The Last Mileage Run of 2016 Part 9: Over St. Louis

If you're just tuning in:

Part 1- Famous Last Words

Part 2- So...Yeah...Um...

Part 3- Miami Elemental

Parts 4 and 5- Over and Out

Part 6- So..Quito...

Part 7- Early Returns

Part 8- How did we get on the Zurich flight??

And now the conclusion....

Well friends another year, another 100,000 miles.  I'm pretty sure I've just about crossed over St. Louis, which by my calculations means I've gotten to my requalification for the year.  It's proved to have been a long day of flying, but that's pretty much what we're going for here.

When we last caught up, our brave mileage runners were landing in JFK, so let's back up a minute and talk about the new JFK Flagship Lounge.  It's only been open a few weeks at most, so I was excited to check it out.  We had about 3 hours, which as it turned out was still not quite enough time to use the lounge entirely.....but that's just how I feel about it.

The space is redone to make the seating more plentiful, and the décor more modern.  It feels like a real first class lounge.  Maybe not as opulent as JAL's Sakura or Qatar's Al Safwa lounges, but probably the best AA has to offer in the US.  It keeps up with BA's and MH's offerings, and beats some of the others, which is an improvement.

 

There's a certain feeling to getting ready to board the last mileage flight of the year.  Just one more jetbridge, one more seat, one more runway, one more takeoff.  You're finally heading home, and delays or no, it looks like you'll get there.  Of course, there's always room for a few more airplane hiccups.  This one was no exception. 

We boarded pretty much on time, even if we personally were a little late to the gate...possibly on account of a completely reasonable amount of free Tattinger on offer at the lounge.  We got safely to our seats, which by a stroke of good luck in routing, were the very comfortable business class on AA's 321-T. 

Then, just as they're finished boarding and preparing to push back...the lights went out.  I don't mean the quick off and on when the plane changes from ground power to regular...it went black, and for awhile.

Let me just illustrate with a real-time photo, shall I?

This is the actual photo I took.  Yes, I took a photo of this.

 

So...um...yeah.

 

This goes on for the better part of a few minutes, then the lights come back up, and the captain announces we have a mechanical issue.  Cue the collective sigh from the cabin.  We then proceed to wait at the gate for more than an hour getting the issue resolved and the sign offs done.  Honestly though, it didn't seem all that long given the rest of the trip.  They weren't seeming shifty about cancellation, so this plane was getting to LAX tonight, dammit. 

 

Update:  And, eventually, it did.  We touched down more than an hour behind schedule, putting us on the gate close to 1am.  Tired, but accomplished, it was finally time to get out of airports and head for home. 

 

In all honesty, if you set out to fly 5 flights to Quito and back in the course of 3 days, including the Northeast in the winter, and you arrive home safely and only one hour late, I think you can feel pretty successful. 

 

Thanks 2016, it's been a trip.  Literally. I've been the equivalent of around the world 4 times, visited new countries, cities, and of course airports.  I've even made some friends along the way.  Can't wait to see what 2017 has in store.  Spoiler alert- it involves more airplanes.

 

Fly Well & Land Safely,

 

~CruisingAltitude

 



Happy New Year from the 100,000th mile...

                                                             - View of the Caribbean from Villa Del Palmar, Cancun

Well, here it is again- I’m passing the 100,000^th qualifying mile mark on AA flight No. 1692 as we fly over the Gulf of Mexico.  This goes along with about 45 hotel nights, and 5 nights spent sleeping on planes.  That’s a lot of time actually, or figuratively up in the air.  Today though, I’m on my return flight from a fantastic, if short, holiday in Cancun.  I’m returning with some beautiful pictures and memories, including climbing (mostly all the way…no insurance in Mexico) up a Mayan temple, and relaxing days by the white sands and Caribbean blue water of Qunitana Roo.  It’s the last day of 2012, cutting it close for those qualifying miles…I know, I know.  However, I’d rather think of it as ‘expert planning.’ 

2012 has been a good one in many ways for me personally, though it seems it was a trying one for the world.  At least that’s the sense I get after having time to comb through this week’s Economist, Newsweek & Time poolside.  It’s one more reminder of how everything in life can be seen as a mix of good and challenging fortune.  This at least, you can count on.

