FlyCharlestonSC
02-07-2004, 01:31 AM
Here it is...my trip to Memphis :)
After a slow week, it was time to make my trek to Memphis to visit my friends from camp. I was travelling alone for the 2nd trip, only this time it was not legal. :P US Airways must have changed their policy, as I was technically an unaccompanied minor. I was booked as an adult and hoped no one would notice. After all, I don't really look like I am 13 :wink:
1-29-04
CHS-CLT
US Airways 737-400
Flight #208
Departure: 6:05 PM
Actual Departure: 6:05 PM
Arrival: 7:00 PM
Actual Arrival: 6:55 PM
Seat: 9F
I really was hoping for a great flight. There was no check in line or security line, so I checked in, but did not immediatly go to the concourse. About 10 minutes before boarding, I went through the security checkpoint. There were crouwds at the US Airways gates and crowds at the Continental gate, but Northwest, the only other airline in Concourse B, had already had its last flight.
We boarded on time, and I found my seat eaily. The flight was about 60% or 70% full in coach, and all of the first class seats were taken. As we taxied out to the runway, I noticed a Continental ERJ-145 waiting for the gate. The gate was occupied by the EWR flight (which was on time). Since CO only uses jetways in CHS, they couldn't pull both up at one time. I can imagine how mad the passengers would have been! This seems like bad planning on CO's part.
I took my seat at 9F. There was no one in the seat next to me. I found the seat rather small. My knees were close to hitting the seat in front of me. The seat seemed much smaller than last time I was on a 734 (maybe it's b/c I've grown 6 inches since then :lol: ). The flight was uneventful. The plane had no tvs.
I was disappointed that there was no beverage/snack service on this flight at all. In the past, US Airways has offered soft drinks and snack mix on those flights, even though they are so short. Delta offers fast break service on therir CHS-ATL flights, which are about 15 minutes longer. We landed in Charlotte on time and pulled up to C-3.
I really love switching in Charlotte. The airport is so well designed and traveller friendly. They have live music, moving sidewalks, rocking chairs, and just about everything to make people happy :smilewin: . I made my voyage to concoures E for my flight to Memphis.
1-29-04
CLT-MEM
US Airways (Mesa) ERJ-145
Flight #2709
Departure: 8:00 PM
Actual Departure: 8:00 PM
Arrival: 9:54 PM
Actual Arrival: 9:50 PM
Seat: 6A
We boarded out of gate E10, without a jetway. The gate next to us had a flight to Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSP/KGSP). The gate agent was convinced GSP was in South Carolina :roll: . I even corrected her! She told me to mind my own business :lol: . Before boarding, the gate agent warned us of ice on the ground in between the terminal and the plane. It was really, really cold.
There were only about 20 or 25 people on the flight, so I was able to move to the other side of the aisle to have 2 seats to myself :D . The legroom was comprable to that of the 734. We had a very steep takeoff!
The flight attendent, a 20-30 yr old guy named Jeremy, was not very attentive. He was in a bad mood (or just plain old rude!). He kept calling it a "short hop" over to Memphis, even though the flight was 2.75 hours long. That's a long time to be stuck on an rj!!!
We had a bumpy landing in MEM, as it was raining, and deplaned using a jetway.
______________________________________________
1 word to describe MEM:
FEDEX
______________________________________________
2-1-04
MEM-CLT
US Airways (Mesa) ERJ-145
Flight #2600
Departure: 10:00 AM
Actual Departure: 10:00 AM
Arrival: 12:34 PM
Actual Arrival: 12:30 PM
Seat: 3A
My vacation was over :(
I got to the airport a little over an hour before the flight. Check in was easy (I used a kiosk--they didn't ask for my age). Then, I went straight to security. There was a line, but it moved pretty fast. I got to the gate and waited...and waited...and boarded.
US has 2 gates in MEM. They only have 2 destinations (both rj), so they could pull it off with one gate. I am actually surprised that an airline in such a bad financial state has unnescesary gates like this. I boarded through the same jetway I had arrived on.
The flight today was full--mostly Carolina Panthers fans going to Charlotte to watch the superbowl in the team's hometown. The flight was uneventful, but a little bumpy. The f/a (can't recall her name--may have been Jill) couldn't have been more than 25. She was telling the guy in front of me something about an interview for a job on a bigger plane--I couldn't hear if she was talking about staying with Mesa or going to another airline.
We had a bumpy landing in CLT. We pulled up to our gate, the door was opened, and we waited (about 5 minutes) for the jetway to be hooked up to the gate. The bell on the jetway was really really really loud!!!! There was a big "Welcome to Charlotte, Home of the Carolina Panthers" sign in the jetway, as well as at every other gate.
I had almost 2 hours before boarding, so I explored--Concourse D--then A--then the Pizza Hut in the food court and the Starbucks for lunch :D . I went to my gate and waited for the call for boarding.
2-1-04
CLT-CHS
US Airways 737-300
Flight #785
Departure: 2:20 PM
Actual Departure: 2:20 PM
Arrival: 3:16 PM
Actual Arrival: 3:05 PM
Seat: 5A
The flight was 70% full. There was no one in the seat next to me. There were no tvs aboard this a/c either. The flight was a little bumpy, as it was raining in Charleston during the descent.
While taxiing in CLT, I saw a Pace 737 (I don't remember if it was a -200 or a -300). I wonder if it was Interstate Jet. I remember hearing that they had ceased opperations, but there was nothing on their website, and CLT is still on the routemap. If it wasn't I-jet, it was just a Pace charter.
CHS was pretty deserted, and I got my bags and waited for my ride.
Hope you enjoyed!
