2016 - Travel Year in Review
Dec 20, 2016, 9:08 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: London
Programs: Mucci (Scirocco Sash), BAEC Gold, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 861
2016 - Travel Year in Review
I always find it interesting to look back over my travel year (and those of other FTers!) so thought I would kick off this annual thread. Thanks to those who have posted some really great TRs in the forum this year, and safe travels to all in 2017.
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New Cities/Towns/Locations: 4 – Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Phuket (Thailand), St Julian’s (Malta), Budapest (Hungary) plus attended a number of weddings in rural parts of UK and Ireland which were new to me.
New Countries: 3 – Hungary, Malaysia, Malta
New Airports: 5 – BUD, HKT, KUL, MLA, VIE
New Airlines: Just the one this year – Thai Airways/TG, on the short hop from BKK to HKT and back; just missed out on the A350 unfortunately, but always fun to be on a widebody (777 and A330 respectively) for a short flight
New experience: Mostly more of the same in the air this year, other than first experience with TG. Otherwise, I also made BA Gold/OneWorld Emerald for the first time and through that experienced the Qantas/OneWorld First lounge in TBIT at LAX, which I found to be very accomplished (and indeed I have been enjoying Galleries First in LHR T5).
Best experience: Two spring to mind – a return hop to JFK in BA Club World in January, outbound on the Upper Deck of the 747 and return on the Club World London City service on the A318. Despite neither the route nor cabins being new to me, it stood out as memorably good with great service. I also flew an IB A330 on the LHR-MAD route and was the only pax in the Business cabin, which was a very pleasant way to fly!
Less impressive experience: I transited DOH on QR in October; only my second time doing that (leisure travel on both occasions), but already the sheen of the business/premium lounge in Hamad International was wearing off. It’s just far too busy if passing through in the midnight-to-morning rush hour period for transiting passengers, albeit the staff I interacted with were pleasant.
Shortest Flight: LCY – AMS (208 miles)
Longest Flight: LHR – SIN (6,759 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 48 sectors, 77,775 miles.
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New Cities/Towns/Locations: 4 – Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Phuket (Thailand), St Julian’s (Malta), Budapest (Hungary) plus attended a number of weddings in rural parts of UK and Ireland which were new to me.
New Countries: 3 – Hungary, Malaysia, Malta
New Airports: 5 – BUD, HKT, KUL, MLA, VIE
New Airlines: Just the one this year – Thai Airways/TG, on the short hop from BKK to HKT and back; just missed out on the A350 unfortunately, but always fun to be on a widebody (777 and A330 respectively) for a short flight
New experience: Mostly more of the same in the air this year, other than first experience with TG. Otherwise, I also made BA Gold/OneWorld Emerald for the first time and through that experienced the Qantas/OneWorld First lounge in TBIT at LAX, which I found to be very accomplished (and indeed I have been enjoying Galleries First in LHR T5).
Best experience: Two spring to mind – a return hop to JFK in BA Club World in January, outbound on the Upper Deck of the 747 and return on the Club World London City service on the A318. Despite neither the route nor cabins being new to me, it stood out as memorably good with great service. I also flew an IB A330 on the LHR-MAD route and was the only pax in the Business cabin, which was a very pleasant way to fly!
Less impressive experience: I transited DOH on QR in October; only my second time doing that (leisure travel on both occasions), but already the sheen of the business/premium lounge in Hamad International was wearing off. It’s just far too busy if passing through in the midnight-to-morning rush hour period for transiting passengers, albeit the staff I interacted with were pleasant.
Shortest Flight: LCY – AMS (208 miles)
Longest Flight: LHR – SIN (6,759 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 48 sectors, 77,775 miles.
