Emirates Employment Comes With Cheap Flights

gesubsea · Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:28 pm

Gosh, I remember about 5 yrs back when I had a 2nd job in the evenings working at the Fed Ex AUS ramp. The perks included the same kinds of discounts as Emirates (as Fed Ex is classified as an airline) is offering to its employees, but because Fed Ex is so widely known it had the ability to provide these discounts with over 40 of the world's airlines in varying discount reciprocities.

According to the article, Emirates is providing the same oppotunities to its US staff of "discounts of up to 90 percent on standby tickets, and half-price fares for confirmed seats."

When I was with Fed Ex, for example, 6 months of service got you SWA flights R/T for $59 anywhere in the network. In yet another example, I was able to secure a standby seat over Labor Day weekend to Argentina 2 days in advance of travel by driving up from Austin to catch a DFW - EZE for $100 (that was 90% off APEX).

If you weren't traveling Int'l, you could also book the "company plane" (A300, A310, DC10) a "jump seat" behind the cockpit doors anywhere in the US domestic network for free (but ALWAYS a connection in MEM or some other focus hub) which was always an all-night affair. Not sure Fed Ex is still providing the perk.

This seems to be something new from Emirates, "After five years of employment, workers begin receiving free tickets — generally about two a year — that they can use any time" it is offering to its employees, as with Fed Ex we had it good, but not THAT good after 5 yrs of service

.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...s/2012/07/20/gJQAh4T52W_story.html

rwy04lga · Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:40 pm

Wow, not nearly as good as unlimited free flights from the get go at DL and most other US airlines!

LAXintl · Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:41 pm

Those perks are pretty standard internationally.

ID90 discounts have been around for ages, as well as the ID50 confirmed tickets.

Same goes with free tickets. Have friends at Virgin Atlantic that get I recall 4(?) annually.

roseflyer · Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:50 pm

I'm not sure what news this really is. Emirates' is no where near as good as the unlimited space available travel in any class of service that most US airlines offer.

qfba · Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:31 am

But the airline you may fly for doesn't fly everywhere. The ID90 option is awesome to travel the world - reaching almost every corner of the globe. A far cry from some airlines route maps.

AAIL86 · Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:13 am

Quoting QFBA (Reply 4):
But the airline you may fly for doesn't fly everywhere. The ID90 option is awesome to travel the world - reaching almost every corner of the globe. A far cry from some airlines route maps.

when I worked at American, besides the staff travel passes you could get more or less unlimited ZED/ID90 tickets on pretty much any airline you can think of.

This isn't really a news item - railroads, shipping companies and airlines have been offering their staff free and reduced rate tickets since their inception....

Maverick623 · Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:04 am

Quoting GEsubsea (Thread starter):
but because Fed Ex is so widely known it had the ability to provide these discounts with over 40 of the world's airlines in varying discount reciprocities.

Only 40? Screw that....

Quoting GEsubsea (Thread starter):
This seems to be something new from Emirates, "After five years of employment, workers begin receiving free tickets — generally about two a year — that they can use any time" it is offering to its employees, as with Fed Ex we had it good, but not THAT good after 5 yrs of service

I had free flights on my 14th day, and ZED/ID90 fares at 6 months or 1 year depending upon the airline.

It's funny, actually... there was a person in my training class that literally did not show up on the second Friday, having hopped a flight to California.

Quoting LAXintl (Reply 2):
ID90 discounts have been around for ages

For so long, that they are slowly disappearing. ZED fares have pretty much replaced ID90s, which is nice.

Sorry for pissing on your parade....

G-CIVP · Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:29 am

Quoting GEsubsea (Thread starter):
If you weren't traveling Int'l, you could also book the "company plane" (A300, A310, DC10) a "jump seat" behind the cockpit doors anywhere in the US domestic network for free (but ALWAYS a connection in MEM or some other focus hub) which was always an all-night affair. Not sure Fed Ex is still providing the perk

Didn't that 'perk' get binned when a jumpseat rider decided to overpower the flightcrew? Wasn't a near fatal accident narrowly avoided?

SurfandSnow · Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:23 am

I think most of us here are very familiar with the perks that come with employment in the airline industry, so the gist of this article is hardly newsworthy. However, there was one very interesting bit - Mr. Cadeaux has already been working for EK in Washington for 10 months now - EK's IAD flights don't even start until September 12th! Given that he started back in September of last year, I can only assume the interview process for his position began at least a month or two before that. Then they've hired 17 other folks as well, long before the first flight with revenue pax comes in. Just goes to show how much time, planning, and money goes into these new stations for global long haul carriers!

