FlyerTalk Forums - Who we all are

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- CommunityBuzz (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz-380/)

- - Who we all are (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/195465-who-we-all.html)

Welcome, FlyAAway.

This thread was from one of the earlier volumes of Who We All Are. The latest one is Who We All Are 6 under Flyer Talk Community I'd post a link, but my browser is acting up and I can't see the exact web pages I'm on.

But, I'm glad you brought this forward by posting. What ever happened to the Boeing Factory Tour? What ever happened to a Las Vegas Flyer Talk get together?

FT is one of my favorite places on the web. A group of fun, interesting, and above all decent people as has been confirmed by this thread.

I found out about the site by reading a WSJ article about Pudding Guy and his healthy choice caper.

My name is Marco (another one http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) and I am 31.
I grew up in Italy, attended boarding school in England (Canterbury),college in Chicago, and Law School in Washington DC. In law school I started training to be an Opera singer and am still in training though have had various other jobs over the years to support my habit. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I am currently in STL(not a bad city, nice people and lovely big park that we live next to as big as Central park in NYC which is great for our dog Lupo) following my wife around as she is doing an Allergy/Immunology fellowship here (Capt. Mike e-mail me if we can be of help). We have been married for 10 years now and have had the opportunity to travel to/dine in many wonderful places around the US, Canada, and Europe (though my wife traveled solo as a young woman throughout India and China before we met and is ethnically Chinese though born in MN, USA) and our favorite is SFO(Masa's)/South of France(Le Lutrin in Avignon). A dream lifestyle for us would be a live aboard sail boat across the bay from SFO(can't wait to take a crack at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon) within a half hour drive to Napa valley with lots of travelling and sailing around the world/anywhere on a sailboat along the Cote D'Azure. It will be a long time before anything like that though as my wife has another and longer fellowship planned in oncology +couple yrs. research (BMT specifically the immunology of GvHd) next (could be in Seattle though which is also a great place, did the skyline trail in Olympic a couple of years ago and would love to explore the Cascades, not to mention the great Wagner at the Opera House there).

All our travelling is done out of pocket. Fellows and Opera singers (now a full time dad of our 10 month old daughter Alessandra) don't have very deep pockets so miles are slow to accumulate. All the tips found on FT make the whole process that much more fun and far more efficient too(keep 'em coming Doc).

BA is my favorite airline by a long shot(as far as transatlantic goes) and I love reading Merry's posts(the BA FF god) though I am only a lowly blue (appropriate colour http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) level executive club member. I have just taken on a job to do some MS Office integration for a Spanish and Italian company so hopefully that will involve a bit of transatlantic travel that will rack up some more miles. As I plan on homeschooling my daughter (and hopefully some future siblings) I am saving the miles up to take her on educational trips around the world. If she was a little older I would have been all over the Latin Pass run and the 1w bonus.

Anyway, thanks for all the great tips and postings. I enjoy travelling vicariously with you through them and hopefully in the not too distant future I will be able to join some FTers in person at one of the get togethers and regale you (if you can stand it) with an aria or two http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Mvic (edited 06-11-2000).]

South of France (Le Lutrin in Avignon)???

so far I 'only' know: Christian Etienne, Hiély-Lucullus, Brunel, Fourchette, Jardin de la Tour, L'isle Sonnante, Cuisine de la Reine and Moutardier.

Please tell me more about 'Le Lutrin'.

Thanks BB. I envy you living so close to Banff, one of the places very high on my "to visit" list. May do it this year or next as a good friend of mine from Quebec city is going to teach Pol. Sci. in Prince George of all places for a year.

If my Côtes du Rhône tainted memory serves, as you come down the road from the Palais des Papes above with the great views of the river and the famous Pont d'Avingon you enter the square that I think was called Place du Palais or maybe Place d'Horloge. An immediate right and there is Le Lutrin on what I think must have been the north side of the square. I hope it is still there as it was a wonderful place with maybe 5-6 tables, an incredibly romantic atmosphere, and amongst their other epicurean delicacies they served the best chocolate mousse and the finest Muscat I have ever had the pleasure of sampling. After dinner a trip back up the road to the first overlook to enjoy the view of the bridge and the river in the moonlight and then back down again to the square where the hotel we stayed in was on the left side of the entrance to the square and a few feet from the door of Le Lutrin.

