Just a reminder...

For people who are intending shopping in the United Kingdom, or who are purchasing goods and services, it's that time - Value Added Tax (VAT) will be going up from 15% to 17.5% from 1st January 2010. 

Most of you will notice it - thankfully most over the counter reatailers will inculde the VAT directly into the price you pay or the price ticket (unlike some countries where you're guessing the final price until you get to the till)

Happy new Year from Her Majesty's Government and Alistair Darling.

The TSA opens a new line... in the war against Bloggers

It seems with bomb threats that the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security has something better to do - harass Bloggers and pump them for information.

Both Christoper Elliot and Steven Frischling have had visits from TSA and DHS  "Homeland Security Special Agents", issuing subpoenas on disclosure of the actual source that these bloggers got their information from.

In the case of Christopher Elliot - the exact wording from his blog is:


"So if I’m reading this correctly, the TSA wants me to tell them who gave me the security directive.

I told Flaherty I’d call my attorney and get back to him."

With Steven Frischling, the TSA seems to have gone one better, by threatneing to use a criminal search warrant if he did not reveal the name of his source, as well as threatening to get him fired from his job blogging for KLM - and indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.

In addition, the agents then said they wanted to take an image of his hard drive. Frischling said they had to go to WalMart to buy a hard drive, but when they returned were unable to get it to work. Frischling said the keyboard on his laptop was no longer working after they tried to copy his files. The agents left around 11 pm but came back Wednesday morning and, with Frischling’s consent, seized his laptop, which they promised to return after copying the hard drive, even though the mail was received from a Gmail address, and thus in the cloud. 

The TSA confirms it is investigating how this security directive was leaked.

Quote  "The Office of Inspection is investigating how the security directive was published by parties who shouldn't have been privy to the document"

This smacks of heavy handedness of the TSA, and a reaction to the wrong problem - rather than dealing with the leaks internally (of a document that has gone worldwide), it has gone after bloggers who received it in good faith and published it when there was nothing but confusion over what directive was in force at that juncture by what airline. 

Coverage on this is growing on web, and I can only urge you to read and support these bloggers who it seems the only thing they have done wrong is to post a document (which Air Canada did in the first play as well as WestJet and JetBlue)

I'll be monitoring this over the next few weeks - suffice to say more directives will head our way, and hopefully the TSA might learn something about themselves in the meantime.

Or not.

Sources and References:
Wired: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/dhs-threatens-blogger/
Gadling: http://www.gadling.com/2009/12/29/government-harassing-blogger-for-source-of-tsa-directive-leak/
Airline Reporter: http://www.airlinereporter.com/?p=2677
Runway Girl: http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/runway-girl/2009/12/paying-a-price-for-setting-the.html
Seattle PI: http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/189547.asp
Upgrade: Travel Better - http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/2009/12/30/the-chilling-effect-tsa-tries-to-plug-a-leak-by-slapping-travel-bloggers-with-subpoenas/
One Mile at a time: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/2009/12/29/blogger-gets-subpoena-for-posting-security-directive/

Paddy Power takes bets... Monarch gets pissed.

The thing with the British is that we love a flutter on anything - from the Grand National (a horse steeplechase), the winner of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars for our US viewers)  to the Christmas Number 1 Record (or sticking one in the eye for Simon Cowell).

It seems there also seems to be the question of "Which airline will go bust next?"

To which according to people betting on PaddyPower appears to be Monarch Airlines from 50/1 to 4/1. Which has displeased Monarch by a long shot.

Tim Jeans, Monarch managing director says "For people to make a game out of betting when an enterprise that's been around for 40 years will go bust is irresponsible," he said. "It's not funny either because we employ nearly 3,000 people and they don't want to be reading this."

He also stressed that Monarch is profitable (£8.52 million at the last figures avalible), and it's ownership secure.


However, lets have a look at the list from PaddyPower....

4/1 Monarch
11/2 Wizz Air
11/2 Finnair
13/2 Malev
9/1 Aer Arann
10/1 Spanair
10/1 Jet2
11/1 BA
14/1 Aer Lingus
14/1 Thomson Airways
16/1 Vueling Airlines
18/1 Bmibaby
20/1 Qantas
20/1 Air Berlin
25/1 Scandinavian airlines
33/1 United Airlines
33/1 Aegean Airlines
33/1 Air One
40/1 Thomas Cook Airlines
40/1 Germanwings
40/1 Flybe
50/1 LOT
50/1 JetBlue
66/1 Czech Airlines
80/1 easyJet
80/1 Virgin Atlantic
80/1 Ryanair
100/1 Lufthansa
100/1 Air France-KLM
100/1 Aeroflot
100/1 Turkish Airlines
100/1 Singapore Airlines
500/1 Vatican Airlines
1000/1 Air Force One

Put it like this: I'm glad I'm not a betting man at all.  Although anyone who is putting money on Air Force One going under has better things to do at night...

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/6907590/Monarch-Airlines-blasts-irresponsible-Paddy-Power-for-running-book-on-carrier-going-bust.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8434710.stm

JAL edges closer to the edge....

It seems that JAL is edging step by step closer to the edge of its current existence as the Japanese governments will no longer provide any bailouts or extra loans for it as last week - the Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said the state would not give the airline any more loans, thus JAL would need to file for the Japanese equivalent of Chapter 11 - with stock becoming worthless.

As we all know, American and Delta are pawing after JAL (with if the rumours to be believed, JAL going with Delta and exiting OneWorld for SkyTeam - unconfirmed as of yet mind)

Its stock value has shrunk 60% this year, with a debt pile of 1.5 trillion yen of debt. 

Of course, if it goes to bankruptcy - things get an awful lot complex for everyone - with the Delta/American fund injection really up in the air.

Whilst the staff and travellers will be ultimately affected by this (and the ones who will pay the price if JAL goes belly up), the management have not been lucky at all - and with recent events worldwide not making life easy at all for them.


Put it like this: From this standpoint, if JAL wishes for partnership from American or Delta, it can't afford to head to bankruptcy unless it was finally pushed...

The continuing fallout of NW253 - IFE is back on ... but...

Well with the massive changes happening, it seems that now this could hurt operators, with shares in Delta and AMR (American) dropping by about 4%, UAL (United) down 3.4% and US Airways down 6.7%, with fears that this incident will depress air travel further than it is at the moment, and that the extra costs of implementing security changes will affect the back pocket - let alone the experience in the ground or the air.

Meanwhile there seems to be some libraliation of the knee jerk reaction, with the following in the TSA Directives:

• Extended security wait times, allow at least two hours for security at the gate.
• A physical pat down by security at the gate prior to boarding all flights to the United States
• A complete physical inspection of all bags being carried on flights to the United States
• Flight crew may make no announcements or reference to position or landmarks while flying over US airspace

Maddening things like:

• IFE shutdown T -1 hour before landing
• Access to carry on items T -1 Hour
• Blankets

have been recinded, pending further desisions by the TSA, however

• Satalite Phones
• Moving Maps

Are still awaiting clarification.

TSA Directive SD-1544-09-06 has been posted at  http://www.elliott.org/blog/full-text-of-sd-1544-09-06-authorizing-pat-downs-physical-inspection/ which is the initial response.

President Obama has requested a full review of airline security. In other words, Napoli and the DHS/TSA will have to get their ass out of gear and work for once. 

The message for travellers alas is clear as crystal. Arrive early, Expect delays and expect everyone to be twitchy.

More advice and commentary:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/2009/12/28/tsa-modifies-sd-1544-09-06-who-will-fix-the-broken-system/
http://www.elliott.org/blog/full-text-of-sd-1544-09-06-authorizing-pat-downs-physical-inspection/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8432947.stm

Airplane p0rn Special - Virgin Atlantic 747-400 taking off

Well it's Sunday - and a Christmas Sunday to boot, so as a present to all, it's a trip special of a Virgin Atlantic 747-400 taking off from Las Vegas on the long trek back to London Gatwick

 

  

 

More Airplane p0rn.... next year ;)

(it's only a few days away!! ;) )

Taking extreme changes...

It seems the airlines are taking deep action after the NW253 incident.

Companies have updated their travel advice to include:

• Only one item of hand luggage, including items bought airside (British Airways and Virgin will not charge extra) 
  
• If your presents are wrapped, check them in
• Passengers subject to "pat-down" searches before boarding, on top of usual security checks
• Customers to remain seated during final hour of flight
• No access to hand luggage and a ban on leaving possessions or blankets on laps during this hour

 Anyone can spell the words "knee jerk reaction?"

Changes due to NW253 Incident

British Airways

BA has imposed an immediate bag restriction on it's US flights, restricting one bag per person only from Heathrow or Gatwick. Expect security checkpoints to have increased as well as well as other airlines following suite .

BAA is reporting  (Heathrow Airport)


"Travelling to the USA?  Passengers travelling to the United States should expect their airline to carry out additional security checks prior to boarding. To support this process, which will take time, please allow extra time to check in and limit the amount of hand baggage taken on to the plane."


Air Canada has modified its restrictions too



"Air Canada advises passengers travelling to the U.S. that due to enhanced government security measures air travellers should arrive early at airports to allow extra time to clear security screening. Passengers should also expect flight delays, cancellations and missed connections, and limit themselves to a single piece of carry-on baggage.

Air Canada recommends passengers travelling to the U.S. to arrive early at the airport for their flight in order to allow adequate time for additional personal searches. Under new rules enacted by Transport Canada and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, passengers and their carry-on baggage will be subject to full searches both at airport screening points and prior to boarding at the aircraft gate area.

As a result of the added security precautions, passengers should also expect delayed and cancelled flights as well as missed connections. Air Canada will endeavour to transport passengers to their destination as quickly as possible and rebook passengers who miss their connections at no charge.

While these measures directly affect only flights from Canada to the United States, domestic and international flights may also experience delays due to airport congestion and delayed aircraft. For information on a flight's status please consult www.aircanada.com.

 In addition, new rules imposed by Transport Canada will limit the amount of carry-on baggage to one item per person travelling on flights from Canada to the United States."

Expect more changes as the story develops

DL/NW Flight 253 Terror Incident. Merry Christmas...

It seems that Delta/Northwest Flight 253 Amsterdam to Detroit had a little "fun" on it, with an attempted terrorism attempt on it.

A 23-year-old Nigerian man was trying to ignite an explosive device as the A330 begun it's 20 minute approach to Detroit. He was overpowered by some of the 278 passengers and 11 crew.

Reports say he burnt his leg. No-one else was hurt. The suspect was in a database indicating "a significant terrorist connection" although it did not appear on a "no-fly" list (so much for intelligence eh?)


President Obama, has ordered increased security for air travel. Reports are indicating that  security is being increased at all ports heading to America especially at LHR.

Reporting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8430699.stm
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/26/336620/passenger-attack-aboard-delta-a330-fails.html

Merry Christmas from GhettoIFE!

Well it's Christmas day in GhettoIFE land.

May you day be peaceful with your IFE (In-Flight Entertainment) working - be it inbuilt, custom made or a television in your front room with you and yours safely.

The Miracle of Flight AA331

This was going to be published yesterday - but I honestly was in superranty mood after the laughable misoperation of the ID Cards. Plus it's given me more time to write this entry with a few more facts, so all the better really..

American Airlines Flight AA331 was a simple Washington DC (Regan National) to Jamaica Service via Miami service, served by a Boeing 737-800 (N977AN) - much like the Ryanair 737-800 that skidded off the taxiway later on.