On another note, it will be interesting to see how EK does to IAD. UA is now well established on the IAD-DXB route, with plenty of IAD hub feed to boot. Meanwhile, QR enjoys a strong codeshare relationship with UA to support its IAD-DOH flight. EK will certainly have a myriad of onward connectivity beyond DXB (Africa, the Middle East, and particularly the Indian Subcontinent spring to mind), but local FF loyalty to UA and its partners, not to mention the government policy of flying U.S. carriers - or at the very least, a U.S. carrier codeshare like QR offers - whenever possible, could prove challenging to EK. They enjoyed first mover advantage in all of their other U.S. markets, and still enjoy a niche market position to the Middle East out of SFO, SEA, and DFW. This will be the first time they add/enter a U.S. market with strong, established competition.

usdcaguy · Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:23 am

Quoting GEsubsea (Thread starter):
half-price fares for confirmed seats."

Interestingly, this is something we still do not have in the States. Our discounts are a maximum of around 30%. I'd be curious to know: is the 50% discount applicable to ANY fare, or unrestricted fares only? If it's any fare, that would be an absolute bargain in the US; you could easily fly coast-to-coast round-trip for around $180 confirmed at a 50% discount. That would be very tempting to buy instead of sweating it out at the gate at noon on a Sunday, especially on holiday weekends. What is keeping US carriers from offering this discount to its employees? Such a program could also be extended to other carriers; you could have a "confirmed ZED" program whereby you paid set fares based on distance for confirmed travel on a variety of carriers instead of standby. The problem is, that would be almost useless in a number of European markets, where confirmed tickets are often about as much as standby ZED tickets due to the taxes.

cloudyapple · Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:47 am

Quoting rwy04lga (Reply 1):

Wow, not nearly as good as unlimited free flights from the get go at DL and most other US airlines!

I wonder why most airlines are bankrupt in a certain country while some consistently turn in a handsome profit!

VgnAtl747 · Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:58 am

Quoting Maverick623 (Reply 6):
It's funny, actually... there was a person in my training class that literally did not show up on the second Friday, having hopped a flight to California.

When I was at OH... missing a shift because you were NRSA somewhere was grounds for a minimum 6 month suspension of flight benefits. That said, back when CVG was a major hub in the system, there were many that would hop flights to LAS, SEA, or LAX for the weekend between training classes as opposed to using the company positive space booking to go home. We actually had someone at my station that went to LGW for the weekend.

ID90, ID50, and ZED fares are pretty much a standard offering from airlines. Typically the perks extend to hotels, cruises, rental cars, etc. also, with some highly discounted options. For me, one of the biggest perks of the airline industry was the benefits. in the 3 years I worked for OH, I made 4 trips to London to visit family, all on DL (at the cost of about $70/trip). You certainly don't make any money as a college student working on the ramp, but the perks do a good job at offsetting it. You have to consider the "total compensation", including benefits.

We had several gentlemen at our station that were retired from full careers and picked up a part time job at OH. The reality is that (at least then, not sure about now) you only had to work 20 hrs a week to qualify for flight benefits, which were extended to your immediate family.

babybus · Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:20 pm

Quoting LAXintl (Reply 2):
ID90 discounts have been around for ages, as well as the ID50 confirmed tickets.

That's what I was thinking too. I can't think of any airline that doesn't offer its staff at least 3 free flights a year plus all the ID90s and ID50s on top.

The ID50s were only value for money when you think it's a 50% discount on a full fare, which most travelling public would never pay.

Goldenshield · Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:44 pm

Quoting cloudyapple (Reply 10):
I wonder why most airlines are bankrupt in a certain country while some consistently turn in a handsome profit!

Cutthroat competition. If US airlines started charging their employees the same as certain foreign airlines, no one would want to work at them.

starguy · Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:58 pm

Quoting LAXintl (Reply 2):

Virgin crew get 7 free round trips a year for anyone on their friends and family list.

roseflyer · Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:58 pm

Quoting cloudyapple (Reply 10):

I wonder why most airlines are bankrupt in a certain country while some consistently turn in a handsome profit!

The US airlines have had to slash wages because of the financial pressures on them. Offering unlimited travel benefits has very low cost, and there are some cost recovery fees that the airlines get. It is a way to increase staff compensation without having it come off the bottom line. It makes sense for them to offer it, whereas airlines that pay their employees adequately like Emirates don’t need to offer other incentives to keep people. Non-rev load factors on the major US airlines tend to be about 2-3%.

