“A road less travelled”. JER > PHX with BA, EI and AA with sectors in EeekOnomy
Apr 14, 2017, 12:35 pm
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,137
“A road less travelled”. JER > PHX with BA, EI and AA with sectors in EeekOnomy
INTRODUCTION, AND DAY 1.
“Has he gone mad?” “Uncle T in Economy?!!” “Someone tell the Daily Mail!”
Well, it seemed to make sense at the time, but now regretted! Let me tell you a tale of a trip that would renew our BAEC Gold without going to HNL
The objective was to visit friends in PHX, who had also kindly scheduled their wedding for while we were there. Obviously starting in DUB made economic sense, and in August we ended up with an AA Business/Domestic First routing DUB-PHL-PHX - booked through BA on the ‘phone, on 125- tickets, for Ł3101. Simples!!
Then we had to get from JER to DUB. The first part (BA JER-LGW) is virtually essential for us. However, what next? The bus to LHR (c. Ł80 r/t for the 2 of us) and then BA LHR-DUB? And yet, we could fly Aer Lingus (EI) LGW-DUB and avoid that hassle. And it was clear that we didn’t actually need to fly Business Class anyway, as the sectors are short and we will have plenty of TPs by the end of the trip. So, bravely [but with trembling fingers], we booked on-line with BA for JER-LGW in EuroTraveller <shudder> and on an EI codeshare LGW-DUB in [whatever their status-less Cattle Offering is called], for Ł359. A night-stop at the DUB Hilton outbound added €115 to the bill.
So far, so good, but of course the plot thickened. In fact it became thicker than a very thick thing with added thickener. The first aspect was the inevitable changes to the AA bookings - over the ensuing months I had 14 alert messages from “My Flights” with assorted modifications: flight numbers, timings, that sort of thing. The only significant one was a 2 hour shift which actually saved sitting at PHL for 4 hours! Then BA/EI got into the act, with a change which moved us to a later flight [with the same number]: this flight left DUB at the same time as our LGW flight to JER A chat with the Gold line resolved that, and we were back on schedule with the original flight time but with a different number! Finally, there was the fog of EI baggage allowance. Eventually the BA Twitter Team gave us a definitive answer. that the BA code-share gave us the basic single 23kg bag each on the EI legs.
26 Mar 17 … Mr and Mrs T, you’re ready to fly! Time for on-line check-in (OLCI). Or not! The BA bit worked fine, but ba.com wouldn’t check us in for the EI leg. Nor would aerlingus.com! So I phone EI help-line, and they couldn’t do it either, but suggested [reassuringly] that we could do it at JER airport. We shall see!
27 Mar 17.
BA2771, JER-LGW, 1000-1100, A319, Economy seats 10A/B
No, the JER desk couldn’t check us in for the EI sector either, although they were able to check our 2 cases through to DUB. Strange! Oh well, let’s get to LGW anyway. With bags dropped, we passed through an empty Security and settled in the Lounge. At which point we were approached by an Ambassadorial figure in the recognisable shape of our very own corporate-wage-slave who was doing a B2B on his way to somewhere exotic. In his typically thoughtful manner, he had brought us a gift to help us overcome BA's wretched new buy-on-board food in Economy!!
Priority Boarding was perfectly managed for a change, as CE and Status pax were called from the Lounge to an empty Gate 2 where we were almost immediately sent to the aircraft. We discovered the novelty of 10A/B (Exit Row) whilst CWS eventually made his way to 1A (we couldn’t actually see the rose petals being laid in his path, but I’m sure they were there somewhere). A simple hop across the Channel [with no BA racing breakfast this time!] delivered us to the wonders of LGW(S) Terminal. CWS kindly provided us with a personal escort on to the bus to the Terminal, and helped us navigate the arrivals process. Yes, take the lift, it’s much quicker!! Having ‘arrived’ in UK, and crossed the Border, we then re-entered Departures [what a bloody awful arrangement] where we were shown the way to the EI desk to try to check in again. Eventually, after about 10 minutes, 2 staffers and their Supervisor managed to kick the system into life, and we had our BPs. It would appear that somewhere along the line, the BA and EI systems had failed properly to communicate with each other: CWS may elaborate on this later.
Normality restored, we stepped outside to the large smoking zone for a couple of much-needed nervous cigarettes, leaving CWS to wend his merry way to wherever.
Right, let’s see how Gatwick South works. Premium Gatwick [the priority security lanes] was a breeze! Instant access to the conveyor belts, friendly staff, no delay whatsoever, a score of 10/10. We navigated/blundered our way through the Shopping Maze, which was utterly confusing and inconvenient, and eventually found our way to the new BA Lounges. They are well covered in the relevant Thread in the BA Forum, so I need say no more than ... the First Lounge is very nice, and with a great view of the ramp area. Interesting to see a variety of fins, instead of the endless BA ones at LHR T5.
We had a pre-arranged meeting with KeaneJohn which helped pass the time, especially as our inbound EI aircraft was running 40 minutes late. And eventually it was off to Gate 12, where boarding seemed to consist of a cavalry charge by everyone at once. Perhaps I missed something in the messages?
EI 237 [sold as BA5907], LGW-DUB, 1530-1645, A320, Economy seats 2A/B
Perfectly comfortable seats for an hour or so. No idea how we ended up at the front of the bus, but as they board/disembark from the rear doors it’s probably the Irish version of the cheap seats! We took off, flew and landed in a totally unremarkable manner, got off somewhere in DUB T2 and walked a long way to the Border and Reclaim before finally escaping into the outside world. The subsequent long walk, dragging 2 cases to the Shuttle Bus Zone [now re-numbered as Zone 16], was as tedious as ever … and predictably we had just missed the bus, leading to a 30+ minute wait in the cold
On our eventual arrival at the DUB Airport Hilton, we were pleased to be given a free upgrade to a room on the top floor with a larger bed. The benefits of being Hilton Gold? Apart from that, the room seemed identical to all the others we’d used in the past. A light meal at the very pleasant in-house Burnell’s Grill sustained us sufficiently to head back upstairs for a shower and an early night.
“Has he gone mad?” “Uncle T in Economy?!!” “Someone tell the Daily Mail!”
Well, it seemed to make sense at the time, but now regretted! Let me tell you a tale of a trip that would renew our BAEC Gold without going to HNL
The objective was to visit friends in PHX, who had also kindly scheduled their wedding for while we were there. Obviously starting in DUB made economic sense, and in August we ended up with an AA Business/Domestic First routing DUB-PHL-PHX - booked through BA on the ‘phone, on 125- tickets, for Ł3101. Simples!!
