Flight Report: Seattle to Boston with a Flightlapse

The best part of the new rules that allow electronics is that in most cases, it means I can have my cameras out at all times on the flight. This is fantastic and I have been able to get some great shots as a result, as well as more fully realizing the whole "flightlapse" idea. This trip was on a United 757-200 from SEA to ORD and then onward to BOS. My last few flights have not been all that great for the views due to them being mainly at night or winter weather, but this time around the weather was about perfect and the camera was rolling throughout the trip.


While taxiing to the runway, I got sight of two interesting planes. The first below is a Hainan Airlines 787. I still have not been on one of those yet, but I am looking forward to it sometime soon. It is just a beautiful plane and I want to see the wings in action first hand (there's a good video of the flex here and another that shows how the wings are articulated here and here).

24 Short Hours in Chicago

Chicago is one of those cities that I wish I had more time in. This time around I was there for one night, which actually just about doubles the amount of time that I've spent here. With such a short amount of time, I limited the trip to the central area, including the "miracle mile" and Navy Pier.

We stayed at the Fairmont Chicago which ended up being a great choice. It's very centrally located and much to my surprise, parking was included in the reservation. When we found out after parking in the garage next door, the concierge offered to refund the parking fees from the other garage and told us to just drop it off with the valet downstairs. Great service all around and the rooms were comfortable, along with nice views.

In the afternoon, we decided to try out the Signature Room at the John Hancock Tower. I am a fan of skybars in general ever since a visit Shanghai. They are expensive and often not that great, but there is something nice about being able to sit high above the city and look out over it. The Signature Room and Lounge is on the 95th and 96th floor and provides one of the best views of the city.

The Signature Room, as opposed to Lounge, is more exclusive and upper crust. You can get a table there pretty easily and lunch starts at $14 for a main (dinner starting at $30). We had just come from Frontera Grill (see below) and were only interested in checking out the view with a drink.

Drinks in the Signature Lounge, just above the Dining Room, are "Chicago standard" priced: $13-15 a drink off the signature menu. However, I ordered a maitai and it ended up being a comparatively bargain basement price of $11. The Signature Lounge is is packed with people and generally seemed to draw a tourist crowd doing exactly what we were doing: Coming up, buying a drink, taking pictures, and moving on. It's not the worst deal in the world, considering the other skyview in Chicago is $17.50. 

And these views...

More of these views and more places after the break!

TSA Pre✓™ comes to United in ORD and EWR to Pre-Check You Out

The TSA has been experimenting with a new system called the TSA Pre✓, which allows trusted travelers to skip some of the annoyances of the TSA security process. Until now, the program had been limited to frequent flyers on Alaska Airline, Delta, and American Airlines, but the program will soon be expanding to travelers on United flying out of Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Newark Liberty International (EWR).

Currently, the system is opt-in and limited to travelers who are frequent travelers or already members of a pre-screening travel program, such as NEXUS, Global Entry, or SENTRI. Once enrolled and screened, you gain access to a faster line where your shoes can remain on, your laptop can remain in the case, and you can keep your belt on while moving through security.

If you're interested in signing up, there's more information available on the TSA website or you if you are flying United, you can always try to sign up with the link that they sent me. Signing up does not guarentee acceptance into the program.

Flight Report: Challenging Copenhagen Connection Complications

Flying back from Sweden gave me a chance to experience something new: A fully missed connection with no later flights to my final destination. In the past, a delay has meant a couple of extra hours and maybe a rebooking to a red eye, but this time around the flight I missed was the last one of the day and the flight that was delayed by three hours was the last one out of Copenhagen to the US. In other words, I’m not getting home today. Here's what happened...

The first plane of the day

The day started out well enough: One of my friends gave me a ride to the airport in exchange for a Starbucks mug with “Stockholm” on it, and the first flight of the day was a quick hop to Copenhagen: A true bread and butter flight on a trusty 737. It was a wet start from Stockholm and we were quickly on top of a steady blanket of clouds which would be the scenery for the flight. On the approach the cloud cover gave way and revealed a bit of the countryside of southern Sweden, and the landing itself was in some pretty gusty cross winds. Once on the ground and in the airport, this is where the fun started…

After the break, the full story, lessons learned, and another example of a Kosher meal in flight, this time on SAS.

ARN-SEA Flight Report: Update 3: McRib!*

The layover at ORD was pretty good. With my huge backpack (which fits in the same space as a roll on on the plane!), I had the screeners after me trying to tag it and check it, but I snuck through with it through a different checkpoint and by claiming my Christmas presents were candy (which was half true).

Off to the lounge and a double check on my return flights: Sure enough they had been canceled, and another "quick" call (this time only 20 minutes on hold) was needed to get the return flights reinstated with the right seats. The wait was a couple of hours and soon I found out why I was sent to Chicago: The McRib.

Over at the McDonald's, it was waiting for me. The cult classic of MickeyD's sandwiches, which is exactly how it tastes if you have never tried one: Tangy, quirky, not the best you've ever seen, but it grows on you whenever you see it again.

ARN-SEA Flight Report: Update 2: ARN-ORD on SK and ORD layover

With a little luck, I managed to get on the flight and ended up in an aisle seat, to my great surprise. I was the last one to board the plane and soon we were on our way. ARN-ORD is a route that I very rarely, in fact the last time that I flew it either way was nearly 20 years ago!

The flight was perfectly fine. The movie selection wasn't fantastic, but there was at least Salt, one more random movie, and then I started watching a bollywood comedy called 3 Idiots. Unfortunately we landed about 3/4 of the way through the movie, which leaves me to look forward to seeing the rest later. This is the third time that there has been an excellent bollywood or Japanese movie on my transatlantic flights and I hope that they will continue offering these.

The meal was pretty good, but unfortunately my camera battery was dead and I was unable to snag photos. Because of the unplanned reschedule, I did not get my kosher meal, but the SK meal was a curry chicken with lightly seasoned rice and a tasty chocolate/caramel dessert. Overall, pretty nice. The other option was some sort of fish, but I don't trust that.

Arriving in Chicago, I had no idea what was going to happen from there. Through the boarder control (a guy that had lived in Stockholm, and was wondered if I had been to the SpyBar), and off to the UA desk to plead my case. They looked at my ticket, shook their heads and a few minutes later they put me on a seat to SEA at 3:50pm. I would end up getting home 5 hours early!