777Brit
Dec 11, 01, 6:44 am
The Background Info
AA popped my Mileage Run cherry this past weekend. I worked for them for 7 years, and been an AAdvantage member since 1991, but never accrued enough mileage to actually do anything.
So, I took a trip to Singapore on QF in January this year, which earned me around 12,000 miles. Then a bunch of UK domestic trips on BA started adding to my total. By September, I had reached 17,400 Q miles. I was struck by the sudden desire to get my AAdvantage Gold card. Then September 11th happened. I was even more inspired to pay the money and fly the miles on AA, so my preliminary goal was my Gold card. Not too ambitious, but as there were only three months of the year left, I though it was achievable.
My vacation in November included flying AA LHR-ORD-YYC/-SEA-DFW-LGW. I took Horizon Air from YYC to SEA. That trip earned me my Gold. I was happy, but I wanted more.....
That's when the obsession started to kick-in. I figured, theres 7 weeks of the year left, plenty of time to get my Platinum!
My first ever Mileage Run
I found a cheap ticket on AA.com for £214.00.
My itinerary
8 Dec AA101 LHR-JFK 1000-1255 A300-600R
8 Dec AA45 JFK-SFO 1545-1855 B767-200ER
9 Dec AA1402 SFO-DFW 0620-1140 B767-300ER
9 Dec AA50 DFW-LGW 1740-0845 B777-200IGW
On Saturday, December 8th, I arrived at the AA check-in at Heathrow, just an hour before my flight. I was alarmed to see the Economy class check-in line snaking off through the terminal. This didn't look good. Then, my saving grace. I remembered my Gold card, walked through the middle of the line and confidently strode up to Business Class check-in. My boarding passes were issued in a matter of seconds by the agent, whom I hasten to add was very pleasant and polite and thanked me for travelling AA. I used the FastTrack through security, and arrived at the gate 30 minutes before departure.
AA101 is operated by a three-class Airbus A300-600R. I actually felt a little nervous flying this aircraft, but once I boarded, that soon passed. I took up position in 26A, an exit-row window seat. There are only 4 exit-row seats on AA A300's, so this was a good sign. The airplane looked a little shabby, still being in the old light-blue interior scheme instead of the classier new dark blue. The seat was comfortable enough, but of course, lacked under-thigh support. We pushed-back 3 minutes early, and after only a 7 minute taxi, we were airborne.
The food service was impressive, for AA economy class. The meal consited of a very fresh salad, and I chose the steak, which was well cooked, juicy, and served with potato wedges and a vegetable mix. The dessert, a chocolatey cakey thing, was delicious. Service was very professional, the JFK-based flight crew were both friendly and courteous at all times. Prior to landing, Pizzeria Uno pizza's were served. They are so delicious when they're straight out of the oven. Inflight entertainment was good, with 4 movies, 10 games and numerous radio channels.
The immigration line at JFK was massive. After standing in line for 20 minutes, the immigration officer on the 'US Residents' line called me over. I thought I'd done something wrong, but she just said I looked a little tired and wanted to help me through quicker! I had a tougher job explaining to the customs officer why I had only a small backpack. When I mentioned the words 'mileage run', he laughed and waved me through. JFK is a bit of a mess right now, while AA are building their new terminal. However, the airport itself was pretty quiet. I found a self-service machine in Terminal 9 and swiped my Gold card. It told me I was already checked-in for AA45 to San Francisco, but after looking at my account online today, I still got the 500 bonus miles for using the machine! I proceeded to the first-class counter and changed my seat from an exit-row window in coach, to a centre seat in the back, because the flight was only booked to 44 passengers in coach. The flight was at 3:45pm, boarding commenced at 320pm and we still left the gate bang ontime. Impressive ontime performance so far from AA.
This had to be the bumpiest flight I've had all year. The seat-belt sign was on throughout the 5 hours and 40 minutes flight. After a very tasty dinner of salad, burgundy beef with noodles and a delicious lemon cake, I settled down across three seats and snoozed the rest of the way to San Francisco. We landed early at 632pm, taxied as far as the gate, then held for 25 minutes, waiting for ground crew to remove some equipment left on the stand. That was SO annoying, being so close, yet so far...