Then we had to get from JER to DUB. The first part (BA JER-LGW) is virtually essential for us. However, what next? The bus to LHR (c. Ł80 r/t for the 2 of us) and then BA LHR-DUB? And yet, we could fly Aer Lingus (EI) LGW-DUB and avoid that hassle. And it was clear that we didn’t actually need to fly Business Class anyway, as the sectors are short and we will have plenty of TPs by the end of the trip. So, bravely [but with trembling fingers], we booked on-line with BA for JER-LGW in EuroTraveller <shudder> and on an EI codeshare LGW-DUB in [whatever their status-less Cattle Offering is called], for Ł359. A night-stop at the DUB Hilton outbound added €115 to the bill.
So far, so good, but of course the plot thickened. In fact it became thicker than a very thick thing with added thickener. The first aspect was the inevitable changes to the AA bookings - over the ensuing months I had 14 alert messages from “My Flights” with assorted modifications: flight numbers, timings, that sort of thing. The only significant one was a 2 hour shift which actually saved sitting at PHL for 4 hours! Then BA/EI got into the act, with a change which moved us to a later flight [with the same number]: this flight left DUB at the same time as our LGW flight to JER
A chat with the Gold line resolved that, and we were back on schedule with the original flight time but with a different number! Finally, there was the fog of EI baggage allowance. Eventually the BA Twitter Team gave us a definitive answer. that the BA code-share gave us the basic single 23kg bag each on the EI legs.26 Mar 17 … Mr and Mrs T, you’re ready to fly! Time for on-line check-in (OLCI). Or not! The BA bit worked fine, but ba.com wouldn’t check us in for the EI leg. Nor would aerlingus.com! So I phone EI help-line, and they couldn’t do it either, but suggested [reassuringly] that we could do it at JER airport. We shall see!
27 Mar 17.
BA2771, JER-LGW, 1000-1100, A319, Economy seats 10A/B
No, the JER desk couldn’t check us in for the EI sector either, although they were able to check our 2 cases through to DUB. Strange! Oh well, let’s get to LGW anyway. With bags dropped, we passed through an empty Security and settled in the Lounge. At which point we were approached by an Ambassadorial figure in the recognisable shape of our very own corporate-wage-slave who was doing a B2B on his way to somewhere exotic. In his typically thoughtful manner, he had brought us a gift to help us overcome BA's wretched new buy-on-board food in Economy!!
Priority Boarding was perfectly managed for a change, as CE and Status pax were called from the Lounge to an empty Gate 2 where we were almost immediately sent to the aircraft. We discovered the novelty of 10A/B (Exit Row) whilst CWS eventually made his way to 1A (we couldn’t actually see the rose petals being laid in his path, but I’m sure they were there somewhere). A simple hop across the Channel [with no BA racing breakfast this time!] delivered us to the wonders of LGW(S) Terminal. CWS kindly provided us with a personal escort on to the bus to the Terminal, and helped us navigate the arrivals process. Yes, take the lift, it’s much quicker!! Having ‘arrived’ in UK, and crossed the Border, we then re-entered Departures [what a bloody awful arrangement] where we were shown the way to the EI desk to try to check in again. Eventually, after about 10 minutes, 2 staffers and their Supervisor managed to kick the system into life, and we had our BPs. It would appear that somewhere along the line, the BA and EI systems had failed properly to communicate with each other: CWS may elaborate on this later.
Normality restored, we stepped outside to the large smoking zone for a couple of much-needed nervous cigarettes, leaving CWS to wend his merry way to wherever.
Right, let’s see how Gatwick South works. Premium Gatwick [the priority security lanes] was a breeze! Instant access to the conveyor belts, friendly staff, no delay whatsoever, a score of 10/10. We navigated/blundered our way through the Shopping Maze, which was utterly confusing and inconvenient, and eventually found our way to the new BA Lounges. They are well covered in the relevant Thread in the BA Forum, so I need say no more than ... the First Lounge is very nice, and with a great view of the ramp area. Interesting to see a variety of fins, instead of the endless BA ones at LHR T5.
We had a pre-arranged meeting with KeaneJohn which helped pass the time, especially as our inbound EI aircraft was running 40 minutes late. And eventually it was off to Gate 12, where boarding seemed to consist of a cavalry charge by everyone at once. Perhaps I missed something in the messages?
EI 237 [sold as BA5907], LGW-DUB, 1530-1645, A320, Economy seats 2A/B
Perfectly comfortable seats for an hour or so. No idea how we ended up at the front of the bus, but as they board/disembark from the rear doors it’s probably the Irish version of the cheap seats! We took off, flew and landed in a totally unremarkable manner, got off somewhere in DUB T2 and walked a long way to the Border and Reclaim before finally escaping into the outside world. The subsequent long walk, dragging 2 cases to the Shuttle Bus Zone [now re-numbered as Zone 16], was as tedious as ever … and predictably we had just missed the bus, leading to a 30+ minute wait in the cold
On our eventual arrival at the DUB Airport Hilton, we were pleased to be given a free upgrade to a room on the top floor with a larger bed. The benefits of being Hilton Gold? Apart from that, the room seemed identical to all the others we’d used in the past. A light meal at the very pleasant in-house Burnell’s Grill sustained us sufficiently to head back upstairs for a shower and an early night.
Last edited by T8191; Jun 30, 2018 at 5:16 am
Apr 14, 2017, 12:36 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,137
DAY 2 - TO THE USA
28 Mar 17.
Following our usual policy of being where we need to be, we booked the Shuttle back to the airport at 0700. We were pleased to discover that as HHons Gold we weren’t charged the €2 each for the return journey … is this something new? And, at 0710, we were at DUB T2 … to find that the desks weren’t open yet! So we started to form a ciu and waited … the AA staff started arriving at 0740! On later reflection, this was the only AA flight that day, so not really surprising. On our last trip, all the various American airline desks had been heaving at this time of day. Oh, well, lesson learned!
After processing, and a quick kerb-side cigarette or two in the “Designated Smoking Area” it was time again to ‘enter America’ through pre-clearance.
The usual DUB Security [up the escalator] was followed by a walk through the shops, and eventually down the long escalators to the US Border area, where we did Security again and the usual TSA Immigration checks [we had to wait a minute or two this time] before heading to the new Departure Lounge called “51st and Green” … the website explains the ‘logic’ of the name! As this will be a not well-known facility, I shall elaborate a bit.
The Entrance corridor
General Views
Close to the action!
The [limited] offerings were, however, nicely presented and regularly topped up:
Who cares? Infinitely better than sitting on the metal benches at the Gate!
