USA/Caribbean Trip Part 1: VA BNE-LAX (Photos)
 

Introduction:

I will do this report in parts to make it easier. Part 1 will include my flight from BNE-LAX and what I did whilst in LA.

Well after getting back from New Zealand in December I was looking at going on another trip. Thought about going back to NZ but I thought I’d go somewhere different. Thought about going to SE Asia (Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket), or maybe the US and Caribbean (Los Angeles, Seattle and St Maarten). Virgin Australia had a pretty good sale to the US, so we decided on the US. My mate Josh would be joining me.

We would fly with Virgin Australia to LAX on May 26, stay in LA for 6 nights. Then fly Virgin America to Seattle on June 1, stay in Seattle for 2 nights. Then fly American Airlines to St Maarten via Miami on June 3 arriving the following day, stay in St Maarten 6 nights. We would have daytrips to St Barths and Saba whilst in St Maarten. We would then return to Brisbane via Miami and Los Angeles on June 10 with AA and VA. It all worked out well and I was very excited, and finally the day had arrived.

Brisbane Airport:

I arrived at Brisbane International at around 9am for the 11:15 departure. Met up with Josh and said goodbye to my parents. The line for check-in was quite long, after half an hour we made it to the front. We both checked in without any issues, unfortunately for me I had been assigned an aisle seat as all the window seats were already gone, bugger! Josh had been assigned 46K (a window seat) and I was changed to 46G which was only 2 seats away, so it wasn’t too bad.

We passed through security and customs and had a walk around before sitting down at our gate. There wasn’t too much to see. Cathay had a new A333 in, B-LAZ. Other aircraft included an Etihad A332, Qantas B744 (also off to LAX) and two Qantas A333s (one to SIN and one to HKG). And of course my VA B773 was there and it was VH-VPH.

VH-VPH being prepared to take me all the way to LAX
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7406/8...be62790a95.jpg

Looking good in the VA livery
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5340/8...f38d5e6cc3.jpg

Etihad A332 A6-EYL
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/8...d9c3e76ba7.jpg

Cathay Pacific A333 B-LAZ
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/8...0aa0479acd.jpg

Boarding commenced at around 10:30. I was very excited to be going to the US for the first time :D

May 26, 2013
Virgin Australia
VA7
BNE-LAX
VH-VPH B77W
Seat 46G

Got on-board the very nice VA B77W. The interior was very new and looked great. Made my way back to 46G. The seat was quite comfortable and legroom was good too.

Took a quick photo out the window whilst the seats were un-occupied.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5335/8...afd6131652.jpg

Economy Seats
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3704/8...802b941850.jpg

Boarding finally finished so it was time to go. It appeared to be quite a full flight, I only saw one un-occupied seat in economy. We taxied out to RWY19 and began the 12 and a half hour flight to LAX. We made a nice big right hand turn over Brisbane city before flying back around the airport and out to sea.

I started watching The Hobbit about half an hour into the flight. Lunch was served about an hour later, there were two options, I took the BBQ chicken which was nice, can’t remember the other option. The Hobbit went for 3 hours, about half way through the movie we were over New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Getting close to New Caledonia
http://l6.yimg.com/so/7435/8848264438_c141dcdca8.jpg

Nice mood lighting
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5343/8...e45685c445.jpg

After the movie I got up to stretch my legs. Didn’t mind having an aisle seat in the end, it was good being able to get straight up and walk around if I wanted to.

Lights off
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/8...14958d4250.jpg

Sat back down and started watching the first Lord of the Rings which was another 3 hours.

Passing the Pacific Islands
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8413/8...de6e36bed2.jpg

The crew came through halfway through the flight giving out sandwiches and wraps. I took a chicken sandwich which was very nice.

Near Hawaii
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7357/8...b9598bcde0.jpg

After the movie was over, I got up again and walked around for a bit. Then I sat back down and watched half a dozen episodes of Modern Family. By then we were two hours out of LA. So the cabin crew switched the lights on, I was expecting them to use the mood lighting but they just put the lights straight on haha! For breakfast there was two choices, blueberry crepes or chicken sausage and eggs. I took the crepes which were disgusting! Josh had the sausage and eggs which apparently weren’t that great either.

Time to get up!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/8...da9de796b0.jpg

I played a few games on the IFE. The VA entertainment system was pretty good, kept me entertained the whole way.

