August Ramblings and Biography Questions From The Viewers

Aloha folks and welcome to August, it's hard to believe that we are already almost through summer, it still feels like it was only a few weeks ago that school had ended and I was starting my new job. One month today, we'll be restarting school and boy I'm looking forward to it. I'll be entering my second year of Travel and Tourism and I'm not sure really what to expect with the upcoming year, sort of like flying blind into a storm cloud. But I think it'll be a fun year ahead and although some people won't be returning, our classes will be scrambled up and it provides the chance to meet a whole new round of people.

This summer has been quite an interesting one and this has been the first year where I've had a chance to get out and do some things I've been wanting to do for a while. From a new job (can anyone say tiger cubs?) to Stampede, it's been a summer where I'm doing what I want to do. I've been able to go spotting at the Airport more times this summer than I have in past years and it really helps out since I'm on a mission to try and get to 200 photos on Jetphotos.net before the end of the year (I'm currently sitting at 152) and the more photos I take on my trips, the better chance I will hit that mark. I do wish I had the chance to travel more this summer, but between work and other things going on and how expensive it is to travel this summer, it just never happened. There will be plenty of chances in the future to travel, I was more than happy to stay in Calgary for the summer. Living at SAIT over the summer worked out perfect for me since it was close to work and everything that the area has to over. I can go biking pretty much whenever I want and of course, I'm only 15 minutes away from the airport so it gives me the chance to go whenever I want. I'll be staying here once again over the school year and looking at my class schedule, it's shaping up to be another wonderful year.

Over the summer, I've worked on numerous side projects to keep me entertained including this blog. One of those things was learning the SABRE Reservation system, the same system that numerous airlines around the world use including WestJet. I decided it would be fun to learn this system and all I have to say is that it was quite interesting, but having knowledge on both APOLLO and SABRE systems will be a huge benefit to me. But one of the things I'm working on right now for fun is putting a like biography of myself together and one of things I need help with is coming up with questions for my biography. So anyone who wants to know me better and has some questions about me, my life, anything you want to know, post them right here or on Facebook and I'll include them into my list of questions to answer about myself. Examples of questions include:

Favorite TV Show:

Nicknames:

Least Favorite Food:

Questions about school, life, myself, anything you want to know about me

Enjoy the rest of your summer everybody, only 1 month to go till school (31 days to go if you are counting down like me)!

Life Advice from the Mind of a Pilot

Howdy everyone, I do apologize for the lack of posts as of late, the last few weeks for me has been quite busy between work, getting ready for school and the Stampede. This summer has been going by way too fast and it's hard to believe that August is already a week away. Soon we'll all be back at school and busy once again and I look forward to every moment of it.

Yesterday I made a trip to the Aerospace Museum here in Calgary and it was an awesome experience, especially for an huge aviation for me. They have numerous aircraft on static display including a fully rebuilt Lancaster Bomber that was used in the Second World War. I highly recommend anyone visiting Calgary who is a huge aviation buff to make a stop there. While I was there, I found a picture that was sort of like a Pilots Creed to life and while it may be aimed towards pilots, I thought a lot of them could be rules for us to live by and I thought I would share those tips to life, courtesy of Thomas Legg:

-Discover your far horizon, but embrace the sky softly, quietly so that others of your kind may follow.

-Know your limitations from moment to moment and be humble when the elements are against you.

-Accept advice from those before you, seeking out their truths

-Use your temper as a catalyst to keep you advancing, guarding it with vigilance though lest you be obliged to bite your tongue

-Leave your mistakes behind you, noting their lessons as part of your tuition for learning

-If you quit and you will want to, beginning again will be lonely

-You cannot know the color of truth unless you wear its cloth; therefore let honesty itch your mind, gleaming conspicuous in the eyes


-If you become a hostage to the fear of the unknown, challenge it with tenacity; keeping in mind however that only a fool is fearless


-Remember how lucky you are to see and touch the sky, the blind may only dream


-Be the opportunist, the forever hesitant are losers


-In each of us there is a conflict, daydreaming versus reality. May dreaming prod your curiosity but reality wield the sword.


-You are entitled to complain, use maturity if you do 


-Expect the unexpected. It will develop an awareness for Murphy's Law; If something can go wrong - It Will

Flying the Oil Run With Central Mountain Air

Today I thought I would do a review on one of the smaller airlines that I frequently travel on out here in the west. Central Mountain Air (CMA) is a small airline based of out Smithers, British Columbia and flies to numerous towns and cities throughout Alberta and British Columbia using their fleet of Beechcraft 1900's and Dornier 328's. In previous years, CMA had a contract with Air Canada to operate select flights throughout the west here using their own aircraft and crew. Some of the routes included Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Cranbrook out of Calgary and several other low density routes out of Vancouver. This past year however CMA cut ties with Air Canada to focus more on charters and its own operations. Air Georgian now provides services on these routes for Air Canada operating under the name "Air Canada Express".

