FlyerTalk Forums - Getting side tracked on the way to Oneworld Emerald.

I had always thought that I would one day reach the lofty heights of Qantas Platinum but never thought I would get there so soon. I thought I might make it with a carefully planned DONE4 (Round the World ticket in Business class), something I had planned for August 2011. I guess we all have plans to do stuff during our lives; something like those bucket lists we hear about, but if you don’t take the opportunity to do it then you might never get around to doing it. The phrase” Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.” springs to mind.

From August 2002, I had been relegated to a Qantas bronze member; I had been silver for 2 and a bit years due to a British Airways business class to London and back, for the past 8 years I had been the lowly Qantas Bronze member. In 2003 I signed up for Qantas Club life membership so at least Qantas would treat me with some respect, but interesting the only upgrade I had ever received was on a Japan Airlines flight back to Australia. To reach silver you needed 350 Status Credits which is the equivalent of 18 return trips to Sydney in discount economy. I like Sydney a lot but not that much to want to go there 18 times, and as I was already a Qantas Club member then silver really gave me no extra benefit.

During 2009 a few people had commented that I must be Qantas silver due to all the flying I had done over the past 12 months. My major trip in 2008 was an economy Round the world ticket using 140,000 Qantas miles, so that didn’t help with status, and all the other short haul economy flights really doesn’t earn much in gaining status.

Qantas calculates status differently to other airlines, you require 1400 status credits to reach Qantas Platinum Oneworld Emerald, thankfully the following year you only need 1200SCs. Once you have reach top level then you have the remainder of your membership year to enjoy the status and all of the next year to requalify. If you do it properly you can re-qualify for Qantas Platinum in under a week. Yes it has been done.

Another thing Qantas does is your year is based on the month you joined Qantas frequent flyer. Start of my new membership year was August 1 when I lost 155 Status credits the previous day 31 July, yeah I really did a lot of flying last membership year. NOT and I thought that with a trip to Europe in planned for November 2009 and with a planned trip to USA in June 2010 for BRT 2010, I might actually crack silver.

Following is a quick year in review, the last 2 major trips will be in a bit more detail.

1 Aug 2009
QF507 BNE-SYD 737-400 VH-TJR
Status Credits: 10 Received 10 Total.

Every year at the end of July I head down to Sydney for the annual Sydney International Boat Show. No real difference this year. I had the choice to fly down Friday night and head back Sunday but it was going to be a tough week at work and I thought I could do with a break Friday night; it would also save on accommodation cost as we already had the maximum number of guests in the apartment, there was no room at the inn.

Up at 6:00am and get changed quickly and catch a cab to the airport; cab was called and turned up within 10 minutes and I was on my way to the airport, there was quite a bit of road works leading to the airport so a trip that would take me about 20 minutes took about 30 minutes. I used quick check machine and proceeded through security; you know if you go through security in a rush you are likely not to take everything out of your pockets so after the after the third time lucky I was through and upstairs to the concourse. The departure board was already showing the flight as boarding so I went directly to the gate, on the end pier. Interestingly boarding was through an aerobridge which then lead down the stairs and onto the tarmac; strange for Qantas to be using a non connected aerobridge.

Flight was about 80% full and I was lucky to have a spare seat beside me, Planed pushed back on time and we headed over to the runway and head off to Sydney heading south so not much change of direction.

Service on the flight was breakfast which consisted of Just Right Cereal; apple pieces, orange juice; a bread roll with fruit and tea and coffee. Water was also available from the cart. 12 audio channels were on the IFE with the over head monitors playing some short programs which I completely ignored, it was nice that Qantas changed to the new August magazine but left the IFE for the radio on July. I read the paper which was available at the gate and the passenger in the window had a part of the local paper I usually read so had a chance to read that as well.

Flying weather was clear and we landed on the far third runway and taxied to the gate at 9:10am. I met up one of our staff members to get the run down on the first few days of the show. Seems like the staff members all had big nights the previous few nights and this one was happy to be going home to sleep I caught a train to central then walked the 10 minutes to the convention centre.

The show hours are from 10:00am to 8:00pm so they are a long day.

I took an hour for lunch, (some people don't thing I do any work anyway) I caught up with another flyertalker(d00t) they were down in Sydney for the day, they noticed my status update on facebook so we caught up for lunch and a chat of where we had been and where we were headed.

2 Aug 2009
SYD-BNE QF548 767-300 VH-ZXC
Status Credits: 10 Received 20 Total.

At 5:30pm I left the show and caught a taxi back to the airport, I had thought about walking and catching a train but as it was getting dark I didn't want to miss out on lounge drinking time as 2 flyertalkers were flying from Sydney that evening. I went through security without incident this time made a phone call and waited for them outside the business lounge.
The others showed up and I was allowed access to the business lounge. There was a greater range of food and there seem to be a few extra beer choices available. The quiches were nice as well as the Hahn Premium to wash it down with.

The flight was late in boarding so I had a chance to try a Stella recommended by the barman, seems like they were running some promotion on that beer brand, I still prefer HP

The 767 was fairly full as there didn't appear to be many seats free in my area, taxi was over to the third runway southern end so the taxi was a good 20 minutes. Soon the flight took off and we were served with dinner. Dinner was a little slow coming due to a non heating oven. Todays dinner included beef with rice and peas, water and soft drinks were available and beer or wine was available for $6.00.

Flight landed about 25 minutes late so we didn't catch up much time during flight. What is interesting is that the scheduled flight times between Brisbane and Sydney have now been increased by 5 minutes each way. In the past a Sydney to Brisbane flight with a flying time of 1hour-1hour 10 minutes which was scheduled at 1hr 25 minutes is now scheduled at 1hr 30 minutes, maybe they use the third runway for all flights to and from Brisbane.

23 Oct 2009
BNE-SYD JQ817 A320-200 VH-VQW
Status Credits 0 (Total 20) You can only earn Qantas status credits on the highest fare class

Another get together was organized by AFF the Australian version of FT, so I thought why not do a bit of flying and go and catch up with a few friends.

I made my booking rather late on the flight down as Friday being a work day I didn’t want something to crop up at the wrong time, but I ended up settling on a Jetstar flight. A Jetstar flight would give me lounge access and I could handle a lack of food or water on the 1hr 30 flight down to Sydney.

The flight was called at 1:50pm but I wasn’t going to leave until the bar opened at 2:00pm. So I milled around with a few others at 2:00pm until the bar was opened; walked back to my seat drinking quickly and collecting my bag and heading off to the Jetstar gate. There was no line so it looks like I was last; then I received a call from on my phone from Jetstar asking was I in the airport. “I am on the Jetway” I guess I was cutting that a little fine.

The flight was a fairly routine flight down to Sydney the usual buy onboard plus the 8 music channels to keep me entertained.

We landed in Sydney about 10 minutes early; I guess they departed early as all passengers were onboard.

I caught a train into Wynard then went for a walk to catch up with everyone for a drink.

Not a lot to report about Sydney caught up with a friend who I went for a sail with on Sydney Harbour then caught up with the rest of the crowd for Saturday night dinner.

25 Oct 2009
SYD-PQQ QF2170 Dash 8-300 VH-SBB
Status Credits: 0 Total 20(Points Redemption Ticket)

My flight back to Brisbane was a little bit more complicated; after the choice of venue and date was chosen as Sydney and the date of the 23-25 October I thought I would see if I could get a chance to fly on Brindabella Airlines who fly a few regional flights around New South Wales. I was particularly interested in the all stops flight from Canberra through to Newcastle then onto Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Brisbane. Newcastle – Brisbane wasn’t available for purchase but Port Macquarie – Brisbane was; and I did some searching on the Qantas awards and found that Sydney – Port Macquarie on Qantas connected nicely with Brindabella from Port Macquarie through to Coffs Harbour then onto Brisbane, all for 8,000 Qantas miles and $16.32 in taxes. The smaller airlines all want to be Qantas frequent flyer partners but this means that they then have to offer award seats on some flights as well.

I reached the airport at 10:30am after I found out the airport train was cancelled; so instead of it being $15.00 fare to the airport it ended up being $29.40. My brother was flying back to Brisbane on Qantas in the afternoon and had some extra stuff that needed transferring to my bag

I turned up at check in with a bag now with a few extra items in it; they asked me where I was flying to.
Me: Brisbane:
Check-in You are at the wrong terminal.
Me: Not if you are going to Brisbane via Port Macquarie.
I showed them the itinerary and they said they could only check me and my bag only as far as Port Macquarie and that I would have to recheck in with Brindabella at Port Macquarie;

Now that I was checked in my brother who was flying direct to Brisbane was to check in at the other terminal, so I walked over with him and waited for him to check in then went into the Qantas lounge at T3, that way he could wait in the lounge and then I left and went back over to the Qantas lounge in Terminal 2.

While walking between the terminals the rain started and with thunder in the area this was going to delay all flights. The flight was put back 30 minutes then it was pushed back to 1:10pm. I had scheduled a 1hr 55 minute transfer at Port Macquarie and the other flight that I was going to be connecting too didn’t fly near Sydney so it wasn’t going to be effected by the rain and storms.

My flight to Port Macquarie eventually got called at 1:20pm so I would have less than 15 minutes at Port Macquarie. The rain and storms had moved north which meant we would be flying through some of it. The flight took off at 1:45pm and we bounced around until we reached cruising altitude where I thought the bumps would stop; the cabin crew started to distribute the lunch packs and the bumps started again. Not all the lunch packs got distributed as the cabin crew was asked to take their seats for the remainder of the flight. There were quiet a few bumps and some passengers were getting quiet distressed. The road from Port Macquarie is only about 300 miles so I am sure some people will probably take the option to drive next time.

25 Oct 2009
PQQ-CFS-BNE Jetstream 32 VH-TAH FQ503
Status Credits 0 Total 20

After landing into Port Macquarie I went straight to the check in counter for Brindabella to tell them that I was here. One person does the check in for all of Qantas link and Brindabella services and they advised that they would get the Qantas link plane which returned to Sydney away and then I could be checked in. I went and got my checked bag of the tractor trailer and waited for Qantas to start boarding.

