Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Community > Trip Reports
Reload this Page >

Another IB J TP Run.. LHR-ORY-JFK-SFO-LAX-LAS-LAX-JFK-ORY-LHR (All J AA, BA, EC)

Another IB J TP Run.. LHR-ORY-JFK-SFO-LAX-LAS-LAX-JFK-ORY-LHR (All J AA, BA, EC)

Old Apr 15, 2014, 7:57 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
Another IB J TP Run.. LHR-ORY-JFK-SFO-LAX-LAS-LAX-JFK-ORY-LHR (All J AA, BA, EC)

My first real Trip Report, another one off the back of the fantastic IB deal at the end of last year.



Originally we had BA Club World seats booked using an Amex BA 241 to LA on the A380 at the end of April, and we were very much looking forward to it. I’d banked enough TPs to keep my Executive Club Silver for another year so was worth just doing a straight redemption. I like to maintain Silver level for the bonus Avios and lounge access as I have family in Spain that I visit a few times a year.

But when this deal came along I started looking towards the next level – GOLD! The Gold benefits are good, but the standout feature for me would be the soft landing back to silver the year after – This meant I could do nearly 2 years just doing redemptions without having to worry about keeping Silver status up.

Our original plan was to take AA Y flights between LAX and SFO/LAS while there, but now I was looking at a TP run I needed to calculate a trip with AA YUP fares and even a bit of BA CE POUG. Before the trip I was on 680 TP exactly. Silver in the bag for another year. Now to get another 820!

There were many options open to us to bag the points needed, but my wife decided straight away we weren’t going to go on any sloped AA seats. This cut our routing options. I started to use the useless IB booking engine, they didn’t make it easy.

As we were more than likely going via New York, my wife wanted a stopover. I couldn’t get anything reasonable in the fare rules, just an overnight. I also included an open jaw SFO/LAX. Eventually after 2 days of constant messing I managed to get a itinerary ticketed through ebookers.fr.

29/3 ORY-JFK OpenSkies BA8005 Bizbed
30/3 JFK-SFO AA59 in J
10/4 LAX-SFO AA172 in J
10/4 JFK-ORY BA8006 Bizbed

This was a good for my wife, flatbeds all round. Both AA legs I managed to get booked on the A321T. These are 3 class, but I couldn’t get booked into F so it was 4 legs of 140 TPs.

So, that got us to 1240 TPs – only 260 to go. I saw 'I class' availability on the LHR-ORY flights to connect to/from OpenSkies so chanced my arm, booked cheapy hand baggage only fares and immediately got an offer to upgrade to Club Europe so we would receive 80 TPs. That left 180 to find, just a tantilizing 3 AA F segments away from Gold.

I have a thing about Sixt car rental, they’re always good to me and have some smashing upgrades over the years so when I saw they had opened a branch in LAS I immediately went to check their offers. I was able to book a BMW 6-series convertible from them for a frankly ludicrous pay on arrival rate $670 including insurances for 8 days. My feeling was to get this car in Vegas and drive to LA and back as it would be a great car to run around LA in. Therefore I did my AA routings as such..

Arrive in SFO on AA from JFK, spend 2 nights there then take SFO-LAX-LAS in AA F. Pick up car, 2 nights in Vegas then drive to LA. Drive back to Vegas 9/4 fly AA LAS-LAX, return to the LA hotel then take the 10:20 AA172 back in the morning.

Sounds complicated? Not yet...

I'm going to try and do this in 5 parts including this one. There are plenty of pics.

Last edited by courtster; Apr 15, 2014 at 9:22 am
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 7:58 am
  #2  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
As we didn't really have hand luggage due our expected Manhattan tour I chose 1A/C for our puddle jump to ORY. We got to LHR and checked in. I tried to get the luggage checked through to SFO from LHR. It started to confuse the lady at Bag Drop so I just said don't worry about it. Through South Security I noticed C-W-S waiting to guest someone in to the CCR, he really is a local celebrity in LHR. I just said hi and went through to the North Lounge. I enjoyed the new egg on English muffins. Took the bacon from the hard bacon rolls and made a smashing sandwich.



Through to boarding, and settled in to 1A/C. Not looking forward to what BA now calls brunch, but had a quick ham and cheese croissant and a cup of tea. The flight was uneventful – goodbye UK!



