Pre-trip Report: notzac needs a break, November 2009

[notzac]

Continuing with the report on the Hilton Ontario - fortunately no further service disasters! I woke up, slowly got packed up and had brekkie at the bistro downstairs. Like all good Hilton properties, the in room WiFi isn't free -- though there was free WiFi in the lobby. I almost got it working in my room (kept dropping out), but brekkie was a good opportunity to drag my laptop down for a session of e-mail. Even though I was paying for it and you'd therefore expect it to be good, the spread and quality of food available was great. Certainly one of the best brekkie buffets I've eaten at.

After consuming probably far too much and drinking enough of what passes for coffee to be awake and alert, I went and got checked out with a v perky and friendly concierge who promised to pass my feedback along (she made the mistake of asking how my stay was) and called the hotel shuttle for me so I could get to ONT.

As much as I was genuinely looking for ways to fly ONT-LAX, it was just too hard to make it all work. Driving was going to be a pain, and I couldn't justify the extra $$ to drive over taking a SuperShuttle service. It actually wasn't too bad .. certainly not the most comfortable way to travel, and the driver spent most of the journey complaining to the other pax in the van - but it got me where I needed to go:

Hotel 8: Hampton Inn Los Angeles Intl. Airport

Pretty average property. No where near as nice as the Hampton Inn Mexico City. It was a cheap overnight stop near LAX, so I'm not going to complain - but it wasn't anything memorable either, so I'm not going to write much about it. Wish I'd spent the extra $10 to stay at the much nicer-looking Hilton LAX.

I spent most of the evening out and about walking around Venice Beach and Santa Monica catching up with an old friend of mine - was a great evening - and the wonderful Californian wine certainly dulled the ignominy of staying at a cough hotel.

I was up reasonably early the following morning to get on my way with the last mini mileage run..:

Flight 22: AA 1936 LAX/SFO
Track Flight Status for (AA) American Airlines 1936
On-time departure: On-time
Craft: MD80
Crew: OK
Seat: 4E

I think this is actually the first time that I've checked in for a flight at T4 (Lord knows I've certainly taken my fair share of flights from LAX T4, but I've never actually checked in here.) Anyway. AA premium check-in at T4 is broken up in to those flying First or with OWE shiny cards and those flying Business or with OWS shiny cards. The Business queue was a bit of a rat-race; little wonder that we had AAgents bellowing at at the First queue "you must have a confirmed reservation in First to use this queue". When it was my turn, I was v efficiently processed - got baggage checked through to SEA and boarding cards for the next two flights, then had to drag my bag down to the TSA scanning machine. Through security and off to the lounge for my very first LAX F/L experience!

Considering all the decidedly average lounges that AA operate, I was pleasantly surprised by the Flagship Lounge. The AAngels were among the friendliest I've come across, the food spread was comprehensive and the booze selection was actually pretty good. I fixed myself a gin fizz and sat down - next to someone with a FT bag tag (another first!) He spotted mine and so we ended up swapping trip reports (he was on a mileage run as well).

On to the flight - which was on-time, but nothing else stood out for me. I got my gin and my warmed nuts. Boring. Next!

Arrived in to SFO and played the change terminal game; decided that I would get an AS-issued boarding card for the AS sector (call me weird .. the check-in agent certainly gave me strange looks when I asked for a reprint), went through security - happily, a F boarding card with AS gets you priority security lane - and then wandered around the terminal looking for the lounge. After not finding it, I asked a GA who pointed it out for me - it's a fairly non-descript door that's not really decorated in any way.

The AS lounge at SFO is small and not especially comfortable - certainly not somewhere you'd want to be stuck for any length of time. The soft drinks are in a (non-refrigerated) cupboard and the hard drinks you have to find a staff member and ask them for. Fortunately I wasn't kept waiting long before my flight was called...

Flight 23: AA 7009 SFO/SEA
Track Flight Status for (AA) American Airlines 7009
On-time departure: On-time
Craft: B734
Crew: Nice
Seat: 2C

I really wish AS would do something about the rubbish seat pitch they offer in F on the B734. I had a very quiet seat mate, so I kept to myself for the duration of the flight. The snack offered was a plate of fresh veggies with a spinach and ricotta dip, which was actually really nice. I skipped the gin in favour of a Washington state red - which was lovely but perhaps didn't complement the meal particularly well. Oh well!

