Journey Amongst the Stars

[anat0l]

Tue 2 Nov (Frankfurt am Main)

Nibble treats are placed at selected coffee tables about the lounge

The Great Wall of Liquor

Digestifs out on offer

Restaurant area deserted, but still immaculately set out

Entrance to the cigar lounge - the only place in the terminal where passengers can smoke. Definitely smells like smoke in there, too.

Day rooms with lie-down plastic mattress

Although there are a handful of bathrooms in the FCT, only one of them has a full size bathtub. Normally this is where one would grab a famous Lufthansa rubber duckie. Hey, rubber duckies gotta get home to their families too, right?

Large bathroom complete with bathtub, large vanity and a shower (not shown)

Well, not all of the duckies got away.... one managed to find its way into the hands of the main man himself...

A man and his duckie

A nice decent time was spent in the LH FCT before we all decided to make our way back (some stumbling, some zombified) to the Sheraton FRA. What a boon to have the hotel so close to the terminal.

Now that was a really long day. I don't know whether there were a bunch of FTers who decided to kick on and party late into the night (like last year's SMD), but I'm sure there were a bunch of us who knew better not to be too groggy to wake up for the flight tomorrow, and hit the sack not long after finishing our very long afternoon and evening with Lufthansa and Star Alliance.

 

[anat0l]

Wed 3 Nov (FRA-IAH)

Wednesday 3 November

The eponymous clickety-clackety old style departures board clearly showing our flight to Houston...

I stirred awake fairly early to be greeted with a semi-gloomy FRA day. Had a shower, then packed up my ever burgeoning checked bag (SMD freebies will sometimes do that to you) - oh this is going to hurt to carry later on (it did). My room mate and another FTer had managed to convince the front desk to prepare another key to access Level 10, where the hotel lounge was (normally a privilege reserved only for those who book some of the best rooms, and SPG Platinums).

I decided to relieve myself of the burden of carrying my checked bag around before having breakfast, so I proceeded to the terminal to drop my bag. Star Gold customers are eligible to use the First Class check-in at the FRA main terminal (but not the First Class Terminal, make sense?)

Busy morning at the FRA main terminal

FRA First Class check-in area at the main terminal

Bag drop off was easy and quick thanks to already having checked in; I was given my bag receipt and I was done. It felt a bit weird not going to security after check-in (indeed, leaving the terminal, which in some jurisdictions is sometimes perceived as a security risk), but I headed back out the terminal to the Sheraton and up to the 10th floor for breakfast in the lounge.

Reception desk at the 10th Floor Lounge

Inside of the 10th Floor Lounge - some FTers already enjoying themselves

The Sheraton Lounge offered a nice breakfast that we probably wouldn't be able to get at any of the lounges that we were able to access at the terminal (lucky for those who are eligible to use the FCT!). So I filled up on the buffet on offer, which included a small but various array of both continental and hot goodies, including many different kinds of breads and rolls and eggs made to order.

Sparkling wine in the morning? Well, if you are so inclined....

Some of the spread available

First plate up - with a small omelette made to order

There was no rush to get to the terminal - for most of us, it was a case of pass through security, head to gate, and hope to board as soon as possible. (There was supposedly going to be something of a send off from Lufthansa, but it never came to be, although we got some other smaller surprises later).

 

[anat0l]

Wed 3 Nov (FRA-IAH)

Breakfast over, a few of us walked into the terminal and then onto security screening, which was - although set out with quite a few lines - expectantly busy. I swear the security nuts must've set the WTMD scanner sensitivity level to "plastic", because 9 times out of 10 it was being set off despite the plethora of us who had the experience to "know better". Yours truly didn't escape the beeping and subsequent check.

After passport check, I was pulled aside for extra screening, which involved a swab down, pat down and a shoe check (which were carried off to an off-side room before being returned to me). A few other FTers apparently got the same treatment, which took about 3-5 minutes apiece. That done, it was time to head to our gate, which was near the very end of the concourse.

The area around our gate had already started to get crowded in anticipation of boarding. The entrance to LH's new Tower Lounge was also nearby, but the only way to access it is via lift, and the line waiting for the lift was close to two lift loads. I have no idea why LH decided to not put stairs, but having only one lift for what would be a major lounge really does escape me. So the majority of us decided not to chance our time waiting for a lift and instead waited out boarding with the rest of the plebs.

Our aircraft to IAH with special livery - 50 years with Boeing

LH440 pax await the boarding call


Flight: Lufthansa LH440 Frankfurt am Main (FRA T1) - Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH TD)
Depart: 1015h Sched; 1021h Actual
Aircraft: D-ABVH "Düsseldorf" Boeing 747-400
Distance: 5,232 mi (8,419 km)
Class: Economy
Seat: 36A


Boarding call was made and no sooner had the German announcement been made that the crowd of passengers began to surge forward. The boarding gates have been designed a bit like the ticket barriers at railway stations. You have a swinging gate and you scan your BP on the scanning pad, which upon recognition of your eligibility to bard then opens the gate and you walk through.

Personally, I think the following announcement might've been more appropriate than the boarding call that was made: :arrow: [VIDEO: Youtube - 9 sec]

Priority Boarding? We dun need no steeeeeeenkin' priority boardin'!

Alright, maybe that video was a bit over the top. But really, there was no order whatsoever at the gate. No priority boarding, no calling for families first - nothing. Here's a video demonstration: :arrow: [VIDEO: Youtube - 31 sec]

Alright that's a bit over the top too.... *goes and fires video director*

Anyway, with having realised there is no point in waiting for the priority boarding call, we all push forward to get to the barriers, lest we wait for too many people to board and valuable overhead locker space be taken up.

Having learned from my mistake in selecting the bulkhead, this time I simply asked LH to give me the most forward window seat they could give me. Hence, I eventually got 36A, with a spare seat next to me as well, so can't complain. Legroom is definitely better here.

Legroom in 36A

Whilst our plane had special livery on the outside, unfortunately on the inside it was still the same old LH 747-400, with overhead loopback IFE and seats slightly showing their age (mostly through faded colour).

