Double Platinum: a VA & QF status run; USA & Panama City.
- Thread starter 24601
- Start date
- Status
What is ORC?
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2007
- Posts
- 10,743
- Qantas
- LT Gold
Original routing credit, basically get what you paid for rather than what you actually flew because of exigent circumstances.
You'll need the original booking as well as the BPs for the flights you got to fly and a good reason as to why you didn't fly them.
puppysparkes
Established Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2011
- Posts
- 1,567
Epic status run!
Thursday
Flights 14 & 15 DL 1434; 12:34am LAX-MSP 1st class; DL 988; 8:56am, MSP-ORD, 1st class.
After a few days of AA for Qantas SCs it was back over to the VA partnership with a couple of Delta flights.
My original schedule had me arriving at LAX late in the evening but the last-minute change of flights meant a much longer layover. Had the flights to ORD been on AA as well I probably would have stuck to the original plan. But they were on Delta, so I had to be there on time.
I went outside for a bit of a walk around before heading into Terminal 5. Security was pretty quick. Not much to do in that terminal and I felt too lazy to walk the tunnels to the other terminals, especially dragging a carry on bag and laptop behind me. I got access to the Delta Sky Club as a VA platinum. Domestic first class doesn't cut it. It is an ok lounge, though limited food and drinks. About on par with Australian domestic lounges in the capital cities. One good thing is that they have showers there, though they don't seem to be advertised. You have to ask and then an attendant comes out and lets you in. You have to get soap etc from the attendant before you go into the shower as there is nothing besides towels in there.
I have no idea if one is expected to tip the shower attendant in an airline lounge. I didn't. Reading some discussion on Flyertalk left me none the wiser.
The first of my two Delta flights was to Minneapolis/St Paul. There was a Delta Lounge there too that I used briefly as well as wandering around the terminal. No access problems and Virgin Australia is listed on the signage out the front of the lounge. Nothing very interesting in the terminal.
The second flight was to Chicago O'Hare. On time and fine. One of the worst flights I ever had was in economy on Delta, sitting in a middle seat. Happy to report that first class is a much nicer experience and one I'd happily repeat. Little bottles of drinking water at each seat plus in flight wifi are both nice touches.
Flights 14 & 15 DL 1434; 12:34am LAX-MSP 1st class; DL 988; 8:56am, MSP-ORD, 1st class.
After a few days of AA for Qantas SCs it was back over to the VA partnership with a couple of Delta flights.
My original schedule had me arriving at LAX late in the evening but the last-minute change of flights meant a much longer layover. Had the flights to ORD been on AA as well I probably would have stuck to the original plan. But they were on Delta, so I had to be there on time.
I went outside for a bit of a walk around before heading into Terminal 5. Security was pretty quick. Not much to do in that terminal and I felt too lazy to walk the tunnels to the other terminals, especially dragging a carry on bag and laptop behind me. I got access to the Delta Sky Club as a VA platinum. Domestic first class doesn't cut it. It is an ok lounge, though limited food and drinks. About on par with Australian domestic lounges in the capital cities. One good thing is that they have showers there, though they don't seem to be advertised. You have to ask and then an attendant comes out and lets you in. You have to get soap etc from the attendant before you go into the shower as there is nothing besides towels in there.
I have no idea if one is expected to tip the shower attendant in an airline lounge. I didn't. Reading some discussion on Flyertalk left me none the wiser.
The first of my two Delta flights was to Minneapolis/St Paul. There was a Delta Lounge there too that I used briefly as well as wandering around the terminal. No access problems and Virgin Australia is listed on the signage out the front of the lounge. Nothing very interesting in the terminal.
The second flight was to Chicago O'Hare. On time and fine. One of the worst flights I ever had was in economy on Delta, sitting in a middle seat. Happy to report that first class is a much nicer experience and one I'd happily repeat. Little bottles of drinking water at each seat plus in flight wifi are both nice touches.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2013
- Posts
- 6,884
Really enjoying this Status Run TR 24601.
You're THE MAN!
You're THE MAN!
Sunday
Flight 15 AA2673 11:35am ORD-SMF 1st class, seat 6F. Delayed 1 hour.
