The Planning
For the third and final of my (Philip’s second and last)
pure mileage runs for 2012, we flew on our final BWI to SFO trip. (Read about the first here and the second
here; I also did a mileage run to Manila and wrote about it here.) We would again go out of BWI on Friday, this
time through Atlanta, arrive into San Francisco, overnight there, then fly out
the next morning, through Detroit, back into BWI. Because we would be late getting in we would
overnight near BWI. Again, as with my
run the weekend before, we made our plans but they never quite worked out perfectly.
...And The Troubles Begin
In Baltimore our inbound aircraft was late arriving from
Atlanta, so we took on a twenty-minute delay, not inconsequential with a
55-minute connection time through Atlanta.
We boarded and were ready to go; or so we thought. There was some issue with getting the engine
started, so we had to have it started by a piece of equipment, which took a
while. Then, after we pushed off the
gate, we were given a departure time by flight control of twenty minutes
later. By the time we landed it was too late
to make the connection, which was the last SF flight of the night. We went to the SkyClub to see what our
rebooking options were.
Rebooking
I had booked the three BWI-SFO mileage runs before I booked
the trip to Manila, so, with that Manila trip, I did not really need this
run. If I had been on my own I’d have
had them just send me home. When there
is a situation where you miss a connection, especially when it is the airline’s
fault, agents have a lot more latitude about what they can do. But, Philip needed the miles, so we had to
start from that point-of-view, and, of course, I rarely mind being in a plane.
As luck would have it, there was still space—two seats—in
First on the first flight the next day from Atlanta to SFO, that would get us
into SF an hour before our originally-scheduled flight back east was to
leave. We decided to take it. Because the delay was the airline’s fault and
not the weather, we overnighted on Delta’s dime.
Here’s another instance where one’s status plays a part in
the quality of the travel experience. We
were traveling on two different itineraries and were each entitled to a hotel
room. I was offered the Best Western; I asked
if there were other options and was given the choice between two different
Marriotts or a Crowne Plaza. Philip, as
Gold Medallion, was offered the Best Western or nothing. So, we went with the airport Marriott. (No clue what he would have been offered if
he was Silver or had no status. I
imagine a spot under a freeway underpass!)
We also each received $20 in meal vouchers.
We headed out to find the shuttle for the Marriott. It ran every fifteen minutes and we were
quickly on our way and checking into the hotel.
It was a nice-enough hotel and room, even if the guestrooms were really
quite small; but, in an airport hotel, where guests are usually there for just
one night, that is not so important.
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| Small, but quite adequate, accommodations at the Atlanta Airport Marriott |
A Day of Flying
Our rebooked flight was at 08:10 the next morning, so, by
the time we got to the room, there was not much time for sleep. 05:30 Saturday morning was time to rise and
shine. We were to the airport by seven,
quickly through security (thanks to Pre-Check), and getting a quick bite to
tide us over until breakfast was served on the plane, using one of the meal
vouchers the Delta agent had given us.
Boarding was on-time and without issue. We were traveling in Business on a 767 with
an international configuration; though it was not Delta’s updated cabin, which
has lie-flat seats. The footrests and
in-flight-entertainment were nice to have, the latter especially, since the
international configuration meant no Internet onboard.
The flight was nice, with an attentive crew, a pretty-okay
breakfast, and IFE to keep us occupied.
The flight was quite choppy from about two thirds of the way in until
its end. At some points the chop was bad
enough that the flight attendants were ordered to their jump-seats.
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| Breakfast on Delta |
We landed in San Francisco perfectly on-time and our next
flight was out of the gate just across from our arriving gate. I was upgraded to Detroit and also to BWI;
Philip was upgraded Detroit to BWI but not the first leg, so he needed to get
something to eat, again with those handy Delta meal vouchers.
Boarding was an absolute mob scene, for who-knows-why. Eventually we boarded, settled in, and it was
time to fly. The flight was uneventful,
except for the two idiots who sat across the aisle from me and talked to each
other at such a level that other passengers two and three rows up asked them to
please not talk so loudly. It did not
work. Even with a noise-canceling
headset on I could still follow their “conversation,” dreadful and boorish as it was.
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| Lunch on Delta |
We made it into Detroit and set out on the sprint to our
connecting gate; we had just 37 minutes to make it to the flight to
Baltimore. When we arrived at the gate
about ten minutes later, the flight had already boarded, so we quickly got on
and found our seats. We pushed off of
the gate about ten minutes early and were likewise early getting in. We found our shuttle to the BWI Doubletree,
checked in, and ordered up some room service, which was surprisingly good.
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| Doubletree BWI |
Beating Hurricane Sandy Home
The following morning we slept in a little and then had
breakfast at the hotel before checking out, getting to the car, and heading
home. Hurricane Sandy was set to hit so
we stopped by for groceries and provisions, and we were home before the rain
began.
Again, even though there were delays and missed connections,
the end-goal was achieved: the
accumulation of qualifying miles. For
me, the trip netted me 5294 qualifying miles and 11,912 redeemable miles, and
all for $170. Not too bad. And, for Philip, including our booked trips,
he’ll requalify for Gold. Also not too
bad!