My bag was taken and then the Qantas plane left and then about 12 of us were walked over to the aircraft. The Jetstream 41 reminded me of a SAAB340, although it felt a little bit smaller.

A safety demonstration was done and we took off to Coffs Harbour about 80kms and 20 minutes flight away. What was interesting was that the FA distributed a basket of sweets at top of descent and I guess this helps that do a quick cabin check before landing at Coffs Harbour.

All passengers were asked to stay on board while waiting for more passengers to board in Coffs Harbour.

The next set of passengers pretty much filled up the rest of the plane; there may have been 1 or 2 spare seats, another safety demonstration was done and we were off to Brisbane. Once we got to our cruising altitude we were served a small drink of water and the choice of chips or packet of biscuits from a basket, at top of descent another round of sweets were offered.

The weather was mostly clear with only a few clouds which meant we had a relatively smooth flight on both of the flights compared to the flight on the Dash 8.

We landed in Brisbane then had to stand around waiting for a bus to take us back to the terminal.

14 Nov 2009
BNE-SYD QF521 737-438 VH-TJJ
Status Credits 0 Total 20(Flights purchased via points redemption)

Every year I head over to Amsterdam for a work trade show; our company manufacturers and imports a range of product from Europe and Asia and this is one of the best overseas shows for us to attend. The dates are set a year in advance so I can usually plan a trip months or even a year in advance.

The problem when its for work we usually plan to visit one or 2 of our European suppliers as it isn’t cost effective to make a separate trip to Europe just to see the supplier on a trip by itself.

With the dates in mind I found a rare Hong Kong to Brisbane J award on Qantas which I booked 4 months out from travel; and I thought I could plan a trip around those dates; if the date didn’t work I could have an extended holiday in Europe or cancel the award outright.

Trying to get all the flights into a plan at a price I was prepared to pay for was another matter. I found a VS award SYD-HKG for the exact date I wanted but for some reason it didn’t ticket; I think the time it took from the booking to doing the credit card payment then the airline wanting more credit card details meant that the booking timed out. I kept trying and it came back which was good so all my bookings fell into place.

The usual standard Brisbane-Sydney flight; the mid morning snack was a couple of biscuits with water or juice with tea and coffee served after the snack. There were apples available from the cart for those you wanted some extra food. The flight departed and arrived on time so nothing really to report.

14 NOV 2009
SYD-HKG VS201 A340-600 G-VWIN
Status Credits 0 Total 20(I was flying VS on award.

I was picked up at Sydney domestic and given a lift around to the international terminal as I had a few things to take to Europe with me.

Check in at the Virgin Atlantic check in was quick; although I did have to pay the charge for the excess baggage. The oversize item is handled by a contractor so you had to take it to another counter.

I got some lunch and then went through security; different experience when no lounge to go and visit. Boarding was called about 40 minutes before departure; Business and Premium economy could board at any time.

My seat was an aisle seat in the middle set of 3; so thankful for the aisle but there was no view as it was next to a toilet; used only by the Premium economy passengers. I guess I was just happy to be on the plane after the stresses of trying to get this flight.

Legroom was good; and the seat was comfortable; a pre-departure drink was offered, water juice or champagne which was a nice touch.

The seats were certainly wide enough and the TV controller was easy enough to use. One thing that isn’t in the seat pocket is an in-flight magazine, seems like Virgin Atlantic are one of the few airlines in the world who don’t have them.

The plane leveled out and the cabin crew started into action, a drinks service was started which was then later followed by a meal. It was very nice to hear the British voices of the cabin crew.

The meal.

Salad
Baby corn and carrot salad with balsamic and olive oil vinaigrette

Main Courses
Braised beef tomato and squash stew, served with roast potatoes and garden peas
Pasta spirals with creamy basil pesto and green beans
Szechwan chicken and stir-fried peppers with steamed rice and oriental vegetables

Warm Bread
Plain white or whole meal roll

Dessert
Baked cheesecake
Cheese & Biscuits
Cheddar cheese with crackers

Tea, Coffee, snacks & Refreshments
Will be served throughout your flight

The IFE.

This is where some planning helps, I browsed the movie selections for all long haul flights; now all available online; So with flights from Qantas; British Airways and Virgin Atlantic I knew there would be some movies on some airlines but not on others. With this in mind I watched Bruno followed by Imagine That neither movie were on the other airlines that I found, Bruno glad I didn’t see that one at the cinema but it was good to go through it and fast forward through the stupid parts. One thing I didn’t like about the movie screens is that screens don’t seem quite high enough when the seat in front is reclined. I spent some time browsing the music selections which seem to have Virgin style about it.

There was a pre arrival snack, a sandwich or was it some pie I can’t remember. Landing into Hong Kong was fun and very easy through the passport control. Baggage collection was fast, then out into the main arrivals to find a shuttle bus to the hotel. The hotel said to go to either of 2 counters to get onto the shuttle bus but of course the first one I chose was closed and I had to go to the one at the other end of the arrivals hall. One nice thing with Hong Kong airport was the free wifi to update your facebook and twitter status of course.

15 NOV 2009
HKG-LHR QF29 747-438 VH-OJT
Status Credits 40 Total 60.

It was rather pleasant to have a sleep in a bed between flights on your way to Europe, although getting up at 5:30am to be down stairs for the first shuttle bus in the morning wasn’t so much fun. And what’s less fun as I had 2 extra boxes to cart around.

After the shuttle bus and check in the excess baggage no fees this time; thanks Qantas Hong Kong I proceed through to passport control and security. Qantas has opened a new lounge where you can get breakfast and probably dinner at other times of the day.

The flight was called about 40 minutes before boarding; the gate was only a short walk away. There were 3 of us traveling together on this sector, thankfully the 3rd person of our trio also has Qantas status and was able to secure a better seat further forward; still in economy but this allowed my brother and I to get a row of 3 to ourselves which I knew would mean a very pleasant flight to London.

The flight was probably about 90% but was so thankful to have a spare seat beside us.

Breakfast was served about an hour after take off, there is usually a hot or cold choice and I always choose the hot option even if there is mushrooms or cooked tomatoes neither which I like but the egg and bacon or sausages are usually good enough to compensate for the stuff I don’t like.

With a 12 hour flight then it’s a good to catch up on a few movies.

500 Days of summer; it was all over the place, Mao’s Last Dancer appropriate as I was flying across China, The Proposal and I am sure I watched Time Travelers Wife, yeah I don’t didn’t need to rent any movies after going to Europe and back.

I was wondering which way Qantas flew across China and whether we would fly more to the north across Russia our more south closer to China. The route map gives you an idea of course; if only they could have flown a straighter route maybe we could have landed 20 minutes earlier.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...03305China.jpg

Qantas serve a small bag with a 300 ml bottle of water; I guess it saves the cabin crew having to do a mini run through with food items. A major meal was served about 2 hours from landing in London.

16 NOV 2009
LGW-AMS BA8113 737-400 G-GBTA
Status Credits 10 Total 70

We got to the airport at around 7:00am; all passengers need to use one of the machines to check in; before you can then proceed do the bag drop and get your passport examined. The BA Terraces lounge at Gatwick was nice; very similar to what you would expect from a Qantas lounge. Flights aren’t called so you have to be careful about your boarding time and check your gate assignment on the monitor as the gate isn’t listed on your boarding pass.

We got to the gate area in plenty of time only to have to wait around as they were using the same gate area to depart a flight to Greece before they boarded the flight to Amsterdam. One problem with getting a seat further forward from my originally allocated row 21 is that as you don’t have status you can’t board the flight early and you find that all the over head baggage space is taken; I thought the US was bad, this flight was shocking. So I get onboard to find no overhead space, the cabin attendants eventually found some space but they weren’t happy.

As this was a flight before 10:00am we were served a small roll with tea and coffee. The cabin crew work pretty hard for the 40 minutes of air time to actually get something served and then clean up in preparation for landing.

We arrived at Amsterdam just before 12;00pm then we had to wait around for about 40 minutes for the bags to come off the carrousel seems like the staff had taken an early lunch. Passport into the Netherlands is a breeze, their English is good and they don’t ask too many questions.

19 NOV 2009
AMS-LHR BA443 A319 G-EUPY
Status Credits 10 Total 80

The show finished at 5:00pm and after pulling down the stand and saying a few good byes we caught the train back to the airport. This time I was able to find a seat in row 4; I hoped that I wouldn’t have the same problem as before but you never know.

Same deal again you use one of the check in machines before you go are allowed through to check in with an agent to get your bag tagged and your passport is checked.

We went in search of some food as it was unlikely to be much food in the lounge or on the flight back to London Heathrow.

Amsterdam has a small BA Terraces lounge which is well hidden. There were some small snacks and a fridge with beer and soft drinks. The lounge was supposed to have free wifi but that didn’t work but luckily there were a couple of computers so that you could check your favorite websites for a few minutes.

After a few beers the flight was called about 40 minutes before the flight was to depart so we headed off to the gate. I was surprised that the flight was called in the lounge as in London the flights are not called, maybe it’s a ploy to get everyone out of the lounge so they could close up and go home.

We reached the gate and were able to board almost straight away, the plane wasn’t as full so there was no queue and thankfully space for the carrier on. As this flight was after 10:00am then the flight only served a packet of mixed nuts and more beer(Carlsberg). Arrival cards were handed out to non British or Europeans.

The flight landed at T5 and like anything in London always involves a walk to passport control and baggage collection. Now this is where the problem comes in. UK passport control doesn’t like anyone going into the wrong queue. Now this becomes a problem with a short flight and a lounge with alcohol. Well finally was allowed back into the UK after being told don’t use that lane again.

Friday was a trip down to the south coast and back to Reading.

