JFK-SFO
Aug 8, 2000 | 4:15 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, BA Gold
Posts: 878
JFK-SFO
Spent some serious time at JFK yesterday, here's a run-down on my trip to SFO.
I was ticketed on the 11:00a departure on AA yesterday morning, with a coach ticket upgraded to Business. I'm happy to be back at AA on my transcons now that they've waived the upgrade stickers on Y fares for EXPs. Sunday afternoon playing around on my PC, I pulled up the AA site to check the seat map for my flight. Uh-oh - it's cancelled! I'm a bit annoyed that I haven't heard from American and I pick up the phone and call the EXP desk. The agent there tells me the flight canceled on Saturday because the aircraft is out of service; she doesn't know why I wasn't contacted. As for rescheduling me, she can get me a coach seat on the 3:45p departure. Everything else for Monday is sold out, and no upgrades are available. I'm not happy, but there's not much to do about it.
Next, I make a call to Delta. They have a departure to SFO at 5:05p and they've still got a BizElite fare for the same price as AA's Y fare. I make a reservation, knowing that if I don't get a Business seat on the AA flight at 3:45 I can hop over to DL and take their flight.
Monday afternoon I make the trek to JFK and arrive at the AA gate at 2:45. I'm an hour early, but there are 2 EXPs ahead of me on the upgrade list. Even on this busy route I'm not accustomed to waiting until flight time for an upgrade, so it's not looking good. Peeking over the agent's shoulder, I glance at his screen (gate agents seem to really hate this, so I try my best to be inconspicuous!). Yikes, there are also 3 Special Services upgrades listed ahead of us EXPs. Don't know why I'm even waiting around, and at 3:30 the agent tells me Business is full. He hasn't called any names, so I guess even the SS upgrades didn't make it. When I ask him to cancel my outbound reservation but keep my return, he's a little surprised. You're not getting on, he asks? I tell him I can get a Biz seat on DL in an hour and for me it's worth the wait. He raises an eyebrow, but holds my return for me - I don't think AA is too used to passengers walking away 5 minutes before flight time! As I'm leaving he apologizes for not getting me into Business, says the UA cancellations are causing havoc for everyone...
It's just a 5-minute ride on the shuttle to the DL terminal and I check in at the BusinessElite lobby. I love this perk at DL; wish AA would consider something similar. The agent who helps me doesn't know how to use my AA flight coupon for my DL reservation so she calls over a supervisor. Somehow, though I still don't understand it, I end up with a boarding pass for BE and a $250 credit on my AMEX. The supervisor says something about a reduced fare for DL frequent flyers, but it never really made sense to me. It's hard to believe DL will sell their BE seats for $250 less than AA charges for their Y seats, but I'm not complaining!
It's only a few minutes after 4:00, but I head to the gate rather than make the long walk to the Crown Room. It's a complete zoo there, and I soon learn that the flight is oversold by 45 people. And it looks like they're all here... I manage to get a few words in with one of the gate agents and he tells me they desperately need volunteers. Unfortunately, they want to re-route through LAX tonight with a connection to SFO in the morning - and for only $500. I tell the guy I'm certainly open to volunteering, but I need to arrive in SFO tonight. I ask about other airlines, and he says he'll check as soon as he gets a chance. It's times like this when my Palm VII comes in handy! I call up the OAG flight guide and tap in the info. Turns out there are several flights left; 2 on AA (I know they're sold out), 2 on UA (no thanks!), and 1 on TWA (hmm, not sure what to expect on their 757). The agent comes back a few minutes later and I show him what I've found. He taps a few keys and says he can confirm me in F on TWA, but the 7:55 flight is showing delayed until 9:30. By now, the other agent has made an announcement that the compensation is up to $700, so I'm intrigued. My agent gives me a few minutes to think about it and in the meantime a gaggle of int'l misconnects show up at the gate. It's getting close to a riot and I'm honestly a little amused at it all. Was it just barely a week ago that I sat in the Barcelona airport in the same situation as these folks?! New announcement, DL's giving $1000 now. My agent comes back with a hopeful look, so I tell him to book me on TWA but ask him to endorse my ticket to both AA & TWA. Even though AA is sold out, I might be able to get on the 6:45 with my EXP status. He's happy to do this and hands over a FIM and a $1000 voucher. I can't believe I'm walking away from my second flight today, but hey, I can do a lot with $1000! The agent thanks me for helping out and says the UA cancellations are making everyone's lives miserable...
