Musings of a family traveller on a lone4 with one more child than Lounge passes

[coolumbla]

Whilst i have read a number of amazing trip reports in here about recent travels i have no desire to commit to all that detail while i am travelling.However as i have gained significant information from here i will share some observations from my recent LONE 4 with my family

For those that remember i did status runs last year to get to partner gold with Qantas in an attempt to get all my family into lounges whilst at airports

Here is my experience with travelling with a family of teenagers where i may have had to make a decision as to who i liked least that day with respect to lounge access

the short details are

7 weeks away
wga -SYD-sin-tyo-pek-pvg-lhr/lgw-vce-lhr-cdg-jfk-mco-lax-syd-wga

Me,wife and 3 delinquents 17 15 13, ffm

I aim on breaking this up into some sections including

airport experiences including lounge access and priority queues and luggage tags
airport transfers
Hotels for essentially 5 adults on one booking
flight experiences and some observations including some things that have been discussed here before including CSM greetings , and visibility of cabin staff

Other background is that i usually fly J internationally and this is my first long haul experience in y for about 20 years (excluding a trip to SIN and BAli)

Lounge access and check in
Let me say at the start that i know i have one more child than i have access
permissions for according to the rules

SYD-sin on qf

Easy access to business lounge (i have never had trouble here)
Friends with WP access tried to get their son in as an extra into the f lounge and say they made the mistake of saying he was 18.Aparently if he had been 17 they could have got him in on a limited family basis

SIN TYO on JAL
No problems with singapore qantas club
Did have to keep saying "emerald" in the priority queue for check in as we apparently didn't look like business class travellers with our 5 backpacks!
Priority tags on bags without asking

TYO -PEK (JAL)
No dice with JAL lounge so went to Qantas club where the door lady rang the manager after some prompting from me and the manager gave special permission " as it was Christmas"
Only had to use the emerald statement once in the queue for checkin
HAd to ask for the luggage tags but given without discussion


PVG -LHR (BA)
Asked again why we were in the first class check in line
Very nice check in agent apologised that he could not put us all in the first class lounge as there were 5 of us but asked if it was OK if we all stayed in the business lounge! All of this was unasked for which may have been prompted by the purchase of 5 ODU to premium economy (for 350 dollars each but as a 2 for 1 offer only cost me about 200 dollars each)
HAd to ask for the tags and after some discussion and referral to a manual i got the business tags

LGW-VCE (BA)
didn't happen as it was snowed in and LGW was shut for 2 days so i caught a train (an experience in itself) but probably worth another thread on its own
Lets just say that if you buy 5 top price tickets at 10am in the morning for a 3pm departure you don't expect to get to the train station at 12 oclock to find that there have ben cancellations!

VCE-LGW (BA)
Had to keep arguing with the senior agent about how i was allowed in the priority check in line even after the check in lady was halfway through checking us in
Then another discussion about tags because "we only do it for business class"
EVentually got them i suspect just to shut me up and allow the line to move
Got to the lounge where the lady took pity on my daughter and let us in after she had checked 4 of us in and i pointed out that i had 3 children

LHR-CDG (BA)
COuldn't find the priority queue but at 545 am there were no queues so after
electronic check in used an ordinary queue and got tags without an issue
After reading stuff on here i didn't even bother trying the BA lounge and instead went straight to breakfast

CDG -JFK (AA)
No problems with accessing the priority line but had issues with the tags because we "only use them for Business and first'
Only took about 30 seconds of using all the right words for them to appear
Can't say about the lounge access because we missed it to start and then when we were at the gate about 2 hours before hand and asked where the admirals club was we were informed that preboarding had started and we had to go through
We ended up in what was probably the old admirals club being used as a holding pen where life wasn't that bad with at least some comfortable seats and i had already bought a heap of food for the flight

JFK-MCO_(AA)
No problems with access to teh priority line
Luggage tags not an issue
Lounge access not a problem as we just got waved through

MCO_LAX_SYD (AA)
At MCO we just got in line with no problems
Then the issues started
You have too many bags and they weigh too much
"i can have this many bags as i am an emerald which is equivalent to your executive platinum"
this one weighs too much
(so we redistributed the weight)
You still have too many bags (7 between 5 people)
"i can have that many bags and the weigh is not really an issue"
WOuld you like me to ring Qantas ?
"Yes i would and can you use the words platinum and gold when you ask "
them "

After much muttering from the agents part we get the bags on the plane
"can i have the priority tags?"
We only use them for first class

AT this stage i wished i had taken the advice of the forum and printed out entitlements!