Dec 20, 2016, 12:50 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP, SPG / Marriott GLD, HHonors GLD
Posts: 520
New Cities/Towns/Locations: 5, Dusseldorf, Germany; Koln, Germany; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Vancouver / Whistler, BC Canada; Rome, Italy
New Countries: 0
New Airports: 4 – DUS, YVR, LHR, SAV
New Airlines: Just one - short Air Berlin flight from Dusseldorf to Rome this summer. Pleasant enough, short flight, lucked out in the exit row; frankly more comfortable than CE on BA
New experience: Switched to American from Delta and made EXP / OWE in the first year on the new airline/alliance. Therefore first time transiting LHR (not as bad as expected, enjoyed the lounges). Also, first A380 (Club World return SFO-LHR-FCO on the ridiculous $1200 fare sale this summer), and first 787 (domestic F between LAX/ORD return on AA)
Best experience: First time attending Oktoberfest, which was great.
Less impressive experience: Club Europe from LHR-FCO, blocked middle seat with less legroom than AA coach is not a business class product
Shortest Flight: PHL-RIC (198 miles)
Longest Flight: SFO-LHR (5,367 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 73 sectors, 100,709 BIS miles, 120,578 AA EQMs on 65 sectors
New Countries: 0
New Airports: 4 – DUS, YVR, LHR, SAV
New Airlines: Just one - short Air Berlin flight from Dusseldorf to Rome this summer. Pleasant enough, short flight, lucked out in the exit row; frankly more comfortable than CE on BA
New experience: Switched to American from Delta and made EXP / OWE in the first year on the new airline/alliance. Therefore first time transiting LHR (not as bad as expected, enjoyed the lounges). Also, first A380 (Club World return SFO-LHR-FCO on the ridiculous $1200 fare sale this summer), and first 787 (domestic F between LAX/ORD return on AA)
Best experience: First time attending Oktoberfest, which was great.
Less impressive experience: Club Europe from LHR-FCO, blocked middle seat with less legroom than AA coach is not a business class product
Shortest Flight: PHL-RIC (198 miles)
Longest Flight: SFO-LHR (5,367 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 73 sectors, 100,709 BIS miles, 120,578 AA EQMs on 65 sectors
Dec 20, 2016, 1:23 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Had a fairly slow year compared with previous years, despite me visiting my #197th and final country. Had a long dry spell of no flights from Memorial Day through early October.
BIS miles: 97228
New Countries: Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Sudan, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Fernando do Noronha, American Samoa, Guernsey, Jersey
New Airports: BJL, CKY, FNA, ROB, JUB, VCP, REC, FEN, MTY, HAV, APW, FGI, PPG, SUV, FUN, INU, HIR, SOU, ACI, GCI, JER, DMM, OZZ, MAN
New Airlines: Air Cote d'Ivoire, Azul, Interjet, Polynesian Airlines, Nauru Airlines, Aurigny, FlyBe
FLIGHTS: ++=earn, --=burn
HOTELS
BIS miles: 97228
New Countries: Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Sudan, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Fernando do Noronha, American Samoa, Guernsey, Jersey
New Airports: BJL, CKY, FNA, ROB, JUB, VCP, REC, FEN, MTY, HAV, APW, FGI, PPG, SUV, FUN, INU, HIR, SOU, ACI, GCI, JER, DMM, OZZ, MAN
New Airlines: Air Cote d'Ivoire, Azul, Interjet, Polynesian Airlines, Nauru Airlines, Aurigny, FlyBe
FLIGHTS: ++=earn, --=burn
Code:
