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This summer I had the opportunity to visit my aunt in White City, Saskatchewan, so I jumped at the chance.
We left the house at about 1:30. Before we left Athens, we stopped at the bank, the post office, dropped off a friend, and had a quick lunch. We were on our way by 2:15.
We got to the Hartsfield International Airport and headed over to the Northwest ticket counter line. I got out my e-ticket receipt, and a Northwest employee encouraged me to use the self-serve kiosk to check in. I thought you could only use those if you didn’t have any bags to check, but I was wrong.
Check-in, overall, went very quickly, and the lady was friendly. I dropped my suitcase off with the bomb screeners, and headed for security. The line was long, but it went by quickly. We went down the escalator, got on the train, and soon afterwards were in the D terminal. I walked to my gate, D14, to ensure my flight was leaving on time, and after that I walked from one end of the D terminal to the other, simply watching the planes.
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Northwest Airlines #1433
ATL-MSP
Airbus A320-212, N373NW
[photoid=258866]
Seat 22F
Sched. Departure Time: 5:38PM
Sched. Arrival Time: 7:27PM
I found my seat, 22F, to find that there was nobody sitting in the middle seat on our side. An older man was in the aisle seat, and as soon as I took out my camera he asked about it. We had a short chat about technology, and soon after we were pushed back.
We taxied out and got in line for takeoff. There was a VERY long line, and it took us about 45 minutes to get to the runway. As we were waiting, I could see straight into the Delta hangars. I saw an old 762 that Delta (presumably) sold to someone. It’s registration was TJ-AAC, and it was painted light blue on the bottom, with a light brown stripe at the top of the blue. There were also 3 small yellow, orange, and teal stripes right above the window... Any idea who this is going to? I also saw an old DL MD-11 whose engines were taped up and whose tailcone was missing.
Takeoff was typical, as was climb. Shortly into the flight they offered the usual complimentary soft drink and coffee, and a small bag of Spinzels. Right after the f/a’s took up my trash, I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to, nor did I want to, but I was so tired from my lack of sleep the days and weeks before.
I woke up about 35 minutes before landing, just before the descent. As I was still groggy, I missed a perfect photo opportunity as we passed downtown Minneapolis. There was no haze, and I could have framed an Airbus winglet with the (old) Northwest N on it right next to the city of Minneapolis, but I didn’t have it in me to get my camera right at that moment.
Landing was smooth, and as we taxied, the flight attendants gave their usual welcoming sentences and told us we could turn on our cell phones. I did so, and saw that I had a new voice message. I called my voicemail, and as I listened to the automated instructions, a bunch of shit-your-pants loud chirps came from the speaker followed by static. It’s never happened to me before, it worked fine in the terminal at Minneapolis, and it did it again on my next flight. (Sony Ericsson T616)
I deplaned and boarded a Tram that took you to gates C21-C28, mine being C24. If I’d known how short the ride was, I would have walked. I found my gate, and once I made sure I knew my way around, I went and got a small pizza for myself. I ate my pizza at the gate, and sat and waited to board.
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Northwest Airlink (Mesaba) #3423
MSP-YQR
Avro RJ-85
[photoid=135747]
Seat 8E
Sched. Departure Time: 9:23PM
Sched. Arrival Time: 10:27PM
We boarded, and the safety demonstration was done. My first impression of the flight attendants by their body language and facial expressions was that they did not want to be there. Unfortunately, I had the middle seat on the right side, but it didn’t really bother me.
Row 8 is right behind the wings, and right over the landing gear, which provides a nice range of noises to be heard. I’m sure the other people didn’t like it, but I was loving every minute of it. One of the only things I could see out of the window were two engines. Very impressive.
We took off after what seemed like a pretty long roll. Once in the air, soft drinks and Spinzels were again handed out. I had my snack and reclined my chair and was planning on taking a nap, but I couldn’t fall asleep. There wasn’t much to speak of about this flight. One thing to mention was the landing.
This pilot made one of the most exciting landings I’ve ever experienced. During descent, we slowed down some, but were still going pretty fast. We were nearing the city of Regina (as well as the ground) still going seemingly pretty fast. Then, all of a sudden, he dropped the massive flaps and opened the tailcone spoiler.
The deafening roar of the disturbances in the airstream, along with the general nosedown atitude of the RJ frightened some, but what frightened more sitting in the wing area was the deployment of the landing gear. There was a hydraulic whine, then a loud BANG, as well as a thud in the floor. The engine RPM was fluctuating, which added to the dramatic effect. By now, lots of people were looking out of the window, some more alarmed than others. I sat back and closed my eyes, because I like not knowing when to expect to land.
We landed and taxied to the ramp and stopped, and everyone instantly stood up. The pilot came on the intercom to tell everyone they might as well sit down, because the ramp agent would be a minute. Eventually, we walked down some steps and headed to the terminal, past a parked WestJet 732, and an Air Canada 319 or 320. I walked into the relatively small international customs area, and 10 minutes later I was out the door with my bag on my way to my aunt’s house.
Overall, I give Northwest and their Jet Airlink product a 5 out of 5. They got me from A to B on time, in once piece with nothing to complain about. Look forward to my return trip report, which will come out sometime near the end of July.
