Flight Report – UA 2424/UA 6372 – YYZ – IAH – AUS

Austin has been a city that I have always wanted to visit since I was a child.  My childhood best friend was born there.  One of my favourite movies – Dazed & Confused – was filmed there.  And Austin is notorious for its nightlife and music scene.  Finally, the time had come for me to finally visit the “Live Music Capitol of the World.”  This was going to be my last work trip for the year, and even my Manager suggested that I take some extra time off to explore this quirky little city.  So I did.  I took an extra day off work so I can have an extra-long weekend before my event was to start the following Monday.  It has been a long time since I was this stoked for a work trip.

United Airlines Flight # 2424

As usual, I opted for the earliest flight option possible so I could maximize my time in Austin.  It was an early start to the day as I left my condo just past 5am.  With virtually no traffic on Highway 401, I arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport within 30 minutes.  This time around, I would be flying with United Airlines.  For some reason, their self-service kiosks were not working.  However, it wasn’t particularly busy, either.  So, I managed to check into my flight within 10 minutes.  As an added bonus, security took less than five minutes.  But that is where my luck ended as U.S. Customs was packed and took me about 15 minutes to go through.  This left me with less than an hour prior to boarding, but enough time for me to grab breakfast.

Storm's a brewing over Toronto Pearson International Airport

I decided to give Wahlburgers another chance despite the slow service I received the last time I was there.  Once again, I opted for the Dorchester breakfast.  Service was very quick this time as I received my breakfast about 10 minutes after ordering.  However, the restaurant was about 50% full this time.  So, I guess that could explain the why it was much better this time around.  The morning also started off on a sad note as my friend and former co-worker passed away the night before.  My thoughts were with her family rather than on my plans for Austin.  Thus, I was now adopting a “go with the flow” plan once I arrived in Austin as my heart and mind were just not into pre-planning some activities with the spare time I had left prior to boarding.

A brief break in the inclement weather en route to Houston

United Airlines Flight #2424 had a formation of 2x2 with four rows up in Business class and a 3x2 formation in Economy.  While I was excited to see we had leather seats, the drawback was the lack of legroom.  I was also excited to see “Tag” was available for one of the movie options.  However, United Airlines has a partnership with DirectTV for their inflight entertainment system.  For flights over 2+ hours, such as this one, you have a package option to watch unlimited movies and television shows for $8 US.  This is a complete ripoff given the extra fees we already pay in North America for such “privileges” as checked baggage and food.  Plus, the cost of flying out of Toronto to anywhere in North America is pretty expensive to begin with.  And if that weren’t enough, even access to the UAL Flight Map requires you purchase a package!  Seriously?  You are charging passengers money to have real time access to see how far along are we on the flight itinerary.  No wonder they get slammed for their Customer Service now.  Never again will I fly United unless I have no other choices.  Such a complete and utter disappointment!

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

With no inflight entertainment system to keep me occupied, I ended up sleeping away the first half of the flight.  It was pretty smooth with the exception of heavy turbulence occurring about 15 – 20 minutes after takeoff.  I was pretty refreshed by this nap, but extremely bored sitting here through the second half of my flight to Houston.  We encountered some more turbulence about 30 minutes from landing.  Ultimately, we ended up landing about five minutes earlier than expected into some cloudy conditions.  But the 13°C weather was much better than the cloudy 5°C weather I left back home only a few hours earlier.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

UA 2424 – YYZ to IAH

Operated by: United Airlines

Aircraft:  Boeing 737-800 (twin-jet)

Depart: 07:35AM EST – Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) – Terminal 1, Gate F67

Arrive:  10:29AM EST – Houston Bush International Airport (IAH) – Gate C4

Flight Time: 3:54; Non Stop Flight – 1,342 Miles/2160 Kilometers; Date:  November 9, 2018

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

After landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, I decided to look for somewhere to eat as I had a two hour layover before my flight to Austin.  Ultimately, I settled for BamBam as it served as both a Vietnamese restaurant and a beer garden.  While it was a beautifully designed restaurant, it really lacked in customer service.  So, I didn’t bother to spend too much time here once I finished my meal.  I decided to grab a beer at Ember before double checking the Arrivals/Departures board to make sure I had time for one more.  Good thing I did as I completely misread it upon arrival thinking that I was departing from Gate C14.  However, United Airlines Flight #6372 was actually scheduled to depart out of Gate E12 – a completely different Terminal that required the use of a tram!  The confusion was caused by the fact that United Airlines had three different flights to Austin this afternoon – not two like I initially thought.  I’m not how I misread that so badly, but I will chalk it up to severe exhaustion from lack of sleep.

Never found out what "Oecke" referred to!

After settling up my tab, I ran like a bat out of Hell trying to get to Gate E12 as quickly as I could.  I had zero idea what I would have done next had I missed my flight.  Fortunately, my flight was delayed as the plane we were to take was arriving late itself.  It was kind of similar to the situation I had in Philadelphia a few months earlier, except Texas had been hit with severe rainstorms all week.  It was now time for Austin and Houston to receive this inclement weather.  Boy, was I really lucky!  Since we were now looking at another 45 minutes or so before boarding, I walked around Terminal E for a bit before I grabbed another drink at the Beer Hive – a really cool bar that numerous Houston craft beers available both on draft and in cans or bottles.  I highly recommend this bar if you ever find yourself with time to kill at Terminal E within George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The Colorado River cuts through Texas

The time had come to board my flight to Austin.  This plane was significantly smaller than United Airlines Flight #2424 with four rows of a 2-1 formation in Business class with 2-2 formation in Economy.  My window seat was at the very back, which made it very sensitive to any extreme movements during the flight.  For example, the takeoff was noticeably wobbly where I was sitting.  It wasn’t nearly as bad as that Orlando takeoff I experienced, but it was slightly unnerving.  It was still extremely cloudy, so I was unable to catch any glimpses of Houston.  It is located about 20 minutes away from the airport, so I can only imagine what it would look like either arriving or departing on a perfectly clear day.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

Once we reached cruising altitude, the clouds dissipated as we experienced clear sunny skies for the rest of the flight.  This gave me hope that the inclement weather had passed Austin by now.  (Editor’s Note: It was actually 14°C and sunny by the time we landed.)  Because it was only a 30 minute flight to Austin, I decided to stare out the window and enjoy the scenery below me as there was no inflight entertainment available.  Despite the short flight, we still received complimentary drinks and free WiFi.  I was also amused by all this beautiful farmland surrounding Austin upon our descent.  It gave me this first impression that Austin was really just a small American town than a world class city.  In a matter of hours, I would be proven wrong.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

UA 6372 – IAH to AUS

Operated by: United Airlines

Aircraft: Airbus A320 (twin-jet); Seat: 24A

Cabin:  Snacks & Complimentary Drinks

Depart: 01:03PM CST – George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Gate E12

Arrive:  01:35PM CST – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)

Flight Time: 0:32; Non Stop Flight – 140 Miles/225 Kilometers; Date: November 9, 2018