chrissxb

Richelieu, Falco Peregrinus & chrissxb had the great (dissenting opinion from your resident complainer: silly) idea to spend the Easter weekend at 30000ft above sealevel.
On our first day Delta Airlines (euh? which airline is that?) and Air France will get us from Strasbourg via Paris, Houston, Salt Lake City to Boise.

After uneventful flight and connection at CDG, we're sitting in the CDG E remote terminal, waiting for AF36 to be ready for boarding. Oh, we need to mention, that - like everyone expects at CDG - there was strike and loud protesters in the terminal (presidential election is getting closer!) (security people want to get more money and work probably less). (Not that we don't understand them. We'd be extremely happy if their workload was lightened to the point of removing security measures altogether...)


We (chrissxb) will try to update this report at every stop where we have enough time and battery power to get online (Chris is like an Energizer Bunny, he's never tired and plans to update the trip report at each stop of this 24-hours flight succession. I can't guarantee I will have enough energy to contribute to this trip report. In fact, I am not confident, based on previous horror stories told by a FTer, that I'll have enough energy to even survive this flight...)
Come on, we have enough time to write it, don't we? next stop is Houston and thats 5023miles and approx. 10h30min flight time


(Comments in black were written by chrissxb)
(Comments in red were added by Richelieu)
(Comments in blue were added by Falco Peregrinus)

chrissxb

hello from Houston.

flight details for AF36 will follow. we're sitting in the PresidentsClub in the IAH E Terminal but need to hurry to get to the remote A terminal ...
on the way to Salt Lake City - in a CRJ

SanDiego1K

The clouds have come in and the temperature has dropped in San Diego. Evidently the arrival of our rain man is eminent.

monitor

These guys are pretty chipper right now considering that they have just come off a Transat, but wait until they have parked their butts in that CRJ for about 4 hours IAH-SLC. Then we'll see how much endurance they really have.

I can remember chrissxb saying last year that he would never do that again and here he is doing another go-round.

Just plain nuts.

chrissxb

yeah, but when I said that I didn't think I'd do it again. But two tired co-mileagerunner don't talk to me anymore and look angry

Hello from Salt Lake City.

Here's a more detailled update about the trip so far.



AF 36 – CDG – IAH (777-200 in NTC)

So what is to say about this flight. Well, for some of us it was their first experience in coach – ah some people need to learn to rack up miles the hard way We had almost one hour delay at take-off. Some passengers were delayed with security screening, then AF screwed up the boarding process – but we finally left Paris at 11h15 am (CEST). Shortly after takeoff, we got an aperitif (you may call it drink) few minutes later, we got lunch.

My verdict on the chicken: really not bad

Later in the galley, we were able to get drinks and sandwichs and Häagen Dasz.

After an uneventful flight with a crew that made the strict minimum for passenger comfort we did arrive with only 5min delay.

US immigration and customs went relatively quick, no questions asked – and we went to the IAH Presidents Club for a Margerita (chrissxb) or an orange juice (falco peregrinus) and a diet coke (Richelieu).
After a 15min stay and a short post (milepost #2 in this thread) we went over to the A terminal (yeah, another remote terminal and bus drive – but we’ve seen that before today). After we boarded, aircraft doors were closed and the 3rd segment –

DL 4073 – IAH - SLC (operated by Skywest /CRJ700)

was about to begin. A fellow flyertalker told us several times before that this flight would be hell – I took it before and survived Richelieu seemes to be very scared – he was speaking of adventure trip. I got 12B with noone sitting in 12A - better than my fellow co-mileagerunner who are stuck in 2C and 2D. Laptop and movies made that flight pass by relatively quick. I got a whole can of coke for beverage service – better than on my last DL coach flight where I had to beg for a refill. But then again, that should be normal and not an extraordinary inflight event.

Interesting that Skyteam ElitePlus members get boarding zone 3 and 7 and have to explain entrance rules to Crown Room Club dragon at SLC

monitor

Oh yes, the absence of any red and blue posts in this thread from SLC was only to be expected.