Jpax · Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:02 pm

I'd hate for my flight benefits to be downgraded to the Emirates level. I've got system wide free space available economy, dirt cheap first, and jumpseat access to basically anywhere I need to go my airline doesn't take me. On top of that, I've got handfuls of buddy passes which gives heavily discounted flights to anyone who wants one. As far as FedEx, I believe I ship with them for 1/4 of the price...or just jumpseat with them, grab a snackbox and a sleeping bag from the crew.

md3 · Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:03 pm

Quoting cloudyapple (Reply 10):
I wonder why most airlines are bankrupt in a certain country while some consistently turn in a handsome profit!

You're implying that free space-available travel for employees is the cause of US airlines bankruptcy? By charging a minimal amount only a couple years later, they'd all now be turning a handsome profit?

That's beyond illogical.

777ord · Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:50 pm

Quoting Roseflyer (Reply 15):
The US airlines have had to slash wages because of the financial pressures on them. Offering unlimited travel benefits has very low cost, and there are some cost recovery fees that the airlines get. It is a way to increase staff compensation without having it come off the bottom line. It makes sense for them to offer it, whereas airlines that pay their employees adequately like Emirates don’t need to offer other incentives to keep people. Non-rev load factors on the major US airlines tend to be about 2-3%.

You're absolutely right. We don't get paid nearly enough, and so if our only compensation is truly the ability to fly the world for free, or practically free internationally. Then it makes the 10x-16 hour days I do here in Chicago, to allow me to live back in San Diego totally worth it.

Additionally, a lot of pilots (like 90%) of flights crews do not live in their base. It's a cost of living thing.

Also have to remember that Ek has a business plan that works and can support that salary level. People who pay $100 to fly transcon don't support us to do our job as best we can, or as best we care.

rwy04lga · Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:10 pm

Quoting cloudyapple (Reply 10):
Quoting rwy04lga (Reply 1):

Wow, not nearly as good as unlimited free flights from the get go at DL and most other US airlines!

I wonder why most airlines are bankrupt in a certain country while some consistently turn in a handsome profit!

Employees get a seat that would be otherwise empty. The airline loses no money due to an employee occupying that otherwise empty seat. It costs the airline a miniscule amount of money to provide the employee a benefit of tremendous value. You clearly have NO idea what you're talking about. Maybe that apple of yours has been in a cloud too long.

AirframeAS · Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:17 pm

Quoting LAXintl (Reply 2):
.........as well as the ID50 confirmed tickets.

Does anyone know if UA offers this to their employees? I know F9 does it for their employees when I was working there.

bastar1 · Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:42 pm

Quoting babybus (Reply 12):
I can't think of any airline that doesn't offer its staff at least 3 free flights a year plus all the ID90s and ID50s on top.

Well, BA for one. I get one free F class firm, but that is because I am reasonably senior. For everyone else there is a five year wait and then it's a free J class firm.

QF doesn't give any free tickets.

Of course there are always ID90s and ZEDs.

xpfg · Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:48 pm

Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 20):
Does anyone know if UA offers this to their employees? I know F9 does it for their employees when I was working there.

ID20 if I remember it right without checking right now.

Not all that great, but the rest of the benefits are good.

tcxdegsy · Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:21 pm

TCX used to give crew flights for £25!
All Eomployes in the in the Thomas Cook Group could book inhouse Tour Op HOLIDAYS (flights and Accom) for £99 for a week, if booked up to 48hrs in advance.. and whilst this was supposed to be apartments, there were occasionsl when you could get All Inclusive for the same price.

You could claim 75% discount if booked in advance (no more than 8 weeks ahead if long haul), and after 5 yrs service, you got 2 x 75% discounts per year, and could give your travelling companion one of your two discounts so both could benefit

With contract changes in recent years, the Holiday discounts dropped to 50% for new staff.

Maverick623 · Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:27 pm

Quoting vgnatl747 (Reply 11):
When I was at OH... missing a shift because you were NRSA somewhere was grounds for a minimum 6 month suspension of flight benefits.

My airline does it on a case-by-case basis. In my story, the guy wasn't interested in the job or the long-term benefits... he wanted a free ride to Cali (and maybe some spending money).

AirframeAS · Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:35 pm

Quoting usdcaguy (Reply 9):
Interestingly, this is something we still do not have in the States. Our discounts are a maximum of around 30%. I'd be curious to know: is the 50% discount applicable to ANY fare, or unrestricted fares only? If it's any fare, that would be an absolute bargain in the US; you could easily fly coast-to-coast round-trip for around $180 confirmed at a 50% discount.