A Central Mountain Air Beechcraft 1900 on Taxi at YYC

Central Mountain Air is also the only airline to provide scheduled air service to several small communities in Northern Alberta including High Level and Rainbow Lake. However, one of the more popular routes that CMA operates is the Calgary-Lloydminster corridor and the main reason its popular is due to the presence of numerous oil refineries and their offices so many executives and workers travel back and forth between these two communities. The route initially started as a twice a day service except on weekends with 1 flight early in the morning and one early in the evening but due to its popularity a third flight was added late in the morning to add extra capacity on the route. Because CMA is the only airline to fly up to Lloydminster, they would be my choice of airline for my flight up north.

Booked on CMA 785, my flight was due to leave at 4:35pm and because these flights typically don't have many passengers, it makes for a very easy check in, so I was able to arrive at the airport an hour before departure. Because CMA only has 3 flights a day out of Calgary, they only have one check-in counter and can be quite difficult to find if you aren't paying attention, especially in the afternoon when passengers are checking in for the 2 international flights that are right next door to the CMA counters. Upon arriving at the check-in counters I was informed that the flight would be delayed due to a mechanical issue with the aircraft. Even though it was just a small delay, the agent provided all the passengers with free vouchers for coffee and snacks; quite a nice touch for a small airline like CMA. Thanks to the delay, our scheduled departure time would be pushed back to 6:00pm. In the end, the gate agent informed us that the issue was a little bigger than anticipated, so the aircraft ended up being swapped out for another one, another benefit of travelling out of a city where an airline is based. Because of CMA`s all Turboprop fleet, they use the Prop gates that Air Canada Jazz uses (The A01 Gates) for all their flights. Boarding commenced for CMA 785 and it's 18 passengers at 5:50pm and would soon be rolling out for Lloydminster.

The Beechcraft 1900 may be small, but it packs a powerful punch flying at over 330 miles/hour making it a perfect aircraft for these short haul missions. Boarding was completed very quickly and soon the pilots fired up the twin Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67D Turboprop engines and began the taxi out to Runway 28. It was a very blustery day in Calgary and from my previous experiences of flying in small aircraft in turbulent weather, it was going to be one bumpy ride out. With the strobe lights turned on, the pilots lined up on the runway and gave full power to her mighty engines as CMA 785 began its 1 hour journey north to Lloydminster. Because the Beechcraft 1900 only carries 18 passengers, a flight attendant is not required on these flights, the pilots do all the work from greeting the passengers to flying the plane. Other than the first 10 minutes of the flight being turbulent, it overall was very smooth and thanks to a bit of a tailwind, we were able to make up for a little bit of lost time. By the time we had reached our cruising altitude of 15,000 feet, it was already time to make the decent into Lloydminster. Because of the strong west winds, we would have to fly over the city and make a sharp left hand turn to line up with Runway 26. But thanks to some skilled maneuvering by the pilots, they brought our plane down smoothly and with Reverse Thrust fully engaged brought her to a stop well within the 4,500 foot runway. Taxi was super quick thanks to the size of the airport, 1 runway, 1 taxiway and 1 main terminal. In 2 minutes we landed, taxied, parked and had the engines shut down. Baggage was promptly delivered and I was well on my way within 10 minutes of landing, not many airports in the world can claim that.

My overall impression with Central Mountain Air was amazing, despite the mechanical delay in Calgary, the gate agents there kept as well informed and very happy with free snacks and coffee. The agents both in Calgary and Lloydminster as well as the flight crew were super friendly and even though it was only a 1 hour flight, they left me super impressed with their level of service. Kudos to Central Mountain Air and its employees, keep up the great work!

The Islands Are Calling My Name: The Journey to Maui with United Airlines

So you may have noticed that this blog has slowly become tales of my travel experiences I've had over the last few years, both on airlines and places I've been to. It may sound a little weird to be talking about Christmas in June, but I thought it would be quite to have a little Christmas during summer. Our family planned a trip to Maui over the Christmas holidays in 2009. However, due to my work schedule I would be unable to join them until Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, our family would be spending the Christmas on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii.

It wouldn't be cheap to fly to Maui on Christmas Eve, but the best deal would be with United Airlines via San Francisco (SFO). It would be an early morning flight out of Calgary, but would have an afternoon arrival into Maui/Kahului (OGG). Arriving at the airport, I was quite shocked to find how long the lineup was to enter US Customs, but thanks to my handy NEXUS card, I was able to bypass the entire line and go straight into customs without having to wait in line. It was quite fun to watch the looks on some people's faces that I was able to get ahead of them. Arriving the gate, I saw our aircraft for United Express/Skywest 6389 would be a Bombardier CRJ-700, the backbone of Skywest's fleet. Boarding commenced 25 minutes to 8am and was smooth and efficient. We pushed from the gate 5 minutes ahead of schedule which gave us plenty of time to deice and taxi out to the runway. 10 minutes later we were rolling off of Runway 28 and heading south to SFO. A beautiful sunrise was all that there was for entertainment for this flight, but for a 2 hour flight that was fine with me. Legroom on Regional Jets leave little to be desired, this was likely the most cramped RJ I've ever been on. The flight was smooth the entire way and before I knew it we were flying over the Golden Gate Bridge and lining for the approach. We touched down on Runway 28L 35 minutes ahead of schedule thanks to a nice tailwind that we had most the way here. A quick taxi to terminal 3 and lots of Merry Christmases all around from the flight crew brought an end to United Express Flight 6389. Now I had 3 hours to relax and explore SFO before continuing on the 2nd half of my journey to Maui.

