Boeing tour would be good.

If not I might go myself

http://www.futureofflight.org/planav...ourInformation

Anything that involves IST is a spectacular idea, and I've not sampled MS and TK. Although, this group and MS...dry -

Tour MS, no one said fly them or is all Egyptian airspace dry too?

I was thinking the same thing.....

Where would our charter go from / to?

I would be interested in a RTW or a SA Do depending on when it is and the cost.

The US option....meh.

The MegaDo is biggest DOs for FTers, and as such I think it should be especially memorable. I just have a hard time seeing a trip visits only the US *A hubs as being that memorable.

IST-CAI-ATH-VIE and take OS home to the States with a ticketing structure not unlike what LH did for us.

You can bring your own booze onboard MS and they'll serve it.

I don't know how we could do this as part of a 10 day RTW, but have 1 flight on each of the 26 A* carriers.

First to answer the basic questions:

How was the value for the money paid in 2009
Value was great. I used C for TATL and Y on the charter and would make similar future choices for long vs short haul. I also used points for hotels which reduced the cost a little.

- How many days can you be away to participate in a DO
I have the luxury of being retired, so time is not a major issue. Some time to sleep along the way would be great. I survived MegaDo 1 but the crash when I returned home and the adrenalin stopped was pretty big.

- How much money will you be willing to spend
It depends on the program. I want to see/do something in each place � flying is fun, but there needs to be a highlight in each destination.

I would go for virtually any program that offered some of the same insights we enjoyed with UA, CO LH SAS etc and of course the exceptional hospitality that each offered. How about another dinner at LH? That was fabulous, and the wines were superb.

For me, the absolute highlight of MegaDo 1 was the TLS flyby � all the more because we did not know it was going to happen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY5raCf88zc

How about a stop in St Martin (SXM) and Maho Beach (and joy rides to St Barts and their famous approach).

Or go to SIN and actually get on a 380.

Montreal would combine AC (if they are willing this time) and Bombardier.

The Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach (LRE) Queensland would be great (but not as part of a Star Do unfortunately)

A trip hopping around the US only would be of least interest to me (but Boeing is high on the list)

And having just read the thoughts on IST etc - absolutely.

I am not the only one wondering if Tommy et al are really crazy, but hopefully simplifying the logistics, and firm details further in advance will lessen the uncertainties for the organizers and participants.

OOOhhh, nice.

You know, we could start anywhere.

It goes w/o saying that w/ this group stopping at a place that doesn't allow booze would be a problem

On a dif note, ConciergeMike - you still coming if you don't win the 2nd trip? Randy might change the rules or throw it under 'if you already won, you're not eligible to win again'.

I went to school in VIE so no problem stopping there for me

Cheers.

I missed the MegaDo last year because well... was too pricey for me and I hadn't budgeted for anything like that. I'd also just become more active on FT. Knowing this early in the year that it's in the works is a bonus and I can get my saving in gear... maybe I can even convince Miss Helraiser to come along (we're not married yet.)

Anyway, I can take as much time as I need off - still carrying almost 3 years worth of vacation time (equating to just over 3mos and counting) so management would be happy to see me gone for a while. From what I see, the price ranges from US$2-5k plus maybe another $500 to get me from YXE to wherever in north america it'd start. Not too bad especially if this gets me status for 2011. Yup, I don't have a business that pays for my flying, it's all out of my pocket and well, I'm happy to do it as I love to fly!

Looking forward to what you guys come up with!

Depends on whether or not I get admitted to the Master's program I'm applying to.

Not really sure what a bunch of minor Middle Eastern airlines contributes to STAR or a STAR Do? While both Cairo and Istanbul might be fascinating cities to visit, their airports and maintenance hangers offer little unique to a group of aviation geeks. And India's a long trek for a similar slim pickings from a newbie STAR member.

My preference for a DoII would be a hop around Asia, visiting NH, OZ, TG and SQ perhaps the epitome of STAR carriers when it comes to inflight and ground services. Europeans could fly in from their side of the world, we NAmericans can attack it over the pole from several departure points. Start at NRT (and the town of Narita would offer an interesting evening mingling with airline crews overnighting there) then over to ICN, then across to BKK, and finally down to SIN. There are pretty good hotel facilities adjacent to each airport (though not so great at BKK) for a good overnight. If we made 300 participants, each sector could be on an A330/340 or B777 operated by one of these carriers.

An optional NAmerican add-on could be AC and Bombardier at YUL (RJs assembly line) or YYZ (Q400 assembly line). AC has full facilities at both hubs for touring. And of course flies non-stop ex-YYZ to NRT daily using B777s.

Yeah, but a flight from YVR to boeing field would suck. :P How about Fiji or RAR?