Berlin to Canberra - the even longer return journey

[drron]

DFW-EZE is one of the first routes for their 787.Starting in June.Other is DFW-PEK.

 

[Mattg]

They are doing up their 763 fleet.Unfortunately you got the old variety.
List here-
complete AA aircraft info as of 11/23 - Traveling Better Forums.

And projected fleet for 2015-
American Airlines and US Airways to finish 2015 with 30 fewer aircraft | Dallas Morning News

Quite a few of the older aircraft going.
The AA I know is a different airline to yours.The 2 though are on each plane.You have to sit up front for mine.The difference between F/J and Y is huge usually.

Good to see they are working on improving their fleet.

Maybe you're right. I guess I'll have to try out AA long-haul in J sometime.

In economy, maybe the experience would have been better if the aircraft was a refurbished one but that wouldn't change the disinterested, unfriendly on-board service.

 

[Mattg]

Again, apologies that I've been a bit behind in updating this trip report. I've had a shocking week of travel... almost all of my flights from this point were delayed or cancelled. I've still been having a lot of fun, but mostly that's been outside of airports!

After arriving in DFW on Tuesday last week I wanted to stretch my legs a bit so I checked out downtown Dallas. To be honest, I didn't find Dallas all that exciting; there were a lot of skyscrapers, a few museums, some nice restaurants… and that was about it. To be fair, I didn't do much research and only spent a few hours in a small part of the city, so please don't let my comments put you off visiting! On this particular afternoon I was more interested in stretching my legs and getting some fresh air than seeing the sights, visiting museums etc. anyway so it was fine.

Some pics of downtown:




An interesting piece of street art:


I used the DART train to get into the city and had my ticket checked on both the outbound and return trip. I was a bit surprised to see that the ticket inspectors carry guns, but then again, it is Texas.

The main reason I stopped over in DFW was because it’s a hub for American Airlines, not necessarily because I wanted to spend a whole lot of time there. I was out of there the next morning on another AA flight!

After Dallas I was flying to Montreal, Canada where I visited another friend. I had originally booked on a direct flight with AA but they cancelled the direct service a few months ago and re-routed me through New York.

Flight 11: AA1108 Dallas/Fort Worth – New York (La Guardia)
Boeing 737-800 | N866NN
Departure time – 07:50 (Actual - 07:40)
Arrival time – 12:01 (Actual - 12:20)

I was pleasantly surprised by DFW airport. At 6am there was no line for check-in or security, and the TSA agents were actually very friendly. As there were no other passengers we even chatted for a few minutes. I was then off to the Admirals Club lounge in Terminal A, where my flight would be departing. The lounge was very nice – spacious and comfortable, with a restaurant (where as with most lounges in the USA food cost extra) and a business centre. The food offering was more or less identical to the selection in Miami the previous morning.

The food on offer in the Admirals Club:



The flight began pretty well. My expectations were low so I wasn't disappointed. We took off a little early. The flight attendants were friendly. I got a seat in the front row of economy. Not bad so far for AA.

There was no personal IFE but there was supposedly in-flight wifi. I had a fair bit of trouble connecting for a while but eventually the login screen popped up. I tried logging on with both my iPhone and iPad, and was surprised to discover a price discrepancy. On my iPhone, 30 minutes of wifi was available for $5, 90 minutes for $10 or an all-day pass for $12.95. On my iPad, the price was $7.50 for 30 minutes, $15 for 90 minutes or $20.95 for an all-day pass. I have no idea why there was a difference.

Everything was going well until we began our descent into New York. The captain announced that due to congestion at La Guardia airport (LGA) we had been placed in a holding pattern over Baltimore for the time being. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. But after 15-20 minutes of holding he told us that LGA had just changed runways and we would need to hold for at least another 20 minutes. As we didn't have enough fuel for this, the captain decided to divert to New York Kennedy Int’l (JFK).

Circling over Baltimore:

 

[Mattg]

As we approached JFK we were informed that the plan was to land, refuel quickly, then to take off again and fly the last 13 miles to LGA. To be honest, I thought the idea of a 13 mile flight over New York sounded like fun but I wasn't so keen on any delays as I had just a 49 minute connection in LGA.

As we were approaching JFK the pilot got clearance to proceed directly to La Guardia, so after all that we landed there anyway. One potential disaster was averted but this was only the beginning of my problems.

