A new record – for lunacy? My LONE4 plus 8 RTW trip

[Emkay]

Hi all

I am sitting in an airline lounge and expect to be doing a bit of this over the coming fortnight, so thought I'd try to share my trip experiences with you.

I am two flights into a 22 flight 2 week rtw itinerary that promises to prove yet again, according to Mrs Emkay, that there's no fool like an old fool. Needless to say, she's not with me this trip. Some unexpected funding became available to pay for visits to the leading institutions globally in a research field that my organisation is just getting into, but not able to fully cover, so we need to find collaborators for the gaps. At short notice, I had to fit the trip between other commitments, not the least of which is my annual holiday (in May to France and Spain, with Mrs Em). So I only had two weeks available, and wanted to cover the top ten orgs in the field. These are in Bangor (North Wales), Helsinki, Turin, Cluny (France), Bangor (Maine), Blacksburg (Virginia), Madison (Wisconsin), Winnipeg and Vancouver (2 here). I suppose the sleuths could work out the research field from less info than that!

Decided to maximise QFF SCs by sticking to oneworld carriers where possible, and got all but one of these 15 segments into a LONE4 fare. Plus 8 additional flights with sundry carriers as required. Oh yeah – forgot to mention, org policy for less-than-top-2-levels is economy all the way. That's why I'm sitting in the Cathay first lounge (The Wing) in HKG on Easter Sunday morning. Under economy seating conditions, I want to avoid overnight flights whenever possible. So I came as far as HKG yesterday and go on to LHR today, after a great night's sleep in the swish newish Novotel Citygate, a free 10 minute shuttle ride from the airport, and part of a massive big brands outlet mall (but with groceries and food choices too), very popular with the locals, and with coach links to China. This will give me a day to explore the Cotswolds and North Wales on the public holiday tomorrow – a little R&R to charge up the batteries before the real lunacy starts.

Carriers are:
Qantas (3 flts)
Cathay Pacific (1)
British Airways (3)
Finnair (1)
Iberia (and Air Nostrum) (2)
American (and Eagle) (5)
Delta (Comair) (2)
United (Express/Skywest) (2)
Air Canada (3)

Aircraft are supposed to be 737-800, 747-400, 757-200, A319, A320, A321, A340 A343, Canadair 700 & 900, Embraer RJ135 & RJ145, and MD80.

With an itinerary as tight as this, any flights I miss will almost certainly mean missing one or more of my targeted institutions, so I am travelling without checked luggage. Bought a nice light and classy Delsey 115cm rollaboard when last through HK, and a new Toshiba NB305 Netbook computer (10” screen, 250GB HDD) which I'm carrying in a very light & compact conference satchel with my reading matter and some of my other gadgetry. Total wt of both items is about 13kg.

Had a somewhat stuttery start yesterday – we had all bodies and baggage loaded into the 737-800 in BNE when they found that the A/C had packed it in, so moved us all across to a spare aircraft parked at the adjacent gate. Delayed us by almost an hour, but you have to recognise the advantages of flying with a carrier that has some reserve metal up their sleeve. So I still got to the SYD internationl terminal in time for a delightful breakfast at the Qantas First Lounge. To me, that lounge is the highlight of Platinum status – it's just a pity that, based in Brisbane, I don't get to use it very often. Ambience and décor is excellent and view of the aircraft operations is great, as good as the best BA lounges at LHR Terminal 5, and the food is the best I have ever eaten in a lounge anywhere. Sat down to a la carte: buffalo yoghurt with fresh figs, pistachios and a drizzle of honey, whole egg omlette with leek and gruyere cheese, topped off with good hot sourdough toast and marmalade, with proper coffee.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Listened to some great Chopin, original Fleetwood Mac and blues on my MP3 player (all my CDs on the 32GB player, with Etymotic ER6i earcanal phones (just fantastic in an aircraft cabin - many thanks to some FFer's recommendaton on this forum in the past – some of the best travel advice I ever took came from here!). Possibly made a small mistake in watching George Cooney in Up in the Air – it's all about loyalty, funny in a wry way, but a bit close to the bone for a FFer in a few places, getting stuck into a lot of what I (we?) get quite focussed upon. I did enjoy it, but probably would have laughed louder if I hadn't kept seeing a caricature of myself! Even better, though grim, was The Road with a great performance by Viggo Mortensen – very scary, sad, thought provoking.

