Havana Running Part 11- Miami Vexed

 

 

Preview: What Would Hemmingway Do?

Part 1: Relaxing

Part 2: I Promise Not To Call This Sleepless In Seattle

Part 3: Just Sit Anywhere

Part 4: Taking It South

Part 5: Bienvenido a La Habana

Part 6: Day Into Night

Part 7: When the Rooster Crows

Part 8: Shopping, Stumbling Through Havana

Part 9: When Life Gives You a Night In Cuba...

Part 10: Good Morning and Goodbye

Aaaannnd we're back to traveler reality.  Also, Airbus I hate you, and the good design you didn't fly in on. 

You know what you did...

I'm clearly already missing Havana, and its chaotic but uncomplicated self.  Not 3 hours into my return to 'real life' and I'm running to the gate before boarding time to AGAIN find they're halfway through the boarding process on an oversold a321.  What does a flyer have to do around here to get a decent gate announcement? I just wanted to finish my mimosa after my massage in the lounge.  Life's hard sometimes.

 

 

Sometimes I forget that the Miami-LAX flight has been crowned a 'transcon' by AA, and therefore is one of the few left with the cachet of upscale flying within the US.  You're lucky if you get a blanket on 'regular' flights these days, let alone a pillow.  It was a nice little surprise to get onboard and find the 'big' blanket set and an amenity kit waiting for me.  There's also personal IFE, which also sadly has been going the way of the Dodo lately around these parts.

At least they passed the PDB tray this time, and it wasn't just water.

 

I sit down next to a nice single serving friend from the OC and we chat about all the normal things- flights, kids, the extended tarmac delay that was just announced.  And then he goes and asks for milk with ice and I realize I'm sitting next to a Ryan Bingham wannabe, who also happens to think its appropriate to go barefoot enroute, and it's just over.

 

Half an hour later, we finally roll the runway.  I've already been on the phone with AA preparing to miss my next connection.  Unless we make up time in the air, and have the illusive empty gate at LAX, I'm likely not going to make the flight to SEA.  Now, I'll admit that I have mixed feelings about this.  I'll likely get a refund on that 'small' part of the itinerary, but I also may not get my qualifying miles for it, and since that's the entire point here.... On the other hand, I'll be in LA...and I could just go home early.  So, I'll just let the chips fall where they may on this one. 

Being jolted back to the flight at hand (literally)- Airbus, can you seriously not manage to design a plane where the IFE can handle even mild chop?  Whenever we hit a couple bumps, the system freezes.  Come on people, its an airplane, and you had one job.  I'd like to say 'if it's not Boeing, I'm not going, but AA has taken that choice away from me.  

So far, this is one of those flights where, as a great pilot I once had would have made the announcement that "as you might have noticed by this point, you are in fact on an airplane."  This is to say- we're getting kicked around pretty good up here.  

 

 

The service has been slow, partly because of the turbulence, but also just because it's slow.  I'm not usually one to get bent out of shape about that (no, seriously, stop laughing) but sometimes on a long multi segment run like this you just want to have your meal and try to get a little rest before landing.  As it stands, we're not going to have our plates cleared until short final.

In better news, as the flight goes on it seems like we're making up time, so if we get there with an open gate I may have the chance to make my onwards flight.  Mealy tray 'half full,' right?

~CruisingAltitude

Havana Running Part 10- Good Morning and Goodbye

Dawn breaks over Havana, the Moon and Venus bright.  Looks like a beautiful day to fly.

Preview: What Would Hemmingway Do?

Part 1: Relaxing

Part 2: I Promise Not To Call This Sleepless In Seattle

Part 3: Just Sit Anywhere

Part 4: Taking It South

Part 5: Bienvenido a La Habana

Part 6: Day Into Night

Part 7: When the Rooster Crows

Part 8: Shopping, Stumbling Through Havana

Part 9: When Life Gives You a Night In Cuba...

Without fail, the rooster work me up the next day well before my alarm.  And my alarm was early, so this chicken was the definition of the 'early bird.'  I'm not bitter.  Not at all. I got myself up and dressed in time to see the sun start to rise over the city.  I have to groggily admit it was beautiful. 

I'd arranged for a taxi the day before with the owner of my casa, and the driver was waiting at 6:30.  I said goodbye to Jorge and got in the car, which this time was one of the classic cars I'd seen around the city.  It just completed the check list of 'things to do in Havana' for me.  Sure it was slow, bouncy, and loud, but it's 'what you do' here at least once.

