Showing posts with label A320. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A320. Show all posts

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Barcelona to Vienna on Austrian Airlines

It is only a 20 minute taxi ride from the Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona to the new Barcelona airport terminal (RyanAir and EasyJet still use the old terminal).  The new terminal is massive, giant, and huge.  Way more than I was expecting and larger than the current traffic needs.  I do like the architectural style of it, large windows, high ceilings, and long sight lines, but the layout means you are walking a lot to get anywhere.  There is also prominent mall to walk through before you see any gates.  None of this mattered at first because the Austrian Airlines check in line was massive.
New Barcelona Airport Terminal
With only one flight about 2 hours away, the line looked like the entire plane had arrived to check in at once.  It was awful, there were two desks and one was preoccupied with a family having visa issues.  Luckily I saw Star Alliance Gold members can check in at the business class line with no one in it (my non-status friend was able to check in with me and skip the line).  I waited my turn, expecting the visa issue family in front of me to take forever, but the economy desk agent waved me over in front of tons of people to check in.  The process went quickly and no one in line attacked me for jumping to the front.
Huge Check In Line for Austrian Airlines
A quick trip through the security line and we were off to find the Star Alliance lounge, except there isn’t one.  There is just one large shared lounge for all the intra-Europe flights.  It also wasn’t well marked (it’s to the far right of the giant mall after security).  Once inside I grabbed a coke and my Economist.  My  friend made good on his new year’s resolution to drink more Champaign and had two glasses before our 10am departure.  There was also some light snacks available to munch on; I just had breakfast at the hotel so I did not partake.
Barcelona Airport Lounge
When boarding time arrived, we walked to our gate.  And walked. And Walked. Only to not see a plane parked, but find a bus waiting for use.  I dislike boarding buses and going to stand positions, especially when there is a perfectly good jet bridge available.  The buses slow everything up and add stress that isn’t needed (You can get some good pictures though).  I prefer to be the last person on the last bus that leaves.  That way I get a window spot at the bus door and am the first one off and up the stairs to board (don't worry about bin space, Europeans rarely fill the overhead space).  We waited at the gate for everyone else to go and then we were the last ones on the bus.
Austrian Airlines Retro A320 Jet
The aircraft was an A320 in a retro Austrian Airlines livery.  Inside, the plane looked new with Lufthansa Group’s slim line seats.  These seats are super narrow, weigh less, and have redesigned seat back pockets and tray tables.  They let the airline fit more rows on board while giving customers a greater feeling of space.  The flight left late and arrived early.  I had the first exit row, so plenty of leg room, but the seat did not recline at all.  Service was prompt and included a sandwich and drink for the two hour flight.  I was able to do some reading and enjoyed the quick hop to Vienna.  After a quick taxi to the gate we were off to see Vienna, but not before grabbing a few Austrian Airlines post cards first.
Austrian Airlines Slim Seat Back
Austrian Airlines Slim Seat Profile
Austrian Airlines Snack in Economy

Friday, April 13, 2012

United Airlines Domestic First Class Lunch

Soup's on!  The soup on United Airlines was the only redeemable quality of the in flight meal experience in First class on my flight that day.  I took an A320 from LGA to DEN and had the choice between a cold chicken salad and a warm wrap.  I went with the wrap, my seatmate had the salad.  Both wound up looking gross.  It was edible, but I wouldn’t recommend it on the ground.  The soup served was a cream of something and very good.  The cookie was an oatmeal raisin and I passed.  It’s hard to screw up fruit and United didn’t mess it up.  The roll was ok too.  It turned out to be filling and a great excuse to load up on wine, so the meal wasn't that bad.  Lufthansa and other European carriers do a much better job with catering, even on 90 minute flights.
United Airlines Domestic First Class Meal A320
United food isn’t always awful; there was a cold pasta and chicken meal on red eye flights last year that was great, even by on the ground standards.  Here is a fun picture from take off.  I took some cool pictures and had a nap, so the flight wasn't a total disappointment.
Taking off from LGA, United A320 First Class

