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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / August 2005Too good to be true
I just got an email for Air Taihiti Nui. RT from LAX for $325, TA rate. I suddenly have to decide if I want to be raped for a hotel room.  Signaturedillon Linux, it's not just an OS, it's a way of life. And a damn fine one, at that. Dillon Pyron <dmpyronINVALID@austin.rr.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :I just got an email for Air Taihiti Nui. RT from LAX for $325, TA :rate. I suddenly have to decide if I want to be raped for a hotel :room. Don't the Aggressors have a boat there? Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > Dillon Pyron <dmpyronINVALID@austin.rr.com> pounded away at his > keyboard resulting in: > :I just got an email for Air Taihiti Nui. RT from LAX for $325, TA > :rate. I suddenly have to decide if I want to be raped for a hotel > :room. Air Tahiti Nui is hard up for passengers going to Papeete, Tahiti. I was interested their flight from LAX to Auckland, NZ; and return from Sydney to LAX, but they REQUIRE a stopover in Papeete both ways, instead of direct flights, and their itineraries are very restricted. So, I booked a FREEBIE on Korean Air instead, with my CO Freq Flyer miles. :-) > Don't the Aggressors have a boat there? That's in Rangiroa, another hop, step, and jump from Papeete. Rangiroa is in the Tuamotu Island group, whereas Tahiti is in the Society Island group. Great diving in everyone of the island groups there! -- Bob. > So, I booked a FREEBIE on Korean Air instead, with my CO Freq Flyer > miles. :-) How is that airline? I got Bali/Wakatobi tickets on Singapore Air with miles but could have done the same upfront seating on Korean Air for 10,000 less miles per seat, but my wife wanted to shop Singapore so I took that option. Korean Air is certainly becoming a big presence at the rewards desks of most major carriers, even though they limit the airlines that code-share with on revenue flights. I think they have rewards programs with almost every airline servicing the East from the US. Have you flown them before? Are they the equal or close of Singapore Air, Malaysia Air or Thai Air? Right now I'm looking for flights to PNG and both Singapore and Korean Air can get me to the mainland OZ to catch the Air Nugini flight over to Moresby > Rabaul, in biz class for 120,000 per seat. That's pretty good compared to CO which has no biz class to Australia and so looks for 160,000 per seat in First Class. > > So, I booked a FREEBIE on Korean Air instead, with my CO Freq Flyer > > miles. :-) > > How is that airline? Dunno yet. I couldn't get a good freebie connection on Qantas, so that left Korean Air. > I got Bali/Wakatobi tickets on Singapore Air with miles > but could have done the same upfront seating on Korean Air for 10,000 less [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Have you flown them before? Are they the equal or close of Singapore Air, Nope. I think so, three classes: First, Business, and Peasant. But I've flown only Peasant class (sucks) form SIN to Bali. :-) > Malaysia Air or Thai Air? Never flown those either. > Right now I'm looking for flights to PNG and both Singapore and Korean Air > can get me to the mainland OZ to catch the Air Nugini flight over to Moresby > Rabaul, in biz class for 120,000 per seat. That's pretty good compared to > CO which has no biz class to Australia and so looks for 160,000 per seat in > First Class. I have Delta (ATL-LAX), Korean (LAX-AUK; SYD-LAX), Delta (LAX-ATL). 100,000 for Peasant; no seats available for Business (150,000), and I don't want to squander 400,000 CO miles on First (200,000 per seat). But I got the exact flight schedule I needed; instead of having to get to Auckland 7 days too early on Qantas. :-) -- Bob. >> > So, I booked a FREEBIE on Korean Air instead, with my CO Freq Flyer >> > miles. :-) [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Dunno yet. I couldn't get a good freebie connection on Qantas, so > that left Korean Air. I know you were looking for a freebie, so I don't know if you looked at prices, but Qantas has become fabulously expensive upfront over the past 4 or 5 years. When my best option to Australia was SA thru Singapore I considered buying a more direct flight on Qantas. That's when the sticker shock hit like a tank. $ 9,400.00 US for a Biz seat LAX > CNS. Today they are trading at $ 11,904.00 US. Meanwhile a 2 stop coach seat can be had for $ 1,100.00. >> Malaysia Air or Thai Air? > > Never flown those either. If the opportunity arises, and your rewards options don't work, you might consider giving them a try. Both are very good airlines and comparitively inexpensive. I think SA or BA are the best in the air but Thai Air