Travel Blogger - My Daughter's First Travel Blog

My daughter Natasha Pate just posted her first travel blog.

It's called "Exploring Barranco, Lima’s Art District," and it's nicely illustrated with photos of the art.

Available here:
https://isastudentblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/27/exploring-barranco-limas-art-district/



Update: Tasha has added two more blogs.

"The Valley of Wonders: A Weekend in Arequipa"
https://isastudentblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/the-valley-of-wonders-a-weekend-in-arequipa/

"Peru in the World Cup: When Soccer is More Than Just a Game"

https://isastudentblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/05/peru-in-the-world-cup-when-soccer-is-more-than-just-a-game/

Travel Humor - Do You Suffer From TRAVEL SAD?

When you travel by plane, boat or train, do you find people glaring at you?  Do you feel they jostle you unnecessarily? 

Perhaps you suffer from TRAVEL SAD: Travel Related And Vehicle Engagement Lacking Situational Awareness Disorder.

Here is a checklist of situations. Assess each one and then add up your score to see if you are a victim of TRAVEL SAD.

Airports and Planes:

• Security - Do you feel the need to almost completely undress and empty your backpack, even though you are in the TSA Precheck line? Give yourself 2 demerits.
• Boarding a plane – When the gate agent explains that the plane will be boarded by rows or groups, do you barge to the front of the line even though you are in group 17?  Are you yakking on the phone and blocking the process? Give yourself 2 demerits.
• Finding your seat – Do you drag your oversize roll-aboard down the aisle, banging each and every seat, and then block the aisle for 5 minutes while you extract 18 items before cramming it into the overhead? That’s worth 3 demerits.
• Food - Do you take a smelly meal on the plane? 2 demerits.
• Exiting a plane – When the plane arrives at the gate, you have to wait a while before you can exit. Do you find yourself trying to clamber out of your seat, retrieve your oversized roll-aboard, stack your backpack on the handle? Give yourself 2 demerits. All while talking on the phone? Make it 4 demerits.
• Leaving the jetway – When you get to the top of the jetway and enter the terminal, do you stop to consult your phone or colleague, while standing at the very narrow choke point at the exit of the jetway? Award yourself 2 demerits.
• Rolling roadblock – Do you walk with your colleagues three or four abreast, preventing frantic travelers from reaching their gates? Give yourself 2 demerits.
• Delays – Do you yell at the flight attendants when the plane is delayed, even though it is completely out of their control? 2 demerits.

Subways/Trains:

• Boarding – Do you stand right in front of the doors so the exiting passengers can’t get off? Give yourself 2 demerits.
• Quiet Car – Do you think that the quiet car is the ideal place to have your loud and pointless cell call? 4 demerits.

Any Public Place:

• Music – Do you feel compelled to share your crappy music or ringtone with the world because you don’t like or lost your earbuds? That’s 4 demerits.
• Escalators - Do you block the end of the escalator? Give yourself 2 demerits.
• Museum – Do you take 20 selfies in front of the Mona Lisa while hundreds are waiting to get a glimpse? Give yourself 5 demerits.

Scoring:

• 0-4 demerits: Congratulations! I would travel with you any day.
• 5-10 demerits: There’s hope for you, but you need to work on it.
• 11-17 demerits: You need a travel guide. I am not volunteering.
• 18-30 demerits: Please stay home.

Travel Story - A Tailwind Helps

Location: AA 138, High over the North Pacific

I was on my way back from Singapore via Hong Kong and DFW.  On the way out I took AA 137 from DFW to Singapore, which is scheduled for 16 hours and 50 minutes.  The reciprocal AA 138 is scheduled for 14 hours and 20 minutes, or 2 and 1/2 hours less. Why?  Because it is flying with the jetstream versus against it going west.

I witnessed how significant the jetstream can be on my way back from Hing King to DFW.  I looked up at the monitor and saw we had a tailwind of 174 mph!

As a result, our groundspeed was an astounding 731 mph!

