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If you're flying Economy and want extra legroom but you don't want to pay for it, make a kind and generous offer at the check-in counter along the lines of "In case you haven't found anyone willing to sit in the exit rows, I'm willing to if you'd like". Works more often than you'd expect.

Up at 3:35am for my transfer from the airport. BKK is quite large airport. Check-in, as you’d expect, was quick and efficient and I was issued my boarding passes for HEL and CDG. I was also given an invitation to the Miracle Lounge. But I'm an AFFer . “I can do better than that”, I thought...

I'm staying at the "At Residence Suvarnabhumi Hotel" near the airport; thanks @RB for suggesting this. I booked an airport transfer for THB400 (about A$20) return and the transfer was easy and seamless. The room itself costs about $61 for the night. Really can't complain about that; it's about a...

Boarding commenced on time. The Spirit of Australia: Thankfully, I did indeed end up with two seats to myself: About two and a half hours into the ten hour flight — exactly 30 minutes after I first asked myself, “Are we there yet?” — the thought occurred to me: Business class: you don’t...

There was some serious turbulence during our ascent on QF404 — the worst turbulence I’ve encountered on a MEL-SYD flight. But it didn’t last long, leaving time for the “meal” service. My second breakfast, a bacon & cheese Turkish. It wasn’t half bad: I’m not used to seat-back entertainment on...

Chapter 1: A Passage to Europe QF404 MEL-SYD Economy QF 295 (operated by Finnair) SYD-BKK Economy AY142 BKK-HEL Business AY 1581 HEL-CDG Business Cost: 136,000 Qantas points plus $271 This was all booked 6 days before the Qantas FF devaluation. After a 3am wake-up, with no-one willing to...

At this stage my itinerary looks like this: MEL-SYD Qantas Economy SYD-BKK Qantas Economy (operated by Finnair) Overnight in Bangkok BKK-HEL-CDG Finnair Business 3 nights in Paris CDG-MAN Air France Economy Overnight in Manchester 5 nights at the writing workshop in West Yorkshire Overnight in...

I'm afraid I have no idea about moors ... but I'm looking forward to finding out! My book will be a biography... more details of the subject to follow in this and also in my next TR!!

I'll be in West Yorkshire, a few kilometres out of a town/village called Hebden Bridge. It's more-or-less in between Manchester and Leeds. In fact I briefly toyed with a couple of alternative names for this TR: "Books, Bones & Bibles: Learning about Literature in Leeds" or "Publications...

I have not ... but I did grow up reading James Herriot's books and watching All Creatures Great and Small. And I'm most definitely eyeing some duty-free whisky on the way home if the budget allows!

Prologue: An Unexpected Journey I want to write a book. I have Long Service Leave due, and my wife has been encouraging me to give myself an LSL project rather than simply galivanting around the world. The project I’ve chosen is to write a biography of a relative who has had an incredible...

ANA and United come to mind.

Interesting. Thanks for your help. Much appreciated. What will Qantas do if I put in for an upgrade to both PE and Business and both are available? Can I even do that?

I'm flying economy on QF295 SYD-BKK (in a Finnair A330) this Wednesday August 27. It's a daytime flight but I'm considering applying for a points upgrade to either Business or Premium Economy. Any thoughts on chances of success? Currently there are Classic Plus seats available for both cabins...

I've been very successful (in fact, surprisingly successful!) at using Qantas points to get into and out of Australia recently. But you have to be willing to compromise -- a lot. Case in point: I'm about to use Qantas points to fly to Paris. But my route is MEL-SYD-BKK-HEL-CDG, and the first...

I must admit that I'm not totally understanding you. Velocity and Virgin, while obviously closely connected, are separate entities. All of the above discussion has been about Virgin "going down to being a competitor to Jetstar" and there is some evidence that you may be right there. But...

You are NOT useless! Booking a RTW using Qantas points is genuinely difficult! Have you read the AFF guide? And are you aware that there's a whole AFF Forum thread of incredibly knowledgeable people who would be willing to help you? Post your specific questions and/or difficulties there and...

I've often likened the thrill of grabbing a reward seat to the thrill of a hunt (not that I've ever literally hunted...). There are of course some species that are more thrilling and elusive than others!

I find it difficult to believe that Qantas would put a smaller aircraft on a route out of MEL if the demand existed for a larger one. For whatever reason -- and I would guess that it's a complex set of reasons including demographics, competition, presence of high-paying corporate customers...

I’m transiting through HKG for the first time in a few weeks and this whole thread has been incredibly helpful and informative — thanks AFFers!