THIS WEEK'S JOHNNY JET 4/17/2002
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HONG KONG CAMS Web Site Of The Week TRIPPLER & ASSOCIATES Bonus Mile Offers Of The Week DELTA / AMERICAN / UNITED ................ Special Offers Of The Week ALOHA / SOUTHWEST / ITALY........... Where's Johnny Jet? HONG KONG? or CONNECTICUT? Tip Of The Week WHAT JAMES DEAN FORGOT Chicago Tribune BEFORE YOU TAKE FIDO Los Angeles Times ON CATALINA SkyGirls/Guys ?'s How long does it take you to go through security when you are working or flying for fun? Jet Captain ?'s Check out a picture of a 777 taken from the cockpit of the 747 enroute to China Celebrity Q&A TERRY TRIPPLER |
WHAT'S DOING IN SAN FRANCISCO Washington Post NY 2002 USAToday GOING ALONE? BestFares VEGA$ HARD ROCK POOLS REOPENS Other News CLOSING AIRPORT SECURITY HOLES Yahoo SWA SORES ABCnews SCANDALS ONLY ADD TO HOTEL LURE CNN ART OF TRAVEL MSNBC FLYING PETS AN EXPENSIVE BUSINESS SmarterLiving WINDY CITY SAVINGS Good To Know! SECURITY TIPS FOR DIABETICS |
HOTELS 70% OFF IN OVER 65 CITIES WORLDWIDE!
SAMPLE CITIES:
Paris..............from $59 London..........from $79 New York.................from $69 La$ Vega$......................from $39
WEB CAMS OF THE WEEK WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
WHERE'S
JOHNNY
JET?
Didn't
have a chance to read last week's newsletter? Click here!
"It's a small world after all, It's a small world..." I still
have that dang song in my head from last week's visit to Disneyland.
SOMEBODY HELP! It's the only thing I can think of every time I get
into the shower.
I can't figure out how United Airlines determines which seats are deemed for award travel. Last Wednesday, I called United to cash in 120,000 of my hard earned miles for a First Class seat to Hong Kong (from LA). I wanted to leave on Sunday and the reservation agent said I have a seat for tomorrow (Thursday) but that was it. What do you mean that's it? She said there are seats available for purchase but NOT for award travel. No worries, I thought to myself. Everybody knows, (or should know) if they read Peter Greenberg's book, The Travel Detective, that if they have seats on the flight you want but the airline doesn't want to give those seats up as mileage tickets because of a potential loss in revenue then you have to beat them at their own game. From Peter himself, "Pick the time and the flight you want, but assuming they still won't give you the date you want, take any date they will give you after the date you wanted. THEN, get that ticketed into a paper ticket. On the day you really want to fly is when you head out to the airport to stand-by. If there's a free seat on the flight, you've got it. Simple as that. The way you determine if there's an available seat is by calling the regular United reservations number in advance, up to and including the actual date of flight to see if you can (or if anyone can) book a revenue ticket in the class of service you want. If you can, that means...there's an empty seat. But remember, the key here is to find the first flight of the day and have a paper ticket."
We'll here's the kicker: The agent searched and searched, and NOT ONE First Class seat from LA to Hong Kong via San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, or Tokyo was available through the ENTIRE year of 2002. I thought I was hearing things so I called back, waited another 20 minutes, asked a different agent, and heard the same thing. She was almost embarrassed. She said the planes were completely empty in the forward cabin but they would not let me pull a seat for award travel, and when I asked to speak to the supervisor she informed me they cannot help either because it's controlled by Headquarters. Then I asked about Business Class seat because First only has 14 seats on a 747-400 and Biz class has 73 seats. She searched for ten minutes and then said she does have one but it's in August and you will have to fly LAX-SEA-NRT-HKG. That's pathetic, if you ask me, so I said forget about it.