We eventually got them and headed off to the Admirals club to find that it doesn't exist at MCO

LAX
No problem with 5 people accessing the lounge thinks me in the mistaken belief it was a Qantas club
DUe to late departures etc we have 4 hours in LAX so instead of going off site we just go to the lounge thinking we will get in
Enter the door dragon
We can get 4 people into the f lounge and no more
I couldn't settle for the business lounge as there were too many people likely to turn up
I couldn't get one of teh other guys nearby to adopt one of my kids (if that was you behind me shame on you!
So i sent Mrs C and the 3 delinquents into the F lounge while i went to the bar where i met the US contingent to Antarctica over margaritas

It would have been so much easier if i could have had a short term gold pass for one of the kids for the 7 weeks we were away
Its not like i ever take anyone else in the lounges
As a once off this would be a benefit that would work for me rather than relying on the grace of lounge staff
(are you listening Qantas lurker?)

I will adress the other stuff later including how many people will fit in a cab in varying cities

 

[Dave Noble]

Just taking one thing, the agents which told you that there are no priority luggage tags if travelling in economy with no status were completely correct. There is no one world benefit for priority luggage

If having QF status, then QF offers it to their own members, but is not something to expect elsewhere.

As far as luggage allowance goes, there is no point asking AA to phone and ask QF since it is nothing to do with them ; you are entitled to baggage allowance when checking in on AA since it is based on AA's allowance ( airline with whom you check in with).

The limit to the 1st lounge with 1 platinum and 1 gold should be 2 since only the platinum plus 1 guest gets 1st lounge access, though of course the gold member is entitled to take guest into business lounge

 

[MelUser]

I think you did well for 5 people all in economy class - especially lounge access!

 

[ozscot]

Hi Coolumbla,

great post. We're contemplating a similar DONE4 with the 3 kids later this year so will look forward to your further posts with interest. Ours are a bit younger though 14, 10 & 2 and we're less ambitious, mostly just taking in family with some Asian stops on the way back syd-lax-sfo-nyc-lhr-edi-dxb-hkg-sin-mel our home base and then mel-cns-syd later on.

How did you go with the family making so many flights? My Wife is excited to be able to take in the different cities but nervous of having a flight pending all the time and organising all the kids through the airport formalities. I'm WP but didn't get PG this year so lounges will be out I guess. Some sort of temporary access arrangement for a WP's family to cover this sort of thing would be a great idea to cover this sort of situation.

You've done well doing al that in Y. I've still got an idea of "having" to travel ahead beforehand for work commitments so I'd have an excuse to go D but I think that's becoming wishful thinking.

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[MelUser]

If you are all on a DONE4 you are all travelling in business class and, as a minimum, will get access into business class lounges!

You will not have the LONE4 issues of having to beg for bagtags, lounge access etc etc.

 

[ozscot]

Aah sorry I've written DONE4 from force of habit as that's my regular business ticket. Work will cover me in D for a combined work trip / vacation but no otherwise it's too rich for me x the wife & kids so family trip will be down the back

Cheers,
Steve.

 

[drron]

Well AA have only just begun giving their elites priority baggage tags in Y-but Y would I be there.

Dear Ron

We are excited to add a new benefit to the perks available to you as an AAdvantage Platinum® member — Priority Baggage Delivery. Coupled with the benefits you already receive, such as PriorityAAcessSM privileges which include designated boarding lanes at the gate and expedited check-in and security screening processes, this new addition will further enhance your travel experience at the airport. So now, not only do we waive your checked baggage charges*, but your bags will arrive at the claim area faster!

This new benefit is immediately available for travel systemwide on American Airlines, American Eagle or AmericanConnection flights. Upon check-in, your bags will automatically be tagged with branded Priority bag tags. And when you arrive at your destination, your bags will be among the first to be delivered to the baggage claim area.

