Canada | Jason Around the World

DC to Ottawa on United and Air Canada, evening in Ottawa

Airports, Canada, Chad CAR Middle East Mongolia, Flights No Responses »

Sep 132015

Ok, so this is a pretty anti-climactic start to this trip, but I finally have reasonable internet and am able to get this thing rolling. Hopefully many more parts to follow now that I’ve cleared Africa and am in the Middle East. Headed into work for a few hours in the morning to tie up a few loose ends, and then caught the silver line metro out to Dulles. No problems at all for once, TSA PreCheck worked wonders, and soon I was at the Red Carpet Club in the D Gates. This was my first time experiencing Jeff’s new catering, and…

Hommous and cheese. The hommous is a definite upgrade, but the cheese is a definite downgrade. I seriously miss my pepperjack Tillamook cheese. Boo! Only had about 15 minutes to grab a quick lunch, because it was time to board! I still hadn’t cleared the waitlist with two seats left (I same day changed about 20 hours before the flight) so I asked the agent when she cleared if she could put me in the second row…and she did it right there. Not sure what she was waiting for, but…

United Express operated by Mesa Airlines flight 5095
Washington, DC, Dulles (IAD) to Toronto, Ontario (YYZ)
Depart 12:30, Arrive 13:58, Flight Time: 1:28
Canadair CRJ-700, Registration N504MJ, Manufactured 2002, Seat 2C

Perhaps the most underwhelming flight in the history of aviation. First/business went out full, I had a glass of wine with my biscotti, watched a little tv on my iPad, and then it was time to land. The overhead bins on the CRJ-700 were just large enough for my rolling bag, so life was good and I was off to immigration. NEXUS lines were no problem at all, through very quickly, got a new boarding pass from the Air Canada agent in the checkin area, and was off to security and the lounge.

No line at all in security for the NEXUS lane, was through very quickly, and up to the lounge. The lounge agent said the agent in customs was wrong, and yes, it’s possible to stand by now on ALL fares in the “triangle” of Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto. She kindly put me on the waitlist for an hour earlier, and I was hoping it wouldn’t be too much of a wait. But, while I did, it was time for a make-your-own ceasar…extra spicy!

Yes, that’s right, more hommous. Clearly Star Alliance has stocked up on it in bulk, and every single airline is feeding it in the lounge. Still hadn’t cleared the waitlist, so 40 minutes before my new flight headed down to the gate where I saw this beauty in the old Trans-Canada Airlines colours:

Asked the agent if I’d cleared, and he was rude and said “I’ll call you when I call you” so I waited…then everyone was boarded. So I asked again: “well, you’re not on my list!” Ugh. Few seats left, however, and he managed to clear me to an economy plus middle, so life was good enough. I was an hour earlier than planned, and sandwiched in between two pilots, so can’t complain overly much…let’s see, however, if my miles ever post!

Air Canada flight 458
Toronto, Ontario (YYZ) to Ottawa, Ontario (YOW)
Depart 16:10, Arrive 17:12, Flight Time: 1:02
Airbus A319-100, Registration C-FZUH, Manufactured 1997, Seat 14B

Again, totally uneventful flight. Glass (not can) of Diet Coke and some pretzels, and before I knew it we were landing in Ottawa. Was nice to spend the evening with a group of old friends catching up, starting with beer flights at Jack Astors:

Moved on to a group dinner at Mill Street Brewpub and more flights, followed by the Northern Lights show at Parliament. Managed to get a couple of great shots near the end of the Northern Lights show:

By this point I was absolutely exhausted from a half day of work, travel and a long evening of catching up with old friends. Managed to crash on a friend’s couch absolutely passed out for nearly eight hours, ready to face the big day ahead! (Yes, you read that right, instead of a nice hotel I slept on a couch! That should tell you just how good of friends these are…and just how comfy the couch was!)

Guest Blog: Air Canada 839, Frankfurt to Ottawa

Airports, Canada, Countries, Flights, Germany, Guest Blogs 1 Response »

Mar 012013

Decided to try something new, and asked one of my frequent-traveling friends, John Chamberlin, to write a guest blog on one of his recent flights. I thought it would be interesting to people to read, since I’ve yet to travel Air Canada outside North America, so I thought the perspective would be interesting. Feedback welcome…and hopefully more guest blogs soon!

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Greetings from the great white north of Ottawa, Canada readers! Having been a friend Jason’s well over 10 years now, I owe my obsession and hoarding habits of airline miles all to him pretty much. Most of my friends will joke that I’m the real life George Clooney from the movie “Up In The Air”. When I fly or stay somewhere, if it doesn’t involve me earning miles or points, I just don’t do it!

I’m a Youngstown, Ohio native, and have worked in IP or telecom engineering now well over 15 years now. In 2007, I was presented the opportunity to make a large career change and go to work for a telecom OEM in Ottawa, Ontario. Six weeks later I was settled and starting my new life in Canada. Since telecom is pretty “wrapped up” in most of the modern developed world, my company finds itself working in emerging markets and many developing nations. Azerbaijan, Fiji, Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of Benin, Korea, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka just to name a few. So I am not stranger to long haul routes to say the least.

