Trip Report: Canada/U.SA

[George G]

Please forgive me if my videos/images don't work, it's the first trip report i've written. I will mainly write up the aviation related things.

Date: 15th September 2012
Destination: Vancouver, Canada
Airline: Air Canada
Flight:AC 34
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR Rego: C-FNNH

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Getting to the airport this day was a hassle. The queues to the international airport extended all the way back into the M5 tunnel. I was wondering whether i would make it in time for boarding, but once at the check in gate there was no line so that was pretty seamless. This was the first time i have flown to Canada and the U.S.

I took my seat at 26E which is the left isle seat in the middle of Air Canada's 3-3-3 configuration. Scheduled depature today was for 10:25am but just like the traffic getting to the airport, there was plenty of air traffic to keep us sitting on the taxiway for well over an hour. The captain came over the intercom to say that we were about 7th inline for take off so he would be switching off all engines to conserve fuel, as the flight is well over 15hours long fuel conservation is critical.

So we departed around 11:45am from 16R and headed straight out to sea. I found Air Canada's seating arrangements to be quite comfortable. I had plenty of room to stretch my legs, and i think for this reason only i would definately fly them again. Service on board however was a different story. The stewardess seemed disjointed, as if they couldn't work together. Having not eaten much before getting on the plane i couldn't wait for some food. After eating my 1st meal soon after takeoff, about 7 or 8 hours later i was starving bad. But it seems i wasnt the only one. The passenger behind me started moaning "I want some foooood" :D...excellent...they came around and gave us a small midnight snack.

Before arriving in Vancouver, the connecting flight announcements started. I lost count to how many announcements there were. Maybe 3 or 4 and they went for about 20 minutes all up. Each time they were more confusing than the announcements before. "Passengers connecting to Montreal, your plane has now changed from a 777 to 767, and you will be now leaving from gate 52 not 45, and your flight number is now AC74 not AC96."..and so on.

It was a smooth landing in Vancouver, arrived early despite our delay in Sydney. I was surprised as to how quiet Vancouver Airport is. It was like a ghost town. But overall i was impressed.
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Next Aviation related stop: Seattle.

We caught the bus to Seattle. Was only a 3 hour ride from Vancouver. My other half had to do some work with Boeing so a part of our trip involved taking a VIP trip around the Boeing Everett Factory. We got given safety goggles, and put on a little golf cart and were driven around the whole Factory. This place is huge as you may know. I loved the experience. We got taken down all the lines and i learnt many things that i did not know before.

I was authorised to take photos everywhere except for the 787 line. I will only post a few photos despite having quite a few. (EDIT: I will resize the images and post them again at a late date)



After our tour we has some lunch with a couple of people from Boeing. Their hospitality, despite their busy schedules, was above and beyond. And i will also never forget our shuttle bus driver, Tom, who picked us up from our hotel and drove us back again courtesy of Boeing. What an awesome guy. I dont think i have ever had a conversation like this with someone before in my life. Totally awesome!!
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Next Stop: Las Vegas
Airline: Alaska Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 (sorry didnt manage to get the rego)
Seat: 10F (right side window seat)

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Trip%20Report/IMG_1536.jpg

A bit of a traffic starting to build up:
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Video of take off from Seattle Tacoma Airport (including fly over Boeing Field):
http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/th_MVI_1549_mpeg2video.jpg (http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/MVI_1549_mpeg2video.mp4)

We departed Seattle on time off runway 24R.Overall flight time to Las vegas was about 2 hours and 15mins.The pilot said we might experience some rough weather along the way, but overall the flight was smooth. The Air Alaska crew offered good service.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Trip%20Report/IMG_1552.jpg

Coming Up: Arrival in Las Vegas...Los Angeles with Southwest Airlines...and back to Vancouver...

to be continued......:D

[Tim B]

The Sydney-Vancouver flight is a long one, isn't it.
It doesn't help that it is a morning departure from Sydney, so you are not tired and therefore a decent sleep on the plane is hard to get.
I did it recently and with a morning arrival in Vancouver, it means staying awake for around 36hrs with only a couple of hours sleep.
The return flight was a late evening flight, so it was easier to get a few hours sleep.
I went from Vancouver to Seattle by plane (Horizon Air Dash8 Q400) and as it was such a short flight, probably spent more time going through customs than I did in the air. On-board refreshments was a plastic cup of water, which was about all they had time for.
Alaska Airlines have quite a few special themed planes, so planespotters can have fun looking out for them and crossing them off their list.
Here is a Disneyland themed 737 at Seattle.
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/7605/558tb.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/809/558tb.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[Grahame Hutchison]

We flew Air Canada from Sydney to Toronto (via Vancouver) on the 19th September, and I was expecting more from Air Canada. It was a bit like they couldn't make up their mind about being a full service carrier, or a low cost. The Sydney - Vancouver sector is definitely long, especially if you follow onto Toronto directly.

Thanks for posting.

[George G]

So to continue..the next part of my trip too me to Las Vegas.

