Trip Reports - The Long Way to MCO from PLZ - BA, CX, SQ and UA

PREAMBLE

Actually, there's no particularly short way from Port Elizabeth, South Africa to Orlando, Florida. For a dual *A and One World flyer as myself, Y is particularly brutal on the commonest routings through Europe. Even SAA is rough given that there's a middle of sleep cycle tech stop in the Cape Verde Islands or Dakar en route to JFK. Then there's limited award availability and very high ticket prices out of South Africa right now.

So given the comfort levels of certain Asian carriers, it can make sense to route through the Far East.

Since I had my 4 year old in tow, I was very keen to avoid shelling out thousands of dollars for this trip to meet up with my 14 year old in the USA.

Fortunately, I had plenty of AA miles to burn and a pair of premium rev tickets from Colombo to LAX on SQ that I had bought months ago, just to have in the proverbial back pocket. $1500 in F/J class round trip, less for my son.

The mileage awards on One World have a nice feature that I learned about on FT : actual segment mileage is immaterial, all that counts is mileage between stop-over points. So I went for the 9000 mile award in J class (F class not available on most of the flights) and found that the direct mileage from PLZ-CMB-JNB is ... 8692. The actual routing would be PLZ BA JNB CX HKG CX BKK CX CMB ... 18894 miles! I arranged maximum permitted lay-overs in HKG and BKK, approx. 14 hours and 22 hours respectively. I had never visited HKG before and thought this an excellent no budget way to do it. I have tons of old friends to see in BKK and new ones to make. And Colombo? Into the unknown ...

I was apprehensive but the AA offline ticket office in Cape Town were pretty darn efficient at issuing my award tickets. I had had a tough time dealing with CSR's at AA stateside. The tickets were couriered to my home in Knysna from Cape Town. The SQ ticket was an E one, requiring issuance in Sri Lanka. I had a lengthy e-mail correspondence with an in bound operator N CAR Travels and settled on a 4 night stay at the Ceylon (inter)Continental Hotel.

One World Award in J PLZ-CMB-JNB outbound


My South African home is 2.5 hours fast driving from the Port Elizabeth airport. Normally I fly in/out of GRJ, George Airport some 45 minutes away.
However, the only flight that would make a legal connection to my CX flight at JNB is an early morning businessman's special on an RJ and as the one way fare would cost me $200 each, it was a no brainer to rise an hour earlier and fly gratis on BA Comair's in J out of PE.

Since my regular taxi/shuttle company now wanted $200 for the transfer, I decided to rent a car one way and drop it off at PLZ. What made this convenient was that for the princely sum of $13, National car rental would deliver the car to my residence, some 50 miles from the renting station.
Together with petrol, it cost me approx. $100 for the drive to the airport, as opposed to almost $50 it will cost me for a taxi back from George on my return.

I woke up at 3:45 am without the benefit of an alarm clock and we were out of the house by 4:15. On this winter night, it was just above freezing but fortunately there was hardly a wisp of mist or fog along the route. I was amazed at the large amount of lorry traffic at that hour, on the Cape Town - Port Elizabeth run.

Just a modest lounge at PLZ. Busy one runway operation. No jet ways. Fortunately, the usual wind was absent that morning ... my previous time in PE, I could barely make it into a store from the parking lot on account of the gale blowing.

It was a rather ancient 737-200, ominously painted with a white tail and
I'd say 50% of the normal BA livery elsewhere. Sorry no tail numbers or menu scans for this trip report. The J Class seating was not bad ... 2 and 3, with the middle seat blocked. Probably 35 inches of pitch. Lovely cooked breakfast on the 1 hour 30 minute flight ... I could not help but think how it puts American carriers to shame and this breakfast was only slightly better than what you could expect on off price carrier Nationwide in Y on the GRJ-JNB run.