Bleak? Or Modern? Your call, but at least somewhere quiet and comfortable whilst waiting for your boarding call. And it does have some interesting views of proceedings - I particularly liked the guy in a truck outside, filling his service vehicle’s water tank while reading his magazine: it had been overflowing for nearly 5 minutes before he noticed [sadly no photo, it seemed rude!].
AA723, DUB-PHL, 1120-1345, A330, Business seats 1H/2H
We were called for boarding at 1030, and made our way back to Gate 404 where Group 1 boarding was just being called! So there we were … the first pax on board We made our way to our favourite single window seats [we must try the A seats next time] and enjoyed our fizzy PDB, served by our very nice and friendly [mature] FAs.
The Business Cabin
The Seat
Somewhere to put my PDB and Kindle
The now-familiar comfy seat with lots of stowage spaces (unlike BA CW)
And … up and away, push-back at 1115, airborne at 1133 and with an expected flight time of 6h 37m [according to the Flight Deck, with whom I would not argue]. What else to say? Comfy seat, serviceable and visible IFE, and … food!
The Bread Plate
The cute new Salt and Pepper ^
The “Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Oxtail Ravioli” … Rare!!
Sadly, iWife’s same Main was a big FAIL. The meals were apparently delivered frozen, not chilled, and the crew struggled with their limited facilities to defrost/re-heat. Hers was served still frozen inside, even though mine was fine. What can you expect the crew to do with the minimal facilities they have? Honestly, I think they usually perform miracles under the circumstances. A further attack in the ovens restored hers to borderline edible status, but still not as good as mine [or the same meal on a previous trip]
Anyway, some hours later, we’re approaching Philadelphia, so what better choice of a 2nd meal than a liberal interpretation of a Philly CheeseSteak? “Barbecue Beef Cheese Toastie” … utterly [1] American, [2] Comes with a Health Warning, and [c] YUM YUM … Cholesterol Sandwich
Hello PHL, how are you? Oh, a bit grey and dull, but according to my re-set watch it’s now 14:20, or 02.20pm in AA terms!
Inevitably at Terminal A-West [A21?] so a refreshing walk for 5-10 minutes to the AAdmiral’s Lounge at the B-Gates. We admired PHL airport’s customer service for our 4-legged friends: can you imagine a UK airport taking that much trouble, and wasting retail space?
In the Lounge we duly hoisted the Ensign, gathered round a bollard and … waited until boarding started at 1520 at B6. Hmmm, no photos? Sorry, I must have been relaxed!
AA777, PHL-PHX, 1555-1821, A321, ‘First’ seats 2A/C
Oh, the luxury of a BP with “Group 1” in large letters on it We relaxed [as much as we could] into the old blue seats, sipping our fizzy PDB, as we watched the rest of the Groups staggering on board. The old, the young, the inept, the whole panoply of society passed our eyes - innumerable grannies visiting kith and kin, years older than us. It was a full flight too, and delayed by some ‘last minuters’. While waiting for push-back, Coach were told that “We have limited stock of Buy On Board, and it’s Debit or Credit Cards only”. I had to convince myself I wasn’t on BA
And eventually Up and Away … all too tedious and uncomfortable for the next c. 5 hours to PHX. We had our pre-ordered “Chicken Thing”, and a glass or two, but we just wanted this to be over. A TATL and a almost-TransCon in one day is a bit hard on the old bones, and as I had to drive at the other end coping with alcohol was NOT an option!
Lunch ... a nice variety, and all very tasty! And not starting with Salad + more Salad!
OH, JOY … we have arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. OK, PHX Where are we? T4 … OK, a long walk to reclaim, which will stretch the legs nicely after that sector. As usual, the furthest belt, but at least there’s no Immigration or Customs to obstruct our walking! A quick kerb-side cigarette whilst waiting for the bags [step outside, about 200 yards on your left is the smoking zone] and then drag the bags across the roadways to the Shuttle to the Airport Car Rental Center [bus stop to your right on the far side]. Cases on board, OAP’s on board, let’s go for the 10 minute drive to the corporate Rental Center.
Now, at this point, I made my biggest travelling boo-boo of all time. Seriously! We arrive at our destination. I’m standing on the bus near the luggage racks [no seat for Elders!] and got my backpack onto the shelf while digging into a pocket for my wallet for a couple of USD for the driver. A herd of people tries to board before we've even unloaded. Driver shoos them away and starts getting bags out. I have to move back out of his way. (You know where this is going). We get in the elevator down to the Avis Preferred desk … we reach the lower floor … OMG. Take elevator back to Concourse Level, run [yes, I can still run, just] back to where the bus dropped us off. He’s about to leave … he stops, and there is my bright yellow backpack on top of the dashboard! PHEW. I never lose contact with my backpack [in theory], and will certainly never do that again, even if the driver doesn’t get a tip.
Breathing heavily, I descent to the lowest level again to Avis Preferred desk, where I greet my namesake [same rare spelling] again. “Help yourself to anything in Row J”, he says. From a collection of about 8 SUVs, I pick a silver Nissan Rogue … nice
And so, at c. 1945, out of the parking lot, round the block and on to I-10 East, which at this spot actually heads South-ish … just an easy 10 miles down to Exit 160 and Chandler Bvd to the Homewood Suites, Phoenix/Chandler again. Our "1 KING BED 1 BDRM FIREPLACE SUITE SMOKING" awaits! By 2000 we are unpacked, and heading for … ZZZZZZZ
BEING THERE
29 Mar - 10 Apr.
You don’t need the details of what we did and where we went, really. We did a bunch of essential US Retail, visited our friends frequently, enjoyed their wedding, quietly celebrated iWife’s birthday and enjoyed 2 weeks of blue skies and 30şc weather. Enough said, really
The Ahwatukee Foothills, where our friends live.
Proceedings were slightly marred by the existence of the Phoenix Bike Fest **http://www.phoenixbikefest.com** which resulted in a large number of Harley Davidson owners occupying our hotel and the Hampton next door. Now I enjoy hearing the rumble of a Harley along with the best of them, but NOT at 0400 on one night and 0200 the next night. For some reason [perhaps poor carburation?] it seem impossible to operate one, even when stationary, without perpetually blipping the throttle.
I understand some of the Hampton residents were actually evicted
28 Mar 17.
Following our usual policy of being where we need to be, we booked the Shuttle back to the airport at 0700. We were pleased to discover that as HHons Gold we weren’t charged the €2 each for the return journey … is this something new? And, at 0710, we were at DUB T2 … to find that the desks weren’t open yet! So we started to form a ciu and waited … the AA staff started arriving at 0740! On later reflection, this was the only AA flight that day, so not really surprising. On our last trip, all the various American airline desks had been heaving at this time of day. Oh, well, lesson learned!