JAN01 -- CDG-BRU SN Y JAN01 -- BRU-DKR SN Y JAN01 -- DKR-BJL SN Y JAN05 OXB-DKR KP Y JAN07 DKR-CKY KP Y JAN10 FNA-ROB HF Y JAN12 -- ROB-ACC KQ Y JAN12 -- ACC-NBO KQ Y JAN13 -- NBO-JUB KQ Y JAN14 -- JUB-ADD ET Y JAN14 -- ADD-FRA ET Y JAN15 -- FRA-IAH UA Y JAN15 -- IAH-AUS UA Y FEB26 ++ AUS-FLL B6 Y FEB26 ++ FLL-VCP AD Y FEB27 ++ VCP-REC AD Y FEB27 ++ REC-FEN AD Y FEB29 ++ FEN-REC AD Y FEB29 ++ REC-VCP AD Y FEB29 ++ VCP-FLL AD Y MAR01 ++ FLL-AUS B6 Y MAR13 MTY-HAV 4O Y MAR18 HAV-MTY 4O Y MAY19 ++ AUS-SFO UA Y MAY19 ++ SFO-HNL UA Y MAY20 -- HNL-APW FJ Y MAY22 FGI-PPG PH Y MAY21 PPG-FGI PH Y MAY23 -- APW-NAN FJ Y MAY23 ++ NAN-SUV FJ Y MAY24 ++ SUV-FUN FJ Y MAY26 ++ FUN-SUV FJ Y MAY26 ++ SUV-NAN FJ Y MAY27 NAN-INU ON Y MAY29 INU-HIR ON Y MAY29 HIR-BNE ON Y MAY30 -- BNE-LAX VA Y MAY30 -- LAX-SAT VA Y OCT05 ++ AUS-MIA AA Y OCT05 ++ MIA-CPH SK J OCT06 -- CPH-LHR BA Y OCT06 SOU-ACI GR Y OCT07 ACI-GCI GR Y OCT08 GCI-JER BE Y OCT09 -- JER-LGW BA Y OCT09 -- LHR-MIA AA Y OCT09 -- MIA-SAT AA Y OCT12 ++ AUS-ORD UA Y OCT12 ++ ORD-IAH UA Y NOV03 ++ IAH-FRA UA Y NOV04 FRA-DXB LH Y NOV05 ++ DXB-BAH GF Y NOV06 BAH-DMM LH Y NOV06 DMM-FRA LH Y NOV06 ++ FRA-IAH UA Y NOV19 -- IAH-CDG AF Y NOV20 -- CDG-CMN AF Y NOV20 CMN-OZZ AT Y NOV26 ++ RAK-LIS TP Y NOV26 LIS-BHX TP Y (diverted MAN->BHX) NOV27 ++ MAN-AMS KL Y NOV27 ++ AMS-IAH KL Y
Code:
JAN01 -- Banjul, Gambia (former) Sheraton Gambia JAN02 -- Banjul, Gambia (former) Sheraton Gambia JAN03 Ziguinchor, Senegal Flamboyant JAN04 Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Coimbra JAN05 Dakar, Senegal Baraka JAN06 Dakar, Senegal Baraka JAN07 Conakry, Guinea Pension Palmiers JAN08 ++ Freetown, Sierra Leone Radisson JAN09 ++ Freetown, Sierra Leone Radisson JAN10 Monrovia, Liberia Bella Casa JAN11 Monrovia, Liberia Bella Casa JAN13 Juba, South Sudan Oasis Camp Juba FEB13 Lost Pines, TX Hyatt Lost Pines FEB27 Fernando do Noronha Leao do Marinho FEB28 Fernando do Noronha Leao do Marinho MAR11 ++ Laredo, TX Courtyard MAR12 -- Monterrey, Mexico Crowne Plaza MAR13 Havana, Cuba AirBnb MAR14 Havana, Cuba AirBnb MAR15 Varadero, Cuba Paradisus MAR16 Varadero, Cuba Paradisus MAR17 Havana, Cuba AirBnb MAR18 -- Monterrey, Mexico Holiday Inn APR08 Houston, TX Hyatt Place Energy Corridor MAY21 Apia, Samoa Su Acommodation MAY22 ++ Apia, Samoa Sheraton Aggie Grey Resort MAY23 Suva, Fiji AirBnb MAY24 Funafuti, Tuvalu Vaiaku Lagi MAY25 Funafuti, Tuvalu Vaiaku Lagi MAY26 Nadi, Fiji Capricorn International MAY27 Meneng, Nauru Hotel Menen MAY28 Meneng, Nauru Hotel Menen MAY29 Brisbane, Australi ibis Budget Windsor MAY30 Lost Pines, TX Hyatt Lost Pines JUN15 Round Rock, TX LaQuinta JUN17 Lufkin, TX LaQuinta AUG04 -- Baytown, TX Hampton Inn AUG05 -- New Orleans, LA Hyatt French Quarter AUG06 -- New Orleans, LA Hyatt French Quarter AUG07 ++ New Orleans, LA aLoft New Orleans AUG25 ++ Houston, TX Sheraton Four Points Greenway AUG26 Center, TX Best Western OCT06 St. Anne, Alderney Airbnb OCT07 Cobo Bay, Guernsey Cobo Bay Hotel OCT08 St. Helier, Jersey Norfolk Lodge NOV05 ++ Fujairah, UAE Ibis Fujairah NOV18 -- Houston, TX Hyatt Place Bush Airport NOV20 Ouarzazate, Morocco Le Petit Riad NOV21 Ouarzazate, Morocco Le Petit Riad NOV22 Marrakech, Morocco Es Saadi Palace NOV23 Marrakech, Morocco Es Saadi Palace NOV24 Marrakech, Morocco Es Saadi Palace NOV25 Marrakech, Morocco Es Saadi Palace NOV26 -- Manchester, UK Crowne Plaza Manchester Airport
Last edited by hauteboy; May 30, 2017 at 11:38 am
Dec 20, 2016, 5:12 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM
Posts: 23,293
I like these every year.