Below is the video of my arrival into Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/th_MVI_1554_mpeg2video.jpg (http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/MVI_1554_mpeg2video.mp4)

Overall Alaska Airlines was pretty good. Good & efficient service right through from check in to the service on board.

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My next flight was from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with Southwest Airlines.
Aircraft was a Boeing 737-700 Rego N734SA.

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Southwest Airlines has a first come first served system for allocation of seats. You can check in online the day before and choose your seat and get priority boarding. I unfortunately was enjoying my time in Vegas too much to even remember that i had to do this. :cool:

So i was one of the last passengers on to the plane and didnt even know what seat would be left for me. I was hoping for a window seat somewhere and actually managed to get one on the second last row at the back on the left side of the aircraft.

Unfortunately as the plane was taxiing for takeoff my battery died and do not have a video of the takeoff. The flight again was pretty smooth. Was just over an hour flight to Los Angeles. Southwest Airlines offer a complimentary drink and snack on board. But it was only a small cup of a drink of your choice. I chose Dr. Pepper. And the snack was pretzels or peanuts. Nothing spectacular. Service on board was smooth, just as good as Alaska Airlines.

Here is the video of my arrival into Los Angeles. Keep an eye out for the 2 Qantas birds.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/th_MVI_1754_mpeg2video.jpg (http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/MVI_1754_mpeg2video.mp4)

Upon arrival, Southwest did take some time to get the baggage out onto the carousel. But no harm done.

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Los Angeles was my last stop. Time to come home.

Date: 29 Sep12
Airline: Air Canada
Flight: AC555 Los Angeles to Vancouver.
Aircraft: E190 Rego: C-FHNV
Seat: 26A Left side window seat.
Scheduled Depature time: 3:10PM
Flight time:2hours & 25 mins.

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I love the Embraers. They are such comfortable planes to fly on. I have never had a bad experience on one. Service on this flight was better than the 1st leg from Sydney to Vancouver. Although you had to pay for food if you wished to eat something.

We departed Los Angeles from runway 24L on a very steep climb over the ocean, before turning back around to fly over North LA. Below is the video of my departure form LAX.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/th_MVI_1872_mpeg2video.jpg (http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/MVI_1872_mpeg2video.mp4)

Decent into Vancouver, late afternoon.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Trip%20Report/IMG_1876.jpg

Video of arrival into YVR.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/th_MVI_1880_mpeg2video.jpg (http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Videos/MVI_1880_mpeg2video.mp4)


The last leg of the trip was on AC33 from Vancouver to Sydney scheduled for the same day.We arrived into Vancouver just before 6pm. Our flight to Sydney was not scheduled for depature until 11:40pm. Once again, Vancouver Airport resembled a ghost town. From Los Angeles we had checked our bags only to Vancouver so we had to go through the process of getting our passport stamped,collecting our luggage then re checking our luggage again for the Sydney leg.

The only problem we had was that because we were so early there was no check in counters open. Vancouver airport was a ghost town. Not to worry shortly after 7pm one attendant opened one check in counter and we were able to get rid of our luggage. We spent the remaining time in the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge. It was my first ever Airline lounge experience. To be honest i didnt really like it. Everyone is just too quiet.Too important to have a conversation, or you are scared to have a conversation with your fellow traveller in case people think you are rude.

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We departed Vancouver right on midnight and arrived into Sydney 30 mins late. The flight home was awesome. The service on this flight was so much more organised than the Sydney-Vancouver leg, and due to the late departure time i was already tired. I managed to get a good 5 hours sleep on the way back which made the 15hour and 45min trip home go fast.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with Australia Quarantine spray. Had to wait on the plane for at least 30 mins before we could get off, which was the last thing you want after almost 16 hours flying.

Some other photos:

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Trip%20Report/IMG_1864.jpg

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Trip%20Report/IMG_1840.jpg

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http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/GeogGR/Trip%20Report/IMG_1850.jpg

[George G]

And some shots from my Boeing Factory VIP tour:

[Grahame Hutchison]

Thanks for sharing George.

I agree with your comments about "Australia Quarantine spray", it's a long way home, and an extra 30min on the aricraft is so annoying.

[Tim B]

I did the same Los Angeles-Vancouver in an Embraer 190, although mine was a later flight which left me with around 45 minutes to go through Canadian customs to join the Sydney flight. Customs basically just gave me a stamp in the passport, and gave me a transit card to give to another customs person who escorted me upstairs via a lift to the departure lounges.
The gentleman who checked my boarding pass and passport at the departure gate counter commented that my birth date was exactly the same as his.
I suggested that this would be a good excuse for a free upgrade, and to his credit he did look in the computer, but unfortunately there were no seats available.
All staff at Los Angeles, Vancouver and on the planes were very helpful, but one thing I did note on the 777 to Sydney, the entertainment screen on the back of the seat in front of you only had the basic channels, and no games to play, so I couldn't get in my 40 rounds of mini golf per flight. :(