Mumbai, India (BOM): In Dubai on our way to Mumbai

We just arrived in Dubai, UAE (DXB) after taking the 8p BA flight from IAH to London-Heathrow. Then taking the 12:40p BA flight to DXB arriving at 10:35p.

We are now on CX684 to Mumbai and will arrive at 4:55a...

Mumbai, India (BOM) July 2008: Arriving in Dubai International, Dubai UAE (DXB) from London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR)

04JUL08 Dubai International, Dubai UAE (DXB)

The touchdown was sweet in the darkness of the airport. We taxied into the terminal which took a while. We were hoping that we got a gate this time around as the last time, we got to Dubai, it took forever to get to the terminal.

So taking the later BA flight and connecting over London caused us to arrive at 10:30p as opposed to 6:45p on the nonstop flight from Houston...About a four hour time savings. Not to mention that those folks are on their way to Mumbai already.

We deplaned and followed the signs to the Connection Desk.


We made our way to the congested Connections area. We stopped at the first area we saw and there was no sign of Cathay Pacific Airways (CX). eventually, i caught the attention of an agent and he told us to go to the next Connections section.

There was a huge crowd around the CX desk, but we stood on the queue and waited as time ticked by. The good thing was that our flight did not depart until 12:30a. It was weird the culture in that part of the world has people standing really close to you. So this guy was almost on top of me and I was so uncomfortable that I told him to step back. Eventually, he did.

It was now our turn and after a few minutes, we got a window and an aisle seat. We then cleared the security area and made our way down to the departure level.

Our gate was at the end of the terminal so we got a good taste of the airport. There were people everywhere, sleeping all around the terminal. We were happy that that would not be us on this trip. We walked past a few Lounges and wondered if our credentials would work. But, we had no time to check it out as we were on a mission to our gate.

Eventually, we got there and although they were accepting customers in the gate area, they were going nowhere. So, we just relaxed and sat down as I tried to find an electric outlet. I sat for a while and realized there was free WiFi in the airport. Cool!

I took the chance to check some more hotels and also sent and checked e-mail. Soon, we entered the gate area and made our way down to the waiting bus. This process took some time as the flight was full.

Once on the bus it took us a while to make it out to the plane. It was cool as we approached; it was an Airbus A330 and a Boeing 777-300. I had forgotten which one we were on, but eventually, we pulled up to the middle door of the giant Boeing 777-300!

Mumbai, India (BOM) July 2008: London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR) to Dubai International, Dubai UAE (DXB)

BA107 04JUL08 London Heathrow International to Dubai International, Dubai United Arab Emirates (DXB) 12:40p 10:30p 777 G-ZZZA

Flight Time: 6:15
Seat Map - There is no seat map for this aircraft, but the World Traveller Plus cabin for this aircraft is much smaller than the seat map shown here. I think rows 23-25 are missing. The Economy Class cabin is the same size though, so I think that perhaps there is an extra row in Club World.

We went down the walkway and it was then that I realized that we were heading for a bus to take us to the plane. We made it on the bus and then we waited for a few passengers to arrive. By about 12:25p, we left and headed for the plane. Eventually, I could see a 777 in the distance with the registration G-ZZZA on it. Immediately, I felt sleepy :-).

There is something about approaching a 777 from the ground. It is a big plane. The bus stopped at the stairs and we all disembarked and then went up the unbelievably tall stairs and were greeted by a Cabin Crew member and the Cabin Service Director (CSD).

They told me to take the right aisle and my colleague to take the left aisle. My colleague got to his seat first as we walked through the Club World Class (2-4-2 with some seats facing backwards) and World Traveler Plus (2-4-2), then World Traveler with its 3-3-3 configuration.

There was a guy sitting in my colleague's seat and then he moved over to mine. Once I got to my seat, I asked to see his boarding pass and he was on the other aisle near the window across from my colleague so he moved.

We then got settled in. This aircraft is a little different as it has fewer World Traveller Plus seats and there are two extra lavs behind World Traveller Plus and none in the rear of the airplane. I also don't think that this airplane has any crew rest bunks in it either.

We pushed back soon after waiting for a while. I can only guess that someone was behind us. I did notice that the headsets in World Traveller are different than those in World Traveller Plus; they are thinner and also the amenity kit is in a different color plastics, but has the same toothbrush, toothpaste, socks and blindfolds and ear plugs.

After quite a wait, it was our turn to take off and we took to the skies. A short time after takeoff, we were served beverage of choice and pretzel nuggets; this is the same thing as the last flight.

