Review of Southern Airways Express flight from Washington to Morgantown in Economy

Report No: 2022-605

Dear folks,

Welcome to this brand new US domestic series which I would cover 2 different airlines and 6 segments which was a pretty eventful trip as I had multiple interruptions during the trip as my schedule changed more than multiple times.

I have originally booked two one-ways on Southern Airways Express and Boutique Air to experience flight covered by the Essential Flight Act onboard small jets which are both offering flights from the Washington DC - Baltimore area to Pittsburgh with a one-night stay in Pittsburgh in between. The pricing of these tickets are so low that you could fly for more than half of a legacy carrier from the DC area to Pittsburgh and it's even cheaper if you terminate your journey at a small regional airport.

The first part of this series was originally supposed to be by Southern Airways Express from Washington Dulles to Lancaster, however, I needed to be rebooked on a later flight from Washington Dulles to Morgantown since we had an issue with the original Lancaster flight which the story would be covered in this trip report. I was also able to visit the Turkish Airlines Lounge and the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at IAD during this visit at Washington Dulles Airport.

The routing for this trip would be revealed part by part

Loads for this flight

9 out of 9 passenger seats were occupied 

On the day of travel, I have utilized bus 5A to go from central Washington DC to Washington Dulles Airport

The journey costs $7.50 and that morning, the bus was empty with only a couple of seats occupied.

WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT - IAD

After a 55 minutes bus ride, I have arrived at Washington Dulles Airport.

Since Southern Airways Express does not allow online check-in, I needed to visit the check-in counter in order to get a boarding pass. Since there were 3 Southern Airways Express flights departing at similar times and there was only one check-in desk open, it took about 10 minutes for my turn to come since one of the passengers need to pay for overweight baggage which took some time.

There was no wait for security that morning, however, since I made the dummy mistake of forgetting a bottle of water in my bag, I needed to wait 5 minutes for an officer to discard it.

At that moment, I was able to grab a photo of the Southern Airways Express aircraft at the tarmac.

My boarding passes for the original flights that I was supposed to take

FIDS
At that moment, I had about 28 minutes till boarding and I wanted to have some food since I knew I wouldn't have the chance to eat proper food for the next 3-4 hours and I didn't have breakfast that morning.

That's why I used the walkway to go to the A/B concourse, where I had lounge options via my PriorityPass.

TURKISH AIRLINES LOUNGE - WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT

At that time, I had the option to choose between the Turkish Airlines Lounge and the Air France Lounge and I opted for the former

Once I was admitted inside the lounge, the staff was clearing the breakfast buffet so I grabbed what was left which ended to be an instant oatmeal with apples&cinnamon as I had limited time and the staff informed be that the lunch buffet would be ready in 15 minutes.

This was my meal for the first round

By the way, the bar area at the back was empty so I was easily able to find a seat over there despite the main seating area being full.

After enjoying my cocktail and my oatmeal, I waited for the lunch offerings to come and at that time I spotted this Air India 787 pushing back

As well as this ANA 787 waiting at the gate for it's flight to Tokyo

The buffet was ready about 10-15 minutes before boarding commences for my flight and there was a queue, so I needed to eat within 5-8 minutes so I could be there on time since this flight was operated by a Cessna, the boarding process would have taken less than a minute.

Options that day included meatballs, chicken, rice, and steamed vegetables; as well as a salad bar alongside with hummus.

This was my selection for the day

Once, I was done eating, I have left the lounge and headed back to the main Saarinen Terminal where the H gates are located.

I was walking fast as I could so that I could be at the gate on time

GATE AREA & BOARDING FOR 9X 246 TO LANCASTER

I was at the gate area about 25 minutes before departure.

And at that time, boarding didn't start yet.
Apparently, there was a weight balance issue which delayed the boarding process.

At that time, while waiting for the boarding to start, I was spotting aircraft from the window

Where I was able to spot this American Eagle Mitsubishi CRJ heading to Charlotte.

A few minutes later, I was really overwhelmed because of the heat so I asked the gate agent when boarding would start and she said in couple of minutes so I went to Dunkin Donuts which was the closest concession nearby and bought a drink alongside a donut.

When I was back at the gate, the action started. My name was paged and I was asked if I could volunteer to fly on a later flight to Pittsburgh as apparently we had some weight-balance issue, I was the only passenger connecting to Pittsburgh and everyone else was terminating their journey at Lancaster and that was the reason I was chosen. The agent then started to look for alternative flights for me and then she couldn't find any seats the same day. I told her that I could take a United flight to Pittsburgh instead but that request was refused and they asked me to take a seat.

A few minutes later, they have asked for a volunteer terminating their journey at Lancaster since the evening flight to Lancaster had availability. None of the passengers were interested. A few minutes later, the gate agent came to me and told me that I would be rebooked on a connection via Morgantown that afternoon as their revenue management decided to overbook that flight to accommodate me rather than rebooking me on another airline. I was asked to wait until boarding for the flight has been completed so that they could offload and rebook me.