Whilst on approach, it seems the weather was very poor, with heavy rain and thunderstorms in the region.
On landing, it appears that the aircraft aquaplaned on contact, and skidded off the end of the runway, breaking into 3 segments and coming to a rest near of the runway 15ft (thats 3 meters or so away) from the sea

The frame itself is 8 years old at the time of the incident, however, in three bits (fractured aft of the wing of the fuselage, the right hand engine has become separated from the body, and the left wing-tip has snapped clean off, along with the nose crushed and a couple of other breaks as well as the landing gear collapsing) -the frame it's a write off.   

Thankfully, and perhaps more important is that whilst 44 people were injured - 4 seriously, there were no fatalities at all from the 154 people aboard the plane (148 passengers + 6 crew).


For those 154 people - please enjoy your Christmas Miracle.

Got a UK ID Card? Don't expect to get out of the country on it....

If you're one of the 1736 fools citizens people victims users of the UK National ID Card (Manchester Area), one of it's esteemed promises from The Home Office was.

"The Home Office said these ID cards could be used for travel in Europe, as well as being a means of identity in opening up bank accounts and the like."

Well. A lot of travel companies are really playing ball with this. Not.

In an investigation by the Manchester Evening News (as well as earlier reports of people being denied access to board ferries from Hull, and trying to check in for flights at Stansted for Bonn), 9 travel providers stated they could not use an ID card as the sole travel document. 8 companies later redacted the statements (bar Eurostar who are still unhappy to state if it's a valid travel document) to state it is possible to travel on an ID card. Only 4 companies in the initial questioning phase got it "right"

However, this is good in theory, but when you're at the border trying to leave the UK on an ID card, you'll get odd looks and confusion as the trial hasn't seemed to be communicated well enough to travel providers.

In particular, Air Berlin and GermanWings have refused point blank to accept this as a valid travel document as it has been not been recognised by the German Federal Authorities.
 
Identity and Passport Service (IPS) said “The National Identity Card is a valid document for travel and is as good as a passport in Europe.

“We expect all carriers in the UK to accept National Identity Cards for travel as a legal duty and we are confident that the vast majority of travellers will have no problems using their Identity Card as a travel document.

The fact of the matter is this however: UK borders controls, carriers and their agents -  as well as foreign governments are not recognising this card as a valid travel document. In other words, you need a passport to travel aboard  no matter what IPS say.

Credit: Manchester Evening News

Editors Note: As you might have guessed from the tone of writing - personally I do not support the NIR as well as the National ID Card -  something that was done away with in the 1950's, with the costs of the project being funded by Passport fees and an additional fee.  The fact that there are few readers about of the device and that to detect one without an reader requires a distinct sound when twanged is quite frankly laughable. The fact it will also contain biometric details, held in a government database also freaks me slightly too.

Ice and Snow still causing trouble - Ryanair 737-800 skids off the taxiway

One word: Ouch.

Picture - BBC News

It seems that everywhere is a bit of a skidpan at the moment - especially at Glasgow Prestwick Airport were a Ryanair 737 that arrived from Dublin skidded off a taxiway after landing safely.

No injuries thankfully amongst the 129 passengers and 6 crew, and were evacuated normally. Whilst the aircraft has been deemded safe to fly again, the airport remains shut until they get the aircraft off the taxiway.

A smattering of snow, and everything goes wrong...

Snow and ice are still playing up in the UK, so here's a few things to be aware of:

• All London Airports, Bristol, Manchester and in fact - the majority of UK Airports are showing delays.
  
• Eurostar is still suspended, pending testing of the new snow defence systems installed on the trains.  
• Roads are still chaotic
• Also the East Coast of the USA is suffering major snow issues with delays going into days now.  
• And will someone grit my road please. It's like walking on an icerink....

As always - check before you travel, and have a contingency plan.

Airplane p0rn - Aer Lingus A320

It's that time of the week again and it's more airplane p0rn!

This week - an Aer Lingus A320 parked up at Dublin on a very cold winters morning.

Expect more brinkmanship between BA and Unite...

Unite has signalled it wishes to reballot it's members for another attempt at strike action. 

Whilst not unexpected, personally - I would still be considering other carriers over the next few weeks. For any strike to happen there much be a consultation period, ballot and actual notice to the company.

That puts it +4 weeks away, and pushing it into February.

For that matter, if you rebooked and are thinking of switching back to BA, there is still the strong possibility that a lot of cabin crew could phone in "sick" throwing the schedulde in the air.

Lets be careful out there!

Snow trouble ahead.

If you're travelling today (Saturday 19th), expect

• Delays at LHR due to snow
• LGW appear to be fine
• Some Delays at LCY
• Issues with UK immigration in other countries - Strike action alas
  
• And major issues with Eurostar not due to strikes, but due to the cold snap.

Weather... we just can't deal with it over here... (from a non-snowy but very cold and icey Birmingham)

**BREAKING ** British Airways Cabin Crew Strike ruled illegal - STRIKE IS OFF.

I repeat in large letters

THE BRITISH AIRWAYS CREW STRIKE HAS BEEN RULED ILLEGAL AND THUS CANNOT GO AHEAD.

Unite are annoyed, and is planning on holding fresh ballots. BA on the other hand is bedding into its positition and are pressuring Unite to "understand it's position"

More follows.

Let's Strike! Who Else is heading into a Strike action over this "Festive" season?

Apart from British Airways, who else is out on strike over the festive period?

Eurostar - The Anglo-French-Belgium Consortium has workers walking on 18/19 and 26/27 (unless resolved) over pay and conditions. About 70 drivers and 20 on-board staff are to walk out over pay for 48 hours. Eurostar is confident of running a service with it's French/Belgium workers, however - expect disruption

Unite - Baggage Handlers at LHR and ABZ - Unite members working for SAS Ground Services are schedule to walk out 22 December, with further strikes from Boxing Day and 3 January for 48 hour periods.

At LHR Expect Emirates, Turkish and Thai to be affected.
At ABZ expect Air France, KLM and Wideroe/Atlantic to be affected.

Further breaking news on the BA Strike ruling by Court action will be posted here as and when it happens...

FlyGlobespan goes into administration (Duh Duh Duh.. Another one bites the dust )

Well this annualas horiblas seems to coming to an end for the civil avation sector, but it's taken another casualty this year, in the form of FlyGlobespan.

It seems that a funding injection failure took Globespan to the brink and pushed it over. This hasn't been helped with rumors going around that it was heading for the wall since the middle of this year.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as the administrators (with both the airline and the tour operations company). Customers who booked through Globespan as part of a package are protected via ATOL, however those who booked direct with the airline are formally up a creak sans paddle.

Both EasyJet and Ryanair has also issued rescue fares too to assist (on overlapping routes) with Thomas Cook laying on extra flights from Glasgow, however ~4500 people have been stranded by this collaspe, with 1100 people covered by ATOL. The remaining 3400 people may qualify for reduced rescue fares issued by the CAA/ATOL.

Obviously, it's fleet of 2 737-700s, 3 737-800 and Boeing 737-700 and 767-300ER's are grounded, pending disposal - with its 2 orders for 787's reverting back to ILFC (Steven Udvar-Hazy's International Lease and Finance Company)

The emergency contact number is 0871 271 9000

Boeing's 787 takes to the skies... so what next?

Firstly, lets have some take off movies




From KOMO News.


from Jon at Flightblogger

 and it landing....



from 2WheelFever, Youtube.

For Boeing, this is the beginning of a long road to getting FAA and JAA certification, in which FlightBlogger covers in extenstive length.  But soon enough, we'll reach the point of "first delivery" and "first service."

What are looking towards in terms of interior? The aim is to make it look bigger, with overhead bins, big windows (with the famed dimmer), a more open space,  and all sorts of fun stuff (except this one and the flight test). Expect Panasonic and Thales to bring their top-of-the-line IFE systems.

Whilst some internals haven't been released, in the back, we're looking at 3 x 3 x 3 realsiticly, with the more mad airlines going for 3 x 4 x 3. Business and First Class products will vary - with probable 2 x 2 x 2 or 1 x 2 x 1 depending on how they feel. A lot of airlines are going to have to examine carefully how they're going to implement this product, as this is 767 replacement (with a lot of airlines going to use it as a 767 replacement) in terms of range, load, and will be using it between primary (hub to hub) as well and secondary (hub to non hub/point to point) location.

Of course ANA will be the first company to take delivery of the 787 (ZA002 is already in ANA Livery for the test campaign).

The first part of the work is now complete. Now to get this production ready...

The BA Strike - Rebooking and Generic Advice

NOTE - BA Strike is OFF as of 17/12.

---

So lets quickly recap the Unite/BA Cabin Crew Strike

Turnout: 80% with a 9:1 favour in Strike.
Strike Dates: 22nd December 2009 for 12 days until 2nd January 2010
BA Rebooking Policy -See http://www.britishairways.com/travel/flightops/public/en_gb?p_faqid=3917, but in simple terms:

"Customers who are booked to travel between 22 December 2009 and 2 January 2009 and for 48 hours on either side of those dates who would like to take their flight at a different time can change to another BA flight departing in the next twelve months at no charge."

"If a customer’s flight is cancelled because of industrial action, we will offer them the option to refund their ticket, rebook on to a different flight or reroute their journey on another BA flight"

- Fully-Flex can change bookings via Manage My Booking
- Bookings Made Through BA.com - Contact the BA Call Centre
- Bookings via Travel Agent - Contact Travel Agent where the booking was made.

In addition space for most BA Flight have been zeroed out (no seats available) during the strike period (Confirmed through ExpertFlyer).

There is the matter that some BA flights may fly during the Industrial Action period by non-union members of staff - expect to see a heavily redrawn emergency timetable closer to the strike date.

There is a chance that the strike action may not go ahead and that BA and the Unions can come to an agreement - we can but hope..

---

If you're planning to travel and considering re-routing

If you're paying for your ticket

If you were considering rebooking to other carriers, be aware that it is the Christmas period and thus capacity will be stretched more than normal. Other carriers have zeroed availability in what cheaper fare buckets there were, and only release near enough full fare tickets or slightly discounted full fare tickets with strict fare conditions.

Some carriers are offering promotions to get people keep people flying (FlyBe taking full advantage and EasyJet offering free SpeedyBoarding for BA Gold/Silvers)

If you're planning a Frequent Flyer Redemption

Expect to be restricted at space maybe dedicated to full fare customers or space to book out.. In other words as warned yesterday Plan your re-routing NOW and get your redemptions in - what were wide open yesterday morning (14/12) have gone to minimal seats this morning (15/12).

---

I wish those you who are travelling BA during this period the best of luck getting to your destinations - BUT PLAN AHEAD NOW AND KNOW YOUR OPTIONS.

This post will be monitored and as the situation changes, updates will be made.

** BREAKING ** British Airways Cabin CrewStrike Action - It's Go!

NOTE - BA Strike is OFF as of 17/12.

It is confirmed by the BBC that Cabin Crew have voted to strike with an high turnout.

The vote, had a greater than 80% turnout, was 92.5% in favour of a strike, says the Unite.

The action is set to begin on 22 December and run until 2 January - with major disruption over the Christmas Period.

If you're travelling over this festive period on BA, I'd get your contingency measures sorted *now*

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8411214.stm

More on this later...

