And we're off again....

[Kristie]

Sitting in ATL right now, waiting for a flight to Zurich, Switerland. We went over this time last year and it was abnormally warm in the 80's.. this year, we're looking at 30's & 40's...

why are we going over there when it's so darn "not phx" warm? expovina.. says it all...

Expovina is a big wine festival held for 2 weeks in Zurich every year. Wines from all over the world (not too many US wines considering our tarrifs and all that "fun" US customs stuff), but more french, spanish, african, switzerland, german etc etc wines. Last year, they were held on 8 boats moored on the lake. This year, we're looking at 12 boats chock full of wine to be tasted. The cost is essentially worth the trip over there at $15 for the ENTIRE day. so, we are definitely going to have some fun taste testing.. I tell ya, if i don't know my wines inside and out after this trip, i probably drank too much and listened too little.

They even have taste testing classes which even tho we're there for 2 days, might be quite worthwile!! other than that, i plan on picking up a ton of chocolate (like usual), trying Raclette and getting some super yummy cheese fondue and who knows what else.

We'll be staying with our friend Christian (it pays to know someone in country), so that'll save us a ton of money to buy more wine and have it shipped home! haha

Amanda is on this trip with us too. she doesn't have a single stamp in her passport...so we're going to help her achieve world class traveler this weekend. we'd never tried bringing a buddy pass rider with us, so this has been a good experience so far since we thought we were going to have to leave her behind to catch the second flight to ATL.. but all worked out and now, we're just sitting here for a few hours before we're off again... altho looks like we'll all be sitting in coach but heck, who cares... it's all about the wine! haha

will put the podcast and photos up after we get back. Have a great weekend!!

[roz]

Have fun! I just returned from a quick trip--first to Florida, then to London for business. But I managed to squeeze in lots of fun--exept for the flying--wow service stinks for us revenue paying passengers!

[Kristie]

really? how did it stink? who did you fly over to London?

we had a great time getting over and back from Zurich...except Amanda had to sit in back on the way back.. but the service back there isn't so bad either (at least you get complementary wine with dinner).. Delta's really improving their service and amenities.. the entire system was different including the video machines and the company that cooks the food.. it was a hella lot better this time around!

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by Kristie

Amanda is on this trip with us too. she doesn't have a single stamp in her passport...so we're going to help her achieve world class traveler this weekend. we'd never tried bringing a buddy pass rider with us, so this has been a good experience so far since we thought we were going to have to leave her behind to catch the second flight to ATL.. but all worked out and now, we're just sitting here for a few hours before we're off again... altho looks like we'll all be sitting in coach but heck, who cares... it's all about the wine! haha

will put the podcast and photos up after we get back. Have a great weekend!!

Yeah yeah... no stamps in my current passport (it really was sad). Now I can say I went to Zurich! Somehow the gods were smiling upon me and I got to fly 1st class to Zurich. Holy crap-- I had no idea they treat you like royalty! I have been quite spoiled.

The trip was fantastic and Kristie and Doug's friend Christian was super nice and the perfect host. It was a short trip, but I got to bring back some excellent wine/chocolate! Kristie wasn't lying, she did buy a TON of chocolate (and wine). There are no more Smarties in Zurich becasue of Kristie Taylor. I am sure she is having a 'Smarties Party' right now!

My body is still adjusting to the time difference. It is very confused. Today at work was rough, but worth it.
DANKE! I'm ready to go again!
Amanda

[roz]

Yikes--Amanda had to sit in the back? Where did that leave you--in the cargo hold???? Seriously, if any of you got to sit "up front" then there is a problem.

Remember, I am also a frequent flier. Kristie, when you are paying mucho bucks for the tickets the comparison between US carriers and foreign carriers is silly. Only CAL tries to come close, imho. But "tries" is the operative word. CAL does beat all in domestic service, however imho. FF's, who are the bread and butter of an airline don't care about TV and snacks. We want service and we want to be on time. We're not getting either. Airlines have to decide what they want to be. Do they want to cater to the leisure traveller (and but up against the true LCC's) or offer service to those that used to provide the majority of their revenues. I say "used to" because as more of us book away, there is a problem. My next flight to London is now booked--on BA.

And that gets back to my first paragraph as to why there is a problem. More and more of us FF's are booking away. So, it's nice for non-rev's to move up. But it makes no revenue for the company.

[Kristie]

No, we sat up front.. we had a higher priority than Amanda's buddy pass, she was bottom of the line on an S4 where as we were S3 (decided to save our S2's).

it makes plenty of money for the company.... the seats were unsold...Amanda paid a buddy pass fare and was able to get a seat on the plane, luckily up front... Doug and I were able to sit up front because nobody had purchased every seat up front. The seats up front (on DAL) are not "upgradable" since they're transatlantic flights and quite a price difference even for a FF that most FF don't upgrade even if given the opportunity. There's only been one TO flight where FF's were accommodated on an absolutely full flight and allowed to sit up front with a domestic price increase and that was going to London.