Approaching New York:





Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the plane for the great views of the Manhattan skyline.

We parked at the gate in LGA 20 minutes late, leaving me with less than half an hour until my flight to Montreal (YUL) departed. A tight but doable connection, even with a terminal change. I got the transfer bus over to Terminal C and ran to the gate, only to find that the aircraft at my gate was bound for Nashville, not Montreal. My flight posted a 70 minute delay at this point so I headed to the Admirals Club in Terminal D.

The Admirals Club at LGA was okay but nothing special. The only free food on offer was cookies. (Come on AA, you can do better!) I chose not to buy any "real" food as I only had a short time in the lounge but the DYK(WIA) sitting behind me did and I couldn't believe how rude he was to the waiter. “Is there chicken on that?” he questioned about his salad. “No, sir.” “I asked for cough*ing chicken!” he yelled in reply. The waiter then brought a new salad with chicken and instead of saying thank you, he said “About [insert expletive here] time, I’m in a hurry you [insert another expletive].”

(Welcome to New York, I guess!)

There was however a nice view of Manhattan in the distance:


When the new boarding time of 1.20pm came around, I went to the desk to check on the status of the flight. They said that our operating aircraft wasn't due to arrive from Norfolk until 3.05pm. Shortly after this our flight was cancelled.

I was sent into the terminal to get a new flight sorted out, and this meant using the courtesy phone to call the rebooking centre. I was advised that I had been rebooked on an AA flight from JFK, of all places, departing at 3pm. I would have had thirty minutes at this point to get to JFK and re-check in. Furthermore, AA weren't prepared to pay for my transport costs getting to JFK (or even offer a meal voucher) as the delay was “weather-related”. I struggle to believe this very much as it was sunny in New York, and all other flights to Montreal were operating. The cancellation, as far as I’m aware, was due to the operating aircraft not turning up and not weather-related… I really wish AA would be held accountable for this kind of thing.

Either way, I didn't want to have to go to JFK so asked if there were any alternatives out of LGA. All other AA flights were full that day. I was offered a flight the next day but AA were not prepared to pay for my hotel. Eventually I was offered a flight that afternoon on Air Canada. I was on hold for about 20 minutes while the operator got my new flight ticketed. I then asked about my luggage and he spent another 10 minutes or so making sure my suitcase would be transferred onto the new flight.

I was then told to check-in with Air Canada so found the AC check-in and queued for ages, only to be told that I needed to get a ticket number from American. After some to-ing and fro-ing I was eventually checked in for my new flight to Montreal and went through security.

Surprise, surprise, the Air Canada flight was also showing a delay. It began as twenty minutes but thankfully didn't drag on any longer than 35 minutes.

Flight 12: AC7459 New York (La Guardia) – Montreal
Embraer E175 | C-FEKJ
Departure time – 15:45 (Actual – 16:20)
Arrival time – 17:15 (Actual – 17:50)

Before boarding an announcement was made that the lavatories would be unserviceable below 1,800 feet and that we should go before boarding.

The Air Canada Express Embraer jet was comfortable and felt quite modern. Each seat was fitted with seat-back in-flight entertainment (AVOD) that offered a moderate selection of movies, TV shows, music etc.



We pushed back just over half an hour behind schedule but didn't get airborne for around another half hour due to the amount of traffic waiting to take-off at LGA.

The sun was setting over the New York skyline as we waited for our turn to depart.



All announcements were made in English and French. There were two flight attendants looking after the flight, who were pretty friendly. As an in-flight snack a (very) small bag of pretzel sticks along with a free drink was served. There were other more substantial snacks and alcoholic drinks available to purchase.

The flight was comfortable and fairly uneventful but I got to Montreal more than three hours late.

My suitcase didn't quite make it all the way. I had to go and have a chat with the Air Canada baggage services staff on arrival and wait until the following afternoon for my bag to be delivered.

 

[stusxr5]

Truly an epic series of flights mattg! I haven't seen a run of bad luck like this for a while, though your indications are that things won't be improving...

almost all of my flights from this point were delayed or cancelled

 

[drron]

Unfortunately the behaviour from the guy in the AC at LGA is far from unusual.Understandable why some staff are grumpy.

 

[boomy]

Enjoying your TR Mattg.
Hope no more bad luck with delays/cancellations. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[kevrosmith]

Unfortunately the behaviour from the guy in the AC at LGA is far from unusual.Understandable why some staff are grumpy.