Biggest flying year for me ever. Should slow down next year I guess.
New Cities/Towns/Locations: St.Lucia, Kolkata, Tonga, Kigali-Uganda-Nairobi overland including gorilla trekking, Dusseldorf, Guernsey, Jersey
New Countries: – Tonga, Rwanda, Uganda, Guernsey, Jersey
New Airports: 5 – TBU, KGL, EBB, DUS, CCU, UVF, DFW, GCI, JER, bringing total to 236
New Airlines: 5 - D7, AS, LA, UX, EI - bringing total to 101
Best experience: 4 segments on EK F, and 4 segments on EY Apartments
Shortest Flight: SEA-YVR
Longest Flight: DXB-DFW
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 94 sectors, ~257,000 miles
And as always, ZERO miles for work
Biggest flying year for me ever. Should slow down next year I guess.
New Cities/Towns/Locations: St.Lucia, Kolkata, Tonga, Kigali-Uganda-Nairobi overland including gorilla trekking, Dusseldorf, Guernsey, Jersey
New Countries: – Tonga, Rwanda, Uganda, Guernsey, Jersey
New Airports: 5 – TBU, KGL, EBB, DUS, CCU, UVF, DFW, GCI, JER, bringing total to 236
New Airlines: 5 - D7, AS, LA, UX, EI - bringing total to 101
Best experience: 4 segments on EK F, and 4 segments on EY Apartments
Shortest Flight: SEA-YVR
Longest Flight: DXB-DFW
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 94 sectors, ~257,000 miles
And as always, ZERO miles for work
Dec 20, 2016, 6:31 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Wisconsin
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Delta PM
Posts: 323
I'm not a regular in this forum, but I'll play. This is my most-traveled year yet, but nothing compared to many of you here.
TripIt Stats: 17 trips, 72 days, 39 cities, 10 countries
New Cities/Towns/Locations: Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Narita, Montreal, London, Bath, Cardiff, Bradford, Esholt, San Antonio, Lincoln, Amsterdam, Cologne, Mainz, Freiburg, Treiberg, Gengenbach, Zurich
New Countries: Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, England, Wales, Netherlands, Switzerland
New Airports: SGN, HKG, NRT, YUL, SAT, IND, LNK, AMS, CPH, ZRH, EWR
New Airlines: JAL, SAS, SWISS
New experience: Flying Domestic (well, technically international) F from MSN to YUL. I bought up with an F monetization offer, got bumped into C+ on a segment because of an equipment change, and got a voucher as compensation almost equal to the cost of the RT F buy-up.
Best experience: JAL Sky Suites NRT to ORD. One of my first J experiences, and I'm looking forward to repeating it next weekend.
Shortest Flight: ORD-MKE (67 miles)
Longest Flight: NRT-ORD (6,274 miles)
Total Segments/Miles: 46/48,747
TripIt Stats: 17 trips, 72 days, 39 cities, 10 countries
New Cities/Towns/Locations: Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Narita, Montreal, London, Bath, Cardiff, Bradford, Esholt, San Antonio, Lincoln, Amsterdam, Cologne, Mainz, Freiburg, Treiberg, Gengenbach, Zurich
New Countries: Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, England, Wales, Netherlands, Switzerland
New Airports: SGN, HKG, NRT, YUL, SAT, IND, LNK, AMS, CPH, ZRH, EWR
New Airlines: JAL, SAS, SWISS
New experience: Flying Domestic (well, technically international) F from MSN to YUL. I bought up with an F monetization offer, got bumped into C+ on a segment because of an equipment change, and got a voucher as compensation almost equal to the cost of the RT F buy-up.
