Hi, all,
This is the first time I've written a trip report, so let's see how we go.
Over the last couple of years, I've picked up lots of tips from AFF and other similar sites, so I thought that I'd give a little back to explain how a recent, short trip went.
This trip was the first time that I experienced anything higher than economy for a long-haul/international/non-Australian flight (I've flown business domestically before though (usually when sales have been on)). I purchased a RTW *A J ticket for my 2.5-week trip (at the time of purchase, it was only 50% more than if I had purchased all of the legs in Y, so it seemed like a good deal to me). The trip consisted of 4 international legs and 2 domestic USA legs. As you can understand, I was super-excited to be started this trip and travelling in luxury.
I could go into a lot more detail but I've tried restricting it to only provide the main points/tips for others. All flights are in J unless otherwise specified.
1) Arrived in Sydney the night before to start my RTW the following day (this leg was not included on the RTW ticket and was in Y).
2) Checked into SYD and did a "lounge run": SQ, NZ, and AE/Centurion lounges.
3) SYD-IAH on a UA Dreamliner (Polaris) - The first time that I had a 'bed in the sky' was a cool experience. Landed before we took off (due to crossing the dateline).
4) IAH (layover). I tried my luck and was allowed into the UA Polaris lounge. This was very nice. This was also the first time that I had a shower in a lounge.
5) IAH-MSY on a UA B737. The entertainment was live streamed tv channels at the back of the headrest.
6) New Orleans - amazing city. Do yourself a favour and visit this gem of a place. There are bands randomly playing in the street, (very) kind people, tasty (and unique) food, lots of karaoke, many festivals during the year, and much more. Lots of history to this city.
7) MSY-NYC on a UA B737. Unfortunately, my ticket did not allow me to enter any of the lounges (despite it being J and having international segments) - I could've purchased access but chose not to on this occasion. I did, however, purchase beignets (probably the only airport that you can do that in).
8) NYC - a complete contrast to New Orleans. Where everything was super laid back in Louisiana, everyone is in a rush in Manhattan. Lots of car beeping and sirens (including at night). Lots of people everywhere. I got up to a range of activities, including visiting many viewing platforms, being in the audience of a tv show, as well as attending concerts and musicals (both on and off Broadway).
9) NYC-FRA on a LH B747. I was finally on the upper deck, for the first time. Just the height from the ground is something to get used to. The only negative I found with this was the 2-2 layout. When you need to go to the toilet, and you're in a window seat, there's always that awkwardness about whether to wake up the other person (who you don't know) or wait and hope that they may wake up soon.
10) Frankfurt - a very long walk to collect the bags (after immigration). This city is the financial capital of Europe. Lots of lovely buildings. I don't speak German - I found the Germans to be very helpful (especially one lady on the train who helped me out immensely with the trams) and most people were able to communicate with me in English (which was helpful for me). If you go there, make sure to try a crown cake - I enjoyed that dessert.
11) FRA-SIN on a LH B747. Many months prior, I had put in for a points upgrade to F. I didn't hear anything until the night before, at which point it was approved (I was over the moon). This time, I was on the lower deck, right in the nose of the plane. On this flight, I had the best sleep that I've had in years. The only negative was that I didn't get to see all the movies that I planned on watching.
Prior to getting on the plane, in FRA, once I got into the LH Senator lounge, I enquired about the ducks (which I had learnt about online), and they informed me that there was a separate F lounge, in a separate building. However, in order to access it, I needed to go back out through security - this now means there are two "wasted" stamps in my passport. So, keep in mind, if you're fortunate enough to travel in F on LH from FRA, enter the F building, after checking in your bags, and not the regular terminal. The F lounge was something out of this world. Even the toilets were next level.
12) When I landed in SIN (layover), I had special treatment where a staff member showed me through the airport. We got on an airtrain, spoke about the city, and was delivered to the lounge. The SQ J lounge was quite large (and the first time that I'd heard Australians for a couple of weeks).
13) SIN-Aus. The plane was delayed but most of that time was made up in the air.
The staff on all of the flights (UA, LH, and SQ) were all fantastic. If you're able to find a good value RTW ticket, I would recommend buying it (either via cash or points). Travelling in style/luxury is something that I'm certainly not used to but will try to do again.
I wouldn't have been able to do this if not for reading AFF and other similar sites. I picked up lots of knowledge and I'm still picking up more. I could go into more detail but think that this is long enough already. I hope that some of the tips I mentioned above are useful for others.