Once we got to ORY I saw F-HAVN on stand operating the BA8003 to EWR. F-GPEK had operated the earlier BA8001 meaning we had F-HAVI, the only OpenSkies aircraft in full BA livery with blue engine nacelles and lower fuselage.



We waited what seemed like an hour for our luggage but once picked up I went to check-in. Check-in is located Hall 3 of the terminal, with the landside IB lounge at the other end in Hall 1.



Check-in opens 3 hours before the flight so had an hour to wait. The IB lounge being landside was therefore a benefit to us as it meant we could wait there for check-in to open. We had our boarding passes on our phones so we were let in without issue. As you can see, it's plain and functional.





Standard IB sandwiches and drinks are available. Rumours of free-pour Pommery were not confirmed. All I could find were 20cl Codorniu Cavas.

Once check-in opened I went downstairs and checked-in without issue - they have a separate line for Biz Bed. I'd heard rumours on FT that near to boarding time, pax in the lounge were escorted through security. This was not offered to us so can’t comment. Security was straight forward with a premium line.
Boarding was a bit of a scrum with no real premium line, although one of the Biz Bed pax from the lounge seemed to make his own line so we followed him. Boarding was through door 2L, always a pleasure turning left.



Back in 1A/C again, took up the offer of the preflight bubbly, and relaxed into the flight.
Now, this will possibly polarize opinion, but when I stay in a hotel I don't really worry about the fixtures and fittings. As long as it's clean you won't see any complaints from me. F-HAVI has those similar dated fittings, but what would turn out to be a comfy seat, fab food and attentive staff.




Take off was powerful as I’d always expected a 752 with only 114 pax to be. Before long iPads and menus were distributed.

The food was lovely – find me a meal this good in Club World. Amuse bouche, Starter, Main, Ice cream, Afternoon snack. The macrons were distributed at tea time, and I went back for seconds – sorry no pics as they weren’t around for long enough!







Once we got to North America the turbulence was choppy and uncomfortable. Would a widebody have been better? I would have thought so. I had another drink to take the edge off.

Had a little nap while watching a film on my iPad. When I awoke it was just about time for tea.
Landed on time into JFK. Luckily we slotted in between some larger BA arrivals so was through immigration pretty swiftly.
Collected our luggage, through customs and redeposited it to SFO.

So here we were 20:00 in JFK. What to do? Or original plan was to stay up all night, mooch around Manhattan and get some sleep on the 08:00 departure to SFO. It was pouring down though - hardly walking the streets weather. Should we just grab a hotel at JFK? We weighed it up over a quick coffee and decided to just head to Manhattan.

Last edited by courtster; Apr 16, 2014 at 6:02 am
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 7:59 am
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
We got the Airtrain to Jamaica and then the LIRR to Penn Station. The rain was awful, real New York rain - broken umbrellas rolled down the streets like tumbleweed.

Heads down and no umbrella we walked the 8 blocks to the AMC Empire 25 and caught the 23:00 showing of the latest Muppets movie. Both of us fell asleep at least a couple of times during the film! It was about 01:00 when we came out. I can only recall tiny parts of the film. At least our jackets had dried. The rain had eased by then, so we went and got a drink then waited for the LIRR back at 02:39 - Penn station was quite 'alive' at that time to say the least. Boarded the Airtrain to T8 and received some boarding passes from the AA self service machines. Having never been in an airport at 03:30 I was surprised to see the amount of people who had bedded down in corners throughout the check-in area.

Security was fast of course. Once through we were confronted with a completely empty departures. Not one shop was open, not even the Hudson News outlets.



We walked the terminal to see where Gate 1 was and then headed for the Admirals Lounge that opens at 04:30



We both received some chits at reception and headed in. I went straight for a shower, felt sooo much better!



My wife ordered some oatmeal, something just feels odd paying for things in a lounge. No matter though, it tasted good. I had a couple of pastries and a gallon of coffee.



We went down for boarding around 07:30, it was fast and efficient in the priority lane. Got to our seats 6A/C, the first row of Business on this A321T, and was very impressed. We were relishing the the proposition of 6 hours lying down and getting our sleep on!



A loud native New York couple were behind us. I had first noticed them in the Admirals Club. I had a preflight mimosa and I browsed the new IFE.



Reports you may have heard about the IFE being buggy were true. Dont charge your iphone/ipad from the USB, it crashes it immediately. I managed to break the moving map and couldn't be bothered to ask for another reboot.