Best experience: JAL Sky Suites NRT to ORD. One of my first J experiences, and I'm looking forward to repeating it next weekend.
Shortest Flight: ORD-MKE (67 miles)
Longest Flight: NRT-ORD (6,274 miles)
Total Segments/Miles: 46/48,747
Last edited by LizGross144; Dec 20, 2016 at 6:41 pm Reason: updating segment/miles
Dec 20, 2016, 6:56 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA Gold
Posts: 249
New Cities/Towns/Locations: 4 – Los Angeles, Xiamen, Manila, Boracay
New Countries: 1 – Philippines
New Airports: 5 – DTW, LAX, XMN, MNL, KLO
New Airlines: Air China and Philippine Airlines
Best experience: Two great experiences this year: Air France's new 777 business class which was absolutely excellent, and Delta One which exceeded my expectations to the point that I would consider a globally competitive product.
Less impressive experience: I can't say I had any bad experiences this year, but Air China on a domestic hop was certainly the bottom of the list this year.
Shortest Flight: LGA-BOS (184 Miles)
Longest Flight: DTW-PEK (6,632 Miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 25 segments and 53,192 miles
New Countries: 1 – Philippines
New Airports: 5 – DTW, LAX, XMN, MNL, KLO
New Airlines: Air China and Philippine Airlines
Best experience: Two great experiences this year: Air France's new 777 business class which was absolutely excellent, and Delta One which exceeded my expectations to the point that I would consider a globally competitive product.
Less impressive experience: I can't say I had any bad experiences this year, but Air China on a domestic hop was certainly the bottom of the list this year.
Shortest Flight: LGA-BOS (184 Miles)
Longest Flight: DTW-PEK (6,632 Miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: By year end it will be 25 segments and 53,192 miles
Dec 20, 2016, 9:23 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: CMH
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Platinum; HH Diamond; SPG Gold; Hertz PC
Posts: 57
My first full year of travel for work as well as a vacation to Hawaii, seeing 5 new National Parks with my wife and 5 trips to our favorite city (Vegas) had me rack up some segments and miles this year. Platinum on Delta, Platinum on American, A-List Southwest
New Cities/Towns/Locations: Palm Desert, Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Seattle, Portland
New Countries: 0
New Airports: (14) DCA, DEN, DFW, HNL, ITO, JFK, LAX, LGA, MSP, OGG, ONT, PHL, SEA, SLC
New Airlines: American, Hawaiian
Best experience: Visiting National Parks with my wife so she can collect her cancellation stamps for her NPS passport book
Less impressive experience: Besides minor flight delays and other random nonsense that frequent travelers experience I have had an amazing year of travel
Shortest Flight: OGG-HNL, 100 mi, 00:34
Longest Flight: HNL-LAS, 2757 mi, 05:45
Total Sectors/Miles: According to my tripit import to openflights - 179 segments, 117,657 miles, 14 days 23:54, 4.73 x around the world
New Cities/Towns/Locations: Palm Desert, Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Seattle, Portland
New Countries: 0
New Airports: (14) DCA, DEN, DFW, HNL, ITO, JFK, LAX, LGA, MSP, OGG, ONT, PHL, SEA, SLC
New Airlines: American, Hawaiian
Best experience: Visiting National Parks with my wife so she can collect her cancellation stamps for her NPS passport book
Less impressive experience: Besides minor flight delays and other random nonsense that frequent travelers experience I have had an amazing year of travel
Shortest Flight: OGG-HNL, 100 mi, 00:34
Longest Flight: HNL-LAS, 2757 mi, 05:45
Total Sectors/Miles: According to my tripit import to openflights - 179 segments, 117,657 miles, 14 days 23:54, 4.73 x around the world
Last edited by aaronw915; Dec 21, 2016 at 8:54 pm Reason: Added openflights image
Dec 20, 2016, 9:49 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SIN
Programs: Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
Posts: 184
New Countries: 5 – Cyprus (both north and south), Egypt, Monaco, Belgium and Netherlands
New Airports: 10 – AUH, ATH, LCA, CAI, DMK, LPQ, TXL, BRU, AMS and PVG
New Airlines: 6 - EY, A3, QV (Lao Airlines), SN, CX and TG
Best experience: The lounge on-board QR A380 was pretty cool.
