tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post1949807386667874939..comments2024-03-13T09:47:40.487+00:00Comments on Cockpit Conversation: Special ServicesAviatrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-12856740864548257782008-06-13T17:05:00.000+00:002008-06-13T17:05:00.000+00:00Most connections in the southern US go through eit...Most connections in the southern US go through either Dallas or Atlanta. If you have a choice, Dallas is definitely the way to go! I've been lost in the Atlanta airport so many times that I refuse to go there anymore. I'll take a connection through ORD over ATL any time... and that's saying something. I HATE Ohare.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-50348689345648731442008-06-09T21:26:00.000+00:002008-06-09T21:26:00.000+00:00My first connection was in Texas, actually, and th...My first connection was in Texas, actually, and the latest connection out was about the same time for both Atlanta and Birmingham. A phone call to an FBO in the Atlanta area revealed an overnight fee ten times that of Birmingham's. Ouch.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-37537176156693468492008-06-09T21:06:00.000+00:002008-06-09T21:06:00.000+00:00"Alabama is flat and green"...Yes, it is. Alabama ..."Alabama is flat and green"...<BR/>Yes, it is. Alabama is also VERY hilly and green, as you found out when landing at B-ham, one of the best kept secrets in the U.S.. Driving from North to South into the city at night will make you wish you were not the driver. Friends living there would like others not to know about it.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure you had to connect through Atlanta, and wonder why you didn't park there. Was Hartsfield busier than you wanted?<BR/><BR/>Birmingham, Montgomery, Atlanta...<BR/>All historic names in the history of race relations in the U.S., and as is the case in much of the South today, are all much less bigoted than most Northern cities.<BR/>Go back to Birmingham and enjoy it.Greybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11919862790973521778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-64760478615064949532008-06-09T18:39:00.000+00:002008-06-09T18:39:00.000+00:00US customs/immigration are nearly always pleasant ...US customs/immigration are nearly always pleasant and say "Welcome back" when I enter on my US passport. British customs don't say anything at all when I enter on my UK passport. Canadian immigration always gives me the third degree "(surly) why are you here?". My all time favorite (in Calgary) - "Is there no one in Canada who could do this job?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-89304259199591154602008-06-09T16:00:00.000+00:002008-06-09T16:00:00.000+00:00"Birmingham" easy to pronounce?! I've yet to hear ..."Birmingham" easy to pronounce?! I've yet to hear an American pronounce it correctly :-).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, US customs people nearly always give me a cheery "Welcome home!" when I arrive back here, even though I'm most definitely not a citizen (just a funny-accented resident). The customs officers of my citizenship, on the other hand, are about as surly and uncommunicative as it's possible to be, at least to me...Hamishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08238239589217873611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-5599201944996201102008-06-08T22:41:00.000+00:002008-06-08T22:41:00.000+00:00Having lived in Birmingham as a kid, if I were ask...Having lived in Birmingham as a kid, if I were asked for one thing to see while in the city, it would probably be <A HREF="http://www.slossfurnaces.com/" REL="nofollow">Sloss Furnace</A>. It's a massive extinct steel furnace that is now a historic site. Sloss is visually interesting (lots of huge structures), historic (it defines Birmingham's early identity), educational (you learn a lot about steel), and it has its own ghost. But having just checked their website, it seems they no longer do daily tours. Bummer. They have a virtual online tour, though.<BR/><BR/>My experience with US Customs matches yours. When I return to the US, I get one of two agents: there's the guy who says "welcome home" and makes joking comments about all the stamps in my passport, and the guy who doesn't say anything at all at any point in the process. With the latter, sometimes I'll stand there staring until he explicitly tells me to move along, just to get the satisfaction of making him talk.dpiercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03397601206317363858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-7711235977965437812008-06-08T20:14:00.000+00:002008-06-08T20:14:00.000+00:00I'm not able to find the primary source at the mom...I'm not able to find the primary source at the moment, but at some point the Customs + Border Patrol immigration handbook was online, and I flipped through it.<BR/><BR/>According to that, agents are required to welcome home US citizens -- but in all honesty, I can't remember the last time I was welcomed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-31561500584814274672008-06-08T20:08:00.000+00:002008-06-08T20:08:00.000+00:00I have similar in the UK with train tickets. You c...I have similar in the UK with train tickets. You can try the company whose train you want, you can try a company that has nothing to do with it, but sometimes has those tickets at a good rate, or I can just go down the station and they have the ticket at the same price, that wasnt available online. Pot luck.Lord Huttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10243668575631936439noreply@blogger.com