The Scandi Run: Preview

Photo from my accommodations.  Adorable, yes?

I never mileage run to Europe.  Not kidding.  I have been to Asia, South America, Africa, you name it.... but never Europe.  There's a few reasons for this historically, most having to do with it simply not being far away enough to make sense, and Oneworld not having the most hub cities there. 

This is not to say I don't jump at the chance to go, it just tends to be a destination I get to by using my miles, not on account of earning them, and I try to stay awhile.

But, as they say, we live in interesting times.  As I tried to lay out some time ago, when AA switched the system up and effectively ruined mileage running for long distances on low fares, it was a choice of giving up or getting creative.  Guess which one I (and my friends I've met along the way) went with??

(I'm now going to go on about how this actually works, rather than random facts about airports, and hijinks I stumbled into in random cities.  If you're not interested in this, I suggest jumping down about 3 paragraphs where I'll get back to my thoughts on 36 hours freezing to death in Denmark in March)

The new strategy to still earn plenty of miles is to stalk the deals for cheap fares in premium cabins of other Oneworld airlines.  This usually means business class on Qatar, or premium economy on British Airways, and occasionally Cathay Pacific.  The further bit of intrigue, is that these deals almost never originate in the US.  So to take advantage, one has to first get to the city of departure.  What this further means (if you're still reading this at all) is that it's in your best interest to buy more than one of the deals when you find them at a time so you only have to get one 'positioning flight' per year, or per deal.

Let's put the plan into context, shall we?  This year, there have been some premium economy deals on BA out of most all of the Scandinavian countries to the US, and specifically, to LAX which is clearly convenient for me in particular.  To further sweeten the deal, there have on occasion been some crazy cheap economy deals on AA from LAX to various European cities, including....Scandinavia.  You see where I'm going with this?

The deal has been good from Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, and on occasion Helsinki, which all adds up to it getting coined (yes, by me) the 'Scandi run' since the destinations are interchangeable, more or less, for the same prices and miles earned.

100% Denmark- bikes, bricks & spires.  Nothing's overly tall in Copenhagen, so it's nicknamed the city of spires as they're the defining feature of the skyline, if you can even really call it that.

What it all adds up to for me this year, is flying out to Copenhagen on AA in March, and then 'returning' on that ticket in October, and flying back and forth on BA premium economy tickets on scattered weekends in between all year.  3 weekends, to be exact, though I'm thinking of adding one more at the end, and then flying back on an award ticket.  We'll see.

So.... this all results in my getting to say I GET TO GO TO DENMARK 3 TIMES.  Sure, each time is only for about 2 nights, and I have to brave 12+ hours of slightly more comfortable economy to get there, but after 16+ hours in coach to Hong Kong a few weeks ago, I'm feeling pretty bulletproof.  I'm honestly more worried about how in the heck to pack light on a mileage run for actual winter conditions.  I'm quickly realizing that all my other runs were to hot, and many times insanely hot, climates. 



A particularly famous spire- Christianborg

My outbound flight is on AA (the first half of the 'positioning flight') and so I'm playing the upgrade game to Heathrow.  After a stopover for some food and a shower at the excellent lounges there, I'll make the quick hop to CPH and take the metro into town. 

Copenhagen is extremely easy to get around on public transportation, just about anywhere you want to go.  I had initially thought of staying by the airport in the AC Sky Bella hotel in Orestad, which is a newer, planned area of Copenhagen by the Kastrup airport, but after realizing it is really only a 15 minute train into town, and I could save 50% by booking an Airbnb in the center of the city, my choice was easy.

Christianshavn

I'm now staying in Christenshavn, which is a truly adorable part of the city on a series of canals, in a flat with my hosts Magnus and Mikkel.  Awesome.  It's central to many attractions, full of cafes and bars, and you can walk/bike just about anywhere in a few minutes. 

This, however, also brings up the fact that on arrival I'll likely have to answer the age-old question of why I'm in Denmark in the first place, and further, why I'm only there for about 36 hours before turning around and going right back where I came from.  It may surprise you, but many people find this just a tiny bit strange.  Hotels don't ask, but I get the feeling that my host(s) just might.

I've thought from time to time about coming up with a reusable story to explain myself, other than having to dig into the whole logic (or illogic) of mileage running.  But what to say?  Most business travelers don't come into town just for a Sunday, of all things.  They also don't stay up late/get up early to stay on their home timezone, and they definitely don't wander in looking very much like they've just spent 15 hours in economy and somehow still are enjoying their lives.