I have a Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec booked at LHR and a room at the Mercure Banbury Cross for tonight.

Had breakfast here in The Wing this morning. Inmy view, it's better than the best Qantas lounge here but not a patch on the Qantas First at Sydney International. Appointments are very nice but there isn't much view, and you get the annoying announcements from the boarding gate below, as it's on a mezzanine floor, like the Qantas first lounge (where the only Qantas lounge here used to be) here. And breakfast was a good buffet selection, good food, but not in the league of the Sydney International First. Actually, of the two Qantas lounges here at HKG now, I think I like the regular Business lounge (downstairs) better than the First.

Before I go, here is my itinerary. Don't know how much time I'll find over the next fortnight for progress reports, but we will see. That's assuming anyone is interested in lunacy!

1. Flight QF 505
from Brisbane (BNE) on Sat 3 Apr 10 - 06:00
to Sydney (SYD) on Sat 3 Apr 10 - 08:35

2. Flight QF 127
from Sydney (SYD) on Sat 3 Apr 10 - 11:45
to Hong Kong (HKG) on Sat 3 Apr 10 - 17:45

3. Flight CX 257
from Hong Kong (HKG) on Sun 4 Apr 10 - 09:40
to London (LON) on Sun 4 Apr 10 - 16:00

4. Flight BA 1399
from Manchester (MAN) on Tue 6 Apr 10 - 15:30
to London (LON) on Tue 6 Apr 10 - 16:25

5. Flight BA 6034
from London (LON) on Tue 6 Apr 10 - 18:05
to Helsinki (HEL) on Tue 6 Apr 10 - 23:00

6. Flight BA 799
from Helsinki (HEL) on Wed 7 Apr 10 - 17:55
to London (LON) on Wed 7 Apr 10 - 19:00

7. Flight BA 364
from London (LON) on Wed 7 Apr 10 - 20:35
to Lyon (LYS) on Wed 7 Apr 10 - 23:10

8. Flight IB 8715
from Lyon (LYS) on Fri 9 Apr 10 - 20:40
to Madrid (MAD) on Fri 9 Apr 10 - 22:30

9. Flight IB 6251
from Madrid (MAD) on Sat 10 Apr 10 - 13:55
to New York (NYC) on Sat 10 Apr 10 - 16:05

10. Flight DL 6266
from New York (NYC) on Sun 11 Apr 10 - 12:35
to Bangor (BGR) on Sun 11 Apr 10 - 14:02

11. Flight DL 6525
from Bangor (BGR) on Mon 12 Apr 10 - 14:32
to New York (NYC) on Mon 12 Apr 10 - 16:15

12. Flight AA 4517
from New York (NYC) on Mon 12 Apr 10 - 18:45
to Charleston (CRW) on Mon 12 Apr 10 - 20:35

13. Flight AA 3908
from Charleston (CRW) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 06:10
to Chicago (CHI) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 06:40

14. Flight UA 5847
from Chicago (CHI) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 08:23
to Madison (MSN) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 09:08

15. Flight UA 6004
from Madison (MSN) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 13:45
to Chicago (CHI) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 14:38

16. Flight AA 3733
from Chicago (CHI) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 17:15
to Calgary (YYC) on Wed 14 Apr 10 - 20:00

17. Flight AC 282
from Calgary (YYC) on Thu 15 Apr 10 - 07:00
to Winnipeg (YWG) on Thu 15 Apr 10 - 09:51

18. Flight AC 289
from Winnipeg (YWG) on Thu 15 Apr 10 - 17:00
to Calgary (YYC) on Thu 15 Apr 10 - 18:04

19. Flight AC 227
from Calgary (YYC) on Thu 15 Apr 10 - 19:15
to Vancouver (YVR) on Thu 15 Apr 10 - 19:40

20. Flight AA 282
from Vancouver (YVR) on Sat 17 Apr 10 - 08:40
to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) on Sat 17 Apr 10 - 14:35

21. Flight AA 2457
from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) on Sat 17 Apr 10 - 16:40
to Los Angeles (LAX) on Sat 17 Apr 10 - 18:00

22. Flight QF 016
from Los Angeles (LAX) on Sat 17 Apr 10 - 23:30
to Brisbane (BNE) on Mon 19 Apr 10 - 06:20

 

[moa999]

Crazy schedule, particularly in Y,
and a lot of early morning flights when you will be very jetlagged.