Our bags had been checked through to Colombo and when I saw pax having to gate check carry ons at the bottom of the airstairs, I charged right ahead and let a CSR chase after me. I pointed out that my legal roll aboard with laptop, docs and medicines was not leaving my side for anybody, full stop. And there was plenty of room - lengthwise - in the overhead bin.

The first time making a connection from domestic to intl or vice versa at JNB can be a little daunting but once you know the ropes, it's one of the more pleasant experiences : the always bracing JNB morning temperature waking your senses as you take a leisurely stroll or galloping run between the 2 terminals. I always wonder why something BAD never happens at the airport, yet everyone is on edge past the perimeter. There never seems to be that much in the way of security, entering or leaving the airport. Now Colombo is a different story ... I lost count of the check points you have to pass outside and inside the terminal building.

We had to pick up our CX boarding passes at JNB and the check in person was hopelessly confused as to how the connecting flights were spread out over 2 days. Added to the confusion are the dreadful acoustics at all of the intl check in desks. There is no way for the check in agent's sound waves not to be swamped by competing noises. So the answer is to get up front and personal ... which I seriously doubt a U.S. based agent would tolerate.

CX has put on a 2 class 343 for the winter season. No F. The AVOD is just not on par with SQ. The food was average ... I remember a lot of shrimp. I don't drink booze, so I can't comment on that aspect. I napped nicely but a full night's sleep was not to be had as we were arriving in HKG around midnight South African time.

I am pretty sure we passed by Macao's new airport on our approach into HKG. Though I could not see any terminals, there appeared to be a runway built on reclaimed land. I used to fly into KIX, so was prepared for an airport built on reclaimed land but HKG has to be on a different scale from KIX, an airport not exactly a shrinking violet in terms of size. Lots of "elbow room" for planes and once inside the terminal, you feel like you're in a never ending virtual world. But we found the Wing and settled in. Nice shower. Furnishings a little austere. Staff very helpful. But when we came to make our way to arrivals from the Departure levels where the lounges are located , it was a bad day playing Super Mario Brothers. Eventually, we found the right "desk" to ask for a mandated escort but then we were informed that a Typhoon warning had just been issued and we should not venture into town ... and we had 12 hours to our connecting flight to BKK.

We cheered ourselves up by discovering the cheapest Disney store in the world and buying a Buzz Lightyear playset for around USD 8. Armed with a killer toy to keep the 4 year old occupied, we retreated now to the other CX lounge, The Pier. The CSR's were terrific, offering to get us out to BKK on any of the earlier scheduled flights, if only they could find space. Would we accept Y ... well, yes, but please ...

First my son crashed out and they brought him a blanket, then I started nodding off around mid day. Without asking I was also provided with a blanket. Every hour or so, I'd receive a tap on the shoulder and an update. Finally at 2 p.m., 20 minutes before departure, I was handed 2 J boading passes for the next flight to BKK.

Thank you CX! And, nobody ever said "AAward Ticket".

We were the last to board as we had separated seats but CX knew which passenger to ask to move and he graciously went with the flow. Quick 2 hour flight to BKK and HKG was still looking fine weather wise on the ground. However, the pilot warned of a bumpy departure and so there was moderate turbulence for 15 minutes until we got out of the weather system.

Now instead of arriving at midnight in Bangkok we had 2 days to have fun in Krung Thep. I found lots of old friends sitting in the Nana lobby and I promptly asked Prof George Lehner to join me for the evening buffet next door at the J.W. Marriott. My son was content to play with Buzz and watch cartoons. I made friends with a typically lovely Thai girl from the south of the country who happened to be dressed like a princess swathed in silk and who insisted on refilling my water glass ...

Great Report so far! Eagerly anticipating the next segment of your trip. ^

What an odd combination of flights.. Why did you want to make a awards run to Columbo of all places? I didnt know there was a AA office in South Africa.

Keep it coming! I'm especially interested in the tale of this silk-clad Thai princess :p

Great Report so far! Eagerly anticipating the next segment of your trip. ^

What an odd combination of flights.. Why did you want to make a awards run to Columbo of all places? I didnt know there was a AA office in South Africa.

