A brief trip to the States QF/AA

[matty744]

So off for another trip to the states. This one is for two different clients as I had to condense two trips into one so it was a bit of a battle negotiating with both of their travel reps. And I know there are no pics to start with but I will put the camera on charge and get some shots for the latter flights. So the first day...

QF 504
43J

Got to the airport around 630 and managed to switch to the earlier 705am flight up to Brissy. Managed to still get a emergency row. Settled back for the smooth flight with the trusty Ipod playing. Breakky was served and it was the bite size Ham & Cheese croissant with apple pieces and juice.

Caught the train to the Int terminal and proceeded to check in the rollaboard to LA. Was a little frustrating at check in. All OW status and QP were pushed into one line while a separate line for J travelers. Would be ok but there was only 2 counters open and with a crowd of more than 20 in the OW/QP line and a steady flow of J people there was no movement in our line for around 15mins when more counters were opened.
Had been trying to get a upgrade for the last week but by tues J was showing 2 so no real surprise about not getting it. So happy with 29B.

Made my way through to the QP and struggled to find a seat. Had to settle with a computer bench. Got through a fair bit of work until boarding was called. Walked through the terminal. Looks like still a fair bit of work to be done. Boarding was a little slow. was a fairly full flight. Even the A seat in this row was taken. Got chatting with the other guys next to me and was a little funny that we were all eventually on our way to chicago. So we exchanged tips on where to eat/drink etc and got started chatting about Qantas as we were all Gold or Plat. Kind of interesting to hear everyone else’s thoughts and stories about their travels with QF.

Got away 10 mins late and the crew got straight into work. Menus were handed out along with hot towels. Drinks followed soon and then the meal. Chose the Beef over the chicken. Was pretty good. The salad was a bit pathetic. Just a few leaves with dressing. Was followed up with an splice icecream and hot choc was also offered. Managed to get to sleep fairly early on and woke up with a few hours to go. Was a pretty bumpy ride for parts. Map function wasn’t working so no Idea where we were near. Avod was working all the way but it did seem to have a screen blur every 10mins or so but always continued playing.

We didn’t make up anytime and landed around 720am. Being this door is used for LA meant I was first off the plane and was really happy to see a completely empty immigration hall. Infact it took more time waking through the bollard maze than getting the fingerprints and pic done. After collecting my bag headed upstairs to print off the boarding pass to DFW. Priority pass line was only 10 deep and screening was moving at a fair pace. Grabbed a shower in the Admirals Club and settled back while the laptop charged.

AA2440
5D
This MD80 was completly full. Boarded with priority line so no dramas with overhead space. Still can’t understand the reason why so many people feel it necessary to carry the kitchen sink onboard these flights. Boarding took forever. QF loads a full 767 in half the time it takes AA to fill a MD80. Drinks were served and was pretty uneventful flight. Landed into DFW and made my way out to the taxi’s for my quick drive into town.

More to come..

 

[docjames]

Nice TR so far.

Your BNE-LAX sounds almost like a carbon copy of mine (see TR - yours without the 45 minute pre-departure delay although we made up most of that inflight).

IIRC 29 is 1st row main cabin?

Re: MD80 - i think it's partly becuase of the two aisle/one aisle and that those MD80s can be looooong.

 

[serfty]

... IIRC 29 is 1st row main cabin?

'Tis actually an exit row seat on the 2 class 744's.

It's in the "4th Row" of Economy.

 

[docjames]

Sorry, that's what i meant!

 

[matty744]

AA2364
DFW-ORD
21F
2nd of 4 MD80 flights on this trip. This one was only around 50%full so there was plenty of room for all, although the overhead lockers were looking pretty full! Anyway Flight got away only 10mins late and was the typical AA drinks service. We arrived on time into Chicago and being the first time leaving a flight here it was a little bit of a challenge keeping up with the hotel shuttle signs as there is a centralized pick up point in ORD and its a bit of a maze but eventually made it out and on my way the hotel.
For those interested in hotels, We were put into the Four points sheraton and got the 7th floor which is the starwood floor. Rooms were actually a bit of a suprise in that it was of a really hight standard, although they say their shuttles run every 20mins I can say that my watch seemed to pass quite a few more minutes than that at the airport and we were a little late for our client meeting at the hotel.



