Well, my percent travel is no longer zero. I'm officially in another town, going in to the client site tomorrow. :smug:
53.5 cents per mile reimbursement makes driving quite attractive. 8)
at that rate, skip the short cut...and take the long way around.
Quote from: ristau5741 on October 30, 2017, 12:43:37 PM
at that rate, skip the short cut...and take the long way around.
... well, to keep that from happening, company pays according to the Google Maps directions... without scenic route diversions, sadly...
Back in this time. It's a very good start.
Making this a travel tips thread...
Today, I want to rant about Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. Their security lines are a nightmare. They have no clue how to distribute traffic to avoid bottlenecks. They just have a big, open area with a maze of belts and poles that seem to mess up everyone. If they try to help move things faster by opening up another line, it somehow makes things worse because they forget to open up another security scanner.
:fail1:
Worse is their policy of putting ALL people with observable disabilities into the same line. I walk with a cane, and my last pass through there, they made me get in the line with all the wheelchairs. I thought it would go fast, but it turns out that each wheelchair had to go through the same scanner, and those wheelchairs are SLOW. My problem is with standing, so their putting me in that line made my situation worse than if I had to walk through the normal line. Normal line would have taken 30-40 mins. Wheelchair line was 60-70 mins. Unacceptable.
:frustration:
In response, I'm going in for the TSA pre-check. I set up my application online and have an appointment at DFW airport tomorrow morning. It will be a 10 minute meeting, I pay my money, and then I get a Known Traveler Number (KTN). Once I have that, I need to update my travel profile and make sure it is on every ticket I purchase.
That last point is critical. There are people who get a KTN and then forget to connect it with their ticket purchase, so they wind up back in the regular security line.
With the KTN, I get an expedited line that tends to be 100% serious travelers. These guys know what they're doing and they've planned ahead to move through this line quickly. That's the line I want to be in. Once I go through this TSA thing, I'll probably also have my wife get it before our next overseas trip so she can join in the fun with me.
Still debating internally about whether or not to get airline club membership, since I'm not flying as much as I'm spending nights in hotels.
Get TSA pre-check and global entry and forget what lines look like lol.
Quote from: Nerm on June 26, 2018, 02:38:30 PM
Get TSA pre-check and global entry and forget what lines look like lol.
To be sure, if you get Global Entry, you also get TSA precheck with it. If you have TSA precheck, then go with the Mobile Passport app for pretty much the same benefit as Global Entry at most US airports.
So precheck + mobile passport app is the the same as global entry?
Quote from: Nerm on June 27, 2018, 07:57:27 PM
So precheck + mobile passport app is the the same as global entry?
Almost. Mobile passport is available at most of the major hub USA international airports, but not outside of the country. Global entry has the edge there. Even so, there are times when the mobile passport line is shorter than the Global Entry line.
And it looks like I got the TSA PreCheck process kicked off just in time... just had a meeting where we were told we need to up our billable %, which means helping out with the backlog of professional services engagements, most of which are at the customer site. Looks like I'll be on the road for a week at a time, about once per month. That's within the 30% travel that was posted with the role, so I'm up for that, even if it means cramming into a plane seat more often.
Time to research more about where the legroom is...
Oh wow, found a website that looks like it was written for me: https://tallsome.com/flying-tall/
Quote from: deanwebb on June 28, 2018, 11:29:36 AM
Time to research more about where the legroom is...
look below you
Good lord, that's a horrible seat pitch!
But I did see a good suggestion. Basically, book well in advance, then call the carrier to explain your situation to get one of those bulkhead seats that's usually reserved for frequent fliers or people who upgrade.
Since I'm also disabled, I plan to play that card, as well.
WTF. In kangaroo-land (for domestic flights anyway) we just go to the airport, go thru the scanners and onto the flight, thanks echeck-in and boarding passes on smartphones. 20 minutes from exiting the cab to standing in front of the boarding gate, 30 if its a bad queue and/or you're flying super budget and get the worst terminal that's miles away.
Quote from: wintermute000 on June 30, 2018, 08:54:02 AM
WTF. In kangaroo-land (for domestic flights anyway) we just go to the airport, go thru the scanners and onto the flight, thanks echeck-in and boarding passes on smartphones. 20 minutes from exiting the cab to standing in front of the boarding gate, 30 if its a bad queue and/or you're flying super budget and get the worst terminal that's miles away.
That's exactly how it was at regional airports in the USA back before 2001, even without echeck-in. After that, every flight was an international flight, practically.
At least I only had to deal with drug dogs once, and that was on a flight to Russia. The dog keyed in on my bag, and we tried to figure out why... turns out, having a cat sit on it will get a dog to key on a bag. Doubly so if the cat has topical medication for a flea treatment, as this one did...
First pair of flights with TSA PreCheck went very well last week. No shoes off, no belt off, no liquids out. Zipped right on through.
