2011 1K Wrap Up - 8 Flights, 4 Airlines, 7 Countries, and 11K Miles
Dec 14, 2011, 1:58 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP 75K, DL Diamond, LH SEN, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,360
2011 1K Wrap Up - 8 Flights, 4 Airlines, 7 Countries, and 11K Miles
It's that time of year again - requalify for 1K status or drop to Platinum. I technically requalified in November but some miles haven't posted yet and it looks like it'll be a fight to get them. This trip is insurance (and fun!).
Now before we get too far I should probably tell you where I'm going:
The original plan was France/Spain/Andorra but some schedule changes forced me to rethink the itinerary. The new trip includes France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Belgium plus short stops in Canada and of course the United States. This will be my first visit to Slovakia making it my 41st country.
Here's the flight list:
AC IAH-YUL
AC YUL-CDG
LH CDG-TXL
OS TXL-VIE
SN VIE-BRU
AC BRU-YUL
AC YUL-YYZ
AC YYZ-IAH
Now before we get too far I should probably tell you where I'm going:
The original plan was France/Spain/Andorra but some schedule changes forced me to rethink the itinerary. The new trip includes France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Belgium plus short stops in Canada and of course the United States. This will be my first visit to Slovakia making it my 41st country.
Here's the flight list:
AC IAH-YUL
AC YUL-CDG
LH CDG-TXL
OS TXL-VIE
SN VIE-BRU
AC BRU-YUL
AC YUL-YYZ
AC YYZ-IAH
Dec 14, 2011, 2:12 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
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Posts: 2,360
Like most trips this one started waaaaaaaay too early. After dropping my car at my mom's house I bribed convinced her to drive me to the airport and we arrived in plenty of time for the flight. Air Canada uses Terminal A and this would be my first flight on their regional jets.
Security wanted to play the "say your name" game and then tried to get me into the NoS so I opted out. After waiting at least 5 minutes for a male assist I asked for a supervisor who didn't seem to care so I asked for a complaint form. Total time at security: 23 minutes. Not a good start!
The flight was scheduled to leave at 11:20 AM and catering was buy-on-board so I opted for a similarly priced but much tastier option - Fuddrucker's. I think I paid $10 for a burger and drink versus $9 for a sandwich on the plane.
Air Canada Flight AC7998 Houston, TX to Montreal, Canada
Equipment: CRJ-705
Departure: 11:20 AM
Arrival: 3:45 PM
Seats on this flight were in a 1-2 configuration in the front and a 2-2 configuration in the back. I had an entire row to myself. The bins were small but larger than those on the EMB-145. Surprisingly Air Canada has AVOD and power on their regional jets - impressive!
The flight seemed to go by very quickly and we arrived in Montreal a couple of hours later.
Flight Map
Approaching YUL - the windows were filthy
Security wanted to play the "say your name" game and then tried to get me into the NoS so I opted out. After waiting at least 5 minutes for a male assist I asked for a supervisor who didn't seem to care so I asked for a complaint form. Total time at security: 23 minutes. Not a good start!
The flight was scheduled to leave at 11:20 AM and catering was buy-on-board so I opted for a similarly priced but much tastier option - Fuddrucker's. I think I paid $10 for a burger and drink versus $9 for a sandwich on the plane.
Air Canada Flight AC7998 Houston, TX to Montreal, Canada
Equipment: CRJ-705
Departure: 11:20 AM
Arrival: 3:45 PM
Seats on this flight were in a 1-2 configuration in the front and a 2-2 configuration in the back. I had an entire row to myself. The bins were small but larger than those on the EMB-145. Surprisingly Air Canada has AVOD and power on their regional jets - impressive!
The flight seemed to go by very quickly and we arrived in Montreal a couple of hours later.
