Cabo San Lucas (SJD) the long way around

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr AA2251 BOS-DFW 1320/1640



QF WP's receive free food in economy on AA. The F/A was almost going to charge us when she noticed from the flight manifest we were both OWE so with the wave of her hand she said "oh there's not charge as you guys are both Executive Platinum". Most airlines refer to your status not as OWE but whatever the equivalent is in their own program.



Our lunch which was a turkey and cranberry sandwich, some potato chips and a can of Mountain Maid cranberry & apple juice.



On our descent into DFW you fly over housing estates and the houses are massive. Everything is bigger in Texas it seems.



One of the many freeways near the airport and a nearby shopping mall.



Once we land the ground spoilers deploy slowing down the aircraft along with the engine thrust reversers.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr AA2251 BOS-DFW 1320/1640



The front of Terminal D at DFW.



QF8 at the D gates around the corner where the lower numbered gates are ie D6 through D15.



The Flight Safety International training building.



A Spririt Airlines plane at the E gates with a UPS MD-11 freighter taking off in the background.



There's always plenty of MD-80's at DFW. In the background you can see an QF & EK tail underneathe the Skyrail.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr Dallas Fort Worth Airport



A pic of the legroom in the overwing exit seats which are rows 14 & 15 on AA's B737-800.



Our flight from Boston arrived at gate A29 in terminal A so we needed to take the Skylink around to terminal D for our next departure. If you have your AA pnr you can view your booking on www.aa.com which will give you the departure gate details for the day which is handy when being dropped off at the airport to let the shuttle bus driver or cab driver know where to drop you off and also for changing terminals when in transit between flights.



The escalators up to the Skylink station were directly above our arrival gate.



dfwairport.com - Skylink



There are two stops per terminal so after passing terminal B the next stop was terminal D. The average journey time between terminals is 5 mins with the longest journey being 9 minutes.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr Dallas Fort Worth Airport



Travelling past the terminal B gates on our way to terminal D on the Skylink. The link below shows the layout of all the terminals.

https://dfwairport.com/connect/index.php



View of AA aircraft at terminal D.



View of a chopper flying overhead from the Skylink tram.



The airline lounges within terminal D.



From inside the terminal I sometimes forget whether I'm in Miami or Dallas Airports but a quick look at the restaurants in the foodcourt is a giveaway. If it's ribs and bbq type outlets it's DFW & if it's Cuban style like Lorena Garcia Cocina it's MIA.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr Centurion Lounge - Dallas Fort Worth Airport



Frequently Asked Questions | The CENTURION(sm) Lounge



The Centurion Lounge at DFW is located in terminal D opposite gate 17 up the escalators above Swarovski.




The opening hours are 0530-2220.



Seating area in the lounge which all have power points for charging devices which are hard to see but directly underneath the green chairs.



View out the window of the lounge where QF8 to BNE & SYD and BA192 to LHR can be seen at the boarding gates.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr Centurion Lounge - Dallas Fort Worth Airport



The bar which offers a selections of top shelf sprits, signature coughtails and curated wines.



You don't even have to get up out of your seat to go to the bar as the wait staff offer table service and were very attentive.



The buffet that offers hot selections which is a nice change from the majority of airline lounges that either don't offer anything substantial or require you to pay for it (looking at you Admirals Club). :shock:



A sample of what we ate prior to our AA flight to YYC in whY.



A close up of the selections available from the buffet.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr AA2473 DFW-YYC 1855/2150



We reluctantly bid farewell to the Centurion Lounge and made our way down to our departure gate D27 which was only a short distance away and conveniently located next to a Starbucks.



Boarding didn't start until 1830 which is quite late by AA standards. The info on the departure gates has the actual flying time plus local time of arrival and time zone which for Calgary was Mountain time.

As it was an international flight passports also had to be presented with the boarding pass. The first boarding call was for Business Class pax & US Military in uniform so we boarded just after that group. As a OWE I guess we could have boarded first as the PA's aren't always consistent in that sometimes they'll call for J class pax (no F cabin) AA EXP & OWE pax too.