They tell you to arrive at HAV airport early- at least hours, if not 3, for flights to the US.  I get the precaution, as I've heard about long slowly moving lines for check in and passport control, but I could have been through all the checkpoints and waiting at the gate in 20 minutes or less this particular morning. As a caveat, I wasn't checking luggage, and I could use the priority check in for AA, which didn't have much of a line.



What my return luggage looked like. 

 Why I didn't make it through to the gate in 20 minutes, though, was that I hadn't calculated perfectly the money I changed to do my cigar shopping, and as a result had some extra CUCs to change back.  This was probably the first time I really understood some of the frustration with getting things done in Cuba.  There clearly was a money exchange by the check in.  When I went there and got to the front of the line asking for USD back, they promptly acted like they were closed, didn't speak any English, and told me to go downstairs.  I went downstairs, and they sent me upstairs.  This continued for several go-rounds until the original place grudgingly decided to understand me finally and changed my money back.   

 

Of course there was a fee in addition to the one I'd paid to change it in the first place. If you plan well enough, bring Euros or Pesos for a better exchange rate, but for a short trip I didn't bother.

 

 The Havana airport is small, unsurprisingly, but does have some places to get a quick snack or coffee, as well as some duty free shops that were well utilized.  The departures hall for international flights is basically one room and serves everything.  I saw non-stops to Madrid and Berlin, alongside the little guys headed to Cancun and Miami.

 

 

As would be expected, the gate on the boarding pass wasn't the one we actually departed from, and I don't remember hearing any kind of formal audible announcement about the gate change.  However, it didn't matter much since everything was in such close quarters.  I saw the inbound plane pulling in, and just moved over to where it eventually parked. As always, it's a comforting thing to see the "American Tail" roll up to the gate in a foreign country.  Familiar in the foreign. 

 

 

Impressively, we boarded more or less on time and with minimal confusion and pushed back on schedule.  The flight crew was pleasant, even though (or maybe because) they seemed new to the job, and even more new to international flights.  We took off and got a last look at Havana out of the windows before heading back north.  It was a bit of a hazy morning, so the views weren't as dramatic as the way up, but still worth the time. 

 

 

 I had mixed feelings about hearing the initial decent announcement- mainly that my phone would finally work again....but also that my phone would work again.  Inevitable is as inevitable does though, and when we touched down I hurriedly switched back off of airplane mode to see what the world had been up to in the last 48 hours.

After we got off the plane, we had a long hike from one end of MIA to the other to go through customs.  Much to my relief, I had absolutely zero issues getting through.  I have Global Entry, and it worked exactly like it does for every other destination.  No one wanted to see my proof of being a journalist or otherwise.  I was through and into the departures area again in a matter of minutes.

One more flight down, a few more to go.

~CruisingAltitude

Havana Running Part 3: "Just Sit Anywhere"

 

Yessss!!

Since I last signed off in Seattle, there’s been a fair amount of flying going on… and not a whole lot of sleeping.  I’m currently sitting extremely happily on my flight to MIA.  First off, I was RIGHT about the plane.  It’s a reconfigured 757 set up for international flights, so that means lie flat in 1^st!  Now it really feels like a mileage run….it’s almost like I planned it that way (this time I didn’t, the tickets were way to fleeting for that).

 

In the past about 6 hours, I had a nice (if you can ever refer to domestic redeyes that way) flight to Dallas, and then dozed in the daybeds in the Centurion for about an hour, then had a long warm shower 7 breakfast.  Again- if you fly enough, these lounges make the card well worthwhile.  And no, Amex doesn’t pay me to say that…though if they wanted to work something out…..

Naptime @ DFW

After about a three hour layover, I boarded my third flight of the trip- DFW to MIA, and this brings us current.  Now, I pride myself on good airport timing.  I don’t like to cut things close, but I also don’t see the need to be hanging around the gate early getting impatient.  As we all know, the policy is that boarding starts 30 minutes out for domestic narrowbodies, and 45 or 1hour out for the big birds headed overseas.  This is a decent amount of time to get everyone settled, and it’s been this way for years.

