MR this weekend, first of two to pass 125K this year for the anniversary promo bonus.

The Good: Originally booked BOS-SNN-BOS in one-class coach in big seats. Flight/route cancelled; rebooked by AA a week earlier than originally scheduled for this weekend BOS-ORD-SNN-ORD-BOS via DUB. For my troubles comped one VIP, used another for the return. Net gains: about extra 2700 status miles, 1 VIP, big-plane service, use of ORD Flagship Lounge. Net loss: $24 for the extra parking at Logan, 12 or so extra hours of my life, sobriety (temporarily) thanks to free booze in J. No big deal.

The Bad: AA's confusion, onboard and on the ground, about managing the turnaround. As I and about 20 others were booked to SNN, not DUB, and stayed on the plane after it first landed, the new (return) crew were utterly confused about what to say on the announcements, what forms to complete, where we were to break our journey, and said so: not reassuring to have flight crew saying "duh" on the PA system. The purser actually announced we should email AA with our complaints. My thought is that if they weren't told, THEY need to figure out the answers, not the passengers.

The Awful: There's always one: an FA in J who, when asked for clarification of forms/deplaning replies snappishly "So what's your question" and proceeds to berate me with less than useful "so you're just doing it for the miles" and, having repeated "I'm booked in this seat, last night and this morning, Chicago to Shannon via Dublin, then back to Chicago, this afternoon. I can't go through US Immigration to re-enter the US unless I get off somewhere in Ireland. Where should I do this, Dublin or Shannon?" says "You didn't say that." Yes, I did, thinking You didn't listen to anything I've said. Bad attitudes piss me off.

I finally figure out the guy onboard who's the Shannon manager is the one who'll know - and he does - so spend all the extended time on the ground entering Ireland - at Shannon - then going through US Immigration there. There's no-one in line on the Irish side: AA manager kindly asks 'em to stay as I deplane; Irish Immigration guy thinks it's funny to be spending 20 minutes in his country (little did he know); Irish AA "asking questions about your luggage" guy in terminal thinks it's funny, asks how many miles I get out of overnight ride to the ould sod, waves me through to lovely AA ticket agent who issues boarding passes all the way home to BOS; then stand in semi-endless US Immigration line in Shannon departure area. Small wonder as there are Aer Lingus, Delta, and Continental flights leaving just before AA flight.

The entire Shannon experience recalls prop-era Shannon refueling stopovers where passengers, left to their own devices, spend time in Duty-Free area buying Mead (Honest to God, they sell Mead. Who knew?), mohair throws, large green hats, buttons that say "Kiss Me, etc." and fake coats of arms. As if: we were all peasants then. Ashamed to be Irish at this point: it's off the scale on the "tack-o-rama" meter. Departure area is pretty barren; waits in various lines totalled over an hour for immigration then final (why?) bag check.

Flights had the new improved menus and the first metal utensils I've seen in years BUT they had two pieces of silver in some napkin rolls, six in others; the advertised Pommery champagne is actually Bouvet (sp?) and my steak was cold both ways requiring re-heating. Tasty - and more than enough food - but while the night flight (outbound) crew had more personality, the service was a bit slapdash. Westbound they worked it but the actions of one (and the confusion of all) unfortunately degraded the experience for me. Breakfast was pretty poor - fruit that's not ripe, OJ that tastes like Tang, the "croissants" you used to get in coach, and the worst omelette I've had in a while and the turkey "sausage" is gross. The snack coming home was - by contrast - pretty good: a turkey and cheese panini sandwich. Good company (and a full cabin) in both directions.

FYI: FEBO lives, even when the flight number is the same in both directions: Eastbound the order of service is front to back, Westbound it's back to front.

I can't really complain (it was less than $300 r/t) but guess I'd feel short-changed had I paid considerably more.