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You are here: Articles > Flight stories > Flughafen #1
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Article overview It's the first trans-Atlantic trip for a teenager, from Montreal to Düsseldorf, but it all starts with the short flight from Montreal to Toronto on a wide-body plane, before an 11-hour transit. ("Flughafen" means "airport" in German.) Originally published in September 2000. |
 he D-day (D for "departure", of course) has finally come. This is the day I fly for the very first time across the Atlantic... but before that, a short hop to Toronto on a wide-body jet. I'm almost sure that the readers who have flown in and out the ocean are saying "Big deal!"
 Excess luggage?Our journey starts in Montreal's Dorval Airport (today's Trudeau Airport), on August 2, 2000. It is 6:00AM, but flight Air Transat TS820, to Toronto and Vancouver, is not leaving until 8:00AM. Check-in counters already have a small queue for the other flights. I check-in very quickly... except for one small detail. I was aware from the start that I was having excess luggage, and that Air Transat's baggage restrictions are smaller than regular scheduled airlines: 20 kg (44 lb) of checked luggage in total. I had 30 kg, the excess coming from the gifts I was bringing my friends in Germany. 
Now, that's not the only problem. Since I'm one of the very rare passengers flying on Air Transat AND connecting (knowing that the concept of charter flights virtually eliminates the use of connections), there was discussion whether I would have to pay the excess luggage fare at the counter in Montreal or Toronto... and evidently, not twice! In the end, the agent gave me a receipt I would have to show the check-in agent in Toronto, but which, in the end, I never had to use. The agent was kind enough to charge me for 8 kg instead of 10. The bill comes then to 40 CAD (Canadian dollars).
I get a good seat: 20L... right next to the right wing of the Airbus A330-200, registration C-GITS, a brand-new plane delivered to Air Transat in 1999. The boarding pass is interesting... but at the same time looks like it was produced with a rather old equipment. The numbers seem to come from a stamping system that, apparently, wasn't set correctly. The date displayed was July 2, 2000 with boarding time of 12:70AM! Of course, the agent corrected that data by hand. Interesting sidewalkAfter saying goodbye to my parents, and with my AIF (Airport Improvement Fee - 10 CAD back then) ticket in hand, I proceed to the restricted area. Domestic flights other than Air Canada or Canadian (who just became one) leave from the Aeroquay, a separate concourse connected to the main terminal by a moving underground sidewalk. The great thing about this sidewalk, which I saw for the first time then, is the audiovisual ambiance. Large images decorate the walls, accompanied by the appropriate background noise. For example, a picture of Montreal's Downtown is accompanied by cars running, small honks, people walking around... and a picture of musicians on the street is accompanied by the jazz song they are playing. Let's say it is a highly appreciated creative touch at Dorval, and sure beats the old boring moving sidewalks at the other airports. Impression
Once at the concourse, it is a quick stroll to gate 33, where I see my A330 up close for the first time. General boarding starts at 7:30AM, but I don't get to board the aircraft until a few minutes after the passengers seated at the front and back of the plane board. Once on board, I notice that the plane, in despite of its 3-3-3 configuration, offers a roomy impression. After I locate my seat, I notice it was only an impression. I expected it, and I got it. The legroom offered on charter flights is smaller than on regular scheduled airlines, but still acceptable.
Air Transat is a vacation airline with vacation fares. On the plane, you won't find businessmen who, except for the one seated next to me, are all on Air Canada or Canadian, but rather vacationers. And what do you offer vacationers as boarding entertainment? Images, either stills or videos, of sunshine destinations offered by Air Transat, along with tropical music, and a periodical short video promoting Air Transat. After I place my hand luggage in the overhead bin, sit down and fasten my seat belt, I ask a flight attendant passing by if I could visit the flight deck. After he asks if I'm continuing on to Vancouver and gets a negative answer, he says: "Um... it's a short flight, I'm not sure but we'll see after take-off." DepartureThe interesting thing about leaving in the morning (or arriving in late evening) is that you get to notice the different vocations of the gates at the Aeroquay. Usually, the gates on the West side are for overseas flights but in the morning, before the European airlines arrive in the afternoon and leave in the evening, these gates host a few US flights. At the right hand side of the A330 sits an American Airlines Fokker 100. At about 8:03AM, the plane starts its pushback and the chief flight attendant starts making the announcements, including the introduction to the safety video. "Our crew has been fully trained in the event of an emergency. We would like to draw your attention to the television monitors. Please follow these instructions carefully. Thank you." The video, which as always, never seems to draw people's attention, is pretty similar to the other airlines, with perhaps a few exceptions. It is fully bilingual (with narration alternating between English and French) and unlike the US airlines, offers no subtitles, or rather surtitles. The music and the tone used are more friendly. "Ensuring passenger safety is always a team effort at Air Transat. Carefully look at the safety features card located in the seat pocket in front of you prior to take-off. You are a valued member of our team." 
