Day Trip to Baltimore

Hello readers!

Since we did not have school last Friday, I traveled to see my friend in Baltimore, MD. He graduated from Embry-Riddle last spring and is currently the station manager of a ground handling company at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI). I spent the afternoon touring with him.

We first started inside the airport where there is a small museum open to the public before the TSA security checkpoint. The Observation Gallery is located between Concourse B and C on the upper level. It features a small observation deck that faces a portion of the airport’s apron.

Observation Gallery (Source: Baltimore Washington International Airport)

Observation Gallery (Credits: Baltimore Washington International Airport)

After the quick museum tour, we went on to the ramp and drove around on the apron. It’s fun to be a passenger inside the airport but it’s also fun to be in the real action of the things thats are going on around an aircraft at the gate. I have always been interested at airline operations at the gate. Ever since I am young, I always sit next to the window at the gate and look outside.

There is a lot going on from the time an aircraft gets marshalled to the gate to the time it gets pushed back from the gate. Depending on the aircraft size, the ground crew only has less than an hour to deplane the passengers of the arriving flight, unload the bags, fuel and clean the aircraft, receive the inflight catering, board passengers and load the bags for the next departure.

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Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER during turnaround for its evening flight back to Seattle-Tacoma. (Credits: Author)

As the Alaska aircraft was being pushed back from the gate, it was already time for me to catch my flight to go back to Daytona. I really enjoyed my experience during my short visit. I had been on the ramp previously but not as close as I did on Friday.

More Adventures
Next week, I’m off to South America with my brother for the Thanksgiving break. Stay tuned for more blogs about my next trip! You can follow me on Snapchat and Instagram @montrealspotter for live pictures.

Until next time!

Nicolas

A weekend in Texas

Hello, again!

I wanted to let y’all know what I did last weekend. Of course, I had to embark on another non-rev adventure! Since it was a long weekend, I had originally planned to go to Honolulu for three days. However, this time around, I wasn’t as successful. I ended up not making it on the flight Friday night, and decided not to risk it Saturday morning.

I knew that I definitely wanted to travel, so I looked for a different destination. I ended up going to San Antonio, Texas! I have always wanted to go to San Antonio, and this was the perfect weekend. My sister and I took a flight Saturday morning, and arrived in Texas that evening. We frantically booked a hotel before we boarded the flight, so when we got there, we took an Uber to the hotel downtown. It was a quick ten minute drive to downtown, which was really nice!

Once we got our room, we went out to the River Walk. The first thing we did was ride a boat down the river. It was an awesome way to discover what all was along the river! It was also nice to have a breeze in your face, since it was 104 degrees! We had a great boat captain who told us about the history of San Antonio, as well as pointed out some local restaurants. After the boat ride, we went to eat dinner. Everywhere was packed, so we just had to choose a restaurant and hope for the best. We ended up going to a BBQ restaurant that had the most delicious ribs! Since we ate so much food, we decided to walk around the River Walk for awhile and look at the shops. There were people everywhere, and it was 11:30pm!

The next day, we woke up early and went to find the Alamo. We were told that it was right around the corner from our hotel, however it took us awhile to find it! The street signs were pretty confusing, but we eventually decided to follow the crowds, and we ended up in front of the Alamo (I was surprised that it was located right downtown). There was a line to get inside, but it was worth the wait! You could feel the history when you walked inside. It was incredible. I would’ve loved to have shown you the inside, but photography was not allowed. Once we were done looking around, we walked from the Alamo to Market Square.

My sister and I at the Alamo

My sister and I at the Alamo

Market Square is about a mile away from the Alamo, so you can imagine that it was a long walk in the heat. I was so excited once we got to the Square because it was filled with decorations and food! I felt like I was in Mexico. The shops were incredible, and there was a Mexican market that had really cool handcrafted items. My sister and I ended up eating lunch at a very popular Tex Mex restaurant in Market Square, called Mi Tierra. We had to wait about an hour, but it was SO worth it!! I would go back in a heartbeat.

Market Square

Market Square

Our next decision was not the best. We thought it would be a good idea to walk from Market Square to the Tower of Americas, which is a tower with an observatory at the top (like the Space Needle). It was about a mile and a half walk. We ended up getting lost, since there was construction blocking our route. We got to the Tower eventually, and we were so tired!! After waiting outside in the heat, we were finally able to get up to the top of the tower. The view of San Antonio was awesome! You could see the Alamo Dome, downtown, and all of the scenery surrounding the city.