Airplane p0rn - Delta 757-200

It's Sunday, so it must be time for some more airplane p0rn.  This week - it's a Delta 757-200 taxing at Las Vegas International.

More of course, next week!

Updated: Boeing 787 First Flight ** 15 December **

Boeing has officially confirmed that they aiming for first flight of their 787 aircraft on 15th December at 10am PST.

Image: Boeing.com

GhettoIFE whilst not there, will provide coverage on the first flight - least of all from the in-plane and IFE perspectives.

Hat tips: Boeing, Flightblogger

Congratulations to Airbus - A400M takes to the skies 2 years late...

Well, another day, another new aircraft takes to the skies.  The A400M is almost as troubled as the B787, but has today taken a great step forward in it's programme by taking off over 20 months late, and heading into the sky at 10:15 from  San Pablo airport near Seville, Spain

Frame MSN001 had a 3 hour and 45 minute flight, before landing back successfully, with "sparking" take off performance and extended work as things were going well.

Of course - this is an excuse for some airplane p0rn! ;)

Picture: Airbus Military 2009, L. Olivas - http://www.a400m.com/

More  coverage at http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/11/336083/updated-pictures.html and video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8407825.stm

(Sorry for the delays in posting - I'm switching laptops at the moment and am migrating from one to another. No delay vouchers or food vouchers will be issued alas due to the shortness of delay. Thank you for flying GhettoIFE.com)

Welcome to Star Alliance Brussels Airlines!

Today, Star Alliance has taken another growth, and has added Brussels Airlines into the Alliance.

But who are they?

A Boeing 737-400 in Brussels Airlines livery.

The IATA identifier might provide a clue: SN. SN was the original identifier of Sabena, which went bankrupt in 2001. SN Brussels Airlines was reorganised to take over as the national carrier. With the merger of one of Bransons failed experiments - Virgin Express, it became Brussels Airlines. During 2008, Lufthansa went on a buying spree of basket case airlines, and acquired Brussels airlines in September 2008, brining in Miles and More, killing off the OneWorld codeshares (bar the AA BRU-JFK service which end soon) and culminating in the joining of Star Alliance.

In fleet terms, it's a mishmash of Avro/BAe 146's (26 units - both RJ70/RH85), Boeing 737 Classics (5 -300's, 5 -400's with one reserved for charter use), 4 A319's and 4 A330's.

Yes - you saw that right - A330's. Brussels Airlines has a developed an extensive route network in Africa which take advantage of this with some aspirations of going for the TATL market rather than leaving it to United and American Airlines.

In operations terms we'll be seeing a lot more SN traffic at LHR as BMI is giving over the space for them to run a service (RJ-85's and 737-400's's expected).  For those on RTW tickets, some intresting destinations should now show up.

Breaking apart the order - United orders 25 A350's and 25 B787's

Ok, now I'm not working on real work, its time to do an analysis.

With a mixed order of 25 of each type of aircraft (with options for 50 more of each - so a possible 75 aircraft of each class), what is United trying to achive?

Fleet Replacement - The 747's and 767's are up for the chop in this case.

• The 747's are being replaced with Airbus A350-900's (with 11% more range than a 747-400)
  
• whilst the 767's are being replaced with Boeing 787-8's. (with a 32% increase in range)
• No 747-8's - Well lets be honest, who really wants this type? Apart from Lufthansa and Korean Air, United seems not to be in the 350 people plus market 
• No new 777's - Unsurprising as interest in the current generation equipment is slowly waning as people look to 787/A350.
  

Shrinkage - Yes - there's a lot of it.   Apart from fleet shrinkage of 10% airframes, there will be a 19% shrinkage in actual seats. That's a *lot* of seats.

Cost reduction and "greenness" - The green issue rears its head again, with alleged savings of 40% over the liftime of the frame

Both fleets also represent a chance for United to take gambles with long and thin routes - or really beef up exisit routes.

One little issue - neither fleets are due to come on stream until 2016, with delivery complete in 2019. 

That is a *lifetime* away in airline terms.

So, it's a win-win for both Boeing and Airbus?  Airbus should be feeling happy, however, the real looser is Boeing - in terms of not the aircraft ordered, but the aircraft lost to Airbus.

However, rather than being nationalist - United has done the right thing by buying aircraft suited to need... and knowing United - suited to it's pocket. 

** BREAKING - United orders 25 A350's and 25 B787's ***

Well it seems United seems to be as good at taking a descsion as most major organisatons with the order of intent for  25 Boeing 787-8's and 25 Airbus A350XWB-900's.

Yes - it's a 50/50 split for both Boeing and Airbus.

More analysis later with a few pictures if you're good!

Airplane p0rn - Air France Boeing 777-200ER

And it's time of the week again - time for some Airplane p0rn!

This week - an Air France Boeing 777-200ER about to take off from LAX on the long route back to Paris (along with an interloping US Airways Express (Mesa) CRJ in the background).

More airplane p0rn of course next week!

What's in the Matching pack from Continental?

In the last waining days of Continental in SkyTeam, I found out that status matches were still being offered to all commers. As a BMI Gold with a slim chance of NOT re-qualifying for BMI Gold (it was very close at one point), I decided to make contingency plans "just in case"

Taking a punt (and in some seriousness, I am thinking to switching to Continental - least of all there is a lovely service to Newark (EWR) direct from my local airport - Birmingham BHX). And I got matched to their Gold to become SkyTeam Elite... which became Star Alliance Gold!

A few days ago.. the pack arrived. What wonders would await me?  Lets find out...

Ooh. A cute envelope....

... that has definatly suffered on its way accross the pond

Now lets look inside.

Aww. A cute welcome letter. Now onto the good stuff....

The beloved card:

Well you can't exactly *miss* where it says "Star Alliance Gold" can you (unlike the BMI card), and vaild until the end of January. Not much time to use my current card - but a new card should be due for the Newly matched travel year...

Now any luggage tags and other beanies?

Oh dear. Well. The luggage tags are... umm.. two labels to stick inside your luggage. That's it.  Not overly impressive.

The things on the right - are more interesting - Continental Currency - or to the rest of us... DRINK VOUCHERS!!! (for those of you who sit in the nose of the plane, most US carriers charge us for the numbing liquids that make travel bearable for those of us who sit in the back).

The good news - there are 4 of them.... This means I'm going to have to find a Continental Flight to try them out on...

But I'm hoping for something better in the New Year renewal pack... at least some pretty luggage tags.... ;)

Korean Air goes for 747-8I - who else to follow(?)

The 747-8I project received a very small boost today with Korean Air plumping for a grand total of 5 frames.

You read that correct. Five. This actually takes KAL up to 12 747-8's (as they have 7 747-8F's on order)

KAL say this is to plug the hole between the 777 and the A380, and it's a logical fit for the between the 300 to 500 seat market.


I'm not overly convinced to be honest. The 747-8I project has really failed to take flight with customers, with everyone looking at twin-jets instead. Only Lufthansa firmly stood their ground and is the launch carrier - with KAL only being the second carrier to buy them (apart from a lot private frames - LH 20 frames, KAL 5 frames, Boeing Business Jet division 7 frames) taking the project to 32 frames in total..

Has Boeing missed the boat with the 747-8I? Possibly. Emirates and Singapore Airlines have voted with their feet and are pushing ahead with A380 deployments, whilst bigger airlines such as Air France have started to push their push to the same platform - with others to follow.

Could this be the momentum for other carriers to purchase the 747-8I? Again, I'm not confident - the 777, 787, A330, A350 and even the A380 are making major inroads to the 747's market - least of all down to cost. It might be a good fit for Cathay Pacific and JAL (traditional 747 operators) - but for other airlines it may not make that much sense.

Will Boeing develop the 747-8I frame is the other question... or will Boeing develop and sell it as a matter of pride and not as a revenue generator?  That's the real question that's yet to be answered.  I guess we will find out if the first 747-8I rolls out of the Boeing factory in Lufthansa colours.....

JAL... will it be Bachelor number 1 or Bachelor Number 2?

The Battle for JAL's heart is well and truly joined, with Delta offering $1 Billon and now American offering $1.1 Billion.

Its fast turning into one heck of a battle for the Far East (as whoever wins gets a very big chuck of the network out there to integrate into their own airline or alliance)

American is part of OneWorld (which JAL is part of) whilst Delta would take JAL into Skyteam, sewing up the north Asia major alliances with Star Alliance. (Star has ANA and Asiana, Skyteam have Korean Air and JAL currently is in OneWorld) 

JAL itself has slumped BADLY, requiring four government bailouts to keep going, and with a 6 month loss of $1.5 Billion - whoever does buy the share in JAL has a lot of work to turn around that airline.

I can't predict this one by a long way - however it turns out will lead to a pretty strong home at Narita and well beyond Japans borders....

** BREAKING - Airplane Geeks Rejoice - 787 Flight Targeted for 14/12/2009 (14 Dec)

It seems that Boeing has declared its fixes to the wing good - and that first flight for the 787  has been pushed forward from 22nd December to 14th December. 

As those who have been paying some sort of attention to this ongoing mess-up that's making the A380 project look like light work - the 787 has had wing re-enforcement in the wingbox and side of the box, passing its internal "over 100%" have passed a few ago - allowing ZA001 (N787BA) being prepared for First Flight. Frame ZA002 (N787EX in ANA colours) has had it's wingfix applied and itself it being fitted out for flight.

Well. We'll see as they say - there have been many bumps in the 787 project so far - and it's too early to assume they won't be more....

Credit: FlightBlogger

On other Kevin sites...

... yes I do have a minor web empire. And minor, it's very small - but hey - lets do some shameless self promotion.

• On Photoblog (you can access the most recent entries on the left hand bar), It's the Christmas season, so it's time for the Advent Calendar that'll be running all December. Have a look - it might put you into the semi festive spirit.
  
• On Raven Imaging (It's one link on the left with the letters NSFW - I'm sure you know what that means), I've been busy with my camera again.  If you want to see what I do professionally, pop along and have a look. 
• On GhettoIFE.com, it's the usual commentary, analysis and everything else that GhettoIFE.com does well. During Christmas and New Year, there'll be lots of Airplane p0rn to keep everyone happy (also I'll be having some personal time. The joys of automated posting.).

It's a pleasure to have you aboard GhettoIFE as we cruise into this festive season.  And Thank You  for reading!

Ryanair's flights - Pricless (c) - For everything else, there's Prepaid MasterCard...

Well after yesterdays announcement that Abbey and Travelex are abandoning Visa Electron, Ryanair is taking advantage of this, and abandoning the Electron platform too.

However, to preserve customer choice and wider acceptability, instead of lowering fees for other debit or credit cards, they'll now accept PrePaid MasterCards only as a fee-free form of payment.

Avalible as gift cards, PrePaid things and all sorts of promos, granted- they're easier to get hold of. The Fees however will add up - including

• Purchase of card fee
  
• Loading fees
• Non useage fees
• etc

MasterCard UK has a list of card issuers.

Is this a good move? Probably in some respects as it opens lower reoccuring fees (of up to a £5 a time).

The fact you have to acquire the card (£5-£10) and then pay a load fee (2.5%-5%) means you really have to do a LOT more research.

Visa Electron users will suffer a £5/€5 fee from 1st January 2010. PrePaid MasterCard will accepted fee-free from 1st December 2009.

Note this is just for the booking fee that Ryanair levies on its users. Any other fees (air, toilet, luggage, checkin, etc) are still chargeable.

