Originally Posted by
BumpMeVoucherMeATL
I considered the MQSs strategy for mileage runs and ended up doing away with MQSs as the objective function for my optimization routine because of this very reason. I remember a very nice multi-stop trip I took one time, and then along came WX and suddenly my well crafted itinerary became direct flights.
I agree, though I'd rather have IRROPS happen to me when I'm just flying around for status than when I'm actually trying to go somewhere. Does ORC work for segments?
Originally Posted by
NittanyLion
The 6 extra flights will take extra time, of course, and you're running the risk of weather/cancellations/velociraptor attacks at your connecting airport that would REALLY increase the amount of extra time, but I'd still do it.
OT - but at our wedding reception, as we were getting into our car at the end of the night to drive straight to the airport for our honeymoon in Hawaii, someone yelled "WATCH OUT FOR THE RAPTORS!" at us. Didn't even notice until we got the video back later.
Originally Posted by
dieuwer2
If the route is medallion heavy (Gold, Plat, Diamond) you can pretty much forget a free EC seat as a FO.
I would just regularly check the seat map to see if EC seats are getting taken. If yes, pay for one. If not, play the game until check-in.
Disagree. While I was an FO, I almost always had an exit row seat at booking (2-3 weeks out), and around 75% of the time was able to move into EC either right at T-24 or while waiting at the gate. This was on the extremely elite heavy ATL-NYC & ATL-WAS routes, during elite heavy Mon/Thurs times.
What would often happen is the GM+ folks would get upgraded at the windows, leaving EC seats open for any FOs checking in right at T-24 (they did get snapped up rather quickly). EC seats would again be vacated by GM+ during BFUGs or as they SDC'd (granted, this was before the latest "enhancements"), and you could snag them via the app if you checked every few minutes, or paid attention to what the GA was doing.
I think once in my 50-ish segments did I not end up in an exit or EC, and that was during WX IRROPs where I would have been happy riding home in the lav anyway, and also would probably been stuck with the hordes at LGA if I had zero status.
FO is worthwhile in many, many ways. Perhaps even more so for a segment flyer.