We taxi through runway 28, the shortest one of the airport, and go all the way to runway 24L, located by the general aviation buildings. After a Beech 1900 of Air Creebec takes off, surprisingly, we take off right away. I suppose that the B1900 must have done a very quick turn off traffic. It is 8:14AM local time when our A330 leaves Montreal ground, and keeps a relatively constant heading, since it is already taking off Southwest-bound. The weather is what I call "depressing" with an overcast sky and only a few seconds after being airborne, we are already in the clouds.
In the air, but not for longThe seat belt sign turns off about 3 minutes after take-off, as the plane reaches a lighter climb rate once out of the clouds. The flight attendants start drink service immediately, knowing they have about 25 minutes to serve drinks to up to 300 passengers, and collect all cups and glasses before landing. Along with my drink, I get a small Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bar. About 20 minutes before landing, the television monitors start showing our progress on a moving map, including outside air temperature of -51°C! We reach a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet and maintain it for only a few minutes, after what, over the Canadian capital of Ottawa, we already start a descent into Toronto. Now I know why the flight attendant was doubtful about a possible visit of the flight deck. Welcome to TorontoThe weather is a lot better in Toronto, and the city is visible about two to three minutes before landing. It is still overcast, though. About 30 minutes into the flight, the seat belt sign turns on again. As the aircraft is flying over the residential areas around LBPIA (Lester B. Pearson International Airport), the gear is down, four minutes before a smooth touchdown on runway 24R. It is 9:05AM. It takes however a long 10 minutes before the A330 taxies to the runway. During that moment, the chief flight attendant advises the transit passengers continuing on to Toronto (!!!) to remain seated and stay on the aircraft. He later corrects himself, and asks the passengers continuing on to Vancouver! As the plane docks at gate C29 located in Terminal 3, I notice something quite useful: all passengers continuing on to Vancouver are seated in the last rows of the aircraft, ensuring an easier boarding and deplaning of the passengers in and out of Toronto. As I am about to reach the door of the plane, I ask a flight attendant if I can visit the flight deck. As I expected: they are planning the continuation of flight 820. Long, long transit awaitingAfter a long walk, I finally reach the baggage claim, and fortunately, my suitcase is one of the first to be offloaded. And it is in very good condition, just as its content. It is nearly 9:45AM when my long long transit begins. The next flight won't leave until 8:20PM, and I won't be able to check-in until 1:30PM. 
But why such a long transit? Because Air Transat only has flights in the morning and the late evening between Montreal and Toronto, and they are always flights that continue to another destination, like Calgary or Vancouver. Flying on Air Canada or Canadian would have cost me a little less with an ISIC (International Student Identification Card), however because of the risk and imminence of a pilot strike, I prefered to take it safe and fly very very early, something I will never EVER do again! 11 hours pass very very slowly. I made it, though.
Editor notes: (1) Agent: Thanks to this article, the author was able to communicate once more with the same Air Transat check-in agent in Dorval Airport, who recognized himself in this first installment of "Flughafen". He says it is the first time he reads about the story of one of his passengers. Yet another example of how the Internet is a small place after all. back... (2) C-GITS: On August 24, 2001, the same A330 I flew on around a year before (C-GITS) made an emergency landing as a result of fuel starvation over the North Atlantic. It was then flying from Toronto to Lisbon as flight TS236  . Captain Robert Piché and First Officer Dirk DeJager glided the plane for nearly 20 minutes, all the way to Lajes Air Base in the Azores. Most of the 304 passengers and crew walked out extremely shaken, but unhurt. back... | ||||||
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This is part of a series of 4 articles on a trip from Montreal to Düsseldorf and back. Click on the numbers below for easy navigation.
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Boarding pass: by Sergio Ortega. All A330 pictures: by Sergio Ortega, captured and modified from Microsoft Flight Simulator 98. © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy. |
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