With the electronic age upon us, you don't even have to talk to a live person to set up your complete travel itinerary. Pretty much all the airlines have websites where you can make your flight, hotel, and car reservations. Some of these websites will also show flights for competing airlines so you'll have to be careful about getting to the right terminal.
Note:Some airlines like United or American have put "restrictors" on the xray machines that serve their terminals. Garment bags will not fit through these restrictors and you will be forced to return to the check-in counter to check your luggage. This is intended to make sure there's enough storage within the cabin for everyone (or allow them to charge you for additional checked luggage) and hopefully speed up the boarding process. Be careful of over-stuff briefcases. Any airlines that share terminals with these airlines, like in Oklahoma City, will have to go through the same xray machines. This has had bad effects for me as I got pulled off a flight to Hawaii because my boss got delayed at the gate and they turn over control to the gate with less than 20 minutes before the flight (so we all got stranded).
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Dividend Miles Reservations: 1-800-428-4322. Complaints?: Consumer Affairs Director, P.O. Box 1501, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-1501. 336-661-0061. |
1-800-433-7300. Complaints?: Customer Relations Managing Director, Mail Drop 2400, P.O. Box 619612, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, TX 75261-9612. 817-967-2000. |
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Hubs in Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Complaints?: Customer Relations, P.O. Box 66100, Chicago, IL 60666. 847-700-6796. |
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Hub in Atlanta. COMAIR is a Delta Connection partner. Complaints?: P.O. Box 20980, ALtanta, GA 30320. 800-221-1212. |
Hubs in Houston, Cleveland, and Newark. Complaints?: Customer Service Representative, P.O. Box 4607 HQSCR, Houston, TX 77210. 800-932-2732. |
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| Southwest Airlines
Complaints?: P.O. Box 36647, Dallas, TX 75235-1647. 214-792-4223. |
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More Miles
American Express has their Membership Miles program where the miles do not expire and can be transferred to certain airlines, such as US Airways and Delta. If you charge alot, I strongly suggest the airlines affinity cards that earn you miles. The airline also offer credit cards that earn miles towards your favorite frequent flyer plan. Both Amex and Visa/Mastercard will charge a fee, but if you use your credit cards enough, it will more than offset the card fee.If you're travelling, take note of which car rental companies are affiliated with your airline. also, some rental companies seem to make it harder to get the miles: My frequent flyer number is in my National Emerald Aisle profile and I get miles on US Airways, no matter which airline I fly. The Hertz #1 Gold Club makes me go to the counter to get my miles so I am less inclined to rent from them and I think they're more picky about getting miles only on the airline that I fly on for that trip.
In an effort to retain frequent flyers, some airlines are now changing their programs so passengers' miles don't expire if they fly at least once every three years (some just require some activity in their account).
Da Plane, Boss! Da Plane!
From an engineering standpoint, I suppose it makes sense, but then, I'm an actual "user" when I fly. The engineers put the supporting "feet" or "legs" for the seats in First Class underneath the seat of the passenger. Considering that there are two passengers in the usual space instead of three, it would make sense that the underseat storage area would be divided into two equally-sized spaces. I noticed the other day that there are *three*: two narrow ones on the sides and one larger one in the middle. If both passengers have overstuff briefcases, there will be problems (as I know from experience).
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Fokker F-100 McDonnell-Douglas DC9 |
Five seats across: two on the left, 3 on the right. This is probably a very old and small aircraft (102 seats in the DC9). Be careful of the seat in front if using a laptop because the space is very narrow. All three are recognizeable by the two thin engines on the back of the airplane (elevators on top). |
| Boeing 757 | Fairly new, large, better engines, and jacks for Walkman
headphones, about twice the number of seats as in a 737 (around 190).
This plane is recognizeable by its long but thin body. This is my
favorite plane During takeoff, you always feel like you're
accelerating down the entire runway. It's never "will we take off
before the end of the runway?", but rather, "will we take off before or
after we pass the terminal building?"
They usually use the 2nd door to board the plane at some airlines so the
people in the cheap seats don't have to go through the First Class
section to deplane; this allows the plane to be boarded and emptied
much faster. Coach has mostly 6 seats across, 1 aisle. First Class
numbers vary with the airline. Northwest had 14 seats; The 757-200
on US Airways had
every seat forward of the second set of doors in First Class so that's
probably around 24 seats (176 seats in 33 rows). On Northwest, don't sit in seats 12a-c;
it's ahead of the restroom so you can't recline your seat! However,
do take row 10 (right behind row 4) because it's the row behind First
Class and there's no bulkhead so there is storage underneath the seat
in front and there's a ton of legroom!
