Most ridiculous journey you've done/heard of?
Sep 14, 2018, 6:19 pm
#46
Moderator, Hilton Honors
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: on a short leash
Programs: some
Posts: 71,422
I've done many crazy trips, and written up a few on FT. Some examples include
Some FTers do the inaugural world's longest flight SIN-EWR vv - which was part of 7 crazy days
around the world in under 60 hours
it's a fine line between pleasure & pain - 4 wacky weeks featuring two RTWs, inaugural longhaul and more.
five continents in 3 days
AKL to LAX via DXB
Some FTers do the inaugural world's longest flight SIN-EWR vv - which was part of 7 crazy days
around the world in under 60 hours
it's a fine line between pleasure & pain - 4 wacky weeks featuring two RTWs, inaugural longhaul and more.
five continents in 3 days
AKL to LAX via DXB
Sep 15, 2018, 1:36 am
#48
Join Date: Nov 2016
Programs: UA*S, AA Plat, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 256
My craziest routing so far was BOS to GRU (direct flight exists), but I had to visit someone at PEK so I took the very long way round instead -- BOS-LAX-PEK, couple hours on the ground for dinner, then PEK-CDG-GRU.
Sep 15, 2018, 11:44 pm
#50
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
I once did a 3 day drive trip to Nashville, and one of the days I was there was mostly taken up by an intraday BNA-ATL-RDU-ATL-BNA run on DL for a little over $100 RT. It's the only "pure" MR I've done in 26 or so years. DL had a 5K mile bonus for flights to/from BOTH cities at the time, and I think the 5K also counted toward status though my memory is fuzzy on that.
Also once did an award trip to Fargo and spent 6 days in North Dakota around Memorial Day weekend. People I knew thought it was an odd place to go on vacation, and even those in the tourism office in Fargo where I stopped (to collect maps & other free stuff) thought it unusual. I guess 98% of the people they see drive there from neighboring states.
I had been to North Dakota twice before but had literally been chased out both times by weather (a blizzard and really nasty storms), so I had wanted to actually get to see something. It actually worked well between the national park (really worthwhile), missile silos and the Swedish village around Minot, and oddities like that Space Aliens BBQ place. Lodgings were unexpectedly tight because it was the very start of what would become the oil boom.
Unlike with so many people, ND wasn't my 50th state to see. That was Vermont (on a car trip out of Montreal one April)
Also once did an award trip to Fargo and spent 6 days in North Dakota around Memorial Day weekend. People I knew thought it was an odd place to go on vacation, and even those in the tourism office in Fargo where I stopped (to collect maps & other free stuff) thought it unusual. I guess 98% of the people they see drive there from neighboring states.
I had been to North Dakota twice before but had literally been chased out both times by weather (a blizzard and really nasty storms), so I had wanted to actually get to see something. It actually worked well between the national park (really worthwhile), missile silos and the Swedish village around Minot, and oddities like that Space Aliens BBQ place. Lodgings were unexpectedly tight because it was the very start of what would become the oil boom.
Unlike with so many people, ND wasn't my 50th state to see. That was Vermont (on a car trip out of Montreal one April)
Sep 16, 2018, 11:03 am
#51
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NY Metro Area
Programs: AA 2MM Yay!, UA MM, Costco General Member
Posts: 49,038
Sep 18, 2018, 5:11 am
#52
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: HKG
Programs: SPG Lifetime Platinum, Star Alliance Gold
Posts: 131
JFK-EWR in an Airbus wide body (probably A330, but I'm not sure). We had flown from FRA to JFK, only to discover after landing that there weren't enough immigration officials to process us, and it would be faster to fly to Newark where they had sufficient staff.
Sep 18, 2018, 5:42 am
#53
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: perth
Programs: SPG(LTG), QANTAS gold, Korean, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,500
Charter leaving central Guinea to Bamako
9hrs in Bamako then AF to CDG
9 hrs in CDG then EK to DXB
6 hrs DXB then EK to PER
1 week in Perth
On return missed my outbound flight PER DXB DME KBP so did PER DXB Rome KBP.
KBP CDG Bamako then charter to Guinea
4 weeks later I was flown to Conakry then to Dhakar to get treatment for a pulmonary embolism derived from a DVT from that journey.
10 days later I flew Dhakar to Bamako to CDG to KBP to be married
Then 10 days later KBP to CDG to Maldives
Then Maldives to CDG 3 days in Paris then Bamako then 3 days in Timbuktu then Bamako to central Guinea.
9hrs in Bamako then AF to CDG
9 hrs in CDG then EK to DXB
6 hrs DXB then EK to PER
1 week in Perth
On return missed my outbound flight PER DXB DME KBP so did PER DXB Rome KBP.
KBP CDG Bamako then charter to Guinea
4 weeks later I was flown to Conakry then to Dhakar to get treatment for a pulmonary embolism derived from a DVT from that journey.
10 days later I flew Dhakar to Bamako to CDG to KBP to be married
Then 10 days later KBP to CDG to Maldives
Then Maldives to CDG 3 days in Paris then Bamako then 3 days in Timbuktu then Bamako to central Guinea.
Sep 18, 2018, 6:09 am
#54
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Dubai
Posts: 54
Slightly different but I would like to nominate my former boss's suit... flying LHR-JHB in Club World.
