The week of Sept. 6-10 is what we're sh:cool::cool:ting for right now. Exact dates are TBD.

Xyzzy

That might not work for me as of now :( , but things can change.

Oh. :( I think that would put me out.

I'm definitely a no-go then. :( The following week was a maybe, but 6th-10th I'm definitely at the trade show in AMS.

I will live vicariously through those who go.

Cheers.

what type of F for those charters and prices? (domestic? BF?)

-David

Folks, no date will work for everyone. The earlier we can have firm dates, the more people will be able to attend. By design, members of this community travel a lot and are all busy. I don't think discussing individual commitments and conflicts is productive.

As for a European adventure, is that an alternative to options 1 and 2 that have been previously discussed, or in addition?

As one of the two FTers who flew Swiss during SMD2 and received the big-time-VIP treatment, I can certainly suggest ZRH as a destination, but we may want to pick something more exotic too :)

Obviously no single date will work for everyone. :rolleyes: And firm dates will let people know if they can attend or not. Having a firm date doesn't guarantee attendance ;)

Speaking for the folk who are texting & calling me (forgetting it's costing me a lot since I'm in London), they're saying pick the dates definitively so they could then plan. Hopefully the NYC launch will have all the details & the guys will post then. Would save my text plan :p And seriously, folks who are contacting me, contact the organizers! Geesh.

But given the organizers are still in preliminary planning mode, it might help them to know (given they have to charter a plane ;)) that if the dates they picked due to the TATL portion is creating a no-go for a # of folk who made it on SMD1/2, that if there's any wiggle room on the dates they might want to look at the wiggle room.

I'm not saying they should or would! And goodness knows I'm not expecting them to do it for me (or any of the other folk who can't make it).

But this thread is looking for input & some of the input might be the dates you're targeting aren't going to work so we wish you the best, or this date will work & woo-hoo, or if the date was a week later we could make it & fingers crossed, or it doesn't matter - if it's not November we can't make it & we still wish you the best, or hey screw the folk who went before, this Sept thing works for us who didn't make it before, so bring it on. Lots of options.

Again I'm speaking only for myself, but I interpreted the European portion like before - ie, those who can make it would fly over & do that portion & then fly to the US (whether ORD or IAH & option 1/2) to do that portion. And those who can't make the European portion, due to time conflicts or $$ conflicts, would just do the actual 'charter'. I could be wrong, but I'm sure tommy/reb/seth/oliver will be along to correct that perception.

If I can make it, look forward to it. If I can't, look forward to living vicariously through others.

Cheers.

For me, september is good news. I really tried to free time for SMD 1 and 2 but it was impossible in november. This time I have already blocked both the first weeks of SEP!

As I'm based in Europe and a fan of LX it would be nice if the european part could contain some activities around LX or other european *-carriers. The plans for Canada/US are also ^. South America does not make me so enthusiastic though.

Already looking forward to this!!

If you're still canvassing opinions, I like the idea of option 2 (& ORD instead of IAH if possible).

The TATL will also appeal to me. LH has done a fabulous job of making us feel very highly valued. It would be a pity to not involve them somehow. Sure, invite some other stakeholders to the party, but how can we not avail ourselves to the LH hospitality?

The 24 hours we spent in FRA in 2010 was packed with things. Crawling in on around & under the LH388 was good. The focus group afternoon with *Alliance was very interesting. And the dinner with LH was delicious. Who can forget the Belgian Master Chocolatier who was making fabulous treats for us. And then we went into the 1st Class lounge for a nightcap.


I'm an Aussie & used to accommodating my butt into a plane seat for many hours, so, bring it on!

And thanks again Oliver, Tommy, Reb & Seth.

You're welcome, but please note that I'm not part of SMD anymore.

So is it a three person team or is someone taking your spot? Especially since you seemed like the one-and-only when it came to the Euro parts (and - at a spot guess - the only one of the team that can speak Deustch).

Neither am I, though I was quite happy to help make things as wonderful as they were for SMD1 & 2.

The reason why we are looking to move it to early September is to get the very expensive business class to and from Europe down, but of course, if a lot of people can't make it, we can of course go back to November

The European part will be separate again this year, we are aiming to have r/t business class tickets for around 1500USD, last year it was almost double.

I will set up a survey to see what dates are best next week

Thank you both for your service. It has been a hell of a ride ;)

We are adding Pizzaman to the SMD team to replace Oliver and Seth.

Please join me in welcoming him to the team! :)

Welcome! And, thanks in advance too! ^ :)

^

there will be some people that can't make it in Sept and some that won't be able to make it in Nov. I like the idea of looking at the pricing.