Friday, February 17, 2012

Routine Flying in 2012

I’d like to think that I frequently fly foreign carries to far away destinations, but over 95% of my flights are domestic hops.  Also, thanks to the glut of elite flyers trying for upgrades, I’ve sat in coach on over 90% of my flights this year.  This is routine flying.  The basic Denver to Chicago for work type flights that generate the miles needed for grand adventures. 
US Airways Jets at Boston Logan
So how do I do I fly 22,000 miles in coach in two months?  Business trips are the foundation.  Denver to Chicago, White Plains, Newark, and White Planes again help build miles at no cost to me.  Also I booked two weekend trips just for the miles.  I found some cheap fares (about 2c a redeemable mile) and booked the flights to build my mileage balance, for a little vacation, and get a head start on elite status. 
United 757 Night Landing at EWR
The United and Continental merger has also made upgrades much more difficult to obtain.  There is the same number of first class seats on each plane, but now an entire extra airline worth of customers trying to grab the seats.  It used to be easy to clear upgrades a few days out on bigger planes like 767s and 757s, but now they are clearing at the gate if at all.  It is also taking some of the fun out of flying; airline food is quite decent these days.  At least the lounges have plenty of space (thank you JP Morgan Palladium card).
US Airways Lounge in Charlotte 
So how do you make the best of a suboptimal situation?  Relax.  That is the most important key to traveling.  Calm down and go with the flow.  My next key is to grab a window seat.  I feel like they have more space and as long as I think that; they will (I also believe in the power of extra strength placebos).  Some good reading material helps, so does a pillow, blanket, and eye mask for overnight flights.  Stay hydrated; the air in planes is very dry and you should be actively counteracting that.  Lastly, try to enjoy the magic of flight.  100 years ago, a nonstop flight from coast to coast was just a dream.  

Sunday, December 4, 2011

First Time On Frontier

I’m a Star Alliance flyer for about 99% of my trips.  It can get you almost anywhere in the world quickly and easily, but not DEN to LAX on a Wednesday after 9pm.  The only option was Frontier, so I joined a new frequent flyer program, booked my ticket, and broke my flying routine. 

I’ve been interested in Frontier since they (Republic Airways really) took over Midwest Express a few years ago.  Republic is a successful operator of regional jets for mainline carriers.  It’s a nice business model as the large airline pays for fuel and has to sell tickets.  Express carriers just need to show up with a plane and crew to collect a flat fee per flight.  A few years ago, Republic’s management decided to run branded service and purchased Frontier out of bankruptcy.  Soon after, they bought Midwest Airlines in bankruptcy too.  This isn’t proving to be the best business decision as Frontier loses as much money as their core business line makes.  Frontier has a large operation in Denver and is serious competition to United and Southwest at DEN; helping keep fares down.  They also have different animal pictures on their aircraft, so it makes for fun plane watching too.  I had never traveled with them before and didn’t know anything about flying with them.

My travel experience with Frontier was pleasant all around.  There were no lines at check in and no window seats on my flight.  Frontier sells their equivalent of Economy Plus called stretch seating; it provides a few more inches of leg room and seat up front, but I declined the upsell.  If you don’t buy a stretch seat, select row 20 or higher, those are the first rows called in general boarding.  The boarding process could have been done better because there was no general explanation of the process before it started, so everyone gathered around thinking they could be next.  The gate agent made one announcement per group and had to turn many people away because they didn’t hear the single announcement.  Frequent use of the PA would be a simple solution to a frustrating situation.
Decent legroom on Frontier's A320

The aircraft was a new A320 and spotless inside.  It had LED lighting and the new slim style seats.  I sat in seat 20B, a middle seat, but with enough space for the two hour flight.  There are seat back TVs available for a fee, unlike JetBlue’s free DirecTV offering.  The flight attendants came through with a drink offering and baked onboard chocolate chip cookies, the lasting legacy of Midwest Express.  The flight arrived on time and I enjoyed my first Frontier flight.  I don’t think I will become a regular, the EarlyReturns program is very weak, but will defiantly consider them for future travel.