The main meal followed with a choice of lamb with rice or Chicken Tarragon with potatoes and vegetables. I opted for the chicken that came with a bottle of water, bread, chocolate, summer fruit trifle raspberry and red currants salad with rough oat crackers.


With 5:22 to go, the Captain came on the PA and said that we were at 36,000’ and making good progress towards Dubai. As you would expect it is hazy, temp is low 30sC and with about 40 minutes to he will update us on the arrival time, etc. We are currently scheduled to be touching down at 10:30p. at this point we were over southern Germany.

The CSD announced that the movies should start momentarily says the Cabin Service Director.

For today, our entertainment was:

1. Son of Rambo
2. Street Kings
3. The Oxford Murders
4. Smart people
5. Drillbit Taylor
6. 21
7. Shine a Light
8. The Spiderwick Chronicles
9. Cartoon Network
10. Family Comedy
11. Sport
12. Explore: Brits Abroad

The second round of movies were:

1. The Game Plan
2. The Other Boleyn girl
3. Batman Begins
4. Toy Story 2
5. The Bucket List
6. Jumper
7. The Big sleep
8. The water Horse: Legend of the Deep
9. Sky flyers
10. US Comedy
11. Schemes and Scams
12. Drama: Out of This World

My headphone was scratchy in my seat, so I had to use the one for the middle seat, which was kind of weird as if I moved too much, it got disconnected.

I fell asleep with about 5 hours to go and awoke at 1:13 left.

For Audio

1. High Life
2. BBC Comedy
3. Mark Lamarr’s Musical Journey
4. BBC On Air
5. BBC Backstage
6. BBC Live in concert
7. BBC Classical Performance
8. Classical World
9. Opera
10. Side Projects
11. Leading Ladies
12. Heavy Metal
13. Pianio Man
14. Country
15. Jazz
16. Well Being

Then there are Games

1. Backgammon
2. Blackjack
3. Chinese Solitaire
4. Crossword
5. Daw Poker
6. Gold Digger
7. Hangman
8. Keno
9. Slots
10. Solitaire Snap2
11. Tic-tac-toe
12. Trivia
13. Zero G
14. Kid’s Game
15. Twins Café
16. Noisy Farm

The meal was a slice of pineapple, lemonade, dessert (chocolate Tiffin brownie) and two sandwiches (cheese and tomato plus chicken & rocket) with a history of John Montagu, the 4^th Earl of Sandwich who died in 1792.


So like clockwork, at 40 minutes before landing at 9:57p. The Captain came on the PA and said that it was 33C light winds from the Southwest the time in DXB is 3 hours ahead and just coming up to two minutes to 10. In about twenty minutes time the seat belt signs will go on, so now is the time to freshen up if you need to.

We got the cabin ready and made our way into Dubai.

Mumbai, India (BOM) July 2008: Arriving in London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR)

We touched down after making nice approach into Heathrow. As we landed on the runway close to Terminal 4 (runway 27L), it did not take too long to get to the terminal.

I saw the Singapore Airlines (SQ) Airbus A380 at the gate as well as a Saudi Arabia (SV) Boeing 777-200, a Virgin Atlantic (VS) Boeing 747-400, an Iberia (IB) Airbus A320 landing, a plethora of American Airlines (AA) planes and the Etihad (EY) Airbus A340-600 across the way heading out to Abu Dhabi (AUH); oh well.






I also saw an Enbraer ERJ-45 from bmi (BD) landing, a Virgin Atlantic Airways' Boeing 747-400 landing.






This BA Boeing 747-400 was parked at the gate in Terminal 4.

we disembarked and cleared Immigration with ease. I did not use the IRIS system as my colleague was with me and there was no line anyways.

The BA counter was just outside of the Arrivals are so we checked in there. The process was easy and we were given seats right away as the flight was open. No upgrades, but we had the middle seat empty in World Traveller.

We then went upstairs and cleared security and re-entered the terminal. We headed towards the Holideck and was granted entry after showing our credentials.

We headed straight for the tower and watched more airplanes land.











When it was time to go, we headed for gate 1C, showing our boarding passes, then taking the long walk down to the waiting bus.

Mumbai, India (BOM) July 2008: Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) to London-Heathrow international, London, England (LHR)

BA196 03JUL08 Houston intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) to London Heathrow Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) 8:00p 11:05a +1 Day 777 G-VIIL

Flight Time: 8:50
Seat Map

I walked down the jetway where a lady was reuniting Duty Free items with their owners, then onto the plane. We were greeted by the Cabin Service Director and a Cabin crew. He ushered me down the first aisle to my window seat in World Traveller Plus.

