A quick spring break trip to Oahu. I had wanted to fly United since they had the best flight times, but the airfares had gone up. I was able to find a bulk fare ticket through Panda Travel in Honolulu on American Airlines. The flight times were not as good as United's but they were acceptable, so I went with it. Monday, March 22, 2004 American Airlines flight 3028 operated by American Eagle From: Monterey, CA (MRY) To: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Scheduled: 1235-1359 Actual: 1232-1356 Saab 340B N344SB Seat 5A This would be my first time flying American Eagle out of Monterey; both of my previous trips out of MRY were on SkyWest/United Express. Arrived at the Monterey airport a few minutes after 1100. I headed to the American Eagle counter to check in. There were a couple of people ahead of me, and while I was waiting a TSA agent took the suitcase I was checking to screen it. The agent who checked me in appeared to be on the phone waiting to resolve another passenger's issue, so he checked me in pretty quickly without many words. After completing check in I put my cell phone and other items into my backpack, and removed my laptop, in preparation to clear security. I went through with no problems. My laptop had an extra quick inspection, no problems there either. I sat down next to gate 6 and waited for boarding. The aircraft arrived, passengers disembarked and a few minutes later boarding started. All passengers were invited to board at the same time, in spite of the "Group 3" designation on my boarding pass. The last time I had flown American Eagle's Saab 340 was in 1998, between San Diego and Los Angeles. The seat fabric looked like it was in a little better shape than in 1998; a different pattern as well. The overhead bins were bigger than I remembered, but still small and not as useful as those on the EMB-120 and Dash 8. The engines were started and we pulled away from the gate at 1232. The audio portion of the safety demonstration was prerecorded, and the flight attendant's demonstration was not well synchronized with the audio; she tended to demonstrate something before the audio was talking about it. We taxied to runway 28L, holding short of the runway for a few moments to allow a business jet to land. We took position at the end of the runway, and held position as the engines were brought to full power. The brakes were released and our takeoff roll began with a jolt. At 1237 the Saab was airborne. It was overcast in Monterey, but after a few moments we cleared the marine layer on our way up to our cruising altitude of 19,000 feet. When it was safe the flight attendant began preparing the beverage service, which was a choice of beverage accompanied by a cheddar cheese flavored snack mix. I selected cranberry apple juice and was given a not-quite-full cup. After the drink I looked through the American Way magazine. Eventually we began our descent into LAX. We flew out past downtown; I spotted Dodger Stadium during our downwind leg. We made a 180° turn back towards LAX, and I spotted a jet (perhaps a 767) making a parallel approach, but it was too distant for me to make out exactly the type or airline. The skies were clear over downtown, but the coast including LAX were shrouded in marine layer fog. We touched down on runway 24R at 1349. We held short of 24L to wait for one of Air New Zealand's Lord of the Rings 747-400s to depart. I didn't catch the registration but it was the aircraft featuring Legolas and Aragorn. I also noticed Qantas' Wunala Dreaming 747 parked west of the Tom Bradley terminal among other Qantas aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the American Eagle terminal and parked at gate 44C. We disembarked and I headed for the bus to terminal 4. During the bus ride, I noticed an Aviacsa 737-200 waiting to cross runway 25R after landing. Once the bus arrived at terminal 4 we disembarked. There was an agent checking boarding passes and IDs before the escalator up to the gates themselves. Once upstairs, I stopped at Burger King for lunch, then headed over to gate 47B to await my flight to Honolulu. I arrived at the gate just in time to watch a MD-80 board for a flight to San Francisco. Other interesting aircraft I saw while waiting to board included Air Tahiti Nui A340-300 F-OSUN, a Swiss A340, and a JAL Cargo 747 in new colors. American Airlines flight 297 From: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) To: Honolulu, HI (HNL) Scheduled: 1736-2123 Actual: 1733-2130 Boeing 767-323ER N384AA Seat 23J At 1600 the aircraft pulled into the gate. Checking Travelocity's flight tracker on my cell phone, I discovered that the flight had originated in San Juan, Puerto Rico and had stopped in Miami before arriving in Los Angeles. While