Thanks.
This is the first time I've written a trip report, so let's see how we go.
Over the last couple of years, I've picked up lots of tips from AFF and other similar sites, so I thought that I'd give a little back to explain how a recent, short trip went.
This trip was the first time that I experienced anything higher than economy for a long-haul/international/non-Australian flight (I've flown business domestically before though (usually when sales have been on)). I purchased a RTW *A J ticket for my 2.5-week trip (at the time of purchase, it was only 50% more than if I had purchased all of the legs in Y, so it seemed like a good deal to me). The trip consisted of 4 international legs and 2 domestic USA legs. As you can understand, I was super-excited to be started this trip and travelling in luxury.
I could go into a lot more detail but I've tried restricting it to only provide the main points/tips for others. All flights are in J unless otherwise specified.
1) Arrived in Sydney the night before to start my RTW the following day (this leg was not included on the RTW ticket and was in Y).
2) Checked into SYD and did a "lounge run": SQ, NZ, and AE/Centurion lounges.
3) SYD-IAH on a UA Dreamliner (Polaris) - The first time that I had a 'bed in the sky' was a cool experience. Landed before we took off (due to crossing the dateline).
4) IAH (layover). I tried my luck and was allowed into the UA Polaris lounge. This was very nice. This was also the first time that I had a shower in a lounge.
5) IAH-MSY on a UA B737. The entertainment was live streamed tv channels at the back of the headrest.
6) New Orleans - amazing city. Do yourself a favour and visit this gem of a place. There are bands randomly playing in the street, (very) kind people, tasty (and unique) food, lots of karaoke, many festivals during the year, and much more. Lots of history to this city.
7) MSY-NYC on a UA B737. Unfortunately, my ticket did not allow me to enter any of the lounges (despite it being J and having international segments) - I could've purchased access but chose not to on this occasion. I did, however, purchase beignets (probably the only airport that you can do that in).
8) NYC - a complete contrast to New Orleans. Where everything was super laid back in Louisiana, everyone is in a rush in Manhattan. Lots of car beeping and sirens (including at night). Lots of people everywhere. I got up to a range of activities, including visiting many viewing platforms, being in the audience of a tv show, as well as attending concerts and musicals (both on and off Broadway).
9) NYC-FRA on a LH B747. I was finally on the upper deck, for the first time. Just the height from the ground is something to get used to. The only negative I found with this was the 2-2 layout. When you need to go to the toilet, and you're in a window seat, there's always that awkwardness about whether to wake up the other person (who you don't know) or wait and hope that they may wake up soon.
10) Frankfurt - a very long walk to collect the bags (after immigration). This city is the financial capital of Europe. Lots of lovely buildings. I don't speak German - I found the Germans to be very helpful (especially one lady on the train who helped me out immensely with the trams) and most people were able to communicate with me in English (which was helpful for me). If you go there, make sure to try a crown cake - I enjoyed that dessert.
11) FRA-SIN on a LH B747. Many months prior, I had put in for a points upgrade to F. I didn't hear anything until the night before, at which point it was approved (I was over the moon). This time, I was on the lower deck, right in the nose of the plane. On this flight, I had the best sleep that I've had in years. The only negative was that I didn't get to see all the movies that I planned on watching.
Prior to getting on the plane, in FRA, once I got into the LH Senator lounge, I enquired about the ducks (which I had learnt about online), and they informed me that there was a separate F lounge, in a separate building. However, in order to access it, I needed to go back out through security - this now means there are two "wasted" stamps in my passport. So, keep in mind, if you're fortunate enough to travel in F on LH from FRA, enter the F building, after checking in your bags, and not the regular terminal. The F lounge was something out of this world. Even the toilets were next level.
12) When I landed in SIN (layover), I had special treatment where a staff member showed me through the airport. We got on an airtrain, spoke about the city, and was delivered to the lounge. The SQ J lounge was quite large (and the first time that I'd heard Australians for a couple of weeks).
13) SIN-Aus. The plane was delayed but most of that time was made up in the air.
The staff on all of the flights (UA, LH, and SQ) were all fantastic. If you're able to find a good value RTW ticket, I would recommend buying it (either via cash or points). Travelling in style/luxury is something that I'm certainly not used to but will try to do again.
I wouldn't have been able to do this if not for reading AFF and other similar sites. I picked up lots of knowledge and I'm still picking up more. I could go into more detail but think that this is long enough already. I hope that some of the tips I mentioned above are useful for others.
Thanks.
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