Posted by Seth on May 17, 2012 under Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports | 
Redeyes suck. When they’re less than six hours flying time they suck even more. And when they involve sitting in coach they suck even more. So maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but as part of this mileage run I was booked on a US Airways 757-200 from Honolulu to Phoenix, in coach. Ouch.
I was somewhat fortunate in that I got a window seat; that’s my preference anyways, especially on a redeye. When we boarded the plane I walked back to check out the other seating options and I was incredibly happy that I didn’t end up in the rear exit row. While the middle and aisle seats back there have tons of legroom the window seat has the slide housing which really gets in the way of a comfortable ride.
I headed back up to my row and settled in to 13A; triskaidekaphobia is apparently not an issue with US Air. That row has a misaligned window which is both good and bad. I found it nice for leaning against when I was sleeping but were I to want a view I’d probably be pretty disappointed with it.
As for the seats themselves, they are pretty tight. And pretty old. They actually still have ash trays in the arm rests.
I’m actually surprised they haven’t removed them to save on weight and cut the fuel costs a bit more than anything.
As for the in-flight experience, I slept the entire time. There might have been a drink service but I didn’t notice. I also have no idea if there was buy-on-board for food. I put in my ear plugs, donned my eye mask and was asleep before they made the announcement that personal electronic devices were permitted. I woke up when we landed in Phoenix.
I survived and it wasn’t incredibly awful. It also wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience. In other words, exactly what I expected.
Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Dining, Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
What to do in Honolulu with a three hour layover? This was the question nine of us were faced with in the middle of a ridiculous weekend mileage run. There were more than enough different cards available to grant lounge access but, quite frankly, the lounges there aren’t anything special and we were looking for something better, something different, something to eat.
The solution was a quick walk over to the L&L just off the airport property, past the car rental lots. No, it isn’t the best plate lunch in Hawaii but we didn’t have time to get over to Rainbow Drive-In or anything else too far afield. It was close by and better than any of the options inside the airport. Plus it gave us an excuse to walk around and get some fresh air.
Even better for us, one of the guys had a friend picking him up for the layover and she arrived in a pick-up truck. That meant we got a ride over to the restaurant rather than having to walk it. Bonus!
"Lunch" was just as expected. Quite filling and reasonably tasty. I actually branched out from my normal Mixed BBQ plate and added on an order of Korean chicken wings. The wings took a while to be cooked but they were delicious. Just a bit sweet in addition to crispy fried.
After the meal we headed back in to the airport. We made it to the US Airways check-in area and proceeded to confuse the heck out of a number of different agents as we each attempted to check in and address potential issues in out itineraries. Mine had the same HNL-PHX segment in it twice and others were working to get bumps or otherwise change flights. A trail of chaos followed in our wake, though the agents did seem to handle it reasonably well, all things considered. We were down to five now, with a bit more than an hour prior to the flight. The only lounge option was at the far end of the airport and, again, just not worth the schlep. Instead we headed downstairs into the garden area and settled in at one of the gazebos.
There we sat, under the watchful eye of Sun Yat Sen, relaxing in the cool Hawaiian breezes until it was time to make the way to the gate.
Yeah, we hit a bar along the way and actually paid for beers before the flight rather than getting freebies in the lounge. I still think we came out ahead on the deal. Lounges are fine, I suppose, but there really are better options out there when you’ve got a couple hours to kill.
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Posted by Seth on May 14, 2012 under Dining, Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports |
I had quite high expectations as I boarded United Airlines flight 15 from Newark to Honolulu. This is, after all, a flagship route and as a top-tier elite customer seated in the forward cabin I expected a level of service and comfort that would be truly unparalleled from the world’s largest airline. That expectation was shattered even before we left the ground when I was threatened with arrest for attempting to talk to the pilots before the cockpit door had been closed. Wh’ev.
Things went downhill from there.