View of the cabin from in 36A

We had a special welcoming PA from our purser today welcoming everyone on board from "Flyertalk com" [sic], although it was barely audible due to the dubiously low volume PA system. Pushback was orderly but unfortunately it was a very busy morning at FRA, which resulted in our being a little late to take off.

Another LH 747-400 comes into land as we wait for our turn to use the runway

Finally we got our chance to enter the runway. Take-off was a genteel affair, with a gradual accelerating roll on the runway then a gentle lift into the air.

Once we were airborne, the crew started the preparations for lunch. Unlike last year's TATL flight, most were sage in using this flight in a relaxing way (except perhaps the little clique who had managed to take over most of F class ), trying to regain some energy in anticipation of the many other events in the coming days (lack of sleep really hit some members last year hard!). It probably doesn't help that nice conversations with many people is almost impossible due to the overbearing US anti-crowding laws.

Found in the Lufthansa Magazin. So, anyone interested in buying a C slope?

 

[anat0l]

Wed 3 Nov (FRA-IAH, Houston)

First part of the service is of course the aperitif service with snack tidbits; in this case, a packet of mini-pretzels.

Aperitif service

This run aperitifs served; this run aperitifs collected. This hand wax on; this hand wax off. Alright it wasn't that quick, but after our tray tables were cleared the meals were wheeled out. Good to know that LH is wise in that despite our early time of departure (10am) they "accurately" serve lunch rather than brunch or breakfast (!) which sometimes ridiculously happens on some other airlines.

I selected the German traditional favourite of stewed meat (can't remember what it was) sided with red cabbage and potato dumplings. I swear I've heard LH prop this on a F menu before; it'd be a pity if it were and the only thing different was the serving size and method. Then again, I guess some folk in F will kill just to have some of the more basic delicacies instead of a bowl of melon soup or filet steak with cannelloni and walnuts.

LH440 Lunch

The main was delicious, or as delicious as most comfort food can get (it had flavour was the main thing). The side salad of lettuce, carrot and feta was alright and the tea cake - or at least that's what I guessed it to be - was adequate. A decent meal all around, which actually still leaves something to be desired for the Y meals of other airlines around the world, oddly enough.

Trays were cleared after lunch and then some of us tried to get some sleep. Others wandered around the cabin having conversations until either they felt the need to nod off, move on or were shooed away by the FAs in case of the anti-congregation laws. The timing of this flight was interesting. We left at around 10am and virtually arrive at our destination a mere few hours later, except we spend about 10 hours in the air. It's as if it would be better to pretend you've just frozen or slowed down time considerably, and then when you hit the ground everything is back to full speed again. Or, let sleep do the job of putting the times back in place for you!

I had a couple of naps before getting up and walking about. Had a nice chat with seacarl and seacarl+1 who were savvy enough to snag the exit row. Others joined us in conversation before...yep, you guessed it...the crew came to break us up. So then it was back for another nap.

Sleeping in LH's old Y seats wasn't too bad, although it was made a little easier by wearing PJs. (I had packed my QF F PJs with me in my carry-on and changed into them for the flight).

Many hours of sleep later and, for some others, enduring hours upon tortuous hours of overhead, mono-channel loopback IFE, we were nearing IAH. A hot snack was proffered before landing; I chose the more substantial option of the two presented, which was a nice baked salmon.

LH440 Refreshment before landing

A small sweet ring-shaped cake and a solitary bread roll rounded up the snack.

Preparations for landing were put into action. I managed to beat most of the post-meal bathroom rush and used it myself as well as changing back into civilian (civil? ) clothes. IAH was just as gloomy if not more wet than when we left FRA. Barely a thing could be seen from the skies and landing in IAH meant not being able to see the ground until we were just about to!

Once we were on the ground we were bid a good day by our purser who again gave a special mention to those who were members of "Flyertalk com". Obviously someone (perhaps another FTer) had briefed our purser on our travels as our purser wished us well (in a most interesting manner) for our events in IAH and PHX. Everyone else on board who wasn't in on the Do probably sat there puzzled like anything.

The announcement was barely audible again; I'll let you decide how much you can hear: :arrow: this is the landing video into IAH [VIDEO: Youtube - 9 min 11 sec]

Well, they say everything's bigger in Texas. Yep, so are the immigration queues Well, at least the majority of the crowd who were residents of the USA had no problems breezing through. The rest of us who lacked APEC cards (most of us) had to line up in the considerably long lines. Our crew had finished their long debriefing and even beat many of us through the entry procedures! Once I had got through immigration, there was a considerable walk to baggage claim. Of no surprise, once we had arrived the bags had already made a few rounds on the belt.

Welcome to Houston

Once out in the arrivals spillout, there was much confusion as to what to do next. How do we get to the hotel? Do we wait for someone? There was no one with signs that explained what we had to do, and the spillout was quite devoid of FTers for a while. Eventually, we seemed to work out that a few of the Sheraton shuttles were outside and they were our means of getting to the hotel. FTers piled onto full shuttles as we had a quick ride to our rather non-imposing looking Sheraton.


Hotel: Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental
Booked: Standard Room
Received: Junior Suite

Lobby Lounge at the Sheraton North Houston

A horde of FTers who had not decided to join those in FRA had already marked their territory at the Sheraton. A very lovely welcoming spread had been put out for us, but the lot who had just arrived a little bit tired off a 10 hour hop across the pond were set out to get our stuff into rooms. I met up with my fellow Australian, Bundy Bear, of whom I would be sharing a room with for IAH and SEA.

We were checked in with special welcome and a Junior Suite awaited us thanks to a last minute upgrade opportunity. Although the hotel had recently undergone a renovation, the decor and furnishings still gave a dated look to the place. The price was definitely right, though (and even better with the deal nutted out by the SMD2 team).

 

[anat0l]

Wed 3 Nov (Houston)

View from our room window

View of the Junior Suite at Sheraton North Houston at IAH

Welcoming gift from Sheraton - a cheese platter and water

We had a slight problem with our door lock, which refused to lock itself when we left the room. A quick call downstairs and then to engineering soon had that fixed. After that, we joined the party downstairs who were indulging in some nibbly treats.

No it's not blood - it's punch. It still stains all the same.

Nibble delights for everyone, whether your choice was sweet...

...or savoury.