One of the things that I really enjoy about flying on AS is getting a history and geography lesson from the Captain - which hopefully won't stop with the recent TSA shenanigans. We were told all about the mountain range we were flying over, which was fun. I celebrated the new knowledge with another glass of wine!

After landing and collecting bags, I was left to work out how to get to the city. The rapid transit system still wasn't complete, so it was going to be either a taxi or a shuttle. I opted for a shuttle, which was far more pleasant than the SuperShuttle experience. After a short wait for more pax that never arrived, I was conveyed to my hotel for the evening...

Hotel 9: Homewood Suites Seattle

I heard one of my favourite phrases for the first time upon check in to a hotel here... "Sir, we've managed to upgrade you". Having no prior experience with the property I have no idea what I was upgraded from, but the suite I ended up in was hooooge - if not really decorated to my taste. Small detail. I lounged around for an hour or so until a mate of mine got in to the city, then we went for yummy italian at Tavolàta, followed by coughtails at Rob Roy. Great night out!

Almost there! Four more flights and we're done...

 

[serfty]

... I woke up, slowly got packed up and had brekkie at the bistro downstairs, but brekkie was a good opportunity to drag my laptop down for a session of e-mail. Even though I was paying for it and you'd therefore expect it to be good, the spread and quality of food available was great. Certainly one of the best brekkie buffets I've eaten at. ...

Surprising! As a HHonors Gold, at Hilton Hotels you can choose from 3 VIP offerings:

• 1000 HHonors points or
• Free Internet or
• Upgrade request - if you chose this and no upgrade is forthcoming, you are entitled to a complimentary "Continental breakfast" (Often simply the full breakfast).

 

[drron]

Continuing to enjoy the TR.At LAX though if staying at a Hilton property i always now choose one of the HGIs.As gold or diamond you get a complimentary hot breakfast and the wifi is free.Also good sized rooms.

 

[notzac]

Surprising! As a HHonors Gold, at Hilton Hotels you can choose from 3 VIP offerings:

I suspect this was mostly not offered because I had only just reached HHonors Gold and the res systems hadn't reflected such.

 

[serfty]

I suspect this was mostly not offered because I had only just reached HHonors Gold and the res systems hadn't reflected such.

Cheers ... Was the status showing online at the time of check-in? If so, I would have gently employed the squeaky wheel method and all that ...

... anyway back to the TR (I'm quite enjoying it, especially as I have an abbreviated version coming up in a few weeks).

 

[notzac]

Cheers ... Was the status showing online at the time of check-in? If so, I would have gently employed the squeaky wheel method and all that ...

To be honest - I can't recall. Chalking this one up as a learning experience!

Continuing on from the evening out in Seattle, I got back and poured myself in to bed at somewhere around 1am; couldn't have too late a night, the following day promised to be v busy!

Check out was unexciting. A complimentary continental buffet breakfast was provided, though I didn't linger long -- the chorus of screaming kids was doing my head in. My shuttle had been pre-booked for 9:50 and it was rapidly approaching that time, so I went back to the suite one last time to grab bags and then headed back downstairs. The concierge told me that the shuttle was already waiting for me .. I stepped outside, but nothing resembling a shuttle was waiting. I was about to go back inside when I was interrupted by a suited gentleman; he enquired after my name and whether I was waiting for a shuttle or not. I confirmed same and was ushered over to a town car for the trip back to the airport -- a pleasant surprise!

The check-in staff at SEA were as lovely as always - the lady looking after me tried a few times, but couldn't get my bag interlined over to QF (to be fair, it was a separate PNR). Given I had a stack of time in LAX, it wasn't a real problem - so with my bag checked through to LAX and 2 x boarding cards issued, I went through security and found my way to the AS Boardroom..

