AFF Community Round-Up |
Featured AFF Member Trip
Report |
Abandoning
Prison Island
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Trip
report by N860CR | It's
been 20 long months, but I'm finally
sitting at the international terminal
again. I thought I'd give a bit of a
running update given things are a little
different to my last trip in March 2020.
Getting the train to T1 was a quiet
affair. Nobody else got off. The terminal
is still absolutely deserted. A little
pre-checkin station is setup before the
JAL desks for document verification. Every
sign has UK Border requirements on it so
I'd assume the majority of passengers are
joining me on the way to London. read more...
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AFF Member Profile |
This
week we interviewed AFF member Chalkie
from Vancouver, Canada. Chalkie
joined Australian Frequent Flyer in 2003 and
has so far made 172 posts.
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Q:
Where did you go on your last trip?
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A:
My last trip was a non-flying one - 6,992
km by road circumnavigating British
Columbia, from the US border in the south
to the Yukon territory border in the
north. Up the 99/16/37 (the
Stewart/Cassiar route), then down the
97/16/5/1 (the Alaska Highway route). BC
is an absolutely awe-inspiring place -
endless mountains, forests, oceans,
rivers, waterfalls, all rich in natural
beauty, and indigenous and colonial
history.
My last flying trip was from Denver to
Vancouver on United Airlines on 1 March
2020 returning from a week's skiing in
Aspen. And then the world turned on its
head!
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Q:
Where are you planning to go on your next
trip?
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A:
My
next trip will be to Delray Beach, FL, USA
for the last week of November 2021. Flying
on Air Canada to FLL via YUL outbound and
YYZ inbound. Spending (American - Canadian
is in early October) Thanksgiving with
dear friends who retired there. It's been
two years since I last saw them. Video
calls are no substitute for the real
thing.
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Q:
Favourite airline?
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A:
I'm
not sure I have a "favourite" airline.
Before I retired and travelled regularly
on AONEx trips for work, I loved
travelling in Cathay Pacific First, for
the sheer joy of Krug and caviar at 35,000
feet. I also loved flying Qantas First, as
I found the A380 supremely comfortable for
Kangaroo and transpac route travel. In the
before times, Air New Zealand from
MEL-AKL-YVR and vice versa was my
preferred way to get to and from
Vancouver, as the departure and arrival
flight times were very agreeable (I really
dislike red eyes and early morning
arrivals at my destination). I can
definitely say I have least favourite
airlines - any US mainline carrier!
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Q:
What's one piece of advice
you would give to a new AFF member? |
A: Take
your time to learn how the airline
industry works. Like anything that's
developed over a long period of time, it
has its own jargon and way of doing
things. Many things that airlines do may
not make sense on first glance, and
understanding how they operate to deliver
transportation services (at a profit to
them, of course) really helps with
planning travel that is comfortable and at
the right price point for you.
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Q:
Favourite thread on AFF?
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Choosing
a favourite thread is hard and there's so
many good ones on AFF! Right now I'm
amused (and made a bit wistful) by You
know you are a former frequent flyer
when.... It's nostalgic to read
about things that take me back to my QF P1
glory days of frequent flying.
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