I like the brunch in MSN, particularly given you are having to go through ORD to get there.

Connection between flights 6 and 7 looks the riskiest (although assume it is all T5 being BA in and out)

 

[thewinchester]

I think the following lyrics from Dizzee Rascal's Bonkers might be quite appropriate here:

Some people think I’m bonkers
But I just think I’m free
Man I’m just living my life
There nothing crazy about me

Some people pay for thrills
but I get mine for free
Man I’m just living my life
There nothing crazy about me

Bonkers

 

[Fifa]

I LOVE your lunacy
Just wish it was me!

 

[kamchatsky]

This schedule would possibly kill my passion for flying ......

 

[Emkay]

Re: A new record � for lunacy? My LONE4 plus 8 RTW trip

Update 1 (at Beaumaris, Anglesey, North Wales, 21:00 GMT Monday 5th):

CX flight 257 HKG to LHR was uneventful, just the way we like 'em. CX must have a new OWE status recognition thing - Two FAs sought me out and welcomed me by name, one before and one after takeoff, and they all addressed me by name every time they served a meal, handed out water etc. Hadn't experienced this when flying CX economy before. Wasn't really impressed with the economy seats on the A343 - the backs don't really recline, the base slides forward and the bottom inner face of the seatback sort of comes with it a bit, but it's not as good a recline as the conventional economy seat, in my opinion. Could be because I'm 183 cm tall? I'd admit it has one advantage - the screen in the back of the seat in front doesn't get too close to focus on when the front seat reclines - it doesn't move at all. So I didn't sleep much on the 13hr 40 minute leg, but it was daytime and I chose these flights to avoid the need to sleep. Watched a few very forgettable movies, ate some very forgettable food, wrote a document for n hour or two, listened to my MP3, seemed to take forever but they did give me a fast track pass for LHR, which zoomed me through with about 30 seconds waiting time. There were hundreds in the normal queues, even at 4PM.

Picked up my Hertz rental Focus and zoomed up the M40 to Banbury Cross, wasting no time. Had a meal and a wander around town then hit the hay about 9PM, about 22 hrs after getting up in Hong Kong! Woke very briefly about 3 times but basically slept all night, minimal jetlag. I've convinced myself it's best to fly westward in this regard. The Mercure there is in the 1652 Whatley Hall but my room was in a newer wing, so I felt a bit robbed. But it was big and the bed was huge and very comfortble and the plumbing worked and the floor didn't creak, so how could I complain? Buffet breakfast was good.

Beaumaris (where I am staying tonight) is about 3 hrs further up the M40/A5, if you take a direct line, but I took 9 hrs and made a day of it. Just meandered through the Cotswolds, across Gloustershire and Warwickshire into Worcestershire, following the four digit A roads and poking into lovely little villages like Chipping Campden, Upper and Lower Braille (so glad I can see!), across to Droitwich, had lunch in Kidderminster, called in and looked over the National Trust's Dudmaston Hall, up to Bridgnorth and sniffed the coal smoke of the Severn Valley Railway, which had two beautiful Castle class steam locos working today, pulling big Easter crowds to Kidderminster and back, then on to have a look at the Iron Bridge (at Ironbridge), and across Snowdon to Anglesey. Still plently of snow on Snowdon - winter has been slow to go this year what with global warming and all that, there are daffodils growing wild everywhere, and most of the trees have hardly begun to bud (except the chesnuts).

BTW, I brought my Satnav from home, loaded with Western Europe maps. I will use it again when we come on holiday in May. I find it takes most of the stress out of driving in unfamiliar places, especially around the cities. I have used it to get through Paris in peak hour traffic, through London, Munich, Zurich, Istanbul and Ankara. It's MUCH better than having an otherly gendered navigator continually turning the map around as we change direction, and still revising her instructions after you have executed them.

