Dot's first TR - RTW in two weeks

[dot]

This is me first trip report and as I write this, I am over the Pacific coming up on NAN. The main purpose for the trip is to attend a class in Raleigh, North Carolina. To qualify for a DONE4, I needed to take QF149 to LAX (No D availability on QF93 for the next three days), so it was an excuse to sample the delights of the SYD QP FLounge - I've use the MEL FLounge a number of times, but this is my first opportunity for SYD. To maximise my time in the FLounge, I elected to take QF408 (7am) MEL to SYD, even though it necessitates leaving home at 5am! Anyway, the first leg (QF408) was an uneventful 'bus' ride. I figure I will grab a nice breaky in the FLounge - Eggs Benedict - the first time I have ever had Eggs Benedict, I knew what they were, just never had them before. I like them! I figured with a 11:30am departure, I wouldn't get to have lunch in the FLounge, how wrong I was. QF149 didn't depart until 3pm - plenty of time to sample the Club Sandwich (I figured they would feed me on the plane anyway, so elected for something relatively light). I am not sure what I am going to do once I get to LAX just yet - I was supposed to change to QF107 to continue to JFK, but given QF107 departed SYD only 20 mins late, they will be long gone before I get there. I suppose, I will be allocated to a AA flight to JFK - I'll let you know.

Once I get to JFK, I still have a further leg of today's travel to get to RDU late tonight. Unfortunately, when I checked in thismorning, the agent could not see my JFK-RDU leg, so I will have to collect my luggage at JFK, then recheck to RDU - what a pain. The agent couldn't tell me why she couldn't see the JFK-RDU segment - I am wondering if it is the fault of the TA when he booked to flights - not linking them or something... ideas anyone? When organising the trip, I did have the feeling I had the trainee doing it - Hotel and Car memberships were not associated with my booking - hotels are on a separate booking, he ask some odd questions that I would have thought the answers would have been self evident. I guess I better doublecheck on the other 'complex' routings to make sure this same thing doesn't happen again...( I still have RDU-MIA-DFW-LAX-LHR and LHR-HKG-AKL-SYD-MEL on this trip...) Fortunately, I had plenty of time at JFK (about 5.5 hrs) so I still stand a good chance of making my RDU flight assuming I can get a non-stop flight LAX-JFK.

While waiting for QF149 to depart, I tried out plenty of the seats through the FLounge, and spotted Pat Rafter with family in tow. They left the lounge at about the right time for QF107, so I guess they are heading to the US also. I would have thought someone like that would have CL access - ex Australian of the year (2002 I think), sporting hero and celebrity, and has done some marketing for Qantas in the past (if I recall correctly) It was cool to see a celeb like that, but I am surprised to see him in there and not in the CL. Is there a CL in SYD T1? maybe that's why... have I answered my own question???

 

[dot]

Sorry for the delay in updates - my laptop had an infarction and I have only just got things back up and running (after a full rebuild!) This is the TR update I wrote just before the failure on arrival into RDU...

Well, on clearing immigration (thank you APEC BT card!) the Qantas ground staff at LAX informed me of my new flight details - no longer going to JFK, now going LAX-STL-RDU. The new itinerary gets me into RDU much earlier, but I was looking forward to QF107 to JFK - at least QF J has AVOD and seat power - on the AA flights (both MD80 in F) no entertainment system at all. I guess I am just spoiled with QF, but I have come to expect at least some audio channels to listen to. AA Domestic F really is a far cry from QF J (domestic or lintl) On using the LAX priority security lane (foir the first time - I never knew it was there until I read a post on AFF!), I was - ever so politely- informed by the TSA staff that "you airline has selected you for additional security screening" - thanks AA! Anyway - after the most rigorous screening I have been through anywhere in the world - about 8 explosives swabs, wanding, full pat down, empty my backpack and go through the whole lot. Nearly 25 minutes later, I was heading to the Flagship Lounge in T4. It has new high back seats since the last time I was in there (last May) which give a bit of added privacy. I posted the previous entry in this TR while there. I should be getting in to RDU at about 8:30pm local time - which will give me an opportunity to have a little drive around and evaluate the US maps I have for TomTom on my phone. hopefully, they are as good or better than the Hertz Neverlost maps (I've had some fun and games with that system in Austin, TX - many of the maps are for Austin have significant inaccuracies) I will have Neverlost this time still, but having my own GPS for the phone will allow me to keep my favourite locations for the next time I visit.

