This is the first part of my trip on US Airways between Newark (EWR) to St. Kitts (SKB) via Charlotte (CLT).
PART 1 – EWR-CLT (US AIRWAYS AIRBUS A320) HERE!
PART 2 – CLT-SKB (US AIRWAYS AIRBUS A319) http://flight-report.com/en/report-11589.html
PART 3 – SKB-CLT (US AIRWAYS AIRBUS A319) http://flight-report.com/en/report-12064.html
PART 4 – CLT-EWR (US AIRWAYS AIRBUS A321) http://flight-report.com/en/report-12688.html
Flight: US Airways 409
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Scheduled Departure / Actual: 8:20am / 8:32am
Scheduled Arrival / Actual: 10:10am / 10:07am
I arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport around 6 am to check in for US Airways flight 409 departing at 8:20am to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. US Airways operates out of terminal A at Newark. Arriving at the airport, many passengers were lined up to check in for the early morning flights to Charlotte and Phoenix. The ticketing agents were fast and efficient, and I had dropped off my suitcase within 10 minutes of lining up.
Security lines were short, as not many flights were departing from the section of the terminal mine was, and I made it to the airside with plenty of time before my flight boarded.
Spotted my plane preparing for departure from Gate 38
Terminal A at Newark is divided into sections, and at mine there was only a small shop open selling coffee and breakfast pastries. The flight boarded on time, about 7:45am. Once everyone was onboard, the flight attendants began the safety demo and the aircraft was pushed back from the gate.
Views during boarding
I was seated in 26A, the last row of the aircraft! I booked the trip late and there were few open seats available.
Onboard Seat 26A
Pushback was on-time and the flight attendants performed a manual safety demonstration.
Taxiing past Delta jets at Newark
It was a very short taxi to the runway for departure, and with no departing aircraft ahead of us we were airborne by 8:32am.
Takeoff from Newark
The weather was cloudy and there was some minor turbulence during the climb.
Climbout from Newark
The flight was scheduled to be around 1 hour and 30 minutes. About midway throughout the flight, flight attendants came through the aisle with beverage service and food for purchase.
Beverage service
Cruising altitude
No entertainment was provided on the flight. About 1 hour and 15 minutes after departing Newark we began our descent into Charlotte.
Descent
Charlotte in the Distance
The flight landed at 10:07am, 3 minutes early of our scheduled arrival time of 10:10am.
Landing in Charlotte
We had a long taxi to the gate as our plane had to hold on the taxiway for other aircraft to pass.
US Airways Airbus A320
The total flight time was 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Then it was a short transfer to my connecting flight to St. Kitts!
Here is the video trip report of the flight
Is it common for such flights among North-American airlines - I'm not so familiar with them - not to offer some kind of a snack (for free)? I mean the flight was in the morning so a muffin or something like that would have been appropriate.
Especially if no entertainment is provided it's important to keep the passengers busy to while away time.
Unfortunately, most airlines in the United States no longer offer any food or snack in economy class on domestic or short international routes to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America. They offer complimentary beverages instead. Food for purchase is also available onboard.
Thanks for sharing your first report here. Seems to be a lot of reports on US Airways lately, which is good since they won't exist anymore in a few months. No IFE on a 1.5 hour flight is fine, but I've done transcons on US A320s and A321s with no IFE and it can get pretty long with no TV and no power outlets to charge you own device. Hopefully they will retrofit these planes to add PTVs. The US interiors on older aircraft are getting pretty worn. CLT is an easy airport to connect.
Welcome to Flight-Report!
Thank you! I have also flown in US Airways transcon before without entertainment. Though it is good that American Airlines and their new A321s will have them.
Welcome to the site and thanks for sharing this report with us!
I don't really care for EWR, Terminal A is really dingy and not spotter friendly. That said, you do have a great morning shot from your seat with the sun breaking through the clouds. Pretty standard domestic flight, boring and mundane with minimal service. How was the crew?
Great shot of Charlotte's skyline. Hopefully you took some rest in the rocking chairs at CLT during your layover :)