SavvyTravel

Hello all

Finished up my first TP run last weekend and thought I might jot some thoughts down for TP run newbies from a UK perspective.

We did an OSL-KOA (Hawaii) run via PHL +LAX and LAX +JFK back. In total including inter-island and a couple of helicopter trips and the positioning trip we did 16 flights in 16 days. on a mix of BA and AA flights all in business. It cost Ł1900 and earned 920 TPs (not including the pinositioning flights).

We booked via Power Tool on AA.com (the European site) but perhaps we could have called BA and this would have increased the number of avios we got as I'd registered for the BAEC double avios offer (so didn't apply to our AA 001- ticketed trips on BA metal.

A few little headlines thoughts/funnies for you all:

• First flight on the proper run (OSL-LHR) and first nearly a DYKWIA person, He pushed right through the gaggle of people at the gate; complained bitterly that there was no hot food on flight back, and must have had the cabin crew on elastic seeing how much he drank. Oh and yes a distinct flash of gold on his backpack.
• Very pleasant UD747 flight to PHL that was delayed 3 hours before takeoff so I think my perception of the flight was based on being three hours in the T5B lounge (hic).
• I was not impressed with the AA PHL-LAX flight. No screens and no power sockets - this was obvious in hindsight and also using the AA app (which frankly was pretty poor). Mind you the drinks service was frequent enough, Nor with the lack of access to lounges when in business on AA (if you don't have status). Four hours in LAX was a long time but the US approach to being airside was refreshing - plenty of other terminals to walk to.
• Landing at KOA (Kona) was just brilliant. A small airport, steps off the plane, onto the tarmac, 30 yard walk to terminal, collect bags and in a taxi in 15 minutes. All in the open air. [In contrast we also visited HNL which just felt like a big city airport both in size and ease of use] However, I definitely missed a trick by not starting our trip back from HNL (or even LIH); these were options at booking.
• Routing back with an overnight on an impressive AA transcon to NYC was a good plan. I loved the AA 'get as much sleep' approach. We were woken only 20 minutes before landing (BA take note). Also earned big bragging points with friends ("we went for lunch in New York")
• Only negative of the whole trip was being quizzed by the agent when checking into the BA NYC-LHR flight back. At KOA we'd checked our luggage to LHR so we could take it home before the last leg (very helpful AA agent) and the BA rep couldn't understand this and insisted we had to check in for the OSL flight too. Fine we got our boarding cards but when we arrived at LHR - no bags on the carousel. Turns out somehow, despite the labels and our receipts showing KOA_LAX_NYC_LHR that they had been "sent to Oslo". The baggage handlers got them back to us fine as that flight was 22 hours later (though oddly one got delivered to us on carousel 8 and one on 9, go figure). But when we checked in for the OSL flight, the passport check agent then got in a fluster about the bags, eventually getting someone to set them as "not active'.
• B2B at OSL achieved without difficulty (it was the day after we had landed at LHR so HBO albeit jet-lagged). And we came back in economy - which was perfectly fine (yes, really)

Overall, it was a TP run but with a holiday in the middle. Mainly thanks to this forum we got it pretty much right - good use of flight times (eg overnight at PHL which meant a decent sleep and awake early enough for the LAX flight) and getting the good seats for the view on take off etc etc. Loads of thanks to many people.

For new TP runners I would offer one piece of advice - do your research and learn how to play on the Matrix. I was a newbie but doing plenty of tests and trials before booking anything really did make a difference. Far from being an advanced user, I found the minconnect feature excellent for getting an overnight on the way out (and for getting a 23hr 'layover' at LHR to get our bags back) and the various routing codes such as ~PHX to make sure all legs were >2000 miles. Trying some alternative flights also eased the pain when it came to the booking process - Power Tool was great. But it is a reminder of why travel agents still thrive - time is money!

The forum is truly amazing but only you can make your own decisions and putting time into the options is time and money really well spent.

And to end, we really did have the trip of a lifetime. Or to correct that.... we are now bitten by the FT bug and are planning the next one!

navylad

T8191

No, no, no. It was a TP-efficient Holiday!

It brings back memories of our grinds to HNL/OGG. Am I tempted to go again?

hmmm ... is there somewhere else, please?

LWkitty

A little piece of advice. Next time you are stuck at LAX for a long layover, leave the airport and take an Uber to the In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda for some spectacular plane spotting (and some tasty burgers too). You won't regret it.

SavvyTravel

endoman

May I ask where you stopped on the Big Island? I went many years ago and the hotel we stopped out was awesome but now way out of price range! Quite fancy a TP run to see the Island again. We had one day of tourism and the rest conference on my previous visit!

SavvyTravel

@endoman: no problem. With a context that I am not a fan of the chain hotels and certainly not of 'resort style' chains.... we stayed in the Marriott Courtyard in Kona for two nights, four nights around the south of the island (B&B style) and two nights in the Hilton Doubletree in Hilo. We avoided the resort hotels in the north west of the island mainly because we decided we wanted to explore the island and not beach-sit. And these hotels are pretty (but) remote.

The Courtyard was a great location; on the beach in the centre of town (and only 15 mins in a taxi); the town is small and easily walkable. But it was really dated (despite being recently refurbished) The Doubletree in Hilo was the nicest hotel we stayed in - by the water, modern but the (breakfast was average. The hotel was only 10 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes into the centre of the the town (by car).

From memory both hotels were touching $250 a night (we did go over New Year and still in US school holidays), whereas the B&Bs were closer to $140-150 a night. I seem to recall the resort chains being way out of our price range anyway.

endoman

Thanks for that, we were at Mauna Kea beach hotel and it was lovely and a lot cheaper in 2006! We drove the entire Island on the day of our evening flight bacl to LAX, that was fun. The Marriot is somewhere I shall look up, thanks.

Cap'n Benj

TravelManBiz

VSLover

great report! its funny as noted because i never thought much of this but yes, generally SFO/LAX-JFK on AA redeye service they really minimize interaction in J or F to allow you to sleep if you want as the flight can be quite short, especially in winter with favorable tail winds!

meanwhile AA on TATL flights is as noted above with the lights and racket and so on and so on

before AA changed domestic F to J buckets, i LOATHED flying JFK-CLT-SFO (270TP) solely because legacy US Air A320/321 are simply dreadful in F. the seats are giant leather slabs, not at all comfy, no in flight entertainment and no power sockets. the worst planes in the fleet!

endoman

Pretty sure it can be, I priced up something similar on Matrix for August. Better connections may be available, just an example.

SavvyTravel

VSLover

sorry for my naiveté but how do you look this up in matrix because just the outbound i hit the limit of flights i can input?

endoman

This was my search.