Pretty certain this will not come as a surprise, but I am on a never ending search for cheap airfares. Below are those that I have found over the past few days and re-confined them this morning. I hope that these will help you out in your quest for miles, enjoyment of air travel or even maybe a “normal” vacation. These are all Economy fares. I created a separate site for the sole purpose of discussing and posting First & Business Class fares, sorted by airline: FandJfares.com
I hope you will join me there and add your expertise. Thanks and good flying!

• LGA-PVG (Shanghai)-JFK $789; American; round-trip 2/18-2/25 –Kayak
• EWR-PVG $850; United; round-trip same dates as above –Kayak
• JFK-DXB-PVG $878; Emirates; round-trip 2/2-2/9 –Kayak
• LGA-ATL-JNB $850; Delta; round-trip 3/6-3/12 3/6-3/12 –Kayak
• ROR (Palau)-NRT-SFO $1531; Delta “Y” fare ONE-WAY 3/23 –IATA.com
• GUM (Guam)-NRT-SFO $1238; Delta “Y” fare ONE-WAY 3/23 –IATA.com

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I am scheduled to fly on the Korean Air A380 from JFK. I could not assign myself a seat without entering my Korean Air SkyPass frequent flyer number. Which I created for the sole purpose of obtaining a seat assignment as all of my SkyTeam flying is credited to my Delta Skymiles account.

At Delta I hold “gold” status, which, if I am not mistaken, means elite benefits within SkyTeam. In hopes of assigning myself a better seat, I called Korean Air today and asked if I could put my SkyMiles number on the reservation. The agent told me she could do this, but doing so would cancel my existing seat assignment.
So…
Is there no synergy between Korean’s and Delta’s systems with regard to status?
Is there priority seating on Korean Air for SkyTeam Elites?
How do I even prove that I am SkyTeam Elite? ( I have no Delta Skymiles card)

I have a feeling I am SOL regardless of what number is on the reservation. Maybe I am just over thinking this whole thing. It’s like I have never flown before… Any input you may have would be great! Thanks

Surprised to see both military and civilian aircraft arriving and departing HNL. Some of the military aircraft were taking off from Hickam Air Force Base, but others from HNL proper. I mentioned where I was shooting from, but one of the closest, best spots has to be the airport itself. Most of it is open air. Enjoy

departing for hkg

police

Delta Airlines recently launched a service that allows passengers to track their checked luggage via Delta.com

I’m a lot confused and maybe even a little mis-informed. Why, in the name of all things lost luggage, would I want/need to track my checked luggage?  Shouldn’t getting my bags to where I’m going be expected… maybe even a given?

For the sake of discussion, lets just say, Mrs. Double Secret Airline Status gets to the airport for he flight to St. Somewhere, checks in, and checks in a suitcase. When she is seated on the plane, she whips out her I-Pad and checks to see where her bag is and finds out it is right underneath her… where its supposed to be!

Of course, there are other plausible scenarios.  Like, her suitcase is not on the plane:

A) but on its way to Breezy Point
B) still sitting in the airport
C) or on an earlier flight to her final destination where it will sit and wait to get stolen before she arrives

If any of these 3 scenarios occur, what is her immediate recourse? Pitch a fit with a flight attendant? Threaten to get off the plane? Ask that the plane is delayed to wait for her luggage? I mean, what can she do about it? If her luggage simply does not show up, she still has to go see an agent.

In other words, I just don’t see a passengers options being any different when they can track their luggage VS. if they could not track their own luggage. If anything it could make the flight experience worse: your bag ain’t on the plane and all you can do is stew about about it and include the flight crew in your misery for the entire flight. Delta is really just giving the passengers the same technology that the baggage handlers have, setting itself up for some fierce confrontations between passengers and airport staff. I suppose if you are trying to ease the work load of your ground staff, letting passengers do it themselves would be an option, but even then its probably less expensive to hire more employees than invest in this tracking system.

Ah, yes, how could I forget that big brother is about implement a rule that would require airlines to refund bag fees for lost or severely delayed luggage.  Maybe this was what Delta had on its mind when they launched this tracking service.

So is your bag “lost” if you know where it is, but its not where it is supposed to be?