Tower of the Americas

Tower of the Americas

The view from the top of the tower

The view from the top of the tower

With that, our journey to San Antonio was pretty much over. I am so glad that I got to experience the Alamo City. It was another city checked off of my bucket list!

Now, where should I go this weekend? I’ll let you know where I end up!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Visiting Virgin America

Some of you may have heard about the planned merger of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America that was announced in April. When the merger was announced, I was actually at the Alaska Airlines headquarters in Seattle for an interview. I remember the excitement that I felt while I was there; everyone was nervous and curious about the next steps.

Well, a few months into the merger, I can say it is still a very exciting time at Alaska Airlines. It couldn’t have been a better summer to be an intern at Alaska. As has been mentioned in the media, Alaska Airlines is trying to learn more about the Virgin America brand, and what makes people love it. One of the ways they are doing that is by visiting Virgin America in San Francisco.

I was lucky enough to have the privilege of traveling to San Francisco with the department I am working in. One day, a few weeks ago, we flew on Virgin America to San Francisco in the morning. I had never flown on VX before, so I was excited to experience it. When you walk onto the aircraft, it’s dark, and the cabin has pink and blue mood lighting. There was techno music playing while the guests were finding their seats. Once you sat down, the entertainment system in the back of the seat greeted you, and was ready for you to order drinks, play games, or watch TV. I was very impressed with the different type of atmosphere that VX had to offer, versus traditional carriers. Another thing I liked was how comfortable and wide the seats were. We flew on an A320 on the way to SFO, and I was amazed by how much room it had.

In-seat entertainment system

In-seat entertainment system

View out the window of the American flag sharklet

View out the window of the American flag sharklet

Once we arrived in San Francisco, we went to lunch at a small little Chinese dumpling place close to the airport. It was delicious! After we were done with lunch, it was time to head to the Virgin America office. I was impressed with the modern style of the offices. They really encompassed the Virgin America brand. It was also great because you could watch the planes on approach into SFO over the bay, right from the break room!

Outside of the VX Headquarters

Outside of the VX Headquarters

Shortly after our tour, we were headed back to SFO to catch a flight up to SEA. It couldn’t have been a better trip, as the weather in San Francisco was beautiful. I really enjoyed the experience of flying on an airline I had never flown before. I had also never been to SFO, and I discovered that I really like the airport. It was very modern and spacious.

Needless to say, I am very excited about the future of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America. I cannot wait to see what the West Coast’s premier airline of the future looks like.

Until next time,

Lindsey

Internship Update

Hey everyone!

I realize it’s been a month since I’ve last written, but it’s been a busy month! I started my internship with Alaska Airlines on May 31st, and have been working full time ever since. I am officially halfway done with the internship, and I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast! I have been loving every minute of it.

Most of the things I am working on are day-to-day type work, which I cannot say much about. However, I also worked on a benchmarking project, and have been helping my manager out with some of his projects.

One of my favorite things I have done so far is taken a Capacity Planning class. It was a full day class, which was an overview of airline capacity planning. It included network planning, scheduling, and strategy. One of the reasons I liked it so much was because any employee from Alaska Airlines could sign up to attend. I was able to meet flight attendants, gate agents, mechanics, and other corporate employees. The class started off with a surprise tour of the Boeing Renton Factory, which is not open to the public. This location is where Boeing manufactures all of their 737s. It just so happened that Alaska Airlines had an airplane that was being manufactured while we were on the tour! After the tour, we went back to Alaska Airlines headquarters to get back to class. One of the activities involved getting into groups and creating a new market for Alaska Airlines to fly, theoretically. It was interesting to see the data behind why (or why not) the market we came up with would be profitable.

Boeing Renton Factory

Boeing Renton Factory

Another one of my favorite events has been the maintenance tour. As interns, we all got to go for a tour of the Alaska Maintenance Hangar at Sea-Tac. There was a brand new 737-900ER delivery in the hangar that day, so we got to take pictures of it, as well as go on board. I always love the new airplane smell! We were able to see where they store all of the parts for the planes, as well as how they do engine maintenance. But my favorite part of the tour was getting to go on board the 737-400 Combi. This is an aircraft that is very unique. It holds 4 huge cargo boxes in the front of the aircraft, just behind the cockpit, and 76 passengers in the rear. It is used to fly up to Alaska, where it delivers a lot of food to the towns. They will soon be retiring, so it was awesome to get to go inside of one before they disappear.

