my 2009 travel has started auspiciously; i'm headed down to dallas via CLT, and in first class all the way. i got the notification email for my rdu-clt upgrade a couple days ago - early enough to select a non-bulkhead seat - and had managed to snag an exit row aisle on the long clt-dfw hop, so things were starting off well.

USairways pads their ( Read more... )

...but i repeat myself ( Read more... )

coming back to the US from canada, i can never remember whether i clear customs at the egress airport, or when i land... so this morning i opted for caution and got up at 4am for my 7am flight out of calgary. 45 minutes in the customs line (and that's before you even reach security) convinced me the lack of sleep was a good choice ( Read more... )

i'm on a regional jet back from boston to RDU - a CRJ-50, 2x2 rows. got lucky on seat selection and snagged an exit row window...

and the guy in the aisle seat next to me is somewhere between 350 and 400 lbs. his hips fit between the armrests, but his gut rides on top of, and somewhat down the other side of, them. (not the first time i've been ( Read more... )

monday i woke up in my bed in nc.

tuesday i woke up in sao paulo.

wednesday i woke up in brasilia.

thursday i woke up in sao paulo again.

friday i woke up in rio de janeiro.

this morning, i woke up in miami. (well, technically, somewhere over the atlantic south of florida...)

i am totally looking forward to waking up in my own bed, next to thebroomecloset, ( Read more... )

...of my airplane.

my east-to-west coast flight got turned around over mississippi due to an engine leaking oil. apparently it was a pretty major leak; i've never landed in a plane with a smoking engine before...

fortunately, the flight attendant was quick to reassure that no, the engine really wasn't on fire - it was just a byproduct of landing ( Read more... )

west coasters, foodies, fellow travelers, lend me your clue ( Read more... )

note to self: next time you travel on super bowl sunday, take the time to determine what city is hosting it, and don't connect thru there!

we pushed off the gate (already late) a half-hour ago, but are sitting on the tarmac because the airspace is saturated with corporate jets taking off from the private airfields around us. joy...

the woman across from me has an 11-month-old baby girl with her, which usually bodes poorly for a 4+-hour flight. not in this case! the baby slept most of the way, woke up a few minutes ago, and we're now playing peekaboo ( Read more... )

just landed at $localAirport. air travel is so much fun these days! because, really, what trip is complete without a late-evening flight delay ( Read more... )