We hope you enjoy this new benefit. Thanks for flying with us. It's always a pleasure to serve you.

Regards,

Rob Friedman
President
AAdvantage Marketing Programs

This was received by me on 30/1/10

 

[coolumbla]

Its always intersting to get feedback!

I didn't read my baggage and tagging allowances properly obviously :shock:

I know that the 4 of them shouln't have been in the F lounge but it was offered and was i going to knock it back?

As far as the kids going through customs was concerned , after a while they just went on their own and became quite rude about the people in front of them at screening who didn't understand what "take your coat, belt and shoes off and put them on teh belt for screening" meant

They were all quite good at teh subway in the end as well.Whenever it was crowded we would "channel our inner shanghai subway" and just pile on!

As far as entertaining them went , they are all voracious readers so we all read each others books.Ipods worked until eldest delinquents suffered teh screen of death in week 2.As we were laptop free , even if Apple gave us another one there was no way to reload it!

We actually arrived at all the airports about 2 and a half hours early and were usualy first in teh priority queue
The status was worth it for that alone so that we didn't end up waiting forever and the agents all made sure that we were seated together , even if we weren't booked that way originally.

Next airport transfers

 

[coolumbla]

Airport transfers

Always an interesting thing with 5 people and 5 backpacks

Singapore
2 taxis to the YMCA orchard road and then the train back
Arrived in SIN at 2300 so wasn't about to train it at that time
YMCA is 200m from the train so caught it back to the airport

Tokyo
caught the express train in and out to Ikebukero with one change on the Yamamoto line
Expensive but what isn't in Tokyo

Beijing
Transfer arranged by Peregrine where we were on a private tour

Shanghai
Caught the MAglev to the airport because we could and so we could say we had gone 300k/hr

London
Caught the tube to Southwark at 4 pounds each

GAtwick to heathrow
This was a discussion last year about the best way to do it if you arrive at 10 at night and have a 7am plane from Heathrow the next day
I hired a private minivan for 98pounds which wasn't that much more than 5 bus tickets and had teh advantage of dropping us at the hotel rather than the terminal and needing to catch a hopper.It was just a bugger to find
We then caught a cab to terminal 5 for the same price as the hopper

Venice
We arrived by train and walked the 200m to our hotel.We went by bus from skiing direct to the airport so had no problem with teh bags which after London had become 6 bags

Paris
Caught 2 cabs into PAris and then booked a taxi van back which stung me 2 euros per bag which apparently was in a sign in the cab (92 versus 74 euro)

New York
had a booked SUV which we had some issues finding for 118 dollars into times square
145 was teh price back

Orlando
we had a hire car which was the simplest way to get around

 

[medhead]

Airport transfers

Always an interesting thing with 5 people and 5 backpacks

Paris
Caught 2 cabs into PAris and then booked a taxi van back which stung me 2 euros per bag which apparently was in a sign in the cab (92 versus 74 euro)

The conclusion i reached about this after 4 taxis in france, 2 in paris and 2 bordeaux, is that the 2 euro per bag is actually a handling fee. I say this because our first taxi, at 10 pm, after about 10 hour delay between aircraft and trains, I got a bit upset at how the driver was packing the bags and took over from him. He looked upset when I pushed him aside and at the end of the journey he just charged what the meter was showing. (we gave him a big tip that would cover the bag charge plus more, due to the fare being heaps less than expected) Second taxi did the bags and charged us the meter amount plus 2 euro per bag. same with the bordeaux taxis.

Hi Coolumbla,

great post. We're contemplating a similar DONE4 with the 3 kids later this year so will look forward to your further posts with interest. Ours are a bit younger though 14, 10 & 2 and we're less ambitious, mostly just taking in family with some Asian stops on the way back syd-lax-sfo-nyc-lhr-edi-dxb-hkg-sin-mel our home base and then mel-cns-syd later on.

One tip, your 2 year old gets a free ride as, iirc, under 3 doesn't count against guest limits. So you will get "she" and the baby into the lounge. Just tell the other 2 to wait at the door, see if that doesn't hit the soft spot of the lounge dragons

 

[anat0l]

coolumbla, great posts you've got here!

