The Flying Critic

ICN Airport - Daily Travel Photo

Inside ICN airport.

Busy SLC - Daily Travel Photo

Salt Lake City (SLC) Airport.

Ruby's Diner in Terminal 6 @ LAX - Daily Travel Photo

While the prices might be high, the Ruby's Diner in Terminal 6 at LAX is a great place to eat a burger and watch the tarmac.

United IFL Snacks at NRT - Daily Travel Photo

Who says United's lounges don't have food?  Here are some of the offerings at United's International First Class lounge at NRT.

United 747 at Tokyo Narita International Airport - Daily Travel Photo

United 747 at Tokyo Narita International Airport

Gate D2 at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) - Daily Travel Photo

Gate D2 at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)

American Airlines/Eagle to Stop Serving 8 Airports

Today American Airlines And American Eagle Announced Additional Details Of Their Fourth Quarter Capacity Cuts:

American is reducing flights at most of its principal operations.

This announcement, combined with the previously announced round of schedule reductions, means American will close its operations entirely at three of its airports, while Eagle will close five of its airports, out of a combined total of 250 airports for both.

The airports/cities being closed are:

American – Oakland, Calif. (previously announced); London Stansted (previously announced); and Barranquilla, Colombia

American Eagle – Albany, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Samana, Dominican Republic (previously announced); and San Luis Obispo, Calif.

American Eagle will also close its maintenance base in San Luis Obispo.

Tunnel Between LAX Terminal 5 and Terminals 6, 7 and 8 - Travel Tip

Want to get between terminal 5 and terminals 6, 7 and 8 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) quickly and without needing to go through security?  Take the tunnel between terminal 5 and terminal 6.  Once you are in terminal 6 you can get to terminal 7 and 8 because they are connected.

I use the tunnel when flying United Airlines out of terminal 6 or 7 to walk over to the Delta Crown Room Club in terminal 5 to take a shower.  If you didn't know, the Delta Crown Room Club has two showers inside their LAX club.  One-visit passes are available for $30 if you don't already have access.

Here are the airlines in terminal 5, 6, 7 and 8:

Terminal 5
Aerolitoral
Aeromexico
Air Jamacia
Alitalia
Delta Air Lines

Terminal 6
Continental Airlines
Copa Airlines (Panama)
Delta Air Lines
United Airlines
Virgin America

Terminal 7
United Airlines

Terminal 8
United Express

How to find the tunnel in terminal 5

To find the tunnel in terminal 5 go to the middle of the terminal between gates 53 and 54.  Take the escalator next to the McDonald's:

How to find the tunnel in terminal 6

To find the tunnel in terminal 6 go to the middle of the terminal between gates 65 and 66 near the Hudson News and the Ruby's Diner:

The Tunnel

Take the escalator down to the tunnel level:

Walk to the other side of the long tunnel:

Follow the signs to terminal 5 or 6/7/8:

Sunflower Garden at Singapore Airport (SIN) - Daily Travel Photo

Singapore Changi International Airport has a sunflower garden on one of the observation decks.

Check-In Area at Toronto YYZ Airport - Daily Travel Photo

Check-In Area at Toronto YYZ Airport

Flight Review: Nok Air - Flying Nok Plus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and back (DMK-CNX-DMK)

Deciding Who To Fly To Chiang Mai

During a recent trip to Thailand I decided to break away from Bangkok and spend a few days in Chiang Mai.  While my first instinct was to book Thai Airways (TG), a Thai friend suggested that I try the low cost carrier Nok Air (DD). 

Nok Air uses the old airport, Don Mueang (DMK).  DMK was closer to where I was staying in Bangkok than the new Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and the price was right.  Nok Air was one third the price of Thai Airways.

So I booked the flight and selected my seat online about a month in advance. 

My round trip ticket cost 3,270 THB (~$100) after taxes.  I decided to pay an extra 500 THB (~$15) each way to upgrade to Nok Plus. 

Nok Plus is Nok Air's so-called business class.  It provides 2-2 seating instead of 3-3.  You get 30kg of checked bags instead of 15kg.  The seat pitch is 33" instead of a painful 29-32".  And you get a complimentary snack, newspaper and drink.  Not a bad deal.

Don Mueang Domestic Terminal Gate Area

This was my first experience with the domestic terminal at Don Mueang.  It's a dump.  There are no stores or restaurants past security so try and stay landside as long as possible.

The only good thing about the domestic terminal is the view of the airport:

This was my plane:

Boarding and Seats

The agents called for boarding and it was a free for all race down the jetbridge.  I was in seat 1A, the bulkhead in Nok Plus.  This was my seat:

Here is the view of the other side of row 1:

In Flight Snack

With Nok Plus (an extra $15/500THB) you get a complimentary snack, drink and newspaper.  You can see the newspaper above.  The drink was a choice of water, coffee or tea.  Here is the snack:

The Return Flight

After an enjoyable few days in Chiang Mai, it was time to take Nok Air back to Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport.

The waiting area past security at Chiang Mai is nicer than at Don Mueang.  There is a Thai Airways lounge but Nok Air passengers don't have access.   There are also several shops, a cafe, and several Internet kiosks available past security. 

A Bad Choice on Where to Sit

I decided to try a non-bulkhead row for my return flight.  Bad choice.  They call this 33" of seat pitch:

Bulkheads on Nok Air for me next time.

Nok Air Flight Attendant Delivers Snacks

After we reached our cruising altitude, the Nok flight attendants brought the complimentary snacks:

The Return Flight Snack

Conclusion

For ~$131 (THB 4270), this was an excellent deal. 

The employees were friendly.  The planes have a colorful livery.  The worst part of the experience was the old domestic terminal at Don Mueang.

The seats in Nok Plus were like old domestic first class seats in the USA.  The seat pitch was fine in the bulkhead but was lacking in the other Nok Plus rows.  It must be brutal in the main cabin. 

I would fly Nok Air again as long as Nok Plus was available and the price was competitive.

Can anyone design a good airport?

An interesting New Yorker article about the architectural and design challenges of building modern airports.