Despite the creepy incident from the night before I opted to call an Uber in the morning to take me back to Jeju Airport. Fortunately the flight wasn't too early since I'd stayed up way later than normal, but after an uneventful ride I was at Jeju Airport about one hour prior to flight time. Before going through security, there was a "mandatory foreigner checkpoint" ...and it seemed solely based on race. The agent just looked at you and decided if you needed to show a passport or not. I guess they wouldn't too concerned at "catching" Korean-Americans for example...and I have to imagine this is due to Chinese and some other groups being able to visit Jeju without a visa but not the mainland?
From this point, security was very quick and painless, and I think I made it from Uber to the airside part of the airport in less than 10 minutes. From there, the mission was coffee. There was unfortunately no Starbucks, so I settled on this place. I think it's the first time I've ever ordered coffee from a kiosk, but it's a great idea to help the large number of visitors who presumably don't speak Korean.
Side note: their iced americano hit the spot just right, so hey, maybe it's a good idea to mix it up especially when there's an iced americano on the menu. I've been noticing lately that when I order that directly it seems to be a much more common request and more and more people around the world seem familiar with the drink. Winning for my need for caffeine...and hey, now I have an angel inside me!
The landside airport at Jeju isn't huge, and has about 10 gates, and given many of them hold 200+ passengers it was pretty crowded this morning. Found my gate area, where things were orderly as usual in this part of the world, and soon it was time to board. You may be wondering where I'm going from here...well truth be told...I still hadn't decided. It was also going to depend on how on-time our arrival into Gimpo would be. If I intended to take the flight back to the US I only had 2:10 between flights and a transfer from Gimpo to Incheon Airport to deal with...yikes!
Korean Airlines flight 1158
Jeju Island, Korea (CJU) to Seoul Gimpo, Korea (GMP)
Depart 09:25, Arrive: 10:35, flight time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Boeing 737-900, Registration HL7707, Manufactured 2002, Seat 07D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 217,395
Lifetime Miles Flown: 3,257,292
Nothing to say about this flight...as the night before the flight was completely full, the same comfy/plush seats, and the same service of water to all the passengers was provided. I entertained myself with some games on my phone since there was no WiFi, and noticed this in my Apple wallet. This is how you know you've been running around the world on a tight timeline...charges in several currencies all in the span of a few days!
Flight was perfectly on time, and despite a fair amount of sleep I was feeling wrecked...and was pretty sure I might have a cold coming on. The idea of December in Mongolia with a cold followed by a long flight to Europe was looking very unappealing, and when the door opened with 2 hours, 5 minutes in Korea to make the mad dash to Incheon and board my flight...well...I decided to go for it. Worst case I miss the flight, refund it (assuming I "miss" it before they close the door and I can still get someone on the phone to cancel it), and take MIAT an hour later. Let's see how it goes!
I remembered the way back to the airport train from the prior day, and with cash in hand this time I had no trouble buying a ticket and finding the train to Incheon. So far, so good. Arrived at Incheon with about 90 minutes until departure time...or probably 60-80 before they would consider me a no-show despite being checked in via the United app.
Made it to security and...there was no priority line. But what there was, however, was the queue from hell that ended up taking 30+ plus minutes to get to the front...only to find out they would not under any circumstances accept a mobile boarding pass from United. I don't know if I would do things differently the next time or not, especially since I was already cutting it so close on time. Sure, a detour to the check-in counter probably would have taken ten minutes max, but I saw no need for it...so...idk...
Dashed to the check-in counter, explained the situation, and pulled a mild DYKWIA and asked if there was any way to get an escort/priority through security as a Global Services menu. Nope, no way, not possible...but I'll call the gate and "let them know you're on the way." At this point, it was only about 35 minutes until flight time, and boarding was well underway...and likely still had 30 minutes in security to wait...and after that...passport control (which fortunately is eGates so would take a minute max most likely). To add insult to injury...the gate today was about as far as possible from security. Great. Maybe they'll send a buggy for me?
Got to security, and started asking every employee I saw if there was a way to move up since our flight was very close. I've seen this work in a lot of places, but today? Nope, they were having none of it. Ended up banding together with two younger American military guys who were on the same flight figuring maybe we stood a better chance with a group...nope...no chance at all. Fortunately security took a little less time, and we were through security and immigration with about 12 minutes until departure time. Often they close the door by this point, so my only hope was the gate really was informed...
I don't think I've run through an airport in 20+ years, but I definitely pulled my best O.J. Simpson this day and made a mad dash for the gate...and about 2/3 of the way there I saw an agent holding up a United sign that said "San Francisco." I ran up to her, told her who I was, and she walkie-talkied the gate to let them know I was maybe two minutes way. Made it with my two new friends and...the door closed behind us. We'd done it!
There was just one small problem...I still had a reservation on MIAT in an hour and was checked in...so of course I couldn't cancel it on life. Very much a FML moment. I had booked it via Chase Travel so gave them a quick and discreet call while the security video started to play. Fortunately got an agent right away, but there was another problem...she wanted my card number to verify me...and that was stuck away up in my carryon bag. Argh! Eventually I got a very stern warning from the crew to put away the phone...and it was all I could do to hope the agent really would "see what she could do about unchecking you in and refunding." Ugh....
Side note: the agent did manage to consider me authenticated and did cancel the segment. She wasn't able to refund the ticket, however, but did send me an email followup noting it had be cancelled before departure and was eligible for a refund without the no-show penalty. Took a few calls when I got home to sort it, but lesson learned: no more last minute decisions unless absolutely necessary!
