Well well well, what a day. Sadly I only got about an hour of sleep last night (a combination of going to bed late and not being able to sleep and of worrying my alarm wouldn’t go off), but all is good.
This morning at TPA they were looking for volunteers, but surprisingly enough I didn’t get the usual migraine I get when they’re asking for volunteers and I’m not one of them. Is this the first step to overcoming the mileage whoring disease I have? I hope so!
The Ted flight for once had some action, both good and bad. The audio and video both weren’t working (it was like flying an AA MD80), so I got an “appreciation kit,” which is great. Because the audio wasn’t working I wouldn’t know whether or not Channel 9 was on, but based on the PA announcements of the captain I’d go with a firm “hell no!”
The crew on this flight was a mixed bag. Three of the flight attendants were great, and one was extremely strange (not necessarily rude, just weird). Janet, one of the FA’s in Economy Plus, was top notch and got a “Going the Extra Mile” certificate from me. Never have I seen an FA as cheery, positive, and all around willing to joke around as her. She said “don’t worry if we have no video entertainment, I’ll be your entertainment!” I couldn’t help but ask (in a joking way) why she left Southwest.
The male FA working the back was strange. He decided he was such a good speaker that he would make some of the announcements, and they were bordering on hostile. For example “if you still have any electronic devices on you care more about yourself than a safe takeoff.” Erm, ok.
Other than that the flight was uneventful and we made it to Chicago right on time. I met up with AJ (who I’m traveling with to Asia), and we headed to the new “incomparable RCC” for a while. After that we went to gate C10 to get our boarding passes, and then to the C16 RCC for drink chits. I’m happy to report that we were both given two drink chits without asking, so two thumbs up.
I’ll write a more thorough review of the ORD-NRT flight on ANA when I get back home, but just as a quick summary I was actually somewhat disappointed compared to my last ANA flight. The FA’s were good (although I’ve had better), but the entertainment was pretty awful and the food could have been better.
We all know that ANA doesn’t have as thorough an entertainment system as Singapore, but still I’ve been able to entertain myself on ANA in the past. Not so much this time. The only US sitcom was Frasier, and there were no comedy movies, which is what I spend most of my time on planes watching, so that was disappointing. The beef tenderloin we both had as our main course was either not properly cooked or a big chunk of fat. Probably good, since I usually have a case of “gotta-eat-everything-that’s-served-to-me-on-a-quality-carrier-just-to-try-it-itis.”
Oh, one little story: Somehow I managed to cut my finger on the tray table as I was trying to stow my tray table, so I went to the lavatory to get some tissue. As I walked out with a tissue on my finger an FA asked “is everything alright?” I explained I just had a little cut, and she quite literally sprinted to the “medical kit” and got me several band-aids. She even put it on my finger for me, and gave me some extras for later. Gotta love that kind of service…
Off to Hong Kong in a bit, and I’ll do my best to provide another update ASAP.
Awesome start to this story! I have the same disease as you do when it comes to airline food on non-US carriers - gotta eat it all! ;)
Great first report. Looking forward to the rest. :-)
I thought pretty much the same as the TED FA said when on a recent UAX flight the flip-flop-wearing (well, not wearing... his feet were on the seat next to him) teenage pax across the aisle from me was yacking on his cellphone all the way to the runway..
As the one FA was at the time strapped into her jump seat, I debated with myself whether I should ring the call button or just mind my business.