After processing, and a quick kerb-side cigarette or two in the “Designated Smoking Area” it was time again to ‘enter America’ through pre-clearance.
The usual DUB Security [up the escalator] was followed by a walk through the shops, and eventually down the long escalators to the US Border area, where we did Security again and the usual TSA Immigration checks [we had to wait a minute or two this time] before heading to the new Departure Lounge called “51st and Green” … the website explains the ‘logic’ of the name! As this will be a not well-known facility, I shall elaborate a bit.
The Entrance corridor
General Views
Close to the action!
The [limited] offerings were, however, nicely presented and regularly topped up:
Who cares? Infinitely better than sitting on the metal benches at the Gate!
Bleak? Or Modern? Your call, but at least somewhere quiet and comfortable whilst waiting for your boarding call. And it does have some interesting views of proceedings - I particularly liked the guy in a truck outside, filling his service vehicle’s water tank while reading his magazine: it had been overflowing for nearly 5 minutes before he noticed [sadly no photo, it seemed rude!].
AA723, DUB-PHL, 1120-1345, A330, Business seats 1H/2H
We were called for boarding at 1030, and made our way back to Gate 404 where Group 1 boarding was just being called! So there we were … the first pax on board
We made our way to our favourite single window seats [we must try the A seats next time] and enjoyed our fizzy PDB, served by our very nice and friendly [mature] FAs.The Business Cabin
The Seat
Somewhere to put my PDB and Kindle
The now-familiar comfy seat with lots of stowage spaces (unlike BA CW)
And … up and away, push-back at 1115, airborne at 1133 and with an expected flight time of 6h 37m [according to the Flight Deck, with whom I would not argue]. What else to say? Comfy seat, serviceable and visible IFE, and … food!
The Bread Plate
The cute new Salt and Pepper ^
The “Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Oxtail Ravioli” … Rare!!
Sadly, iWife’s same Main was a big FAIL. The meals were apparently delivered frozen, not chilled, and the crew struggled with their limited facilities to defrost/re-heat. Hers was served still frozen inside, even though mine was fine. What can you expect the crew to do with the minimal facilities they have? Honestly, I think they usually perform miracles under the circumstances. A further attack in the ovens restored hers to borderline edible status, but still not as good as mine [or the same meal on a previous trip]
Anyway, some hours later, we’re approaching Philadelphia, so what better choice of a 2nd meal than a liberal interpretation of a Philly CheeseSteak? “Barbecue Beef Cheese Toastie” … utterly [1] American, [2] Comes with a Health Warning, and [c] YUM YUM … Cholesterol Sandwich
Hello PHL, how are you? Oh, a bit grey and dull, but according to my re-set watch it’s now 14:20, or 02.20pm in AA terms!
Inevitably at Terminal A-West [A21?] so a refreshing walk for 5-10 minutes to the AAdmiral’s Lounge at the B-Gates. We admired PHL airport’s customer service for our 4-legged friends: can you imagine a UK airport taking that much trouble, and wasting retail space?
In the Lounge we duly hoisted the Ensign, gathered round a bollard and … waited until boarding started at 1520 at B6. Hmmm, no photos? Sorry, I must have been relaxed!
AA777, PHL-PHX, 1555-1821, A321, ‘First’ seats 2A/C
Oh, the luxury of a BP with “Group 1” in large letters on it
We relaxed [as much as we could] into the old blue seats, sipping our fizzy PDB, as we watched the rest of the Groups staggering on board. The old, the young, the inept, the whole panoply of society passed our eyes - innumerable grannies visiting kith and kin, years older than us. It was a full flight too, and delayed by some ‘last minuters’. While waiting for push-back, Coach were told that “We have limited stock of Buy On Board, and it’s Debit or Credit Cards only”. I had to convince myself I wasn’t on BA And eventually Up and Away … all too tedious and uncomfortable for the next c. 5 hours to PHX. We had our pre-ordered “Chicken Thing”, and a glass or two, but we just wanted this to be over. A TATL and a almost-TransCon in one day is a bit hard on the old bones, and as I had to drive at the other end coping with alcohol was NOT an option!
Lunch ... a nice variety, and all very tasty! And not starting with Salad + more Salad!
OH, JOY … we have arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. OK, PHX
Where are we? T4 … OK, a long walk to reclaim, which will stretch the legs nicely after that sector. As usual, the furthest belt, but at least there’s no Immigration or Customs to obstruct our walking! A quick kerb-side cigarette whilst waiting for the bags [step outside, about 200 yards on your left is the smoking zone] and then drag the bags across the roadways to the Shuttle to the Airport Car Rental Center [bus stop to your right on the far side]. Cases on board, OAP’s on board, let’s go for the 10 minute drive to the corporate Rental Center.Now, at this point, I made my biggest travelling boo-boo of all time. Seriously! We arrive at our destination. I’m standing on the bus near the luggage racks [no seat for Elders!] and got my backpack onto the shelf while digging into a pocket for my wallet for a couple of USD for the driver. A herd of people tries to board before we've even unloaded. Driver shoos them away and starts getting bags out. I have to move back out of his way. (You know where this is going). We get in the elevator down to the Avis Preferred desk … we reach the lower floor … OMG. Take elevator back to Concourse Level, run [yes, I can still run, just] back to where the bus dropped us off. He’s about to leave … he stops, and there is my bright yellow backpack on top of the dashboard! PHEW. I never lose contact with my backpack [in theory], and will certainly never do that again, even if the driver doesn’t get a tip.
Breathing heavily, I descent to the lowest level again to Avis Preferred desk, where I greet my namesake [same rare spelling] again. “Help yourself to anything in Row J”, he says. From a collection of about 8 SUVs, I pick a silver Nissan Rogue … nice
And so, at c. 1945, out of the parking lot, round the block and on to I-10 East, which at this spot actually heads South-ish … just an easy 10 miles down to Exit 160 and Chandler Bvd to the Homewood Suites, Phoenix/Chandler again. Our "1 KING BED 1 BDRM FIREPLACE SUITE SMOKING" awaits! By 2000 we are unpacked, and heading for … ZZZZZZZ
BEING THERE
29 Mar - 10 Apr.
You don’t need the details of what we did and where we went, really. We did a bunch of essential US Retail, visited our friends frequently, enjoyed their wedding, quietly celebrated iWife’s birthday and enjoyed 2 weeks of blue skies and 30şc weather. Enough said, really
The Ahwatukee Foothills, where our friends live.
