USAirways Frequent Flier Miles Problems
Friday morning, 3:30am. We had worked for the past few days to rearrange our sleep schedules so we could handle the long flight from Boston through Phoenix to Honolulu, Hawaii. It didn't work very well :) Bob got 4 hours of sleep, and I got 4 different hours of sleep. Still, we were all packed, the cats and parakeets were fully fed and set, and we were off! It was time to launch on our great journey to Hawaii, to cruise for seven days on the NCL Pride of America.We had talked about going to Hawaii since we first got together, 12 years ago, and Bob had always said he would only go first class because the flight was so long. He had said it jokingly, but I worked hard to save up enough frequent flier miles by buying flowers from the USAir partner, running all my bills through my USAir credit card, and using every options available to earn more miles. USAir supposedly had off-peak first class roundtrip tickets for 60,000 ROUNDTRIP - but of course this was not true. A search of their online calendar showed no such seats. So their mileage saver - which used to be anytime in the winter - was now a "if available" option for 70,000 miles roundtrip. They literally only had ONE day available in the months I searched. So we had to pay the colossal 140,000 roundtrip option in one direction, and the only slightly outrageous 70,000 option in the other direction. Instead of being 120,000 miles for our flight, it was 210,000 miles.
Still, we were going to Hawaii! First class! So I bit the bullet and paid out the hard earned miles.
Check in at Boston was easy enough, and we stopped at the little shop to get some lovely fresh melon and orange juice. In no time at all we were checking in and getting into our nice first class seats. They were big! They were luxurious! They were ... separated by a big arm bar? I love to snuggle against Bob during our flights, sleeping against him. I was foiled! You couldn't raise the center bar, either. Ah well ...
So we took off. Sunrise was *gorgeous* and I took a few photos of it. They immediately came around asking if we would like drinks. I asked for a Baileys, intending to get to sleep as soon as I could. They brought back a LARGE plastic glass with ice and Baileys! It was almost scary. Then came our breakfast choices - a continental grapes-with-yogurt or a sausage, egg, biscuit. We went with the second. It was REALLY good - served on nice china, with plastic silverware. I put on my Bose noise-cancelling headphones, put on my iPod with a sleepytime mix, and soon I was asleep. They came around several more times asking about drinks or snacks, but I was set for the morning.
Then the captain came on the intercom and said we were facing 180 mile headwinds and that we didn't have enough fuel to actually make it to Phoenix. That seemed rather odd to me - surely these planes go cross country? It sounded like to save money they didn't fill up the tank all the way - and now we were heading towards Albuquerque, New Mexico. We landed and people got up to stretch and relax. Then the stewardess asked people to take their seats again so we could take off quickly - but someone in coach decided this was a prime time to go to the bathroom. We all literally sat there waiting for this person, and eventually we took off again towards Phoenix.
Even though we had begun this trip with over 2 hours as our holdover time in Phoenix, we were now told that it was going to be close. There were six people on this plane trying to get the Honolulu flight - and a few others were on a Kona flight that left 10 minutes after ours. Then, as we flew, we were told that we were going to land just in time for the Honolulu flight. The next thing we know, we're told that the Honolulu flight decided to leave EARLY and strand us six people - but the Kona people would be fine.
So we land and go to the customer service desk. Not only did the Honolulu flight take off without us, but now they were going to send us from Phoenix to Los Angeles - after a 3 hour wait here in Phoenix - on two middle seats in coach separated by 10 rows. Then we had a 3 hour layover, then equally awful seats from Los Angeles to Hawaii. After a lot of work we were at least able to get seats together on the Phoenix-to-LA leg, but only by sitting in the very back row in the non-reclining seats.
We asked about our miles. We were told - too bad, even though you paid the outrageous 140,000 miles for those seats, you're out of luck. We asked if at least we could stay in the USAir club while we were stuck here in the airport. Nope, they said, it's not REALLY a USAir club. It's a private club that just uses our name, and we can't get you in there. And now we weren't going to get fed, either. We were going to land at 11pm in Honolulu - missing our dinner - and greatly reducing the chance that we'd get our chance to snorkel the next morning at 6am before the cruise.
The level of indifference with the people we talked with was really quite staggering. We had planned this trip for 12 years, and went through a huge amount of effort to get those frequent flier miles saved up. We paid a huge amount of miles in to get those seats. Then when their fuel and early-departure choices caused us to miss our flight, their attitude was "too bad".
So that left us trudging out to a gate in area B. We barely got to that gate and sat down when an announcement came on the system saying we had to move to gate A1. So up we get again, and head back to gate A1. The gate was small and very noisy - with a super loud PA overhead and CNN blaring in the background. Apparently there was a train wreck and a bomber in a Clinton NH office, so we heard about that over and over again. I found some Dayquil as my throat was beginning to hurt by now. Next, we hear that the flight has been delayed for a half hour ...
