Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
Planes, Trains & Automobiles - The Sequel
Flight Log 3: AS583
Santa Ana (SNA) - Portland (PDX)
 ABOVE: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 arriving at SNA |
Boarding certainly started in good time for this one, fully thirty minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. An announcement at the gate indicated to waiting hopefuls that First Class had checked in full and consequently there would be no upgrades on this flight. As I was already booked into F, this being an award flight using some 'orphan' American AAdvantage miles, I was quietly pleased that there would be no prospect of newly upgraded passengers now trying to rearrange the allocated seating.
My eagle eyes noticed on boarding that on this particular aircraft, there was no bulkhead separating the two cabins. This might be bad news for me in 3F, but it would obviously depend on the occupants of Row 4. Pre-take off drinks of water were served in plastic cups and orders were taken for post-take off beverages. The flight attendant was also asking each passenger whether they wished to have dinner. This came as a surprise: based on memories of a previous Seattle - San Diego flight in First Class, where the food offering had been a fairly unappealing croissant, I had chosen to eat at the airport on this occasion. Needless to say, I was therefore a 'No, thank you'.
As the plane filled up, it was looking more and more like an early departure was on the cards. The captain gave the expected flight time as 2hrs and 9mins - don't you just love this spurious American precision? He also said that the weather was "crisp and cool, expected to last for several days" and added that this was "an extraordinarily good outlook for November in Portland". Excellent - just what I wanted to hear!
Doors were closed at 1843, pushback came two minutes later and at this relatively small airport, take-off followed just ten minutes after that. Once cabin service got underway I had a gin & tonic, served with a packet of snack mix. A top-up was offered in due course. Time passed remarkably quickly and I was soon enjoying a beautifully clear approach into Portland, where we touched down at three minutes after 9pm. On arrival at the gate, I learned about Alaska's 20-minute guarantee for the delivery of checked baggage - what a good idea!
This was a perfectly pleasant short flight. Oh,
and the lack of a bulkhead made no difference at all on this
occasion, thanks to the civilised occupants of Row 4. Happy days!
 |
| Date: Fri 22 Nov 2013 |
| Aircraft: Boeing 737-700 |
| Scheduled dep: 1850 |
| Actual departure: 1845 |
| Scheduled arrival: 2108 |
| Actual arrival: 2106 |
| Cabin: First Class |
| Seat: 3F |