As sad as it sounds - expect other LCC's to follow.

Visa Electron starting to dissapear.... what next?

GhettoIFE.com towers would like to apologise this week - I'm down with a cold... the joy of work. Things could be more odder than normal...

It's been reported that Abbey (Santander) and Travelex will be stopping issuing Visa Electron cards.

Why is this remotely important?

For those who buy tickets on Aer Lingus, BMIbaby, Easyjet, Flybe Jet2, Ryanair and a lot of the LCC's, it's another blow as a way of buying cheap tickets has vanished as they you will need to buy with with your normal Plastic

One of the few remaining issuers of Electron cards in the UK now is [b]HBOS[/b] - or Halifax.

Now, a lot of people haven't heard of Visa Electron - with good cause - 8% of the population have these cards, with the target of these as "starter" bank accounts.

So yes - we know how much a card costs to process (30p upwards for Visa Debit Card) - and we know they're adding this as a process markup, whilst its dressed up as "a clear pricing policy"

So airlines: KINDLY STOP MILKING IT PLEASE

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8384034.stm

Airplane p0rn - US Airways A320

It's Sunday, so it's time for some Airplane p0rn. This week its a US Airways A320 with Las Vegas as its backdrop

More next week!

Blog Admin: Keyword Cleanup

It's winter cleaning time here at GhettoIFE.com towers - so over the next few weeks you might find that certain keywords are being enhanced to increase visibility and user friendliness.

Ok. That's the airline spin version - now for the translation ;)

I'm cleaning up the blog a bit as the labels/keywords list is getting a bit unmanageable.  It should hopefully slim down a bit, with duplicates, variations and bad spelling errors being wiped out along the way - however it is taking time and will be done in a couple of weeks. 

Thank you for flying GhettoIFE.com!

Ok - this isn't airline related..

... or maybe some of the industry is run by a load of muppets...

But here for your IFE value.. is ... the Rap.

Happy Turkey Day to our American Visitors!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all American readers.  

In the spirit of Turkey day... have some.. umm.. Diced Turkey! ;)

;)

BMI slices more of itself up... what is there left?

Well even though I go a new Diamond Club Pack, it seems BMI is downsizing itself...

With the PR Spin distilled - it's bad news.

• AMS (Amsterdam) to be suspended from 27 March 2010
• TLV (Tel Aviv) suspended from London on 9 January 2010, and the last flight departing Tel Aviv on 10 January 2010
• KPB (Kiev) suspended on 10 January 2010
• ALP - (Aleppo), with the last departure from London being 9 January 2010 and the last departure from Aleppo being 10 January 2010.
• BRU (Brussels) is transferred from BMI to Brussels Airlines.

Also:

• 2 x A330's are approaching end of lease, and are to be returned to lessor - ending the long haul BMI Dream
• 2 x ERJ aircraft are now up for sale
• and most sad of all - 600 posts affected - and leading to redundancies. 

Links to the BMI Route Announcement and the Major Restructure at Flyertalk

Good luck to those involved.

Additional Coverage: 

• Flight Global
  
• Sky News 
• BBC News 
• Business Traveller  
  

The New Diamond Club Pack - umm.. Where does it say BMI?

So a nice black package arrvied in the post for me today... but what's in it?

Ah. BMI wishes to communicate with me.

Oooh... Airport codes... and subtle bit of BMI Advertising.

Oh bugger. Eco credentials down the pan with lots of little advertising things.  Nice idea, but a booklet would had been cuter, and no doubt easier to print. Still - that's our BMI.

Also notice the lack of BMI on a lot of the paperwork and the advertising of "Diamond Club" as a brand.

So where is the advertising that it's a BMI Card?

Ah. Of course - the back of the Card - and on the luggage tags - where they all go obviously.

The good news is thankfully, there are reports of the new cards being accepted without a problem in most Star Alliance lounges, except AMS who have only recently seen the new card.

That's our BMI...

And so a peice of history comes to an end... Bye Bye LHR T2!

The Europa Terminal - or what is these days known as London Heathrow Terminal 2 has sent its last passenger off into the night and has closed down, with the strip-out, demolition and rebuild

Flight AF1881 was the last to push back from the Europa Building (An hour late - that's our Heathrow Airport) and thus closed 54 years of history of that low celinged check-in (as that floor was converted from a Car Park), drips and random coldness that was T2.

So what's happening on the site? Well the building is being demolished (along with the Queens building - the admin block) in favour of the new T2, which will form the major hub for Star Alliance airlines, allowing T1 to be demolished in 2013, with completion in 2019.

In operations terms, the Star Alliance airlines have moved over to T1, whilst the remaining SkyTeam and non-aligned airlines (that's Air France, Air Seychelles, Air Transat, CSA Czech Airlines, Libyan Airlines, Rossiya, Syrianair and Tunis Air) move over to T4.

Let it never be said that things never stand still at Heathrow... apart from when you're waiting for a short haul push-back....

Traveling on a Continental 737... Don't expect any inseat IFE....

 Big news from our newest members of the Star Alliance -  Continental

It seems to have issues with their the delivered LiveTV (LTV3) system installed in their Boeing 737-900ERs and 737-800's, after discovery there is an out of specification problem on the units.

It looks like fix is simple - however - it will take time to do the fleet. Of course Continental have declined to state what the actual fix is.

My advice: Pack your GhettoIFE systems whilst Continental get this fixed...

Hattip: FlightGlobal

London gets a clue at last - Full Oyster from 2nd Jaunary 2010.

Well it's taken long enough for the Greater London Assembly and Transport to London to get their heads around the rail companies and knock sense into them and FINALLY delivered Full Oyster for All Transport for London Network services.

If you're a visitor to London (or an Oyster PAYG user), you have 3 options at the moment:

• Buy an Oyster Card any pay up for train services exculded by Oyster or
• Buy Paper Travelcards and get stung for the cost of them
• Buy a Weekly ticket and get stung majorly for it. 
  

From the 2nd Jan 2010, this is abolished finally, with the Rail companies getting on board and new London map now available (with the exclusion of Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect between Heathrow Stations and Hayes and Harlington) .

All I can say is this: IT'S TAKEN LONG ENOUGH!  It's going to make travelling in the capital on all forms of transport (Rail, Tube, Bus, Water - even Riverboats are going Oyster) a lot simpler.

PR: Transport for London

Airplane p0rn - United 757 - Rotate

It's that time of the week again - it's Airplane p0rn time!

We're still at LAX, with a United 757-200 taking off.

More Airplane p0rn - of course - next week!

Your next flight to Dante's Inferno - Operated by Air Austral

The Airbus A380 - Sometimes called a WhaleJet or a BlunderBus, it does have redeeming features in the carriers that have so far implemented it - least of all in First, Business or even down the back where there have been innovations througout.

However, Airbus quote a theoretical 853 ultra-dense all Economy layout of an A380 as the maximum design limit. 

Well it seems Air Austral is going to take up with a passenger payload of 840 all economy seats which was confirmed at the Dubai Air Show (and first reported in January this year).

Yes - you read that right. 840 Seats.

Here's a computer rendering to make you boggle.

Image - Airbus S.A.S.

Air Austral, whilst no big operation has 3 ATR72-500s, 2 737's of the classic varity, 2 777-200ERs and 3 777-300ER's in their fleet. Even the 777's have a "Business" Class seat in them though.

It's a case of "Built it and hope they will come".  Whilst we can wish them the best, I have questions if they can actually fill a A380 over that route, least of all with a stop in Reunion, and make it pay with Economy Class tickets only.

There's not much more to say than... ouch?

Delayed in the USA today? Blame the autoloading systems....

The Register reports a classical fail today - the failure by the FAA to automaticly load flights which has lead to delays to services today as flight plans aren't being loaded.

Problems kicked off at 05:06, and whilst radio and radar are uneffected, Air Traffic Control Systems are having to load the rest of the flight plan data manually.

Oopsie.

At time of writing, EWR, LGA, PHL, DCA, IAD, and ATL are having problems, with also poor weather in the NY Region too.

It's just a lesson to us all who work with computers to check your schedudles are working, that everything is tested and working...

Congratulation Gray!

Bit of blog adim between Delta trying to take over the world and the Dubai airshow, it's time to congratulate Gray at Wing and a Prayer as he has migrates from WordPress to Boarding Area Business Travellers Blogs


His blog competes with mine in dry humor and sarcasm, but has some very good adventures including a great East European and Iraq adventure, as well as news and views with an Anerican slant (including a close watch on United Airlines... which no one does at all)

Congrats again Gray - Enjoy the cookies at Boarding Area ;)

BMI Diamond Club - Big Changes ahead - for the BETTER.

For those of you signed up with BMI Diamond Club as your Star Alliance Frequent flier programme, there are some BIG changes as of today.

Lets go through them...

The end of the Gold Upgrade Voucher (GUV's) - These paper based vouchers could be used to upgrade a ticket from Economy to Premium or Business dependant on routes. These have been replaced with Complimentary Upgrade Vouchers, held Electronically.  All Gold Members get 4 of them a year.

For those of you selling GUV's on eBay or have brought some - congratulations - they're worth NOTHING as of today. They are not convertible into CUV's.

Household Accounts

A common complaint and/or feature is to pool miles from different accounts for rewards.  Well as of 1st Decemember, you can pool up to 8 family members (2 of which can be employed by you) to into a household account to spend mile.

Now considering the bargains that are available as Diamond Club rewards, this is one hell of a enhancement. The ability to pool miles for family trips or couple trips will be very good for the wallet and mileage balances if you're short on one account, but overfilling on the other.

Miles for Upgrade (MFU)

Yes - It's arrived (after plenty of moans from me), it's now possible to MFU your fares one way route, allowing you to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy or Business!

IF your ticket is in Y, S, O, B, U, L buckets (again, mid to high economy tickets), you'll be able to use miles to upgrade tickets.

MFU's available from 5k for a short up, with up to 25k for a hop to Cairo from London, with miles earned on the original ticket bucket.





New Frequent Flyer Cards

Yes - it's time for a new design. Notice anything about which airline it is?

Correct. Nice and generic. Almost... HON Circle looking.

---

It seems there are some positive enhancements to the BMI Diamond Club programme - the loss of GUV's is a fact of life alas, and put that ride to an end, but there are some very bright spots to the programme.

Now lets hope the airline can survive the next few years...

Dubai Airshow 2009: Condesed, Distilled and Highlighted.

It's time to pack your buckets and spades, and head of to Dubai for the airshow.

(What... Dubai is Blackpool but with Sun? Nothing of the sort. You might like to think that - I possibly couldn't comment)

Anyhoo, they're having an airshow, so lets  look at the run up and day 1, and see what's interesting in Civil aviation....

Jazeera Airways orders IFE and Avionics


Rockwell Collins has struck a deal with the upcoming Jazeera Airways to equip 30 A320's with IFE and inplane avonics.  Fiscal terms are hush hush.

See - it's possible to shove Personalised  IFE into an A320.  Any European airline AT ALL paying attention?

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise orders engines... and lots of them.

DAE has brought IAE International Aero Engines V2500 SelectOn to match their A320's they are obtaining in the 2011 onwards.  These aircraft are currently unassigned - pending the hopeful upturn in 2010.

Well more modern aircraft to displace the older ineffient aircraft must be a good thing...


