After preparing for my trip, I was dropped off at the newly opened North Terminal at the Detroit Metro Airport. Today was September 29, 2008 and the terminal opened on September 20. There was nothing too impressive about the place compared to the world’s largest airport terminal which opened in Beijing this year.
My first flight was from Detroit to Chicago. The American Airline’s airplane looked like an antique as I boarded. The flight was nearly full and it was a struggle to find space for my bag. It was the same situation on my second flight from Chicago to Seattle. American Airlines has a policy of charging a fee for any checked-in luggage. Of course everyone will now try to carry on their luggage. On the second flight, the pilot was getting annoyed because he couldn’t take off on time since there were people still standing up trying to find a place for their luggage.
My third and final flight from Seattle to Beijing was delayed 90 minutes. I was getting concerned because I arranged for a friend to pick me up from the airport in Beijing. I walked from one end of the airport to the other trying to find an open Wi-fi signal at every coffee shop. There was one that advertised it but required a purchase. I don’t drink coffee however, and I want to try to sleep on airplanes besides. I noticed one pilot inside using his computer. I ended up asking him and he gave me the password. Although I nearly have a computer setup for cracking the security on these networks, it is always easier for the social approach and just ask.
The fight on Hainan Airlines from Seattle to Beijing was enjoyable. Finally I felt like I was in the 21st Century with a new Airbus 330A airplane (just temporary too, they will upgrade to Boeing Dreamliner soon). This plane had the best entertainment system I’ve seen yet. Each person had access to about 20 or 30 on-demand movies. So you can choose what you want to watch, you can fast forward and pause. We were fed two meals, the flight attendants were younger than the ones on American airlines, and the fight wasn’t as crowded.
Finally, after roughly 17 hours in the air today, I descended through the hazy Beijing skies. I didn’t get to go through the enormous new Terminal 3 building, but instead exited at Terminal 2. I did get to take the new Airport Express Train to the city and also got to try the new machines used to recharge the subway card. Since the Olympic games there is also required x-ray of your bags going onto the subway. I didn’t have too much time to rest because early tomorrow I’d have a lot farther to travel.