On approach to San Francisco Airport

San Francisco Airport is huge and is also a United Airlines hub and because of that, all of their operations are in Terminal 3, which made transferring between flights a breeze. 3 hours gave me enough time to have a bite to eat, catch up on some emails and enjoy the many planes coming and going out of SFO. Arriving at the gate for United flight 37, I saw that my aircraft would be a Boeing 757-200, a type of aircraft I haven't been on since I was a little kid. One thing I liked with United here was the use of overhead TV's at each gate to display information about each flight from weather and destination information to passengers who have cleared the standby list. I thought it was quite clever, it reduces the amount of questions that the gate agents get. 45 minutes prior to our 1:40pm departure, the boarding process began for our flight to paradise.

Flying downwind with the Iao Valley in the distance

When I booked my flight, I purchased an option for this flight called Economy Plus, its main benefit is an extra 5 inches of legroom and for a 6 hour flight to Hawaii, I thought it would be well worth it. I boarded my flight to Maui and the moment I sat down in my seat, I could already tell that it was worth the extra money. Even with my bag underneath the seat, I still had plenty of room to stretch out. Push back from the gate was right on schedule and we began our taxi under the power of our twin Rolls Royce engines. We were departing from SFO at the perfect time as it was the quiet period, so there was a minimal wait for departure. United 37 lined up on Runway 1L and began heading southwest for Maui. This 757 was an older model and hadn't been equipped with seat back TV's yet, just the old overhead monitors. Luckily I was sitting next to 2 super friendly seatmates, one with was travelling with her family from South Dakota and the other heading back home to Maui for the holidays. Of course this being Christmas time, everyone was in a festive mood; even the flight crew was in a jolly mood. They decided to have a little fun with the passengers by playing a game called "Halfway to Hawaii". Sounds simple but its harder than you think. All you had to do was guess at what time the flight would hit the halfway mark to Hawaii using the distance, speed, altitude and wind speeds that were provided from the flight deck. I gave it my best shot but I was off by 45 minutes. The winner ended up getting a Hawaiian theme prize pack, but it was fun to try though. Most domestic flights no longer provide meal service, but I decided to try one of United's snack boxes that had a variety of goodies from Pepperoni to Chips and Salsa; I thought it was good value for $5.

Sunset from Keawakapu Beach on Maui

5 and a half hours seem to pass by way too quickly, but thanks to another tailwind, we would be landing in Maui 30 minutes ahead of schedule. The whole flight was smooth minus a few bumps halfway over the Pacific. Soon we were began our decent into Maui and we were fly low enough that you could see beautiful views of Haleakala, the Iao Valley and the fields of Pineapple and Sugar Cane that Maui is well known for. We made a final sharp right turn to line with Runway 2 and with Reverse Thrusters and Spoilers deployed marked the end to United flight 37. The flight attendants and pilots wished us lots of Aloha and Merry Christmas in both English and Hawaiian, which was my signal to officially start my 8 days in paradise. Thanks to having no checked baggage, I was able to skip the busy baggage claim area that Kahului Airport is known for and head straight to an awaiting ride from my father.

 Sitting on the patio that night overlooking the ocean with a drink in my hand, I couldn't help but think about the amazing flights that I had today, what a perfect way to start a vacation off. United Airlines did everything perfectly that day and made my trip Maui smooth and flawless. Mahalo to United Airlines and their wonderful employees that made my journey to Hawaii with them amazing!

A Final Review on Cancun and the Mexican Adventure

We've talked about our flights to and from Cancun, now in the final part of this story I thought I would focus on the main part of my visit to Cancun including my thoughts on the city, the hotel we stayed at and just a bit of an overview of the trip as a whole. If you've been reading my trip posts from earlier, you can gander that it wasn't exactly the greatest trip, but in the end there were some important lessons that were learned and at the end of this post I will share some of what was learned on this trip.

So I've talked about the flights to and from Cancun, let us dive in the main adventure itself. Once leaving customs at Cancun, we were out in the open sun and feeling the warmth. Cancun airport is situated on the far south end of the city, far away from the main city centre and close to all the hotels and resorts; likely to keep the tourists from seeing what Mexico is truly like. Your first instinct upon arriving in Cancun is how beautiful and luscious the city is; from the airport and all throughout the hotel zone is filled with green lawns, huge palm trees and lots of different kinds of flowers. As our bus rolled out of the airport and through the hotel zone, me sipping on a Corona, I couldn't help but think that this is far from the real Mexico that I've learned about in Geography class. Towering hotels, condos and lots of development? This wasn't Mexico, it was an Americanized version of Mexico.

Our bus pulled into the hotel that we were staying at, the Oasis Cancun. This hotel was chosen not only for its price, but also its fun atmosphere. I was a little nervous staying here for a wide variety of reasons. The night before leaving, I mistakenly decided to go onto Trip Advisor and had seen all the horrible reviews that previous customers had left about the hotel and how much of a big drunken party resort that it is. Also, when I had booked this trip I thought arriving 4 or 5 days prior to the start of Canadian Spring Break would be a safe bet. How wrong I was on that on; the place was already packed with youngsters from all over Canada. I had a bad feeling that this week was going to really rough. We checked-in and got the keys to our rooms and soon we were on our way to our home for the week.

