I'm probably out. I'm at a trade show in AMS. Leave Sept 6th; back the 15th. I might be able to pull up the return by a day, but not much more. Depends on when the European part starts & actual dates for the Do.

anat01, there will be other high school reunions - go on SMD3!

Cheers.

European only would be my favourite, but North America would be also fine. No South America for me. But with a already packed schedule for September and the summer holidays, which I have to spend in the office as the rest of our team will be on holiday, I have to see the dates before I can decided anything. (One or two days not in the office would not be a big problem but anything longer)

LX may very well be interested considering how much they went out of their way to give VIP treatment to the two FTers who flew JFK-ZRH on LX15 during SMD2. Ditto for BMI which showed an interest in and supported both SMD1 and SMD2.

There are so many more *A carriers in Europe!

Maybe this is obvious, but just wanted to be sure... When you say the week after Labor Day do you mean during the week immediately after Labor Day (Sept 6-10) or the following week (Sept 12-17)? Depending on the exact schedule, the latter could collide with ACL Festival in Austin (Sept 16-18). I doubt many FTers go to that, but I never miss it.

I wondered that too, but I interpreted it as Sept 12-17. I'm sure tommy will clarify.

Of course in my case it almost doesn't matter since I leave the day after Labor Day for trade show. But if it was the latter, there's a slim outside chance I could make it if the European part started on Tues aft/eve, as it has in the past & then the rest went the normal way, as the trade show I'm attending ends on the Tuesday & I could fly to wherever the Europe meet up is. Well, that would be the hope anyway. But again, it may be a long-shot for me & I'll have to live vicariously through the rest of you.

Realize the boys are picking the Sept for less expensive airfare over the pond (which doesn't make sense to me since it's still shoulder season for summer & goodness knows I'm paying a lot for my air to AMS because of that, rather than Nov - but then again, airline pricing never makes sense to me! LOL), but also think some folk who have been in the past won't be able to make it due to September actually being a busy month for trade shows, conferences, etc. I know 2 other FTers who were on SMD1/2 who also have business conflicts.

I could go Option 1 or 2, but leaning a bit towards Option 1.

I probably won't be able to make it to the NYC kick-off, but will check airfare etc when I return from London next week.

Cheers.

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.