Some of the AS interns with the new delivery in the hangar

Some of the AS interns with the new delivery in the hangar

Standing in front of the 737-900ER engine

Standing in front of the 737-900ER engine

Inside the 737-400 Combi cargo area

Inside the 737-400 Combi cargo area

At the halfway point of my internship, I can honestly say Alaska Airlines is a great place to work. The company is doing well and adding new and exciting markets to their network. They also have some of the best employees in the business. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to work at such an awesome company, and learn from some of the best.

Until next time,

Lindsey

First Non-rev Adventure: Juneau, AK

As you know, I am currently on internship with Alaska Airlines for the summer. Most airlines give their interns flight benefits for the summer, and thankfully, Alaska Airlines is one of those airlines! So, of course, I am going to take advantage of the benefits.

When you are blessed with flight benefits, there is a specific way in which you go about actually getting on a flight. These procedures vary from airline to airline, but are normally pretty similar. You list for your flight, which indicates to the gate agents that you would like a seat on the plane. Then, you frantically check the flights throughout the day to make sure there are still seats open, hope no one with more non-rev status than you shows up for the flight, and pray that no one buys a ticket last minute (you can imagine how stressful it can get). You are called a “non-rev”, short for non-revenue passenger. This means, you are flying standby, and not paying for your seat on the flight. Flying standby is an art form. It requires you to be very knowledgeable about the flight schedules, hubs, and weight restrictions on different routes. It is not acceptable to miss work on Monday because you were non-reving and got stranded somewhere. Therefore, you have to get creative. Which is why it is sometimes referred to as the non-rev adventure or non-rev challenge.

For my first non-rev trip, I decided to play it safe. I definitely didn’t want to get stranded my first time. So, I decided to take a day trip up to Juneau, Alaska. Since Alaska Airlines was born in Alaska, and is a vital resource for so many people up there, I thought it would be a good idea to understand the Alaskan culture. There are quite a few trips up to Juneau from Seattle during a weekend, so I knew I would definitely be able to make it back in time for work on Monday.

Alaska Airlines also gives companion passes to interns, so I got to take my mom to Juneau with me. We woke up early Saturday morning and caught the 7:00 AM flight to Juneau. I was ecstatic when I found out we were going to be flying on a Combi! I had heard that the flight up to Juneau was supposed to be beautiful, because you fly over the mountains and along the river, but it was cloudy when we went.

Juneau airport

Juneau airport

Once we arrived in Juneau, which is a tiny little airport, we took a taxi up to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was absolutely beautiful! It sits between two hills, and flows down into the lake below. There was also a big waterfall off to the right of it. We walked the trails around the glacier for about an hour, and then decided to head into town. We ended up having to walk 1.5 miles down the hill to the bus stop, where we could catch the bus to downtown. The bus ride took about an hour just to go a few miles, since there were so many stops, but it was cool because we got to see some areas we otherwise wouldn’t have.

Mendenhall Glacier in the background

Mendenhall Glacier in the background

Waterfall next to the glacier

Waterfall next to the glacier

Once we got to town, we walked around all of the shops. We were surprised by the large crowds, but later realized it was because there were four cruise ships there. You could easily tell that the town lives off of tourism, because all of the shops were selling tourist items. For lunch, we went to a famous crab shack on the water. I had shrimp bisque and my mom had the crab cakes. They were to die for! After looking in all of the shops, it was almost dinner time, so we went to a food truck selling fish tacos. Once again, they were wonderful! I loved the fresh fish that were in them. After dinner, we took a taxi back to the airport, where we would catch our evening flight back to Seattle.

It was an amazing day trip, and a successful non-rev adventure. I would definitely recommend everyone go to Alaska at least once, whether it’s for a day or an entire vacation. It really is a whole different way of living. Each city has something special to offer, whether it’s whale watching, glaciers, hiking, fishing, or just a unique atmosphere. If you do decide to go up to the great state of Alaska, I also recommend flying on Alaska Airlines (I might be a little bit biased)!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Summer Plans: Alaska Airlines

Summer is upon us, although it doesn’t feel like it in Seattle. I have been home in Seattle for about two weeks and I still have not gotten used to the chilly weather! So far, my summer has consisted of watching a lot of Netflix and reading. It’s been nice to have a few weeks off from the hustle and bustle of school. However, I’m ready to get started with my summer internship (and not-so-ready to start my online, ERAU Worldwide International Business class)!

