A Short Stop in New York City and a Deluxe Flight to Vancouver

We ended our cruise in New York City, but we had less than a day to spend there before we had to fly back home.

Since there was not much time, we just booked a bus tour that took us on a loop around the city, from the seaport to the key neighborhoods – Two Bridges, Lower East Side, East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Murray Hill, Sutton Place, Lenox Hill, Upper East Side, York Hill, Carnegie Hill, Harlem, Upper West Side, Manhattan, Lincoln Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown West, the Theatre District, the Garment District, Midtown Manhattan, Hudson Yards, Chelsea, the Flat Iron District, Union Square, Greenwich Village, West Village, Hudson Square, SoHo, Lower Manhattan, Little Italy, Chinatown, TriBeCa, and the Financial District. We crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and drove around the Brooklyn side as well.

We figured this was the best option since we did not want to walk around with our luggage in tow. Besides, this tour package included airport drop-off, which was convenient.

The bus ride felt like watching a movie in slow-motion or looking at the city sights from inside a fish tank. We were supposed to have four stops at some touristy sites, but we only got the chance to get off the bus at the 9/11 Memorial, which was still under construction at the time of our visit. A huge portion of that stopover was finding a parking space for our bus and then navigating the busy streets on foot, only to stay at the “tourist attraction” for a few minutes, which was more of a hassle, especially for travelers already tired from a long cruise.

Hence, the less-than-ten passengers on our bus came to a consensus that we would just stay onboard and drive around and get off for a quick snack/washroom break whenever and wherever convenient. I was pretty sure our bus driver and tour guide breathed a sigh of relief when we told them about our group decision.

We had all been to New York City before, so no one felt shortchanged at all. We were just happy to catch a glimpse of the hustle and bustle of the city once again in the comfort of an air-conditioned bus without a set itinerary. It was really just a day to chill. I even caught a glimpse of fellow travelers just snoozing at the back of the bus.

After we had enough of the grueling trek in New York traffic, we headed to the airport and one by one, the passengers alighted. We said goodbye and wished each other good luck on our next journeys. We were the last ones to be dropped off at our terminal.

It’s funny, but the best part of the New York segment of the trip was the plane ride from JFK Airport back to Vancouver.

We booked a flight from this small, relatively unknown airline company called Harmony Airways that was based in Richmond, British Columbia (it went bankrupt the following year).

The airline was so unknown that the tour bus driver asked us at least three times if we were sure about the airline, flight number, and airport terminal. In his more than ten years of dropping off tourists at the airport, he had not heard of that airline ever and was not sure where the gate was either. And each time we answered "yes" to his question, he would cast us a doubtful look. It did not help that we had to circle the compound a couple of times before we finally found our gate. It turned out to be one of the occasionally-used gates at the far corner of the airport.

“Aha! There it is!" we cheered in unison and we flashed our driver a triumphant smile.

And as we were getting off the bus, he was still shaking his head in disbelief. “So, Harmony Airways DOES exist That’s news to me!” he exclaimed.

We said, “Told you...we’re not crazy!”

I guess Harmony Airways became popular only among West Coast Canadians, for they served limited destinations, mainly in British Columbia, Alberta, California, and Las Vegas, with some flights to Toronto, Hawaii, Mexico, and New York. The company marketed itself as a higher-quality airline compared to local counterparts, Air Canada and West Jet. They offered bigger seats, wider spaces between seats and aisles, all-inclusive amenities, and full meal service at the time when most major airlines removed these from both their short and long-haul flights.

At the time of our booking, we got a promotion deal and on the travel day itself, because there was a long delay for departure (which was not really their fault; there was a backlog at the airport due to the volume of flights that evening), we got bumped up into Business Class. 

Not only did we get a tasty full-service five-course meal, but we were also served a cheese plate, a bread basket, and unlimited wine, beer, and cocktails. We were also offered assorted snacks and ramen noodles in-between. Aside from the food, we were provided with luxurious toiletry kits, generous souvenir packages, personal audio-video on demand systems for use throughout the flight for free, and good quality earphones for us to keep.

Moreover, it was not a full flight, so we practically had the whole row to ourselves, hence becoming the fortunate recipients of the most personalized attention from the friendly and hospitable cabin crew. It was like travelling on a private jet for the price of discounted economy tickets.

Too bad Harmony Airways had to close business. But we sure were glad to have enjoyed their excellent service, especially on the last leg of our trip, when we certainly needed some pampering.

(We returned to New York City a few years after and stayed longer…with our son. Stay tuned for future posts.)