BNE to BNE - The Long Way

[JohnK]

You should get plenty of vouchers. Not sure but as a WP - shouldnt you get F lounge access? The LAX f lounge has open bar.

I have no idea about lounge access. I will be researching all the lounges I have access to closer to the trip.

John - when are you in the US?

I am only there on 6,7,8 August for quick YUP trip. :shock:

 

[simongr]

I have no idea about lounge access. I will be researching all the lounges I have access to closer to the trip.

You should be good for F lounge access then. If there are any problems - talk to the AAngels - they are great

I am only there on 6,7,8 August for quick YUP trip. :shock:

Damn - I will miss getting in based on your access then

 

[NM]

Is that from the back on old odd number flights and different on the new odd numbered flights.

lol, got to keep up with the times. Perhaps my brain was thinking more of the age of the FA rather than the age of the flight number :shock: .

 

[NM]

Did you stay in a standard room? I have selected this hotel for a one night stay in August based on price and the availability of free airport shuttle.

I booked an "upgraded room" I think. There is nothing wrong with the rooms and the price is good. I did select a rate that also included breakfast. The breakfast spread is good, but there was nobody interested in knowing my room number. I was just asked to find a table and help myself and when finished just walked out. The restaurant front-desk was unmanned, but there was a list of rooms sitting there where they looked like they had been ticking off the rooms and people came to eat. Just nobody there when I came through.

Note that BA and QF fly into Terminal 2, but the hotel shuttle pick-up is at Terminal 1. You can either use the inter-terminal train to go from T2 to T1 (very quick and easy) as I did this time, or if you have already left the terminal then use the free inter-terminal bus.

There is only one way to eat lamb cutlets.

And that is how it was done in the end

Did someone mention that as Emeralds we can get multiple drink vouchers in US lounges. I may have a few hours to kill at LAX and ORD and if possible have more than a couple of "free" beers.

As a OneWorld Emerald at LAX and ORD, be sure to use the Flagship lounges. In ORD, go to the end of concourse K to find the FLounge. Don't follow the signs to the Admirals Club. The ORD FLounge has food and a well stocked self-serve bar. I spent about 3 hours there yesterday.

At standard Admirals Club lounges, you need to collect drinks vouchers at the door. They often only provide one and you can go back and ask for more, although I rarely do that.

 

[Reggie]

lol, got to keep up with the times. Perhaps my brain was thinking more of the age of the FA rather than the age of the flight number :shock: .

I'll definitely pay that one, good laugh first thing in the morning

 

[JohnK]

I booked an "upgraded room" I think. There is nothing wrong with the rooms and the price is good.

I did notice the "upgraded room" on the website for only 10Euro more than the standard room. I wonder if it worth booking this room instead.

Note that BA and QF fly into Terminal 2, but the hotel shuttle pick-up is at Terminal 1.

Thanks it has been noted.

As a OneWorld Emerald at LAX and ORD, be sure to use the Flagship lounges.

Flagship lounges. I knew something good was going to come with Emerald status.

 

[NM]

I did notice the "upgraded room" on the website for only 10Euro more than the standard room. I wonder if it worth booking this room instead.

If self-funded and only for 1 night, then I would be saving the 10 Euros.

 

[NM]

The next morning (Friday), my Chicago-based colleague collected me from the hotel and we drove to the local office. Here we met with another colleague and worked through the final planning for some lab work we have planned for Fort Worth a week later. Its a very productive day.

After first verifying that I am of carnivorous culinary bent, my local side-kick makes a reservation for dinner at Fogo de Chao in down-town Chicago. Hmm, its a good thing I had some salad on my sandwich at lunch time, cos this is one heck of a meat-eater venue.

I think we consumed two sheep, a pig and most of a cow between the two of us. Then we headed to a local micro-brewery for a sampler of 8 of their speciality beers. I have an afternoon flight out on Saturday, so no need to rush back to the hotel for an early night.

 

[NM]

Following my Friday commitments in Chicago, my next need is to be in Fort Worth for Monday morning. So I looked for the most comfortable way to get from ORD to DFW while collecting some AA miles. Knowing the rest of my North American itinerary, I knew I have two sectors available to me. So I note I can take a 763 to LAX, overnight there and take another 763 to DFW on Sunday. That sounds like a good plan for me, and much more fun that the direct MD80 option most people would take.

So after a leisurely sleep-in on Saturday morning, I take the 11am hotel shuttle to the airport to check-in for my 3:10pm flight to LAX. At check-in I am offered an earlier flight, but decline when I confirm it is a 757 and I have no reason to be in LAX earlier. I intend to spend the time in the ORD FLounge.