As I have mentioned before, I will be the Schedule Planning Intern at Alaska Airlines this summer. Being from Seattle, I have flown on Alaska all my life, since Seattle is their main hub. I have always loved the customer service that Alaska provides, as well as their company culture (and the signature cheese platters they offer in-flight)! Needless to say, I feel very blessed to be able to work as an intern for my hometown airline for the summer.

Alaska Airlines 737 at Sea-Tac Intl. Airport last summer

Of course, people have asked me what I am doing over the summer. When I told them I will be a Schedule Planning Intern for an airline, I discovered that many people who are unfamiliar with airlines’ corporate operations are not quite sure what schedule planning is…

A basic overview: schedule planning consists of creating the schedule that the airline will operate each day, over a few month’s time. For example, this summer the schedule planning group may be working on creating the schedule for the winter months. When creating the schedule, many different aspects of the operation are taken into consideration. Crew, maintenance, aircraft turnaround times, passenger loads, gate space, and optimal departure/arrival times are just some of the pieces that are factored into a schedule. Another major component of the schedule is which aircraft will be flying each route. Alaska Airlines’ mainline fleet is comprised of Boeing 737s. However, Horizon Air, the regional/sister airline for Alaska, operates Q400s. SkyWest also operates E175s for Alaska Airlines. The interesting part about schedule planning is that it is one big puzzle. In order to operate a profitable flight schedule, all of these factors need to be carefully considered.

What is especially exciting about working at Alaska Airlines this summer, is the recent news about Alaska Airlines and Virgin America coming together. I am excited to see how the two west coast airlines will begin to merge, and create the dominant airline of the west coast.

Alaska Airlines refreshed livery-last summer at Boeing Field before the delivery flight of this aircraft

Of course, an awesome feature of being an intern for an airline is the flight benefits. Alaska Airlines, like many other airlines, provides flight benefits to interns. I have not received the details yet, but I am excited to be able to start using those benefits once I start working. I have already looked at the destinations I am hoping to travel to this summer, so let’s hope some of them work out!

As you can tell, I am stoked to get started with this internship! I’ll be starting on May 31st, and will be sure to update you on how my first day goes.

Until next time,

Lindsey

Summer plans: Seattle bound

It’s that time again. Tomorrow is the last day of class for the Spring semester, which means Finals week is right around the corner… I’m in need of a break from studying, so I decided to fill everyone in on what I will be doing this summer!

First of all, it has been my goal all year to get an internship with an airline this summer. I had interviewed with many airlines, but none of the positions I applied for were the right fit for me. Most of them did not incorporate what I was interested in. Needless to say, by March, I was losing hope in getting an internship for the summer, since it seemed like all positions had already been filled. However, I knew I still had one last shot… And it was at my dream company.

I applied for an Alaska Airlines summer internship in the beginning of March, and was contacted for a phone interview a couple weeks later. After I completed the phone interview, I was fortunate enough to move onto the in-person interview. Unfortunately, I was not able to fly out to Alaska Airlines’ headquarters in Seattle, so I was able to do a Skype interview, instead. Thankfully, the Skype interview went well, and I was chosen to be flown out to Seattle.

So, one of the first Sundays in April, I hopped on an Alaska Airlines flight from MCO to SEA. After 5.5 hours, I finally made it to Washington. I was so excited to be in Washington, even if it was just for the day, since Washington is home to me. Monday morning I woke up and went to Alaska Airlines headquarters. I had been to the headquarters last summer, as the Port of Seattle interns had the opportunity to visit and take a tour. Once I got to headquarters, I was ecstatic. I had been dreaming about having an internship with Alaska Airlines for almost two years! I was eager to meet the managers who I had spoken with over Skype a week earlier.

It turns out I picked a pretty good day to visit headquarters, as it was the day that Alaska Airlines announced it was acquiring Virgin America. There were news cameras everywhere, and I got to see the CEO speaking in the press conference through the window. Everyone was buzzing with excitement! There was even an employee rally to discuss the acquisition. The moment I walked into the building and felt the excitement and energy, I knew Alaska Airlines was the company for me. Lucky enough for me, I was offered the internship position after I left headquarters. I cannot even describe how excited I was when I got the call!

I will be starting my summer internship with Alaska Airlines in May. The position I will be in is the Schedule Planning intern. A brief overview of the position is: working with the Alaska and Horizon schedules months in advance before they are published, benchmarking Alaska Airlines against other carriers, and other related tasks. Ever since I took the Airline Management class last semester, I have been fascinated with Schedule and Network Planning for airlines, so I am ecstatic that I will be able to gain some experience this summer!