I really must remember to get some batteries for my MP3 player - I presume the AA flights I have next Saturday will also be lacking in on-board entertainment systems...

I changed my Hertz booking via the Hertz Gold web site, and interestingly, my points balance has dropped to zero! I guess it is cleared at January 1st, so my Hertz 5 Points status has gone with the wind and I now have to re-qualify to this year. Note to self - need to look at how the Hertz system works...

I am currently mid way between STL and RDU, it's dark out and all I can see out the window is some air traffic - one tracking with us, two going to opposite direction. There must be think cloud cover below us to block all the town/city lighting. I never get tired of watching all the flight traffic when flying in the US - on the LAX-STL leg, I saw a yellow Gulfstream (G450 or G500 I think) rocketing past heading the opposite direction - I guess with a closing speed of (something like) 1600kph, you would expect it to look like it was going fast! On most of my flights to/from Asia, you just don't see other traffic except when you are close to your airports.

 

[dot]

After rebuilding my laptop, I now have an almost fully functional PC to work with - although I am missing some of my bookmarks still and some of the specialist software that I need normally, but I have enough to get going for now.

On arrival into RDU, I was disappointed to discover a huge split in my suitcase - thankfully nothing inside was damaged, but it looks like the suitcase took a huge fall. I have found a Samsonite factory outlet close to the hotel, so I think I will be hitting my my travel insurance for a new suitcase.

I was more disappointed with my laptop - after working on the STL-RDU flight, it would not go into standby, hibernate or shut down - and with some evil eyes from the FA on approach to RDU, I had to just power it off. When I got into my hotel, the PC now fails to boot. Thankfully, I had a spare 100Gb HDD and the rescue and recovery disks - that allowed me to build a new drive, then copy the important data of the old drive onto the new one. Unfortunately, the hotel's Internet connection went down last night and didn't come back until this morning. At least I am now at a state that I can leave the hotel and catch up with some colleagues who have arrived last night for the same class I am here for.

The hotel I am in is on the south end of RDU - I am hoping to get a Kai Tak style photo with the hotel in frame, and the aircraft overhead. I will post the best of them later.

 

[dot]

I'm settled in the Durham area for the week, while I attend a class with colleagues from around the world.

I managed to get a snap (Kai Tak style) with the hotel in the foreground, but I had forgotten about the shutter lag on the compact camera I have with me, which made it really difficult to get the shot...

This is the pick of them.

 

[dot]

I've just checked in at RDU for my RDU-MIA-DFW-LHR leg of my DONE4, much to the consternation of the AA check-in agent. She asked why I was going to MIA instead of direct to DFW since she has plenty of availability on the direct flight. I explained that I was doing it for the points/miles and that I was using up all the North American segments of my fare. She was ok with that, albeit a bit surprised. I guess she doesn't see to many MRs.

On nearing MIA (almost directly over FLL) we had what I would consider a close encounter with a FedEx DC-10 (or maybe it was a MD-11). I've never seen another aircraft so close in the sky. It passed directly beneath us on a slightly different track to us (maybe 15 degrees to starboard) and what looked like 300 meters below us. The FedEx plane moved slowly away from us then climbed to well above us before we started to get into position for our decent into MIA.

Our aircraft was a 738 which actually had an AV system... bliss.... They didn't play a movie because of the duration of the flight, but did play a mishmash of a number of TV shows - 60 Minutes, Entertainment Tonight, The new adventures of old Christine, Some sports show (which I ignored because all they were covering was American Football). I flicked between the TV sound and audio channel 7 (80's music) which had me bopping along. Speaking of 80's music, my rental car (Pontiac G6 GT) while I was in Durham has a built in XM Satellite Radio system, and the 80's station there was my favourite as well. I guess I am showing my age...

Nice lounge in MIA - just Admirals Club, no Flagship lounge (I'm in the one on the D concourse). I've just had the best coffee for a week in here - from an automated espresso machine (much like the ones in QP). I really miss good espresso coffee...

Next leg is MIA-DFW which leaves in about 90 mins...

 

[drron]

Good on you dot.Had my laptop done that it would be curtains for this technologically challenged grey hair.Guess there are not many mileage runners out of RDU.Certainly different to MIA where the checkin agent suggested a longer routing when I told her I was coming up on explat for the first time.However travelling with mrsdrron means the direct routing.Fortunately doesnt notice a couple of extra segments occasionally chucked in "because it means we will get there earlier".
May your computer fully recover in the next 10 days.Enjoy.