comes in very close to those two and far far ahead of any Amercian airline servicing the same region (I am sorry to say). >> Right now I'm looking for flights to PNG and both Singapore and Korean >> Air [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > I have Delta (ATL-LAX), Korean (LAX-AUK; SYD-LAX), Delta (LAX-ATL). What it looks like I have is (on Delta SkyMiles) Singapore Air....LAX > SIN > BNE and then back, with a 3 day in Singapore going and a 2-day in Brisbane on the way back (the stays are planned). It's Air Nugini for BNE > POM > RAB and return (these I pay for and can only get coach). > 100,000 for Peasant; no seats available for Business (150,000), and > I don't want to squander 400,000 CO miles on First (200,000 per seat). I agree whole-heartedly. CO's international First Class is very very good, but that's a lot of burned miles. > I know you were looking for a freebie, so I don't know if you looked at > prices, but Qantas has become fabulously expensive upfront over the past 4 > or 5 years. When my best option to Australia was SA thru Singapore I > considered buying a more direct flight on Qantas. Qantas simply sucks, at any price. > That's when the sticker > shock hit like a tank. $ 9,400.00 US for a Biz seat LAX > CNS. Business or First seats are always outrageously expensive to buy. I NEVER purchased a First Class or Business First ticket. Flown on PLENTY of them (hundreds free on CO First), and freebie upgrades on international. I flew LAX to CNS on CO a couple years ago. > Today they > are trading at $ 11,904.00 US. Meanwhile a 2 stop coach seat can be had for > $ 1,100.00. Qantas freebies for my trip would have cost 80K CO FFMs, whereas Korean Air for the same cost 100K. Peasant Class of course. > If the opportunity arises, and your rewards options don't work, you might > consider giving them a try. Both are very good airlines and comparitively > inexpensive. I think SA or BA are the best in the air but Thai Air comes in > very close to those two and far far ahead of any Amercian airline servicing > the same region (I am sorry to say). I stick with CO for awhile. Still have over a million FFMs unused. :-) > >> CO which has no biz class to Australia and so looks for 160,000 per seat > >> in > >> First Class. You're confused (as many folks are). The pecking order of classes for CO is Business First/FIrst/Coach. For Singapore Air and other airlines, its First/Business/Coach. So, CO's Business First is the equivalent of First, and CO has ONLY Business First for international travels. It's 120K (EasyPass) for Business First freebie; and 50K for coach upgrade. > > I have Delta (ATL-LAX), Korean (LAX-AUK; SYD-LAX), Delta (LAX-ATL). > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I agree whole-heartedly. CO's international First Class is very very good, > but that's a lot of burned miles. The 200K per seat is to use CO miles on Korean Air. It would have only cost 120K on CO Business First flights or 50K for upgrades. I have plenty of miles to burn, but 400K miles is STILL too much to consider. :) -- Bob. >> I know you were looking for a freebie, so I don't know if you looked at >> prices, but Qantas has become fabulously expensive upfront over the past 4 [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >on PLENTY of them (hundreds free on CO First), and freebie upgrades >on international. Oh yeah. When I was doing a lot of traveling for work, I had a flight from Austin to DFW. 1 hour gate to gate. I was an AAdvantage Gold member and got bumped to 1st to make room for more plebs in coach. Paid $228 for my ticket. The guy next ot me actually paid $1100!!! >I flew LAX to CNS on CO a couple years ago. > [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > >-- Bob. I'll burn 70K for "first" to Hawai'i. But I try to fly DFW to HON or OGG. The LAX to HON is just a hop, not much longer than AUS to LAX. And first on a MD80 is not much to crow about. Especially if I've already had breakfast. Hawaiiand used to have a "first" class. This was nothing more than reserved seats at the front of the plane. But our advantage miles at the time "paid" for them. Now Hawaiian is a separate charge and "first" has been dropped. But I'll still take AUS-DFW-HON-KON over AUS-LAX-KON. Signaturedillon Linux, it's not just an OS, it's a way of life. And a damn fine one, at that. > >> I know you were looking for a freebie, so I don't know if you looked at > >> prices, but Qantas has become fabulously expensive upfront over the past 4 [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > member and got bumped to 1st to make room for more plebs in coach. > Paid $228 for my ticket. The guy next ot me actually paid $1100!!! AA has always been poorly run. That's why it's going broke. I was PLATINUM on both