Thank you, thank you. Colombo happens to be one of the cheapest places in the world right now for purchasing certain plane tickets. I have gone back and edited the first post to add that I was flying out of Colombo on a $1500 round trip ticket in F/J on SQ to Los Angeles. AA code shares with BA from LHR-JNB but the fares have been very high recently ex South Africa. Two years in a row, I had to fly in Y on BA and I just hated it.

The Nana Hotel is as notorious as always. There are times when I visit Bangkok that I actually stay in the more conventional hotels but my 4 year old loved the seedy charm of the place and I did not even show him the new swimming pool, quite comparable to the one next door at the J.W.. Sadly, the anachronistic diving board is nowhere to be found.

I was delighted to pay 150% of the daily rate for a stay that commenced at 5 pm Saturday and terminated at 6 pm Sunday. With charges for laundry (4 hour service!) and a couple of coffee shop meals, the total bill came to just shy of $50.

It must have taken 15 minutes to reach the airport. The CX lounge was deserted. No internet access within, so I spent time standing up at a terminal outside. The 3+ hour flight to Colombo does not stick out at all. CX's J product is comfortable but bland ... oh, this was the flight that I threw a temper tantrum ... a suppressed memory, no less!

I had drifted off to sleep in the darkened cabin to be awakened by a booming voice in the seat behind me. After some minutes of ascertaining the sound source, I was incredulous to discover a comely CX stewardess sitting on the armrest in the aisle chatting with Mr Big. More minutes passed by and by now the loud chatter was giving me a headache, so I left my sleeping son and moved to the other side of the plane to get out of the direct sound waves from this guy's voice box. After 15 minutes, they were still at it and I finally went forward to the galley and found CX personnel there; I asked for the lady in black (the inflight supervisor) who was found crouching in the corner and I steamily pulled back the curtain to the aisle to reveal the 2 new best friends still going at it. I sobbed that I had been fast asleep. Well, the matter was promptly dealt with and I felt awful that the girls were now averting their eyes from me in shame from what had occurred.

Now I know that the girl involved was probably only being polite in listening to Mr Big's life story and that she was a victim, too. But I hate having my sleep disturbed!!! Especially when I didn't even take a sleeping pill to get to that exalted state.

As soon as we landed, such self pitying thoughts were shunted off to the nether regions of my brain stem as we taxied to a remote stand at CMB. In fact, all planes were at remote stands. Not a single jet way and the planes were all a bus ride away from the terminal. I was suitably impressed that premium passengers had their own conveyance which departed long before the hoi polloi's.

CMB's busiest period is from midnight until 3 a.m. And though we were in the thick of the action, I was simply amazed at how organized the Arrivals section was. The Thais could take a lesson or two here. Well sign posted, functioning a/c, real flow. I knew there must be chaos lurking but even the waiting chauffeurs were disciplined in their holding pen well away from customs. Our driver was there and I gave my son an impromptu reading lesson : there's our family name on the sign "Transplant". He clutched his lovie, eagerly waiting to compare the driving prowess of the new driver against the one earlier in Bangkok.

Then I made a slight boo boo. Instead of proceeding with an effortless get away from the airport to the hotel, I pushed my luck in the entirely wrong direction : I suggested we visit the SQ check in counter to have my SQ e-ticket printed out for me. Departures was located somewhere along the terminal building and in front of the entrance ensued a completely different scene as several planes' worth of passengers jostled to pass a security check point. I quickly sized up the situation and apologized profusely to our nonplussed driver for the detour and now we made our way against a tide of escaping Sri Lankans to the arrivals side.

Even at 1 a.m., it is a slow drive into Colombo from the airport. 45 minutes' worth, enough that I knew that I knew I would not be tempted by out of town sightseeing trips during the planned 4 day stay, our first time in the island nation. The most noticeable feature of the nightscape was the proliferation of Turf Accountants, betting shops, open even at night.