Our great SMD2 group finally swelled to its full participation contingent and it was great to meet everyone. We had a healthy representation from South West Pacific (the global region; no WN hasn't gone coconuts yet...)

Randy with the Australian and New Zealand representation at SMD2 (except for chchkiwi and Top of climb). We'd be happy to make Randy an honorary Australian or Kiwi any time :mrgreen:

 

[anat0l]

Wed 3 Nov (Houston)

Although many chose to take tonight as a rest night, particularly those who had hopped across the pond, a few of us decided to convene for a Texas BBQ dinner. SkiAdcock spearheaded the excursion (and arrangement of a fleet of taxis) to a humble place known as Mo's. No, no resemblance at all to the place of abundant ale consumption as popularised by The Simpsons...

Like any sea captain would tell you, 'twas a moonless night...well that's because it was very cloudy and raining moderately hard. However, seafood it was not to be tonight - instead it would be a stampede of ribs and steaks. Taxi loads of Flyertalkers piled into transport not unlike cattle on a cattle truck, then were ferried about 15 minutes to a small building which you might've otherwise mistaken for a little shack or ranch on a large prairie.

Yeah, Hi! I'd like a table for a whole herd please. And, um, I think you could stand to cut back a little bit on on the botox.

Kindly remove your spurs before you enter the premises

Inside Mo's

Ordering is pretty simple - you pick a big meat dish, a side or two and then a drink. The signature side appeared to be a giant potato of some description, but I decided to chance with some 'slaw and rice (or "dirty rice" to be more specific).

The servings here are pretty big. Texans don't mess around with BBQs. I think this explains why I saw a Texan cardiologist who has two houses, three boats, a private jet and a diamond mine. Alright, you got me - I made that up.... But definitely not for the feint of heart (especially if you use the standard issue BBQ sauce, which is quite sweet).

Flyertalkers await their bovine to be slaughtered, cut up and cooked. Well, at least one of those steps anyway...

For those that want their hearts going a little faster than normal, jalapenos, salsa and fresh onions are available

A huge soft drink (or soda) and a little plate of the standard issue BBQ sauce. And a roll of paper towelling for your convenience. There ain't no such thing as modesty here...

The standard issue side spud. I've seen some brutal potatoes before, but this one almost takes the cake. As they say, everything's bigger in Texas...

My main event - huge ribs

My dish was actually quite alright. The ribs were obviously roasted a rack at once, then sliced up. They probably could've stood to marinate them a bit longer, as the intense flavour of marinade really only scratched the surface of the meat, with the meat inside being very, very plain. The two didn't blend well throughout, but then that's what BBQ sauce (or any sauce) is for, right? The sides I had were alright, but the main focus was really and truly the meat.

All around a few tables, Flyertalkers indulged in hearty meaty meals. Some did it with hoity-toity decorum and used utensils all the way. Others couldn't care less and used their hands to dig into their meat savagely, especially ribs.

Somehow, I survived the meal without even so much as a missed heartbeat or minuscule coronary. Delicious it was, if I do say so myself.

Most of us did not sit around for long to chit chat, preferring to start moving back to the hotel as SkiAdcock once again - ever omnipresent to the proceedings - summoned vehicles to bring us back. The night didn't stop there, however, as a few of us stumbled into the hotel bar to kick on with a night cap or two.

In the hotel bar, most of us kicked back with a drink or two. Starwood Lurker was hanging around the bar trying to finally get a bite to eat after a long hard day; great man to have a chat with, although a fine shame that SPG isn't going to give Australia any more love . Another great man of repute at the bar was of UA fame, Captain Denny. Little did I know (or just not with my ear on the ground) that he would be joining us for the rest of the Do.

Some of us had a huge day behind us having flown in from Europe, and most decided to call it a relatively early night and hit the sack.

 

[anat0l]

Thu 4 Nov (Houston)

Thursday 4 November

Waking up to a fine Houston day, the first action of the day was breakfast before our AM event with CO. Most of us ambled upstairs to the rather small hotel lounge where a continental breakfast spread was put out - cereals, fruit, spreads and a selection from the bakery, plus tea, coffee and juices. Items were depleting much faster than staff could keep up to replenish it. No prizes as to why.

A small part of the continental spread

Managed to get a seat in the small lounge

Most of us had to juggle with waking up, getting breakfast (before it disappeared due to others or time limits) and getting ready for the CO event, in some kind of order. Nevertheless, we're Flyertalkers - we're so used to this. And the best of us can even do this hungover....

Flyertalkers await their audience with CO

Within time, the Sheraton lobby had become a sea of Flyertalkers waiting for shuttles to CO's event. Others took the opportunity to sign up and confirm their spots for the Frequent Traveler Awards that evening, as well as grab another free bag or two.

Our shuttles arrived as we all piled on a busload at a time and headed over to CO's event. There was no priority boarding or assigned seating, but for a 15 minute bus ride it was satisfactory :mrgreen:

CO's event today took place in one of their hangars, where a 738 had been situated for our aircraft cougho experience (well, it would be if we could go inside the aircraft, but at least they opened up a few of the hatches and doors for us).

CO 738 parked in hangar for the SMD2 event

CO put out a nice spread of food for us. Not that some of us needed more food, or even airline food, but hey, where we talk airlines, aircraft and flights there's usually food somewhere in there!

Tables are reserved for the stars today. Oh wait, that's us!

Any one want to chip in?

It was a free roam around the aircraft or tucking into some CO food. As usual with aircraft shots, most liked to get up close, take a look at the guts of the aircraft, or take photos in places which would be dangerous on a live aircraft (photos of people sitting inside engines is particularly notable and popular).

More aircraft cough

 

[anat0l]

Thu 4 Nov (Houston)

Pile up on your grilled burger. With some ranch dressing for that Texan touch. We had the same thing for lunch on the charter flight.

Make your own ice-cream sundae!

Here's my amateur effort. Yummy.... eventually. As they say, often it tastes better than it looks.

Here's a first class laviator shot. What?!! Got ya! It's a lavatory shot, but it's the "First Class" portable toilets which CO had put in the hangar for our function.

This fine vessel was pulling out; looks like it was ready to go to work.