When I opened the door to my room, I was quite impressed with how modern it was. It didn't compare to most hotels I've stayed at before, but it was still pretty modern. Apart from my in-room safe not working, everything was in good condition. I just ended up burying my valuables deep in my luggage and checking to ensure they were still there every time I came to my room. I would find out on my first night there that my room was in the worst possible location, right next to the nightclub. The music from that place kept baring till 3 or 4 in the morning and boy it was super loud. I tried everything I could to either change rooms or upgrade to the nearby Grand Oasis Resort, but to no luck and with screaming parties in both rooms next to me, it wasn't going to be a fun week sleep wise.

Trying to get away from all the noise, I decided to go off the resort and explore a bit of the city. Cancun's bus system is fairly good allowing for easy travel throughout the city. I had attempted to find the huge market on the north side of the hotel zone, however I had missed it and ended up staying on the bus hoping that it would eventually turn around. 2 and a half hours later, it hasn't turned around and I ended up on the West side of Cancun in our of the poorest neighborhoods in town. There were quite a few times where I was scared and nervous that something was going to happen, but I made it home safe and sound. But taking that bus gave me a deep insight into what Mexico is truly like and how the people here are living in such deep poverty. If you never  venture off the resort, than you'll never know what Mexico is really like.

Back at the resort, things weren't getting much better. More people started showing up and the drunkenness and loud music kept increasing and the lack of sleep had finally caught up to me. After 4 days of being there, it was just too much for me to handle. Peace, quiet and sleep was all I was looking for and the only way that would come to me was to head for home. Thanks to the friendly reception desk for giving me access to the hotel's computer, I was able to book a flight home the next day. It may have cost me another $300 to leave, but it was necessary. Spring Break in Mexico was just too much to handle for someone who doesn't party or get drunk often. The next morning, I checked out of my room and began the journey home.

So there are a few things I learned from my Mexico experience. First, never book a trip when you've been drinking all afternoon. Do it sober and make sure to do your research, still unsure why I didn't for this trip. Looking at Trip Advisor before booking would have made much more sense instead of the night before departure. Numerous red flags kicked in when I read the reviews and might have helped me pick a better hotel in Cancun instead of experiencing the nightmares first hand. Secondly, going to Mexico during Spring Break was not only stupidly expensive, but highly not recommended if you are looking for some peace and quiet. When you get a bunch of University students who like to drink massive amounts of booze, you might as well say goodbye to the peace. Next time, I'll be going during the off season when it isn't busy and picking a resort that restricts all the crazy stuff I saw there.

But we all have to make mistakes like that throughout our lives right? We learn from them and move on and ensure we don't make the same mistake twice. If anything positive came from this trip it was that it gave me a insight into what Mexico is really like and the conditions that people here are living in. As for my next trip, it will be lots of research like I've done for all my other trips. I wouldn't mind going back to Mexico, I'm just not sure if it'll be Cancun and if it is it won't be for quite a while that's for sure.  

It Sure Can Get Quiet Here at 35,000 Feet

So what do you do when you grounded in bed with nothing to do for the entire day? You write more blogs, that's what you did. Since I'm stuck in bed after a long night I figure I would try and write a few more posts.

It's been about a month since school ended and I have to admit its been a pretty interesting month that's for sure. I opted to stay in Calgary over the summer, mainly because its close to everything and works out perfect for my new job. Right now its a mixture of feelings I'm having about living at residence over the summer. On the one side, I'm quite happy to be living because it is centrally located to pretty much everything and it also always me quick access to the airport for my spotting trips. I now no longer have to wait for a day off and hope that the weather will be good. I also don't have to drive as much anymore since I have access to Transit right outside my door (though I will admit the cost of a Transit Pass is a little crazy).

But as always, there is a sad side to things like this. I have been feeling a little down since school ended and its been a mixture of stings. With school over and no more homework to do, I've had a little trouble finding things to do in my spare time off from work. I do realize that yes a good chunk of our class would be busy going on trips and working at new jobs for their internships or they have moved away for the summer so its been a little tough to meet up with them. I think that's part of the reason I like working so much; not only I'm I loving my job, it's also something to keep me occupied in my spare time off from school. If I had more days off from work I would most likely go crazy trying to find things to do. I do enjoy biking around the city (my favorite is biking from Bridlewood all the up to SAIT) and photography at the airport, but both of those things and my job are very weather dependent and when the weather goes sour, I'm left scrambling to find things to do. Although yesterday since I was stuck at home, I decided to sign up to become Proserve certified (The Alberta Government's Liquor Service Training Program) just for fun.

There are a lot of times where I feel like I just moved to Calgary despite the fact I know the entire city like the back of my hand. Right now it feels like there is anyone out there who shares the same interests that I do. I will admit that some of the things that I do are a little different from those that a typical 21 year old would do such as going out clubbing and drinking like crazy. Those things are of no interest to me, I'm one who likes to be up early in the morning, love to watch airplanes and listen to country music (especially Taylor Swift). These are things you don't see a 21 year old doing. But I'm not going to start doing things that I don't like just to fit in with everyone else. I know at this point in my life is more of a transition period and I may still have to get this through my head, but I have to take time for myself. These 4 months will probably be one of the only times where I get a chance to do the things that I want to do because once school starts again the fall, there won't be much time for that. It feels like September is long ways away, but knowing me that time will fly by really fast, especially since today is the end of May already. I just need to stay on the path I'm on right now, so school will be in session and things will be a little more active. For now, its just a period of quiet time that I need to take advantage of.

