Now that Rudi is not looking over my shoulder, I will give you a full report (from my perspective). Rudi was just as charming, funny and helpful in person as on this board. He chided me for not taking more of his San Juan advice, gave me VOLUMES of information, advice and lectures for my upcoming Bangkok trip, and gave me tips about keeping food off clothing during in-flight dining...

You folks should see the way the FA's treat Rudi. I assume it has a lot to do with his charming european accent and demeanor, but I suppose the swiss chocolate bribes help, too. In fact, one FA was offering to make Rudi "My fourth husband." Whatever the pattern for meal service is, it must be amended to "Rudi first, then whatever the plan was before!"

All in all, it made what should have been a nerve-wracking trip into a chicago snowstorm into a delite! As for my ORD-IAD connection, however, in a fit of irony the de-icing truck slid on ice on the ramp into the right wing of our 757 (with 2 passengers in first class and six in coach -- I guess everone else caught earlier flights to beat the snow), causing an interminable delay as repair crews, then paperwork crews went to take a look at the (minimal, it turned out) damage. Got home at 1:30 am instead of 11:50PM...

We had a photo taken at the sju bar, rudi with planters punch and me with a cat-drink cup. With Rudi's permission, I will forward it to NJDavid for his candids section...