Saturday was a trip into London to go and have a look around go and get a ride on the London Eye. Someone walked up to us and asked if we were intending to go on the London Eye and we said yes, so after getting the tickets for the time that was available we got a ride on the London Eye just before it got too dark. Standing around in the right spot we were certainly lucky that day. In the evening watched the rugby to see Australia get beaten by Scotland. All of London was booked out so ended up staying near Heathrow at one of the hotels inside the 1.5mile radius so the bus is free. Thanks to flyertalk for the hotel recommendations.

Sunday was another trip into London, first time I have taken the bag from one hotel to another, and not to mention I wasn’t staying there the night; another story, I was staying with an English relative. In the afternoon went and caught up with some people who were arriving into London from France, spent the afternoon with them before catching a train out of London to stay with the relative(Dads side of the family).

23 NOV 2009
STN-AOI FR124 737-800 EI-EBN
Status Credits 0 Total 80, This was Ryanair.

Up at 6:00am to drive to the other side of London to get a Ryanair flight from Stansted; fun; not. Flying Ryanair you have to print out your boarding pass. The boarding pass will show whether you have to show your passport to check in even if you have no baggage; I guess being Australian they want to check your passport. We got some breakfast before heading through security and then up to the Ryanair gates. Ryanair are like your regular LCC, no assigned seating. The flight to Ancona was almost full, start of a new week and end of the weekend so both business and holiday passengers. To get from London to this part of Italy then Ryanair is the only way you can do it.

After the standard safety instructions and announcements the crew checks everyone to make sure they are seated like any other airline. Soon after take off the crew hand out the Ryanair magazine as there is no seat pocket. Then the sales for buy on board are started.

I hope you like yellow.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...9_Ryanair1.jpg

We land into Ancona when I heard this stupid Michael O’leary congratulating the staff for another flight arriving on time. Deplaning was via stairs then across the tarmac to and proceed through a very small passport control, like Amsterdam they don’t really ask any questions as long as you match the passport picture. We collected our bags and then waited for our transport.

Another small problem we didn’t have the phone number of who we were supposed to meet and I guess they just expected us to call when we arrived in Italy. Thankfully Ancona Airport has 10 minutes free wifi so we were able to get the number and make a call. The town where we were headed was 50kms via Autostrada and why not get there a bit quicker so our driver was doing over 150kms top speed of 180kms down the freeway, what a nice introduction to Italy.

25 NOV 2009
AOI-STN FR125 737-800 EI-DAV
Status Credits 0 Total 80.

We left our supplier with about 2 hours before the flight and you know you shouldn’t be late for a Ryanair check in. I guess this being Italy they were slow to check in about 40 or so passengers took them about 30 minutes. There were 2 Ryanair flights departing; ours to Stansted and the other one to somewhere in Germany. After showing the boarding passes then we had to line up for security which took another 15 minutes before someone got smart and asked all the Stansted bound passengers to move forward. We were probably the last to check in and 2nd last group to board the plane.

The plane was a bit emptier this time, so we were able to spread out a bit more. Surprising or not surprising this is Ryanair they didn’t hand out any in-flight magazines. So I had to ask for one and they said they didn’t load enough but they eventually came back with one. Service like all low cost airlines is buy on board so I ordered a drink and read the magazine and listened to the ipod. Being Ryanair they were flogging scratch cards and train tickets into London.

Arrival cards for non EU citizens were passed out before landing back in the UK. The plane again arrived early into Stansted but this time we didn’t get the stupid Michael O’leary congratulating the staff for another early arrival. The temperature in the UK was certainly cooler than the sunny weather that was in Italy. Going through passport control they needed to check what flight you have come back on as the flights from Dublin were using the same passport control channel. After getting an afternoon snack maybe it was lunch we got in the hire car and headed back to Reading on the M25.

26 NOV 2009
LHR-HKG BA025 747-400 G-BNLE
Status Credits 40 Total 120

So we made it to T5 at 3:00pm and then had to wait around until 3:40 to check in; the flight didn’t depart until 6:40 and the BA check in computer weren’t going to let us check in an earlier. One reason to be early was to drop the car back within the 24 hours and go and spend a bit of time in the lounge. I went and had a quick browse through the duty free, as I was looking for an electrical adaptor so I could use it in Hong Kong; found one of those multi adaptors that can be used in a number of countries. Rest of the time I spent in the lounge drinking. The lounge also had some nice hot food, probably better than you find in the domestic J lounges in Australia.
At around 40 minutes before the flight we went in search of the gate which ended up being on the new part where you had to catch an inter-terminal train to gates on the B part of Terminal 5.

Plane was about 80% and as we had checked in separately we all wanted out own aisle seats, so we were spread around the plane, the other 2 travelers got a spare middle seat. I wasn’t so lucky. The captain did announce that the flight would be a quick 11 hrs 25 minutes to Hong Kong. The IFE was the new BA AVOD system but it still wasn’t as good as the Qantas 747, it was good enough to watch, The Taking of Pelham 123, another movie that only BA were showing in the month of November.

There was a breakfast served before our arrival at 2:00pm into Hong Kong.

28 NOV 2009
HKG-BNE QF098 A330-300 VH-OPB
Status Credits 0 Total 120 Points Redemption

Time to head home; the flight wasn’t until 10:55pm but we thought we would try and check in earlier; which was no problem.

My brother’s upgrade came through; using my points so that way we could use the Cathay J lounge near security, I forgot which one it was.

Drinks were great; showers great; probably the best water pressure of the whole trip; The food was ok; nothing special; but something different; this was no Sydney First Class lounge seating arrangement or service.

We spent a good few hours sitting at the bar having a few drinks. We were joined by other travelers who were flying back to their home ports one Johannesburg and the other Milan. I guess they were both happy to talk to some people

About an hour before the flight we headed back over to the Qantas lounge to collect the 3rd person of our group.

The flight home was quick; and very nice especially as I had room to stretch out and go to sleep.

Dinner was served out of Hong Kong and breakfast was served before our landing into Brisbane, I tried to watch the movie "The Hangover" but fell asleep before it finished.

10 Dec
QF125 BNE-AKL 734-400 ZK-JTS
Status Credits 20 Total 140

This trip was planned around the Waimarama Do I - Hawke's Bay Wine Country - 11-14 DECEMBER 2009

I left work soon after 4:00pm with a quick trip to the airport; thanks to the new completed road works; which meant a 20 minute trip to Brisbane airport could now be done in 10 minutes to the international terminal. So I was at the airport quickly but then spent about 10 minutes looking for the check in desks; it’s been a few years since I departed Brisbane on a Qantas international flight. I was probably one of the last to check in and I was surprised that the check in person confirmed to make sure that exit row was ok. I had already filled out the outwards immigration card before getting to the terminal so it was down stairs through security and passport control. Australia for some reason likes to find out where we are traveling; why and for how long; I guess it keeps someone in a job and gives very good passenger movement data for airlines and the Australian government on where everybody is going.

After getting through passport control and customs I headed to the Qantas international lounge for a few drinks before my flight. The food options aren’t very good in the lounges but the beer was a good way to relax before my flight. Surprising the lounge was quite full as the lunch time departure of the Qantas flight to LA had been delayed over 5 hours. The LA flight had just been called so the lounge was almost empty by the time my flight was called.

The flight was called at 30 minutes before the flight departure which I thought was a little early I guess they wanted us out of the lounge so that the staff could clean up and go home. There are no evening Qantas departures once the Qantas flight to Auckland has departed.

The flight was more than 90% full I didn’t see many spare seats so I was lucky to have the legroom of the exit row.

The aircraft is a New Zealand registered aircraft with New Zealand cabin crew. Qantas stopped flying on New Zealand domestic market but Qantas NZ(Jetconnect) still operate the trans Tasman flights on the 737s.

The flight got underway on time with the standard safety briefing. The usual 12 channel audio system was running with a movie to be played on the 3 hour journey across the Tasman. The flight was pleasant; with a nice meal; the movie was good; and the New Zealand cabin crew were friendly and efficient.

We arrived in Auckland on schedule just before midnight. For the first time I got directed to use an epassport machine; which scans your passport; takes a picture of you then the gate opens up and lets you through. The bag came off the carousel quickly; I had to check it in as I was carrying liquids. Yes you can buy coke in New Zealand but I wasn’t going to have time to stop by a supermarket to collect some, and I knew that our host would appreciate the gift.

Another FT member Anat0l was waiting for me as I came out to the general arrivals area. As we had both arrived late, we would camp out at the international terminal. We heard some good things about the Auckland International Airport; Nice 4 seaters without arm rests; perfect to lie down and get some sleep for a few hours before the usual airport noise of departing flights and missing passengers generally starts after 5:00am. I had brought with me a Jetstar blanket that I had found on a previous flight; the Qantas one on the flight over would have been better as it was thicker but I had come prepared so no need to get greedy and grab a better version.

I probably got about 3 hours sleep and as the airport started to wake up we got up packed up and headed over to the Air New Zealand domestic terminal about 10 minutes walk away.

11 Dec
NZ8411 AKL-NPE Dash8-300 ZK-NEF
Status Credits 0 Total 140, Air NZ is not part of Oneworld.

New Zealand domestic check in is probably the best in the world. You are directed to a circle of check in machines; where you check in and print off your own boarding pass and baggage tag; Instructions are given on how to use the baggage tag which you then put on the carousel yourself. There is an attendant watching but if you can do it yourself then there is no need for assistance. I had read “check-in is hardly even check in anymore. I would say it’s more of a fly-through drop off!” which is exactly right.

As Anat0l had Star Alliance Gold status we were able to use the Air NZ domestic lounge; where we were able to get a shower and some breakfast. After about 2 hours in the lounge our flight was called and we went downstairs to the Air NZ link gates.

2 boarding passes scanners are used to check passengers through then you walk along an undercover walk way to your plane. Plane was about 60% full and we had the first row to ourselves. On the flight down to Napier we were served a cup of water then another cup for a hot beverage with a cookie was served. Tea and coffee were available. The cups show one of Air NZ 27 domestic destinations and surprisingly the destination featured on todays cup was Napier.