View of terminal D from onboard the plane.



We'd done the booking on the www.aa.com website and after entering our QF WP number in were able to select the first row of economy which was the bulkhead 7A&B. If you're a tall person 7D is better than 7B as the bulkhead doesn't extend all the way across from the window so you're able to stretch you legs out a bit.

As the aircraft was operated by an MD-83 the config is two seats on the left and three on the right. There are four rows of J - row 3 to 6 then Y is row 7 to 32.

There is nil overhead locker space above 7AB due to oxygen & other airline paraphernalia (not crew bags) so we had to use space above 8AB or 7DEF. There are two WCs for whY class pax at the rear of the aircraft only. All PA’s explain this & ask pax to use the WC in their ticketed cabin. It didn’t stop older folk with walking sticks going forward though and I didn’t see them being send aft.

In-seat power is not the traditional US 110v power point but a 12v DC outlet (round) similar to cigarette lighter receptical in a car & same as on AA 763’s.

Catering in whY is complimentary for OWE pax and this time we had a cheese box more as a snack as our main meal had been in the Centurion Lounge.



View of the Grand Hyatt in the background which is located inside terminal D. It's still easily accessible via the DFW Skylink from any of the other terminals. There is also a Hyatt Regency DFW which is adjacent to terminal C.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr AA2473 DFW-YYC 1855/2150



The gate agent retracts the aerobridge.



Another MD80 taxiing out along side us. There is enough room for three aircraft to line up side by side at the holding point awaiting take-off clearance.



Next in line for take-off.



So long DFW, see you in a few days.



Calgary here we come.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wed 16 Apr arrival in Calgary



On arrival at Calgary Customs was swift and with no checked luggage to collect we were out in the terminal in no time. Our Simple Mobile sim card doesn't work in Canada so we called the Sheraton Four Points from a payphone to arrange the free shuttle bus to collect us then headed outside to wait for it.



The Sheraton Four Points lobby area with the fireplace looks more like a ski lodge which is probably quite appropriate given the zero degrees temperature on arrival.



Our stay was an award stay for 7,000 Starwood points as SO had received an email reminder from Award Wallet about the imminent points expiry so we decided it was better to use them than lose them.



The lobby area has a flight departures board.



Our room.

 

[Fifa]

Re: Wed 16 Apr arrival in Calgary

Thanks for the entertaining and detailed TR ozbeachbabe.
I have been thoroughly enjoying it.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Thu 17 Apr - in Calgary



This was the view from our hotel room the next day having snowed overnight. We sacrificed breakfast in favour of more sleep and being Starwood Gold we were given a later checkout time of 1300.



Somebody forgot to tell Calgary it wasn't winter anymore. Despite the snow it was still business as usual for the Calgary Fire Department.



The view of nearby hotels Staybridge Suites and the Days Inn. Our second night in Calgary was at the Staybridge as we needed to get the runs on the board with a stay at a different brand within the IHG group for the 'Big Win Challenge' so this ticked the box. We stayed at a Staybridge at DFW Airport a couple of years back and were really impressed.

It was literally next door to the Four Points so all we had to do was walk outside and turn left. We felt a bit silly when the hotel asked if we needed a cab. "No thanks, we're all good" covered it because if we'd said we were just going to walk next door to the Staybridge they might've thought we didn't like their hotel which of course wasn't true at all.



An exterior pic of the Four Points Hotel when we were out and about. After we'd checked in at the Staybridge Suites just after 1300 we thought we'd get some fresh air and enjoyed a brisk 15 minute walk down the road to the nearby Sunridge Mall.

We were having dinner at my friends place and she was picking us up after finishing work that afternoon. They were having an 80th birthday celebration for her MIL on the Saturday so had a house full of guests so the last thing we wanted to do was impose on them hence the hotel stays.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Re: Wed 16 Apr arrival in Calgary

Thanks for the entertaining and detailed TR ozbeachbabe. I have been thoroughly enjoying it.