In any event, it's a work in progress.  I'll let you know.

I expect there may be snow on all of this when I get there.

For more details of things to do in Copenhagen, we're currently writing up our adventures from the Summer over at Baby Flyer Blog.  On these shorter, colder, trips, I'll probably try to get to some favorite places like Honen & Aegget and Den Vandrette in Nyhavn for tradition's sake, but other than that I'm looking forward to playing my one real day in town by ear.  I have no delusions of elaborate castle tours, or getting a table at Noma.  That's not what mileage runs are all about.  Get there, see a thing or two, chat with some locals, and get safely back home again.

My flight out on Monday is plenty early (7am!) which with the time change is about.... 11 at night back home?  You can't think too hard about these things, just get to the plane.  The return flight from London this time around is on BA's, and the world's, largest passenger jet, the a380.  They're smooth and modern, and I was able to preselect a good seat without paying extra on account of the Oneworld Emerald status I'm flying so far to keep up.  I do have the potential option to try for an upgrade by using some Amex points, but I think this time around I'll let it go and see.  It's only 12 hours, anyway.  Easy.

So, that's the Scandi run in a nutshell.  I hope it goes as I think it will in my head, seeing as how I'm doing it at least three times this year.  Wish me luck.

~CruisingAltitude

One World, Three Days, Part III- The Road Home....

LHR T-3 Lounge.  Showered, fed & ready to board my flight home.

As I've said in my previous posts, the majority of my fellow mileage runners were only on the ground in Jo'Burg for a brisk 18 hours before flying back home.  After returning from the Lion Park, we said our goodbyes, and I turned in for the night at the Hilton.  And by 'night,' I mean a 2 hour nap before dinner, followed by a few more hours of sleep and waking up at 4 am to watch rugby, the local news...and more rugby.  I almost sorta know some of the rules at this point.  But, do not ask me about them...

This 10 hour time change side-effect would be all well and good on a mileage run usually.  Honestly, it's just one more part of the insanity that can make it an adventure.  Case in point my trip to Hong Kong this year- I've considered skipping the hotel night entirely since it'll be the middle of my 'day' and just seeing the sights at night, then heading back to sleep it off on the 16 hour flight home.  No muss, no fuss, no jetlag.

However, in the case of Jo'Burg, I'd combined a few business meetings with the trip, and so needed to be on my game at 10 am to meet some industry folks, and then on to a second meeting in the afternoon.  Won't lie, that was a little rough.  If I'm tempted to do this again, I'll probably limit it to one meeting... or none.   Still, the meetings went well, and the second colleague kindly took me back to JNB to catch my outbound flight.  Or so I thought.

As previously posted, I didn't realize until I got to the check-in line that my passport was still safely locked up in my room at the Hilton back in Sandton.  Low point of the trip.  Suffice to say I got really familiar with the Gautrain.

To end the suspense, yes, I did get back to the airport in time, passport in hand.  I have to give another nod to the service at the Hilton Sandton here.  They had it ready and waiting for me at the front desk to get me on my way in plenty of time.

As also previously discussed, upon arrival I learned of an equipment change from one BA 747 to another, which removed several rows of economy, one of them the unlimited legroom exit row I was seated in.  But as very occasionally happens in the twisted world of mileage running, my annoyance...surprise...anger, or whatever it was at that point, was eventually assuaged by a surprise status-based upgrade to a 'World Traveler Plus" seat instead.  While not to be equated with a true upgrade to business class or better, 'WT+' on this plane is somewhat like AA's 737 domestic F service, less as much personal attention, but with an added little footrest.  Soft product gets a little better as well- there's a menu, and your food comes in real glasses and on plates, rather than the 'microwave meal' trays served in back.   At that point in the weekend, that was all I needed to forgive BA, and to get a little sleep on the trip back across the continent to LHR. 

WT+ Seat

Little amenity kit

See, AA??  They still do make these.  Get yourselves together & stock them again.

In retrospect, while getting the hotel for the night seemed like a way to soften the journey, I'm not so sure.  The prospect of getting right back on another flight after only one day on the ground sounds painful, but so is encountering the 10 hour time change for just one day.  One of the good things about an ultra long haul run, like this, or an around the world itinerary, is that your body never really has to conceptualize what you're doing.  For the most part, you're just on planes and in lounges, and you can doze off whenever your brain decides it's 'night.'  Not to say it's not fun to get out and see the destination you just took 2 days flying to get to, but in my humble opinion, one day and a few adventures may be enough- sleep it off on the flight home.

