Trip Report (Mega Omni Warning!)
 

It's good to be back at WebFlyer. When last I posted I was off to SAN for marriage and then two weeks in Hawaii. Will attempt to stick to the travel facts after one brief personal aside:

CATMAN attended my wedding. It was an interesting meeting someone I read so often. I saw your post on the wedding Catman and as soon as I catch up on everything I will be responding to you more personally! We were glad you made it!

Day One: PHX/SAN on Southworst. Plane 45 minutes late due to some type of APU problem. Mechanic on board making lots of noise. Ignored it -- just the norm for the cattlecar with wings.

Alamo Rental -- Cadillac. Quick rental process. Car dirty and electronic functionality imperfect. Oh well.

Day Four (wedding festivities between):

Returning Alamo car at 515am (after almost dying on the freeway in the rain -- off subject, sorry!). TOTAL nightmare. Only one machine working so have to write down mileage and go inside to stand in line to return car. Three vans running full -- everyone decided to leave early Sun AM? After waiting until 545a (with a 620a flight!), asked Alamo to call cab which arrived in less than 2 mins.

UA to SFO to HNL

Arrive at SAN by cab at 552a. Go inside to monumental line. Look EVERYWHERE for First Class check-in. See NOTHING (Catman -- you flew out that AM -- where the heck was it???). Go stand in semi-monumental line outside for curb-side baggage check. At 607a arrive at front of line only to be told because we are Hawaii-bound, we have to check in at the counter. GRRRRRRRRR -- but skycap takes me to front of line, agent Jerry does a bang up job and we make the flight.

Flight is OK -- First Class on UA shuttle nothing special anyway (avoid the very nasty "waffle" cookies -- ruin even the very best bloody mary!)...

UA First Class SFO-HNL

Pre-board/pre-departure fine. More room on UA Shuttle 737 than on UA 747 tho.

We're seated in row 5 -- of course we have no choice from menu -- chicken is the only thing left... Meal Ok. Video system AFU so bad movie starts badly 5 times before someone adds chewing gum or re-ties the rubberband.

Alamo convertible. 15 minute wait but car OK -- tho dirty (standard theme here)...

Outrigger Waikiki -- Honolulu. Stayed in the Voyager's Club -- excellent experience. Similar to the Regency Clubs at Hyatt et al except the breakfast/cocktail area is on the roof level and has an outdoor area overlooking Diamond Head/Waikiki Beach. Quite nice and very attentive service.

Day Six -- Off to Maui

Return of Alamo car extremely smooth. Van waiting right there.

Aloha First Class. Easy check-in. Given directions and code for access to First Class lounge. Nice lounge tho rather spartan compared to Admirals Clubs. NO windows either!

Flight is wonderful. Tremendous room on Aloha. Staff genuinely nice and friendly.

Alamo convertible -- short van ride. Car there and dirty.

Stayed at private condo on Kahana beach. Watched sea turtles every morning and gorgeous sunsets every evening. Side note (like this whole paragraph -- sorry!): Rudi and Catman can expect special email attachment this weekend! Three guesses of what!

Day whatever -- to Kauai.

Return Alamo car goes smoothly. Same great Aloha service -- check-in and lounge again.

Kauai -- NATIONAL convertible. Smooth rental but dirty (why not?!)...

Stay at private condo in Poipu. Unbelievable as Tom Hopkins would say.

Return of National car is smooth. Aloha checks us through to PHX including boarding passes...

Arrive HNL with two hour layover. I go to check-in, tell agent I'm already checked in and paying FULL first class fare, could we use the Red Carpet Club. She insists on checking us in again (why?) and then states rather abruptly that the RCC is for members only and she will sell me access for only $50 per person for the day. I rather abruptly decide that I don't like the attitude and go to Stinger Ray's and have a nice $43 breakfast including a couple of bloody marys!

UA first class HNL-SFO

Pre-board fine. Pre-departures rather spartan and rushed but it was a full 747. Again seated in row 5. When menus are handed out I comment that it's a waste of time to hand out menus past row 4. That draws a laugh from FA Kathy.

Eventually they come around for lunch orders and guess what -- they're out! We were rather rudely offered cattlecar meals by the Chief Purser who didn't even wait for an answer but took off.

FA Kathy came by to refill the gin and tonic and couldn't believe it! We did eventually get nice first class meals -- food was actually ok but the process is rather ridiculous. We understand that not everyone can have their choice but geez, quit spending the $$ on menus to offer choices!!

Arrive in torrential rain in SFO for another 2 hr layover. Didn't even bother to check for RCC -- just hung around the terminal area and watched people in a hurry to go nowhere!

Shuttle flight to PHX was delayed an hour and a half -- whole SFO ops was a mess due to weather in SFO and midwest. Horrible gate management -- the departure screens showed that the PHX flight was boarding. Arrive at gate to sign that says PHX flight. Get in line (missed pre-board). Get to front of line to find out that it's actually a shuttle flight to RNO. Then they're boarding a shuttle flight to SLC. Then PHX. Another long wait.

