A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to spot at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and was able to get some fantastic shots. I have shared below the international departures that I was able to catch.
Author: ssegraves
Instagram and Video
Yesterday I uploaded my first Instagram video. Besides the quirky and funny videos that are out there, I have to wonder what, if any purpose the video functionality actually offers. Instagram has been a place to quickly share art. Some people share the photography off of their high-end cameras but a lot focus on what they capture with their iPhone or Android device. This “share what you see now” mentality is what I enjoy about Instagram. Sure, there are a lot of food and self-portraits, but there is also a huge amount of very well composed and thought out shots as well.
But how does video fit into this realm? When Instagram was announcing video the initial reaction was that the feature would be a Vine killer. However, that type of video does not really seem to fit into the same realm of what I love about Instagram. In fact, I would say my first video does not fit into that style. I did find some examples of Instagram videos that do seem to fit the idea of well composed and thought out art and are moments of “what I see now”. User squarerootof9 has some great videos. They are more moving art than they are videos. I am going to try composing Instagram video this way and see if changes my mind on the feature.
Change is always received negatively at first but I think a little time might make the Instagram video grow on me.
United Airlines and Revenue
This is the future of Premier qualification on United Airlines. Starting in 2014, revenue, along with miles flown, will go into the calculus for qualification for the various elite levels. There are some stipulations regarding credit cards and spending on those cards; The MileagePlus updates site has a lot more detail.
The key takeaways are:
- Without credit card spend, Premier status will cost $.10/mile
- 1K cannot be reached with credit card spend
- You can earn Premier Qualifying Dollars on partner airlines as long as the ticket is issued on United (016) ticket stock
- Fuel surcharges and Economy Plus purchases count for Premier Qualifying Dollars
With work travel it is fairly easy to reach the spend thresholds but if doing purely leisure travel, the Premier 1K level becomes much more difficult to reach. I see where United is coming from on this and though it means I may not make 1K ever again, I think it is the inevitable direction for the U.S. airline industry to move toward.
New United Seats – Not An Improvement
Last night as I boarded my flight home from a week of work in New York City, I noticed that the seats on my United Airbus A320 looked a little different. Turns out I was experiencing the newly converted A320 with the Recaro slimline seats with the “comfort” upgrade. These seats are very similar to the Lufthansa NEK seats that have caused a bit of stir in their frequent flyer ranks, the difference being that United’s install has more padding and are supposed to be a more comfortable experience. From my three hour and fifteen minute flight last night, my conclusion are that the seats are a downgrade for passengers.
My immediate reaction to the flight last night was a little bit of the knee-jerk, “I hate change!” type but after gathering my thoughts and reading through my notes, my summary is this – the seats are not a one for one swap with regards to passenger comfort when compared to the previous United A320 seats and the new seats are certainly not an improvement. United’s reasoning for these seats was clear from the get-go, they wanted to fit an extra row of seats on the plane and these seats allowed them to do that by moving the rows closer together.
I was seated in row 21, seat A, an exit row window seat, for my flight last night. The first thing I noticed was that the legroom in this particular row had been severly reduced. The previous seat configuration here gave so much legroom that a passenger could barely touch their bag if there was one under the seat in front of them. The exit rows were clearly the losers when it came to where rows were squeezed closer together. The second thing I noticed was the somewhat cheap feeling of the seat. It is flimsy, just like the Lufthansa seat. When you or others in your row move, the lightweight metal frame of the seat is not very forgiving, allowing that movement to be felt by everyone else in the row.
The magazine storage has changed so that the magazine and safety briefing card are now in a small plastic divider behind the tray table. I was not surprised by this, I have seen the setup before on Lufthansa and it is actually a smart way to store the magazines. Where the negatives are for the passengers is the standard storage sleeve. What used to be a pocket in the seatback in front of you is now a shortened mesh pocket that is not good for storing much. I typically carry a small bag with my headphones and electrical accessories and between it and an iPad mini, the storage area could barely hold them. The seatback pocket is great for holding things and allowing a passenger to stay in their seat and avoid moving things around in the overhead bin.
The tray table on these new seats is noticeably smaller. In the exit rows the tray table used to be held in the armrest, that is no longer the case. I did not see what the setup was for the bulkhead rows but in the exit row, the tray table is now on the seat in front of you. The width has been reduced but I would say the depth is about the same as what the tray tables were when stored in the armrests. Again, the metal connections feel a little flimsy here. I rested my hands holding a book on the table and without really pushing I could feel a significant give in the table.
