LGA, New York – Miami, FL | AA 1709 | 6B

On my way back to Miami already.  Everything went extremely smooth at the airport, flight was only delayed by a few minutes.  Must say that LGA is pretty rundown – sort of like the AA planes .

I was fortunate enough to be able to upgrade – so I get to munch on the warm assorted nuts – I am all about the almonds.  The salmon salad was no good.

Lady next to me was all over the place, I think she was editing a script, while talking on phone and writing on blackberry.

Aside from that, flight was chill.

Technorati Tags: Miami,LGA,AA 1709,American Airlines

Miami, FL – JFK, New York | AA 518 | 11G

So I had to go to NYC for the day – means early flight there and late flight back.  My wife was just on vacation in Alaska and came back this morning – we just said hi and bye to each other – literally.

American Airlines‘ planes for national flights, aside from the 737-800 are dumps.  The flight today was on an Airbus that looked like it has not had any cabin maintenance since it was purchased or leased.  The carpets were disgusting as were the seats.  Maybe I am just spoiled from having flown with Kingfisher Airlines recently.

What is the problem with US carriers?

But experience – especially in the airlines industry is everything, and stepping into a plane that does not look clean but actually rundown does not do it for me.

While I would consider a change of airlines, I feel like my options are limited, have status with AA, and they are the airlines the services most countries in LATAM.

Technorati Tags: American Airlines,Miami,New York,AA 518

Mumbai, India – London, UK | BA 135 | 62K

Well – the Mumbai airport was not any better than the Delhi one.  It took me more time to clear customs leaving the country than entering it…and the queue for security was ridiculous.  Total time from check-in to gate was about 1.5 hours.  The flight left on time and I was lucky enough to be on the upper-deck of the jumbo.  First impressions of BA business class – a bit run down, and this surprised me a bit considering that they just “upgraded” their business class.  Maybe this plane was just old, in my mind still un excusible.

The food was absolutley dull.  I must say the seat was comfortable and I slept through the whole flight.  The hostesses were also extremely nice – so over all the experience was okay.

I am not in Heathrow waiting to complete my journey home – last segment will be with American Airlines – let’s hope the monitors are working this time.

New Delhi, India – Mumbai, India | IT 336 | 12D (July 10)

So my stomach had been playing some major tricks on me…I had been food poisoned earlier in Miami (thanks Starbucks) and I think I was not completely cured.  So you can imagine how worried I was to fly.  Arriving at the Delhi airport – complete fear struck me…by the looks of how things were, I just knew the bathrooms were going to be disgusting – and they were …thank god for imodium.

What a refreshing scene it was to be on the brand new Kingfisher Airbus – CLEAN BATHROOMS.  The airline is pretty damn amazing – the food smelled and looked amazing (I was fasting for obvious reasons), the hostesses were nice and the flight was on time.  Unfortunately the entire flight was overcast.  Prior to taking off, the Kingfisher airport addresses the passengers (on personal monitors), thought that was a great touch.

When in India – fly Kingfisher – and oh yeah, their beer is pretty good as well.

I think Western airlines, particularly US airlines have a lot too learn from the Asian ones – their service is way above standard as well as the comfort level.

Chicago, IL – New Delhi, India | AA292 | 12D

I have officially been on my longest flight ever without a layover – 15 hours.  To my luck I slept through most of it.  Unfortunately for the people a few rows behind me the main cabin lights could not be turned off – imagine trying to sleep.

I must say that I am rather upset at the quality of the video monitors…they always have issues on American Airlines.  Not sure what the problem is, but what is the point of having onboard entertainment when you cannot enjoy it.

Having slept through the entire flight, there is really nothing more to say.  Flight left on time and landed on time.  I am just trying to get used to the radical time change – have not adjusted yet.

Houston, TX – Miami, FL | AA 1294 | 4F (July 3rd)

I have lost my boarding pass for the previous flight (Miami, FL – Houston, TX)…is irrelevant at this point anyway.

Houston to Miami is only about a 2 hour flight, yet I thought it would be the longest flight I would ever be on as I received the news yesterday that a great friend of mine passed away.

Sitting next to me was a gentleman from Uruguay – he started talking to me about my watch and I was thinking: "Oh brother, that is all I need, someone making small talk…" Turns out, Eduardo was a great person to sit next to.

Sometimes you meet people that you just feel like you can tell things – Eduardo was one of those.  He told me he was having a bad day – I told him it could not be as bad as mine.  I told him about my friend and we starting talking about life…he put some clarity to my foggy mind and I thank him for that.

Our conversation went from life, to kosher food, to Chavez and by the time I knew it we were landing in Miami.  Eduardo was on his way home and very happy to see his three daughters who he has not seen in about a month – you could just feel his excitement – was outrageous.

I on the other hand went home to see my beautiful wife and tail wagging "son" – packed my bags and am now sitting on a plane headed for Chicago and then India – INDIA – how far out, literally is that.

The trip to India is work related and I was actually going to do this training session with my friend who passed.  It was not a tough decision to go ahead and still do it – feel like that is how he wanted it to be…

I miss you Kevin

Technorati Tags: AA1294,Miami,Houston,American Airlines

Miami, FL – Chicago, IL | AA 457 |3E

My voyage to New Delhi, India has begun – I will connect in Chicago and then fly 14.5 hours – that is just insane, I have never been on a plane that long – hope I keep what is left of my sanity.  I was able to upgrade in Miami (lucky enough to have a lot of segments from my London trip) and am looking forward to lunch – did not have breakfast.

Check-in was a breeze and the flight left on time – assuming we will land on time as well.  Have lots of time to think on this upcoming trip and really hoping a can get some down time after that – although it is not looking like it – need to go to Houston and San Francisco only a week after I get back…

Maybe August will be better – I need to go diving.  Erin – how about another vacation

Technorati Tags: American Airlines,AA 457,Miami,Chicago

Tampa, FL – Dulles, VA | Southwest 2440 | Seating A4 (June 25)

Sometimes you just want to chill on the plane. That was not to be on this flight as a whole contingent from my client and their partner companies were flying together. Given the flight was on Southwest we all compared notes about boarding order. Since I forked over the $20 bucks for business select i was among the first to board the flight. One of my clients upgraded at the airport and we got to sit together. I didn’t get a whole lot of work done but we had fun and a nice talk. The flight was the kickoff to a great trip.