QF009 visits the US of A [dedicated to taipeiflyer and HUGE AL]

[Alanslegal]

Nice review of New Orleans .... had a quick look on SPG & there are quite a few choices & not too overly priced ~USD$200

will add this city to my 'will consider' visit on my next xONEx

 

[Keith009]

Nice review of New Orleans .... had a quick look on SPG & there are quite a few choices & not too overly priced ~USD$200

The W on Poydras can often be had for less on Starpicks. These are published a week or 2 prior to the dates you're after.

There are SPGs, then there are Ws.

 

[docjames]

So, are you in the movie??

 

[Keith009]

So, are you in the movie??

Sorry to disappoint, but nup.

<smileys removed due to max 6 images restriction>

The Windy Finale part 1 - short hops around the US on Mad Dog

Sector - MSY-DFW
Flight number - AA720
Class - First
Seat - 4E
Aircraft - MD80

The airport shuttle arrived promptly at 0610 and I'd just made it after an hour's nap and a rushed shower. It made a little tour of NOLA picking up a few more people along the way. 30 minutes later I was deposited outside the AA entrance at Louis Armstrong International. My bags were tagged all the way to SYD, but they could only issue boarding passes up to JFK. Not a problem as I'd have had to reissue my BP with QF over at JFK otherwise anyway, due to Australian API requirements.

I was excited to be able to use the Admiral Clubs as I was on an international itinerary today. However an epic search of the airport revealed the distinct lack of ACs in this airport - the GA confirmed that they don't exist in MSY. Again - pays to check AA.com prior to traveling.

The Mad Dog's F cabin was much the same as any other F cabin domestically. Being in the front also means I was not subjected to the swaying to the extent experienced by those down the back. It was also much quieter than other ac as the engines were at the tail section and hence far away.

We had a very chirpy purser on this flight. Always refreshing to see someone who loves his job, even more so at such an ungodly hour (for me anyway). He had a full-on Southern accent which I'd found endearingly sexy. I suddenly remembered that I have a heap of AAplause certs in my bag and handed him a couple of those - and I seemed to have made his day.

There was pre take off drinks for this flight, but the purser seemed to have a lot of trouble serving them as boarding was still in progress. Drinks were served again when we reached cruising altitude and I had a power nap to recharge my batteries.


Sector - DFW-JFK
Flight number - AA384
Class - First
Seat - 4E
Aircraft - MD80

My original 45 minutes' connection had lengthened to approximately 90 minutes and so I had a leisurely and stress-free connection. The trouble with writing my TR from memory is that I now cannot remember some details, in this case terminal details - but I do know that the terminal I had to go to was only a stop away on the train from the one I arrived into.

I spent about an hour in the rather noice AC. I got quite a bunch of drink chits from the very friendly AC dragon, and so proceeded to drink gallons of Coke.

The gate was only across the hallway from the AC. F boarding was called just as I was walking out of the AC, and so I simply sauntered onboard.

The purser on this flight also deserves a special mention - she's brimming with enthusiasm, and obviously proud of her job and her airline. She made time to engage in friendly convos with each and every pax in the cabin, and sincerely thanked each and every one of us personally for choosing American. She also got a couple of my AAplause certs and I was pleased to have made her day as she really deserved to be recognised for her good work.

My seatmate was an interesting bloke from Orange County, CA who happened to be a fan of both Singapore Airlines and Qantas - ahh my kind of guy! We exchanged many a tale about memorable experiences with both airlines. He happened to be on his annual trip to NYC and I was only too pleased to share some tips about the Big Apple.

We were served lunch on this flight. Warm nuts were served as per usual, followed by a very noice and fresh salad. The faulty oven in the galley meant that the main courses were delayed for a bit - profuse apologies for this were made. The main course was a choice between salmon with hoisin sauce or enchilada with beef. I knew better than to get a cheese-based dish for an inflight meal, but I didn't know what ingredients were in the hoisin sauce - and hence decided to err on the side of caution. The enchilada was close to inedible.

Then came my favourite - the freshly baked cookie! The purser was only too happy to oblige when i asked for seconds.

Next: The Windy Finale part 2 - JFK-(LAX)-SYD AA7366 J (operating as QF108/10late)

 

[Commuter]

The bits on top of the salad look suspiciously like a type of crab stick. No ill effect from that?

 

[Keith009]

The bits on top of the salad look suspiciously like a type of crab stick. No ill effect from that?

They're actually onion bits.

 

[simongr]

That enchilada looks repugnant...

 

[Keith009]

That enchilada looks repugnant...