Will met us both when we arrived into Napier being the first 2 off the plane and then headed into town to play some mini golf and then sat around for a few hours waiting the others to turn up. I had last been to Napier 29 years ago and the only thing I remember was that I played mini golf.

Dinner at East Pier was nice; the chips were good with a good selection of wine or beer.

We all woke up early with a heavy schedule of events, a visit to a honey shop, cheese shop for a snack and then onto a winery for lunch. Then we did a quick tour of the town and went up to a lookout.

Saturday night dinner was at Elephant Hill; the wine and food was good but with one important thing missing off the menu. Fortunately a nice elderly gentleman with a borrowed motor vehicle kindly picked some up for Wijomas(he has a strange diet) from the local fush and chup shop - just seconds shy of the 8pm closing time.

Sunday was another busy schedule with a stop off at the local chocolate factory and wine tasting at 2 more wineries, a wine tour fitted in there somewhere.

13 Dec
NZ8418 NPE-AKL Dash8-300 ZK-NET
Status Credits 0 Total 140.

After a great weekend it was back to the airport where the 3 of us checked in. The Star Alliance Gold member in our group anat0l got a seat in row 1 while I and the other person got seats in row 9. I was happy to get a different part of the plane so I kept my seat. Star Alliance Gold gets lounge access without guests in New Zealand regional airports; but I guess once one of your friends has the Star Gold card which you swipe then give you the access to the non attended lounge. A kitchen/cleaner type person must come past every so often to refill the fridge and do a general tidy up.

After a few beers and a browse of the free wifi the plane landed and it was time to head to the gate. The service was exactly the same as the way down; this time the cups featured Wellington.

14 Dec
LA801 AKL-SYD A340-300 CC-CQE
Status Credits 80 Total 220. Lan Chile is part of Oneworld.

Getting up at 3:30am to catch an international flight at 5:50am is no fun especially when it’s really 12:30am back home and I was planning at being at work by 11:00am.

Shower, pack and down stairs for the shuttle at 4:00am wasn’t so bad; I guess at that hour your mind is on autopilot so you just do it.
A shuttle bus arrived at 4:00am to take us to the airport where we checked in filled out a departure card and then go through passport control and security. New Zealand like Australia likes to keep track of everyone

We went to the Qantas lounge; who can drink or eat anything at that hour I have no idea; so I just had a juice. The flight was called rather early almost 45 minutes early; but this gave me enough time to buy some New Zealand chocolate bars before boarding the flight.

We were on the plane by 5:30am and then it was almost 30 minutes before we pushed back; there was a preflight drink; I think I just had the water. The seats were good with a good legroom especially in the first row. The Lan flight has to cabins for business class a 5 row front section and 2 row in a separate section which on this flight was empty.

From some advertising blurb which I guess is the best way to sum it up.

LAN has completed the reconfiguration of its new long haul aircraft fleet with a two class cabin featuring a totally new business class offering and a restyled economy class;
42 sleeper seats with 180 degree full flat recline, a spacious 74 inches of legroom between each seat and access to an all-new video on demand system, featuring 44 movies, including the most recent blockbuster and more than 90 TV programs from all over the world;

We were served a breakfast on this flight across the Tasman.

Express Breakfast
To start
Orange Juice, tea or coffee
Yoghurt and cereal
Fresh seasonal fruit
Croissant, white bread; whole wheat bread, toast and water crackers, with butter and preserves
Main dishes
Fresh omelette with mushroom ragout and roasted tomato
Or
Variety of hams and cheese

Full wine menu was available and spirits. Didn’t even go and look at that list.

Lan Chile was named as the “Best Airline in South America” in the 2008 and 2009 Skytrax awards for airline excellences, LAN and its allilliate airlines servce more than 50 South American destinations, from the hub airports of Santiago in Chile.

Movies were in both English and Spanish; my first choice wasn’t available so I watched my 2nd choice; which I think was called Post Grad; which had not even been released in Australia yet.
The cabin crew was friendly with good English, the food and the service was good and the IFE was of a high standard.

We were late departing Auckland and never made up any time and so were late arriving into Sydney.

14 Dec
QF516 SYD-BNE 767-338 VH-OGL
Status Credits 0 Total 220 Another award ticket

After going through passport control, had to do it twice as I left the form somewhere and then through customs(baggage inspection) which was easy even after I declared the food I had with me; it was over to the Qantas domestic check in which is part of the International terminal. You are checked in and then go through security and wait for a bus to take you over to the domestic terminal.

The flight was fairly routine with a mid morning snack; the usual 12 channel radio with overhead screens showing the morning news and a short feature program.

It was a very pleasant weekend, a new airport; Napier; a new airline Lan Chile and a new aircraft type A340-300. It was a very pleasant weekend with a group of friends who I have all met before but now in a different part of the world.

14-Jan-10
QF617 BNE-MEL 737-838 VH-VZD
Status Credits 0, Total 220, another reward ticket

I had been planning to get over to Singapore in January for FT SIN Do but had never quite got around to it; until now. This time I got organized a few months ahead of time and with a few Qantas points to use I booked a good schedule.

The middle of January a lot of people return to Australia for work and the start of the new school year so I had to start looking in October for flights. I had initially considered flying Etihad who commenced service between Brisbane and Singapore mid last year. I found a schedule that suited but they wanted about $1,500 return. I looked at one ways out of Singapore in both economy and business but there were no specials to be had.

I had been gifted a few Qantas frequent flyer miles and with the bonuses currently running over the last few so I thought why not check for award availability. While researching flights for my trip to Europe I knew that one ways could be purchased out of Singapore cheaper than a return ticket.

Example: BNE-SIN-BNE on the Qantas website was $1,400 booked out of Australia; but I could book a oneway ticket on the same flight from the Qantas Singapore website SIN-BNE for SGD $624.00($509.00 AUD)

Qantas is rather expensive for redeeming points for business compared to economy it is double but you do get a lot more for your value, the business fare is more than 3 times as value as an economy fare but its only double the value required. BNE-SIN is 30,000 in Y or 60,000 in J.

The flight via Melbourne was available for the same point’s value as going direct.

I got to the airport in good time; thanks to the new road works; I checked with an agent and then went through security and up to the lounge. You can’t check in online for international flights even when not checking baggage and there was a separate counter for domestic travelers with onwards travel on international flights.

The lounge had the usual stuff of reading materials; tea/coffee, water and juices; I didn’t really check to see what food options there were being mid morning there didn’t appear to be a lot available anyway.

The gate was out on the pier extension so as soon as the flight was called I left for the gate. A pre-departure drink plus a range of magazines were handed out to business class passengers. I was happy that lunch was provided on this 10:55am departure with 2 choices; a cold meat salad which I chose or some hot spicey chicken. Usual options of tea/coffee/water/wine and beer were also available. As it was before midday then I had no interest in alcohol on this flight; I had a few hours in Melbourne to catch up.

14-Jan-10
QF009 MEL-SIN 5:05PM – 9:20PM 747-438 VH-OJM
Status Credits 0, Total 220, Continuation of award ticket

Melbourne is one of the nicer Australian airports to connect from a domestic flight to an international flight. It’s about a 10 minute walk through from domestic concourse through to the International check in area then through security and passport control. I am not a huge shopping fan so I went straight to the lounge. With around 90 minutes I found a computer so I could browse the net and grab a few drinks from the fridge. As I had already had lunch and was going to get dinner on the flight then I really had no interest in looking at food.

The flight got called so I made my way to the gate. There was 2 lines one for First, business and Premium Economy but it seems no one was listening carefully as both lines were just as long as each other.

Onto the aircraft then I find my seat; after my third business class international flight in less than 2 months; I could get used to this. The magazine holder is in a stupid spot along with the 3pin head phone socket. A pre-departure drink was offered and I select the champagne bad mistake after having been drinking beer for the past hour.

There was a drinks and nuts service before the main meal was served; I had beef and potatoes. There was a starter plus a dessert.

Chicken baguette with tea or coffee was the meal provided before our arrival into Singapore. I got through about 4 movies; District 9 gave that a miss after 30 minutes but managed to get through; a few others none that were inspiring but it passed the time and meant that I wouldn’t need to go to the video shop for a few months. With a video shop you have to pick a movie take it home watch it and if you have already paid money for it then you think you should watch it or its money wasted. On a plane if the movie is crap then you can just skip to the next one.

We landed into Singapore on time. My last time in Singapore was on the inaugural A380 flight where there was a lot of fan fare and cheering for the passengers that arrived into Singapore this time was a little bit more sedate. Singapore does not have free wifi so I went in search of one of the many computers around the terminal before going through passport control and then a taxi to the hotel. The hotel has shuttle buses but the directions on the hotels website aren’t very clear and it was easier just to get a taxi.

I had a good weekend in Singapore; Friday went to Malaysia for lunch at Sungai Rengit in Johor by boat. The Fredds from Flyertalk have a good blog with photos from our trip to Malaysia for the day.
http://wanderingwarners.blogspot.com...in-sungai.html

On Saturday the main attraction was the Jurong bird park, someone asked the comment; “do you think the birds get sick of the tourists making bird noises. Another link to the blog for the bird park can be found here.

17-Jan-10
QF082 SIN-ADL 10:15PM – 7:40AM A330-300 VH-QPB
Status Credits 30 Total 250

I left with a good 2 hours to go before my flight but looking for a taxi in Chinatown was almost impossible so I caught the MRT to the airport. Not all trains go to the airport so you need to change at Tanah Merah. The airport train usual just runs between the Airport and Tanah Merah and the airport with a middle stop at Expo. The train arrives into Terminal 3 so if you need to catch Qantas then you need to catch a connecting train to Terminal 1.

Found the check in desk and notice the flight wasn’t scheduled for departure until 10:25pm which was nice as now I still had 5 minutes to check in before the 1 hour mark; walked up to the business check in counter. Upgrade had cleared and I was on my way through passport control and the lounge. The Qantas business lounge was tucked away behind the first class lounge. I was not sure whether they call the flights so after a getting a drink doing a quick of the web from one of the free computers I thought I would go in search of the gate. Each gate has its own security check. Through security and I hear that boarding has just got underway so I was able to board the plane pretty much straight away.

