VERY SHORT TRIP LOG FOR VERY LONG TRIP

[Airnerd]

It's been a busy year so far for flying...

Here's the short list of my 2003 flights with a few thoughts thrown in:
2-07-03: NW PDX-MSP-YYZ (A320, DC9) surprised how nice the ancient DC9 was inside.
2-09-03: NW YYZ-MSP-PDX (DC9, A320) very smooth transfer in MSP.
2-16-03: UA PDX-LAX (A319) first time in UA economy plus seats, very nice.
2-16-03: NZ LAX-PPT (767-300ER) not impressed with LAX airport, walk between terminals difficult, flight long but plane comfortable with good open areas to stretch out near exit doors and lavatories.
2-24-03: NZ PPT-AKL (767-300ER) with a brief stop in RAR, hard landing in AKL in strong crosswind.
3-17-03: NZ CHC-SYD (767-200) CHC has a wonderful international terminal.
3-21-03: SQ SYD-SIN (747-400) best flight of the whole trip. plane only 25% full, lots of room, great service, excellent entertainment, not too long (7 hours)
3-25-03: SQ SIN-FCO (777-200) would have been even better than the previous flight but too long (13 hours) and too bumpy (4 hours of significant chop). SIN airport is fantastic.
4-03-03: LH FCO-MUC (737-300)
4-09-03: LH FDH-FRA-HAM (ATR72, A300-600)
4-11-03: SA HAM-CPH-GOT (Q400, Q400) Q400 notably quieter than the ATR72, but a bit narrower feeling. CPH airport has no announcements - this was disconcerting at first.
4-14-03: LH GOT-FRA-PDX (737-300, A340-300) first time on an A340, felt very cramped with few areas to stand and the narrowest hallways between lavatories I have ever seen on a widebody. Full passenger load. Also felt very sluggish off the runway and during the climb - kindof wallowed a bit. comfortable seats and great service though.

Hope you all find this interesting...

[Pete at PIT]

nice list!!

How was the new LH FRA-PDX flight ????

I know how the A340 can be during take off!!! Underpowered is the statement!

Keep it up airnerd!!

Take care,
Pete

[Airnerd]

The new LH FRA-PDX flight was great. Great because we haven't had this luxury in Portland before. It's always been necessary to change planes somewhere when coming from Europe. I have usually done it in Chicago or San Francisco to try to keep the length of the connecting flight down, but I've also done it in Dallas, Atlanta, and Cincinatti. Anyway, after a 10 hour flight from Germany it's really nice to be able to head straight home.

Some observations:
I counted 3 or 4 empty seats in Coach. Hopefully bookings will continue to be strong and prove all those skeptics wrong about the route's viability. LH service is good. Not quite as good as the Asian airlines, but better than coach on most US carriers. They even had special Frankfurt-Portland chocolates to hand out. And they certainly don't skimp on the alcoholic offerings! But there are no PTVs and the viewing screens are pretty sparse in the A340-300's economy cabin so you need to be well positioned if you want to see the movies.

The seats were comfortable, if pretty close together and the A340 was (as advertised) very quiet. It was cramped in the public spaces though, especially between the lavatories. There were very few places you could get up and stretch out.

The flight path took us way up over the middle of Greenland and Yellowknife and down over Jasper and just East of Seattle before coming down into Portland. The landing was smooth, as the whole flight had been.

Customs in Portland was easy and well organized - something I was very glad to see after all the problems we had previously with INS Portland turning away Asian business travelers on Delta. The only strange thing is the fact that after collecting your bags and clearing customs you have to board a bus that takes you to the main terminal's baggage area - this can be a hastle if you have a lot of luggage - but they did have plenty of airport staff around to help you with your bags. But I don't think it used to be this way. I think it has something to do with new terminal security regulations.

All in all a very good flight.
Thanks Lufthansa!