We finally made it to the hostelry for our sejour : the former Inter Continental now quaintly dubbed the Ceylon Continental. The driver said he would be paid by the inbound travel operator and so received a couple of ducats from me in appreciation of his punctuality and driving skills. When we were shown to our room, I was truly shocked : we were given a ocean view room on the club floor, recently renovated with marble floors and lovely chintz fabrics worthy of a Duchess' pad in Knightsbridge, London. Mini bar, cable TV, everything but broadband. And breakfast included for $49 per night. Things were going right!

Though I hardly saw any of Sri Lanka, I loved what I saw. The heavy security aspect did not phase me, in fact, it re-assured me. I did not catch one foul odor the entire visit as opposed to the stench of arriving in Mumbai or walking the streets of Bangkok. Neither did I have to step over any beggars or avoid them as I have to do back in South Africa (white beggars, no less). I loved the polyglot nature of Sri Lanka : primarily Buddhist but also significant Christian, Muslim and Hindu minorities. English is the dominant written language and I'd say I have more trouble understanding Singlish than I had conversing with the Sri Lankans.

I absolutely look forward to returning every 3 months to Colombo as part of future mileage runs.

I spent a morning visiting the SQ CTO and my inbound tour operator, NCAR Travels. The charge for hotel car and driver was $7.50.

SQ was very friendly and efficient. They needed to change the name on my ticket from South Africa Transplant to SATransplant to conform with my passport entry and Krisflyer record. After some magical spells were uttered, my ticket was re-issued.

Colombo must be one of the few places where hotels can achieve close to 200% occupancy levels. I arrived early on the 18th so had to pay for the 17th. I left late on the 20th, but check out should have been on the 21st.
After taking the initiative and cleaning up the two computers in the business center, one of the managers heard of my deed and was quite appreciative. It seems that the IBM techs had been playing hero and never dispensing the proper medicine to these sick puppies. One computer had 12 viruses and 61 pieces of spyware on it. A little Ad-Aware and Spybot: Search and Destroy went a long way in making the 'puters functional cyber companions.

So when I had a call the day of my departure inviting me to the prawn and crab buffet that evening, I though it was pay back time. But no, it was a different manager asking me to relinquish my room at 8 pm for incoming guests. Not wishing to play spoiler, I agreed to vacate 2 hours earlier than planned for the dinner plus $20 plus exec lounge access for my 4 year old so he could keep up to speed on Scooby Do.

I also had a call from SQ, confirming my January '05 return flight. More significantly, the res agent offered us a 5 star hotel in Singapore for our more than 6 hour lay-over. Included was taxi and meals.

To avoid the crush at departures, we arrived at CMB, some 3 hours before our scheduled 01:35 departure. There was a lovely, helpful lady in the Lotus Lounge available to SQ pax and my son was made content with some hot chocolate. Nothing special in the snacks department and I had to go outside to use the internet.

We finally boarded the flight. Seated opposite me was a large Sri Lankan getting bowed to and kissed by various minions. As Minister of Tourism, he had a busy day ahead of him, so he put on the eyeshades and slept. I think the flight attendants spotted me for a SQ F neophyte and plied me with refreshments, food, p.j.'s and amenity kits. A really nice haul for a 3.5 hour flight. The plane was a 777 which I like in their coach configuration. The F seats were not much better than J on CX or SQ long haul. I was not particularly hungry for the supper served at 02:30, just as well, as the lamb was a disaster, served not pink but raw. The SQ girls were horrified and some minutes later returned with some overdone chops. Oh, well! But I managed to drift off to sleep for a solid nap, waking for the descent into Singapore.

My son remained fast asleep. The SQ people sized this up and ordered us a buggy, one of those electric carts. After some wait, a ground person speaking incomprehensible Singlish appeared clutching the mighty hotel voucher for our lay-over, our connecting flight not departing until 1600, some 9 hours later. It was our fantastic driver, speaking a more standard English that dropped us at immigration and told me to go to the taxi queue and the hotel (Marina Mandarin) would take care of everything.

