AvidFlyer1990

A very good TR! Looking forward to the rest. Might I ask, the stats, is it for the entire journey?

The AG

Thats for the entire journey yes - the miles were wrong - only included DCIR26 miles - updated now to include the SYD/AKL/SYD so its actually 27,650.

The AG

Update #5 – DFW-AUS

Flight #: AA1080
Aircraft: MD80, N403A, 29.3 Years old
Lounge: AA Admirals Gate D
Weight: Unknown - no scales!
Overall awesomeness: 2/10


For the first time coming into the US i used the automated immigration gates, which surprisingly were seamless, efficient and had me through all procedures within 10 minutes of deplaning. Baggage was quick, first bag off, baggage re-drop was fine, and even the TSA re-entry was not too painful - in fact they were better than MEL International (one of my least liked security/customs points). Into the admirals club for a quick 30 minute stop, which is more than enough - Australians sure are spoilt for domestic lounges, it always surprises me when people complain about the QF lounges in the scheme of things.'

Given there are no boarding calls, i head to the plane just as Priority boarded has finished and Main cabin has started - not a massive queue though. Onto the plane and my seat, 3F, is taken. I politely ask the older Texan gentleman if he is in my seat, to which he replies with a simple "Yes". After a short pause, I say "Alrighty then..." and sit in his allocated 3E. No big deal, rude, but not a problem. Departure time comes and I overhear the FA's talking about moving seat 3E - i wonder if i am moved, what i will say to the guy who took my seat! In any case, the AA first responder spends 20 minutes putting a new spring into the jump seat and we're off without the need to re-seat me or the Texan




Into Austin and to the rental car place - im surprisingly awake and ready to drive, or so i thought. Into the car, and my phone is nearly dead, has no reception and the downloaded Here Maps i have cant find the hotel i am entering! After 15 minutes of sitting in the car fiddling around, i decide to bite the bullet, get an Avis GPS and be on my way. For some reason it cant find my hotel either, and the power keep cutting out! No worries, i'll figure it out on the way i think. A mile down the road and i have no idea where i am going, so pull over, get the damn GPS power secure and back on my way - still cant find the hotel, but i've put the intersection in. Once i get to the intersection i still cant see any Homewood Suites, so i pull over and power up the laptop - 7% charge - crap! Lucky i am able to bring up my reservation and confirm, that dumbass driving the car isnt staying at the Homewood Suits, its the Hampton Inn, hence the bloody confusion on the maps. In any case, a quick u-turn and a few minutes later i'm checked in and ready to rest.



Nothing too special about Homewood Suites as you'd expect, older looking room, a bed, somewhere to sleep - its all good. I notice there is a yellow post-it note above the bed, with a hand written message - ""Duvet covers & sheets are clean for your arrival". Not sure what to think of it, should i be happy that they are telling me the sheets are clean? If there was no post it note, should i worry? In any case, a few hours nap before heading off to the W for dinner @ Trace. A nice entre of scallops, venison tatar and bread followed by beef short ribs. Ready for a proper sleep!



After waking at 1, 3, 5 and finally 7 I'm up and ready for a day of meetings and afternoon flight. Breakfast is edible and generally good - there's bacon, and my wife would be pleased to know that i had juice, yoghurt and a bagel and no Bacon. Small sacrifices!



Verdict: Expect nothing on AA Domestic and never be disappointed, especially when you're flying a plane thats so damn old! 2/10 with awesomeness points awarded for me reaching the hotel in one piece, without be arrested for reckless driving.

arlflyer

No idea, as I haven't been to the SIN one. But the HKG one has a great bar, some good views, and a nice big buffet. Worth a stop in.