And next week in Toulouse I will inquire of Falco Peregrinus and Richelieu as to when they intend to take more international trips in coach, not to mention some more long flights like these in CRJs,

chrissxb

Hello from Boise, Idaho

another uneventful flight just finished. Given the fact that we started flying about 24h ago I understand that my fellow co-mileagerunner went to bed so quickly

The HolidayInn Express at Boise offers free wifi - and the first miles posted on my account. thats what we're flying for. ok, I agree, a having a few people in SAN for dinner are a nice add-on to the miles we'll get ^ So far we have flown 6746 BIS miles

Falco Peregrinus

Hmm, I wish I had listened to your warnings about the CRJ MRs... Too late. Browsing FT in a shabby airport hotel, my stomach slowly recovering after gallons of Sprite and hundreds of lounge pretzels. Shame on me!

monitor

LOL.

I guess you have learned your lesson. In honor of your education, the first round on Saturday evening is on me, assuming that your abused stomach can handle it.

chrissxb

yeah, being behind the curtain and flying US domestic can be a traumatic experience. I actually don't bother that kind of experience, but I guess my co-runner don't see it that way and next year I'll do it alone.

its 3h30am Mountain time - danged jetlag. there is hunting on TV flight for Salt Lake City is at 8am. There we're supposed to have breakfast with fellow FTer JimQuan. and take another CRJ to SAN

GVA

I am told that Richelieu is under post-traumatic shock right now due to flying with the masses (ie in economy class).

Good luck with your mileage run. People actually do survive flying in economy class for great distances. I've already done 27K EQM on Delta this year [or 52k in total] (all behind the dreaded curtain) and survived.

Of course flying a CRJ isn't really a bright idea. In any case, look forward to watching tv on the 752 and to the modern IFE on the 764.

FLYGVA

Well celebrating the Easter holidays in some sort of survival training on in the American province ...


Genieße, was Dir Gott beschieden,
Entbehre gern, was du nicht hast
Ein jeder Stand hat seinen Frieden,
Ein jeder Stand auch sein Last

von Gellert

don't expect me to translate this

Richelieu

Hi,

Just out of bed after a night of recovery, well-needed due to the traumatic experience I had yesterday. I woke up at 4:20, and for a second hoped it was a dream. But I was, really, on the hard mattress of the BOI Holiday Inn Airport hotel.

We've a saying, les voyages forment la jeunesse, akin to Travel broadens mind, and meaning that young people grow by travelling. I now understand that saying fully. Next time, I will listen to the elder people like monitor when they say that taking a 3:30 flight in CRJ after a transatlantic flight in coach is a very bad idea.

I'll post detailed comments later: Falco Peregrinus was late for the shuttle, so we decided to walk to the airport. Silly us!

monitor

It is a very good thing that JimQuan happens to be a medical doctor. ^

I certainly hope that you told him to bring along his kit so he can tend to your two under-the-weather companions and prepare them for the CRJ ride they will be jumping on down to SAN

We hope to see all three of you at dinner and will closely observe how the abused French stomachs deal with the Mexican food.

chrissxb

Hello from San Diego – so far it does NOT rain, but clouds announced my arrival to the SanDiego people

After walking to the airport, which took about 15 minutes (indeed, it was just a 5 minutes walk but the other were loaded with luggage and slow walkers, hence the delay…), we arrived to get our 1st breakfast. Well not really great. But we should get a better, 2nd breakfast later at SLC. (At least it looked great compared to the cheese crackers and salted nuts assortments we had been dining on for the last hours…)

Our MD90 from BOI (same crew, same aircraft – only the looks “hey you again?” were new) came in 15 min prior to scheduled arrival.

We spent a wonderful morning with fellow Flyertalker jimquan at Salt Lake City. After breakfast at Ruths diner in Emigration Canyon, we went for a short walk in the mountains.
(I am glad chrissxb had scheduled a trip outside the airport, an unusual feat for him, and he says he only does that in SLC so we had the chance to see the scenic surroundings of the city. Thanks Jimquan for taking us to this tour).

Good to have some change from skybridges, airport lounges and escalators and made it back to the airport just in time for our 2nd flight today. SLC-SAN in a CRJ200 operated by Skywest for Delta. Richelieu must have scared the baby (actually, I am sure chrissxb, the mastermind of this trip, used his influence to have babies seated next to me for the whole trip so far…) in the seat next to him – Falco Peregrinus and I heard suddenly loud screaming from seat 1D. And we got some nice comments from Richelieu who was again complaining about the CRJs (who wouldn’t complain about this experience anyway ?). I guess he’ll post some more comments later.