Meant to post these a while back.  Various airlines in random locations.  Enjoy

united airlines departure from LHR to LAX

moving map on monitor- inside lufthansa a380- FRA-NRT

windy BOS landing on jet blue

united regional jet leaving albany, ny

delta 747 departing manila; shot from upper deck

It’s not your typical lounge; airline or otherwise.  Unless you frequent Tijuana. Delta Business Elite customers can access the Delta Airlines Arrival Lounge, aka the Yotel, with their boarding pass (that’s all I needed) or an invitation received from the FA towards the end of the flight. As mentioned, the Yotel is a transit hotel but also serves as Delta’s arrival lounge.

At first, you may mistake it for a brothel based on the black-light lit narrow hallways and porthole windows.   The “room”, at 100 square feet, (roughly; no ruler) I can’t say I would stay here overnight, but to lay down and have a shower… perfecto!  The shower and toilet area is 1 space. The toilet and sink are in the shower stall… similar to some (the ones I have stayed at) some hotels in Asia.

There is one towel and one soap dispenser in the shower area. There is no shampoo. Unless you want to call what’s in the dispenser shampoo… but then there’s no soap. All ancillary items are available for charge at the front desk. Enjoy!

a look into a “suite”

here is part 1 of this trip

My guess is, that for inaugural flights, crews are hand selected.  We had some real pros from Miami to London Heathrow.  No, they didn’t pay me (or even pay for my flight) to say that.  It seemed like there were 6 flight attendants working the Business Elite cabin, leaving no chance that someone would be unattended to.  They conversed and interacted with passengers in a subtle, but confident manner.

I mentioned to the purser that I had an extremely tight connection.  She assured me that as soon as we landed, before anyone de-planed, she would inform the agents meeting our flight of my situation.  I have the purser to thank for the service I then received.

I didn’t take many pictures of the seats. I have flown the 767 with flatbed seats and posted the pictures here.  Sleeping was easy on these fully flat seats, but your feet will be in a pretty tight space when in the fully flat position.

There is a significant difference between the seats in the Business Elite Cabin.  I think the key is getting a seat that has the bulkhead between you and the aisle.  It provides much more privacy and you will not get bumped into.  The seats that feature this include 1A, 3A, 5A and so on. Or in the center section 2B, 4B, 6B or on the other side of the middle aisle 1C, 3C, 5C. The far side (starboard) 1D, 3D…  

Regarding the seats in the center section, the space where your legs rest seem to be tighter than in the A or D aisles.  There is barely enough room to sleep on your side and have your legs on top of one another.

The flight, on a 767-400 was scheduled for 10 hours, however, the actual flying time was 8 hours 20 minutes + circling Heathrow a few times. I actually fell asleep between my salad and main course. That was not a reflection of the service, I was just tired. I am not a huge fan of duck, but it was tasty and the steak and shrimp were fine. Thanks to the crew for a memorable experience. Next up: Delta’s arrival “lounge” at Heathrow.

Big fan of going on inaugural flights. There is extra pep in everyone’s step; ground staff, flight crew, even the passengers.  Well, the passenger pep may be a result of the complimentary champagne, but none-the-less.  As if flying wasn’t entertaining enough on its own, inaugurals always seem to produce interesting fodder.
As soon as I checked in at the Business Elite desk, the agent said:

“You can’t do this….   You can just stay in London and come back Monday”
I stared at him, smiled and said nothing. What he mentioned was not an option.
“… you will not make it”
I stared at him, chuckled and said nothing
“…you can try” he then said

He was referring to my mere 70 minute connection before returning to Miami.
Then a 2nd check-in agent and the supervisor were hailed. They were both astounded at 2 things:
1) That Delta let me book the itinerary
2) That I was going and coming right back
The 4 of us shared a good laugh over the whole thing and I re-assured them I was going to do my damnedest to make the connection.

To be sure, yes it was a significant amount of travel in a short period of time, but what’s tougher: a quick turn between 2 long flights or 1 ultra-long haul like LAX-Bangkok???