Spent a couple of days near Chicago where I broke up my flying marathon to run an ultramarathon that was held over the weekend. Weary with 110km in my legs it was nice to be back in a comfy plane seat again. The seat in the MD 80 was particularly comfortable. Seat 6F had excellent legroom and no worries over reclining as it is at the back of the F cabin. Row 6 on the other side of the aisle were set further back with less space behind them. They may have less recline, but not sure. Lunch was lentil chili with salad an so on. Tasty enough. I think I had pre-booked the other option, chicken salad, but as they had no clue I changed my mind anyway. The hit rate for meals pre-booked online on AA flight was about 50%, so it is actually a pretty coughpy service really.
After lunch I slept the rest of the four hour flight. The flight was an hour late leaving and arriving.
Flight 16 AA6061 3:56pm SMF-LAX 1st class, seat 1A
I had been worried about being stuck too long in Sacramento airport, which seemed quite small and with relatively limited facilities. Actually it was pleasant enough and had quite a few decent looking dining options. No lounges. But AA saved me the trouble by delivering me there an hour late, so it was just a short layover before boarding the E-75 for the one hour flight down to LA.
The last of my domestic AA flights for this trip was uneventful. Seat 1A, although a bulkhead, had good legroom. I couldn't quite stretch out full length. If you are over 6', best avoid it though.
Clear skies and great views. The pilot pointed out two iconic rock climbing "big walls" as we flew past them: El Capitan and Half Dome. If you haven't heard of them, do a quick search. They are the site of some mind-boggling climbing feats.
As I write this I am in the Star Alliance lounge in TBIT awaiting NZ5 back to Auckland. There was no need to exit the terminal and go though security again. The Sacramento flight arrived at a remote American Eagle mini-terminal. From there it is a short shuttle bus ride over the very bust tarmac to T6. From there all the terminals are connected airside by tunnels and walkways. Clearly these are either not well-known or are relatively under-used. They were mostly deserted.
I checked in and got my NZ boarding passes from the Star lounge. Now I am watching people at the buffe: one man lustily coughing away right beside the food; so far four little kids from different families touching various items, picking things up to look at them and then putting them back, grabbing things with their fingers rather than tongs, one little girl with her face at exactly the same height as the food constantly chattering away, drizzling everything with her sweet breath. Yuck! The most popular item for "pick up. sniff, prod, then reject" is the little mango smoothies. Be warned. Also be warned that the "salmon" curry is actually chicken.
Flight 15 AA2673 11:35am ORD-SMF 1st class, seat 6F. Delayed 1 hour.
Spent a couple of days near Chicago where I broke up my flying marathon to run an ultramarathon that was held over the weekend. Weary with 110km in my legs it was nice to be back in a comfy plane seat again. The seat in the MD 80 was particularly comfortable. Seat 6F had excellent legroom and no worries over reclining as it is at the back of the F cabin. Row 6 on the other side of the aisle were set further back with less space behind them. They may have less recline, but not sure. Lunch was lentil chili with salad an so on. Tasty enough. I think I had pre-booked the other option, chicken salad, but as they had no clue I changed my mind anyway. The hit rate for meals pre-booked online on AA flight was about 50%, so it is actually a pretty coughpy service really.
After lunch I slept the rest of the four hour flight. The flight was an hour late leaving and arriving.
Flight 16 AA6061 3:56pm SMF-LAX 1st class, seat 1A
I had been worried about being stuck too long in Sacramento airport, which seemed quite small and with relatively limited facilities. Actually it was pleasant enough and had quite a few decent looking dining options. No lounges. But AA saved me the trouble by delivering me there an hour late, so it was just a short layover before boarding the E-75 for the one hour flight down to LA.
The last of my domestic AA flights for this trip was uneventful. Seat 1A, although a bulkhead, had good legroom. I couldn't quite stretch out full length. If you are over 6', best avoid it though.
Clear skies and great views. The pilot pointed out two iconic rock climbing "big walls" as we flew past them: El Capitan and Half Dome. If you haven't heard of them, do a quick search. They are the site of some mind-boggling climbing feats.