One of the recorded pre-flight announcements indicated that the flight was operated by Continental Airlines, a brand that hasn’t existed since I put them out of business back in March. Seriously, it has been more than 8 weeks now. That they haven’t fixed the recording is an abomination and an insult to brand homogenization. Alas, following my prior chastisement I chose to bite my lip and accept that the flight was going to be a miserable 11 hours of my life rather than point out to the flight attendants that there was a mistake in the recordings that demanded resolution.
A meal was served shortly after departure. The flight attendants who had appeared so diligent in following my every move prior to departure had failed to notice that I had traded seats with another on the flight. This meant that my meal order was taken approximately 38 seconds after it should have been, with the FA going to the incorrect seat before finally noticing my new arrangements and coming over to ask what I wanted.
Continuing with the branding debacle which started with the announcement prior to departure, the linens, glassware and flatware were a mismatched mess of old and new names and logos.
The steak was fine – it tasted nothing like leather – but, as can be seen from the photo, there was no bread to be found anywhere near my tray. Truly insulting that the roll wasn’t served as it should have been.
The ice cream sundae trolley showed up after dinner, laden with gooey toppings and a few choices of digestifs for those of that persuasion. Of course, being a Hawaii trip I was more in to mai tais than liquor and I asked to have another. I was informed that the mai tais had too much sugar, meaning that I should stop drinking them. Oh, and no Grand Marnier, either. Alas, I was stuck drinking the cognac instead.
All this, and we still hadn’t cleared Wyoming airspace.
The flight continued, as did the abject mistreatment. I wasn’t awoken from my nap, meaning my fresh-baked mid-flight cookie cooled off before I could eat it. They simply do not taste the same when the cookies have cooled.
By this point in the flight, as if by some miracle, additional mai tais appeared in the forward galley and shortly thereafter at our seat. Of course, as part of serving the drinks at this point in the trip, questions were raised as to my consumption habits, including my willingness to mix rum drinks with other rum drinks and the impact that might have on my sobriety. Explaining to the flight attendants that getting drunk was the only way to deal with their subordination didn’t seem like the correct response; once again I bit my tongue.
About an hour before arrival our last meal was served, I accepted the tray from the flight attendant and then immediately realized my mistake. They served the meal with only 55 minutes remaining before arrival and that would mean insufficient time to digest before undertaking the hike from the gate to the curb. And I know how important it is to have time to digest before such strenuous exercise. I considered calling for a wheelchair to avoid issues but instead simply accepted the risk of getting a cramp as I walked out of the airport to our next meal.
Finally, our landing in Honolulu was anything but normal. We used a different runway than I’m used to from my previous trips to the island meaning that the views I was expecting on final approach didn’t materialize. It is hard to get good photos of a landing when the pilots change things like that on you without consultation.
At least the flight was finally over. Eleven hours I’ll never get back. Eleven hours of pure torture.
Yes, the entire post here was decidedly tongue-in-cheek. That said, the service really was rather below par from my previous experiences. Part of that stems from the downgrades in the service offered on the flight (fewer meal choices, entrees of lesser quality) and part of it was from a crew that didn’t really seem to be happy working, much less with a group of six guys in the forward cabin who actually intended to enjoy the trip rather than just idle through until the doors opened again on arrival. I really never did get a roll with my meal, for instance, and things like drink and snack basket service were essentially non-existent. Only one of the FAs was anywhere close to being personable. Oh, and the IFE on these planes really is an embarrassment. Just awful.
Clearly not actually a "trip from hell" but also not a particularly great ride.
Tags: Continental, Dining, Flying, Hawaii, Honolulu, IFE, in flight, Mileage Run, Newark, PaxEx, Photos, review, Trip Report, United, United Airlines
Posted by Seth on February 29, 2012 under Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run, points, Trip Reports |
Today was a good day for mileage run booking. I got myself a nice <3cpEQM run on mostly United Airlines metal (good for both upgrades and Million Miler credits with the new program rules) covering just over 20,000 miles in a 4 day span. I’ll get to visit the 50th state a couple times and even actually sleep in a bed once or twice in the middle of all the crazy.