Hehe I've had the same comment from people at SQTalk. Trust me, it smelt and tasted like beef. Otherwise.... "Whatever won't kill you only makes you stronger." I guess. :shock:

 

[Keith009]

The Windy Finale part 2 - Almost home!

Sector - JFK-SYD
Flight number - AA7366 (operating as QF108/10late)
Class - Business
Seat - 11A
Aircraft - B747-400

New York to Los Angeles

I took the air train to T7 which was only a stop away, braved the cold and made a mad dash across the road into the warmth of the terminal.

So all good things have to come to an end. This is it - I'm leaving the good ol US of A and will not be back for months yet. One of my absolutely favourite places for a holiday - the fashion scene is so highly developed (I do personally prefer American and UK designers to their Continental European and Australian counterparts; Agnes B, Peter Morrissey, Robert Pierucci, and whoever does Ferragamo bags and shoes excepted) and the parties rock. Friendly people too. And most importantly - trendy, trendy, trendy!!

Being booked on the AA codeshare reduced my already tiny chance of getting op upped on this flight to virtually zero, since codeshares cannot be oversold. But I naively thought it's only polite to send the good people of AA some revenue for the labourious task involved in setting up my ticket - it was only later I learnt that AA actually makes a loss selling me the codeshare as the cost of paying QF for my seat far outstrips the revenue they'd get from a moderately optimised DONE4, let alone a MR-optimised one like mine.

As per the norm, QF108 was delayed - an estimated delay of 45 minutes was communicated to me at check in. Due to the way QF schedules this rotation, with very little ground time at LAX and involves a turnaround at the mercy of peak time JFK traffic, any delays along the way have a snowball effect. It is thus not surprising that punctuality statistics for this flight aren't very flattering. Hence the moniker given to the flight by ground staff at JFK and LAX - QF10late.

QF was entirely handled by BA ground staff at JFK. QF's F and J check in desks are simply next to the fast track security line. For some reason the reissue of my ticket and consequent conversion of my eticket to a paper ticket had failed to sync with the QF systems and the check in agent couldn't check me in. She called a back office which sorted it all out, and I was handed my boarding pass to SYD. She'd also made sure that the crew knew of my shellfish allergy. My paper ticket coupon and immigration slip were collected at the check in desk unlike most other airports which prevented me from losing or tearing them. Then it was a quick walk-through of the relatively quiet TSA line, and off to the BA Terraces lounge.

I like this lounge, very open and spacious. Seating was also ample. The wine bar looked very nice and resistance was almost impossible - I just made sure that I sat as far away from it as possible. I couldn't take advantage of the Elemis spa offerings as they were reserved for BA pax.

 

[Keith009]

Boarding was called punctually at the revised boarding time of 1900, and I headed to the gate where a huge queue had already formed at the J line.

I was welcomed by a rather jovial CSM at the aircraft entrance who gave me the obligatory directions to my seat. I found that my bags had expanded somewhat over the trip and I failed to stuff the bigger of the 2 bags into the side storage cabinet which were smaller at row 11.

I was then welcomed by one of the FAs on the upper deck and presented with a tray of pre-take off drinks to choose from. "Champagne?!" he cheerfully offered. *Must resist* His face fell when I reached for the water, and I'd explained that it was due to my meds. Peer pressure was exerted by both the FA and my seat mate - I figured that I'd have a full dinner on this flight and a supper on the LAX-SYD sector and they'd be enough to soak up any booze in me. So I let myself be convinced that one tiny glass of Charles Heidsieck was ok... omg it tasted especially good after the prolonged drought! Gotta hand it to the FA for his enthusiasm - my kind of man!

My seatmate on this flight happened to be a Qantas flight attendant herself who was on holiday in NYC and flying on a standby basis. Staff travel doesn't seem as rosy as I'd previously thought when I heard her rather interesting tales of attempting to fly standby.

The menus and amenity kit were then handed out. We were going to be sitting on the ground for a while due to the lack of ATC clearance. I browsed the menu and planned what I was going to eat for both segments. The FA then came back to my seat to confirm that the crew had received a note from the ground staff of my shellfish allergy but assured me that the meals served on this segment and the next were 100% shellfish-free. We had a bit of a banter during which I shared details of my medical drama in LA.

After a prolonged delay we finally took off, and the coughpit advised those on my side of the aircraft that there were nice views of Manhattan to be enjoyed. Manhattan is stunning at night, especially when viewed from this perspective.

I decided to check out the IFE. I guess I was too busy chatting and wasn't paying much attention, but apparently I'd been pulling the screen in the wrong angle.

