Tag Archives: flying

Boeing Tour in Everett Washington

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A bunch of my friends and I drove to check out the Boeing tour and factory in Everett Washington. I would have to say that it was mostly interested by the male participants of the group, but still it was a good experience.
The Future of Flight Aviation Center, the world’s largest building by volume is located about 46km north of Seattle. During the peak season (April 1 to Sept 30 & Dec 26 to Jan 2) cost of ticket is $20 per adult on a walk-up basis. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and tend to go rapidly June-September, so make reservations if you know you’re going for sure.
In the main building, there are gifts shops (where I bought a mug for my dad who loves airplanes – in fact he was jealous that I was going there), cafes and a small museum showcasing some planes and interior of them as well to keep you occupied while you wait for the tour begins. Once it gets closer to the time, line up at the designated area. There, you will be led into a small theatre where you will watch a short film.

At this point, still photos or video cameras are no longer permitted. (hence no photos to upload) In fact, no personal items are allowed on the tour including: purses, backpacks, cameras, binoculars, cell phones, etc. You can use the lockers on-site for a small fee or give it to someone who’s not participating – as we did in our tour. The tour will take about an hour and half – so embrace yourself, those of you who can’t be without your cell phones even for a minute. There is also NO restrooms available on the tour, so make sure to ‘go’ before going on the tour! No food or drinks are allowed, but considering there’s no washroom, maybe that’s a good thing.

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Gift shop. My dad love making those plane models!

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Little museum. Learn more about planes

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On the rooftop, you can see planes parked outside the factory

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Then, you’ll go on a big bus, where you will be taken to the factory where all the planes are being built! It was pretty amazing to see the assembly and the massive size of the place. The planes being so huge and heavy, it’s pretty impressive how these ‘machines’ are able to fly all over the world. However, it didn’t really relief me of my fear of flying…lol.
The next time you’re going to Seattle, drop by this facility where it is the only opportunity to tour a commercial jet assembly plant in North America. Go see airplanes being assembled and built for global airline customers!!
The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Note!

  • Children must be at least 4 feet (122 cm) tall to go on the tour.
  • Visitors may not carry babies on the tour. There is no child-care facility. No exceptions!
  • Those of you who have difficulty walking or physically-challenged, the tour can be done, but you must notify in advance.

Air Transat Service and Food

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So my trip to Germany begins – with Air Transat food! lol :D

I’ve heard some bad reviews about Air Transat from people, but I haven’t had a problem with them. Back in May of 2008 I flew from Vancouver to London, then from Paris back to Vancouver for $660 – taxes and fees all included! Just ridiculous how cheap they were. It was a promo, and so glad I took it. My parents flew out from Calgary on the same dates and they paid much more than $1000 each with Air Canada.

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Bye bye Vancouver!!

I hear that the storage above the passengers are flimsy and can fall down. So far, I’ve never seen that, so can’t say much about it. People say that the seats are too small, and not enough leg room. Being a really skinny Asian, I haven’t had any problems. I haven’t really noticed it either. My German company did complain he seemed cramped.

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Cool spaceship-like future club-like lights!

For this trip, for the first time in my life, I was seated at the very very back of the plane. There seemed to be less seats, and more room. Both ways, we had the aisle seats. One the way to connecting city Calgary, we were able to seat ourselves by the window and check out the view. Once we couldn’t see anything, we were busy playing games on the tablets attached to the seats.

One the way back, there were even more space and I was able to take up 2 seats and curl up for a little rest.

Many complain about the food – the quantity and quality. For me, it was perfect. I haven’t flown with Air Canada in ages, but growing up, I always found the meals to be too big. When I don’t move much, and very stressed (yes, I have plane-phobia), I don’t have much appetite. I do keep reminding myself to hydrate myself often since I’m dehydrated on land most of the time.

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Chicken tray

On our way to Germany, I had the pasta with chicken in cream sauce. It came with some vinegar salad, bun, and a sweet snack. The main dish was something like out of those frozen meals you can buy and put it in the microwave. But what do you expect? You’re flying for less than $900 roundtrip in May! I told me complaining company if he’d rather pay $1500 with Air Canada for some ‘better’ food. When I got back to work, my Hong Kong coworker said “I don’t care about the food, you’re just flying to your destination. You’re not going on the plane to dine.” I completely agree. I would rather save $500 on my plane and use it to dine at my destination – and $500 can go a long way (if you don’t dine at some fancy restaurant that costs that much in one dining!).

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Beef tray

However, on the return flight, it was a bit disappointing. By the time the flight attendants came to the very last portion of the plane, they were out of choices. They only had beef left. I was actually ok with that since I was thinking of getting the beef this time to try it out. Again, nothing spectacular, but I’m just more worried about the plane landing safely back home lol.Travel Around the Globe with our Special Flight Deals! Save an Extra C$15* with Promo Code GLOBE15. Hurry!

For breakfast, it looked like the flight attendants were pulling carts of baguettes. I was kind of hoping we would get them – something fresh and light. However, they ran out, and the last 7 or 8 rows had a slice of pizza in sealed plastic. Ah! I am not a fan of pizza – except ones that Sheepie can make from scratch :)

In conclusion, well, don’t expect too much from the food. You’re getting a super good deal for the flight, and if you’re flying to Europe, I highly recommend flying with Air Transat! They usually don’t need promos – their prices are always good and hard to beat! The service is pretty good, although Sheepie complained about the terrible German translations on flight…lol. Check in was hassle free – online check in is available in Vancouver, so we didn’t have to line up to check in our luggage! That was really good cuz we nearly had a heart attack when we saw the line up for regular check in (where we first started to line up cuz we weren’t too sure). In Germany, online check in wasn’t available, but the actual line up was very short for luggage, so no problem!

If I can fly from point A to B safely without too much turbulence for a great price, that’s all that matters to me :P (yes I do have extreme fear of flying…lol)

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