The AG

Update #6 – AUS-DFW-SEA
Flight # Aircraft Lounge Weight Overall Awesomeness
AA383 B738
N865NN
4.4 Years old Admirals Not looking good! 4.0/10
AA2259 B738
N952NN
1 Year old Admirals Gate D 4.5/10




Austin ended with a nice lunch at Jack Allens Round Rock – decent local produce, however the belt is already feeling tighter! Woken up by an alert from Cortana telling me there were flash floods and tornado's in the area – which meant it might be a painful trip to Seattle! The AUS-DFW leg was fine, the plane wasn’t too old and generally the usual domestic disappointment – it was the older AA seat. Upon check-in the lady let me know that there would be no meal service DFW/SEA, given the flight was after 9pm – which I thought was a little weird for an F flight, yet Domestic US – not unexpected. A quick paid $10 sandwich in the Admirals Club and we’re ready for the leg to Seattle. Ominously I hear one of the gates announce they are boarding early to beat the storms coming in, and my gate is quite – low and behold my a few minutes later we’re in a holding pattern – no 9pm boarding!



Midnight finally comes around and we’re cleared to take off - looking forward to getting into Seattle at 3 something in the morning! The plane is young – a year old, yet the F seats only recline what feels like 15 degrees, within their clam fixed shell. What a disappointment that the new AA fleet has such poor F seating.

Whilst in Seattle I am staying at two hotels – the Hilton on 6th and the Sheraton a block down. The Hilton is a real disappointment, and I would have been better off staying at the Doubletree down the road I think. I generally find Hiltons are great overseas, and pretty crappy in the US.



The Sheraton on the other hand is what I would normally expect from a hotel – nothing too special, however nice and comfortable.



Having been out over the weekend to a few restaurants and bars, and ending up at the Columbia Tower club one night, although there are no scales in the hotel rooms still – I am now convinced that I am +3-5kg – awesome! On the plus side, the view is amazing, who'd have thought the space needle would look so small!

flyingeph12

Ah the joys of flying AA domestic

Yes, NRT early in the morning is a ghost town; on the flipside, immigration is a breeze.

I too have enjoyed the soba noodles on AA and been pleasantly surprised.

Looking forward to more of your journey...

The AG

Update #7 – SEA-PHX-LAX-SYD
Flight # Aircraft Lounge Weight Overall Awesomeness
AA500 A320
N669AW
13.1 Years old - Belt is struggling 5.0/10
AA509 A319
N834AW
10.7 Year old - 5.0/10
QF12 A388
VH-OEG
11.8 Years old QF F 5.5/10



Heading down to Sydney sure is a lot faster than heading to Austin from Kuala Lumpur! No OW Lounge in Seattle and give i am traveling with a colleague, no guesting into the Alaska Lounge. The flight to PHX is smooth, and i straight away notice the difference between US and AA. The planes arent much better - they are better, but not massively. What is noticeable however is the staff. They still look like veterans, however they have a positive and friendly attitude. No lounge luck in PHX either as the OW lounge near our gate is closed, and no time to head to the other one - so much for charging the phone!



Getting the bus from Terminal 6 at LAX to Terminal 4 and then onto TBIT is a real pain in the ... - the T4 to TBIT is packed, as it always is, and generally a poor experience for all. We make it to the lounge with about only 15 minutes before boarding, enough time to charge the laptop and phone before boarding and downloading mails. The host offers some food - and assures us it'll be there in 10 minutes, so we opt for some yellowfin tuna and pasta.




A quick rush to the flight and the door at the gate close behind me!

For some unknown reason i was actually looking forward to this flight. I think it was the romance of the 747 with the A380 seat. Silly me. One of the poorer QF flights in a while, a tired 747 with a poor lumpy seat.



I opted for the Chicken Schnitzel sandwich as i have often done, it wasn't one of the better ones - a little hard.





On the plus side I got enough sleep to enable me to head directly from the offsite for a 7am start, and work through to 4pm, following by dinner, without being too tired - so all in all i'll call it a success.


Verdict - US is better than AA, and whilst both are the "Domestic US experience", i feel like i'd take US any day. As for QF, if you are unluckly enough to get your A380 downgraded to the B747 - then, expect a bumpy and unexciting ride. No real awesomeness here apart from the F lounge, which, whilst not as good as Sydney, its pretty awesome.

The AG

Update #8 – SYD-AKL-SYD-SIN-KUL
Flight # Aircraft Lounge Weight Overall Awesomeness
QF149 B738
ZK-ZQB
5.8 Years old QF F
6.0/10
QF140 B738
ZK-ZQG
4 Years old QF F 6.5/10
QF81 A333
VH-QPA
11.6 Years old QF F 9/10
MH608 B738
9M-MLO
2.9 Years old Buggy! 6/10

The end is here, after 17 days and 27,000 miles the circle is complete and I’m back to a comfortable bed.