I don't recall ever seeing a groundspeed over 700 mph.

As a result of the big tail wind, we got in an hour ahead of our scheduled arrival, and I was able to catch an earlier flight home.  Hooray for the jetstream!

Also, hooray for upgrades.  I was fortunate enough to get upgraded on both trans-Pacific flights.  This particular airplane is a 777-300ER, and is quire nice.  Here is a review of business class on this plane:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/04/review-american-business-class-777-300er-dallas-hong-kong/

Travel Tip - An Analysis of Updates to the American Airlines AAdvantage Program - Miles and Status

Location: Home

American Airlines recently announced changes to the way that their AAdvantage program will work in the second half of 2016. As a frequent flyer on American, I have been worried for a while about this type of change. I wanted to better understand how the changes will affect me, so I ran some numbers.

This analysis will focus on earned miles and status.  Later on I may write another analysis based on changes to awards travel.

Summary of Impact on Me

The impact on me is somewhat negative, but not too bad. Here is my projection of the impact based on a full year of the new rules.

• Qualification for Elite Status: no change
• Systemwide Upgrades: loss of 2-4
• Awards Miles Earned: 22% less

My Travel Profile

The changes will affect different travelers in different ways, so it would be good to understand my travel profile.

• Consistent  (2012-2016) Executive Platinum (EP) traveler.
• My trips are typically planned in advance, so my tickets are usually discounted.
• I do not buy First or Business Class tickets.  I occasionally buy premium coach for international flights on carriers that have that option.

 2015 Specifics:

• 30 itineraries booked
• Carrier: 
• 25 booked on AA, which includes US Airways and code share flights
• 5 booked on OneWorld partners
• Region:
• 17 domestic
• 13 international
• 87 segments
• 150,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) earned
• 1730 miles/segment average 
• 389,863 total award miles earned 
• 304,588 award miles earned from flights only (excluding hotels, misc. bonuses, etc.)

Elite Qualification

I tend to fly relatively long segments, so I qualify on miles rather than segments or the now disappearing points.

Net change for me: None.

Systemwide Upgrades

One of the big benefits of qualifying for EP status is the 8 systemwide upgrades granted per year. These are good for all the segments of one part of a journey, including international flights.  They can also be used for others, so they are very valuable.

In the new plan, EPs will earn 4 systemwide upgrades at the 100,000 EQM level, with the opportunity to earn 2 more at the 150,000 EQM level and a final 2 more at 200,000 EQMs.

In 2015 I will earn 150,000 EQMs, which means a total of 6 systemwide upgrades.

In 2012-2014 I earned 101,000 to 129,000 EQMs, which would be 4 systemwide upgrades.

Net change for me: Loss of 2 to 4 systemwide upgrades

Award Miles

This is the area of biggest change.  In the past EPs earned awards miles equal to the twice the actual distance traveled. AA is now moving to a plan where the award miles earned depend on the amount paid for the ticket.  At the EP level this amounts to 11 miles per dollar spent.

Here are some examples of the current rules versus the new rules.

Itinerary	2015 Rules	2016 Rules	Notes
RDU/DFW Roundtrip	1,062 miles each way 2,124 total miles 2,124 bonus miles 4,248 award miles	$432.20 total $56.38 taxes $375.82 fare 4,134 award miles	Wash
RDU/SJC Roundtrip	5,047 total miles 5,047 bonus miles 10,094 award miles	$437.20 total $72.55 taxes $364.65 fare 4,011 award miles	Reduction of miles in 2016
RDU/LHR Roundtrip	3,872 miles each way 7,744 total miles 7,744 bonus miles 15,488 award miles	$1976.00 total $693.00 taxes and fees $1679.60 fare+fees (est.) 18,476 award miles	Increase of miles in 2016

I wanted to get a better view of the total effect of the changes over the course of a year.  I did an analysis based on my 2015 travel and spending.  The monthly breakdown is shown in the table below.

