I’m sure nearly everyone has seen this by now, but for the two of you who haven’t, check out this complaint letter that someone wrote to Richard Branson regarding the meal service on a flight from India.

I’m sure I’m not the only that’s dying to know what the compensation was.

Believe it or not, I’m being dead serious. I’m flying this weekend, including two segments on the newly reconfigured United 767. I locked in the upgrade for the outbound with a confirmed regional upgrade, but decided to use 500 mile upgrades for the return, assuming it would be an easy upgrade, since I noticed the flight has been NC9 since the time of booking. Today I checked only to find that both my ORD to SFO and SFO to ORD flights are C0! That’s right, they’re not even selling business class seats anymore.

It’s all thanks to IM opening too much confirmable upgrade space too far in advance, to the point that it’s probably going mostly to those confirming upgrades in advance, instead of Global Service and 1K passengers using 500 mile upgrades or possibly those that would be willing to pay for business.

If only IM would do that for other routes….

I got an email this morning from Northwest stating Platinum benefits for the year, and I’m happy to see they changed their minds on a couple of ”enhancements.” Here are some of the highlights:

We’re working hard to bring together the frequent flyer programs of Northwest and Delta Air Lines®. As a part of this effort, we are aligning the WorldPerks and SkyMiles® programs with the goal of creating a single, best-in-class loyalty program for our combined members by the end of 2009.

Um, yeah, ok. I’ll have what he’s having.

Along with these benefits, we will modify the reissue and redeposit fee waiver for Platinum Elite members. Effective March 1, 2009, we will waive this fee for two different reservations per year and collect $50 for each additional award ticket change.

While it goes without saying that I’d prefer unlimited free changes, this seems like a compromise most of us could live with.

Also, the Platinum Elite mileage bonus will change from 125% of mileage flown to 100%.

 Too sad!

Bookings in Y, B, and M classes will earn a 50% mileage bonus which also counts towards Elite Qualification

It’s nice to see they reconsidered. It’s only logical.

You will be able to link and transfer your miles between your WorldPerks and SkyMiles accounts in early February

Nothing new there, but I’m excited! I’m finally starting to build up a decent stash of Northwest miles, and while they’re not worth a whole lot, they’re better than nothing.

Platinum Elites will now enjoy six new system-wide upgrades allowing upgrades on both domestic and international flights

I wish they were as exciting as they sound, but they’ll probably be open to only full fare or nearly full fare flights. Think in the range of $2,000 for flights to Europe, which is basically the same you’d pay for discounted business. No thanks.

It’s time for a reader photo. Thanks to Brendan for sending in this one.

Correct Answer: Funchal, Portugal (Madeira)
Winner: Eric

If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

Upon deplaning I took the train to the main terminal and followed the sign towards the courtesy shuttles. It was a rather brisk evening, although I came from Florida where it was a cool 18F that morning (I kid you not), so it wasn’t that bad, relatively speaking. After waiting for about 20 minutes and seeing shuttles from virtually every hotel except mine (Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Renton), I gave the hotel a call to see how often the shuttle runs, something I should have probably looked into before.

I was informed by the front desk agent that the shuttle stops running at 10PM, and that I should take a cab which should cost no more than $15. Shoot, I’m an idiot for not checking the website earlier, where it clearly states that. I assumed it would run until later, since 11PM is as busy of a time as any at SEA, with tons of arrivals from the east coast. Based on the arrivals hall you would have thought it’s the busiest time of day, actually.

I tried to find the cab line, although it was nowhere to be found. I eventually saw one legitimate looking cab, which I took. Unfortunately the ride ended up costing $25 (including tip) instead of $15, and even worse I didn’t exactly feel safe, since the cab driver was fumbling around in the front for nearly the whole ride, and I didn’t know what he was looking for. Had I known about the lack of a shuttle I would have stayed at either the Hilton or the Doubletree, since they were only slightly more expensive and had 24 hour shuttles.

At check-in I had the most cheery agent I’ve ever seen. I guess it takes a certain type to work the night shift at a hotel, and he certainly was that type. He just wouldn’t shut up and was so overly enthusiastic that I had to just walk away as soon as I got my keys. For example, he said something like “Did you want your complimentary bottle of super duper spring water from our well stocked pantry now or did you want it delivered to your room later on?” While I might have appreciated his humor about 12 hours earlier in the day, it was too late. Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude!

My room was located on the fourth floor and was nice, actually. Considering I paid $90/night and get free breakfast as a Gold along with free internet access, not to mention the 7,000+ points and 2,000 BMI miles I earned, it was a steal.