[This message has been edited by Mvic (edited 06-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Mvic (edited 06-11-2000).]

ok - thank you Mvic. It's the great Restaurant in the very nice hotel Palais-du-Pape http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/h...ais-des-papes/

[This message has been edited by Rudi (edited 06-11-2000).]

Thanks very much for the link Rudi. Your earlier post had me worried, for a minute there I thought that maybe it had closed which would have been a great shame as we plan on going back some day and reliving that memorable evening.

Hi everyone. Glad to be part of such an interesting group. My last name is Lowton, and I will go out of my way to avoid flying on those prop things, hence the UserName. Not very exciting but it seemed easy when I had to enter my first username awhile back, and it's easier to remember the same one everywhere else on the web. I live in northern CA and primarily fly out of SFO which of course has a massive UA presence. I work out of my home and have two perfect (really!) school-age kids and one old and a bit curmudgeonly cat. I came to FT after reading the TIME article on PuddingGuy (as did many others, I've observed), and this I've been a regular ever since. (My spouse would 2nd that!!) I'm not flying all that much, but with the information I've gleaned from these boards I have made some adjustments to my mileage accumulation practices and benefited from all the tips you all have generously shared.

[This message has been edited by Lowjet (edited 06-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Lowjet (edited 06-11-2000).]

Quote:

Originally posted by Celestar340:
FT Readers: Celestar posts extremely long messages again!

I think there might be some curiousities as well as doubts about my travel patterns and my extensive knowledge in the travel industry. Let me set the records straight.

I am a Chinese guy, originally from Toronto, Canada. I've lived between there, Vancouver, HongKong, Singapore, London, Sydney and Melbourne. I have residences in a few cities. I am 36 years ago and single. (Thus, I get to travel whenever I want!)

My main profession is a travel counsellor and have worked in the travel field for the past 15 years but not am not working actively in it now. Due to my personal experiences, and expertise, I have been able to take advantage of the best fares and promotions available in order to achieve maximum points. I do not get travel industry rates or privileges. All of my travels are personally funded. I have business interests in Media Events, Fashion Design, Publishing, & Food Processing.

Some FTyers have expressed concern that I may have comped a majority of my frequent travel cards. This is untrue (there is only one comped card)but the explanations from each programme below will explain:-

01. AC Super Elite - STAR GOLD- I have accumulated most of last years' flights with AC. Most of my flights are on Star Alliances and not on AC as I do not fly them to Canada. I achieved AC Gold only in 1997, and got my benefits for 1998. In August 1998, AC sent me a letter asking me to challenge their offer of reaching SuperElite. I only had to fly 38,000 more miles after I have requalified for Elite (which is 35,000).

02. CP Executive Platinum -1W EMERALD-
CP comped me to Executive Platinum when I asked them if they would if I am to switch a majority of my flights from AC's programme to CP now that they have more partners which benefit me. I was surprised that they did considering that my account has been dormant since 1993! Currently my most active FF programme.

03. LH Senator - STAR GOLD-
I achieved Senator only on the basis that the majority of my flying are in First and Business Class that is the fastest way to reach Senator.

04. AN Diamond - STAR GOLD-
AN is the only programme that you can acheive status by flying all its airline partners. I did a few crazy x-Oz trip just to achieve Diamond by Nov 1998!

05. SR Travelclub
SR was my first 'elite' programme which I qualified in 1996. It isn't too hard to get elilte on SR if you fly between Europe and Asia alot, even in economy. I do not know if I can retain Travelclub status next year now since the Qualiflyer group of airlines are not my preferred carrier choice.

06. CX Gold -1W SAPPHIRE-
CX then, was a loyalty programme. Meaning that mileage (counted in kilometres) is counted towards loyalty but the accumulated mileage is sent to an airlines' programme. In this case, most of my mileage was accumulated under AN's frequent flyer programme. My Marco Polo Club membership was held in Sydney since it was easier to advise them to advise Ansett if any flight credit descrepancies arose (and there were).

07. QF Silver -1W SAPPHIRE-
When CX joined 1W , they asked all Australian based members (which included me) if they prefer to have an Australian based frequent flyer programme. MPC Gold would get the QF Gold. That is how I achieved QF Silver. Most of my credits are from Hertz car rentals in Australia. QF awards 8 points per every AUD$ on car rentals.

08. MH Enrich Gold
MH's Malaysia Airlines Esteemed Traveller programme was also a loyalty programme. Miles counted toward the loyalty programme and flight miles were awarded on AN's programme. My present membership is valid till March 2001. I will not be renewing with them.

