Still, must keep moving, & after my unexpected & unappreciated trip with AA earlier in the week (http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26884) I wasnt really looking forward to another 5 hour flight from BOS to LAS but at least I was flying with JetBlue so I should get to try out the DirectTV entertainment system.
Checking the flight status, I discovered that the departure time had moved forward 45 mins (to 7pm) - how did I survive in the past without the internet ? thankfully I had nothing planned for the day other than lunch at legal seafoods http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/fOXfqNxNrvRzyZQOz4hM1w so checked out of the hotel, dropped my bags with the bellman & wandered off. Never made lunch - I spent an hour at the New England Aquarium & apparently overfishing is destroying the oceans - which is good for the jellies http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/VpfWaX7ZkNFFrThTRegvkg, but not for the fishies http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/NickC101/Boston2008#5270045925113623618... somehow it didnt seem right to treat myself to nemo-on-toast after learning this important life lesson.
Anyhow. Arrived at Boston Logan around 5.30 via the Blue subway train - much quicker & cheaper than a cab ; checkin was no problem (allowed one bag free of charge at the moment) security was quick although they need more space for people to sort themselves out the other side of the checkpoint IMHO. Flight appears to be on time, theres a Boston Beerworks bar in the departure area which looks tempting but since Im picking up a hire car in Vegas I gave it a miss.
We board on time - flight is getting on for full, with all isle / window seats taken & middle seats full until about half way back (its an Airbus 320 with 3 3 seating from what I remember). Ive got a window since I plan to snooze as much as possible. Pretty clean in general - reasonably comfortable leather seats, about 3' more leg room than the AA flight earlier in the week - not bad at all. We leave about 10 mins late & its announced that the seatbelt sign will be off soon & then we will have a chance to buy our own blanket & pillow that we get to keep (it comes in a sealed package), free soft drinks will be served & we can order beer or spirits for a small fee provided we can pay with our credit cards - no cash.
But the seatbelt sign didnt go off. It was a little bit bumpy, so I didnt think much about it until the 'Is there a doctor on the flight ?' announcement was made about 45 mins into the flight. Apparently there was, & he wandered up to the front of the plane to see what was keeping the flight attendants from their soft drink dispensing duties. There wasnt a huge amount of fuss, all seemed quiet for another hour & although the seatbelt sign was still on soft drinks were eventually served. I was starting to relax & doze off when I noticed the second oxygen cylinder making its way to the front. Now thats not a good sign, so I wasnt all that surprised when we were told that we had to stop in Omaha to offload a sick passenger.
I don't have much to say about Omaha - it was dark & a bit foggy but we got straight into the airport & taxied all the way out the back where there was an ambulance, firetruck, and fuel tanker waiting for us. Sick passenger was able to walk down the steps despite being wrapped in many of the blankets that we never got a chance to buy & was whisked away to the hospital. I hope shes OK - it all seemed to be handled very smoothly. Once shes gone we get the chance to walk about a bit while they refuel & do the paperwork provided we keep clear of the door at the front. All in all we were on the ground about an hour & a half, then off we went again for the second half of the trip (about 2 1/2 hours more flying time we were told).
The DirectTV service appears to work really well - you get most of the cable channels available at your seat, I watched The Daily Show & half of 'Brand New South Park' before we had to land & we lost the signal. JetBlue dont supply free headsets, you can buy a set for $1 or use your own. There might have been some pay-per-view movies & the like, I never got that far thru the options - the only moan I could think of was that the map channel had far too many advert breaks & not enough different adverts - very annoying if you want to know where you are. All in all its a good system & one I would expect to be picked up by the other carriers.
We finally arrive in Vegas about 2 hours later than scheduled, late enough for the Dollar Express counter to be closed so I have to queue to pick up my car & for all the non-smoking rooms at the Golden Nugget to be booked so I have to slum it in a suite for the night. So alls well that ends well!