So its shoes off again through security, but no delay. After I am safely through the security screening I realise I forgot to take out my plastic bag of "liquids" when my bag went through the x-ray. Nothing was said by the screeners, so I wonder if they were actually able to see it in there?

I head straight to the end of concourse K for the AA Flagship Lounge and show my boarding pass and QF Platinum card. There are quite a few people in the lounge awaiting the NRT flight. The lounge empties out when that flight is called.

I grab a chicken salad sandwich and a generous helping of fresh fruit ... and a glass of champagne (Piper Somona). Then fire up the laptop and take advantage of the free WiFi in the lounge (uses T-Mobile hotspot with a username/password available from the desk staff) and update this trip report.

I check on AA.com to verify the flight is on time. They don't make boarding calls for domestic flights in the FLounge. I see it is showing as on-time, but the gate has changed from K11 to K7, so a little further to walk.

 

[NM]

AA55
ORD-LAX
Seat 5J
767-300

This is one of the un-upgraded AA 763s with the old-style F/J seats, which I quite like for a 2.5 hour day-time flight. We are offered pre-takeoff drinks as the last of the cargo is loaded. The F cabin is full for this flights, as is the case for almost all of my AA flights.

The "snack" for this flight is a choice of a Chicken Salad Sandwich or a Turkey Wrap, each served with a pasta salad and grapes.

Hmm, no Glenlivet loaded on this flight. I am offered Dewars but turn it down and just take a "Club Soda".

The in-seat power is out for the whole plane, but with a good 4+ hours of battery life, I am still able to watch a little TV on my laptop before its time to descend into LAX.

Baggage reclaim is slow as usual for AA arrivals. And when the bags start to finally arrive I am reminded just how valuable the QF priority baggage system is. It may not be 100% reliable, but without any form of priority my bag is almost the last one out, a good 45 mins after landing. No wonder people don't like checking bags in the LOTFAP.

At least I have a very short wait for the shuttle bus to the LAX Crowne Plaza, where I am given a room on the "Priory Club Platinum Floor" as well as two drinks vouchers.

 

[NM]

The hotel shuttle back the airport leaves every 30 mins, so I head down to checkout in time for the 7:30am shuttle, which should be plenty of time for my scheduled 9:40am departure. There are about 5 people in front of me at the F check-in queue, but I am still processed in just a few minutes. Then I have to queue to drop my tagged check-in suit case at the TSA screening point.

By then, the security screening point upstairs is getting busy. They are holding people back at the bottom of the escalator that is dedicated for First and Business class passengers, EXP, Plat and Gold FF members (which probably means nearly every passenger qualifies to use this queue). Once up the escalator, I still have to zig-zag down the queue to the screening point.

After getting through the process unscathed (I like not getting the SSSS treatment now that I use an AA FF number in the booking), I again realized I had left my clear resealable “quart-size” plastic bag containing my “liquids, pastes, gels and vegemite” inside my carry-on bag. Again nothing was said. Hmm, I am really starting to winder what they are seeing through their x-ray machine.

Then I head straight for the FLounge, once again using my QF Plat card as my entrance ticket. Having had a quick breakfast at the hotel (free), I grab a Perier and an orange juice and sit down to use the WiFi internet to catch up on work and AFF/FT and post some more of this trip report.

The flight is delayed by about an hour. According to the lounge staff, all flights to and from DFW are delayed by at least 1 hour due to severe thunder storms earlier in the morning. There are lots of connecting QF passengers on this flight and many are in the FLounge sitting out the delay.

 

[NM]

AA3234
LAX-DFW
Seat 4K
767-300

This is my first AA flight with their new business class seats (first class for domestic flights). Initially I am very happy to have a flight with the new seats. Then I have second thoughts. The old seats don’t recline 180 degrees, but they certainly recline significantly further than QF’s Dreamtime seats and are spaced at around 60 inches compared with QF dreamtimes at 50 inches. And we all rave over getting a dreamtime configured 767 or 743 for a 4+ hours trans-continental flight to/from PER. So the old AA 763 F seats really are very good for a 3 hour day-time flights.

The first thing I notice with the new AA seats is that the cabin looks much more cluttered. No longer is there wide open space between seats. The shell that the seat in front reclines into is closer than the back of a QF Dreamtime seat, although it does have a large space underneath to store a fairly large bag.

I selected a window seat knowing that the 60” pitch on the AA 763 makes it really simple for the window passenger to get out. But that is a very different situation with these new seats.. They might go flat (not horizontal, and a steeper slope than QF Skybeds), but the overall cabin feeling is much more cluttered and its very hard to get from windows to aisle no matter if the aisle passenger is reclining or sitting. So I promised myself I would change my remaining AA 763 seat assignments from A or K to D or H seats (the middle two in the 2x2x2 config) so I don’t have to be a climber or a climbee.