It was cool to walk through the Club World class with it s 2-4-2 configured cabin with its lay flat seats, some of which faces backwards. I had flown in Club World twice before and once I got that backward facing seat. It is an odd ride indeed.

There was a little congestion in the walkway, so we waited. Once it all cleared, we continued on to the World Traveller Plus cabin which starts counting at row 21-25 and has a 2-4-2 configuration. Each seat has a TV screen and comes with a power plus which requires an adapter to use it. There is also a foot rest and a leg support.

As we were getting settled in, the Captain came on the PA and announced that the main cabin door was closed and we will be on our way shortly. He proclaimed that the weather was good in London and that our taxi would be a long one today. I figured that was the case as I had noticed earlier that we were using runway 8R for departures. This is the runway all the way on the other side of the airport.

I was taking out some stuff from my bag and I noticed that we were already pushing back. Other passengers were also still standing in the cabin. It was about 7:52p; great, we are off to an early start so we should arrive early. The Captain had said that he anticipated an ontime arrival.

As we pushed back, the manual safety demo started; I assumed that the tape was broken for some reason as the demo is usually on the monitors. As the taxi continued, I noticed that we were heading for runway 33R-15L. traffic was light today and it was 8:03p when we took to the runway and headed off to London.

In the seat back was a headset along with an amenity kit that has a pair of socks, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste plus blindfolds.


As we took off down, I did notice two FedEx DC-10s at the cargo facility and an MD-11 from World Airways at the hard stand near to the cargo facility.

After takeoff, an announcement was made introducing the crew and the Cabin Service Director. She talked about the service to expect for tonight’s flight. The entertainment system started with news from the BBC, cartoons and a preview of the movies on three separate channels. For entertainment tonight, we had:

1. Be Kind Rewind with Jack Black
2. Over Her Dead Body with Eva Longoria Parker
3. Married Life with Pierce Brosnan
4. Happy Go Lucky with Sally Hawkins
5. Flawless with Demi Moore
6. The Other Boleyn Girl with Natalie Portman
7. Cleaner with Samuel Jackson
8. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who!
9. Cartoon Network
10. Family Comedy
11. Sport
12. Explore Photography

The second round of films were:

1. The Game Plan
2. The Other Boleyn girl
3. Batman Begins
4. Toy Story 2
5. The Bucket List
6. Jumper
7. The Big Sleep
8. The Water Horse: Legend of the deep
9. Family
10. US Comedy
11. Schemes and Scams
12. Drama: out of This World

For Audio

1. High Life
2. BBC Comedy
3. Mark Lamarr’s Musical Journey
4. BBC On Air
5. BBC Backstage
6. BBC Live in concert
7. BBC Classical Performance
8. Classical World
9. Opera
10. Side Projects
11. Leading Ladies
12. Heavy Metal
13. Pianio Man
14. Country
15. Jazz
16. Well Being

Then there are Games

1. Backgammon
2. Blackjack
3. Chinese Solitaire
4. Crossword
5. Daw Poker
6. Gold Digger
7. Hangman
8. Keno
9. Slots
10. Solitaire Snap2
11. Tic-tac-toe
12. Trivia
13. Zero G
14. Kid’s Game
15. Twins Café
16. Noisy Farm

There was an initial service of drink of choice as well as a packet of pretzel nuggets.
Dinner came at 9:06p; it was a choice of chicken with mash potato or the salmon with pasta; beverage of choice was also served at the same time by the same flight attendant. Came with roll, a bottle of water, a salad, with Italian dressing and dessert, plus a Nestle crunch.

After dinner, I went to the rear galley and found a plethora of snacks in their “tuck shop.” There was chocolates, oat bites, baked mini cheddar, choc chip and orange cookies and Walkers true shortbread to name a few.

I fell asleep with about 5:25 to go as we were over Northern Canada. When I awoke, we were just west of Ireland with 1:20 to go; it was time for breakfast. The meal came in a box and consisted of a croissant with turkey and cheese, a blueberry muffin and a tub of orange juice. Offers of tea or coffee accompanied the meal.

The U.K. Landing cards arrived at 9:40a with a smile.