Notes:

• The award miles earned in 2016 will be based on spending for airfare and carrier-imposed fees. It does not include taxes. This makes the calculation tricky because AA does not always break out the taxes separately, especially for international travel. Based on some quick research, I used 15% as an estimate of the taxes for where the taxes were not specified. Note that this figure has a big impact on earned miles.
• AA has not yet specified the formula for award miles on OneWorld partner airlines.  For this analysis I used the same formula as for flights on AA.

Month	2015 Rules (actual)	2H2016  Rules  (est.)	Notes
February	24,079	13,423	Long discount flights will earn a lot less miles
March	40,899	36,961
April	2,000	0	I assigned the award miles for the initial flight
May	36,182	23,266
June	32,778	36,961
July	10,180	11,432
August	15,512	13,151
September	13,988	10,082
October	8,726	3,551
November	51,886	48,672	Long international flights on Cathay and BA in premium coach
December	47,324	13,903	Long international discount flights on AA
January	21,034	24,927
Total	304,588	236,273	68,315 fewer award miles or 22% less in 2016

Net change for me: 68,315 fewer award miles, or a 22% reduction

Note that February, May and December accounted for 80% of the awards mileage reduction. These months included long trips bought at a low fare.

Closing Thoughts

AA says that the changes are aimed at "giving our best customers access to our most exclusive benefits." Anybody who buys business or first class tickets falls into that category, and they will see big benefits.  As a very frugal traveler I will see some reduction in awards miles and systemwide upgrades.  Even so, I think that the AAdvantage program will remain beneficial for me overall.

Travel Update - Top Ten Sights in Duseldorf

Location: Dusseldorf, Germany

I have been to Dusseldorf several times, but never had any opportunity to do sightseeing. This time I had a full day and wanted to make the most of it. I found a list of the "10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Düsseldorf" and used it as a guide. Here is the list:

1. Königsallee - Germany's Most Elegant Avenue
2. Schloss Benrath
3. North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection
4. Kaiserswerth
5. The Museum of Art: Kunstpalast
6. Old Town Düsseldorf
7. Neue Zollhof and the Gehry Buildings
8. Nordpark's Japanese Garden
9. The Hofgarten
10. The Magic of the Rhine: The Embankment Promenade

Schloss Benrath (#2) was a taxi/train ride away, so I removed that from my list. Also, I didn't think that I had time for museums, so I scratched North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection (#3) and The Museum of Art: Kunstpalast (#4).  I divided the remaining 7 into two tours:

• North: #4 and #8
• South: #1, #6, #7, #8 and #10

North Tour

I was staying near the Dusseldorf airport, so the sites on the North Tour were nearby. I took the light rail up to Kaiserswerth. I then walked around to see the town including the Church of St. Suitbertus and the Kaiserpfalz.

 Map of Locations on North Tour

Me in Front of the Kaiserpfalz (#4)

In Kaiserswerth looking toward the Rhine (#4)

I then took the light rail down to the Nordpark, which includes the beautiful Japanese Garden.

Japanese Garden (#8)

Flowers in the Nordpark (#8)

South Tour

After finishing the Nordpark I went back to my hotel, collected my belongings, and rode the light rail down to the Swissotel in the Neuss neighborhood.  After dropping my bags I rode the tram into town were I resumed my walking on the southern part of the tour.

   Map of Locations on South Tour

View of Dusseldorf from across the Rhine at Swissotel in Neuss

Buildings at Neue Zollhof (#7)

Konigsallee (#1)

Sculpture and Buildings Near The Hofgarten (#9)

Sadly, my phone ran out of juice before I could get pictures of the Old Town (Aldstadt - #6) or the

Embankment Promenade (Rheinuferpromenade - #9). 

Here is a view of my steps for this tour:

 

Review

Overall I very much enjoyed the 7 sites I visited.  Here is my prioritized list of my favorites.

