Gnopps

Pre-trip


This is a looot of flying. No elite upgrades for me and hardly any time to sleep. But at least, a lot of segments!

Since moving to the same country as my girlfriend (wife since September ) I do a lot less flying. However, I still like it (yes, even in economy class) and can't get enough of airports and airlines. So so far I've maintained my gold status with Czech Airlines/SkyTeam. This requires either 50000 miles or 30 segments per year, of which I prefer the latter. Which often also is a lot cheaper.

Back in the spring I managed to find a good deal with Delta. A friend of mine wanted to join (strangely not a Flyertalker) and I was more than happy to have the company. The fare was DUS-MIA and was expanded with a few segments, unfortunately the booking site needed to book it did not allow more than 12 segments, not the usual 16 I try to get on my tickets. A month later the trip was completed with a domestic trip to LAS and back with 8 segments and also connecting flights HEL-DUS. Thus I had 23 segments in total over 6 days.

For our honeymoon my wife and I flew Czech Airlines and got 4 segments. Still, I'd need another 6 to make sure I could retain gold. Not knowing if there would be any irr ops making me miss any flights I though it'd be best to book a bit more than needed to be on the safe side. Thus I booked another trip HEL-DEN and back over the weekend. In total 15 flights (of which 10 were on Skyteam) in 3 days.

Trivia
In total 6 airlines (Delta, Air France, Air Baltic, Air Berlin, SN Brussels Airlines, American Airlines)

36760 BIS-miles

38 segments spread out over 11 days of flying (with a 8 day break in between :-) ).

Days off work needed: 5

To answer a common question straight away: No, I did not have any checked in luggage :-).

At most I had 6 segments (BUF-MIA 31OCT) in one day though I did 9 segments DEN-HEL without stopping on 19-20OCT

Back to back Miami-Las Vegas-Buffalo in one day with less than 2h in Las Vegas


Itineraries (each colour representing a separate ticket)


Trip 1
BT 330 17OCT 5 HELRIX 1635 1745 -AT42
BT 139 17OCT 5 RIXCPH 1825 1855 -B735
SN2268 18OCT 6 CPHBRU 0640 0820 -B737
DL 125 18OCT 6 BRUATL 1000 1340 -B763
DL 131 18OCT 6 ATLSLC 1640 1850 -B764
DL1272 18OCT 6 SLCDEN 1955 2117 -MD90
DL3901 19OCT 7 DENSLC 0615 0745 -CRJ9
DL1173 19OCT 7 SLCLAX 0825 0925 -MD90
DL7570 19OCT 7 LAXSBA 1130 1219 -S340 (operated by AA)
DL3886 19OCT 7 SBASLC 1255 1554 -CRJ
DL4134 19OCT 7 SLCIAH 1645 2045 -CRJ9
DL8313 19OCT 7 IAHCDG 2155 1425+1 -A330 (operated by AF)
DL8428 20OCT 1 CDGCPH 1525 1720 -A320 (operated by AF)
BT 140 20OCT 1 CPHRIX 2035 2255 -B733
BT 327 20OCT 1 RIXHEL 2320 0030+1 -F50


Trip 2
AB8921 29OCT 3 HELDUS 2115 2245 -A320
DL8433 30OCT 4 DUSCDG 1050 1205 -A320 (operated by AF)
DL8504 30OCT 4 CDGATL 1335 1830 -A340 (operated by AF)
DL5956 30OCT 4 ATLIND 2030 2205 -E170
DL6668 31OCT 5 INDCVG 0700 0749 -CRJ7
DL5485 31OCT 5 CVGLEX 0855 0939 -CRJ2
DL5447 31OCT 5 LEXCVG 1140 1224 -CRJ2
DL6244 31OCT 5 CVGTYS 1310 1415 -ERJ
DL5262 31OCT 5 TYSATL 1610 1708 -CRJ7
DL1001 31OCT 5 ATLMIA 1922 2112 -B757
DL 982 01NOV 6 MIAATL 0600 0754 -B757
DL 104 01NOV 6 ATLLAS 0830 0956 -B767
DL 622 01NOV 6 LASJFK 1144 2000 -B757
DL6815 01NOV 6 JFKBUF 2100 2248 -CRJ
DL6827 02NOV 7 BUFJFK 0600 0740 -CRJ
DL6533 02NOV 7 JFKBWI 0905 1030 -CRJ7
DL 733 02NOV 7 BWIATL 1125 1321 -B757
DL 995 02NOV 7 ATLMIA 1439 1633 -B757
DL 988 03NOV 1 MIAATL 1111 1305 -B757
DL 028 03NOV 1 ATLCDG 1540 0615+1 -B763
DL8432 04NOV 2 CDGDUS 0715 0830 -A320 (operated by AF)
AB6442 04NOV 2 DUSTXL 1200 1310 -A320
AB8308 04NOV 2 TXLHEL 1425 1720 -B737


Both trip in laymen terms
Helsinki-Riga-Copenhagen
Copenhagen-Brussels-Atlanta-Salt Lake City-Denver
Denver-Salt Lake City-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara-Salt Lake City-Houston-Paris
Paris-Copenhagen-Riga-Helsinki
Helsinki-Dusseldorf-Paris-Atlanta-Indianapolis
Indinapolis-Cincinatti-Lexington-Cincinatti-Knoxville-Atlanta-Miami
Miami-Atlanta-Las Vegas-New York-Buffalo
Buffalo-New York-Baltimore-Atlanta-Miami
Miami-Atlanta-Paris
Paris-Dusseldorf-Berlin-Helsinki


The tickets didn't look like this in the beginning. On average I'd say I had one or two schedule changes per week starting about 5 months prior to travel... For example initially I was flying HEL-PRG-ATL-IND instead of via CDG, but suddenly that connection became too short. Enough about that, lets get to the actual flying! Read on

Gnopps

Trip 1

BT 330 17OCT 5 HELRIX 1635 1745 -AT42

Leaving work at 1500 I took a shuttle to the airport and was soon checked in using the self service machine. It is used for multiple airlines but each one has its own native system. My general preference is window for short haul and aisle for long haul and thus I selected windows in the front row both to Riga and to Copenhagen.