On domestic flights, it's an entirely different situation and we're always sitting in back now.

We don't always sit up front on TO flights also, we honestly thought we'd be sitting in back both coming and going but we lucked out. but we do normally pick weekends where we know we have the best chance to sit up front and heck yes, we take full advantage of it...if the seats are unsold at the last minute, at least they're being used.

I've heard that the foreign carriers treat everyone better...I haven't yet had that experience myself... but delta seems to be improving from what we last experienced. it'll be interesting when the new biz elite seats come out.. then it'll probably be a lot more comparable to the foreign carriers.

[Kristie]

The zurich photos are up.. check out the photo gallery if your interested.

[Doogie]

Originally Posted by roz

Have fun! I just returned from a quick trip--first to Florida, then to London for business. But I managed to squeeze in lots of fun--exept for the flying--wow service stinks for us revenue paying passengers!

Sorry, pet peeve of mine!

Not accusing you of this so please don't think I'm barkin' at ya! Seriously, I'm not.

Ok, lots of people buy groceries all year on their credit cards, gain miles, travel inexpensively and expect to be upgraded to first class automagically.

First class upgrades, domestically, are handed out like dinner mints so people stop paying for first class because the upgrade comes so easy. Less revenue from selling first class seats means less cash to lavish first class passengers domestically. Basically more people paying less and demanding more while being a frequent CC charger and not necessarily a person who flies frequently

International first class/business is different. Largely, if you don't pay for the seat, chances are the passenger isn't going to be upgraded to that class. It happens sometimes on US carriers, but on foreign carriers with the white glove service, freshly cut prime rib and all-you-can-eat king crab, if a passenger doesn't pay for the seat, there's a snowballs chance in heck they're going to upgrade them to first/business.

Many foreign carriers FF programs are for frequent fliers not frequent credit card chargers so the perks and benefits are greater on foreign carriers because they have a higher revenue stream.

So long story short, the seats go unsold.

But access to unsold seats is part of an employee's hard-fought benefits package.

[lucky81698]

I have to agree with you on that one Doogie! When I worked in res for DL it drove me (and everyone I worked with) nuts when people would call to make reservations using FF miles when they had not flown one DL flight! They transferred all of their miles from AMEX. I realize it is not the individual's fault for using the services that were offered to them, but the Delta's fault for setting up the program that way to begin with. My supervisor told us that they actually are reimbursed a set price for the tickets from AMEX, so DL was at least getting paid. I'm sure some higher up person in marketing felt it was a good deal and maybe it was, maybe not.
But as far as upgrades go, that was another story. I remember the uproar when the low level medallion members were told they could no long upgrade on the L fares! They had to buy a more expensive coach fare and pay a fee as well as use points. I left soon after that. But there were plenty of calls transferred to supervisors over that! Of course now most of the calls go to India so I hear! I'm glad that to sit in first class on international flights, people are actually paying for the seat. That is a good thing! That's the way it should be (same with domestic too), but that's just my opinion.

Roz, did you by chance fly on USAir? If so, I know what you mean. I flew on them from BOS-PIT in September. Now they have the flight attendants trying to get people to sign up for credit cards. They make an announcement and walk up and down the aisle passing out enrollment forms. The guy said they get a commission for everyone they get signed up! The lady in front of me took a form but decided not to do it when she realized there was a $50 annual fee for the card. When the FA came to collect it, he walked away in a huff because she changed her mind. I thought this was extremely tacky for an airline to do.
As much as I dislike the discount carriers, I flew on JetBlue a couple of times and was impressed with their service.

Sorry to hijack your thread! Glad you guys had a nice time over there and got to sit in first class!

[Bigsweetie]

Looks like you guys had a very nice time.... glad to hear it! I'd love to go overseas someday.

I used to fly for business alot, but I never really paid attention to the "service" because ,for some reason, flying makes me drowsy. I just slept the entire way so I didn't really care.

I guess i'm still a little surprised that so many people expect airline travel to be the luxury it was so many years ago. I don't expect much, other than to get to my destination safely. But i also haven't flown on very long flights so my opinion probably doesn't count for much.

But truthfully, like all new technology, the price of a airline ticket has come down significantly compared to "back in the day" which in turn leads to less "luxury" IMO. However, that also means that alot more people are able to travel by plane these days than they were long ago. I liken it to riding the bus... (sorry Doug ), it's just another mode of transportation now.

It would be nice if it went back to being the luxury it once was, but that also means that they would have to raise ticket prices. And it turn, not as many people would be able to fly.

I certainly think that carriers can do a little better, but for the time being, I just take a nap! LOL!