I do make sure not to have "bags within bags", as that will make security stop you to check again. However, I do roll up my clothes tight and have them in one side of the suitcase so that I can put my laptop bag into the other side and not have to have my laptop block up my legroom under the seat in front of me and/or be a hindrance if I have a seat in the first row of coach. I put my laptop bag into my suitcase after I go through security.
I do like to carry a few things with me, however, and I don't want to shove everything into my pockets, so I've purchased a small messenger bag (10" by 7" by 3.5" / 25 cm x 18 cm x 10 cm or so) and have my earbuds, fidget spinner, thing of mints, neck support (thing that props up my head while sleeping, better than a travel pillow), and I can put snacks in there as well. I can wear it cross-shoulder so it won't slide off while I'm walking and it's small enough that it fits fine on my lap or by my side.
I thought I'd also mention more about that neck support thingy. It's the Airohead Slumber Stache: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XP85CWC
It rolls up nice and tight and then, when I want to sleep on the plane, I put it around my neck and doze off. No sore neck when I wake up, I enjoy it a lot.
Encounter at LaGuardia Airport... I had 3 bags going into security and I planned to put my laptop bag into my suitcase to get it down to 2 for boarding the plane.
The lady at the gateway to the lines wasn't having any of it. "ONLY TWO BAGS! YOU HAVE THREE!"
I started to explain my situation, and then realized the futility of it as she cut me off to repeat, "ONLY TWO BAGS! YOU HAVE THREE!"
I stepped back, put one bag into the other, and got through the line as another traveler got yelled at for 3 bags... and then put one into the other to get down to 2.
Thing is, when you go through the security scanners, you do not want bags inside of bags, or they are likely to get pulled aside for a further search. So I had to go back to 3 bags for the x-ray machine, then back to 2 to get on the plane.
:facepalm4:
Some notes from the road...
Had a trip to a customer in England. My best meals were on the airplane. Customer was out in the country, so the only restaurants were in the hotel and at a pub in the nearby village.
They both had the same menu. And, being English fare, not a lot of seasoning, not even salt. Really bland stuff.
On the plane, though, I sign on for the Hindu meal. I'm not Hindu. I just like Indian food. It's seasoned well and comes out first.
:awesome:
I had some good, spicy chow and the people next to me had the chicken pasta blanditora. I felt like a winner.
Speaking of winning, I felt like a loser on my last flight back home. It was a short flight from Phoenix.
Now, on long flights, you have plenty of time to watch a movie on the plane's entertainment system, should it be blessed with one. (My flight to England was 9.5 hours on British Airways with zero things to plug my devices into and 8-cm screens attached to the armrests... with varying levels of functionality...) But on short flights, your pilot will cheerily interrupt you just after takeoff, halfway through the flight, about 30 mins. before getting ready to land, and when it's time to get ready to land. Add in a tendency to want to share that outside air temperature with the whole flight and you have interruptions ALL THE DAMN TIME!!!
:rage:
I switched over to my tablet and cheerfully ignored the pilot whenever he had to mention some crap about tailwinds or clouds. Or airline loyalty credit cards.
Quote from: deanwebb on October 19, 2018, 01:24:44 PM
Some notes from the road...
They both had the same menu. And, being English fare, not a lot of seasoning, not even salt. Really bland stuff.
People make rings for that, opens up so you can put your hot pepper powder in there, and spice up your meals as desired.
Quote from: ristau5741 on October 20, 2018, 06:01:42 AM
Quote from: deanwebb on October 19, 2018, 01:24:44 PM
Some notes from the road...
They both had the same menu. And, being English fare, not a lot of seasoning, not even salt. Really bland stuff.
People make rings for that, opens up so you can put your hot pepper powder in there, and spice up your meals as desired.
I'll be packing spice for sure next time I have to go thataway.
Woof, not sleeping well since getting back from China... hope I can stay up for the next 16 hours and then get back on my schedule.
In other news, travel apps can be WORSE than picking your own routes at times... stoopid SAP Concur found the most bass-ackward way for me to get home when there was a DIRECT flight from either Beijing or Shanghai back to DFW. It sent me to LAX with a 5-hour layover and then on to Dallas, so I wound up getting home around 2 AM... could have been home 5-8 hours earlier, from the look of things that might have been. That, in turn, could have really helped with my getting back on a normal sleep schedule.
thought you were in China now, congrats on them, letting you out.
at least you can catch up with the admins around the world.
Yeah, good to be home. Now to just get my internal clock reset to home.
2 more weeks in the USA for sure, may have to go international in November, we'll see...