This first flight was operated by an ATR-42 leased from DAT (Danish Air Transport). It was funny to hear the clear Scandinavian accent on the pre-recorded safety instructions flying an airline that was not Scandinavian at all. Getting started on this trip with a turbo-prop felt excellent and passing through the clouds in my bulkhead seat life was good.




BT 139 17OCT 5 RIXCPH 1825 1855 -B737

This was my first time in Riga and it was a small and easy airport to navigate through. The 25 minute minimum connection time (MCT) is easily doable. It had the standard selection of tax free but also more exclusive shops that looked as uninteresting as can be. At the time I had a silver card with Star Alliance so no lounge access for me. Instead I waited and took a look at my boarding pass with 28D on it. 28D??? No, that couldn't be possible, I had clearly selected 4A for this B737. Gah, it was stupid machine that tricked me. As boarding started on this pretty full flight I waited until last to board the plane and found a window with the middle free at the row just before the emergency exit. Though limited recline I'd rather sit there than cramped in the back. Air Baltic belonging to the SAS-group offers nothing for free onboard. So I just read (of course I travelled loaded with books) for the duration. Landing in Copenhagen was nice, this used to be my home airport before I moved to Helsinki. Usually I would take the train to Sweden and sleep at my family's house there, but as my flight the next morning was so early I didn't feel it was justifiable to get home for just late evening to early morning only. Thus I had decided to sleep in the airport. I went to get a bite to eat (or rather, something really big so I would sleep better) and a drink in the Diners lounge. Then it was time so search for a good place to lay down. The resting-chairs were good candidates but soon I found leather sofas located in an almost deserted pier. After the last flight from this pier left around 23 I brushed my teeth and stretched out. Of course I came well prepared with ear plugs, an inflatable pillow and an eye mask (I never take a long flight without those 3 things). The couch was very very comfortable and except for waking up shortly from some cleaning noises I slept like a king. At 05 my alarm clock rang.




SN2268 18OCT 6 CPHBRU 0640 0820 -B737

The transfer desk wouldn't let me check in so I had to go landside and check in there. As the flight was not very full there was no line at check in and I was soon through security control. Copenhagen used to be an almost perfect airport. Unfortunately they have made some changes making it worse. Among these are that you end up in the middle of the tax free shop when you exit security. Furthermore, CPH has stopped displaying the gate information until about an hour (or less) before the flight. These two things makes the passenger wander around and does not fit someone like me who'd like to just sit down at the gate and wait (Diners lounge not open that early in the morning). I took a look if there were any pocket books to buy but was put off by the prices: about €16 also for old pocket books. At last I got to the gate and had an uneventful flight to Brussels. I noticed everyone were seated in row 22 and back so I took the emergency window. The only passengers in front of me were the two in the premium cabin. SN also charges for everything aboard the plane and I had a decent sandwich to eat.


DL 125 18OCT 6 BRUATL 1000 1340 -B763

In Brussels I had to transfer terminals which was relatively easy though a long walk was required, as was a new security check. Once at the gate I inquired if there were any free 2-seaters available. I had the emergency exit pre-booked but would prefer to have the seat next to me free. Unfortunately there were not but my boarding pass was still exchanged as I had to answer a few security questions and get a proper Delta boarding-pass. After this I headed for the lounge. Surprisingly Delta uses the Brtish Airways-lounge in Brussels! This was a very nice lounge with a good selection of breakfast offerings, as well as ample seating and computers.
Soon it was time to board and I was happy to find that my seat neighbour was a small built woman. Unfortunately though I couldn't talk to her as she had her headphones on from start until landing. The one thing I didn't like about her was the she smelled heavily from perfume. In my opinion you shouldn't really put on strong perfume for any flight as some passengers may be very sensitive to strong smells.
I could see a lot of passengers crossing aisles in front of the people in the bulk-heads, a flight attendant also told a passenger to do so. What was funny though was that later another flight attendant reprimanded a passenger that was crossing the bulkhead!
With DL you get a bottle of wine free with your dinner but any other alcohol will cost you. Of course I wanted a drink with my peanuts so had a whiskey drink only to remember I'm not too fond of it. Oh well. Lunch wasn't much to write home about; salad, main course, a cookie and bread. Way too little.. The flight attendants did frequent drink rounds and before landing a well tasting but small pizza-slize was served. Immigration wasn't very difficult. As usual I was honest: Purpose - miles, money - a little, stay - Denver..




DL 131 18OCT 6 ATLSLC 1640 1850 -B764

Before the flight I went to the lounge and discovered they had become stricter. A few years ago they would mostly have no clue what a Czech Airlines OK Plus card was and simply wave me through. However as I learned now (and my latter lounge visits) all lounge attendants had been well educated and required the BP of my same-day international flight. Luckily I was able to produce this and was allowed in.
On the flight I had the exit row and a wonderful flight attendant seated opposite of me. She kept on cracking jokes in a very relaxed manner to the passengers while at the same time being helpful. Flying in the USA is overall more relaxed than in Europe. This has both good and bad points; while I like a relaxed attitude I sometimes do appreciate whatever glamour is still left in flying. One funny episode on this flight was that a passenger went to the lavatory while the seatbelt sign was still on. The FA advised the pax about this and who asked if he has to sit down. The FA reply to this was that she can not tell any passenger to do anything. Strange I think, I'd expect the passengers to have to obey every word from the FA while on the plane... As soon as the seatbelt light went off I slept until it was time to land, excellent!