ID50 is offered at F9. The only way to get those tickets (and sometimes they are not worth it because it is 50% off the Classic Plus fare only) is to head on over to the F9 GO on Tower Rd. It is more economical, on F9, to just buy a Economy ticket which is cheaper most of the time than an ID50 on F9.

Quoting xpfg (Reply 22):
ID20 if I remember it right without checking right now. Not all that great, but the rest of the benefits are good.

Assuming that is a confirmed seat. How would an UA employee obtain a ID20? (Or if there is an ID50?)

WJ · Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:17 pm

Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 20):

Does anyone know if UA offers this to their employees? I know F9 does it for their employees when I was working there.

IIRC, at UA flight benefits kick in right away. Free in coach, some costs for premium classes, all unlimited. Plus some fee waived passes for all cabins. after certain time in the company, all flights are free, departure tax only where applicable.

AirframeAS · Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:20 pm

Quoting WJ (Reply 26):
IIRC, at UA flight benefits kick in right away. Free in coach, some costs for premium classes, all unlimited. Plus some fee waived passes for all cabins. after certain time in the company, all flights are free, departure tax only where applicable.

I know that. However, that is not what I was asking. I was asking about ID50, confirmed space discount.

777ord · Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:55 pm

We get ID20's..... 20% off a confirmed seat, and 2 free bags up to 50lbs each

Maverick623 · Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:58 am

Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 25):
How would an UA employee obtain a ID20?

Call up Res, give them your employee number, and Bob's your uncle.

FURUREFA · Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:34 am

Quoting Maverick623 (Reply 29):

Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 25):
How would an UA employee obtain a ID20?

Call up Res, give them your employee number, and Bob's your uncle.

One can also do it online. And its 20% off ANY published fare, not just full Y.

mayor · Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:02 am

Quoting cloudyapple (Reply 10):
Quoting rwy04lga (Reply 1):

Wow, not nearly as good as unlimited free flights from the get go at DL and most other US airlines!

I wonder why most airlines are bankrupt in a certain country while some consistently turn in a handsome profit!

I sincerely doubt if providing travel benefits is going to hurt the bottom line.....if anything, as in DL's case, the money they make off of buddy passes could more than make up for what they provide.

Quoting StarGuy (Reply 14):

Virgin crew get 7 free round trips a year for anyone on their friends and family list.

DL employees get 8, as I, a retiree, do.

I also get unlimited travel on DL domestically as well as internationally.......just a lower priority.

Quoting Maverick623 (Reply 6):
Quoting LAXintl (Reply 2):
ID90 discounts have been around for ages

For so long, that they are slowly disappearing. ZED fares have pretty much replaced ID90s, which is nice.

Years ago, when I first hired on at DL, interline passes were either a flat pass fee or they were a discount fare.......the ID90s pretty well replaced the flat fee and the ZED fares have pretty well replaced the ID90s. For awhile, in the mid 90s and early 00s, you could write a pass on any of our allianced partners and fly on them for free.

boacboac · Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:29 pm

Back in the mid 90s, working for United i spent several days flying round the US for virtually free, my goal was to fly on one of every aircraft type UA operated at the time , i achieved it, it cost virtually nothing.
One part of the trip i flew from LAX-HNL, got the bus down to Waikiki beach , two two photos (one to the left one to the right) got the bus back to HNL, flew over to Maui on a UA DC-10 tag flight from HNL, (30 min flight), bought a T-shirt flew back to HNL on the same DC-10 an hour later then straight back to ORD, all in one day !!

Another trip 4 of us flew from LHR-Maui on our 4 days off work , spent an afternoon fishing, then straight back to LHR and back to work.

Last month i did 12 flights around the US and Canada on UA in a two week trip from the UK, i just got the bill , it was $124.00.

mayor · Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:15 pm

Quoting boacboac (Reply 32):

One of the guys I worked with in SLC took a day trip from there to NRT and back.......the immigration officials at NRT thought he was nuts. I once took a day trip from SLC to ANC with another co-worker. I also took a day trip to ATL just so I could ride on a 767, ATL-TPA-ATL......this was before the DL/WA merger and I didn't know if I'd ever get a chance to ride on one.

[Edited 2012-07-25 13:17:32]

boacboac · Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:54 pm

I have done 3 or 4 day trips to NYC from LHR, there and back same day, and did a LHR-IAD trip once there and back in a a day to buy a new pair of jeans !!

