SOFITEL LONDON HEATHROW (and some airplanes)

Just before I left on this trip, I received, in the mail, a bill from the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow.  I thought: “this makes sense, because my room was pre-paid, and this is my confirmation.”  I stuffed the receipt in my briefcase and thought nothing more of it.  A few weeks later, I am standing on the curb at Heathrow, waiting for the Hotel Hoppa shuttle which takes you to the various airport hotels.  I pulled out the receipt (or what I thought was a confirmation) to confirm which Sheraton I was staying at.  It was at that time I realized I had booked the wrong date for my stay at the Sheraton Skyline and in fact what what I was looking at was my receipt for a stay that never took place.  What an idiot.

I was cold, tired and standing outside Terminal 5.  I chose the path of least resistance to get to a hotel: the 1.5 year old Hotel Sofitel at Terminal 5.  I knew it was at least $50 USD more expensive than some other hotels, but the staff, location and cleanliness make it worth every extra penny!

A five minute indoor walk from T5 Arrivals and I was in the lobby being greeted by numerous friendly staff members and was pleased not to see a line to check in.  The Sofitel is spread out over a large area and I found the layout of rooms somewhat confusing.  It was a solid 5 minute walk to my very modern, up-scale room. The beds are very soft and comfortable.  The sleek lounge/bar area served an array of delicious and hearty international fare.  Even though the Sofitel is located adjacent to a runway, the double paned glass made for an almost silent room.

After a sound 10 hour snooze, the best nights sleep I have had this decade, I opened the blinds to see what I could see.

If you do not arrive at Terminal 5, simply look for the Heathrow Express which will take you to T5.  Conversely, if you are not departing from T5 a car can be hired  for a flat rate of 15 pounds to take you from the Sofitel to any other terminal.  Thank you for reading & Happy New Year!

TERMINAL 2B – CHARLES DE GAULLE

I had a few hours to kill in Terminal 2B at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.  I found the bathrooms to be the filthiest I have seen at any airport in the world… yes, worst than JFK and EWR.  This was unfortunate, as I had flown all night and had one more flight to go.  The men’s room (sorry, didn’t visit the ladies room) didn’t even have a toilet seat in its one stall, never-mind the dirty floors and walls.  It made me think about compiling a list of the nastiest airport bathrooms…let me know via comments if any come to mind.

So what was great about Terminal 2B?  Ginat 2 story windows overlooking the field:

I should be able to squeeze in one more post for the year later today, but just in case… Happy New Year!

As one would expect, all security measures and procedures are being scrutinized after the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a flight from Europe to the United States.  Unfortunately, the world needs scares like this to continually review and evaluate existing airline security procedures.  Clearly it is not enough to have lists of people who should no be allowed anywhere near an airport; one has to actually do something with these lists.

I saw an interesting string of events on a November flight from London Heathrow to JFK Airport in New York.  At the boarding gate, all passengers were subject to an additional security check including pat down and carry on inspection…standard procedure overseas.  A man who looked like he had just walked off the battle field in Afghanistan (and I don’t mean a U.S. Marine) was given a lengthy security screening for at least 15 minutes.  Two men in suites with walkie talkies appeared, stood behind the gate agent’s desk and observed the man being screened, while periodically speaking into their radios.  I happened to be on the phone with a friend while this was taking place.  I commented to my frined that I thought there was no chance this man would make it through U.S. Customs based on his appearance.  After the extra thorough screening, the guy was let into the boarding area and took a seat, looking highly annoyed.   We boarded the plane and flew across the Atlantic without incident.

Upon arrival at the gate, passengers stood up to collect their bags and deplane.  At that time, a flight attendant came on the P.A. and asked that all passengers have their passports ready as two TSA (Transportation Security Administration) agents would be in the jet way inspecting passports.  Passengers proceeded to the line for US customs.  While standing in the customs line, I watched all the passengers from my flight walk down the stairs to US Customs, and after several minutes never saw the man that was was subjected to heavy additional screening in London.  Finally, the man appeared, flanked by the two TSA agents.  The agents escorted him past the customs line, proceeded down a hallway and disappeared.

Did this person do something or act a certain way on the plane to cause suspicion?

Why was he a threat in the US and not in London?

Did the men in suits call US Customs and warn them about this person?

Could nothing be done about this person under UK law?

Many questions remain, but I think this illustrates that while sophisticated anti-terror security measures are in place, the one that may still work the best is opening our eyes.  The security focus must be on preventing potential threats from borading a plane.  Obviously, once a plane is airborne, risks are greatly magnified.  Putting rules in place based on past events (i.e. no liquids and remain in your seat prior to landing) is important, but the measures that will actually prevent the next cowardly act of terrorism not only have to be forward looking but acted upon ahead of time.