This is a 6hr 40 minute flight so I was more interested in sleep than dinner. I was really after the dessert so I skipped dinner and just had the dessert. During the service I watched a short TV program on sleep and how important it was to you; so I was hoping the service would hurry up. I guess there is no real way to hurry a sequence of events so it still took almost an hour and half before the food items were cleared away and I could lay the seat flat and get some flights. The Qantas skybed isn’t really flat so it’s not the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but after my experience from Hong Kong at least I was more used to its operation and feel so I managed about 3 hours sleep.

A light breakfast was served before landing in Adelaide. The breakfast included some cereal, fruit and a bread roll or croissant with the option of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. One thing the Qantas staff can’t get right is the tea so I had to get a cup of chocolate to wash away the bad taste of the tea.

18-Jan-10
QF082 ADL-MEL A330-300 VH-QPB

The same flight continues onto Melbourne, all passengers are asked to get off the plane and go through another security check before going back to the waiting area. There is only one shop in the international terminal. After about 40 minutes we were allowed back on the aircraft. We were joined by some domestic passengers whose plane had been delayed.

Service on the morning sector was a small dish of fruit with a toasted sandwich along with tea or coffee. As this sector is so short there is no way I was going to get through my movie choice

18-Jan
QF616 MEL-BNE 737-838 VH-VYG
Status Credits 15 Total 265

Back to reality and an economy seat; I had booked the connecting flight segment to give me 90 minutes in Melbourne plus it was a lunch time flight so it would be interesting to see what the offerings would be. Lunch was a choice of quiche or a set of 2 sandwiches. The usual water/apple/soft drink was also available. The quiche that I had was very good. The flight departed 40 minutes late; it was already late by 15 minutes by the time we boarded so not sure why they made us board so early, lucky it wasn’t a hot day in Melbourne.

Great weekend; might have to go back to Singapore again next year.

10-Feb
BNE AKL QF125 Qantas 737-400 ZK-JTS
Status Credits 20 Total 285

Another trip to New Zealand; my New Zealand cousin who now lives in the US was heading back to NZ for a couple of weeks for a holiday and I thought I should head over to NZ for an extra long weekend. There were a few airlines that I had seen on my previous NZ trip that I wanted to try out. So with a schedule in place I booked some flights.

Qantas again came up trumps with a good schedule at an agreeable price. The Qantas evening departure means that I can get a full days work in before heading to the airport. This time I was able to check in quickly and then headed downstairs through security. I had recently purchased a new netbook computer and I wanted to reclaim my GST. After finding the office they recently moved it I went to the Qantas lounge for a few beers. The flight was called; Qantas used the same plane as last time. The flight departed about 10 minutes early.

I was very lucky to get myself a row of 3 seats seems the person in 6A canceled their ticket or got an upgrade in the 24 hours before the flight as there were not that many spare seats and no 3 seaters with just one person in them.

There were 2 choices of hot meals; I chose the beef Korma with rice.

Qantas showed a movie on the over screen; seems like Qantas don’t align their movie schedule with what is listed on the website, the movie they showed was The Invention of lying but I had to put up with this Qantas design #fail.

The flight arrived into Auckland close to midnight, again I was directed to the passport machine. Bags came out quickly and I was outside waiting for the hotel shuttle within 20 minutes; even with a stop for inbound duty free. I wasn’t sleeping at the airport this time around.

11-Feb
AKL-NPE CV596 Air Chathams CV580
Status Credits 0 Total 285 Air Chathams is not part of any alliance

I got up at 8:00am and headed back to the airport to catch up with my cousin who was arriving from the US; before I headed over to the domestic terminal for my flight to Napier. I spoke with my cousin for a few minutes and walked out to the car to put my suitcase in the car so that I wouldn’t have to check it in on my flight to Napier and back.

Air Chathams runs flights across to Chatham Islands but once every Thursday the flight is routed Auckland-Napier-Chatham Islands. The AKL-NPE flight is not available for purchase online so after talking to another a.net member they gave me the number and talk to the office person who could book the flight.

Air Chathams use the Air NZ Group check in; though there are no signs telling you of this. I checked in with Air NZ about 11:30am for the 1:00pm departure and spent most of the time near the arrivals area where someone had found the best spots for Air NZ Koru Club free wifi; with password of course.

About 12:30 I headed over to the Air NZ link area to wait for the announcement; the electronic board showed the Air NZ link flights but there were no flights listed for Air Chathams; another lack of signage for Air Chathams. I wasn’t the only one who approached the counter to enquire about boarding for Air Chathams; why they don’t have any signage is beyond me.

The flight attendant arrived at 12:55 and the flight was called. Air Chatmans use one of the standard turbo prop gates of Air NZ Link.

At this time I found that another a.net member from Switzerland was onboard just for the CV580 experience. I had been told by another a.net member that jump seat was usually available and when the flight attendant made mention of it I jumped at the chance. I left my bag under one of the seats and went to the jump seat.

It was rather interesting to watch the 2 pilots do their predeparture checks; what was alo good was getting the jumpseat head phones so I could listen to the pilots but also the air traffic control chatter.

The co-pilot gave me a quick safety demonstration of how to evacuate the aircraft plus a few other safety points.

What was interesting was how much the headphones were able to save in noise; it was a rather noisy aircraft. Pretty much I spent 40 minutes just watching the 2 pilots and watching the world go buy. The windows on the plane aren’t that huge so you don’t really get a good view of the ground and most of New Zealand is generally covered in cloud. What was of some concern just before descent was a storm just south of Napier but heading for Napier so the pilots took a more northerly track along the coast. The pilots did a good job of avoiding the storm as there was not much turbulence. We landed into Napier in the middle of a rain shower.

The storm had moved away from the airport but there was quiet a bit of rain about. I have no idea what the service was like in the back but I absolutely loved flying on the jump seat. As I had a connecting flight I was first off the plane and into the terminal.

11 Feb 2010
NPE AKL NZ8404 Air NZ(Link) Dash8-300 ZK-NEF
Status Credits 0 Total 285

As much as I wanted to spend a bit more time in the plane; I noticed that we landed at 2:13pm and I had flight back to Auckland scheduled for 2:25pm. There was a waiting Dash 8-300, so I knew I would be cutting it fine. I went over to the check in kiosk which then quickly spat out a boarding pass size note that said see an agent. The agent was dealing with a customer whose bags had not arrived; after they were dealt with the agent called the flight for boarding. I asked if I could get on this flight. Did I have bags; “no” and then he noticed I was going to Keri-Keri(Bay Of Islands) airport code KKE; so they were able to print off 2 boarding passes. So over to the boarding gate; boarding pass was scanned and out onto the tarmac to board the Air NZ flight back to Auckland. I think that was a new record shortest time in a terminal on different tickets. Lucky I had been there 2 months previous.

The flight was 28/50 so just over half full; a safety announcement was made and we took off into the cloudy sky; few bumps on our way to 15,000 feet where the standard Air NZ link service of water with a hot drink(tea or coffee) and a biscuit. Blenheim New Zealand was featured as one of the 27 New Zealand destinations.

I had mentioned the cup in the previous report so I thought I should get a picture this time.

It was about this time that I realized that I had forgotten my watch. I usually don’t wear one except when traveling and so I left it back in the hotel. I got the details from “tripit” software and transferred it as a contact on the iphone. Would I have enough time to go from the airport and back again in the hour between flights, really 45 minutes with boarding commencing 15 minutes before the scheduled departure? The flight was pleasant and I soon arrived in Auckland, I made a call to the hotel to get put through to house keeping, they advised that they had found a watch so I said I would come and get it; and trying to convince the taxi driver that I wanted to go to a nearby hotel and come straight back was no easy task as I was really still on the phone once I jumped in the cab. So after an 8 minute taxi ride waiting around for house keeping and back to the airport I was NZ $45 poorer but I had my watch back, and I still had 5 minutes to use the Air NZ free wifi.

11 Feb 2010
AKL KKE NZ8672 Air NZ(Link) Dash8-300 ZK-NEZ
Status Credits 0 Total 285

11 Feb 2010
AKL KKE NZ8672 Air NZ(Link) Dash8-300 ZK-NEZ

I was back in the airport with about 5 minutes spare before boarding to use the free wifi before boarding the flight up to Keri Keri(Bay Of Islands). The in-seat pocket had 2 in flight magazines. The standard Air New Zealand Kia Ora plus a magazine featuring Northland. On this service a water drink was served; the flight time is only 30 minutes so it would have been a rush to distribute anything extra. The flight was mostly clear and we landed at a very small airport. Another missed photo opportunity.

Friday was spent on a bus tour with my 2 cousins and their familes up to Cape Reinga which is the northern most point in New Zealand with the return leg along 90 mile beach.

Saturday was spent fishing on Whangarei harbour and an afternoon swim at a local ocean beach.

14-Feb-10
WRE AKL NZ2851 Air NZ(Link) B1900D ZK-EAB
Status Credits 0 Total 285

I arrived at the airport at 9:00am for an 9:45am; check in is with an agent; no self check in kiosks at this airport that I could tell; I guess when there are 7 flights a day on a Beech 1900D then the check in person isn’t really rushed off their feet. Passengers started to arrive and the plane from Auckland arrived at 9:20am for a quick turn around; the flight was called and the 10-15 passengers walked out to the plane.

It was a 26 minute flight down to Auckland; the flight leveled out at 12,000 feet and we descended through rain. As expected there was no in-flight service. The safety message was done by recorded message while the co-pilot did a walk through the cabin to make sure everyone had there seat belts on. Both the Northland and Kia Ora Air New Zealand magazines were in the seat pockets so it seems that there are Dash 8s and Beech 1900D dedicated to the runs north of Auckland.

