bad gate. I couldn't get a location from which I could read the aircraft's registration, and since it was dark I couldn't even read the numbers on the nose gear door. The most interesting aircraft I saw in HNL was a Qantas 747-300, the Air Canada 767-300s were also notable but since it was dark, no photos. :( American now has group numbers for boarding, much like United used on Shuttle flights. So instead of having to figure out whether or not your row number was called, it's a simple matter of listening for your group number, which is called in order 1, 2, 3, etc. I was in group 3. After the first group of passengers they made an announcement that they did not need to see our ID's, just the boarding passes. There were no gate-side screenings. Boarding the aircraft I made my way back to my seat, 28A. I almost immediately noticed that More Room Throughout Coach is real. It's not a whole lot, not like the Air Canada 767-200 I flew on in 1999, but there is noticeable more room than on Delta, United, and Hawaiian. The flight was completely full. We pushed back exactly on time at 2339 and made our way to runway 8R, the reef runway. Holding short of the runway, the captain came on and said that due to strong tailwinds, our flying time was planned for only 4 hours 22 minutes, so we had to wait 10 minutes to take off, or we would break curfew at SJC. Approaching the end of our 10 minute hold, we powered up, taxied onto then off the runway at the next exit to allow a United aircraft to depart, after which we taxied back to the runway and took off. Upon reaching our cruising altitude a snack service was served, which consisted of a ham-and-cheese sandwich (which for me became a cheese sandwich), a bag of Lay's potato chips, and a cookie. I noticed that the sticker on the cookie bag indicated it was from Ba Le, the small Oahu French-Vietnamese restaurant chain that provides the snack sandwiches on Hawaiian's red eye flights. I wondered if they provided the sandwich as well. Immediately behind the meal cart was a drink cart. I asked for apple juice and was given the whole can without asking if I wanted the whole can or just a cup. The passengers next to me both asked for cranberry-apple juice and also got the whole can, one for each of them. I don't remember what movie was being shown; I wasn't to interested and wanted, make that needed, to try and sleep on the flight. I didn't notice any additional service by the flight attendants but I think I actually managed some sleep so it's quite likely that I missed it. Our descent started around the same time dawn was breaking. On turning final I saw we had passed the runway so had to make some additional turns to line up for our 0630 touchdown on runway 30L. It was a short taxi to our gate A15, where I still could not read the registration. After getting off, I went over to the baggage claim to get my suitcase, then headed outside to find the shuttle to Terminal C, where I had arranged to meat Richard Silagi on the observation deck. He arrived a little later and I shot some photos from there for a while (building my Kodachrome collection) until about 1000. We split up, he and another guy whose name I can't remember going over to the SJSU parking lot near the end of the runways, and me to pick up my rental car and joining them there. Ben Wang dropped by a little later and more Kodachrome was used, the highlight of the day being the American 757 Retrojet. At about 1300 traffic was due to get quiet for a couple of hours and I was wanting to get to Monterey before my body decided enough was enough, it was time for real sleep. Tuesday, March 11, 2003 American Eagle 3348 SJC-LAX ERJ-140 N841AE Seat 14A skd 1304-1420 When visiting colleges in March of 1998, I was supposed to have my first Regional Jet flight, a Comair CRJ from Orlando to Miami. That aircraft had mechanical difficulties, so I ended up taking an EMB-120 (my first on that particular type) to Ft. Lauderdale instead. It took until now to get another RJ flight. American no longer runs the SJC-HNL flight daily, and Tuesday is one of the days it does not run, necessitating a connection in LAX. I could have taken a morning flight with a shorter layover, but since I was driving up from Monterey I had no desire to take a 0900 flight, so this one, with it's 3 hour LAX connection, was it. I dropped off the rental car at about 1015, and took the shuttle back to American in Terminal A. There was a short line to check in with a person, and an unused kiosk. I started using the kiosk but then heard someone say something about baggage check "over there" where a bunch of people were crowded around. I decided to exit out of the process there (I hadn't gotten very far) and decided to check in with a live agent. A second reason was I wanted to have them check on my Alaska Mileage Plan number; unlike United's kiosks, American's only allow you to enter AAdvantage numbers, not partner program numbers. The line went about at the speed to be expected and I went to the security checkpoint line. Like in HNL, it was one line that broke into more than one after the screener checked your ID and boarding pass. At the checkpoint they were asking passengers if their shoes had metal since those that do will set off the metal detectors. Unlike HNL, there was no second ID check at the metal detector itself. At the pick-up end of the x-ray machine, the person in front of me was having difficulty, he had some sort of box with something inside it they didn't like, presumably metal and pointy. They indicated he could have had one but not a whole box. The passenger said something about having problems with it on his previous flight as well (so why did he keep it in his carry on on his return flight?...) and I'm not sure what exactly happened with it since my backpack came through about this time. I went over to my gate, A16, to evaluate the situation. Still had a good couple of hours, so I wandered around the terminal looking for something for lunch. Decided on California Pizza Kitchen. In what I thought was a good move, the clerk was asking passengers ordering pizza if they had 5 to 8 minutes since that's how long it would take before it was ready. Good since if anyone was