Finally we are nearly there!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7312/8...d563df8ca5.jpg

http://l2.yimg.com/sk/3833/8848237182_f681d3fe67.jpg

Josh took a video of the landing which can be viewed here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCf10kYBjbM

Could just see out of the windows on the right side of the aircraft and got my firsts views of the US. We flew past LAX on downwind for RWY24R. We finally touched down at about 07:10 local time, after 12 hours and 35 minutes flying. My longest flight by far! We made the long taxi to Terminal 5 and exited the aircraft.

A quick shot out the window.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8558/8...2ec39e7b11.jpg

I had heard lots of stories about customs in LAX being very slow. I just wanted to get to the hotel cause I was exhausted. It took about an hour and a half to get through; it was slow but not too bad. It was only our flight going through at the time, I can imagine with several flights at the same time it would be a nightmare. We finally got out of the terminal and found the shuttle bus pick up area. Shortly a bus came along to take us to the Hilton at the airport.

Overall the flight over was tiring, but very good. I’d definitely fly VA across the Pacific again, and I would on my way back ;)

DAY 1: LOS ANGELES

We were going to do something but neither of us managed to get any sleep on the flight so we just stayed at the hotel and relaxed.

DAY 2: SPOTTING AT LAX

Woke up at about 2am (still wasn’t quite over the jet lag ;)). At 6am we walked to In-N-Out burger which took about 20 minutes. We stayed here the whole day, it sure is a great spot! The constant Southwest 737s did get a bit annoying after a while! Here are a few of my shots.

In-N-Out Burger
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2819/8...c930fcdf14.jpg

Qantas A380 VH-OQI arriving from Melbourne
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8271/8...dbbd8a088b.jpg

China Eastern A340-600 B-6055 in Expo 2010 livery
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/8...6290b19bec.jpg

Qantas A380 VH-OQG arriving from Sydney
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/8...c03ac7341f.jpg

Korean Air A380 HL7619 arriving from Seoul
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2867/8...343caacfa5.jpg

British Airways 747, quite a few families were out here because of the Memorial Day public holiday.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5324/8...5c2497994a.jpg

Air France A380 F-HPJG
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/8...a9598c5c3e.jpg

Malaysian 777 arrives from Kuala Lumpur via Tokyo
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/8...9d406184a2.jpg

Turkish 777 arriving from Istanbul
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3696/8...b52e91ccb0.jpg

Singapore A345 9V-SGC arrives from Singapore, was good to see an SQ A345 for the first time.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/8...ed0b1f0da2.jpg

American Airlines 777 arriving
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3727/8...1fd6f8cc95.jpg

British Airways 747 in Oneworld livery arriving from LHR
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8559/8...35907a221c.jpg

Lufthansa A346 from Munich
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3695/8...dc3f814f1e.jpg

All Blacks 777 arrives from LHR
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5349/8...fab09e0568.jpg

These are just some of my photos from the day, the rest can be found here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633833270093/

DAY 3: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Went to Universal Studios for the day, if anyone is interested the photos can be found here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633992586810/

I will share a couple of photos from Universal Studios, of the 747 crash site from the movie War of the Worlds. It is very impressive, it is a real 747 and flew for ANA, it’s rego was JA8147.

http://l2.yimg.com/sj/2819/8932048480_c5eaa22c9f.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/8...9f58db28c1.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5452/8...9fea2819fb.jpg

DAY 4: SPOTTING AT LAX

Went spotting at LAX again, this time we went to Imperial Hill and the Proud Bird restaurant later that day. Here are some of the photos.

New American livery :)
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/8...73d3fa515c.jpg

United Boeing 757-300, saw lots of B753s whilst in the US.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3743/8...232256341f.jpg

American Airlines Boeing 767-200ER
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7426/8...dc9907341a.jpg

FedEx DC-10
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/8...0f7fc4ffb1.jpg

Virgin Australia Boeing 777-300ER VH-VPF
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5462/8...5f7851ee3d.jpg

American Eagle in the new livery
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/8...b3088cfbdc.jpg

FedEx Airbus A300F
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/8...8ea1129e3f.jpg

United Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner off to Houston :D
http://l2.yimg.com/sk/3742/8963142387_32a0ea36a3.jpg

Alaskan Boeing 737-900 in Disneyland livery
http://l6.yimg.com/so/7371/8963135393_a0a7766ba4.jpg

Virgin Australia Boeing 777-300ER VH-VPD arrives from Sydney
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5446/8...bc96c31c37.jpg

