Mileage Run from Hell
Jun 8, 2009, 9:23 am
#16
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
Ya, same. That's why I love the ORD-FRA runs - no stops and best of all, it's the same plane both ways. (Well not really, best of all is drinking Highland Park at LH SEN for a couple hours.)
Jun 8, 2009, 11:23 am
#17
Flyertalk Evangelist and Moderator: Coupon Connection and Travel Products
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Milton, GA USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Radisson Elite
Posts: 19,040
My thought exactly.... but do not forget that the OP also got to the airport later than expected.... that is JUST asking for trouble....
I personally love doing multi city mileage runs... that is part of the fun... the different airports, the different flights, possible bumps.
I personally love doing multi city mileage runs... that is part of the fun... the different airports, the different flights, possible bumps.
Jun 8, 2009, 11:45 am
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Programs: Frontier Gold, DL estranged 1MMer, Spirit VIP, CO/NW/UA/AA once gold/plat/comped gold now dust.
Posts: 38,151
NW was really the opposite of UA in that it had 3 relatively clustered hubs (MSP, MEM and DTW) that made it very user-unfriendly and not so rewarding for multi-city.
So you were forced to play it more straight. OTOH, NW's upgrade policy was more generous, so I figured the way to go was to fly transcons and try to earn as many EQMs as possible flying up front on complimentary upgrades.
You could also do it with things like trips to Asia (in back for 13 hours), but I think the "classy" way is with upgrade-eligible transcons, especially to places like SAN that aren't as upgrade-competitive as, say, DTW-LAX.
Dunno how the DL merger is going to change the game with all that...
Jun 8, 2009, 2:14 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Silver, AA, WN, DL
Posts: 4,091
Kinda like when I got myself on standby for an earlier flight, and succeeded, only to have it go MX and wind up arriving later than the original and missing the connecting.
Alas, this is the game we play when we MR... for better (VDB, op-up) or worse (missed flight, CX flight, etc.).
Jun 8, 2009, 3:43 pm
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA EXP, Lifetime Plat Marriott
Posts: 153
I take full responsibility for missing the 1st flight. The rental shuttle set me back but I still had sufficient time to make the flight. The tube of toothpaste issue could be argued though. The TSA rules states 3.4 oz limits on liquids or gels, not pastes. I've never had a problem with toothpaste or solid deodorants no matter what the size.
In any case, I wasn't about to get into an argument about the specifics of the TSA rules and told them to throw out whatever was a concern. It was the deliberate, methodical (in other words lengthy
) search of my possessions and the re-screening of my bags that I found unusual.
I still had time but when I mixed up my boarding passes and headed to the gate of my IAD-PVD flight
instead of the LAX-IAD flight, I sealed the deal. Even still, I missed the flight by less than a minute. The gate attended actually seemed to relish the fact in telling me the doors were just closed less than a minute ago and could not be opened.
Maybe she hadn't had her coffee yet
In any case, I wasn't about to get into an argument about the specifics of the TSA rules and told them to throw out whatever was a concern. It was the deliberate, methodical (in other words lengthy
) search of my possessions and the re-screening of my bags that I found unusual. I still had time but when I mixed up my boarding passes and headed to the gate of my IAD-PVD flight
instead of the LAX-IAD flight, I sealed the deal. Even still, I missed the flight by less than a minute. The gate attended actually seemed to relish the fact in telling me the doors were just closed less than a minute ago and could not be opened.Maybe she hadn't had her coffee yet
Jun 8, 2009, 4:00 pm
#22
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Highland Park,IL.
Programs: United 1K Million Mile flyer, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member, Marriott
Posts: 164
That really sucks. ORD was a mess today too. I always get nervous when doing the multi city MRs that something like this will happen. So far I have been lucky. The difficult part is that if one flight gets cancelled or you miss one it can mess up the entire MR.
Jun 8, 2009, 7:23 pm
#24
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Florida and Bangkok
Posts: 394
I just did 3 multi-city MRs during 3 of the last 5 weekends. My favorite was JFK-SFO-MIA-PTY, 16 hours in PTY, then PTY-MIA-ORD-SFO-JFK. The good part happened in MIA on the way back. Weather delay would have caused me to miss the ORD-SFO-JFK connections, so I was re-routed MIA-JFK thereby avoiding another redeye in coach and best of all - I got the original routing credit.
Jun 8, 2009, 7:29 pm
#25
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Silver, AA, WN, DL
Posts: 4,091
I've seen one GA go above and beyond by dispatching her colleague down the jetway to make sure they hold the door open one last minute; while on another flight, saw that a GA not even look up... merely in a matter of fact tone say that the flight was closed. This was 30 seconds after I saw a pax walk past the door onto the jetway.
I understand and respect the cutoff times, but to not even bother to say anything other than "It's closed" and not even have the decency to address a customer respectfully was disappointing to see.