Fare Alert: Newark to Ho Chi Minh City for $574 in fall

Fall travel alert!

Fares are at fantastic rates for fall travel to a number of locations, one of them being SGN (Ho Chi Minh City).  Here is one option for a potential PQM mileage run Oct 30-Nov 1 (just under 20k PQM):

https://goo.gl/flights/c2QM

$574 is a great deal!  Longer stays are possible.

Crazy start to the trip

Greetings from 40,000 feet on my way to...Manchester!  I knew I'd be up here on my way east, I just wasn't expecting it to be on this particular plane. My original itinerary called for a quick change in Dublin before proceeding on to Abu Dhabi. But to my surprise as we got closer to boarding, the gate agents announced that the flight was oversold. Oversold? An international flight?? How does that happen? In any case, if anyone was flexible the offer was $700 vouchers and a free hotel night till tomorrow. 

In a flash I was on Flight Track ... could this work? I just need to get to Abu Dhabi before midnight. No other AA flights available from O'Hare, couldn't get back to PHL and make the connect, but one BA flight in 2 hours with a connect to AUH at Heathrow. That one seemed the most likely to work, and was coded as an AA flight. Off I go to the counter where the agents were ecstatic to see a volunteer. It seemed as though they had a major situation brewing. I mentioned I could do a change to help but only if they could work with me on getting to Abu Dhabi in time and all the flights were coded as American Codeshares. (Etihad, remember, is not a OneWorld member but an American partner. To get elite qualifying miles it must be coded as an AA flight. After all this I couldn't go that far and not get the qualifying mileage.). When the agent saw my ticket and that I had no bags, the challenge was accepted - I did explain what I was doing and they seemed pretty amused by the whole thing. After several phone calls and a supervisor to rework my ticket, they found a seat showing on an AA flight to Manchester UK just finishing boarding that could connect to an Etihad flight coded as American. The gate agents for that flight weren't being cooperative with the seat but my gate crew told me that I was being added as an 'upgraded' passenger since I was platinum. Ok.  And after a quick discussion, the supervisor also approved the $700 voucher.  Awesome. 

I got my new tickets and voucher, and raced to the new gate.  When I arrive the agents there were very confused and tell me I have no seat (laugh). Of course. THEY have to assign the seat, not the Dublin agents. And due to a full plane and the coded upgrade note...I received a business class seat just as the door was beginning to close. 

Couldn't have asked for a better start to this trip. Onward!  Wonder how this Etihad connection will be...and whether all of this mileage will post correctly. ;)

A weekend to jet

Happy holiday weekend, all - while you are having fun, you'll never guess where I'll be...that's right...on airplanes!

In my effort to get to EP for the year, I'm really close - which means I need to follow through on reaching the final mileage required.  And since this weekend offered the extra day to go I jumped at the chance to head out.  American will be my preferred airline along with stints on British Airways and Etihad.

Here's what it looks like:

(courtesy of gcmap.com)

I'll be back by Monday afternoon to PHL...not bad.  Will be posting updates as I can, although I won't really have any regular type of internet.  A full recap writeup will follow!

MR Trip Report Part 3: HKG and Final Thoughts

The journey into and out of Hong Kong returned to a bit of normalcy that I'm typically accustomed to when flying.  Landing was smooth and I woke up in time to take advantage of the snack and juice that was left for me in my seatback (thank you Cathay).  I found out quickly that HKG has an interesting layout in several different sections and I arrived too early to see what gate I would be departing out of.  So I took off for the nearest lounge to relax (Dragonair), grab a bite to eat, and get some water.  I also took the time to catch up a bit online.

My flight information eventually made the screen and I was off on the trek to the gate.  Little did I know but there was a Cathay Pacific lounge right near my departure gate that was far superior to the lounge I had just visited.  And they had showers!  It was a no-brainer to take advantage of that as well as the food spread.

The flight back to DFW was on American's new 777-300ER and I was excited to get to try it.  I had a window seat of three for this segment and my seatmates were from China - they were very pleasant and mostly kept to themselves for most of the trip.  The food overall was excellent - entertainment system had a plethora of choices - and I was able to conk out for another 7 hours of sleep.  Landing to Dallas was smooth and passport control was fast (thank you Global Entry), and with an upgrade on my last segment to LAX I was in a good place to end my trip. 

A few final thoughts:

I was very grateful to find this entire trip (courtesy of flyertalk) and get it ticketed properly, and the price point was perfect for exploring new airports and airlines that I will find valuable for future excursions in Asia.  It also was helpful to accrue a significant number of AA miles and EQM's for the year.  A few takeaways:

1. Lesson learned in Jakarta - I figured this out the hard way but I'm now very aware of the transit rules for Indonesia.  Too bad they're changing in a few short months which will make it easy for transit passengers.  Also helpful to have along some backup US currency.
2. Economy wasn't bad - Before departing I was a bit worried I would have a hard time in economy seats for that many miles/hours.  I was pleasantly surprised that it really was not awful.  In fact, I think I slept the most I ever have on that length of flight.  Neck pillow was a necessity.
3. Disconnecting - I can't put into words how nice it was to disconnect for a while from phone, internet, and email.
4. Bang for the mileage buck - I couldn't beat the ticket cost and mileage haul.  The long weekend worked out well to get me closer to Exec Plat on American for the year.
5. Satellite trip tracking - I tried to get my inReach to work to follow my trip locations.  Unfortunately it would not connect from within the terminals. Need to experiment with that for the future.

