The long boring details of my trip to Italy (with pictures) can be found at my website but there was one piece of my trip that was very FT related so I'll share it here.

I was in the Cinque Terre, waiting for a train and I struck up a conversation with two american guys (Tim and HArvey) from Denver. We struck up a conversation which led to "what brought you to Italy". I explained about the $20 BA fares, and how I had found it through my participation here. As I talked about the premise of the board, the great deals, the quest for and benefits of airline status, etc..I could see that Tim was mildly interested, asking questions and being appropriately impressed at some of the opportunities, but Harvey "GOT IT". We spent most the rest of train trip and most of the hike the hike through the ?Cinque Terre discussing the board, and he wrote the site name down so he could check it out when he got back. So, I'll be looking his first post soon!

Welcome to FT Harvey from Denver!

And in other flight related info...

I found WT+ a great deal for $20 (obviously) but I really don't think its worth the $1000 more that the trip would have priced out at opposed to travelling in regular coach. Bulkhead seating really made it much more comfortable, since we could use the bassinet tables for our drinks and food trays, rather than the confining lap trays.

Also, the ground staff in Italy can't be called the brightest. I asked to move out of my 21F seat into a window or aisle TWICE, and two different agents (and a passenger who thought he knew everything) insisted that I was already IN an aisle seat. Lo and behold, it was the middle seat that I knew it to be, but once on the plane, there was nothing that I could do as the flight was completely full.

An interesting contrast, Missy. The flight a bunch of us took to LAX from LHR the same morning as you returned, was literally empty in WT+. Definitely . Of course it ain't worth the extra tariff. I'd say $125 each way is a fair rate.

Glad to see you again in Roma!

6:30 tonight, we get to try out WT+ on our $20 fares to FRA. Hopefully, BA reservations got us into the non-center seats since we changed from the preassigned ones that included a center seat.

Interested perhaps in dinner the night of the 13th. We are overnighting at the Hampton, Airport on a $95 park, fly and stay rate. Pls leave a message with the desk if you are interested.

Missy-

Fantastic photos! I've hiked the Cinque Terra before, and it is quite special, isn't it? Glad to see you had a good time.

I've been on a few of these. In all but one case, I've been able to switch to a better seat using either the on-line checkin, or in the case of AMS and DUS, BA's equivalent of UA's Mr. Easy Checkin.

Missy, I encountered the same thing too... I too have just come back from the notorious $20 BA tickets trip from Rome via Madrid (I flew BA SEA-MAD, and UX MAD-FCO). I found that BA ground staff neither in SEA nor MAD are bright. Not only they messed up my requested seats, they also lost my luggage upon arrival in SEA and not willing to compensate me, and also they didn't credit my flying miles onto my AA's account on the transatlantic portion of it. So that just did it for me... no more BA flying, UNLESS they have another $20 tickets available to purchase.. May be after this year Thanksgivings???? haha..

And as everyone also mentioned the WT+ isn't worth the extra $500 ... The seat is a joke! I much rather be in AA coach or UA's E+

They're just following AA's rules there. You can't accumulate AA miles on BA trans-Atlantic flights.

Edited to add: I understand some here have credited their Alaska accounts with the BA flights, which works.



[This message has been edited by tom911 (edited 03-07-2003).]

Go ahead and say I have a dirty mind, but when I read the topic of this post I had a completely different mental image of the content.

-alan in sitges

Alan, you have a dirty mind

"the Creation of a future FT addict in Italy"

I don't know...the title makes me picture Missy reaching out her finger (as in the Sistine Chapel) to the prone, prostrate non-flyertalker waiting to be given the spark of FT knowledge.

...And on the 7th day, he went on a mileage run, and it was good.

p.s., I liked your pictures.

Thanks!!

p.s. I'm reading Brunelleschi's Dome now