Flight Map
Approaching YUL - the windows were filthy
Dec 14, 2011, 2:20 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Posts: 2,360
This was my first time connecting through Canada without leaving the airport so the procedure was new to me. I had to complete the customs form and had a short chat with a very friendly agent who took my form and stamped my passport and boarding pass. This only took a few minutes and I was off to the Maple Leaf Lounge in no time!
I used the lounge near Gate 52 and it was very crowded so I didn't take any photos. It looks out over the Air Canada and Air France gates so I got to see the AF A380 arrive. The lounge had a good selection of drinks but a mediocre selection of food. My biggest complaint is the shower room - they have one shower for the entire lounge. The flights to London, Paris, and Frankfurt leave close to one another so this created a very long wait.
Air Canada Flight AC870 Montreal, Canada to Paris, France
Equipment: Boeing 777-300ER
Departure: 7:50 PM
Arrival: 8:45 AM (+1)
AC's 77Ws are in a 3-3-3 configuration and once again I was lucky enough to have an entire row (bulkhead!) to myself. Flying time was under 6 hours so I skipped dinner and fell asleep almost immediately. The choices were pasta or chicken.
Breakfast (muffin) was served just before arrival in CDG and we landed 20 minutes early. The gate wasn't ready so we had to wait an extra 10 minutes.
I was one of the first people off the plane so I didn't have to wait at passport control. The agent barely glanced at my passport before stamping it and waving me through.
I used the lounge near Gate 52 and it was very crowded so I didn't take any photos. It looks out over the Air Canada and Air France gates so I got to see the AF A380 arrive. The lounge had a good selection of drinks but a mediocre selection of food. My biggest complaint is the shower room - they have one shower for the entire lounge. The flights to London, Paris, and Frankfurt leave close to one another so this created a very long wait.
Air Canada Flight AC870 Montreal, Canada to Paris, France
Equipment: Boeing 777-300ER
Departure: 7:50 PM
Arrival: 8:45 AM (+1)
AC's 77Ws are in a 3-3-3 configuration and once again I was lucky enough to have an entire row (bulkhead!) to myself. Flying time was under 6 hours so I skipped dinner and fell asleep almost immediately. The choices were pasta or chicken.
Breakfast (muffin) was served just before arrival in CDG and we landed 20 minutes early. The gate wasn't ready so we had to wait an extra 10 minutes.
I was one of the first people off the plane so I didn't have to wait at passport control. The agent barely glanced at my passport before stamping it and waving me through.
Dec 14, 2011, 2:31 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP 75K, DL Diamond, LH SEN, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,360
Radisson Blu Ambassador Hotel
Club Carlson is offering a promo where one can earn 50K points for staying at any Radisson. Those points were useful here!
Of course I like to diversify so I also spent some points at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe.
Club Carlson is offering a promo where one can earn 50K points for staying at any Radisson. Those points were useful here!
Of course I like to diversify so I also spent some points at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe.
Dec 16, 2011, 10:16 am
#8
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Posts: 2,360
Dec 16, 2011, 11:03 am
#9
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: LAX and LHR. UA lifetime Gold 1.9MM 1K , DL Gold Medallion, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis President's Club
Posts: 3,592
Dec 16, 2011, 11:21 am
#10
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Dec 16, 2011, 2:38 pm
#11
Original Poster
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After spending a few amazing days in Paris it was time to return to the airport. Most people think the airport's code "CDG" stands for Charles de Gaulle, but it actually represents the 3 most commonly used curse words used by passengers flying through the airport.
I took the RER to the Terminal 1 station then transferred to the airport tram which actually took me to Terminal 1. Then I shoved my way through endless mobs of people standing in the middle of the hall and made my way to the Lufthansa counter. About 20 kiosks were available (in typical LH fashion) so I was able to grab my boarding pass immediately. One of my bags would have to be checked after doing some Christmas shopping in Paris but the *G counter didn't have a line.