 

[dot]

Thx DrRon, rebuilding my PC was no problem for me because I am a technical specialist for a large IT company - it kind of goes with the territory. I would not expect most AFF members to carry around spare 100Gb drives with them... That said - my PC problems are not yet over, it has an intermittent POST problem which indicates a fault with the Motherboard, I just have to hope that that problem will not get worse. If it does, I will be completely dead in the water.

The MIA-DFW was uneventful, the plane was a 757 with the brown leather F seats and looking very tired. I was looking forward to getting on a 757, I always had the feeling that they were a bit of a rocketship - effectively a 767 with less weight and lower coefficient of drag (as a result of the fuselage cross section) and I recall in the past that their take off roll to rotation was very rapid with a real push in the back, but this one felt just like a 767. Maybe it's a case of absence making the heart grow fonder.

We pulled into Terminal D at DFW, I caught the SkyTrain around to Terminal C for the next leg - and enjoyed the deserted nature of the Admirals club there. I was able to talk to the family on Skype (my son woke up this morning crying saying that he missed me) so that was great. I love being able to see and talk to Mrs Dot, Miss Dot and Master Dot from wherever I can get a reasonable Internet connection. Makes the travelling easier for me and for the family.

I left the suitcase that AA destroyed in the hotel room this morning, having purchased two Samsonite suitcases to replace the broken one. The Samsonite shop had a special on with the second suitcase at 50% of the marked price (which was already about 50% off) which meant I got a US sized roll-aboard for 25% of RRP, not bad and definately needed on this trip. Mrs Dot is an avid (and professional) scrapbooker, she ordered a whole lot of scrapbooking supplies to be delivered to my hotel this past week. As it turns out, she ordered way too much stuff, forcing me to buy the second suitcase just to get all the stuff home. Oh well - the insurance will cover the big suitcase and I got a great deal on the second one. I am sure we will be able to use them in the future.

I've got a couple of hours between DFW-LAX and LAX-LHR, it will be my first opportunity to sample the new F lounge at TBit. I am looking forward to that.

 

[dot]

Currently in London, the trip from LAX to LHR was uneventful, at least until I went to collect my bags - both lost. This is why I have been travelling on hand luggage only since last April - when on my last DONE4, my suitcase went missing again on arrival into LHR (and that was just LAX-LHR, no connecting flights). The lost baggage folks at LHR were sympathetic, but I think they reckon I was a knob to expect them to arrive given the four flights I took to get to LHR.

Then, I go ask at the Hertz counter where the bus is, the attendant asks my name and tells me "there is no booking under that name, do you have a confirmation number?" which I duely produce, "I'm sorry sir, that booking was for yesterday and we have cancelled it since you didn't show" Great - trainee TA strikes again!


It's 1:50am as I write this and I really should get some sleep, I will post an update in the morning

 

[Evan]

I hope they managed to find you a car anyway did they ?
After some sleep may the bag fairys deliver your suitcase to your hotel.
E

 

[dot]

Thanks Evan - yes, they managed to find a car for me - thankfully. Unfortunately, the promised update to the thread for this morning wont happen - I've been busy trying to recreate the DVD's of family photos that were in my suitcase for the UK relatives - and this afternoon I am off to visit with them.

BA Baggage Services tell me that both bags were last scanned at LAX, so my convoluted routing to get here from RDU had no effect on my bags. Interesting coincidence that the last time I made that flight (BA268), my checked bag went missing then as well...

I'll post an update when I can - I intend to cover TBit OW 1st lounge impressions, BA268, and DFW-LAX.

 

[littl_flier]

Great trip report dot. Remind me not to travel with you though, neither of us would end up at the destination ontime or with luggage.

Hope the bag turns up and the flights home are on time and uneventful.

 

[sr81]

Nice one dot, always good to hear of anyone making an RDU stop.

Which college did your course take place at? I attended NC State for study abroad and found Raleigh a good fun town. A bar downtown has 250+ beers on the list so no longer is the USA a cultral waste land. Durham though is not the most revered place for comfort and safety.

Good luck with the bags and limping the laptop home.

 

[dot]

Great trip report dot. Remind me not to travel with you though, neither of us would end up at the destination ontime or with luggage.

Hope the bag turns up and the flights home are on time and uneventful.

Touché - trust me - normally, I don't have anything like these issues - just when I go through LAX - did I say I hate LAX? I do.

