That discernable thud in the stomach is never pleasant. I have been “so close” to the Alaska Airlines 50K bonus for flying 75K qualifying miles on AS and the partners. At some point, the class-of-service bonus on some/all of the partners stopped going into the formula. I learned this less than 2 weeks ago when my DL SFO/ATL flights posted, flown in paid F for the sole purpose of hitting the bonus. This was the ONLY weekend I had to do the unwanted - fly somewhere because I had to, but I really didn’t want to be away. (In a few days, while on Lan in F, I’ll remember why I am such an idiot.) I did decide this was going to be a great way to finish all the holiday cards which are seriously-delayed this year.

So once again, ATL is the bargain F destination from SFO. However, Delta sucks so badly, I really couldn’t subject myself to it again quite so quickly. This left the only option as NW.

I really can’t handle flying east and right back, especially with 4 segments, as I generally don’t sleep on planes. So I booked SFO/DTW/ATL redeye, got a day room in ATL, and then returned ATL/MSP/SFO.

The saga begins...

Boarding @ SFO was ... lets say “interesting”. All the F passengers knew this was going to be a strange flight. A woman who boarded just about the same time as me, sitting across the aisle in Row 1, suddenly became confused when someone else who boarded had “her” seat. Alas, she confused row 1 with row 22. Simple mistake. One of the crew barked at someone 20 minutes prior to departure for using an electronic device. One of the crew was a nasty nasty ..... when a (polite) later-boarding F passenger asked her coat to be hung. The entire F cabin was shocked at the behavior of the FA. It is really hard to describe the tirade that she threw. Finally, the door closed, and wait ... MECHANICAL. Seat 1A wouldn’t lock in place and for 3" of recline, the pilot wouldn’t take off. Fortunately, at nearly 11:00 PM, someone was still there to fix it. And we were off..... The flight itself wasn’t nearly as eventful as pre-departure. I wrote about 20 cards. There was enough time to visit the Worldclub and have a cup of tea.

DTW/ATL. Uneventful. Eyes closed with the iPod on, and a glass of water.

Arrival ATL - made me nervous. The security lines were such that people were likely missing flights. It was an absolute zoo. I found the NW counter and checked-in for my flight hours later just in case of continuing problems later in the day. And then I was off to the Crowne Plaza. Frankly, I don’t know what member of any royal family would wear this Crowne, but well it was a cleanish room available at 10:00 AM. I didn’t really realize that it was a smoking room until I woke up and could barely breathe. In fact, the entire floor reeked. Alas, there were even matches in an ashtray in the room. At 3:00, I was marginally-rested, showered, and in the van back to ATL. Lines were relatively short, and the F line wasn’t bad at all. However, I was there much earlier than needed because of what I saw earlier in the day, so I went to the UA lounge (far far from NW) for a cold drink and to finish the card writing. I then went to the D gates, not more than a mile from the UA RCC. As there was still time to spare, as the inbound plane still had yet to arrive, I went into the CO President’s Club. For those of you who may not know, AS is lounge partners with NW, DL, and CO, all in different capacities. The CO agreement is new. I have been admitted to the CO lounges when they are truly shared with NW, or when an agent is nice, but had no experience with the ATL lounge, nor knew if it was shared, or just CO. BIG MISTAKE.

The front desk policewoman was in rare form. I showed her my NW boarding pass and by AS Boardroom card. She barked “DO YOU SEE ALASKA ON THE SIGN?” I told her that the agreement with CO was new. She said “NOT IN ATLANTA.” I told her that there was a comprehensive agreement with CO, but wasn’t sure of all the terms and conditions, and asked her if the wireless signal reached outside. She said yes, and I turned the laptop on to find out the actual T&C. Boardroom members when flying CO or AS can use pretty much any of their rooms - ATL was even specifically on the list. I wasn’t flying either, but just wanted to politely show her that indeed, AS Boardroom members could use the room when flying CO, as soon she may be seeing some of us. (I didn’t ask to get in, nor expected to be admitted.) She barked again “OK, NOW YOU’VE SHOWED ME.” Her attitude was so bad that I used the wireless signal again from outside the door to email the President’s Club offices regarding my visit.

Georgia - Get Out of my Mind

ATL/MSP. A pleasant flight, albeit with chaotic boarding because the aircraft was downsized. No pre-departure drinks because of the boarding issues, and the crew took a long time to commence service. But all-in-all, it was fine, and the dinner wasn’t bad. Most folks “made all gone.” I had a pleasant seatmate, and the time passed.