However, more often than not lately I’ve showed up at T-30 to find things were already getting underway.  It’s not that I need to be first on the plane just for the sake of it, but with overhead bin space at a premium, part of the perks of status is that you don’t have to sweat it when it comes to finding space.

Today was completely ridiculous.  I rolled up at a perfectly timed 2 minutes to ‘boarding,’ to hear “this flight is now in final boarding, all ticketed passengers should be onboard.

Um, no.  That’s an announcement for 10 minutes out.  So….I crankily boarded with Group 8.  In the end I did find a place for my bags, and all was fine.  However, I wasn’t the only one thrown by the early boarding.  As it happens, other passengers figured the same as me, and so the boarding process didn’t wrap up early, it just took forever. 

It got to the point of comedy eventually, as the flight wasn’t completely full, and enterprising passengers kept changing their seats, making it hard for the crew to sort out who, in fact, was actually on the plane.  None of this was made better by a woman who as it turned out didn’t realize her seat assignment was actually on her ticket. She walked past me yelling to the flight attendant that her family “had seats together, but she didn’t know where” and so she was just going to “sit anywhere.”

Wow. 

MIA Centurion Food

Annnyhow….. due to the nice seats, the flight passed very quickly, and I woke up on descent into Miami.  Just enjoying one more stop at a Centurion Lounge, making it a perfect trifecta of visits on this itinerary, before getting on my last flight of the day (already??).  In a couple short hours I’ll be trying to find my way around Havana, so wish me luck!

~CruisingAltitude

The Last Mileage Run of 2016 Part 8: How Did We Get on the Zurich Flight???

Final Approach into MIA

We landed early into Miami, with time enough to hit the Centurion club (yes again, this is how it works) for a shower and massage, before heading out to the next plane to get up to JFK.  The next flight was just one of those flights that seems more entertaining than it should be.  First off, it was an aging 757, however, it was configured for international service, so the Frist cabin was set up with 16 angle-flat seats, rather than the usual 22 recliners.  This was good, however, the lack of an update was showing.  My IFE did this every 10 minutes, and nothing seemed to fix it:

Aside from the service and the destination, how you feel a bout a flight segment generally has to do with the people, or person, sitting next to you.  This one was a real winner.  "Mr. 3F" sat down and immediately started talking loudly on the phone, making sure each person he called knew that he was a- on a plane b- going to New York for some very important meeting, and c- would also be in LA later in the week, presumably for some even more important meetings.  He then took a breather from these calls to aggressively flag down a FA, and insist (twice) that they hang his coat that very instant.  It was at this point that I tried to think of the best way to signal that we weren't together...in any way, shape, or form.

Believe it or not, Mr. 3F wasn't even the most notable passenger in the cabin. 1E had a hair color and style that would have made Cruella DeVil jealous, whilst 3B seemed completely befuddled by the buttons to operate his seat.  He spent a full 15 minutes trying to figure out the 'seat forward' and 'seat back' functions.  Dude.... it's two buttons, and they're well labeled.

Since my IFE was conclusively broken, I pulled out my laptop, and watched some saved shows I have on iTunes.  Mr. 3F then spent the remainder of the flight watching my laptop over my shoulder while he ate his salad.  He didn't even try to hide it....I almost offered my headphone splitters to him...

It was about this time in the flight that I happened to notice that the airplane itself was even having an off night, judging by the monitors in the cabin which appeared to show our final destination as Zurich??

I checked and double checked my memory....but I was pretty sure I hadn't put together THAT good of a mileage running itinerary.  According to 'The Plane" we weren't even making a detour to let passengers off in JFK.

What's unsettling about this is either a- I boarded the wrong flight, or b- the computer system has no clue where we're headed.  The times, and remaining time in the flight screens were likewise completely incorrect.  Since I was in all honestly, reasonably sure the pilots had this in hand, my next thought was how disturbing it is that AA still considers the 757 to be an acceptable choice for TATL flights...

Anyhow, spoiler alert- we did, in fact, touch down in JFK on time, giving us ample time to check out the newly renovated Flagship Lounge (see next post).  Priorities, priorities.

~CruisingAltitude

The Last Mileage Run of 2016 Parts 4 and 5: Over and Out

Sunday, 9am, Miami International Airport:

No, this isn't the MIA airport, but it's the flight to there.  Take what you can get.