I rent a car for the weekend from Avis, which is quite possibly the worse rental car I have ever driven – this car has less power than my electric razor.



So we start with the short dash to Auckland from Sydney, with an evening flight meaning sometime in the SYD F lounge beforehand is mandatory. Any flight that starts with this lounge is surely to be a good one. Having been in the similar QF F Lounge in LAX a few days prior, it occurred to me that what makes the SYD lounge so special is the view – on top of the food of course.




First up a shower, and while I still think the facilities here are pretty good – I must say The Wing in HK has far better shower facilities.





The decision is made to have dinner here and sleep on the flight for both my colleague and I, so keeping with the healthy theme I start with the Black Cobia Sashimi – fresh, light and all round pretty good. I stick with the Market Inspiration and have the Thai Chilli beef, while my counterpart opts for the minute steak, followed by Chocolate Bouchon cake. His first time here, and by all accounts he thoroughly enjoys it.







A quick flight to AKL today and even though I sleep for a good 90% of the flight, It occurs to me that whilst this plane is old and small, the configuration and service is far superior to AA Domestic F, and they would be well placed if they offered a similar service. So nothing special to report on this flight, other than is being the typical trans-Tasman mediocrity.

My first stay in AKL at the Hilton down at the Viaduct, as a Gold member I’m upgraded (so they say), the rooms are nice, I get two free drinks at the bar daily, a complimentary bottle of wine and daily chocolates. Probably the best hotel experience and comfort so far on this trip – I’d definitely stay here again.




The painful part about the flight home is the timing – leaving the hotel at 4am to catch the 630am flight, reaching Kuala Lumpur around 730pm. So we start off, to the AKL QF F Lounge – only 10 minutes here to grab a quick drink, well timed given its an average lounge at best. The flight to SYD is a little better than the inbound, the plane feels newer (and is, just), and just like on the flight before it, I sleep the whole way.

So we’re back to the F lounge in Sydney before heading up to Singapore, a quick breakfast. My colleague decides to get the Eggs Benedict with Salmon, I thought I’d give the “off-menu” Bacon and Egg Roll a go. As my colleague puts it – “You win”. I think I’ll be ordering that again!




A quick dash to the gate as we get on our final long flight, and I am not overly looking forward to another 7ish hours on an old A330. Enter plane, lo and behold there’s a last minute equipment change, it’s the new refurbished A330 – the gods are smiling today! Flight time is a very slow 8½ hrs today.



The seat is good – and I am genuinely pleased to be spending the next 8 hours on this plane. After my initial excitement wears off it occurs to me that I flew what felt like a similar SQ product 5+ years ago, however, I think QF is on a winner with this – yes they are not couple friendly, but there’s nothing wrong with a bit of peace on the plane.

I have a duck salad to start, followed by Lamb (no photo taken) and ended with a peach panna cotta. A light meal before landing of beef noodles, and all up it’s a great flight.





Given the length of the flight, we’re a little late into Changi, so we’re whisked from T1 over to the MH Gate at T2 via buggy. Only to find the inbound flight hasn’t landed, giving us a 30 minute wait at the gate!



On the final flight home I have Row 1 to myself, strangely all rows behind me in J are full. Not hungry, however I take the Satay – nothing like the long haul J satay, I’d call this version – Edible.




So finally home around 930pm, having been awake for 24 hours, and happily ready to pass out in my own bed.

Verdict: Trans-Tasman flights need a refresh, however until there is more competition I don’t see this happening. The SYD F lounge remains the best I’ve seen and a constant privilege to visit. Once QF refurbish all their A330’s I’d be more inclined to fly SIN/SYD on QF Metal, however until that point its unlikely I’d be paying any premium to do so and end up stuck on an older craft. Awesomeness must go to the new QF A333 and QF F lounge – by far the best flight and lounge of the trip.
(and for those wondering about the weight gain, i was down 400 grams on arrival!)

Happy travelling FF’ers J

TPJ

Wow... congratulations