Bombardier close to signing New C Series Middle Eastern Signer.

Bombardier - maker of little aircraft and not so little aircraft.  The C Series will be an intresting proposition - think a CRJ but a bit longer and more passengers with it's engines under the wing, but with capacities close to the low capacities Boeing 737-600/A318, whislt leapfrogging the ERJ-195.


Current purchasers include Lufthansa AG.  Intresting times ahead.


Etihad Airways announced a major $750 million investment package
Well lets talk proper airline investment. Etihad  (Abu Dhabi) is spending some serious money on itself - and not on frames - but on improving the product...

On the IFE Front, new aircraft that are coming in with A330's and B777's will have the celeibrated Panasonic eX2 IFE system - this system (first seen on SQ's A380) is the wonder system that has large screen and iPod connectivity (banning GettoIFE systems to being remote controls).  Installation and delivery is from December onwards.

For A340 flyers in the nose of the plane, expect brand new first class seats. Expect more on the layout and configurations later. However, if you're thinking of going in a B777 down the back - start panicking - the dreaded 10 abreast (3-4-3) configuration is coming to Eithad.

Expect to play sardines later!

There is also major technical and planning work going on too. Good to see investment going on.

Ethopian further commits to B787 - and maybe extra A350's...

What? An actual customer who is happy about the B787 delay? Oh Committed. Nothing new there.

Ethiopian is expecting their delivery to being in mid-2011, with two of the B787's being the longer 787-9 varity - due for delivery in 2013 if Boeing can get their finger out.

Whilst the A350's aren't due till 2017, there is consideration at the right price to dry lease some before they're formally deployed - with an order for 12 aircraft. This brings Airbus up to 500 A350s. 

Air Arabia takes advantage of the market - gets its planes earlier. 

Air Arabia loves chatting to Airbus, with the net benefit being 6 extra A320's delivery slots from 2010-2011 opened up, and they've swooped it in it, to expand their airline.

Nice swooping.

Yemenia signs memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 10 A320s.

Yes, the A320 is doing rather well, with Yemina signing away $700millon for 10 A320's in a MoU, subject to the usuals. Of course - no engine has selected.




Yes, it's Military, but hey. We do cargo planes here too. Lets enjoy breaking our own rules.

Airbus is finally getting near a solution with it's A400M transport, with all four engines spooling and demoing in Dubai.  With an exception for first flight this year, it can only help the disaster that's this project...

Thats it for today - more tommorow...

LOLBirds on the Middle seat....

LOLBirds on my thoughts on the middle seat...

Now.... about paying for seat assignments....

Source: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/11/16/funny-pictures-for-an-aisle-seat/

Airplane p0rn - Northwest Boeing 747-400

It's Sunday, so it must be time for some more Airplane p0rn.

Continuing last weeks LAX photos, this week, it's a NorthWest (Delta) 747-400 on taxi at LAX airport.

More Airplane p0rn of course ... next week!

BA and Iberia to tie the knot

After much negotiation, British Airways and Iberia have agreed in principle to tie the knot - forging the 3rd largest airline in the world.

After 16 months of discussion, the company will merge as an umbrella company (400 aircraft, 200 destinations). However in fiscal might, it will be smaller than Lufthansa or AirFrance-KLM.

Willie Walsh will head the new company with its main HQ in Madrid, it fiscal HQ in London.

Well - the first merger on the way. With the state these airlines are in, this is not a bad thing. The bigger concern for the passenger is amenities and service - will IB drag BA down... or will BA drag IB upwards in service level?

This is important as BA is a premium traffic airline.

If you can hear bleating in the background from Virgin Atlantic... well lets see...
AMS has a KLM Dominance...
FRA has a LH Dominance...
ZRH has a Swiss Dominance
DXB has a Emirates Dominance...

See a pattern emerging here? It's in Virgin Atlantic's interest to INNOVATE rather than moan and bitch.

All hail our Google Overlord - Free WiFi in certain (USA) Airports.

Our great Google overlord masters have deemed it upon us to have Free WiFi at certain airports from now until the 15th January 2010.

So for those who can't guess already, this offer is restricted to the USA, and to these airports:

Austin Baltimore Billings Boston Bozeman Buffalo, NY Burbank Central Wisconsin Charlotte, NC Des Moines El Paso Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Greensboro Houston Hobby Houston Bush

Indianapolis Jacksonville, FL Kalamazoo Las Vegas Louisville Madison Memphis Miami Milwaukee Monterey Nashville Newport News Norfolk Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Panama City, FL

Pittsburgh, PA Portland, ME Sacramento San Antonio San Diego San Jose Seattle South Bend Spokane St. Louis State College Toledo Traverse City West Palm Beach

See http://www.freeholidaywifi.com/

Notice a few blackspots here?

Yup. A few "missing" airports from this list include (all of which have paid WiFi):

Chicago O'Hare
Washington Dulles
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Denver
Newark
New York La Guardia
New York JFK
Philadelphia

Oh well - still it's a very nice gift from Google and might even drive business to these airports over the coming months.

Now about free WiFi in UK airports.... ;)

ANA Goes a bit CGI

As ANA paitently wait for their first Dreamliner to take to the sky - let alone be delivered, they've released a cute anime/CGI/liveaction video.



Now... this jetpack, does it have TATL range? ;)

A nice bit of animation and very European targeted (Ode to Joy in the background)

Almost flying the drunken skies - United Captain held for being drunk...

If you were travelling on UA949 to Chicago from London on 9th, you might had find the flight cancelled.

It seems that the Police were informed and the pilot - a 51 year old from Lakewood, Colorado was arrested for being over the prescribed alcohol limit and thus breath tested.  The pilot has since been released on bail, and due to appear in court on the 20th November.

Last night United Airlines said: "Safety is our highest priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we co-operate with the authorities and conduct a full investigation."

Oh dear. Whilst pilots are stressed, they have to remember they're not god, and have the same alcohol intolerances the rest of us have.

Sources, BBC News, The Independent

United ditches Mesa CRJ-200's

Mesa air. That wonderful United Express provider seems to be needing a paddle as its going down a creek without it.

It seems as well as pulling it's Dash-8 services (-300's, not the latest Q400 series I should add - 10 aircraft), the CRJ-200 fleet is also being withdrawn by 30th April 2010 from United services - a total of 26 aircraft.

Cranky has an excellent analysis from the airlines Point of view, whilst Yahoo has a fiscal point of view. I'm going to to look the passenger point of view.

On a 50 seat plane, space is at an absolute premium. However, whilst a ERJ is 2.1 meters across, it fits passengers in, in a 1 x 2 seating environment. The CRJ itself is 2.48 across, but fits 4 passengers across in a 2 x 2 environment - thus these aircraft are uncomfortable for anything but the shortest ranges of flights .

The commercial properties of the 50 seat "express" market is an interesting one - and it takes real work and good operational flexibility to make it work (which is why FlyBE is in a comparatively better state) than Mesa - it runs its own contracts with some feed into BA's network - and then that's a minute number.

Indeed as Cranky points out - the efficiencies per seat don't work well, and in some cases, airlines are signing contracts to keep aircraft in the air, where as others are repositioning.

Is this a chance for the Dash-8 Q400's to make serious inroads? Or for CRJ-700/900 / ERJ-170/190 series to head to the mainline? I'm not sure - different markets desire different things, so the smaller jets will always have a place.

How much to keep them in the air - is alas another matter.

Whilst the 50 seat market is getting a lot tighter (CRJ-200, ERJ 135/145)

The Autumn Run - Mixing Business with Pleasure with UA and US LHR-ORD-LAX-LAS-(LAS-PHX-LAX-LAS)-SFO-LHR

The Autumn Run - Mixing Business with Pleasure with UA and US
LHR-ORD-LAX-LAS-(LAS-PHX-LAX-LAS)-SFO-LHR
Or "Go on... add me to the volunteer list please "

Welcome to the GhettoIFE.com version of this trip report. You can also find it at Flyertalk.com, however this will be expanded a bit more with a few more pictures and such... when I get 5 minutes (2 hours to post a TR is a bit... excessive!)  

Previously...
LHR-BRU-LHR ... or "How do you burn a £50 BMI voucher without too much pain?"
MAN-ORD on BMI (29/10 ... or Did Kevin Make it to ORD?)
Kevin goes for a little mileage run on UA - ORD/CMH/IAD/EWR/ORD
ORD-MAN in BMI Premium Economy (with Pictures)
Kevin’s American Adventure – MAN-ORD-SEA-ORD-MAN (4 flights, 2 weeks) in Y..
ORD - MAN in BMI Premium Economy: How hard can a PE product drop? (also random moans)
LHR-PHL-SEA, SEA-PHX-ORD, ORD-PHL-LHR - In Y, Come and be scared with US!
LHR-SFO-LHR - If you're going to San Francisco - SFO MegaDO Trip report
Gold Run - Mr Kevincm goes to Washington with EI and US
Long Haul Commuter Run - LHR-IAD-ORD and back with UA
Saying Goodbye to a Friend - Travelling for the wrong reasons - LHR-PHL with UA
The BA Y+/Y Class Long Haul Experience LHR-BKK/SIN-SYD and back on a bargain fare

----

WARNING: This is a LOT longer than I thought it would be when I started putting keyboard to screen. Sorry!

Do I really need to introduce this report? Oh very well then! . This was going to be the usual Autumn audit of Economy class travel (for those of you who have forgotten, it's the back of the plane, seats are upright, minimal space, etc etc etc) However, circumstances changed as things on the ground moved along. Be prepared for a few surprises than normal in this report...

Again - this will be a post a leg, with airports and maybe some sights thrown in

And now - the prologue

(you might wish to skip this bit if you want to get to the meat of this report. Those who wish to understand my madness may continue at their own risk).

So after returning to the after the never to be repeated BA Ashes Fare Sale, I realised that my regular October photography trip to Chicago was coming up again... which meant time to look at tickets. More importantly, it was time to examine where I was in the race for re-qualification for 10/11 (providing Diamond Club exists by the point of writing).

A lot of this madness was explored on the blog, but to recap.. Now I was planning a simple LHR-ORD-LHR with a mini mileage run originally. But then BA had to go and launch a LHR-LAS direct route. Why is that relevant? Well lets see, a bunch of BA board members would be aboard requiring people to "drink" with (uh-oh....).

So the route became LHR-ORD-LAS and back... Then one 3am morning (my traditional zombie time) I thought... lets add some fun to this run... How much could I push the ticket to?

Initially I was pricing this in lots of segments, and in the first instance, these were coming up cheaply. However towards when I actually started booking the trip, a lot of availability had dried up completely, and the "direct" flights were a lot cheaper than the segments (in fact, the only set of flights I could toy with were the ORD-LAS segments). However, tagging a trip onto San Francisco at the end of it made no difference to the price - with the extra miles that route gives (even though the pain of 10 hours in United E-), it seemed worth it.


Map as ever - Great Circle Mapper - http://gc.kls2.com

But there is still the matter of a few missing miles to hit *G for the year. The current situation would had left a gaping hole of 1300 miles or so. Adding more segment in would had been extremely costly alas (increasing costs by at least £200). Even Backtracking to ORD would had hurt in an attempt to keep everything in "V".

Two options were available - either a segment run to the East Cost with United, or a segment run on the West Coast with US Airways. Both were looking good until I realised the amount of work I needed to do upon arriving in Chicago - so the East coast run was ruled out in favour of a Two state hop from Vegas. Whilst cutting down time there - I can always visit Vegas again - retaining Gold is a LOT harder...


