Update on LAN Airlines

Another call to LAN Airlines and this time I think the call ended up going to Santiago rather than Miami ! Toll-free so no problem for me. Anyway, Mr. Fuentes advised that the voucher still shows "used" and that he would check further on why there's been a delay in the processing and credit to my credit card. I'm to be emailed within 72 hours. Hmmm.

Follow-up with LAN Airlines & the Travel Voucher

You may recall that on the flight from Santiago to Easter Island (17 Nov) I was involuntarily downgraded from business class to economy. This was due to the airline over-booking business class. In fact, LAN Airlines has a history of overbooking flights in general but to IPC in particular. While I can appreciate that this makes good business sense, it isn't pleasant to be on the short end of the stick. Still, the airline got me on the flight as planned and I received a credit voucher for either US$120.00 (applied to a credit card) or USD$400.00 for use toward future LAN travel. I opted for the former.

On Easter Island I visited the local LAN office (11/20) and waited (wasted) over an hour before my number was called. There, the agent "processed" my request to have the US$120 credited to my Amex card. "It could take up to five weeks for the credit to appear on the statement," I was told. To date there has been no credit received.

Working with LAN Airlines has been exceedingly difficult. I was finally able to access the information online and get a voucher number, something I wasn't given by any representative. The status showed the voucher to be "active." Finally I got through to a LAN representative, Oscar, who "processed the request" and again I am to watch for the US$120. to appear on my Amex card within the next five weeks or so. Time will tell.

Even if this transaction results in the appropriate credit on my Amex card, I have to say, for the record, that my overall experience with LAN Airlines has been a disappointment. In terms of carriers within the oneworld airline alliance that I flew on, this airline is clearly the weakest link. It's unfortunate since they are the only airline flying to Easter Island and frankly, I wouldn't mind returning to visit the island again sometime. Suffice it to say that I'll be prepared for this ahead of time and be much more pro-active.

Commemorative RTW Poster

To commemorate this unique adventure I decided to have a select number of photographs incorporated into a poster (20" X 30"). Amazingly it wasn't that difficult to do and it makes for a fun remembrance to have hanging on a wall at home.

Fond and lasting memories, stories to tell and who knows, maybe even a travel article for a newspaper of magazine are all part of the experience that this unique trip of a lifetime has afforded me and will continue to do in the future.

Meanwhile, thank you for taking the time to share in this experience. I hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me.

Bon voyage!

Future Travel Plans - RTW Again?

Hard to believe that it has been a month already since I returned from my around-the-world adventure. How time flies even when you're not having as much fun as while traveling.

Not long after my return home, my insomnia kicked back in and on one occasion the thought of doing another RTW trip could not be purged from my thought process. Good grief. Try as I might to forget about having 210k Delta SkyMiles just sitting there in my account, I could not! It was like money burning a hole in my pocket. So at 2:45 a.m. I got out of bed and turned on the laptop to begin plotting the route. By around 5:00 a.m. I'd worked out enough of it to return to my bed and fortunately I fell back asleep.

SkyTeam is another airline alliance (it includes Delta) and they too have sufficient member airlines to afford one the opportunity to fly around-the-world. The number of miles required for business class (do you think I'd travel any other way?) currently is 280k so I'm in need of at least 70k before this gets serious. They do not have a maximum permitted mileage requirement but do have a maximum number of stops: six. That's the rub. (Using the oneworld alliance I could travel up to 50,000 miles with lots of stops along the way). Nevertheless, there are always ways around travel restrictions for those who are creative.

Without a doubt I want to return to Australia (and improve my "arrival" from what it was this last trip) and fortunately Delta flies the route non-stop from Los Angeles. Sydney was very fun but I might try and also get to Perth this next time; even a return to the outback. From there I'd head for Seoul, Korea where I have only transited on a connection years ago. Korean Airlines would be the carrier both from Sydney and then continuing on to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I've lived in the middle east but not in this particular region and have been fascinated by Dubai for many years. Several classmates from college days at F.I.T. live in the region so perhaps I could visit them as well. Next stop, via Kenya Airways, would be Nairobi and it will be a hub of activity. While it seems doubtful that I would be fit enough for a climb up Kilimanjaro as my friend Matt did in 2009, I wouldn't rule it out completely. From NBO I'd like to visit the surrounding area but also the island of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, the island of Madagascar, perhaps the Seychelles and maybe even a visit to Victoria Falls (depending on the season and water flow at the falls). Sounds ambitious, I know, but I like to dream big and then let reality take its toll. Some type of "visit-Africa" pass would have to be purchased which no doubt would be for economy class travel -- yikes! Then it would be off to Johannesburg but again, only for the connecting flight on Air France to Paris, hopefully aboard another Airbus 380 (engines are not made by Rolls Royce, so there should be no problems). I saw the aircraft both times I transited JNB on the last trip. Paris would be for a short visit much like London was this last time. (If AF were to pull the aircraft from that route I'd fly directly from NBO to Amsterdam and stay there for a few days). Once again, I'd go to South America, but this time a return visit to Buenos Aires is my preference, at least for the moment. I love the city, despite some difficulties I had there in 2006.