And, from my experience, I've even heard people from New York City claim "I'm a New Yorker..." as though it's some excuse for their rude behaviour. (That's the point I spoke up and asked her not to be so rude to the wait-staff....)

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

How was your trip Home Matt?
Did you score yourself a good seat, hopefully with a shadow?

 

[Mattg]

Again, apologies that I'm a bit behind with my trip report. It's been a crazy few weeks!

This visit was my first time in Canada. I liked everything about it except for the weather! Some people told me I was crazy for wanting to travel to Montreal in the middle of winter. They were right.

Most days the temperature was a chilly -20 degrees, although it felt more like negative 30 with the wind chill. I struggled to stay outside for more than about 10 minutes, even though I was wearing warm clothes.

A park just outside of Montreal:


Having said that, there was a lot to like about Montreal. I got to see a lot of the city, and not just the touristy parts as I had a local friend to show me around. My friend was also able to translate for me as I was in the French-speaking part of Canada. I think you could get by with just English here but most people are in fact native French speakers.

A few photos from around Montreal:





French Canada is the only place in the world I have seen KFC called something other than KFC. Apparently PFK means "poulet frit du Kentucky".



Montreal’s underground city was a lot busier than the streets with the unbearable weather and all. The city is filled with underground passageways where you can find everything – shops, restaurants and lots more. They are also a great way to get around the city without having to go outside.

We went to see a Canadian ice hockey game. We saw the Montreal Canadiens play the Edmonton Oilers at the Bell Center. The Canadiens were favourites to win but they played quite complacently, putting in their second goal keeper etc. and lost! They were winning right up until the last forty seconds. In the last minute, the Oilers levelled the score at 3-3, then went on to score in extra time to the disappointment of the crowd!

 

[Mattg]

We did a day-trip to Quebec City on Friday. Quebec was a three hour drive from Montreal. They were having some sort of carnival so many of the streets were decorated but it there were no street parties like in Brazil – it was waaayyyyy too cold for that!


The city was really beautiful with lots of historic buildings and streets that resembled a medieval European town. Although as nice as it was, the heated comfort of Starbucks was a welcome sight after walking outside in temperatures not fit for humans!

 

[craven morehead]

What a wild trip thus far !!! All sorts going on...

 

[Mattg]

The St Laurence River, Quebec City:

 

[Mattg]

After four days in chilly Montreal I attempted to head back to Dallas, flying with American Airlines via Chicago. I was supposed to depart Montreal on AA around 5pm, have a 1.5 hour connection in Chicago then continue on to Dallas for a 10.55pm arrival. None of that happened.

When I checked in with American, I was advised that the AA flight to Chicago was delayed at least two hours and as I would therefore not make my connection in Chicago they were transferring me across to a similarly-timed Air Canada flight. Which was all well and good, except that Air Canada charged me $25 for my suitcase and the new flight ended up being nearly two hours late anyway!

I was particularly annoyed about the baggage fee as I should not have had to pay it had I taken the original AA flight (due to my oneworld sapphire status). And frankly it was insulting as they had lost my bag on my last flight with them. There was no way Air Canada would drop the fee so I paid and then spoke to an American manager on duty at Montreal. He actually recognised me from the other day (I’d asked him about my missing baggage when I arrived in Montreal) and he understood my frustration but said he was not able to offer me any reimbursement. He said I would have to call AA.

Now, I don't know if you’ve ever had the “pleasure” of dealing with American over the phone but I have not found them to be helpful at all. I pushed my case and he eventually offered me a $25 AA voucher and a meal voucher. I told him I would prefer a refund as I don't plan to fly on American again after the endless problems I’ve had with them, but a voucher was better than nothing so I took it. I have no idea what (if anything) I will use it for.

After pre-clearing US immigration we learned of the delay to the Air Canada flight. It seemed odd that both Chicago flights were delayed as it was actually a sunny afternoon in Montreal. But the problem was not Montreal, rather Chicago. The windy city was having a cold, snowy and stormy evening.

Flight 13: AC7417 Montreal – Chicago
Embraer E175 | C-FEJY
Departure time – 17:10 (Actual – 18:50)
Arrival time – 18:43 (Actual – 20:40)

Eventually our E175 turned up at the gate and boarding got underway. I was given a bulkhead seat in the front row of economy. In front of me was three rows of business class in a 2-1 configuration.