Getting back to AA isn't so easy, as the shuttles run in a loop and it'll take forever to get back around. I'm thinking I can walk, though it turns out JFK isn't exactly pedestrian friendly! It's a little harrowing sharing the roads with the traffic, but I do get a great up-close view of the Air France Concorde from an overpass on my way, sitting slightly away from Terminal 1 waiting to be recalled to service. It's very sobering to think about that accident two weeks ago. I arrive back at AA and head for the First Class/EXP counter where I find my favorite agent. She looks at my FIM and gives me the bad news. The 6:45 is delayed until 10:00. Yikes, but then again the TWA flight is delayed until 9:30. Can she get me on, I ask? Business is full, but there are F seats available. DL has left the door open on the FIM: because they filled it out to use with AA, which has Business, or TWA, which has First, the FIM says I can book in either class. Should I feel guilty about taking the F seat on AA? I ask Patricia to give TWA a call to check on the status of that flight, and she tells me they're making a go/no go decision at 9:00 but it may very well cancel. That makes my decision easier and I take the F seat on AA, not feeling too bad about it. Now I've only got 3 hours to kill 'til flight time! Off to the Admiral's Club, where I kick back to relax for a while. I pull a box of Altoids from my bag and realize the guy across the table is looking at me. I offer him the box, thinking he looks familiar, and as he takes a few mints I realize it's Vince Vaughn, the actor. Wow, a brush with fame today!
JFK-SFO AA177 Boeing 767-200 Seat 2J
Finally, it's time to board! The ground and flight crews are doing their best to get us away quickly, so boarding is pretty smooth. By this late hour it seems lots of folks have given up on the flight - Business is full, but Coach is light and First has only 6 of 14 seats taken. That's unusual for a transcon, and I'm happy to have the empty seat next to me. The purser and the other flight attendants are really cheery in spite of the delay. I think in cases like this we often forget the crew has been cooling their heels as long as we have. Champagne is served, though I settle for water, and soon we're away from the gate. One pro to our late departure is at least we've missed most of the traffic and we're soon on the runway and lifting off.
Right after take-off the FAs hand out the DVD players. Only one couple and myself take them, but for some reason they won't power up. The powerports are lit green, but no juice is getting to the player. The purser turns off the whole system for 15 minutes to cool down, but still no luck when she restarts it. She's only got a few battery packs, so it's lucky the other 3 in F are sleeping. I know I've said it before, but let me repeat that I love these DVD players with the Bose noise-canceling headsets. Great picture and sound quality and you can stop & start at your own convenience. I started up 'The Matrix' and settled in. The purser asked me what I'd like for dinner and I asked to see a menu. She had forgotten to pass them out and we both laughed Choices tonight were Chateaubriand, pork filets, or a grilled chicken salad.
Meanwhile, out came the cocktails, warm nuts, vegetables & dip, and warm towels. That was followed by the caviar & salmon cart; I don't eat caviar but enjoyed the smoked salmon with toast points, sour cream, and onion. Next was the salad cart with salad, marinated vegetables, and lobster. At this point I'm always stuffed, but hey, who can stop now?! For my entre I had chosen the Chateaubriand, which was served with sour cream mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. This seems to be one of the few meat dishes AA can consistently serve without overcooking and I enjoyed it very much. Finally the sundae cart made the rounds, but somehow the toppings had been left behind so I made do with the dish of ice cream.
'The Matrix' was really great, but I was struggling to keep my eyes open after dinner. It was well after 1:00a New York time, so when the battery ran low on my DVD player I gave up and settled in for some sleep. I woke up about -hour before we landed. The pilot had made up a good amount of time, getting us to SFO 45 minutes sooner than expected. Of course, there's probably not a lot of traffic to deal with at that hour!
