Part 3 – Exam and the AA ORD-PEK slot issue/reticketing

Apr 26, 2010 – Monday
Exam came and went on Monday 9am. I gave it all I had, either I knew the material or I don’t and ended up finishing in 35 mins for a 3 hr exam. Uh oh! No worries, ended up getting an A on the exam Rush home, shuttle was to come at 11:20am. News flash, as reported by Flyertalk, “AA new PEK-ORD flight supposedly to start on Apr 26 is cancelled due to slot issues at PEK”.

Original ticket
Apr 26, 2010
AA 1203 YYZ-DFW 15:05 - 17:25 (738/J)
AA 2372 DFW-ORD F 19:15 - 21:20 (S80/F)
Apr 27, 2010
AA 187 ORD-PEK F 11:25 - 13:55+1 (772/F)
May 2, 2010
AA 186 PEK-ORD J 16:50 - 16:40 (772/J)
AA 2349 ORD-DFW F 18:50 - 21:10 (S80/F)

Oh no, an international ticket in jeopardy can’t be good news but what can I do? Halfway into the airport shuttle, a phone call came from the AA EXP desk. Yep, AA 187 is cancelled and the agent asks me what I wanted to rebooked. Since, I was on my way to the airport, I didn’t bother to do anything yet as I didn’t have any internet and I wanted to see if the AAngels in YYZ can help me on this one. For some reason, admiral club member can no longer directly call the club but at least the club member center can notify the club that I was coming in that day so they can get a headstart as to what to do.
Got to the counter, ticket agent see this ticket and just shudder. I guess only FTers are crazy enough to fly such a routing. At least they got me a boarding pass to go through US customs and security. Damn it, why haven’t I got the green arrow at the US security checkpoint once since the Christmas day bombing incident. YYZ airport security is just lame if you get the heavy check, 5 PEOPLE in front of me took 1 HOUR!!!

Into the YYZ admiral’s club, Laura sees me and gave me two options
Option 1) AA J/F YYZ-ORD-JFK, CA J JFK-ORD
Option 2) AA F YYZ-ORD-PVG, MU PVG-HKG

Both options didn’t look too good as I didn’t really wanted to fly Chinese carriers. Hmm, my parents were joining me in PEK, flying KA HKG-PEK. Lucky me, both AA YYZ-LAX and CX LAX-HKG still had premium class availability. EXP desk to the rescue! I ended up getting my ticket totally redone in under 40 mins including ticketing. Flyertalk definitely teaches you alot if you desire the knowledge.

New Ticket
Apr 26, 2010
AA 1553 YYZ-LAX J 18:55 - 21:10 (738/J)
CX 883 LAX-HKG F 23:50 - 5:30+2 (77W/F)
Apr 28, 2010
KA 908 HKG-PEK J 11:50 - 15:20 (330/J)
May 2, 2010
JL 860 PEK-NRT J 8:25 - 12:55 (763/J)
AA 60 NRT-DFW F 18:05 - 15:35 (772/F)

Three big outcomes came from this ticket. I originally bought 1 way J/1 way Y for this ticket and then use EVIPs to upgrade both the long-haul flights.
So 1) Somehow AA didn’t downgrade me to J and kept me in F on the LAX-HKG (supervisor approval was needed I think)
2) I get to meet my family in a HKG lounge instead of PEK waiting outside customs
And 3) for some reason, I got re-ticketed into F instead of Y or J on the return trans-pacific sector.

All in all, I surprisingly now have a F ticket for 2500 bucks including a CX long haul flight, score !!!

The rest of the lounge time passed by quiet pleasantly as I had some emails to write and spent reading about the AA mess about the PEK 2am slots instead of the 2pm slots inbounding . At least AA save me today and soon came boarding time for AA 1553.

American Airlines Boeing 737-800


AA 1553
Toronto – Los Angeles
6:55pm – 9:20pm, 5 hr 25 mins flight
Business Class, Seat 3F
Food – Dinner
Aircraft – Boeing 737-800

Boeing 737-800 New First Class Seat


I was surprised to get a J seat because of the last minute changes but lucky me. I do like these new 738 F seats especially in recline if you ask me except in the bulkhead. I’m 5’5” and even I felt the bulkhead was tight if the seats were reclined. Takeoff was reasonably long due to the full load going westbound but soon the flight service began. This was pretty good crew, individually served the appetizer/salad separate from the rest. I truly felt like a valued customer, constant drink service with pre-departure drinks.

AA 1553 Dinner

To Start
Warm Mixed nuts

Appetizer
Cajun-style roasted chicken breast offered on a fresh corn salad

Salad
Combination Salad with artichoke, wild mushroom and peas accompanied by pepper cream dressing or balsamic vinegar

Bread Basket
Assorted gourmet breads

Main Course
Beef Fillet with Grogonzola Mushroom Sauce
Grilled fillet of beef offered with a porcini mushroom and Gorgonzola cheese, accompanied by wax beans and whipped potatoes with turnips

Cheese Ravioli
Cheese Ravioli topped with an artichoke marinara sauce

Dessert
Ice Cream Sundae
Vanilla Ice cream with a choice of hot fudge, butterscotch or seasonal berry toppings, whipped creams and pecans

Or Fruit and Cheese Plate

Light Refreshment
Freshly baked on board cookies

Pre-Arrival Beverage
Chilled sparkling or still water with fresh citrus garnish

Appetizer and Salad


Main Course - Beef Fillet with Grogonzola Mushroom Sauce


Made to Order Sundaes


Got some sleep on this flight and soon we were descending into the LAX, wasn’t I just here 2 days ago, haha!

Stepping off AA 1553 and off to the flagship lounge, many here I think will flame me for this but I actually prefer the Flagship Lounge in terminal 4 over the Oneworld lounge in Tom Bradley. One is the ambiance of the club, the FL just seem so much more quiet than the OW lounge and have less crowd. Two is the internet speed, no matter if your using the wi-fi or the terminal computer. The OW lounge has a surf speed slower than ants crawling. And since I’m going to eat like a whale on the F flight, I didn’t bother to go for the better food in the OW. Once I get into the FL, awe my favorite agent in LAX is here. I’m surprised I’m getting to know some agents in the system and off to a nice relaxing shower and some internet time in the lounge.

LAX Flagship Lounge











About 1 hr 30 min before CX 883, I said good bye to one of my favorite AA lounges and head for Tom Bradley terminal

I know everyone is dying for the CX long haul but it’s gonna have to wait until after the Brooklyn Reality Tours, sorry folks.

“Spoiler Alert” I’m a lightweight in terms of drinking but eat like a whale. Cheers!