As I write this I am in the Star Alliance lounge in TBIT awaiting NZ5 back to Auckland. There was no need to exit the terminal and go though security again. The Sacramento flight arrived at a remote American Eagle mini-terminal. From there it is a short shuttle bus ride over the very bust tarmac to T6. From there all the terminals are connected airside by tunnels and walkways. Clearly these are either not well-known or are relatively under-used. They were mostly deserted.
I checked in and got my NZ boarding passes from the Star lounge. Now I am watching people at the buffe: one man lustily coughing away right beside the food; so far four little kids from different families touching various items, picking things up to look at them and then putting them back, grabbing things with their fingers rather than tongs, one little girl with her face at exactly the same height as the food constantly chattering away, drizzling everything with her sweet breath. Yuck! The most popular item for "pick up. sniff, prod, then reject" is the little mango smoothies. Be warned. Also be warned that the "salmon" curry is actually chicken.
no, I don't think it helped at all.
Australia's highest-earning Velocity Frequent Flyer credit card: Offer expires: 21 Jan 2025
- Earn 60,000 bonus Velocity Points
- Get unlimited Virgin Australia Lounge access
- Enjoy a complimentary return Virgin Australia domestic flight each year
- Earn 60,000 bonus Velocity Points
- Get unlimited Virgin Australia Lounge access
- Enjoy a complimentary return Virgin Australia domestic flight each year
Sunday-Tuesday
Flight 18: NZ5 10:30pm LAX-AKL. Y+, Seat 25D
Writing this update in the NZ lounge at AKL international. The early morning rush is over and it is suddenly peaceful. It was thronging from about 6-9am. The barista was flustered and there was a chef making quesadillas near the buffet.
To save money I booked my NZ flights back from the USA in Y+. I have flown their Y+ trans-tasman before in the 'space seats', but this was my first long haul experience. Much better than Y, but still a pretty big step down from J. I don't believe for a moment that the meals are "business class", they were not nearly as good as the offerings in J from AKL-LAX, and with little or no choice available. Yet I seem to recall seeing that claim advertised somewhere by NZ. My dinner was a beetroot salad as starter followed by chicken with risotto. The main was the only part of the meal with any choice: chicken, beef, or fish. Desert was some kind of hazelnut mouse. It was fine and all tasted good.
The seat has a bit of recline and being in a hard shell there are no worries about reclining into someone else's space nor someone else doing it to you. Leg room is ok, but I could not stretch my legs straight when the seat was at all reclined. I am not tall, maybe 175cm? There was a big selection of movies but, here's the thing: they were nearly all rubbish. If you don't like Batman or Superman or Marvel comics, your options are pretty limited. Every possible permutation of Lord of the Rings/Hobbit was there, though. I left the three-prong adaptor for my Bose headphones at home so couldn't use them. The NZ 787 uses normal 21st century single jacks, but their 777s are stuck in the 80s, jack-wise. The Y+ headphones re not noise-cancelling, but were more comfortable to wear than the J ones.
I had an inside aisle seat, angled to face away from my neighbour. That gave me an entire overhead bin to myself as well as no window seater trying to get past. FA's gleefully bumped me constantly until all their main services were done. That meant no possibility of sleep until they were out of the picture. I hardly saw them again until breakfast, probably a good thing under the circumstances. They were all friendly, lovely and helpful as NZ crew seem to be. Bumping aside, they are very good I think. Tired from my runs over the past few days, status and real, I was able to sleep pretty well for maybe 5 hours.
Finally getting towards the end. Next flight is to Perth. Have to be at work in Sydney on Wednesday.
Flight 18: NZ5 10:30pm LAX-AKL. Y+, Seat 25D
Writing this update in the NZ lounge at AKL international. The early morning rush is over and it is suddenly peaceful. It was thronging from about 6-9am. The barista was flustered and there was a chef making quesadillas near the buffet.