Flight 24: AA 6874 SEA/SFO
Track Flight Status for (AA) American Airlines 6874
On-time departure: On-time
Craft: B734
Crew: Wonderful
Seat: 2D

The Boardroom was quite busy - when I checked in, the concierge took my boarding card and changed the boarding time from 11:50 to 11:40. I didn't think to ask why, but the reason became evident later.. frankly, I was more concerned with finding more coffee and something to nibble on, along with a comfy seat and WiFi to e-mail it up on.

Boarding time rolls around and I make for the gate. I walked and walked and walked .. by the time I made it all the way to the far end of the C concourse, I understood why the concierge had changed the boarding time on me! AS boards customers in First and MVPs in a separate queue (similar to what AA does with Priority AAcess), which is v civilised. Once boarded, I was putting my bag up in the overhead locker when one of the FAs noticed the Flyertalk bag tag and commented that it was lovely seeing a FT'er on board! She professed to not being a member herself, but reads it on occasion.

After take off, the FAs served the same snack meal as I had on the previous flight - only the spinach dip was warmed, which was a noticeable improvement. When I commented on same, the FA was surprised that I'd been served it cold in the first place. Seeing as the FA was fairly chatty (and having an Australian accent is quite the conversation starter!), we had a good talk about my trip and all the places I'd been .. mid-conversation, one of the FAs looking after whY came up to say hello and joined in. They were v interested in what I thought of Havana; it seems a lot of Americans know nothing at all of their communist neighbour. We got to top of descent and one of the FAs hands me another G&T - we kept talking until they had to take seats and I returned to mine.

Turns out my seat mate had overheard some of our conversation - as we descended in to SFO, we had a lovely chat about miles and the respective flying we'd both done in the last month; she's a health industry consultant and flies all over the west coast working with her clients.

Once again I found myself playing the terminal change game at SFO; I went to the AA counter to get a new boarding card (AS-issued AA boarding cards don't contain the all-important PRIORITY AACESS line that lets you use the priority security lane). The AAgent was concerned that my bags hadn't been interlined to QF and wanted to get the bags pulled so she could re-tag them (I hadn't presented the QF eticket; AA's systems must be able to see QF bookings, which I thought interesting) -- I told her it was just fine, I would walk them over to TBIT myself when I got there. So. Through security and in to the AC, where I entertained my liver with more gin until it was time to board..

Flight 25: AA 2578 SFO/LAX
Track Flight Status for (AA) American Airlines 2578
On-time departure: On-time
Craft: MD83
Crew: OK
Seat: 4E

This was another "anonymous" AA flight; gin and warmed nuts, nothing really else to write about one way or the other. It was on time, which was a nice touch. My bag came out relatively quickly, which was definitely nice - AS don't do priority tags, so the baggage handling gods must have been smiling on me that evening.

I schlepped everything across to TBIT and wandered around the terminal a little; I'd forgotten that check-in opens mid-afternoon for flights to the east coast of Australia, so I didn't realise I could check in immediately. After noticing a sign mentioning that check in was open, I wandered over to the First check-in area to get bags and boarding cards sorted out. As an upgrade was not forthcoming (), I managed to score the same wonderful exit row seat I had for the flight over, sans payment. It seems that the exit row seats really aren't selling.. I had been keeping my eye on the available seats to make sure I knew what options I had, and only one of the exit row seats for the entire whY cabin had been sold by the time I'd made it to LAX.

I had a quick look around the duty free shop before security and was completely disappointed by the range and prices. I had to pick up a carton of cigarettes; after a quick online comparison of prices, I decided it could wait until arriving in SYD (the carton was going to be a good 10% cheaper, and that's before considering forex fees). Besides anything else, no Havana Club rum available!

Flight 26: QF 12 LAX/SYD
Track Flight Status for (QF) Qantas Airways 12
On-time departure: On-time
Craft: A388
Crew: OK
Seat: 79J

Through the nightmare that is LAX TBIT security of an evening and on to the lounge.. I was welcomed in to the F section, which was much the same as the J section only slightly quieter. One v welcome difference is the improved quality of booze in the F section - they had the wonderful Taittinger Cuvée Prestige flowing. Having not had any decent French bubbles in literally days, I helped myself to significant quantities before the flight! I nearly missed out on getting a shower - there was a bit of a queue, but the shower attendant gave me a buzzer and it went off a few minutes later.