Qantas Airbus A380 VH-OQK from Sydney arrived shortly after
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7394/8...b5981df656.jpg

Eva Air Cargo MD-11F
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/8...17416a6ff4.jpg

Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I D-ABYD arrives from Frankfurt
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3799/8...a6d3320c03.jpg

American Airlines MD-82 departs
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3687/8...513bc1b50f.jpg

China Eastern A346 B-6055 again
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8554/8...e6c30ca3a9.jpg

Imperial Hill
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7339/8...390e5a3a69.jpg

ANA Boeing 777-300ER JA731A in Star Alliance livery
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/8...9a6bb78b8f.jpg

The rest of my photos from Imperial Hill can be found here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633957232849/

Here are some photos from Proud Bird. We had lunch there which was very nice, we then stayed for a little while to do some spotting.

Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER ZK-OKN arrives from Auckland
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/8...8308bb38d6.jpg

American Boeing 757-200 arriving
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3800/8...f48459e856.jpg

More photos can be found here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633959761218/

DAY 5: DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK

Went to Disney California Adventure Park for the day, photos can be found here if anyone is interested. They are after the photos of Universal Studios
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633992586810/

DAY 6: LOS ANGELES TOUR AND LAX SPOTTING

We went on a tour of LA in the morning and then went to In-N-Out for the afternoon. Photos from the tour can be found here, after the photos from Universal Studios and Disney California Adventure Park.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633992586810/

Here are some photos from In-N-Out.

Special Alaskan B734
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/8...158522d90a.jpg

Singapore A345 9V-SGE arrives from Singapore
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7327/8...c2b7abd307.jpg

Asiana Cargo Boeing 747-400F
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5347/8...7ca53543a0.jpg

Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER ZK-OKP in The Hobbit livery arrives from LHR
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5447/8...e780492348.jpg

British Airways 747 arrives from LHR
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8133/8...4f3c4cdc26.jpg

We stayed for the China Southern A380, unfortunately it always seemed to be an hour late whilst we were there. So it was too dark for decent photos, but I gave it a go.

China Southern A380 B-6137 arrives from Guangzhou
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8258/8...54a9850648.jpg

More photos from the afternoon can be found here, after all the photos from my first day at In-N-Out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon...7633833270093/

Well that was my last day in LA. The following day we were off to Seattle. I had a good time, LA is a dump but spotting there was fantastic and it was good to go to Universal Studios and Hollywood. I’d go back, but only for a few days and I’d just go spotting. Part 2 will include my flight from LAX-SEA with Virgin America and also what I did while in Seattle.

Thanks for reading!

Brandon

I cannot begin to tell you how unbelieveably jealous I am...

But, keep 'em coming...

Loving your work Brandon, Would one day love to go there sounds like a great place.

Can't wait for the SXM part

Cheers

Jacob:):)

The War of the Worlds plane is getting rather old, during Halloween Horror Nights you can walk through the set, which is much better than the expensive VIP tour pass.

How did you get to Imperial Hill? I was there on Xmas day and ended up walking from the Hilton due to everything being closed, very long walk, but I had nothing else to do. If you walk pass the dog park up on the hill you get a great view of the fire training pit towards Dockweller beach.

If you are back through LAX on the way home the Observation Deck in the middle of LAX is open on weekends, beefy security, but a quick bag search and passport ID gets you up there. Encounters Restaurant is nothing to write home about during the day, but a good place to grab a beer and watch the planes.

If you are staying near LAX on Century, the Ocean Express bus is worth the $5 round trip to the beach, walk down to Hermosa Beach and drool over some of the houses none of us will ever own.

Edit: The 911 memorial site at LAX is pretty cool, it's in the middle of the lighted pylons with the giant flag, you need to walk pass Terminal 8 in the middle section, pass the control tower and over the road.

Hey Tom,

We caught a taxi to Imperial Hill. The taxi driver was confused at first and had no idea where he was going, but we eventually got there ;) We walked on the way back, yes it is quite a long walk!

I am already back in Brisbane, got back on June 12. Would have liked to have gone to the observation deck but didn't get around to it. Something to do next time!

Brandon

Guess you know what we are going to ask....

Where are the SXM photos/video?

Heard girls drink free at the bar for being topless ;)

LA has a lot to do part from the tourist stuff, been recently doing the hike up to the Griffith Observatory then on further up Hollywood mountain. Great place for a sunset, but rather dangerous coming back down at night. Have spotted the odd rattle snake and coyote, but they seem harmless.