DL1272 18OCT 6 SLCDEN 1955 2117 -MD90

This flight was just wat a tired traveller needed: few passengers, dimmed lights, rows to stretch out on. I wasn't the only one to lay comfortably the whole flight.. I was at the hotel within an hour and got about 5 hours of sleep.


DL3901 19OCT 7 DENSLC 0615 0745 -CRJ9

This was going to be a long day; I had 9 flights and no bed access ahead of me. Check-in in was a hassle; as I was continuing on an AA-operated flight the machine insisted I needed a paper ticket. I for sure had an eticket only and the problem was left unresolved. I was checked in with a BP saying I needed a paper ticket for the flight out of Los Angeles.
There is something special about taking an early morning flight when you aren't too tired. I love walking the tarmac (though we had a jetbridge this time) to your awaiting plane and then taking off in the dark. This was the first time I saw first class on a CRJ and the seats looked quite ok. Still I was happy on my silent row 4.


DL1173 19OCT 7 SLCLAX 0825 0925 -MD90

It is seldom that I remember a pilot or that they stand out in any way. This pilot though was very talkative, made small jokes and gave the passengers praise for getting up so early and making it through the airport. He certainly did manage to make me feel better! I sat by the emergency exit and slept the whole way to LAX.


DL7570 19OCT 7 LAXSBA 1130 1219 -S340 (operated by AA)

In LAX I went to the lounge and was happily granted access (this time I was actually allowed). I inquired about the paper ticket thing and after a lot and lot of typing (this seemed to be a repeating issue) I received a paper ticket coupon for this flight. It wasn't the first time in this lounge for me and I always found the staff friendly.
I had expected an inter-terminal hassle to get to the AA-terminal but was impressed to find an inter-terminal bus straight from the DL-terminal to the small American Eagle terminal. Well done! Once onboard this plane the flight was pretty short and not bumpy enough (I usually do enjoy actually feeling that you are flying), it was fun flying a plane from my native country Sweden as well.




DL3886 19OCT 7 SBASLC 1255 1554 -CRJ

Santa Barbara airport was a really cute and small airport. The building looks different and southern with a rooftop café. It really impressed me in managing to be so charming, not at all like the rest of the wall-to-wall carpet airports in USA. With my hand luggage only I was outside the airport within 30 seconds of deplaning, wow! Here I walked around a bit, enjoying the airport and sun outside.
Though it was a bit a hard to find the correct entrance for my gate I followed some other people and was soon through the friendly security and ID-check. Unfortunately my seat neighbour on this flight turned out to be much less friendly. He did not answer my greeting, sighed heavily when he had to get up to let me in to my seat and shoved away my jacket sleeve that was touching his elbow. I decided to use reverse tactics on him and did my best to be friendly. My offer of using my tray (his was covered by his laptop) for his drink was rejected with a grunt. SLC approaches can often be a bit bumpy but this time not so unfortunately..




DL4134 19OCT 7 SLCIAH 1645 2045 -CRJ9

As always I was hoping for a bump voucher but although this (like many of my flights) was fully booked they did not need any volunteers.. I only had an 1h 10m connection time in Houston and a missed connection there would mean a forced overnight, which in turn would mean arrival at work one day later. Thus, this was the only connection on my trip that I actually wanted to make. Pushback for our flight was late due to maintenance, so I started worrying a bit. Soon we were on our way though and I had a good exit row window seat. Sometimes the exit door would creak loudly during flight, something I haven't heard much before. Other thing unusual was that for once I was actually too warm in the exit row! Normally I have a blanket over my legs in the window exit but on this flight that would have been much too much. Maybe it was because of this, maybe it was because of the big ice cream I had in SLC before departing, or maybe it was because of all the flying, but on this flight I got really restless legs. I had to go up and walk around a bit in the plane. Luckily the flight went fast and we landed in IAH 10 minutes early!


DL8313 19OCT 7 IAHCDG 2155 1425+1 -A330 (operated by AF)

Because I had been sitting so much I usually try to walk only when transferring on my segment runs (ie. no standing in walkways, escalators, using stairs instead of elevators, etc). Since we were early I decided to walk from the DL to the AF terminal in IAH. It was a pretty long walk taking 10-15 minutes and I arrived at an deserted AF check-in (DL had been unable to check me in beyond IAH). Luckily there was still an agent there who informed that although check-in closed 5 minutes ago she would gladly check me in. I had pre-booked 20D which offers a little more leg room but now asked for a 2-seater by the window for myself. As the flight was very empty (only 100 passengers) this was no problem. Unfortunately there was no time to visit the lounge and at this time everything in the terminal seemed closed.
Boarding was called and was a quick affair. I had the pleasure of flying with a really drunk man (you know the signs, walking unsteadily, breathing through his nose, sweating, and, above it all, smelling alcohol :-) ). I settled in my seat and gazed out at the impressive wing. Nothing can beat flying a wide-body. I really enjoyed eating good (yes, it was good) airplane food with a delicious dessert. The plane was equipped with AF's new AVOD, which is a big improvement from the old one where you would have to wait 15 minutes before you could see your movie. Still, the screens are pretty bad though. As soon as I had eaten it was shut-eye time and I didn't wake until lights were turned on for breakfast.