Finally home. Caught bronchitis along the way. Messes to clean up at work. Glad to be home.

Still Onefreeman

Aloha!

Onefreeman,

Thanks for the trip report. Yes, United may be "rising," but you hit upon three of their weakest areas:

1. SFO. Delays, crowds, and everything else. Just avoid this airport if at all possible.

2. First-class meal choices in the last two rows. Forget it. Make sure you're up front when you reserve your seats.

3. Lounge access. This is bass-ackwards. Theu sell it to everybody and his brother for a few hundres bucks a year, and don't give it for free to first-class passengers and frequent flyers. And once you get in, they have the worst service in the industry.

Thanks and keep posting!

onemarriedman,

CONGRATULATIONS! I got married in Maui back in 1996. Stayed at the Kea Lani Resort and would go back in a heartbeat. On the Big Island, we stayed at the Kailua Plantation House which is literally right on the water. We had to close our sliding glass door when there was a gusty wind or the surf would have flowed into our room!

We flew SEA-HNL on Northwest DC-10 in first and thought it was perfect. The flight crew gave us a bottle of champagne as we departed in HNL. We flew Aloha 737's between the islands. Sort of like Southwest Airlines with more colorful interiors. Pretty forgettable otherwise.

Sigh...Hawaii. It's time to go back!

let me timidly add, we have been there (Honolulu, Maui) on our 25th wedding anniversary day in 1995. Who beats this record (without divorce in between)?

OneFreeman... Aloha and welcome back to FlyerTalk. For the record, travel reports are NOT considered OMNI (if the folks at Inside Flyer disagree please let me know.)
But I hope despite the frustrations you and
your lovely bride had a wonderful and unforgettable honeymoon. (hope you're feeling better too!)

A few suggestions on your travel experiences:

*I would write Alamo and National and tell them of the problems with the dirty and stalled cars and service. At least Alamo should refund part of your rental. Then you can take your wife out for dinner. That is
inexcuseable. (Read the postings on ALAMO,
ALAMO A NO GO FOR THE CAT.)

*Wondered why I could not find you at SAN but
I too had problems finding the First Class/Premier check-in. Sign was turned sideways, one Premier check-in window open
(though the agent was friendly.) I told him
they should have a mega sized signed for us
to check in faster.
(the other problem was CLoud9 Shuttle guy was late, nervous and missed the airport turnoff!)

*SFO as QuietLion said is crazy and can be
daunting. In the UA terminal I head for the
circular bar in the middle of the concourse
before the gates and tell the bartender to serve me a Sam Adams straight up and keep them coming. It may be high priced but I need somethign to get me through the delays and craziness there! The UA staff there can be helpful or totally braindead.

*Have not flown Aloha but is it worth a try guys?

*Go back to Maui a.s.a.p. In fact we all should try to get there every few years. I'm ready to go back. That would be a great place for a FlyerTalk convention. It's also
one of the two places I'd like to honeymoon
(other is Paris.)

Anyway, hope you are feeling better my friend. CATMAN

Rudi, ole buddy. We cannot beat your 25th anniversary record, but my wife and I offer our sincerest congratulations to you and Gisella!

In another year and a half, we will be going to Hawaii to celebrate OUR 25th anniversary!

First, to Hono, then to Maui and a stop at Hasagawa's (rebuilt after the fire) General Store.

You both must be very remarkable people to have shared such a sincere commitment for so long.

All our best...

-Harry

Oops! Typo alert...make that Hasegawa's General Store.

Well Rudi, my main cigar man, and hnechets, my Texan friend(once a Texan always a Texan),
Ol' JAWs can top you both, and all of them have been with beautiful Sarah Jane. I suppose we should hold a contest to see who can come up with the correct number of years.
And, another anny is coming up on 2/1/99.

We should have know..."Everything's Bigger In Texas!" Ok, I'll start...I say 30 you ole codger, you.

Yike! We're going OMNI again... but since old
Jaws43 wants a contest...

My best buddy has been married 36 years, married young (which is what I'm guessing you and Sarah Jane did) so I'll say 36 years of bliss.

And congratulations to all the married Flyer
Talk members and those with special others.
Someday soon I hope to be among you too!
CATMAN

Send an email with your guesses. Yep, Catman is correct about being young. In fact, too young to know any better. That's why it has worked so well. None of the above are correct.

Honeymooned in Hawaii 11 years ago (my third, her second) and loved every minute of it. We spent time on Oahu (north shore Hilton), Kauai (Sheraton Princeville) and Maui (Marriott). We'd been there before and have been back every two years or so since. Favorite is Kauai. (When we were first there, she worked for the now-extinct RTC. We could look across the bay at Hanalei Plantations and say "you own all that.")

Everyone should go to Hawaii at least once a year to 18 months. (maybe I made this post
before.) We all need to escape.

It's not like Vegas, when you are on the go
26 hours and losing money. You lose less in
the Hawaiian island (I salute Onefreeman and
the people of Hawaii for their hospitality!)

