Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Go West, My Friend.... (haven't you been told?)

 

Yeah yeah, I know, cheap title.  But it's been a long haul of trip planning (yes, pun very much intended), and I'm thrilled to be nearing the start of my next epic trip around the world.  It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about the last one, but that's because real life slows my posting, and so it very nearly was. 

In actuality, it's been quite awhile since I did my first and only real 'round the world' itinerary.  It was amazing, exhausting, and all things in between.  In any event, when Qatar Airways put on an even better sale this year, I couldn't say no.  I mean it, I tried, but it didn't work and now in about a week I'm off to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Doha again.

The flights are similar, but different.  I've traded in some of the positioning for award tickets, and am connecting to Philly, not Boston, this time around.  Sorry Beantown, I'll miss you. 

For the details and such, check out the preview post over on Altitude Consulting - Westward Bound.

Even better, I'm ending this week with a good old fashioned family Thanksgiving trip to Seattle.  However, there will be no 'day before the holiday' panic travel for us.  We're waiting a day to celebrate so we can fly in the Thanksgiving day lull.  It's paid off too- all three of us have already cleared our upgrades for the outbound flight with seats to spare!

I'm ever thankful for family and friends.... and a little extra legroom.

~CruisingAltitude

Sunday, November 11, 2018

A Texas Toast.... also Doha.....

First drink at the new Centurion.  Also, a pumpkin.
I'm currently sitting in the new Centurion Lounge in DFW (which I'll review shortly) and finishing up my trip report for my Business Class flight on Qatar from Doha to LAX, which you can READ ON ALTITUDE CONSULTING!




It's been a lovely short stay with family in Dallas for the weekend, culminating in being a fully unimpressive 17th on the upgrade list for this flight back home.  Needless to say, I'll be making myself comfortable in a bulkhead row of this 787-900.  However, with my recent flights ranging from 10-17 hours, this doesn't seem to be much of a hardship.

Can't wait to start reviewing my next big adventure around the world in a few weeks!  Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Doha here I come!

~Cruising Altitude

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Yes This Is Real Life Part 12 -- The Bittersweet Flightpath


Triple Window Envy
 
** As with the rest, this is circa 2017 mileage running.  More adventures to follow.

Yes, This Is Real Life- Preview

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 1- Location, Location, Location

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 2- Brits In Beantown

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 3 - Shades On, Wheels Up

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 4 - Welcome to Ghost Port

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 5 - When You Layover During Ramadan

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 6 - Birds In Doha

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 7 - Dealing With Dragons

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 8 - A Place Most Exceedingly Rare

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 9- I Still Can't Believe This Is Real Life

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 10- Royally Jordanian

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 11- Up All Night To Get Miles

And now, the conclusion...

Well friends, here we are.  It's the last beautiful flight of the weekend and, though it's not destined to be my magical '100,000th mile' for the year, it's the last mileage run I'm likely to need since it drops me within 10,000 miles of my goal.



This Qatar air 777-200LR is the longest range aircraft currently taking to the skies.  It's the same configuration they send on the 18 hour flight from Doha to Auckland, NZ, so there's no question it can handle this 'short' 15+ hr hop to Houston.

Though it's not their newest aircraft, it has become one of my favorite.  The layout is 2-2-2 in business class, so technically not the 'all aisle access' selling point that's currently en-vogue, but most seats are on the aisles, and the window ones that aren't can easily step over even the fully reclined seat.  Yes, soon these will be Q-Suites, but at this point let's enjoy what we have going for us.

Big screen, plenty of storage... room for a pony.
Why I love this plane so much is that the amount of personal space and leg room is truly obscene for a business class cabin.  When the seat is in takeoff/landing position, my feet barely touch the ground.  I feel like a kindergartener in a 'big kid chair,' and I could easily fit an emotional support pony between my toes and the seat in front of me.

As with all mid and long range Qatar Air flights, the meal service is as good as the hard product.  It's so good that I've finally gotten to the point on these runs where I actually want the flight crew to watch me taking pictures of the service.  My hope now is that one of them divines that I'm trying out a few options because I'm some kind of well respected travel blogger, and not just a crazy person who can't stop ordering food.  Though, this argument might hold more weight if I didn't eat it all...