I'm really excited to try another trip like this one when the next sale comes up.  It made sense for my plans this year and fit in over a long weekend.
 

MR Trip Report Part 2: Jakarta

Here's the part where the trip gets interesting...Jakarta.  Or, as I found out, the proper way to say it is sza-kar-TA, emphasis on the last syllable.

My departure from Bangkok was slightly delayed in the morning due to heavy rains.  The hotel stood up well - I got about 4-5 hours of sleep and after a short counter wait I was off to the gate for Thai Airways 433...another new airline to try on my adventure!  Overall I can't complain - the seats were standard for economy on the A330 and service was overall good.  After landing Jakarta things got interesting.

Infamous Jakarta Arrivals area...

For starters, the arrival area is not well marked.  And it's warm.  Borderline hot. If the AC was on I couldn't tell.  But since I knew I was a transit passenger I walked toward the labeled 'transit' area signs instead of the visa/immigration area.  And was promptly stopped short of the moving walkway by a guy who wanted to see my ticket info.  I had done my research and knew that IATA and Indonesia are in agreement on transit passengers so I really didn't think I'd have an issue.  Boy was I wrong.

An arrivals staffer proceeded to hold me up and question me about all parts of my trip. Where did I come from?  What flight?  Where am I going?  Why did I fly Thai Airways?  (I had receipts for all of my bookings, but the theme of the afternoon was that no one understood why I took two different airlines to connect).  While I was standing there, my seatmate from the Thai Airways flight (who also happened to be an editor of one of the main Jakarta newspapers) stopped in and tried to intervene.  I caught most of what was being said as they poured over my receipts but it wasn't good.  In the end, though, I was given the option of waiting in the Garuda Indonesian Lounge area until 9pm in order to transit.  Not exactly ideal but I took it and camped out.

I wasn't going to let that stop me.  After 2 hours the first guy left and two girls replaced him. Thought I'd give it a try again. This time I was told I had to wait until 8 hours before and then I could transit.  So...back to the Lounge to wait an hour.  By then the two girls were gone and an immigration officer was now on duty.  The third time definitely was not the charm.

After explaining and showing my tickets, this officer said to follow him and off we went to the immigration office...where four officers proceeded to pour over my info and try to figure out why I was transiting with so much time in between and with different airlines.  The main guy asked me pointed questions - and when I tried to explain why I should be able to transit, he wasn't having any of it.  He told me I was the only person he's heard of to try and transit like this (right).  I explained that I had called and done my research on transiting, but I knew I lost my argument when he proclaimed, "I don't care what the rules are or what it says, this is my country".  Yep - done.  I waited a bit more but finally relented and went to do (and pay) the immigration into Indonesia.  After finding a place to take my credit card, I was told to come back to the office where they took my passport for 10 minutes and had to personally stamp me in.  Soon after I was off through baggage claim and into Indonesia...only to try and re-enter and get back into the airport lounge areas.  I was hot, tired, hungry, and thirsty...all I wanted was water.

And I couldn't even get that.

They have a Coffee Bean, Starbucks, and even an A&W in the front area of CGK.  But little did I know that none of the places take a credit card - only local currency (of which I had none).  Luckily I had bought a $50 bill along and rather than use my debit card in one of their machines, I was able to change that into local currency and could eat and get a drink.  I had a bunch of hours to wait so I took my time and eventually made it back into the main check in area, where I waited in another long line to get my boarding passes.  I then changed my money back into US Dollars (and five Euros) and proceeded to immigration again where I then paid the departure tax.  Lesson learned...bring currency or be prepared to change dollars.

The escalator immigration would not let me access

After going through security I was back in the main terminal - amazing how many high end shops they have compared to the small kiosks in the front.

I was ready to fly on to Hong Kong.  After a short wait and a bit of Internet from Starbucks, I was off to the gate and my next new airline - Cathay Pacific.  We had another A330 for this segment and I must say that Cathay does it right.  Nice seats, excellent entertainment, and food is top notch.  They even left food at my seat when I fell asleep so I could wake up and eat.  Can't wait to try them on a longer transpacific flight!  Other than my seatmate almost sleeping on my shoulder it was a smooth flight into Hong Kong.

MR Trip Report Part 1: On to Bangkok

Busy waiting area LAX

I knew that the start of this trip would be the longest since it involved a full work day on top of an evening drive from San Diego to LAX.  Normally rush hour traffic makes things pretty unbearable, but I chose to wait until later evening and was glad I did.  It took me about 2.5 hours to drive up via the 5 and 105 - thankfully getting into LAX Lot C was easy (my chosen lot when I have to fly out from there).  The shuttle ride in, though, took a long time - I guess I've never flown out of LAX so late (1:00am) but traffic was at a standstill between terminals.  And lines to check in were long - when I finally got to the desk it took 15 minutes to check me in.  I started to get a bit worried since my itinerary was unique with so many segments, but after a bit I was off and ready to go to the gate.  Security was ok - lines were long (and I still don't understand why PreCheck was closed...maybe due to the late hour?).  Upon getting to the gate I also missed out on $500 vouchers due to the flight being oversold - couldn't change up my complicated itinerary as it was.  I was upgraded to first class for the initial flight to DFW and after boarding promptly fell asleep.