I am sure these new seats would be great for a long overnight flight. But for a 3-4 hour domestic daytime flight, I think the older seats are just fine and have some benefits. They are very different to the QF Skybed design. While in the sitting position, the seat can be moved forwards and backwards to move closer to the table. There are two parts to the table, which can be used independently or joined to make a single large table. One part folds down from the back of the shell of the seat in front, while the other part lifts from the centre armrest.

No pre-departure drinks offered on this flight. I really don’t understand the criteria for this on AA flights. It really seems random to me. Drinks and warm nuts are offered soon after takeoff. I take a “club soda” to wash down the nuts. The AA warm nuts have also changed over the years. A few years back there were more pine nuts than anything else. Back for the last year or so they have been back to a decent mix of cashews, pistachios, almonds and pecans.

The meal being served is breakfast, even though we took after 10:45am and arrive into DFW around 3:45pm. AA really don’t understand variety when it comes to the meals they server in domestic F. The omelet is just the same as always.

We arrive into Terminal D. Even though I am staying in Ft Worth for two nights, I am booked on this same flight’s continuing service to MIA for my next flight, so I take note that it is likely to be departing from Terminal D as well. In DFW’s usual manner, the bags take about 30 mins to appear, then its outside to wait for the rental car shuttle. At DFW, all rental car agencies are in a common rental car centre which operates very efficiently for such a busy place.

The avis agent notes their system shows I have two reservations., both which show as cancelled. I did change my next flight forward by a day so the TA would have needed to alter the reservation to match (2 days instead of 3), but something went wrong. No problem, the Avis agent is able to rebook me at our corporate rate. But they have no “standard” cars available, so he offers me a minivan! Now I drive one of them all the time at home, so I asked if they had a car? “Sure, I get you a Mercury Grand Marquis, will that do?”. So off I go to find my “yank tank”.

I drive straight to the hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and after checking-in I call my local colleague (a Brit, now married to a New Hampshire lady and living deep in the heart of Texas). I head to their house (or I should probably call it a zoo) for a lovely dinner among the 2 miniature horses, 8 dogs, 5 cats, 4 goats, 3 ducks, 3 turkeys, 7 various birds and some others animals they don’t feed directly.

The next day and a half is spent buried deep in the bowels of lab where the overzealous air conditioning system means I always take my leather jacket along with me. I manage to complete all my preparations for the big assault on the lab that is planned for next week, when we have five six other folks converging on Ft Worth.

 

[NM]

Well its about time I update the trip report. Sitting in the FLounge at LAX gives me an hour or so to catch up following a very hectic few weeks.

AA2434
DFW-MIA
Seat 2B
767-300

After two brief nights in Ft Worth and spending all day Monday buried in the bowels of the lab, I returned to the lab to finish off a few things on Tuesday morning before heading back to DFW to my 4:45pm departure. No traffic problems on the roads and I made it to the rental car facility about 2.5 hours before scheduled departure, allowing plenty of time to get to Terminal D and enjoy a few Shiner Bocks before departure. I do like terminal D at DFW - it is a definite improvement on all the other terminals.

The flight was on-time and 100% full. I really appreciate the sanctity of the lounges at US airports in contrast to the bustle of the gate lounges with all the stand-by and upgrade waitlist people are hovering around the desk hoping to see their names progress up the lists published on the TV monitors. I am so glad I don't have to participate in that zoo either there or back home in Australia. The QF process of managing flight changes and ODI at the Qantas Club lounge is much better in my opinion.

On board I am pleased to see the aircraft has the old seats and hence I have 60 inches between me and the bulk head - although I suspect the bulkhead is probably the best place to be on the AA new business class config. Water or juice is offered before departure.

The in-flight service for this flight is the snack and the usual choice of Turkey Wrap or Chicken Salad Sandwich is offered. Note that "Chicken Salad" is the US definition of the same and that means its chicken diced very small and mixed with mayonnaise and coleslaw and spread thickly on two slices of bread. Its quite ok and certainly enough for lunch, just not what most Aussies would expect when ordering a Chicken Salad Sandwich. Last flight I had the turkey so I decided to take the chicken salad sandwich this time.

We landed into MIA pretty much on time. Then as I stood up and removed my bag from the overhead locker, I saw my boss standing up from seat 3H across the aircraft! What a surprise. If I knew he was on the same flight I would have invited him as my guest into the AAdmirals Club. He had managed an EXP comp upgrade for the flight but still has no lounge access.