Speaking of sleeping it off, fast forward to the second segment of my return trip- my first chance to experience the new business class on AA's 777-300ER that they keep advertizing.  My review- I give it about an 8 out of 10.  It definitely puts any of AA's other hard product to shame.  And considering that the previous configuration on the 777-200 was 2-3-2 angle lie flat where the middle seat of the '3' section is basically trapped unless they're the type to wake up their neighbor and get them to sit back up, or are prepared to do a flying leap over them to get to the restroom (guilty)... the shaming is immense. 

777-200 business class.  These are due for retrofit in the next year or two, 

thankfully.

In comparison- here's a panoramic of the 77W J cabin.  Yeah, no more needs to be said.

The '77W' business class cabin is 52 seats deep, with a 1-2-1 all aisle access configuration.  The seats are truly lie-flat, and come with an adjustable large-ish screen TV, with a decent range of entertainment, and Bose headphones.  As a side-note, this summer I managed to get both myself and Mrs. CruisingAltitude seats on this plane from DFW-LHR on our way to Rome, and it got rave reviews from her as well. 

PLENTY of space to stretch out and sleep!

Good sized screen, but low resolution.

Bose, slippers & menu

My only complaints about the service is that the seats could use personal air vents, because I always end up way too hot since the air doesn't circulate well, and that they need to suck it up and put at least one more FA on these routes.  52 is way to many passengers to really give personal service to with their current staffing.  Soft product was fine.  After all my flights, I enjoyed my meal, but then really just wanted to sleep, which I did.  I think I passed out for a solid 7-8 hours, which was most of the flight time from LHR to DFW. 

Seat and entertainment controls.  That's a light, not an air vent.

1st course

Second course- fillet.

Pre-landing snack.  Okay, pizza on the 'Flagship' service....Really, AA??

Upon arrival in DFW, I had a bit of time, so I stopped in at the AmEx Centurion Lounge for a last meal before boarding the final flight back to LAX.  I'm sure I've said it before, but this lounge is definitely worth a visit if you get the chance.  It features a decent buffet, open bar with great options including designer craft cocktails, and a 10-deep complimentary wine list (not just free well drinks and 2 wine choices like the Admiral's Club), and free massages, facials, and manicures (if you can get a slot that works for your layover).  The only downside, and what keeps me retaining my AC membership, is that the agents there obviously don't work for the airline, so they're no help with seat issues, re-booking, or the like.

Lunch...dinner, maybe depending on what timezone you choose.  Way better than in-flight.

So.  That's really that, then.  The final flight was a quick & easy one back to LAX.  Having had a decent amount of sleep on the way back, I drove home thinking '22.6k miles done, and I feel like I could turn around and do it again!'  Which, though probably a delirious result of all that time in low-oxygen environments, was a good attitude as I had booked myself for a second run 3 weeks later that took me to Shanghai, Tokyo, and back in a weekend.  Oh, and it started in Chicago, so I had to get there first.

I suppose that normal people are right to consider 'extreme' mileage running like this to be insane.  But to that I say- Have you ever flown to Africa just to feed a giraffe, and pet a lion cub? 

Yeah, didn't think so.... :)

~CruisingAltitude

One more giraffe...for good luck.

Oneworld, three days part II: Second Red-eye, Roaring Good Time...

Is this the way to the premium check in counter??

[Part I of this trip report here: The one where I crossed an ocean for a drink with a lampshade]

Now about that second 11 hour redeye....

It wasn't all that bad, at least in retrospect, but let me be real here for a second.  I'll admit a lot of mileage runners like to brag about how easy all this is, how flying to Hong Kong and back in two days is no big deal, and how they 'love to fly' and on and on.  In fact, I believe an exact quote I heard regarding someone's same day turn around going LAX-JNB was 'easy peasy lemon squeezy.' But the reality is, in that moment 4 hours in with 7 to go on a non-upgradable flight, when it's about 3am in your home time-zone, with the screaming baby, and the drink service over, you do have brushes with insanity.

You might start to rationalize the timeframe:
 '7 hours left, I can do that, it's like JFK to LAX, I've done that tons of times.  Well, and then two more hours, but that's just like an onward connection to Seattle.  No big deal, Seattle's so close...'

Or, instead, if you're a rewards-focused type, your monologue might go:
 '4 hours at 500mph, that's 2000 more qualifying miles, only 3500 left...I can feel my account growing by the minute.'

Or you start really looking for the analogies:
 'It's like only half a workday left, and a drive home in somewhat moderate LA traffic.."