Proceedings were slightly marred by the existence of the Phoenix Bike Fest **http://www.phoenixbikefest.com** which resulted in a large number of Harley Davidson owners occupying our hotel and the Hampton next door. Now I enjoy hearing the rumble of a Harley along with the best of them, but NOT at 0400 on one night and 0200 the next night. For some reason [perhaps poor carburation?] it seem impossible to operate one, even when stationary, without perpetually blipping the throttle.
I understand some of the Hampton residents were actually evicted
Last edited by T8191; Jun 30, 2018 at 5:29 am Reason: restore photos
Apr 14, 2017, 12:37 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,137
HOMEWARD BOUND - DAY 1
11 Apr 17.
Time to go home
Back up I-10, where I took the correct exit ramp this time [was it 149? I think so.] and returned the Rogue to Avis. Back on the shuttle bus with our 2 cases and my backpack, 10 minutes to Terminal 4 where we successfully dropped the cases and collected our BPs, and straight through Security [thanks to TSA Pre✓ as usual]. By 1025 we were relaxing in the little AAdmiral’s Lounge by Gate A21, having first negotiated the Lounge Agent:
“Are you Club members?”, she asked quite aggressively as we presented our BPs.
“No, we’re just both oneworld Emerald, flying American in First” was my DYKWIA response
A small but perfectly adequate Lounge for an hour or so:
AA776, PHX-PHL, 1210-1946, A321, ‘First’ seats 2A/C
At 1125 we walked from the Lounge to the adjacent Gate 21, to hear “We are now boarding Group 1” … oh, gosh, we are just about the first to board again, with no queueing! There was a slight “Excuse me, you’re in my seat” in the row behind. A ‘gentleman’ had staked a claim for the window seat [3A] when in fact he was supposed to be in the opposite aisle seat [3D]. An easy mistake to make, of course, especially when you are apparently already under the influence and the signage is so unclear!
I was pleased to see that this aircraft had the newer brown seats - much more comfortable than the old blue ones we had suffered on the way out. Pushback at 1208, airborne at 1215, and lunch was served at 1320. Not one of our more successful airline meals on this occasion, although getting anything out of the tiny galley by one FA serving 16 pax must be something of a miracle!
The Galley
Microwaved? Enchiladas, apparently.
And what’s with the Half-Lettuce?
Towards the end of the flight, the FA announced that to her surprise we 16 F pax had gone through 12 bottles of wine! I’m not sure who was to blame … was it 1A, who was fawned over constantly by the FA? Or 3D, who had had enough already? One of the mysteries of air travel!
Thanks to the rescheduling of flights, our layover at PHL was agreeably brief. We got off the aircraft at the B Gates at 1935, and wandered down to A22 [in A East] where we arrived some 15 minutes later. Some of the walking times at PHL can be quite long, despite the moving walkways! No time for a Lounge this time [and there isn’t one there anyway!] as Group 1 boarding started at 2010.
AA722, PHL-DUB, 2055-0840, A330, Business, seats 1H/2H
Ah, back in our nice single window seats, ready for a nice meal and a few hours sleep on the TATL. I’m looking forward to Dinner, which is advertised as Cajun Duck Breast [etc etc]. Annoyingly, I left the menu on the aircraft, so I can’t remember what the rest of it was called!
Nice Bread Plate, though
Rather disappointing, and not terribly Cajun IMO. Nicely cooked, and moist, but with a rather strange texture and somehow lacking flavour. Whatever, it was all nourishment, and after a couple of glasses of Port I settled down for a couple of hours’ sleep.
11 Apr 17.
Time to go home
Back up I-10, where I took the correct exit ramp this time [was it 149? I think so.] and returned the Rogue to Avis. Back on the shuttle bus with our 2 cases and my backpack, 10 minutes to Terminal 4 where we successfully dropped the cases and collected our BPs, and straight through Security [thanks to TSA Pre✓ as usual]. By 1025 we were relaxing in the little AAdmiral’s Lounge by Gate A21, having first negotiated the Lounge Agent:
“Are you Club members?”, she asked quite aggressively as we presented our BPs.
“No, we’re just both oneworld Emerald, flying American in First” was my DYKWIA response
A small but perfectly adequate Lounge for an hour or so:
AA776, PHX-PHL, 1210-1946, A321, ‘First’ seats 2A/C
At 1125 we walked from the Lounge to the adjacent Gate 21, to hear “We are now boarding Group 1” … oh, gosh, we are just about the first to board again, with no queueing! There was a slight “Excuse me, you’re in my seat” in the row behind. A ‘gentleman’ had staked a claim for the window seat [3A] when in fact he was supposed to be in the opposite aisle seat [3D]. An easy mistake to make, of course, especially when you are apparently already under the influence and the signage is so unclear!
I was pleased to see that this aircraft had the newer brown seats - much more comfortable than the old blue ones we had suffered on the way out. Pushback at 1208, airborne at 1215, and lunch was served at 1320. Not one of our more successful airline meals on this occasion, although getting anything out of the tiny galley by one FA serving 16 pax must be something of a miracle!
The Galley
Microwaved? Enchiladas, apparently.
And what’s with the Half-Lettuce?
Towards the end of the flight, the FA announced that to her surprise we 16 F pax had gone through 12 bottles of wine! I’m not sure who was to blame … was it 1A, who was fawned over constantly by the FA? Or 3D, who had had enough already? One of the mysteries of air travel!
Thanks to the rescheduling of flights, our layover at PHL was agreeably brief. We got off the aircraft at the B Gates at 1935, and wandered down to A22 [in A East] where we arrived some 15 minutes later. Some of the walking times at PHL can be quite long, despite the moving walkways! No time for a Lounge this time [and there isn’t one there anyway!] as Group 1 boarding started at 2010.
AA722, PHL-DUB, 2055-0840, A330, Business, seats 1H/2H
Ah, back in our nice single window seats, ready for a nice meal and a few hours sleep on the TATL. I’m looking forward to Dinner, which is advertised as Cajun Duck Breast [etc etc]. Annoyingly, I left the menu on the aircraft, so I can’t remember what the rest of it was called!
Nice Bread Plate, though
Rather disappointing, and not terribly Cajun IMO. Nicely cooked, and moist, but with a rather strange texture and somehow lacking flavour. Whatever, it was all nourishment, and after a couple of glasses of Port I settled down for a couple of hours’ sleep.
Last edited by T8191; Jun 30, 2018 at 5:35 am Reason: restore photos
Apr 14, 2017, 12:38 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,137
HOMEWARD BOUND - DAY 2
12 Apr 17.
I awoke to the faint glow of dawn in one direction and the setting of the Moon in the other - how sweet!