Least impressive experience: CX J and ground services were both underwhelming.
Shortest Flight: IST – ATH (334 miles)
Longest Flight: AMS – HKG (5,769 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: 21 sectors, 35,376 miles.
New Airports: 10 – AUH, ATH, LCA, CAI, DMK, LPQ, TXL, BRU, AMS and PVG
New Airlines: 6 - EY, A3, QV (Lao Airlines), SN, CX and TG
Best experience: The lounge on-board QR A380 was pretty cool.
Least impressive experience: CX J and ground services were both underwhelming.
Shortest Flight: IST – ATH (334 miles)
Longest Flight: AMS – HKG (5,769 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: 21 sectors, 35,376 miles.
Dec 20, 2016, 11:28 pm
#9
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K & 2MM, Bonvoy Titanium & LTP, HH Gold, Accor Silver, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 2,350
New Cities/Towns/Locations: 5 - Belgrade, Doha, Mainz, Sofia, Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo
New Countries: 4 - Serbia, Qatar, Bulgaria, Mexico (well, sort of - see above)
New Airports: VIE, SOF, BEG, DOH, SJD, AUH (been to both Vienna and Abu Dhabi before, just never via the airports)
New Airlines: Hainan, Qatar, Al Maha, Etihad, Air India, Austrian, Air Dolomiti
New Aircraft/Seats: Qatar A380 F, Etihad A380 F, Air India B788 C, Asiana B772 C, United E175 F/Y, Air Dolomiti E195 Y
New experience: Hanging out at CDG before check-in opened. Didn't say it was a good experience!
Best experience: Flight - Etihad Apartments, no question. Trip - eating in Xi'an again and the terracotta warriors.
Least impressive flight experience: Southwest SJC-BUR.
Shortest Flight: FRA-CDG
Longest Flight: AUH-SYD
Total Sectors/Miles: just over 150,000 miles for the year.
New Countries: 4 - Serbia, Qatar, Bulgaria, Mexico (well, sort of - see above)
New Airports: VIE, SOF, BEG, DOH, SJD, AUH (been to both Vienna and Abu Dhabi before, just never via the airports)
New Airlines: Hainan, Qatar, Al Maha, Etihad, Air India, Austrian, Air Dolomiti
New Aircraft/Seats: Qatar A380 F, Etihad A380 F, Air India B788 C, Asiana B772 C, United E175 F/Y, Air Dolomiti E195 Y
New experience: Hanging out at CDG before check-in opened. Didn't say it was a good experience!
Best experience: Flight - Etihad Apartments, no question. Trip - eating in Xi'an again and the terracotta warriors.
Least impressive flight experience: Southwest SJC-BUR.
Shortest Flight: FRA-CDG
Longest Flight: AUH-SYD
Total Sectors/Miles: just over 150,000 miles for the year.
Dec 20, 2016, 11:47 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: NYC, WAS, MAD
Programs: Marriott Gold
Posts: 25
New Cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruna, Valencia, Santander (all Spain) ..... as well as Porto, Marseille, San Marino, Brussels, Rotterdam
New Countries: 4 -- The Netherlands, Belgium, France, San Marino
New Airports: ORY, MAD, BIO, SCQ, OPO, LIS, MRS, BRU, BLQ
New Airlines: Iberia, Ryanair, and BA Openskies JFK-ORY
New experience: Flew 12 segments on Ryanair this year, and I am pretty impressed to be honest. The staff at Madrid Barajas Airport does a good job with what they are given, aka not much space at MAD T1 (horrendous terminal).