DL8428 20OCT 1 CDGCPH 1525 1720 -A320 (operated by AF)

Now this was a connection I really wanted to miss. As the following Air Baltic flights wouldn't earn me many miles I was hoping to instead get home early. Armed with a printout of available connections should I miss this flight I started to make my way through the dump that is Paris Charles De Gaulle. Normally, I schedule a layover time of 90 minutes minimum here, as previous experience has shown you usually need a minor miracle to succeed with anything shorter. There are usually long lines and chaos in both immigration and security, not to mention the ever delightful inter-terminal run. This time though (must be because we were arriving in the afternoon) there was absolutely no line at immigration. This combined with my flight from Houston arriving early and having a gate for once (no Tour de France in a bus around the airport) meant I stood a very good chance of making my connection! I tried walking as slowly as I could. Arriving at the security there was no chaos, nor queue. Buhu. I actually arrived at the gate with a good 45 minutes to spare, even before the gate agents were there! I couldn't fake missing this connection with a clean conscious. Who would have imagined this happening in CDG? The one time I actually wanted to miss my connection?
Time for plan B. I knew this flight was pretty full and I'd gladly accept a bump voucher in exchange for getting home early. Having asked the gate agent (am I entitled to ask that they understand English without having to speak . word . by . word ?) I learnt that there might indeed be a need for volunteers. The nervous wait began. A lot of passengers boarded, and boarded, and boarded. If not VDB surely I could hope for an op-up as an Elite Plus member? In the end neither happened though. I had to settle in my seat and take the long way home (or shall I say, longer :-) ).
This was the first time for me flying Air France short haul in two years and I was surprised to find that no food was served anymore! My impression of AF being a full service carrier had still remained and as a travel agent I happily book customers on them. But all we got was a drink service and nuts. Buhu. Oh well, it is pretty much the same I received on the same route and airline flying business last time.




BT 140 20OCT 1 CPHRIX 2035 2255 -B733

I was hoping not having to go landside (I had not been checked in on these flights yet) and proceeded to the transfer desk for them to check me in but no one was there. There was a machine there though which neglected to find my reservation. Thus I was left with going out and to the luckily empty check in area. With boarding passes in my hand I went through security and to the Diners-lounge. They had a massage chair on display and I can happily say I will not invest in any of those in the future.
Our Boeing 737 featured Recaro-seats. Only thing good about them is that they usually look modern. I can honestly say I try to avoid flying planes with those seats installed (AY seems to love them). It was impossible for me (normal height and built) to even try to cross my legs. I hate having the neck of the passenger in front of my within smelling distance. Talking about smelling, the whole plane had a scent of fish.




BT 327 20OCT 1 RIXHEL 2320 0030+1 -F50

I didn't know what to make of this 25 minute connection. As we landed early it was no problem. The Fokker 50 to Helsinki was really full but I managed to find two blocked seats at the very front. There I dozed off until a fun, bumpy descent to Helsinki started. I ran off the plane and just managed to catch a bus taking off. The driver cursed as I entered ("perkele") as the bus would have been empty hadn't it been for me, now he had to do another run to the city. He turned out to be very nice though and we talked the whole way to Helsinki (me being very impressed with my Finnish-knowledge ;-) ).




Keep reading for the next USA-trip with vouchers and lost seating!

Gnopps

Trip 2

This trip would be exciting. I was to fly with my brother's friend. Although we knew each other I had no idea how we would manage 6 days sitting next to each other. Just hope for the best and we both agreed it would be very easy to get irritated at each other especially towards the end flights.. Still, flying with someone else is always a lot more fun than flying alone. But I was worried that I would have too many "MR-habits" like running back and forth in the airports. When flying I often get so excited that I find it hard to sit still and thus don't calm in the lounge for long. Well, off now for the next part of this report!


AB8921 29OCT 3 HELDUS 2115 2245 -A320

This would be the first time flying Air Berlin. My impression of them was very good; they offered free on board service, are bookable through the main booking channels and their fares are both low and from a TA's point of view well constructed. I worked until 19 and then took the bus to the airport. This time of the evening the airport was quiet and as I had already checked in online I was quickly at the gate. Air Berlin's web check in is pretty good, but I find it annoying that you can not change your seat online after you have completed your check in. Arriving at the gate I found that my flight was listed as "Last Call". No time for me to change money but instead I hurried to the counter. The time wasn't even 2040, i.e. more than 25 minutes to departure and last call already? As I boarded I was welcomed with a candy & plenty of newspapers and found the plane pretty full already. I had the bulk-head window seat and sat there watching more stressed people board for another 20 minutes. Very poor service to put last carl this early I think.
Talking about poor service; guess what poor seats were installed on this plane? That's right, my favourite hateseat named Recaro. We had a bumpy take off. And the bumps just continued and continued. With a headwind of 200 km/h and groundspeed of 650 km/h the flight attendants were unable to start the service. After an hour of flying things started to become smoother and the flight attendants started the service without carts, by bringing everything straight from the galley. Landing was smooth and after a bit of hassle (Dusseldorf airport sports several different exits on different levels to landside) I managed to find my friend who had just arrived from CPH. We went off to our hotel and had a well tasting beer.