Jason scolded me early on while flying Air Canada and BMI on a YOW-LHR-GYD routing to Baku, Azerbaijan- and not even fully aware of WHAT or WHO the Star Alliance was. The rest, as they say, is history. Since 2008, I have banked approximately 350,000 EQM and flown well over 750,000 in combined reward travel. In 2008 I easily tiered into Star Gold status for 2009, as AC only required 35,000 EQM to make the alliance status back then. In 2010 and 2011 I tiered in to Air Canada “Super Elite” status, which is their 100k program. AC’s rewards programs are administered by a spin off company called Aeroplan. Reward miles on AC are typically worth a tad more that of your standard UA or US levels. Fares on AC are a bit higher in Canada given the industry structure, and I’ve commonly found that my miles are worth as much as $.06 each. In 2011, I booked two business class tickets from YOW-YVR via YYZ for 100,000 Aeroplan miles- a website booking fare of $6300.00 that same day when I checked! The taxes and fuel are the only gotcha in Aeroplan. You have to pay them, unlike that of programs with UA or US. On the other hand, they also allow regional reward fares. I fly YOW-PIT via YYZ for 15,000 miles + $173.00 in taxes etc on a very regular basis. That fare is typically $600.00+. So it’s a bittersweet relationship.

Now onto the good stuff! When Jason asked me to review and guest write for his quite well known blog, I was pretty stoked. A good bit of him has rubbed off on me, and I take note of the smallest things anymore regarding air travel. I fly the Air Canada metallic baby blue as my mainline carrier. Air Canada has been voted the #1 Full Service North American Airline for 3 straight years including 2012 by the Sky Traxx reader survey. I have to admit, Air Canada goes above and beyond the call of duty many days in handling passenger issues and giving a custom touch to their Super Elite fliers. Even Jason has been witness and first hand helped by Super Elite representatives in a pinch! They have a one of a kind top tier system, in that Super Elite members also have access to EVERY single open seat on an AC route.

Air Canada maintains a “Super Elite Concierge Desk”, both virtually via phone and in all their main Canadian/International points of presence. These Super Elite representatives work in private unmarked offices and function to personally handle all their top tier customers. When I arrive at YOW, I go directly downstairs outside of CATSA security to this unmarked office. Inside the ladies or gents happily greet you by name (they DO remember you), print your boarding passes, tag any luggage and then walk it back upstairs to the belt, while you continue into priority screening. It’s a service that I have come to respect and love so much, that the mere thought of losing it makes me wanna cry! These folks accomplish miracles in a pinch and they have helped me SO many times in international connection situations. Their admin levels to the AC reservation systems seem to be at “Super Concierge” levels. Ok ok, bad joke.

Now- on to our flight! Today, we’re on board:

Flight: AC839, FRA-YOW

Equip: B767-300

Tail: C-FMWU, Manufactured 1995

Nose: 633

Gate to Gate: 8hrs 15mins

Distance: 3916 miles

Seat: 01F

Trip to the Diefenbunker in Carp, Ontario

Attractions, Canada 1 Response »

Jul 252012

What, you’ve never heard of the Diefenbunker? Well, despite many many trips to Ottawa lately, I hadn’t either until the friend I was staying with mentioned it this weekend. When I heard about it, I knew this was something I had to see. You’d never see something like this in the United States open to the public…ever! Way too many “secrets” that could potentially be exposed. I think the closest I saw was the U.S.S. Pueblo which is currently moored in Pyongyang, North Korea. Even that has been stripped of anything remotely interesting, so a chance to experience this part of Cold War history was super exciting to me!

Correction: Appears the Greenbrier Bunker in West Virginia is now open to the public too – however, no pictures allowed! I know my next weekend trip from D.C.!

So, what is the Diefenbunker? Also known as Canadian Forces Station Carp, it’s a 4-level underground bunker built outside of Ottawa in order to house the Canadian government in case of imminent nuclear attack. Named after the 13th Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker, it was just far enough from Ottawa that it was thought to be safe from the main targets (Parliament Hill, Canadian Forces bases,etc) but close enough that essential members of government could be evacuated there on short notice. Construction began in 1959, and was completed in just a few months. It was never actually activated, but during the Cuban Missile Crisis preliminary steps were taken to make it operational.

According to Wikipedia: “The underground 4-story bunker was capable of withstanding a near-hit from a nuclear explosion. It had massive blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters to prevent radiation infiltration. Underground storage was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies for the facility which was capable of supporting several hundred people for weeks. A vault was also constructed on the lowest level to hold the gold reserves of the Bank of Canada”

In 1994, after the fall of the Soviet Union, CFS Carp (aka the Diefenbunker) was decommissioned, and in 1998 was re-opened as Canada’s Cold War museum. You can tour the entire site, and many parts are just as they were left in the 60s and 70s. After purchasing a ticket at the kiosk outside, there is a small plaque detailing what the site is:

Just past the sign, you enter the building through the massive blast doors:

50,000 miles in under three months.

bhutan, bulgaria, Canada, Ethiopia, India, nepal, Norway, seychelles, Sudan 2 Responses »

Mar 152012

Needless to say, the next few months is going to be incredibly busy! Starting this weekend, I have 6 big trips planned in the next three months. Short story is:

Ski and birthday weekend in Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Four days of diving in Grand Cayman, getting SCUBA certified
Then, a few days later, off to Oahu, Hawaii for a welcome home
After that, I’ll actually stay put a few days before it’s off to Nepal, Bhutan, Seychelles, Sudan, and Bulgaria
Work a few days, then off to Ottawa, Ontario to run the Ottawa marathon
…and from there, I fly straight to Longyearbyen, Norway, at 78 degrees north latitude, for the Spitsbergen Marathon 6 days later!

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