Lastly, the seat itself and a number of aspects that I find contribute to the overall uncomfortable feel of these seats. A lot of people think it’s the padding alone but with the things I list below, I think it is a group of things that really make these seats a downgrade for passengers.
- The comfort package does not add a significant amount of padding. There is definitely more than what Lufthansa offers but it is certainly not a huge improvement. It slightly removes the wood feel of the Lufthansa seats.
- The bottom cushion of the seat is a standard width but does not extend as far forward under the passenger’s legs as the previous seats. I would say the bottom seat cushion reminded me more of an exit row seat on a regional jet where they had to reduce its length to comply with safety standards. Thinking about this now I wonder if it is the same case on the A320s, the exit row required the seat cushion to be shorter. If you’ve flown in a regular row (rather than an exit row) on this converted plane I’d love to know if you felt the same way about the bottom cushion.
- There is very little lumbar support. In United’s announcement about these seats it was stated that there would be more lumbar support than the seats installed on Lufthansa but if it was there, it definitely was not noticeable. I thought reclining would help a little but it did not.
- The armrest width and length has been significantly reduced. The armrest is no longer as long as the seat is deep, ending up around four to five inches shorter. The width suffers greatly as well. I used to be able to share the armrest with a neighbor, each of us taking a little bit of it, but that is no longer possible. My seatmate and I were being polite and trying to do just that on the flight but we both commented that it wasn’t really possible.
- Tapering of the back of the seat. Halfway down the seatback, the seat tapers inward, leaving larger gaps between the seats. I have not noticed this before on Lufthansa flights but doing a quick Google Images search shows that it is there as well. My only comment on this is that it leaves you feeling a little more exposed. The armrest used to fill this void now there is nothing there. It is not a huge deal, just really different.
- The multidirectional headrest is small but slightly padded. I do not see any real benefit.
All of the above, especially items 1-4, combine to make the seat uncomfortable. Let me explain. Since there is less support under the forward portion of your legs your butt slides forward some so that your back takes on more of a support role, but there is no longer significant lumbar support so you continue to slide forward. To counteract this you have to use your feet to push yourself back into place. This process repeats until finally you leave your feet firmly planted on the floor to keep from sliding forward. In the exit row window seat there is no armrest attached to the seat on the window side leaving you with the middle seat’s outer armrest to try and keep your balance. This leaves you kind of squirming in the seat trying to find a comfortable position. I tried leaning back against the headrest but to keep from sliding into a slouched position I had to plant my feet and push myself into the seat to use the headrest.
If you can’t tell from the short novella I have written, I do not find the seat very comfortable. I think it is a downgrade for customers and a poor choice for United to make, no matter the extra revenue United squeezes out of those six extra seats. And I was not the only one making negative remarks, I heard plenty of people comment that they could not find a comfortable position in the seat. My co-worker leaned over and asked me “why have they not removed these old harder seats for those nicer padded ones”. I am serious, that is what I was asked. When I replied that these were new seats and were coming to the Airbus fleet he simply shook his head.
One last item. In the United announcement a comment was made about the entertainment options on these planes. There are none. While it was stated that Wi-Fi would be available, it definitely was not on during my flight last night and I also noticed there are no power ports to charge devices when they do get Wi-Fi on these planes. If they are going to be streaming entertainment via the Wi-Fi then they are going to need a power source of some kind. Also, the pilot announced Channel 9 was available but there is no audio on the plane and thus, no way to listen to air traffic control.
All in all the seat is a disappointment and I hope decision makers at United are flying on these planes and noting the issues that customers are having. I cannot imagine sitting in one of these seats for a transcon or even a red-eye, which are bad enough without uncomfortable seats thrown into the mix. The revenue of those six extra seats may look good on an accountant’s business case but it is being earned on passenger’s lower backs and rear ends.
I know this was a lot of words to describe a seat but when you are in one of these things twice a week, every week, it kind of matters.
Istanbul For a Day
No, I am not crazy. Ok, maybe just a little crazy. For this past weekend’s trip to Istanbul, my work schedule forced me to play the “crazy” hand. Originally I planned to take the new Turkish Airlines Houston-Istanbul non-stop flight on Friday but due to some work conflicts I could not book it. Instead I booked the non-stop leaving on Saturday evening and returning on Monday evening, giving myself around 18 hours in Istanbul.
