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

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.

Please remain seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop....

"Make no mistake, moving is living." 

                                              - Ryan Bingham, Up in the Air

Safely and successfully back home again after the last weekend of mileage season.  Thoughts, stories, and feelings from seat 18D to follow.  Happy Monday everyone.