Miami, FL – Guatemala City, Guatemala | AA981 | 5E

Ah yes, Super Bowl weekend in Miami – the city of sin was sinning more than ever with the presence of so many celebrities (saw one paparazzi at the airport trying to get a photo of a woman and her daughter – she refused, not sure who it was – but definitely someone from LATAM) and athletes gathering in on place.  Happy the Saints won, well deserved.

MIA was a complete zoo this morning – there was a long line for security and a long line on the runway for us to get out.  Coupled with the fact that a navigation instrument had to be fixed before take off (just love those), the flight was delayed for about 1 hour.  Not so bad, spent most of the time emailing and working on various documents.

Flight was very smooth and the food was very decent.  I must say, traveling with people is so much more fun than going solo.

San Jose, Costa Rica – Ft Lauderdale, FL | AA2112 | 5B

Flight back home was slightly delayed, but to be honest I did not care much.  The last three days had been extremely intensive with only about 3 hours sleep in 48 hours.  Must say it felt like college – worked with a great team and the feedback was positive.  I had the option to stay an extra day to go canyoneering, but decided to go home as I am leaving on Monday again – this time to Guatemala.  Landing in FLL is so much more hassle-free than having to deal with MIA – this also marked the first time that I did not have to go to the “ROOM” for immigration purposes as I finally have my residence.  Only negative of landing in Ft Lauderdale is the drive home.  In any case, flight was smooth, Captain did have us in a holding pattern for a while.

FT Lauderdale, FL – San Jose, Costa Rica | AA2113 | 6B

My first trip in 2010 and I am feeling like a complete rookie – I have lost my nimbleness at the airports and am constantly checking to see if I have everything with me.  Definitely need to get back into the groove, and I think Feb will be a busy month.  After Costa Rica, I am heading to Guatemala, NYC, and Nicaragua – thinking I should be back to my old self.

I was pleasantly surprised by the cabin renovations of the 737-800.  New monitors, new seats – plane was clean.  Service was great and flight left on time – what more is there to say.

The people I am traveling with were giving me a hard time because I got an upgrade…this is the last month that I will be an Executive Platinum member – only made Platinum in 2009.  Will definitely miss that status and it is not easy to come  by – a lot of flying.

To Orlando and Back via Tampa

I flew to Tampa last Thursday, January 28th, on Delta 8174 from LGA to TPA to meet my client and then we drove to Orlando. Middle seat and the flight was delayed. Oh well.

Spent 6 days in Orlando with my client for their big annual customer education event. Yesterday we drove back from Orlando to Tampa and I flew from Tampa to Albany on Southwest #3943. The flight was fairly empty and i had an empty middle seat next to me. Landed early which was awesome after being away for six days.

When I get some energy in the next day or so I’ll post about how the lack of magic at Disney.

A word from Ramiro…

The emails are flying tonight as a team is trying to get from various points on the east coast for a client meeting in Tampa first thing tomorrow morning. Ramiro shared a bit of his experience in the Miami International Airport:

Seriously… AA does not have an airplane for the flight to Tampa. You’d think they would have thought of that.  And you’d think AA staff would be sheepishly apologetic instead of aggressively obnoxious when passengers inquire as to when we’re leaving. But this is AA, and logic and common sense are not a valued currency.

Good luck Ramiro.

Several flights I didn’t have time to post… here you go…

Monday 1/18
Albany to Cincinnati on Delta #6063 connecting to Cincinnati to Milwaukee on Delta #4443

The flights were uneventful. Both were regional jets which aren’t the most comfortable air craft but the crews were courteous and there were no obnoxious passengers to deal with. Spent a lot of time on the second flight talking to a banker dude who travels a lot for work. Just before takeoff he was on the phone making all sorts of kissy-face sounds. I was like please let that be for his kids. It was. Nice guy dealing with the pressures of the road. I do have to ask what the deal is in the Cincinnati airport where the map directs you to a Starbucks but you get there and Starbucks doesn’t exist. Bummer.

On a sidenote, I stayed at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee which was fabulous. It is a real old school hotel that has a beautiful charm about it. And, room service is open 24 hours. The burger was awesome and the wine by the glass list was excellent.

Tuesday, January 18
Milwaukee to Charlotte on US Airways #3633 connecting to Charlotte to Tampa on US Airways #907

Had a one hour meeting in Milwaukee that went well. Got to the airport, changed from my suit to jeans, grabbed a cup of java and got to the gate in time to get some work done. Boarded on time, took off on time, landed on time – all of which I was grateful for as I had a 40 minute layover. Unfortunately it took the ground crew 15 minutes to get the gate-checked bags. When I got inside the E terminal I realized my flight was at a B gate – just about as far away as you could get. I sprinted through the terminals and got to my gate as they were announcing final boarding. The snotty gate agent was like, “Do you think you are going to Tampa today?” “Yeah dude, I think I am considering your door is open and the line is still running down the jetway.”

Thursday, January 20
Don’t remember my flights but it was an early morning one on United from Tampa to Chicago, and then a 1:24ish flight from Chicago to Albany

Went from Tampa back to the midwest for a quick meeting. I was so glad I went – on the early morning flight I was questioning the decision to rise at 4am and fly 3 hours for an hourlong meeting but it was well worth it. And, in a rare moment of air travel serendipity, I got to premier check-in at O’Hare at 12:35 for my 6:30 pm flight. The ticket agent let me know that the gate was right behind security. I changed flights, secured my upgrade, raced through premier security, sat down, and took off. I landed at 4:10pm and was home by 5. Quite unusual. But perfect.