looking for something they could just grab and run onto the plane with, they would need something else. I ate the pizza and headed back to my gate area. I got off a couple of nice through-the-glass shots of the San Diego-bound ERJ parked at gate A16A (why do they do this, instead of just calling it gate A17?). Eventually my aircraft showed up, people got off, and after a few minutes, they started boarding. This time ID's were checked along with boarding passes. Still no random gate-side screenings, though I heard them being mentioned for other flights. I was in group 3, a less notable distinction since 2 was boarding on the same flight. For a plane that small, who cares? I think they mostly still use it since they can sneak on their elite travelers by calling them Group 1. I got on the aircraft and went to my seat, which was behind the wing. Leather seats with adjustable headrests featuring wings. If only the 757 seats were as nice. There is something to be said for 1x2 seating like on the ERJ: You can have a window AND and aisle seat. :) Flight pushed back on time at 1304 and we headed for runway 30R for the nearly hour long flight down to LAX. Inflight beverage service consisted of a drink (I can't remember what I had) along with two bags of pretzels. At about the time I started the second bag, I felt the beginning of our descent into LAX. Touchdown onto runway 24R was 12 minutes early, at 1408. We taxied to our gate, 37B, passing along the way a parked Qantas 747-400ER. This was my first time in Terminal 3. For the record, it does not look exactly the same as in the movie Airplane. The signage is unclear; it indicates that to get to Terminal 4 you need to go out of the terminal, as the arrow for gates 40-49 is in a different direction than for 44A to 44H, which is actually the remote building used by American Eagle Saab 340 flights. So I went outside and walked over to Terminal 4, where I had to wait in line to reclear security. It was especially slow when what must have been a 777 crew showed up, as airline personnel get priority and they were all being sent to the front of the line I was in. A few were gracious enough to cut in the other line instead. Of the many x-ray machines and metal detectors seat up, two x-ray machines were being used, and both going to the same metal detector. There was a third machine in use at the end with a separate walled partition leading to it, it looked like the person I saw sent to it had a foreign passport, so maybe they use it for international passengers. I'm not really sure. On the other side of the checkpoint, they were doing wand screenings right there, so with people's arms stretched out, they were blocking the way to the gates. I located my gate, 47A, where the plane had not yet arrived from Dallas. The interesting planes were at the Tom Bradley terminal, most notably a Swiss MD-11. The light wasn't quite right but I took some photos anyway. I was bored, and I need the practice. American's 757 Retrojet was kind enough to make another appearance, and it was over on the other side between Terminal 4 and 5, where the light was better. American 297 LAX-HNL 757-223 N187AN Seat 26F skd 1712-2100 In due time the aircraft showed up and people got off. Eventually they started boarding, this time I was in group 2. They had the Hawaii agriculture forms right at the machines where they checked boarding passes to pick up there, rather than handing them out at Hawaiian usually does, or having them on the seats like Delta. This flight wasn't quite as full as the outbound flight, but I still had both seats next to me filled. We pushed back 3 minutes early, at 1709, and made our way over to runway 24L for takeoff. First round of beverage service was accompanied by a bag of pretzels. I was offered the whole can of cranberry-apple juice. Video entertainment started with CBS Eye on American. During the program the meal was served, a choice of penne pasta or beef and potatoes, accompanied by a salad, sesame kaiser roll, and a marble brownie for dessert. Following behind the meal cart was the beverage cart; I asked for 7UP and was given the whole can. The inflight movie was Antwone Fisher which I didn't watch, opting instead for various bursts of reading the American Way inflight magazine, SkyMall catalog, listening to the radio program, and attempting, unsuccessfully, to nap. Throughout the flight there were intermittent bursts of minor turbulence, so the captain never turned off the fasten seat belt sign. Not that much attention was paid to it during the calm periods. People got up when they needed to but for the most part stayed in their seats. Late in the flight flight attendants came through offering water and orange juice. The flight touched down on runway 4R 11 minutes early at 2049 and we made our way over to gate 18. I headed to baggage claim, where some bags came off, the carousel stopped for a minute, then started again with more bags. Then I went home. Thoughts: - More Room Throughout Coach is nice, but not likely to be enough to lure me away from my SkyMiles and HawaiianMiles accounts. The possibility of more trips to Monterey in the next couple of years might help though, since flying to SJC is usually cheaper than Monterey itself, and is a bit closer than going to San Francisco or Oakland. - Maybe 757s aren't so bad after all. That same 1998 Florida trip where I missed my CRJ flight also had a Delta 757 red eye flight from LAX to Orlando, on which I found the aircraft was not comfortable; the seats seemed too narrow. I didn't notice the same problem on these flights, nor on a March 2001 flight from Orlando to Washington/Dulles on a United 757. So it's either Delta, or my imagination. - Where 757s are not so good on long flights is if you're sitting by the window and you have to go to the bathroom, you have to disturb two people, as opposed to one on a 2x3x2 767 or 2x5x2 DC-10. Assuming the plane is full, of course. - 5:30 seems like a long time for the flight to Hawaii. I miss the fast DC-10s. - Security people were polite. Now we just need more of them. -- David Mueller / HNL dmueller7@xxxxxxxxx http://www.quanterium.com Save the IAH Spotting Areas: http://www.petitiononline.com/saveiah/