To save money I booked my NZ flights back from the USA in Y+. I have flown their Y+ trans-tasman before in the 'space seats', but this was my first long haul experience. Much better than Y, but still a pretty big step down from J. I don't believe for a moment that the meals are "business class", they were not nearly as good as the offerings in J from AKL-LAX, and with little or no choice available. Yet I seem to recall seeing that claim advertised somewhere by NZ. My dinner was a beetroot salad as starter followed by chicken with risotto. The main was the only part of the meal with any choice: chicken, beef, or fish. Desert was some kind of hazelnut mouse. It was fine and all tasted good.
The seat has a bit of recline and being in a hard shell there are no worries about reclining into someone else's space nor someone else doing it to you. Leg room is ok, but I could not stretch my legs straight when the seat was at all reclined. I am not tall, maybe 175cm? There was a big selection of movies but, here's the thing: they were nearly all rubbish. If you don't like Batman or Superman or Marvel comics, your options are pretty limited. Every possible permutation of Lord of the Rings/Hobbit was there, though. I left the three-prong adaptor for my Bose headphones at home so couldn't use them. The NZ 787 uses normal 21st century single jacks, but their 777s are stuck in the 80s, jack-wise. The Y+ headphones re not noise-cancelling, but were more comfortable to wear than the J ones.
I had an inside aisle seat, angled to face away from my neighbour. That gave me an entire overhead bin to myself as well as no window seater trying to get past. FA's gleefully bumped me constantly until all their main services were done. That meant no possibility of sleep until they were out of the picture. I hardly saw them again until breakfast, probably a good thing under the circumstances. They were all friendly, lovely and helpful as NZ crew seem to be. Bumping aside, they are very good I think. Tired from my runs over the past few days, status and real, I was able to sleep pretty well for maybe 5 hours.
Finally getting towards the end. Next flight is to Perth. Have to be at work in Sydney on Wednesday.
Tuesday
Flight 19: NZ0175 2:35pm AKL-PER. Y+
This flight was in a 787-9. The Y+ seats were not 'space seats' but more like domestic J seats, except with footrests and more comfortable. I had an aisle seat in row 6 so recline was guilt-free. It is a daytime flight, albeit a long one, so the seats are perfectly fine and were very comfortable. Service and food actually seemed better on this than the LAX-AKL flight. The IFE was newer, worked better, and used a modern single-jack for headphones so could use my noise cancelers to block out the noisy snorer nearby.
Departure was on time but arrival was a bit late. Have about 5 hours to wait here, so wasn't paying too much attention. Nice flight, nothing special to report. Perth VA lounge is pretty wild and wooly compared to any of the others I've been though of late.
Flight 19: NZ0175 2:35pm AKL-PER. Y+
This flight was in a 787-9. The Y+ seats were not 'space seats' but more like domestic J seats, except with footrests and more comfortable. I had an aisle seat in row 6 so recline was guilt-free. It is a daytime flight, albeit a long one, so the seats are perfectly fine and were very comfortable. Service and food actually seemed better on this than the LAX-AKL flight. The IFE was newer, worked better, and used a modern single-jack for headphones so could use my noise cancelers to block out the noisy snorer nearby.
Departure was on time but arrival was a bit late. Have about 5 hours to wait here, so wasn't paying too much attention. Nice flight, nothing special to report. Perth VA lounge is pretty wild and wooly compared to any of the others I've been though of late.
Tuesday-Wednesday
Flight 20: VA572; 11:55pm PER-SYD. J, seat 2A.
The last one! This would have been #22 but for the AA delay out of Miami. The new J seats on the A330 are great. It is a shame the flight West to East is a bit shorter than the other way; meant I didn't have much time to sleep. But very comfortable indeed, and the bed is very long too. Didn't eat or drink on this flight, just slept until it was time to land. Flight left and arrived on time. J cabin was not full.
This marked the end of this absurd status run. At least I took a couple of days to do some other things to break it up, but there was stil a lot of flying and maybe too many nights in the air rather than in a hotel. But it was lots of fun, and an enjoyable challenge trying to make the itinerary as cheap as possible while still maximising SCs. I have easily requalified for VA WP but, again thanks to a delay out of MIA that forced me to skip two flights, I am frustratingly just short of QF WP. Will see if they might do anything about that. Otherwise may have to wait a couple of months until the next international trip to get there.