Looking into the hangar from the other side

Our CO crew who were going to help us on the charter flight the next day made a low key appearance at the function. Probably they were here to meet some of us, and discuss some last minute detail about the next day. After all, we can be an odd bunch to fly with

Our CO crew. I can only hope that they know full well what they are getting themselves into. And I hope they're insured.

After a long time allowed for us to roam about, eventually it wouldn't be an audience with an airline of any kind without a few speeches and what not. We got a short speech from CO (as well as our fearless leaders once again) before the tables turned and we were invited to play some recall games with CO points up for grabs. Most of it was a cakewalk, since it all had to do with CO/UA or Star Alliance.

One notable winner had to name 10 airlines in the Star Alliance. He got his prize, then was challenged to name the other airlines, but when he blurted "Korean" he was yanked off stage quicker than a stage hook ever could. Oops.

The airline people didn't say it, but I think even though they "knew" who we were, I believe the knowledge that we had of their airline, their service, their fleet and just about anything else pretty much knocked their socks off.

An address from our fearless leaders

We had a bit more time to ourselves after the speeches, but there wasn't much time left afterward before buses started to appear to take people back to the Sheraton.

 

[anat0l]

Thu 4 Nov (Houston)

Me with Captain Denny

Mr Peterson indulges his sweet tooth as a pile of cookies glitters up at him (not straight out of the oven, but still taste good)

Back at the hotel at a leisurely hour, there was plenty of time for people to catch up on sleep, let their bodies catch up to them or simply get things done. The FT Awards would not be until early evening. I think some even decided to head to IAH and use their access privileges to do some lounge hopping and boozin'.

The Flyertalk Academy Awards... a.k.a. The Frequent Traveler Awards

Finally, it was time for the inaugural FT Awards. Out came the formal wear, and a bit of dolling up later, it was downstairs for registration and refreshments.

FT Awards registration table

Large bottles of wine prepared to slosh the masses. FWIW it wasn't a great drop, but passable.

When registrations opened, things started rather quietly. However, gradually more people started to populate the spillout area outside the function room. The critical mass was not for long, as the wooden double doors opened to allow FTers, industry guests and others inside to a room filled with candlelight and gentle swing music accompanied with a saxophone and bongos.

Inside the ballroom - the set of the first FT Awards. Could this be the Academy Awards of the Frequent Traveler's Loyalty realm? Without the kitsch factor of the former, of course......

Table sets by candlelight

The FT Awards consists of a number of different kinds of awards for particular aspects, like elite benefits, earning offers and redemption offers. All kinds of awards had both airline and hotel program awards, in each of three regions: The Americas, Europe / Africa, and Middle East / Asia / Oceania.

Dinner and dessert was served between the awards as well as the speeches. The presenters of the FT Awards were all well known FT "celebrities" - moderators, organisers, bloggers...


Each award was the same format: firstly, the award was introduced, and at the presenters discretion, a bit of context and anecdote was supplied. Then, the four nominees for the award were presented. A bongo drum roll was then sounded as gradually, three of the four nominees on the screen would drop out of view, leaving one name at the end, the winner. Some surprising and not so surprising results:

• Marriott pretty much swept the field right across the awards for hotels. A record haul of 11 awards. I think the next FT Awards we might as well give them all to them
• Lufthansa Miles & More had a clean sweep of the European/African airline awards. A few competitive nominees in each, but the loyalty program of the German yellow crane prevailed, somewhat to the chagrin of one of my table mates, who was cheering for SAS all the time.

The full 2010 results can be found here.

There was an award left near the end called "Loyalty Leadership", which was supposed to award a hotel program and an airline program for an unusual and profound decision or feature which makes them a "leader" in their field. SAS won the airlines' award, to the delight of a few SAS loyal at our table! Finally - they got something that Lufthansa could not!

The presentation for Loyalty Leadership

The FT Awards drew to a close as the best in the industry was announced and collected their awards. The Marriott table was looking unsurprisingly crowded - I think someone relented and gave them an empty box in the end!

Storyteller spots one of the coveted awards. No, we didn't win an award...

On almost any other given night, most of us probably would've kicked on for more drinks into the early morning. However, the early morning was when we had to be up. Even for someone like me who was in Tommy Class, an extra 30 minutes or so of sleep means little if you didn't get more than a few hours in the first place! Not to mention the pressure of packing up.

So it was as early a night as I could make it. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. It was the day...

Petit fours awaiting us in our room

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov (IAH-PHX)

Friday 5 November

The Star Mega Do 2 Charter Flight

Today...today is what it's all about. The first Star Mega Do started with the ambition to charter a whole airplane for Flyertalkers. Whilst the concept was not completely original, the idea certainly is no trivial feat.

Everything else incidental to Star Mega Do is just that - incidental and part-parcel. At its roots is the charter flight. A mighty challenge footed by a mere few men. A precarious exercise in yield management, cat herding, corporate persuasion and regulatory hoop-jumping. Enjoyed by many FTers within a matter of hours. The experience.

Alright, enough of that kind of talk....

For a full day schedule, we could not waste any time. The charter started early in the morning and a strict timetable was set to ferry people to the airport, checked in and ready to depart. In a reverse sense of priority access, Economy class passengers were the first people to be ferried to the airport, and everyone else who had a more premium fare got anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour more sleep (technically!).

Classes of Service Schedule on Charter Flight CO1905

• Economy Class
  Y seat, Y service, Y miles.
• Randy Class
  Economy, but you get to sit next or near Randy Peterson, with special pink shirts.
• Tommy Class
  Forward cabin Y seat with middle block, F miles. The first 10 to book these got their Sheraton rooms upgraded to Suites.
• First Class
  F seat, F service, F miles.

I should probably explain here a little bit about Tommy Class. You see, originally there were only three classes - Economy, Randy and First. Randy Class was conceived through a competition of the namesake, but the other two were the listed paid classes. A little problem late in the lead up process, however: we were a few seats short of breaking even on the aircraft (you have to remember some poor soul had to put a huge charter bill on a credit card), and the interested people list had all but dried up to put those required extra bums in seats (or rather, dollars into the kitty). So what's an organiser to do? Therein the idea of Tommy class - for an extra charge, a selection of Y pax who were quick at the draw could get a few more benefits and that would cover the expense hole for the charter.

