PLANNING
Each Easter I try to get away to somewhere different. The last couple of years I visited Scandanavia. For 2005, with Easter being very early, it was time for this Kiwi to visit somewhere a little warmer, so Eastern Europe it is.
Late in 2004 it was time to put my FT acquired knowledge to the test and build a RTW itinerary that allowed me to visit some new places, grab a decent chunk of miles (regular and promotional) and hopefully also use some upgrade certificates I had that were expiring.
With the help of the
*A RTW Mileage Calculator tool and some spreadsheets, planning my first true RTW is relatively easy. However a couple of mistakes in the tool, new *A airlines making more convenient flights available, the usual schedule changes; all conspire to take some time to resolve. After about a month of toing and froing I have the RTW sorted - a CRTWSTAR2 for the few interested in those details.
As a New Zealander I am very fortunate to have visa free travel to most countries, however China is not one of them. The passport needs to be sent to the embassy in Wellington, and will take approx 1 week to issue the visa. This is my first minor hassle - due to a very hectic schedule the earliest I can send passport away is early March, not much more than a week before I leave. Fingers crossed there are no problems! Fortunately there weren't, and passport arrived complete with China visa a couple of days before I leave.
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GETTING STARTED
In the week before departure one issue had been bothering me. There are a couple of days where I have multiple short connections. Will my checked bags make it? After an unfortunate incident a few years ago when I travelled from place to place for 2 weeks without luggage, I had visions of bags being left behind and taking the rest of my trip before catching up. So I resolved to pack even lighter than normal and try to take as carry-ons a couple of bags that really are a little heavy and large for carry-ons for the many small plane flights I have this trip. Hopefully I get some slack as business class, *G status passenger.
This was quite a challenge as the long range weather forecasts for the various places I would visit ranged from snow and well below freezing, to a mild and damp spring, to the steamy heat of the tropics. We shall see how successful or otherwise I will be.
A couple of days before departure I got a call from Air NZ. I took the call, excited that it may be the upgrades clearing. But alas, it was regarding another matter entirely. After that was discussed I enquired about the upgrades - they will be checked later today. NZ clears upgrades for elite members in advance based on availability, status, whether upgrade is economy->business or business->first, and by how the upgrade is being supported (voucher, miles confirmed upgrade or miles standby upgrade which costs less). In my case the standard review is 3 days out. So the next day I get the happy news that the first and longest part of the trip, AKL-LHR (over 24 hours!) will be in first. Woohoo!
As usual for me, didnt pack until late the night before, and then didnt sleep properly. Had I arranged everything okay? Excitement over the trip, etc. The full day at work with usual last minute tasks kept me busy, until finally it was time to leave for AKL airport.