Once airborne my own noise isolating earphones were in, but I could hear the loud couple behind me asking the FAs to get their devices working on the internet. The FAs werent interested and it was getting more an more annoying especially with my lack of sleep. I got up and offered my assistance - more to get some peace! 45 minutes it took me to sort them out, afterwards the FAs all thought I was their hero and now said couple have offered us lodging next time we're in NYC!

I had changed last minute from the smoked salmon bagel to turkey bacon quiche for breakfast as I thought I'd want something hot. It was a good choice and very filling - I chose a bagel and cream cheese for the bread service anyway.



I tried to watch The Worlds End for the 4th time, but kept nodding off.



Donned my eyemask and napped for a couple of hours and awoke with an hour or so before we landed in SFO.



The scenery outside was fab. Warm cookies and milk were distributed which I very much enjoyed.




Upon landing our luggage came out first and we were straight on the BART to Union Square. The BART is a fast and efficient way to travel. We were booked in the Hilton Union Square, a huge soulless hotel. I had just booked a standard room, as Hilton Honors Gold we got upgraded and given continental breakfast vouchers - good for any large drink and breakfast item at the on location Starbucks.
Had another shower and headed out for our first look round San Francisco. We walked through Chinatown and onto North Beach ending up at Fisherman's Wharf. It was a lovely sunny day.





With the sun setting we walked back to the hotel via Hyde Street.

Next day we were up with the birds and we walked to Pier 39 to get morning tickets to Alcatraz. Weather reports said rain was coming in by noon so we wanted to be back on the mainland before then. The ticket office opens at 07:30 and we got 2 for the first sailing. We walked round to IHOP for breakfast. Just as I was tucking in I read on the ticket you need photo ID to go on the trip which of course was in the hotel.

What to do? It was now rush hour and had 40 mins to get on the sailing, should we just risk it? We decided it would be best to go back to the hotel and grab them so I managed to hail a cab, explained the situation and off he went! Have you watched Bullit? Just like that, but in a Prius. This cabbie drove like the wind, it felt like we got air a couple of times.

We made it back to the pier with a couple of mins to spare, gave the cabbie a good tip, and got on-board the boat to Alcatraz - NO ID ASKED FOR! From then on we kept our ID with us. Seems to be quite important in the US.

Alcatraz was an excellent visit, worth every penny I think. Free audio tour with lots of great information. Also comes with an excellent view of Downtown.




We really wanted to stay longer, but the impending rain without an umbrella meant we wanted to be able to get back to the hotel when we want rather than by a boat schedule. Once back on the mainland we walked to Fisherman's Wharf again. It's quite a tourist trap, but then I was a tourist!



Then the heavens opened. Rain and Thunder like I'd never experienced.



Couldn't get a cab for love nor money. Obviously everyone had the same idea. 20 mins later we saw someone getting out of one. Thank heavens! My wife is a big Disney fan so was very happy when I found the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. Not far from the Wharf, but the cabbie didnt have a clue how to get there or what it was. After showing him on the navigation on my phone we managed to get there.


Pic courtesy of the WDFM

I'm always sceptical of anything Disney due to the massive marketing machine the company has become, but this was fantastic. It was a real view of the man and the family behind the corporation. Afterwards, even though it was brighter outside a taxi was impossible to find from the Presidio - I called a couple of numbers and the dispatcher couldn't get the drivers to come out at I didnt have a domestic cellphone number. Eventually we got one. Back to the hotel, went to the King Of Thai Noodle House round the corner which was lovely.


Coming later, on to LAX-LAS-LAX-LAS-LAX...

Last edited by courtster; Apr 15, 2014 at 9:21 am
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 8:28 am
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
Next morning we got en route to LAS via LAX. The AA app was already informing us of an hour delay on the AA2455 from SFO so we didn't rush.

I'd bought a return ticket on the BART. When you first get a ticket at the airport you need to add the correct value to a new ticket from the station list on the ticket machine. Once I'd got my head round it, it was very simple. Almost like a payg Oyster card, but without the RFID.

By the time we got to check-in at SFO the flight was delayed another half hour so they moved us to the later AA952 LAX-LAS flight still in First.



Had a Sam Adams when we got to the Admirals Club also purchased a turkey sandwich. Lovely.



The delay kept stretching, so enjoyed another Sam Adams and the lovely 10 Cane rum they have at the bar. Before long we finally boarded to LAX.