9. TG Silver - STAR SILVER-
It's easy to acheive TG Silver - which I joined in 1994. After only flying 12,500 miles with them you get Silver status. But you must maintain by crediting at least 10K miles with STAR carriers a year.

10. UA Mileage Plus -No status-
I only fly to credit on UA only when they have promotional bonuses. But I have over 200K with them because of that!

11. SK EuroBonus -No status- SK had their bonus programme - Fly 5 Get 5 in 1997. I currently only have only 20,200 points with them. Still figuring on how to best use the points up!

12. AF Frequence Plus -No status-
I only fly them between London and Paris. French service is so saviour-faire.

13. AA Advantage -No status-
I joined in 1981 and just hung on for the sake of it. Only 38K left!

While I'm at it - these are my main hotel programmes:

1. Hyatt Gold Passport - Diamond.
I have been a member since 1990. But only received Diamond status in 1996. My main cities I visit are : Paris, HongKong, Sydney, Melbourne, Bali and Bangkok. I've stayed at the Bangkok Hyatt over 78 times in the past 3 years.

2. Hilton - VIP GOLD
Comped to Gold from Silver after achieveing AC Super Elite.

3. Marriott - Miles and Rewards
Still trying to figure out how these two programmes work and corelate.

4. Starwood Gold
Crossed over from the Sheraton Club International.

5. Shangri-La Golden Circle - Executive
Shangri-La attempted to win me over from Hyatt but failed because they would not give me their top level.

Just to give you an idea, I was asked by BA to fill in a travel survey recently. I was asked how many flights (sectors) I did between May 11th 1998 and May 11th this year.
I counted as noted below and had : 179 flights!

My name, Celestar340 is the nickname Singapore Airlines names their Airbus A340 fleet. Which is ironic, since I hardly travel on them.

PS - I've deleted my travel itineraries because some people have complained that they were too long and it clogs up their download time !

[This message has been edited by Celestar340 (edited 06-28-1999).]

Dear Celestar340:
I am intersested in starting a travel agency
in Colorado.I have not worked in the Travel Industry before .I would like to know where I could Information on starting a Travel Agency.

John Rinker
[email protected]

This was posted elsewhere; I was kindly guided to the current thread. Here we go again.

I hope I have posted in the correct place; sort of a long and winding road to get here.

Those of you who have drilled far enough past the info icon would already know that my given name is Steve.

I am an aerospace professional in the manufacturing sector. I assist airlines with their maintenance programs. The idea is
to provide spares and materials (via top-notch forecasting) that will allow the jets to return to revenue service on schedule. I
have been able to see several airline maintenance facilities up close and personal. My choice of carriers is very deliberate.
We all assume that our lives are in the hands of the pilots when we fly. Recent evidence would inidicate that the best pilot
will not overcome shoddy maintenance.

This job entails frequent travel and has taken me around the U.S. and Europe.

It is also my privelege to fly with the United States Air Force Reserve. I fly as a Boom Operator on the KC-10A which is
the military derivative of the DC-10-30CF. This job has literally taken me around the world. I have flown within 200 nm of
either pole, landed in the Arctic Circle, and had a ton of fun doing it. Oh, the KC-10 is an aerial tanker. We refuel other
aircraft whilst flying. Unbelievably cool.

I live in Southern California. I live equidistant from Ontario (ONT) and Palm Springs (PSP) but usually fly from Orange
County (SNA) for a number of reasons, chiefly the Admirals Club.

Love to fly, love to travel, enjoy cabernet, and all kinds of food.

Flyer Talk and Napster are my cyber-passions.

Now you know!

Thanks for posting everyone1 Welcome.

!

[This message has been edited by BlondeBomber (edited 06-29-2000).]

I've been reading and posting on FT for just a couple months, but I'm hooked now - no turning back.

Name's Lori, a 46 year old project manager for an international corp in Grand Rapids, MI. I've had the great luck to travel the world for both business and pleasure and am certifiably travel-crazed. I'm either on a trip, planning a trip (or two), or helping friends do the same. Been NW Gold in the past, but now just Silver Elite due to a dry spell in international action.

Been married forever to a highly accomplished home-brewer. We have two great teenage kids and a pushy Belgian boat dog. Travel in pursuit of downhill skiing, sailing and good eats/drinks are the favorite ways to spend the travel budget.

If the DJIA is willing and the creek don't rise, we hope to retire at 55 and get down to some really serious travel.

Thanks for the invitation to tell my tale!