The flight was uneventful. We were served one complimentary drink but no food was offered. En-route we had some nice views of the Toronto and Detroit city lights.

When we arrived in Chicago my connecting flight should have departed already so I was anticipating a long layover in Chicago while waiting for the next available flight.

I had actually planned to meet a friend in Chicago at the airport briefly during the layover. I did meet him and we had about five minutes to catch up while I took the train to the American terminal. When we got to the AA terminal I was finally able to check the status of my flight and was surprised to see that it was still listed as “boarding”. With that, I hastily said goodbye to my friend, raced through security and ran to the gate. It was a very brief meeting after all. I did make the flight, but my bad luck wasn't over just yet.

Flight 14: AA2353 Chicago – Dallas/Fort Worth
Boeing 767-300 | N377AN
Departure time – 20:30 (Actual – 00:50 +1 day)
Arrival time – 22:55 (Actual – 03:00 +1 day)

I was the last to board the 767 and as I boarded a flight attendant remarked that I was the only smiling face on the plane. “Aren't you lucky we’re late?” another one said. That was totally fine, but as I was trying to find space in the overhead bins one of the flight attendants growled at me “if you don't close the bins when you’re done I’ll snarl!” I'd like to say she was joking but I didn't get that impression. AA, it's one thing to provide disinterested service but it's really not necessary to be rude as well.

I was sitting in row 13, which is the last of three rows in the main cabin extra mini-cabin at the front of economy on the Boeing 767. I thought this was actually a very good seat as there was a good amount of legroom and I was able to recline as far as any other economy seat without reclining into anyone.

My seat neighbour informed me that they had already been sitting on the plane for half an hour when I arrived and it didn't look like we were going anywhere any time soon. Another half hour or so passed and we were told that there was a mechanical problem with the plane so we would all have to get off. We disembarked and wandered over to the new gate to find that there wasn't even a plane there. We were told that re-boarding would be in 15 minutes but 15 minutes came and went and the plane was nowhere in sight. The scheduled departure time kept being pushed back in increments of 15-30 minutes. I didn't go to the Admirals Club as they kept telling us that boarding would be any minute. But it wasn't – in fact boarding was three whole hours later! The weather in Chicago may have been nasty but this was not the reason for the delays. The new aircraft was in the hangar all day before operating our flight.

Eventually we settled in on board the new aircraft and took off more than four hours late. I fell asleep after take-off and slept on and off for the rest of what turned out to be a redeye flight.

Our replacement aircraft finally arrives at the gate:


The city lights as seen departing Chicago:


On arrival into Dallas, surprise surprise, my suitcase was nowhere to be seen! (And I paid $25 for this service!) I queued at the American baggage services counter to be told that Air Canada still had my bag and they couldn't do anything. I asked if I could at least have a reference number or a receipt from American acknowledging that my bag was missing and the response was “no, call Air Canada”. So I went back to the place as I staying in Dallas and called Air Canada. I was told to call American. I cannot tell you how over it I was by this point.

It was close to 5am by now but as I was supposed to fly out of Dallas again that night, getting my suitcase back was a priority. I called American and thankfully spoke to a lady who was very helpful. She got my details, gave me a reference number and promised to get my bag back to me ASAP. Mid-afternoon my bag did indeed turn up, so that was a relief.

But even that wasn't the end of my problems. It was Monday by this point and as I mentioned, I was due to fly out of Dallas that night. But I woke up to the news that my next flight, QF8 to Sydney, would be delayed overnight. I was not expecting this from Qantas!

 

[Mattg]

I called Qantas on the morning of the flight (which was supposed to leave at 20:10 that evening) and thankfully the agent was very helpful. I was informed that the new departure time would be 09:30 on Tuesday morning (about 13 hours late) and that the flight was now scheduled to arrive at 19:00 on Wednesday evening. This meant I would miss the last flight of the day to Canberra, my final destination, so Qantas promised to arrange a hotel for the night in Sydney for me. I was also offered alternative flights routing through Los Angeles, or a flight out of Dallas on a different day but I was prepared to stick to the delayed flight. Although the delay was an inconvenience and meant I would get to Canberra almost a day late, I have to give credit to Qantas for their handling of the delay. They informed me well before the flight was supposed to leave and ensured I wasn't left stranded or out of pocket. I was fortunate to have a place to stay in Dallas but am told they provided hotels and meal vouchers for passengers that were stranded overnight there too.