We arrived to DFW about 30 minutes early - I had time to take a quick walk before heading to the gate to check in.  I inquired about upgrading but passed on the 25,000 mile/$350 co-pay to get to Business Class.  I could make it in Main Cabin Extra.  :)

In-flight needs an upgrade!

The flight to Narita went without any incident - service was smooth and fast, and the flight overall was smooth with little turbulence. I was a bit surprised that American uses an older aging 777 for this flight - hopefully they upgrade it to a newer plane soon.  The entertainment option made me chuckle at how ancient it was.  I slept about 6-7 hours of the 13 hour flight, which for me was a record.  My seatmate was an active US military member (Navy) who was on his way back to Tokyo for another tour - found out he was part of the PR team (he didn't specify which area).  He was impressed by what he called my "power sleeping" in economy...I had a good chuckle about that.  I was a bit worried though when we took off - he got out a mask and cleaning equipment and used it liberally throughout the flight.  I've been teased in the past about how I am not afraid to use hand sanitizer on planes, but this guy...he was meticulous.  Besides the mask and sanitizer, he also had wipes and wiped down everything.  All his utensils, the seat, the tray, the top of each can of drink...I found myself watching and guessing to myself to see what he would handi-wipe next.  We talked for a bit about his service, my trip, etc - he was a great seatmate for the flight and we shared mutual best wishes upon landing to NRT.

Shakura Lounge NRT

Transiting in NRT was easy.  A quick right turn into a bag scanner and I was on an through to my transit gate.  Since I had some time before the next flight, I quickly asked about lounge access and was directed to try the Shakura Lounge near my departure gate.  I was pretty happy overall with the options - no shower, but great food choices and very quiet.

My next flight was to Bangkok on a new airline and plane type for me: Japan Airlines and the 787!  I was very excited to try out the 787 - for all the hype we read about, I wanted to see for myself whether it was warranted.  Right away I noticed the cabin pressure changes - the air was much more humidified and not as dry.  Plus I really liked the seats and new windows - when taxiing you can see the entire travel path and runway lineup.  I had a seatmate at the window who kept falling asleep near/on my shoulder - otherwise, it was a relatively quick 7 hour segment to BKK.  I took the opportunity to get another 3.5 hour nap in as we flew.

Upon arrival it was late (11:15pm), so I needed to find my place of stay: The Louis Tavern Transit Hotel and Dayrooms.  I booked this via Kayak.com and admittedly was a bit nervous when I did.  Reviews were mixed online from most people about noise levels and privacy, but the cost point was good so I gave it a try.  I'm happy to report that it was a very pleasant stay - no noise issues, a clean bed, and the shower was adequate.  Finding the hotel wasn't too difficult either - upon arrival to BKK, don't go into the formal arrival/customs area - just transfer via a short escalator and bag check point to the 4th level in Concourse G. 

Time for sleep!

March excursion booked! Anyone want to join me?

I'm happy to report that my March flight excursion is confirmed!  I'm excited to be visiting many different airports/countries/airlines for an amazing price.  Here are the details (if you're interested in joining me, flights were still available as of last night):

Los Angeles (LAX) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — Fri, Mar 27
2406 Dep: 1:14 am Arr: 6:05 am 2h 51m Boeing 737 Economy (Q)

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Tokyo (NRT) — Fri, Mar 27
175 Dep: 10:40 am Arr: 2:20 pm 13h 40m Boeing 777 Economy (Q)

Tokyo (NRT) to Bangkok (BKK) — Sat, Mar 28
8411 Dep: 6:05 pm Arr: 11:15 pm 7h 10m Boeing 787 Economy (S)
OPERATED BY JAPAN AIRLINES

(open jaw - Bangkok to Jakarta flight upcoming)

Jakarta (CGK) to Hong Kong (HKG) — Mon, Mar 30
8918 Dep: 12:10 am Arr: 5:50 am 4h 40m Airbus A330 Economy (Q)
OPERATED BY CATHAY PACIFIC

Hong Kong (HKG) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — Mon, Mar 30
138 Dep: 1:30 pm Arr: 4:15 pm 15h 45m Boeing 777 Economy (Q)

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX) — Mon, Mar 30
2477 Dep: 5:50 pm Arr: 7:14 pm 3h 24m Boeing 757 Economy (Q)

If you're wondering how many miles this will bank, it's showing as 21,891 for a reasonable $691.  Excellent - thank you American Airlines. I'll have more specifics about what my plans are to blog and do trip reports as I firm up other details.

I'm still hoping to locate a friend who has Executive Platinum status and an extra SWU to help with the long flights - if you're willing to help, please leave a comment!