AA 374
ORD-LGA
21F
Ah yes another mad dog 80 flight. This one was fairly good though. The Admirals club in ORD is really well laid out and offers some great views of the AA operation there and looked over onto the active takeoff runways at ORD so we managed to see quite a few interesting aircraft during out wait for the flight. Boarding was called ontime and we got away 5mins early. We taxied without stopping onto the runway and took off. A nice turning climb over the city and the lake before we settle onto our course to LGA. Passed over cleveland and made a sweeping descent over Downtown Manhattan and queens before landing in LGA 25mins ahead of schedule. As I only had carryon for this trip I was out and into the car and heading into manhattan 15mins before our schd arrival.
As most of my work commitments was around the Theatre district in NY our clients had us up in the Rockefeller Hotel on 51st opp Radio city music hall. Great location only a 5min walk to time sq and pretty central for all out need. Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of leisure time but got to say that the new TKTS booth to time square is a really good addition. It has these big red stairs that you can climb up and get an elevated look over the square. really good place to just sit down and take in the sensory overload that time square is.

Next up: AA F JFK-DFW-LAS

 

[dajop]

Boarding took forever. QF loads a full 767 in half the time it takes AA to fill a MD80.

Last night flew ORD-STL in MD80. 21 minutes to board. Admittedly full, but I've seen SQ & QF board 747's quicker than that. It's only 136 pax, not 436. Then two people had to disembark I assume because they were on the wrong plane, then they had to check some oversized luggage.......... and on it goes ...... with the FA barking orders over the PA every few minutes. Maybe I was jaded, as this was after sitting on the tarmac at YUL for 2 hours waiting for ATC clearance at ORD (why board when not ATC clearance? I heard that this was because crew pay is much higher once plane is pushed back) And travelling in "business" class was fed a cookie on the 2 hr flight (90 mins before we took off, so nothing actually in flight) .... aaaagh ..... only one more AA sector to endure tonight STL-SFO before changing back to normality with CX. And I can't wait!

 

[matty744]

AA375
JFK-DFW
6E
Thankfully my last MD80 flight on this trip. This flight was oversold by 17 the agent said at the gate. Might have something do do with the lack of flights? I could only find 2, one early morning and this one leaving just after 5pm. Went up to the AC in the remote part of Terminal 8. One of the best I have been in. The staff were probably the best I have come across so far and it makes such a difference (maybe it was the stack of 5 drinks vouchers for each of us that made us think they were really friendly!)

Anyway flight started boarding around 5mins late. Boarded first and settled into the seat only to watch boarding take a lousy 27mins! No pre takeoff drink was offered and the guy across the aisle even asked for a glass of water and was told that was not possible. So things were not looking up for this flight. After a surprisingly short taxi we were in the air only 10mins behind schedule.

Drinks finally started coming around 35mins after takeoff and thankfully it was a different attendant who was looking after this section to the one that was there during boarding. Much more happy and accommodating (not too mention probably the first one who was under 45yrs old....not that age is a factor in good service)
Anyway soon after the drinks the warm nuts appeared

The food service started next. Choice was Seared Tuna with green beans and rice or Cheese Ravioli both served with side salad and selection of bread. Took the ravioli and was served very hot and not with as much cheese on top as the last times I’ve had it which was good.

Lucky for our row the food service was put on hold for 30mins due to turbulence so it was a nice challenge to eat at times. Went from medium to fairly rough turbulence. Seems the boys upfront were really trying to find a clear patch as we changed altitudes 3 times and finally found some relatively smooth air which stayed all the way to Dallas.

After dinner was cleared up the legendary sundae made an appearance.

Was a little disappointed as the desert choices changed from the back of the plane first to the front so missed out on the fruit and cheese plate which I was after and it doesn’t help when they only load 2 servings for the 16pax.

Got through a fair bit of work towards the end of the flight. I was trying to stay awake as the day had started at 530am NYtime . The nice attendant kept the drinks filled up without having to ask and was very apologetic when the glassware ran out and had to switch to plastic cups. Landed on time into dallas and parted with the other work group who were staying in dallas for 2days of meetings while I head out to Vegas to start on the work out there. Although I really like using the very efficient terminal trains, I was glad that I didn’t have to change terminals and headed up to the Admirals Club in Terminal D above gate 23. Was pretty quiet at this time of night and grabbed a quick shower to try and freshen up and keep awake to adjust to west coast time. This lounge closes at 10pm so they started kicking us out a little before then and headed down to the gate.


