Trip Report Sweden - USA on SK,UA,AA. February 1999
Mar 15, 1999, 11:57 am
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Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Melbourne
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Posts: 1,762
Trip Report Sweden - USA on SK,UA,AA. February 1999
This is my first ever report, so please don't be too scathing about it!
The Plan:
I wanted to travel from my home in Stockholm (ARN) to visit friends and family in the USA. In particular to Kansas City (MCI), Dallas (DFW) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) .
The Offers:
I had 1 free 4 coupon tourist class trip, on UA expiring 1 May 1999, non upgradeable, valid only on UA aircraft. Lots of SK (SAS) miles. A few AA miles. A big preference to use Star Alliance airlines if I could.
The Tickets:
I tried to use the free UA flights as much as possible. But they do not fly their own planes to Stockholm and it was hard to get to most of UA's European cities from ARN in time to make a UA flight. The exception was Heathrow LHR. I could take the first SK flight and make a UA connection on a flight to ORD. So I could then get via ORD to either MCI, DFW or FLL and back via ORD to LHR on UA. But what to do to get between MCI, DFW and FLL? When tapping ORD, MCI, DFW and FLL together into booking systems, the result was always the same. One airline - AA was the most logical choice - sorry Star Alliance.
In the end I bought two tickets and together with my free UA one, had the following - a total of 10 coupons:
Stockholm ARN to London LHR return
SK ticket cost approximately USD 200 - a special offer, so I bought it and saved some miles and earned miles with EuroBonus
1. ARN - LHR
2. LHR - ARN
London LHR to Kansas City MCI via Chicago ORD return
UA ticket free trip (issued by SAS as part of their Fly5Get5 offer). No miles to earn here.
1. LHR - ORD
xORD - MCI
2. MCI - ORD ***
xORD - LHR
Kansas City MCI to Fort Lauderdale FLL return with one stop in Dallas DFW and return connection via Chicago ORD
AA ticket cost approximately USD 210. Miles earned with AAdvantage
1. MCI - DFW
2. DFW - FLL
3. FLL - ORD
xORD - MCI ***
*** These two coupons were to be discarded (after canceling the flights) - see below:
The itinerary was to be:
1. Stockholm to Kansas City
ARN - LHR on SK
xLHR - ORD on UA
xORD - MCI on UA
2. Kansas City to Dallas
MCI - DFW on AA
3. Dallas to Fort Lauderdale
DFW - FLL on AA
4. Fort Lauderdale to Stockholm
FLL -ORD on AA
xORD - LHR on UA
xLHR - ARN on SK
I decided to discard two of my coupons so that I'd get a faster itinerary. I'd get no points on the UA flight anyhow and lose only 500 on AA's, so it didn't much matter. It was around USD 100 cheaper to buy the AA ticket like I did, rather than to open jaw it - one of the strange little quirks of airline ticket prices. At USD 210, it was also cheaper than any coupon system that AA offers to travelers from Europe.
The Upgrades:
Sadly I didn't have much of a chance here. SAS has only just now started selling them on their routes. My UA flights were issued by SAS. They would normally have cost 50000 EuroBonus points in tourist class and 80000 in business. I offered to pay the difference (30000) in order to get upgraded but it wasn't allowed. With AA, my status is so dismal that I knew it would be coach all the way. So I did not have too many expectations with 8 sectors in tourist class to look forward to.
The Trip:
No problems with SK to London. Very nice check in staff but because I had a separate ticket for UA, through check-in was not possible despite UA being a fellow Star Alliance airline. My bag of course could be checked all the way to MCI, but I needed to get boarding passes in LHR for my UA flights. A nice breakfast in the Scandinavian lounge at Arlanda airport and a reasonable cold breakfast on the plane in tourist class.