Anyways, that's just a little bit of ranting from the flight deck, hope you all have a wonderful day and are enjoying the flight!

Margaritas and Rocking Chairs: The Journey Home From Cancun Part 2

A US Airways A321, my ride to Phoenix

Continuing on from Part 1, I was waiting my next leg of my journey back to Calgary. Now that we've gone northeast, it was time to do some backtracking and head west to the desert and the lovely city of Phoenix, Arizona. The sun was low in the sky as I awaited. During my 4 hour layover in Charlotte I had seen pretty much every type of aircraft US Airways has in its fleet from the Boeing 737-400 to the mighty Airbus A330-300. My flight to Phoenix would be US 705 and we would be flying on a Airbus A321, the largest aircraft in the A320 series. Because this was pretty much a cross-country flight, it would be about another 4 hours in the air on this leg of the trip. At 4:30pm local time, boarding began and to my surprise, my seat had been changed. Instead of being at the back of the bus again, my seat got changed to the 12th row, quite an unexpected surprise from an airline that has already done so much for me. What was even better, the middle seat in our row was vacant, giving me and my seatmate more room to stretch our arms and legs. We pushed back from gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule and headed out for Runway 18C. Here, the A321 lit up its IAE V2500 engines and roared down the runway and boy what a beautiful sound they made as we rocketed off and headed west.

A United Express Embrarer 145 just finishing pushback next to us

This seat would be a little quieter because we were one less person in our row and also because the gentleman who was sitting in my row had just gotten off an 12 hour flight from India and was heading home to Phoenix, so it was no surprise that he was looking for some sleep. He did wake up towards the end of the flight and we started chatting about our journeys and our homes. That's one of my favorite parts of flying is getting to sit with people you've never met before and just learning about them, especially on long trips and everyone is just so interested in learning about each other. We would be chasing the sun for part of this flight and seeing the sun set at 38,000 feet is probably one of the most beautiful sites in the world, the colours of the clouds are bright and livid and its beautiful to see; I love picking evening and morning flights just for that reason. During the flight the pilot made an update on our arrival time into Phoenix and me usually being the organized one didn't realize what my departure time from Phoenix was until I looked at my ticket in Charlotte, I would have barely 45 minutes to connect and had that flight left Charlotte late, I wouldn't make that connection. Still even with an early arrival time, I would just be sliding by with my connection. My seatmate, who was from Phoenix, assured me it was super easy to navigate the airport and I would make my connection no problem, especially since Phoenix is another US Airways hub. Descent and landing into Phoenix was smooth and uneventful and soon I would be at the gate awaiting the final leg of my journey.

My time in Phoenix would be short, only 15 minutes in the terminal before boarding my next flight. All airlines prior to departing for Canada are required to verify that passengers have their passports prior to boarding as airlines do face stiff penalties fro transporting passengers who can't enter Canada. After flying on both the A320 and A321, my fingers were crossed on getting the A319 on this flight and completing the A320 series in 1 day. Sadly this wouldn't happen as I would get another A320 on US 247 heading to Calgary. This short 2 hour flight to Calgary and it would be a quiet one, most of the flight was families heading home from Spring Break and everyone was pretty dead tired, including myself from the long journey home I've had so far. Our A320 pushed back right on time and in 10 minutes we lifted off Runway 8. This flight was a little more bumpy than the previous flights, mainly due to turbulence over the Rockies and the wacky weather that was going in Calgary at the time (gotta love when Chinooks roll through). Despite the turbulence we arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule on Runway 28 in the wee hours of the morning and with that came the conclusion of my Mexico trip. Driving down 16th Ave during the night was quick and along the way I thought, I can't believe I did that much flying in one day. But I was home safe and sound and at 1:30am, I fell asleep in my bed, happy to finally have some peace and quiet and get some sleep after a long and frightening trip.

My tickets for the flights out of Charlotte

I have to say, US Airways was amazing that day, they ensured I was able to make my connections and get me home safe and sound. From getting a great fare at the last second to their amazing staff, it was a great trip home with them. I would highly recommend them when flying to the US. As for Mexico, I wouldn't mind going back someday, but if I do it will be during a time when it is quiet and not full of drunk college students on Spring Break. I will also probably pick a quieter location away from Cancun and will do my research before booking a hotel.

But that's another story, for another day.

Margaritas and Rocking Chairs: The Journey Home from Cancun Part 1

Sunrise in Cancun

One of my goals with this Blog is to write about both my flight adventures and travel adventures. I will talk eventually talk about my trip to Cancun, but today I have a flight log for you today. A few week earlier I talk about my flight south to Cancun; today we talk about the return journey back to Calgary. Before I start this, word of advice to those wanting to go to Mexico for peace and quiet; don't go during Spring Break, a big reason for me heading home a few days earlier than planned. Because there were no Air Transat flights home till the next week, my cheapest option to get home was via Charlotte and Phoenix with US Airways. To most of you this doesn't sound like the greatest routing, but for someone who loves to fly, this was the perfect option. Plus the price of the ticket was really inexpensive, especially for a last second purchase at midnight from my hotel.