With some of the flights also on what is considered today to be Continental metal I figured I should log in, make sure that my frequent flier number is correct in the reservation and get some seats. I headed to the website and clicked the link to see my reservations. This is what I got:
Apparently I have no real trips planned in the next two months, just mileage runs. Zoinks!
Logged in to the main reservations display page things get a bit better in June, but not before another four day marathon crisscrossing the country (including two three-hour jaunts in Hawaii) for over 20,000 miles flown:
Hat tip to gtitan for finding this one!
Oh, and a couple weeks later I go back and I’ll actually spend a few day in Hawaii while celebrating the inaugural service of both Hawaiian AIrlines’ JFK-HNL service and United’s IAD-HNL service in the same week.
At one point a few weeks ago I was worried about fare prices and not having enough good trip opportunities. I guess that’s over, at least for a few weeks.
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Posted by Seth on January 27, 2012 under Flying, Trip Reports |
Take a random, tiny airline with a handful of prop planes flying the islands of Hawaii and give them a little bit of encouragement and what happens? Something ridiculous like this. Mokulele is a regional operator in Hawaii, flying a few Cessna aircraft on hops within the islands. And now they’re aiming big, really big.
The company has received approval to operate scheduled charter service from Honolulu to Rockford, Illinois and continuing service to London‘s Stansted airport. Of course, they won’t be doing this with their Cessnas. They are chartering a 767-200 aircraft to run the operations. I cannot imagine that it will be a particularly comfortable in-flight experience, nor a particularly cheap one. We are talking about roughly 18-20 hours wedged into a tight, charter seating configuration with minimal amenities.
Still, the lines and the operator have me pining for a chance. Oh, and I’m going to be in Hawaii anyways at the beginning of June thanks to the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines JFK-HNL service, so I’ve got the opportunity.
Now to see just how ridiculous it prices.
Hat tip to the folks at NYC Aviation for sharing the details on this one.
And, as always, thanks to GCMap.com for the cool maps.
Posted by Seth on January 23, 2012 under frequent flyer, News, points |
Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue will announce today a partnership for both travel and their frequent flyer programs. The deal comes on the heels of the recent announcement of new service by Hawaiian Airlines with the upcoming launch of non-stop service between New York’s JFK and Honolulu. While the Hawaiian service doesn’t start up until June, the deal will start sooner, with the carriers routing passengers via Los Angeles for one stop service on interline itineraries.
JetBlue has been steadily growing their roster of interline partners but one one of those – American Airlines – has any form of points reciprocity set up. This deal will include at least some reciprocity on the frequent flyer side. Full details are yet to come, but it is nice to see benefits in both the flight and loyalty programs coming to fruition.
More details to come as they are made available…
Posted by Seth on November 16, 2011 under Flying, News |
Hawaiian Airlines has announced that they will offer service to New York City‘s JFK airport from Honolulu starting in June 2012. In addition to advertising free meals and blankets on the flights (my how times have changed), the carrier has also announced an introductory sale that is a pretty impressive deal: $222 each way for the month of June with no minimum stay requirements and one-way purchases eligible.
After June the low end of the fare seems to be about $860 round trip (or $540 one-way), which is similar to the pricing offered by the only other carrier running non-stop in the market, Continental. No indication yet whether other carriers will be matching this half-price sale to the islands.
Seats on the inaugural flight are readily available; I’m considering going just for fun.
Posted by Seth on September 12, 2011 under Dining, Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports |
My decision to finally pick up my first flight on Alaska Airlines was driven mostly by the fact that they operate non-stop flights between Alaska and Hawaii. I think the lines look cool. Apparently that is more than enough to get me started on booking flights. The fact that I had a voucher expiring that I could use for positioning didn’t hurt either.
Pretty much the entire experience I had with Alaska Airlines was a treat. Booking online was easy. When I decided an hour later that I wanted to change the travel date the guy in the call center was more than happy to help out with that. Online check-in worked well, though the mobile site didn’t offer the option to change seats. I took care of that with the full site and snapped up seat 6A on the 737-800. That’s the window at the bulkhead between coach and first and offers plenty of legroom and no hard wall so under seat storage, too.
