V-Flyer

It was now time for me to try a new airline - this time Horizon which seems to be part of the Alaska Airline group. It was the same site to book and in fact my bookings for my flight on this and also Alaska had the same reference number even though they were made separately and days apart. I was also impressed by the fact that in the obligatory zip code box the website rejected my usual 00000 but accepted Co Cork - the only US site I have come across that does this!

I arrived at Arcata/Eureka airport with my host. The airport is tiny and seems to be served by two scheduled airlines - United and Horizon. There was no-one at either desk but there were check-in kiosks which I used. I had to pay a baggage charge and elected to pay by cash but had to wait for an agent who appeared about 30 minutes later. ACV has a rather nice viewing are but with so little movement, there is nothing to see! When the agent turned up I went ahead to have my bag tagged and to pay. He wanted to charge me $20 but the computer had said $15 so after a brief and polite squabble I won! I was then told to take my bag to the TSA office where it was taken, screened and then the dreaded gloves were put on. It was going to be opened! My case had TSA approved locks but as I was still at the counter I told him the combination. He tried but instead of pushing out the lock he was trying to open it by pushing it in. Next thing he reached for the set of keys! Oh feck!! The last time that had happened the lock had been broken and this was the first trip since it had been replaced. He tried one key and then another and then I was treated to the sight of my possessions being tossed all over the place - and for possessions read dirty underwear all the while my 83 year old host looked on Did he really need to see my frillies? Eventually he located what he was looking for - a bottle of Bailey's I was bringing over for my Seattle host. Having screened it and found it to be harmless he went through procedures including placing the TSA note in the case even though I was watching and securing the bag.

Eventually the time had come to say goodbye to my host and to go through security which was easy as one would expect from such a small airport - for heaven's sake, it made Cork airport look like LHR!! The incoming flight arrived - a virulent green turbo-prop much larger than the one I had flown from SFO. There was fun and games as the door was opened ready for us to board but arriving passengers not paying attention to where the others were going entered through that one and had to be re-directed!

When boarding was announced, on the tarmac there were signs directing passengers to the appropriate door and I entered by the rear. I had thought it would be like my inbound flight with a 1-2 configuration but on this aircraft it was a 2-2 one. I made my way to my seat only to meet my seat companion as he battled his way from the front. I get a little bit annoyed when people don't use the doors they are told to - but only a little bit! I had seen and spoken to my seat companion in the terminal. He looked like an Italian mafioso and spoke with a Noo Joisey accent. He could easily have taken part in The Sopranos - and maybe he had. He tried to engage me in conversation but I was deep into "The Girl who played with Fire" and did not want to be distracted. He also tried to engage with the cabin crew but always at a critical moment in their service like when they were preparing for the security demo and at times I missed announcements because of him. When he wasn't doing that he hummed tunelessly!

The flight took off over the Pacific Ocean and was soon in the thick coastal fog that engulfed the area till mid-morning. We left it behind as we plunged inland. This flight was going to Seattle but with a stop at Redding. There had been no mention of Seattle on the boards at Arcata but a query to the ground staff told me that I should wait on board. After about 20 minutes flying time we landed in Redding and some people deplaned but the majority stayed on board - indeed most passengers were connecting at Seattle to destinations in Alaska such as Anchorage and Kodiak. I was told that this service was to be discontinued and that in the future passengers to Seattle from Arcata would have to travel via LAX Seems crazy to me. Arcata is not too far from the Oregon border and to travel as far south as Los Angeles seems daft especially as the flight was full.

Once we left Redding and in-flight service commenced. Sodas were complimentary and were accompanied by a Snack Mix which was fine. Alcohol was charged and payable only by credit card and Mr Soprano next to me wondered at the ability of technology to enable credit cards to be processed in the sky before returning to his humming!

Eventually we began our descent. There were stunning views over Puget Sound and at one stage I realised there was a runway below. I figured it could have been Boeing Field and sure enough Concorde's G-BOAG was in view. We landed a little early and were soon on the shuttle train to the terminal. So intent was I to get to the carousel that I passed my host who was waiting for me. Ooops!

Thank you for the great TR, Hl.

I think I would be embarrassed if a TSA agent started to fling my underwear for all and sundry to see.

Hope you enjoyed "The Girl who played with Fire" I've just finished "The girl who kicked a hornet's nest" and thought that was really good.