After a few pops in the Sky Club, I was off to the gate to evaluate the pomp and circumstance. There were balloons, decorations, cakes, champagne and a ribbon cutting ceremony. Similar to the Air France A380 inaugural, but less crowded. Present were many Delta employees beyond the the crew who helped celebrate Delta’s new Trans-Atlantic route. They were all quite proud to be part of the event and the flight crew wore red corsages. We departed at bit late, but the entire gound crew and water cannons sent us off (see pictures below).

Part 2 of the trip, the actual flight, will be posted tomorrow morning. Thanks!

af 744

our plane to lhr pulling into gate

Delta’s Sky Club lounge at Miami’s International Airport is one of the nicest Sky Clubs (in the US) I have seen. One could consider this lounge on par with lounges located outside the United States. Airline lounges outside the United States are always nicer than those within the US (even if you are comparing lounges of the same airline) but at least the Delta Sky Club in Miami is in the same universe.
It is located just on the other side of the main TSA security checkpoint so don’t walk all the way down the terminal and then decide you want to visit the Sky Club because it is a significant backtrack.

A short elevator ride finds you in an airy, modern, chic Sky Club lobby… very Miami. There is a large desk with several Delta agents on duty. The bar/food area is a little tight, only because there are tables placed almost right up against the bar, leaving little room to sit or stand at the bar. Self service food is directly adjacent to bar and the offerings are considerable more than last time I was in a Sky Club: dried fruit, caramel popcorn, mixed nuts, Asian snack mix, olives, cheese & crackers, pretzels, Nutella and fresh veggies.
Of course, a full complimentary bar was also available. There was a meeting room which was open to the public at the time, a business center, free wifi and a quiet zone. There were showers avaiable but I did not see them as I was only begining my trip.
Overall, quite a pleasant place to work or relax.
Next up: Delta’s inaugural flight from Miami to London Heathrow.

bar

quiet room

meeting room

work space

If you saw the last couple of posts,you know I booked a round-trip international flight with a 70 minute connection at London Heathrow.   I didn’t make the connection.  I was not even really close as our incoming flight from Miami was about an hour late.  My return flight had already left.  The 2nd question, how would I be re-accommodated, if at all. 

I was more than impressed.  The agent greeting my flight promptly presented with me with my options for flying back to Miami.  Basically a connection through Atlanta, Minneapolis or JFK.  She then booked me, in Business Class, through Atlanta and on to Miami.  She then handed me off to a godsend.  A ground staff member by the name of Cara Willis from Cobalt Staffing.  Cara escorted me through customs via a “staff only” line.  She the walked me to Delta departures and checked me in.

Continuing her streak of going beyond the call of duty, she then showed me to Delta’s arrival “lounge,” the Yotel and made sure I was admitted promptly.  Thank you Cara, for making my potential disaster connection into a seamless and stress free process.   Report of the inaugural flight from Miami and photos of the Yotel coming right up.  Thanks.

Well… easily the best $130 I ever spent. My one-way flight from JFK to SFO was $130. As I mentioned here, the only question was, would I be lucky enough to get upgraded? The answer: Yes. No purchasing full fares, no certificates, no mileage redemption; just a plain, old-fashioned upgrade.

The seats were similar to the Business Elite seats on Delta’s 777 and 767 in appearance, but the controls were a little different and the seats do not have as much pitch or recline (but much more than typical domestic first). Less recline means the person in front of you is not sitting in your lap like the 777 and 767. I also found it much easier to get out of my window seat 4D during the 5 hour and 52 minute flight.

Surprisingly no menus were available. One of the selling points of airlines’ upgraded trans-continental service is multi-course meals prepared by world renowned chefs. When the FA comes by and asks me if I would like chicken, beef or pasta, “specially created” meals loose their luster. Is it beef tenderloin, stir-fry, wellington or tartare? I would like to know what I am eating (particularly if it is good) Needless to say, and most importantly, the food was delicious, particularly the polenta (even though it looked like hell) After the main course, passengers had a choice of a sundae or cheese tray.

With 1:45 flight time remaining, FA’s offered more drinks, the snack basket and then distributed warm chocolate chip cookies.

Service was most impressive, in large part because of Nicole’s flawless execution and ability to anticipate passenger needs. Lots of pics, enjoy. Thanks for reading Planereality

DL #127
757-200; N710TW
6.5 block time; 5:52 actual

blanket & pillow

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