Best experience: Going back to Morocco. I love Morocco, and recommend it to everyone. Such a stark contrast to Europe and so cheap to get to (cue Ryanair).
Less impressive experience: Got stopped by immigration leaving Morocco because they did not "think I was a real American" ... demanded proof of "my father's origin" .... too bad my father is an OG from Brooklyn NY so once my NY attitude came out they let up (lol)
Shortest Flight: MAD-BIO
Longest Flight: JFK-ORY
Total comes out to 36 segments and around 24,500 BIS miles.
New Countries: 4 -- The Netherlands, Belgium, France, San Marino
New Airports: ORY, MAD, BIO, SCQ, OPO, LIS, MRS, BRU, BLQ
New Airlines: Iberia, Ryanair, and BA Openskies JFK-ORY
New experience: Flew 12 segments on Ryanair this year, and I am pretty impressed to be honest. The staff at Madrid Barajas Airport does a good job with what they are given, aka not much space at MAD T1 (horrendous terminal).
Best experience: Going back to Morocco. I love Morocco, and recommend it to everyone. Such a stark contrast to Europe and so cheap to get to (cue Ryanair).
Less impressive experience: Got stopped by immigration leaving Morocco because they did not "think I was a real American" ... demanded proof of "my father's origin" .... too bad my father is an OG from Brooklyn NY so once my NY attitude came out they let up (lol)
Shortest Flight: MAD-BIO
Longest Flight: JFK-ORY
Total comes out to 36 segments and around 24,500 BIS miles.
Dec 21, 2016, 1:27 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,993
Thread in travel buzz on the same topic started 24 Nov 2016 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ou-end-up.html (I like this format better)
Dec 21, 2016, 1:53 am
#12
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: London, UK
Programs: AA 2MM - PLT, BA GGL, SPG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,221
There are many of these types of thread that pop up around this time of the year in other
sections of FT as well.
We have allowed a thread such as this to exist in the Trip Reports forum for several years now; I don't see any harm in this one staying here for TR regulars to participate in.
Moomba
Moderator: Trip Reports
sections of FT as well.
We have allowed a thread such as this to exist in the Trip Reports forum for several years now; I don't see any harm in this one staying here for TR regulars to participate in.
Moomba
Moderator: Trip Reports
Dec 21, 2016, 3:22 am
#13
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: TXL
Posts: 19
New Cities/Towns/Locations: 9 - London (UK), Bratislava (Slovakia), Bologna (Italy), Florence (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark), Seattle (USA), Vancouver (Canada)
New Countries: 4 - UK, Slovakia, Norway, Canada
New Airports: 10 - LHR, BTS, CGN, BLQ, BCN, OSL, YVR, SEA, YYZ, CPH
New Airlines: 6 - Eurowings, Ryanair, Iberia, Norwegian, SAS, Air Canada
New experience: I’ve taken more intra-European low-cost flights, so I’ve finally had the opportunity to see what it’s like to fly Ryanair.
Best experience: I’ve had a lot of great experiences this year, but if I had to choose a favourite, it’d be visiting the Boeing factory and the Museum of Flight in Seattle – actually, the whole trip to Seattle was great.
Less impressive experience: The SAS premium product that they offer on short-haul flights didn’t really impress me, although that depends on your expectations.
Shortest Flight: YVR-SEA (127 miles)
Longest Flight: LHR-YVR (4723 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: roughly 24k miles, 17 sectors. No business travel for me.
New Countries: 4 - UK, Slovakia, Norway, Canada
New Airports: 10 - LHR, BTS, CGN, BLQ, BCN, OSL, YVR, SEA, YYZ, CPH
New Airlines: 6 - Eurowings, Ryanair, Iberia, Norwegian, SAS, Air Canada
New experience: I’ve taken more intra-European low-cost flights, so I’ve finally had the opportunity to see what it’s like to fly Ryanair.
Best experience: I’ve had a lot of great experiences this year, but if I had to choose a favourite, it’d be visiting the Boeing factory and the Museum of Flight in Seattle – actually, the whole trip to Seattle was great.