Who Can Turn the World On With Her Smile

I now had over 2 hours @MSP, which I spent mostly in the Worldclub and their new uber-finicky wireless signal.
.
Perplexed at 35,000 Feet

The final flight from MSP to SFO was well, the final flight. As it is after meal time, I bought a sandwich to bring onboard. Notwithstanding the sandwich, NW also has a snack basket which consists of a cornucopia of partially-hydrogenated high fructose corn sweetened health foods. I picked two items from the basket. The ReaLemon Cookies did have lemon juice concentrate and also lemon oil, so I suppose it qualifies. But I am still perplexed by the “Fisher Nuts and Fruits - California Style.” This has raisins, banana chips, almonds, papaya, cashews, and coconut. Raisins, ok. California. Banana chips? I have lived 41 years in the Golden State and have never seen a Banana Chip farm. Papaya - oh sure. 41 years, and I’m not sure what part of California this style is. It reminds me of a commercial I saw in Montreal years ago, for “San Francisco Sportswear” (or something similar) where they were showing all these people in beachwear and warm weather sportswear with the words “San Francisco” flashing on the screen from time to time. I’m not sure what San Francisco that was, and I’m not sure what California Style crap-in-a-bag this is, but maybe anything sells when marketed properly.
Otherwise, the flight was uneventful. The crew was pleasant, and I almost can’t believe I’m saying this, but NW doesn’t suck as much as DL. The iPod battery started to fade.

If nothing else, flying through all these cities makes me feel thin when looking around.

Send for Help

My several runs this year were just really unpleasant. Uncomfortable, unentertaining, unpleasant. This one was ‘above-average’, but domestic air travel on most carriers, even in the front cabin, isn’t very good. I also spent too much on them this year......

and so always remember...

my home upon a hill, I find I love you still, I’ve been away, but now I’m back to tell you,
San Francisco, welcome me home again, I’m coming home to go roaming no more.

Truth be known right now I really mean it, but 5 days from now, on a first class trip to Chile, I’ll probably have a quick revelation and cancel the psychiatrist.

Amen to that...here's to more international premium cabin travel in 2006...it's definitely getting to the point where the seat is the only difference on US carriers.

Even though I have been gone from the US for a while now, I'm still reminded almost daily about what a crummy place it has become, especially when it comes to travel. My advice is to get the heck out!

I don't mean to come across as Joe Patriot here, but this comment just rankles me...

What a crummy place the U.S. has become? There's alot of crap in modern day America to be sure, but there's still plenty of good, the vast majority of it outside of the mindless schlock perpetrated as Mainstream American Culture. There's still nowhere else I'd rather live, and I've been to some pretty nice corners of the world over the years.

As for traveling about the U.S., we've definitely seen better days. I miss more than most the days when U.S. airliners were spacious, with First Class and Coach lounges and hot dinners and consistently polite, pretty young stewardesses. But then if you look back at the fares in those days, you'd find that compared to most of today's fares between big cities, we paid quite alot for those services. Those who'd rather pay the equivalent of $100.00 or more per ticket to receive those services these days would be in a distinct minority. U.S. domestic First Class was alot nicer back then too, but then in order to get a seat up there, you had to pay considerably more to buy a First Class fare. There were no upgrades.

In survey after survey, most frequent flyers have indicated their primary concerns are space and convenience of schedule. All of the things that used to make for a nice inflight service have unfortunately never ranked highly. Alas, I fear that in this regard we have been hoisted by our own petard...

P.S. Although your trip may not have been so nice, I laughed reading this report. I like your writing style, Eastbay1K. It sounds like you've more than earned a nice flight for a change, so enjoy that First Class service with LAN Chile.

Very nice report. Believe me, with only 4 segs, and all confirmed F, you got off pretty easy as far as MRs go. Glad your trip went without a hitch.

That monster snack backet is the closest I've seen to a meal on NW in quite some time. Maybe because PHX isn't quite considered a MSP long haul, and I never have occasion to do MSP--LAX/SFO anymore.

I seem to remember being in the ATL P-Club a while back-- not anything special. Glad you could pull the wifi, though. ^ ^

You mentioned bad experiences with the DTW flight crew and the ATL agent- but I hope the MSP folks made your visit a little nicer. MSP always has been the kinder, gentler side of NW, IMHO. Did you say hi to Romeo in the MSP Worldclub?

Have a wonderful flight on LAN-- after this grueling haul, you deserve it!