The next morning, I packed up and began my journey to the airport. Now I'm sure all of you have heard horror stories about Mexican taxi's, but in Cancun they are actually really good. I was a little nervous at the first, but was super impressed with the driver I had. He was fast, friendly and got me to the airport with no fuss, I left him with really nice tip for getting me to the airport with no problems. Arriving in Cancun, I saw how busy the arrivals area was and this was on different for departures. Most US flights arrive and depart out of Terminal 3 (Canadian flights use Terminal 2) and at my time of departure, most airlines were getting ready to depart back to the US. I was booked on US 884, the second Cancun-Charlotte flight of the day, was scheduled to leave at 12:30pm local time. Check in was quite slow due to lack of check in kiosks and people not knowing how to use the machines. The security process was quick and efficient and before I knew it, I was walking through the largest duty free store I've ever seen and into the hustle and bustle of Terminal 3.

My early arrival to the airport would prove to be of benefit to me. I received a phone call from US Airways advising me that my flight to Charlotte would be delayed due to an equipment problem with the B767-200 that was on the flight (first time I've seen an airline call advising of delays). Luckily from walking around the terminal looking at the different planes, I had seen another US Airways flight just loading up for its journey to Charlotte. Panicked, I ran as fast as I could to the gate realizing if I didn't make this flight, I would likely be spending a night somewhere that wouldn't be home. But thanks to the hard working efforts of the gate agent, she was able to locate my bags and got me the last seat on US 882 to Charlotte.

A US Airways A320

I took my seat on the Airbus A320 and breathed a huge sigh of relief, my journey home was about to begin a little earlier than planned. Pushback was 15 minutes late, mainly due to my last second switch, but within 5 minutes, we were rolling of off Runway 12R heading northeast for Charlotte. Before we left Cancun, one of the flight attendants on our flight saw me at the gate and happily offered me a drink from the bar, thanking me for my patience. I was more than happy to have a drink at 30,000 feet, something I've never done before. Because the flight was pretty full, I was seated in the very last row with a gentlemen heading for Cleveland and a family heading home to Charlotte. We struck up a conversation, talking about our trip's to Cancun, our hometown's and of course, me being from Canada, they asked me a lot about my country and I asked them a lot of the US. I learned a lot about Charlotte from the family I was sitting with; it is pretty similar to Calgary in terms of population and size. It would be such a lovely city to visit someday that's for sure. Touchdown on Runway 18L in Charlotte was a little rough and within 15 minutes, we were line waiting at US customs with some of the most friendly border guards I have ever seen (and I'm not be sarcastic here).

Charlotte Airport is quite possibly one of the most unique airports I've ever been to. Throughout the entire terminal are white rocking chairs for customers to relax and enjoy, quite a site to see them in an airport. Because I now had a 4 hour layover in Charlotte, I had a chance to find a good bar and just finally have a chance to relax after my trip. Coincidentally I happened to find a Mexican bar called Tequileria, where I had a couple of double shot Margaritas and a really good meal (Probably the most Mexican thing I did on the entire trip). I highly recommend this place if you are ever passing through Charlotte and have some time to kill. This was also the first time where I was old to enough to finally drink in the states. I didn't realize it until I was asked for ID and completely forgot I was 21 and old enough to drink in the US.

I don't want to make this blog too long, so I'll split this into two parts. In the next part, the flight to Phoenix and than on to my final destination, Calgary.

My Tales and Adventures at Calgary Airport

So as you may have noticed from the theme that this blog has, I'm a huge fan of aviation, particularly commercial aircraft but I do also like a little bit of military of aircraft as well. I've been "spotting" at Calgary Airport now for over 3 years and over that time I've come to dub myself  "The Cowboy Spotter", mainly because almost every time I'm out at the airport you'll catch me in my black Cowboy hat. I think both the guys in the Tower and Security at the airport know who I am since they have seen me countless times up at the airport. So if you are ever up at the Calgary Airport and you see a red Ford truck (also lovingly dubbed by me as the "Spirit of Taylor Swift") and a guy standing in the back wearing a black Cowboy hat, that is most likely me out enjoying my passion.

A WestJet Boeing 737-800 landing at YYC

Over those 3 years of being at the airport, I've seen a lot of different kinds of planes, different operators and even heard things over the radio that gives you quite a good chuckle. With Calgary being both a hub for Air Canada and WestJet, you do get a little bored seeing that same colours over and over again. A typical traffic sequence in the morning there can be 4 WestJet B737'S in row or 10 aircraft shared between Air Canada, Jazz and WestJet. But with that I've turned it into a little challenge, try to catch every aircraft registration that each airline has. WestJet I've caught all except 8 aircraft and between Air Canada and Jazz, I caught 1 photo of all their Embraer 190's, Airbus A330's and CRJ-705's and very close to finishing of the Dash 8-300's, the Airbus A319's, A320's, A321's and the CRJ 100/200 fleet.