My understanding of the delay is as follows: There was a mechanical issue with the A380 scheduled to operate Monday’s QF7 so that flight was delayed overnight while they waited for a replacement aircraft to arrive from Los Angeles the following morning. The late running of QF7 then in turn delayed the return QF8 service.

So, instead of heading back to the airport on Monday evening, I had a nice dinner in Dallas and got a decent nights’ sleep in a comfortable bed.

Before I left the United States there was one place I wanted to visit. I know that some people here are prepared to fly all the way to Los Angeles just to go to In-N-Out Burger, so I really didn't have an excuse not to visit on Monday with a store just 4 miles down the road! I can report that the burger lived up to expectations, it was delicious. Now, I probably wouldn't fly to LAX for a weekend just for In-N-Out but if in the US anyway I’ll definitely go back. The girl at the counter asked where I was from and when I said “Australia” she said that I was her forth Aussie customer that day! Who knew there were so many other Aussies in Dallas eating at In-N-Out?





No, that wasn't all for me!

 

[JessicaTam]

Oh dear, the trials continue.

 

[love_the_life]

You're not home yet. Surely nothing else can go amiss.

 

[smatho10]

I wanna know where do you get all these friends? I won't be surprised if you did some sought of trip to Mawson in Antarctica to catch up with a friend...

 

[Mattg]

I wanna know where do you get all these friends? I won't be surprised if you did some sought of trip to Mawson in Antarctica to catch up with a friend...

Hahaha well, I've been travelling for more than a year now and I've just met lots of people on my trips. I've been travelling by myself about 75% of the time and I find that by staying in hostels, going out to bars & pub crawls, doing walking tours etc. you actually meet a lot of very interesting people. And then sometimes those friends introduce you to their friends!

I enjoy meeting people on my travels so always make an effort to do so and it has paid off - I now have contacts in most countries I will ever visit and hardly ever need to even stay at hostels anymore!

But no, I don't have any friends in Mawson, Antarctica...

 

[Mattg]

I'm finally up to the home stretch!

The next morning I was up early and back at DFW to make the re-timed flight. I arrived at Terminal D just before check-in opened at 06:30 to find a very long queue, though the priority check-in line was much shorter. Most of the people in the queue had just arrived on buses from their QF-provided hotels in Dallas.

After check-in I headed to the Qantas lounge, which I’m sorry to say was a bit of a disappointment. It was comfortable enough, had a nice view over the runways and the lounge attendants were friendly but it was pretty small and, most importantly for me, the food was a big let-down. The only thing on offer to eat at 07:30 was dry croissants, packs of chips, small muffins or yoghurt. Something more substantial would have been welcome. I don't know if there is more on offer in the evening when the Qantas flight usually departs but if this is normal, Qantas really should put some effort into fixing up the lounge there. Or at least adding a toastie machine, hot soup, or something!

The QF lounge DFW:


Everyone was happy to see this aircraft land:



Flight 15: QF8 Dallas/Fort Worth – Sydney
Airbus A380 | VH-OQB
Departure time – 20:10 on Monday (Actual – 10:17 on Tuesday)
Arrival time – 06:05 on Wednesday (Actual – 19:45 on Wednesday)

It was so nice to be greeted by a cheerful Australian crew on board the A380! I hadn’t been to Australia, nor flown on Qantas since June last year so it was a great feeling. “Feels like home” was playing on-board and as cliché as it may sound, I really did feel at home on board.

I settled into 80K and when I boarded I was one of just three passengers in the entire section at the back of economy on the A380 lower deck. Just a quick word on 80K – it’s a fantastic seat as there is no seat in front of it so it comes with extra legroom and it’s very easy to get in and out of despite being on the window. (80A is the same.)

The legroom in 80K:



I was waiting for the rest of the passengers to join us in the back of economy, but nobody came! I couldn’t believe my luck when they announced that the final door was closed and there were still just the three of us in that whole section! There was one other guy in 80A and someone in the last row. That was it!

I had a personal safety demonstration and a nice chat with Mark, the flight attendant sitting in the jump seat opposite me during take-off.

This was the cabin just after take-off: