My First TR: 21 Flights in 28 Days

[TomVexille]

Is that a waffle maker?

 

[sjd]

Is that a waffle maker?

Is that waffle iron conditioner spray?

 

[TomVexille]

Is that waffle iron conditioner spray?

I suspect it is

 

[PLANT]

Can some one explain why american bread tastes terrible... Been 4 times and it is terrible all over country!
Breakfast in motels

 

[TomVexille]

Can some one explain why american bread tastes terrible... Been 4 times and it is terrible all over country!
Breakfast in motels

I suspect they buy cheap bread. Just like cheap bread in Australia is usually terrible.

 

[exceladdict]

I think it has something to do with the extra salt, sugar and chemicals in everything. See my next hotel review.

 

[boomy]

Can some one explain why american bread tastes terrible... Been 4 times and it is terrible all over country!
Breakfast in motels

It's very soft and sweet, maybe too much sugar? It's slightly better here but still can't be compared to the bread made in Europe.

 

[exceladdict]

5: Depart IAH, US F to CLT, 2h:20m, A320 2A/C


Check-in at IAH was a little disappointing as the check in attendant rudely disallowed me from checking a bag through to my subsequent AA flight on a seperate ticket. If it's not allowed, fine, but especially when checking in as an F pax, I would expect a 'sorry, we can't do that' versus a grumpy no.


No OW lounge at IAH so grabbed a starbucks - who now do a 'flat white' - and made our way through to boarding area. Just enough time to check my subsequent flights were not delayed before boarding.


On boarding we were advised that flights were full so some Y pax were forced to check in larger carry-ons. It was quite funny when one of the FAs, in deliberate earshot of the relevant Y passenger, 'it's so rude for some people to bring on so many bags when others were forced to check their carry on'. I giggled.


No picture, but a standard US F Seat, again avoiding row 1 which has less legroom and no underseat baggage.


After take off, a couple of Y pax were using the F toilets until our bubbly FA turned around and sternly sent them to the back of the cabin.


After some warm nuts, lunch was a nice but somewhat heavy vegetable canneloni, complete with salad and bread. Of course, that's an American 'salad' - mainly lettuce, featuring cheese, a lonely olive and one cherry tomato.




Then, it was time to get some work done. The emails stacked up overnight Not what you want on day 2/3 of your holiday (even if it is a work-ation).





Flight finished up with some warm cookies.

Next: US F to JFK

 

[exceladdict]

6: CLT and US2017


We arrived into CLT a little early and made our way over to the Admirals Club (recently rebranded from whatever the US Lounges were called).

We denied the free premium drink coupons and sat down to get some work done. The snacks on offer were all we needed at the time, the general 'if you missed breakfast' fare.

After a while, they were switched out to feature some snacks - olives, cheese, carrot, celery, cherry toms. Not too bad for a light lunch. The sweet potato crisps were reportedly nice.


All the meanwhile, our connecting flight - US2017 - was being progressively delayed. I went to speak to the lounge angel (what's the correct term for a nice male lounge agent, angel seems wrong) to follow up on any options as at the time, we would have had a total of 4 minutes between our delayed arrival and the closure of bag acceptance for our onward flight (seperate ticket, as you'll remember, the ticketing man would not check our bags through in IAH).


We spoke to the AA lounge angel (CLT AA Lounge still mainly staffed by US staff who can't change AA tickets), who advised there was nothing she could do, all other flights were booked. We'd have to try our luck collecting our bags and getting through, which I knew would never happen.


Discontent, I sat down to post the first few posts of this TR, then it occurred I should check for alternate options that might be covered by insurance, albeit with an excess. To my excitement, there were two Y-class seats on the last flight of the day. I returned to the desk and the Lounge AAngel swapped us over. Only downside is seperate seats, but we'd have plenty of time to recheck our bags, and we could still make it to DC that night.


I thought that was the end of the stress - it would turn out not to be. As the flight continued to be delayed, I stopped paying attention to the time. At one point, my wife asked, "Is it 2.30 or 3.30?" - it was 3.29, with our flight scheduled to depart at 3.30. My laptop didn't update to ET from CT.


We ran to the gate, and were told we had 30 seconds to find our tickets which were stuffed somewhere in a bag in our rush from the lounge. They were in fact found in my back pocket, and we boarded as the doors closed. We were then delayed on the runway about 15 minutes before we could take off.


At time of writing, our ETA to JFK is 5.33pm - 4 minutes after our onward flight was scheduled to depart. Turns out, the gentleman not checking our bags through from IAH may have saved me a lot of hassle interrupting my bags at JFK.


Depart: CLT, US Airways J, A320 2A/2C, 1h:49m


Not a lot to report on this flight, it seemed a little noisier than the previous despite being in same seats, but perhaps I'm just feeling grumpy at this point. No IFE, so we killed some time by interacting with each other (winning one game each, and mine was a cheap win, with the 'if you have 10 cards or more' rule).

As the flight was scheduled under 2 hours, there was no meal, a tray of snacks were brought around. I chose chocolate biscuits - not worth a photo. My wife chose to sleep instead, a wise decision. Flight was once again jam packed, I enjoyed the ability to use wifi to track the flight progress and monitor upcoming AA flights for free.


