Bahamasair Dash 8 300 at Fort Lauderdale.
Who wouldn’t be excited about taking a press trip to the Bahamas? Of course, for an AvGeek, getting there is half the fun. I wasn’t super excited about my red-eye from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). I was excited about flying on Bahamasair from FLL to Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS). This was the first time flying on Bahamasair and I hadn’t been on a Boeing 737-500 in quite sometime (note: The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, which also oversees the airline, covered the cost of my trip).
Before leaving Seattle, I did some research on the airline and found that many passengers have publicly complained about their flights being consistently delayed. Many of the reviews were older and the airline had recently upgraded from the very aged Boeing 737-200 to the newer (but still old) 737-500 and I was hoping most of these issues would have been resolved (foreshadowing? yup).
Trying to find an outlet and being able to hear announcements was not easy. I ended up sitting on the floor in a busy hallway, but whatever.
By the time my flight landed at FLL, I was pretty tired from getting three hours of sleep. It was about 7am and I was supposed to have a two hour layover before heading to the Bahamas and it was time for me to find my way to my new gate.
I had to transfer terminals at FLL, which requires a short shuttle ride that was supposed to run every 15 minutes, but I ended up waiting almost 30. This was not a huge deal since I had the time, but if my connection was close, that would have surely caused additional stress.
Once getting off the shuttle I had to wait in a short line to check in at the ticket counter since the airline does not currently have a web check-in option. I received my boarding pass and then had the “privilege” of going through security for the second time that morning.
After finding my gate, I moved down towards the end of the terminal to try to get a good photo of the 737-500 taxiing. The flight status board showed the arriving flight was on-time, but time passed and no plane showed. The status board continued to show “on time,” even after it reached 8:55am, when my flight was supposed to be departing. Odd.
How many Dash 8’s does it take to replace a Boeing 737? Two. The first one wasn’t as colorful as the second (this is the 1st). Notice the air stairs going up to the jetway.
I can handle flights being late. However, I have less patience for lack of communication. The fact that there was not even a gate agent present was pretty bad. Needless to say, there were quite a few passengers pacing around who were getting quite frustrated.
Time kept rolling along before the board finally showed our new departure time was at 11:30am. Our gate had also changed from E3 to E1 where amazingly there was a gate agent there. I had no connecting flights to make, so I wasn’t too worried about the delays. Unfortunately this was the time that I really started to regret my decision to put my laptop in my checked bag — I could have been blogging.
After a while, it was announced that our Boeing 737-500 had broken down and they were trying to get two Bombardier Dash 8 300s to FLL. Some passengers showed their anger that they now had to fly on a small prop plane instead of a jet. As an AvGeek, I was pretty excited for the wings being up high, flying lower, no middle seat, and tarmac boarding.
Not the most spacious, but for a 45min flight, it does the job.
At about 11:30am the first Dash 8 showed up. It was announced that people with connections, people with kids and those who needed additional assistance could board plane 1 and the rest would take plane 2.
As our flights (plural now) became more delayed, some passengers got very angry and unfortunately took it out on the gate agents. It is best to judge an airline’s employees not when things are going smoothly, but when things are going wrong. Yes, they dropped the ball by not being at the gate during the initial delay, but their ability to handle the angry passengers in a calm manner was quite impressive.
The four gate agents worked non-stop for hours trying to help while keeping their cool, manually boarding passengers one-by-one for the first flight and then they re-booked everyone for the second flight. They also had to work with those who would miss their connections getting them on alternative flights.
At around 12:15pm (3hrs 20min after original departure time), when the first Dash 8 left the gate, most of the remaining passengers were calm. Those who were previously upset has already missed their connecting flights and were finally ready to accept reality and chill out.
After a short 45min flight (made shorter by sleep), we were flying close over the blue waters and landing at NAS.
At about 1pm (4hrs 5min late) I boarded the second Dash 8 (which had the more colorful livery). Most people boarding with me felt like they just had one of the most horrid experiences known to man. By no means is sitting around in E-Terminal, at FLL for almost six hours, enjoyable, but this stuff happens and getting angry doesn’t make things any easier.
I had a window seat secured on the original 737 flight and got another one for the Dash 8 — seat 8A. I was hoping to get some amazing photos with the high-wing and flying low, but was disappointed to see that the windows were dirty (I assume from salt water). At 1:20pm, we (finally) took off from FLL, heading to paradise.
Previously, I have flown on Alaska Airlines and Porter Airlines Bombardier Q400s (the newest version of the Dash 8) and the difference in age and cabin interiors showed. The only carry-on that I had was my camera bag and it even had a hard time fitting in the crazy-small overhead bin (it is free to check in your first bag on Bahamasair).
Yes. A pirate in the airport welcomed me to The Bahamas. How cool is that?