Dealing with the airport at Anchorage was incredibly easy. I arrived at the airport rental car facility at 1:25pm and was at the gate by 1:35pm. Considering that the flight was at 2:10pm maybe I was cutting it a bit close, but it worked and I got to have lunch with a friend up in Anchorage so it was well worth the risk. I probably even had time to hit up the Board Room and grab a drink before boarding but I was busy planning other shenanigans so I just headed to the gate and then boarded the flight.
Once on board pretty much everything is a paid transaction other than sodas and juices. Want some in flight entertainment? That’s $10 to rent the digEplayer. Food runs $7 for the hot entrees, though I will say that the chicken teriyaki looked pretty good. Booze is $6 which is pretty standard these days for US-based carriers, though there was a nice surprise towards the end of the flight.
The carrier also treats the flights to Hawaii a bit special. The flight attendants have leis and shirts to note the special service and there is a "Flight Plan" card on each seat highlighting the series of in-flight services that will be happening throughout the flight.
The service was friendly and pleasant, though the digEplayer sales did take a while, delaying the first beverage service a bit. There was also a special treat of sorts on this flight: I was buying the first round of drinks for anyone who ordered one. Maybe that skewed my enjoyment of the flight (OK, I’m sure it did a bit) but the flight overall was still quite pleasant.
Had I been in first class (I tried to buy up but it was sold out) I would have received the IFE for free as well as a full meal. I did manage to score a dessert from the F meal and I have to say that it was the best I’ve had on a domestic flight. Even better than the ice cream sundaes.
It was then time for the third service run on the flight. In addition to all the regular drink options this one included a special bit special for Hawaii service: Free Mai Tais! Yeah, it is just the Trader Vic’s plastic jug stuff, but it is still a very nice treat to help make sure that everyone is in the Aloha spirit heading into the descent. There is also a small pack of macadamia nuts as part of the service.
And then, an hour later, we were on the ground in Honolulu. I was off the plane and on my way to theBUS quickly and in my hotel about 75 minutes later.
Yes, I know that my experience isn’t completely typical of an Alaska Airlines flight. Not all of them go to Hawaii and I’m pretty sure there isn’t someone trying to spend a couple hundred dollars on booze every time. Still, I can see why the carrier has such vocal and loyal fans. I would imagine that if I lived on the left coast I’d be one of them.
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Tags: Alaska, Alaska Air, Alaska Airlines, Anchorage, Dining, Flying, Hawaii, Honolulu, IFE, PacificLines, review, Trip Report
Posted by Seth on September 12, 2011 under Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
Anyone ever tried to buy a round of drinks for an entire airplane? I did today and the logistics were surprisingly complicated. Maybe that’s because no one ever does this sort of thing. Or because it is ridiculous. But that mostly just describes me so I gave it a go.
American Express offers a $200 credit to platinum charge cardholders to offset the various fees airlines will hit you with these days. The catch is that it can only be used against one airline and once you choose the carrier you’re stuck with that choice for the whole year. Most of my flying is on airlines where I have status and I rarely check a bag, even when I don’t have status. Plus I get upgraded a fair amount so food and booze are often part of the deal. Nearly a year into the program’s existence I haven’t figured out a scenario where I could reasonably spend that $200.
Sitting a lunch with a friend in Anchorage I decided that today would be the day. I was going to commit my $200 in "fees" credit to Alaska Airlines and get my money’s worth. It is my first flight ever on Alaska and probably my last for the year so committing to spending the $200 on my own is too tall a task. But with a little help it shouldn’t be much of an issue. After all, it is a flight to Honolulu and folks should mostly be pretty happy about that, right? A free drink should make it even better.
After stowing my bag in the overhead bin I made my way back to the galley to explain my plan to the flight attendants.
Me: Hi there! I’ve got a strange situation here. I want to buy drinks. A lot of them.
FA: Huh?
Me: I want to buy the first round for the whole plane. That’s probably 40-50 drinks, right?
FA: Huh?
