Working in ____ for 3 weeks and was lucky enough take a side-trip for the weekend to _____ , and get upgraded to this room with an amazingly large patio and incredible views.  Can you name the hotel in the picture below?  Leave your guess in the comments section below.  One lucky winner will be randomly selected using random.org and will receive  500 AAdvantage miles.  Look for the winner and a full trip report later this week.  Happy Sunday!

Welcome to another Saturday edition of Overheard on the Plane.

Check out Say What? Overheard on the Plane Editions 1-22 and of course keep sending in your stories for future posts to adam@pointmetotheplane.com. Remember to include the carrier and route as well as any other pertinent details and sources. Three lucky submissions received before November 1st will be randomly selected to receive 500 AA miles, with no limit on entries.

Submitted by Aaron in Philly courtesy of  4VFR & PCs

United Flight from Washington,DC (IAD) to Rio (GIG)
Flight Attendant: Your seat cushions can be used for floatation devices. In the event of an emergency water landing, please use them to paddle to shore and feel free to take them home with our compliments.

US Airways Flight from Washington, DC (DCA) to Charlotte (CLT)
Flight Attendant: Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks are in the overhead area. Please place the bag over your own mouth and nose before assisting children or other adults acting like children.

US Airways Flight from Phoenix (PHX) to Las Vegas (LAS)
Flight Attendant: As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed equally amongst the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.

Submitted by David in Dublin, Ireland

Arrivals at Dublin Airport (DUB)
Someone was playing a joke upon arrival in Dublin.  The annoucment in the arrivals area after customs was the following:
Arriving passenger Master Bates. Master Bates your parents are waiting. Beat it to baggage claim.

Submitted by Eric in Rockland, NY courtesy of  PilotChukles

JFK Airport
A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After reaching a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom:
Pilot: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to your nonstop flight from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax…Oh No, Look out!!!
Silence followed, and after a minute or two the captain came back on the intercom
Pilot: Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant brought me a cup of very hot coffee, which ended up spilling in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!
Passenger in Coach: That’s nothing. You should see the back of mine!

Submitted by Maggie in Toronto

WestJet Flight from LaGuardia (LGA) to Toronto (YYZ)
Flight Attendant during safety briefing: There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane. So pay attention!

Submitted by Lori in Atlanta courtesy PCs

Delta Flight from Atlanta (ATL) to West Palm Beach (PBI)
Pilot: Delta is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry, unfortunately none of them are on this flight. …Just kidding, Mary and her ATL based team are the best.

Reader Tyler K just emailed me with this great deal, 25,000 SkyMiles for $41.95 via Vinesse Wine Club.  Essentially, the web address to earn 5,000 SkyMiles for signing up for the wine delivery service needs to be changed to bring up the 25,000 mile offer.

Regular address – https://www.vinesse.com/deltalto0912b/index.cfm?src=deltalto0912b
Updated address - https://www.vinesse.com/deltalto0912f/index.cfm?src=deltalto0912f

It looks like this might be a test page that mistakenly went live, so no guarantee on how many SkyMiles you’ll actually receive, though I would certainly take a screen-print of the 25k offer!

LINK IS DEAD - Riverchica and Pete are reporting that the site returns an error when using the updated link, I’ll keep checking and report any changes. Hopefully, this is a preview of a potential future SkyMiles offer!

As a Delta SkyMiles^® Member This Offer to Discover Amazing Wines is Just For You
The best way to learn about great wines is to sample great wines. And now you can collect 25,000 miles as you savor hand-selected shipments of limited-production wines. Your first shipment of 6 wines is $41.94 (that’s 50% off) with only 1¢ shipping. You’ll receive 20,000 miles with your first shipment, 5,000 miles with your second shipment and 5 miles for every dollar spent on all other wine club shipments and orders. Also, as a thank you, you’ll receive a 6-piece Wine tote in your third shipment — a $37.95 value. Each month, you’ll receive a new shipment of 6 captivating wines at just $12-$15 per bottle (plus delivery).It’s an exceptional opportunity to try little-known wines which rarely appear on the shelves of local stores. Plus, you’ll get valuable bonus miles with every shipment.

