amsterdam/london: Amsterdam schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS) to London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR)

BA431 2NOV08 Amsterdam schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS) to London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR) 11:40a 12:10p 321 G-EUXC

Flight Time: 0:45
Seat Map [No seat map for the Airbus A321, but here is a link to the other Euro Traveller planes] http://www.britishairways.com/travel/eurotr/public/en_gb

At the aircraft door, she presented me to the flight crew and advised them that she had to write my seat number on the boarding pass. I waited to move down the aisle as there was a line.

The first four rows of the aircraft is called the Club Europe section in a 2-3 configuration. I always wonder about that though. It must suck for the guy who gets the middle seat. Although I've been that guy a few times.

I made my way to my seat in Economy class with its 3-3 leather seat configuration and eventually found a place for my bag. I was actually behind the guy who was at the aisle seat, so I waited for him to get his stuff settled before taking my seat.

The Captain came on the PA and said good morning and introduced his crew. He also gave us the weather report for London and it did not include any rain. Although it was cloudy and cold. He anticipated no delays and said that we would pushback shortly.

Sure enough we did at 11:40a. Some passengers were still getting seated. The manual safety demo commenced as the engines started and we made our way out to the runway. There was a Suriname Airways Boeing 747-300 ahead of us as well as an easyJet Boeing 737-300. it was amazing to see the effect of the engines of the Boeing 747-300 on the water on the runway; quite spectacular. This was the same jet I had seen at the gate when I arrived the previous day.

It was now our turn, and we took to the air very quickly.

Almost immediately after takeoff, the flight attendant said welcome and explained the service. Soon, a ham and double cheese sandwich was presented, but vegetarian (cheese) was also available. You could also get whatever beverage you wanted.

I read the High Life magazine as well as the inflight magazine, plus the Wall Street Journal Europe that I'd picked up at the gate. I then read the e-mails I had downloaded in the KLM Crown Lounge. I wanted to write some more, but the guy next to me kept reading my stuff, so I closed the laptop in disgust and dozed off.

I awoke to get my seat ready for landing, but went back to sleep again.

amsterdam/london: arriving in London-Heathrow (LHR) from Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS)

2NOV08 London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR)

We touched down smoothly although I awoke as the rhythm was different. It was a short taxi to Terminal 5 where I disembarked momentarily.

This terminal is really nice and quite large. There is a huge area for Flight Connections for Terminal 5 as well as a UK Border control area.

I made my way to the IRIS automated Immigration barrier and waited. There was a guy in front of me who had issues with the machine, so it caused the queue to back up with about three persons ahead of me. Two decided to use a different method as the line were not too long. The lady at the head of the queue tried and it worked almost instantly for her. The guy tried again and then it worked. I tried and after two tries it worked properly.

I then made my way downstairs to the Baggage Re-claim area and exited thorough the EU Arrivals Exit. I followed the signs to the Underground, but somehow missed the actual sign pointing it out. I backtracked and saw it, then took the escalators down to it.

By 12:14a, I was on the way to Central London.

amsterdam/london: arriving in Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS) from Central Amsterdam

2NOV08 Amsterdam schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS)

I arrived at 9:59a and made my way to the Flight Information Displays. I checked and the next flight for London Heathrow was leaving at 10:40a on British Airways from D8. I made my way to Terminal 3, checked in for the 11:40a departure, thinking that I can get to the gate and get on the earlier flight.

The Immigration lines were quite lengthy in Terminal 3, so I headed to Terminal 2 where the line was not long at all. A few moments later, I made it to D8, cleared security, checked with the agent, but was advised that the flight was closed. Bummer.

I did think of trying for the bmi flight at 11:45a, but there was no one at the T5 Transfer area, so I did not bother. I did also notice there was a KLM flight at 10:25a, but it was not that time, so that would not have been possible.

I then went off to the KLM Crown Lounge where I had breakfast and checked e-mail, etc. Soon, it was time to head out to D16 for the British Airways flight. There was a long line at security, but once I cleared it, I soon got a middle seat in Economy class on this Airbus A321. The printer was not working, so the agent escorted me down to the airplane as she had to write my seat number on the boarding pass.

amsterdam/london: Departing Central Amsterdam

2NOV08 Amsterdam, Netherlands

It was 8:15a, when the alarm sounded. I kept touching it a few times until about 9:00a when I got ready and headed out. At Central Station, the next train to Schipol was at 9:41a; I had two minutes.

