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
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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!
 |
| The Mighty Airbus A330-200 |
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 |
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 |
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!
Friday, April 13, 2012
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!
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!
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