Tag Archives: United

Delta/Sky West Airlines Flight 4690/1211

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Delta Air Lines # 4690
Operated by: OPERATED BY SKY WEST AIRLINES

Los Angeles International (LAX) to Salt Lake City International (SLC)
Departure (LAX): June 14, 7:38 AM PDT
Arrival (SLC): June 14, 10:30 AM MDT

Delta Air Lines # 1211
Salt Lake City International (SLC) to Los Angeles International (LAX)
Departure (SLC): June 14, 8:10 PM MDT
Arrival (LAX): June 14, 9:17 PM PDT

A few weeks back I had a little mishap at LAX where I purchased a flight with United Airlines, but should have gone to the Continental Airlines terminal at LAX to check-in. The Orbitz itinerary noted “Operated by Continental Airlines” and “Please check in with the operating carrier.” I missed that part and went to check in at the United Airlines terminal only to have to walk to the Continental Airlines terminal. I found it quite annoying. Today, I had a Delta flight, but Orbitz noted it was operated by Sky West Airlines and to check in with the operating carrier. Not wanting to make the same mistake, I researched online to find which terminal Sky West flies out of… terminal 8. I was a little confused at first because I don’t remember ever seeing a terminal 8 at LAX, but I went with it. Well, there is no terminal 8 at LAX and there were no signs at LAX for Sky West Airlines. I asked the United representative at terminal 7 and was told to check in with Delta at terminal 5. Again, I had to walk, this time from terminal 7 to terminal 5. I literally got to the gate 35 minutes before departure time. Not my preference, but luckily had no luggage to worry about or it might have been a little bit more hectic.

All this after I made the mistake last Friday of getting on an earlier Southwest flight at my connecting location (Vegas) only to realize later that luggage doesn’t actually follow me when I change flights. I didn’t get my luggage until Sunday and had to pay to have it delivered. This took me totally by surprise. I’ve changed flights at the airport before and never had this problem. Apparently I was the only one thinking luggage would follow me as everyone I talked to says this isn’t the case. So, I’m now confused about how this works sometimes, but not all the time. Anyway, I had the option today when checking in to get on an earlier flight that would have left much earlier for an additional $50 fee. Not wanting to spend other people’s money and bitten from what happened on Friday – even though I had no luggage with me today – I passed. I’m regretting that move now. Although, it did provide me the time to get this post in while at the airport.

Anyway, a few comments about the airport here in Salt Lake City. The one thing I notice the most is it’s pretty clean with plenty of food options after going through security, but very limited options outside of the security check point. I also like how the whole city is surrounded by mountains, which you can see from the airport… some still have snow on them. It reminds me of Denver in that respect. Makes me want to venture out to Colorado and spend some time in Keystone sometime before the end of the summer. It might just happen the week after Labor Day, but that’s still preliminary. Let’s get though my next vacation to the Grand Canyon first.

Anyway, I’m about half an hour from boarding the flight back home. This time I really do mean it, this is my last scheduled flight for a few months.

United Airlines 6242/841

1 Reply

United Airlines # 6242
Birmingham (BHM) to Denver International (DEN)
Departure (BHM): May 27, 2:30 PM CDT
Arrival (DEN): May 27, 4:46 PM MDT

United Airlines # 841
Denver International (DEN) to Los Angeles International (LAX)
Departure (DEN): May 27, 5:34 PM MDT
Arrival (LAX): May 27, 7:10 PM PDT

Greetings again from 35,000 feet. Those of you that know me know I prefer to be at the airport at least 1 hr. 30 minutes before departure. Anything less than that and I get stressed out. Well today I had a 12 PM meeting at the client, a 2:30 PM flight, and a 45 minute drive to the airport. Things were going to be hectic. And I may not show it on the outside, but I do get stressed. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes and by the time we left the parking lot it was already 12:30. We arrived at the airport about 1 hr. 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time. So now, 1:15 minutes before take off, I wanted to get changed into more comfortable clothes and eat. I could see the security line getting longer and longer as I waited to order food. Forty minutes before take off I got on the security line, by the time I got though security and to the gate my boarding rows were being called… not even enough time for a quick bathroom break! Oh well, I made it on the plane and that’s all that matters.

I’m now about 1.5 hours into the flight #6242. What is it with the smaller planes lately? It used to be smaller planes were used for shorter flights, the under 2 hour kind. I’m on a plane that seats 4 wide on a 3 hour flight. I just seem to be on smaller planes more often lately. Or maybe I’m just flying more often and in a position to notice. As luck would have it I’m sitting in the 2nd row from the back next to a relatively big guy, not the obese king, just big. On the other side of the row are two smaller girls that barely take up 3/4 of their seats. Couldn’t we just switch us around a bit for comforts sake. I mean, I’m not small either, why not mix and match so everyone is equally uncomfortable.

After a brief 1 hour layover at Denver International Airport I’m now 45 minutes into flight #841. This plane is more in line with what I expect on a longer flight, it seats 6 wide with what seems like less personal space. I’m thinking I like the smaller planes better. On a side note, if I had my vote for “airport I would most like to get stuck in if I had to get stuck in an airpot” it would be Denver’s airport. The shopping and food options are nice. It’s also clean, which puts it over the top.