KaiGywer · Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:09 pm

Quoting vgnatl747 (Reply 11):
We had several gentlemen at our station that were retired from full careers and picked up a part time job at OH. The reality is that (at least then, not sure about now) you only had to work 20 hrs a week to qualify for flight benefits, which were extended to your immediate family.

All DL employees get the same benefits now, regardless of status. So you can have a Ready Reserve working a shift a month with full flight benefits.

rwy04lga · Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:50 pm

Quoting mayor (Reply 31):
Quoting StarGuy (Reply 14):

Virgin crew get 7 free round trips a year for anyone on their friends and family list.

DL employees get 8

He said free. Free on DL only for spouses, children under 21, parents. 8 Buddy passes for friends offer reduced fare.

Quoting boacboac (Reply 32):
One part of the trip i flew from LAX-HNL, got the bus down to Waikiki beach , two two photos (one to the left one to the right) got the bus back to HNL, flew over to Maui on a UA DC-10 tag flight from HNL, (30 min flight), bought a T-shirt flew back to HNL on the same DC-10 an hour later then straight back to ORD, all in one day !!

You and I are like two drops of water. I did day trips to CVG (AF museum), SEA (Everett tour), DCA (Smithsonian), ANC (dinner), TPA (MacDill airshow), LHR (in London for 10 hours for royal wedding), CDG Paris Air Show. Planning DTW-HKG before it cancels (arrive 7:20p, dinner and night 'in'

, leave for USA in the morning). FYI I suggest y'all see IST soon. Wonderful city.

Quoting KaiGywer (Reply 35):
All DL employees get the same benefits now, regardless of status. So you can have a Ready Reserve working a shift a month with full flight benefits.

[Edited 2012-07-25 14:51:52]

[Edited 2012-07-25 14:53:36]

777ord · Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:30 pm

Quoting boacboac (Reply 32):
Last month i did 12 flights around the US and Canada on UA in a two week trip from the UK, i just got the bill , it was $124.00.

Did you get F at all?? I've done 73 flights since jan and only got F domestically 3 times. The international ones were all F and J (THANKFULLY!)

I'm tempted to commute back to SAN from ORD via LHR or NRT or something wild... who wants to join!!

mayor · Thu Jul 26, 2012 3:00 am

Quoting rwy04lga (Reply 36):

He said free. Free on DL only for spouses, children under 21, parents. 8 Buddy passes for friends offer reduced fare.

My mistake.......I saw the words "friends & family" and I automatically thought about DL's buddy passes.

malaysia · Thu Jul 26, 2012 4:18 am

We are all nuts, I have done Day Trips to NRT, CGK, HNL, TPE, weekend trips to BKK etc to just hangout with friends and attend parties. :P

On the other hand I have taken silly routings to just try a new equipment on my way home :P

I think US so far still has the better set of ZED agreements (Low ZED on most Star Alliance while UA has medium ZED on those) vs the other US carriers, despite DL being the best when it comes to mainline travel I think.

Also I liked back at DL when I could set my preference for window seat on my standby listings, so the system would spit out a window seat for me over an aisle, so I would not have to bother the agent when aisle and windows were still available, unless it was full where I had to take a middle seat.

I also miss how I could just look at the gate screen and get my seat and clearance and just get the pass scanned with a new receipt with my seat assignment, vs an agent manually having to call people still even the airline has a screen,

mayor · Thu Jul 26, 2012 4:47 am

Quoting malaysia (Reply 39):

I also miss how I could just look at the gate screen and get my seat and clearance and just get the pass scanned with a new receipt with my seat assignment, vs an agent manually having to call people still even the airline has a screen,

Unless I'm mistaken, isn't it STILL this way at DL, at least at the stations that have the gate screens?

boacboac · Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:12 am

Quoting 777ord (Reply 37):

Not one first class seat at all , got Y+ a few times which was fine , many times I was number one on the standby list but like number 25 on the upgrade list , non rev first class is a very rare event these days

rwy04lga · Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:04 pm

Quoting boacboac (Reply 41):
non rev first class is a very rare event these

Domestically, yes...However, on International flights you 'almost always' get up front. Only one flight (JFK-BOM) did I not get B/E.

Maverick623 · Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:40 pm

Quoting rwy04lga (Reply 42):
Domestically, yes...However, on International flights you 'almost always' get up front.

