My Award:
YUL/EWR
EWR/CDG
CDG/LYS

I will post a report after the flight! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Smorin
You should check the airports

EWR-CDG- is on a 777
The Concorde flys out of JFK

The impression I got from the OnePass Elite flyer I received the other day was that you had until 03/31/02 to claim an award ticket on AF, but that the ticket was good for a year after that.

That is indeed correct. The ticket must be issued by 3/31/02, but as we know, reward tickets are fully changeable provided space is available. So the ticket would be valid for up to a year from the date of issue or 3/31/02, whichever is earlier.

RChavez

The deadline is fast approaching to claim this award. I'm half tempted to burn 200,000 OP miles to do this once in a lifetime flight, as they seem to have become less and less valuable on CO. Anyone else get this award and/or fly on Concorde recently? Any suggestions for onward destinations in France from CDG worth a long weekend visit?

I'd double check to see if changes can be made after ticketing and the reward availability expires.

In the case of the expiring off-peak rewards CO states that standard reward mileage requirements apply for changes after the reward expiration date.

Well, I finally got past my procrastination and put in a request for two tickets on the Concorde for my wife Feebster and myself. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif I requested any date from the middle of August to the middle of December, 3-4 days in Paris, and then a week in Moscow. So, hopefully I’ll know something in 10 days or less. As soon as I know something, I’ll post it here. This is where I get to burn all those miles from last year’s Great Mileage Bonanza, especially since I can no longer use them for BF upgrades!

BWT, the deadline to REQUEST an award with AF is March 15. The deadline to BOOK is March 31.

I agree with dbaker. I’m not taking the Concorde for the time savings, but for the experience...Mach meter in the front, watching it move past 1.0, and flying at 60K feet, where I understand you can actually see the curvature of the Earth...the closest thing to flying into space, short of Dennis Titov’s flight, or one of Space Adventures’ flights in a MiG-25 Foxbat for 13 grand! And the food, booze, and service is truly international first class plus, even though the seat pitch is a lousy 34", similar to E+ on UA! Truly, the flight of a lifetime!!!

PCAF definitely includes domestic connections on CO to the AF gateway. And they will make best efforts to put you on domestic FC. Be aware however that they will put you on CO flights that usually go into EWR. And AF Concorde flights go out of JFK, so a cab trip is involved.

Now, can you go beyond Paris? I’ve gotten conflicting info on that. A CO rep told me previously that I couldn’t...to Paris only! Today, I was told otherwise. But then, none of you have gotten conflicting info from CO, right??? I was told today that I could, so I have now requested SNA-EWR/JFK-CDG-SVO.

And ClassicalGal is absolutely correct! You cannot book one way. You can book CO upgrades O/W, but not reward tix.

Will I get my request? Stay tuned...same time, same channel!!!

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"Read my lips! No more benefit cuts!"...Gordon Bethune

[This message has been edited by SemiElite (edited 03-09-2002).]

Well, since I placed the request a week ago today, I thought I'd call CO and see if they knew anything yet. Turns out, I got it!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif And I got very close to my requested dates...Aug.13-29. Apparently it's easier to get Concorde reward tickets than BF reward tickets on CO to Europe!

8/13 HP542 Lv SNA 6:45A Arr PHX 8:12A
8/13 HP12 Lv PHX 8:53A Arr JFK 4:45P
8/14 AF1 Lv JFK 8:00A Arr CDG 5:45P
8/19 AF1944 Lv CDG 9:25A Arr SVO 3:10P
8/26 AF2545 Lv SVO 7:15A Arr CDG 9:25A
8/26 AF2 Lv CDG 10:30A Arr JFK 8:25A
8/26 HP32 Lv JFK 12:51P Arr PHX 3:05P
8/26 HP660 Lv PHX 4:00P Arr SNA 5:11P

I was initially offered the non-stop CO transcon from SNA, but changed to HP because they fly into JFK instead of EWR, making connections with the Concorde much simpler. Also, he could confirm FC on HP, but not on CO. And based on previous experience with CO on their transcons, I didn't want to chance a 6 hour flight in a 31" pitch seat!

So, the Feebster and I are now booked all the way FC/BC. And, like a typical woman, she's even talking about buying a "Concorde outfit"! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

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"Read my lips! No more benefit cuts!"...Gordon Bethune

Congratulations! I put in a request today for August to rest of the year. The CO agent seemed to think it really wasn't necessary to give such a long alternative. So it must be easy to come by.

Does the 200k miles each cover the entire trip or is the trip to Moscow need more miles?

Get ready for the flight of your life!!! I was really surprised how easy it was! And I think you'll probably get the dates you want, or close. My request was almost identical to yours...preferred Aug. 15, but anything through Dec. 15 would be fine. And I wanted 3-4 days in Paris, followed by a week in Moscow. And I needed 2 seats on a plane that only seats 92 pax!

And yes, the 200K miles covers the whole trip...flights to the gateway, and flights beyond, with a stopover allowed. And all flights are booked in the highest class of service available! So we're flying SNA-PHX-JFK FC on HP, and BC on AF CDG-SVO.