At 9:53a, the first office said we were 90 miles west of Cardiff with 250 miles to go to Heathrow; we were well ahead of schedule and were estimated to touch down at 10:30a. It was now eight minutes to 10a. There is a chance that we may hold 5 for to 10 minutes before we land, but he is not expecting this to be the case. The temperature is 17C with good visibility and light variables, referring to the winds. He concluded that in about thirty-five minutes we will be landing and the seatbelts will go on in about 15 minutes.

There was then a PA saying that the seatbelts will be turned on in 20 minutes. Use the washroom now as after the seatbelts signs are on you cannot use the washrooms. They also made an announcement about their Change for Good program which collects spare change for UNICEF. She thanked us for our continued support in the program.

At 9:58a, an announcement was made that the HiLife entertainment system will be switched off and the headsets will be collected. The last video to be show will be a video about arriving at Heathrow’s Terminal 4.

The video started at 10:06a and was a cartoon which was pretty cool. The 20 minutes to landing announcement was done at 10:08a.

Mumbai, India (BOM) July 2008: Departing Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

03JUL08 Houston intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

We arrived at the airport at 4:30p, so we decided that it was necessary to park at the terminal with its $15/day charge :-(. We made our way down to the departure level of Terminal E via the ever so slow elevators. I sometimes have to wonder if the designers and implementors of the airport ever use the facility; the elevators are too small and excruciatingly slow.

Eventually, we arrived on the departure level and then we realized that my colleague had forgotten his identification in the car so we returned to get it.

Once through security, our first mission was to get tickets for the journey. We spent about 30 minutes doing that and then headed for the Emirates ticket counter at about 5:30p. We had met a few colleagues while getting tickets and they had said that KLM had a cancellation so the flights across the Atlantic Ocean were now full.

We got to the Emirates check-in area and stood on line. The agent advised us that due to the KLM cancellation, their flight was now full and our chances of making it were now very slim to none. They told us to wait anyways and see what happens.

As we did so, more passengers arrived who were late for their flight or were sent over by KLM. It was getting ugly as the agent tried to prioritize everyone. Needless to say at 6:10p, another agent advised us that we did not make it along with about ten or so other passengers.

So my quest to get on a Boeing 777-200LR has failed once more. This is the fourth time now; the first was actually on this same flight back when Emirates started service, then on Air Canada’s (AC) from Sydney, Australia (SYD), then Delta’s (DL) from Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on the inaugural. Will I ever get on a LR?

Dejected, but not beaten, we headed back through security towards the Presidents Club in terminal E. There, I tried to devise n alternative plan, which I had in mind, but had hope I would not have to execute.

Based on the time, we did not have too many choices to arrive in Mumbai at the same time as having taken the nonstop flight to Dubai. Also, since it was now so late, the Continental flight to London at 6:25p was no longer an option.

I used www.passrider.com as well as some other tools to device a routing for which we had tickets. I had already bought some backup tickets just in case my planned routing did not work.

After a few minutes, it was evident that we needed to get on the British Airways (BA) 8:00p flight to London-Heathrow, England (LHR). It would arrive at the same time that Etihad's flight was leaving for Abu Dhabi, but it would connect to yet another BA flight to Dubai, UAE (DXB), then we can take Cathay Pacific's flight to Mumbai arriving just about three hours behind schedule.

We left the Club and made our way to Terminal D once more; outside security to the BA counter. After talking with the agents, we were able to get a seat in World Traveler Plus. We re-entered security once more and headed for the gate.

We tried to get into the Air France Lounge but we did not have adequate credentials. We then went looking for an ATM and the one we found would not accept any cards.

I did see the KLM Boeing 747-400 Combi at the gate that had broken down. And then the Emirates (EK) Boeing 777-200LR passed by as well.






It was soon time to board the flight, so we did.

It's Time for Mumbai, India

With an extra day off, it is time to go a little further. So it is off to Mumbai, India (BOM). Planned routing is Houston to Dubai, UAE (DXB) on Emirates' (EK) Boeing 777-200LR, then on Emirates again to Mumbai. On the way back it is Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, UAE (AUH) on Jet Airways (9W) or on Etihad Airways (EY) and then on Etihad to London (LHR) or to JFK.

I'll see what happens in the end...

Berlin, Germany June 2008: Arriving in Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) from Newark Liberty

28JUN08 Arriving in Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

At 9:42p, we touched down smoothly on the Lee Road runway. The lead flight attendant welcomed us and advised that if Houston was not your final destination to allow the others who were making connections to get out first.

After a short taxi, we were at gate 41 at 9:47p; 2:26 later than scheduled, but I was in Houston.