Security was easy (shoes on, no NoS, no grope) and I found Lufthansa's Senator Lounge a few minutes later. It is in a basement with no windows but other than that the lounge was pretty decent. The lounge had free internet too and I got a laugh out of the login screen - "Lufthansa makes you a gift" sounds like something Peggy from the Discover commercials would say.
Lufthansa Flight LH3241 Paris, France to Berlin, Germany
Equipment: Boeing 737-300
Departure: 9:25 AM
Arrival: 11:00 AM
I took the RER to the Terminal 1 station then transferred to the airport tram which actually took me to Terminal 1. Then I shoved my way through endless mobs of people standing in the middle of the hall and made my way to the Lufthansa counter. About 20 kiosks were available (in typical LH fashion) so I was able to grab my boarding pass immediately. One of my bags would have to be checked after doing some Christmas shopping in Paris but the *G counter didn't have a line.
Security was easy (shoes on, no NoS, no grope) and I found Lufthansa's Senator Lounge a few minutes later. It is in a basement with no windows but other than that the lounge was pretty decent. The lounge had free internet too and I got a laugh out of the login screen - "Lufthansa makes you a gift" sounds like something Peggy from the Discover commercials would say.
Lufthansa Flight LH3241 Paris, France to Berlin, Germany
Equipment: Boeing 737-300
Departure: 9:25 AM
Arrival: 11:00 AM
Dec 16, 2011, 2:53 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
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Posts: 12,337
Excellent trip so far. Love the Paris shots!
I did 15 flights in the last two weeks and accumulated 25K BIS, and I am beat...still have more to do by year-end.
It is so refreshing to see an year-end MR trip with interesting locations and also did it in a relax manner (instead of mad rush of insane MR trips in a few days). Also, nice to read from my perspective of having to do a ton of work trips before the holidays (stress! stress! stress!).
My state of mind really appreciate this TR!
I did 15 flights in the last two weeks and accumulated 25K BIS, and I am beat...still have more to do by year-end.
It is so refreshing to see an year-end MR trip with interesting locations and also did it in a relax manner (instead of mad rush of insane MR trips in a few days). Also, nice to read from my perspective of having to do a ton of work trips before the holidays (stress! stress! stress!).
My state of mind really appreciate this TR!
Dec 17, 2011, 12:48 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP 75K, DL Diamond, LH SEN, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,360
Excellent trip so far. Love the Paris shots!
I did 15 flights in the last two weeks and accumulated 25K BIS, and I am beat...still have more to do by year-end.
It is so refreshing to see an year-end MR trip with interesting locations and also did it in a relax manner (instead of mad rush of insane MR trips in a few days). Also, nice to read from my perspective of having to do a ton of work trips before the holidays (stress! stress! stress!).
My state of mind really appreciate this TR!
I did 15 flights in the last two weeks and accumulated 25K BIS, and I am beat...still have more to do by year-end.
It is so refreshing to see an year-end MR trip with interesting locations and also did it in a relax manner (instead of mad rush of insane MR trips in a few days). Also, nice to read from my perspective of having to do a ton of work trips before the holidays (stress! stress! stress!).
My state of mind really appreciate this TR!
Good luck with your business trips and please bring your camera!
Dec 17, 2011, 1:08 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP 75K, DL Diamond, LH SEN, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,360
Berlin's public transport system is easy to use even with my limited German skills. A day ticket is priced just over 6 Euros for zones A and B, which covers most of the city and the bus lines to TXL. This will probably be my last visit to TXL before the new airport opens in a few months. Can't say I'll miss it!
My main motivation for including Berlin was the Christmas markets. I had time to visit 4 locations - one near Alexanderplatz, a second market a few blocks away, a third market near Zoologischer Garten, and finally the market near Potsdamer Platz.
Market #1 - Near Alexanderplatz
My main motivation for including Berlin was the Christmas markets. I had time to visit 4 locations - one near Alexanderplatz, a second market a few blocks away, a third market near Zoologischer Garten, and finally the market near Potsdamer Platz.
Market #1 - Near Alexanderplatz