CO476 SJU-EWR 4th Oct 08 BusinessFirst

[Decker]

My last night at the client turned into a late one as they discovered stuff that needed fixing up 'til the last minute which meant I didn't actually get back the hotel until around 22:00. However as my local brewpub was having an Oktoberfest I had to go out and sample it. This seemingly good idea meant that I was still eating dinner at 00:00 in my new favourite restaurant in Puerto Rico - Marmalade - and got to bed late and a little worse for wear. The goodbye drinks with the helpful staff in the hotel didn't help much either. Earlier in the week one of the guys had tracked down a chef whose work I admired last time I was in PR - the only trouble was that it was quite some way from the hotel so maybe I'll get to try next time.

Security was one of those puffer machines and an additional metal detector. I triggered it twice - once for my belt and once for my After Coffee Mints in a tin (d'uh) but was allowed to keep repeating until I got it right!

I walked straight down to the gate where they were just starting to board and ignoring the priority lane (no point with only one person staffing it) I boarded into seat 1B. My two items of carry on filled the bin and I sat down.

No preflight drinks offered this time but plenty of papers. Seems the IFE was tech so the papers were seen as the substitute. I got a WSJ and proceeded to catch up on the news. Shortly after takeoff the FA offered a choice of chicken or beef and provided some nuts and a complementary beverage. The food was hearty and generous in size and the service was agile and friendly.

The flight itself was a non event and landing at EWR is a pleasure when you're flying domestic. My bags were some of the first off and I was soon enjoying Brent Spiner's dulcet tones as I made my way to Avis.

So all in all CO seem to do what they say on the tin, no flair as such but good solid dependable service.