SNAP!!!​

I'd managed the unhinge the PTV screen. The FA assured me that I wasn't the first person to have achieved such a feat; he noted it down in the log so that an engineer at LAX could fix it. I was also offered a change of seats as J wasn't full but declined as I was going to snooze after eating anyway.

Hot towels were handed out and a very nice dinner was soon served. The cheeky FA then teased me with the very nice Australian pinot noir that was on the carts tonight before 'suddenly remembering' that I wasn't supposed to drink. He's a real character! The prosciutto salad was yummy. This was followed by the chicken which was fragrant but a bit on the dry side - I guess that's the point of the puree. I had the cheese plate for dessert which was lovely, and finally some latte and chocolates to wash it all down. I love Grinders coffee - the palate is soothing and much smoother than lots of other coffee beans. And so I'm pleased that it is also QF's coffee of choice - but unfortunately I guess FAs aren't meant to be very good baristas or are hampered by the lack of appropriate equipment. To be fair I've yet to come across an airline that does excellent lattes. I'd just stick to regular long black next time.

Full menu here.

I then turned the very comfy Skybed into angled flat mode, and proceeded to snooze almost the entire length of the flight. I was exhausted at that point as I'd had virtually no sleep the night before and I'd been traveling for almost the entire day. I woke up just as we were preparing to land at LAX, and I was offered a hot towel when the FA noticed that I was awake.

We bade farewell to the crew as there'd be a crew change in LAX. It was again all round excellent service and I hoped the crew on my onward segment would be just as great.

 

[Keith009]

Los Angeles to Sydney

I invited my seatmate to join me in the lounge, and instantly made a friend for life. The Admirals Club at LAX T4 doubles up as a Qantas Club, and it even had a dedicated QF desk with QF staffers. It wasn't as nice as the AC in DFW. I had a shower, in light of the fact that I last had a shower this morning and I had a 15 hour journey in front of me.

Unfortunately J was full for the onward segment to SYD and it looked like my seatmate was going to be stuck in LAX, until they found her a seat in whY and shoved her in there. So a new seatmate for the onward journey - who I hope will be as cool.

I once again had to resist temptation as champagne was offered prior to take off. My explanation that I was on medication brought on a quick quip from the FA "Well, they say champagne is medication in a bottle isn't it?!" Normally I'd have found it quite hard to say no to that but the thought of potential adverse effects mid air over the Pacific ocean strengthened my resolve to go for the OJ.

The breakfast order cards, menus, amenity kits (so that's twice as much ultraceutical products and trendy plastic cases for moi!) and PJs were handed out. No pens were loaded onboard and the FAs only had 3 amongst themselves so the cards took a while to be filled out. I had a pen of my own which was circulated around row 11.

We once again had a phenomenally long wait for take off. This flight was really living up to its reputation! I was sitting next to a fellow Melbournian on this flight and we both revelled in the superiority of Marvelous Melbourne *dons flame-proof suit*.

Supper was served right after take off. I had the beef fillet this time which was very literally very nice and mouth meltingly good, followed by the cake for dessert. Apart from the plastic knives due to CASA regs, I loved the stylish Marc Newson cutlery. I wondered where in Melbourne I could find them to complement my Phillip Starke forks, before discovering that they're exclusive to QF.

Once again, the full menu is here.

 

[Keith009]

I had my pills - my bag of medication brought on some curious questions from the FA and I had to again describe my visit to Cedars. I might have been responsible for slowing down the clearing up of serviceware a bit as the FA seemed rather stunned by the drama.

I watched some IFE - was pleased to note that my PTV screen was fixed while the plane was on the ground at LAX. IFE is another area where QF blitzes their oneworld partners in both content and PTV screen quality, but unfortunately the AVOiD system is prone to failing so it's let down in the reliability count. The system worked on this flight so I managed to check out some movies I'd missed in the cinemas.

Now I realised that I haven't yet described the QF Skyslopes. To me they are the best angled flat seats I've ever experienced. The incline isn't nearly as steep as most other beds so there's none of that slipping effect. It is very wide so you don't bump into half a dozen things. The cushioning is pretty good, and makes the seat most comfy for both sleeping and lounging. I normally have trouble sleeping onboard but I am regularly able to have a good snooze on the Skybeds. I had a great sleep on this flight and woke up 3 hours prior to arrival.

I had a cup of coffee to wake me up - yep long black is the way to go onboard. I was SO looking forward to great Australian coffee again, and the first thing I was going to do in Sydney when I sit down at a cafe is order a nice soy latte and put my usual 2 sugars in it. I'm so big on coffee that I'd never be able to give up on coffee, medication or no medication. Without booze I'm living a half life; I don't think I'd survive without coffee.

