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GNV-MIA-PHX-DFW-GNV

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ANCFlyer (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 08 Sep 22, 00:15Post
I'll edit this later.

I'm way late on this.

Booked three times, changed three times by AA. Originally scheduled GNV-DFW-PHX. Finally, GNV-MIA-PHX.

Why GNV? An hour closer than MCO, and hour closer than JAX, and hundreds cheaper - even for F. 35 minutes from the RV to the airport. And I had a ticket to burn on AA. Covid ticket they banked for me. Expires 9/30/22. So I burned it.

AA E170, usual seat. Not bad at all for the 23K foot hop down to MIA. Was supposed to meet MiamiAir but glad I didn't, he was carrying the crud that day.

AA3821, Gate 5 out of 5 at GNV. Three minutes through TSA. Had coffee and waited. Plane was at 99% load. 1A of course, is by itself on the right of the a/c. My preference. Plenty of leg room. Quick coffee and a cookie on the way to MIA.

Now, MIA . . . Gate 60 OINBGOIN#B!_)PB)NE# somewhere at the end of the airport that reminds me of a corn-maze in mid-America to get off the plane, through the maze to the actual terminal. PITA! Ridiculous for AA.

Plenty of rations and libations available in D terminal, I had time (since Vic blew me off, LOLOL) so I explored MIA as best I could. Hadn't been through there in easily 15 years. They have done well. Although, I can tell you, it's a bI!ch in that terminal at "bank" time, reminds me of ORD 24/7. Everything, everyone going everywhere. Put a couple hundred steps on my magic heart monitor watch, had a bloody mary and very nasty Brisket Wrap thingy that I didn't finish.

AA354, on D43, my usual seat. Seat mate was "different". 100% load, AND there was a kid - a real kid - like 18months kid behind me. No nap for me.
God favors me with the invention of bluetooth and in flight movies. Hey, you didn't read about me in the papers or on the news did you.

A newer AA 321neo. And . . . . . . so what?! Same shit different day. Same non-descript plain jane AA F seat (although leg room was refreshing for AA. No IFE (Had my tablet) and the wifi is easy enough to access.

It was a lunch flight, so started with the obligatory nuts. I had another BM, and lunch was served. Not too bad til I got to the (what I'm guessing was) chicken. I just stabbed it with a fork and neanderthalled it to my mouth. One bite and that was over. Salad, fixins, bread, etc not bad at all. Not sure what AA did with that (what I'm guessing) chicken, but please don't do that again. Lunch actually gets a 4-5 . . . save suspect buzzard. FA gets a 2-5, smile bitch, it doesn't hurt.

First FA was, in a word, bitchy. I'm the first guy to use please and thank you. Ask for a second bloody mary and to keep your lunch napkin and you get the side-eye and the FU nod. Just for good measure, I kept the damn napkin til landing and had a third BM. Never left me seat and pleased and thank-you'd that hag to death! Miami based crew BTW.

Decent ride. Some chop over the Gulf a little right turn and altitude gain near Houston. A few seat belt on/off times . . . one sent a water glass flying across the aisle is 1D. Captain had the FAs take seats through that last mess. Wear your set belts . . . .

Took us right over El Paso. For you US Military types, we went right over the US Army Sergeants Major Academy at Biggs Army Airfield on Ft. Bliss. I got a sorta chubby then. If you know why, you know why. Hooah.

Approach was over the San Tan Valley with many turns, wind from the east so we landed on 7R.

Off the plane at A298547, PHX hasn't changed . . . so walk forever to the rental car shuttle . . . to be replaced this year by a continuation of the sky train. Bully for that. The Rental Car facility is 5 miles from the damn airport proper. Took me longer to fly from GNV-MIA and change planes than to get my car and get to my hotel.

Next ride is 0700 Friday AA from PHX-DFW-GNV. More to follow. I have pics, will download and post later.
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!!
miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 08 Sep 22, 13:37Post
ANCFlyer wrote:I'll edit this later.

Plenty of rations and libations available in D terminal, I had time (since Vic blew me off, LOLOL) so I explored MIA as best I could.