Currently "deployed" to Bahrain.. although I'm not really deployed.. I live here now. I have reached a point where I would prefer to come out of pocket on long-haul flights than let my customer who must adhere to the "Fly America Act" book and pay for my tickets. These turkeys booked me a 23 hour 4-connection flight from San Diego to Manama so American Airlines could make a buck. I could have flown direct with Emirates from L.A. to Dubai on an A380 and taken a quick hop from Dubai to Manama for a total of five hours, $500 and 3-connections less.
Emirates flight staff also wouldn't have given me guff about my 3rd gin and tonic.
UGH, four connections! No way is that good for any traveler!
Headed to Kuwait for 10 days in December. I can't say enough what a wonderful, welcoming country it is or how much I have missed it since I lived there for 2 1/2 years. Home to some of the most considerate and safety-oriented drivers in the world. Truly an unselfish culture that values life.
Nobody:
Kuwaiti behind the wheel of an SUV:
:rage:
:goku:
https://m.cnn.com/en/article/h_990ff64f90f909f55b916692ee340d2c
BRING. THE. DISINFECTANT. WIPES!!!
Wash hands AFTER handling the menu.
Do not EVEN THINK to use the TV remote control in the hotel...
Quote from: deanwebb on November 25, 2019, 09:56:43 AM
https://m.cnn.com/en/article/h_990ff64f90f909f55b916692ee340d2c
BRING. THE. DISINFECTANT. WIPES!!!
Wash hands AFTER handling the menu.
Do not EVEN THINK to use the TV remote control in the hotel...
30%.. Those are rookie numbers.
Quote from: config t on November 25, 2019, 10:49:14 PM
Quote from: deanwebb on November 25, 2019, 09:56:43 AM
https://m.cnn.com/en/article/h_990ff64f90f909f55b916692ee340d2c
BRING. THE. DISINFECTANT. WIPES!!!
Wash hands AFTER handling the menu.
Do not EVEN THINK to use the TV remote control in the hotel...
30%.. Those are rookie numbers.
:haha1:
Just put disinfecting wipes on my shopping list for tonight. Will be wiping down the entire hotel room when I get in on Friday.
-Otanx
Yeah, I'm planning to stock up for every flight.
In other news, found out I can upgrade to Premium Economy on the International flights. SO I JUST DID!
Quote from: deanwebb on November 29, 2019, 11:23:46 AM
In other news, found out I can upgrade to Premium Economy on the International flights. SO I JUST DID!
sounds serious, what benefits do you get with that upgrade?
Compared to main cabin, it's even more legroom than main cabin extra seats, as well as wider seats, so there's actual room to shift around in to get comfy. I can actually sleep in the seat, once I prop up on the footrest. Better food and bigger screens on the backs of the seats in front, but I'm not really crazy one way or the other about those things. Being able to tilt all the way back and not kill the person behind me is a plus, I tell you what.
I'm also getting the American Airlines Platinum Executive MasterCard. That has a steep annual fee, but it gets me into Admirals Clubs and accelerates my miles amounts. Can't buy my main plane ticket for company travel, but I can purchase my upgrade with it, as well as any companion tickets, now that we're looking at that as a possibility in the near future.
No matter how much money I make I still can't convince myself to pay for business class on long haul flights. The older I'm getting the more inclined I am growing towards it, though. Even if it's out of pocket and especially if it's a 16+ hour trip.
I came back from London at the end of October. I used the non-stop flight from Heathrow to Perth. Have flown it a few times before. But on this trip it was especially cramped and cattle class (economy). I think it was purely the womans fault in front of me for reclining her seat to the maximum, which meant for me to watch anything on the screen I could literally feel the warmth of the panel as it was an inch away from my face (no recline on my side). :))
On the return, I requested an upgrade with my points (60k qantas) and it was so much better I am considering booking premium economy return flights from here on for when I make the trip to UK and back. The 17 hour flight was made so much better:
- Only 2 seats side by side on the window isle instead of 3 seats for the same space
- can recline without invading the persons facial space behind
- as soon as I got on the plane and sat down, they served me a glass of bubbles (or water). Being tipsy before take off was a thumb up :mrgreen:
- REGULAR trips from the qantas staff to see if you need any drinks and the personal introduction from a customer relationship person was nice
- toilet breaks = no queuing. premium economy can go to use the economy or business class toilets.. business class has fancy hand wash :mrgreen: economy has people waiting in the isles for ages
- meals served as though you're in a restaurant - napkins laid out, cutlery laid out
- food also nicer quality, served properly. Instead of salad in a plastic dish that had previously been frozen and you cant tell if it's that way because it had been frozen in storage or if it's going bad
When I got off the plane I didn't feel like I had been crammed into a sardine tin for 17 hours. It was a much nicer atmosphere, with others around you being more comfortable there was less noise and fuss.