At LHR I received my UA boarding passes. Very, very nice UA transit check-in staff. I asked how full the plane was - not too full. I asked to the possibility of two seats together. UA's seat allocation system had already recognized me a top tier Star Alliance member and so had already done it! The LHR check-in staff also moved me on the flight ORD - MCI to the first row of coach. Then it was a short visit to the Red Carpet Club for some morning tea before boarding. I wasn't expecting too much from UA's intercontinental coach class, but it turned out to much better than I had hoped. A 767 with seat-back videos, quite acceptable meals (if the wine is totally ignored) and pleasant staff. It helped at lot too that the cabin was not full (about 60% full). The flight was not late leaving the gate was very late actually getting airborne. That together with some headwinds meant that we were around an hour and a half late into ORD. I had a 2 hour connection time. But arriving at terminal 5, collecting baggage and going though customs all takes time and then you have to change to UA's domestic terminal! I only just made it to the gate myself so I knew my bag had no chance. Passing though the X-ray security in the domestic terminal was a bit unpleasant because the X-ray operator was suspicious of the Swedish crystal glassware that was beautifully wrapped in my carry-on. Oh dear, I'd forgotten that lead crystal looks like - well lead I suppose - to X-ray operators not used to it. I had to unwrap the gifts to prove that they were harmless, so much for the beautiful wrapping, and now I was getting LATE. I made it and despite the assurances of my co-passengers that UA were very good at making fast baggage transfers, my bag did not. UA's service from ORD - MCI? Well, what can I say except that it was typical USA coach, nothing more and nothing less. At MCI, UA's luggage counter was empty and the lady there was very pleasant and expected that my bag would be delivered within 6 hours. That would have made it around midnight, so I called to them to change delivery time to the next morning, no problem. The bags appeared at 7.30 just when I was stepping out of the shower - perfect!
AA's pilot dispute had now started. Still, my next trip MCI - DFW went without a hitch so I was just lucky. By the time I was to do DFW - FLL the dispute was getting real bad. Still, my flight was not canceled and also was not very full, and also was on time! The cabin was a-buzz with talk about the strike and everyone had a tale to tell (but me). Then my luck changed. My Samsonite hard plastic shell bag received such a hard knock that it buckled open with a gaping hole that looked irrepairable to me. I was quite upset because it was new! The AA baggage staff were as good as they could have been, in reflection. They claimed the bag was repairable and wanted me to return it to them the next day. But that was going to be very inconvenient and besides I was heading back to Europe in a few days and it was doubtful that the bag could be repaired in time. After some discussion it was agreed that they would pick the bag up the next day and try and return it 3 days later just in time for my flight out of FLL. The next morning I borrowed some tools and actually managed to bend the thing more or less back into shape. AA called as promised to arrange to collect the bag. I told them not to bother. They had been actually right - it was repairable.
While in FLL, I canceled both my UA flight MCI - ORD and my AA flight ORD - MCI. It's important to do this if you have connecting flights and you decide not to turn up for the first one - they may very well cancel all your connections due to your no show.
The AA dispute continued but again, my last fight FLL - ORD with them was not canceled and was actually on time and not all that crowded. The check-in staff wanted to check my bag all the way to Stockholm, but I wanted to try for another flight other that my ticketed one in Chicago, so I got them to send it just to ORD.
In ORD I went (complete with check-in bag) to the UA check-in and asked the UA staff if I might be able to make a flight change. In return for both my UA ORD-LHR and SK LHR-ARN coupons would it be possible to get SK's non-stop ORD-ARN which UA code shared? The UA lady said sorry but as both tickets were issued by SAS maybe they would do it. That meant lugging my bag to terminal 5, but I had some time to spare, so that's what I did. And YES! SAS very kindly said they would do it! So I caught SK's non-stop ORD-ARN and arrived more than 5 hours sooner than if I had taken UA and SK via LHR. SK was lightly loaded so there was no problem getting 2 or even 3 seats in tourist class.
The Conclusion:
Despite being done all in tourist/coach class it was a pretty nice trip. My elite level Star Alliance card worked very well giving me fast check-ins and lounge access even on the free trips. The AA pilot's strike was a worrying factor. AA have now given me 5000 extra miles because of the strike (I didn't ask for them - it was automatic). UA's intercontinental coach was better than I though it would be. USA domestic coach - well... to me it's a paradox... in a country that is so service minded such as the USA, why is there so little of it on the airlines? I don't mean the flight attendants - they were just fine - but the US airlines put out a lot of hype - things like 'Luxury Liner' and 'FlagShip Service' and so on. Is some food on a longer than 3 hour flight too much to ask?
And it was very nice of SAS to let me transfer to their non-stop ORD-ARN flight.
And Finally, An Odd Note On Seat Belt Habits:
An inconsequential observation about seat beats:- I've noticed that US airlines leave the seat belt sign on after take off MUCH longer than their European counterparts and put it on again sooner before landing . I suppose it's OK, but sometimes it does seem to be too long. I've noticed it left on after takeoff for over 30 minutes - even during a very smooth ascent. The FA's have even started service and still have to tell passengers to return to their seats. On most European airlines that I've traveled on, the light goes off after about 10 minutes provided that the ascent is smooth. It goes on again about 15 - 20 minutes before landing provided that the descent is also smooth.