But we still get a wide variety of airlines here in Calgary. Many American carriers fly here on a daily basis. Most legacy and mainline airlines from the US fly direct from their hubs to Calgary; United from Chicago, San Francisco, Denver and Houston; Delta from Minneapolis and Salt Lake City and so on and so on. We even have quite a few international airlines who fly to Calgary; KLM, British Airways and Thomas Cook just to name a few. Lufthansa did serve Calgary for a few years, but made its last flight here back in February and no longer serves our city.

Air Caraibes Airbus A330 lining up on Runway 34

Over my 3 years of spotting, I've come across some unique aircraft. From the massive cargo carrier, Antonov 124 to an Air Caraibes A330, its been amazing some of the planes that have to Calgary. My most recent catch was a C-17 Globemaster from Canada's military rotating off of Runway 16 and when those planes takeoff, they don't mess around. Within just a few thousand feet, the monster had already rotated and was already airborne, quite a spectacle to watch this massive plane takeoff right in front of you.

A C-17 Globemaster rocketing off of Runway 16

So what can I expect for the future of spotting at Calgary Airport? Well with the opening of the new international terminal and runway in a couple years, my hope is we see a few more carriers operating non-stop flights into Calgary, particularly those who operate larger aircraft such as the B777 or A380. My hope is also once construction activities are complete, it will open up some new spotting areas. I have goal of getting out spotting at the airport at least once a month and I have to admit its been tough because of the closure of some key areas, including the southeast field and the north access road (way too many construction vehicles in that area). Mother Nature isn't always a great help, either the winds are in the wrong direction or its too cloudy or rainy. But somehow I've done good, 5 months down and actually have done close to 10 trips so far this year. With still have half the year to go, who knows what I'll catch in the coming months. But if you are ever up at the airport and see a little red Ford Explorer, come on by and say hi, I'll be more than happy to tell you stories of my spotting adventures or answer your questions about pretty much anything flying or airline related.

An Update from the Flight Deck

Good Morning from the Flight deck. First off, I want to apologize for the lack of updates recently, I've been quite busy over the last couple of week between preparing for exams, writing those exams and taking a road trip out to British Columbia. But now with school all finished, I'll have a little more time to write here. But I do start my new job on Saturday so if the lack of posts starts to show again, that's the reason why.

So last week I wrote all my final exams and on Monday got all the results back and I have to say I'm pretty happy with them. Guess we'll see what the second year has to bring us. But for now, I won't have to worry about school for another 4 months.

The Osprey 2000, one of 2 ferries that sail the waters of
Kootenay Lake

Last Friday I left on a road trip out to British Columbia on a 5 day tour of the interior, passing through Creston and the Kootenay Lake region. I even took the lake road north of Creston and took the Kootenay Lake Ferry (One of my favorite things to do out there) across the lake to Ainsworth Hot Springs and Nelson. I highly recommend visiting the Hot Springs if you are ever out there, it was so cool to swim through the caves they have there and just sit in the nice relaxing pool and just listen to sound of the waterfalls that run through the caves. I will have to admit that it is quite a long drive out there, especially if its just one person doing it and the weather isn't the greatest.

So we've been out of school for a week now and as much as everyone is probably happy to be out of school, I for one am not. I was so sad on the last day of school not only because the classes I loved were done, but also because all my friends in class would be heading off for the summer. They would off doing their new jobs or taking trips to exotic locations around the world. I know that I'll everyone back in class again in the fall (I sure hope that everyone does come back for Round 2), but now that everyone is gone for the summer, it feels like its the end of the good times. All the fun things that we did together of the past year, I feel like we won't have chance to get together since we'll all be too busy with work and everything else.

But I hope everyone is having a good start to their summer vacation so far, even though its only been one week. I'm quite happy that I'm living here in Calgary for the summer. I will be honest, I know I'm not much of a party person, but I do want to have another one of those epic nights that one will never forget, kind of like the one back in November we all had. Only problem is I'm not sure what to do so if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to pretty much anything.

Anyways, have a wonderful day everybody! :)

A Year End Letter to My Class

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of our first year in the Travel & Tourism Program. I'm still wondering where in the world the time went. It still only feels like a few months ago we were just starting this program and meeting each other for the very first time. I still remember that first day in class when we all met for the first time and where many of our friendships started.

But now here we are, the final days of classes and to be quite honest (most of you probably won't agree with me on this) but I'm actually quite sad that the first year of school is coming to an end. I know, I know, most you are quite happy too finally make it out of the first year of school, however not me.

In my first year in school, I've not only learned so much about the Tourism industry, I've also met so many amazing people in my class and got to do things that likely had I not taken this program, I most likely would have never gotten to do. I know it has been a roller coaster kind of year, filled with many ups and downs and sometimes turbulent skies that I wondered if it would ever end. But as always, we remained strong and through all the turbulence. From building a Canadian Pavilion in Geography class to building PNR's in Reservations class, we have learned so much over the last 8 months. I'm really happy I got the chance to learn about Apollo and finally have a Reservations system at my fingertips that allows me to look up flights and price them out. I've learned so much more about the world around me and even learned about more countries and attractions that I would love to visit someday.