The hotel took pity on us and allowed us the luxury of room service breakfast. From a simple request for chocolate cereal, our order ballooned to being a feast. Like a spoiled lion and his cub, we went right back to sleep!

My son and I woke around 11 am, perfect for our run to my favorite toy shop in the world inside Takashimaya at Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road. It's not the biggest but it always has the latest toys, some at unbelievable promotional prices. My son never gets grumpy there and 30 or so minutes has us ready to leave, laden with bags of the latest and greatest and change from USD 100.

We returned to the hotel and did not even use the SGD 90 in script that we had for lunch. I figured that the Silver Kris Lounge would have a nice spread anyway. But I was wrong and I checked out both the J and F sides. The computers were too few and the ethernet lousy. Surprisingly there was undocumented wireless that I tumbled onto. But the SQ people nicely arranged for another buggy ride for my fast asleep son. It was time for our 345 ride to L.A..

I had taken SQ 20 the non stop flight from SIN to LAX just a few months previously but in Executive Economy. With an empty seat next to me the previous time, the trip had been exceptionally comfortable and quite honestly I could have stayed longer than 16+ hours on the aircraft.

What I discovered on the CX and SQ flights is that these J class lie flat beds really don't work for me, a big man. Yes, they're comfortable for sitting in and also reclining but I am not used to sleeping in a narrow bed and these "lie flat beds" are about as narrow as any bed could get. All in all, I'd say I found a partially reclined position best.

Nonetheless I do manage to get a lot of sleep.

I think shamefully SQ does not distribute proper amenity kits or more appropriately sleeper suits on these showcase flights between SIN and LAX/EWR.

However, I did an end run by unwrapping the XL set of PJ's that I had been given on the earlier flight from CMB. Though lacking the wonderfully oversized handicapped bathroom found in Economy on the 777, the A345 does have some neat mid sized bathrooms, porthole included, that allow for comfortable changing.

Unlike reports from CX's long flights, I have never detected a tired flight attendant on SQ. I find the service in Y to be great; in the premium classes, it is different ... dare I say it ... fawning. My 4 year old gets looked after no matter which airline we fly but I'd say SQ took the time to "baby" him. In any event, he remained entertained throughout the flight and was his usual pleasurable self to fly with.

This flight had the best food of all. Not OTT first class food, mind you, but appetising and certainly worthy of landside catering. At dinner, there was a cross between ceviche salad and sashimi that was just mouthwatering. I had my son's portion but out of politeness declined a third helping. For the mains I had a Balinese rice dish that was scrumptious.

For the life of me, I can't remember the snacks I munched upon between meals. On carriers like SQ and TG, whatever class you're travelling in, there's always something nutritious besides a lot of junk food offered. What I do remember is the large serving of lobster in a light sauce served at breakfast. Now that was a revelation. And appropriately made breakfast into brunch, served after all at 3 p.m. Los Angeles time.

My only disappointment was the unavailability of the flight certificates, now only available on the EWR A345 flights. But the timing of this flight works exceptionally well for me, in that I arrive well rested yet ready to sleep 6 hours or so later at midnight local time.

I took a 2 day breather in L.A. before continuing with final leg of the
outbound : LAX-MCO on UA.

It may be the AA fliers who now call the 757 a slaveship but I can see their point of view. What used to be a favorite airplane of mine is no longer, not when fully booked with 31" seat pitch as the United plane appeared to have in row 23. Even with an aisle seat and a small child to lean into next to me, I felt cramped and quite uncomfortable during a short transcon flight, 4 hours 20 minutes. And though the seats were wider, F class on the 757 looked awfully cramped.

I thought the flight attendants did a fantastic job getting everyone serviced with drinks (repeatedly) and fed. The food is dreadful ... very little of it and not much of it appetizing though I got lucky with well prepared spinach and potatoes. We had had a great lunch beforehand so our stomachs only needed topping off rather than replenishing.