Why the difference in the USA? And by the way - I have my belt on 100% of the time I'm seated - always.
[This message has been edited by Austman (edited 03-16-99).]
The Plan:
I wanted to travel from my home in Stockholm (ARN) to visit friends and family in the USA. In particular to Kansas City (MCI), Dallas (DFW) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) .
The Offers:
I had 1 free 4 coupon tourist class trip, on UA expiring 1 May 1999, non upgradeable, valid only on UA aircraft. Lots of SK (SAS) miles. A few AA miles. A big preference to use Star Alliance airlines if I could.
The Tickets:
I tried to use the free UA flights as much as possible. But they do not fly their own planes to Stockholm and it was hard to get to most of UA's European cities from ARN in time to make a UA flight. The exception was Heathrow LHR. I could take the first SK flight and make a UA connection on a flight to ORD. So I could then get via ORD to either MCI, DFW or FLL and back via ORD to LHR on UA. But what to do to get between MCI, DFW and FLL? When tapping ORD, MCI, DFW and FLL together into booking systems, the result was always the same. One airline - AA was the most logical choice - sorry Star Alliance.
In the end I bought two tickets and together with my free UA one, had the following - a total of 10 coupons:
Stockholm ARN to London LHR return
SK ticket cost approximately USD 200 - a special offer, so I bought it and saved some miles and earned miles with EuroBonus
1. ARN - LHR
2. LHR - ARN
London LHR to Kansas City MCI via Chicago ORD return
UA ticket free trip (issued by SAS as part of their Fly5Get5 offer). No miles to earn here.
1. LHR - ORD
xORD - MCI
2. MCI - ORD ***
xORD - LHR
Kansas City MCI to Fort Lauderdale FLL return with one stop in Dallas DFW and return connection via Chicago ORD
AA ticket cost approximately USD 210. Miles earned with AAdvantage
1. MCI - DFW
2. DFW - FLL
3. FLL - ORD
xORD - MCI ***
*** These two coupons were to be discarded (after canceling the flights) - see below:
The itinerary was to be:
1. Stockholm to Kansas City
ARN - LHR on SK
xLHR - ORD on UA
xORD - MCI on UA
2. Kansas City to Dallas
MCI - DFW on AA
3. Dallas to Fort Lauderdale
DFW - FLL on AA
4. Fort Lauderdale to Stockholm
FLL -ORD on AA
xORD - LHR on UA
xLHR - ARN on SK
I decided to discard two of my coupons so that I'd get a faster itinerary. I'd get no points on the UA flight anyhow and lose only 500 on AA's, so it didn't much matter. It was around USD 100 cheaper to buy the AA ticket like I did, rather than to open jaw it - one of the strange little quirks of airline ticket prices. At USD 210, it was also cheaper than any coupon system that AA offers to travelers from Europe.
The Upgrades:
Sadly I didn't have much of a chance here. SAS has only just now started selling them on their routes. My UA flights were issued by SAS. They would normally have cost 50000 EuroBonus points in tourist class and 80000 in business. I offered to pay the difference (30000) in order to get upgraded but it wasn't allowed. With AA, my status is so dismal that I knew it would be coach all the way. So I did not have too many expectations with 8 sectors in tourist class to look forward to.
The Trip:
No problems with SK to London. Very nice check in staff but because I had a separate ticket for UA, through check-in was not possible despite UA being a fellow Star Alliance airline. My bag of course could be checked all the way to MCI, but I needed to get boarding passes in LHR for my UA flights. A nice breakfast in the Scandinavian lounge at Arlanda airport and a reasonable cold breakfast on the plane in tourist class.
At LHR I received my UA boarding passes. Very, very nice UA transit check-in staff. I asked how full the plane was - not too full. I asked to the possibility of two seats together. UA's seat allocation system had already recognized me a top tier Star Alliance member and so had already done it! The LHR check-in staff also moved me on the flight ORD - MCI to the first row of coach. Then it was a short visit to the Red Carpet Club for some morning tea before boarding. I wasn't expecting too much from UA's intercontinental coach class, but it turned out to much better than I had hoped. A 767 with seat-back videos, quite acceptable meals (if the wine is totally ignored) and pleasant staff. It helped at lot too that the cabin was not full (about 60% full). The flight was not late leaving the gate was very late actually getting airborne. That together with some headwinds meant that we were around an hour and a half late into ORD. I had a 2 hour connection time. But arriving at terminal 5, collecting baggage and going though customs all takes time and then you have to change to UA's domestic terminal! I only just made it to the gate myself so I knew my bag had no chance. Passing though the X-ray security in the domestic terminal was a bit unpleasant because the X-ray operator was suspicious of the Swedish crystal glassware that was beautifully wrapped in my carry-on. Oh dear, I'd forgotten that lead crystal looks like - well lead I suppose - to X-ray operators not used to it. I had to unwrap the gifts to prove that they were harmless, so much for the beautiful wrapping, and now I was getting LATE. I made it and despite the assurances of my co-passengers that UA were very good at making fast baggage transfers, my bag did not. UA's service from ORD - MCI? Well, what can I say except that it was typical USA coach, nothing more and nothing less. At MCI, UA's luggage counter was empty and the lady there was very pleasant and expected that my bag would be delivered within 6 hours. That would have made it around midnight, so I called to them to change delivery time to the next morning, no problem. The bags appeared at 7.30 just when I was stepping out of the shower - perfect!
