Air Canada is the worst carrier ever

The BBQ Pit
101

Humorous and fictional, to be sure… but flight delays are one reason why it’s rarely much faster to fly from NY to DC than to take the train.

I did that particular trip nearly every week for 2 years in the 1990s. IF everything worked out okay, I could get to the airport, wait for a flight, fly home, and get home faster than the Penn Station to Union Station train ride. Note that this was back before you were encouraged to be at the airport 1-2 hours before your flight.

So: half hour to the airport. Half hour to wait. Hour flight. Half hour home. 2.5 hours. Longer, if we were flying out of JFK versus LaGuardia or into Dulles(I did every combination possible, JFK to DCA, LGU to IAD, and LGU to DCA).

Train: 10 minute cab ride. 20 minute wait for train. 3 hour ride. half hour home. 4 hours.

But if there was any kind of weather delay - which was very, very common (especially on the Friday flight), the time equalized rapidly. It rarely took LONGER than the train, but there were times where it managed. I preferred the train, simply because it was that much more predictable.

Never been to Pearson, but I recall my trip through San Francisco. It seems like the airport was basically a giant horseshoe shape (this was 35 years ago so I may be misremembering); I landed at one end, and had to make my way to the other end.

A few weeks after I’d badly sprained my ankle.

There was no transportation, so I limped along as well as I could manage. Halfway there, an employee with a golf cart carrying several older passengers saw me, and said “I’ll come back for you in a minute”. I think I got to my gate before I saw anyone.

I love the smaller airports (e.g. John Wayne in Orange County, though that one is a nightmare to take off from with the noise-abatement procedures).

102

Ever flown out of Harrisburg, PA? You can stand at the only sit-down restaurant and see all the gates from there.

Our daughter laughs when we want to take her to our small airport early. She’s right, security takes ten minutes, then, poof, you’re at your gate.

When I moved to a smaller town, I was amazed at the airport: just a huge baggage carousel in the middle of a large room, with all the airline counters and car rentals around the circumference. But it sure was efficient!

103

Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe, PA is quaint. A small airport with free parking a few feet from the front door.

When my daughter was little one of her favorite outings was going to the airport and watching planes take off and land. She never wanted to leave.

104

That’s a far better deal than American Airlines had on August 3rd this year. (The link goes to USA Today.)

105

Experiences vary to be sure, but I’ve found that while lines are shorter, security personnel at smaller airports are more cautious (pedantic?) about going through carry-ons compared to their counterparts at large hubs. So you don’t necessarily save that much time re inspections.

106

Is it half ice tea and half lemonade?

107

All the restaurants in Latrobe offer Arnold Palmers!

108

But do they offer Latrobe beer?

109

THERE IS NO LATROBE BEER!!!

(I have friends in Latrobe, so I hear this often. Rolling Rock sold out.) Anheuser-Busch (spits on the ground) bought the beer in 2006.

110

Yes! But not in over 40 years - I grew UP in Harrisburg. I flew into the place a handful of times, going home from college or for Christmas, so I didn’t have the outbound ease of departure.

It was mostly (at that point) serviced by the types of planes where they roll down the windows and ask everyone to stick their arms out and flap as hard as they can.

Someone we knew 35ish years back flew in and out of there regularly for work. He described it as Harrisburg International Bus Terminal.

My understanding is that they built a new terminal (hence the sit-down restaurant!) which is much nicer.

My daughter lives in a small town in Vermont which has 3x/day service in an even SMALLER airplane, to/from Boston only. We call the single airline “Sandpiper Air”. I don’t know what that airport is like, but I expect it makes the one in the TV show Wings look expansive.

111

Ironically, the only flight I ever missed was out of Harrisburg. It was my fault, not the airport.

112

I think I’ve posted this before, but our first big international flight was to Bali in like 1999. We were flying out of Cortez CO on a Beechcraft 16 seater. We were very nervous about connections, so I called the airport–“we’re on an international flight tomorrow starting with you–what time should we show up for the flight?” Long pause–“You can show up as early as you want. WE show up 45 minutes before the flight.”

The flight to Bali was a 747 and my wife had scored biz class with miles. We were on the upper deck. Our FA came over about 30 minutes before takeoff and told us she had confirmed our luggage was on board. Sigh. Does were the days.

113

Or banana splits?

114

Are you a Latrobe native?!

115

I have flown Harrisburg.

My favorite small airport is Tri-Cities in TN (TRI). I used to fly through there several times a year. Like Harrisburg, one big room with one restaurant/bar in it. And there didn’t used to be one after security at all. That was an exciting upgrade.

Never once had security take more than 10 minutes. Occasionally I’d walk to the line and there would be nobody there- which surprised me- but someone must have been watching because they’d appear a minute or two later.

116

“That’s not Merritt Stone!” (sorry, involuntary reflex)

I met my future sister-in-law this week as she and my brother were in town, and she’s absolutely lovely. She says I need to come down and visit them in Tennessee at some point. I checked online, and flying out of Cleveland or Buffalo requires connections plus the drive. Going from here in Toronto is a direct flight but on…well, crap. I mean, my brother’s been making the journey on AC regularly, but I’d rather walk.

117

My gf’s friend works for TSA. She works at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and at Latrobe’s little Arnold Palmer Airport. She prefers the little airport which involves a 10 minute drive from her home in Latrobe.

I picked up my daughter at the Latrobe airport when she flew up to visit. As we were leaving, the TSA agent we know yelled, “Hey, kayaker!”

Scared the bejesus out of my daughter, who assumed I was in some sort of trouble.

118

Correctly assumed???

119

Nope, she (TSA agent) just wanted to say hi.

120

“Let me put on some blue latex gloves and give you the TSA Hello.”