At that time, this Turkish Airlines 787-9 had arrived from Istanbul Airport

A few minutes later, my new boarding passes were handed and I was told that the back office would contact me regarding my voucher. I was really sure that I could file a DoT complaint and get some cash instead but…

While waiting for my next flight, I went back to the A/B Terminal

VIRGIN ATLANTIC CLUBHOUSE - WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT

But this time, my destination was the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse which is managed by the Plaza Premium Group thus accept passengers holding American Express Platinum cards.

The lounge was empty during my visit since there was time for the Virgin flight out of IAD to depart, the lounge has a bar which has self serve snacks and a dining area where you could sit and have a meal.

I went to the dining area to have some food.

There was a QR code to order food

The menu was as following

My drinks have arrived first

Followed by my chicken burger served with chips & my tomato bisque soup served with grilled cheese bread. The food and the service at the lounge was great.

At the time while I was enjoying my main dishes, this Saudia 777-300ER had arrived

Shortly later, I ordered some green tea and the butterscotch pudding as a dessert.

At that time, I called Southern Airways Express to get clarification about my compensation, since the agent that I spoke was located at the headquarters rather than an overseas call center, she was able to talk with the dedicated team and told me that a voucher would arrive soon. However, I wanted cash but she told me that it was going to be a voucher.

At that time, I ordered a latte with almond milk and verified the DoT website and I was not eligible for bumping compensation for two reasons as these cases were exempt from the involuntary bumping compensation in cash   

1- Weight and Balance - Weight or balance restrictions that apply to planes with 60 or fewer seats for operational or safety reasons.   
2- Small Aircraft - Scheduled flights on planes holding fewer than 30 passengers.

which was a bit annoying but still in the end, I got a $150 voucher from Southern Airways Express which is an amount way more that I paid for these flights so in the end, it was still a win for me.

After working on the computer and spending time at the Virgin Clubhouse, it was time to leave the lounge and go back to the main Saarinen terminal to board my flight to Morgantown.

FIDS

GATE AREA & BOARDING FOR 9X 185

I was at the boarding area for my flight, about 35 minutes before scheduled departure times which makes 5 minutes till scheduled boarding.

Boarding didn't start on time, so I went to the window to do some more plane spotting

Turkish Airlines 787-9 that would head to Istanbul that afternoon

Lufthansa 747-8i in the retro livery

OE-LAZ getting ready for it's flight back to Vienna

Alaska A320 that would head to Los Angeles as AS 1097 that afternoon

At that time A7-BAF had just arrived at IAD as QR 707 from Doha Hamad Airport.

Aer Lingus A321neo that would head to Dublin that afternoon

QR 777 parking at its gate

A private jet passing by

About 5 minutes before scheduled boarding time, boarding was announced and we were asked to line up at the boarding gate

After boarding passes where checked, it was going to be a short ride with this chariot to our parking position.

9X 185 WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT TO MORGANTOWN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT

Our bus parked next to N809JA which was going to be the Cessna 208 Caravan taking us to Morgantown.

The first officer opened the aircraft door and then told everyone their seat number which was decided based on the weight balance.

Here is how the cabin looks like

Seat 6 was going to be my seat for this flight

A view from the wing

The setback pocket had an inflight magazine and the safety card

Before taking off, thee first officer did brief us regarding the safety rules and the flight time and then we were on our way.

After boarding was completed and the briefing was done, we were on our way.
As a side note, the legroom onboard this aircraft was absolutely tight.

United Express CRJ200 heading to Montreal as UA 3789

United A319 at the runway taking off

Another United Express aircraft heading to Canada that afternoon, but this time to Toronto as UA 3674

United Express ERJ-145 heading to Syracuse, NY

A United 777-200ER behind us at the runway queue

And after waiting for 4-5 aircraft to take-off, it was our turn and we were accelerating

And later on, in the air

United 737-MAX-9 heading to Cleveland that afternoon as UA 1521

TC-LLD has pushed back heading to the runway for its flight TK 188 all the way to Istanbul.

Concourses A/B

Concourses C/D which only United operates out of

Some United aircraft parked at remote stands

Photos after takeoff,
As there is no onboard service, the flight was uneventful

And we have landed at Morgantown 3 minutes later than our scheduled arrival time.

The taxi to our parking position was short

As we have passed by some private jets

And, we have parked next to the terminal

MORGANTOWN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT - MGW

Disembarkation was very quick and was done by the rear passenger door.

Even though I was connecting, since it wouldn't be the same aircraft continuing to Pittsburgh and TSA agents at Morgantown still haven't opened the secure area, I was asked to use the main exit which I ended up being landside despite connecting.

It was a bit annoying to go landside but I had some time to explore the airport until TSA agents arrive at the airport.

And here is the baggage belt for those who have checked baggage

The journey to Pittsburgh would continue on the next episode, thus this report has come to an end.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you all at another report.