Map as ever - Great Circle Mapper - http://gc.kls2.com

So that's it - seats assigned for all runs (even after a little discussion over the phone with US Airways), and E- assigned for all the United legs as BA drained some of that cash earlier this year.

What could possibly go wrong?

Part I - Coaches, Heathrow T1 and Lounges.

After the disaster that was packing (and to be honest partially my fault for accepting more work that I should had) by 2am, I was ready for the off. A cab was called, and after he go lost finding where I live (cabbies are good at that) and wearing clogs instead of shoes, it was a quick dash to the coach station for the early bus to Heathrow.


This travelling light concept... explain it to me one more time...


National Express Service 210
Birmingham City Centre Coach station to Heathrow Central Bus Station

Soon enough, I was at Digbeth Coach station, with the coach loading. I had my ticket validated, and boarded.

Of course, at this time of night, only the usual nutters were travelling – with families. Thankfully a pair of noise isolation headphones I obtained from the last trip shut the families up.

At the first available opportunity, I fell asleep and slowly woke up when the coach was reaching M25. As I entered the Heathrow approach tunnel, my iPhone decided to play the following song


Hmm. This iPhone knows *FAR* too much about me. Has Steve Jobs actually made it sentient?

Within minutes, I was ejected as my luggage was at Heathrow Central Bus station - in time for the long push to T1.

Heathrow T1
The Pictures

Heathrow T1 has changed a fair bit - least of all with all the premium areas springing up, but since a lot of the Star Alliance has moved in - it feels lighter and breezier than before.

The UA check-in queue system for Star Silver or Star Gold can be haphazard some days, clearly indicated as they were processing everyone from all queues.

Here is the exact conversation that took place between me and the queue agent

“Business class?”
“Star Gold – Economy”
“Follow me please…”

I was lead to the amazing place that is the First Class/United Global Services check-in section and checked in there. A bit of banter went on, and of course – I offered my seat for VDB if needed. It was kindly declined and I asked if I had time to go to both the BMI Number One and Star Alliance Lounge which there was a bright “Of course sir…”

Once everything was dumped at Zone Y for over-sized, it was off to security. Again no queues, and as I was passing a scanner, the agents opened a unit up for me. No objections were raised for a manual scan of my film and I was through quickly.

Then it was straight off through the rabbit warren that is the BMI end of T1 and to the Number One end of the lounge. As I entered, I had a brisk “Where do you think you’re going sir?” (travelling in my usual look I don't exactly look like a business professional - more like a student...). A flash of the BMI Gold Card and her tone changed and a smile, - “Please come in sir…”

Lounge Stop – BMI Diamond Club – The Number One Lounge

Plenty of Flyertalkers have been through this lounge – and it is fast making a big impact in LHR T1 operations. But why? Is it something that can take on the holy grail of the Virgin Clubhouse at T1? Or is it an oddly filled space?

I was warmly greeted and given a quick verbal tour of the lounge as it was my first time there. I then had a walk round, looking at the well lit spaces, the small corners and finally, I grabbed a coffee, a few Lily O’Brien chocolates (Well… a certain BMI flyer doesn’t need them anyway when flying on his little EmBRUair ) and sat down.

WiFi access is via “The Cloud” – was free of charge – just enter your the details and off it went – so much so the first blog post of this journey was made their (with awful pictures).

Here are some better ones


The Local


The Bar


Food Area


Coffee


And a sign of times that have changed...

This is defiantly a nice place to spend time, with excellent design and thought. Excellent work BMI.

One little critique – and its been pointed out by others before – the food options for breakfast are pretty poor (pan -au-chocalat, toast, croissants). So as had a long hike ahead, I thanked the staff for an excellent lounge visit, and hiked back across T1 to the other lounge option - the Star Alliance Common Lounge.

Lounge Stop – Star Alliance Common Lounge



After being let in, and being directed in, the first thing I noticed was how busy the lounge was. The second thing I noticed was the lack of plugs in the place now. In the end I made a nest in the business centre for another 45 minutes, stocking up on bacon rolls and sausage baps for a bit.


The Breakfast of Champions - A Proper Bacon Roll is always appreciated!

WiFi has changed in this lounge – it’s now a BT OpenZone WiFi hotspot – but within the lounge complex – it’s free. I quickly has some nibbles, a splash charge of the iPhone and the MacBook and soon enough – 7am had rolled around. Time for me to bid farewell to the lounge and begin the long hike.

Thankfully UA929 was assigned to Gate 38 – so the hike was quite short for once. Upon arriving, Zone 1 and 2 were being called, so I made myself present.

My boarding pass was scanned – and she said “Have a good Mr H… Hold it – You’re Mr Kevin…”

Hold breath – was it?

“Sir – 36K has been taken from you. You've moved you into 9H. Have a pleasant flight – your Star Gold has helped you today”

WOOHOO! BATTLEFIELD UPGRADE


London Heathrow - Chicago O'Hare International
United Airlines UA929, 21/10/09
Boeing 767-300 New International Configuration,
Was Seat 36K (E-), Battlefield Upgrade to 9H (United International Business Class)
3953 miles flown, 3942 earned.
Channel 9: Well. I'll explain about that in a mo...
The Pictures



(Apologies for the photography at this point – I couldn’t get to my main camera in time, and the service had begun by the time I wanted to get to it…)

Bouncing my way down the jetway, I made it to the plane and greeted the crew with a smile. Soon enough I was at my seat near the front of the plane (it’s a rare enough experience alas).

Slowly, I settled into my seat discovering the big space infront of me. Drinks were offered. Of course as I have learned from a certain other forum, “its never too early for Champagne”.

And thus a glass of sparkling something or other was consumed. In honour of Moomba, I present a plastic champers glass in its best state


Empty

As we were prepping to take off I discovered problem number 1 of the day – some person before me managed to break their headphones into the IFE system – resulting in me not being able to use headphones .

Oh well. Be British. Don’t grumble

Soon enough, the cabin was secured for take off and we were off into the morning sky. Now normally, you’d expect a 101 pictures – being in a middle isle doesn’t lend itself unfortunately – neither does the one problem with the new UA Business seats – the lack of at seat storage. Taking off backwards was an interesting experience – one that works well for the seating and the full flat nature of it when you need it.

Soon enough we climbed out – heading over London, Leicester, Manchester, out via Blackpool and Belfast, reaching our height of 34,000ft.

It was breakfast time. This is where problem number 2 manifested itself – the overhead light had gone bang too. In addition 9J’s light was doing a flashing on and off thing.

Rather than worry the crew at this point – I tried my best with the iPhone to get this trip report done (darned hard too!).

Firstly the lunch order was taken, with the purser darting back and forth by status. Being an op-up obviously meant I was near the bottom of the list – but thankfully – all options were available still.

Breakfast service was then carried out – firstly with a fruit tray and then 2 hot dishes or cold cuts were offered. I decided to live dangerously and have an UA Omelet.


Fruit Plate


UA Omelet

It wasn’t that rubbery – which was a nice surprise. The chicken sausage was as usual, completely inoffensive, the hash was hashy, and the onions… were earthy.

Still by this point – I was exhausted after being up for 24 hours with only an hour or two in between, so I popped the bed into a comfortable position and that was me out until the Labrador coast – a good 3 hours kip there. I had the bed angled upward slightly whilst also proved a bit of support too.

Moving onto the IFE system, this is an example of the Panasonic ex2 System in business and first, with full AVOD on a nice 15” screen. Image clarity was clear (I was watching Star Trek from row 9 …. With row 10’s screen) and the software and UI is clear and thought out. Now if I had a headphone socket, I would had really appreciated this – alas – not to be.


AVOD System

Lets move onto the seat. At 77" in flat mode, it’s a very nice space. Even in a mid configuration, my feet were on the footrest fine and I could just relax and sleep in any given and set configuration. The padding is reasonably soft, with the lumbar support programme full of fun and games. Of course, like most modern business seats, there are power sockets and USB charging areas.

The Seat


Seat Controls

After a quick trip to the small room, I wandered to the Galley and explained what had happened. The flight attendant was very sorry, and without prompting, gave me an appreciation card. To be honest - I wasn't expecting a card - I just wanted to let the team know so when the aircraft goes to maintenance, they can fix the issues...


Drink and Hot Towel

But time wandered on, and lunch was served.


To start off with - UA's signature dish...


Hot nuts!


Starter - Regular viewers will note the wine glass is indeed full. What of? Oh come on... Chardonnay of course


Service was the carried out on a tray with the starter (salmon and a salad - of course add a sesame seed dressing and we'll call it an Asian salad...).

Shortly after, I had the vegetarian curry - actually a very nice option - nicely spiced, although I still question the peas in the rice.



Desert followed of cheese or a triple chocolate desert thing. This again is another easy guess...



And of course, Chinese Diet Cola.



After this point, people had raised blinds and I wandered around the cabin a bit.



However, time was a coming on, and it was soon enough time to secure the cabin. At this time the purser came along and introduced herself, and apologised for the problems - and offered a bottle of wine with compliments. A simple act - but very nice of her to offer the wine for the technical issues that were beyond her control.

After a long taxi into T5, it was off with me to the border where I was stamped in, ID'd and greeted, and then of course the wonders that is "waiting for luggage to spit out".

Unsurprisingly, BP1/2 luggage spat out first, then no priority, and finally - priority luggage appeared. Nice work ORD Luggage handlers . A quick visit to our friends at Customs, and once again - I entered the Land of the Free(TM)...

Overall: A very unexpected experience and a great surprise. The United Business product seemed to be very well rounded, and where needed - service recovery carried out. It's occasions like this where you go with the flow, and manners and politeness can make a heck of a difference. Now if we can get some consistency with the ORD Luggage destroyers...

-----------------------

Hotel: Hyatt O'Hare
The Pictures

Once again, it's back to this lovely hotel - except for one little issue - I was placed in the Executive wing. Now that may sound nice in theory, but it's a substantial hike from one end of the hotel to the other. However, Hyatt Platinum was acknowledged, with WiFi given away as promised (probably the best beanie of Hyatt Platinum at $9.99 a day). As usual, the beds were sumptuous and comfortable, as were the surroundings, including the flatscreen TV and the bathroom.

To be honest - the room didn't feel that executive-y - but it was good, with adequate working spaces. Next time, I'll arrange to be in the main atrium. If you're working until 2am in the morning, the shorter the hike back to the bedroom - the better...

Bell and Concierge were as good as ever, and prompt.

The bar was... full of marketing reps most of the weekend - but was reasonably efficient once the barperson worked out how to make a Cosmo and draw a diet coke from the machine (no - lets not go there )

Views


Rosemont Station at night


From the 10th floor in the main Atrium


The Restaurant

But anyway, Monday came soon enough. A 06:00 wake up and at reception by 07:00 - it was back the the Bunny....


Part IV - Bunny's, Dragons, and Seats that go Bump in the Night...

Ah. Chicago O'Hare. Can I compare thee to a Autumn's Day? Can I compare thee to the weather outside - wet and dreary. Yes? Oh Goody.

I wandered to PremExec Check-in, and dumped my pile of luggage, with LR's signed on the tripods, and an option to put myself on the Volunteer list. Judging I was in 27F already, anything would be an upgrade from that - so I tapped it out. Pretty soon my boarding passes were spat out at me.