First meal...
Though, the woman across the aisle ordered 3 servings of the pasta, so whatever.  Airplanes are a judgement-free zone, just like it's always 5 o'clock on airports.  I don't know her life, she could have just ran an ultra-marathon in the desert or something. (Yeah, no, but still)

Cheese and a movie.
Each business class seat has about three windows to itself, and it's a good thing too.  This flight is simply beautiful.  Daytime flights over unfamiliar parts of the world are worth every sleepless hour.  Every few minutes I get distracted from my writing or watching by something that just needs to be stared at.  There's desert, rows upon rows of mountains, and lakes the color of Caribbean coral.  I'll say it again, 15 hours of this won't be enough.

I give you.... more of the world.
This entire trip has been wonderful and strange, with all the uncertainty slowly working out and fading into yet another memorable adventure that I would do again in a heartbeat.  It does take a bit of nerve to have plans changed at the last minute, and in countries I'd never been to.  However, it's just one more benefit to spending so many hours with one airline alliance.  Whether the treatment is overt or not, there's a sense that somehow they'll get you where you need to go.  It might not be the original plans, but it literally comes full circle. 

More than half of this trip was also solitary.  Surrounded by people (except in the ghost town that was Doha) but still, I was probably left to my own thoughts entirely too much.  This flight is no exception.  There's no one in the seat next to me, or the two next to that.


Four nights, three hotels, 8 flights, and 6 airports later, I'm about to take my final rest before touchdown into Houston.  Every time I manage to put a trip like this together, I have to remind myself to enjoy the moment, because the honest truth is I won't likely be able to do it again.  Life changes, fares disappear, and the stars align differently each year in one way or another. 

15 hrs, done and done.
So, what did I take away from this weekend, aside from a hefty load of miles?  On the serious side, a better understanding of middle east geography and politics.  Given the way things felt on that first week of the blockade in Qatar, it's amazing it's ongoing, and much seems to be life as usual. 

On the lighter side, Ramadan is a great time for hotel deals, if not for airport amenities.  Oh, and that sign blocking the buffet in CMB means it's closed, please wait 5 minutes, you heathen.


It doesn't need to be said really that I enjoyed pretty well every jetlagged-insane hour of this thing.  I arrived back to the US on schedule, and ready (kinda) to get back to real life.  Maybe also a little ready to start planning the next one....which I did...

Next up, I think... the final weekend of the Scandi Run, plus a little detour back to Doha.  You know, the usual.

Travel well, and may three windows be in your near future.

~CruisingAlitiude

Friday, August 31, 2018

Yes This Is Real Life Part 11-- Up All Night To Get Miles

 


Yes, This Is Real Life- Preview

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 1- Location, Location, Location

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 2- Brits In Beantown

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 3 - Shades On, Wheels Up

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 4 - Welcome to Ghost Port

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 5 - When You Layover During Ramadan

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 6 - Birds In Doha

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 7 - Dealing With Dragons

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 8 - A Place Most Exceedingly Rare

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 9- I Still Can't Believe This Is Real Life

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 10- Royally Jordanian


(Fair warning- this post was written in real time... and now published much, much later.  What follows is my ramblings from my third and final night in Doha after landing safely back from my tight turn in Amman.  Consider it the companion piece to Birds In Doha, but one where I'm left to my own devices.)

Well, friends, it's come to this- I'm currently alone in yet another free Doha hotel room, listening to music on my phone, spinning in a hotel desk chair, making it a decent way through some room service wine at 2am, and texting my mileage buddies about the flags outside my room, and how much I love airplanes...and stuff...

As a caveat, when I go back over this entry in retrospect for editing purposes I will be tempted to delete much of it entirely, but then I'll hold back because the point of this blog is mileage running- the good, the bad, and the ugly, and the name of this run is literally 'yes, this is real life.'

4 more hours.... maybe I'll shower.  3 more hours... I guess I could re-organize my carry-on.  2 more hours...what to wear?  One more hour....I should write all of this down. (I shouldn't)

So, how did we get to this moment?? Glad you asked.

I arrived back at the DOH airport yesterday afternoon after the quickest AMM turnaround in history to try my hand at sorting out QR's stopover accommodation voucher situation.  I picked up my voucher on arrival, and was shown to the free shuttle, which turned out to be more or less the hotel van.  Not fancy, but fine.  The voucher included the transport and room, along with the equivalent of about US $80 for hotel food.  This could be used at the hotel lobby restaurant, or yes... room service.