I was hoping to enjoy the blue waters during the flight, but with my lack of sleep I quickly passed out and woke up just in time to enjoy the view during landing.
I deplaned on the tarmac and was able to walk through the new international terminal at NAS. Before hitting customs, I was greeted by a pirate (yea, a frek’n pirate) who was more than happy to have his photo taken.
When dealing with a challenging travel scenario, I find it always important to find the positives. I was now in the Bahamas, I just met a pirate and my bag had made it on the first Dash 8, so it was waiting for me when I arrived at baggage claim.
My original schedule was to interview the man in charge of the airline, Van Diah, 4.5 hours earlier and I wasn’t sure if he would still was able to meet with me. I felt very privileged that he was able to work me into his packed schedule to sit down and talk about his airline. Obviously one of the big questions on my mind at the time was the airline’s reliability and on-time performance. Surprisingly, he was more than happy to discuss these and other aspects that I will share in a future story.
I have to say that just a few short minutes of getting away from the airport and seeing the beautiful blue ocean quickly made me forget the long journey it took for me to get there. I felt like the difficulties might have been worth it and I was looking forward to exploring Nassau (which will also be shared in future stories).
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF MY BAHAMASAIR FLIGHT
Delta Air Lines is to start Boeing 747-400 service to Seattle next June. Image by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
Today Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines made a joint announcement at Seattle Tacoma International Airport regarding increased service. Some (including myself) were hoping for something a bit more substantial, but more options to/from SEA is always a good thing.
The growth and customer enhancements include (from Delta’s press release):
- Proposed new nonstop Delta service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport, pending approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
- Proposed new nonstop Delta service between Seattle and Haneda Airport in Tokyo, pending DOT approval.
- The deployment of Delta’s flagship Boeing 747-400 jet on flights between Seattle and Narita Airport in Tokyo, featuring a fully upgraded interior with full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite, individual in-flight entertainment in every seat throughout the aircraft, expanded overhead bins and other amenities.
- Newly upgraded Boeing 767-300 aircraft on Delta’s flights between Seattle and Paris, Beijing and Osaka, Japan, also offering full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite and upgraded amenities.
- Additional nonstop Delta service between Seattle and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
- Upgraded BusinessElite service on all Delta Seattle-JFK flights to match the product and amenities of Delta’s JFK service from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
- Sea-Tac airport improvements including a new Delta Sky Club, new power ports throughout Delta’s facilities, expanded ticket counters, lobby renovations and other improvements.
- An ongoing partnership between Delta and Alaska that includes codesharing in Seattle and shared customer benefits including reciprocal lounge access and frequent flier programs.
“Delta’s expansion in Seattle will link this important West Coast city even closer with key markets in Asia, boosting its economy, creating jobs and providing benefits to travelers across the Pacific Northwest region,” said Richard Anderson, Delta’s chief executive. “This kind of international growth is possible only because of our partnership with Alaska, and customers of both our airlines will benefit from this newly strengthened relationship.”
This will be the third and only US airline to operate the Boeing 747-400 out of SEA starting on June 1, 2013. The others are British Airways to London and Eva Airways to Taipei.
What do Alaska and Delta have up their sleeves? Photo by Paul Carter.
Today Alaska Airlines sent out a media advisory stating that their CEO, Brad Tilden, and Delta Air Lines CEO, Richard Anderson, will make a joint announcement on Monday about, “new service, product enhancements in Seattle.” What does that mean exactly? I am not sure.
The advisory continues to say that they plan, “to announce Delta and Alaska Airlines’ latest steps in Seattle, which include new service and product enhancements. Alaska operates the most flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, while Delta is the market’s largest provider of Asian and trans-Atlantic service. Through their partnership, the two carriers provide air travelers with connections throughout the Northwest and elsewhere on codeshare flights, as well as reciprocal lounge and frequent flier benefits.”
Rumors about Alaska and Delta have been swarming for years. Although I doubt this is an announcement that Delta will be taking over Alaska, it has to be something pretty major for Anderson to come in from Atlanta.
What are you guesses on what the announcement might include? Leave them in the comments and let your imagination soar. We can all find out on Monday.
Thanks to Paul for letting me use his photo.
HERE IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT
ANA’s Boeing 787 arrives at SEA to a water cannon salute. Photo by Mal Muir / AirlineReporter.com.
This story was written by AirlineReporter.com correspondent Mal Muir…
Even though the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been flying the skies commercially for almost a year now, its route network has been limited. The majority of flights are made up of Japanese domestic routes operated by ANA, but that is quickly changing. Yesterday one of their 787 essentially ’œreturned to its home,” during the inaugural Narita (NRT) to Seattle (SEA) flight.
ANA’s 787 being serviced at SEA.