I had a great time in San Fran, then tried to get a couple of hours sleep before heading to Dallas. I left the hotel at 5am, checked-in at 520am, had my christmas present from my friend confiscated by 530am because it contained a sharp blade (I didn't know, it was gift wrapped!) and was happily drinking very good coffee in the Admirals Club by 535am. I used a 25,000 mile upgrade for the return trip, as I had to come straight to work.
Boarding for AA1402 commenced just 15 minutes before departure. I had seat 2J, bulkhead window seat in first class. I wanted this seat, so I could just sleep. An AA non-revenue passenger boarded with her husband, and her husband asked me to move seats so they could sit together. I was unhappy about this, they should have waited for me to offer to switch. I wound up in the single centre seat in the first row. The airplane was an international aircraft, so the first class cabin consisted of sleeper seats. Fantastic! After a tasty omlette for breakfast, I hit the 'bed' button and settled down for the 3-hour trip to Dallas.
After another on-time arrival, I met my friend and headed out for 6 hours of fun in the Metroplex. I was returned to the airport at 430pm, proceeded to the Admirals Club for a beer, then boarded at 520pm, for the 9 hour flight back to London. 9J, bulkhead window was my seat of choice, because I don't like anyone reclining in front of me, so I can still get out and use the bathroom during the night.
After a 30 minute taxi, the 777 took off and commenced our ultra-smooth flight to London. The ground speed was indicated at 706mph which is apparently just below Mach 1! Business class service on board was excellent, with a choice of five entrees, a delicious haagen-daz dessert and good wine selection. The multi-adjustable seat wasn't as comfortable as I thought it would be, but I still managed 5 hours sleep. After a breakfast of Ricotta cheese omlette with filet-mignon, we landed on time and arrived in a very cold London.
All in all, a long first mileage run, but enjoyable and also good value for money!
AA popped my Mileage Run cherry this past weekend. I worked for them for 7 years, and been an AAdvantage member since 1991, but never accrued enough mileage to actually do anything.
So, I took a trip to Singapore on QF in January this year, which earned me around 12,000 miles. Then a bunch of UK domestic trips on BA started adding to my total. By September, I had reached 17,400 Q miles. I was struck by the sudden desire to get my AAdvantage Gold card. Then September 11th happened. I was even more inspired to pay the money and fly the miles on AA, so my preliminary goal was my Gold card. Not too ambitious, but as there were only three months of the year left, I though it was achievable.
My vacation in November included flying AA LHR-ORD-YYC/-SEA-DFW-LGW. I took Horizon Air from YYC to SEA. That trip earned me my Gold. I was happy, but I wanted more.....
That's when the obsession started to kick-in. I figured, theres 7 weeks of the year left, plenty of time to get my Platinum!
My first ever Mileage Run
I found a cheap ticket on AA.com for £214.00.
My itinerary
8 Dec AA101 LHR-JFK 1000-1255 A300-600R
8 Dec AA45 JFK-SFO 1545-1855 B767-200ER
9 Dec AA1402 SFO-DFW 0620-1140 B767-300ER
9 Dec AA50 DFW-LGW 1740-0845 B777-200IGW
On Saturday, December 8th, I arrived at the AA check-in at Heathrow, just an hour before my flight. I was alarmed to see the Economy class check-in line snaking off through the terminal. This didn't look good. Then, my saving grace. I remembered my Gold card, walked through the middle of the line and confidently strode up to Business Class check-in. My boarding passes were issued in a matter of seconds by the agent, whom I hasten to add was very pleasant and polite and thanked me for travelling AA. I used the FastTrack through security, and arrived at the gate 30 minutes before departure.