+1

Welcome!

-David

Just got off the phone with Hyatt and we are definitely looking at some hotel availability challenges in the beginning of September with the amazing program we have lined up. Labor day is also causing schedule issues, so we'll get a survey going early next week.

Anyways, really excited to welcome Hyatt as this years hotel sponsor!

In general, I like September better than November for European travel. This presupposes, of course, that Europe will be the main focus of SMD III. If not, then November may be swell. Speaking of September, TSMRSRNE and I will be ending a fortnight in the Mediterranean on Labor Day (which will be our second trip to The Continent this year, by the by.) We, therefore, cannot attend SMD III in September, which means you are safe to have it then. ^:D

We only have 4 (5?) Hyatts in all of Canada so for me at least, it will be interesting to try them out.

Five :)

Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto Grand Hyatt, Toronto Park Hyatt.

I haven't been to any of them yet.

-David

Sept 6-10 works for me. I was possibly planning on being in MUC on weekend of the 10th through about 14th - so if those dates - hopefully an air extension will be possible.

September works very well for me. I've attended SMD1 & 2, and the first week in November has been a struggle the past 2 years, and totally no go for 2011. And being so close to Thanksgiving, Christmas, & the end of the year has added to that difficulty.

Has it been confirmed that Canada is part of it, or are there Hyatts in the Alt 2 location?

I know the Toronto Film Festival starts around Labor Day weekend in Sept & I think goes for a week or longer, so much as Hyatt likes FTers & SMD folk, I'm guessing they like the studios who are willing to pay outrageous prices for the YYZ Hyatts more during the film festival :D

Cheers.

SMD III out for Sept as already committed to COW DO--maybe SMD IV eh!!

I have a preliminary reward ticket held for Cow-DO as well, but that has me returning Sept 5. If SMD III starts on Sept 6, the two can be connected, so I'm not jumping ship on either just yet.

Though if forced to make a choice, SMD III would win in my mind...

All the more reason for an extra Thank You then. It was a pleasure to have met you & been a participant on the very excellent SMD1 & 2.

(Will have to try to work out a way to get some of those Aussie treats that your wife likes to you. Maybe next time I'm in FRA I can pass them on to someone to relay to you!)

Thanks to you too Seth. I have a great photo of us in the foyer of FRA Sheraton at SMD1 with Hawaiian garlands. No doubt see you in NYC some time.

OK, back to the present.
Welcome Pizzaman! Whatever Tommy has told you about the SMD groups..? It's all true!

My next StarMegaDo will be my first one. Are there any tips/tricks to really maximize the experience? I feel like I'll be the wallflower and everyone is going to look at me funny, like who invited this guy.......:o

I went to the first StarMegaDo. You have all kinds of people attending. But almost everyone there has some facination to aviation. So long as you love planes, you will blend in well. I am hoping to attend SMD 3 as well. Looking forward to meeting you

Bring a spare liver. :D

Think of it as a Star Trek convention without the costumes. ;)

You'll be able to share your passion with other people who won't think you're crazy!

Re alt 1 and alt 2. Would love to see a European component to either. As was pointed out there are a lot of European carriers that will hopefully co-operate that have not been involved in the past. Ok so LH owns most of them.
Flying to GRU in Y on a charter for 12+ hours does not sound like a heap of fun, and TAM does not map into fare buckets that will deliver full FF points into most other *A programs.

As not everybody can attend all days it should be possible to booked only parts of it and not like last year - basically all or nothing.

That would be a logistical nightmare, even more than the logistical nightmare that pulling a SMD already is. I can't fault them for the all or nothing. It was that way for both SMD1/2.

I also second bring a spare liver. :D :D

Cheers.

It wasn't all or nothing last year and we will make it even simpler this year:

The main event is the charter and the event itself is only 2 days, that's what we will market. Everything else is optional and will be secondary.

I think SMD2 had more pink-clad superheroes than Comic-Con!

We seem to definitely be an odd bunch.

pardon the interruption but nothing has been release for SMD3 correct? Just the kickoff party so far?

Yes, that's what the kickoff party is for :D

What we forget from time to time is our organizers aren't travel agents. They are just folks like us with regular jobs. :) Given the amount of postings that went back and forth last year even the "all or nothing" approach generates lots of special requests and extra work for the organizers. Entertaining partial bookings could very well be a logistical nightmare.

Is the rumor true that people who attended SMDI and SMDII are racking up points for future preferred seating? ....a platinum entry carpet? :D