So we found our way down to the baggage collection area and waited, and waited, and waited. After an hour our bags finally arrived. I was originally planning to arrive into MIA the following day, but someone needed to set-up the demo equipment at our booth at the conference we were attending so I volunteered to be available at the conference hotel on the Wednesday morning, so flew in on Tuesday evening. However, this late change meant I could not get a room at the conference hotel for the extra night so I booked at the Crowne Plaza at MIA airport. My boss had planned earlier than me and went straight to the conference hotel (Intercontinental).

I went looking for the airport hotel shuttle buses and could not locate an area where they would collect passengers on the arrivals level. So I found the board with all the hotel ads and free phones and called the CP to ask where I would find the pick-up area. It was on the departures level. just flag down the bus. there is no designated spot for hotel shuttles. This just confirmed my view of how poorly organised MIA airport is.

At the CP, I was given a room on their "Quiet Floor". The sign on the floor says something like this:

"We will not assign children, tour groups, marching bands or circus companies to this floor. In return we ask that you speak quietly, keep the TV volume low and avoid refrain from hosting bingo games and discos in your room."

I obliged.

 

[NM]

I won't go into too much detail of the stay at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel and the conference, except to say that when I arrived at the hotel around 10am I was directed to the 29th floor Club Lounge to check-in (I have IC Ambassador status) and my room was ready for immediate use. I was also invited to use the lounge for breakfast each morning and evening drinks. The breakfast was better than the donuts and pastries offered to the conference attendees.

AA1773
MIA-DFW
Seat 4D (3D)
767-300

I had chosen to take an early flight out on Saturday morning due to it being the only 763 aircraft of the morning. That meant I had to check out of the hotel about 6:15 to make it to MIA airport for the 8:15 departure. A colleague who live in Ft Worth decided to head to the airport with me and go standby on the same flight to save his wife having to come out to the airport to pick him us. We met in the hotel foyer (after a reasonably heavy last night of the conference) and took a cab to the airport.

My colleague used the self check-in kiosk since he had only carry-on luggage and was able to confirm onto the flight and waitlisted for an upgrade (he is AA Plat). I had to queue at the F check-in desk for what seemed an eternity (probably 10 mins) since I had both bags to check and a paper ticket. Eventually I was checked in and then had to take my bags to the TSA station for screening. At least we both could use the priority line for security which only took us about 10 mins to clear.

We headed to the AAdmirals Club and I asked about getting drinks vouchers (hoping to get a decent coffee or Perrier or similar) only to be informed that the bar does not open until after our flight will depart. Oh well, we have to suffer the pickings on offer in the lounge before we board.

My colleague's upgrade did not clear and he was seated in the middle seat in the second last row. I boarded first and took my place in 4D. Soon after, two men travelling together asked if I was willing to swap into 3D so they could sit together. I was a little apprehensive since I had selected row 4 to ensure I had my choice of breakfast. But I agreed to move and I was still able to have my breakfast choice (they didn't run out until row 2).

The flight was pretty much uneventful. The usual breakfast of Omelette or cereal was offered. I quite like the AA omelette for breakfast.

We landed close to on-time and I waited at the arrival gate for my colleague to eventually escape from the back of the aircraft. By this time he was hungry and headed off for a Mc Muffin to fill the hole while I went to wait for my bags. This time they took about 40 mins to arrive. Then it was off to the rental car centre to collect the transport for the week. This time I was given a Kia Sorrento 4WD.

 

[NM]

The next week was one of long hour and deep concentration as I worked with 4 other colleagues in the lab evaluating and testing various products and services. This meant some long days and skipped lunches etc.

But Friday was a "debrief day" and we wrapped that up early afternoon and headed to the house of one of the local managers who lives in Eagle Lake about 40 mins drive from Ft Worth. We enjoyed some typical Texas BBQ (from Cousins BBQ for those who know the Ft Worth institution) of Brisket, Ribs, and Sausage along with potato salad and coleslaw. There was plenty of Shiner Bock and Corona in the esky to last well into the evening before the Tequila shots came out.

I had to leave the hotel by 6:30am so was well refrained from the shots and enjoyed the company and the pleasant evening overlooking Eagle Lake. We left just before a very large thunderstorm arrived.

 

[NM]

The thunder storms hung around all night and it was still raining very heavily when I awoke at 5:45am. After a quick phone call to the family at home (the last chance I will have for a reasonable timezone overlap for a few days) I checked out of the hotel (HI Express on I30) and headed to the airport. There was lightning all around and the rain was torrential. it was so heavy that a car in the lane on my left aquaplaned and drifted across just in front of me and ended up bouncing off the grass bank on the far right lane. He must have been in a rental car as he didn't stop and just kept on driving - by this stage significantly slowed and now behind me.

