I'm leavng on a jet plane II

I stayed up late and finally did it. I bought my tickets for our trip out West last night. I wouldn't say that I got a deal but I did make it so that our time will be used the way we want. I bought a non-stop on Mesa airlilnes, formerly America West, now code sharing and transtioning over to USAir. When you pull up options in Orbitz.com, you see the same fllights and times advertised for America West AND USAir. Because I used to work in the airline industry I am cursed with attempting to extract a reservation that is perfect for my personal travel plans. Anyway, ever since orbitz.com, hotwire.com, priceline,com and kayak.com came online, there are alot of options that allow us to make good travel plans. There are always trade offs, my trade off for a non-stop, is that I will fly non-stop, in a regional jet, over the beautiful country that I love to see and look down on. Plus, I'm a tall guy and those regional jets seats are not Lazy-Boy rated! The other goofy thing about flying regional jets is, well, take a look IN the cockpit when you walk in/off. Often times, it appears that kids are flying that thing!! Now, I am in my early 40s, but the average regional jet pilot APPEARS as if, they are a 20 something. Now before you write me mean notes, all pilots that I know, (which is quite a few), are indeed the mature looking, confident, steady-eddy types that you want behind the controls. They are constantly going through training, evaluations, check-rides, etc. The pilots that I know truly LOVE to fly, and look forward to getting home with their loved ones as much we all do.

BTW, I cannot end this entry without sharing that when you work in the airline business, it is a business that gets in your blood. Pilots, flight attendants, and even the ground operations folks, (like what I did), love the business of planes, organization and being able to fly all over this great country. Make sure you thank them for their time that you've spent with them. Times are tough for many of these job holders. Many of these people are deciding between doing what they love and what makes sense to work at.