DL8433 30OCT 4 DUSCDG 1050 1205 -A320 (operated by AF)

As many of you know, selecting seats on AF operated DL-marketed flights can be a real hassle. In this case, our reservation was made in Amadeus and though DL, AF and the travel agency where I bought the trip all had done what they could to assign seats, we had pending assignments only. Seeing that the flight Paris-Atlanta was pretty full I tried to check in online as soon as it was possible to get us any decent seats. Online check-in did not work for us :-( Instead we set out to be at the airport in good time to secure seat assignments there. We walked and took a short train ride to the airport which looks very fresh and clean. As there were some lines for the AF check-in we tried the machine which worked. However, for seat selection it gave us no choices: Paris-Atlanta we were given a middle seat each on separate rows in the back of the plane. Awful... I had done everything I could to avoid this, wouldn't even my Skyteam status help avoid these things?
We proceeded to the business check-in desk and ask the agent if he could help us but there were no other seats available. As we went away to get something to eat I got an idea... Surely it was impossible to get any seat assignments worse than the ones we currently had, and as the plane was full we could not change. So we went back to the check-in desk and asked that our check-in CDG-ATL was removed so that we were only checked in to CDG! This way, perhaps some other passengers would get our seats and if no other seats were available they would have to upgrade or IDB us! As we already had the worst seats possible, what could go wrong with this plan? The check-in agent was very reluctant to do this but eventually agreed and we were given a new BP to CDG only.
We went to the lounge which as pretty useless, the computers didn't work and only juice & coffee were on offer. Once onboard the plane we were given only a cracker to eat, what has happened Air France? Of course no jetway upon arrival but instead a minor sightseeing tour of CDG, followed by a bus transfer to our terminal. Already getting to our terminal was difficult, there was an immigration check before the bus transfer and they hardly wanted to let us through without a BP for our next flight.




DL8504 30OCT 4 CDGATL 1335 1830 -A340 (operated by AF)

Arriving at the correct terminal we proceeded to the security check (why is this needed? We were airside the whole time...). After having waited in line about 20 minutes it was our turn and we unpacked our laptops, put our belts in the machine etc. As we were about to walk through we were asked for our boarding passes. We told them we had none as we had only received a BP this far and would receive the next at the gate. We showed them the printouts of our itineraries (the one you get from the AF check-in machine). The agent argued with his supervisor for quite some time about whether we could go through or not. I dared not look back at the mob standing in a too hot room with too little air behind us... I could hear sighing as we stalled the line for several minutes. Eventually the verdict came: we were not allowed through but would have to go out again. So we quickly gathered our belongings, ran out, down, left and up to the check-in area. No free counters available so we ran on to the next but same situation there. Instead we went to the ticketing office were a kind lady helped us and after a lot of typing managed to find our reservation. This only to tell us that no, she can not check us in there... Gah. We ran on and came to the business class counters. We were not allowed to enter without showing the gold card and reservations (our stressed looks not helping) to an agent, who then pointed us to the right. We ran to the check in desk there only to be stopped and pointed to another desk 3 meters behind us; the security questions. On to that desk and we started answering the usual questions "Did you pack you bag yourself? Etc". With me completed and my friend answering the questions I noticed a Delta-sign above the desk.. No, this was not the Air France check-in! I grabbed my friend and we ran across the area to the AF-side, the agent at the entrance had pointed us in the wrong direction Once at the AF desks we were told to go back 3 meters to their security questions, "Did you pack your bag yourself?". With this completed we hurried back to the correct check-in. Time was now 1305, 30 minutes to departure.
The check-in agent looked at our flight and after several "No no no, flight closed" and help from colleagues, two boarding passes were produced. The very kind agent then escorted us to the security check where we arrived at 1315. The lines there were still humongous though. There was one line for people in no hurry, another for those with a little hurry and a third for those with extreme hurry. Our flight wasn't even listed at any of those lines anymore. Even the shortest still looked to have a 20 minute wait. Then there was the first class line which was empty... Our check-in agent started speaking to the guards in the first class line about letting us through, showing my gold card and short time before departure. Though I speak no French I did understand their "no, no, no"-answer. After more convincing by our agent they finally accepted us. We went through quickly and made sure to thank the security staff properly, but they just gave a big sigh and disappointed look back. Onwards we ran and found that there were still about 50 people in line to board when we arrived at the gate. We made it! Our new boarding passes had different seats than before, but still in economy and still in the back in separate rows. By now we were just glad to be on the plane though. As we boarded we asked about any other seats, but the agent showed me the seatmap: all seats taken. :-( My friend had been assigned an aisle seat a few rows in front of me, where I had a middle seat. We went onboard and I found the aisle seat next to me unoccupied - yippie! The nervous wait began..
When boarding seemed to be completed, no one still had come to sit there. Dared I hope? An announcement came in the loudspeakers that we would wait for a few connecting passengers before closing the doors.. Darn. We waited and waited, me biting my nails hoping. More passengers boarded, walked towards my free seat and ... passed! As if through a miracle, the magic announcement came: "Boarding completed"! One seat free and it was the one next to me! Whohoo! In the end, the plan had worked - we both were out of our middle seats and on the plane :-)
This aircraft also had Air France's new AVOD-system, which is a definite improvement over their last version. However, the screens had not been replaced so viewing was still a bit on the hard side. The food served was incredible, the best I've had in economy for years. Well done! Especially the dessert was heavenly, some kind of fig pannacotta. Asking the FA for seconds I was given one at the end of service, thank you! I like that the Air France flight attendants tell passengers to raise their seat backs during meal service, this makes it much more pleasant (and possible) to eat. Another good thing about flying Air France (especially compared to Delta) is that their blankets are of much better quality. From the Delta blankets you get shock after shock and their static makes them cling to you, while the AF blankets behave like a blanket should. Dinner served later was ok but not as magnificent as our lunch. Overall I find AF a good carrier across the Atlantic, though the English-skills can be a bit lacking at times.