And consider all the ff miles you earn (especially we folk in JERZEE LAND!!!)
CATMAN

If you're all willing to fly out, I'm willing to plan a FlyerTalk party, I mean conference. Great food, umbrella drinks (microbrew for the non-umbrella crowd) and weather. So when are you arriving?

Had my honeymoon in Maui in 1986.Went back in 1996.
One freeman i am in Scottsdale almost every 4 weeks.If you know Catman then you must be O.K.We can talk war sories on U.A.
I will be in Scottsdale on Pearl Harbor day.
E-mail me.
Congratulations on your wedding.

Great idea TropicalFlyer! Perhaps we could get an airline and hotel chain and car rental company on board as sponsors and hold a symposium on what we could all do together to make travel more enjoyable, etc.? Nah, too progressive. We'll stick to pupus and umbrella drinks!

Unbeknownst to most of you, I'm a grad of the University of Hawaii -- and we're always willing to jump on the plane for a trip to paradise!

Msg53 -- email coming as soon as my online mail service (hotmail) finishes their system patching this AM.

And belatedly, congrats to Rudi and everyone else who proves that marriage can and does work with the right partners. This is my second marriage and Rae's third -- and we can't wait to celebrate 25 years because we'll have sooooo many great stories to tell!

If you plan something like a FlyerTalk
"conference" then you should do it way in advance so we all can get to it and do some serious talking (I mean enjoying umbrella drinks, which I enjoyed in Maui.)

It's great that we are all meeting up on our travels and proving that folks with names like CATMAN really exist! CATMAN

I say let's do it! TropicalFlyer has volunteered his (or is it her's...sorry I don't know) services to handle the island logistics...getting a good deal on a hotel, pupu planning, what color (that's colour to you MerryFlyer) for the dinkie umberellas, plenty of backscratchers for those "Tropical Itch" drinks...that sort of thing. We need to determine the following:

1. The Date
2. The Island(s) Ohau would be cheapest for both hotel and air no doubt and would allow members on a budget a better chance at attending, plus TropicalFlyer lives on Ohau, which would make it easier for him to organize. But maybe we could add on a couple of days on another island for those whose finances permit it.
3. The Hotel - do we want TropicalFlyer to see if he can get us a deal at one hotel or do we all just want to take care of our own arrangements, or a combination of both?
4. The Air - I think it's safe to say that you're on your own, baby! Last one to put in for an Upgrade is a rotten egg!
5. The Agenda - we don need no steeking agenda! Dis is Hawaii, brudda. Jus show up and enjoy! I think just some meeting times and places will do just fine, don't you?
6. Excursions - maybe we could plan an optional group trip of some sort...sailing, snorkeling, touring, round-the-world all six Star Alliance partners trip?
7. Special Events - I say we all meet at the Honolulu Red Carpet Club and harrass the receptionists with bogus upgrade requests...you know, we all whip out our Premier, PE, and 1K cards and make a scene...sort of a Dueling Elite Status thing. Many laughs I'm sure. Actually the RCC there is very nice and the bar makes killer Mai Tais from scratch!

Your suggestions?

somewhen between sep-15th and nov-15th?

stop (not more than 23 hours 59 minutes, so it is considered to be a through-flight, not a stopover) at SFO from late Saturday-night to Sunday-night (last UA flight leaving SFO at about 6PM to HNL), be my guest at a 49ers-home-game (we go there by boat: brunch and drinks on board, leaving fisherman's wharf 3 hours before the game starts on Sunday morning 10AM).

And tropicalflyer lives in Honolulu (she).

... and we will video all check-ins (queuing, upgrade-discussions) / club-lounge-treatments / boarding-procedures / service-on-board / priority ? - luggage-handling / rental-cars (clean?) / hotel-reception / etc. etc. etc / when and how will the mileage-credits appear / etc. / etc. / etc / and as a courage-test each participant has to use/try one of the "beating-the-system-guerilla-tips" (taped on video): by joint-decision of all participants for the winner (showing most and succesful courage) I offer 50'000 miles for a US-Europe (or equivalent if not living in US) eco return ticket on UA and a week at our Chalet in Wengen: skiing or just "in the snow" with us (partner-flight-ticket of the winner would have to aranged b the winner him-/herself).

Tropicalflyer's suggestion is great. Although her occupation remains a mystery, I recall her saying something about having organised a conference(s?) - so she'd be a great person to set this up for us.
Rudi - I like your ideas too: who knows - Catman might put the show on the air... we could all take this opportunity to learn from the ff-maestro (And I think that you should publish an updated version of the guerilla tactics...)

one the return stop (not stopover) in SFO I could arrange a sightseeing/tasting to/in the Nappay and Sonoma valley.

this ..... text system here is and stays to be a mistery for me: I have never typed a double P and a Y at the end of NAPA.

Everyone heads up - all discussion regarding a FlyerTalk conference has been moved to to the subject heading Hawaii 1999 started by Rudi. Rudi, being the gentleman that he is, has summarized everyone's comments, into his first message.

Please post any conference planning info under Rudi's subject heading rather than mine or this one.