I called my buddy Peter Greenberg and he told me to call him back on Saturday so we could talk about it on the radio in LA. I did and we agreed that I call back and try again. I did, and that's when we figured out what they are doing. The reservation agent told me again there still are no seats for the rest of the year except for tomorrow (which was now Sunday and the day I wanted to fly). But she told me I couldn't return until August 6th. So I booked the ticket and wait listed for a return of April 19 and started to pack my bag. That's when Amber Airplane tells me, "You don't have a return ticket until August 6th? What are you crazy? You need to be back in the US by Saturday morning.... I really wasn't worried because I knew I could get back but when she reminded me of my nieces' birthday party, I thought is it really worth 120,000 miles to go to Asia for 3 days, not have the peace of mind that I have a seat home, and besides that, the only routing they were giving me was LAX-SFO-NRT-HKG. Granted, who cares about the routings if you're sitting in one of those PHAT sleeper seats but the fact that it was just a 3-day trip was a little absurd. I decided it was in my best interest not go to Asia but I did learn how United is releasing their seats for award travel to Hong Kong. My advice to everyone who wants to use their miles to Asia, go against what the experts are preaching. Don't plan ahead, you're wasting your time, instead book last minute. Very last minute, like I did on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday afternoon, AA (Amber Airplane) and I decided to go see my Dad in Connecticut. I called 90 minutes before the 3:35pm flight and asked if there were any seats available for award travel. She said there was one seat which is really surprising because the flight was oversold by 30 passengers. I didn't ask questions, I just booked the ticket and gave her my credit card number so she could charge the security fee ($2.50 for each leg). I go to LAX and the gate area is packed. The only seats they had unassigned were middle seats but I wasn't going to fly across country in a middle seat in economy. My friends who normally work that gate were off so I had to try and make some new ones but that wasn't happening. These dudes were grouchy. They said, "We have ZERO seats on this plane!" So I said, "How about when you call the upgrades from coach to business, can I get one of their old aisle seats?" He told me to wait where he could see me. YES SIR, I thought! I don't like to be at the mercy of the gate agent because it reminds me of back in the old days waiting in line at the DMV and never having the right paperwork, but hey, an aisle seat would make the flight go by a lot quicker. When they started calling upgrades, I wasn't going to let the dude forget about me, so I went back up and said, "Did anything happen to open up?" It did and I was a happy camper.
We arrived on the East Coast just in time for the record heat.
Yes record heat, would you believe it was 95 today in NYC? 95 in
April!
Our first stop was to go see my
Dad at his condo. Then we went to drop off some edible
flowers for my sister and went for a walk
around town.
Since I can't watch the Yanks on local TV in LA, we
went to watch them live.
It was a beautiful
night out. I wore shorts to the game and at 10pm it was 80 degrees,
not bad for April. This newsletter wouldn't be complete without sharing
a picture I took of my Dad
with mustard on his lips. I don't know what it is with him
and mustard.
Yankee Stadium Tip: If you park three blocks away from the stadium,
it only costs $8. If you drive two blocks closer, you will pay $16
for valet. Check out the valet
line after the game. It was100 people deep and 25 minutes
long. Saving money, can save you time too!
MEDIA ALERT: ATLANTA
JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
Vacation
ticket: Web sites cover it all --- where to go, what to take and all the
reservations required
I know you want a COOL T-Shirt
or Hat. Click Here
for more Details.
Next Week:
?
WHAT'S
NEW IN JOHNNY JET
JET
CAPTAINS QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Check
out a picture of a 777 taken from the cockpit of the 747 enroute to China
SKYGIRLS
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
How
long does it take you to go through security when you are working or flying
for fun?
SKYGUY QUESTION
OF THE WEEK:
How
long does it take you to go through security when you are working or flying
for fun?
Travel Celebrity
Q&A:
With
Airline Expert ~ Terry Trippler
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TIP
OF
THE WEEK:
FROM COOL TRAVEL MAIL
WHAT JAMES DEAN FORGOT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Long before "Happy Days" made teen life in the 1950s seem, well -
happy, an angst-ridden James Dean was playing chicken with a stolen auto
in "Rebel Without a Cause."
In the movie, Dean leaps from the speeding car just before it roars
off a cliff edge into oblivion. His rival, however, isn’t so lucky. He
gets caught on a door handle and plummets to an early death.
Dean himself wasn’t as fortunate as his "Rebel" character.
In 1955, the same year the movie was released, Dean’s silver Porsche
Spyder collided with an oncoming car that
veered into his lane. Dean couldn’t bail out in time, and was killed
instantly. (Although a certain cult following
still holds that Dean somehow faked his death, ala Elvis, and today
works at a Krispy Kreme in Bakersfield.)
If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are some pointers
to keep in mind as your vehicle speeds toward certain death:
* Slam on the emergency brake. It probably won’t stop the car, but
it will slow it down, which will make jumping easier.
* Unbuckle your belt. No, no; your SEAT belt.
* Jump at an angle opposite the direction the car is moving in. Remember,
your body is going to be traveling at the same
speed as the car when it hits the ground. If you leap in the same direction
as the vehicle, a bad bounce is likely to put you under its rear wheels.
* Aim for a soft landing: grass, bushes, dirt. You want to avoid pavement,
rocks and trees.
* Tuck your head and arms in when you jump. Try to go limp as you hit
and roll with the impact. That’s how Mel Gibson does it.
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GOOD
TO
KNOW!
Air Travel Security Tips For Diabetics
Diabetics who travel by air sometimes need to carry syringes and lancets
in the aircraft cabin. If you are among them, have a copy of a letter from
your doctor, certifying your disease. You also must keep these items in
their original containers. Lancets should be capped and you must be able
to show that you are also carrying a blood-glucose monitor that matches
the test strip brand. If you use an insulin pump, be prepared to demonstrate
how it works.
You also may want to bring appropriate foods onboard to compensate for
declining meal service. Allow for the possibility of flights delayed on
the tarmac.
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