It's now 1:45 am (seems like the only time I get to sit down on the PC is at silly times of the day) and I still owe you all an entry covering DFW-LAX, Tbit and LAX-LHR. I cant see it happening tomorrow - I have a decent drive (2.5 hrs) to see an aunt, then back to the hotel late tomorrow night... I'm going to be really tired by the time I get on the HKG flight.

Which college did your course take place at? I attended NC State for study abroad and found Raleigh a good fun town. A bar downtown has 250+ beers on the list so no longer is the USA a cultral waste land. Durham though is not the most revered place for comfort and safety.

Actually, the class wasn't at one of the universities there, it was with my company (only 5 days) in RTP. As for Durham, having seen some of the more seedy parts on previous trips, I think I know which parts you are thinking of, but for the most part, I don't have any problems with Durham. This trip, I didn't even get in to Raleigh at all, but I have previously. I've probably been to RTP (Research Triangle Park) where my company has a large campus 10 times over the past 8 years - easily my most visited part of the US. After 1 day trying to use the GPS software on my phone, I gave up becuase I already knew where I was going anyway...

 

[simongr]

Interesting stuff DOT - I think the karma cops must have caught up with after much uneventful travel

I really enjoy the freedom of hand luggage only travel and am dreading that part of the trip with mrssimongr when we go on holiday later this year...

 

[dot]

Interesting stuff DOT - I think the karma cops must have caught up with after much uneventful travel

I'll admit to feeling the same thing... I just got off the phone with BA's baggage services - my bags should be on yesterday afternoons BA268 to arrive at LHR around 3pm - the problem is that the agent suggested it might take until tomorrow morning to get them to the hotel (depite me only being 5 mins from Heathrow) - so they still may not make it to me in time for QF30 tomorrow, but they might... all my fingers and toes are crossed...

 

[dot]

Ok, I am in AKL now, waiting for my flight back to SYD, then (finally) MEL. I apologise for not posting updates earlier - my time in the UK was frustrating and busy and my day stopover in HKG (well, I actually spent the day across the boarder in Shenzhen) was equally as busy. So, here I am, actually closer to LAX that I was yesterday, I still haven't posted anything about TBit, etc. I feel guilty.

The TBit F OW Lounge was great - much better than the old lounge and certainly superior to the temporary lounge. Along the lines of celebrity spotting, I saw Tony Cochrane (AVESCO boss and CL member I am told) with family in tow on their way back to Oz after a Skiing holiday. That's two celebs on this itinerary, better than I have ever done before. The one thing that irritated witht he new lounge was a lack of power points - probably only eight spares in the whole lounge and only along the one (outside) wall. This was a source of annoyance for other pax as well. Putting that aside, the Moet was cold and bubbly - the way it should be. I made a bit of a fool of myself with the showers - they gave me a numbered card and took my boarding pass form me - I presumed this was (like at the supermarket) a numbered ticket and they would call me (or the number) when a shower was available, but no. The number represents the shower room number that I could go and use straight away! Doh! I felt like a right drongo when after 1.5 hrs of waiting they finally call me and I explained that I was waiting for a shower to be available and they said it had been available from when I got the numbered card! Enough said.

The BA 268 flight from LAX to LHR was very comfortable - I slept much of the way and didn't even have a meal. I had a Club World window seat (rear facing) which gave me the ultimate privacy to snooze the flight away. Probably the best I have ever slept on a flight, and (in retrospect) superior to the sleep I had in F on LHR-HKG. The only real problem witht he flight was that my luggage didn't arrive - a particularly ironic coincidence when you consider that the last time I travelled with checked luggage, it was also on BA 268 when my (single that time) suitcase was lost. The next DONE4 (in May), I will be refusing to be a scrapbook mule - it's not worth the stress. Anyway, late on the night beofe I departed the shores of England, nu suitcases were delivered to the hotel - just in time for me to remove the belated chrissy pressies and other gifts for UK relatives and repack - making a quick early morning (to beat the traffic) sprint in along the M4 to my sister's house. Then a short drive out to LHR Hertz, shuttle to T4, then a bit of a wait for QF30. The BA F check-in agent had a bit of trouble with understanding my routing and that I wanted my bags checked all the way though to SYD at least - on her first attempt, she only checked them to HKG which would have been a big problem for me (since I wanted to go to Shenzhen for the day with only my hand luggage). Then she checked them to AKL until I again pointed out that AKL was not my final destination, then finally, she checked them through to SYD and out a second luggage tag for MEL on them. I am sure - in the past - I have had bags tagged on the one tag to SYD, then MEL even though I need to collect the bags at SYD and recheck them. Oh well, I'll see what happens in SYD in a few hours.