P.S. I'm going to DCA this weekend--look out for another trip report! :D
After a slow week, it was time to make my trek to Memphis to visit my friends from camp. I was travelling alone for the 2nd trip, only this time it was not legal. :P US Airways must have changed their policy, as I was technically an unaccompanied minor. I was booked as an adult and hoped no one would notice. After all, I don't really look like I am 13 :wink:
1-29-04
CHS-CLT
US Airways 737-400
Flight #208
Departure: 6:05 PM
Actual Departure: 6:05 PM
Arrival: 7:00 PM
Actual Arrival: 6:55 PM
Seat: 9F
I really was hoping for a great flight. There was no check in line or security line, so I checked in, but did not immediatly go to the concourse. About 10 minutes before boarding, I went through the security checkpoint. There were crouwds at the US Airways gates and crowds at the Continental gate, but Northwest, the only other airline in Concourse B, had already had its last flight.
We boarded on time, and I found my seat eaily. The flight was about 60% or 70% full in coach, and all of the first class seats were taken. As we taxied out to the runway, I noticed a Continental ERJ-145 waiting for the gate. The gate was occupied by the EWR flight (which was on time). Since CO only uses jetways in CHS, they couldn't pull both up at one time. I can imagine how mad the passengers would have been! This seems like bad planning on CO's part.
I took my seat at 9F. There was no one in the seat next to me. I found the seat rather small. My knees were close to hitting the seat in front of me. The seat seemed much smaller than last time I was on a 734 (maybe it's b/c I've grown 6 inches since then :lol: ). The flight was uneventful. The plane had no tvs.
I was disappointed that there was no beverage/snack service on this flight at all. In the past, US Airways has offered soft drinks and snack mix on those flights, even though they are so short. Delta offers fast break service on therir CHS-ATL flights, which are about 15 minutes longer. We landed in Charlotte on time and pulled up to C-3.
I really love switching in Charlotte. The airport is so well designed and traveller friendly. They have live music, moving sidewalks, rocking chairs, and just about everything to make people happy :smilewin: . I made my voyage to concoures E for my flight to Memphis.
1-29-04
CLT-MEM
US Airways (Mesa) ERJ-145
Flight #2709
Departure: 8:00 PM
Actual Departure: 8:00 PM
Arrival: 9:54 PM
Actual Arrival: 9:50 PM
Seat: 6A
We boarded out of gate E10, without a jetway. The gate next to us had a flight to Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSP/KGSP). The gate agent was convinced GSP was in South Carolina :roll: . I even corrected her! She told me to mind my own business :lol: . Before boarding, the gate agent warned us of ice on the ground in between the terminal and the plane. It was really, really cold.
There were only about 20 or 25 people on the flight, so I was able to move to the other side of the aisle to have 2 seats to myself :D . The legroom was comprable to that of the 734. We had a very steep takeoff!
The flight attendent, a 20-30 yr old guy named Jeremy, was not very attentive. He was in a bad mood (or just plain old rude!). He kept calling it a "short hop" over to Memphis, even though the flight was 2.75 hours long. That's a long time to be stuck on an rj!!!
We had a bumpy landing in MEM, as it was raining, and deplaned using a jetway.
______________________________________________
1 word to describe MEM:
FEDEX
______________________________________________
2-1-04
MEM-CLT
US Airways (Mesa) ERJ-145
Flight #2600
Departure: 10:00 AM
Actual Departure: 10:00 AM
Arrival: 12:34 PM
Actual Arrival: 12:30 PM
Seat: 3A
My vacation was over :(
I got to the airport a little over an hour before the flight. Check in was easy (I used a kiosk--they didn't ask for my age). Then, I went straight to security. There was a line, but it moved pretty fast. I got to the gate and waited...and waited...and boarded.
US has 2 gates in MEM. They only have 2 destinations (both rj), so they could pull it off with one gate. I am actually surprised that an airline in such a bad financial state has unnescesary gates like this. I boarded through the same jetway I had arrived on.
The flight today was full--mostly Carolina Panthers fans going to Charlotte to watch the superbowl in the team's hometown. The flight was uneventful, but a little bumpy. The f/a (can't recall her name--may have been Jill) couldn't have been more than 25. She was telling the guy in front of me something about an interview for a job on a bigger plane--I couldn't hear if she was talking about staying with Mesa or going to another airline.
We had a bumpy landing in CLT. We pulled up to our gate, the door was opened, and we waited (about 5 minutes) for the jetway to be hooked up to the gate. The bell on the jetway was really really really loud!!!! There was a big "Welcome to Charlotte, Home of the Carolina Panthers" sign in the jetway, as well as at every other gate.
I had almost 2 hours before boarding, so I explored--Concourse D--then A--then the Pizza Hut in the food court and the Starbucks for lunch :D . I went to my gate and waited for the call for boarding.
2-1-04
CLT-CHS
US Airways 737-300
Flight #785
Departure: 2:20 PM
Actual Departure: 2:20 PM
Arrival: 3:16 PM
Actual Arrival: 3:05 PM
Seat: 5A
The flight was 70% full. There was no one in the seat next to me. There were no tvs aboard this a/c either. The flight was a little bumpy, as it was raining in Charleston during the descent.
While taxiing in CLT, I saw a Pace 737 (I don't remember if it was a -200 or a -300). I wonder if it was Interstate Jet. I remember hearing that they had ceased opperations, but there was nothing on their website, and CLT is still on the routemap. If it wasn't I-jet, it was just a Pace charter.
CHS was pretty deserted, and I got my bags and waited for my ride.
Hope you enjoyed!
P.S. I'm going to DCA this weekend--look out for another trip report! :D