14-Feb-10
AKL BNE BI0072 Royal Brunei 767-33AER V8-RBJ
Status Credits 0 Total 285

After landing in Auckland and collecting my bag I walked over to the international terminal; I had considered using the free inter terminal bus but according to the schedule I had just missed one and so I thought it easier to walk. Having done the walk in the opposite direction I knew it would take about 8-10 minutes and the Royal Brunei counters are on the left of the check in area. Having been checked in I enquired about which lounge Royal Brunei use as I know they don’t have their own. This is when the check in person realized that I had a business class booking and asked me to go and see the agent who handled business class check-in and there I was handed a departure card and a lounge invitation for Qantas, yeah I been there before.

It was rather quick through security and passport control and up to the Qantas lounge. I had considered buying duty free in New Zealand but I thought with the time between the flight being called by the lounge and boarding the aircraft I would have had some time. If I am travelling at a meal time then I usually don’t look at any of the food items and went straight to the fridge for soft drinks. After my third glass I thought I should go and check that the lounge actually pages the flights. I was advised that they did and they even called down to the gate to check.

At 11:45am the call was made to board the flight and so walking to the duty free area this is when about 5 passengers were called to hurry up and board their flight; to Brisbane, which included my name. The gate agent it seems had forgotten to tell the Qantas lounge that the flight was boarding. So no chance of duty free in Auckland I would have to purchase my duty free requirements in Brisbane.

Auckland international airport is now a split level airport; all departing passengers head to the top floor and you go down stairs to each set of 2 gates. Royal Brunei uses a 767 on their long haul flights. Business class is set up with 2 window seats 1 middle seat and another 2 window seats on the other side. I had one of the middle seats.

A pre-departure drink was offered of water; orange juice or apple juice. Royal Brunei does not serve alcohol on any of their flights.

The menus were also distributed for this flight with a choice of 3 lunch courses.

The safety demonstration was done in the usual way; nothing to interesting; once that was completed, pre-takeoff prayers were read out.

Nuts and a drink were offered soon after take off then the meals were distributed. Once I had finished the starter I had the main course of beef.

You don’t usually go to the bathroom with a camera but you do on Royal Brunei. Gold plated bathroom.

The AVOD in-flight entertainment system called SkyShow is inferior to other products offered by other carriers, but nonetheless it was sufficient for this 3 hour flight to Brisbane. I watched the movie Amelia on the IFE, it had been scheduled by Qantas on the way to New Zealand so I was glad to catch it on the way back.

The flight landed in Brisbane about 20 minutes earlier than the scheduled 12:40pm arrival and it was quick run through passport control as there were very few passengers ending their journey in Brisbane.

I am sure I will be back in New Zealand again sometime this year(twice more) if only a repeat performance on the CV580, still to get a repeat performance on the CV580.

285 Status credits in 7 months, and here I was hoping to make it to Qantas platinum total 1400SCs in 12 months, I still had a bit of flying left to do, maybe with a few less side trips might also help as well. :rolleyes:

MORE THAN JUST A BROOKLYN REALITY TOUR.

I had been planning to attend the Brooklyn Reality Tour 2009 but I could make it work so I definitely was planning to attend the 2010 version, Dan keep saying it could be his last. ;) Don't believe everything you read. Since the Dan was on his 10th running with repeat riders then I guess it was worth a visit. I had never been to New York before and had heard good things about it.

Since I was going to the US I thought I should catch up with my cousin who lives in Dallas, Detroit was included because I really wanted the DC9, Tampa was included because it was a good mileage earning destination and I included Washington DC because I know a few flyertalk friends live there. I planned the schedule over 2 weeks, enough so that I would only miss 2 weeks of work and the middle weekend was a long weekend with a public holiday so only really needed 9 days off work.

5 JUN 2010
BNE-LAX QF015 Y 67G B747-438 VH-OJI
Status Credits 45 Total 770

Even though I am now Qantas Gold(Oneworld Sapphire) I thought that Qantas wouldn’t have the nerve to reallocate my seat just because I didn’t get to the airport until 90 minutes before the flight. Well they did; I think there is a word for that.

So after check in and filling out the departure form I went through security and headed to the lounge. The lounge was rather full not just with the imminent departure of Qantas to LAX but there were the premium passengers from other airlines who use the lounge. I found a seat, the Wifi was free and the drinks were free so why should I complain. About 45 minutes before the flight boarding is called so I head down to the gate.

In case you don't know what a Qantas 747 looks like I have included a photo but you should all know what a Qantas 747 should look like by now.

I get word from some Australian friends that the seat next to me is occupied so I really should look at moving. It’s a seat on a plane and most seats are the same so I had no reason to move. The passenger sitting next to me was on his return to Seattle and seemed like nice enough seat mate, I am just glad that I still had an aisle seat or I really would have complained.

Take off was on time the IFE started up and I started on a movie marathon. Lunch was served about an hour after take off

There was a 2 choice lunch from menu I had the beef and the ice cream came around later then chocolate with snack pack including water.

There was some light chop around lunch seat belt sign was on for a while although at 6:39hr to go it has smoothed out watched 2 movies it's complicated (chick flick) and then “PS I love you” another chick flick.

The fact that economy was crowded I wasn’t able to get any rest and Hawaii can be especially bad due to the regular bumps

I managed a 5 movie marathon with periodic checks of the inflight map display.

The lights came on at 2 hours to go where breakfast is served, I had the hot breakfast option which included bowl of fruit, a bread roll, juice sausage, egg and pancake with tea and coffee also available.

Sunrise over the Pacific you know you are getting closer to LA.

We landed at 6:58am in fog.

5 JUN 2010
LAX-DFW AA2428 Y 11C (NOT)

Passport control took for ages almost 90 minutes, and when I had reached T4 where a security guard decided to weigh and check my second bag, I had checked it on the flight from BNE-LAX but American Airlines has very generous carry on allowances, why should I check it. The bag was going to pass I was never in doubt this is America after all where you can carry on the kitchen sink. Check in is downstairs but the security check point is upstairs.

I was surprised at the speed through security took less than 5 minutes which I was most surprised at. So it was 9:00am and I was cutting it fine to get on-board. American has these boards with all their flights with gate information for the day in city order to find the word CANCELLED next to my flight. This is where your Qantas Club membership comes in handy went to the lounge to get on a new flight.

5 JUN 2010
LAX-DFW AA2436 Y 12E 757-200 N678AA
Status Credits 40 Total 810(With the flight change it credited to a higher fare)

At the lounge you had to go to a separate lounge attendant who looks after your bookings and they say I was rerouted through San Diego but the departure for that flight was 9:15am so I was going to miss that. I was put on standby for the 11:00am departure, seems like with the 9:15am departure canceled the 10:15am departure was going to be full so I figured 90 minutes in the AA lounge wasn’t going to kill me.

At about 10:15am thought I should go downstairs in search of the gate and make sure I am at the gate when they start handing out confirmed seat assignments. This is one thing you don’t see in Australia where the gate agent has to do the last minute seat assignments for canceled flights and those passengers who want an upgrade or an earlier flight or both.

Names are called out and I get myself a new boarding pass. The new boarding pass shows priority boarding so I don’t have to wait for a number meaning I don’t have to fight for overhead bin space.

Flight went out full and on time; even for a big airport it’s only about 15 minutes from departing the gate to taking off. Onboard is a drink with nuts and with a B.O.B. menu; as it was lunch I thought I should buy the chicken sandwich.

One thing that they announce on US flights is the cruise altitude and the estimated time of arrival. Flight was scheduled for just over 2hours with a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet with a landing at 3:45pm (Dallas is in the Central Time Zone). Smooth flight; with radio on the IFE, I think they were playing a movie but the picture was terrible so I gave that a miss.

757s are a rare sight in Australia.

I spent 3 days in Dallas catching up with my cousin and her family.

8 JUN 2010
DAL-MDW(STL) WN20 Y 3E 737-700 N386WN
Status Credits 0 Total 805(This is Southwest afterall)

On Tuesday I headed to the other Dallas Airport, Dallas Love Field, this airport is dominated by Southwest Airlines who up until a few years ago were only able to sell flights to passengers from Dallas Love Field to airports in Texas and neighboring states. Read about the Wright amendment here.

Who are Southwest Airlines, well they are the biggest low fare airline in the world. They offer free seating, so you have to line up in rows to get a good seat. A few rival airlines make jokes about their herding of passengers. This is a recent youtube advert from Airtran Airways.

Dallas Love field has about 16 gates in an L shape, I think Continental is the only other airline at this airport. I found lots of canyon blue planes didn't see any of the older brown planes. I used one of the check in kiosks which was rather easy and as I wasn’t checking in bags I headed through security. Security took about 15 minutes not too long but longer than Australia.

My original scheduled departure was 12:20pm but departure was delayed until 1:00pm due to weather in St Louis our first stop on the way to Chicago. Southwest route network is full of 1 and 2 stop with single flight numbers. There schedule is geared towards lots of short flights without really using a central hub airport although places like Chicago and Baltimore has lots of connections available. The Wright amendment also meant that that Southwest can’t schedule long direct flights out Dallas Field, those restrictions will be eased in 2014.

Southwest has free seating so you have to line up in rows according to when you checked in. I received a group 3 ticket so I would be waiting awhile. Even after waiting for more than halve the plane to board I got myself a seat in Row 3.

It wouldn't be Southwest without nuts and your choice of drink sprite, Coke, water or juice; landing was at 2:35pm, definitely no B.O.B. on Southwest. The departing crew did a head count with 46 continuing passengers with the departing cabin crew off to Omaha.

8 JUN 2010
STL-MDW WN20 Y 3E 737-700 N386WN Part 2

So in the change, I moved to a window seat 2F yes I could have probably gone and found an exit row but my bag already had a spot so didn’t want to have to move that as well. Another quick service no nuts just water, with a flying time of 38 minutes at 27,000 feet.

There was still some rain about in St Louis with a few bumps and it was cloudy on the way to Chicago so really didn’t see a lot except lots of cloud.