AA and CO one year. I get upgraded to First on CO on every flight. I have to use AA's crummy tokens, each worth 500 miles. So, I NEVER used AA again even thought I was Platinum on it. I traded all my useless AA miles for HHilton points. :-) > >I flew LAX to CNS on CO a couple years ago. > > [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > I'll burn 70K for "first" to Hawai'i. Only on coach (Easy Pass). > But I try to fly DFW to HON or > OGG. The LAX to HON is just a hop, not much longer than AUS to LAX. > And first on a MD80 is not much to crow about. Especially if I've > already had breakfast. HON is Huron, not Honolulu. So, I don't get your point. > Hawaiiand used to have a "first" class. This was nothing more than > reserved seats at the front of the plane. Are you talking about CO or AA? CO has Business First to HNL (Honolulu) but NO First. Otherwise, I would have always flown First Class all those times (dozens and dozens) to HNL, Micronesia and Asia. > But our advantage miles at > the time "paid" for them. Now Hawaiian is a separate charge and > "first" has been dropped. But I'll still take AUS-DFW-HON-KON over > AUS-LAX-KON. > -- > dillon CO never liked the people in Texas, especially those in AUS and DFW. I fly from ATL through Houston to CZM much cheaper than people flying only from Houston to CZM on the same plane. -- Bob. <snip> >> I'll burn 70K for "first" to Hawai'i. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >HON is Huron, not Honolulu. So, I don't get your point. Fumble finger. >> Hawaiiand used to have a "first" class. This was nothing more than >> reserved seats at the front of the plane. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >First Class all those times (dozens and dozens) to HNL, Micronesia >and Asia. American's "first" is really business to Hawai'i. >> But our advantage miles at >> the time "paid" for them. Now Hawaiian is a separate charge and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >I fly from ATL through Houston to CZM much cheaper than people >flying only from Houston to CZM on the same plane. We fly CO to CZM out of IAH. Since Carol's parents live in Houston, we just spend the night before with them, catch the early flight out and be in the hotel by 1. >-- Bob. Signaturedillon Linux, it's not just an OS, it's a way of life. And a damn fine one, at that. > Business or First seats are always outrageously expensive to buy. > I NEVER purchased a First Class or Business First ticket. Flown > on PLENTY of them (hundreds free on CO First), and freebie upgrades > on international. Oh hell, I've bought more than I care to remember. Sometimes rewards seats just don't work for what I need schedule-wise....and I just can't fly coach on anything longer than 4 hours. > I flew LAX to CNS on CO a couple years ago. If that's the one thru Guam I checked it out and they were offering First for 160,000 per seat. Too much in my view when SA provides the same for 40,000 less miles. > Qantas freebies for my trip would have cost 80K CO FFMs, whereas > Korean Air for the same cost 100K. Peasant Class of course. I've never had real bad luck with Qantas. They are, in my view, the equivalent of a US carrier and at best, not quite up to snuff with the gooder airlines of the world. >> If the opportunity arises, and your rewards options don't work, you might >> consider giving them a try. Both are very good airlines and comparitively [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > I stick with CO for awhile. Still have over a million FFMs unused. :-) While CO doesn't have any code share routes (at least last time I checked) with either airline they have reward share with both. That's a little information some people don't understand (though I suspect you do). Example: I cannot buy a Singapore Air flight thru a Delta desk as a code share, but I was able to book a miles ticket on Singapore Air using SkyMiles thru a Delta Rewards desk. > You're confused (as many folks are). For a non-domestic flight, when you ticket the top cabin class on CO **thru a partner airline rewards desk**, your class is called International First, because Continental does not allow partner rewards to use all the amenities that Business First customers get to use.....particularly complete access to all Presidents Club Lounge. It actually becomes another cabin class even though you sit with CO's Business First customers on the plane. Ever since Saeta went belly-up, I always ticket thru miles on Continental when I go to Galapagos and that is always 663 down and 886 back. And unless I am using OnePass miles my cabin class is always International First, even though the person sitting next to me with a revenue or OnePass ticket is in Business First. This is probably not evident to you because