3A/C on this flight, I don't know why I prefer the portside of an aircraft. Must be some psychological reason. I'm sure there's an FT thread somewhere!



We were quickly up to cruising altitude, and I was offered a drink. Asked for a Sam Adams. They don't seem to keep them in the trolley - is that because it's an East Coast drink and it's not popular?



Coming into LAX you really get an impression of how big the greater LA area. Just astonishing.



Now in the LAX Admirals Club and another Sam Adams. Contrary to evidence published here I didn't use all my chits on booze, I exchanged the leftovers for bottles of water.



Had a longer layover due to the flight change. I enjoyed my time in the LAX AC, I love having an apron view.



6D/F on the AA952 LAX-LAS flight, probably lucky there were any seats in F with such a late change. Flight to Vegas was pretty short at 45 mins, but quite bumpy. Is this due to the mountains? The pilot made it sound like it was pretty standard. Great view on approach.





Luggage was off first again, this is getting to be a habit

As stated earlier I had booked flights around picking up a car from Sixt in Vegas. Unfortunately the branch manager emailed me to say the cars hadn't been delivered yet and asked if I wanted something else. Well, nothing else was appealing to me so I cancelled and got a LCAR from Hertz as thought it would be fun to try their Gold Choice service.

When we landed I started checking the website - it had allocated me a 300C - didn't really appeal to me. I tried refreshing the page for a change but the best it could come with were standard gold choice cars like Fusions and Impalas. Once we arrived at the Hertz terminal I walked the lot and in the end upgraded into a brand new Infiniti Q50. Good car, great stereo, 333hp.





We then drove to the Venetian to check-in. All parking at the resorts are free - could get used to this! Being British we didn't use the valet.

We walked through the casino to get to the lobby. I'd like to say I was impressed with the bling of it all, but it really didn't do it for me.



Unfortunately, more than likely due to us being on a Priceline rate we were offered a king, strip facing smoking room in the Venezia tower or a twin non-smoking. In hindsight I should have taken the non-smoking room as an ex-smoker I can smell it from 500 yards. No problem, I got over it.

I came to Vegas with an open mind, but I'm not a gambler and I'm uncomfortable with anywhere that is setup just to try and get you to empty your wallet especially in a captive environment. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see, walk around all the places you've seen on TV a million times, but it just doesn't do it for me.

The first night we just had a wander round the Grand Canal Shops in the Venetian/Palazzo. Even though I don't do much shopping, I was impressed by the spectacle of it all.




Next morning we got an early start and headed for breakfast at IHOP next to the Stratosphere on our way to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets - North. I like IHOP, service is so quick and prices reasonable.

The Outlet Mall was huge, we spent quite a bit of time there. Nearly bought a new suitcase out of Tumi, as our 2 21" cases we'd come with were getting quite bulgy. Decided against it then though.

After lunch we went to the Rio to pick up our tickets for Penn and Teller. My wife has loved them for years, it was the only show we had to do while there. We returned in the evening and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though some of Penn's Libertarian views were certainly lost on us. She got selfies after the show with both of them.

Up with the birds again the next morning, so we checked out put our luggage in the car and went for a walk up and down the strip going into the many casinos my wife wanted to visit - The Luxor, The MGM Grand, Caesars and The Bellagio.

By this time if was after lunch so we decided to start the 280 mile trip to the hotel in California. We stopped at the Las Vegas sign for a picture and got on our way. I'd planned in a rest stop in Baker, CA as it looked interesting from the map. I'm pleased we'd done this as after about an hour we noticed we were getting sticky - due to the pleather seats I hadn't realised the car had equipped.



Once we had arrived in Baker, CA we had a spot of lunch in a diner. I really enjoyed our half hour or so here.





We carried on to LA. Stopped again for a coffee at a gas station on the Cajon Pass. The scenery rivalled anything Europe boasts - It's no wonder a large percentage of Americans don't have passports - what's the point, they have everything here.




Was pleased to see the HOV lanes once we got to the greater LA area. This made driving a breeze to Redondo Beach where we were staying in a Staybridge Suites. Once we arrived I asked for a high room away from the pool/bbq area and was duly allocated a lovely 1 bedroomed suite that we were going to call home for the next 7 nights. I chose the Staybridge for a couple of reasons. 1. It was pretty central for the whole of Southern California 2. It was only 20k IHG points a night with breakfast.