A perfectly reasonable cold breakfast was served.
And here we are, back in Ireland again. We staggered our way to the Border, where there was absolutely no delay for the EU passports queue, and were at Reclaim by 0830. Our cases duly arrived, and we passed through Customs to find ourselves on the upper level of T2. At which point we paused … where now? What are we supposed to be doing? OLCI had not been completed, as we were travelling, so I wasn’t even sure which Terminal we were supposed to be using!! Oh well, make our way down to Departures, find an EI desk and see what happens. Now EI are very keen on self-processing, including bag-drop, but as we barely existed in the system we needed human intervention … and we duly joined a long queue for a manned desk. Ah, but wait!! An empty Customer Service desk is nearby - I’ll try playing the confused old passenger card [which at this stage of the trip was a valid description]. I explained my puzzlement to the nice lady on the desk, including my uncertainty about whether we were going from T1 or T2. She rattled her keyboard and “Hey, Presto” here are the boarding passes for the next 2 sectors, with the first departing from T2
Having beamed with gratitude, we self-tagged and self-dropped the bags [yes, checked through to JER] and off we pottered to navigate Security and then find the EI Gold Circle Lounge … which turned out to be a long way away, almost to the US Pre-Clearance area and down one level. At the Lounge desk was a notice clearly stating that access was permitted for BAEC Gold and Silver members flying to LHR and LGW only. Which is fair enough, especially as we met those criteria
No photos of the Lounge - I’m sure its covered elsewhere on FT. Not a great deal on offer either, but comfortable and quiet and with again a decent view of the ramp area. Which was just as well, as our flight was showing a delay to 1305.
EI236 [sold as BA5906], DUB-LGW, “1240-1405”, A320, Economy seats 10E/F
Despite the sign at Gate 409 saying they would board by Row numbers, they didn’t Everyone just joined one long line, so we wearily joined on the back. Oh, so slow - children, babies, buggies, car seats, old people … it took ages. Eventually we pushed back at 1323 [getting later] and finally got airborne at 1348 [getting even later]. At this point I’m looking at our BPs for the next and last sector which say “Gate Closes 1530”, and starting to expect a missed connection.
Arrive at LGW 1445 [Gate 14?], and of course it’s a bus to the South Terminal. Well, 2 buses actually - which to choose? And which side should we stand? I’d forgotten that detail from the ‘guided tour’ by CWS on the outbound. Oh, well, just go with the flow. As it transpired we had picked the wrong bus, as ours came in 2nd, and we were standing on the wrong side!,
Right, here we go … keep up! Off the bus, enter building, keep on right side of corridor, dive into lift, have fellow pax move back so that the doors will close, up one floor, head for one-way doors at high speed, enter Arrivals, find lift to Departures, head for non-Priority Security [oh, great, I get picked for random secondary pat-down and shoes off for scanning], recover and repack backpack, look for signs for Gate 12, navigate bloody shops, find passageway to Gate 12, reach gate breathlessly at … 1515. Phew. That's 30 minutes from one gate to the next, in the same spine of the Terminal - I'm not persuaded by the new setup at LGW(S).
Could we have had time to go to Duty Free? Technically, yes, possibly. Is it best to catch the flight, or save Ł100+ on Duty Free cigarettes and booze?
BA2774, LGW-JER, 1550-1655, A319, Economy seats 10A/B
Here we go, last sector. Ah, the old familiar route in the old familiar aircraft in the old famil… oh, no, the novel Economy seats behind the curtain. Oh, look at those lucky/rich people sitting up front - they’re getting free food and drink, while we at the back have to pay! I suppress the envy, and despite faint hunger pangs I firmly resist the vague temptation to sample BA’s luxury M&S buy-on-board food offering. Anyway, we’re off, pushing back at 1548 so at least BA is running on time And we arrive at JER, tired and somewhat hungry, at 1635 [yes, 20 minutes early!]. Excellent, nearly home.
Now one of the wonders of life is how the Swissport baggage manglers at JER can take so long to move the bags from the aircraft hold on Stand 2 to the baggage belt at Reclaim. It’s at least 25 yards, maybe getting on for 35 yards. Google Earth makes it about 40 yards. Whatever. We were on the chocks at at 1635 - and yet the first bag didn’t emerge until 1655. Twenty minutes??? God, they’re bloody awful. When they’re not destroying bags, do they to stand around hoping they’ll move autonomously?
You can guess what comes next, I suspect. Thanks to EI, and the tight connection, we end up watching an empty belt going round… and round … and round. The sound of inactivity behind the belt tells us we might have made the connection, but the bags didn’t. Great. Over to the Baggage help-desk, where I blearily fill in the form telling ‘the system’ that our bags haven’t arrived. The helpful Laura [she said I may use her name in this TR] says they will be couriered to our house when they arrive, and they should be on the next flight. That’s BA2776, ETA JER 1900, or in a couple of hours in real terms. We live in hope, as we totter through Customs [haha, we ain’t got nothing thanks to EI ], grab a cab and grind home through the rush-hour congestion, which we do actually have here at certain times. At 1800 we’re home. I call Laura to correct a detail about the identifying tags on the cases, and she says “No problem, they’re already on the 2776.”
We potter around the house, opening windows and that sort of thing, and I go to FlightRadar24 to look for ‘BAW2776’ … not showing. eeek. I look at the Airport website, to find that 2776 landed at 1845 [15 minutes early. Please note, EI.]
And, at 1954, the doorbell rings … “Your bags, sir”, says the nice courier man! I phoned Laura with a verbal “Good Show”, and was well impressed with BA’s handling of the situation (our first ever ‘missing bag’ event).
And so to bed … that’s been more than enough excitement for one day. ZZZZZZ…….
12 Apr 17.
I awoke to the faint glow of dawn in one direction and the setting of the Moon in the other - how sweet!
A perfectly reasonable cold breakfast was served.
