Wine (and more) under a Starship? Sure! – Photo: Future of Flight
On Friday, June 19th, there is going to be some awesome action going down at the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour, located just north of Seattle: Wine, Wings & More. And if you do not already have tickets — you can not only win two of them, but also a free night at the Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel is in the perfect location… like a 30 second walk away, which is great is you have a few glasses of wine. First, the details:
WHEN: Friday, June 19th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
WHERE: Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour
HOW: Keep reading to win some tickets. Can’t wait? Get some now!
WHAT:
- WINE! Yes, fermented grapes from some of the best people that know how to do it. Not a wine fan — no worries. There will also be some breweries and non-alcoholic goodness as well.
- Classy stuff to make your stomach not hungry (aka food)
- Some great Jazz beats from the Kerry Wallingford Quartet
- Silent auctions (shhh) relating to all things “taste”
- Take some selfies with a Boeing 787
A Qantas 747-400ER and an American 777 on the ground at Dallas-Fort Worth… Soon a sight for Australian airports?
Traveling down under to Australia is one of the most heavily-restricted air travel markets. However, yesterday Qantas and American Airlines make some changes to their services over the Pacific to increase opportunities. As of the middle of December 2015, both American (AA) and Qantas (QF) are going re-add services that were previously cut.
For my birthday this year, I planned a trip to Ireland, Scotland, and England, and since Delta had no award availability in coach, I decided to splurge and spend 62,500 Alaska miles to fly business class (since re-branded Delta One) for the first time ever.
My leg was from Atlanta (ATL) to Dublin (DUB) on flight DL176, which was operated by a Boeing 767-300ER. I have been watching, for years, others flying in a premium product and I was jealous. When I was a poor graduate student, I couldn’t really justify the expense in miles or money, but now it seemed like it would be worthwhile.
I was so excited that I planned my trip far in advance and I was looking forward to this flight for nine months. But when the time came, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed, as it just didn’t live up to my expectations.
This ramp area may look messy, but it is like controlled chaos… kind of – Photo: AirlineReporter
Out in the aviation world, there are a few different people who always take the blame for anything airline-related. If you are inside the terminal, the customer service staff always take the brunt of any little problem. If it’s onboard the aircraft, the blame is given to the flight attendants. But if something happens to your checked baggage, then all the blame is placed squarely on the ramp agent (more commonly known as a ’œramper’).
I was a ramp agent, and I can tell you right now that sometimes that blame should not come to me. Sure, there are times that they should take the blame, but not always. Working the ramp is not an easy job, and I am going to debunk a couple of myths that surround life under the wing.
SATA Airbus A310 – Photo: Lord of the Wings | FlickrCC
As part of a recent business trip, I had to make a trip to the Azores. There are a limited number of options for getting out to the island chain in the central Atlantic. As I was coming from Lisbon, I had the option of either taking the low-cost route of Ryanair/easyJet, or full-service options of TAP or SATA (Sociedade Açoriana de Transportes Areos).
What sealed the deal to take SATA over TAP was the fact that my desired flight was to be operated by an Airbus A310 aircraft, (affectionally known as “the football”), a classic airliner that is disappearing from active commercial service. I had never flown on an A310, nor on SATA, so I was looking forward to this trip.
Sometimes it’s fun to board by bus on an A310 (reg: CS-TKN) – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter
Departure in Lisbon was from Terminal 1. Online check-in is possible with SATA, however as I had a bag to drop off and I wanted a “souvenir” paper boarding pass (something harder to come by these days), I used the classic counter check-in. As my flight was was continuing on to Boston, from Ponta Delgada, the departure was from the non-schengen area of the terminal. This necessitated passing through passport control, and was hassle-free as my boarding pass clearly stated I was disembarking in the Azores and I only needed my ID card.
When ready to board, we boarded a bus and headed out on the ramp. No complaints from me, since I enjoyed the experience of the A310 up-close-and-personal.