We were then treated to a very nice brekkies. I'd over-ordered on my SIN-LHR flight and failed to finish the brekkies, so I took care to order a little less food this time.

As much as I loath to admit it, the views that one gets to behold when landing in SYD is absolutely stunning. My side of the aircraft got magnificent views of Sydney Harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House.

Despite the very delayed departure we ended up landing in SYD only 5 minutes behind scheduled arrival. We must have made up an extraordinary amount of time along the way - either the winds must have been truly strong, or the flight deck burnt up an extra lot of fuel. We saw an SQ A380 on a taxiway - apparently it was stuck there due to technical problems and as a result all aircraft had to taxi via the domestic terminal to get to the international terminal.

So that was meant to have been a 22 hour flight, but for some reason it didn't feel like it. This is largely due to the fact that I'd slept a lot of it, thanks to the comfy Skyslopes (ok ok Skybeds). Unfortunately I couldn't demolish the champagne supply due to being on my medically-enforced wagon. But I still enjoyed the flight enormously due to 2 sets of excellent cabin crew, very nice food, and great seatmates.

I had a day to spend in Sydney as I'd deliberately scheduled a long connection, not knowing what time QF10late would get in. It also allowed me an opportunity to catch up with GoldFlyer of FT QF and Trip Reports board fame (here's the legendary TR, SYD to LHR on a Plane for those who don't know what I'm talking about).

It then only struck me - I'd literally gone around the world for the first time in my life! W00t! The DONE4 isn't finished as I've some SWP and Asian segments left to go but I'd physically circumnavigated the world. I felt like I've achieved something huge; my uncle even sent a 'congratulations' sms to that effect.

Next: The Windy Finale part 3 - QF459 SYD-MEL whY; Epilogue; The QF009 travel awards

 

[NYCguy]

That enchilada looks repugnant...

Just looking at it gave me chest pain that radiated down my left arm... I avoid such dishes, on both the advice of my Cardiologist, and an innate sense that any food item which is covered in melted cheese, mayo, bacon-bits, or a "glistening" sauce is probably best avoided!

 

[Commuter]

They're actually onion bits.

Oh that's good.

I was thinking that you might have been saved by the medication you were on.

 

[NM]

Oh that's good.

Maybe not so good for his seat mate on the next sector :shock: .

 

[Keith009]

Maybe not so good for his seat mate on the next sector :shock: .

That's what mints are for.

 

[NYCguy]

That's what mints are for.

I don't think it's your breath they are worried about, dear...:shock:

 

[Keith009]

The Windy Finale part 3 - Back where I started

Sector - SYD-MEL
Flight number - QF459
Class - Economy
Seat - 9C
Aircraft - B737-400

I went to the seamless check in facility in order to get rid of my bags before I headed into town. I was quite worried that QF would charge me for excess baggage, since this was a separate ticket and was booked in whY. I was quite prepared to ship some stuff back home if it got too expensive. But the check in agent let it slide, even though I've got "way too much" baggage. Asked for and got an aisle seat.

I took the train to Woolloomooloo and had a jolly good catch up with GoldFlyer over some brilliant coffee and lunch. Tried to schedule a meet up with simong but unfortunately the guy was tied up. Also managed to catch the beginning of the Mardi Gras parade but had to head back to the airport to catch my flight home before I saw much of it.

The QP was relatively empty as it was a Saturday, and I had some nice soup along with Krispy Kreme.

Being the first day of March, I got to read a new issue of The Australian Way, QF's inflight magazine. The March issue proudly announced that QF had won awards for its F/J wine lists again with Wine International and Business Traveler - I'm not familiar with both magazines so I'm not sure how credible these awards are, but I can certainly agree for the J bit - the airline certainly made an effort with its wines and took great care in showcasing the best of Australian wine to the rest of the world.

We got a hot dinner of linguini on this short flight. I also learnt that the casseroles for domestic flights have been replaced by new ones designed by.... Marc Newson! Bet you didn't see that coming. The design didn't strike me as anything special though.

The flight took me back to Melbourne, where my journey began 7 weeks ago. It was a bit surreal how quickly time has passed - I certainly couldn't believe it, then again as a few people reminded me - time flies when you're doing fun things. I wouldn't have done anything differently - could do without that shellfish episode but at least it was a unique experience and added some drama to the trip.

Next: Epilogue & The QF009 travel awards

 

[Keith009]

I don't think it's your breath they are worried about, dear...:shock:

But I'm not allergic to onions...

 

[NM]

But I'm not allergic to onions...

Its not an allergy I was concerned about