Because I just made qantas silver tier member, I had a free lounge invite.. I used it in heathrow. It's really handy to be able to get to the airport whenever and go and sit somewhere out of the way and comfortable. I had a full english breakfast with fruit and some coffee. Went to the bathroom before getting on the plane and there was a shower so had a quick shower just for the sake of it :mrgreen:
Got on the plane full and fresh. Made a decent amount of difference to how I felt compared to last year which was economy in both directions. I felt OK last year bit this year I felt much more OK and less drained.
Business class is just that little bit extra premium compared to premium economy. . The premium economy seats go *almost* flat (when comparing to business class completely flat bed seats), but unlike base economy the bottom of the seat in premium economy also tilts back to stop you sliding down the seat if you sleep. The prem economy had a lot of business class feel to it.
My next trip is to Sri Lanka on December 15th. economy class as always.
I can say that Premium Economy is where I'm going to sit for the rest of my flying. Loved it and it's worth the spend.
Meanwhile, CrowdStrike on my PC decided I am a hacker or something and has cut my Internet access. I hope to get it fixed today (it's been out for 24 hours now). If it doesn't get fixed, then I'm going to have some difficulty with my remote meetings next week...
Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
Got the Internet thing fixed. Yay!
:greatoffer:
Been in Kuwait for the last week and some change. My one hour flight from Bahrain to Kuwait turned into a 7 hour trip.
Getting out of the Kuwait airport alone was 2 hours between visa process, getting a local SIM and picking up the rental car. This was also the least busy I have EVER seen Kuwait International :XD:
It took me about 2 days to re-adjust to Kuwaiti driving but I must say I am far more patient now than I was back in 2016.
I appreciate my lifestyle in Bahrain so much more now that I remember what it was like living here. Also got some really good high visibility work done for the customer so I'm feeling pretty excellent.
I'm home for this week and then 2 weeks of PTO, then off to North Carolina for a week.
Still waiting on an approval for my American Airlines goodies credit card... pretty sure it'll go through, but I'd like it to be before I have to fly again.
For all you frequent fliers out there: https://www.afacwa.org/aircraft_air_quality
Very interesting stuff about cabin air in an airplane. The outside air comes from the engines, for starters...
Ah that maybe why sometimes (usually towards the rear of the plane on start up) you can smell jet fuel. A few years ago when pushing back in Gatwick, I heard some people behind me saying "what's that smell". My travel plans are on hold until the coronavirus thing is resolved.
Quote from: Dieselboy on February 04, 2020, 07:49:15 PM
Ah that maybe why sometimes (usually towards the rear of the plane on start up) you can smell jet fuel. A few years ago when pushing back in Gatwick, I heard some people behind me saying "what's that smell". My travel plans are on hold until the coronavirus thing is resolved.
Yep. When you smell fuel or oil, it's from the aux. power if on the ground and from the main engines if in the air. None of those are good.
Speaking of not good, neither is coronavirus. That virus can be transmitted via any conduit, it seems. You need a full hazmat suit for protection. I'm glad I'm not traveling until the end of March, and then only to Atlanta.
Hazmat suit and Coronavirus... this is the confusing thing. You know this, and I've seen on TV people in hazmat suits dealing with the situation. And then Australia evacuates from Wuhan with a destination of Christmas Island (which is off the coast of Australia but closer to Indonesia) but the plane didnt go straight there. It landed in Western Australia first.
So I'm thinking, yea okay - they probably need to refuel and resupply. I'm also thinking gosh they'd have to keep the people on the plane and avoid contamination as best they can, even the pilots... they are not "sick" but they will be classed as being infected etc etc etc.
Nup - they let them off the plane and into the terminal. No one wearing hazmat. The locals that do the tourist charters to see the whale sharks are on TV going WTF
LAst night I checked this site https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
490 deaths as of last night. This morning, 565. All in China.
The whole point of Christmas Island is that it's so remote, ain't NOBODY getting out of there sick. Letting people wander the terminal with a disease that is communicable while symptoms are not yet manifested is reckless endangerment.
As for exposure and death totals, it's following an exponential curve, so it's got a predictable doubling rate every few days. That site, BTW, is way cool.
Only thing to make the trend diminish, plateau, and then decline would be a combination of effective containment and treatment of the virus. Fortunately, almost 3 times as many are recovered as are dead, so a healthy person contracting it has a strong chance of walking again.
That's the thing.... they didn't land at Christmas Island, they landed at Exmouth on mainland WA, let everyone off and some spent the night there (on an army base). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-03/coronavirus-escaping-australians-evacuated-from-wuhan-on-flight/11922638
I'm keeping an eye on the stats here https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
I have noticed that the number of new cases as slightly declined over time. Number of deaths jumps up quite frequently. Beginning of this week it was 300. Right now it's 638.
Case reporting may be tricky, since it can manifest slowly and the symptoms may not be so severe in every patient as to warrant hospitalization.
BRB, gonna wash my hands...