The room had a flat screen TV and was quite “fresh” looking, so no complaints there.

Room

TV

After getting some work done I finally made it to bed at around 1:30AM. What a day!

The next morning I had breakfast in the restaurant downstairs, which didn’t exactly serve what I would consider a “full American breakfast.” All of the buffet stuff was “continental,” and the menu selection was limited.

Lobby/restaurant

I ordered a waffle for breakfast, which was fine.

Breakfast

There’s not really anything else of interest to report about the hotel, other than that the employees were friendly overall, so I would probably return as long as I didn’t have a flight arriving late at night.

The real reason for this trip was to visit Boeing, thanks to an awesome person that managed to organize this tour. On Friday we made a trip to Renton to tour the 737 line, and on Saturday morning we made a trip to Everett to see the 777 line along with the 787.

Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures, but it was awesome nonetheless. The 737 line in Renton was incredible. It’s amazing that 737′s are built in a mere 10 days, and it’s literally an assembly line. The building they’re made in is huge, which goes without saying considering that they line up 10 737′s nose-to-tail for production. Incredible.

Everett was also amazing. As we drove up I could immediately tell it was aviation geek heaven. On the ramp were probably a dozen brand new 777′s from Air Canada, V Australia, Singapore, and many more. As we went into the hangar we got to see how 777′s are made, from the wings to the fuselage. Walking so close to such massive beasts was amazing, and really puts into perspective just how big these planes are.

Of course the highlight was seeing the 787. What a sleek plane! I can’t wait to see it in the skies.

I spent the rest of the weekend catching up on sleep. The only other eventful part of my stay was Saturday morning, where I had to get to downtown. I decided to take the bus from the mall, which the hotel shuttle drives to. The shuttle bus driver was quite possibly the most interesting human being I’ve ever come in contact with. He spilled his whole life story in the ten minute ride, including the fact that he has been married for 25 years, only to correct himself and say that he’s not really married but is as good as married, minus the “I do” part….. only to correct himself and say he’s in a relationship but neither partner is particularly loyal. Wow, talk about details!

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, waiting at the bus station at 6AM on Saturday morning in Renton was equally interesting. This was a bus stations near a mall, so naturally it’s going to be shady at that time on a Saturday. What I didn’t expect, however, was a grown man barking and growling like a dog for the better part of 15 minutes while waiting for the bus, and also for the entire bus ride. Oh, the joys of public transportation (and people with problems).

More to come on my return flight shortly.

I’ve finally made a decision (at least for now) regarding the question I asked last week about whether I should use points or just pay for my stay at the Conrad Hong Kong. Thanks to everyone that helped out, as some great points were made.

Ultimately I’ve decided to use points. If the rate would have been $150 it would have been a no brainer to pay with cash. If the rate had been $300 it would have been a no brainer to use points, but this was right in the middle and an area in which it seems like a wash either way.

That’s not the main reason I made the decision, though. This stay in Hong Kong is at the beginning of our trip, right after we arrive from YYZ. As of now there’s still availability in first class on the same flight the day before, and our stay happens to be over a weekend. My schedule has changed, allowing us to leave a day earlier if we wanted. In this case we would have a two night stay in Hong Kong over a weekend, so I would probably use a buy one get one free weekend night certificate at the InterContinental Grand Stanford, since the GM still “owes” me club access for my next stay. Since the rate is only about $200USD/night, I’d be paying that for a two night stay including club access, which is a great deal.

The one thing preventing me from making the switch is that we’re the only people booked in first class on our current YYZ-HKG flight, while there are two others already booked on the flight the night before. The lure of potentially having a whole first class cabin to ourselves is quite tempting.

OK, I guess I just solved one question by asking yet another, probably more difficult, question.

Thoughts?

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

I got to the airport at around 5PM, a bit earlier than usual since I was battling rush hour traffic and couldn’t afford to miss my flight. I printed out my boarding pass from one of the check-in machines, which was easy to use. The first thing I noticed is that Northwest prints out all segments of an itinerary on one piece of paper. It’s nice in the sense that it saves paper, but I’d hate to see that on United where I have five segments and I’m certain I’d be questioned by each agent that sees my boardng pass.

I headed airside, where I noticed the agents were collecting carry-on bags from some passengers, since apparently NW has a special procedure whereby those without carry-on bags can board early. It seemed like a lot of work in the name of “efficiency,” but what do I know?