I know, I know, you probably think I'm crazy but, hey, planning something like this is much easier the second time around! Perhaps I'll find someone who wants to share the experience with me in person this time, versus via some blog. There will be no back-packer lodges or similar on this trip although I'd certainly look into Airbnb again. And it's not as though I'm leaving next year. Well, it's unlikely.

And after this? One last return visit to Antarctica; a more extensive one than the last.

Wish me luck! Best wishes to everyone for a Happy New Year/Decade!

A Plug for British Airways, Sort of ...

Actually, I wasn't too happy with BA for a number of reasons. First, they charge US$90 to reserve a specific seat in advance of the 24-hour normal check-in time (and that's in Club World, business class; more if flying in first, less for economy). Still, I was able to reserve an aisle seat on the upper deck for the flight from JNB to LHR (window would have been my preference). Second, while their business class seats have the 180 degree lie-flat seat feature, the configuration is strange. Aisle seats face forward and window seats face aft. There is a translucent partition between the seats but when it isn't in the raised position, such as for take-off or landing, the two passengers are face-to-face. It's awkward. Finally, when it was time to board the flight at JNB, we were all put onto buses and taken to where the aircraft was parked. No jet bridge and no separate boarding for business or first class versus economy passengers. The throng of 300+ people climbed the two sets of air stairs at once. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence or not at JNB. Did I really mind all of this? Only the first item, but I lucked-out. I love being on the tarmac with the sights, sounds and smells!

What's my point here? Where's the "plug for BA"? Here: I just learned today that somehow my American Airlines Advantage frequent flyer account was credited with 5,620 miles, plus 1,405 bonus miles for a total of 7,025 for this flight from JNB to CPT! And this was on a "free" frequent-flyer ticket! I printed a hard copy of the statement. We'll see if the mileage credit is withdrawn at some point in the future. And I won't contact BA asking why they didn't credit me for the mileage JNB-CPT-JNB.

My RTW Carbon Footprint

While I'm not very knowledgeable about carbon footprints and how they are "offset" I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of impact my RTW travels had on planet earth.

To begin, I went to the website Carbonfund.org which describes itself as "leading the fight against global warming." There's a nifty calculator which you can plug in data pertaining to your home, car, flight, bus/train, etc. For this exercise I only chose the flight category and plugged in my itinerary. The result: 8.93 tons of carbon or 17, 860 pounds. The air segments that did the most "damage" were: MSP - NRT @ 1.16 tons; HKG - JNB @ 1.20 tons; JNB - LHR @ 1.02 tons and MAD - SCL @ 1.21 tons. This pertains to the high mileage for each segment. Carbonfund claims that the average American has a carbon footprint of 50,000 pounds per year pertaining to emissions for home, car, travel, etc. So in one month's time and for air travel alone I produced 36% of that annual 50k. Oops! Now I'm afraid to do the math for the other components.

The website calculates that my impact for travels could be offset by paying $89.30. I'm not clear exactly on how paying this money would make a difference. Besides, I don't have the money to spend at the moment. Still, it's good to keep all of this in mind, I guess. Think of all the people who fly more miles than I did this time around. The fact that I don't fly 50,000+ miles every year made me feel better after this little exercise.

Blog Updates

Well then, I've been receiving feedback from friends, neighbors and blog readers. They have been waiting patiently for some updates, namely, the Nov. 19 west coast tour of Easter Island. I'm happy to report that the entry has been made and a few others will follow as well.

In checking the stats it appears that quite a few people have been following this blog or at least checking it out from time to time. Most recent count is over 800! My thanks to you all for your support. It makes the associated blog work feel a bit more worthwhile. And another friend recently emailed me claiming to have just sent it out to 200 more people. My goodness!

I'm trying to go through all the photographs I took, clean them up with PhotoShop and prepare them for some sort of slide show or picture book. Don't hold your breath though, this sort of project remains unfinished five years after my last big trip -- the one to Antarctica.