As we had a Tommy Class reservation, we got an extra 45 minutes on the Economy pax, which means we only had to shuffle downstairs in time for the shuttle at 0545h. Still a slightly painful hour to be up, with outside being completely dark. Of course, there was no point bothering with breakfast, as the hotel wouldn't open up for breakfast so early, and there would be something on the flight anyway (or at the CO lounge for those who got in early enough). An empty stomach was little deterrent for the majority of us to indulge in a pre-flight swig of Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin.

Morning champagne before our shuttle pickup. Class served in plastic - for Americans, it feels just like home

Amongst the flurry of people checking out, wheeling around suitcases and swigging champagne, our shuttles gradually appeared to ferry us to IAH. Once at IAH, we proceeded to the group check-in where we were given special charter priority tagging. Security was pretty slow, but a long line went faster than usual - hey, we are experienced, right? Once airside, there was just enough time for most of us to pop into the CO lounge for a quick convene or bite to eat. Well, the latter was a little difficult, since with so many of us the bagels couldn't be toasted fast enough.

Entrance to the CO President's Club at IAH TE

A mountain of bagels - but with a single slow toaster, some decided either to go without, or eat a semi-hard-come-chewy bagel

Plenty of space this morning in the CO President's Club at IAH TE - just no time to enjoy it

I had enough time only to grab a bagel, slather some cream cheese on and scoff it down, plus consume a semi-hot cup of coffee (whilst semi-burning my tongue at the same time) before we had to hot-foot it down to our gate for boarding. On time departure for SMD charter flights is paramount.

Ummm....where's the Zone 1 line?

Pretty soon, the crowd at gate E8 was mobilised - boarding time!

CO Gate Agents get ready to process pax

Waiting in the E8 aerobridge

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov (IAH-PHX)

Door 2L draped with the SMD2 banner

"About to get the 'Star Treatment'?" Oh yeah!


Charter Flight: Continental Airlines CO1905 Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH TE) - Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX T2)
Depart: 0700h Sched; 0705h Actual
Aircraft: N57864 Boeing 757-300
Distance: 1,009 mi (1,624 km)
Class: Tommy Class
Seat: 16F


Boarding was a fairly orderly process as most of us like model passengers quickly stowed our carry-ons, got seated and fastened our seat belts. Ah, if only every flight had FTers on it (well, perhaps not, as the latter part of the day showed ).

Legroom in 16F, a regular Y seat but at least I get a middle blocked

CO planes about in the early morning at IAH TE

This year had some marked differences to the service compared to the charter flight of SMD1. For one, we relented the cabin service back to regular trained cabin crew. They say the main reason is because the moderators, despite their enthusiasm, weren't very efficient at their serving skills, but then again the real cabin crew were better looking too :mrgreen:. In addition, there would be no more moderators trying to fudge out the safety briefing this time! Our safety briefing was the standard issue CO video with forward by Jeff Smisek, music by Gershwin and spoken in English, not German! (And, for those so inclined, translations provided in Español.)

Some of us used the time between the safety video and reaching cruising altitude to catch up on sleep. In any case, after our pushback we had a fairly long taxi, during which the sun just started to peek out. As our trusty chartered 753 soared into the sky, daylight had broken.

CO1905 is in the air...and daylight has broken

As soon as we reached cruising height, in-flight service began. And how it began! Popping sounds were heard emanating from the galleys. That could only mean one thing...

Monopole Blue Top Champagne for everyone! In plastic flutes, of course.

With a little bit of help from our good friend Al Cohol (closely related to Cham Payne) :mrgreen:, some of us finally got something solid into our stomachs.

Charter Y breakfast on the way to PHX

The timing of the flight was just enough for everyone to comfortably eat breakfast, or get more shut eye if they wanted to. SkiAdcock had no rest for either charter flight as she admirably made her way around to everyone actively encouraging the SMD raffle, with all proceeds going to charity.

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov (Phoenix)

Our destination was in view as we saw the extensive desert city of Phoenix appear. A fine, clear sunny day greeted us for arrival. Perfect weather for an excursion, but any weather was fine for :arrow: a landing and a crew show ... [VIDEO: YouTube - 7 min 51 sec]

We pulled up just near a gate at PHX, but our disembarkation took place via airstairs, which we descended and thereupon were promptly herded on the tarmac into waiting buses.

FTers disembark in PHX

The buses took us to a desert botanical gardens complex, complete with function room facilities. Amongst the multitude of desert grasses, rocks, gravel, jagged mounds, sparse plants and other water-resistant green species, this is where our audience with US would be. And the audience from US could not be any closer than the CEO, Doug Parker.

US Airways welcoming FTers to Phoenix

FTers stretch their legs and help themselves to some more breakfast refreshments before their audience with US

Inside the function room - we're about to meet and have a chat with Doug Parker

Doug fronted up the stage and gave us all a bit of a run down on what's happening at US and a nutshell speech on the vital signs. Some perhaps was not surprising to some of us, although some of us had to reel a little bit a the revenues that were being raised via charging for checked bags. Sometimes it's all part and parcel of staying alive in the industry, or so said Doug many a time.

Question time after Doug's part was rather animated. Being the people we are, of course we're known for asking the hard hitting questions. We had been warned copiously beforehand that we were to be on our "best behaviour". Nevertheless, several members made their point heard clearly. Doug, being the CEO, perhaps didn't answer some questions as well as he could (or may have wanted to), because he had mostly a strategic view of things rather than a more direct one, which is where us - as passengers - get most affected. For example, preferential seating (e.g. the ability of a Chairmans Preferred to get good seats vs. someone who could just pay for them).

After we'd had enough of grilling Doug (and thanking him for his bravery), we had a brief presentation by the caretakers of the botanical gardens, before we were let loose to have a wonder around, take in the gardens and the plant life. Although some of us might've preferred if US had taken us on a turn around some of their facilities and what not behind the scenes, the walk around the gardens was quite refreshing.

So now, dear readers, allow me to indulge by showing you some desert garden shots...