The backstory is that I worked in corporate finance (mergers & acquisitions, equity issues) for a very posh UK investment bank and my eccentric English boss was responsible for covering Africa (from London, naturally). So my boss flies down to Johannesburg for a series of meetings, the first of which is with Thabo Mbeki, who was the President of South Africa at the time. My boss arrives at JHB and is escorted to his hotel by one of my friends who was running our JHB office. According to my friend, when they arrived at the hotel, he went with the boss to his hotel suite to discuss the week's meetings while the boss unpacked his suitcase. About 1 minute into this process there was an exclamation of "bloody woman, can't she get anything right?" from the boss, who revealed that his wife - who had apparently been responsible for packing his case - had packed a suit jacket and suit trousers that didn't match. Cue much huffing and swearing, followed by frantic calls back to London.
Result was that he somehow persuaded BA (who were a client of our firm) to fly another of his suits down from London to JHB on the next flight, allegedly on a business class seat that he had paid for, so that the boss could be properly dressed for his meeting with Mbeki the next day. My friend was sent to the airport to meet the suit, which was handed to him by a member of cabin crew with the words "he didn't eat much".
True story.
The backstory is that I worked in corporate finance (mergers & acquisitions, equity issues) for a very posh UK investment bank and my eccentric English boss was responsible for covering Africa (from London, naturally). So my boss flies down to Johannesburg for a series of meetings, the first of which is with Thabo Mbeki, who was the President of South Africa at the time. My boss arrives at JHB and is escorted to his hotel by one of my friends who was running our JHB office. According to my friend, when they arrived at the hotel, he went with the boss to his hotel suite to discuss the week's meetings while the boss unpacked his suitcase. About 1 minute into this process there was an exclamation of "bloody woman, can't she get anything right?" from the boss, who revealed that his wife - who had apparently been responsible for packing his case - had packed a suit jacket and suit trousers that didn't match. Cue much huffing and swearing, followed by frantic calls back to London.
Result was that he somehow persuaded BA (who were a client of our firm) to fly another of his suits down from London to JHB on the next flight, allegedly on a business class seat that he had paid for, so that the boss could be properly dressed for his meeting with Mbeki the next day. My friend was sent to the airport to meet the suit, which was handed to him by a member of cabin crew with the words "he didn't eat much".
True story.
Sep 18, 2018, 6:16 am
#55
Join Date: May 2006
Location: UK London / Salisbury
Programs: BA GGL, CCR, LTG
Posts: 542
Around a decade ago, having interviewed for a job in London I was asked to return to meet various senior bods. Problem was that I was going to be on a two week holiday with the kids in Maui. Turned out their dates were inflexible so they asked me if I would fly back at their expense which I agreed to do ‘but not in economy’! So I flew OGG-LAX-JFK-LCY//LHR-OGG. I had around 24hrs in London. And here’s the thing...I didn’t get the job!
Sep 18, 2018, 6:45 am
#57
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: United 1K, AA Exec P, Lifetime Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Avis Pres. Club, Hertz Gold
Posts: 94
I used to regularly fly NYC to HND or NRT to get sushi and turn around and come back home within 35-40 hours. Weekend trips from NYC to south america were commonplace as well. When you get a reservation at 3 star michelin restaurants you gotta do it.
Sep 18, 2018, 7:22 am
#58
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,088
Once flew IAH to London solely for the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Birthday, which is about the only time that the Frogmore Estate at Windsor is open to the public. I saw Victoria’s and Albert’s tomb the day I arrived then flew back home the next day.
Sep 18, 2018, 7:24 am
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,404
Mr Petrov’s and Mr Boshirov’s 48 hour tourism trip to the U.K.
Friday:
Arrive LGW from Moscow at 15:00. Check in at Bow Road, East London after 6pm
Saturday:
Leave Hotel approx 11:20 and arrive in Salisbury at 14:25. Journey takes 3 hours and costs £25
Stay in Salisbury for 40 minutes
Journey back costs another £25 and takes 2-3 hours. Return to East London hotel at 20:00
Sunday:
Leave Hotel at 8:05, arrive at Salisbury at 11:48. Journey cost £25, time taken; nearly 3 hours.
Depart Salisbury 2 hours later (13:50)
Train back to Waterloo takes nearly 3 hours, they arrive at 16:45
Waterloo Station to hotel takes 25/30 minutes and at 18:30 they are on the Underground to LHR for a 22:30 departure to Moscow.
Friday:
Arrive LGW from Moscow at 15:00. Check in at Bow Road, East London after 6pm
Saturday:
Leave Hotel approx 11:20 and arrive in Salisbury at 14:25. Journey takes 3 hours and costs £25
Stay in Salisbury for 40 minutes
Journey back costs another £25 and takes 2-3 hours. Return to East London hotel at 20:00
Sunday:
Leave Hotel at 8:05, arrive at Salisbury at 11:48. Journey cost £25, time taken; nearly 3 hours.
Depart Salisbury 2 hours later (13:50)
Train back to Waterloo takes nearly 3 hours, they arrive at 16:45
Waterloo Station to hotel takes 25/30 minutes and at 18:30 they are on the Underground to LHR for a 22:30 departure to Moscow.
Sep 18, 2018, 7:36 am
#60
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1MM, EXP, HH Diamond
Posts: 11
Insane Mileage Run
Last year it looked like I was going to miss EXP for the first year in quite a while, so I mileage run sounded like a good idea. DFW-JFK-LAX-HKG. I got off the plane, went into town and bought a suit, sportcoat, couple of shirts, took a nap, went for a fitting of the suits and then back to the airport for HKG-LAX-JFK-CLT-DFW.... ALL IN COACH! Never again. I got on the plane on a Wednesday and landed back home on a Saturday all to spend ~12 hours in HKG.