Recently, I was trying to book a Thai Airways flight and upgrade to business class using United Mileage Plus Points.  United’s web site states that in order to upgrade to business class on Thai, a “B” or “Y” fare must be purchased.  That was the easy part.  The challenge was determining availability of the upgrade before I bought the ticket.  When I called Thai and inquired about upgrade availability, they told me to call United.  When I called United for the same reason they told me to call Thai.  I went back and forth between the airlines several times.  Thai did tell me they had business class seats available for award travel, but that their system didn’t necessarily correspond with United’s.

I decided to try the KVS Availability Tool.  This tool, I have since learned, shows you award availability (among many other things) the same way reservation agents see it.  Using the KVS Availability Tool, I found a travel day that showed business class award availability on the Thai flight I wanted to take. I then called Thai to book the appropriate coach fare class, then called United with my Thai ticket number and voila!! I was upgraded to business class using United Mileage Plus Points.

Example View of Star Alliance Award Availability

Had I not used this tool, I would have guessed at upgarde availability and risked having to cancel my Thai ticket and pay any applicable cancellation fee.  This, of course, if there had there been no availability and assuming I was not willing to fly coach.

It does take some time to get used to the KVS Tool functionality and I highly recommend reading the user guide before trying to search.  There are numerous functions the tool provides including seat availability, displayed in seat map format, for almost any flight on any airline.  KVS does require a nominal donation (donation levels between $20 and $75) for full access and you have to do download the software.  Well worth it for frequent flyers who want to bypass the “no answer” or “several different answers” from some airline reservation agents.

Last month I flew from London Heathrow to JFK on American Airlines.  I bought this one-way business class ticket on the cheap, using #1 on this list.  I burned every calorie I consumed in the Admirals Club (report here) during the walk to what turned out to be the furthest most gate in terminal 3.

SEATS
I found the business class seats adequate, but it did take many adjustments to get comfortable in the full recline position.  The lower portion of my body sat at an uncomfortable angle, relative to my upper body, because my back was somewhat arched while in the flat position.  The armrest which lowers, on the aisle side, was wobbly and unstable.
There are built in storage shelves for each passengers near the floor and two more storage compartments under the TV: one for reading materials and the other suited for small items such as cell phones. There is a big cut out in the seat in front of you for floor storage or for your legs when the seat is in full recline. There is also a desk that folds out from under the TV, separate from the tray table that comes out of the console.

I would love to know what team of “executives” at American Airlines decided to install DC power outlets on these “Next Generation” business class seats…You know, the ones found in cars that used to actually hold a cigarette lighter.  What are these good for?  I could plug in my old CB radio.  Or maybe a portable CD player with its adapter.  I-phones come with DC power cords, right?

ENTERTAINMENT
American Airlines provides those high-end Bose over ear headphones, which are fabulous, but I found the in-flight entrainment mediocre at best.  Like putting $10,000 rims on a 1988 Nissan Sentra…why bother?  What’s the point?

The music was sparse; only 4 albums in each genre; Jazz, Country etc….  Music was listed by album; nowhere did it list an artist’s name unless it happened to be on album cover, making the navigation tricky.  Common sense? The only movies worth watching (American does get a plus for this) were under the “classic” genre, including Key Largo, Glengarry Glen Ross.  Nice and simple:  a channel with movies that have received high marks throughout generations.  Airlines could do themselves justice by focusing on movies they know are liked by consumers, rather than focusing on having the newest Hollywood “blockbusters…” most of which lack real talent and plot.  The Bose headphones were most enjoyable, but why wouldn’t they hand out little headphone covers for sanitary purposes?  Not that it stopped me.

FOOD
If you like fillet cooked through, as opposed to medium rare, it was delicious, albeit tricky to cut with what seems to be like a baby’s knife (if there is such a thing) that could barely slice butter.  The spinach salad was fresh, but the dressing left a bit to be desired.  The entree flavors were very appealing and complimentary. Cherry Garcia ice cream was offered (and consumed) followed by a box of chocolate that passengers could select from.

I was given a bottle of Evian after dinner, but as opposed to giving me a fresh bottle when I was finished with the first, the flight attendant took the bottle to the galley (I hope) to fill it up and return it to me.  Cost cutting or going green?

Shortly before landing, a snack was served.  I chose the personal pizza and it tasted like it had been frozen and thawed several times over, or vice-versa, or cooked in a microwave or… it was not very good.
Cabin service was adequate and indifferent.  I was not dissapointed  nor impressed by my American Airlines experince and I will definitley fly them again.  Thanks for reading.

gate area

There are always international airfare deals to be had, regardless of economic conditions and/or travel demand.  Here are 3 ways to find them.

1) CODE SHARES-After you determine where you want to go, price the flight and make a note of which airlines fly that particular route.  OAG has a great tool for this HERE.   Find out which airlines code share with the ones that fly the route you want to take.  Another tool by OAG HERE will help you do this.  Price the flight on the code sharing airline’s website.  Look beyond the major alliances i.e. Oneworld, Star Alliance; there are many large global airlines that are not members of the major alliances, but they do code share with other major airlines.  Example: I found a decent (but not cheap) flight from LAX to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines.  I priced the flight on Air India’s website (Air India code shares with Malaysia Airlines) and bought the flight for $800 less than what I found on Malaysia Airlines web site.