This is also about the time you start wondering if you should get up and move around, and if maybe no one would notice if you started doing lunges down the aisle.  Hint: they will, but you may not care at this point. This is when my 'game face' changes to my 'deal with it' face, and I'm vaguely aware that in my oversized sweatshirt complete with hood, yoga pants and tall socks I probably look like a trendily vagrant teenager.

But, still, it wasn't all that bad.... I love to fly ;)

Besides, BA serves free alcohol in economy, and for some bizarre reason, has an entire season of Portlandia on their (fairly decrepit) IFE.  The two go well together.

One additional drawback to the timing of this flight is that you bisect the African continent- at night, and thereby see nothing.  However, there's no way around it on the current flight schedules.  BA flies 3 (huge) planes within 2 hours of each other on this route pretty much 'nose to tail.'  This is, yes a LOT of seats.  Yet somehow, just about every single one was filled.  I also heard rumor that this is a big cargo route, and so on more empty flights, the passengers and their revenue are somewhat of an afterthought in BA's bottom line.

Back to the flight though.  Dinner was... airplane food.  I took a picture, but it's not all that exciting.  Not that I was even that hungry after almost six hours in the Galleries Lounge.  I did manage to get about 6-7 hours of sleep, though I woke up every few for some reason or another.  Still, upon arrival in JNB, the mileage run adrenaline hadn't worn all the way off yet.  Plus, 'the mileage running crew' was finally all in one place, and we could head out for a one-day adventure before most everyone went right back on flights up to LHR 18 hours later.

First stop- Sandton, ZA since a couple of us had hotel rooms booked.  Johannesburg's accessibility got an upgrade in the construction for the last World Cup, and so there's a fast (and well-policed) train that leaves from JNB and goes direct to Sandton with only a few stops.  It's about a $24 round trip, and tickets can be bought with either cash or credit at the stations.  From the station in Sandton, you can walk to several of the area hotels (though I wouldn't recommend it at night) or the hotels also have shuttles you can call for.  

The 'Gautrain' at the JNB stop.

The train goes almost express from the airport stop to Sandton, so it's impossible to get lost.  As an added benefit, you get a good look at the lay of the land, including a few tightly-packed townships along the way.  The train goes underground in Sandton, and consequently you have to take switchback escalators up several stories to get to the ground level. 

From the train-Township in the background

I had a night on $60 cash & points at the Hilton, and I'd definitely stay there again.  As a Gold, I was upgraded to a nice two room suite with a decent view.  Check in was quick and professional, and the property was well appointed.  No complaints.  The staff even took a few of my companions to the spa to take showers and use the facilities even though they weren't on my reservation.  However....I did hear rumor from one of them that the laundry in the spa may not be up to standard, so I'd take a lesson from The Guide, and always know where your towel is. (I noticed no unusual lack of housekeeping in my room, so it may have been an isolated occurrence)

 



Bedroom Hilton Sandton- Nice amenities, quiet and comfortable.  6 TV channels, 3 of them soccer, 2 rugby.

Beautiful Southern Sky- Sandton, ZA

(Note to Club Carlson elites as well- the 'Raddison Blu Gautrian' also looked quite nice, and is directly across the street from the train, so no shuttle connection is necessary)

Since we had a group, I'd emailed with the hotel ahead of time, and had arranged for a driver to take us out to the Lion Park for a few hours.  The price was reasonable, especially in a group and included our tickets to the park and entrance to the lion cub area.  No, it wasn't a week at Kruger, but for an outing on a same day turn mid mileage run, it wasn't half bad.  If you want, these tours can also be arranged with pick up right from the airport, if you don't have a hotel reservation.  There are various excursions like this from similar companies with different attractions- museums, city, animals, etc.     

Now comes the excuse to put up a bunch of pictures of animals (you knew it was coming).  The tour of the Lion Park starts with a drive through fields filled with antelope, zebras, giraffes, and various other non-carnivorous animals I can't remember all the names of.  You get up close, and sometimes have to wait for herds to cross in front of the van. 

Now, on to the LIONS...which is what this run was all about, right?  Well, that, and 22.5k EQMs...  The lion part of the park includes several enclosures with adult lions wandering around (roll those car windows up, they are NOT shy).  We got there just after feeding time, and they were still chewing on what looked like some tasty half goats or sheep.  Served rare, of course.

 

 

 The park also is home to quite a few 'white lions,' like this little guy...

