Airplanes in the U.S.

I participated in the Boston Career Forum on November 15th, and then went to Miami for a family trip. It was actually the first time that I used the airplane in the U.S., thus I would like to sum up about the airplanes’ information of the U.S.

The role of the airplane in the U.S.

Although it is common to use airplanes in Japan, the airplane is truly a main transportation in the U.S. because the size of the nation is by far larger than that of Japan.

There is no bullet train in the U.S. (Amtrak is kind of express in Japan), thus the airplane is operated even for short distances such as between New York and Boston.

From NY, it can be said that using airplanes is necessary other than going to Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.

Boston

Hotel

The career forum was held at the Hynes Convention center, which is the center of Boston City, but I stayed at the Hilton near the airport because the flight was at 8:00 a.m. in the next morning.

In Boston case, one Hilton is located in the airport, but I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport, which was not in the airport.

The shuttle bus is operated from the hotel every 15 minutes and it only takes five minutes to go to the airport.

Even from the center of the city, Boston Logan Airport is easy to get access, which is only to take the subway blue line and transfer for the shuttle bus at the Airport Station.

Logan Airport has four terminals (A, B, C and E), thus everyone told the airplane company that they were going to take to the driver.

This time, I used American Airlines and that company uses terminal B in Logan Airport.

This was the first time that I took the airplanes in the U.S., thus I took the bus at the hotel at 6:30 and that shuttle arrived at the airport at around 6:35 in order not to miss the airplane even if I had faced some problems.

In the next chapter, I’d like to write about the process in the airport.

↑This is the Hilton Garden Inn that I stayed. The access to the airport is awesome, but I had to walk about ten min. from the closest station, Orient Heights.

Logan Airport

However, the main process is same as the Japanese domestic flight.

We can check-in one day (24 hours) prior to the departures, and only need to add it to the Apple Wallet in iPhone.

After arriving at the airport, we need to pass the security check then go to the boarding gate. One different point from Japan is that the security check is stricter than Japan.

We are required to remove the shoes and spread out the hands in the security check machine.

Also, when you have electric devices, it is necessary to be checked them separately from the bags, which takes some time.

Furthermore, liquids including water are allowed only 100 mL or less, thus many passengers pour water into their water bottle from the water fountain or buy the bottle of water in the retail shop after passing the security check.

I arrived at the airport at 6:35, and the security check was not very busy, thus I arrived at the boarding gate before 7 a.m.

However, it is advised to arrive at the airport two hours prior to the departure in domestic flights case in the U.S., and it should be when the airport is crowded.

In Logan Airport, there were a lot of benches and electric outlets in front of the boarding gate.

↑ In front of the boarding gate at the Logan Airport A lot of benches, desks and outlet are helpful especially for business person.

Inside the aircraft

The departure of the flight was at 8 o’clock and the boarding began at 7:25. Compared to Japan, the group is divided strictly.

The aircraft was B737, which had about 200 seats. In order to avoid the crowd, the boarding is divided by each group from 1to 9. I was in the group 6 on that flight.

After showing my pass at the boarding gate, it took about 5 minutes to sit on the seat, which is rarely happened in Japan.

That actually occurs because almost all the passengers put their baggage in the overhead compartment, which interferes other passengers from going to their seat.

My seat was the row 30 out of 33. First, the passengers in the former row seats boarded and then those latter did.

All the seats have a USB port for charging, which was really helpful for me.

Boeing is a very common aircraft company not only in the U.S. but also in Japan, thus the interior has few differences. However, I found two differences between Japanese and American.

First difference is a free WiFi.

During the domestic flight operated by ANA and JAL, the Free WiFi is provided for free.

However, in the American Airlines, it basically needs to be paid, and the price is 15 dollars for one hour and 19 dollars for the whole flight.

There are also a month contract or a year contract, and we can only use WiFi for twenty minutes for free.

I am accustomed to use Japanese airplane companies, thus I felt American Airlines were harsh.

The second difference is a cabin attendant.

In Japan, a cabin attendant is mainly a job for women. It is true that the number of male CA is getting increased, but I have never seen a male CA in the flight.

However, during the flight from Boston to Miami, all the CAs for the economy seat were males although those for the business were female.

I used ANA from Tokyo to New York and all the CAs were female, thus it was a first experience for me, and they were so kind that I was grateful for it.

↑ The American Airlines served a cup of drink with a snack. I chose a cup of Minute Maid apple juice. The snack was delicious, too.

Miami

My flight arrived at Miami International Airport at 11:15 a.m., which was about 30 minutes earlier than the original schedule.

Miami International Airport is a big airport that has a flight not only to many cities in the U.S. but also to many Latin American countries, thus many people in the airport spoke Spanish.

Most of the passengers in my flight from Boston were Americans, but while walking in the airport, I found a lot of Latino and strongly felt that I came to Miami, which is the south edge of the U.S.

In order to go to the center or downtown of Miami, I needed to take MIA mover, which is a free AGT, but the entrance was very hard to find, and from the arrival gate of my flight, I had to walk for about 15 minutes, which was much worse than the Logan Airport.

We do not need to wait more than five minutes for the MIA mover, and it takes about 5 min to go to the Central Station, which is a big station and you can get access to the center of Miami from there by using Metro, bus, Uber, rent a car, and so on.

Compared to New York and Boston, the public transportation is weak, but it is possible to go to the center of city from airport by trains, thus it is not very inconvenient.

However, when you want to go to the southern part of the city, there is no train, thus you have to use cars or buses.

↑This is the entrance of MIA mover, which is used to go to Central Station. However, it is very far from the gate of American Airlines and it is hard to find the entrance.

What you need to be careful

What you really need to be careful about the airplanes in the U.S. is that you have to pay extra money for checked baggages.

This is completely different from airplane companies in Japan.

For example, you need to pay extra money for checked baggages when you use LCC even in Japan. However, for ANA and JAL, for up to 2 checked baggages, it is for free.

On the other hand, in the U.S., not only LCC but also main airplane careers such as Delta, American and United airlines make you pay for the checked baggages.

If you use business class, it is for free, but for domestic flights, almost everyone uses economy class, thus they face this problem.

For American Airlines, if you choose payment in advance, it costs $35, and if you pay at the airport, it is $40.

I was not able to believe this terribly bad service compared to ANA and JAL.

And like me, probably many Americans also do not agree to this system, thus almost all the passengers bring a small carry case that can be put in the overhead compartment.

This is the reason why it takes such a lot of time to sit on the seat even in domestic flights as I said above.

What I learned from here is that you have to be patient when using public transportation in the U.S. unless you have such a huge amount of money that can use business class every time.

However, I may need to be grateful for the fact that it only takes about four hours from Boston to Miami, which is a very long distance for other transportations.

I have to apologize for writing some negative comments in the last chapter, but I think I was able to explain the reality of airlines in the U.S. Thank you very much for reading today.