The hotel they're currently offering is the 'Oryx Rotana' which is a '5-star hotel' close-ish to the airport.  I'm putting the quotes there because once again- location, location.  Overall, it's a totally fine hotel.  On the level of a nicer Westin or Sheraton stateside, with a little extra Qatari bling.  In this town, if we're being honest, this a 5-star hotel it doesn't make.


I got here on the early side, checked into my room, and promptly went to sleep.  Since it was 'night' for me until it was night here, I set an alarm for 10pm.  No pain, no gain.  After that, it was time for a quick stop by the pool until it closed at 11 (every hotel seemed to have swimming lessons for the locals going on...wtf, anyway?), then a midnight dinner at the lobby restaurant, for free, of course.

Free is my favorite number.
 
 
Fast forward to my last sunrise over Qatar, and it's time to go back to the airport.  As we ride in the shuttle, I contemplate if it's bad taste to try and yell up to the driver from the 5th row to please 'Stop At The First And Business Class' doors.  I decide it is about the time the guy in the second row does it for me.  Win.



Seen around the DOH airport.  What even is life at this point?
A quick and painless check in later, and I'm back at the Al Majoran business class lounge for breakfast before boarding the final flight of the weekend.  16 hours more on Qatar's lovely planes is all I have left of this adventure.  It's not going to be enough.

One more meal in Qatar for the year.
In true form, it's another half empty widebody plane.  No one next to me, so I have an embarrassing amount of space.  My cabin bag essentially has it's own seat.  We push back on time, roll the desert shore runway, and in a few minutes the last and most beautiful flight of the trip is underway.  And that final post is up next.

~CruisingAltitude

Up Next: Yes, This Is Real Life Part 12: The Bittersweet Flightpath

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 10 - Royally Jordanian


Yes, This Is Real Life- Preview

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 1- Location, Location, Location

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 2- Brits In Beantown

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 3 - Shades On, Wheels Up

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 4 - Welcome to Ghost Port

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 5 - When You Layover During Ramadan

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 6 - Birds In Doha

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 7 - Dealing With Dragons

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 8 - A Place Most Exceedingly Rare

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 9- I Still Can't Believe This Is Real Life

This is not a post about flying Royal Jordanian.  I have, to date, not flown Royal Jordanian.  It is, however, a post about transiting their home airport of Amman, Jordan in all of 90 minutes, and I thought it a rather snappy title. 

Even for me, this day of flying pushed the ridiculous.  Now that I'd been re-routed, my layover was shorter and I literally flew the same plane in and out of Jordan right back to Doha.  It was about a three hour flight each way.  I had the same cabin crew, and even the same seat.  You've just got to laugh sometimes.  My flight attendant sure did.

So, here's how it went-

I left the lounge, and boarded on time for AMM.  They fly a a330 between these cities, which is still definitely a widebody plane, but not as big as the 777 or the 350.  The seats are lie flat, but not nearly as spacious as the 777 seats, or the 350 seats.  It's still fantastically comfortable for this length of flight, and would be fine for an overnight as well.  The cabin is laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration, so the window seats don't have aisle access.  Once again, I had no one next to me.



Instead of a pre departure beverage, since it was Ramadan and they weren't serving alcohol on any planes flying soley between middle eastern destinations, the cabin crew came around to offer coffee and dates while the rest of the flight boarded.  They did serve a meal on the flight, but also offered a boxed meal to go to passengers observing the holy month.



Regional amenity kit
I ordered the ful medames (quickly becoming my local go-to, the same way I always grab a bowl of congee in Asia) and pita as a snack, and kicked back to watch the IFE and doze a bit.  The flight went quickly, and we arrived on time to AMM.  Here's where the fun started.

Now,  I've done several transfers between itineraries like this, where you can't check in for your onward flight until you get on the ground at the destination, and so you don't have a boarding pass to clear transfer immigration.  The most hair raising example of this was definitely going through Jakarta, an experience I'd prefer not to repeat...but if I'm honest...I probably will at some point.