Last stop on the tour is a more typical 'zoo-like' area where you're free to get out and roam around and see more animals in enclosures.  This is also where they take you to go pet (and take selfies with) somewhat domesticated lion cubs.  Yes, it's all very touristy and whatnot, but like I said- same day turn mileage run activity.  I'll take it.

One thing these photos of sleeping cubs doesn't show is that when they wake up, they're not as docile as they seem, nor are their teeth at all small.  I had the memorable experience of having one decide to growl, grab on to my sleeve, and not let go.  Even better was one of the handlers coming over, nonchalantly swatting the offender on the nose, prying her off and shrugging, saying 'yeah, we're working on her with that.'  No big deal.... 

Siiimba.... (couldn't help myself)

Your correspondent & a new friend at the Lion Park

 

The whole crew- So much fun traveling with everyone!

Up next- the road home, complete with a missing passport, some surprise upgrades, business class on the 77W, and the realization that in some cases the same day turn may be the easier option.**

~CruisingAltitude

At least Giraffe thinks I'm funny...

**Theory yet to be scientifically tested.

 

Oneworld, Three Days Part I: The One Where I Crossed an Ocean For a Drink With a Lampshade...

777-300ER, parked at T3 in LHR

 

It occurs to me, as I book the first flight of the 2014 mileage season, that I have some considerable (daunting, even) catching up to do around here.  As I’ve written, 2013 closed with some epic mileage runs and lasting memories.  Despite some close calls with bad weather and serious jetlag, all went well.  However, I’ve neglected my trip reports, badly.  So, while I (probably futilely) sit and wait for AA to match the UA and DL fare deal to Hong Kong for this fall again, I’ll do my best to remedy that. Bear with me though, as 38,000 miles across 4 continents is going to take more than one chapter.  Some information may overlap with other entries already posted, but I’ll do my best.  

In the interest of keeping things relevant, I'll note that this run is likely to be available this year again for somewhere around the 5cpm range.  Recently, it was available on BA metal out of LAX, and I'd expect the AA metal version to come up in the fall.  Also interesting, for those willing to go a few more CPM in the name of comfort, is a WT+ fare in the low $2000 all in on BA planes that is upgradable on Avios to Club World.  I've seen these fares for scattered dates throughout the fall and winter.  This trip in their lie-flat a380 cabin would be a wonderfully comfortable 22k mileage run!

So, here we go....

They say when writing to ‘begin at the beginning, go on until you get to the end, and then stop.’  Let’s call the beginning of this story my arrival at LAX to start the journey, as all the plotting, agonizing, and rationalizing has already been posted here before.  See? and See?  

Though this flight was transatlantic, it was operated by American on the new 777-300ER and so departed from LAX Terminal 4, rather than the newly renovated Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT, if you’re the acronym-loving type).  

As an EXP/ Oneworld Emerald, even flying economy I had access to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge, which is co-located with the Admiral’s Club.  This trip was my first time in the FL side of the T4 AC.  It’s significantly smaller than the main side, but also has much better offerings: Open (self serve) bar with decent choices in both beer/wine and the harder stuff (yes 3 white tequilas, as previously highlighted), buffet sufficient enough to make a light meal- chicken, salad, rice, pasta, small desserts, etc., and bottled drinks and water (great to grab and take with you for the flight).  The lounge does have access to showers, but they’re shared with the AC, and in my opinion, the view is somewhat lacking in comparison to the AC side.  In particular, this evening I crossed back over to get some great shots of the sunset to the West.  

The food.

The Drinks

Now, a note about the plane.  It’s my favorite plane of all the planes.  The 777-300ER is American’s new long-haul aircraft, and is geared well toward the current trends in bookings.  It comes with 4 classes of service- First, Business, Main Cabin Extra, and Economy.  Now, I’ll qualify my love letter here with the admission that if I wasn’t EXP or PLT with American, this might not be my favorite plane of all the planes.  The main cabin seats are tight- 10 across in a 3-4-3 configuration, which, even on this widebody jet is cramped.  Honestly, if I didn't have status to get a Main Cabin Extra seat, I'd probably fly a codeshare on a different carrier.  Main Cabin Extra is 9 across in a 3-3-3 configuration with some extra legroom, making it a decent choice.  It also has a whopping 52 business class seats with all-aisle access and fully flat beds, making it the best business class product in the fleet, and just 8 First class open suites up front.