As the Feebster pointed out to me, 200K really isn't a bad deal for all those flights in FC!!!

And the Concorde has its own lounge at JFK, where you can board the flight directly from the lounge, so you don't have to rub shoulders with the hoi polloi! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif And if you fly into EWR, AF will provide a limousine service for its Concorde pax to JFK. Also, Air France has BC lounges in both Paris and Moscow. The more I think about it, not a bad deal at all!

Would be really neat if we were on the same flight! Then we could toast with Dom Perignon! Yep, Dom Perignon, lobster, truffles, caviar, chocolate eclairs (that one got the Feebster ballistic!). Yeah, I could get used to this real easy! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Now that flight to HKG last year in Coach that netted me 240K miles doesn't seem so bad! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif



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"Read my lips! No more benefit cuts!"...Gordon Bethune

Yippeeee

I'm going on the Concorde..I'm going on the Concorde http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Now let's just hope I can get the time off work. If not I think it may certainly be worthwhile to have one of those...yeah well I am flying on the Concorde and your not,ner ner ner, so you can take this job and shove it..moments http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Phoebe

[This message has been edited by Feebster (edited 03-16-2002).]

CONGRATULATIONS!! What a wonderful and exciting way to burn CO miles! I'd love to do it just once for the experience. The Nightflyers had thought about it, but we decided instead to try for QF first class tickets to Australia. We would have been much better off with the Concorde, I think, as we're having difficulty finding dates when First Class is available.

I wonder how much it costs CO to send someone on the Concorde or to AU in First Class on QF. . . http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I pointed out to the "We Care" people that since we couldn't use our miles for BF upgrades any more, we were having to spend them on other airlines, so it was costing CO big bucks. She said she would report it. . .

Nightflyer,

Actually if you want to wallow in luxury, intl. FC is the way to go! Concorde is for the experience, not for the luxury. Yes, the luxury is there, but only for 3 3/4 hours. Just how much caviar and truffles can you eat, and how much Dom Perignon can you drink in 3 hours airborne? And the seats are essentially leather-covered UA E+ or AA MRTC.

No, it's the experience! Being slammed back into your seat upon take-off, seeing the curvature of the earth at 50-60K feet, knowing you're one of a small minority of people to join company with Chuck Yeager flying at Mach 2...knowing you're flying higher and faster than anyone else other than jet fighter pilots and astronauts, and feeling the heat of friction against your window!

My options (only hypothetically http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ):
Orbital flight--$20,000,000
Sub-orbital flight--$98,000
MiG 25 Foxbat ride--$13,000
Concorde RT--40,000 miles + $130 taxes (and that's for two people!)

It so happens that I'm going to still have another 270K miles which I'm gonna burn getting my in-laws to the U.S. for a visit on QF FC. Now, that may not be "experience," but it certainly is luxury! Sleeper seats, private video with selection of 50 movies, outstanding gourmet food and drink endorsed/supervised (?) by Neil Perry...and 15 hours to enjoy it!

I've never taken intl. FC, but I did fly QF BC from LAX-SYD on a CO reward ticket. QF's BC is certainly comfortable and pleasant, but definitely can't hold a candle to CO's BF. OTOH, I understand that QF's FC really is superior! If you can get it, it's well worth the extra 30K miles!

I booked 3 months prior, was able to get BC but couldn't get FC. But others here have had success getting FC. Depends on when you fly, how much advance notice you give, and how flexible you are with travel dates.

I don't know what CO pays, but a RT JFK-CDG costs $10,000. Discounts are widely available, so I'm sure they don't pay that. But, that doesn't include the flight to the gateway, not any flights beyond (we're flying on to SVO in BC).

I haven't called WE CARE NOT, but I did mention to the guy at the Intl. Partners Rewards Desk that I was burning my miles on partner rewards because they were no longer useable for CO intl. upgrades. Hope he passed my comment upward!




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"Read my lips! No more benefit cuts!"...Gordon Bethune

Hi Y'all

Back in December I requested 3 seats on the Concorde for travel in April. I asked for April6, return on the 14th, but would accept any travel date. The rep told me that AF usually ony allows 2 award seats to CO each flight, but being flexible would help. When I caled back a few days later I had 3 seats on the exact days I requested !!!

I know that for revenue customers AF provides transport between EWR and JFK but was told that the overnight stay in NewYork (on the way over) and all ground transportation were at "passengers expense".

The award includes domestic legs in the USA, connecting legs on the other side of the pond...we're flying into Milan and returning from Rome (that's called an "open jaw" for those of you wantng to learn the lingo) as well as a stopover in Paris.

Steve

With all this Concorde talk, I'm begining to think about burning some of my CO miles as well for a quick weekend run to Paris. I'll give OP a call and see what the availablity is for leaving on anyFriday with a return on the following Sunday http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. Nothing like a Sat evening in the 'city of lights'

You may want to try that today at the latest even though you may be too late. Mar 15 was the deadline for requests for awards on AF as AF/CO arrangement is ending.