The story so far:

Part 1- Famous Last Words

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

Part 3- Miami Elemental

Another day, another airport lounge.  I’ve decided Centurion lounges need to multiply.  Yes, they’re head and shoulders above the average Admiral’s Club, they have the food and the cocktails, and the spas, but they also have a chronic lack of seating.  They’re one part four star restaurant, one equal part overcrowded high school cafeteria. 

Anyhow, to catch you up.  I woke up this morning at 6:30 am after a few hours sleep at the Element By Westin (registered trademark) and headed down to catch the shuttle…only to learn they run every half hour, on the half hour….and I’d just missed it.  Story of my life this weekend.

It’s been an interesting impromptu overnight in Miami, complete with a nice dinner out at Bulla in Coral Gables.  It was one of those times when I get reminded that, despite enjoying a good trek around the world in a weekend, I am at a basic level, extremely boring.  To encapsulate, last night the words “will they still be serving at 10pm” came out of my mouth.  And I meant it.

It was good!  Next time you're in MIA, I recommend it.

Spoiler alert- yes, bars and restaurants in Miami on at Saturday do, in fact, remain open past 10pm.  They also have a 45 minute wait for a table. At 10pm.  It made for a late night, but you don’t mileage run to catch up on sleep.  No pain, no gain. 

10 minutes to boarding, the rain is tapering off and there's a rainbow in the sky.  Time to pack up…

~CruisingAltitude

Sunday, 11am, seat 3F:

I’M OKAY NOW!  We’re at Flight Level 31, careening over the Caribbean.  All is well that ends in a surprise upgraded cabin interior.  Yes, that is a sentence that I both wrote AND understood!  I'd heard rumor that AA had been overhauling a select few of their old international 757s and putting in lie-flat seating like they have on their new 321Ts.  As it just so happens, we stumbled upon one of them, and thank God for that.

 

After the misconnect, I'm getting rewarded with one of, if not the most, beautiful flights of my year.  Once we climbed out of the overcast skids around MIA airspace, things have opened up and the views are stunning!  The flight path out of MIA takes you first across the water, including Cuba, and other islands, then goes over Panama, then climbing into the Andes, before dipping down through the valleys of Colombia and Ecuador, into Quito. 

I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking on this one...

 

 

 

 

I think I'll end with strength here.  Seriously, it was a beautiful day to fly. 

Now, to see what Quito is all about...

~CruisingAltitude

Last Mileage Run of 2016 Part 2: So....yeah....um...

"The Plane" At TBIT.  Even it was on time, and it woke up in Sydney this 'morning.'

See part 1 here.

Whelp, welcome to mileage season…. It all started so promisingly, it really did.  I was here on time, American.  Let’s just get that in the official record of this weekend.  I got myself up at the ass crack of dawn, no wait…before dawn this morning, got myself in an Uber, showered at the Admirals Club, all of that.  I was READY to do this thing.

Then, life happened.  Let’s just do a recap here.  We had 1hr 15 to make the connection in MIA.  This seemed doable, well outside of the minimum connection time for this airport.  But I should have known better, let’s face it, I DID know better.  I’ve been up nights about this exact thing.

Let’s stop for a moment here and talk about how mileage runs SHOULD be booked, and why it seems like I’m always in an airport lounge.  I’m always in an airport lounge, because that’s what you do on a long layover.  You have a long layover when you don’t want to risk missing your flight.  You don’t want to risk missing your flight when you on a mileage run, and don’t have much (or any) time in the destination.  So, has the point been made?  Yes…no…maybe?? 

For the record, again, I did book a longer connection but an equipment and schedule change forced my hand here. 

Not a bad place to start the day though...

Anyway, back to reality…

Currently sitting on the tarmac.  On an inert 777, waiting to GO BACK TO the gate for more maintenance.  This is a new one for even me.  We pulled back, rolled to the end of the runaway and then thought….yeah, no, just kidding!

Apparently there’s something wrong with the cargo doors.  This is why you should NEVER check luggage!  Come on, we’ve talked about this.  Seriously, people.

I’ve only had one PDB, and it’s not nearly enough right now.  Hope is fast draining from this run, and we haven’t even hit the first flight level yet.  

Update, it’s not the doors…but some badly stacked cargo?  You had one job, seriously.

We have rolled back to the gate, shut down, got towed in, and now they’re apparently down there playing cargo tetrus with a 777-300.  Fantastic.  Remember when I said I was about to lose a friend by bringing them with me on this madness?? Yep, I’m pretty sure those famous last words are hitting home about right now. 