Why fly to Istanbul for such a short time? From the time the non-stop flight on Turkish Airlines was announced, I have wanted to try their in-flight service and visit Istanbul. Launching the service, Turkish had a number of promotions including a $499 round-trip fare in coach. United Airlines then announced that the booking class that the super cheap tickets booked into would no longer earn United miles. Not wanting to give up on the trip, I started digging into Turkish’s premium economy product, Comfort Class as they call it, and found fare that not only earned full United miles but was also cheaper than the cheapest coach fare that earned United miles. It was a double win.
On the Saturday of my flight I showed up at check-in a full two hours before the flight and line was ridiculously long. There are two check-in lines at IAH, business and coach, with no special check-in for Comfort Class. I inquired at the business class line if it could be used for Star Golds and was told yes. I also asked about a possible paid upgrade into business class and was told to visit the ticketing desk; Visiting the ticketing desk seems to be a common Turkish Airlines theme. I walked to the ticketing desk and asked again about buying up to business only to be told that it would be a difference in fare, also known as $3,000. Needless to say I passed on that offer.
At first, boarding was a fiasco. Then, the Turkish agents made a few announcements and people seemed to adhere to the requests that were made. I boarded and as the door closed it looked like the flight was almost completely full in all classes.
Shortly after take-off service commenced and a number of courses were served to Comfort Class passengers. The food on long haul flights is catered by DO&CO but I am still trying to figure out what the airline does in Houston since DO&CO does not have a facility at IAH. My guess is that they send their food standards to someone like Chelsea or a local catering company and cater the flights that way. In any case, the food was some of the better airline fare I have had. It was well prepared and nicely presented and tasted delicious.
The crew dynamic is very interesting. They served the different courses, handed out bottled water and then pretty much disappeared until the arrival meal began. It did not really matter on the way to Istanbul since most people slept, but on the return flight the same thing happened, leaving a lot of people hitting their call buttons to get more to drink. I did see one or two flight attendants walking around the cabin during the flight but they were not offering drinks to passengers who were awake.
The Comfort Class seats allowed me to get around six hours of sleep. They are basically old school business class seats with a leg and foot rest. What they really need is just a tad bit more recline. That little lack of recline is my only (tiny) complaint. Other than that, the storage space is slightly limited but the overhead bins are never full, so you have plenty of space to put stuff.
On arrival into Istanbul I walked quickly to immigration, I filed for an eVisa online and didn’t have to stand in that line, got stamped into the country and made my way into town. I explored the Old Town for about four hours before finding a place to grab dinner. Since the flight arrives into Istanbul around 3:55pm, you only have a short window on the same day to see any of the major attractions (most close at 5:30pm). I was still able to walk around some of the alleyways and crowded streets and get a feel for the city.
There is a ton of life in Istanbul. From tourists exploring the Hagia Sofia to locals having a çay while reading the newspaper, there is just a lot going on. With my limited time I made it to the major sights, though I did not get to visit the Basilica Cistern, which was high on my list. The next morning I woke up early and walked to the area near the Galata bridge to enjoy a Turkish coffee and watch the ferries come and go. The weather was absolutely fantastic and just watching people come and go off of the ferries was a great way to spend my morning. I then grabbed my backpack and made my way back to the airport where the check-in experience was about the same as what I encountered in Houston.
I forgot to ask about business class paid upgrades until I got to the gate and when I did inquire the response was that it had to be done at the ticketing desk (sound familiar?) and that it was too late. In complete contrast to my outbound flight, the return flight was nearly empty in Comfort Class but the service was just as mediocre as the flight to Istanbul. To top it all off there was a number of times that the cabin filled with the smell of cigarette smoke. It would linger for a little while, then go away; Then, a couple of hours later, it would come back. Some have suggested that it was more than likely crew members smoking in the rest area, which, if true, is very disappointing.
Before I forget, the entertainment system on Turkish Airlines is very nice. Lots of movie and television choices from new releases to “classics”. They had the full Harry Potter series, the entire Lord of the Rings series, Police Academy 1, 2, and 3, and a whole host of other options.
I am very glad that I took the flight, especially at the price point that was available for Comfort Class. It definitely makes me want to return to Istanbul and even explore the rest of Turkey. As soon as I get a few moments to edit photos this weekend, I will upload the rest of my pictures from around Istanbul.