AA101 is operated by a three-class Airbus A300-600R. I actually felt a little nervous flying this aircraft, but once I boarded, that soon passed. I took up position in 26A, an exit-row window seat. There are only 4 exit-row seats on AA A300's, so this was a good sign. The airplane looked a little shabby, still being in the old light-blue interior scheme instead of the classier new dark blue. The seat was comfortable enough, but of course, lacked under-thigh support. We pushed-back 3 minutes early, and after only a 7 minute taxi, we were airborne.
The food service was impressive, for AA economy class. The meal consited of a very fresh salad, and I chose the steak, which was well cooked, juicy, and served with potato wedges and a vegetable mix. The dessert, a chocolatey cakey thing, was delicious. Service was very professional, the JFK-based flight crew were both friendly and courteous at all times. Prior to landing, Pizzeria Uno pizza's were served. They are so delicious when they're straight out of the oven. Inflight entertainment was good, with 4 movies, 10 games and numerous radio channels.
The immigration line at JFK was massive. After standing in line for 20 minutes, the immigration officer on the 'US Residents' line called me over. I thought I'd done something wrong, but she just said I looked a little tired and wanted to help me through quicker! I had a tougher job explaining to the customs officer why I had only a small backpack. When I mentioned the words 'mileage run', he laughed and waved me through. JFK is a bit of a mess right now, while AA are building their new terminal. However, the airport itself was pretty quiet. I found a self-service machine in Terminal 9 and swiped my Gold card. It told me I was already checked-in for AA45 to San Francisco, but after looking at my account online today, I still got the 500 bonus miles for using the machine! I proceeded to the first-class counter and changed my seat from an exit-row window in coach, to a centre seat in the back, because the flight was only booked to 44 passengers in coach. The flight was at 3:45pm, boarding commenced at 320pm and we still left the gate bang ontime. Impressive ontime performance so far from AA.
This had to be the bumpiest flight I've had all year. The seat-belt sign was on throughout the 5 hours and 40 minutes flight. After a very tasty dinner of salad, burgundy beef with noodles and a delicious lemon cake, I settled down across three seats and snoozed the rest of the way to San Francisco. We landed early at 632pm, taxied as far as the gate, then held for 25 minutes, waiting for ground crew to remove some equipment left on the stand. That was SO annoying, being so close, yet so far...
I had a great time in San Fran, then tried to get a couple of hours sleep before heading to Dallas. I left the hotel at 5am, checked-in at 520am, had my christmas present from my friend confiscated by 530am because it contained a sharp blade (I didn't know, it was gift wrapped!) and was happily drinking very good coffee in the Admirals Club by 535am. I used a 25,000 mile upgrade for the return trip, as I had to come straight to work.
Boarding for AA1402 commenced just 15 minutes before departure. I had seat 2J, bulkhead window seat in first class. I wanted this seat, so I could just sleep. An AA non-revenue passenger boarded with her husband, and her husband asked me to move seats so they could sit together. I was unhappy about this, they should have waited for me to offer to switch. I wound up in the single centre seat in the first row. The airplane was an international aircraft, so the first class cabin consisted of sleeper seats. Fantastic! After a tasty omlette for breakfast, I hit the 'bed' button and settled down for the 3-hour trip to Dallas.
After another on-time arrival, I met my friend and headed out for 6 hours of fun in the Metroplex. I was returned to the airport at 430pm, proceeded to the Admirals Club for a beer, then boarded at 520pm, for the 9 hour flight back to London. 9J, bulkhead window was my seat of choice, because I don't like anyone reclining in front of me, so I can still get out and use the bathroom during the night.
After a 30 minute taxi, the 777 took off and commenced our ultra-smooth flight to London. The ground speed was indicated at 706mph which is apparently just below Mach 1! Business class service on board was excellent, with a choice of five entrees, a delicious haagen-daz dessert and good wine selection. The multi-adjustable seat wasn't as comfortable as I thought it would be, but I still managed 5 hours sleep. After a breakfast of Ricotta cheese omlette with filet-mignon, we landed on time and arrived in a very cold London.
All in all, a long first mileage run, but enjoyable and also good value for money!