When ANA’s first Boeing 787 was delivered back in September 2011, it was a rainy day in Seattle. Yesterday was almost the total opposite with the sun shining and Mount Rainier prominently on the horizon. The airport has seen a 787 Dreamliner visit before, but this was the first one operating a revenue flight.
I ended up having to rush to the airport, since the flight was actually an hour early. Yuji Hirako, the Senior Vice President at ANA for the Americas, joked that even though the aircraft may have been delivered late, it’s always good to see an aircraft show up early (he would probably later regret that statement).
ANA pilots stand in front of the 787 at Sea-Tac.
As the Dreamliner made its approach into Seattle, the crowds at the terminal gathered to watch as the 787 returned to its birth-city. The aircraft operating the flight (JA814A) was only delivered barely a week prior, on the 23rd of September, making this was its first revenue flight. The aircraft made a stellar touch down on Runway 34L before taxiing to the South Satellite at SeaTac. Before arriving at the gate, it had a traditional water cannon salute that produced a spectacular rainbow.
The 787 was greeted by plenty of media, guests and invited dignitaries as the Dreamliner Day festivities came into full swing. Speeches were given by Boeing, the Port of Seattle and ANA as they talked about bringing the 787 home, and the friendship that this aircraft can create. Tom Albro, the Port of Seattle Commissioner, explained how the flight will help to strengthen the relationship between Japan and the Pacific Northwest, .
This 787 (JA814A) is configured with ANA’s international business product.
Soon, we were given the opportunity to tour the interior of the aircraft. Part of the “Inspiration of Japan” initiative by ANA is the Business Staggered seat which gives everyone aisle access and a fully lay-flat seat. With only 112 seats in Economy and 46 seats in the Business Cabin it certainly feels different since almost 2/3 of the aircraft (space wise) isdedicated to the premium product.
Sadly Dreamliner Day didn’t finish off as promising as it had started. The airline first announced the flight would be delayed 90 minutes, but things became worse due to a faulty liquid pump. The first 787 revenue flight out of Seattle was delayed a full 24 hours and at the time of publishing is still set to depart Seattle 1:15pm local time today. Let’s hope that it departs on-time today.
This story will be updated on the 787’s flight departure.
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The 787 is not quite at Seattle — yet. Image from ANA.
On Wednesday, All Nippon Airways (ANA) started their inaugural service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) using a Boeing 777-300ER. Now, there is nothing wrong with the 777, but it was supposed to be using the 787 Dreamliner.
In the image above, the most interesting statement is the “Will introduce the Boeing 787 Drealiner on Seattle-Narita when it is ready.” The “it” in that statement is not the route — since it is more than ready for a 787. The “it” is talking about the Dreamliner that has not yet been delivered to ANA. For now, the airline is expecting to use the 777 until October 2012.
Earlier this year, the fifth 787 test aircraft, ZA005, made a quick visit to SEA, preparing the airport to start scheduled service for the Dreamliner.
ANA’s first Boeing 777-300ER arrives to SEA on July 25th to a water cannon salute. Courtesy Port of Seattle/Don Wilson.
When arriving for the first time, ANA’s Boeing 777-300ER was not only greeted by a water cannon salute by the airport’s fire department, but there was also a celebration in the terminal with a children’s taiko drumming group and a ceremonial sake cask-breaking.
’œANA’s decision to be here reinforces Seattle’s status as a global gateway,’ said Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland. ’œOur mission is to create jobs by advancing trade and commerce, which in turn stimulates economic development. ANA will be another driver for this mission for the entire region.’
Port CEO Tay Yoshitani, Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland, Washington State Govenor Christine Gregoire, ANA Senior Executive Vice President Keisuke Okada, ANA Senior Vice President, The Americas Yuji Hirako, General Manager, Seattle Toshio Nomura, all at the inaugural event. Courtesy Port of Seattle/Don Wilson.
ANA flight NH1077 leaves Seattle at 1:15pm each day and arrives to Narita at 3:45pm the next day. Flight NH1078 leaves Narita at 5:25pm and arrives to Seattle at 10:55am the same day (have to love arriving 6.5hrs before you left).
The initial Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is configured with a total of 247 seats (85 business class, 162 economy). ANA will configure their 787 on the route with 158 seats ’“ 46 business class seats and 112 economy.
United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner of ANA, currently operates a daily flight from SEA to NRT using a Boeing 777-200 and it will be interesting to see if both airlines can be successful on the route. Previously, United Airlines has stated that they have, ’œNo changes planned,” for their route.
ADDITIONAL STUFF ON ANA’S FIRST FLIGHT TO SEATTLE:
* Video of the water cannon salute
* B-Roll YouTube video of the event
* Washington Governor Christine Gregoire speaking at the event