 

10 Across in 'Sardine Class'

For the 12 hour outbound LAX-LHR, I had seat 18F, which is a MCE aisle seat.  I’m not all that tall, so I found the legroom to be sufficient.  Though, they could take a lesson from the Qantas a380 product and put in a footrest.  The seat width also would have been fine, but the person who boarded late and took the middle seat next to me took up a bit more space, and I found myself on multiple occasions during the flight a little more up close and personal with her...and her coat,  blanket...hair….than I would have liked.  On the positive side, each seat has personal screens with a decent amount of IFE, enough to get through dinner and put you to sleep.  As for seat-tips, go for row 16, which has even more legroom due to being an exit/bulkhead row.  The only downside here is the lack of under-seat storage.  

Speaking of dinner, mine was a standard chicken-something meal.  Not terrible, but not memorable either.  A note on MCE service- they do serve you first in that cabin (in my case, just in time to get knocked around by some decent chop while trying to not spill my airplane wine), but there was no printed menu or upgraded choices like is offered in BA WT+ or QF premium economy.  You’re just basically getting a bigger seat, closer to the pointy end of the plane.      

Now, let me back up for a moment here and give a nod to the amazing group I ended up traveling with for this weekend.  Since this trip was such a monster deal, and simply netted so friggin' many miles, quite a few mileage runners signed up, so we decided to meet up along the way.  We started all over the US- 4 of us from LAX, and others from JFK, DFW, IAH, etc.  Due to the number of AA and BA flights that run on this routing, we weren’t all on the same exact flights, but kept meeting up with more and more of us at various points until we were all in one place finally in JNB.  It made the trip even better to be traveling with this group.  I don’t think I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet such a diverse, interesting and capable group of people on such a unique basis.  If you get the chance, don’t pass it up.   

The flight passed as well as any 12 hour flight does, no big complaints.  We taxiied to Heathrow’s Terminal 3, where American’s gates are located.  It then takes a hike, a bus, a train, and another hike to make the transfer and get to the (much anticipated) T5 Galleries First lounge.  It might have been the low travel season, a well-timed bus arrival, and definitely having access to the fast track lanes for customs/security as a OW Emerald, but it actually only took about 30 minutes point to point. 

The lounge itself is well worth planning a layover for.  There are actually 3 premium lounges in T5- Business class “Terraces” (Paid J cabin ticket holders, OW Sapphire), First Class “Galleries” (F cabin tickets, OW Emerald) and the Concorde Room (First class international...various high rollers…the Queen, probably...).  All have access to shower facilities, food, and drink.  

Once you complete the trek from T3 and find the lounges in the first place, watch out for the lounge dragons on the way in.  They do strictly enforce the entrance and one guest only policies.  I’ve gotten away with several guests at some ACs state-side, “this is my Mother...Sister...Brother in Law...BFF...etc.” Don’t even try it here, they scan your boarding pass and note who’s with you. Once you get by them, though, you’re next greeted by a couple of horses with lampshades on their heads.  They’ve apparently been hanging around the 5 or so self-serve bars a little too long, but I just flew across the Atlantic for no reason, so I’m not about to judge.

My new friend.  I will call him AArnold.

This lounge is one of those reasons your clothes always shrink a size by the end of a trip.  There’s food everywhere, including a complimentary made to order menu, and an entire section of the dessert bar dedicated just to scones.  

Yes, you heard me- just scones. 

As if that wasn’t enough, a walk through, on your way to, say, check out the open-air terrace that overlooks a row of a380s, you’ll also find a couple gold-rimmed champagne bars full of Taittinger on ice. 

Make that 2 sizes of clothes-shrinkage.  

Okay, okay, clothes shrinkage, and if you’re doing really well, inspiration to take a selfie with one of those lampshade horses on the way out.

Self-Serve Bar(s) Note- The ginger ale is addictive.

My brave new traveling friends and I took over some prime real estate in this frequent flyer promised land, and spent some time getting to know each other a little better.  Oh, one thing this lounge could use more of is power outlets.  But, never fear, mileage runners come prepared.  Yes, we did also have a contingency plan for evacuating the room quietly if having a power strip, plugged into another power strip, plugged into a converter, with about 6 devices on it were to blow out the lounge fuses.  Spoiler alert- no electrical circuits were harmed in the making of this mileage run.  

Voltage abuse

All too soon though, we were showered, (well) fed, (over) indulged, and ready to board the next 11 hour flight from LHR-JNB.  At this point, I have a vague (there was also 18yr scotch at the bar) memory of the group of us realizing we missed the start of pre-boarding (the horror), somewhat inelegantly charging through a duty-free shop as a shortcut to the gate, and plunging through the several hundred passengers waiting, to reach the priority lane and ensure our all-important overhead space rights.  Maybe not my smoothest airport moment, but I’ve done worse.  A lot worse. But, that’s a story for another post…





Up next: The trials of a second redeye 11 hour flight in economy, navigating Jo’burg, and lions...lots and lots of lions.