People walking around the botanical gardens in the desert

An archway decorated in various plants

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov (Phoenix)

The botanical gardens show off a range of different plants - shapes, sizes, species - colouring the desert landscape

It doesn't matter if you say 'cactuses' or 'cacti', there are heaps of them here, and you're best not to touch any of them

A bunch of round cacti

The mountain ranges in the background make for some great pictures

A small mound in the distance

If I didn't know better, I think this cactus is telling me in no uncertain terms to bugger off...

If you pretend that the storage building on the right is a house, you could kind of make a postcard out of this picture

There are many walking trails in the gardens, though if you walked quite briskly and didn't stop to read and/or observe all of the species information, you could cover the entire garden with a bit of time before being put back on the buses and back to PHX terminal for our next and most exciting leg of the journey.

It's not everyday that you see a flight going to PAE. In fact, it's not everyday that you see a flight where the destination name has not been expanded beyond its IATA code.

Since all our baggage needed no offloading and we all were checked in with boarding passes, our task was simply to get to the gate and onto the plane. The schedule, however, had us timed right to the minute, so on arrival at the terminal there was no dawdling or lounge time - straight back to the aircraft we went. This time, they had hooked up the aerobridge for our boarding convenience.

Proceeding to the gates at PHX

Our plane waiting at the gate. The blue tint is due to the windows at PHX.

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov (PHX-PAE, Paine Field)

Charter Flight: Continental Airlines CO1905 Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX T2) - Everett Paine Field (Snohomish County Airport) (PAE)
Depart: 1130h Sched; 1235h Actual
Aircraft: N57864 Boeing 757-300
Distance: 1,133 mi (1,823 km)
Class: Tommy Class
Seat: 16F


Another long taxi out of PHX and our aircraft sailed into the sky. It's not often that you fly to an airport which has no commercial aviation flights in or out of it, let alone the Boeing Factory. So needless to say, everyone was excited for this leg! If the SMD organisation team did anything to top the previous SMD, this was definitely one of them.

For our service to PAE, lunch was served, consisting of the build-it-yourself Angus burgers which we had become accustomed to the previous day during our audience with CO. We were also given a decent side salad to go with our meal. And mostly non-plastic wares, too. This is definitely not your average Y meal.

Charter Lunch in Y

Some of us - yours truly included - were still not quite full of energy to survive the entire flight without some shut eye. Luckily CO had remembered to provide blankets and pillows for this flight. Or, perhaps unluckily...

If FTers are good at something, it's living vicariously through others, and then repeating the experience in real life for themselves. Some time ago, a video on YouTube depicted a :arrow: pillow flight in the Economy cabin of a LH flight [VIDEO: YouTube - 42 sec]. Not to be outdone....

...as with all wars, it takes someone to fire the first salvo, but as the first lightly covered pillow-shaped foam sailed through the cabin air, the fight was on! A flurry of pillows were sent up and down mainly the forward cabin, with most people just throwing whatever came at them to another random place. A few plastic covered navy blue packets came hither and thither, and promptly earned the scolding, "No blankets!"

It didn't help things that one of our esteemed FAs was making the trash run down the aisle and was unfortunately caught in the cross-fire. She would've easily made it to the forward galley without so much as a pillowing, if it had not for her cheeky colleague making an errant announcement over the PA egging everyone on to give it their best shot at her. :mrgreen: FTers have great aim and precision when you really want them to...

More pillows went back and forth, and the fight finally came to a head when someone decided it might be a good idea to try and launch an assault on the First Class cabin. Unfortunately, all this did was earn a "talk to the curtain" response from First Class (undoubtedly thinking how much of a riotous bunch us pax in Cattle Class must be), whilst a pile of pillows and pillow cases made for a foamy mound of white situated in the forward galley.

Somewhere in between all that mess, xyzzy and SkiAdcock managed to rally the final sales of the SMD2 Charity Raffle, and then somehow do the draw and award the prizes. The grand prize, a new iPad, was rather comically won by our esteemed captain!

White capped mountains on approach to PAE

The mess in the galley was cleaned up before we had to prepare the cabin for landing. Everyone was hoping for a fly-past and go-around, however our captain communicated the bad news that the wet weather at PAE was simply not going to allow us to make it happen.

The :arrow: CO Boeing 753 touched down in a wet Paine Field [VIDEO: YouTube - 7 min 43 sec]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLRj3u1Xa7Y, back home in and amongst its younger (and yet-to-be-flying) colleagues. A touching farewell speech from our flight supervisor resounded about the aircraft as we made our way towards our standoff position near Boeing's Future of Flight Museum and Function Centre. Some of us in the cabin decided that the runway simply didn't have enough lighting and decided to make their own "runway lighting", consisting of call bell lights. We had a nice path going until suddenly the lights on one side of the aircraft switched off. Popular opinion says we must have hit a short, much to the chagrin of our FAs, who remarked that someone would have to fix the fault before the plane could leave PAE. Luckily for them, we were in the right place.

Boeing ground engineers guided our aircraft to our parked position, and then the airstairs were rolled up for Boeing's special guests.

This way, please.

The red stairs docked up against the aircraft with its namesake special audience

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov (Paine Field, Seattle)

Our captain sporting his raffle prize - a brand new iPad

Flyertalkers make their way to the function room for their introduction to their afternoon with Boeing

Some of us were getting tired, but this was Boeing, and we had an awesome afternoon planned with them. Somewhat unfortunately, due to IP, confidentiality and other kinds of similar restrictions, we were not allowed to take any photos at all whilst on Boeing soil. However, Boeing did allow limited photos taken by themselves and some of the attendees from the press.

Inside the function auditorium, we were divided up into four groups for the four activities Boeing had set out for us that afternoon, and oh boy did we have some great things to look forward to!

• Tour of the Dreamlifter, Boeing's big humped carrier aircraft used to transport parts of planes from all around the world.
• The first members of the public to step onto a 787 aircraft :mrgreen:
• A tour of the Boeing factory showing the production lines of the new 747-8i, as well as other production lines, like the 777.

Our group toured the assembly areas of the 747-8 and 777 first. The Boeing factory is huge. It employs so many people and covers such an extensive area, it is almost a small town in its own right.

The inside of the assembly areas consists of several lines, interface platforms and overhead cranes everywhere. Parts of planes or even whole fuselages covered in green protective coating. The sheer size of the surroundings was awe worthy.