I feel the plane is on the edge of anarchy.  The passengers are starting to migrate toward the now opened aircraft door, and the FAs are playing interference between them and the lonely gate agent who’s been sent down the jetbridge to deal with this (major) kerfulffle.  The snack baskets are even being broken out now, which is never a good sign, despite the sweet and spicy popcorn, which is just delightful.

Anyhow, just several short calls to the AA EXP desk, and a dalliance with the idea of trying to jump ship (plane?) for the 1pm to Lima on LAN, and we’re re-booked on the 9:50 am out of Miami tomorrow down to Quito.  Roll with it, I think.  Now if this plane could just push back so they can open the service carts and bring me my pre-ordered “breakfast” and a(nother) mimosa, that’d be great.  Mileage runs are judgement free zones.

Onwards (and hopefully upwards) from here.

~CruisingAltitude

Touring Panama City by Helicopter, and Other Mileage Run Adventures



Heading out- using my one day in Panama well.  

I've written a lot on this blog, and talked to many people in person, trying to explain the nuts and bolts of how and why I fly as much as I do.  There's the usual cost benefit analysis- that of cents per mile, and valuation of elite status.  But really, especially with the changing world of devalued mileage programs, this alone can't be the only reason.  You clearly have to enjoy the process, the concept, the adventure.  These weekend trips across the world have to be an end unto themselves.  And why can't they be?  Brief trips demand encapsulation of experiences.  It's a narrow window into a place, but it can provide vivid memories.  If an airport is a city's handshake, then a mileage run is a first date.  At the end, you'll know if you want to go back for a second. 

 

This year, I've had the opportunity to experience some new destinations, as well as visit an old favorite or two.  First up was a quick weekend turn around in Panama City in February.  The great thing about this destination, as well as being an interesting place to see, is that it consistently has great flight deals from Los Angeles in business and first class.  This means that you earn double elite qualifying miles for the trip by default.  In short, it takes the qualifying miles of a trip to Europe, and condenses it into a 'quick' 7,000 miles that can comfortably be done in a weekend, with no upgrade waitlist suspense, and time left over to actually visit the destination. 

Newly updated 767-300 1st cabin from LAX-MIA

My flightpath was a no-nonsense LAX-MIA-PTY and back.  Even better, the LAX-MIA legs were on widebody aircraft with very comfortable lie-flat seats!

The view from my room at the Sheraton in downtown PTY.  No complaints about the hotel.  Nice staff, well located, and a great club lounge.

I'm not sure I knew exactly what to expect from Panama City.  With all the excitement at home this year, I didn't have time to do much to research for this trip.  My first impressions were surprise at the scale of the downtown area.  It has a decidedly 'Miami Beach' feel, with a little bit of over the top Gulf-style architecture thrown in.  It's not the overwhelming size and sprawl of a place like Sao Paulo or Tokyo, but it's an impressive city nonetheless. 

A large percentage, almost a fourth, of the population of the country live within Panama City itself, and the revenue generated by the canal is apparent.  You get the sense of a condensation of wealth, as well as people.  In opposition to this glass and steel high rise city, there is also a historic 'old town' section called Casco Viejo.  It's a district laid out with small streets and squares, full of Spanish colonial architecture.  It's been undergoing a revival, with many renovation projects, and has a vibrant restaurant and nightlife scene.  I had a busy day, so I didn't get there until later at night, but even a quick visit was worth it.  Something to keep in mind when visiting this part of town is that it gets very congested at night, especially on weekends.  I'd suggest having your taxi drop you a few blocks outside of the center of the district and walking. 

Casco Viejo at night.

The main event of my stay though, was a helicopter flight over the Canal.  This is a unique experience, especially given both the history and scale of the Panama Canal, and the recent expansion, as well as being able to get a sense of the geography of the country.  It's obvious from just looking at a map of the isthmus that the country is extremely narrow, but it really hammers the point home when you realize you can fly the entire width of it from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, and back again, in an hour and still have time left over to circle the Panama City before you land. 

 

For the tour, I flew in an R44 helicopter, which is the reliable and economical choice of many tour operators all over the world.   It's a good choice to see something like the Canal, as it's quick and nimble, but not so fast that you don't have plenty of time to see what's going on below, and get some great pictures.