The car averaged 29.5 US mpg on the journey, very impressed in spite of the pleather. The weather was going to heat up for the rest of the week and I wasn't looking forward to more time in that car so I went to Hertz LAX to see about a swap. As I was still meant to be taking the car back to LAS they would only give me a car with out of state plates. In the end I took a Genesis, I was quite impressed with it - huuge too!



I spent that evening pondering the drive back to Vegas. It was a hell of a long way. The AA flight was already booked, and I couldn't change it for any reasonable amount of money.

But now I wasn't renting with Sixt I could just drop the car back at LAX and fly to LAS to pick up the LAS-LAX flight in First. 4500 avios and 1.50 each and we were booked on the outbound AA952 to LAS.

I fancied another change in car and my National Executive level had just come through. I called and cut short the Hertz rental and booked a car at National for the duration. National is quite similar to Hertz - book a standard car and pick any car in the 'Emerald Aisle' section of the lot. Executive status gives a higher selection of vehicles.

When we got there on Saturday afternoon, apparently a quiet time, the lot was stuffed full of cars. Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, and a lot of nondescript sedans. There was only 1 black Challenger and I really fancied it. For 120 for 6 days it was a bargain! Just got in and drove to the gate, gave licence and drive away. What a great service. Drove back to the hotel that evening feeling pretty pleased with myself.



We did plenty of SoCal things over the next week, beaches, shopping, studio tours, Hollywood, Disneyland etc etc. Needless to say, we absolutely loved California. People are so friendly, the weather is awesome, the way of life is wonderful. Here's a few pics from the week.


Last edited by courtster; Apr 16, 2014 at 4:25 am
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 9:21 am
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
The day came of the jaunt to LAS and back. So pleased we weren't going to be driving back! That morning we'd visited the Redondo Beach Galleria shops and surrounding stores. We parked outside the TJ Maxx and went for a wander. After an hour or 2 and a smashing burrito we got back to TJ Maxx and the car was nowhere to be seen!



I was frantic, not so much about the car but that we would miss the flight. We called the police dispatch who sent a car. After about 15 minutes, my wife mentioned that it was a shame the car was gone due to the things we'd just bought from a particular store that were in there. Then it hit me that we'd moved it to the next store along. I cancelled the Police and sheepishly drove back to the hotel. Dropped our shopping off and drove directly to LAX where we stopped for an hour to do some shooting at the LAX Firing Range.

This was such fun! We started out quite sheepish having never even held a gun, not even a BB pistol in my youth. Everyone there was very friendly and we're made to feel at ease and very welcome. After the first magazine worth of rounds we were well into it, and it didn't cost much at all. I recommend it to all Brits.





As we were going through airport security shortly the range master said to keep the receipt as there maybe a chance of residue pickup by a machine, especially for international flights. We hotfooted it to T4 short term parking to find a problem, no parking anywhere and queues were backed up inside the lot due to people stopping and waiting for someone to come out of their space. After 15 mins I was just going to dump it on some cross hatchings only to find a wonderful soul who just appeared from the elevator going to his car and asked if we wanted the space. By this time we were in the TBIT part of the car park, so we had quite a run. We just made it, even bagged a Sam Adams in the Admirals Club.

When selecting a seat on the AA952 LAX-LAS in Y I could pick any seat as OW Sapphire including all the MCE seats. For a 45 min flight though I was mostly interested in rows 16/17 - when AA introduced MCE to the 738s they had 154 seats. By blocking off rows 16/17 middle seats with a table they were allowed by the FAA to reduce the FA count to 3. Almost a Club Europe seat!



We disembarked swiftly and grabbed coffee at the Starbucks where the crew were also having a break before the return flight. For the LAS-LAX segment we were back in 3A/C. Another uneventful flight, although loved the way the aircraft snaked through the mountains towards LA. Got the car, $15 for the 3 or so hours - of course loads of spaces in the parking lot now! Another 60 points in the bag and went back to the suite to pack for the flight home. Tried checking in online for the flight home. No dice.

Next morning got to LAX and stuck $50 of fuel in the Challenger for the 225 miles we'd done. Not bad I thought. Dropped it off at National and got the shuttle to T4. Checked in and asked the desk agent to see if she could check our bags through to LHR via ORY. She managed it but said she couldn't give me the boarding passes for the JFK-ORY leg - the second clue that something may be up.



Morning flight meant only 1 thing in the Admirals Club, Mimosas!