I had asked if I could get my AMM-DOH boarding pass on leaving DOH, but since the itinerary was technically a separate one way ticket AMM-DOH-IAH, they couldn't print it.  They did, however, print me the read out of the booking details so I had that to hand over in AMM.


Waaaaiiiittting to get my passport back
The transfer desk/area doesn't have a Qatar agent at it, and so I had to hand over my passport to an airport employee who then left to go down to the ticketing desks to procure my boarding pass.  This is simply never a good feeling, but is unfortunately how it's done many places.  I had to wait 30+ minutes for him to return, all the while staring out the window at the plane I arrived on, and was scheduled to depart on shortly.


Finally made it back upstairs- AMM Airport
The total transfer time I had available was only 90 minutes, so by the time I cleared security and was sent back to the departures level, I just headed back to the plane and boarded a few minutes later.  This was quite entertaining to my flight crew, especially as I was in the exact same seat as before. 

It went something like this:

FA: Welcome, boarding pa... Oh, it's you again!

Me: Um, yep. Again.

FA: Seat?

Me: 4F, again, apparently.

FA: (Laughs)  You missed us?

Me: It's a long story...

On arrival back at DOH, I took a few minutes to check out the arrivals lounge, simply because I hadn't been before and I'd gotten in earlier than the prior two days.  It's reserved for business and first class arriving passengers, and is located past security.  There's a made to order menu, not as extensive as the airside lounges, but plenty of options, as well as drinks, places to relax, and showers.  I didn't spend too long, just enough to get a look around.


Arrivals lounge seating


Menu
Since I also had the 'stopover package' for this night, I'd stopped and been given my hotel and meal voucher, as well as my info for the free shuttle before clearing immigration.  As seemed to be the most common set up, I'd been given a night at the Oryx Rotana hotel, which while not the Ritz, is still quite a nice hotel to have for free.  It's not in the main part of town, or up by the Pearl, but since it caters to one night stopovers that's no big issue.

After a short shuttle ride, I was checking in to my third and final hotel of the weekend.  How the last night went, is coming up.
 
~CruisingAltitude
 


Thursday, July 19, 2018

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 9- I Still Can't Believe This Is Real Life

 

This post will include some ramblings about the meaning and strangeness of life, as well as about 1.6 million pictures of fancy things only nitpicking travel geeks care about.  You have been warned.


Yes, This Is Real Life- Preview

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 1- Location, Location, Location

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 2- Brits In Beantown

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 3 - Shades On, Wheels Up

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 4 - Welcome to Ghost Port

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 5 - When You Layover During Ramadan

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 6 - Birds In Doha

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 7 - Dealing With Dragons

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 8 - A Place Most Exceedingly Rare

On arrival from my return flight from Colombo, I headed to the Ritz Carlton Doha.  For free. Yes, free.  As promised, here's where I reveal the added benefits of mileage running through Doha, especially with the blockade, especially in the summer.



On this trip I was being way more strict with myself than usual about trying to keep on my home timezone.  This basically meant staying up all night, and sleeping on the flights during the day.  This works though because Doha in the summer, with of without Ramadan, is better at night.  Plus, so far the nights have been short due to early morning onward travel.

 
 
And so what better place to be up all night in....than a nice room at the Ritz??  When planning this trip, I found the then new +Qatar offer to be very easy to use.  You just put in your travel info, apply for the visa, and pick your free hotel.  Done and done.  At the time, the Ritz was included as an option for Business and First class passengers.  I did a check again recently though, and it's no longer there.  The sadness....
 
 
 
The hotel, like everything else in the city, was quiet....too quiet...  I don't think I ever saw another guest.  Granted, I was only there for one short-ish night, but still.  Since things like the pool and gym were closed when I arrived late, I headed to my room to relax. 
 


 
Even better, my room was on a high floor facing the water, and as you might expect, wonderfully comfortable, from the huge bathroom, to the curved flatscreen TV, to the  balcony.  The hotel is advertised as being on a 'private island' which technically, I suppose it is.  However, we're not talking Gilligan's Island here, more a man-made chunk of land surrounded by other man-made land and a marina.  You do have to take a bridge to get there though, so I'll give it to them on a technicality.
 
This wouldn't fit in my suitcase...sadly.

Honestly, neither would this.
 