United Airlines flight 806
Seoul Incheon, Korea (ICN) to San Francisco, USA (SFO)
Depart 12:45, Arrive: 06:20 same day, flight time: 10 hours, 35 minutes
Boeing 787-9, Registration N26970, Manufactured 2017, Seat 09A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 223,053
Lifetime Miles Flown: 3,262,950
I hate being that guy. I have a major hang-up about inconveniencing people/breaking rules, and I realized I had definitely done that with the crew. First thing I did once the seatbelt sign was off was seek out the purser and offer a heart-felt apology for being a bit difficult and not having put away the phone the first time I was asked. Fortunate she was the understanding and forgiving type and said it was no big deal...and she did appreciate me saying something afterwards. Ok, much better.
I'm not going to dwell on the meal here because there's a million United reviews already, and in all honesty it was very meh. I can't even remember/tell if this was chicken or fish!
All the stress of running around, compounded with increasingly feeling under the weather, meant I was going to try and sleep as much of the flight as possible...despite my body thinking it was early afternoon. Note to self: no matter how much you try and do the right thing and sleep with a mask you're likely to toss and turn and it'll come off....but after seven delightful hours....I woke up definitely not feeling great.
Maybe breakfast will cheer me up...or not...
This is when I remembered an even more unfortunate part: this was an economy award upgraded with United PlusPoints, but the segment from San Francisco to DC still hadn't cleared. Fortunately, I was #1 on a list that was more than 100 deep, and there was one seat left, so there was a tiny chance. I was sure they'd either sell the seat, give it to someone under same day change, or a GS with a higher fare than free would show up...we'll see. I even debated paying for the upgrade given how I was feeling, but $1,200 is way too steep for my blood. I even browsed google to see if there were options to buy on other airlines, but nope.
Arrived right on time into San Francisco, immigration was super quick (love the new Global Entry biometric kiosks), and was up to security in no time...except...at this checkpoint near the G gates apparently CLEAR/precheck didn't open until after 8am. Strange...great, I get to take my shoes off and all....but at least there was no way, and I learned that if PreCheck is closed at least you can keep your shoes on thanks to a little card they give you to hand the agent noting you're PreCheck eligible...small wins...
Headed to the Polaris lounge for a quick shower, and then it was straight to the gate. Disaster struck when I got out of the shower...business class was showing completely full. Ugh. At least I had a Premium Economy seat, although it was a middle seat...so at least the legroom wouldn't be miserable. I think I was refreshing the app every 10 seconds at this point as I headed to the gate...and right as I got there I got a text from United...your upgrade has cleared!
Only one to clear at the gate and I swear a higher power was watching out for me after the (self-induced) stress in Seoul. You know I was stressed when I screenshotted my victory just in case...and still have it on my phone!
United Airlines flight 717
San Francisco, USA (SFO) to Washington Dulles, USA (IAD)
Depart 08:25, Arrive: 16:25, flight time: 5 hours
Boeing 777-300ER, Registration N2644U, Manufactured 2017, Seat 15G
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 225,472
Lifetime Miles Flown: 3,265,369
Cabin was dimmed right after departure, and even during the meal lights were kept off. Strange, but I was hoping to sleep a little on this flight, so I didn't mind at all. Had a really awkward seatmate....who when I caught her eye just after boarding looked at me out of the blue and said "I don't want to talk" and put the divider up...and the crew never asked her to put it down even during takeoff. Just strange...
What's to eat? Well do you really want to know? I think I had a few bites of fruit because...vitamins...and a bite of eggs to confirm they were as rubbery as they looked...and that was it. The FA serving my section was absolutely delightful, and I asked if by any chance she'd seen any rogue pillows around since I know they don't load them...but occasionally mistakes happen. She came back with a stack of blankets that "should be enough to make a pillow for you" and a bottle of Buffalo Trace "because that always helps sleep." Definitely one of the good ones!
During the flight, I also got a year-end summary email from TripIt confirming just why I was so exhausted and worn out...it had been a very, very busy year!
...and with that the adventure around the world for a million miles was complete. Was it an amazing experience on top of being a profitable/rewarding one? Absolutely! Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I do anything differently? Not sure...everything worked out as I planned, I enjoyed the unique fifth freedom flights that made it worth going out of the way for them...and honestly...everything worked out great.
By this point, a few folks on FT had had all fifteen of their airlines post to their Eurobonus accounts, but most people who were done flying 15 only had between 11-14 of them credited. A few days after returning home I was one of the semi-lucky ones who at least had 14 posted...but my 15th was one that many people seemed to be waiting on...Vietnam Airlines. By December 15th it still hadn't posted (although
FlyIgglesFly was on my same flight and his posted just a couple days after the flight), and the retro-claim form on the SK website seemed unable to handle requests for Vietnam...ugh. Many people on the SAS forum on FT were quite agitated at this point, and the were quite a few energetic posts threatening to sue SAS for breach of contract, etc etc. Funny enough (or maybe not) many of these posts also came from the crowd seeking to do the challenge as quickly and cheaply as possible, so...
I was confident it would "eventually" work out, but definitely was concerned that if it hadn't posted by the end of the challenge on December 31 it was going to be like pulling teeth to get SAS to reward the million miles. So after being home just under two weeks...and missing traveling already...I did what any good avgeek would do: found a way to fly one of my two remaining airlines (Saudia or Aerolineas Argentinas) by the end of the year to buy a 16th airline for insurance. Stay tuned to see how that worked out!