I ran to platform 14a, up the stairs and boarded the train, verifying with conductor as I did so. It was strange as usually, they say where the train is stopping on the displays, but Schipol was not mentioned. The lady at the information counter had a pre-marked sign with "Schipol 14A" printed on it. I hardly needed to ask, before I noticed the sign. At exactly 9:41a, we pulled out of the station.

amsterdam/london: arriving in Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS) from Houston Intercontinental. Houston TX (IAH)

1NOV08 Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS)

We touched down at about 10:30a and then taxied into the gate. It was not too long of a taxi, but long enough. We basically taxied from Terminal B to G, almost the length of the airport.

It was great as I got a chance to see a few airplanes:

Singapore Airlines (SQ) Boeing 777

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) Boeing 777


openskies (operated by British Airways)


Continental Airlines (CO) Boeing 767-400ER



At the gate, I disembarked and waited for my colleagues, but I must have missed them as everyone was off the plane and I had not seen them at all. I left and headed for the Immigration area near Terminal F.

When I got there, I saw them in the line. They went through security before me, so I missed them again. I did see them again though at the train ticket counter. I got my ticket into the city for 6.40 EUR for a Weekend return (it used to be 5.60 EUR), bade them goodbye and headed to the ticket counter to get an airline ticket for my journey to London tomorrow. Once I was done with that, I then headed back to the train station for the next train to Schipol which was waiting on the track. In a minute, it departed.

amsterdam/london: At Houston Intercontinental. Houston TX (IAH)

At the airport, I proceeded through security and as the TSA agent as not paying attention, my computer fell to the floor. I called it to their attention and one agent claimed it was my fault. of course I was angry about it, but remained calm. The drop had pulled the battery cover over and now it was hanging by one screw.

After a long talk, they gave me a card so I can email the TSA. I will wait until I am more calm to do so. I then proceed to the Presidents Club where a beverage calmed me down.

I will get to the gate in a bit.

amsterdam/london: driving to the airport

We left work about 4:40p and headed to the airport. Traffic was pretty bad as we headed out, but as we too the HOV lane we had no issues arriving at the airport at about 5:45p.

Where to go this weekend?

Well, I have a few choices this weekend, Sweden/London or Amsterdam/London or Houston/London.

Looks like Amsterdam/London has won out.

Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 2008: Munich International, Munich Germany (MUC) to London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR)

LH3233 26OCT08 Munich International, Munich Germany (MUC) to London-Heathrow International, London England (LHR) 9:15a 10:25a 321 D-AISG

Flight Time: 1:30
Seat Map

By the time we boarded it was about 8:55a. We had to go down the stairs to a waiting bus. When I got there, the driver closed the door and advised that I had to wait for the next bus. There were now about 7 of us left; we were the last 7 passengers.

In a few minutes, another bus arrived and we were on our way. eventually, we got to the hardstand and walked up the steps to the waiting Airbus A321-200.

The flight attendant said "good morning' in German and I replied in English and walked past the two rows of Business Class seats which held eight passengers. A curtain separated them from the Economy class in a 3-3 configuration. The cabin before the Exit door and mid-cabin lavatory had five rows with the lst row on the right having only two seats. The normal aisle seat is replaced by a backward facing flight attendant jumpseat.

We settled in and the main door soon closed at about 9:12a. A minute later, the Captain came on the PA and was saying something lengthy in German. I turned to my colleague and told him that this does not sound good at all. Also, i am sure that the Captain's English version will be uber short.

Well, I was right. The English version said that we were delayed for 13 minutes due to fog and his speech lasted only a few minutes.

At 9:30a, we pushed back and just before that the flight attendants did the demo manually as this aircraft does not have any entertainment system.

Our taxi out to the runway started at 9:37a. Once at the threshold for runway 26R, we waited. On my right, I could also see a Lufthansa Regional CRJ-900 waiting its turn. In a few minutes, it left and then we waited.

It was 9:51a when we made it to runway 26R and took to the skies.

It was nice as we broke through the fog and the clouds and could see the mountains off in the distance and part of the fog/clouds allowing a smoke stack through. I tried to take a picture, but to no avail.

At 10:02a, the meal service commenced with a ham sandwich and a chocolate bar. You can have whatever beverage you desired; alcohol or otherwise.

At about 10:14a, we leveled off at our cruisin' altitude.

I just realized that I am heading for the U.K. and have a bit of time there and did not bring my U.K. plug.

This means I cannot charge my devices while we wait for the next flight in the U.K. And British Airways does not have outlets onboard so I can charge during the flight, that is a bummer.

I was really tired so I fell asleep. I awoke when we were already descending into Heathrow.

Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 2008: Arriving in Munich International, Munich Germany (MUC) from Kiev

26OCT08 Munich International, Munich Germany (MUC)

We touched down softly at 7:50a (Munich is 1 hour behind Kiev) and I was awoken to see whiteout through the window. Thank God for instrument landing systems. You literally could not see anything outside. In a few minutes, we made it to our gate miraculously and parked at about 7:57a.

We disembarked and made our way to gate G-41 which was actually behind a security area. As we made our way through security, the guy in front of us told the agent that he had some alcohol that he had just bought in

Kiev at the duty free place. The agent looked at the sealed bag and asked where he was going. He said he was

going to Canada. She then left adn when she came back, she told him that he canot take it with him as Kiev

was not a part of the European Union. Annoyed, he told them to thrash it as he would have to check his bag by first entering the country and going outside to the check-in counter.

Finally, we got through security only to be stalled again by another guy who had a knife in his bag. His kids also had after shave which turned out to be O.K. as they had them in the approved bag.

Once the line started to roll again, I took up my stuff and went downstairs to the gates. The agent told us to wait a bit for our seat so we did.

The boarding process started at about 8:38a with a group of young girls.

Once everyone had boarded, we were told to board as we had been cleared. We did and got two seats next to each other.

Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 2008: Arriving in Amsterdam Schipol International Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS) from Houston, TX (IAH)

25OCT08 Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS)

We touched down at about 11:23a on the Center runway. Excellent, as now we don't have far to go to our gate. In no time, we were at gate G4. We disembarked, checked the gate and headed to D5.

On our way there, I ran into my colleague who was on the original trip with us to Kiev. He had flown into London-Gatwick on the last Continental flight the day before. He then took a British Airways (BA) flight to Amsterdam. He hang out with us for a bit.

At the gate, there was a line so we went back to the Transfer Desk to check-in in. After a while we used the kiosk to do so and then headed back to the gate. Since it was only about noon, we headed to the KLM Crown Lounge. As our colleague did not have a Presidents Club card and we were not allowed any guests, he waited for us outside. We hung out there for a bit having a little breakfast.

We then headed back to the gate, got our boarding passes, bade goodbye to our colleague and boarded.

Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 2008: Arriving in Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

By 5:49p, we were through security and headed for Presidents Club for a relaxed after beverage. Our colleague was going to London on the 6:25p, so she bade us goodbye and headed for gate E-4.

My other colleague and I hung out in the Club for a while longer as our flight was not until 7:10p. We chatted, I updated the blog and in no time, it was 6:40p so we headed out to gate E-20 for our flight.

When we got to the gate, we waited a bit and secured two seats together in the Economy class cabin. We boarded right away.

Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 2008: Leaving downtown Houston

Downtown Houston, TX

It was 4:46p when we all met up downstairs. In no time, we were battling traffic on I-45 heading for I-10.

It is always difficult to get across I-10 quickly enough so that we can make the US59 exit on the left. No one wants to let us in at all.

Eventually we made our way over passing those same drivers who would not let us in. Amazing huh?

We arrived at the airport parking facility at 5:25p and Terminal E at 5:40p.

Kiev, Ukraine Oct. 2008

A few months back, we tried to get to Ukraine, but that fell through as we had arrived late in Paris and missed the flight.

So now we are going to try to do this again starting tomorrow via Amsterdam as the flights out of Paris are quite full. Coming back will be interesting as well since we have to go either through Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) with Lufthansa or via Munich, Germany (MUC) then to London and then to Houston on British Airways (BA).

Only two from the original three will make the attempt this time around.

Looking at maps.google.com, we noticed that there is actually no street maps of Kiev available. Last time this happened was when I was looking at map information for Tel Aviv, Israel.

A possible trip to Chihuahua, Mexico (CUU)

I was going to see my friend Alexis who was in Chihuahua, Mexico (CUU) for a meeting. I had decided it was not possible as the flight would arrive back in Houston at 9:02a this morning giving me no time to get to work ontime.

Well, it rained like crazy last night and when I got to work a friend told me that the outbound flight was actually canceled. So I would not have been able to go anyways.

I'll have to plan on doing CUU at another time.

The Google Android G1 Phone: Arriving in Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) from San Antonio, TX (SAT)

Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

We touched down at about 6:35a and was in the gate by 6:39a, one minute late.

As we taxied in, I tried the GPS once more and it was still giving an error. I touched "My Location" once more and it revealed that I was actually north of the airport close to Farm Road 1960. Weird. I was clearly on an airport taxiway which I could see on the map.

Once at the gate, I gathered my stuff and headed out. I called up Metro (it was quicker than navigating their Web site) and found out that I had just missed a bus but the next one was in 13 minutes. I went down stairs and noticed that Metro had now hired their own airport staff and had moved their sign from under the Super Shuttle area; good move I think. I asked the guy if I could top up my card and he said yes, so I did. He said that his opening hours were 6:00a to 8:40p.