~CruisingAltitude

No, I will not make a 'long face' joke...I won't....

Light 'em up.....

[The following is my rambling attempt at a 'hack my trip' post.  Wish me luck...]

Burn, baby, burn.

Yup, after the last 12 months of program devaluations across the board, I finally pulled the trigger on my first Oneworld Explorer (all-partner award) ticket.  Actually, I did so a couple months ago in the heat of 2013 mileage season, but the 'grounded' side of life has kept me from getting around to the more important things in life, namely, BS-ing all day about points and miles.  Shame on it.

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand.  Like I was saying, with both the #UnitedUnfriendly devaluation, and Delta's recent 'earn less, spend more' announcement, I've never felt better about burning a chunk of miles on an award flight.  Usually I spend my earned miles either on friends and family, or on upgrades to regularly purchased tickets in order to make my 100k qualifying miles a year, but I've been curious about the deals to be had on an Explorer ticket, and Mrs. CruisingAltitude and I could use a fun trip for our 1yr wedding anniversary.  Besides, I'd bet good money (or even miles) that with the AA/US merger, the current pricing of the Explorer chart, or the award altogether is in mortal danger.

And now for the booking story and rules of the fare... (if you're already familiar with them, skip a few paragraphs, but I've seen plenty of confusion about these tickets, so I thought I'd set out the basics)

Explorer tickets, as I explain them to my non-flyer friends, work a little like a Eurail train ticket, just on the Oneworld alliance carriers instead.  You trade in a certain amount of miles in exchange for a distance you can fly.  That distance can be made of up to 16 segments, over the course of an entire year.  Seems easy, yes?  Well it is, and it isn't.  In addition, the following caveats are involved (there are more, but these are the basic ones you're most likely going to run into):

-You can only transit through any airport up to 2 times, with no more than one 'stopover' of more than 24 hrs
-You MUST fly on 2 or more Oneworld carriers (British Airways, Iberia, Cathay, LAN, etc) in ADDITION to any flight on AA
-You are only allowed one 'open jaw' segment, i.e.- fly into Paris and out of London, traveling by ground between the two cities
-Once booked, you can't change the flight path, or the cities, but you can change the dates and times.  So if you decide you booked too little or to much time in any one place, or want to grab a few more hours in your favorite lounge, you can move the times around after booking.

Now for the pricing.  The current award chart looks like this:

For this particular trip, I booked the Mrs. and I each a 'Zone 5' ticket.  My first thought was to go all out and book the 1st class level, but after piecing out the journey, I realized that since both of the transatlantic (spolier alert, we're headed to Europe) segments only offered 2 classes of service, Y and J (econ and business), a business class ticket translates to first, so why spend the extra miles?

Next question, of course, is why didn't I find a flight that offered 'true' first class??  Glad you asked....

The reason, is there are only 2 Oneworld airlines who fly a 3 (or 4) class plane across the Atlantic- American's new 777-300ER, which was not available for award space, and BA's 747 and a380 service, which was (the 747 service, anyway).  But, anyone who's familiar with bargain-basement award booking knows to avoid TATL (Trans-Atlantic) flights on BA like the plague.  They tack on fuel surcharges which can cost as much as just buying a cheap Y ticket in the first place.  

So, with that in mind, let me give you my take on the fun that is the Explorer ticket.  It can be summed-up in a few fun rules/takeaways:

1) Unless you are ready to jump in and be on the phone at midnight of the 330th day before the start of your intended itinerary, be prepared to be flexible.  Actually, even if you're the type to be ready that far in advance, you may need to be flexible.  This goes both for times, but also for days and destinations.  

2) Plan your 'big tickets' first, and work around those.  This means getting your TATL or TPAC (Trans-Pacific) segments done and going from there.  It's much easier to bounce around Europe or SE Asia than to find 2 premium cabin seats from JFK to LHR. 

3) Wait to book until you get a good agent on the phone.  I can't stress this enough.  These tickets MUST be booked over the phone, and some agents may not know how to do them at all, some may only know as much as you do, and some will work like crazy to get something amazing set up for you.  Keep calling back until you get #3. 

4) When you call to book, have a few scenarios you'd be okay with planned, and a mileage calculator at the ready.