Note: be care of using your laptop in coach if the guy in front of you leans his seat back! |
| Boeing 767 | 7 seats across in coach: two by the windows and three in the middle. Feels very roomy; no feeling of claustropobia. |
| Boeing 737 | 6 seats across in coach, 4 in First Class. Note that the aisle seats will have slightly narrower underseat storage. The number of First Class rows will depend on the airline. The 737-300's and the 737-400's have the wider newer engines; the older 737-200's (108 seats in 19 rows) have the narrow pipe engines and remind me of short fat guppies; they should be phased out in a couple of years or less (because of noise restrictions). The 737-300 have about 126 seats in 22 rows. The emergency lighting on the 737-400 EOW (about 150 seats in 25 rows) is on the baggage racks, not on the floor; space between seats is very good for laptop use. The newest 737-800 have DC power outlets under all the seats; they also have individual monitors for the people who sit up against the bulkhead. |
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McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 |
Very roomy (but older). There's room in the back to hang out (formerly the smoking section). 9 seats across in coach: 2-5-2. Similar to the L-1011 with the extra engine on the tail. On Northwest, seats 20a-b h-j and 21c-g don't recline. |
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Canadair Regional Jet |
Many of the commuter airlines, such as COMAIR and US Airways Express are replacing their older turboprop planes with this 50-seat jet. They're a big improvement; they seem to be. The seats are 2 and 2, and are very comfortable. |
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McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 |
A regular jet on US Airways with 2 seats on the left and three on the right, 142 seats in 31 rows). Since it's narrower, it feels smaller than a 737. |
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Boeing 777 & 747 |
I want to fly on the 777. I've only flown on a 747 once don't remember the details except that it was huge. |
Note about First Class
One thing I noticed on one of my First Class travels on US Airways: when they serve you coffee or tea in their cup and saucers, they pour hot water in the cup first to heat up the cup and then pour it out. Then they pour the coffee so it doesn't cool down as fast. That's service! The warm moist towels before the meals and at the end of the flight is a nice touch. While the food is almost always better than in Coach anyways, the presentation makes cheap food seem palatable.Frequent Flyer Programs
The most important benefit to sticking to one airline is to get into their upgraded frequent flyer plan (Dividends Perferred at US Airways, for example, after flying 25000 miles in one calendar year). This gets you into the shorter First Class check-in line. None of the other benefits compare to this. Of course, you also get to board the plane first, useful if you want first dibs at the overhead storage. Some airlines will unload these passengers' luggage first. Others will give free upgrades for full fare tickets if you ask. I know that US Airways reserves the best seats up front in coach for their Preferred (25,000 miles) customers.The First Class upgrades are also nice, but only if you're awake to enough to use them. I think it's a waste if you use First Class at night and you sleep through it. The higher your status, the more miles you get. Also, at the higher levels, you get more bonus miles for flying so your account accumulates faster.
Airline Clubs
The airline clubs (American Airlines Admiral's Club, US Airways Club, United Red Carpet Club, etc) offer a better, quieter place to hang out for your flight. They usually offer free coffee, better seats, chairside phones, free newspapers, and their own bar. They also have places to do work (faxes, phones, desk space, photocopiers, metting rooms, etc). I got my membership by trading in some miles (25,000). I've suggested showers, too, but they've ignored me.Travelling Suggestions
- Flying Direct:
Sometimes it's just not worth taking a connecting flight to get the miles.
I was flying on US Airways through Philadelphia to Minneapolis on one trip. I could have flown on Northwest for the same money (and lots of it, it was) on a direct flight and got there earlier. I fly US Airways because I wanted to get enough miles to stay in their Preferred program. Philadelphia is one of the worse places to get stuck because their operations people are very bad. They kept my flight from Boston on the runway there for 25 minutes because all the gates were occupied. By the time I got into the terminal, I had to run from the very end of Terminal B to the C terminal. They had also changed the gate that I was suppose to go to. Philadelphia does that alot and they're not very good at letting people know about it. I ran over there and got there a couple of minutes before the scheduled departure and they had already left. They knew my plane was on the ground but they didn't hold my connecting flight for a few minutes while I was running through the airport. I ended up flying through Cincinnati on COMAIR to get to Minneapolis several hours late, but my luggage was still in Philadelphia. - In planes with two aisles, such as the DC-10, 767, or 747, for some
reason, the right side goes faster when deplaning. This makes no
sense but I've had flight attendants agree with me.
- Definitely get to the airport early. I usually get into the terminal at least an hour before the flight because I never know how long the lines will be (if I don't get the special priority check-in on my main airline).