All the way to another ocean in 30 mins or less!

Helicopters can fly at just about any allowed altitude, which gives you the unique experience of being able to descend to get a closer look at the land, skim 50 feet over the water, or say... dive at an alligator if you so wish.  Plus, there is excellent visibility from every seat.

The contrasting old locks (front) and the new (behind).

As was narrated by my pilot, this year for the first time they've filled the new locks with water.  From the air you can get a sense of the scale of the expansion.  The old set of locks are still in place in the background and at the time I was there, were still in use.  As you can see well from the sky, the new locks are not only individually larger to accommodate the bigger ships being built, there are also more of them. 

 

The canal itself is actually constructed using three natural lakes, which are connected by the locks to make up the full distance of the waterway.  Between the locks, these lakes sprawl out with jungle alongside, and create a beautiful pattern as you fly over.  Our flight was in the afternoon, so many of the ships for the day had already passed the locks, and the lakes were mostly empty. 

 

 

 

The flight ended with a aerial tour of Panama City.  The coastal skyline is even more impressive from the air.  If you take a helicopter tour in Panama City, chances are you won't have to head all the way back to PTY airport.  I flew with Helipan, which is located at the Marcos A. Gelabert Airport, closer to town. 

 

 

 

My day ended with dinner at Playa Veracruz at sunset.  It's a little ways out of town, but if you're looking for a resort style stay, rather than nights in the city, the Westin Playa Bonita is nearby. 

 

 

 

The next morning I headed back to the airport.  Conveniently, Uber serves Panama City, and the fare to or from the airport is about US $25.  Without traffic, the drive takes about 30 minutes.  Check in was fairly easy, but there was secondary screening at the gate, so get there a few minutes early.  There is a nice lounge accessible with Priority Pass.  Clean and simple, with drinks and light snacks. 

 

The trip ended well, with my upgrade clearing in Miami for the final flight back to LAX.  Since I had purchased a business class ticket, this moved me up into First Class on American's 777-300, which is arguably their best product in the fleet.  Business class on this plane is also lie-flat, and very comfortable, but I had a Systemwide Upgrade expiring in a matter of weeks, so I was excited to get to use it to experience the first class cabin. 

 

The first class seats are larger than business class, with armrests, and a massage function.

 

 

The suites are spacious, and very comfortable.  The food is enhanced over the business class offerings, and the service level is higher, especially since this plane has 52 business class seats, and only 8 in first.  Plus, you get three windows to yourself to take in the view!

 

Overall, this trip was a good first look at Panama City.  Since this business class mileage run continues to be a good deal for the qualifying miles, I'm keeping it in mind for the future.

 

Fly Well,

 

~CruisingAltitude  

 

This entry was written for this week's Fly Away Friday, hosted by Time Travel Blonde.

 









Report from the return ....

How it ended- Sunset flight DFW-LAX

This week I was sent off to Philadelphia for work.  Well, about an hour south of Philly to be precise.  The trip included two stays a different Sheratons I hadn't been to before, a rental from National's executive selection at PHL, and flights from LAX - MIA - PHL and then PHL - DFW -LAX.

I'm currently on the last leg of the flight and I concur with the pilot's recent PA announcement- it is 'a beautiful night to fly.' We've got calm skies and a beautiful red and orange sunset to fly off toward.   The flight was delayed a few minutes due to some weather from the Midwest that kept the equipment (an endangered 757) from getting to DFW on time.  I've decided not to let it bother me, all in all the trip has been successful thus far and I don't have a connecting flight to worry about.

HOWEVER, they took orders for dinner correctly- this is an odd numbered flight, and they started at the back, but they're serving from the front.  I'm in 6F and hungry for my chicken and....whatever else it was she said.  Yes, this would be the best example ever of 'First World Problems.'

Back to the topic at hand.  As far as frequent traveler perks go, I'm feeling fairly solid on this trip- 4 for 4 on the upgraded flights, 1.5 for 2 on the hotel rooms, and a definite (at least two category) upgrade on the car.  Oh, and the actual reason for the travel went well also...

It started off with a surprise gate upgrade for the overnight LAX-MIA, which was more than welcome.  4 of us on the standby upgrade list cleared on a sold out cabin.  Thank...somebody....for minor miracles.  The flight was even at the gate twenty minutes early, giving me time for a shower and a few of those little muffins in the MIA Admiral's club.  That is, of course, once I found it.  I spent a good five minutes walking in small, pathetic circles in Terminal D, dragging my carry-on behind me before realizing the sign was right there all along.