Chasing An Antique Flight
Before I took the trip to Berlin a few weeks ago, one of my readers suggested I try to get a flight on a Junkers Ju-52. To be honest, I did not even know such flights existed. I started poking around the website that I had been sent and found a very large schedule for this year (German).
The Ju-52 has a storied history, being one of the early commercial aircraft for the new airline Luft Hansa, now known as Lufthansa. Being able to enjoy a ride on such an amazingly well restored piece of history is on my bucket list, if you can call my list of travel wishes a “bucket list”.
My mission to fly on the Ju-52 started in earnest immediately after being informed of the service and realizing that it would not be possible during the Berlin trip. I have now started looking at multiple dates and options for hitching a ride on the trimotor. The best prices to get to Europe are in May, but the Ju-52 schedule that month is not very good. I have started exploring options in June and July but due to the summer demand, the transatlantic prices make it difficult to justify the trip.
I will continue to watch the airline prices and if for some reason the prices drop, tickets will be purchased in a flash. The Ju-52 schedule is unique in that it doesn’t just offer sightseeing flights but also point to point flights as they move the aircraft around Germany. I would love to get in a couple of destinations. While pricey, it would be completely worth it to fly on such a beautiful piece of history.
photo by: bagalute
Joe Tea
I stumbled on Joe Tea one evening in New York City while shopping for dinner. I am an iced tea fan and Joe has a lemon flavor so I bought a bottle and took it back to the hotel to enjoy with my meal. The lemon flavor was subtle but noticeable and it lacked that lemonade sweetness that a lot of other bottled teas have when they claim lemon flavoring.
My usual bottled iced tea of choice is Sweet Leaf but after trying Joe, I am a convert. Now if they’d only ship to Texas so I could get it while at home!
Even Good Airlines Have Bad Days
Over Spring Break we flew to Europe. By the time of our trip, the routing had changed to Houston-Frankfurt-Berlin in Lufthansa first class on the A380, returning Berlin-Frankfurt-Dallas, also in Lufthansa first class. The outbound was unbelievable. I have not flown a lot of international first but Lufthansa’s A380 first class is now my favorite “hard” product flying. The crew was stellar, providing prompt service and making sure that everyone on-board did not have any needs that were not met. The return longhaul flight was close to being a polar opposite.
Between Frankfurt and Dallas Lufthansa operates the Airbus A330-300. These particular planes, the ones based in Frankfurt, are just now undergoing conversion for the new first class seats. I knew this when I booked the tickets but ignored it because we needed to get home. Seats aside, the service from the crew was a 180 degree difference from what we experienced on the way to Germany. One flight attendant was attentive and helpful but the one who spent the most time in the cabin was as nonchalant and lackadaisical as they come. After lunch I had asked that the seat be made into a bed so that I could take a nap. The flight attendant put the seat into “lounge” mode rather than “flat” mode and kind of just tossed the mattress pad onto it. She didn’t take the time to make the bed or even get out the pillow and blanket. I searched through the overhead bin and found both. To top it all off, the food choices were not very good and the food itself was actually of poor quality (surprising since the flight was catered in Frankfurt).
One last thing. In Dallas, our flight was met by a Lufthansa representative holding a sign with a few passenger names. We saw our name and stopped to speak with her, thinking maybe we’d get taken to a quicker immigration line. She asked if we had checked luggage and said we would wait for a couple more passengers. After more standing around, the representative turns to me and remarks, “I can’t escort you to an expedited immigration line, you might as well go”. Well that’s a let down. What is this person’s role? To simply see if you have checked bags and put them to the side so you don’t have to wait for the carousel?
To be clear, I understand how fortunate I was to be flying in first class. I was simply a little surprised in the contrast between my outbound flight and the return. The flight crews were on opposite ends of the service spectrum. Had I known the service was going to be so poor, I probably would have saved the miles for first and just flown in business class. Will this keep me from flying Lufthansa again? No. Their A380 product out of Houston is certainly one of the best first class experiences in the sky. I file the whole experience under the crew having a bad day and the catering just being off. In the world of travel this is one of those, “sometimes you just have to realize you’re hurtling through the air in a metal tube” moments. It happens. It makes for a less than desirable experience but there is always the next flight.