Up next... impressions of QF F on QF30 (LHR-HKG) on an awards upgrade from J (not entirely positive)

 

[dot]

Given that I needed to work for the day on my stopover in HKG, well, strictly speaking in Shenzhen, I figured it was a good excuse to apply for a points upgrade to F (35000 points) - that way, I would be well rested by the time I got there and would be more productive for my short stay, The service and food were excellend, but I was very disappointed with the F seat. While I am no skiny mini, I am not overly broad across my shoulders, yet the seat felt very tight on my upper arms. So tight that I could not comfortably lie on my back with the seat fully flat. The sides of the seat pressed uncomfortably on my arms - something that the J seats I've had on this trip (QF, AA and CX) do not do. I I was to stay on my back, the only relief I could find was to tilt the seat back up a little. I was disappointed with this and didnt get a really good sleep - certainly nothink like the LAX-LHR flight a few days before . I actually think that I would have had a better sleep if I had stayed with the J seating. Oh well, lesson learnt, I won't be flying QF F again until the new F seats are in place.

I needed to get to the Nashan district in Shenzhen yesterday, and becuase QF30 was some 40 mins late arriving into HKG, I missed the 9am ferry to SheKou (Shenzhen), so I opted for the cross boarder "limousine" (In reality, a 7 seat van). In the past, I have caught the limo to hotels in the LoWu district of Shenzhen and we crossed the boarder at Lok Ma Chau, which involves getting out of the limo, going though the boarder control building (with immigration, SARS/Avian Flu and customs checks), then getting on another limo to the hotel. This time, however, I guess because we going to Nashan, we crossed on the new Shenzhen Bay bridge and the new boarder control facilities. we didn't need to get out of the limo until we were across the boarder at the company's distribution site, where I changed to another limo for the short trip to the Kempinski Hotel. The boarder control consisted of two toll gate like checkpoints, one for immigration and one for customs. The driver simply opened the sliding door on the van so that the officer could see in the vehicle. All up, the trip probably took 35-40 mins from getting in the limo to arriving at the hotel. Compare this with the 90 mins or so to get to a hotel in the LoWu district. It was quicker than the ferry to SheKou and taxi from there as well. My return to HKG was on the ferry from SheKou (a 20min car ride from the hotel) which has the advantage of taking me airside at HKG and not having to re-enter hong Kong with the delays and additional boarder crossing introduces (even with a APEC BT Card). If I dont have to do anything in hong kong on the way to the Airport, the ferry is my preferred method of getting from Shenzhen to HKG.

Speaking of the APEC BT Card, the limo driver had never seen one before and spent most of the way to the boarder control on the telephone to someone asking about the card. Even the preliminary security check at the boarder control facility didn't recognise the card, but he still let me through (phew!). The subsequent check for immigration did however know what is was and cleared me for entry into China.

 

[dot]

Currently in the QP at SYD Dom, and I am not a happy camper!

On arrival into SYD this evening, my suitcases have AGAIN not arrived! not sure yet who is at fault or where they are, hopefully I will find out tomorrow sometime...ARRRGH

Edit
The baggage services folks at SYD noticed on the tags that the bags were labeled QF30/CK107/QF44 instead of QF30/CX107/QF44... who is CK I hear you say? That would be China Cargo Airlines! I am feeling sick to the stomach. My bags could have gone anywhere from HKG... will post an update tomorrow some time.

 

[dot]

I just spoke to QF baggage services and good news - they found the suitcases in AKL and have just arrived into SYD. Just need to get them down to MEL and couriered out to my house...

BTW - Anyone interested in buying a matched pair of Samsonite suitcases, maroon in colour, been in the posession of the airlines longer than me, slightly jinxed. Only done two trips, Going cheap!

 

[dot]

Finally, I can now say that this RTW trip is over. At about 4:15 pm today, my two near new suitcases were delivered by courier to my house. That's about 38 hours late. Certainly better than the length of the loss in England, which was a 56 hour delay (only being in England for about 68 hours)

That means the airlines have been in possession of my two suitcases for 168 hours and I have been in possession of them for about 24 hours... total:shock:

I am wondering if all my bad luck on this trip was because I was writing about it, kind of like a Heisenberg uncertainty principle (ie. in measuring something you actually affect it's behaviour such as in trying to observe quantum particles.) Maybe I shouldn't do a TR for my next DONE4 (May) and I will only have good luck...

Here endeth the TR.