My Grandma's Cookie Recipe
Departure Airport: Sacramento International Airport (SMF/KSMF)
Arrival Airport: General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS/KBOS)
Airline: JetBlue Airways (@Anthony_Gulluscio summon)
Aircraft: Airbus A220-300
Flight Time: 4 hours, 42 minutes
Server: Expert
As of now, Sacramento - Boston on JetBlue is the United State’s longest flight on the A220 (for now - the flight is seasonally run on the A320). It was formerly Boston - San Jose, but that service was cut.
I showed up at Sacramento Airport’s Terminal A about 2 hours before my scheduled departure. It was abnormally quiet at this time, just before 10:00 AM. Once past the TSA checkpoint, I found myself with plenty of time to kill. I grabbed a seat near my gate, plugged in my phone, and watched aircraft and crews buzz around through the massive glass windows overlooking the ramp. My ride for today to the East Coast was already sitting at the gate, having arrived in the previous evening and hour and a half late. Boarding started exactly as scheduled, and I was one of the first onboard, being seated in the EvenMore cabin at the very front of the aircraft. As it happened, it was an extremely empty flight, and I was literally the only person in the EvenMore cabin. Normally, I wouldn’t pay a couple hundred dollars extra for first class, but for this 5 hour transcontinental run, I felt like it was worth it.
The boarding doors closed with maybe 60 seats filled, and the safety video began to play. As we started to push back, I took a look around my seat. It was impeccably clean, possibly the cleanest plane I’d ever been on. As the “EvenMore Space” name suggests, my seat had ample legroom, and the padding was great. Once the video concluded, the captain came on the PA .
“From the flight deck we’d like to welcome you aboard JetBlue Airways flight 916 with service over to Boston. The computers are showing a little under 5 hours in the air, making a right turn after departure and basically a straight shot east across the country. I do expect some on and off light turbulence throughout the flight, so do make sure you keep an eye on the seatbelt sign. Onboard today for your comfort but first and foremost your safety we have 4 lovely flight attendants, Sandy and Mike in the front and Thomas and Phillip in the back. We’re working on getting the engines up and running right now, and we should have a very short taxi out to the departure runway. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight to Boston.”
We had a very long takeoff roll from Runway 35R, and lazily lumbered into the sky, weighed down by the 6.5 hours of fuel needed to get us to Massachusetts. The wing dipped and the plane began a wide bank to the East. A few minutes into our climb, the views of suburban Sacramento were traded for the stunning vistas of Eldorado National Forest. The highlight of my flight was this gorgeous shot I got as we reached our initial cruising altitude of 33,000 feet directly over Lake Tahoe.
Somewhere over Western Utah, the first service of the day began. My biggest critique of JetBlue’s premium offering is the lack of hot meals. I know their Mint product has that on their Transatlantic flights, but some of these transcontinental flights are basically just as long and they lack that. I declined food this round, but I took the flight attendant up on some coffee.
I took a little while to get acquainted with the IFE system after I finished with my coffee. There was a super wide range of content, including LiveTV which worked seamlessly. I decided to watch this month’s featured movie, Moana 2.
Fast forward to the end of my movie and we were just passing Milwaukee. Things got a little choppy over Lake Michigan, and we climbed up to 37,000 feet for a smoother ride. Once the seatbelt sign turned off again, the second service commenced. This time, I did take up the offer of free food, opting for a “SavorUp” box. It was pretty good, with a Mediterranean style platter of hummus and olives. Shortly after they wrapped up this round of service, the captain came on the PA.
“We are showing just about an hour out from the Boston area, currently cruising at 37,000 feet. I do want to give you a quick update on our progress and what to expect for the remainder of the flight. We’ve been tracking a line of thunderstorms just west of the Boston area, and while we’re doing our best to navigate around the worst of it, we are expecting a bumpy ride as we begin our descent. Because of that, we’re going to ask the cabin crew to begin preparing the cabin for arrival a bit earlier than usual. Once the seatbelt sign comes on, we do ask that you remain seated with your seatbelt fastened for the remainder of the flight. We’re still on track for an on-time arrival, looking to touch down right around 8:00 PM local time. Current weather in Boston is actually pretty nice, with scattered clouds and a temperature of 77 degrees.”
Our descent was indeed bumpy, taking us over Western Massachusetts as the sun began to set.
We were on the JFUND STAR for Runway 4R, which gives a great view of Downtown Boston and Logan International Airport on Downwind.
Just a few minutes later, we gracefully touched down and rolled to a stop, America’s longest A220 flight complete. The taxi took a little while, having to hold short of numerous runways as we navigated around the airport during the heart of the evening rush. Our gate unfortunately didn’t allow for a final glimpse at our plane, instead taking us through a winding series of strange concrete hallways, eventually depositing us out in the baggage claim area. Overall, I would say this experience flying across the country in JetBlue’s “EvenMore” cabin was enjoyable. The seats were comfortable, the IFE was great, and the crew was very friendly.
This would be @AvioesEJogos 's favorite flight because the more time on an A220, the better, in his eyes.