Only once (out of about a dozen trips) did a buddy pass traveler of mine or my cousin's sit in the back of a TATL flight, and that was only because the flight the day before cancelled.

mayor · Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:51 pm

Quoting Maverick623 (Reply 43):

Only once (out of about a dozen trips) did a buddy pass traveler of mine or my cousin's sit in the back of a TATL flight, and that was only because the flight the day before cancelled.

Almost all of my buddy pass users have ridden up front. On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I did.

Super80DFW · Fri Jul 27, 2012 2:34 am

Since the beginning of 2012, I've nonreved on 86 flights. Last week, mhkansan and myself decided we didn't wanna spend our day off at home, so we flew to DFW at 5pm, and arrived back to MHK at 10pm, doing just a quick DFW turn for dinner. The day after that, we flew MHK-DFW-STL-ORD-MHK in order to fly on 2 AA 757's.

KaiGywer · Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:47 am

Quoting malaysia (Reply 39):
Also I liked back at DL when I could set my preference for window seat on my standby listings, so the system would spit out a window seat for me over an aisle, so I would not have to bother the agent when aisle and windows were still available, unless it was full where I had to take a middle seat.

This only works if you manually check in using DLTerm though. The kiosk/online will activate with any seat.

Quoting malaysia (Reply 39):
I also miss how I could just look at the gate screen and get my seat and clearance and just get the pass scanned with a new receipt with my seat assignment, vs an agent manually having to call people still even the airline has a screen,

Quoting mayor (Reply 40):
Unless I'm mistaken, isn't it STILL this way at DL, at least at the stations that have the gate screens?

It does. And if there are no gate screens, just stalk TN until you see that you're cleared, then go board

mel · Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:58 am

I've done IAD-LHR-NRT-ORD-IAD continuous to see how fast I could go around the world (took 41 hours). That's when I had non-rev'd so much, I completely ran out of places to go.

FlyASAGuy2005 · Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:26 am

Quoting boacboac (Reply 32):

LOL. My absolute favorite is "Hawaii the long way". IDK but I think it's against my religion to fly long-haul in coach. There's pretty much a 0% chance to get J on the ATL-HNL-ATL flights. So, i've been doing ATL-JFK(or ATL direct)-NRT-HNL-NRT-JFK(or direct ATL)-ATL. I've done that trip 3 times now. Business Elite all the way through. In fact, my very first ride on 747 was JFK-NRT some months back. Get into Narita in the late afternoon. Head down to the little internet cafe below the SkyClub and surf the net till 7pm when the NRT-HNL flight departs. Best Japanese catering is out of NRT of course. Get into HNL in the early morning. Hope the first bus to the beach check into a cheap hotel. Sleep for a couple hours then surf and lounge all day. Overnight then catch the early AM flight back to NRT the next day.

Quoting mayor (Reply 40):
Unless I'm mistaken, isn't it STILL this way at DL, at least at the stations that have the gate screens?

Almost all the hubs just clear the list. ATL is pretty good about it. They will clear all the employees right before boarding or during then go down the list from there. LGA is almost always the same too. MSP seems to like to call everyone up to the gate even though they have monitors.

Quoting KaiGywer (Reply 46):
It does. And if there are no gate screens, just stalk TN until you see that you're cleared, then go board

Me too!! I always keep DLNet handy when in outstations.

KaiGywer · Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:30 am

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 48):
LOL. My absolute favorite is "Hawaii the long way". IDK but I think it's against my religion to fly long-haul in coach. There's pretty much a 0% chance to get J on the ATL-HNL-ATL flights. So, i've been doing ATL-JFK(or ATL direct)-NRT-HNL-NRT-JFK(or direct ATL)-ATL. I've done that trip 3 times now. Business Elite all the way through. In fact, my very first ride on 747 was JFK-NRT some months back. Get into Narita in the late afternoon. Head down to the little internet cafe below the SkyClub and surf the net till 7pm when the NRT-HNL flight departs. Best Japanese catering is out of NRT of course. Get into HNL in the early morning. Hope the first bus to the beach check into a cheap hotel. Sleep for a couple hours then surf and lounge all day. Overnight then catch the early AM flight back to NRT the next day.

I always wanted to do this, but never got around to it. I did daytrip HNL once, but just to/from the US.

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 48):
MSP seems to like to call everyone up to the gate even though they have monitors.

I bet it's a habit from NW who didn't have screens until very close to the end and even then you still needed to replace your standby card with an actual boarding pass. NW never had the receipt thing...if you scanned anything but a proper boarding pass, all you'd get would be a lot of beeping

Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 48):
Me too!! I always keep DLNet handy when in outstations.

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