And here we are, back in Ireland again. We staggered our way to the Border, where there was absolutely no delay for the EU passports queue, and were at Reclaim by 0830. Our cases duly arrived, and we passed through Customs to find ourselves on the upper level of T2. At which point we paused … where now? What are we supposed to be doing? OLCI had not been completed, as we were travelling, so I wasn’t even sure which Terminal we were supposed to be using!! Oh well, make our way down to Departures, find an EI desk and see what happens. Now EI are very keen on self-processing, including bag-drop, but as we barely existed in the system we needed human intervention … and we duly joined a long queue for a manned desk. Ah, but wait!! An empty Customer Service desk is nearby - I’ll try playing the confused old passenger card [which at this stage of the trip was a valid description]. I explained my puzzlement to the nice lady on the desk, including my uncertainty about whether we were going from T1 or T2. She rattled her keyboard and “Hey, Presto” here are the boarding passes for the next 2 sectors, with the first departing from T2
Having beamed with gratitude, we self-tagged and self-dropped the bags [yes, checked through to JER] and off we pottered to navigate Security and then find the EI Gold Circle Lounge … which turned out to be a long way away, almost to the US Pre-Clearance area and down one level. At the Lounge desk was a notice clearly stating that access was permitted for BAEC Gold and Silver members flying to LHR and LGW only. Which is fair enough, especially as we met those criteria
No photos of the Lounge - I’m sure its covered elsewhere on FT. Not a great deal on offer either, but comfortable and quiet and with again a decent view of the ramp area. Which was just as well, as our flight was showing a delay to 1305.
EI236 [sold as BA5906], DUB-LGW, “1240-1405”, A320, Economy seats 10E/F
Despite the sign at Gate 409 saying they would board by Row numbers, they didn’t
Everyone just joined one long line, so we wearily joined on the back. Oh, so slow - children, babies, buggies, car seats, old people … it took ages. Eventually we pushed back at 1323 [getting later] and finally got airborne at 1348 [getting even later]. At this point I’m looking at our BPs for the next and last sector which say “Gate Closes 1530”, and starting to expect a missed connection.Arrive at LGW 1445 [Gate 14?], and of course it’s a bus to the South Terminal. Well, 2 buses actually - which to choose? And which side should we stand? I’d forgotten that detail from the ‘guided tour’ by CWS on the outbound. Oh, well, just go with the flow. As it transpired we had picked the wrong bus, as ours came in 2nd, and we were standing on the wrong side!,
Right, here we go … keep up! Off the bus, enter building, keep on right side of corridor, dive into lift, have fellow pax move back so that the doors will close, up one floor, head for one-way doors at high speed, enter Arrivals, find lift to Departures, head for non-Priority Security [oh, great, I get picked for random secondary pat-down and shoes off for scanning], recover and repack backpack, look for signs for Gate 12, navigate bloody shops, find passageway to Gate 12, reach gate breathlessly at … 1515. Phew. That's 30 minutes from one gate to the next, in the same spine of the Terminal - I'm not persuaded by the new setup at LGW(S).
Could we have had time to go to Duty Free? Technically, yes, possibly. Is it best to catch the flight, or save Ł100+ on Duty Free cigarettes and booze?
BA2774, LGW-JER, 1550-1655, A319, Economy seats 10A/B
Here we go, last sector. Ah, the old familiar route in the old familiar aircraft in the old famil… oh, no, the novel Economy seats behind the curtain. Oh, look at those lucky/rich people sitting up front - they’re getting free food and drink, while we at the back have to pay! I suppress the envy, and despite faint hunger pangs I firmly resist the vague temptation to sample BA’s luxury M&S buy-on-board food offering. Anyway, we’re off, pushing back at 1548 so at least BA is running on time
And we arrive at JER, tired and somewhat hungry, at 1635 [yes, 20 minutes early!]. Excellent, nearly home.Now one of the wonders of life is how the Swissport baggage manglers at JER can take so long to move the bags from the aircraft hold on Stand 2 to the baggage belt at Reclaim. It’s at least 25 yards, maybe getting on for 35 yards. Google Earth makes it about 40 yards. Whatever. We were on the chocks at at 1635 - and yet the first bag didn’t emerge until 1655. Twenty minutes??? God, they’re bloody awful. When they’re not destroying bags, do they to stand around hoping they’ll move autonomously?
You can guess what comes next, I suspect. Thanks to EI, and the tight connection, we end up watching an empty belt going round… and round … and round. The sound of inactivity behind the belt tells us we might have made the connection, but the bags didn’t. Great. Over to the Baggage help-desk, where I blearily fill in the form telling ‘the system’ that our bags haven’t arrived. The helpful Laura [she said I may use her name in this TR] says they will be couriered to our house when they arrive, and they should be on the next flight. That’s BA2776, ETA JER 1900, or in a couple of hours in real terms. We live in hope, as we totter through Customs [haha, we ain’t got nothing thanks to EI
], grab a cab and grind home through the rush-hour congestion, which we do actually have here at certain times. At 1800 we’re home. I call Laura to correct a detail about the identifying tags on the cases, and she says “No problem, they’re already on the 2776.”We potter around the house, opening windows and that sort of thing, and I go to FlightRadar24 to look for ‘BAW2776’ … not showing. eeek. I look at the Airport website, to find that 2776 landed at 1845 [15 minutes early. Please note, EI.]
And, at 1954, the doorbell rings … “Your bags, sir”, says the nice courier man! I phoned Laura with a verbal “Good Show”, and was well impressed with BA’s handling of the situation (our first ever ‘missing bag’ event).
And so to bed … that’s been more than enough excitement for one day. ZZZZZZ…….
Last edited by T8191; Jun 30, 2018 at 5:38 am Reason: restore photos
Apr 14, 2017, 12:59 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,137
THE AFTERMATH
13 Apr 17.
BAEC Tier Points for the PHX-PHL posted to our BAEC accounts, renewing GOLD for another year
14 Apr 17.
Remaining TPs and Avios posted correctly. The TPs will revert to ZERO on 8 May, but there’s a cheeky 1,000 already sitting in MMB for August with a trip to OGG … PPC = Pensioners Plan Carefully
REFLECTIONS
Having droned on at length at you, dear Reader, it seems only fair to provide a brief summary of our feelings on this trip. Indeed, if you had skipped to this point at the outset you could have saved yourself a lot of time and effort. However, I guess you didn’t, so here we go … succinctly, for a change.
1. We like Arizona. It’s nice and warm and sunny, and the people are generally polite and friendly. We shall return, not least because we have good friends there but also because we genuinely like it there.
2. We like American Airlines. The hard product on TATL in J beats BA hands down, the food is at least as good [provided you like American food] and the Cabin Crew/Flight Attendants are on a par with BA’s, albeit with a different style. The Transcon stuff in “Domestic First” is OK too, and certainly streets ahead of anything offered in Club Europe on similar sector lengths. Their boarding processes are extremely efficient from what we’ve seen, although admittedly we’ve always been at the front of proceedings
3. We like flying ex-DUB. Cheaper than ex-UK, even with the cost of connecting flights and the overnight hotel. Its a decent airport, and the US Pre-Clearance facility is a great benefit. The new “51st & Green” Lounge enhances the experience for Premium pax, and has a purchased entry facility (€35 in advance, IIRC) for those brave enough to fly TATL in Coach. However, airfield congestion clearly makes on-time performance a challenge for operators.