Certainly your ankle biters (well, not even that namesake anymore!) aren't little munchkins, but I hope you all had a great trip.

I have to admit not having read up on the benefits that some other oneworld airlines offer to other oneworld elites (i.e. not in their own program). I only know, for example, that if you are a oneworld elite flying AA, you get 1 piece of checked baggage for free (other pax who are not oneworld or AAdvantage elite must pay for their first piece).

You did very well with BA - dealing with their check-in and lounge dragons (the latter are usually reputed to be especially strict at enforcing the rules, even with munchkins and babies!)

I'm glad your kids understand the screening requirements, and I wouldn't be reprimanding them too much about being impatient with other travellers, especially in the USA! Travelling isn't all that genteel anymore, so either it's a baptism by fire or you stand the heat. Simple.

 

[coolumbla]

wrt screening
junior delinquent broke his arm snowboarding in italy (day 2 out of 6) and had to endure all of the suggestions from our travelling companions about how his cast would be biopsied at each screening at each airport
Absolutely nothing till we got to JFK where it was scanned
AT MCO he was being waved through when he held up his cast to the lady after the metal detector as if to say "what about this?" where he got his own glass booth and his own personal explosives screen
LAX was probably quickest once we got through the ridiculous single queue

Hotels were all interesting as you have to pay for 2 rooms or get an apartment
We were fine in that teh kids can stay in a room of their own and they had some bizarre roster as to whose turn it was to share the double bed and who slept on the couch

Thanks to AFF i booked the following

YMCA in singapore next to Orchard road station
Sakura hotel ikebukero about 1km from station and near food ($50 pp per night
Travelodge in London (19 pounds per room per night!) in Southwark 15 mins walk from London Eye and tower bridge
Apartment in Paris where the nearest thing to the front door was teh eiffel tower ($70pp per night) This literally is teh view from teh living room window!

DOubletree suites times square New york (40 bucks pp per night through hotwire) there is a site that tells you which hotels hotwire uses
World Quest orlando 3 br apartment for 125 US a night

As far as CSM greetings go
QF 1 out of 2
JAL 2 out of 2
BA 1 out of 2
AA 1 out of 3

The kids were teasing me about how it didn't happen on some flights! Especially seeing as they first learnt about it last year when junior delinquent at 11 yo was sitting in my allocated seat and was greeted as a valued platinum customer!

As far as crew visibility goes it was variable
JAL was very visible albeit on 3-4 hour flights
BA were invisible after initial service
AA were seldom seen after original service apart from the whiniest FA ' ever heard who kept recounting the glory days of PAN AM and how he was glad he was retiring and how AA are going to sell blankets from May 1
QF on the 747 were fairly invisible but on the A380 were seen frequently, even if it was a full flight with only 2 free PE seats (no wonder i didnt get my upgrades!)

The official delinquent opinion of the worst airport belongs to Sydney!
It was a shocker, even worse than usual with our plane not only late but delayed offload due to a quarantine review
The shemozzle of transfer to terminal 2 wasn't the worst ive seen as there wasnt a queue out the door but i think the queuing system inside has increased the number inside!

Apart from all of that it was fun!
Now i only have to pay my credit card off and SWMBO is thinking Russia next year (but not till i get my new shed!)

Next
round the world by lounge
Guess where the delinquents were on Facebook!

 

[tuapekastar]

Keep it coming coolumbla...great summary of various aspects of the trip!

 

[coolumbla]

For those who spend too much time in them

Guess the lounge!

 

[anat0l]

Well I'm not well travelled internationally, but judging by the decor of the photos at least one of them must be a QF operated lounge.

 

[drron]

Am i guessing right that those delinquents have turned your hair grey(photo 3).:shock:

 

[coolumbla]

not THAT grey!

 

[drron]

not THAT grey!

Just lucky then.

 

[coolumbla]

guess the lounge results

JFK admirals club
Tokyo QP
Singapore QP
SHanghai shared lounge

 

[coolumbla]

Just taking one thing, the agents which told you that there are no priority luggage tags if travelling in economy with no status were completely correct. There is no one world benefit for priority luggage ...

Sounds like i had my own DYKWIA moment!