We landed at 4:01pm and were at the gate B5 at 4:04pm, try doing that at Chicago O’hare.

8 JUN 2010
MDW-DTW 1148 Y 21B 737-700 N457WN

I had about 45 minutes in Chicago with the gate just on the other side of the same concourse at B8.

Flight departed at 5:01pm with expected flight time of 35 minutes flying at 21,000 feet with the cloudy weather we were advised to expect bumps and there was likely to be no cabin service.

Descent began at 5:19pm but we didn’t land until after 6:00pm (7:00pm) Detroit time. Yes Detroit is in the Eastern Time zone the message played on the loud speakers every 5 minutes in case you forgot.

On the shuttle bus to the hotel I was talking to one of the passengers who were connecting in Detroit to go onto Florida and Delta did a gate switch on him, so he missed the connecting flight. Something for me to constantly check to make sure Delta don’t do a gate switch on me.

I spent 2 nights in Detroit with one full day dedicated to seeing the Henry Ford Museum

I also got a ticket to go and visit the Ford Rouge plant tour; where Ford still builds the F150.

The Henry Ford Museum had a few interesting exhibits, the bus that was a part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the car that JFK rode in when he was shot in Dallas. As expected there quite a few cars and strangely farm equipment. Another interesting exhibit was the Ford Trimotor.

10 JUN 2010
DTW-EWR DL2120 Y Seat 9D DC9-50 N778NC
Status Credits 0 Total 805(Delta is part of Skyteam, but I did receive 244 points to Virgin Blue)

I got a boarding pass from the kiosk and then went through security which took less than 5 minutes. I was very impressed with security on this trip.

I rode the train to the north gates and then walked back to make sure I knew where the gate was. No plane in sight which wasn’t a good thing. With over an hour before departure went and got some breakfast from National Coney Island bar & grill, place reminded me of Dennys or IHOP. Got to love American cooked breakfast, with breakfast finished I went back to the gate to find that I had a Delta DC9 parked next to the gate.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...10_DLDC9-1.jpg

The DC9-50 series aircraft Delta were keeping for the time being and so these aircraft were being repainted.

Next door was a real Northwest DC9, one that Delta had not got to repainting.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...2010_NWDC9.jpg

The smaller series DC9-20 and DC9-30s remained in Northwest Airlines paint as these aircraft were retired completely from service in September 2010.

At least it was a DC9 and there was no gate switch and it looks like boarding would start 30 minutes so we would get a close to on time departure.

Even though I checked in at the airport I got a group 3 boarding pass so as soon as group 2 was called I got inline so by the time group 3 was called was only 1 person away from the boarding pass reader.

In Australia boarding is by seat numbers, so on a 737 boarding would be rows 15-30 and then the rest of the plane could then board, business class boarding at any time.

Group 3 boarding allowed me some bin space above my row which was nice.

Full flight, take off 10:55 thank you for your attention and welcome aboard ended the safety announcement, probably a newly scripted cabin announcement with the merger of Delta and Northwest.

Coke, sprite Ginger ale with dry roasted peanuts, some bumps seat belt on the whole time. The weather was clear taking off but cloudy getting towards NYC with the landing at 12:03pm. One thing I love about the US airlines is the arriving gate information; baggage carousel number and any connecting gate information.

Delta flies into Terminal B and then it was 2 stops on the airtrain to the parking and hotel shuttle pick up point where I found the Hilton Newark Penn station shuttle straight away.

After checking into the hotel I then took the train into New York.

I had planned to spend the weekend in New York City. I had planned to catch a flight from Detroit to NYC to either of the 3 airports as long as it was on a DC9. Doing some research into accommodation I found the rates very expensive and Tom911 found a very cheap Hilton rate at Newark Penn Station in New Jersey. The rates at this hotel were half the price of what was available in NYC. This hotel was also useful for trying to do a Hilton Fasttrack Program.

The only catch with the Hotels location is that I would have to catch the train into NYC, the train station was just across the road from the Hotel. Newark Penn station is served by a number of train companies, including PATH.

The only problem I found is that I caught New Jersey transit which required a different ticket and which stopped at 34th street.

I spent a few hours walking around NYC, visiting Times Square Grand Central station and a few other places. I then caught a subway train to catch up with Trueblueflyer, Russ had spent 2009 in Australia

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...010_WallSt.jpg

We had a look at Ground Zero and did a walk across part of the Brooklyn Bridge, before we caught the train to the first FT Do of the weekend.

The 1st Annual "DDD" DO, NYC Thread June 10th, 2010

The restaurant served food from the Dominican Republic, but it was also a good to catch up with old and new Flyertalk members.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/2010_DDD.jpg

Dinner finished and then a group of us went for a drink. I didn't make it back to the hotel until 12;00am. I somehow got lost on the way between transferring from the New York Subway to the PATH.

On Friday I met up with TOM911 where we did a ferry to Staten Island and back mainly to get a close up look at the Statue of Liberty.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...010_Statue.jpg

Next stop was the Intrepid Air & Space Museum.

There are a few photos from Tom of the 2010 Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York City - tom911's Photos, the highlight for me was getting a close up look of the British Airways Concorde.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...BAConcorde.jpg

After spending a few hours at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum I wanted to go and visit the Empire State Building, $42.00 later I was at the top.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...teBuilding.jpg

Friday night was another dinner organized by another famous Flyertalker Catman,

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...11-2010-a.html

Friday night I didn't get lost getting back to the hotel so I was in bed before midnight.

Saturday was the Brooklyn Reality Tour where we hoped on a bus at 46th street and rode around Brooklyn for the day.

Tom has a few pictures from the tour, yes one flyertalk member flew to the US for the weekend, did they do it just for the miles.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...4-2010-brt.jpg

Sunday I was able to sleep in; went for a walk and had a quick look at a few other places around NYC before catching up with another flyertalk friend, NYC local but they didn't attend BRT. Sunday night was another dinner, with the main feature was the wine.

WineDo 3 - Sunday June 13, 2010 New York City - Greenwich Village

Each person had to bring wine, I was lucky in that lili who attended Ozfest was able to get my wine to NYC without me having to incur baggage fees. I found a nice wine during the Sunday winery tour during Ozfest; my choice of wine was a Langmeil 2008 Valley Floor Shiraz,

The meal was finished rather late; I made it back to the hotel around midnight, no I didn't get lost this time but we had a lot of wine to get through.

After a 5 hour sleep I had to get up early Monday morning to do some mileage running.

This set of flights got me closer towards Qantas Platinum oneworld Emerald. These tickets were brought on www.americanairlines.com.au and are discounted First Class tickets. You are buying an instant upgradable Economy ticket usually P class which gets you to fly first class in the USA and Qantas treat them as first class tickets so good for status.

14 JUN 2010
EWR-ORD AA2317 F Seat 5F MD80 N410AA
Status Credits 90 Total 900

I was up at 5:30am to get the first shuttle to the airport at 6:00am; I was able to check in at the First Class line and go through security in 10 minutes. Newark has an Admirals Clu where I was able to use the computers and get myself a hot drink. As flights commended boarding at 40 minutes before departure so at the appointed time I went in search of the gate.

My first flight in American Airlines traveling in first class, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and a pre-departure drink was offered. For some reason the front row is row 3, which I got wrong, I was too lazy too move so I stayed where I was while the other person moved to the row 3. The boarding pass didn’t show my Qantas frequent flyer number so I thought, oh no here we go I have to argue with Qantas to get my points.

During boarding the flight was oversold by 1 with $300 to go on the next flight at 10:20.

The flight departed on time but we were 11th inline for take off we eventually got away at 8:12am. Flight time was 1hr 55 minutes at 26,000 feet, part of those American Airlines cabin announcements.

Not that much different to a Qantas Y breakfast; well there was more; the presentation was better, with a metal knife.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...7Breakfast.jpg

A bread roll and tea or coffee was also served.

Chicago is in the central time zone(1 hour behind the east coast) Landing was at 9:05am, but we weren’t at the gate for over 15 minutes, why couldn't they put the runway next to the terminal

14 JUN 2010
ORD-TPA AA1502 F 3A MD80 N426AA
Status Credits 90 Total 990

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/DSC03883.jpg

Another AA MD80; I had previously flown an Alaska Airlines MD80 so it was a bit of a novelty to be flying 2 on the same day.

It was very foggy outside, gate K4 was not that far from where we landed and only a few minutes walk from the Chicago Admirals Club. I really didn’t have a good look around the airport. Flight departed on time at 11:05am but we didn’t take off until 11:29am. This flight had Gogo in-flight wireless internet, never did bother to play with it as we would be getting lunch. I also had planned for the lack of IFE on the MD80s as I had purchased a book. I did think to pay for the wifi if only to announce to my facebook and twitter friends that I was flying at 33,000 feet.

Service started with hot nuts;

Does this remind anyone of where I am heading, maybe readers of Flyertalk might catch the joke.

Lunch was this; well the main course anyway.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...A1502Lunch.jpg

Which was followed by a coffee and a choc chip biscuit?

Got to love flying AA first class if only for the choc chip biscuits and the Qantas status credits of course.

The MD80s are rather noisy so it was good that the flight wasn’t too long, landing was at 2:40pm(Eastern time zone.

As we were deplaning the crew mentioned that with storm clouds in the area that baggage may be a bit slow. Lucky I had carry on only.

I had chosen another Hilton Property on my quest for Hilton Gold. I had hoped that the hotel would have a washing machine but it didn’t so I was out of luck there. I used the sink with some washing powder to at least wash a shirt.

15 JUN 2010
TPA-MIA AA983 F Seat 6A 737-800 N932AN
Status Credits 60 Total 1050

I was up at 7:00am for breakfast as I had purchased a rate that included breakfast; it was one of the poorer breakfast selections of the trip. One thing the lounge had was a computer and interesting or not interesting flyertalk showed up on the address bar at the top.