2) MILEAGE RUNS-Periodically look at Flyertalk’s “Mileage Run Deals” Forum.  Generally, mileage runs are of interest to travellers looking to maximize airline points per dollar spent while not spending much time at the destination.  Mileage runs allow travellers to gain frequent flier status and earn frequent flier miles for the least amount of money.  One aspect all of these fares have in common…they are CHEAP!  They can be used by any travellers regardless of their interest in maximizing frequent flier status and generally don’t require such a short stay.  I found and booked a one way business class fare, on an Asian carrier, for roughly $700 USD from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles.  I found this particular fare in the Mileage Run forum.  Flyertalk is free to read and does not require registration.

3)  CONSOLIDATORS-Contact a travel agent that has access to airline consolidators-all the good agents do.  Consolidators negotiate prices directly with airlines and offer substantially discounted fares, albeit to specific destinations for specific time periods.  Most earn frequent flier miles and if they don’t, it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact they are “consolidator” fares; earning miles has more to do with the fare class booked.  There are plenty of published fares that don’t earn frequent flier miles.  If you need to make a change to a consolidator fare, it costs money, but so does making a change to a ticket bought directly from an airline.  Sometimes you can save $100, sometimes over $1000 for first and business class fares and sometimes the price will be the same as what you find on your own.  PricesForTravel.com allows travellers to receive price quotes on international airafares from multiple travel agents.  I bought an Air France consolidator fare from Atlanta to Dubai in coach class, 4 days before departure for half the price of what I was finding on airline web sites.

Realize that no booking strategy will work 100% of the time, but the 3 mentinoned are all worth a look. 

Andiamo!

Last month, Mexicana Airlines officially joined the Oneworld Alliance bringing the total number of member airlines to 11, but is Mexicana worthy of being in the alliance?  Actually, I don’t really know.  I suppose it depends what the requirements are besides Mexicana’s admittance being financially beneficial for all member airlines and providing some type of incremental convenience for passengers.

Here are some important qualities from Oneworld’s website, according to Governing Board Chairman, American Airlines Chief Executive Gerard Arpey: “Oneworld is very selective about who we invite on board to join us as a new member. We only consider airlines with brands that match the quality of our established partners, who share our priorities of safety, customer service and profitability and who can expand our existing combined network in key regions…”

I decided to check it out for myself and found a reasonable business class fare, Mexicana has many, at an unreasonable time: a 1am departure from JFK to Mexico City.  This was my first experience flying Mexicana and was looking forward to some redeeming qualities.

We boarded the plane a full hour before departure time which made for a comfortable boarding and on time departure.  Cocktails and water were offered while on the ground.  I found the seats to be comfortable albeit somewhat worn out and dirty.  The forward bathroom was in dire need of a fix up.

When we reached cruising altitude, two types of hot dinner entrees were offered.  Unfortunately, I was too tired to eat and did not see nor partake in dinner, but it smelled pretty good.  I reclined my seat and slept until 45 minutes before landing in Mexico City.

Not only was there no pre-arrival cabin service, passengers were not even asked to return their seats to the upright position.  The flight attendant did not collect any service items that were used during flight.  I landed in Mexico City with my seat in full recline and  glass of water on my center console!  Passengers should not have to be asked to prepare for landing, but surprising behavior from an otherwise accommodating, friendly flight crew.

Does Mexicana belong?  According to the obvious requirements, financial and passenger convenience, yes.  According to Mr. Arpey’s standards, well, that remains to be seen and we can debate… for now.

Earlier this year, American Airlines announced plans to renovate the Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport.  I was not sure what I would find while visiting during this renovation as only portions of the facility are open for passenger use.  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Besides, a lounge attendant directing to me the temporary entrance, I would not have even known any renovations were underway… the lounge was clean, spacious and well stocked with complimentary food and cocktails.  One of the diffrences, as I understand them, between an Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge is that complimentary liquor is limited to the Flagship Lounge (used by International First Class passengers) while Admirals Club (for International Business Class passengers among others) patrons are limited to one or two drink vouchers.  From what I saw at Hetahrow, the lounges were temporarily combined offering the full spectrum of amenities that International First Class passengers (Flagship Lounge Users) are accustomed to. The self service food and beverage area anchors the lounge and is surrounded by tall counter seating. There were four desk attendants assisting passengers, although the lounge was not even close to busy. Many kitchen staff were on hand, re-stocking all of the food and beverage areas and tidying up the lounge. All things considered, this is a fabulous airline lounge. Surely, this is the section that has already been remodeled, if not I will be anxious to go back and experience the finished product. Actually, I am anxious regardless!

I could not duplicate the picture below if I tried. No idea what happened, but I thought it came out kind of cool. Almost looks like a Virgin America Cabin.