Tweet
Mar. 11, 2000
737-500
MCI-EWR
Well, the day had finally come, i had been waiting for a year and a half to travel to Rome with 20 of my friends and our youth group, and was so excited to finally get on my way to Europe. We were scheduled to leave MCI(Kansas City) at 930am, so at 730am, we all met at Terminal C and checked in. This was a kind of rough start, because one of the girls lost her passport, and was in tears while she tore through her luggage trying to find it. Long story made short, she left it in her dad's car, and we made our way to gate C-52 to board our flight to EWR. We made our way down the jetway screaming all the way down, which gave the F/A's a good laugh as they told us "you're gonna make this flight really interesting today". Great start to the trip. The first announcement "We'd like to welcome aboard the group of high school students going to rome!!!" How awesome. We made our way to 1R and made a powerful takeoff. I cant remember if there was food service, but it was a fun flight. In about 2 hours, we made our way into the murk of Newark, breaking through the clouds about 100ft above the runway. We then made a quick taxi to the C-terminal, where we were met by a special Continental Ambassador who took us to our private room where pizza and soda was waiting for us during our 5 1/2 hour layover. Myself and some of my friends ate some pizza, and then decided to ride the monorail around EWR. We saw alot of COEX ATR's (pre ERJ days), and lots of D10s. After a couple of hours, we returned to the room, and asked our ambassador Jeff if we could tour one of the planes. He said yes, but we could only bring 6 people. So we discreetly snuck off with him to see a BRAND NEW 777!!! He let us wander through the cabin, see the cockpit, and play in the Business First seats that we would NOT be enjoying on our flight to FCO. This plane was bound for Milan (MXP). It was really cool to see the 777 w/ out pax on board. Well, it was time to head back and get the rest of the group to board for our flight to FCO.
_______________
CO 40
777-200
EWR-FCO
I was so excited when, 3 weeks prior to our flight, this flight was changed from a D10 to a 772!!! We walked to the gate, and boarded shortly after arrival. We all sat at the window of the terminal spellbound by the size of the engines on this beautiful machine. We boarded, and took our seats. It was neat to hear the bilingual announcements, because this was my first international flight. We pushed back after a 20 min delay. I was surpirsed by how quiet the engines were on taxi. Takeoff was a different story, the engines spooled up, my best friend and i gave eachother a look of amazement across the cabin AWESOME! Those wings flexed up, and we were in the clouds almost immediately. About an hour into the flight the IFE was turned on, and Meal Service started. Of course, it was beef or chicken, i chose the beef. It was pretty nasty. Beef in a brown sauce on top of pasta, a salad, roll, and brownie. I was not very impressed, but CO made up for it in the awesome beauty of this A/C. After meals were collected, the F/A's pretty much disappeared. Our group leader decided it was time for some cocktails, and we (being 16 at the time) were treated to numerous amaretto and cokes. Well, after having several drinks, we were pretty obnoxious, and some pax were getting pretty annoyed. But, finally, we just sat down to watch some movies and play some of the video games on the PTV's. After what seemed like an eternity, we approached the Irish Coast line, which was awesome to see in the early dawn light. We tracked over london as it was still pretty dark, where we could see the vast expanse of lights, and over Paris, where we could see many famous sights. The best part of the flight was flying over the Alps as the sun was just over the horizon, it was absolutely amazing. While we were over the alps, we were served breakfast consisting of a croissant, fruit, and yogurt, which was much better than the dinner. Soon enough, we were descending over the Italian Coast line. We made our approach into FCO, which looked like something in the middle of Nebraska. We had a soft landing, and taxied over to the International terminal. We proceeded through customs really quickly, and hurried to meet our tour guide, as it was 715am, and we had to be at the Vatican for a Papal Mass at 830. 7 days later, we would be on our way back home
________________
Mar 19, 2000
CO 41 FCO-EWR
777-200
Our tour bus picked us up at the Hotel Palatino, by the Coliseum and the Forum on Via Cavour at 630, for our 930 departure back to the states. We had a horrible box breakfast, and enjoyed our ride back to FCO. We arrived at a crowded FCO, and waited in line for check in at the CO counter. We went through two rounds of security, and made our way to the Monorail station. We took the train to the International terminal (which we didnt have to take when we arrived it seems, or did we?) and waited for our departure in 2 hours. I took the opportunity to look around, seeing several AZ flights, a BA 763 going to LHR, And 2 DL 763s, one to ATL and one to MCO. We had one last gelato (italian ice cream is the best) and boarded our flight back home, much less enthusiastically than on the way there. Took my seat virtually in the same seat as before, and tried to relax. This flight, as was the flight here, was 100% full. Some woman was screaming because she "was a former flight attendant, and these people *us* were taking forever", well, she never shut up the entire flight and complained at pretty much anything that was said either by our group or the F/A's. We took off on time to the West, and were in the clouds before i could get one last glimpse of Italy. Soon after takeoff we were served lunch, which was the exact same meal as the inbound flight!!!! Gross, again. I was sitting with my best friend and a woman from Houston, and we decided we'd pass on the free booze this time. This flight, we just relaxed and watched some movies on the PTV's. This flight was much longer, due to the fact that we were headed west, so it was painfully long, since i was in the middle seat So we passed time by being complete A$$holes to the bitchy woman in front of us 
. About 7 hours into the flight, we were served sandwiches, which was nice, but far from adequate. After 8 1/2 hours, we were on approach to EWR over southern Mass. We made our approach, flying in parallel to Manhattan on a Crystal clear day. We touched down softly at EWR just after noon, and turned off to get a breathtaking view of the World Trade Center . I had no idea that this would be the last time i would see these beautiful buildings. We deplaned, and made our way to the bustling Customs hall. After about a 30 minute wait, we claimed our baggage, and made our way to the C-Terminal to catch our flight home that would leave in an hour.