4. We like US airports. Presumably funded differently to those in UK, they are not an obstacle course of retail outlets. Instead, such facilities are positioned at the sides, enabling a free flow of passengers whilst still affording space for retail and F&B establishments.
Conversely …
5. We dislike Gatwick (South). Bussed from the aircraft, having to depart the Terminal and then re-enter through Security, and an obstacle course of Retail, are big negatives for connecting passengers - YMMV, but that’s usually our option. Sorry, but despite the nice new BA Lounges it’s a ‘not very nice’ environment. And 30 minutes from Gate 14 to Gate 12 in the same spine is just ridiculous! 
6. We dislike Aer Lingus. The baggage aspects are a complication (a Willie Walsh legacy?), and both our flights [ex-LGW and ex-DUB] were noticeably delayed. Oh, and the seat pitch in Y made it almost impossible to even manoeuvre a small carry-on under the seat in front! We have already decided not to bother trying to use them again until they are properly, and fully, embedded in IAG and oneworld.
That’s your lot. Nothing now until OGG in August. Thanks for reading
13 Apr 17.
BAEC Tier Points for the PHX-PHL posted to our BAEC accounts, renewing GOLD for another year
14 Apr 17.
Remaining TPs and Avios posted correctly. The TPs will revert to ZERO on 8 May, but there’s a cheeky 1,000 already sitting in MMB for August with a trip to OGG … PPC = Pensioners Plan Carefully
REFLECTIONS
Having droned on at length at you, dear Reader, it seems only fair to provide a brief summary of our feelings on this trip. Indeed, if you had skipped to this point at the outset you could have saved yourself a lot of time and effort. However, I guess you didn’t, so here we go … succinctly, for a change.
1. We like Arizona. It’s nice and warm and sunny, and the people are generally polite and friendly. We shall return, not least because we have good friends there but also because we genuinely like it there.
2. We like American Airlines. The hard product on TATL in J beats BA hands down, the food is at least as good [provided you like American food] and the Cabin Crew/Flight Attendants are on a par with BA’s, albeit with a different style. The Transcon stuff in “Domestic First” is OK too, and certainly streets ahead of anything offered in Club Europe on similar sector lengths. Their boarding processes are extremely efficient from what we’ve seen, although admittedly we’ve always been at the front of proceedings
3. We like flying ex-DUB. Cheaper than ex-UK, even with the cost of connecting flights and the overnight hotel. Its a decent airport, and the US Pre-Clearance facility is a great benefit. The new “51st & Green” Lounge enhances the experience for Premium pax, and has a purchased entry facility (€35 in advance, IIRC) for those brave enough to fly TATL in Coach. However, airfield congestion clearly makes on-time performance a challenge for operators.
4. We like US airports. Presumably funded differently to those in UK, they are not an obstacle course of retail outlets. Instead, such facilities are positioned at the sides, enabling a free flow of passengers whilst still affording space for retail and F&B establishments.
Conversely …
5. We dislike Gatwick (South). Bussed from the aircraft, having to depart the Terminal and then re-enter through Security, and an obstacle course of Retail, are big negatives for connecting passengers - YMMV, but that’s usually our option. Sorry, but despite the nice new BA Lounges it’s a ‘not very nice’ environment. And 30 minutes from Gate 14 to Gate 12 in the same spine is just ridiculous!
6. We dislike Aer Lingus. The baggage aspects are a complication (a Willie Walsh legacy?), and both our flights [ex-LGW and ex-DUB] were noticeably delayed. Oh, and the seat pitch in Y made it almost impossible to even manoeuvre a small carry-on under the seat in front! We have already decided not to bother trying to use them again until they are properly, and fully, embedded in IAG and oneworld.
That’s your lot. Nothing now until OGG in August. Thanks for reading
Last edited by T8191; Feb 2, 2018 at 1:38 pm Reason: seating in EI Y
?
Apr 14, 2017, 2:11 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,137
Mindful that I had to drive at the end of the outbound, I was modest in my consumption.
On the way home, I did have a glass or 3 at times. And of course AA has places to put your wine other than on the meal tray!
Unlike many FT-ers, I don't actually regard l/h flying as being an excuse to hoover free booze in great quantities.
However, that said, the wines were "OK". Outbound [my only menu] there was:
White: NZ Sauv Blanc or <shudder> a Chilean Chardonnay.
Red: OZ Cab Sauv or a Portuguese Douro. I think we both went for that.
I did note that the AA reds were not frozen to extinction, and that their whites [including their French Champagne] were at a proper temperature. Another little notch on the BA Beating-Stick - how can BA get it so wrong, so often?
Last edited by T8191; Apr 15, 2017 at 5:15 am
Apr 14, 2017, 3:24 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
Great TR UncleT, and an impressive survival pack from CWS! I'm glad you had a great time in PHX. Apologies we didn't get to meetup this visit, I remembered you were visiting the day you departed, but I look forward to meeting you at the JER Do.
Apr 14, 2017, 3:45 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: BNA (Nashville)
Programs: HH Diamond
Posts: 6,221
On my last visit dropping the car off at the rental car facility at PHX, I took the risk and did the bag drop there. There was no one in line. It saved a ton of time at the airport as I was flying coach and the lines to check bags were very long. I had a few hours before my flight so I knew I wasn't pushing it. I also found it very convenient to not fuss with luggage on the rental car shuttle. Something to think about on your future PHX visits.
Apr 14, 2017, 4:04 pm
#14
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,367
Was great to meet you and the iwife Uncle T. Thank you again for whetting my appetite of a different colour of shiny plastic . You forgot to mention that the EI codeshare flight was not on the screens in the BA lounge and you used the wisdom of the inbound airframe is over Milton Keynes so we will head to the gate with the absence of any info in the lounge though it seemed an age after you left before the aircraft arrived at the gate.
I do like the new lounges at LGW S but do concur my arrival arrivals experience was also not the best.
I do like the new lounges at LGW S but do concur my arrival arrivals experience was also not the best.
Apr 14, 2017, 5:10 pm
#15
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,196
Not quite up to your previous reporting standard T8191 I feel....seemed to lack the usual sparkle. Do I detect this multi flight tier point collecting lark is becoming all a bit too much for you both? 
I noticed the cleansing wipes in the survival box....that c-w-s is a cheeky chappie. ^
I noticed the cleansing wipes in the survival box....that c-w-s is a cheeky chappie. ^