We landed, immediately made the gate and I stepped off the plane. The midnight CX flight to Hong Kong must have been running very late, because the gate area was packed and there was no plane in sight. Glad I'm not them, I thought! And so I arrived in SFO, about 7 hours late, but in First Class and $1250 richer than when I started. All in all, not a bad day's work, huh? ;-)
On a final note, today I took a look out of curiosity and found that UA's five JFK-SFO non-stops all ran yesterday, ranging from 20 to 50 minute delays. Interesting that both AA and DL were quick to blame their problems on UA when they obviously had nothing to do with it...
I was ticketed on the 11:00a departure on AA yesterday morning, with a coach ticket upgraded to Business. I'm happy to be back at AA on my transcons now that they've waived the upgrade stickers on Y fares for EXPs. Sunday afternoon playing around on my PC, I pulled up the AA site to check the seat map for my flight. Uh-oh - it's cancelled! I'm a bit annoyed that I haven't heard from American and I pick up the phone and call the EXP desk. The agent there tells me the flight canceled on Saturday because the aircraft is out of service; she doesn't know why I wasn't contacted. As for rescheduling me, she can get me a coach seat on the 3:45p departure. Everything else for Monday is sold out, and no upgrades are available. I'm not happy, but there's not much to do about it.
Next, I make a call to Delta. They have a departure to SFO at 5:05p and they've still got a BizElite fare for the same price as AA's Y fare. I make a reservation, knowing that if I don't get a Business seat on the AA flight at 3:45 I can hop over to DL and take their flight.
Monday afternoon I make the trek to JFK and arrive at the AA gate at 2:45. I'm an hour early, but there are 2 EXPs ahead of me on the upgrade list. Even on this busy route I'm not accustomed to waiting until flight time for an upgrade, so it's not looking good. Peeking over the agent's shoulder, I glance at his screen (gate agents seem to really hate this, so I try my best to be inconspicuous!). Yikes, there are also 3 Special Services upgrades listed ahead of us EXPs. Don't know why I'm even waiting around, and at 3:30 the agent tells me Business is full. He hasn't called any names, so I guess even the SS upgrades didn't make it. When I ask him to cancel my outbound reservation but keep my return, he's a little surprised. You're not getting on, he asks? I tell him I can get a Biz seat on DL in an hour and for me it's worth the wait. He raises an eyebrow, but holds my return for me - I don't think AA is too used to passengers walking away 5 minutes before flight time! As I'm leaving he apologizes for not getting me into Business, says the UA cancellations are causing havoc for everyone...
It's just a 5-minute ride on the shuttle to the DL terminal and I check in at the BusinessElite lobby. I love this perk at DL; wish AA would consider something similar. The agent who helps me doesn't know how to use my AA flight coupon for my DL reservation so she calls over a supervisor. Somehow, though I still don't understand it, I end up with a boarding pass for BE and a $250 credit on my AMEX. The supervisor says something about a reduced fare for DL frequent flyers, but it never really made sense to me. It's hard to believe DL will sell their BE seats for $250 less than AA charges for their Y seats, but I'm not complaining!