Shuttle back to the airport, another $1.00 handed over. Check in was quick but security was very slow and to reach the departure gates a tram is used.

A flight from Tampa to Miami is only 40 minutes at 21,000 feet, service in the front cabin would be a drink even an alcoholic drink was available at this early hour with departure at 10:20am.

One noticeable difference to the AA737s to the AA MD80s is the IFE onboard so each First class seat had head phones, the other thing noticeable was I found the 737s quieter than the MD80s.

15 JUN 2010
MIA-DCA AA1070 F Seat 6E 737-800 N952AA
Status Credits 90 Total 1140

Arrival was at E4 with departure on the other concourse D29, first stop was another Admirals Club. Qantas Club life membership is paying off very nicely on this trip. Another reason to stop by the lounge is that I had the address of where my hotel was but I hadn’t properly worked out where it was in relation to the Washington Metro.

I think I should be able to drink my way through my membership fees in no time. Boarding was at 12:20pm after drinking the 2 drink chits in the AA AC.

Flight was scheduled for 2 hours and 4 minutes at 39,000 feet; we were 2nd inline for take off with an expected arrival at 3:10pm.

Surprisingly there was no pre-departure drink, once the flight was underway drinks and nuts were served before a 2 choice lunch, either salmon or 4 cheese enchiladas. FEBO was at work with a terrible flight attendant looking after first class.

Landing was 3:08pm and for the only time in the whole trip I left the camera under the seat in front of me. Thankfully I realized as I was walking up the jetway that my back pack didn’t feel quiet heavy enough. One of the airline staff in the jet way was able to fetch it for me.

I caught the Washington Metro to the hotel Doubletree Inn, another Hilton property. This property had washing facilities. Although it was over $200 a night I was treated very well by all the staff.

Wednesday

On Wednesday I went and visited the Air & Space Museum near Dulles Airport. I caught the Metro to Rosslyn then the 5A bus to Dulles airport then another bus on Virginia Regional Transit, who says the US doesn’t have public transport.

I spent more than 5 hours looking at the different exhibits which included an Air France Concorde.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...ceMuseumDC.jpg
And a Boeing 707.

Another major exhibition was the Enterprise Shuttle.

The first Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground; it is not equipped for spaceflight.

In the evening I caught up with everyone from DC.

The 2010 DC Area Happy Hour Thread

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...10_WASDCXX.jpg

Recognize anyone.

Thursday

On Thursday morning I got up early to go and line up to get a ticket for the Washington Monument; yes you can reserve a ticket in advance but of course I only found out about that one week after the deadline had passed. Thankfully you could line up for them. The ticket booth opened at 8:30am so I thought get up at 7:00am and I made it to the line by 8:00am. I was happy to get a ticket for 3:00pm.

I guess while I was standing around I thought I should take a photo.

I got to the top at about 3:15pm in the afternoon.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...lse717/307.jpg

In the mean time I visited the Museum of American History which was on the
mall. I also did a walk via the White House and did another walk via the Lincoln Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
I collected my bags and caught the Metro to Union Station and caught MARC up to BWI. The cheaper tickets are available from the machine but it didn’t like my Australian credit card but the train ticket inspector only charged me for the machine price.

My choice of hotel was the Holiday Inn near BWI, I was able to get a free room via a Priority Club points break so it only cost me 5,000 points. My other US hotel stays were with Hilton and those stays qualified me for Hilton Gold via a fasttrack program that was offered. I have no idea how I will re-qualify next year.

18 JUN 2010
BWI-DFW AA1277 F Seat 3A MD80 N249AA
Status Credits 120 Total 1260

First class check in was good and fast. I checked in my bag for the 4 flight 10,406 mile journey home.

With no Admirals Club in Baltimore I had to slum it in the terminal.

AA1277 was operated by N249AA a MD-82 (DC-9-82) manufactured in 1984

BWI is dominated by Southwest Airlines, one reason the airfares are cheaper than from the other Washington area airports. One other advantage on flying from BWI to DFW is that BWI-DFW in distance is just over 1200 miles so nice status earner on Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

The flight departed a few minutes early with an expected flight time of 2:41 minutes at 32,000 feet. Lunch was served on this flight. FEBO(front even back odd for food service) at work again, maybe I should have preselected my seat. The service started with more hot nuts with apple juice in a can.

The main course was a salad with salmon rice and beans and more of those pita chips with humus which I ignored,

The flight departed a few minutes early, 2:41 minutes at 32,000 feet FEBO(front even back odd for food service) at work again, maybe I should have preselected my seat. More hot nuts with apple juice in a can before the meal which was a Salad with salmon rice and beans and more of those pita chips with humus which I ignored,

Another picture of the meal; with a metal knife

The choice of wine was chardonnay or red cab/merlo, I think I opted for the chardonnay.

The seat belt sign was on most of the way with lots of cloud and a bit of high cloud every so often, but the flight remained relatively smooth.

Australia is such a long way away according to the flight attendant who is going to Tulsa. Our landing was at Gate C4 and the staff was nice enough to advise of connecting gate information.

The connecting flight was at the other end of the same concourse so I took one stop on the Skylink before heading over to the Admirals Club in Terminal C,

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a.../AASkylink.jpg

The Skylink operates bi-directional and operates inside the secure area. This system replaced the Airtran which operated from 1974-2005 operated outside the secure areas.

It was another stop by the Admirals Club for another drink chit and a use of the lounge computer. I think after a few lounge visits I seemed to have a pattern; walk to lounge ask the attendance where is the bar and the computers, after I got the 2 drinks chits of course.

18 JUN 2010
DFW-LAX AA2457 F Seat 5B MD80 N433AA
Status Credits 120 Total 1380

Another full flight what a surprise we get pre-departure drink juice or water.

Nuts were again available but I was over the nuts. Dinner was a choice of pepper steak or cheese tortellini.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...2457Dinner.jpg

This was probably the best inflight meal I had of the entire trip.

A South African 2008 cab/merlot was available with the meal. Thankfully there was no sighting of the Pita chips.

An ice cream was served after the meal with tea or coffee.

The flight time was 2:47 at 26000 feet 4:14 take off landing in LA at 5:10pm, there is 2 hours time difference between Dallas in the Central time zone and LAX in the Pacific time zone. The flight was operated N433AA a 23 year old DC9-83.

After the 7 flights with American Airline a few things that stood out. A crew can make a boring flight a great one. If you didn’t get a chatty flight attendant who served you pre-departure drinks you knew that the FA was going to do a sub standard performance. Another thing that was obvious was that there was such a gap between economy and first class, it was like night and day and no wonder everyone crowds around the podium to get that elusive upgrade.

18 JUN 2010
LAX-SYD QF012 Y Seat 61H A380-800 VH-OQD
Status Credits 40 Total 1425 I made it Qantas Platinum after 15 hours.

I spent a few hours in T4 AC then I walked outside of security and then through security at TBIT.

My upgrade did not come through so I was going to be stuck in economy for the trip back to Sydney, even an upgrade to PE would have been nice, checking expertflyer in LA showed that there was 0s across the board so it was a full flight.

Didn't think much of the business lounge at TBIT

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...LoungeTBIT.jpg

Not to much food but the drinks were free, well you didn't have to tip for them. I probably prefer having a bar person serve you a drink even if you have to tip for them.

Boarding was called at 10:00pm.

Dinner was salmon or chicken, with a peppermint tea or chocolate drink served after the meal. The plane is very quiet very noticeable compared to MD80.

The flight started at 32000 feet 14 hours with departure at 11:20pm, it was a very smooth flight across the Pacific.

Australia is a long way from the USA it no wonder I don’t get there that often.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...icCrossing.jpg

With 6 hours to go I ate the snack pack which included biscuits, M&Ms and dried fruit plus a bottle of water, ,

At this time I thought I should watch some movies. Beneath Hill 60 was featured in a previous Qantas magazine which I then followed with Man Who stares at Goats.

Beneath HIll 60 was good but I am glad I didn't pay to watch Man Who Stares at Goats. the size of the screen on the A380 is definitely better than the economy screen on the 747.

Lights came on 3:30am in the morning and with 3 hours before arrival breakfast was served.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...2Breakfast.jpg

Anyone notice the return of the plastic knife and fork.

We eventually got to 40,000 feet with 2 hours to go; as the fuel burns off the flight level increased.

Descent started at 6:06am and we arrived at 6:43am delayed due to traffic into Sydney airport.

Nice camera image from the A380 on landing.

Where is the gate and luggage carousel info, oh that’s right I am back on Qantas flying into Australia so there aren’t that many of them.

I was through passport control and then had to wait for baggage as I had checked in my bag in Baltimore, surprisingly the bag followed me.

20 JUN 2010
SYD-BNE QF512 J 1D 737-838 VH-VXL
Status Credits 10 Total Who Cares I made it.

Qantas have a domestic check in area at the international terminal for those customer who have flown in from overseas, even if you haven’t flown in on Qantas. I had been issued a boarding pass for this flight in Baltimore. I again checked my bag as I now had duty free and didn’t want to have to carry it with me.

Probably the biggest shock of the morning was printed on the new boarding pass. FF Platinum Oneworld E(Emerald)

Of course I had to send a text to another flyertalker to tell them of the good news.

And a picture of the boarding passes starting from 1 August start of a new membership year.

Departure of the flight was at 9:03am, the flight a standard Qantas flight in business class, a mid morning snack.

Flight got to 35,000 feet and another seat belt reminder. Flight time was 59 minutes so the flight attendant did a good job to serve all the business class passengers a mid morning snack.

Photo of the snack with a metal fork and spoon with a plastic knife

The flight arrived into Brisbane 10 minutes early, no connecting gate information and luggage would be available on a dedicated city flyer carousel.

My trip to the US covered 22,900 miles.

To reach Qantas Platinum oneworld Emerald I traveled 54,927 miles on airfares that were purchased on oneworld airlines. I did 82,000 miles on all airlines in the last membership year. I can get a bit sidetracked using other non oneworld airlines but I also burnt a few points as well.