I don't read the "Mileage Run" forum very often, but I happened to look at it this morning. I came across a great thread started by UpgradeMe called "But Sir, There's a Non-Stop Flight Available" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/000310.html and thought the topic deserved to be broadened a bit and posted somewhere a little more prominent.

I first heard of the idea of a mileage run on one of the first occasions I hooked up with a fellow FlyerTalker, who said he had just flown from San Jose to Pittsburgh via Munich, because it was less expensive than the full fare he otherwise would have had to buy and because of the miles. I know the look on my face must have said "you're completely insane.") It took me a couple of years to process that idea - flirted with doing a LatinPass run - but I finally completed my first mileage run this week, which was basically a trip from SFO to Austin to visit good friends, with a couple of stops in London along the way. (The full itinerary was two nested round trips: SFO-IAH-LGW-IAH-SFO and LGW-IAH-AUS-IAH-LGW.) Now all my friends and family think I'm totally nuts. (So don't worry - I won't be one of the ones leaving FlyerTalk any time soon - I need to have a place where people understand craziness like this!)

Here's my story:

Security was pretty tight at check in on my first LGW-IAH segment. There were special agents at Gatwick to ask the security questions, and they ask them before they let you check in with ticketing.

I walked up to the security officer, a chap of around 60 who came across as very distinguished and slightly intimidating in that way that only the English seem to be able to pull off. He gave me the once over and very seriously, asked the first question. "So how long have you been in the UK?" With an equally serious look on my face, I told him, "5 hours."

I have never seen a look of surprise quite like that one. His jaw nearly unhinged and dropped to the floor. It was as though this not-to-be-intinidated security guy shrank about a foot in stature and was totally confused. He turned away from me and ran up to the ticketing agent, obviously asking her what was to be done about this. In the course of his questioning, he went back to the poor ticketing agent 5 times. Finally, defeated, he let me check in.

It felt sort of like I had made one of the soldiers at the changing of the guard lose it.