_______________
737-300
EWR-MCI
I believe we departed out of gate 119, but i could be wrong (it was one of those horrible lower-level gates). After a lunch at Garden State Diner (a good homestyle american meal, instead nonstop italian food, which was getting old), we boarded our flight home. This flight was at about 75% capacity, which wasn't light, but nicer than the crammed flight from FCO. We pushed back on time at 3pm, and made our way into the departure line. We waited for quite some time, to let other aircraft pass us, and finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting, we departed after a landing 707 (no idea who was operating it). I got one last view of the WTC, and we turned southwest towards MCI. We were given snack mix and a drink on this flight, which lasted just over 2 hours. It was relatively uneventful, and in what seemed like no time at all, we were on approach to a cold and Snowy Kansas City. There was a high school group coming back from Spain, and when we all saw the snow on the ground there was a communal "are you kidding me" sigh that ran throughout the cabin. We touched down on 1R, and parked at C-53. It was time to go back to school jet-lagged, but really happy with the trip that i had planned. It was an awesome trip, and I cant wait to go back next summer!!!
Sorry, i know it's long, but i'm really bored, hope you enjoyed it!!!
737-500
MCI-EWR
Well, the day had finally come, i had been waiting for a year and a half to travel to Rome with 20 of my friends and our youth group, and was so excited to finally get on my way to Europe. We were scheduled to leave MCI(Kansas City) at 930am, so at 730am, we all met at Terminal C and checked in. This was a kind of rough start, because one of the girls lost her passport, and was in tears while she tore through her luggage trying to find it. Long story made short, she left it in her dad's car, and we made our way to gate C-52 to board our flight to EWR. We made our way down the jetway screaming all the way down, which gave the F/A's a good laugh as they told us "you're gonna make this flight really interesting today". Great start to the trip. The first announcement "We'd like to welcome aboard the group of high school students going to rome!!!" How awesome. We made our way to 1R and made a powerful takeoff. I cant remember if there was food service, but it was a fun flight. In about 2 hours, we made our way into the murk of Newark, breaking through the clouds about 100ft above the runway. We then made a quick taxi to the C-terminal, where we were met by a special Continental Ambassador who took us to our private room where pizza and soda was waiting for us during our 5 1/2 hour layover. Myself and some of my friends ate some pizza, and then decided to ride the monorail around EWR. We saw alot of COEX ATR's (pre ERJ days), and lots of D10s. After a couple of hours, we returned to the room, and asked our ambassador Jeff if we could tour one of the planes. He said yes, but we could only bring 6 people. So we discreetly snuck off with him to see a BRAND NEW 777!!! He let us wander through the cabin, see the cockpit, and play in the Business First seats that we would NOT be enjoying on our flight to FCO. This plane was bound for Milan (MXP). It was really cool to see the 777 w/ out pax on board. Well, it was time to head back and get the rest of the group to board for our flight to FCO.