AA's pilot dispute had now started. Still, my next trip MCI - DFW went without a hitch so I was just lucky. By the time I was to do DFW - FLL the dispute was getting real bad. Still, my flight was not canceled and also was not very full, and also was on time! The cabin was a-buzz with talk about the strike and everyone had a tale to tell (but me). Then my luck changed. My Samsonite hard plastic shell bag received such a hard knock that it buckled open with a gaping hole that looked irrepairable to me. I was quite upset because it was new! The AA baggage staff were as good as they could have been, in reflection. They claimed the bag was repairable and wanted me to return it to them the next day. But that was going to be very inconvenient and besides I was heading back to Europe in a few days and it was doubtful that the bag could be repaired in time. After some discussion it was agreed that they would pick the bag up the next day and try and return it 3 days later just in time for my flight out of FLL. The next morning I borrowed some tools and actually managed to bend the thing more or less back into shape. AA called as promised to arrange to collect the bag. I told them not to bother. They had been actually right - it was repairable.
While in FLL, I canceled both my UA flight MCI - ORD and my AA flight ORD - MCI. It's important to do this if you have connecting flights and you decide not to turn up for the first one - they may very well cancel all your connections due to your no show.
The AA dispute continued but again, my last fight FLL - ORD with them was not canceled and was actually on time and not all that crowded. The check-in staff wanted to check my bag all the way to Stockholm, but I wanted to try for another flight other that my ticketed one in Chicago, so I got them to send it just to ORD.
In ORD I went (complete with check-in bag) to the UA check-in and asked the UA staff if I might be able to make a flight change. In return for both my UA ORD-LHR and SK LHR-ARN coupons would it be possible to get SK's non-stop ORD-ARN which UA code shared? The UA lady said sorry but as both tickets were issued by SAS maybe they would do it. That meant lugging my bag to terminal 5, but I had some time to spare, so that's what I did. And YES! SAS very kindly said they would do it! So I caught SK's non-stop ORD-ARN and arrived more than 5 hours sooner than if I had taken UA and SK via LHR. SK was lightly loaded so there was no problem getting 2 or even 3 seats in tourist class.
The Conclusion:
Despite being done all in tourist/coach class it was a pretty nice trip. My elite level Star Alliance card worked very well giving me fast check-ins and lounge access even on the free trips. The AA pilot's strike was a worrying factor. AA have now given me 5000 extra miles because of the strike (I didn't ask for them - it was automatic). UA's intercontinental coach was better than I though it would be. USA domestic coach - well... to me it's a paradox... in a country that is so service minded such as the USA, why is there so little of it on the airlines? I don't mean the flight attendants - they were just fine - but the US airlines put out a lot of hype - things like 'Luxury Liner' and 'FlagShip Service' and so on. Is some food on a longer than 3 hour flight too much to ask?
And it was very nice of SAS to let me transfer to their non-stop ORD-ARN flight.
And Finally, An Odd Note On Seat Belt Habits:
An inconsequential observation about seat beats:- I've noticed that US airlines leave the seat belt sign on after take off MUCH longer than their European counterparts and put it on again sooner before landing . I suppose it's OK, but sometimes it does seem to be too long. I've noticed it left on after takeoff for over 30 minutes - even during a very smooth ascent. The FA's have even started service and still have to tell passengers to return to their seats. On most European airlines that I've traveled on, the light goes off after about 10 minutes provided that the ascent is smooth. It goes on again about 15 - 20 minutes before landing provided that the descent is also smooth.
Why the difference in the USA? And by the way - I have my belt on 100% of the time I'm seated - always.
[This message has been edited by Austman (edited 03-16-99).]