OK, so the quotes aren’t entirely verbatim, but the confusion expressed by the FAs was pretty close. We spent the next 10 minutes chatting about my scheme and trying to figure out the best way to handle the logistics. One option was for her to run the card 30+ times and have me hand the receipts to the lucky drinkers. We threw that one out pretty quickly as way too much work. Eventually we agreed that they’d just do a normal beverage service but rather than charge everyone they would just tally the total drinks consumed and I’d pay the bill at the end of the service.
Because the offer was only revealed after the drink was ordered the initial damage was actually rather limited. We didn’t quite get to the $200 threshold on the first pass. This, of course, raised another issue of trying to figure out how to spend the rest of the credit on board. I made a sign, figuring I’d walk through the cabin offering up the drinks that way.
Ultimately, however, that seemed less friendly. So I just started asking folks if they wanted a drink. I’m wearing a Hawaiian shirt that is similar in color to that of the flight attendants so A few people confused me for that; I even had one ask how to fill out the agricultural declaration form. But once I explained that I’m just a guy buying drinks for anyone who wanted one I did manage to get a few takers. Pretty soon my sales efforts were rewarded and the $200 credit (and a few dollars more) was over. I was willing to keep going (a bit) but the third beverage service is about to start and that means free mai tais for everyone!
I had entirely too much fun on this flight. I don’t know why but flights to Hawaii make me want to have more fun than most. Also, a special thanks to the crew from Alaska Airlines who were willing to help me out on this ridiculous bit of entertainment.
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Tags: Alaska, Alaska Air, Alaska Airlines, American Express, Anchorage, elite status, fees, Hawaii, Honolulu, Mileage Run, PacificLines, Trip Report, upgrade
Posted by Seth on July 21, 2011 under Dining, Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports |
Tokyo for the weekend seemed like a good idea. Actually, it still does seem like a good idea and I’m considering booking more similar trips, but I’m also somewhat hopeful that the trend I experienced on my last trip reverses itself. I managed to book a somewhat creative routing, passing through Hawaii on the way. As the travel progressed through the three flights the flight duration got longer and the seats got smaller. That’s not the way you really want to fly.
LaGuardia to Denver was the first hop and it was a pretty reasonable flight once we got past the part where the originally assigned aircraft had a "major fuel leak" and we got underway. Fortunately flights out of LaGuardia are generally quite well padded on the schedule and we weren’t all that delayed into Denver in the end. The United Airlines 757-200 was pretty much as expected. Nothing special in the seat nor the service, though being called aside during the delay for a personal briefing from the agent managing the delay was a nice touch for Global Services members. As it was a breakfast flight the choices were eggs or cereal. I chose the eggs for some strange reason.
Despite the interesting texture imprint on top the eggs were actually pretty good. The sausage and potatoes were very flavorful; the fruit pretty bland.
Once in Denver I chose to buy my own meal for the onward flight. Yes, my upgrade had cleared for the Denver – Honolulu flight, but something in me decided that was the right move. In the end I actually gave away my seat so a couple could sit together, in large part because I had that food, so it worked out well for everyone in question. Also, I had a much better meal for lunch than would have otherwise been the case. As I mentioned in the full post on that flight the crew was exceptional, perhaps to a fault, once they realized I had downgraded myself. Had it not been for the downgrade, however, I’m not so convinced. Either way, the seat was definitely smaller, though Economy Plus certainly doesn’t suck.
The last flight of the day, from Honolulu to Tokyo’s Haneda airport, was the longest and also involved the smallest seat, a regular economy assignment on an Air Japan d/b/a ANA 767-300. The interior was pretty similar to a Continental 767 so that was at least familiar to me, if not especially comfortable. The seats were fine, but nothing special. They do have a footrest under the seat in front but that was less than useful for a passenger taller than 5′ 7" or so.
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| The bulkhead in the mini-cabin actually looks quite comfortable but I was not so lucky to secure such a seat assignment. |
I was rather impressed with the initial meal service on the flight. In economy we had a choice of a pork curry or scallops and asparagus main. Side included noodles as well as salmon and some veggies. One of the better coach meals I can remember recently.
