skyturner

Three very negative experiences here, two from Huddersfield (one of them me) and one from Rotherham......is this because we felt let down because of all the GOOD indian restaurants in Yorkshire???

dbd33

I take it you don't have much experience of AC.

Souvenir

AC's main problem is inconsistency. I've had lousy flights and great flights, both short-haul and trans-pond. A lot depends on the cabin crew that day.

AC FA's do have a reputation for being bolshy but you can do OK if you adopt the right approach (ie, don't demand or complain). Being friendly and polite from the start does work.

dbd33

I won't fly with them if Greyhound goes to the destination. My feelings for AC are best summed up by the fact that I give my AC miles to my ex.

Souvenir

I don't understand AC Miles. My summary says I have a mileage balance of 53,653 and 17,828 status miles. I have no idea what that means or what, if anything, I can do with those miles.

dbd33

I think you can get two flights within North America (@ 25,000 each) or one far into the Atlantic but not quite to land (@ 60,000). Why, after enduring that much AC, you'd want more is mystery.

17,828 of your accumulated miles count towards a shinier card. I used to have a whole stack of mega-shinier-frequentier cards but never saw any benefit from them except the Alaska Air one which got me an extra free Klondike bar (program now discontinued) and the Holiday Inn one which gave me camping stuff so I didn't have to stay at the HI.

Miss Clinique

I think you can get two flights within North America (@ 25,000 each) or one far into the Atlantic but not quite to land (@ 60,000). Why, after enduring that much AC, you'd want more is mystery.

17,828 of your accumulated miles count towards a shinier card. I used to have a whole stack of mega-shinier-frequentier cards but never saw any benefit from them except the Alaska Air one which got me an extra free Klondike bar (program now discontinued) and the Holiday Inn one which gave me camping stuff so I didn't have to stay at the HI.


You make me chuckle dbd33

Souvenir

Oh, I see. I'm nowhere near being able to do anything terribly useful with them. Maybe I can use them as partial payment for my next winter vacation?

Alphawolf

Yeah, thank god for Akbars!!

dbd33

I'm glad to hear that, getting 'em laughing is half the battle, or so I've heard.

Atlantic Xpat

The status miles go towards your elavation to the lofty heights of AC's preferred customer programme. You know, all this 'We'd now like to invite our elite, super-elite, really-super-duper-elite and platinum-frequent-travelling-gods to board now. Ahead of you plebs in the rest of the plane.'

Do you crave "Super_Elite" status then?

As dbd33 says the 53k miles will get you a couple of internal flights (but only if you book well enough in advance) or almost back to the UK. You'll still have pay taxes though.

Get an aeroplan flight to St John's and I'll buy you a beer!

Souvenir

Never understood that one. The demi-Gods are expected to board first, so they can sit on the tarmac longer than the lumpen proletariat and also have the plebs brush past them when they are herded on. Isn't that a bit arse about face?

Atlantic Xpat

Quite. The savy frequent flier waits in the lounge indulging in the free booze and nibbles until boarding is just closing and then strolls insouciently onto the plane to settle in their plush seat at the pointy end just before the doors close. That way, one can avoid pretty much all contact with the lumpen proletariat aside from the bovine chorus from the back of the bus.

<Them were the days when I flew BA business frequently. Sadly now I am both lumpen and proletariat.

Souvenir

I, too, miss the joys of long-haul Club. It's not something I've done for over a decade. There was something so romantic about crawling off a 14 hour flight with a raging Chablis-induced hangover.

Snave

Me too. I had enough BA Miles for four return LHR-YUL flights earned on my BA Gold card when I first discovered Mrs Snave. Last month I had a letter from BA saying they are closing my account due to inactivity. But now I have enough AC points (as I only fly AC now) to take me to anywhere in the US - Hawaii is possible, but Mrs Snave will need to pay for her own ticket...