Sorry, didn't want to fuck your trip up with pestilence. On the plus side, the libations are better on the other side of the TSA barbed wire.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 08 Sep 22, 18:13Post
Absolutely bizarre how some FAs serving the guests up front act as if they're imposed upon by standard requests.
ANCFlyer (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 10 Sep 22, 14:54Post
So return trip yesterday. PHX-DFW-GNV

AA 365 PHX-DFW. A321EOW. Standard AA 321 with no leg room, non-descript crap F cabin. Gate A27. I get there at 0545. Plane is at the gate. I grab a coffee and a roll, plug in the bitch box and start work. Gate change . . . oh, boy here we go. Expected a long walk but only had to go two gates over to A29. That's the plus side. No aircraft is the negative side. Lots of deadhead crew heading to DFW also. At boarding time, still no plane. Gate agent is overheard making several calls to whomever as the a/c is in PHX, at a hanger. Someone forgot to bring it over.

Plane arrives at 0710, ten minutes after scheduled departure. The good part is that it doesn't have to offload, so we board 30 minutes late. Cockpit crew is fuming mad about the missing the plane. One deadhead Captain is overheard on his phone calling whomever and screaming that he has to 'fly a plane out of DFW at 1100, so get a move on over there".

We're 50 minutes late off the gate. First F/A was an old HP guy and quite spectacular. The anti-thesis of the old battle-axe on the outbound from MIA three days earlier. Great 2:05 hour ride to DFW, on the gate D-1 (the ass end of hell at DFW) 15 minutes late. I have to get to B47. I have an hour. There is a train. The transit from D-1 to the train takes 15 minutes of walking. Train takes 5 minutes to B40 area. I'm at the gate in 25 minutes. Stop in the USO immediately across from B47.

Now here we go again. B47. No plane. It's scheduled to be a E175. Plane arrives when boarding is supposed to start. Quick enough turn by AA (Envoy really) and we're off - sort of . . . .

After 15 minutes waiting the pilot comes on and says they are changing the flight plan, they don't wanna go over the gulf and come across Florida in the shit weather. Can't blame 'em. Says we'll be on the ground an extra 30 minutes.

We wait. Then they tell us Air Traffic won't approve the new route until 3 hours from now . . . so we all get off the plane.

My AA app is pinging all over the place. Don't know which message is right we're leaving, not leaving, boarding, no - not boarding, oh wait boarding! I didn't venture far from the gate. I went to the aforementioned USO as it was - as I said - right across from the gate. I'm there twenty minutes and AA app pings, flight is now boarding. So back on the plane. We are waiting for everyone they just booted off to show up. Nine people didn't make it before the Captain said to close the doors, we're leaving. Crew duty time as this was a DFW-GNV-DFW turn they couldn't wait any longer.

Off the ground 2 hours late out of DFW. Again, decent F cabin on the E-Jet. 1A has at least 50" of leg room. Onboard free Wi-Fi, movies, TV, blah, blah, just like its big mainline brothers. Decent FA on board as well. Lunch was served, actually surprised me. Not too bad at all for Envoy.

WX sucked most of the way. Last hour we were seated, including the flight crew, and bounced around quite nicely. Dropped under the cloud deck about 45 minutes out of GNV and flew FL22 the rest of the way. 1:20 late into GNV.

Back from PHX. I'll take the 100F in the dry heat in PHX area over the wet, humid, sticky 90F and all the damn bugs in north Florida any day.
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!!
DXing 11 Sep 22, 13:29Post
Interesting.....

ANCFlyer wrote:I grab a coffee and a roll, plug in the bitch box and start work.


Work???? Thought that was a thing of the past...for the X time....

ANCFlyer wrote:One deadhead Captain is overheard on his phone calling whomever and screaming that he has to 'fly a plane out of DFW at 1100, so get a move on over there".


I used to love that call when I worked the ATC desk at CO and then UA. I used to ask them if they'd bothered to check the weather and perhaps think about flying in the day before and just laying up at a hotel. Be a lot less stressful.