Less impressive experience: The SAS premium product that they offer on short-haul flights didn’t really impress me, although that depends on your expectations.
Shortest Flight: YVR-SEA (127 miles)
Longest Flight: LHR-YVR (4723 miles)
Total Sectors/Miles: roughly 24k miles, 17 sectors. No business travel for me.
Dec 21, 2016, 5:02 am
#14
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Dubai
Programs: SPG Plat, IHG Spire, HHonors Diamond, EK Gold
Posts: 213
I always enjoy these; both to see what others have been up and as an exercise in reflection. I actually thought I’d had a reasonably quiet year (cue snorts of derision from my wife), but it appears I’ve taken slightly more flights than I have in recent years.
Miles flown: 141,614
Flights: 101 (80 Y, 7 Y+, 12 C, 2 F)
New Countries: India
New Airports: Cochin (COK), Medina (MED), Glasgow (GLA), Istanbul (IST), Bilbao (BIO), Paris Orly (ORY), East Midlands (EMA)
New Airlines: Turkish, Jet Airways (1st time as Jet – have flown Jet Airways metal operating under wet lease to both Gulf Air and Etihad), Cathay Pacific, Air Berlin (1st time own metal – previous flights on aircraft operated by Germania), Scoot.
Best experience: Singapore Airlines Premium Economy is a great product, enough of an uplift over Economy to make it worthwhile but not sufficiently expensive to make the goblins in my expense department seek vengeance.
Most underwhelming experience: Al Safwa Lounge in Doha. Nothing wrong with this lounge but nothing special either. It’s unnecessarily cavernous, the promised premium drink options weren’t available, and the staff were sweet but bordering on useless.
Comedy moment: Boarding a flight crewed by the same crew who’d been laying over at my hotel the night before and who I’d chilled in the hot tub with chatting for a couple of hours. Cue annoying blow hard of a seat mate aggressively trying to flirt with one of the crew during boarding. The look on his face when she then turned to me and said, “Oh hi again, I thought you might be on this flight, it’s Melanie, thought I’d reintroduce myself to you while we’re both fully clothed,” may have been my travel highlight of the year.
Miles flown: 141,614
Flights: 101 (80 Y, 7 Y+, 12 C, 2 F)
New Countries: India
New Airports: Cochin (COK), Medina (MED), Glasgow (GLA), Istanbul (IST), Bilbao (BIO), Paris Orly (ORY), East Midlands (EMA)
New Airlines: Turkish, Jet Airways (1st time as Jet – have flown Jet Airways metal operating under wet lease to both Gulf Air and Etihad), Cathay Pacific, Air Berlin (1st time own metal – previous flights on aircraft operated by Germania), Scoot.
Best experience: Singapore Airlines Premium Economy is a great product, enough of an uplift over Economy to make it worthwhile but not sufficiently expensive to make the goblins in my expense department seek vengeance.
Most underwhelming experience: Al Safwa Lounge in Doha. Nothing wrong with this lounge but nothing special either. It’s unnecessarily cavernous, the promised premium drink options weren’t available, and the staff were sweet but bordering on useless.
Comedy moment: Boarding a flight crewed by the same crew who’d been laying over at my hotel the night before and who I’d chilled in the hot tub with chatting for a couple of hours. Cue annoying blow hard of a seat mate aggressively trying to flirt with one of the crew during boarding. The look on his face when she then turned to me and said, “Oh hi again, I thought you might be on this flight, it’s Melanie, thought I’d reintroduce myself to you while we’re both fully clothed,” may have been my travel highlight of the year.
Dec 21, 2016, 6:13 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: London
Programs: Mucci (Scirocco Sash), BAEC Gold, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 861
Comedy moment: Boarding a flight crewed by the same crew who’d been laying over at my hotel the night before and who I’d chilled in the hot tub with chatting for a couple of hours. Cue annoying blow hard of a seat mate aggressively trying to flirt with one of the crew during boarding. The look on his face when she then turned to me and said, “Oh hi again, I thought you might be on this flight, it’s Melanie, thought I’d reintroduce myself to you while we’re both fully clothed,” may have been my travel highlight of the year.