Feeling significantly better post shower, I gathered my belongings and wandered down to the gate where the masses were gathering .. after what seemed an eternity standing in a queue, I was installed in my seat and had the good fortune of having an empty seat next to me *and* behind me! Recline without the guilt!

After the meal service (which I was able to eat - a vego pasta option was available, which I gladly accepted), I spent most of the remainder of the flight attempting to sleep -- a mostly successful undertaking, but wouldn't have been the case without chemical assistance. One of the nasty little downsides of sitting in this section of the A380 is the proximity to the bassinet positions - and there were two screaming brats that didn't want to shut up for most of the flight. Sleeping tablets to the rescue!

The crew were about the same as the previous A388 flight - nothing to complain about, but fairly indifferent and non-engaging. I like to think I have fairly 'grounded' expectations of crew in the whY cabin -- I'm just not convinced that the A380 crew are quite up to the standard of other QF longhaul crew. And that's a shame.

Arriving in to SYD was about par for the course - disembarkation took quite some time (to be expected when you're up the cough end of a fairly full A380), down the concourse and through duty free to pick up vices for myself and others, through C&I - I used the smart gate, which neatly avoided the v long queues for Immigration - got my stamp, collected my bag and didn't manage to get waved out the exit. However! The lovely lass at Customs took a look at my form and asked what I was declaring (chocolates) and said I was fine to go. I wasn't going to question that!

Flight 27: QF 427 SYD/MEL
Track Flight Status for (QF) Qantas Airways 427
On-time departure: Late
Craft: B738
Crew: OK
Seat: 13C

As per usual - the QF "Seamless" transfer was anything but. Even using the J/shiny card queue, it took a good 15/20 minutes to get to speak to an agent. I was originally booked to MEL on QF423 and naturally enough, I'd missed it. The agent wanted to put me on QF425, but I asked for the flight after so I would have a chance to get a shower and food in the lounge. With my bag re-tagged and a new boarding card issued (exit row!), I joined the incredibly slow security queue and finally made it on to the bus just as it departed.

So. Over to T3, walk up the concourse and in to the J lounge, shower and brekkie followed by a mad dash down to the gate after I realised what the time was... once I was on the plane, I had the opportunity to reacquaint myself with the questionable hospitality of QF Domestic whY FAs. Putting it down to my being tired and grumpy, I pretended to be deeply interested in the exit row safety briefing and then promptly fell asleep until just before touchdown in MEL.

Baggage reclaim was surprisingly prompt - my bag was in the first 5 out on to the carousel - then off to the SkyBus for the ride in to the city, where I made my way straight back to work.

This concludes the trip report! Summaries to follow...

 

[serfty]

... AA 1947 MIA/DFW... The flight itself was uneventful - no food, just warm nuts and booze. ...

Hmmm ... I'm on this flight in a few weeks, departing 17:25 - it shows on AA.com as:

First Class Meal: Dinner

Is this the case or should I endeavor to eat at MIA?

 

[notzac]

Is this the case or should I endeavor to eat at MIA?

Now you've pointed that out - I actually can't remember if there was food. It's rare that there's anything vego available on board on AA, so I probably just skipped the meal offered.

I know I definitely ate at the F/L, which was enough to keep me going. The food wasn't anything inspiring (as mentioned previously), but it was enough to sate my hunger.

 

[notzac]

So, a few final thoughts about undertaking a trip of this scale... would I do it again? Probably, but I'm actually not sure whether I want to. On a cost basis I'm still well ahead of doing a DONE4 -- but those long hauls in whY, the coughpy airport hotels (entirely my own fault, I should have researched better) and the super early starts so as to cram the most number of segments in -- some definite downsides to an otherwise stunningly good holiday.

Things that helped me put this trip together, in no particular order:

• TripIt
• Expedia
• Trip Advisor
• AFF
• FT
• My TA
• AA
• BA
• Qantas
• Mexicana
• Cuba-Junky
• Plymouth Gin

The Booking Process..

