Christmas Trip 2007: On my to Guam

Cairns International Airport, Cairns Australia (CNS)

I arrived at the airport about 10:46p and it was still raining. I had missed the left turn for the international terminal and ended up going around one of the round about twice and ending up close to where I wanted to be, but not quite. I think I was in the waiting area for the international terminal; kind of like the cell phone lots in some U.S. airports.

I continued driving and then found the left turn and parked the car in the Avis Return area. I took my own sweet time and got everything together as much as I could without opening the door as it was still raining a little harder now. After noting the mileage, etc. and ensuring that I had not left anything in the car, I exited, got the stuff from the trunk and headed for the door.

First item was to get my bag together and check out the shower. I walked through them and they seemed virtually untouched. I’ll have to drop a letter to the airport officials and see if they can do a little better with them. If I remember correctly in Sydney, you can at least go buy shower stuff from the nearby store. I could not find anywhere in Cairns where that could be done. In addition, the sink does not have any soap attached or any paper towels. It just all seems so mismatched. So , with that said, I decided that the shower thing would not work; instead, I washed my face and hands n the male toilets as there was soap and paper towel there. I did use the space in the shower for re-packing though; bt in the male toilet there is no place to hang your coat unless you are using one of the stalls; who designed these facilities?

7 CO903 1:35a 6:05a Cairns, Australia (CNS) to Guam (GUM) 738 N??232

Once on board, I made my way to my seat and settled in. All the other Business Class passengers were already seated. Each seat had a plastic bag with a pillow and a blanket. It is a 2-2 configuration of all leather seats totaling 14 seats. I looked over into the Economy class area and they had a while flap over the seat back that read “Resort Shuttle.” I think this is the brand that is used for the Guam operation for all those flights to/from Japan and other cities. Economy class is configured in a 3-3 configuration for a total of 141 seats.

A little girl ran forward and noticed that the door was closed; I guess she forgot something. As it turns out, they left a pillow in the baby’s chair. The baby stated crying. The flight attendant explained that the stroller was already in the hold and the airplane was pushing back so there was nothing that could be done.

We pushed back quite early at 1:11a. Everyone was accounted for I guess so there is really no need to wait around. The engines were started as we pushed back. The safety announcement was first made in English and then Japanese; there is a large amount of Japanese passengers on board; remember that “Resort Shuttle” reference?

It looks like we used the runway as a taxiway, but it was dark so I can’t really tell for sure. We straightened up for runway 15 and took off into the dark, wet skies. You could see the lights of the city below and the dark rain clouds hanging around. Not too many lights were on in the city, but you could see those of the casino still lit.

Once we buzzed 10,000’, the flight attendant also explained the noting that the flight number is CS903 as opposed to CO903 which is what is printed on the boarding pass (this flight is operated by Continental Micronesia whose code is CS).

Alcoholic beverage is on sale for 5 USD. There will also be inflight duty free which will close approximately 1 hour before arriving in Guam.

While she made her PA, we had a little chop, well quite a chop for a little while.

After her message, the inflight system started with a Duty Free commercial. One of the flight attendants came by with a complimentary headset. Next another flight attendant came by with a hot towel.

The movie had started and it was “Surviving Christmas” with Ben Affleck and the guy who played Tony from the Sopranos, James Gandolfini and Christina Applegate. I don’t think I’ve seen that one just yet. It’s been out for about two or so years I think.

The lead flight attendant came by with the appropriate forms; as it turns I don’t need anything since I am connecting to another flight immediately. It’s been a while since I’ve tansitted Guam, so we will see what gives.

The Captain came on and said that we were at 36,000’ and that is our cruising altitude for the night. He also said that he would turn of the seatbelt and that we would arrive twenty minutes early. As soon as he finished, the baby started crying once more, but that was short lived. I fel bad for the mom since the baby was not well it seemed.

The flight attendant came by with linen for the table and asked me if I wanted to have a midnight snack. I was also asked what I wanted to drink and I opted for the chardonnay. The midnight snack arrived with Chardonnay in tow; a fruit plate a small salad and a chicken and melted cheese sandwich and a Hershey’s chocolate.

The crew was very attentive to our needs and ensured we were well looked after. I fell asleep and awoke to see my tray being slowly removed from in front of me. I went back to sleep.

The next thing I knew is that I was being awaken as we were landing in Guam at 5:42a, 23 minutes early.