Combined with the snack I picked up at the L&L just outside the airport it was sufficient to make for a pretty good dinner overall.
The flight also includes an arrival meal which wasn’t nearly as good as the first meal, but more than nothing. There were some pickled veggies, a fruit cup and a wrap that had some sort of meat-ish flavoring inside.
The best part of the flight for me was picking up a new carrier and a fun new line. The service was good, as is generally expected from the Asian carriers.
That the seats got progressively smaller during the trip as I got progressively more tired didn’t matter all that much; it turns out that I’ll sleep anywhere if I’m tired enough. Sure, I’d rather the trend was the other direction but I’ll take what I can get. Besides, I can claim it was prep for my pod hotel experience.
Just another day of living the dream.
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Tags: ANA, Boeing, Continental, Dining, elite status, Hawaii, in flight, Japan, New York, New York City, Photos, review, Tokyo, Trip Report, TYO2011, United, upgrade
Posted by Seth on July 7, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
I’m sitting on a United Airlines 767-300 somewhere over the Pacific Ocean right now, wondering just which screws are loose in my head today. Yeah, I’ve always been a little crazy, particularly when it comes to travel, but today might be the nuttiest yet. And so, as we pass the half-way point to Hawaii (I hope I win the contest!) I’m wondering to myself just what was I thinking. I chose to downgrade myself for no good reason.
My flight itinerary is reasonably simple, if not a bit circuitous. I’m booked from New York City‘s LaGuardia to Denver to Honolulu to Tokyo‘s Haneda airports on the outbound half of a weekend mileage run to Japan. By virtue of my elite status I received upgrades on the first two segments and I happily selected my seats in row 1 as I often do. There was a bit of a delay getting out of LGA but we did eventually and I even had time to grab some food in Denver during the connection. Sure, I was upgraded but I like choosing my own meal when I have the chance so I grabbed a burrito for the flight and made my way over to the gate.
Boarding was pretty simple and I was all set to curl myself into my assigned seat, 1J, and enjoy the flight.
The guy sitting in 1H asked if I’d mind trading seats with his wife in 2A. Window for window and while I’d be losing the bulkhead row that I generally prefer I’d get to be on the port side of the plane which, when flying into Honolulu generally means better views on the landing (similar to San Diego). All in all a relatively fair trade and it doesn’t cost me all that much to make two other people quite happy. I gladly accept. That’s when things get strange.
The man in 2B, acknowledging that it is a long shot, asks if he can "make it worth my while" to trade with his wife who is seated in row 17. That’s in the Economy Plus section of the plane, not the first class cabin. I’m pretty sure I shocked him and his wife when I said yes. More so when I refused to take the cash he tried to offer me in trade. I know I was a little surprised at myself.
And so I ended up with this view for the 6.5 hour long flight.
Needless to say, the Purser was quite confused when they started to take meal orders up front as there was no Mr. Miller to be found. She eventually tracked me down in 17J and she too was surprised that I made the trade of my own volition and without remorse. She admonished me just a tiny bit but was accepting of my explanation that I did it of my free will.
Here’s the craziest part of the whole thing: I’m not really sure I got that bad of a deal. The 767-300 domestic configuration on United is called the "ghetto bird" for a reason; the first class cabin really isn’t all that significant an upgrade over Economy Plus. I had the meal that I wanted. I had the drinks that I wanted (I have more than enough drink chits anyways and there may have been a comp or two as part of the trade). I have enough leg room that I can cross my legs when I feel like it. Yes, my seat is a bit narrower, but it isn’t sufficiently so that I really notice. So why help another couple on their way to Hawaii start the trip off a bit special?
Yeah, I know that I’m nuts. A part of me is wondering while writing this why I don’t really care. After all, I was sweating the upgrade before it actually came through. In the end, however, I legitimately do not mind having made the swap.
Definitely a few screws loose.
ps- Just bought my seat mate a beer with my drink chits. Gotta use ‘em some how, right?