Now that you’ve read yesterday’s post on how travel increases sex appeal, why not cozy up with your new squeeze in one of the sexiest airport lounges in the world?  Details magazine recently published their list of clubs that are so luxe they’re worth traveling for.  The list includes Turkish Airlines, which also recently made Conde Nast’s list of amazing business class cabins.  Check out the full list here. Thanks to Bryan L for the link.

As if we all needed another reason to be obsessed with collecting miles and points, a HuffPost story from back in June highlights the results of a poll conducted by an Australia tour operator, noting that travel makes potential mates more attractive.

The survey finds that 55 percent of respondents believe that a potential mate’s listing travel on their profile makes them more attractive. The survey also showed that 23% of respondents found adventure seekers to be the most attractive (22% prefer the “off-the-beaten-track traveler” and 16% find the “cultural connoisseur” hot). Ninety-six percent of those surveyed who are interested in travel are also looking for people passionate about seeing the world. And, 59% of singles prefer other singles as travel partners.

Full article and link to the survey here.

I’m participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks this October, and while neither of these charities offer miles for your charitable giving, there are several others out there that do. I’ve compiled a list below, but please leave comments with any other links you may know of.

Additionally, I received one of my favorite pieces of advice from a director at my previous job regarding taking advantage of your free bags when traveling in first/business or with elite perks. When traveling internationally in business/first or as an elite member, you are most likely granted two-three free bags.  If your like me and only use one bag or opt for just a carry-on, why not consider buying a few pieces of cheap luggage and packing them with donations for the residents in your destination city? It’s an especially great idea if you happen to be traveling to a country with a high level of poverty.  I guarantee it will make your trip a more rewarding experience.

Finally, have you heard of GoodShop? The site will make a donation to your charity of choice when you access airline, hotel, and travel agency sites via their website. Partners include Air France, Alaska Air, Expedia, Hawaiian, Hotwire, Intercontinental, JetBlue, KLM, LAN, Marriott, Radisson, Starwood, and Travelocity. They even offer coupons for some of their partners.  Click the link above and then navigate to the travel section on the left hand side of your screen.  GoodShop is part of the GoodSearch network, which awards donations to your favorite charities for online searches.  They also award donations for dining.

Earn Miles for Donations
National Foundation for Cancer Research (AA, DL, UA)
Global Giving – Hilton
AA Charities

Donate Miles to Charities
American
Delta
United
US Airways

Delta currently has two targeted 1,000 miles bonus offers, one much juicier than the other:

• Earn a one-time, 1,000-mile bonus and $100 Delta Vacations e-certificate for purchasing a qualifying flight at delta.com. Purchase and fly one qualifying Delta-marketed and -operated flight at delta.com between September 6, 2012, and December 6, 2012, and earn 1,000 bonus miles. A qualifying flight includes any Delta or Delta Connection carrier flight. Codeshare flights operated by carriers other than the Delta Connection carriers are excluded from this offer.

• Earn 1,000 bonus miles for each qualifying Delta- or Delta Connection-marketed/-operated flight segment purchased between August 24 and December 31, 2012, for travel between August 24 and December 31, 2012. Codeshare flights operated by carriers other than the Delta Connection carriers are excluded from this offer.

I would assume the target audience for both offers are those SkyMiles members who have not taken a flight in some time.  I have not been on a paid Delta flight since early May 2012, but I did not qualify for either offer. While the T&Cs clearly state that the offers are “specifically for the SkyMiles member who received the promotion”, why not take a minute and see if you have better luck than me.

No big surprises from Conde Nast’s list, but a nice Sunday slideshow nonetheless.  I definitely need to try out Turkish business and their on-board chef! I probably would have opted for Qatar’s business class seat, instead of including Air France’s angled lie-flat or Korean’s just slightly less than horizontal lie-flat seat. There are also some other very good business class cabins missing – Virgin, Swiss, and Thai to name a few.

Courtesy Conde Nast

Welcome to another Saturday edition of Overheard on the Plane.