Tampa to LGA | Delta #2715 | Seat 13C (01/13/10)

This chilly Tampa morning started out well, and it ended well too. But in between was a surprise.

Shane and I got our car service at 5am, got to the airport in a half hour, breezed through security, short line at Starbucks and even had time to charge laptop batteries before boarding. I was relieved that everything was going so smoothly as I foolishly planned meetings starting a half hour after landing and running straight through the day. We boarded early, pulled away from the gate, and then stopped on the tarmac.

It turns out that the wings were covered with frost and Tampa doesn’t have de-icing equipment. The pilot comes on and alerts us that we can’t take off due to frost, there is no equipment to de-ice, and so the idea is to park the plane with the wings pointed to the sun and wait for the sun to rise and melt the ice. Are you kidding me? It was 6:50 and sunrise is around 7:25, plus melting time, and damn we were delayed. I knew it would be a while when the flight attendants started serving water and coffee. You know when they bring the coffee pot out that you are sitting for a while.

Ok, it wasn’t't the pilot’s fault, nor Delta’s. So we sat and waited. And waited. And then the sun came up. And that is when I got nervous. Because the pilot came out to look out the window to see if the frost was dissipating. Ummm, is it just me or shouldn’t there be a more technical method of assessing our readiness to takeoff? I mean, I trust the pilot and all, but looking out the window? I wasn’t particularly confident in that plan.

Anyway, around 8am we were cleared for takeoff and off we went. The flight was pleasant and the crew very attentive. And, kudos to Delta for the frequent announcements and sincere hospitality while we waited. I missed my first two appointments but that happens and I fit them both in later in the day.

Miami to LGA | American forgot flight # | 4E (1/7)

I was supposed to head to Milwaukee last night but unfortunately the big storm in the midwest caused the airline to cancel my flight around noon. So, I redirected back to NYC via American Airlines. I had heard that security at MIA was a mess so I practically just upped and left my meeting to make sure I had plenty of time at the airport. Turns out there were no lines to check-in and security was quick and efficient. Nice job TSA.

After touring terminal D I finally got to terminal E, grabbed a coffee, and got ready to board. The guy sitting next to me in American first was interesting, very interesting. He was all pimped out wearing a wide pinstripe suit, fuscia argyle socks, driving loafers, a bright pink shirt, a floral tie and blinged out glasses. He used more product in his hair yesterday than I’ll use all month. He was perfectly lovely as evidenced by his heartfelt apology when he spilled his coffee on my suit. I was trying to figure out what he did for work and was surprised to learn that he works for a very big and very corporate investment bank. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by the cover.

Anyway, more importantly, I was starving. I was hoping that we’d get a meal since it was a 3 hour flight and not a basket of crap like they serve on US Air. I had a choice between a cobb salad with chicken or a burger. I took the burger and i have to say that it was awesome. Like, charbroiled, with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles – awesome. Like, if i were in a pub right now, i would order that burger. Suffice it to say I devoured the whole thing, and two glasses of wine, and yes, i’ll admit it, the warm toffee cookie. Nice job American.

Landed without incident, got my bags quickly, and headed out. No more flights until…Monday.

Albany to Charlotte | US Air #1809 | seat 3F connecting to Charlotte to Albany | US Air #1839 | seat 7D (Jan 5)

After all the hub-bub about security over the holidays, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of the TSA staff at the Albany airport on Tuesday morning. I was not so pleased with the people who don’t travel often and showed up HOURS early and therefore created unnecessarily long lines.

The flight from Albany to Charlotte was fine, and the flight from Charlotte to Miami was fine too. However, I had to wait 50!?! minutes for my bag at Miami International Airport. BOO HOO to the US Airways ground crew – that was a pathetic performance.

Tampa to Albany, err LaGuardia | Delta #2761 | Seat 22A

Was in Tampa for two days for a TV shoot and heading back to Albany tonight. It was critical I get home tonight due to a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. All was working just fine – left Innisbrook on time, got to the airport early – but then US Airways had other plans for me.

My flight from Tampa to Reagan National was delayed to the point that I’d miss my connection. They had no other flights that would get me close to the Albany – heck, the NY area – so I had quite the situation. The US Airways agent was wonderful, she immediately got on the phone with Delta who gave me their last seat. I wish I remembered the ticket agent’s name as she was great.

I ran over to Delta to check my bag and get my boarding pass and they couldn’t find me in their system. The ticket agent there was wonderful as well – she dropped everything to help and had me on my way quickly. Thank you Melinda and Happy Holidays!

I made it through security quickly and saw my flight was delayed so I crashed Pappy’s happening dinner at the Bacardi restaurant in Terminal D in Tampa and then made my flight with ease. And, best part yet, the tail wins carried us faster and we landed pretty close to on schedule. I could have done without the 2.5 hour car ride to get home, but I’m happy I’ll make it there.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, this is my LAST FLIGHT OF THE YEAR!!! That feels like a cause for celebration in and of itself!