It's only a few minutes after 4:00, but I head to the gate rather than make the long walk to the Crown Room. It's a complete zoo there, and I soon learn that the flight is oversold by 45 people. And it looks like they're all here... I manage to get a few words in with one of the gate agents and he tells me they desperately need volunteers. Unfortunately, they want to re-route through LAX tonight with a connection to SFO in the morning - and for only $500. I tell the guy I'm certainly open to volunteering, but I need to arrive in SFO tonight. I ask about other airlines, and he says he'll check as soon as he gets a chance. It's times like this when my Palm VII comes in handy! I call up the OAG flight guide and tap in the info. Turns out there are several flights left; 2 on AA (I know they're sold out), 2 on UA (no thanks!), and 1 on TWA (hmm, not sure what to expect on their 757). The agent comes back a few minutes later and I show him what I've found. He taps a few keys and says he can confirm me in F on TWA, but the 7:55 flight is showing delayed until 9:30. By now, the other agent has made an announcement that the compensation is up to $700, so I'm intrigued. My agent gives me a few minutes to think about it and in the meantime a gaggle of int'l misconnects show up at the gate. It's getting close to a riot and I'm honestly a little amused at it all. Was it just barely a week ago that I sat in the Barcelona airport in the same situation as these folks?! New announcement, DL's giving $1000 now. My agent comes back with a hopeful look, so I tell him to book me on TWA but ask him to endorse my ticket to both AA & TWA. Even though AA is sold out, I might be able to get on the 6:45 with my EXP status. He's happy to do this and hands over a FIM and a $1000 voucher. I can't believe I'm walking away from my second flight today, but hey, I can do a lot with $1000! The agent thanks me for helping out and says the UA cancellations are making everyone's lives miserable...
Getting back to AA isn't so easy, as the shuttles run in a loop and it'll take forever to get back around. I'm thinking I can walk, though it turns out JFK isn't exactly pedestrian friendly! It's a little harrowing sharing the roads with the traffic, but I do get a great up-close view of the Air France Concorde from an overpass on my way, sitting slightly away from Terminal 1 waiting to be recalled to service. It's very sobering to think about that accident two weeks ago. I arrive back at AA and head for the First Class/EXP counter where I find my favorite agent. She looks at my FIM and gives me the bad news. The 6:45 is delayed until 10:00. Yikes, but then again the TWA flight is delayed until 9:30. Can she get me on, I ask? Business is full, but there are F seats available. DL has left the door open on the FIM: because they filled it out to use with AA, which has Business, or TWA, which has First, the FIM says I can book in either class. Should I feel guilty about taking the F seat on AA? I ask Patricia to give TWA a call to check on the status of that flight, and she tells me they're making a go/no go decision at 9:00 but it may very well cancel. That makes my decision easier and I take the F seat on AA, not feeling too bad about it. Now I've only got 3 hours to kill 'til flight time! Off to the Admiral's Club, where I kick back to relax for a while. I pull a box of Altoids from my bag and realize the guy across the table is looking at me. I offer him the box, thinking he looks familiar, and as he takes a few mints I realize it's Vince Vaughn, the actor. Wow, a brush with fame today!
JFK-SFO AA177 Boeing 767-200 Seat 2J
Finally, it's time to board! The ground and flight crews are doing their best to get us away quickly, so boarding is pretty smooth. By this late hour it seems lots of folks have given up on the flight - Business is full, but Coach is light and First has only 6 of 14 seats taken. That's unusual for a transcon, and I'm happy to have the empty seat next to me. The purser and the other flight attendants are really cheery in spite of the delay. I think in cases like this we often forget the crew has been cooling their heels as long as we have. Champagne is served, though I settle for water, and soon we're away from the gate. One pro to our late departure is at least we've missed most of the traffic and we're soon on the runway and lifting off.
Right after take-off the FAs hand out the DVD players. Only one couple and myself take them, but for some reason they won't power up. The powerports are lit green, but no juice is getting to the player. The purser turns off the whole system for 15 minutes to cool down, but still no luck when she restarts it. She's only got a few battery packs, so it's lucky the other 3 in F are sleeping. I know I've said it before, but let me repeat that I love these DVD players with the Bose noise-canceling headsets. Great picture and sound quality and you can stop & start at your own convenience. I started up 'The Matrix' and settled in. The purser asked me what I'd like for dinner and I asked to see a menu. She had forgotten to pass them out and we both laughed Choices tonight were Chateaubriand, pork filets, or a grilled chicken salad.