- Early morning and late night flights seem to be the least expensive flights. Well, make that first out and first in flights. Most people would rather not take that 6 am flight out or get a 10 pm returning flight (landing at 1:30 am). They also tend to be the least crowded flights (most of the time) so there's room to stretch out and snooze.
The Airports
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
There are now walkways from Central Parking to every terminal. By public transportation, you can get to the airport on the MBTA Blue Line subway. If driving to or from Boston, the most uncontrollable variable has got to be the Callahan (to the airport) and the Sumner (from the airport). For most destinations north, south or west, you have to endure the tunnel. During peak traffic, the State Police will direct you north so you'll have to drive a couple of miles up and then turn around. This eases the backup on the airport roads but adds to your driving time. There are several long-term parking lots, including the airport satellite lots; a couple of them are at the exit just past the airport.The Mass Pike now goes directly to the airport. Almost all international flights go through Terminal E.
Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)
This is a hub for Northwest Airlines. US Airways, American, and United will fly there, as well as other airlines; however, most likely, Northwest will give you a direct flight there. Car rental is a hike from baggage claim; go downstairs from there. Powerball tickets are available at the kiosk right outside the Blue Concourse. There are plenty of decent shops and restaurants in the central area between security and the concourses. Northwest occupies most of the Gold and Red concourses. Everyone else comes in on the Blue or Green concourses. The car rentals are in a separate building that is a bit of a hike away; go downstairs from baggage claim and across to the escalator to the buses.The airport is on Route 5 which merges into I-494, in the southeast corner of Minneapolis.
Philadelphia (PHL)
This is a US Airways hub so if you fly here. This airport seems to also have one of the worse operations people, since I can never remember having a smooth flight out of here, though I must have had a good flight there once. I once had to sit on the runway for an hour because we weren't allowed to take off but they needed the gate for another airplane. We couldn't go back into the terminal. Once they wouldn't bring the plane to the gate because they were all occupied; they stayed out there long enough for me to miss my flight. Terminal B & C are all renovated and the main public way are all filled with neat stores. Terminals B & C are connected so you don't have to go through security twice to go from one terminal to the next and they moved security back so the stores in the main hall are easily accessible if you have a long layover.
Terminals B & C:
Terminal 1
Pittsburgh (PIT)
Pittsburgh is also a US Airways hub and one of my favorite airports.
The
place is huge and set up like a shopping mall. There are many restaurants
and stores. They have an agreement not to charge more than their equivalent
stores outside the airport. The place is wide open and well lit so it's
a much happier place to be than, say, Philadelphia which is claustrophobic.
Oklahoma City
This is a relatively small airport (Will Rogers International Airport)
but it accepts large planes. Airlines
that fly here include American Airlines, Delta, United, Northwest and
Southwest. There are gas stations off the highway at the exit off I-40
before South Meridian Avenue (the airport exit).
B Concourse (8 gates)
C Concourse (9 gates)
Cincinnati
This is the hub for COMAIR, a Delta Connection partner. They fly the
Canadair Regional Jet, which replaced many of those turboprop planes that
we all hated. COMAIR is in Terminal 3, Concourse C. If you fly in on any
other airline and need to change over to COMAIR, make sure you have plenty of
time to do so. From the check-in counter, you have to run down two flights
of steps (take the other escalator) and then a "train" to the appropriate
concourse. COMAIR is actually in its own concourse so when you get off
the train, you have to board a bus that will take you to the appropriate
building.
Terminal 3
Chicago O'Hare
This is a/the hub for United Airlines, though so many of my flights
on American Airlines go there that I wonder if that's also a hub
for American. This airport is huge. Alot of decent shops inside the security
gate.
La Guardia
This is the local stop for the US Airways Shuttle
San Francisco (SFO)
I'm not sure if this is a hub for anyone, but US Airways is in the first
terminal (first drop off from the rental cars) and United is in the last
terminal. American and US Airways both have red-eye flights to Boston which
have been crowded lately. The car rental facilities are north of the
airport; you will see that this requires a little extra time to return the
car because of the extra distance to get back to the terminal.
The red-eye flights to Boston on US Airways stop in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.
Terminal 1
Terminal 5 or 6 (last one)
San Jose
Further down in the Valley is San Jose. While not necessarily a hub, I think
there were non-stops on American between Boston and San Jose. If you're
going down that way anyways, you might want to consider flying there to avoid
the drive down from the San Francisco area, though I always fly into
San Francisco (about an hour away). I believe the red-eye flights on American stop in Chicago.
American is in the new terminal while everyone is in the older one.
Denver International
Haven't been there yet.