The agent who greeted the flight advised that the only flight that was still here was the flight to New Orleans, LA (MSY) which was actually delayed until 10:20p. It was actually right across from our arrival gate.

The continuation of CO51 to Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE) had already departed at 9:29p, 0:29 late as a different flight number CO1941. The first segment of the flight from Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) was also not doing well as it had left Frankfurt almost 7 hours late. So passengers were left all over the place.

The agents did have new connecting boarding passes for the passengers in at the gate though; I have no idea was the hotel situation for the night. I assume the Contract of Carriage advises what happens in this case.

I did look at the board and saw that a flight to Laredo, TX (LRD) was also delayed and leaving from Terminal B in 10 minutes. No one would make that one either. There was one other, but I forgot where that one was going, oh it was the 10:25p to London Heathrow (LHR).

The airport was a ghost town really, inside and outside the terminal...It was weird.

I headed for the bus stop as there would be a bus at 10:11p and I did not want to miss it.

London, England June 20, 2008: Arriving in Houston Intercontinental. Houston TX (IAH)

We landed with barely a sound at about 12:39p on the runway near to Lee Road and taxied up to the gate. I finished up my Customs form and put it away in my top pocket.

As we approached the gate, I noticed that we had actually passed the turning point and the pilot had to make a hard right turn to make it to the gate. I could hear the right engine shut down as we pulled into the gate.

Once in at 12:44p, 21 minutes early, I packed up my stuff and bolted when it was my turn. I called the Metro bus on my way out and found out that I would miss the next bus, oh well.

I cleared Immigration without any issues and made my way to the Customs agents. I cleared there without any issues as well and departed.

London, England June 20, 2008: Leaving downtown Houston

I made it to the airport without issues as the traffic was light. I hitched a ride with a friend who was going to Seattle on a 5:30p flight.

We parked and took the airport bus with about four other people destined for Terminal C.

London encore une fois

Off to London for the weekend, back on Sunday.

Bucharest, Romania June 2008: Pictures of the city

Here are some pictures of Bucharest

Bucharest, Romania June 2008: Arriving in Houston, Intercontinental, Houston, TX (IAH) from Amsterdam

15JUN08 Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

It was a decent enough landing, but when you sit near to the back of the plane, you always feel the correction much more. We landed on the runway that was close to the E gates so it took no time for us to park at the gate.

I waited for my colleague who was sitting further back and I think we were possibly the last two off the plane safe the crew. We headed for the Immigration area, noticing that a lot of flights had just arrived including the Lufthansa (LH) flight from Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) that was one of our backup flights.

I cleared Immigration without any issues although the lady wanted to know why I visited Bucharest and why I have visited so many places. I simply said that I had never been there before and I love to visit different places.

My colleague had to go to secondary screening so I had to wait for him. In about 40 minutes or so, he came back. We then cleared security and left and headed for the car park.

Bucharest, Romania June 2008: Amsterdam Schipol (AMS) to Houston Intercontinental (IAH)

CO59 15JUN08 Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS) to Houston Intercontinental. Houston TX (IAH) 9:50a 1:30p 762 N??159

Flight Time: 9:54
Seat Map

I greeted the greeting flight attendant on entry through the most forward airplane door. This gave me an opportunity to walk through the 2-1-2 configured BusinessFirst cabin with its 25 cloth seats. People were getting settled in and making their dinner orders as we walked through.

As I entered the 2-3-2 configured Economy class cabin, there was a bit of congestion on the right aisle, so I moved to the left aisle when I had a chance. It was strange as I made it to me seat, stowed my bag and my colleague was just showing up and he had boarded before I did.

It wasn’t until 10:02a that the lead flight attendant said that we were ready to go. The safety demo started at 7 minutes after the hour and then pushback started soon after. As I was in a middle seat, it was hard to tell what was going on outside. I did see a KLM Boeing 747-400 next to us waiting to go though and wondered if that was the one going to Houston.

It was 10:24a, when we took to the runway and was airborne quickly thereafter.

After the takeoff, the lead flight attendant made an announcement about the service to expect for the flight; first a beverage service, followed by a lunch and also another beverage service. Then midway through the flight, there is a snack service and 1.5 hours before landing there will be another snack service. He also mentioned the location of the lavatories and stressed the importance of using the lavs in your own cabin. While he was making his speech, we buzzed 10,000’ so he announced that approved devices can now be used.