AA 325
DFW-LAS
5B
First time on a American 738. Seems they offer the same amount of room on both sides of the aisle. Didn’t grab any pics on this flight as it was dark and only refreshments offered. Was a very interesting flight mainly due to the seat mate who is a General in the Saudi Army who was in the states training with the US Army. Was interesting to hear the many stories of what’s happening in his home region and he was amazed that I had been to several areas around there for work, not to mention how happy they are to have such good relations with Australia.
Pre takeoff drinks were offered on this on time flight. After takeoff another round of drinks, warm nuts and the entertainment started. A good selection of shows including How I met your Mother and Two and a half men. The warm cookies were nice and the drinks kept flowing. Arrived into LAS about 10mins ahead of sched. Just made the train to the main terminal and beat the main rush of pax. Car to Planet hollywood was only a quick 10mins and was very glad to get some sleep.

 

[matty744]

AA3104
LAS-LAX
1A
After a few long days of meetings it was time to head to LA for a little bit. For a monday morning in Vegas the airport was very busy. Printed out the boarding pass and went upstairs to security. Security took 30mins and then it was off to the train for the ride out to the terminal. The flight was about 1 hour behind. Plane turned up and boarding was very fast. Dropped the rollaboard off just before the door to be picked up in LA. Cabin door was closed about 5mins before the luggage was finished. Takeoff offered a nice view of the strip and then settled down for a quick 44min flight to LA. Drinks service only on this flight. Flew pretty much straight into LAX and taxied past the QF 380. Looked like the fire services were doing in inspection of the plane. It was nice and shiny in the LA sun. After collecting the bag at the doorway it was onto the bus for the transfer to Terminal 4.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to try out any of the recommendations offered for a quick dinner. we ended up going to the Westin for a nice relaxing dinner meeting in the bar. Over the course of the week the only other thing on TV besides the election has been the world series baseball and I have taken a liking to the Phillies so it was good to catch part of the game that they could win the world series in before I left (fwiw the game was suspended mid way through due to rain). Headed back on the shuttle around 730 to check in for QF12.


QF12
Sched LAX-SYD
Actual LAX-AKL-SYD
Preselected 23B
Actual 46H
VH-OEB - New livery

So it was a eventful flight to say the least. I had logged into Qantas on the morning of this flight and had seen the points had been deducted and the preselected seat say 23B. I had been checking loads for quite a while and all looked fine. As I had a laptop bag + rollaboard the agent asked me to check in one of the bags. I asked when the 2bag rule for business had changed and was told that it hadn’t but I wasn’t in J class. So after 15mins of trying to work out what had happen as the points hadn’t been re credited and J now full I ended up with the emergency row. Proceeded through security and into the lounge which was really full with people sitting on the ground. Freed up when the BA flight left. Besides the computer row its really hard to find a powerpoint in a comfy seat. Boarding was called and we left only 5 mins late. A nice long taxi gave plenty of time to chat to the attendant in front of me. A really nice guy who went out of his way to check up on me and managed to pull a few item from J for me including headphones after my ones broke.

Drinks service then dinner was served fairy fast after takeoff. Choice was Seared tuna or Roasted chicken which I took. Pleasantly surprised as it tasted fairly nice although the sauce over the couscous was completely dried up. The snack bags were handed out and the cabin lights were turned off around 2hrs after takeoff and most people went to sleep. I stayed up catching up on a bit of work and watched a few movies. Just before we got near HNL I noticed that we slowed down a fair bit in airspeed and that the moving map still had sydney as the destination but the times were all forward 2hrs. I had been on another LAX-SYD flight that had to stop in Nadi and the times all changed on that flight so I guessed we were stopping somewhere as well. So I made my way down to the galley to be greeted by 4 attendants in deep conversation and asked for a drink and casually asked why we were making a stopover before syd. They all looked a little shocked that someone had worked it out before the an announcement had been made. So actually got chatting to them for a good half hour bout all thing qantas and life. They were not really keen to give a reason for the diversion as they wanted the whole plane to find out at once which I was ok with and then another pax came and asked why the destination had changed to AKL on the inflight map. Again no explanation as to why but they said it was a certain bet we would end up in AKL. So with that in mind I went back to my seat and saw that the map had been turned off and caught a few hrs of shut eye knowing we would be woken up early.