The balcony was the perfect place to watch the sun finally rise for the second time on this trip.  There are some things I'll never forget.  This was one of them.  Since it was well over 100F every day, the early dawn hours were the most comfortable of the day, and before sunrise, the strict Ramadan rules were lifted.  By 3:30 am people were out on the water.
 
4am...

4:30am....

5am....Airport time!
 
With the summer sun up, and the desert starting to heat up again, it was time to head back to the airport.  This was probably my most anticipated arrival at the airport of all my trips, because on certain intra-Mideast flights Qatar sells its business class as 1st class.  This means you're entitled to all the extra perks of a 'real' first class ticket, and in Doha, this means a lot!
 
As discussed earlier, my ticket to Cairo had unexpectedly become my ticket to Amman, Jordan.  Right, then, whatever.  I did want to at least say I'd been to Egypt, but I suppose I hadn't been to Jordan either, so fair play.
 
What you see when you step inside the doors to first class check in at DOH airport.  This level of service is almost intimidating.
I arrived via Uber back at the airport and was escorted to the private first class check in.  It's through the same doors as business class, but then you go to the right and are immediately met by an attendant who takes your luggage for you, and actual check in is done in private lounge areas.  There are absolutely no lines here.  After that, you get a designated first class security screening, and arrive directly to the first class lounge.  Niiiiiice.  Another life goal complete.
 
Have a seat, get checked in for your flight today.

This way!
I was through in a matter of minutes, and into a lounge completely unlike any I'd been in before.  It feels like a private museum of some kind, but huge, with insanely high ceilings and wide corridors.  Most airport lounges are anticipating....well...passengers.  Usually lots and lots of them throughout the day.  This place is like a sanctuary, especially on this particular weekend.  As I move through, there are definitely people there, but not many, and the architecture spreads people out, so nothing looks full.



 
I honestly am still not over how simply huge the floorplan for this place is.  There are entire airports who's terminals aren't this big, and remember that DOH also has a massive business class lounge, an independent Oryx lounge, and two (not great) Oneworld lounges all serving the same airline's passengers. 

 
Yes, that's a 20 foot water feature right in the middle of the main hallway.  What's more, it's nearly silent, with the water slipping quietly from the center....and this place is so quiet, you can hear it.  Footsteps echo, chatter is muted, I feel like I'm in airport church.

Now that I've gone off the deep end over the basics, lets talk about some of the insane amenities.  There's a spa, showers, bar, full service restaurant, the works.  I wandered around and new things just kept showing up.

Private Duty Free

Hey, I remember those from Havana.  I'm sure they cost more here.
There's a dedicated duty free shop in case, you know, you need to buy some Cuban cigars.... or a $10,000 diamond necklace, right there, before your flight, and you can't bare anyone else to be around.

"Family room"
There are also several large 'family rooms' with their own couches and TVs....several.  None were being used.

And speaking of family amenities, there's the most expansive kids' zone I've ever seen in an airport, bar none.  It's equipped with a full classroom sized play area, and a game room with multiple consoles....and an F1 car mock up & game.   Wow.

Kids' space

Lucky kids...

....Seriously, so lucky.
It was on this wandering that I stumbled upon a buffet and extra dining room that appeared to be just for.... pastries???  You do you, Qatar, but.... damn.


As for the food and drink, there are several areas with buffets, but the smart choice is to get a table in the restaurant area and order from the full menu.  Once again, I was the only one, and had about 3 wait staff looking on. 





I had some lovely strong tea, eggs benedict, and fruit.  Everything was great, as was the view, which one of my many waiters nicely procured for me by pulling back the blinds by my table.

All day.  I could stay here all day.

The one regret was that, due to Ramadan, the bar was closed.  Well not closed exactly, just serving tea and soft drinks only.  Yes, it was first thing in the morning, so not the typical time to hit the bar, but rumor has it that this lounge regularly serves free flowing Krug champagne.  At least as of last year.  Sincere regrets, people.  This lifestyle is hard.

Oh the regrets....
 
After breakfast, I enjoyed the ambiance a bit longer, and then headed out to catch my next flight.  Up next was a quick flight, which should have been two hours, but was made slightly longer by having to avoid Saudi airspace.  In business class though, a slightly slower flightpath is no hardship....even if you don't get any more miles for it!
 
 
Fly well,
 
~CruisingAltitude