Flying Northwest

The check-in counters were the centre of hustle and bustle that greeted me as I entered the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It looked like the flight to Nagoya, the first leg of three of my trip to Honolulu, was fully booked. In fact, a ground staff approached passengers, enticing them to give up their seats on this flight (NW 72) in exchange for some monetary compensation and a change in flight plans because the flight was overbooked. I don't know if anyone took the money; After the initial extra-strict security check (perhaps because the flight was eventually going to Detroit), I was on my way to board the plane.

I would normally not sleep while en route, but because of lack of sleep and the lack of movies in the in-flight entertainment system (which I see as a blessing), I got an hour's worth of sleep! Breakfast was delicious (I had an omelette with sausage), starting the day right; so when the plane landed in Nagoya five hours later (which in reality was just four hours, due to the time difference) I was quite energised for the lay-over before the NW 78 flight to Narita.

I was so shocked to find out that passengers had to go through the whole security check before boarding... even the same plane! The staff at the connecting flights counter had a difficult time making us understand that passengers on the same flight as mine would have to skip the queue and go through the security check straight away. Anyway, after the check, I had to walk fast up the escalator ramp and through the duty-free shops to Gate 20. Basically, the airport was just a blur to me because I did not have the chance to roam around... reminded me of my monorail ride and then the dash from the monorail to the boarding gates in Frankfurt International (in March 2008). The plane to Manila had started boarding while I was making a mad dash to the gate (and arrived in a huff).

Back now to the present story... the flight to Narita was far more interesting than the one to Nagoya. This time, I was seated beside a teacher from Saipan (more on her later) who said that the flight would take only 45 minutes. Honestly, I was puzzled at how an international carrier like Northwest could transport passengers on a domestic route. Since this flight, NW 78, was a lot shorter, the flight attendants only served drinks and pretzels, much like the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Birmingham in March 2008 (if the attendants served food, I wouldn't have known because I fell asleep in the plane... waking up only as the plane landed in Frankfurt).

Once in Narita, I was famished, and since I was a tourist in transit, I did the most logical thing: I skipped McDonald's and ate an authentic Japanese meal (or at least the restaurant appeared to be Japanese). It's beef steak with carrots, potatoes and gravy, and miso soup, with stacks of cooked rice. Then, I had to wait for four hours for the next and last leg of the trip... NW 30 from Narita to Honolulu. Since the flight crossed the International Date Line, I actually gained a day; so, even if I had left Manila at 6.30am Saturday, September 20, and had taken more than 12 hours in flight or in transit, I arrived in Honolulu at 8.30am the same day!

Once again, I had nothing but praises for the food: I ate beef with mashed potatoes and carrots (in hind-sight, I think I ate exactly the same meal as in the Japanese restaurant in the airport) but sans the miso soup for dinner. The salad of shell macaroni and smoked salmon was simply delicious, and the lemon cake was lovely. Expectedly, I was able to clear off my plate! Then for breakfast, I had a croissant with sugar on top and some yogurt (I missed this a lot!). I just gave up on the soy stick dessert, too hard for the teeth (the brackets of my braces might get damaged).

The flight attendants were all very friendly. I especially liked the attendant in the Narita-Honolulu flight because she was kind with the passengers. No snobbish attendants unlike in some other airlines I have ridden.

The only downside I could think of was the in-flight entertainment per passenger was only available in the business class section. Economy class passengers had to crane their necks to watch the movie on the projector screen in front of the section.

So far, I've enjoyed my three airplane rides on Northwest... I'm excited to take the domestic flights to the mainland. :D