I checked before we boarded and the outbound ORY-JFK had departed for JFK. F-GPEK was the tail, so it looked like we were going to have the pleasure of the ex-BA 752 with its lovely RB211s.

Again in 6A/C on this A321T, a wonderful aircraft to be on. We would obviously had taken an F seat each if offered, but we didn't feel like we were missing out. If I was a lone traveller I would have loved F - the privacy is excellent.



We were fed and watered throughout the flight - amazing ice cream sundae!





The flight was very swift, around 4.5 hours. First time I had seen the Freedom Tower completed. Quite a sight.



Touched down at 18:42, unfortunately the taxiway we were about to use was blocked, but we had gone too far down it apparently so we had to wait for a tug. This took a long time. By the time we had disembarked it was 19:30. We went swiftly to T7 and tried to check in for the BA8006. The Club World desks were very slow, I estimate now I have had time to think that it was around 20:15. We were last in the queue and then IDBd. At the time I couldn’t understand it and it wasn't explained to us. The desk agent just sent us to reticketing. This was annoying as there were 2 agents, but both busy. It was another 20+ mins before we were seen.

While in the queue I tried to call a BA number that was open, but without success. I had already gathered the information of all flights leaving T7 in the next 24 hours just in case something like this had happened. If I'm honest after 8 aircraft I just wanted to go home straight to LHR, so I asked to be put on the next flight with space in J. Nothing available in J on the BA4, BA172, and BA182. I cheekily said we'd go on the BA180 in the morning if they could put us in First. No joy on that one!

They reticketed us onto the 182 but in World Traveller Plus and asked us to check-in again. Now the agent had to find our luggage to retag it onto the 182 - it took about 15 mins, but she managed it amazingly. I explained to both agents we had seen that I would like to be put back into CW if room was available. It looked like a note was written into the computer, but not sure.

We finally got to the Galleries club lounge. We were tired, hungry and were really looking forward to our pre-flight dining available in BizBed on the BA8006. Of course, now ticketed in WTP we got nothing. No leeway, just a straight no. I know it's policy, but it didn't make me any less hungry.

If I was to survive a long haul flight in WTP, it was time to dose up. Had a shower and was very pleased to see Brooklyn Lager in the fridges. Availed myself of quite a few and then went down to the gate.

Gave passports and boarding passes at the gate only to be given the magic BEEP. I was beside myself with happiness. 14E/F for us. I let out a little yelp of joy - I think I may have even half punched the air! Got to turn left again into the mini CW forward cabin. No one to step over either. Magic



Of course, I was still hungry and now on a sleeper service - I explained this to the purser who brought me some preflight bubbly. They brought the CSD over to me. She said she'll sort something out for us. We took off and was reminded how much I love the 744. What an awesome aircraft - this was my third time on Lima Papa. I made my own Ghetto IFE, as just wanted to finish watching something. The official Apple case magnets kept the iPad held beautifully.



The CSD came round again and said she can serve us a meal from F. I opted for the steak. It was smashing.



Time for bed and before I knew it I was being awoken just over Bristol by the CC. We were early, therefore another aircraft had not left our allocated stand so we bussed it to T5A. Disembarked by steps from 2L and CW had a bus to ourselves.



Luggage came out first at T5 - again! My brother in law was waiting with my car, and he took us home so didn’t go into the arrivals lounge. Once home I wrote to BA to ask what happened, and that we would like the 40 TPs for our ORY-LHR leg to be awarded to push us into Gold. At this point, I still haven’t received the JFK-LHR/ORY TPs, or the ORY-LHR. Fingers crossed!

We had an awesome time in California, the people were so friendly and made us feel so welcome. We can't wait to go back!

I hope you enjoyed reading this TR, I’m sorry I didn’t get as many pictures of things you’d probably want to see, but feel free to comment and ask me any questions.

Last edited by courtster; Apr 17, 2014 at 8:31 am
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 9:36 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, BA Amex Prem, BA Amex Business, Amex Platinum, Coutts Silk, Hilton Diamond etc.
Posts: 4,328
Enjoying this so far. As I was saying on the other board, I definitely think you did the right thing foregoing TPs to use the transcontinental A321.