Following the factory tour, we were to have our turn aboard the 787 - the first members of the public to do so! ZA-003 was our aircraft that we were allowed to tour. Inside, a few rows of seats were fitted as a small mockup - the rest of the aircraft was an array of test equipment and cabling. Many people seemed to warm to the idea of Boeing's new sky interior, as well as being fascinated with the aircraft on the outside, including uniquely shaped wings and edged jet engines. It's so much different up close and personal compared to file footage. We'd almost forgiven Boeing for being so laggard on the delivery schedule. Almost

Finally, as the sun had already disappeared and the rain started to pick up a bit, our last stop for the evening was inside the imposingly large Dreamlifter. If anything, it's something when you're standing in a huge aircraft with an imposingly higher roof than anyone is used to in commercial aviation. A canopy of nuts and bolts coupled with cables and rollers everywhere....

We had our photos taken many times; hey, Boeing (and we) wanted the trophy shots ("we were here!"). Before the rain could completely soak us, we were piled onto buses and sent on our way from Paine Field to downtown Seattle for the final events of the day and of the Do (well, not counting the last flight from SEA to IAH).


Our final event for the evening was a dinner with SPG, at the Sheraton Seattle. Accommodations, however, were at the Westin Seattle, but the organisers and SPG had coordinated efforts well, ensuring all our luggage had been appropriately routed and room keys prepared in advance.

Welcome to the SPG event

The final dinner was befittingly modest given that most of us had now come to the end of a most awesome Do. SPG once again rolled out their new menu featuring "super foods", and we had a bit of a presentation from SPG telling us about new properties around the world, new property concepts and so on.

Inside the function room where SPG hosted us for dinner

Dinner, featuring Starwood's "super foods"

After that, we were pretty much left to our own devices - to enjoy the food, each others company, to say goodbye, shake hands, exchange hugs and farewells after another Star Mega Do......

 

[anat0l]

Fri 5 Nov / Sat 6 Nov (Seattle, SEA-NRT)

Some of us did a bit more exploring around the Sheraton, including a bit of a peek inside the hotel lounge.

Hotel Lounge in the Sheraton Seattle

The Sheraton Seattle was well-appointed as a hotel, with a great fresh and balanced look.

Fatigue started to get the better of some of us, so we wandered a short block and a bit away to the Westin to get some shut-eye.


Hotel: The Westin Seattle
Booked: Standard Room
Received: Standard Room


Once at the Westin, we collected our bags from the porter service, then headed up to our rooms, again at a negotiated rate thanks to our SMD organisers.

Our room at the Westin Seattle

The Westin Seattle had the same soft beds, lovely amenities and two-headed "Heavenly" shower just like my room at The Westin Times Square, except the room colours were not as interesting in Seattle compared to Times Square. Of course, the latter had been recently renovated, and at least twice the price of the room we were staying in.

It was getting late into the night and I had an early afternoon international flight to catch the next day, so I didn't delay too long in getting ready for bed.

Gift from The Westin Seattle of fruit, cognac, chocolate and water




Saturday 6 November

View of Seattle from our hotel window at The Westin

A dull morning with only patches of light greeted us the next day. Whilst my room mate had at least another day in SEA, I had a plane to catch.

I didn't know whether to dread this flight or not. Like my other UA flights, I was being sponsored for an upgrade from Y to J by means of a generous 1K's SWU. However, in the days leading up to today, loads were suggesting that my chances of getting an upgrade were thinning faster than a Weight Watchers dieter on anti-steroi_s.

I got packed up and decided to forgo breakfast, in the view that there would probably be something to eat at the airport, or in the UA lounge. With some additional guidance from some other FTers, I found out how to best get to the airport, i.e. via the Light Rail service, with a station nice and near a Nordstrum's not far from The Westin (just as well, since my checked bag started to weigh a ton!).

The Seattle Light Rail doesn't look very big in terms of passenger capacity inside, but today it survived without being filled to the brim. Especially when there are lots of people heading to the airport, this could be a real problem, leading to people being left behind waiting for the next service.

Inside the Seattle Light Rail car

The Light Rail takes a considerable time to get from downtown to SeaTac, however the scenic view along the way was great. It's another fair distance walk from the Light Rail platform to the terminal proper.

SEA airport - fondly known as SeaTac - isn't a very big airport compared to some of the other major and even sub-major airports. My flight today would be leaving from the North Satellite, which is disconnected from the terminal proper.

Check-in was easy as *G allows me to line up at the Business counter. My heart sank as I knew the inevitable. I was #18 on the upgrade list with barely a dozen seats in J left. It was even more a shame because there were no good seats in the house left except for what I had, which was pretty bad as it is already. Anyway, bag was checked and priority tag attached, then it was through security and the shuttle train to the North Satellite.

Yeah I know how you feel. And I also have to wait for this train!

Although the North Satellite is a small building, I still managed to stuff up finding the UA lounge.

Entrance to the UA RCC at SEA N Satellite

 

[anat0l]

Sat 6 Nov (SEA-NRT)

Inside the UA RCC at SEA N Satellite

OK let's clear the decks here. The SEA RCC sucked. It's a place away from the rest of the terminal, but as far as lounges go, it sucked. There, I said it.

The UA RCC is very small, and feels a little bit crowded and small due to the fact there are no windows. There was nothing to eat except for the usual snacks of 90% sugar or 90% salt plus a few crumbs of what used to be there. The ladies on the UA RCC service desk confirmed once again that I had little chance to make this flight upgraded. So I settled in to the inevitable and got a juice and checked my messages.

I didn't have to wait long until boarding was called.


Flight: United Airlines UA875 Seattle-Tacoma (SEA Nth Sat) - Tokyo Narita (NRT T1)
Depart: 1428h Sched; 1429h Actual
Aircraft: N797UA Boeing 777-200
Distance: 4,769 mi (7,674 km)
Class: Economy
Seat: 41J

Waiting on whether I'll be able to volunteer myself for a bump; meanwhile, scores of pax load onto our aircraft to Tokyo

My only one last ditch effort to possibly getting a higher level of service was through a bump. So I put myself on VDB at the gate and waited as zones of passengers embarked the aircraft.