ANCFlyer wrote:After 15 minutes waiting the pilot comes on and says they are changing the flight plan, they don't wanna go over the gulf and come across Florida in the shit weather. Can't blame 'em. Says we'll be on the ground an extra 30 minutes.


Interesting....wonder why they were planned to traverse the gulf? That would mean a turn back to the northeast once crossing the coast and coming off Y280.



ANCFlyer wrote:We wait. Then they tell us Air Traffic won't approve the new route until 3 hours from now . . . so we all get off the plane.


Because everyone else had the same idea and completely overloaded the Crestview/Gainsville sector. Lucas could explain that more expertly. Glad you had a safe trip.
What's the point of an open door policy if inside the open door sits a closed mind?
ANCFlyer (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 11 Sep 22, 21:39Post
DXing wrote:Interesting.....

ANCFlyer wrote:I grab a coffee and a roll, plug in the bitch box and start work.


Work???? Thought that was a thing of the past...for the X time....

ANCFlyer wrote:Work is done. I have no schedule unless I'm pressed by an air carrier or otherwise that wishes I conform to their schedule


ANCFlyer wrote:One deadhead Captain is overheard on his phone calling whomever and screaming that he has to 'fly a plane out of DFW at 1100, so get a move on over there".


I used to love that call when I worked the ATC desk at CO and then UA. I used to ask them if they'd bothered to check the weather and perhaps think about flying in the day before and just laying up at a hotel. Be a lot less stressful.

ANCFlyer wrote: For emphasis . . . the fuckin' airplane was sitting at the hanger . . . they forgot to grab it and bring it to the gate". WX was great. This was a pure Fubar by the hanger (or whomever runs that clusterfuck).



ANCFlyer wrote:After 15 minutes waiting the pilot comes on and says they are changing the flight plan, they don't wanna go over the gulf and come across Florida in the shit weather. Can't blame 'em. Says we'll be on the ground an extra 30 minutes.


Interesting....wonder why they were planned to traverse the gulf? That would mean a turn back to the northeast once crossing the coast and coming off Y280.


ANCFlyer wrote: Don't know either, since WX from way early afternoon day before said WX over central and south Florida was fubared. My sister-in-law lives in Orlando and she was not impressed. Tampa got a ground stop. It was a mess. This crew wanted to go north, over TX, AR, MS, GA and drop down to GNV . . . we did that.




ANCFlyer wrote:We wait. Then they tell us Air Traffic won't approve the new route until 3 hours from now . . . so we all get off the plane.


Because everyone else had the same idea and completely overloaded the Crestview/Gainsville sector. Lucas could explain that more expertly. Glad you had a safe trip.


Yup
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!!
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 13 Sep 22, 22:47Post
DXing wrote:
ANCFlyer wrote:We wait. Then they tell us Air Traffic won't approve the new route until 3 hours from now . . . so we all get off the plane.


Because everyone else had the same idea and completely overloaded the Crestview/Gainsville sector. Lucas could explain that more expertly. Glad you had a safe trip.



DXing is correct. When sectors start or are predicted to become saturated, the traffic management units work with the Command Center to start flow programs. Down in the FL area, pilots sometimes notice that they have a massive EDCT with their proposed route, as it crosses sectors that are down the crapper. The clever ones put in new routes that avoided the flow-program areas. Once enough people are clever, it can lead to a traffic management initiative for that area, too. I once saw a guy get out of a 3-hr EDCT to nothing, only to have the Command Center call TMU to call us to call him to give him a 4-hour EDCT. Some other aircraft ended up taking over responsibilities for getting down there, and he went off to the other coast.
DXing 14 Sep 22, 22:34Post
Along the east coast the old Azezu route was the way to get out of DC center havoc. It adds 30-45 minutes to the flight but eliminates 2-4 hour EDCT's. No such luck for SW USA flights to Florida because when Y280 and Y290 close down over the gulf the only other realistic way to get there is over the Gainsville sector via CTW or TAY which feeds you into everything coming from the upper midwest and Ohio valley.
What's the point of an open door policy if inside the open door sits a closed mind?
 

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