They drew up an interesting flight plan for a test flight. Using a 787 to draw out the silhouette of... a 787

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/BOE4

The aircraft is currently making the return leg across Minnesota and on its way back to BFI. They covered quite the distance drawing the plane.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Hopefully they bomb the hell out of Illinois before they go back while listening to a Barstool podcast. Did I do that right?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

They never went over Illinois airspace. They got within a few miles of it flying over Kentucky drawing out part of the horizontal stabilizer.

total distance covered on this flight? 15,766 miles, which means the aircraft could have taken off from Seattle and literally reached any location on earth.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I'll be on one to London this December...should be cool.

Unfortunately many airlines have gone 3-3-3 in coach on this plane, which is a very tight fit. But I've flown on one a few times now and it's a nice ride. Both the oxygen levels and the reduced curvature of the fuselage make a big difference if you're in a window seat.

If you're flying the new Norwegian service to Gatwick, they sometimes have good same-day deals to buy into their Premium cabin, which is supposed to be very pleasant and gets you a checked baggage allowance.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

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Hopefully the plane crashes into Ogie's house in South Dakota.

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3-3-3 seating on the plane isn't as awful as you would think.

One thing I did like, which I had thanks to the window seat, was the ability to dim the window rather than have the cheap plastic pull down shade. it was great for a transatlantic flight.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

That premium upgrade is enticing, how bigs the discount?

I have family in Germany, I'm debating whether to check a bag, but if I can do it cheaply on the flights that would be nice.

I think my friend paid $300, but he was going Oakland to Copenhagen which is a damn long overnight flight.

Here's a link I found for the bid program: https://www.norwegian.com/uk/travel-inf ... rade/help/ 46 inch legroom, 2 checked bags at 20kg each, and food and booze.

I looked up a flight when they resume next March, and the difference to do it at ticketing is 215 GBP going eastbound, so that $300 sounds about right.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Then they'd have to pay the state, county, and city airspace taxes.

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You can't afford it.

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We're on one going to Barcelona next month. A review on Seat Guru called it the "American Airlines Torture Chamber." Gosh I am sure looking forward to that.

But hey at least checking a bag to Europe is free.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

I don't want to side track but I still can't believe airlines sell expensive tickets to travel to somewhere and don't give two free under 50 pound bags. What do they expect them to do and wear when they arrive? Just dumb.

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Elections have consequences.

Even one free bag would be fine! Check more bags! It's better than playing Polish Cattle Chute every time the guy in row 20 has his carry-on above row 10.

Disclaimer: I am facing down a very short layover at JFK tomorrow and having a panic attack about losing my luggage in the change so I'm stuffing as much as I can into my garment bag and carrying it on. Do as I say, not as I do.

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Elections have consequences.

Don't know about the others but American will let you check for free at the gate. So if your bag meets the carry-on criteria it is one way to avoid the overhead bin aggravation and save the $25 it costs to check it downstairs.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

AA keeps doing this to me...against my will. I understand the overheads are limited but twice now they've forced me to check a bag at the gate only to see PLENTY of room overhead.

While we're at it....
The boarding process is a clusterfuck. I get first class gets to board first. I get that someone in a wheelchair needs to board first. Other than that....board the fucking rear of the plane first. it would speed the entire mess up. They have 6 boarding groups and it really makes no difference is it's just a mad rush of people waiting to get on the plane fighting through a bunch of people at the front.

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A lot do it now so you get their credit card.

However, this is yet another way that bargain shopping passengers and "discount" airlines screwing the whole system. They hid these fees to have the lowest fare on the search engines and most of the other airlines had to play by that in order to compete. It's amazing just how many people when shopping for airline flights will choose an option that is $12 cheaper no matter what.

If the "free market" truly worked then Spirit and the other airlines would be destroyed.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

At this point just about everyone knows what Spirit is. Spirit works because they fly to popular tourist destinations and if you're flying for just a few days (something like a wedding or bachelor party) they are an option worth taking. Ditto for Allegiant, which follows the Spirit model. If Spirit is $150 or more less than the other airlines on roundtrip, it's worth taking. If it's not, then don't bother.

It's interesting to note, but the airline which often has some the lowest fares (and doesn't charge for a bag) Southwest doesn't show on those travel aggregators. I guess they save on the affiliate fees by doing all the booking themselves.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Spirit works because people are cheap but they also complain about what airlines are allowed to do to them. It's actually a pretty funny contradiction. Anyone who flies on Spirit should never complain about anything an airline does outside of crashing or assaulting them.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

an oldie but goodie

http://www.theonion.com/article/faa-rep ... orst-32371

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

That's just about perfect.

It's always funny to walk past a Spirit terminal. Everyone has a look on their face like they just lost their job and Wal-Mart was out of Busch Light and generic beef jerky.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I used to be a check-a-phobe. These days, I almost always check a bag for 3+ days. Two of the three airlines I fly the most (Delta and American) have real time bag tracking built into their app, so I know my bag is on the plane well before they finish boarding. Coming back to Chicago, Delta uses the far gates in Terminal 2 at O'Hare and A5-A7 at Midway, and my bag is usually on the belt by the time I stop and take a piss and then walk to baggage claim.

On the other hand, when I do overnight trips to our other offices, my co-workers are amazed how little I pack, because I can fit everything in my briefcase. I don't understand that at all, I need a change of clothes and an extra pair of pants in case I spill or tear something. That and a 12" laptop, USB power, and some medications and toothpaste is pretty much all I need for a 40 hour trip.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

You wouldn't believe how many people spent $300 on a limo ride to the airport and when I asked which airline they told me Spirit. Guess it's more important to look good in front of the neighborhood.

My rule is to always book through the airline itself. I've found they treat you better that way.

No, right now I don't believe. How many people? And for $300, what is in this limo and/or from where is it coming? I spent under $100 for a six-person limo from Arlington to ORD not too long ago.



In what way do they treat you better?

In recent years I booked air/hotel packages through Orbitz and Costco travel. In each case was able to add the flight reservation to my profiles on American and United, select my seats, board in my expected group, earned miles and had no issues. When I book directly with either airline I am treated no better.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

And don't even ASK about sport coats....

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You do know Arlington Heights is literally adjacent to ORD right? Anyways, the "luxury van" I was driving is a 14 pax Mercedes that's a tier or two above the six/eight pax limos. You want to know when the last time the oil was changed too?

It goes without saying that booking direct, especially internationally, leads to better treatment. United (proven assholes) moved my reservation up two days this September without any charges or argument. Im not sure they would've done that had I gone through Kayak or whatever.

On a technicality, but practically speaking it's 20 minutes away if traffic cooperates. Still close enough not to shell out for a limo, though.

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Don't know how we are defining "Limo" but for six adults going on a cruise an uber wasn't going to cut it. If I would let her get away with it my wife would take 10 suitcases like the women in the titanic movie. So we booked Windy City limo. I think they sent an enormous SUV. Cost was about the same as two ubers and we all rode together.

And as long as it doesn't drop an engine on the way to the airport I could not care less when the oil was changed.

When it's just my wife and me nope no limo -- either Lyft or we get a ride.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."