_______________
CO 40
777-200
EWR-FCO
I was so excited when, 3 weeks prior to our flight, this flight was changed from a D10 to a 772!!! We walked to the gate, and boarded shortly after arrival. We all sat at the window of the terminal spellbound by the size of the engines on this beautiful machine. We boarded, and took our seats. It was neat to hear the bilingual announcements, because this was my first international flight. We pushed back after a 20 min delay. I was surpirsed by how quiet the engines were on taxi. Takeoff was a different story, the engines spooled up, my best friend and i gave eachother a look of amazement across the cabin AWESOME! Those wings flexed up, and we were in the clouds almost immediately. About an hour into the flight the IFE was turned on, and Meal Service started. Of course, it was beef or chicken, i chose the beef. It was pretty nasty. Beef in a brown sauce on top of pasta, a salad, roll, and brownie. I was not very impressed, but CO made up for it in the awesome beauty of this A/C. After meals were collected, the F/A's pretty much disappeared. Our group leader decided it was time for some cocktails, and we (being 16 at the time) were treated to numerous amaretto and cokes. Well, after having several drinks, we were pretty obnoxious, and some pax were getting pretty annoyed. But, finally, we just sat down to watch some movies and play some of the video games on the PTV's. After what seemed like an eternity, we approached the Irish Coast line, which was awesome to see in the early dawn light. We tracked over london as it was still pretty dark, where we could see the vast expanse of lights, and over Paris, where we could see many famous sights. The best part of the flight was flying over the Alps as the sun was just over the horizon, it was absolutely amazing. While we were over the alps, we were served breakfast consisting of a croissant, fruit, and yogurt, which was much better than the dinner. Soon enough, we were descending over the Italian Coast line. We made our approach into FCO, which looked like something in the middle of Nebraska. We had a soft landing, and taxied over to the International terminal. We proceeded through customs really quickly, and hurried to meet our tour guide, as it was 715am, and we had to be at the Vatican for a Papal Mass at 830. 7 days later, we would be on our way back home
________________
Mar 19, 2000
CO 41 FCO-EWR
777-200
Our tour bus picked us up at the Hotel Palatino, by the Coliseum and the Forum on Via Cavour at 630, for our 930 departure back to the states. We had a horrible box breakfast, and enjoyed our ride back to FCO. We arrived at a crowded FCO, and waited in line for check in at the CO counter. We went through two rounds of security, and made our way to the Monorail station. We took the train to the International terminal (which we didnt have to take when we arrived it seems, or did we?) and waited for our departure in 2 hours. I took the opportunity to look around, seeing several AZ flights, a BA 763 going to LHR, And 2 DL 763s, one to ATL and one to MCO. We had one last gelato (italian ice cream is the best) and boarded our flight back home, much less enthusiastically than on the way there. Took my seat virtually in the same seat as before, and tried to relax. This flight, as was the flight here, was 100% full. Some woman was screaming because she "was a former flight attendant, and these people *us* were taking forever", well, she never shut up the entire flight and complained at pretty much anything that was said either by our group or the F/A's. We took off on time to the West, and were in the clouds before i could get one last glimpse of Italy. Soon after takeoff we were served lunch, which was the exact same meal as the inbound flight!!!! Gross, again. I was sitting with my best friend and a woman from Houston, and we decided we'd pass on the free booze this time. This flight, we just relaxed and watched some movies on the PTV's. This flight was much longer, due to the fact that we were headed west, so it was painfully long, since i was in the middle seat
So we passed time by being complete A$$holes to the bitchy woman in front of us . About 7 hours into the flight, we were served sandwiches, which was nice, but far from adequate. After 8 1/2 hours, we were on approach to EWR over southern Mass. We made our approach, flying in parallel to Manhattan on a Crystal clear day. We touched down softly at EWR just after noon, and turned off to get a breathtaking view of the World Trade Center . I had no idea that this would be the last time i would see these beautiful buildings. We deplaned, and made our way to the bustling Customs hall. After about a 30 minute wait, we claimed our baggage, and made our way to the C-Terminal to catch our flight home that would leave in an hour. _______________
737-300
EWR-MCI
I believe we departed out of gate 119, but i could be wrong (it was one of those horrible lower-level gates). After a lunch at Garden State Diner (a good homestyle american meal, instead nonstop italian food, which was getting old), we boarded our flight home. This flight was at about 75% capacity, which wasn't light, but nicer than the crammed flight from FCO. We pushed back on time at 3pm, and made our way into the departure line. We waited for quite some time, to let other aircraft pass us, and finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting, we departed after a landing 707 (no idea who was operating it). I got one last view of the WTC, and we turned southwest towards MCI. We were given snack mix and a drink on this flight, which lasted just over 2 hours. It was relatively uneventful, and in what seemed like no time at all, we were on approach to a cold and Snowy Kansas City. There was a high school group coming back from Spain, and when we all saw the snow on the ground there was a communal "are you kidding me" sigh that ran throughout the cabin. We touched down on 1R, and parked at C-53. It was time to go back to school jet-lagged, but really happy with the trip that i had planned. It was an awesome trip, and I cant wait to go back next summer!!!
Sorry, i know it's long, but i'm really bored, hope you enjoyed it!!!
It may take longer to type but it is more fun to read.
777
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