I tried watching World's End twice but couldn't stay awake through the last 20mins either!
crazy8534 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 9:43 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 533
This takes me back to our trip last year on Openskies....see trip report

I would definitely fly Openskies again, the lounge isn't much to write home about at ORY but the whole experience in Biz Bed was just a cozy time with great staff. The BMW was a right result! Im planning on going back to LAS next year via SFO/LAX. For us the Mandarin Oriental is just a great haven in busy Vegas.

Edit. Just convinced Mrs C for us to fly EC again if another IB deal comes up we had such good memories.

How much did you pay by the way?

Last edited by chiefwiggumpi; Apr 15, 2014 at 9:53 am
chiefwiggumpi is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 9:59 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: YVR
Programs: Marriott Gold
Posts: 952
I don't know if you've tried it yet, but I found Uber to be great in San Francisco. They're cheaper than cabs, and they can pick you up where you are. This is as long as you have data or wifi active. I'm also flabbergasted that I managed to miss that museum in the Presidio the last time I went there - guess I'll have to go back and make a MR out of it too.

Terrific report! SF is an awesome place to visit.
roastpuff is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 10:05 am
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
Thanks for the comments so far

Originally Posted by chiefwiggumpi
This takes me back to our trip last year on Openskies....see trip report

I would definitely fly Openskies again, the lounge isn't much to write home about at ORY but the whole experience in Biz Bed was just a cozy time with great staff. The BMW was a right result! Im planning on going back to LAS next year via SFO/LAX. For us the Mandarin Oriental is just a great haven in busy Vegas.

Edit. Just convinced Mrs C for us to fly EC again if another IB deal comes up we had such good memories.

How much did you pay by the way?
Thanks for the tips on the Mandarin, It will all become clear in the next part.. To me, on my Amex it was 870 each after conversion. Can't moan at that!

Wasn't aware of Uber roastpuff- shame as my wife is on Three in the UK so had free data roaming while in the US.

EDIT Dammit, I thought I was saving my words to the cloud but alas they are local to my PC at work. Will have to finish in the morning.

Last edited by courtster; Apr 15, 2014 at 10:24 am
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 11:13 am
  #10  
brg
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 220
You da man!
How ever do you manage to get your wife to put up with this level of torture for TP?
Originally Posted by courtster
We got the Airtrain to Jamaica and then the LIRR to Penn Station. The rain was awful, real New York rain - broken umbrellas rolled down the streets like tumbleweed.
Heads down and no umbrella we walked the 8 blocks to the AMC Empire 25 and caught the 23:00 showing of the latest Muppets movie. Both of us fell asleep at least a couple of times during the film! It was about 01:00 when we came out. I can only recall tiny parts of the film. At least our jackets had dried. The rain had eased by then, so we went and got a drink then waited for the LIRR back at 02:39 - Penn station was quite 'alive' at that time to say the least. Boarded the Airtrain to T8 and received some boarding passes from the AA self service machines.
brg is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 11:44 am
  #11  
TPJ
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Programs: TK*G (E+), IHG Plat Ambassador
Posts: 7,884
Food on Openskies looks better than food on BA
TPJ is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2014, 12:24 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Texas
Programs: Former 1K turned UA Kettle
Posts: 413
nice pictures so far. SFO is one of my favorite cities in the US
UTex09 is offline  
Old Apr 16, 2014, 5:40 am
  #13  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: FZO
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Plat, Avis PC, Sixt Pl,
Posts: 772
Originally Posted by brg
You da man!
How ever do you manage to get your wife to put up with this level of torture for TP?
It was her that wanted the overnight in manhattan - I just wanted to go to bed!

Originally Posted by TPJ
Food on Openskies looks better than food on BA
I agree, the soft product is excellent.

Originally Posted by UTex09
nice pictures so far. SFO is one of my favorite cities in the US
I loved it, next visit will spend more time there.

Trip report now complete. Hope you enjoy it.
courtster is offline  
Old Apr 16, 2014, 9:48 am
  #14  
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,705
Great TR courtster. Good bless Ib and their crazy ex France deal!

I am hoping to go to San Francisco next year, possibly combined with Las Vegas so your TR has given me some ideas. The gun club looks cool. As a Brit I have similarly had no experience of guns whatsoever, but it would be good to have a go.
KARFA is offline  
Old Apr 16, 2014, 1:20 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, LH Sen, MUCCI, Junior Jet Club.
Posts: 8,091
Nice report. Big ^ to the CSD on your last flight, that was excellent service recovery. I'd fill in a BA.com/welldone
BahrainLad is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.