Needless to say, things seem to work out for a reason. I had almost lost all hope in a summer internship, but just when I was about to give up, the opportunity I had been hoping for presented itself. I am humbled and grateful that this opportunity came my way, and I can’t wait to get started on it.

I will definitely keep you updated with how my internship is going! Hopefully I will also get to share some travel pictures from new destinations this summer!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Flying high over WA State

Over the past two weeks, I have been spending a lot of time in the air. Although I’m not a pilot, I will never skip a chance to go flying. One of the best experiences I’ve ever had flying happened just two weeks ago.

Because Alaska Airlines operates over half of the flights at Sea-Tac International Airport, the two businesses have a close relationship. I’m thankful for this because Alaska Airlines took all of the interns (Port of Seattle, Alaska Airlines, and Horizon Airlines) on a delivery flight! Most people in the aviation industry never have the chance to go on a delivery flight of an aircraft, so I am very grateful I had the opportunity to.

The day started off at Alaska Airlines Headquarters, right across the road from Sea-Tac. We got to see all around the corporate building, then we got on a bus to head over to the Boeing 737 factory in Renton, WA. Boeing doesn’t offer public tours of the Renton factory, so it was pretty awesome to get to see inside. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos, so I don’t have any to share with you all. After the tour, we headed over to the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle. It is one of the best flight museums in the country. My favorite part is the 787 Dreamliner and Air Force 1 that they have on display for people to walk through outside. Have any of you ever been inside a 787? They’re huge!

Hanging out at Alaska Airlines Headquarters

Hanging out at Alaska Airlines Headquarters

A quote I love at the Museum of Flight

A quote I love at the Museum of Flight

After we were all toured out, we got on the bus and headed over to the Boeing Delivery Center building at Boeing Field. From there, we were able to go out on the ramp and meet our ride for the next hour. It was a brand new Boeing 737-900ER. We were able to take pictures in front of the aircraft, in the engines, as well as inside of the landing gear! It was amazing to see all of the wiring that goes into just the landing gear.

New Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER

New Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER

The wiring for the landing gear!

The wiring for the landing gear!

Sitting in the engine

Sitting in the engine

Once we had taken all the pictures we could, we boarded the aircraft. Just like new cars, it had that “new airplane” smell. We were able to sit wherever we wanted and roam about the cabin. Our flight route was leaving from Boeing Field, flying over the Cascade Mountain Range, and then looping back to Paine Field in Everett, were there are more Boeing factories.

Port of Seattle interns on the flight

Port of Seattle interns on the flight

During the flight, we were able to ride jump seat and talk to the pilots. Boeing also gave out gift bags with goodies and a full meal. It was awesome! We even played trivia over the speaker inside the aircraft. It was such a long, aviation-filled day, but I will remember it for a lifetime. I hope everyone gets the chance to go on a delivery flight, because you truly get to appreciate all of the work that goes into creating a brand new aircraft.

Up in the flight deck

Up in the flight deck

Now I mentioned I’ve been doing a lot of flying lately. I also was able to go on a few GA flights over the past few weeks. The first, we just did a few loops around my town and over the lake where I live. It’s crazy how different things look from the air!

The second GA flight I went on was incredible. We took a 172 up to Seattle and did a scenic waterfront flight. Normally, if anyone wanted to go on a Seattle flight, it would cost hundreds of dollars per person. However, the beauty of knowing pilots is that you get that whole experience and more, for a lot less! We flew north over Tacoma, the Puget Sound, around and under the Bravo airspace at Sea-Tac, and up to Seattle. It was so pretty, especially because we went at sunset. Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in the country, and its even better from the air! We couldn’t get enough in just one fly-by, so we looped around for about 30 minutes, taking pictures and admiring the city from above.

Seattle waterfront from above

Seattle waterfront from above

Just a few friends in a 172

Just a few friends in a 172

Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

 

A few years ago, I never would’ve thought I would be where I am today. I mean a delivery flight?! That’s a dream come true. Then flying over Seattle with some of my best friends, I never would’ve guessed. When I get to reflect back on all of the amazing aviation experiences I have had, I feel so blessed to be attending ERAU, where I’m making my dreams come true one by one. It is incredible all of the opportunities Riddle has given me, just in my first year. I cannot wait for the aviation-filled years to come!

Until next time,

Lindsey