We left the house at about 1:30. Before we left Athens, we stopped at the bank, the post office, dropped off a friend, and had a quick lunch. We were on our way by 2:15.
We got to the Hartsfield International Airport and headed over to the Northwest ticket counter line. I got out my e-ticket receipt, and a Northwest employee encouraged me to use the self-serve kiosk to check in. I thought you could only use those if you didn’t have any bags to check, but I was wrong.
Check-in, overall, went very quickly, and the lady was friendly. I dropped my suitcase off with the bomb screeners, and headed for security. The line was long, but it went by quickly. We went down the escalator, got on the train, and soon afterwards were in the D terminal. I walked to my gate, D14, to ensure my flight was leaving on time, and after that I walked from one end of the D terminal to the other, simply watching the planes.
----------
Northwest Airlines #1433
ATL-MSP
Airbus A320-212, N373NW
[photoid=258866]
Seat 22F
Sched. Departure Time: 5:38PM
Sched. Arrival Time: 7:27PM
I found my seat, 22F, to find that there was nobody sitting in the middle seat on our side. An older man was in the aisle seat, and as soon as I took out my camera he asked about it. We had a short chat about technology, and soon after we were pushed back.
We taxied out and got in line for takeoff. There was a VERY long line, and it took us about 45 minutes to get to the runway. As we were waiting, I could see straight into the Delta hangars. I saw an old 762 that Delta (presumably) sold to someone. It’s registration was TJ-AAC, and it was painted light blue on the bottom, with a light brown stripe at the top of the blue. There were also 3 small yellow, orange, and teal stripes right above the window... Any idea who this is going to? I also saw an old DL MD-11 whose engines were taped up and whose tailcone was missing.
Takeoff was typical, as was climb. Shortly into the flight they offered the usual complimentary soft drink and coffee, and a small bag of Spinzels. Right after the f/a’s took up my trash, I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to, nor did I want to, but I was so tired from my lack of sleep the days and weeks before.
I woke up about 35 minutes before landing, just before the descent. As I was still groggy, I missed a perfect photo opportunity as we passed downtown Minneapolis. There was no haze, and I could have framed an Airbus winglet with the (old) Northwest N on it right next to the city of Minneapolis, but I didn’t have it in me to get my camera right at that moment.
Landing was smooth, and as we taxied, the flight attendants gave their usual welcoming sentences and told us we could turn on our cell phones. I did so, and saw that I had a new voice message. I called my voicemail, and as I listened to the automated instructions, a bunch of shit-your-pants loud chirps came from the speaker followed by static. It’s never happened to me before, it worked fine in the terminal at Minneapolis, and it did it again on my next flight. (Sony Ericsson T616)
I deplaned and boarded a Tram that took you to gates C21-C28, mine being C24. If I’d known how short the ride was, I would have walked. I found my gate, and once I made sure I knew my way around, I went and got a small pizza for myself. I ate my pizza at the gate, and sat and waited to board.
----------
Northwest Airlink (Mesaba) #3423
MSP-YQR
Avro RJ-85
[photoid=135747]
Seat 8E
Sched. Departure Time: 9:23PM
Sched. Arrival Time: 10:27PM
We boarded, and the safety demonstration was done. My first impression of the flight attendants by their body language and facial expressions was that they did not want to be there. Unfortunately, I had the middle seat on the right side, but it didn’t really bother me.
Row 8 is right behind the wings, and right over the landing gear, which provides a nice range of noises to be heard. I’m sure the other people didn’t like it, but I was loving every minute of it. One of the only things I could see out of the window were two engines. Very impressive.
We took off after what seemed like a pretty long roll. Once in the air, soft drinks and Spinzels were again handed out. I had my snack and reclined my chair and was planning on taking a nap, but I couldn’t fall asleep. There wasn’t much to speak of about this flight. One thing to mention was the landing.
This pilot made one of the most exciting landings I’ve ever experienced. During descent, we slowed down some, but were still going pretty fast. We were nearing the city of Regina (as well as the ground) still going seemingly pretty fast. Then, all of a sudden, he dropped the massive flaps and opened the tailcone spoiler.
The deafening roar of the disturbances in the airstream, along with the general nosedown atitude of the RJ frightened some, but what frightened more sitting in the wing area was the deployment of the landing gear. There was a hydraulic whine, then a loud BANG, as well as a thud in the floor. The engine RPM was fluctuating, which added to the dramatic effect. By now, lots of people were looking out of the window, some more alarmed than others. I sat back and closed my eyes, because I like not knowing when to expect to land.
We landed and taxied to the ramp and stopped, and everyone instantly stood up. The pilot came on the intercom to tell everyone they might as well sit down, because the ramp agent would be a minute. Eventually, we walked down some steps and headed to the terminal, past a parked WestJet 732, and an Air Canada 319 or 320. I walked into the relatively small international customs area, and 10 minutes later I was out the door with my bag on my way to my aunt’s house.
Overall, I give Northwest and their Jet Airlink product a 5 out of 5. They got me from A to B on time, in once piece with nothing to complain about. Look forward to my return trip report, which will come out sometime near the end of July.
) Now the Cameroon government is reportedly negociating a return of the Albatross.
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