Sadly, the first year draws to a close and I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful people in my class for everything they have done for me. For always being there for me, for helping me out with school work and for helping me get through those turbulent times. Our class is absolutely amazing and I will definitely miss everyone over the summer (I'm getting quite teary eyed just writing this). 

Our flight is coming to an end, as a Pilot would stay, we have the Runway in sight. It's almost over, you've done an amazing job everyone.

Thanks for a great year everybody, hope y'all have a great summer and I hope to see you all again soon!

Sincerely,
Brad "Captain T-Swift" Vermeeren-Novak

South to the Sun with Air Transat to Cancun

Welcome to my first flight and what better way to officially kick this blog off is with a recent travel experience I had with Air Transat. I flew with Air Transat from Calgary to Cancun, Mexico during my reading week.

The Mighty Airbus A330-200

As with most charter flights to the south, they leave super early in the morning and my flight was no exception. Transat 762 was scheduled to depart for Cancun at 6am and required me to be at the airport by 4am. I've been on early flights before, but never this early before. To add to my enjoyment, a freak winter storm had blown in the night before, which had me worried about my drive to the airport in the morning.

3 am and surprisingly, my alarm didn't have to wake me, somehow I was already awake and ready to go. Within 15 minutes I was out the door and on my way to the airport. The roads that morning weren't too bad, slushy but in pretty good shape. I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare to walk to the terminal and await my flight. I was quite surprised how busy the airport is for that time of the morning., but when there's over 400 people departing all at once, you want to capitalize on that opportunity. Check-in wasn't as efficient as I've seen with other airlines, taking well over 20 minutes, even for web check-in customers.

The winglet of Transat's A330 over the US

At 5:20am, boarding was called for Transat 762 as we walked down the jet-way to our awaiting Airbus A330-200. I have coined the term "The Mighty 330" for any A330 I see now and there is good reason I call it that. The A330 is a powerful long range aircraft and is one of the most common "heavy" type aircraft the come to Calgary. "The Mighty 330" is also the backbone of Air Transat's fleet and are used on most runs to the the south.

We boarded and settled into our seats and we were lucky as we had gotten on of Transat's refurbished cabins with leather seats and seat back tv's. At 5:55, we pushed back from the gate, deiced and began our long taxi out to Runway 34. 20 minutes later, the Rolls Royce engines roared to life and we were off into the early morning sky bound for Cancun. Within the half hour after take-off, the flights sprang into action, pouring glasses of champagne and passing out breakfast. It was a smooth flight, just over 5 hours till we would be soaking up the sun.

Because we were flying on one Air Transat's newly refurbished planes, I had the chance to sample their seat-back televisions. The system is much like Air Canada's but doesn't offer the same amount of content. The movies and tv shows were very current, although their music selection could have been better.

Cancun Control Tower

At 11:45am local time, the "Mighty 330" started its slow descent into Cancun and made a smooth touchdown on Runway 12L. Of course this is Mexico and what's the first thing I see, A giant advertisement for Corona on the side of the Control Tower. Good way to get people thinking about drinking.

Leaving the plane was much slower than boarding due to Mexican officials checking everyone to ensure they had their forms filled out. Now you thought Canada or US customs was bad, you haven't seen anything yet. It took nearly a half hour just to clear immigration, than another half hour to claim our baggage and get through their customs line. This line consists of you having your baggage screened again and pressing a button. If you get a green light, you are free to go, but if you get a red light, you get secondary inspection and boy that can be fun.

Overall I was very impressed with Air Transat, their new tv's and leather seats really show that they are committed to improving their in-flight product. The onboard champagne, hot breakfast and really friendly staff made it a great start to my vacation and would highly recommend flying with them when heading somewhere warm!

Welcome Aboard! We Hope You Enjoy Your Flight

So I would like to welcome everyone to a new blog I have started. My user name may be Captain T-Swift, but I also like the name Captain Brad. I'm not only the biggest fan of Taylor Swift in all of Calgary, Alberta, but I have a huge passion for aviation, hence the name of the blog and the theme I have going here.

During this flight, you'll find a variety of tales and stories from my experiences in life, unique things I've done and seen and some of my travel experiences, especially when it comes to flying. You'll also enjoy some great flight entertainment as my goal is try and post a video every once in a while of me talking about pretty much anything.

Now y'all may be wondering why I gave this blog the name is has. Well 21 is obviously my age, but it's also those 5 words that starts a journey. A journey into the unknown filled with amazement, wonder and discovery. I've always thought of life is kind of like flying.

It won't always be the smoothest journey, there's gonna be turbulence along the way and at times you wonder if the storm clouds will ever clear away. But there's always blue sky behind those clouds and with the help of your flight crew (Family and Friends), it'll be smooth sailing once again!

Before we push-back from the gate, I just want to say I'm so thankful to have some the best friends, from work, from school and from everywhere and my amazing family along for the journey. They've helped me weather some of the most stormiest moments of my life and have helped me to find that proper flight path to be on, the flight path of Travel and Tourism at SAIT.

Now ensure your tray table and seat backs are in their up right position and all cabin baggage has been stowed in the overhead bins or underneath the seat in front of you. Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight...

Cleared for Takeoff Runway 21, Destination: Life and the Great Unknown!