1. Königsallee
8. Nordpark's Japanese Garden
6. Old Town Düsseldorf
10. The Embankment Promenade
4. Kaiserswerth7. Neue Zollhof and the Gehry Buildings
9. The Hofgarten

Travel Story - A SIM the Easy Way

Location: Singapore

My mobile phone works internationally, but my international voice and data plan has confiscatory rates. I don't want to change carriers, so the answer is to get a local SIM card.

I previously had bad experiences trying to buy a SIM card in the UK and actually buying one in Italy and Aruba, so I was not optimistic when I decided to get one in Singapore. The experience could not be more different.

I went in to the Singtel store and came out 5 minutes later with a tourist SIM card (pictured below):

• 100 Gb data
• 500 minutes local calls
• 30 minutes international calls
• 100 texts
• 5 day usage period
• $15 Singapore dollars (about $10.50 USD)

What a great buying experience, and what a great deal!

Travel Story - Another Up and Down Travel Day

Location: RDU, JFK and Hong Kong Airports

The more I travel, the more I understand that you need to be ready for anything, and that you never know how things will turn out.  Today was a good example.

I was on the first leg of my round-the-world trip, traveling to from Raleigh-Durham to Singapore via New York JFK and Hong Kong. I don’t like having two stops because of the opportunity for travel disruptions, but it’s hard to avoid when going from RDU to Asia.

Disaster, Part 1

I got to the RDU airport in good time for my 6:05 AM to JFK. As I was eating a light breakfast I got a text on my phone. My flight to JFK was delayed by 45 minutes, but that was OK.  I still had 90 minutes for my connection. Then the wheels fell off.  I got another text saying my flight to JFK was now delayed to 10:00 AM - past my departure from JFK. Time for Plan B.

Recovery, Part 1

I called the airline hotline and got myself rebooked through Dallas-Fort Worth. I had originally booked a premium economy ticket, which gives some extra legroom and seat width. Hey, it’s a 16 hour flight, so every little bit helps. The bad news is that now I would be in regular coach.  Also, I would get in to Singapore 4 hours later than planned, but I would get in. All seemed well until I went to the counter for the DFW flight to get my new boarding passes.

Disaster, Part 2

The online agent had mistakenly booked the second leg (DFW to Hong Kong) for the following day, which would mean spending the night in Dallas, and getting to Singapore a day late. Not Good.

Recovery, Part 2 - Maybe
However, my local gate agent pointed out that my original flight to New York was going out at 7:30 AM, not 10:00 AM as reported by phone and the gate.  She apologized for the misinformation and was able to rebook me on my flight to JFK. There was a question of whether I could get to the gate on time at JFK with the reduced connection time. Also, there was some question as to whether my seat on my original flight was reconfirmed, as reported by the airline partner program.  I would have to go to JFK and see.

A Close Call

We were further delayed getting out of RDU, so when I got off the plane at JFK they had already started boarding my Hong Kong flight.  Sadly, I had arrived in terminal 8, and my flight was departing from terminal 7. Transferring between those two terminals meant going out of security, catching the JFK AirTrain to terminal 8, and going back through security. I have TSA pre-check, but it didn’t apply to this flight.  I did get through security and to the gate before the door was closed, but then there was the problem of my seat. The gate agents were expecting, but it eventually took 3 gate agents to sort out the de-booking and re-booking.  

A Very Pleasant Surprise

The bad news was that the premium economy section was full. The good news was that they bumped me up to business class.  Newly printed boarding pass in hand, I was the last person to board the plane.

One Last Bonus
I arrived in Hong Kong in good time and was able to take an earlier flight to Singapore. That was really good because my original flight wound up being delayed by 2 hours due to the typhoon Mujigae.

Keep Calm and Carry On
I was pleased with the upgrade and with the service that I got from the airline folks. For my part, I didn’t panic, and I was very polite and respectful. Not sure that helped, but I am sure it didn’t hurt. Finally, this was on one of the times that having priority status on partner airlines helped make the process go better for me.

What started out looking like a disrupted travel day would up going better than planned. You just never know.