Look inside America
Aug 29, 2014, 1:39 am
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Paris
Programs: FB Plat, *A Silver, Volare Exec (LOL), some hotels (Gold)
Posts: 621
Conclusions
AZ flights
Magnifica class is a brilliant experience pretty much everyone agrees it is among the best in Europe, but its ruined by a horrible soft product (call center, apps, etc. etc.).
The food and wines are great, and the FAs overall attentive I could always see them walking in the cabin every 15-20 minutes all the time Ive been awake.
Two things that could improve:
Plane cleanliness everything wears out, and I do not expect a seat that has been used 5 years to be brand new. But come on, at least do some basic cleaning even in the most remote parts of the cabin. If I can spot the dirt, so can you.
FAs behavior with top tier flyers. This is a debatable point; I dont fly to be welcome aboard by an obsequious attendant, or at least its not my top priority. But if I get on the plane and I see the FA welcome a CFP with all honors, and then the same FA comes to me and says bella lμ mr. straniero even though Im CFP as well, then I think that the level of service is not consistent and needs to improve. I may sound snobbish, and maybe I am. But this thing also has an effect on the company perception from the user base, which is what counts in the end.
DL flights
LAX-PHX and LAS-LAX were too short to have an idea. Regarding LAX-JFK, the cabin was clean; there was no service (except items on purchase) and I did not use the IFE. Overall a pleasant experience.
I think there is room for improvement in managing delays. When we were in LAS and the plane was delayed, there was no announcement with details. We were just told the plane was delayed and then for more than one hour there was no additional announcement. Knowing at least the expected delay could make the difference for example I may walk around or even leave the airport for a while instead of standing in front of the gate waiting.
Hilton properties
The brands are easily recognizable once youve seen a Hampton Inn, youve seen them all. Same applies for the Doubletrees. It is nice to see this kind of consistency. Also I love the Doubletree cookie!
I am not a lover of moquette, but the rooms generally feel very clean.
This trip got me 70% to Gold level without counting any business trips I already had or will have during 2014.
US parks
All parks are clean, wonderfully well kept, well managed and advertised. It is fantastic to see such a level of service even in less known parks such as Kodachrome. The staff takes pride in their job and that is very noticeable. By contrast, Italy has beautiful landscapes, centuries of history, monuments and church and we leave it all decaying. If we had a better attitude and started spoil the tourists instead of trying to screw them for our own little personal gain, we could regain so many points as a country. Sorry for the generalization (not really), but the difference is huge.
And what about the miles?
I spent 70k to upgrade the return flight. We earned 60k total + 8k with ticket purchase (Amex AZ platinum). Par!
Well thats it. Thanks for reading!
cheers
straniero
AZ flights
Magnifica class is a brilliant experience pretty much everyone agrees it is among the best in Europe, but its ruined by a horrible soft product (call center, apps, etc. etc.).
The food and wines are great, and the FAs overall attentive I could always see them walking in the cabin every 15-20 minutes all the time Ive been awake.
Two things that could improve:
Plane cleanliness everything wears out, and I do not expect a seat that has been used 5 years to be brand new. But come on, at least do some basic cleaning even in the most remote parts of the cabin. If I can spot the dirt, so can you.
FAs behavior with top tier flyers. This is a debatable point; I dont fly to be welcome aboard by an obsequious attendant, or at least its not my top priority. But if I get on the plane and I see the FA welcome a CFP with all honors, and then the same FA comes to me and says bella lμ mr. straniero even though Im CFP as well, then I think that the level of service is not consistent and needs to improve. I may sound snobbish, and maybe I am. But this thing also has an effect on the company perception from the user base, which is what counts in the end.
DL flights
LAX-PHX and LAS-LAX were too short to have an idea. Regarding LAX-JFK, the cabin was clean; there was no service (except items on purchase) and I did not use the IFE. Overall a pleasant experience.
I think there is room for improvement in managing delays. When we were in LAS and the plane was delayed, there was no announcement with details. We were just told the plane was delayed and then for more than one hour there was no additional announcement. Knowing at least the expected delay could make the difference for example I may walk around or even leave the airport for a while instead of standing in front of the gate waiting.
Hilton properties
The brands are easily recognizable once youve seen a Hampton Inn, youve seen them all. Same applies for the Doubletrees. It is nice to see this kind of consistency. Also I love the Doubletree cookie!
I am not a lover of moquette, but the rooms generally feel very clean.
This trip got me 70% to Gold level without counting any business trips I already had or will have during 2014.
US parks
All parks are clean, wonderfully well kept, well managed and advertised. It is fantastic to see such a level of service even in less known parks such as Kodachrome. The staff takes pride in their job and that is very noticeable. By contrast, Italy has beautiful landscapes, centuries of history, monuments and church and we leave it all decaying. If we had a better attitude and started spoil the tourists instead of trying to screw them for our own little personal gain, we could regain so many points as a country. Sorry for the generalization (not really), but the difference is huge.
And what about the miles?
I spent 70k to upgrade the return flight. We earned 60k total + 8k with ticket purchase (Amex AZ platinum). Par!
Well thats it. Thanks for reading!
cheers
straniero
I would like to go back tomorrow
Aug 29, 2014, 2:44 am
#18
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond
Posts: 7,770
Some lovely photos and a great TP. Do love some of the vistas and sand blasted rock formations / colours 
Got a couple of trips out to California in March so may take in Yosemite etc (time and weather allowing).
Got a couple of trips out to California in March so may take in Yosemite etc (time and weather allowing).
Aug 29, 2014, 4:01 am
#19
Join Date: Jul 1999
Programs: AA 1MM/Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,215
What an awesome trip, thanks for sharing.
You were able to cover so much ground, with such a great attitude and a sense of adventure, and see a lot of the country that most Americans have never seen (myself included) Interesting to see the routes covered by alternative modes of transportation, like buses.
You were able to cover so much ground, with such a great attitude and a sense of adventure, and see a lot of the country that most Americans have never seen (myself included) Interesting to see the routes covered by alternative modes of transportation, like buses.
Aug 29, 2014, 7:28 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: BTR/MSY
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,258
Great report, straniero! As much as I have traveled recently, I'm ashamed to say that I have not been to any of the places you visited, which happened to be in my country. I need to get a planning!
Aug 29, 2014, 7:37 am
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Paris
Programs: FB Plat, *A Silver, Volare Exec (LOL), some hotels (Gold)
Posts: 621
What an awesome trip, thanks for sharing.
You were able to cover so much ground, with such a great attitude and a sense of adventure, and see a lot of the country that most Americans have never seen (myself included) Interesting to see the routes covered by alternative modes of transportation, like buses.
You were able to cover so much ground, with such a great attitude and a sense of adventure, and see a lot of the country that most Americans have never seen (myself included) Interesting to see the routes covered by alternative modes of transportation, like buses.
The gf has been looking at my back for around 2 months while I sat every evening in front of the PC to make it the way I wanted. I am used to tent and sleeping bag, but when one has so much to visit and so little time, things must not go wrong.I think it's a common problem - I'm Italian and there are still regions in my country that I haven't visited.
Aug 29, 2014, 1:10 pm
#30
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: UK somewhere North of London
Programs: DL Skymiles, HiltonH, AA Advantage
Posts: 107
What great pics Straniero. We covered some of the places you visited in June but we stayed a few days each at Zion, going from LAS, Bryce, Kodachrome Valley, the North Rim and Grand Staircase (Wire Pass, Buckskin Gulch). We did manage to walk down North Kabab Trail from North Rim. Coming back up was a trek!
My pics aren't half as good as yours and I should have taken a haze filter and a telephoto. Our trip took 12 days and we will probably go back as Utah is awesome.
America has such a diverse geography, there's no need for Americans to go abroad!
Our National Park pass doesn't expire until June - so here's hoping.
My pics aren't half as good as yours and I should have taken a haze filter and a telephoto. Our trip took 12 days and we will probably go back as Utah is awesome.
America has such a diverse geography, there's no need for Americans to go abroad!
Our National Park pass doesn't expire until June - so here's hoping.