Looking at the queues, they were for miles around, so a check-in agent who needed to take my idiot sized luggage through directed me to a shorter priority queue. Quickly enough, it was a liquids scan, with a manual film scan (no questions). Soon enough I located that I would be at concourse C and foolishly decided to head to C17 as a lounge.


Through the Hypnotunnel... with Rhapsody in Blue playing in the background

United Red Carpet Club - C17.
Drunk: Coffee. Lots of it.
Bagel things consumed: Few
Juvenile laughter amount for the word "Smuckers": Infinite.

A forced smile greeted me and I went to the enquiry desk to be told loudly and in a clipped style that "VDB's would be managed at gate and I have no views of what's going on".

Nothing like friendliness eh?

Anyhoo, I went into the lounge to be disappear to see what wonders would be served this time of morning... and compared to the simple Star Alliance or even BMI Number One Lounge, I was in for the usual disappointment of mini muffins, bagel things, Snuckers, Fruit and Yoghurt.


Nothing like a healthy breakfast then...

But my hotspot access was still working - enough to phone the office and to do a bit of light surfing before the stamped at C25.


Ok - it had reasonable views art least

Of course, as soon as time allowed, I made my way out of this RCC with a mental note not to darken its doors again.

I wandered down to C25, with the Red Boarding Carpet lice swarming and politely inquired if my seat was needed. I was told a good chance - please take a seat.

5 minutes later - I was paged to go to the podium -I was being VDB'd and after a little discussion - I successfully VBD'd at the gate for the 10:10 flight (with an attempt to get me on the direct Vegas flight that was met with a raised eyebrow). A lot of tapping later, and two new boarding passes spat out with a Voucher. It was only after I walked away from the podium did I actually start reading it. Firstly I saw my LAX-LAS flight I had been reassigned an isle seat (which I would correct later), a DBC Free Voucher (that had to be corrected too) but the boarding pass for the ORD-LAX leg was saying 4J. A quick bit of math in my head and a look at the top of the boarding pass gave it


My First FIRST

As I didn't want to experience the dragons in C17 again - I headed to customer service to get the seating assignment changed (and was upgraded to E+) and the DBC converted into Travel Credits (this trip is turning into rich pickings!) and then went to hang around the gate. More logical really as boarding was a few minutes away.

That and my iPhone is trying to tell me something again (Hint: Yana's Aria - BA 1989 Face Advert)


Are you *sure* you're trying to tell me something iPhone?

Soon enough boarding was called, and I bounced my way on-board to the wonders that is United Domestic First Class

Chicago O'Hare International - Los Angeles International
United Airlines UA531, 26/10/09
Boeing 767-300 Domestic Configuration
Seat 4J - United First
Channel 9: On
The Pictures
I was greeted and went to my seat a 4J. I thought the numbering was bit odd, until I saw the innards - a Boeing 767-300 greeted me. On top of that, a Window seat too. I quickly stowed what I needed, and sat down in the big recliner that was waiting for me.


Juicey...

Pretty soon a drinks round of orange or water was done as boarding continued. Service items were mostly collected up and eventually, the plane pushed back and taxied around.

After a while, wheels went up, and it was off into the big blue for a while. Service was delayed for 25 minutes as turbulence was a bit rough, but eventually, the flight attendants were released, so service could begin.


Yes - United's Signature Dish. The drink might be familiar. Here's a hint - there's Vodka inside

An offer of a Turkey roll or an Asian Salad was made. I once again wondered what sesame dressing would be deemed as Asian today.


Don't you hate being right

However - this is one of the better salads I've had in the air - least of all with size but with content. The salad itself was fresh - the chicken not overly dry. The Tomato Bisk was also very nice - very flavoursome.

Compared to some meals I've had in the air - it was very edible.

The flight then settled into a slow journey across the Americas, passing slowly away. I felt the need for a bit of IFE... and as the United options weren't too hot - there was only one thing I could do...


Ghetto IFE system - compatible with United First (Family Guy: PTV)



The seat itself was well spaced at a 38" pitch - adequate for a 4 hour flight, but still required the person next door to climb out if you want to go to the small room. Recline is of a mechanical nature as opposed to electric

Time passed, and slowly the journey came to an end, crossing the Grand Canyon...



with regular water runs...



and finally ending up in LAX, touching down on scheduled.



Overall: First is sometimes an overused word. Business would be a better descriptor in terms of the seat, and space (Least of all - compared to International 767). Still service was excellent and carried out with a smile. Nice one crew.



LA... LA..

Soon enough I was wondering around LAX T7. Looks nice and modern - and whilst I *could* go and get an In-and-Out Burger, I decided just to head to the lounge. An early start and a comfortable wait with an active WiFi account was an easy win here.


The RCC lounge at LAX is of MUCH higher quality that of ORD (if anything - B18 is the nearest thing that could hold a candle to it) with access to drinks and a wider range of snacks too. It was well lit, and with lots of natural sunlight coming in (if filtered with blinds), it was a very relaxing environment - enough to spend a couple of hours for the next flight without any particular panic.


The RCC innards


Coffee Bar


Food Menu


My plane at the gate

Boarding again was done by Zones, with Star Gold boarding after 1K/GS and F. I was assigned 10A - an E+ Row in-front of the emergency exit. Whilst this would mean minimal recline, for a 50 minute hop - that wasn't that important.

Los Angeles International - Las Vegas McCarran International.
United Airlines UA378, 26/10/09
Airbus A320, Version 2 Configuration, Seat 10A
236 miles flown, 600 earned.
Channel 9: Off
The Pictures


The Encounter on taxi..

After a short taxi, we pulled up into the air and over the pacific, before turning inland and making the short hop over to LAS.


Obligatory A380 Photo - Both a QF747 and A380


Up again...


E+ Seat


A quick drinks run was done - this being an exTED route ... drinks were done TED style


TED - Happy to Share Cola with Anyone - but in single cup! RAR!

However, there was still time to set up an IFE system...



However there wasn't much time to drink it, and service was cleared up before landing in Las Vegas McCarran Airport.


Turning for LAS


The strip...


Overall - E+ wasn't needed for this hop - but was appreciated by the Chicago Ground Team. Whilst a TED style drink may be appropriate - it does feel like it cheapens the service slightly. But again - 50 minutes from wheels up to down doesn't leave a lot of time for a drinks run - let alone anything else...


And Welcome!

Hotel: MGM Grand

One of the bigger hotels on the Strip, the MGM is easily visible from McCarran Airport. Reception is tastefully done out with Leo the Lion standing guard.



Check in was painless, and a bellman helped me with my luggage to the back end of beyond - I mean the West Wing of the hotel. Which brings me onto my first tip: If you're planning to stay at the MGM Grand... Bring Hiking Boots. You'll need them.


Hike


The Room

The room itself is a King Bed, with all the usual amenities of that sort of style room - in other words, lots of glass and of course - an eerie green glow. Still at $59++ a night - I wasn't exactly arguing.

Of course, after a couple of hours sorting myself out, I did the Vegas thing, seeing all the usual sights, getting enough calling cards to make my own Vegas deck, and of course taking far too many pictures that won't appear here

However, I did decide to have a lil flutter, so I approached a slot machine in trepidation, and popped in a dollar... and on the very first go ... I WON AT VEGAS


Yes It's $5. $5 is $5. Your point being...

But bed beckoned. Because at 5am I would had needed to have hiked out of the hotel for the mileage run...



After ponying up for another expensive taxi, I wandered to check in, and confused the poor check in agent.

"Where are you going today sir?"
"Las Vegas"
"... oh.. you're trying to confuse the computer"
"Two words: Mileage run"
tap tap tap...
"... and here are the boarding passes"

A short walk to the TSA who were in a friendly mood - film scanned by hand without questions and it was a short walk to the A Gates where my flight would go from.

As US Airways have pulled the lounge in LAS, it was off to waiting at the gate. However, there is one minor upside to this (apart from the slot machines making noises) - free WiFi!


How I'll remember LAS airport...

Soon enough boarding came around, and once the person on the Segway boarded - as well as a couple of families, it was time to board in the first boarding group.

Las Vegas McCarran International - Phoenix Sky Harbour
US Airways US460, 27/10/09
Airbus A320, Seat 5F
255 Miles flown, 600 Earnt
The Pictures

Ah. Good old US Airways. You always know which bucket you're sitting in. Defiantly one of America West's old machines, the aircraft was in good shape - as was the seating. Boarding was very slow, and to be honest, I nodded off.

The announcements must had been quiet because I missed the safety demo (not that I read the card on boarding, counted the rows back and forward to the exits... call me old fashioned, but I like to know HOW I'm going to escape) and the next thing I knew - it was up in the air with us.


Clearing city limits

The crew managed a 60% service on this flight, however leaving Las Vegas and approaching Phoenix was pretty bumpy, so crews were trapped in seats a lot of the time.


Points for how many of those services are running...

Soon enough, it was time to line up for Phoenix, and we taxied into the B Concourse. This was my juncture to make use of my BMI Star Gold Card - and head for the lounge


Another airport - time to hike again

Of course, this meant a hike from one end of B concourse to the other and back again for about 15 minutes in a lounge. In the name of research of course


US Airways Club, Phoenix Sky Harbour Airport
Coffee's drunk: One
Bagels eaten: 2
Muffins eaten: 1
Bagels smuggled out: 2
Juvenile laughter amount for the word "Smuckers": 12 minutes at least.

Just a quick visit really to poke around and see what's what. The lounge felt comparatively small for a "Hub" lounge, but the food options were stocked as well as they could be for a morning in a US lounge and the coffee was hot.


The Lounge


Another healthy breakfast

Enough to rest for a few minutes before picking up the rush of this run.

After wandering to the gate - two flights were listed. This was going to be fun. After a 10 minute delay to boarding, the LAX passengers were invited to board.

Phoenix Sky Harbour - Los Angeles International
US Airways Express US2611 operated by Mesa Airlines , 27/10/09
Canadair CRJ200, Seat 2A
370 Miles flown, 600 Earnt

Mesa.. Mesa... Messy air. There is a running joke that in express carriers, one does the following. Considering a Mesa friend of mine once said "We got compared how bad we were to Ryanair. I was proud"... how bad are they?

Boarding was a mess with both a plane for somewhere in the Orange County and LAX loading at the same time, with the LAX passengers being sent to the wrong jet.... before being sent back to our CRJ-200.


Inside the CRJ - we hadn't closed up yet

Safety demo was done manually, with the flight attendant having to stop at each segment of the demo to show the mask and seatbelt - this is where Republics/Trans-State's idea of recording the demo once, then allowing it to work on playback isn't a bad idea.

After a short taxi, it was back up in the air for the second leg of this hop. Again - it was bumpy of out of Phoenix, but after a while the air settled down.


Up we go again

Now the state of this CRJ.... Oh dear. Someone needs to show a little love to this aircraft. Uncared for would be one word. In need of a deep clean would be a better description.


Clean me!

Now I freely admit I didn't have much sleep at all the night before, so I took the opportunity to doze. As it feels you're in a sardine can in a CRJ-200, this isn't too hard for ones head to rest against the bulkhead. Saying that, I drifted in and out enough to snap some pics, and saw a service being carried out - even requests for drinks after service was met with a smile.