waiting to board, I heard announcements for flights to all of American's other Hawaii destinations: Kahului, Lihue, and Kona. When boarding started (done by group numbers), very few people got up to board. The agent making the announcements quipped that if nobody wanted to go, she would. I figured that there simply weren't that many people in groups one and two. I was in group five. I boarded, took my Airways magazine out of my backpack, put it in the overhead bin, and took my seat. Eventually the boarding door was closed, and there was nobody in the seat next to me, which is always nice. We pushed away from the gate at 1733, and headed for runway 25R for departure. I noticed an Air Canada Jetz A320 parked at Garrett Aviation. It was the second I had seen in as many days, having seen another on Sunday at the San Jose Jet Center at the San Jose Airport. We were #4 for departure, following a United Shuttle 737-300, SkyWest/United Express EMB-120, and American MD-80. Behind us was a Delta 757-200. We took off into the marine layer, and in a few moments were above the clouds. When it was safe, the flight attendants started a beverage service, accompanied by mini pretzel sticks. Headsets were sold, and the video programming began, with CBS Eye On American, which featured segments from 60 Minutes, CBS Sports, and an episode of King of Queens. Meal service was a choice of chicken on Spanish rice or penne pasta. I chose the chicken. It wasn't too bad. It was accompanied by a green salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing, a roll (one of the better ones I'd had in coach on an airplane), and a chocolate brownie for desert. Better than getting a Little Blue Bag like on my San Francisco to Honolulu flight on Delta in December. The in flight movie was School of Rock, starring Jack Black. I hadn't seen the movie, but I had seen Jack Black on Saturday Night Live before, and my roommate had recently seen and recommended it. It was a fun movie, not a bad way to pass a couple of hours while on an airplane anyway. About two hours to the end of the flight, and during the movie, we started hitting some turbulence. It continued, on and off, for the rest of the flight. I also noticed that there was a fasten seat belt/no smoking sign that was installed backwards above seat 23A. It was angled to face forward and be read by someone looking towards the back of the aircraft, rather than the usual facing backwards for someone facing the front of the plane. After the movie the flight attendants passed out water, but then we hit some rather rough air and an announcement was made reminding everyone that the fasten seat belt sign was on, and that the captain had asked the flight attendants to sit down as well. As we began our descent, the flight attendants came through picking up the State of Hawaii agriculture forms as well as any remaining garbage. Finally, at 2125 we touched down in Honolulu on runway 4R. As we taxied to the gate, a flight attendant made an announcement thanking us for flying American that started out with "The next time your plans call for bouncing across the Pacific" and also noted that hopefully, next time there wouldn't be the bouncing. At 2130 we pulled into gate 19 and we began to disembark. I stuffed everything back in my backpack, clipped my cell phone to my belt, and headed for baggage claim. Bags were a bit slow coming down the baggage claim, and it took a while for mine to come out. I'm assuming that because of the long layover, mine was one of the earlier bags to arrive at LAX for the flight, and thus... first in, last out. Saturday, March 27, 2004 American Airlines flight 162 From: Honolulu, HI (HNL) To: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Scheduled: 1425-2143 Actual: 1426-2131 Boeing 767-323ER N396AN? Seat 27A Time to go back to Monterey. Arrived at the airport around 1300. There was a line for the agents, but available kiosks, so I checked myself in. That went pretty well, but getting the bags to be checked to the agent wasn't too well organized. After checking in, I headed to the closest security checkpoint. An agent there advised us that the next checkpoint over (between the Northwest and United counters) had no line, so I went over there, where indeed it was quicker to get through. Went through security with no hassles. Got a few photos (ATA 757-300 with Pleasant Holidays titles, Hawaiian 767-300, and Air Canada 767-200), then went and had lunch at Burger King. When I was done, I headed over to gate 17 to wait for boarding. There were a lot of people there, unfortunately the aircraft was parked in such a way that I couldn't make out the registration, but I was able to make out the number on the nose gear doors when I arrived in Los Angeles. Some