Plane at gate

First class boarding began on-time at 5:35PM, and I proceeded onboard with my camera in hand.

Northwest 439, TPA-MSP, Airbus 320
Thursday, January 22
Depart: 6:05PM
Arrive: 8:35PM
Seat: 1B

I generally find A320′s to be “modern” airplanes, but the Northwest cabin made me feel like I was flying “back in the day,” long before I was born. I stowed my carry-on and snapped a quick picture of the large first class cabin, which had 16 seats.

First class cabin

I was seated in the bulkhead, which had ample legroom, and the floor by the bulkhead sloped upwards a bit, which made it more comfortable.

Bulkhead

Galley

Within minutes of settling down one of the friendly flight attendants offered pre-departure beverages of choice, and I asked for some water, which was served promptly. Throughout the boarding process the flight attendants seemed helpful, friendly, and genuinely caring.

Eventually the door was shut, the captain made an announcement welcoming passengers aboard the “new Delta,” and the safety demo was performed. Since Northwest has no audio/video domestically, the safety demonstration was manual. On the plus side it was quick, one of the fastest I’ve seen of any airline.

About 10 minutes after departure time we were airborne and on our way to MSP. As we leveled off service began, and I noticed the first service difference — service was done with carts, even in first class. Surprisingly enough, I kind of found it to be efficient and practical. The cart was quite small, much like the carts used in intra-Europe business class, and the aisles were wide, so a passenger could easily get up and pass the cart if need be.

The friendly flight attendant took my drink order, and I asked for a Diet Pepsi (something tells me they won’t be serving Pepsi products much longer). She poured some in a glass, gave me the can, and also asked me if I wanted any snacks. I took both a bag of pretzels and a bag of “fancy nuts” (I’m not so sure what’s fancy about them, it’s not like they were hot or anything). The nuts were quite good, while the pretzels were tasteless.

Diet Pepsi and snacks

As soon as the flight attendant did one round, she came by and did another one. Shortly thereafter the other flight attendant came by with meals on another cart, the choice being between “rigatoni with sweet peas” and “chicken with beans and rice.” As far as I could tell service was front to back, with no preference given to high status passengers. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat, so let my seatmate go first. He took the chicken, and when it was unwrapped by the flight attendant it looked quite good to me, so I took the same.

The main course was surprisingly good (although unhealthy), with a flour tortilla and smothered with cheese, along with sour cream and salsa on the side. In addition there was a tasty salad with dressing along with some cheesecake for dessert. This is an excellent meal service for a three hour flight, in my opinion.

Dinner

Service was attentive, as the flight attendants were constantly coming through the aisle offering refills. Once I finished the main dish and salad I asked for a cup of coffee, which was brought in a nice mug.


Dessert

After the meal service, the flight attendants disappeared into the galley for a while, but came through the cabin often enough to refill drinks.

Thanks to an interesting seatmate (who at first was mystified by my picture taking, not that I can really blame him) we landed in no time. Overall I found the dinner to be great, the service to be good, and the hard product to be pretty sad. My view of Northwest first class at this point was basically that of United Economy Plus with food and good service, but of course I had three more flights before I could draw any conclusions.

We got to MSP a few minutes early, which was perfect since I had a 55 minute connection but wanted to check out the World Club for at least a few minutes. This was the first trip I’ve made through MSP, at least as long as I can remember, and I had mixed feelings. The airport was beautiful in the shopping and dining areas, but quite crummy in the gate areas. 

Shopping area

Heading to gate

The one thing that sucks about this airport is the layout. It’s literally a maze with a seemingly random design, which made it tough to get around. Eventually I found the World Club, which I accessed thanks to my AMEX Plat card. The agents were friendly, unlike the matrons at some of the other lounges I frequent.

On one hand the lounge was spacious, but on the other hand the furniture was a bit tired.

World Club

World Club

Nonetheless, the free booze, free wireless internet, and decent snacks make it a good lounge by US standards overall. My favorite part had to be the cookies, which were delicious. Apparently they have them out all day. 

Cookies and pretzels

Apples and coffee

Cheese and crackers

Chocolate chip, oatmeal, and sugar cookies

I got to the gate right as boarding began, only to notice that there were still 28 people waitlisted for upgrades with no first class seats remaining. Ouch, so much for “unlimited complimentary upgrades!”