Now, back to those emails. Next up: My attempt to get to DCA.

 

[exceladdict]

7: JFK & The Admirals Club (T8, near gate 44)


Arriving in to JFK, it was nice to see a familiar plane as the sun set:

We got off the plane quickly, eager to get our bags and re-check-in so we could use the facilities at the Admirals Club before our late flight out to DC. Long story short, parts of this journey simply weren't meant to be.


While waiting for our baggage, we realised we'd left something on the plane. We went and spoke to Valerie at the US Airways Baggage Desk, who called the gate - luckily the plane had not yet turned around and departed - and someone from the gate grabbed it off the plane and held it for us. We later picked it up, and were very thankful for the service. Given the number of flight cancellations that day - more on that later - I'm sure there were plenty of grumpy customers and complaints submitted, so I really appreciated the helpful service.


Now, I was struggling to remember which airport (there was one in our last trip) was the one that took ages for bags. My memory was quickly jogged and it was about 45 minutes after departure before our bags came out, despite having the new orange 'priority baggage' oneworld tag. Good thing we didn't try to make that earlier flight... or so we thought.


We went back through security and collected our item from the gate, and then took the lift upstairs to the AC. I didn't get a chance to take photos because as I arrived, I recognised a face walking past me towards the facilities.


I went and discussed with my wife, who then went and looked and agreed it was Adam Scott (aka Ben Wyatt of Parks and Recreation). When I went to say hello, he was walking back to the elevator to leave - just enough time for me to tell him I really liked his work. There's my claim to fame for the trip.


Not long after that, I got the dreaded call. "Your flight has been cancelled". And of course, that was the last flight out of JFK to DC for the evening.


Turns out the flight we were originally booked on ended up being delayed until just before I got the call saying my flight was cancelled - if we never changed the booking, we would have made it in the end. The 'reason' for the cancellation was weather - but I'm skeptical as the flight we were originally meant to be on departed fine. I think it's more likely the plane that was to be used was the same one that was delayed elsewhere due to weather, and they decided not to return it to JFK. Anyway, nothing we could do, so we made our way to the nearest, cheapest hotel given the $250 excess on our insurance policy. Some things aren't meant to be, and for us, including DC in the itinerary was one of them.


We ended up abandoning the flight altogether as we were only going to overnight it in DC and catch a couple of museums before heading down to Texas for a conference. Rather than risk the weather returning and shutting down DCA again, we decided to fly direct to DFW the next day. But more on that tomorrow.


Next up: Holiday Inn Express JFK (Jamaica)

 

[RooFlyer]

Arrrgh ... many of us would feel your pain!

You US flights and lounge experiences mirrored my own last week - except on my flights the J/F toilet was open season for all. I found US Air staff some of the least engaging I have found in an English speaking airline.

 

[robd]

It's very soft and sweet, maybe too much sugar? It's slightly better here but still can't be compared to the bread made in Europe.

Yep, it's the sugar. The butter is carp too (no/low salt).

 

[jaye93]

Enjoying your blog exceladdict

 

[blackcat20]

I love those hotel waffle machines. I also avoid the bread and stick with the bagels...

 

[TomVexille]

I love those hotel waffle machines. I also avoid the bread and stick with the bagels...

Bagels are a winner

 

[exceladdict]

8: Holiday Inn Express JFK (Jamaica)


Well, after seven or so relatively positive reviews, it's time for a so-so one. I do feel bad doing this, but honesty is the best policy.


So as mentioned we needed to get to a hotel quick-smart as we were both falling asleep in the airport and had had enough of dealing with AA for the time. Using the IHG app (linked to a book-with-the-app-set-your-sights-bonus), we found the Jamaica (JFK) HIX for $25 cheaper than the airport's hotel desk distress rate. We caught the AirTrain to the stop with the hotel shuttles and walked out into the cold.


As we waited, our van arrived, and the driver of a Hilton bus commenced tooting at our van before getting into a verbal altercation with our driver. A nice touch, but I was so tired I chose not to intervene.


Anyway, after not long we were off on the short drive to the HIX. From the outside, it presents quite well (pictured the next morning).




The hotel/motel lobby was clean, though the front counter attendant didn't recognise IHG status and therefore no free upgrade.


The room itself was quite small, even for a HIX, with no bathroom fan so it steamed up when either of us took a shower. My towel came complete with stains. Even the wifi was slow, nothing was meant to go right for me that night.


I ended up in bed quite late and woke up at about 8.30, with the breakfast due to close at 9. When we were serving ourselves, a cleaner was hovering around, it felt like she was trying to wipe down specifically whatever I wanted to access at any given time, well before closing time.


(interestingly the housekeeping staff all seemed to wear what looked like dark blue scrubs, I thought I was in a hospital).


The breakfast itself was - in a word - bland. I feel like bread, especially cheap/hotel bread, in the US (along with some other things) has about double the sugar and salt content as I am used to, resulting in an overall tasteless experience. I don't remember HIX breakfasts being that bad, and I'm quite familiar with the chain. Coffee was disgusting (yes, again, even for HIX food) and the carton of milk I took out was half frozen.