Meanwhile, out came the cocktails, warm nuts, vegetables & dip, and warm towels. That was followed by the caviar & salmon cart; I don't eat caviar but enjoyed the smoked salmon with toast points, sour cream, and onion. Next was the salad cart with salad, marinated vegetables, and lobster. At this point I'm always stuffed, but hey, who can stop now?! For my entre I had chosen the Chateaubriand, which was served with sour cream mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. This seems to be one of the few meat dishes AA can consistently serve without overcooking and I enjoyed it very much. Finally the sundae cart made the rounds, but somehow the toppings had been left behind so I made do with the dish of ice cream.
'The Matrix' was really great, but I was struggling to keep my eyes open after dinner. It was well after 1:00a New York time, so when the battery ran low on my DVD player I gave up and settled in for some sleep. I woke up about -hour before we landed. The pilot had made up a good amount of time, getting us to SFO 45 minutes sooner than expected. Of course, there's probably not a lot of traffic to deal with at that hour!
We landed, immediately made the gate and I stepped off the plane. The midnight CX flight to Hong Kong must have been running very late, because the gate area was packed and there was no plane in sight. Glad I'm not them, I thought! And so I arrived in SFO, about 7 hours late, but in First Class and $1250 richer than when I started. All in all, not a bad day's work, huh? ;-)
On a final note, today I took a look out of curiosity and found that UA's five JFK-SFO non-stops all ran yesterday, ranging from 20 to 50 minute delays. Interesting that both AA and DL were quick to blame their problems on UA when they obviously had nothing to do with it...
Aug 8, 2000 | 6:25 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 3,511
FANTASTIC trip report!!
My only guess is that people booked on AA and DL rather than UA because of fear of cancelled flights. Tho I highly doubt it would be overbooked with that many pax scared off of UA.
IIRC from my last trip at JFK, you can't cross the highway that comes in between T8 and T1 (help me out NYers...JFK Expressway? Van Wyck Expressway?). Did they put up pedestrian bridges, am I totally wrong, or did you walk the LONG way around?
On a final note, today I took a look out of curiosity and found that UA's five JFK-SFO non-stops all ran yesterday, ranging from 20 to 50 minute delays. Interesting that both AA and DL were quick to blame their problems on UA when they obviously had nothing to do with it...
IIRC from my last trip at JFK, you can't cross the highway that comes in between T8 and T1 (help me out NYers...JFK Expressway? Van Wyck Expressway?). Did they put up pedestrian bridges, am I totally wrong, or did you walk the LONG way around?
Aug 8, 2000 | 6:28 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: JFK/LAX
Posts: 1,436
Ah... jAAck, I'm a little confused here: how could you possibly feel any guilt taking a seat in F? 
As for the UA blaming--there was probably tons of double booking from UA pax. It'd be intersting to find out how full those UA flights were.
[This message has been edited by the scribbler (edited 08-08-2000).]
As for the UA blaming--there was probably tons of double booking from UA pax. It'd be intersting to find out how full those UA flights were.
[This message has been edited by the scribbler (edited 08-08-2000).]
Aug 8, 2000 | 8:12 pm
#4
In Memoriam, Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 6,879
"As for the UA blaming--there was probably tons of double booking from UA pax"
I agree. I am double/triple+ booking every flight on every airline right now. Today, UA cancelled my 8:00 AM flight at 9:00 AM. Next UA flight 4:40PM. Walked to AA got my FC seat and was at my destination only 1.5 hrs late. AA was totally sold out by the time UA cancelled BTW.
I agree. I am double/triple+ booking every flight on every airline right now. Today, UA cancelled my 8:00 AM flight at 9:00 AM. Next UA flight 4:40PM. Walked to AA got my FC seat and was at my destination only 1.5 hrs late. AA was totally sold out by the time UA cancelled BTW.
Aug 8, 2000 | 8:28 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, BA Gold
Posts: 878
That's true, I didn't consider the double booking issue. I assumed that DL & AA were talking about UA cancellations, but I'm sure the problems are far more reaching than that.