I then thanked him and headed out to the bus stop. Like clockwork, at 6:56a, the 102 arrived. I was able to play with the GPS on the way home. It was funny as it had difficulty find my location a few times.

The Google Android G1 Phone: San Antonio International, San Antonio TX (SAT) to Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

CO278 22OCT08 San Antonio International, San Antonio TX (SAT) to Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) 5:45a 6:38a 738 N??225

Flight Time: 0:32
Seat Map

I greeted the flight attendants as I walked past the 19 passengers in the First Class cabin in a 2-2 configuration of leather seats. It appears that one person was running late as there was an empty seat. Or maybe there is one more upgrade to go.

I was sitting close to the front of the plane at a window seat, so I asked the guy at the aisle to allow me into my cloth seat in a 3-3 configuration, and he did. Morning flights are so weird as everyone is so sleepy and this flight was no exception.

We pushed back at 5:40a as the safety demonstration played then and headed out to runway 12R. We waited for a bit and then we took to the runway. It was actually a long bit. As we took of you could see about eight Southwest Airlines (WN) Boeing 737s at the gates; all with winglets. The same for Continental; there was even a Boeing 737-500, aircraft 653 with winglets.

As soon as we buzzed 10,000', I checked the map on the phone and noticed that it still said we were in SAT. The phone was in airplane mode so it was fine and GPS devices are allowed above 10,000'. Later, I got an error message that said 'i Attention There is a connection problem...we'll keep trying", bummer.

The Captain came on a few minutes after takeoff and advised we were at our cruising altitude. Beverages were offered, but I declined as I had already ate at the Presidents Club moments ago.

It was 6:12a when we commenced our descent by the indication of the seat belt signs being turned on.

The Captain and the flight attendant noted that our arrival gate was C24.

It was amazing to see outside as there was traffic backups on all the major highways I could see. Amazing how many people are up at this hour. This area really needs a major mass transit infusion. I wished I could have used the GPS at that time; but we were below 10,000' so that was a no-no.

It looked like we made a really wide circle as I thought I saw the San Jacinto Monument as well as lights from the refineries near the coast before we made it into the airport.

The Google Android G1 Phone: Arriving in San Antonio International from San Antonio, TX

22OCT08 San Antonio International, San Antonio TX (SAT)

We made our way to the Terminal 2 through the construction barriers. My friend tells me that they are going to expand Terminal 1; get rid of the existing Terminal 2 and rebuild it. Oh what a mess.

I collected my boarding pass and then made my way to the gate, stopping at the Presidents Club for breakfast first. I did not think it would be open, but it had opened at 4:45a. Good deal, I thought. I messed around with the phone a bit as I ate.

At 5:20a, I made my way down to the gate and went straight on board with a slight delay due to congestion in the jetway.

The Google Android G1 Phone: Departing San Antonio, TX

22OCT08 San Antonio, TX

I awoke and looked at the time on the phone, it was 4:12a, three minutes before the alarm was set. My friend set it last night, so I'll have to figure this out later. He was intrigued that there were so many settings. The good thing about the alarm, is that each time you use the phone, you are reminded of the alarm time. We were laughing that the phone actually told you how many hours to the alarm time; smart alec!

I pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep knowing that in 3 minutes the alarm would go off. Sure enough it did although it seemed like forever.

I got ready and we left the house at 4:40a phone in hand and headed for the airport. Traffic was extremely light and we had no issues. Taking the time to catch up some more and using the G1 to denote our position. It did work this time and showed our progress as a flashing dot on the map. We verified with neighboring streets that it was indeed correct. Strange how last night it did not show us where we were when we had it in directions mode. It even showed the airport with runways and all.

At 5:00a, we turned off the highway and into the airport.

The Google Android G1 Phone: My thoughts

The gPhone (that is my name for the G1 :-)) is O.K. it was not too intuitive to figure out how to change the battery and I could not get to the little flap open that covers the storage card. Eventually a friend of mine opened it and used the stylus for his phone to remove it and then used it to put it back in.

My fingers seem to be too big for the web items, but it does have a feature that can zoom out so that should help.

It does fit in my shirt and pants pocket so that is a good thing and once I figure it out I can blog. I can also access the net from almost anywhere and blog too. So watch for this blog to come mostly from there although the typing is a bit clugy at times.

It does not have a flash on the camera, so I have not had a chance to take a picture just yet as everywhere I've been is always dark.

My friend here in San Antonio is more excited about that I am :-).