Thanks Fifa. Next time I'll hopefully get my act together and post as I go - dare I say 'real time'.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Thu 17 Apr - in Calgary



Calgary Airport departures board display flights departing to domestic Canadian destinations of Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Nanaimo & London and international destinations of Miami, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Puerto Vallarta.



More domestic destinations of Saskatoon, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto with the latter flight of AC128 also operating in association with 4 other Star Alliance partners UA, LO, OS & LH - codeshare overkill?



Out front of the Staybridge Suites. Note that mid-week on Tue/Wed/Thu they always have an evening managers reception with food drinks which could easily suffice as dinner for some people unless they had an appetite of mammoth proportions. The complimentary buffet breakfast is offered daily.

There is a free airport shuttle for guests however we didn't need this as our friends were droppping us off the next day.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Fri 18 Apr UA1274 YYC-IAH 1700/2200

It was fantastic to catch up with friends after not having seen them in 20 years as I was last in Calgary in April 1994. Not sure where the time went. After seeing them again the next day for brunch of homemade cheese and bacon waffles. It was SO's first time to Canada & he loved meeting a 'real' Canadian family and playing pool in the massive 'mancave' of a basement the size of an apartment.



This particular jaunt wasn't an award ticket but a separate ticket purchased direct on the UA website. We'd had a look at the airfare comparison site www.skyscanner.net & UA was the cheapest so as per usual we always go direct to the airline website to book it.

Even though we paid a through fare YYC/xIAH/SJD we were allowed an overnight transit in Houston which suited us as it gave us a full day in YYC plus the cost of a hotel at IAH was cheaper than a night at our all inclusive hotel in Cabo.

.

No, it wasn't the Calgary Stampde - that's in early July. The YYC Airport folk always dress like this, in fact they look more Texan than those who actually reside in the Lone Star State.

We checked in at the UA Premier Access checkin counters using our TK Star Alliance Gold card which was courtesy of a status match to our QF Platinum membership. There were now a couple of first world problems that presented themselves, the first being how did we keep the TK number in the UA pnr for status purposes eg preferred seating free baggage but credit the flights for points accrual to AV LM which has more favourable redemptions.



As the UA checkin agent told us "you can't - it's one or the other". Whether or not that's true or not I don't know however if the CSA doesn't know about it then it's a no. So end result was we left our TK *A Gold numbers in there which probably why we were able to select economy plus (extra leg room) seating on the B738 when we pre-allocated our seats on the UA website. We chose 8A&C fully expecting someone to be in 8B however we were lucky & had a shadow on the 4 hour flight.

The next first world problem was which lounge to use. YYC Airport has two Priority Pass lounges - The Chinook Lounge for concourse A departures & the Rocky Mountain Lounge for concourse B departures. Our gate was C28 so we were entitled to use the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge by presenting our TK *A Gold cards. YYC > TRAVELLER INFO > Facilities at YYC > Lounges



As the sign says "checkin any time counter open but.....entry to US Customs no earlier than 2 hours prior to your departure time". Any way lounges and getting through US Customs suddenly didn't seem very important as our next dilemma as we sat down to regroup was finding SO's wallet which wasn't with him. He last remembered having it in the man cave when he was playing pool but at least we realised before we'd cleared US Customs.

Although our Simple Mobile US cell phone didn't work in Canada fortunately YYC Airport has payphones (unlike a lot of US Airports) and even better they accept credit cards so no fumbling around for change. After getting hold of our friends they had located the errant wallet which had fallen out in the car so we got to say goodbye to them a second time when they dropped in off to us out the front of the terminal.



With the panic now over we hurried through US Customs and made our towards our gate. Didn't even bother with looking for the lounge as there usually isn't anything substantial food wise and as we had a 4 hour flight ahead of us we grabbed a couple of burgers from Burger King which we ate whilst waiting at the boarding gate.