DL5956 30OCT 4 ATLIND 2030 2205 -E170

Immigration in Atlanta was fairly quick and hassle free as it has been also the last times I have been there. We needed to check in again and did so using the machine located at the transfer desk (why only - 1 - working machine?). The machine told us our flight might be overbooked and so we made sure to hurry to the gate, as would gladly take an IDB-voucher. They needed 2 seats and the friendly gate agent took us right away, even before boarding had started. He then gave our seats to two crying ladies and told them to thank us for getting home tonight. I don't understand why it was so hard to find volunteers when the next flight departed only 1 hour later? Anyway we were given $400 each and seats in first class on the next departure.
We went to the lounge and had a a drink, feeling very good. Here we were travelling together, having scored both vouchers and upgrade. Life was good (though tired). Soon it was time to head off for our flight. Once onboard we had another drink and then both dozed off for the remainder of the flight. It wasn't nice having to wake up for deboarding, so we hurried to our hotel..




DL6668 31OCT 5 INDCVG 0700 0749 -CRJ7

We started the routine that would become our mantra for the this trip: Get up, brush teeth & pack, shuttle to airport, security, wait at gate. I was surprised at how many people were at the airport flying this early. Our flight was very short and left us no time to sleep.




DL5485 31OCT 5 CVGLEX 0855 0939 -CRJ2

It had been a while since my last visit to Cincinnati and the airport was still easy to get through. This flight was airborne for only 19 minutes, but the flight attendant still managed to make it an experience. With a relaxed attitude and using "own words" for the safety briefing, she made this flight memorable.


DL5447 31OCT 5 LEXCVG 1140 1224 -CRJ2

We needed to check in again here and a friendly gate agent printed our boarding passes, we got the usual comment about the route we were flying... :-) Many of the staff were dressed up in funyn costumes this day, something I doubt you'll see from a network carrier in Europe. Of course it was an equally short hop back, still none of the sought after sleep.


DL6244 31OCT 5 CVGTYS 1310 1415 -ERJ

It was nice flying an Embraer as a change to the Canadair jets. The Embraer has noticeably better placed windows, you don't have to sit as uncomfortably to look out of the plane. On the downside this aircraft could use some maintenance, my seat cushion kept on gliding.. I had had an ice-cream while waiting in Cincinnati and the sugar made it hard to sit still, should have learnt from my last trip.




DL5262 31OCT 5 TYSATL 1610 1708 -CRJ7

As soon as we arrived in Knoxville I saw the earlier flight to Atlanta boarding at the next gate. While DL supposedly does not allow you to waitlist for an earlier flight they gate agent was nice and we could continue straight on to Atlanta with this earlier flight. Time spent on the ground in Knoxville: less than 5 minutes, is this some kind of record?


DL1001 31OCT 5 ATLMIA 1922 2112 -B757

We did try to stand by for the earlier flight to Miami as well, but the gate agent refused. Ok, not much to do. Instead we popped over to the Continental lounge and some drinks there. I do prefer the Continental lounges over the Delta ones. Especially since they have free wifi. Come on Delta, you have your most frequent flyers who even pay to get access to the lounge and then they have to pay again for internet? Poor service.
Our aircraft to Miami was decorated in full, as were the flight attendants. One of them was retiring and there were many celebrations for him. The usual security briefing video was shown; the new one Delta produced not long ago. It is ok but I really dislike the girl presenting it. Why oh why did they have to go with someone looking so unnatural as she does? It looks like she has had tons of plastic surgery. At least on this flight we got some sleep; 10 minutes :-)




DL 982 01NOV 6 MIAATL 0600 0754 -B757

Again a very short night and it was time to start flying again. We had prebooked the bulkhead seats since long time, however once we got on the plane we discovered that our row (19) did not exist. Back to the gate where we were given new seats separate from each other. Turns out the seatmap at the gate did not match the actual configuration. Oh well, it was a very full flight so not much to do. Many more people had problems with their seat assignments so in the end a desperate flight attendant called out to the passengers to "please take any open seat". Our departure time came and went due to the boarding problems, what would happen to our 36 minute connection in Atlanta?
I wanted to watch the entertainment on the overhead screens but the picture was far too green plus my earplug jack didn't work. After landing we were actually in time but there was no one to open our gate for 10 minutes. Felt really frustrating just sitting at the gate with a short connection, usually this happens at CDG, not here..? We had arrived at the E-terminal and had our connection at A, so we had a long run ahead of us..


DL 104 01NOV 6 ATLLAS 0830 0956 -B767

I always found Atlanta to be a very easy airport, especially considering the size of it. Some things could be better, for example there are very few overview maps (say, if you are looking for the nearest lounge). Nowever now we only saw a lot of the underground sprinting from one side to the other but we did manage to do it time. Incredible that one can make a delayed 36 minute connection at the world's busiest airport, well done Atlanta!
We were lucky on this flight, as on almost all flights we had pre-assigned bulkhead (or exit row) and no one came to sit between us. Excellent to be able to spread out a little on this 4 hour flight. I had a sandwich to eat from the buy on board menu and it was alright but nothing special, still better I think than the minimal snack box they served last year. As usual I ordered a Ginger Ale but they were out of stock. As I later found out Delta had removed these from their offering (just like they did with the excellent Amarula liqueur).
It was fun seeing the Las Vegas buildings from the air and from the airport, pretty amazing to have a city like this in the middle of the desert. Though I have been in Las Vegas before (in the city, not the airport I ) we wished we would have stayed here a night now.


DL 622 01NOV 6 LASJFK 1144 2000 -B757

We had a little to eat and then sat down to watch a movie at the airport. To be on the safe side I checked our reservations online to see that we still had the exit row that we had pre-booked. Unlike earlier in the morning, these had now been changed. It turns out there had been an aircraft change again. And for some reason Delta had split our reservation. My friend and I were now on different pnrs (which means we could not change his seats anymore as he didn't have access to preferred seating without my gold card). What was worse, our seats had been changed! We had been given an aisle and middle on separate rows in the back. Argh, why does this happen to us? As soon as the gate opened we went there to inquiry about this. They could see no explanation as to why the reservation was split. They did however manage to reseat us together at the forward exit row (which does not recline), still at least this was something. We inquired if any row was available so we could have the middle seat free, but none were. Though after having boarded the middle seat (which had a broken armrest) remained free. Again the nervous wait began. And again we were lucky!! Though no recline, at least we had an exit row and the middle seat free for this 5 hour flight. We had two drinks each to sleep and I dozed off while listening to music for an hour. We arrived pretty early at JFK and got an announcement not to forget that what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. Our flight didn't arrive at a gate but instead we got one of the mobile gates to pick us up. It took an eternity to get everybody on it, my friend and I stayed until last hoping to be less squeezed that way. We were wrong though and almost fell over a couple of times when the gate moved. Can this really be legal? We had no (literally no) place to hold on to when the gate was moving, there must have been more of us in it than it was designed for. Very poorly done by DL (or JFK?). From touchdown until I had my feet on firm terminal ground took 60 uncomfortable minutes.




DL6815 01NOV 6 JFKBUF 2100 2248 -CRJ

We grabbed some salads to eat on the plane and headed for the gate. Boarding began shortly thereafter and was a complete chaos. There were several flights boarding at the same gate and passengers were directed in the wrong directions. In the tunnel on the tarmac we met 20 people walking in the opposite direction after having been shown to the wrong flight. Gate agents came and screamed at us and collected another 30 passengers to another plane. I ate very quickly and then slept until arriving in cold Buffalo, luckily the hotel shuttle arrived pretty fast.


DL6827 02NOV 7 BUFJFK 0600 0740 -CRJ

Same morning routine and back to JFK. We got some well needed breakfast and then continued to the next gate, a flight like every other..


DL6533 02NOV 7 JFKBWI 0905 1030 -CRJ7

Originally I had wanted to go to DCA as that airport seemed more exciting but BWI was cheaper. At least it was a new one for me. The Canadair jet series -700 and -900 are definitely an improvement over the -200 and -100 but still not very comfortable, I prefer to fly the Embraer equivalent.




DL 733 02NOV 7 BWIATL 1125 1321 -B757

In Baltimore we had a bit to eat, what is the reason for making the burgers as big as they are in Wendy's? We got our food from a more normally sized outlet instead. It felt really good flying a mainline flight again, getting a bit of variety surely does makes the travel more interesting. For once the exit row was actually to warm, usually it is almost freezing there with me sitting with blanket covered legs. Don't know what was different on this aircraft, did they have more padding perhaps?


DL 995 02NOV 7 ATLMIA 1439 1633 -B757

This flight was funny as the inflight map kept showing an altitude of 0m, got me thinking about that South American B757 that crashed a few years ago when the gauge was taped over. We landed safely though and had a fun evening in Miami.




DL 988 03NOV 1 MIAATL 1111 1305 -B757

Time to start our home journey. Since we were continuing on separate tickets from Düsseldorf we were a bit worried about our short connection in Paris. It had not been bought this way but we ended up so due to schedule changes. I could still catch my connection from Düsseldorf even with a misconnect in Paris but my friend would be out of luck, so he was the one more nervous. It did not help by me reminding how difficult an airport Paris was or by seeing from Flightstats that our transatlantic flight had been around 30 minutes late the last two weeks.. We were hoping the transatlantic flight was overbooked, that way we might be able to negotiate a new itinerary all the way to our final destinations. In the small lounge in Miami (they had removed the breakfast available there not long ago) the friendly attendant told us that our connecting flight was "heavily overbooked". We went out to eat a bit and started hoping for the best, if no denied boarding perhaps an upgrade? The flight to Atlanta went fine but again no Ginger Ale, buhu.




DL 028 03NOV 1 ATLCDG 1540 0615+1 -B763

We had prebooked the bulkhead seats and also received those on our boarding passes. Once at the gate we inquired about overbooking and they told this was the case, but they had now switched to an higher capacity aircraft so no need anymore. They did however have our names on a list and took our boarding passes. Great! An upgrade perhaps? Nope. Because of the aircraft change we were given new seats: row 19AB. Nothing else available, at least we should be glad to be seated together (which indeed some people weren't anymore). I went online and saw that our row was the one just before the exit row = normal legroom and almost no recline for 8 hours . Gah. Not much to do but hurry off to the lounge to have as many drinks as possible to make sleeping easier. I noticed we had a prisoner transport with us as well on this flight.
Time then for boarding and we found our seats, indeed very limited recline. We started speaking to the couple who was sitting in the nice exit row behind us. It turns out that they too had received these new seats due to the aircraft change. I asked and they had no status, had not asked for exit row and not selected preferred seats in any way. I thought it was in situations like this, that Delta would take good care of status passengers but unfortunately this was not so.
The meal served was ok, but there was no appetizer nor dessert, only a very small salad and wrapped cookie. The programs shown on the IFE were very boring and why oh why are so many commercials shown? This feels like a very cheap thing to do by a full service airline. We also kept on freezing the whole flight and had difficulties sleeping as our neighbours spoke loudly for a good part of the flight. Breakfast served was a banana and bagel. Delta has been decent on my previous flight transatlantic but this was easily the worst transatlantic flight I've flown. At least my company was good :-)




DL8432 04NOV 2 CDGDUS 0715 0830 -A320 (operated by AF)

Paris airport was a zoo, more like I am used to seeing it. The queues for immigrations were horrendous and we stood in line what seemed to be forever. They did have a system where you went to different queues depending on your connection time, but still waiting time was long. After passing through immigration we ran ran and ran to our next terminal. Sweaty both from the warm passport queue and the sprint we arrived while the plane was still boarding, we made it! Again no breakfast served by Air France, what has happened? A croissant and tea was all that we got.




AB6442 04NOV 2 DUSTXL 1200 1310 -A320

Here my friend and I went separate ways as he was going back to Copenhagen. I had a 3 hour wait so after having checked in I went to try and find a good place not to fall asleep At first I tried getting access to the Air France lounge as I had arrived on a Skyteam flight, but they (correctly) refused me. It was just to walk the long, winding maze back.
At the gate I asked if it was possible to have a 3-seater so that I could lay down on the flight but was told none available. However upon boarding I found several to settle down in. On this flight we were served a cookies or crackers plus drinks, upon deboarding the usual chocolate (not very well tasting) was offered.




AB8308 04NOV 2 TXLHEL 1425 1720 -B737

This was my first time at this airport and getting around was pretty difficult. I had to exit to landside and then make my way past the different check-in areas. Space is tight and signage almost non-existent. Finally I found the right way, which was to exit the terminal and go outside to another one. It was nice feeling the fresh air.
At the gate I again inquired about changing my seats to a free 3-seater and was told not available, but again I easily found one on the plane. Why is this? Don’t they want to change or to they have many no-shows/blocked seats? An ok sandwich and drinks was served on this flight and I then dozed my way back home to Helsinki. I made it. I was home.

Gnopps

Counclusions

It had been many segments in few days. It went just fine and as I had done similar trips many times before I was used to what was coming. I’ll have to remember to stay of the sugar-kicks before boarding though.

All flights except the AA-operated and one BT flight have posted automatically. Total mileage earned including elite bonus is as follows:

Skyteam: 57711
Star Alliance: 690
Oneworld: 470
Air Berlin: 625

Total cost: around EUR 1200 for all flights and hotels at all airports except Copenhagen.


Verdict on airlines

Delta: Transatlantic I find that they can be hit or miss. Sometimes the crew is really friendly while other times they are awful. On their domestic flights I find them mostly good both in the air and on the ground though.

Air France: I try to fly either AF or NW transatlantic as I find these the best ones in economy. While Air France has the major disadvantage of CDG and sometimes language capabilities of its staff they have a solid on board product.

Air Baltic: Tight legroom, no service and a boring airport. The flights were on time though and planes looked fresh. Hadn't it been for their good and low fare structure (which was recently changed for the worse) I wouldn't fly them.

Air Berlin:with good fares and good service this is almost a winner. What is lacking is still legroom and a better bonus program. DUS was nice while their other base TXL was not.

Brussels Airlines: This was my first flight with them and although they are far from my first choice at least the onboard prices for food weren't too bad.

American Airlines: My 89-mile hop in a turboprop hardly gave me a good view of their product. Nice with Saabs though!


In case anyone is interested in what I consider to be necessities on a trip like this I’ll include my standard packing list:

List of alternative flights for the most critical connections.
Lots of 1-dollar bills for tipping.
Laptop for internet and entertainment
Electric adapter for laptop and phone charger
Sleeping kit consisting of: Inflatable pillow, earplugs and eyemask. These three items really help me sleep
Lots of music and earplugs + airplane adapter
Lots and lots to read. To keep my load light I usually only carry two pocket books with me and then buy a new one when the first is finished.
Something to edible. Needed on flights where the hunger sets in or in the nights when you wake up hungry due to jet lag.
1 iron-free shirt. 1 is enough as I wash/rinse it in the hotel every night, it is dry the morning after.
1 pair of good looking yet comfortable pants. This is enough unless I spill, and I refuse to travel in a pyjamas unlike some other people.
Nice and comfortable shoes.
Underwear and socks for every day.

SFO777

Excellent and entertaining trip report Gnopps! ^

Kudos to you for a creative itinerary to achieve your status goal, see many cities (or airports) and at a very reasonable price. Especially liked the photo log of the trek to the AF lounge in DUS.

On what site(s) did you plan and book your trips?

Fredrik74

I fully agree with your comments. I have to say though that I don't think I could ever do something like this myself. Pure madness.

Did you book this yourself? I wonder how you managed to put these tickets together because with these miles for that price it's worth a try. Maybe.

jarinzfin

a great trip report, thanks!

chichi

Nice report, I enjoyed reading. ^

TrayflowInUK

Nice trip report Gnopps! What a jam-packed itinerary.

A real shame that your Skyteam Elite Plus status didn't seem to matter much when there were equipment swaps, etc.

graraps

Quality stuff, Gnopps!
That DUS lounge seems like the perfect airside meeting-room.

aaron1262

all that for 1200 EUR?? WOW! like others have said pure madness! I loved how you stayed in TYS for all of 5 min.

CAlex

I this was a very interesting story to read, quite a nice holiday too

I would like to ask you what was the reson for it, purely a MR deal or a flying holiday for you? Why was OK+ Gold status for you so important?

I ask because I am in the position to get OK+ Gold again this year, and just to know whether this is really something to pay so much extra for, if you are not flying so much after all. I enjoy a lot the free upgrades to business, but they are only on CSA which I use very often. Other then this, I don't see really a reason to do this...

jacob_m

Nice to see you flying again Gustav, as usual with a mad itinerary.

Great report and very nice photos. But that Delta breakfast looks simply pathetic!!

jetfan

My goodness, this seems like pure masochism to me!
If I may ask, why is the Elite status so important if you don't travel so much anymore?
I agree with some of the previous posters that the published benefits of Skyteam were well tested by you and unfortunately did not work out in some instances.

Well written report and great to read!! ^

Euan

Great report