A sentiment I try to keep close is that there is a big difference between ‘problems’ and ‘inconveniences.’  Recognize what is what.  Delays, setbacks, annoyances…flat tires, lost baggage, are the latter.  If you’re lucky, very few things you routinely encounter will manage to get into the former category.  (Trust me, all it takes is flipping though the ‘Middle East and Africa section of The Economist for me to realize I have very few actual problems)  Maybe for all of our collective psyches, the news could find a way to better delineate between the two?

Back to the present, it’s been a smooth flight so far with a strong tailwind that promises to get us to the gate 20 minutes early.  This (hopefully) should put us on schedule to get through customs and to our connecting flight in plenty of time.  Maybe even with a chance to make it home before the last minutes of the year tick away.  Don’t worry though, we have a plan-b involving the LAX Admiral’s Club, their complimentary Champaign, and a toast with a view of the runways.  Honestly, to send off 2012, it might make perfect sense.

Wishing anyone who might stumble upon this and actually read it a happy and rewarding New Year,

Fly Safe,

~CruisingAAltitude  

Over Albany....

As the year draws to a close, I’m once again in the air. There’s something beautiful about a window seat on an evening flight, the lights laid out beneath you like a map in gold and silver. When I travel so much its easy to forget the little things that made me drawn to flying in the first place. Day to day its all too easy to get distracted by worries over the weather, or the person in the security line in front of you who wants to place each individual item they are carrying in a separate bin to send through the x-ray. Air travel is one of those things where if you’re all about the destination you’re likely to miss out on the pleasure to be had along the way.

Right now I’m embarking on a landmark flight. Its flight 471 and I’m on my way to my childhood home north of Seattle, a relatively short flight from LAX. When this plane flies over Albany, Oregon I will have flown my 100,000^th qualifying mile this year on American Airlines. After all the time on American’s silver jets this year, I find it somewhat ironic that my milestone will be reached while on an Alaska Airlines flight, but that’s life’s little sense of humor for you.

Fittingly, this month the movie “Up in the Air” debuted. In it the main character travels more than 11 months out of the year, and is eagerly reaching his 10 millionth mile on none other than American Airlines. His tipping mile, unlike mine, will be over Dubuque, Iowa. In the movie, this seeming king of frequent fliers is allegedly only the 7^th person to have flown 10 million miles with the airline. However, the “American Way” in-flight magazine assures me that there are many more than this in reality. In the interest of maintaining a sense of exclusivity American’s not saying how many there are or what the benefits of achieving such a goal might be, though they make it clear that there are many.

I have no delusions of reaching such a lofty travel milestone, in fact I’m astounded that I’m reaching 100,000 this year. I’ve never done it before, and doubt if I’ll do it again. Still, I can relate to the movie. This ultimate travel maven is followed as he embarks on his nearly continual itinerary, complete with preoccupations with rental car upgrades, hotel frequent guest programs, and a variety of “single serving” friends, doing it all in the name of reaching this long awaited travel goal. (For a detailed explanation of my personal connection to the plot of this movie, please read the posts below).

Besides all the miles (and dollars) I’ve spent on planes this year, there’s something that holds intrigue for me about little worlds wherever you find them. I always love to be an interloper whether its learning about the passions of obsessive frequent fliers, dedicated sci-fi fans, or even storm chasers. For an excellent and eye opening, and well researched, look into these seemingly insular groups that compose our modern society check out Shirley Cadron’s book “Who are You People?” This light read is billed as a look at “fanatical passion in America,” and is well worth the time.

Though Cadron doesn't choose to discuss frequent fliers in her book per se, the analogy is a good one. People who travel consistently for work, or just to maintain their lives, have plenty in common, both in experience and knowledge. As demonstrated by the many I've met along the way, they also have a wealth of stories and advice, and are more than happy to share both. The skies and the airports are something they have gotten to know innately, and most of them are proud of it. Like any specialty, its knowledge that’s not easily attained and they’re well aware of the fact. Tonight I feel like I’ve really joined them. As I take a moment to stare quietly out the window at the scattered points of light and dark voids underneath us I smile and hope that somewhere down there is Albany and my 100,000^th mile is passing, fittingly, on my way home for the last time this decade.

Cheers, and happy holidays.