Northwest 165, MSP-SEA, Boeing 757-300
Thursday, January 22
Depart: 9:30PM
Arrive: 11:10PM
Seat: 6C

As soon as I boarded I remembered just how big the 757-300 is! Looking down towards the back of coach made me feel like I was on a single aisle A340-600. Anyway, the flight attendants at door 2L welcomed everyone aboard, and already expressed concern about overhead bin space. I stowed my bag in the overhead and immediately noticed that the bins weren’t big in the vertical direction, as I had to apply quite a bit of power to squeeze my carry-on in there. As it turned out several passengers had to gate check bags, including three first class passengers that boarded late.

I settled into 6C and couldn’t help but notice that the cabin had a remarkable resemblance to coach, except for the extra room. I guess the reason I felt this way is because the tray tables are on the seatback as opposed to the armrest, and I usually only see that in coach. Also, the pitch was tight by first class standards, similar to Economy Plus.

On the plus side I noticed a foot rest. Nothing annoys me more than being able to recline but having no way to put my feet up, so this was much appreciated.

Foot rest

Seats 6A and 6B

View of the cabin

I’m not going to go into too much detail about this flight, since Northwest strikes me as being consistent. The flight attendants were friendly and the service was done with a cart. Since this was a late departure, there was no meal service, but instead they had selections from the snack basket. The options included some sort of pretzels (the one in the blue packaging below), nuts, Twix bars, apples, etc; overall a pretty decent snack basket.

Snacks and Diet Pepsi

My iPod was useful on this flight, since I would have sat in utter boredom for three hours if it weren’t for it. I decided to actually do some work and then tried to take a nap, which I had an easy time doing, I’m guessing due in part to the foot rest.

My major comlaint for this flight was the seatbelt sign, which was on for nearly the whole flight, despite mostly smooth air. About an hour in we had a slight amount of chop, but nothing else. This has to be the most annoying thing about US airlines in general, and was especially bad on this flight.

As we approached SEA there was less than half a mile visibility, so there was nothing to see outside the window until we were just over the runway threshold. We taxied to the gate and arrived just about on-time.

Overall this was a pleasant experience with Northwest, and I can see why they have their loyal following.

My stay in Seattle (including a visit with the 787) and return flight reports will be coming shortly.

Via this thread on FlyerTalk, Lufthansa is once again changing their policy for their First Class Terminal (FCT) access. Originally the FCT could be used by all first class passnegers, even if connecting to a business class flight. That means passengers flying JFK-FRA-CDG could use the FCT on their layover in FRA, since they were arriving in international first class. Then they changed their policy to say that you could only use the FCT with a departing Lufthansa first class flight. In the above scenrio, that means you couldn’t use the FCT when flying JFK-FRA-CDG, but you could use it flying CDG-FRA-JFK.

Now they’ve changed the rules for the worse again, saying that you can only use the FCT if your travels start in Frankfurt and your departing flight is in first class. That means that neither of the above scenarios would technically allow access.

That being said, I can’t imagine that they’ll deny you entry if you’re flying CDG-FRA, have a long layover (maybe even overnight), and then fly FRA-JFK in first class.

On the plus side the First Class Lounges aren’t bad, and it seems like they’re building another facility at the airport.

A big thumbs down to Lufthansa for this policy change.

Join us (well, everyone except me, as I was traveling) for episode seven of the Upgrd Podcast, as we discuss hotel loyalty programs, USAir’s handling of the US1549 incident, lie flat business class seats, and much more.

Boy, do I have a lot of disagreeing to do next week…

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

This past weekend I flew to Seattle for an event I attended on Friday (more details to come), and decided to fly Northwest. Since I recently status matched to Northwest Platinum, I wanted to give Northwest a try and see how they compare to United.

It worked out quite well, since Northwest was one of my only options out of Tampa, given that I couldn’t leave before 5PM on Thursday. I booked a late evening TPA-MSP-SEA flight, and for Saturday booked SEA-DTW-TPA for the return. This was I could go through both of NW’s major hubs, since I’ve heard really good things about DTW and moderately good things about MSP.

The ticket came out to $177 after a $50 e-certificate that a friend gave to me, which is a great fare. Add that to the fact that my upgrade cleared for all four flights six days out (as opposed to the advertised five days), and I was a happy camper. It was interesting to see that the seatmap filled up almost all the way at the upgrade window, as I noted in a recent post. It seems like Delta and Northwest have tons of Platinum members.

Coming up is a review of my outbound TPA-MSP-SEA flights (including the World Club in MSP), then my stay in Seattle (including a review of the Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Renton), and lastly a review of my SEA-DTW-TPA flights (including the World Club in DTW).