Our captain chose not to activate Channel 9 for ATC and this probably enabled me to relax sufficiently to nap for an hour.

So why UA, wondered my 14 year old daughter. Aren't we flying Jetblue, the civilized airline?

Not just winning on fare, UA had the only decently scheduled non stop. And though I can change planes all day long at Changi, I have learned to avoid hubs in the good ol' USA. Once upon a time, I looked for TWA connections through MCI ... all that said, I can report that my Krisflyer miles posted within 72 hours from the UA flight ... my next flight on SQ will make me *A Gold through 03/06. I may just crawl back to One World and requalify as elite there.

We did arrive on schedule, just after 11 p.m. at MCO. All our bags made it ... not one mishap. I have to say I enjoyed all the flights apart from the last one on UA. The worst premium flight was SQ from CMB to SIN, in terms of operating in the middle of our sleep cycle, lousy food yet the service quotient, particularly after we arrived in Singapore, made us look forward to the next flight rather than dreading it, as I do now with our domestic flight back across the USA to an SQ gateway.

Thank you for reading!

A very entertaining read, but to do all that - and with a 4 y.o. in tow - when you could route via Europe just seems, well let's say I wouldn't do it!

Thanks for the kind comment. My 4 year old is quite exceptional when it comes to travelling. The horror flights were back when he was a toddler; from the age of 2 1/2 he's been a delightful companion. But I am not going back to flying via Europe if it means Y class.

An excellent read! We are going to hear about the return, aren't we? I'm headed to Colombo in November to start a trip back to SF. Flying Emirates CMB-SIN, then UA SIN-NRT-SFO ... $810 in business class, UA upgraded to F using systemwides. Can't wait!

An excellent read! We are going to hear about the return, aren't we? I'm headed to Colombo in November to start a trip back to SF. Flying Emirates CMB-SIN, then UA SIN-NRT-SFO ... $810 in business class, UA upgraded to F using systemwides. Can't wait!

Are you flying in one afternoon and flying out early the next morning?

I just hate the early morning scheduling of UA out of SIN and BKK. Of course, in F why waste the flight on the simple pursuit of sleeping?

But that EK flight, if combinable with SQ 20 to LAX, would give a 23:30 lay over in Singapore.

Great report - I've very seriously considered doing the CMB run, but my wife continually rejects it. . .

Thanks!
Greg

Thanks for the kind comment. My 4 year old is quite exceptional when it comes to travelling. The horror flights were back when he was a toddler; from the age of 2 1/2 he's been a delightful companion. But I am not going back to flying via Europe if it means Y class.

I guess that makes sense. You might want to bear in mind that Lisbon seems to be Europe's answer to CMB, at least as far as BA is concerned.

You can get some amazing discounts ex LIS on BA in J & F to many destinations, including transatlantics. There's numerous threads on the BA site that discuss this, if you want to know more.

I guess that makes sense. You might want to bear in mind that Lisbon seems to be Europe's answer to CMB, at least as far as BA is concerned.

You can get some amazing discounts ex LIS on BA in J & F to many destinations, including transatlantics. There's numerous threads on the BA site that discuss this, if you want to know more.

Thank you, I will check it out. I could start a LIS run right now, flying from USA-LIS, then LIS-LON-JNB-LON-LIS-LON-USA-LON-LIS, taking a full year to complete the itinerary. Yes, I read some messages detailing LIS turn arounds.

I'd be chagrined that I am only Gold right now on AA, not Plat and not eligible for 100% bonus. But I could make a school reunion in London in September. The major disadvantage would be not seeing the silk swathed Thai maiden anytime soon.

Great report - I've very seriously considered doing the CMB run, but my wife continually rejects it. . .

Thanks!
Greg

My wife rejected me some years ago, so now I have the freedom to do very stupid or very clever things, depending on your point of view.