Now to the specifics of our booking....

Referring to #1 above, I went into the process thinking something along the lines of Copenhagen (Mrs. CruisingAltitude's studies gave her several sights to see here), Athens (again, by request of, Mrs. CruisingAltitude... 'the light is so beautiful there'...), and maybe a little time in Paris (just because), and Helsinki (I'm told my family's from there....and Finnair is supposed to have a nice fleet).  

What I booked:  Couple days Berlin (Airberlin, no fees and J available), couple days Copenhagen, layover in LHR (Galleries 1st!!), Rome (time for 4 nights in Tuscany), and a night in Dusseldorf on the way home.  The flightpath looks like this:

Now I'm sure the type-a travelers out there would say 'but...but....you're barely going any of the places you planned??  How is that useful??'  Well, here's the thing- these tickets are at the mercy of availability, especially if you want a premium seat, and don't want to pay huge fees.  Really, though, there's something totally fun about being a little cavalier in the planning... nomadic, even?  We've never been to any of these destinations, and we're getting there in style.  Like I truly believe, the travel time itself is a big part of the reward.  Besides, there's some fun to being able to say things to the booking agent like, 'Oh 1st class is unavailable to Athens that week?  No worries, what does Rome look like instead?'  

The whole thing takes about 12 days, with Italy being the longest stop.  The most impressive (if I do say so myself) part is the distance.  It comes pretty close to the 14000 mile limit, and booked into J both ways across the Atlantic, with the JFK-TXL segment being on Airberlin's new fully lie-flat business product.  (As a caveat, this cabin is a 1-2-1 layout, with only 3 rows in the center actually being truly adjoining seats, therefore called the 'honeymoon seats'.  I managed to grab one of these even though, knowing Mrs. CruisingAltitude, she'll probably spend the whole flight happily watching movies and sleeping, rather than chatting with me)

Why thank you....don't mind if I do...

For those concerned with the 'nuts and bolts' of the booking:

These tickets cost 115,000 miles + $287 in taxes and fees, ai (all-in).  Going Airberlin on the way out and AA on the way home kept the fuel charges away.  

If we 'price' our miles around 2cpm (a little higher than the rate I earned them at during last mileage season), the full cost comes out to $2,587.  For comparison's sake, the lowest I could price this itin as a cash ticket at the time of booking was around $4k, with ugly routings in Y, and started at 12k and went up in J.  

Now, I know you're just dying to ask, 'but CruisingAltitude, you forgot you live at LAX and this itinerary seems to start at JFK!!!'  Never fear, my friends, I've got a plan for that too.  Even with my Seattle-born antagonistic feelings toward everything Airbus, I'll admit to having wanted to try out AA's new 321T LAX-JFK.  At the moment, I'm debating whether to go all-out and book an award ticket into 1st to let the Mrs. try out the mini-suites (I thoroughly enjoyed mine on the way back from LHR on the 777-300ER last year), or to get some EQMs out of this whole thing and book Y and upgrade to J (also lie-flat, 2-2 config).  Thoughts??

321T F Seats

321T J Seats

As that's the flights in a nutshell, I'll also throw in a note on the accommodations.  After going through reviews and researching both cash and points nights at both Hilton and Starwood, I decided to take the jump and get into my 3rd hotel program.  Given that the priority was nights in Berlin and Copenhagen, I signed up for the Club Carlson select Visa card, which offers 85k bonus points (and up, depending on your spend).  This, combined with their 2-for the price of-1 awards nights for Gold members (included in the $75 card membership) means our 2 night stays in both Berlin and Copenhagen at the Raddison Blu (in both cities) will cost $75 total, plus tax.  Planning for the time in Italy's still in the works, but I think we may (**gasp**) go independent for it, with only 1-2 nights in branded hotels to accommodate late arrivals/early departures. 

The lobby of the Raddison Blu Berlin - Yes, that's a giant fish tank.
No, I don't know why....nor do I care :)

All in all, I'm pleased with the ticket, and glad I went through the process of putting it together.  It's a great value for the miles and can result in some flexible, adventurous, and if you plan it right, decadent travel.  As a comparison, just booking a 'partner award' round trip from the US to Europe in J class would cost 100k miles, without all the intra-Europe flying and flexibility.  I'm already starting to plan the next one.  HKG for a little time at The Wing?  BKK and on to Phuket?  Possibly something different entirely....maybe that's why they're called 'Explorer' tickets.

Fly safe,

~CruisingAltitude