A Last Minute Reward Trip
Around the U.S. the “tradition” of spring break has begun. Back in September I had made reservations for my wife and I to travel to Seoul, South Korea and onward to Singapore during this timeframe. We were going to do it in style, using my United miles to fly Asiana’s new business class to Seoul and Singapore’s first class from Singapore to Moscow then home. Due to circumstances with my work, I was required to be in Maryland (where I am writing this now) over part of our vacation. I cancelled the reward tickets and had settled on not doing much over spring break. As I started thinking about it, I really wanted to take a vacation, if even a little one. I’m sure my wife would appreciate a small break from Houston as well.
As I sat in the airport on Thursday morning I did a random search for reward seats from Houston to Europe and happened upon two seats on SWISS in business class. I grabbed them, flying us from Houston to Chicago to Zurich. Now, Zurich certainly is not a cheap city and has not really been on my radar to visit so I started exploring other European destinations, as well as a way to get home.
My mind immediately went to where would be easy to reach from Zurich. I looked at Croatia, which has been at the top of my “to visit” list for a while now but all of the connections would arrive later than 5pm which essentially wastes a half day of enjoyment. The story was the same for most of eastern Europe. Where could we go in western Europe that interested us and was somewhere new? Seth’s write-up on Hamburg peaked my interest. He explored the city in just 26 hours and I figure with a little more time my wife and I could really get to know it. I found a decent connection out of Zurich and had the reservations updated. We’re halfway to a full reward!
The hardest part in all of this was finding reward seats for the flights home. There was absolutely nothing available back to Houston. I could get us to Detroit or Newark but that’s as far as the flights would take us. A random search then brought back Frankfurt to Dallas-Fort Worth in Lufthansa first class. Now that’s an option I like! Then, when I decided that that was what I would book, it disappeared. United has a problem of showing ghost availability on Lufthansa (and others); It looks like the seats are there but really do not exist. I figured the seats disappearing was a ghost availability issue but the next day, there they were again! To double check that they were really there I used the ANA tool. Sure enough, there were two first class seats available on the Frankfurt-DFW non-stop. I called United and added the return.
I am still missing a flight from DFW to Houston but my “worst case scenario” plan is to have a one-way rental car reservation made and just use that to get to IAH. If a flight from DFW opens or a non-stop from Europe to Houston opens, I’ll grab that as soon as I can and cancel the rental reservation.
It’s a little stressful planning these last minute trips but fun at the same time. The best part is being able to salvage some of the vacation time with my wife.
Reclining Seats and “Your Space”
Yesterday I noticed a lot of tweets and blogs sending their traffic to an article on Slate titled The Recline and Fall of Western Civilization. The article asserts that we as a society are broken because we recline our seats causing those behind us to suffer. It then takes the utilitarian view that reclining seats should be completely done away with. The first thing that came to my mind was, “are we really that bothered by seats reclining that Slate needs an article about it?”. Then I started thinking about the subtle “me, me, me” that was going on here cleverly disguised as “it’s for the greater good”.
Obviously, everyone on the plane would be better off if no one reclined; the minor gain in comfort when you tilt your seat back 5 degrees is certainly offset by the discomfort when the person in front of you does the same.
This quote in particular stood out. Unless you are a very tall person the amount of discomfort one receives from that same 5 degree seat recline is minimal as well. Sure, you may not be able to use your laptop on the tray table anymore, but the idea that you will be “uncomfortable” is a stretch. I am on an airplane a good chunk of every week and there are a lot of other things that are much more annoying and inconvenient than the guy in front of me reclining his seat.
Sure, I think it is annoying when a person reclines their seat right after take-off, or even better, the guy who does it on the ground after the flight attendants walk away, but I see some value in seat recline. I have had a few instances of back pain where I needed some recline to help relieve that pain and that 5 degrees made a difference. If we’re going to ban reclining seats then should ban all items that make trash (people litter), people who sit with their legs open on the subway (takes up my space), and so on.
Maybe what the author really wants to see is a seat like what ANA has installed on their Dreamliners, essentially a seat where the seat back is a shell, the bottom cushion slides forward, and the back cushion slides down. Such a seat gives a recline, but does not infringe on the space of the person behind.
I will say this. No matter how tall you are, products that keep the person in front of you from reclining, such as the Knee Defender, are not the answer. In the end air transportation is similar to a bus. If people want the experience of how nice commercial travel was in the 1960s then we’ll need to bring back regulation, make air travel unaffordable for a section of the population, and close a few airports… No? But it means a “better” travel experience for those traveling.