After at least Zone 2 started boarding, I was told that the flight was perfectly full and no bumps would be required. So I picked myself up and went straight to my seat...near the back of the second cabin of Economy.

View of the cabin forward of me from my seat, 41J

Legroom in 41J

The flight was perfectly full. Even seeing the 2-3-2 layout in J with everyone in a seat - especially the middles - gave me a bit of a chill. My seat mate was Japanese. I had to feel sorry for him as he obliged for me many times when I needed to stretch my legs (very important!). Anyway, that's getting a bit ahead...

A short taxi and take-off later and we were cruising. Seat belt signs come off and meal service begins. Unfortunately, since I'm near the end of the second cabin, the crew ran out of Y choices of my preferred dish, which was rosemary chicken. Instead, I had to settle for the rather unappealing pasta dish. Personally, I think I've eaten better microwave meals.

Pre-meal drinks and pretzels

Lunch/dinner meal in UA Y: some sort of pasta dish with cheese and broccoli.

Having not had anything of appreciable value to eat since the previous night, I ate everything that was given to me, even though it could really stand to be better.

Trays were cleared and I ended up making a few bathroom and leg-stretcher breaks. I don't know how my very calm seat mate managed to not yell at me after a while, but he didn't. A man of infinite patience....

Random snacks given by UA to Economy class pax

Can't say much about the flight. 41J is certainly not the most comfortable seat in the house, but it was passable and I survived. I spent most of the time either walking around or sleeping, except when I tried to do the latter I found I had to keep shaking my leg and feet to stop DVT from settling in.

Oh well, at least this journey gives 100% BIS miles to the BD program...

 

[anat0l]

Sun 7 Nov (SEA-NRT, Tokyo)

Sunday 7 November

Almost in Tokyo!

Crossing back over the dateline we jumped a day. As the cabin was starting its direct course and descent to Tokyo-Narita, we were offered a snack before landing. Choices were a turkey sandwich or rice and vegetables. I chose the turkey sandwich, whilst trying to understand how well could the caterers possibly have conjured up a tasty filler that is labeled "rice and vegetables". Probably more surprising is how I managed to sit in 41J but this time actually have a choice of what I can eat!

Turkey Sandwich

Finally, after ten hours of slight pain, I was in Tokyo. Night had not completely fallen yet but lights were essential when we got to the parked position at the terminal gate.

I should back up a little bit here. You see, there's a field on the Japanese incoming immigration card that asks for your address. Fair enough. Except I couldn't remember what the address of where I was staying first.

I knew I had it in an email, but I never bothered to copy it or print it, and there was no wifi signal in the arrivals concourse at NRT. Oh damn.

To cut a long story short, I ended up having to answer a lot more questions and proving my innocence with the immigration officer before being stamped into Japan. Luckily the Japanese can be quite non-threatening and patient, as was this immigration officer I had. Bags are never an issue at NRT thanks to priority bags being taken off the belt proactively and early for easy retrieval.

Outside of the terminal, I had to make my way down to the subway to get to my accommodation in the district of Kameido. Kameido is a fair distance away from the activity in central Tokyo, but it is near Akihabara a.k.a. "Electric Town".

The ride from Narita Airport to Kameido takes over an hour and a change of trains, then I had quite a long wander-around trying to find my accommodation! After quite a bit of trial and error in reading the block numbers, I was quite tired when I finally found where I was going to stay for the next week or so.


Hotel: Weekly Mansion Kameido
Booked: Standard Single Room
Received: Standard Single Room


Mansion (pronounced roughly like that in Japanese) doesn't refer to a big house here! It refers to an apartment block. Weekly Mansion is a chain of such "apartment blocks" where its rooms can be hired on short or long term bases. Given that this is Japan, the rooms are not big at all, especially the bathrooms. However, at a rate of just over JPY 5,000 per night, it was a great deal especially since I was going to be in Tokyo for a while.

Check-in was quite easy. Unlike in the USA and Australia, key cards usually must be handed back to the management as they reuse them again and again. In the case of losing a key card whilst staying at a Weekly Mansion, there is a replacement cost for it (albeit quite small-ish, e.g. JPY 1,000).

A view around my room at the Weekly Mansion Kameido

After a lot of travel and still not quite recovered from SMD2 and sleep, I decided to have a bit of a turn around the local neighborhood but otherwise call it an early night. The walk was refreshing in a way and helped me find my feet as to the most effective ways to get from hotel to train station.

I stumbled into a ramen shop for dinner.

Ramen

The great thing about some Japanese restaurants - like this ramen shop - is that you can see your order being made. Everything from chopping the ingredients, to boiling and draining the water from the quickly cooked udon or soba, is open for all to see.

Finished eating my ramen, I went home and hit the hay. It'd been too long a flight - I needed a real sleep....

 

[Bundy Bear]

Re: Fri 29 Oct (Niagara Falls, BUF-JFK)

Nice trip report, some parts of the trip report I know really well, maybe I was there.

Friday 29 October

Flight: JetBlue B6139 Buffalo Niagara (BUF) – New York John F. Kennedy (JFK T5)
Depart: 1145h Sched; 1141h Actual
Aircraft: N715JB "How's My Flying? Call 1-800-JetBlue" Airbus A320-200
Distance: 301 mi (484 km)
Class: Economy
Seat: 9F

As some of you would have read in my prologue, a friend said to give B6 a try, since the distance is pretty short I wouldn't be getting many BD miles if I went with US. On top of that, it's another carrier to add to experience, and blue chips on board. I should've prefaced that my friend is someone who will try anything and everything in commercial aviation once - new airline, new aircraft...and he's done heaps of them...

Gee, who would say such a thing, tell you to fly another airline where you couldn't earn miles for your next trip. :shock:

 

[whereishome]

Re: Tue 26 Oct (Narita)

As I walked the road back to the station from the temple, you can't help but notice a few things...

The last two characters mean "hospital". What the?

病院 (byouin) does translate as "hospital", but the meaning is closer to that of surgery or clinic (although the word クリニック - kurinikku does appear sometimes too).

Anyways, this particular one is a Gynecologist clinic as evidenced by the kanji 婦人科 (fujinka) above the word hospital. I can't make out the other speciality to the right in the photo.