Soon enough - the little CRJ was lining up for LA, and after a nice gentle touchdown, it was a quick taxi to the gate. Seeing that the earlier LAS flight had just gone to doors closed, I wandered off to another US Airways club to empty them of coffee and crunchy mix.

Overall: A little love is needed for the plane, but the basic service was reasonable and the flight attendant was in full smile mode. Whilst Mesa does have a reputation that puts it in the lower classes, lets put it like this: I've been on worse flights.

US Airways Club - LAX.
Fun with the coffee machine: Lots
What the hell I am doing drinking in LA? Waiting for the next flight obviously!



After being admitted, I found a nice corner to sit in. Again - this area had a T-Mobile hotspot (and another $7.99 goes fizzle) and started raiding the snack bar (woefully filled - but about right for US carriers I suppose), and I settled down.

Now there is one thing about this club - a distinct lack of sunlight as it is boxed in a corner practically - so it is a very "dark" environment. But still - it was a quiet time of day and not many people until boarding time - so I could get on with a bit of typing and catch up with "the real world".

Soon enough, it was time to wander off again so I thanked the staff, and wandered down to the gate where I waited for the next flight.


Meanwhile in Southwest Land...


Los Angeles International - Las Vegas McCarran International.
US Airways US162, Seat 5F
Airbus A319, Seat 5A
The Pictures

After boarding and once again, stowing my stuff the plane filled up very quickly for this short hop back to LAS. Again - US Seems to doing well as all the seats seem to had been taken - mainly with connecting passengers (a lot of Japanese tourists as well as British tourists flying in for the Half-Term break).


Repairing the Encounter

Soon enough, we pushed back, safety demo completed and after a very short taxi from T1, we were up in the air going out over the pacific, before turning back inland.

Very quickly the flight attendants were released, and a drinks run was done, with a warning that would be a fair bit of turbulence at the end of the flight as there were dust storms in the Vegas vicinity.

Now lets get to the state of this poor plane. Whilst looking good on first inspection (the grey walls indicating this was either a post merger or US Airways plane), getting to the seat - things are little more visible that US isn't showing the love, and nor are the passengers for that matter.


Wanted: Person to care for inside of Airbus A319. Apply in writing to US Airways, Tempe, Arizona..

Out of scientific interest I also decided to waste $7 on a US NapPack. So exactly what's in one?



Well we have a blanket (made of very cheap fleece - not nice to the touch), a inflatable pillow (not too bad I suppose), Blindfold (Airline quality) and earplugs (untested) and a $10 SkyMall catalogue discount (laughable) and a bag to hold it all in (branded). Whilst not the best value in the air, it saves some costs for US, whilst also seemingly adding value for customers.

As we descended, the cabin was locked down early and out of the window, it was possible to see the dust whipping up. A comparatively gentle landing, and once again - I had reached Vegas.

Overall: Oh US Airways. A bit of love and care would go a long way with your aircraft. The service itself was good, and was paced reasonably for the flights and the clubs were acceptable. I however still think that US *really* needs to raise it's game further now that Continental have joined the Star Alliance.

Well that's enough US Airways isn't it?

Another night at the MGM Grand - and some time catching up with FlyerTalkers, but as usual - time was not on my side.

Lets get back to the home run shall we?

After paying out another idiot amount for a taxi , I made my way to a heaving check-in. After a lot of flicking in my passport, the luggage was tagged with priority markers, and after being asked window or isle (and saying window), I was upgraded to E+ at check in.

A short hike, and I was at D Gates TSA. And this is where the fun began. If you've noted through this trip report, I've been asking for manual scans of all my film. Why? Well I'm an old fashioned so and so who 1) uses 120 film, 2) actually understands the damage X-rays can do to film and 3) If the packet on the film says "DO NOT EXPOSE TO X-RAY", you follow that instruction.

So I got a full "it can be scanned, not it can't, I want to scan it, I've had no problems elsewhere, strop, go off scan, tell me to mail it home next time (what and subject it to industrial X-ray... clever idea). You just have to LOVE the TSA for inconstancy.

To be honest, I just got out of the TSA zone, and headed to the gate. I wasn't that fussed on Lounge access, and besides, it was a chance to catch up on mail before heading home.

After making sure no volunteers were required (yes - I would try it on ), I joined the queue and boarded in the first group.

UA567 - Las Vegas McCarran International- San Francisco International
United Airlines UA567, 28/10/09, 10A
Airbus A320S - ExTED Configuration

After boarded, I discovered to my delight that I had actually got an exit row - ok not the fabled Row 11 - but still a substantial amount of space.


My companion

However, this is defiantly an exTED aircraft (even though in United colours). Apart from the classic orange chet lines on the luggage bins, the big FlyTED.com on the back gave it away


TED is still Happy to see you! RAR!

Still the aircraft was clean, and looked in good condition. After being asked if I would be happy to perform the exit row functions, boarding completed and a long taxi ensued before the Airbus took to the sky.


Leaving Las Vegas...

Safety belts were left on for a bit due to turbulence in the area, thanks to the high winds in the area. Soon enough the lights were extinguished, and a drinks service commenced - will full cans of coke being issued


See TED. Full Can. RAR!



Again - once past the turbulence, a nice gentle flight. Soon enough it was time to batten down the hatches for landing and after a nice touch down, it was a short taxi to the terminal.


On approach for SFO

The doors were released quickly, and I made a bolt for the exit.

With a good 10 hours before my next flight, it seemed a waste to spend it in the RCC at SFO, so instead I wandered off to down-town San Francisco and explored some of the places I missed last time when I was doing the MegaDo last time.

However, time as usual evaporated quickly, and it was back on the BART to the airport. As I had my Boarding pass already issued, I proceed to security, where upon the scanner failed, and I was put in the glass box for 5 minutes for a pat-down.

After that little humiliation, I headed straight for the RCC. I was greeted by a friendly receptionist, and immediately given my two drink chits without prompting.


The SFO International RCC

After wandering upstairs, I found a nice window seat overlooking both the International and Domestic areas. A quick gaze out of it and I saw four fire engines... lights ablaze... what was going on. Soon enough I had an answer - with a United 737 taxing in (and after a bit of research, the last UA737 coming home


United Recommends San Francisco Airport Cleaning Services
More at www.ghettoife.com

The lounge itself is nice and airy, with the usual paid for bar and the mixes and cruets. Whilst not a brilliant selection (much like the LAX lounge), it still puts the ORD and IAD lounges to shame.

Soon enough 7pm rolled around, and I packed up my trash one more time and headed for the gate, where r Star Gold/Prem Exec boarding was announced, I made my way into the aircraft for the final leg home.

UA930 - San Francisco International - London Heathrow Airport
United Airlines UA920, 28/10/09
Boeing 777-200, Seat 42A
5368 miles flown, 5355 miles earnt
The Pictures

Alas, the only window seat that was open when I was booking was... 42A (lets call it seat 99Z. It felt that far back). For those who don't know, 42A is basically the last row of a UA 777.


Row 99A..


Safety demo was done manually, and the aircraft pushed back on time. A bit of a taxi around SFO and the engines roared up for take off


Off we go for one last time


Nighttime over the bay area

Bear in mind, at this point - I was pretty tired with little sleep since Chicago, so my head was against the bulkhead, and soon enough I was out cold - missing the first drinks service - and trying to keep awake for the food service. I almost wish I didn't looking at the what came out.


Ok... I'm taking a Wild guess and this logically must Cajun chicken - the rice might be a give away.

This was actually a reasonable in-flight meal.

After food, I zonked out again. The next thing I knew,6 hours had passed, and we were tracking southwards of Iceland, heading for Scotland - so I had by this point missed the mid-flight snacks, and I was pretty much trapped in the seat as I had a sleeping passenger who only woke up when the snack service arrived.

Speaking of the snack service - it's the classic chewable tooth destroying Pretzel-bread....


The more things change...

A drinks run was done behind this - and at this point, I set up a Ghetto IFE system just to watch a couple of things, before switching back to Channel 9 for approach and landing.


Ghetto IFE System featuring Top Gear: Race to the North - Tornado (Steam Train) vs Car vs a Hamster on a Bike

After doing a loop of the north-western hold, it was through the cloud, past Windsor Castle, and a firm landing on the runway, and a quick taxi over to the other-side of beyond of LHR T1 - Gate 46.


And down.

A short hike to immigration as I disembarked - least of all the travelators are "under repair", constricting the access-way and also making people exercise for once

IRIS for once was operational at T1, and after looking at the the mirror, I was let into the UK. My luggage was already on the belt (or off the belt in the case of the Ski Bag), so I made my way down to the Heathrow Connect.

Heathrow Connect, Class 334
Heathrow Central - London Paddington (£7.40)

The usual 25 minute journey to London - again, tickets were checked, no issues with anything. Upon arrival at Paddington, the Barriers were open - a very logical move considering how much luggage goes through there and the revenue protection done on the service itself.

A taxi to Euston to argue with Virgin Trains (apparently, the peak period for Virgin commences at 15:15, not 15:30 - nice of them to publish that ), then a Taxi back to Marylebone (with a meter runner), and I boarded the 16:00 to Birmingham Snow Hill.

Chiltern Railways, Class 168/2 "Clubman"
London Marylebone - Birmingham Snow Hill (Saver Return RTN portion only - £44)

Even though it was approaching peak time, the service wasn't that packed out. I thankfully located a twosome seat, plonked my luggage down and crashed again between Wembley and Banbury.

The loads increased as the train passed through Leamington Spa - peak time had arrived - but there was no "pushing" or "demands" for space - people were comfortable.

Upon arrival at Snow Hill, I pushed my way through the barriers, found a taxi, and finally ended up at Chez Kevincm.


All done!

Where upon I unpacked, dumped the washing in the machine, and went off to get some Fish and Chips - and after a while - dozed off on the sofa.

---------------------------------------------

Trip Report Card:
OpUp's: 2 (LHR-ORD in C, ORD-LAX in F)
E+'s FOC: 2 (LAX-LAS, LAS-SFO)
Exit Rows: 1 (LAS-SFO)
Travel credits: $350
Channel 9 on: 3 out of 5 (probably 4...)
Vodkas and Colas Consumed: 3
Other vodka based products: 1
Whine: Lots. D
TSA's annoyed: 2 (At LAS)
US Airways love: None

Before, I've always been on deadlines when I travelled - travelling with flexibility has really helped.

Overall a very good performance from United in all classes - a MAJOR improvement to the June trip, and I'd say an improvement from the Feb run. The crews were all reasonably happy, requests were met well. Again - a smile and politeness goes a long way. I'd say even the catering has improved out of SFO... but I could had been very lucky...

The Business and First Class experiences were enjoyable. Whilst I would not go out of my way to spend actual money (it's called "prioritising" - I have other priorities in life), I can see how these products work, and when they're delivered well - they work very well.

US Airways... is still US Airways. Even on short-haul, they're performing - if insisting on TED like service on flights (Plastic cup of drink for you.. and buy our sleep-pack please).

I think with Continentals entry in Star Alliance - Hopefully, a good sharp kick has been delivered to both US and United to improve their products further. Well I can hope.

-----

Well that's it from me for a fair old bit - partially to appease my bank manager and as Gold is sewn up for another year, I'm running low on Annual leave at work.

Feb and March are looking good for travel next year... and there is still the battle for *G qualification for either CO or BD next year. Ah the games we play...

Although my feet are very itchy still. Either I need to see a foot specialist - or I need to plan a trip...