The shower rooms were nice, though I had to wait a few minutes for one to free up.  Like in LAX they have great amenities.

Shower suite-MIA Terminal

Amenities

The MIA-PHL leg was upgraded as well.  I also believe it was delayed an hour, mostly after boarding due to 'paperwork issues.'  However, it still being nighttime in Los Angeles, I don't remember much of it.....just the pilot apologizing as we finally left the gate, and sometime after takeoff the flight attendant nudging me to ask if I wanted eggs or cereal.  Not a bad way to ride out sequester-induced slow downs.

It was my first time in Philly in recent memory, and I wish I'd had more free time to see something other than my hotel rooms.  I mean, running to and from the car I did notice some lovely cobblestone streets and cherry blossoms....  But this is a frequent flyer blog....so the hotel rooms are a major feature, aren't they?

Before I get to that though, this was my first rental from National at PHL.  I'll start off by saying the prices were outrageous.  This seems to have been a City-wide supply and demand issue.  When I boarded the shuttle (Monday morning) the driver was telling inquiring customers that they were reservation only, as were Hertz and Alamo.

Now, here's the thing about National- its my new love car-rental wise with the executive membership though AmEx.  I love picking out my own car, and the row tends to have some fun finds.....but when you get off that packed bus and head toward the ES row it's suddenly like Lord Of The Flies, but everyone is tastefully business casual and towing a rollaboard.  For my part, I go in with a plan- I know the high end options- Genesis, 300c, Buick, Camaro, Maxima, Avalon, higher end SUVs and certain trim options....but...

....I'm also not proud. This time I threw my bag in a Lacrosse (with 16k on the ODO) took the keys, and went to check the mileage on the Enclave parked behind it.  The Enclave won- less than 300 miles, working XM, and all the options.  I did feel silly with just my one suitcase and myself in it, but the seats were heated and PHL was a whole lot colder than LA.

2013 Enclave from National

Annnnyway..... the first night in town I stayed at the Sheraton Society Hill.  The hotel was fully committed, according to the front desk and so the only upgrade they could offer was to a room on the club floor (3rd out of 4).  Being a slightly obsessive flyertalker I gave a quick look to the website on check-in, and there were no suites still for sale.  I don't have any pictures because it looked like every single other standard Sheraton room.  Soothing earth tones and 'Shine' amenities.

Sheraton Society Hill lobby from the Club Floor

Sheraton Society Hill

The hotel itself is on the small side, but well kept up.  Staff were pleasant, but I didn't get the 'going above and beyond' feeling from them.  My one real complaint was that my room was so far from the only elevator it took forever to get downstairs.

The second night, as I couldn't get a room in Philly to save my life (some major convention no one seemed to know the name of was in town) I got a room at a great rate on our company's SET at the Sheraton Wilmington South.  Now, while this location lacks the charm of Society Hill, it was the clear winner for me in amenities and service.

For the business traveler passing through, it's easy to find. It's right off the highway, but asking for a room on the far side will take away any noise issues.  Overall, the entire staff, from the check in desk to the bartender had a serious case of 'trying too hard.' This is literally the best compliment I can give.  Even though they too were fully sold out for the night, I was already double upgraded to a deluxe suite- three rooms, kitchenette, jacuzzi tub, on the top floor. The property was clean and modern, club lounge was well stocked for both evening and breakfast, if lacking in square footage.

Deluxe Suite Bedroom

Sheraton Wilmington Deluxe Suite

The trying too hard followed all the way to check out the next morning when I was asked about 4 times how my stay was, and nearly chased down the hall by the manger to ask if I might have time to write a TripAdvisor report.  Now, one could say this is all excessive, but I have to admire a staff who realizes that traditional advertising now pales in comparison to first hand reviews and social media status.  (they'll be getting that review)

As for the return trip, I have some unsolicited opinions about the PHL airport, both good and bad.  However, the sunset has faded out in front of us and it's about time for dinner. I don't want to risk getting whatever it is tonight all over my keyboard, so my feelings about Philly's security lines (NO pre-check!!) will have to wait.

Until the next segment....

Fly Safe,

~CruisingAAltitude