looking around on the Internet led me to believe that it was N396AN, but I don't know for sure. Boarding was done by group numbers. I was in group 4, and got in line when that group was called. The flight was full as far as I could tell. I sat down, and waited for push back, which happened at 1426. The safety video was in English only this time. We headed for runway 22L and took off at 1436. During climb out, the captain advised that we would be cruising at 35,000 feet; a flight attendant had earlier stated 37,000, but I tend to believe the person flying the plane. The flight attendants did their first round of beverage service, and it sounded like the flight wasn't well stocked. They had to look around to find a can of cranberry apple juice for me, and it sounded like they were running out of Ginger Ale. Drinks were served with a bag of mini pretzels. The CBS Eye on American program was started, and it looked like it was mostly the same as the one on the flight out. I opted to read my book instead. Near the end of the program, the meal was served, a choice of chicken or pot roast. I went for the pot roast, and it wasn't that bad. It was served with carrots, potatoes, and white rice, and was accompanied by salad with the same olive oil and vinegar dressing, a roll, and a chocolate cake square for dessert. As on the flight out, the utensils were plastic. The movie shown on the flight was The Rundown, starring The Rock. I didn't want to watch that either, instead continued to read my book. Most of the flight was pretty smooth, there were a few bumps here and there but nothing like the outbound flight. Eventually we began our decent into Los Angeles, and touched down on runway 24R at 2112. As we touched down I spotted a Volga-Dnepr An-124 parked at the western remote stands. We made a very slow taxi to the gate, stopping adjacent to the American Eagle terminal. The captain came on the intercom and advised that since we were early, the gate wasn't quite ready for us and we should be moving again in about five minutes. As we were waiting, I saw a Hawaiian 767 land on 24R; they were likely following us virtually the entire time. The flight attendants also gave connecting gate information. After a few minutes we were moving again, and pulled into gate 47B at 2131. I checked the monitors to verify the gate information given by the flight attendants; it was correct, and I also noticed that my connecting flight, scheduled to depart at 2220, was instead going to leave at 2210. I headed over to catch the bus to the American Eagle terminal. I spotted three more interesting aircraft during the bus ride, all parked at terminal 5: A Spirit MD-80 in new colors, an Aeromexico 737 with winglets, and a Song 757. The bus dropped us off, and I sat down at gate 44C to wait for my flight to board. American Airlines flight 3033 operated by American Eagle From: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) To: Monterey, CA (MRY) Scheduled: 2220-2348 Actual: 2212-2329 Saab 340B N305AE Seat 6A The flight boarded quickly. There were a total of 10 passengers on board, including myself. The flight attendant got a call from the cockpit, and asked a couple seated in 5BC to move to the back of the aircraft for balance issues. The flight pulled away from the gate at 2212. The flight attendant's safety demonstration was much more synchronized with the prerecorded audio than on the outbound flight. As we headed to runway 24L for departure, I spotted a TACA Peru A319 and a TACA A320 parked next to each other at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. We took position and began our takeoff run at 2220. As we climbed out, I noticed the Mexicana 757 retro-jet was parked at the western remote stands. Cruising altitude was 16,000 feet. When it was safe, the flight attendant came through and asked each of us what we wanted to drink. Another can of cranberry apple juice for me. He brought the can and a cup with ice, and when he was done with the drinks, passed out two packages of the Cheddar cheese snack mix to each passenger. The seat belt sign was turned off for a while. I read some more, and eventually we began our descent. We approached Monterey from the east, flew past the airport and over the bay, then made our turn and landed on runway 10R at 2329. A short taxi later we pulled into the gate. Already parked on the ramp were three United Express/Skywest CRJ-200s, a United Express EMB-120, an American Eagle Saab 340B, and an America West Express/Mesa CRJ-200. We waited for the ground crew to unload the one gate-checked suitcase before we were allowed to disembark. I made my way to the terminal building, waiting for my suitcase, and went home. -- David Mueller / MRY dmueller7@xxxxxxxxx http://www.quanterium.com