On the up side, our Verizon Wireless device worked perfectly on the laptop, so we had "free" wireless internet access. On the down side, there didn't appear to be any electrical outlets anywhere in sight. They didn't even have little tables by any of the chairs, to put things on. Not much food option either. Not a great terminal to be stuck in.
Finally it comes time to board, and we go up to the entrance to the ramp. We're told our tickets are not quite right and we have to go over to the terminal desk to make sure they are OK. So we get out of line, go get them verified, and then head onto the plane. We are, in fact, at the very end of the plane, and these seats are TINY. It's not just that we got used to first class - around us passengers are complaining about how incredibly tight the seats are. My legs are wedged together and my knees barely fit. On the upside, it's a short flight to LA, and we have an entertaining New Zealand guy next to us who we talk to until we reach LA.
Unfortunately, we now have to switch terminals. There are NO signs telling you which way to go, or what terminal to go to, so we finally stop at the police counter and get directions. We run into another Honolulu-bound Bostonian and together we get onto the shuttle bus and trek over to terminal 4, up the escalator, and through security again. Meaning I have to throw away the almost-full water bottle I'd gotten at the last stop. Luckily they let through the mini bottle of Bailey's I'd gotten from the first class section. Then it's walk down to gate 48A. At least this terminal has little tables, but no electrical outlets, and the chairs are in little "circles" which makes it hard to keep your bags with you without them being in the way. There's a Burger King and a more formal restaurant here, so at least there are food like substances.
This flight leaves at 5:35pm LA time. So now we have another hour to kill here. With loud music and screaming children. My head really hurts now. And to make things worse, with this change I will be in the air at 12 midnight EST, as we roll into Dec 1. I have to do computer work for my website at that time - and I can't. Luckily I found a helper on the west coast who will log in to do that for me. Thanks Jilly!!! A small glimmer of hope in a desolate day! :)
OK, onto the plane we go. It turns out their first class area is only half full! Why wouldn't they put us in there since we paid for first class? Luckily the back is half empty too, so we get a row to ourselves. Which means I can snuggle against Bob. Which is nice. They play the exact same 2 movies from the last flight - No Reservations and Hairspray. We're right over the wing so we miss most of the island view as we come in to land, but we're just happy to be here. It's 9:30 at night, so coming on 24 hours on the road.
We land and take the long walk through Honolulu airport to the baggage claim area. Our bags start coming off ... and then the baggage stops. We still don't have our new garment bag with my formal dresses in it, and the bottle of port. Figures! So Bob hikes off to put in a claim for the bag. We finally get out to the airport shuttle area for our Enterprise car shuttle at 10:30. We wait. And wait. We see every other shuttle twice, but no Enterprise. Finally I grab my confirmation sheet and give them a call. They closed at 10:00!! It doesn't say that ANYWHERE on my paperwork. It turns out when I call the national number that they didn't charge us - but now we don't have a car, either. I call the other car agencies and now they are all charging $10-$20 over their internet rates since they know they have me stuck. A taxi would cost $40. The cars are all over $40. Finally we go with the local shuttle which is $9 each plus $4 for Bob's golf bag. Luckily for us, the shuttle is almost full already. The way the shuttle works, you have to sit there and wait for it to completely fill up before it goes on its route.
You'd think with Waikiki being only 9 miles away it would be quick, but by the time he drops off the other people and gets to our Hotel Renew, it is 11:30. The hotel is just finished with a renovation. The rooms are GORGEOUS - although we had no view at all. Still, lovely room, super soft bed, nice shower. On the downside, by the time we check in and are ready to find food, it is midnight and everything is CLOSED. I am exhausted but hungry, and Bob finds a local mini-mart and gets me a little container of mixed melon, and a loaf of bread. It's better than nothing! So by 1am I was showered, fed and ready to snuggle in.
The room has cool light buttons that affect the whole room. So you can turn off all lights with "night", on all lights, or even just turn on the lights on "your half" :)
Nothing went right today, but at the end, we were IN HAWAII in time for the cruise. Apparently neither of us could dress up for any formal nights, or drink port, but if that was the only real down side, we would survive :) Heck, we could stop by a wine shop tomorrow morning and grab another bottle of port before we headed to the dock!
Lessons for today:
* cancel all USAir cards and plans, and get away from them completely. They were AWFUL.
* Enterprise is a BAD IDEA at the Honolulu airport. Everyone else was active but them.
* Hotel Renew is really pretty - and only 1/2 block from the beach!! I'm hoping to walk the beach tomorrow AM before the taxi comes.
Photos from today's travels
Hawaii Travelogue and Photos
Cruise Tips and Information
Main Travelogue Listing