Flew last week from Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL) to Oakland, California (OAK). This was my first time flying Aloha's Trans-Pacific service. This was also my first flight on a 737-700; my only other trips on next generation 737s was a pair of Delta -800s last year. Thursday, September 4, 2003 Aloha Airlines flight AQ 442 Boeing 737-76N N741AL Seat 8F When I booked this reservation back in July, it was about $100 cheaper via Orbitz than it was on Aloha's own web site. My father had other things he needed to do as well that morning, so he dropped me off at the airport at a little before 10am. I put my checked bags through security and then headed over to the Trans-Pacific line to check in. Nobody was using the kiosks, but Aloha's kiosks don't support checking luggage so I couldn't use them. The line wasn't terribly long. I checked in my bags and headed over to security, where there also wasn't much of a wait (the advantages of getting there before Hawaiian's mid-day Trans-Pacific rush). Since I was moving to California I had a lot of stuff to travel with, and the security screener went through the front pocket of my backpack. When she was done I wandered over to a payphone to call about DSL service. When I was done I headed over to my favorite spot in the interisland terminal, gate 52, where you can get a good look at the planes taxiing by and also a decent view of runway 8L. I noticed departing flights were using 8R (the reef runway) as usual, but arrivals were on 4R. Eventually I had to leave, as they needed to clear out gate 52 so that it could be used for the Orange County, California (SNA) flight. Passengers on mainland-bound flights have to have their carry-ons screened by the US Deartment of Agriculture so the gate had to be cleared to ensure all passengers on the flight had their bags screened. A downside of using the Interisland Terminal for mainland flights. I wasn't sure what time the meal would be served but it was reported as "Dinner" so around 11:15 I went over to Burger King for lunch. By the time I was done, they were just clearing out Gates 54 and 55 for agriculture so I headed over. The line was pretty long and some people were put off by having to leave and be rescreened through the gate area. Gate 54 had a flight that was going to Kona, then SNA, while my flight was at gate 55. A delay was announced for the Kona/SNA flight due to delays servicing the aircraft. Our flight wound up being a bit delayed too, for the same reason. At one point boarding was announced, but didn't happen. Preboarding was finally started at 1:16pm, followed relatively quickly with general boarding by rows. At seat 8F I was in the last group to be called, but there was still room in the overhead bin for my backpack. We pushed back at 1:36pm, 20 minutes after preboarding started. Not bad. :) The flight was nearly full. Seats were blue leather, a similar color to Aloha's 737-200s. They also had winged headrests that also moved up and down. Legroom was quite generous, at least as good as American's More Room Throughout Coach 757s, if not better. After pushback the pop down video screens popped down and the safety video was shown. Seemed a little vague on the details. The flight attendants apologized for the delay (several apologies were also made by the gate agents) but they did have good news. The flight time was estimated at 4:30 rather than the scheduled 5:01, so we'd make up some of the delay in the air. We taxied out to 8R and were #1 for takeoff. After takeoff, free headsets were passed out. Aloha uses dual-prong electric headseats, and you can keep them for your next flight. These headsets were different than I'd had before, the speakers clip onto each ear, over the ear similar to eyeglasses, rather than going over the head. Most of the way through the movie the clip started to get a little uncomfortble, though not nearly as bad as Delta's pneumatic headsets. The first round of drinks was served. The usual selection of complementary juices and sodas were available, along with alcoholic beverages for purchase. Except for the Mai Tais, those are free. Being a non drinker, I opted for apple juice. The drinks were served along with a package of Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts. A bit later, the meal was served. Award winning Hawaii Regional Cuisine chef Alan Wong consults with Aloha to develop their in flight meals, and the choices on this flight were Chicken Curry or Kai Bi (I think -- I couldn't make out what they were saying). I chose the entree I could make out, the curry, and it wasn't too bad. It was served with a garden salad with Maui Onion Papaya dressing, a roll, and a chocolate brownie for desert. In addition to the cup of water on the meal tray, the beverage cart was right behind offering a full selection of drinks. I selected a cup of cranberry juice. Not too long after the meal, the video screens poped down again for the inflight movie, Finding Nemo. I had seen the film in theaters and enjoyed it, the fact that I could see it again for free plus a good way to make another 100 minutes of the flight pass sounded just fine. After the movie the flight was nearly over, but there was still one more thing. Warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. Our flight was nearly over. It had been a smooth flight, no turbulence. As it was dark I couldn't quite make out what our approach was. We touched down at Oakland International Airport on runway 29 at 9:21pm, a half hour late. As we landed I saw a Southwest 737 in new colors taxiing to the runway for departure. We taxiied to gate 6 and disembarked. This was my second time flying into OAK, the first was in 1997 on a Southwest 737 from Los Angeles. When I got to the baggage claim there was nothing indicating which carousel our bags would be on. Our flight was not even on the arrival monitors. After a few minutes an annoucement was made that the bags would be coming on carousel 3. Out they came. I collected them and headed to pick up the shuttle to my hotel. My thoughts on Aloha: - Pretty compareable to Hawaiian. Certainly better than Delta or American. You won't go wrong with either of Hawaii's hometown airlines. - Flying a long haul overwater in a 737 didn't bother me. I'd done San Diego-Washington/Dulles in United A319 and A320 before. -- David Mueller / MRY dmueller7@xxxxxxxxx http://www.quanterium.com