So tomorrow (Tuesday) morning I have my first institution to visit, then after an early lunch to drive over to Manchester to drop off the car and catch the 15:30 flight to LHR with connection to Helsinki.
Unfortunately, this LHR connection (between flights 4 and 5) requires a transfer between Terminals 5 and 3. And the other likely overly tight one between flights 6 and 7 at LHR is the same, just reversed. Thanks for the warning, moa999 - I guess either one of these connections could go wrong, if the inbound flight is delyed at all. At least I won't have checked baggage to lose, and I should have boarding passes for the second leg in each case, as each is BA + BA. Will let you know how I fare.

 

[straitman]

Emkay,

A very interesting report. I look forward to reading more and am glad it is not me doing this in 'Y'

 

[Emkay]

Update 2: LHR 19:00 GMT, April 7, 2010 -


All's good so far. The drive across from Bangor to MCR was uneventful apart from a couple of 5-10 minute delays due to motorway maintenance, dropped the car and boarded without delay. My first transit through Heathrow (between flights 4 and 5) went better than I could possibly expect. The flight from Manchester arrived at Terminal 5 about 10 minutes early and had only a short taxi to the gate. They have airside bus transfers every 15 minutes or so between all terminals, mostly in tunnels under the runways, and I had to wait only about 3 minutes for the bus to T3. Sailed straight through security screening in T3 (don't know why they have to do it all again, when you haven't been back landside since the last screening) and was in the BA first lounge in T3 within 35 minutes of leaving the incoming aircraft. So I had time to kill. Arrived in Helsinki on time, enjoyed the Hilton Kalastajatorppa, which I wouldn't usually stay at but got room & bfast on a Hilton GFC desperation 50% off sale a few weeks ago for A$148.


However, I got cold feet about the next days LHR transit (between flights 6 and 7), concerned about likely late arrival of flt 6, because its a longer (3hr) flight, coming from another country, more in the evening peak period, etc. So I changed flt 6 from the BA operated 17:55 departure from Helsinki to a 16:00 departure on Finnair hardware, giving me more than double the connection time and infinitely less stress. Thought my concerns were confirmed when we sat in the aircraft for more than 20 minutes after scheduled departure time, awaiting baggage from a group of passengers who had just flown in from Asia on one of Finnair's celebrated Asia-Europe routes (they say they have the biggest share of this market) But we had a tailwind after takeoff and made up most of the delay, arriving at the T3 gate at LHR only 10 minutes late. Again, sailed onto an inter-terminal airside bus (waiting for me this time) and was inside the departure lounges of T5 within 30 minutes of arriving at the T3 gate. So I needn't have been concerned?? Who knows what delays the later flight might have incurred – I'll never know but I do know I have eaten in the BA South First lounge and relaxing while I wait for another hour for my Lyon flight. Would I book with 95 minute inter-terminal connection times at LHR in future? Probably prefer not to, but might if pushed, provided there isn't too much of a downside to missing the connection – eg, if the flight out is the last of the day.


HRFN

 

[Emkay]

Update 3: Bangor, MN, 6:00PM Sunday April 11, 2010 -

Well, almost half way round, 10 of the 22 flights flown, and one week of the two spent. Finished in Eu and about the start in the US.

No problems so far! There plenty of room for probs yet, so I won't sing too loud, but it's all going superbly with no missed connections, cancelled flights, nothing.

Stayed at Best`Western hotels in France on the nights of 7th and 8th, the first near Lyon and the second near Geneva, with a nice drive in an Avis Citroen C5 across to the vicinity of Turin in between. Went across skirting the southern end of the Alps and came back thru the Mont Blanc tunnel.

Getting on to the flight from Lyon to Madrid on the Iberia regional subsidiary Air Nostrum was one of the most disorganised exhibitions I have seen for many years. The staff seems to be in a perpetual state of confusion. The check-in clerk didn't even know that Emerald was the top end of the status range - took some convincing to give me a pass for the lounge in Lyon, took ages to board, missing passengers, (went anyway), I was certainly glad I didn't have any checkin baggage.

