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Thursday, August 6, 2009

Air Travels Continued

Note - this blog is automatically imported into facebook, but unfortunately it loses some formatting in the process. Click here to visit the real thing.

Hey guys, I would really like to tell you some actual exciting things, like the day and a half trip I just took to neighboring Cartagena, bathing in a volcano, or impressions of the school I'll be working at, but all of those things require pictures, so while I figure out how this newfangled technology stuff works, I'll continue my boring story about airplanes!

On Thursday I told you about my air travels, with an emphasis on airports. Today we look at airlines! I know, exciting, right? But don't go away - today's entry also includes Amusing Anecdotes, but they're at the bottom meaning you HAVE TO READ THE REST OF MY BORING DRIVEL TO GET THERE!

So, without further ado:

(I lied, there is further ado. Ado! Ado ado ado ado adooooooooooo! Ado all over the place, ado in your face! Ew. Adew?)

Airline Rankings

3. American Airlines - this wasn't even close. American Airlines sucks. They had no home entertainment system like the other two, they had no food (even though my subsequent flight, which was half as long, did), and they oversold it (I know all airlines do this - I even studied it in my undergrad (I know, industrial engineering sounds great right), but having people left behind at the gate is an indication you've over-oversold). Just an unpleasant experience.

2. Air Canada
- Air Canada made a strong showing. They have the home entertainment system thing going on, and on the Toronto-Vancouver flight I watched Sunshine Cleaning, which was great. Unfortunately, the Vancouver-San Fran corridor wasn't so high-tech (i.e. no home entertainment system), probably because it was a shorter flight.

1. Avianca Airlines - Avianca Airlines, the flag carrier of Colombia, stole the show. They've got the home entertainment system, and it's better than the Air Canada one. It has a removable control thingee that is an interface controller, keyboard, and even a video game controller? Crazy. Also, they served me a meal... on a 2 1/2 hour flight... which was listed as having no meal. Big ups, Avianca Airlines.

Other notes:
  • there was a kid sitting behind me on the Toronto-Vancouver leg who was friggin' hilarious. He was probably something like 2 1/2, old enough to be talking a lot but young enough to be an idiot (in a good way). Also, he had an English accent. So, when I tell you that he said "mommy! Are we flying yet?" (say it in your head with an English accent) when we were clearly still on the ground NOT MOVING, it was the funniest thing I've ever heard.
  • the lady sitting beside me on Toronto-Vancouver is from Victoria, so she flies in and out of Vancouver a lot, and it has always been too cloudy to see the mountains. We saw the mountains. Apparently I really lucked out on that one, and it was unbelievable. Every time I see mountains it catches me off guard - I've seen them lots of times, and even climbed a couple, but I always forget how majestic and beautiful they are.
  • Three hours later, I flew out of Vancouver at the height of sunset (does that make sense?) over the Pacific. I mentioned yesterday that Vancouver is #1 on my list of places to visit in Canada, and it moved up at least a couple of places based on those views.
  • I watched Star Trek on the Avianca flight. I've never watched any Star Trek before (except for when I was a kid and re-runs were on all the time on every channel, but even then I never sat through a whole episode), but the movie was enough to make me think about getting into it a little bit. I really, really enjoyed it. The movie's only downfall: the climax occurred at the same time as South America was coming into view. I didn't know what to watch! Avianca made the decision for me, though - the movie automatically shut off since we were close to our destination. I still have to watch the end.
  • On the day of my travel from Colombia to San Francisco, I woke up at about 9:30AM (PST), and by the time all was said in done, I was in bed by 10:30PM (CST) the next day. That's 39 hours of awake, which in and of itself isn't earth-shattering, but as far as I can remember is a personal record.

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