I have learnt some things from this about planning such a run:
1. IN the USA 1-hour layovers are too short. About 50% of my domestic flights were delayed (all of them AA).
2. Impossible to do this if not hand luggage only.
3. Flying multiple airlines makes delays much more of an issue. If everything is one booking on a single airline then it is their problem, Multiple bookings or, as in my case, multiple airlines, means your problem.
4. I've read lots of complaining here about how bad US domestic first class is. It isn't, it is fine: equivalent to domestic J here, but with a bigger range of aircraft and more chance of a really nice seat. I suspect people are just disappointed having had their expectations raised by the term "first class". AA domestic "flagship" first, on the other hand was much better than the MH international first class I have experienced.
5. If you have the time and the inclination and enjoy just traveling about, go ahead and do it.
I took photos of all sorts of things and might post some if I get a chance, but otherwise that's it. Thanks for reading.
Flight 20: VA572; 11:55pm PER-SYD. J, seat 2A.
The last one! This would have been #22 but for the AA delay out of Miami. The new J seats on the A330 are great. It is a shame the flight West to East is a bit shorter than the other way; meant I didn't have much time to sleep. But very comfortable indeed, and the bed is very long too. Didn't eat or drink on this flight, just slept until it was time to land. Flight left and arrived on time. J cabin was not full.
This marked the end of this absurd status run. At least I took a couple of days to do some other things to break it up, but there was stil a lot of flying and maybe too many nights in the air rather than in a hotel. But it was lots of fun, and an enjoyable challenge trying to make the itinerary as cheap as possible while still maximising SCs. I have easily requalified for VA WP but, again thanks to a delay out of MIA that forced me to skip two flights, I am frustratingly just short of QF WP. Will see if they might do anything about that. Otherwise may have to wait a couple of months until the next international trip to get there.
I have learnt some things from this about planning such a run:
1. IN the USA 1-hour layovers are too short. About 50% of my domestic flights were delayed (all of them AA).
2. Impossible to do this if not hand luggage only.
3. Flying multiple airlines makes delays much more of an issue. If everything is one booking on a single airline then it is their problem, Multiple bookings or, as in my case, multiple airlines, means your problem.
4. I've read lots of complaining here about how bad US domestic first class is. It isn't, it is fine: equivalent to domestic J here, but with a bigger range of aircraft and more chance of a really nice seat. I suspect people are just disappointed having had their expectations raised by the term "first class". AA domestic "flagship" first, on the other hand was much better than the MH international first class I have experienced.
5. If you have the time and the inclination and enjoy just traveling about, go ahead and do it.
I took photos of all sorts of things and might post some if I get a chance, but otherwise that's it. Thanks for reading.
ADLhighflyer
Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2013
- Posts
- 291
Nice trip! Curious as to how many SC's you got during your travels?
Ended up with 720 QF and 740 VA. It should have been 840 QF @ $1.98, but I lost 120 due to flight delays and enforced reschedule out of MIA. I may still try to get those. The VA SCs were much more expensive @ $7.21, but you could easily do much much better with just USA domestic flying if you tried. I didn't try that hard.
Thanks to a work flight the other day I am both QF and VA WP now anyway.
Good work fitting the ultra in. Which one was it and what time if you don't mind? Also a little bit about it??
Closest I have come to that is doing the Carcoar cup marathon, driving 4 hours to Sydney after the run and jumping on a flight to Brisbane. Nowhere near your effort!
Closest I have come to that is doing the Carcoar cup marathon, driving 4 hours to Sydney after the run and jumping on a flight to Brisbane. Nowhere near your effort!
It was actually a 24 hour race, so to be honest 70 miles was a poor effort! My target was 100+. It was the Christmas in July 24 hour in Lisle Illinois, a pretty low-key event and the only thing I could find that was on at the right time to coincide with my trip. About 100km in 13.5 hrs and then crashed and burned (literally burned, in the hot sun). There was a 12 hour event too, should have just done that. A couple of days on planes and in lounges after that weren't so bad actually, just had to move around a bit to be safe.
- Status
Become an AFF member!
Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!
AFF forum abbreviations
Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