The Iberia flight from Madrid (FANTASTIC Terminal 4) to JK was no problem, although it must have been one of the first A340-300s ever made, and didn't have individual screens - just one AV program for all passengers, on drop-down monitors. Must say I got a good seat, for Y - the front row of the Y cabin on this aircraft has only 3 seats instead of 4 in the centre block, so I picked one of the two in the second row (9H) that has only half a seat in front of it, and consequently much better legroom.

Used the NT Airport Service express bus from JFK to Manhattan, it stops near Grand Central Terminus, and stayed at the Alex Hotel on 45th street in the East Midtown - was great, yes, expensive, but even the dives in NYC are not cheap. I would recommend it unhesitatingly, esp good as I got upgraded to a 1 brm suite on the 24th floor, with views to kill for.

Today I flew across to Bangor on the first of my non oneworld legs (Delta Connection), with no problems on the smallish aircraft. I had to give up my 115cm rollaboard at the steps into the aircraft, but it was there waiting for me whan I cam back down them again.

So, a bit boring really - but as I said before, that's how we like 'em, even if it doesn't make for gripping reading.

Bye again for now

Emkay

 

[samh004]

That’s a lot of flying for only 290SC’s (BNE-SYD-HKG-MAN-LON-HEL-LON-LYS-MAD-NYC-CRW-CHI-YYC,YVR-DFW-LAX-BNE), I think that’s correct. Not the best value unfortunately

 

[Emkay]

Update 4: LAX, 7:45PM Saturday April 17, 2010 -


Only one flight to go now, after the whirlwind second week of this marathon. Must say the North American air transportation system has worked very well this week, all but one flight was on time or earlier, and the exception was only 1 hr late, at the end of the day, so I missed no connection. Had a few very early mornings, but managed to get to bed early enough to compensate, or grabbed a nap on the flight. Have quite surprised myself how fresh I feel!


The airline service is done on the cheap here though, not just on the subsidiaries like American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express - neither AA nor Air Canada offered inflight catering apart from tea, coffee, juice or softdrink (some flights had Virgin Blue–style snacks available for purchase, and alcohol). The std AA Admirals Clubs (where they exist) sell food and beverage, with just coffee & biscuits available free. I won't think as lightly as previously of that Qantas inflight catering and Qantas Club free food n bev. I found two Admirals first ('Flagship') Lounges in ORD and LAX Terminal 4 where there was free f & b, but they were the only instances I came across during the week. At least the Admirals Club now provides free internet access to OW partner members, which I gather has only just started. And the DFW-LAX flight on an MD80 had wi-fi available, at $12.95 per flight or $34.95 per month. I only tried the free part, where you can access AA.com, check schedules, itineraries, etc. That part worked just fine, and reasonably fast, but I suppose they have AA.com well cached.


I had been a bit concerned that they would make me check in my 115cm rollaboard on the smaller aircraft flown by the regional subsidiaries, where it (or even a std 105cm) won't fit in the overhead bins or under the seats. But they took no notice of it on check in, just taged and relieved me of it at the foot of the aircraft steps, and gave it back at foot of steps or entry to aerobridge afterwards. This certainly didn't slow me down at all, and all connections worked just fine.


I had also been a bit concerned about the note on the AA website advising that only one cabin bag but no additional personal item is currently allowed on flights into the US. It says all personal items have to fit into the one cabin bag. I though I might have to cram my laptop carrier bag (my 'personal item') into the rollaboard (using the expander function for the first time) for the YVR-DFW flight today, but they took no notice of me having both.


The drive from Charleston, WV to Blacksburg, VA and back on Tuesday was just delightful, down and up the West Virginia turnpike snaking through the river valleys between the wooded Apalachian hills just coming into spring foliage. At higher altitude the hardwoods were still bare, but lower down the varying shades of green interspersed by the lovely lilac tones of the native red-bud were a real picture. I turned the radio off and hummed some melodies from Aaron Copeland, in my first experience of a real Apalachian Spring.


I was hoping to be successful with a request for a points upgrade to J for the LAX-BNE flight tonight. With Platinum status and hopefully not too much demand for J seats on the Saturday night flights, thought this would be my best chance on this route, which I understand to be pretty difficult to get upgrades on. But alas, looks like I have missed out.