As for the walk from T3 to T8, BizJet, there is a bridge over the highway from T8 to T1, but it's meant for cars and buses, not people! I thought a few times that if my significant other could've seen me making that trek I would've been in big trouble... ;-)
As for the walk from T3 to T8, BizJet, there is a bridge over the highway from T8 to T1, but it's meant for cars and buses, not people! I thought a few times that if my significant other could've seen me making that trek I would've been in big trouble... ;-)
Aug 8, 2000 | 8:44 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AA CK, UA Gold, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hertz Platinum, Avis Presidents
Posts: 236
The best- that is the best story that I have heard in a long while. $1250 richer and a first class seat. Needless to say I am very impressed. I think you did the right thing by taking AA, much better than TWA and why should there be any guilt you were put out at first. I never like unexpected days at JFK, but they always seem to work out in a frequent flyers favor.
Aug 8, 2000 | 10:05 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
Programs: AA Exec Plat / DL-Silver / Hyatt - Glob / Hilton-Gold
Posts: 1,594
Hi jAAck,
Great report !!!
And $1250 in you pocket to boot
I'm a frequent volunteer myself. I think the best I've done is $900 San Antonio to DFW. But that was for vounteering off of flight after flight. In all, I think it took me 8 hours to do that 45 minute run (but it paid for 2 tickets to London
)
I'm also (going about 10 years back) am an ex AAer ... a gate agent nontheless. It never bothered me when folks looked over my shoulder (just stay outta my way ... if the flight is such that you have to try and look then it's gonna be a busy flight). I figure that if you know what you're looking at then more power to ya! On flights where the "non-revs" are sweating, I actually found it to my advantage to post print-outs of the standby list.
One question I have; how could you tell the difference between "special service" and "exec plat" upgrades ? In my days they would both be coded as "RPT". The "RP" meaning "revenue priority" and the "T" being a suffix to all standby codes which means "thru". It is actually used for non-revs whom are just going thru (connecting) at this station vs originating and gives a them higher ranking within their standby classification. IE: a RPT goes before the RP then the next classification would be RT (revenue thru), followed by R without the T suffix and so on. I need to stay up to date on how to look over the agent's shoulder
Great report !!!
And $1250 in you pocket to boot
I'm a frequent volunteer myself. I think the best I've done is $900 San Antonio to DFW. But that was for vounteering off of flight after flight. In all, I think it took me 8 hours to do that 45 minute run (but it paid for 2 tickets to London
)I'm also (going about 10 years back) am an ex AAer ... a gate agent nontheless. It never bothered me when folks looked over my shoulder (just stay outta my way ... if the flight is such that you have to try and look then it's gonna be a busy flight). I figure that if you know what you're looking at then more power to ya! On flights where the "non-revs" are sweating, I actually found it to my advantage to post print-outs of the standby list.
One question I have; how could you tell the difference between "special service" and "exec plat" upgrades ? In my days they would both be coded as "RPT". The "RP" meaning "revenue priority" and the "T" being a suffix to all standby codes which means "thru". It is actually used for non-revs whom are just going thru (connecting) at this station vs originating and gives a them higher ranking within their standby classification. IE: a RPT goes before the RP then the next classification would be RT (revenue thru), followed by R without the T suffix and so on. I need to stay up to date on how to look over the agent's shoulder
Aug 9, 2000 | 10:34 am
#11
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,983
Excellent report!
Don't feel bad about the F class seat and $1250 because you actually spent half of your day at JFK. The meal service sounds excellent.
Vince Vaughn WOW... Why don't I see any of those cute actors on my flight?
About the situation of the CX flight, I was actually a bit surprised. Usually the CX flight came into SFO at about late evening hours and have three to four hours before heading back home. CX also seems to have some A340s at its HK base.
Anyway, thanks for an interesting report!
Carfield
Don't feel bad about the F class seat and $1250 because you actually spent half of your day at JFK. The meal service sounds excellent.
Vince Vaughn
WOW... Why don't I see any of those cute actors on my flight? About the situation of the CX flight, I was actually a bit surprised. Usually the CX flight came into SFO at about late evening hours and have three to four hours before heading back home. CX also seems to have some A340s at its HK base.
Anyway, thanks for an interesting report!
Carfield
