United Airlines 757 First Class Steak Dinner

I grabbed an upgrade heading home from Mother's Day in South Carolina.  The IAD-DEN flight on a 757 had an option of steak or pasta. I went with the steak and it was very tasty and tender.  It also came with a salad, shrimp seviche, and chocolate chip cookie.  United has been serving higher quality meals in first class recently and the trend is continuing.  I hope this is the quality I can rely on soon.

Steak Dinner IAD-DEN

United 787's Flying Again

This 787 Dreamliner is on a ferry flight from Denver to Houston.  Passenger service resumes Sunday.  Here's a view of all the 787's in air.

United 787 Pushing Back at Denver Today

Huh, So iPhones Can Interfere With Cockpit Instruments

NASA has confirmed that iPhone's and other portable electronic devices interfere with instruments.  There are numerous other incidents of suspected, but unconfirmed, interference too.  Most passengers suspect the requirement to turn off their phones is unnecessary, but it turns out there is some evidence behind this one.  Don't worry, there are plenty of other rules at airports and in air that don't make any sense and you can complain about.

United 737's

Savannah (SAV) Airport Club Lounge

Savannah airport doesn't have enough traffic from a single airline or alliance to justify an airline club. The airport instead runs its own shared lounge for United Club, Admirals Club, Delta Club, US Airways Club, and Amex Platinum card holders.  The terminal has free wifi, but the lounge adds a relaxing environment, a coffee machine (like the US Airways Club ones), extra bathrooms, Bryd's cookies, and small Coke products. Just remember your club card because they can't search on frequent flyer numbers.  The club is discretely labeled, right before gate 12.

Savannah Airport Club

London's Airport Dilemma

Take some time and read this outstanding review of London's airport constraints from The Economist:  http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21574489-britain-has-many-options-providing-extra-airport-capacity-its-capital-going-need.  I think London should just expand LHR and change the laws so they don't need to care about noise issues.  Unfortunately there are voters in the area and expanding the airport will last longer than a term for Parliament.

View On The Way To LHR

One Reason Why Flying to Canada Is So Expensive

"WestJet today confirmed it has received an exemption from Transport Canada to the requirement for one flight attendant for every 40 passengers on board. The exemption, which is effective immediately, allows for one flight attendant for every 50 seats on board the aircraft."  

I Already Used My Only WestJet Picture

I had no idea that Canada required one flight attendant per 40 passengers.  Everyone else requires 1 per 50 seats.  1 per 40 would require an extra crew member for just about every airplane since aircraft are made with the 1:50 ratio in mind (JetBlue's jets seat 100 or 150).  An extra crew member per flight is a huge additional cost that foreign carriers don't have to contend with.  I'm glad Canada is backing off this hidden tax (or airline union subsidy if you prefer), now if they would only tackle actual taxes and other unnecessarily high costs, I might plan a summer vacation in Canada (I hear Alberta is lovely).

Missed Connection Tip

My three year old niece is trapped on a CRJ in CID (Cedar Rapids) because of weather.  Don't worry, she is with her parents and is possibly the best flyer of the bunch.  Heavy weather hit the airport this morning and stopped all flights in and out.  They will miss their connection in Chicago.  The key to this situation is when a missed connection is likely, get on the phone with the airline and have them hold seats for you on the next available flight. The airline computers don't always update frequently, so you may have better information.  Also talking to a person gives you more flexibility than the iPhone app.  Acting quickly is important too because it's a race against anyone else and once you secure the seats, they are yours.

CRJ's Waiting