Determined to not have another terrible day, we decided to go for a walk. We found a park nearby, that, while frozen over, was still really nice to walk around.




We found a dunkin donuts and enjoyed a warm drink that tasted much better before walking back to the hotel. (on the note of dunkin donuts - no one actually dunks donuts in coffee, do they?)

On the way, I appreciated this pun, though with the proximity to the airport it may be false advertising:




After not long we then checked out and caught the shuttle back to the airport, this time dropping us at Terminal 8 Directly. That was at least a plus.


Overall, would not recommend unless you really need something very close to JFK and on the cheap. Far below what I imagine the comfort of the Hyatt Regency in Washington (where I was meant to have slept) would have been.


Next Up: Let's try to get out of JFK again!

 

[exceladdict]

9: JFK Terminal 8 & The Admirals Club (near the higher numbered gates) again


With a bit more time at the terminal, we waltzed through security after using the priority check in desk (thanks to QF SG/OWs) and avoiding the mosh pit that was the self-check in.


Seeking comfort food after the monstrosity that was the HIX Breakfast, we opted for a quick big mac / quarter pounder before going over to the AC. It did not disappoint.


On checking in to the AC the Lounge Dragon obliged but looked at me funny when I asked him what time my flight was boarding. I feel that's a reasonable question as AA don't list it on the screens in the lounge. Anyway.


I did a bit more wandering in the AC this time and found a range of sandwiches for sale. I did not partake.




Initially, there were cereal dispensers, which later transformed (while I wasn't looking) to two complementary soups (flaming vegetable or potato and cheese). We tried the latter, which was bland.




The carrot sticks/Celery/Olives also returned, as they did the previous day in CLT. These were at least fresh and a good opportunity to get something without added sugar and salt. The club was a fair bit busier during the day, so I couldn't take too many pictures without receiving strange looks. There was a nice view of some planes in the airport though. Think it's the first time I'd seen a BA plane.




I do like the lounge and the way it has lots of private-ish areas, and a large seperate quiet area if you want to rest. The lack of self-service-sandwiches, etc, like a QP has is a bit disappointing but all in all, I can't complain considering the $0 entry fee.


We made it to our flight in time for boarding this time, but didn't manage to catch any more TV celebrities on the way.


Next up: AA65 JFK-DFW

 

[exceladdict]

10: AA65 JFK-DFW, Y, B737-8, Seats 9E/F (MCE), 4h Scheduled


Now, for the longest, and first of what was to be five but is now only four Y flights on the journey. We grabbed these for 18k Qantas Points when they were priced at $700 or so (US) yeilding a roughly 5c/point (AUD) equivalent. Not 100% happy about postponing my ONE4 which was to be the next trip, but didn't want to cough up $700 for a Y flight or risk my wife not making it to the conference on time. No F awards available, but even then, probably wouldnt've spent 54k each on a 3.5hr AA F seat.


Anyway, for an economy flight, it wasn't too bad. Row 9 is quite close to the engines so the Bose QC15s were once again legendary. We thought we had a free seat in the row before the last person to board (literally) came and sat there. Again, a full flight. The free OJ was a significant step down from the complimentary amenities on Qatar a few days prior, but having experienced AA before, at least we were prepared.


The toilet wasn't the cleanest in the world, but I guess this is the world of whY in which I found myself. I've had far worse on a flight back from KTA to PER full of off-shift oil and gas workers.


The fifth flight itself was the least turbulent of the trip so far, and being a main cabin extra seat we had a bit of extra legroom - in fact, i had to stretch to hit the person in front's life jacket, and I'm just over 6 foot. I'd like to see Qantas introduce this at the cost of one or two Y rows. Spent most of the flight working, so it was over relatively quickly. Not much more to report, other than the touch down in Dallas was a little bumpy and the flight time was a convenient 30 minutes shorter than expected.


On collecting bags, the OW priority bag tags seemed to work this time with ours being one of the first on the terminal. We then made our way via the bus (which was a seemingly very long ride) to the Car Rental Building, about 10-15 minutes from baggage claim A29 where we were waiting.


Welcome to the Lone Star State.



Next up: Adventures in Fort Worth, 'Where the West begins'.

 

[Mattg]

I've also become quite sceptical about AA blaming the weather for everything to get out of providing compensation. I had an AA flight out of La Guardia a week or two back cancelled and was told I would not be offered any compensation, hotel etc. if I had to change airports or overnight as the cancellation was "weather-related"... this was despite it being a beautiful sunny day in New York and all other flights to my destination were departing...

 

[opusman]

I've also become quite sceptical about AA blaming the weather for everything to get out of providing compensation. I had an AA flight out of La Guardia a week or two back cancelled and was told I would not be offered any compensation, hotel etc. if I had to change airports or overnight as the cancellation was "weather-related"... this was despite it being a beautiful sunny day in New York and all other flights to my destination were departing...

Weather at the origin port of your aircraft can also be a factor (or at an even earlier origin port). Remember most planes don't simply fly back and forth between the two places.