This past week, I had the privilege of flying in one of Embraer’s newest aircraft, the E190. This aircraft, owned and operated by US Airways, replaced the 737-400 on the Philadelphia to West Palm Beach route. The seats were all leather, and provided comfy space. The layout gives first class passengers plenty of space and manages to provide the space of a 737 to economy passengers. Also note that the aircraft is fuel efficient, which is a leading reason why US Airways has begun to replace it’s classic 737-300s and 737-400s with the Embraer 190 and the Airbus A32X series.
Next, I would like to talk about airports. Now there is a lot of speculation going around about Philadelphia International Airport and their service, but I must say that the airport has improved a good amount since I last traveled in March 2008. Over time, the baggage handling has been more efficient than ever before and the flights have fewer ground delays than before, except for departures at certain time periods. During the leg out, I sat on the ground for 45 minutes, watching the queue of approximately 20 aircraft, waiting to takeoff from 27L. The 11am departure time became 11:45am. One thing is for certain, departing traffic has plenty delays. Arriving traffic, on the other hand, has no problem getting to the gate in a timely manner. No more do you have to wait for 15 minutes for a gate agent to arrive at the Jetway, that has improved as well, and I was off the plane within 5 minutes of the full-stop at the gate.
In a previous article, I stressed that regional / small airports are the easiest to fly out of. This is still true. Palm Beach International (PBI) was efficient in every way; the bags were unloaded quickly, no delays, etc. However, one trend that I’m beginning to notice at small airports is that the level of TSA is heightened. It’s not such a bad thing, it’s just interesting to note. Also note that I’m not questioning the level of performance the TSA offers at large airports, they still get the job done, just with a better attitude.
Now on to US Airways. The gate agent was very kind; I needed to get my dividend miles number logged into the flight so I’d get miles. The departure delay was PHL and not US Airways. However, I applaud US Airways for getting my family and I to Palm Beach on-time, even with the delay. The ride back was great as well. The service on-board is still excellent, but I was surprised to find that they did not offer any meals for purchase. I didn’t run into any extra fees, which was nice. Oh and, I have to thank the boys in the cockpit of the Embraer 190 that we flew to PBI for this:
Overall, it was a great vacation.
Image (In paragraph): jetphotos.net