Signing off for now. Looking forward to a long weekend and not having to travel next week. Happy Memorial Day!

United Flight 1680/4435… or is it?

Leave a reply

United Airlines #1680
Los Angeles International (LAX) to Houston George Bush Intercntl. (IAH)
Departure (LAX): May 22, 1:15 PM PDT
Arrival (IAH): May 22, 6:28 PM CDT

United Airlines #4435
Houston George Bush Intercntl. (IAH) to Birmingham (BHM)
Departure (IAH): May 22, 7:35 PM CDT
Arrival (BHM): May 22, 9:14 PM CDT

It was nice not having to get out of bed too early this morning, but I am getting tired of travelling so much. Sometime this summer I’m going to create a little spreadsheet to track my travel and, more specifically, miles flown. Anyway, I’m starting to like posting to the blog while flying. The best part is I get to bring up the aggravations of dealing with airports, airlines, and the planes themselves.

So, let’s get to the topic at hand. I arrived at the United terminal about 1 hr. 40 minutes before departure time. After waiting about 10 minutes to check my bags, the check-in computer told me I had to check my bags at the Continental terminal… Seriously!? I had to walk from the United terminal (#7 at LAX) to the Continental terminal (#6). Then I had to wait in line another 10 minutes to check my bags. This was quite annoying. Apparently United and Continental aren’t integrated as much as they should be at this point. Luckily I was able to get through security without any big delays and the flight took off on time.

I’m about an hour into the first flight as I write this. Walking onto the plane I was excited to see there are TV’s behind each seat with live Directv service. That excitement was quickly diminished when I sat in my seat. I’m packed in like a sardine, more so than usual. My knees are rubbing against the seat in front of me and my thighs are flush against the arm rests. If the person in front of me puts their seat back this could get ugly. This might be the most uncomfortable seating of the airlines I’ve flown recently, which includes Southwest, Delta, United, and Continental.

The Directv service is $7.99 for flights longer than 2 hours. Honestly, that’s too much for what will be about a 3 hour flight. Although I can afford it, I’d rather just post to the blog and watch the movie I downloaded on the iPad. I might have a different opinion if I was able to purchase Directv for both flights for $7.99, but that isn’t the case.

I’m now an half hour into the second flight as I write this. Trains are available to shuttle passengers from one terminal to the next at Houston airport, which is good because I don’t think I’ve ever had a connecting flight in the same terminal I landed at there. After some delays taking off from Houston, things seem to be going smooth. I’m on a small plane, only 3 seats wide. I have the single seat on the left. And there is enough room for my knees this time. That’s all for today. The next travel update will be on Friday as I head home for Memorial Day weekend.

United Flight 433

United Flight 306

1 Reply

United Flight #306
From: LAX leaving @ 9:53 AM PDT
To: BWI arriving @ 5:48 PM EDT

Greetings from 30,000 feet, or whatever altitude planes fly at these days. Maybe I should have listened at the beginning of the flight when the pilot probably said what the flying altitude will be. I’ve decided to change the usual pattern of just watching a movie on the flight, although I did download a few movies to watch. Today I decided to write emails to a few friends that have contacted me lately and I’ve been too busy or tired to respond to. And, while I’m at it, I decided to write a post to the blog. Surprisingly, using the iPad and tripod stand, typing is relatively quick, not as quick as the laptop keyboard I’ve become so accustomed to, but quick nonetheless.

I’m wondering if writing about airlines, airports, and planes might be fun and interesting… and maybe even a little different. So here goes…

The day started when I arrived at LAX approximately 1 hr. and 40 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. This is usual for me as I leave my house at about 2 hours before the scheduled departure time. The check-in counter for United was relatively quick, other than having to wait a few minutes for the United employee to tag and take my luggage. The surprising part of getting to the gate was the security line. I literally walked up, gave my boarding pass and ID to the TSA agent, then walked right up to put my stuff through the scanner. I didn’t even have time to gather and organize my things before going through. The process could not have been any quicker, literally, unless there was no security line at all.

I’m about 3 hours into the flight as I write this portion of the post. The plane itself is small and outdated for what I would expect on a cross country direct flight. There is no in-flight Wi-Fi. The fold-out TV’s are overhead about every 3-4 rows. When I connected the Bose headphones to the jack there was a lot of interference, making watching shows or listening to music worthless. Even the seats feel like they’ve been used and abused for many years. Do airlines ever replace seats on a plane after they buy them? Or do airlines just use the original seats until the plane gets replaced? I was more impressed with the Continental flight a few months ago, which was a newer plane with in-flight Wi-Fi and TV’s behind every seat with Directv service. I wonder if United is going to replace their planes with what appears to be newer and better Continental planes. Or maybe my opinion is wrong due to the small sample size (there goes the auditor in me).

Well, that’s it for today. By the time you see this post I will have already landed and be on my way to, if not at, the hotel. What do you think? Is this a good topic? Is there a different format I should use? Will I get one comment/response?

Follow “”