Yes, i will only earn 290 SC for the whole trip - it certainly isn't a status run, I had to visit all these places regardless, but I agree its not good value for effort, in that respect. But I have a J itinerary coming up next month, BNE-SYD-HKG-LHR-TLS-LHR-Shanghai-SYD-BNE which will put me in striking distance for qualifying for Plat again next year, so I don't mind.


I'm off for a shower and a feed.

 

[samh004]

Yes, i will only earn 290 SC for the whole trip - it certainly isn't a status run, I had to visit all these places regardless, but I agree its not good value for effort, in that respect. But I have a J itinerary coming up next month, BNE-SYD-HKG-LHR-TLS-LHR-Shanghai-SYD-BNE which will put me in striking distance for qualifying for Plat again next year, so I don't mind.

One trip makes up for the other trip

 

[Emkay]

Final update: BNE 9AM April 19 -

Home safe & sound. Had a great flight from LAX, even though my upgrade request failed. I Had selected seat 26H just in case that happened, and it is one of six great Y seats on the BNE-LAX 744s. These are the front row of the Y cabin, turn left after entering, either side, up against the bulkhead that separates Y from Y+. 26A-C and H-J. The bulkhead is reasonably far from these seats, and tapers even further away near the floor, so there is good room to stretch out. I got 7 hours! Was helped by two similar savvy souls beside me, who had the same aims and not up half the night mucking about with their baggage or reading or watching the AV. And helped along also by the lovely FA that treated us like J's without the J seating.

BTW, those BNE-LAX 744s have business seating in the Y+ cabin! Twelve J seats going for a song there, BNE-based FFers!

So, all in all a very satisfactory and pleasant experience, and not nearly as lunatic as I feared it might be (and could easily have been if things started to go wrong). Would I do it again if the need to visit that number of places in such a short time arose again? - most definitely! Well, within the next few years, anyway.

Regards, and thanks for flying with me.

 

[serfty]

... ... The std AA Admirals Clubs (where they exist) sell food and beverage, with just coffee & biscuits available free. ....
....

Did you not received any free drink vouchers as a WP when entering the AC's?

AA provides these for non AA oneworld elites and QP members travelling on AA.

They also give them to AA Elites/AC members travelling on same day international itineraries.

 

[Emkay]

Did you not received any free drink vouchers as a WP when entering the AC's?

AA provides these for non AA oneworld elites and QP members travelling on AA.

They also give them to AA Elites/AC members travelling on same day international itineraries.

Oh yes, sorry, they did offer me a free drink voucher, but I had to ask for the password card to access the wi-fi on each occasion.

 

[Katie]

BTW, those BNE-LAX 744s have business seating in the Y+ cabin! Twelve J seats going for a song there, BNE-based FFers!

Yup, some BNE-LAX-BNE flights are using the last two rows of J downstairs for Y+. I flew this to LAX last Oct, and hope to be sitting in these seats next Friday (hoping the aircraft doesn't change, especially in light of the European ash shenangians!). There's actually 14 seats in that mini-cabin.
I've also sat in 26C to LAX and found the leg room great. 26A was occupied, with the B seat empty, so a bit of space for water bottle, etc. And the bloke in A was pretty much able to get past my stretched out legs any time he wanted to get out.

 

[serfty]

Oh yes, sorry, they did offer me a free drink voucher, but I had to ask for the password card to access the wi-fi on each occasion.

What I do is each time I access a Flagship lounge is ask about the WiFi - they give you a 24Hour card.

These can be used in almost any AC where there is T-Mobile for at least the day after activation.

Some trips I don't use all the cards I get and they are useful next time.

 

[Grooba]

Final update: BNE 9AM April 19 -

I Had selected seat 26H just in case that happened, and it is one of six great Y seats on the BNE-LAX 744s. These are the front row of the Y cabin, turn left after entering, either side, up against the bulkhead that separates Y from Y+. 26A-C and H-J. The bulkhead is reasonably far from these seats, and tapers even further away near the floor, so there is good room to stretch out. I got 7 hours! Was helped by two similar savvy souls beside me, who had the same aims and not up half the night mucking about with their baggage or reading or watching the AV. And helped along also by the lovely FA that treated us like J's without the J seating.

Nice TR Emkay. I've got 26H snagged for my upcoming trip, after your reports I'm quite happy it.