Around 2.5 hrs before Auckland, which was a awful 400am Sydney time the captain came on and explained the nights events. A few hours into the flight the weather radar had developed a problem in the return signals to to coughpit and it was determined that its signals could not be fully trusted, and although there is a second system the problem appeared to be with the actual antenna. Fortunately instead of landing at Hnl and spending hours trying to locate then fit a replacement, there happened to be a Air New Zealand flight on its way to Akl so in consultation with the company office it was decided to fly pretty much alongside the ANZ 777 and use its radar system to help guide our plane through the sometimes rough south pacific night. We ended up being 1mile behind and 1000ft below the 777 hence why the slightly slower cruising speed. Over breakfast and with dawn breaking we eventually sped up to out normal speed and passed the 777 on our left hand side. It was actually quite a sight with it being pretty close and slowly moving down the side of the aircraft.

Breakfast choices were egg frittata or cereal which I went for and a few bits of fruit along with a hot apple muffin which was pretty soggy and not really edible.
AVOD in my area stopped working for the last 2hrs of the flight but didn’t really bother me as I slept through to landing.
Landed into an overcast Auckland morning. Vouchers and transit cards were handed out. Headed up to the QP and took a shower to help freshen up as there was really no point in going back to sleep. Breakfast including hot pancakes was on offer. A lack of working power points was a bit of a hassle with the only working ones to be found in the business center.

Boarding wasn’t called until just after 930am and after a delay with the paperwork we were off for the 3hr flight to sydney. Only the snack bags were offered on this flight and cold drinks. Bit disappointed about the lack of coffee. AVOD was out for the entire plane now so there was only a choice of 2 movies on cycle. Lucky the weather radar was working as it was a bumpy last hour to the flight with clouds up to our cruising altitude of 38000 feet. Broke through the clouds on short final and landed long on 16R with a 10min taxi back to the gate. Everyone collected bags and had started moving forward in the aisles when an announcement was made that due to an unwell passenger, the Quarantine service wanted to inspect the passenger first before letting us all off. So took a little bit for the officers to try and get back down the plane past everyone but shortly we were let off and was out of the terminal within 5mins and on my way to work in a very tired state.
So thats it. Hope you enjoyed it. A busy few days of meetings and work. Glad its over after the long last day. Note to self: get into the habit of taking more pics for these reports!

 

[trooper]

Thanks! Enjoyed that...

I like the implications too of the "assist" from the NZ flight.... looks like the old maritime traditions have carried over...:mrgreen:

 

[serfty]

I guess "Sean Lygon" as a bit forward of you Matt ...

Qantas crew flew blind, says passenger | NEWS.com.au

 

[drron]

As a future bit of advice when flying out of NYC to a domestic port always check out LGA.There are 20 flights a day LGA-DFW on AA.Ok so its a cough airport but a much better choice of times.

 

[drron]

And the game is back on-the Phillies lead 4-3 top of the 8th.

 

[drron]

And the Phillies win,the drought has broken.

 

[jpk]

What happened with the non-upgrade - I presume they sold the seat at a late stage and eventually you got the points back? Did you have to ask for them?

 

[matty744]

What happened with the non-upgrade - I presume they sold the seat at a late stage and eventually you got the points back? Did you have to ask for them?

Points have not made it back into the account yet but have already been onto the phone to QF and hopefully they should reappear soon. Not too sure the seats were sold as I was second last on board and walked past 3 free J seats on the main deck alone. Was esp disappointed when 2 people in the row behind ended up moving to business class when their avod went down.

 

[jpk]

Points have not made it back into the account yet but have already been onto the phone to QF and hopefully they should reappear soon. Not too sure the seats were sold as I was second last on board and walked past 3 free J seats on the main deck alone. Was esp disappointed when 2 people in the row behind ended up moving to business class when their avod went down.

That sounds very very odd... I would ask them for an explanation of what happened.