you have so many OnePass miles that you don't book Continental rewards with another airline's miles. I, on the other hand, since Continental abandoned the Denver market, have to use different miles for different rewards all the time. They have made it so easy anymore to use one airline's miles for another airline's rewards, even though the two airlines don't have code share agreements for the route in question. > > Business or First seats are always outrageously expensive to buy. > > I NEVER purchased a First Class or Business First ticket. Flown [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > just don't work for what I need schedule-wise....and I just can't fly coach > on anything longer than 4 hours. For FIVE years, 1999-2004, I had 100% free upgrades (from coach, even the cheapest coach) to First, on ALL domestic, Caribbean, and Mexico flights, until CO changed the rules. I missed the comp upgrade a couple of times last year. COach ain't so bad unless you're crammed in the middle between two fatties. :-) I've flown coach ONCE for 15 hours (Newark to Hong Kong). Upgraded for Business First ever since. :-) > > I flew LAX to CNS on CO a couple years ago. > > If that's the one thru Guam I checked it out and they were offering First > for 160,000 per seat. Too much in my view when SA provides the same for > 40,000 less miles. All CO flights to micronesia goes through Guam. You are mistaken about the 160K I believe. The only thing more than 120K on CO are the African, Indian, and Middle-East flights. > > Qantas freebies for my trip would have cost 80K CO FFMs, whereas > > Korean Air for the same cost 100K. Peasant Class of course. > > I've never had real bad luck with Qantas. They are, in my view, the > equivalent of a US carrier and at best, not quite up to snuff with the > gooder airlines of the world. My biggest beef with them is the BAGGAGE allowance (on4 checed 44 lbs and one 15 lb carryone) for Peasants (same as Singapore Air), whereas on CO, even flying COACH, I get TWO checked bags of 70 lbs each, and lots of carryon allowance. For DIVING trips, the baggage allowance would leave me about 1/2 lb for clothing. :-) We left TWO 70lb bags in Cairns when we flew Qantas to Sydney. We did likewise when we flew Singapore Air, leaving TWO 70 lb bags in SIngapore flying ot dive in Bali. > >> If the opportunity arises, and your rewards options don't work, you might > >> consider giving them a try. Both are very good airlines and comparitively [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > with either airline they have reward share with both. That's a little > information some people don't understand (though I suspect you do). CO has many airline partners who do NOT codeshare. Rules get complicated when it comes to flying freebie on them. > Example: I cannot buy a Singapore Air flight thru a Delta desk as a code > share, but I was able to book a miles ticket on Singapore Air using SkyMiles > thru a Delta Rewards desk. But I bet you can fly Delta using Singapore Air miles, or miles from any of its partners. :-)) It's sort of like you can trade a week's timeshare from a $10 a week joint to one that costs $100,000 a week. > > You're confused (as many folks are). > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > access to all Presidents Club Lounge. It actually becomes another cabin > class even though you sit with CO's Business First customers on the plane. Actually that's not entirely true. Some international flights have ONLY Business First (with fully reclining seats and 10-page menus). And the President's Club Lounge is an entirely separate operation. Not nearly as good as the Lounges of most foreign airlines. > This is probably not evident to you because you have so many OnePass miles > that you don't book Continental rewards with another airline's miles. That's definitely true. The reason I have so many CO miles is that in order to main my Platinum status, I had to PAY for at least 75K miles of flying on CO, EVERY year. I get tons of FFMs, never needed it to upgrade to First because that comes free with Platinum. So, the miles are used mostly for UPGRADE to Business First on international flights and occasional freebies. I have traded almost one MILLION CO miles for TWO MILLION Hilton Honor points until Hilton got wise and cut that exchange program out. :-) The wonders of Frequent this-and-that. I suppose you know about the FREQUENT DIVER points on the Dancer Fleet. :-)) -- Bob. > For FIVE years, 1999-2004, I had 100% free upgrades (from coach, even > the cheapest coach) to First, on ALL domestic, Caribbean, and Mexico > flights, until CO changed the rules. I missed the comp upgrade a > couple of times last year. I did really well with CO when we were a hub, but since they left there isn't