At least there was little traffic on the roads at 7am on a Saturday. So after stopping for fuel (boy does that Kia Sorrento drink the fuel) I returned the rental car about 1:45 before my flight departure time. I was sure that the flight was going to be delayed due to the storms and was preparing myself for a 12 our delay at LAX after I missed by CX departure to HKG. But to my surprise, even though many flights were delayed or cancelled, mine was showing as on-time (phew). The aircraft must have overnighted in DFW as all arrivals were delayed.

I was glad to see the departure was again from Terminal D so I jumped on the appropriate shuttle from the rental car centre. Check-in was quick and easy with few people around the departures area. I asked if my bags could be checked through to KUL (via LAX and HKG), but they could only be tagged to HKG even though I was provided boarding passes for DFW-LAX, LAX-HKG and HKG-KUL. But since I have more the 12 hours at HKG the bags could not be tagged through. So I will need to collect them at HKG and take them to my hotel for the overnight stay before re-checking at HKG for the KUL flight on Monday morning.

 

[NM]

AA2409
DFW-LAX
Seat 5B
737-800

Unfortunately there was no 763 option for my morning flight to LAX today. The official CX connecting flight (using a CX codeshare) was a MD80 departure at 10:05. I opted for the 9:10am 737-800 departure instead, knowing that I really did not want to miss the LAX-HKG connection and also that I could spend the extra time in the T4 FLounge at LAX anyway. I am always conservative when it comes to connections, and as a result I have rarely had connection problems.

The AA 737-800 has 4 rows of "First Class" and I selected the second last row since it was an odd numbered flight. I ws happy with the seat selection. I was first to board and it was clear from the number of people in the gate lounge that this was to be my first AA flight that was not 100% full for this trip. In fact, there were two F seats unused! This is the first time I have seen empty F seats in several years. Judging by the number of people walking past me, I would expect the flight was 60% full.

We are offered juice or water before departure. Pushback is on-time and we have the usual 10 min taxi at DFW before take-off. The captain predicts an early arrive.

Breakfast includes the usual omelette and this tme the alternate is pancakes. This is the first time I have heard of pancakes for F breakfast. I stick with the omelette and its a good as usual, with a nice fruit salad and "biscuit" with butter and jam.

We landed about 10 mins early but the taxi and gate wait meant we deplaned at about the scheduled arrival time. I knew I had a good two ours before my CX departure from TBI so went straight to the T4 FLounge. The agent at the entrance desk looked at my CX boarding pass and asked if I had just arrived on an AA flight and could she see that BP. It was easier for her to register me with that BP than for my CX flight. My QF Plat card again provided me FLounge access. The agent at the FLounge entrance desk was not at all perturbed by my CX connection and agreed that this was a much better place to spend my time rather than the temp lounge at TBI. She confirmed I knew how to get to TBI and then welcomed me to the FLounge.

Its now 30 mins to boarding for my CX flight, so I guess I should finish up with this trip report and start to wander over to TBI just in case there is a long queue at security.

 

[serfty]

While in the LAX T4 Flounge last weekend awaiting my red-eye to DFW, I was surprised to hear announcements regarding the QF MEL & BNE flights that were departing from TBIT and that is was time to start heading over. I guess others don't like the temp lounge arrangement either.

My subsequent 9am DFW-BOS segment was a 'breakfast' flight and the offerings were indeed the pancakes or omelette.

 

[parsonstrish]

nm, great trip report. if my ship ever sails in my goal is to aim for d so travelling second hand in f from your report was very interesting, thanks.

i'm just checking i understood that you flew from dfw into lax and were able to use t4 lounge and then exit for flt. from tbi.

i'm returning in nov from dfw to lax on aa and if the temp. lounge is still not completed at tbi, I am interested in using t4 lounge. unsure which terminal i'd be flying in from dfw to lax and unsure if it's not t4 if I can get into there?
thank you, tp

 

[serfty]

... i'm just checking i understood that you flew from dfw into lax and were able to use t4 lounge and then exit for flt. from tbi. i'm returning in nov from dfw to lax on aa and if the temp. lounge is still not completed at tbi, I am interested in using t4 lounge...

Given the announcements I mentioned in my previous post, quite a few PAX are doing this, so that should be fine.

... . unsure which terminal i'd be flying in from dfw to lax and unsure if it's not t4 if I can get into there?
thank you, tp

Generally all AA flights into LAX use T4;after arriving don't leave T4 until you are ready to go to TBIT as you won't easily get back to T4.