A few people had already gotten up although the seatbelt signs were still illuminated. It is always interesting when I get back on U.S. airline-operated flights as they tend to keep the seat belt signs on longer. On most European airlines I’ve flown, the pilots will turn off the seatbelt signs while the airplane is still climbing.

The arrival video was shown immediately after takeoff and immigration documentation was also handed out. This is a little bit different than I am accustomed to as usually this is done close to the end of the flight after the last meal is served.

The movies started at 10:52a. We had a choice of ten channels and I thought I’d start with ‘College Road Trip” with Martin Lawrence and Raven Symone and see how far that gets me. I was a little disappointed though as the video was tracking badly L. Before the movie could start, the system was shut down.

At 11:00a, the lead flight attendant announced that he has to reboot the system and it will take about 5-10 minutes and that should fix the issue that apparently we were experiencing. He also noted that it was necessary to stow the handsets. I always wondered why that was the case. It would seem to me that the programmers could have come up with a better reboot procedure than that.

Here are the entertainment choices for today:

1. Continental Presents House
2. Definitely Maybe/Friends
3. Continental Family Channel 2: The Ant Bully/Dexter’s Laboratory, Xiaolin Showdown, Sylvester & Tweety
4. College Road Trip/Take Home Chef
5. Horton Hears a Who!/Teen Titans
6. Continental Presents CSI
7. Comedy Programming: The Big bang Theory; Chico and the Man; The Game ; Everybody Hates Chris; Welcome Back, Kotter; The King of Queens
8. The Entertainment Channel
9. Airshow

In terms of Music selections:

1. Opera
2. Now & Then
3. Ambient Groove
4. Latin Fiesta
5. Continental Lounge
6. The Classics
7. The Hit Factory
8. Jazz Beat
9. Continental Talk
10. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
11. Country Roads
12. Live Broadway
13. Club Continental
14. R&B Groove
15. World Music
16. B Tween
17. Hindi Music
18. Japanese Favorites
19. Chinese Pop
20. Shalom

For games, we had:

1. Chess
2. Poker
3. Solitaire
4. Invasion
5. Elephant Memory
6. Bzzz
7. Blackjack
8. Crave Crunch
9. Caveman
10. Hangman

At 11:01a the Captain announced that we were at 32,000’, our initial cruisin’ altitude; he then switched off the seatbelt signs as the flight was smooth now but reminded us to keep them buckled while seated. 9:54 is our schedule flight time with a schedule arrival time of 1:30 and we should be ontime he continued. The weather at 4:40a local time in Houston is winds are from the south at 5mph, it is warm at 79F/26C with partly cloudy skies; so sit back and relax and enjoy the flight. Welcome on board and thank you for joining us and we will talk to you once we get on the other side. As the entertainment system was down I could not tell where exactly we were at this moment.

One thing always gets me about these announcements is that do we really need to know the weather at 4:40a at our destination when we won’t arrive until 1:30p? It’s just a thought that is always on my mind when I fly. I mean he will tell us the weather once we are closer, so who cares what it is now?

The beverage service started four minutes later. All beverages are complimentary, but beer, wine or margarita or mixed drinks are 5 USD or 4 EUR. Oh, the headsets are complimentary on this flight.

At 11:15a, the entertainment system got reactivated at about which time the beverage cart arrived at my row. I hate to say it but I don’t think the reboot helped much at least not initially as the tape I was watching was still tracking badly. It got better later.

Lunch arrived soon after and offered a choice of beef brisket, vegetarian or chicken marinara. I opted for the chicken with marinara and brussell sprouts in addition to crackers, cheese, butter, a roll, dessert and a salad with Farm Kitchen Ranch dressing.

I ate heartily and fell asleep very quickly after the cleanup was done.

With 4.5 hours to go and somewhere over Northern Canada having just crossed the Atlantic Ocean just north of Gander, New Foundland, were served a small tub of ice cream with beverage of choice. I awoke and waited for it thaw out, before eating it and then falling asleep once more.

When I next awoke, it was 1.5 hours to go and they were serving a snack of a bag of potato chips, a nugget of chocolate and a warm chicken turkey sandwich with cheese. We were also served beverages.

After the cleanup and with about 0:25 to go, the lead flight attendant gave some additional information about required documentation and the arrival process. He stressed that it was necessary to remove all the liquids from your hand luggage if you were connecting to another city. Also if you are transiting to another country, it is not necessary to pick up your bags in Houston.

He also said that our estimated time of arrival was now 1:10p. It was 1:14p when we touched down.