nearly the quantity of flights available to ensure upgrades and flights via rewards. Actually rewards out of Denver at all, on any of the airlines, is just not that good anymore. We really need to dump United and get some other carriers in here to pick up the load. > COach ain't so bad unless you're crammed in the middle between two > fatties. :-) I've flown coach ONCE for 15 hours (Newark to > Hong Kong). Upgraded for Business First ever since. :-) It's too small for me, I have legs that simply won't work in a 31-33" layout. And I am broad shouldered, so unless I am sitting by a child there just isn't enough room. I've had 5 knee surgeries since 1990 and my right leg needs the stretch room. My protocol is simple: within the continental US or from Denver to any Mexican location I will fly coach on an aisle....otherwise it is First or Biz. > All CO flights to micronesia goes through Guam. You are mistaken about > the 160K I believe. The only thing more than 120K on CO are the > African, > Indian, and Middle-East flights. It was 160,000 for sure, but remember, I was booking thru the Delta rewards desk and I suspect they hit a SkyMiles reward harder than they do a OnePass customer booking the same reward. I have a friend booking the same trip (LAX > CNS) and Continental wanted 100,000 Membership Miles to put him in coach. Considering that kind of charge, 160,000 Skymiles for First is a pretty good deal...ha hah! >> > Qantas freebies for my trip would have cost 80K CO FFMs, whereas >> > Korean Air for the same cost 100K. Peasant Class of course. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > on CO, even flying COACH, I get TWO checked bags of 70 lbs each, and > lots of carryon allowance. I don't know. I have only flown Qantas First Class and there wasn't any baggage hassles at all, despite being ridiculously heavy with my scuba and photo gear. I was allowed 2 poieces at 70 lbs. per. I had three pieces all pushing the 70 lb limit and they didn't bat any eye in LA when leaving or in Cairns when returning. > CO has many airline partners who do NOT codeshare. Rules get > complicated > when it comes to flying freebie on them. Yes indeed, but the rewards desk has access to more flights from different carries than the revenue desk does....even if their access is to very limited seat numbers. >> Example: I cannot buy a Singapore Air flight thru a Delta desk as a code >> share, but I was able to book a miles ticket on Singapore Air using [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > But I bet you can fly Delta using Singapore Air miles, or miles from > any of its partners. :-)) Ya know, I haven't any idea because I don't have any SA miles. That's an interesting assertion.....whether or not the reward opportunities are reciprical. > Actually that's not entirely true. Some international flights have > ONLY > Business First (with fully reclining seats and 10-page menus). And the > President's Club Lounge is an entirely separate operation. Not nearly > as good as the Lounges of most foreign airlines. It's the same cabin and same seat, but ticketed differently. Continental treats their own reward customers better than they do customers whose rewards came from another airline, and in doing so the title the cabin level differently. No matter which Continental cabin you are seated in...Business First or International First...if you acquired your Continental ticket thru another airlines reward desk, you are ticketed "International First" and if you ticketed for the CO's First Class, then you are assigned Business Class. And you do not have all the rights and accesses that revenue and OnePass reward fliers do. Basically Continental treats their own reward customers better than they do customers whose rewards came from another airline, and for some reason they feel the need to distinguish us lackeys further by making our cabin titles different :^) I can't be Business First because I didn't buy the ticket or use OnePass miles. I can live with that, as long as my seat is still in the front cabin :^) > The wonders of Frequent this-and-that. Yeah, but like I said...out of Denver it has become very hard to get upgrades. Flights are difficult as well, but upgrades, because of in program priorities, have become very hard to acquire. It has been a long time since I left Denver on a daylight or early evening flight that wasn't booked and seated full. But you know what...it is wonderful to get seats, be it First, Biz or Coach for what is essentially free. I'm gonna spend credit card money and buy revenue tickets whether or not reward programs existed, the reward programs only impact that to the degree that I choose and plan where I spend and what card I spend on. |
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