Check out Say What? Overheard on the Plane Editions 1-21 and of course keep sending in your stories for future posts to adam@pointmetotheplane.com. Remember to include the carrier and route as well as any other pertinent details and sources. Three lucky submissions received before November 1st will be randomly selected to receive 500 AA miles, with no limit on entries.

Submitted by Andy in New York, NY courtesy of Airliners

United Gate Agent at Newark (EWR)
Gate Agent: Sir, you need to listen to me, not your wife. Your wife doesn’t work here!

Submitted by Ben in Washington, DC

Delta Marine Terminal – LaGuardia (LGA)
Gate Agent: Ladies and gentlemen, if you have given up your seat in exchange for a voucher and a later flight, you should not be attempting to board this aircraft, I can see you! Hendricks family, that means you.

Submitted by Sean in Chicago, IL

United Flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Chicago (ORD)
Flight Attendant: Ladies and gentlemen, I want to be the first to welcome you to Chicago where the local time is 7:05 in the morning. We hope you enjoyed your flight today, again my name is Suzzane and on behalf of United and our Star Alliance partners, we thank you for choosing us and hope to see you on-board again soon. If you did not enjoy your flight, my name is Mary and on behalf of American Airlines and our oneworld partners, we thank you for flying. Please address all concerns to our customer service desk located in Terminal 3 concourse H!

Submitted by John in Salt Lake City, UT

Delta Flight from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Los Angeles (LAX)
There were what appeared to be three attorneys sitting in front of me and they were all taking negatively about their client.
Attorney 1: Tell her that we have it covered and to calm down. Instead of bothering us she should use her time to buy a new wardrobe, she looked like a prostitute the other day when she came into the office. In fact, I think she may be one!
Attorney 2: Oh, stop, she is not a prostitute.
Attorney 1: Oh, no? What other job could she possibly have if she’s telling us that she doesn’t get home from work until 5am?
Attorney 3: Didn’t you guys listen during the intake? She’s a receiving clerk!
Attorney 1: Oh, she’s receivin’ alright…

Submitted by John in Louisville, KY

United Flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to HNL (HNL)
Passenger 1: Why does it take about three hours to fly to Hawaii but almost eight hours on the way back?
Passenger 2: It’s the headwinds.

Submitted by Mark in Ithaca, NY

Turkish Airlines Flight from JFK to Istanbul (IST)
Heard the following announcement which woke me up mid-flight to Turkey
Flight Attendant: Ladies and gentlemen, just a reminder, removing your shoes is fine but please keep your pants on for the duration of this flight.

Alitalia is once again offering 15% off any flight booked on their website, including Delta and other SkyTeam partner flights through 11:59am EST on September 24th.  You can essentially book any Delta flight and receive the discount.  See the two simple examples below in which I saved $30.24 on a sample LGA-MCO itinerary and $224.91 on a JFK-BKK itinerary.   You must use coupon code WEEK15US. The code has been working sporadically during the day so don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time. Any tickets purchased are fully refundable within 24 hours of booking:

When you purchase a ticket through Alitalia’s U.S. web site, we will allow you to cancel without penalty and receive a full refund within 24 hours after your purchase, if the reservation is made one week or more prior to scheduled flight departure. Cancellations and refunds for qualifying web site purchases may be requested by calling 800-223-5730.

UPDATE 2:30pm EST – The Alitalia website is now running extremely slow…

HT - DansDeals

Today, I finally received an email from Marriott formally announcing the go-live of their cash & points option.  The option has been available on their website for a few months but this is the first official announcement:

Marriott Rewards is now offering you a new way to book your stay online. With Cash + Points, you can combine redemption nights and cash nights within a single reservation of two or more nights. Plus, you’ll still earn points and Elite night credits for your nights paid with cash. With Cash + Points you can extend a business trip with a few days of fun or use just a portion of your points to book a vacation at 3,600+ hotels worldwide. No matter how you mix things up, we’ll help you find the perfect combination. 

Full details here and look for analysis on the Marriott Cash & Points valuations this weekend.