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Blast from the Past Old Tower Air Review

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habubuaza

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2001
Posts
355
Hey I stumbled onto this from another website and I just got a kick out of it. Brought back some memories, I never worked for these guys but had many friends who did, and sitting down having a few beers listening to some of my Tower Air buddies I would be laughing so hard that I would cry. Anyway.....

I don't care much for inflight pampering. I'm not a frequent flyer anymore - I just want the basics: a safe, clean, comfortable experience that ends with me alive at point B. If I can get a good price, so much the better. I'd heard a few "things" about TowerAir, but against the better judgement of several friends I decided to buy cheap tickets to NYC from San Francisco.

Boarding
TowerAir isn't exactly a marquee name in the business - this is probably why its terminals are banished to the farthest, darkest corners of the airport. In JFK (NYC) the terminal is probably closer to La Guardia. And then there's the boarding process itself. You know you're flying cheap when the official scribbles a number on a piece of paper, and tells you that's a boarding pass. I almost wanted to scribble "$100" on another piece of paper and tell him that was payment. The boarding process was disorganized - everyone crowded around the gate in a big herd - very 3rd world, almost charming even. But hey, for a cheap ticket I'd put up with a little disorganization and delay - wouldn't you?

The Aircraft
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the craft was a 747. That's pretty much where all positive feelings about the plane ended. Inside I noticed that the seat covers were torn and frayed, the tray tables bent and cocked at strange angles - it was almost artistic. Most annoying of all, the reading lights weren't working. If this craft wasn't the first prototype for the 747 program, it was **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** near close to it! When I asked about the reading light, the stewardess sympathetically offered to turn on a light by one of the emergency doors. That really inspired confidence in me. It was just as well, TowerAir has a very poor excuse for a bi-monthly magazine. But hey, for a cheap ticket I'd put up with a shoddy magazine and lack of reading lights - wouldn't you?

The Service
The stewards and stewardesses were courteous, if a bit short on occasion. Perhaps it's because they have to deal day in and day out with comments like "I'll never fly Tower again!!", gasped by several passengers soon after boarding. Or maybe it's because they have to look into shocked faces of passengers who've just received the two pieces of bread and sliver of meat product that passes for a sandwich on TowerAir. But hey, for a cheap ticket I'd put up with poor food - wouldn't you? An inflight movie was actually shown, which would have been slightly more enjoyable if I had headphones... and if the headphone jack on my seat worked. But hey, for a cheap ticket I'd put up with no sound - wouldn't you?

The Wrap-up
We landed about an hour late, which I took to be a blessing - better late than never you know. On touching down some of the overhead bins opened, which is a feature I don't believe to be supported on current airlines (or FAA regulations for that matter). It seems that TowerAir buys very old 747's and flies them into the ground, so to speak. But hey, for a cheap ticket... no - the economy's doing quite well; shell out a few bucks more and fly an airline with working equipment!





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