I actually had a lot of fun researching and crafting my itinerary - probably not everyones' cup of tea, but I'm preaching to the converted here. The Cuba-Junky website was immensely helpful once I'd decided I was going to Cuba (as were the Cuba forums on Trip Advisor), and of course TripIt kept me sane throughout the process. TripIt is also a really great way of sending your itinerary to relatives -- send the URL once and then there's no need to let them know of plan changes. Handy!

The Airlines..

JQ were about what I expected -- I certainly won't be using them on an itinerary like this again; mostly because it prevented me from changing flights when the cabin redefinitions were extended to Dec/Jan, but also because there's too great a chance for something to go wrong (like missing my connection in SYD, which was a bit of a close call).

QF were pretty ordinary, to be honest. Having had my longhaul whY expectations set by some stellar FAs on various B747 services over the course of the last few years, the A380 crew just weren't up to par. Again - they weren't bad, but they weren't good either. Catering was much of a muchness. However - the seats on the A380 and the v reduced ambient cabin noise both make up for a lot of sins.

AA were about on par with what I've come to expect in their premium cabin. Ground services can be a bit abrupt, lounges tend to be pretty ordinary, on-board service is mostly average .. but every now and again, you run across some absolute gems. Case in point - my flight from MIA to MEX, with the truly wonderful FAs looking after F.

MX stood out as the pick of the bunch! Through all the interactions I had with various ground crew and FAs, each and every person had a smile on their face and all were v polite. While the hard product wouldn't win any awards and the lounges are pretty awful, the planes were clean and the service (both on the ground and in the air) was consistently good - certainly far better than I've come to expect from other carriers. Am v keen to try their premium cabin sometime. An excellent addition to oneworld.

BA were ... OK, but certainly not up to the rave reviews they get. From a systems perspective, their online booking management is probably the best I've ever come across (and getting access to the good seats for nix as a OWE is certainly nice!) The catering disaster ex-MEX certainly didn't improve my opinion of them, and neither did the rat-race that is LHR T5 (the Galleries First lounge excluded). In general - the Terraces lounges are good, the First lounge product is outstanding, the ground crew and FAs are OK, the pilot's introduction at the start of each flight is great (a real reminder that there is a human being in charge of the large metal tube you're in) and the catering is nothing to write home about - a complete joke on shorthaul flights (though those cookies are good) and a bit of a coughshoot on longhaul flights. At least they know how to brew a good cup of tea!

AS were great; probably a close second to MX in terms of my experience. All of the staff I encountered were friendly, the catering (such that it was) was tasty, the wine selection was v provincial but otherwise great .. however, the F hard product in the B734 really lets them down. I can't work out whether it's better or worse than AA's domestic B752 product, which is also awful.

The Hotels..

Comparing to my previous trip - the hotels were mostly v average, but they did the job. The Hilton program seems to be fairly good at delivering bennies once you get status, though I'm unsure exactly how useful the points are yet. The only outstanding property I've stayed at thus far was the Hilton South Wharf in Melbourne, and that was after the trip! At least in the US, the Hilton properties are definitely cheaper than where I have stayed previously - if not quite up to the same standards. Definitely a case of getting what you paid for.

The Cuban hotels were actually better than I was expecting (my expectations were pretty dire). They're definitely not up to international standards by any means - and the beds I slept in were truly awful - but if you've done your homework you know what you're getting in to.

In Europe I was staying with friends, so no hotels to report on.

I suppose you want some photos now?

 

[drron]

Yes please!
Driving the states I am still booking with hilton though most of my top end stays are SPG.Hilton garden Inns I like(as does mrsdrron).The coverage by hilton beats the socks off SPG in the states.For instance later this year we are back in Arkansas-SPG has one property in the state,Hilton has 39.

 

[notzac]

Yes please!

Done deal! There are an awful lot of photos and two videos, so I've uploaded the lot to PicasaWeb. Do enjoy!

 

[Maca44]

A really great trip report, but a picture said a thousand words and you have some great shots to top off your TR. Many thanks for the time you put into preparing it.

 

[drron]

Those shots of Cuba are great.Definitely added to my bucket list.