United Mileage Plus 1K, Dinner & Reading

Leaving San Diego commuter airport, this flight took me over 100,000 paid miles on United Airlines.  With awards and flying on other airlines, I am at ~115,000 miles for 2013.


Electronics during the entire flight allows for nice pictures.

Later that evening, CPU up front with cold dinner.

Read How Good Do We Have to Be? by Harold Kushner.  Good, though somewhat rambling, book about guilt.  The author tied in family and the Bible.  Worthwhile read for just about everyone.

United Overbooking To Kansas City, All Flight Electronics

Weekday flights from Newark (EWR) to Kansas City (MCI) have been overbooked.  EWR-MCI is a United Express flight, with fewer seats that a mainline aircraft.  Gate agents have paid $500 travel voucher to multiple passengers for taking another flight.

FAA decided to allow small electronics to remain on during takeoff and landing, in airplane mode.  United is rolling this out while United Express is continuing to have passengers completely turn off electronics.

United Frequent Flier Platinum Status

I received the United Platinum qualification kit for 75,000 flight miles.  The kit included the standard promotional literature, luggage tags, and a few drink vouchers.  I would rather have a United Club entry voucher, instead of the onboard drink vouchers.

I started reading The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.  He pulls from research to present statistics, and list of mindset attributes.  A "supportive wife" is certainly an indicator.  I didn't like how the book read like a daytime "news" TV show - tell me what I will read next, read it, then recap it.  I felt like I was endlessly re-reading, which annoyed me so much I stopped reading the book.  With good editing to reduce the page count by at least half, this book could be an enjoyable and informative read.

UA, $186, 3.2 cents per mile

United Airlines
$186.30
5,721 miles
6 segments
3.25 cents per mile
2.65 cents per mile with United's Premier minimums

Take Amtrak train from Newark to the Philadelphia 30th station (ZFV).

Wide availability in January, 2014.

SAN-SFO-EWR-ZFV-EWR-LAX-SAN

The Body Language Handbook

I enjoyed reading The Body Language Handbook by Gregory Hartley and Maryann Karinch.  Frankly I don't remember any of the points in the book, though it was interesting while I was reading it.

Boeing 787 Flies Again

Boeing's changes to the 787 batteries have been accepted by the FAA.  The battery changes include a containment box, and venting outside the aircraft.  In-use batteries and controllers will be replaced.

Lithium ion batteries have a history of overheating.  By their nature of having high power density, the batteries can be dangerous.  Relying on these batteries for the 787, instead of proven older technology batteries, was a risk that was not needed to achieve most of the airplane design benefits.

With two onboard 787 fires this year, Boeing's estimate for battery mean time to failure was radically incorrect.  These changes are designed to protect life after a problem, not to prevent the problem.  I won't feel comfortable flying a plane with this technology for years - if ever.

The problem of lithium-ion batteries overheating is not new, and consumer groups and the aviation safety communities have long been concerned. Battery packs contain cells that sometimes contain microscopic metal pieces, which can become overheated when they come into contact with other components.

UA, $198, 5.1 cents per mile

United Airlines
$197.60
3,858 miles
4 segments
5.39 cents per mile
5.12 cents per mile with Premier minimums

Decent fares from Florida to Colorado.  While this is a same day itinerary, overnights are also available.  Miami (MIA) has similar fares.

TPA-DEN-MSY-IAH-TPA

A few years ago, United Airlines brewed decaffeinated coffee.  For the past few years they used Starbucks Via, a nasty instant decaffeinated coffee.  The brewed Starbucks coffee tasted as expected.  Last summer, due to a person on United's board of directors, the coffee brand changed to Kova.  The Kova instant decaffeinated coffee is nasty.

Boeing 787 Grounds United Flights

United Airlines, along with other airlines, had plans to run the mid-size, long-range, and fuel-efficient Boeing 787 on direct routes that would allow higher revenue and higher margins.  With Boeing unable to find the root cause of the battery issues, airlines are forced to delay the new routes.


Boeing 787 grounding puts cities in costly holding pattern
In early December, Japan Airlines started direct Dreamliner service four times a week between San Diego and Tokyo. It was a major coup for San Diego to establish the direct service to Japan. To make it happen, the San Diego Airport committed $750,000 in marketing support and discounted landing fees for JAL at an estimated cost savings of $351,000.
Two weeks after the Dreamliner grounding, JAL resumed direct flights to San Diego using Boeing 777 planes in its fleet.
...
Because the Dreamliner is smaller than other long-haul wide body planes like the 777 or 747, it is particularly well suited to connect midsize cities that may not be able to generate enough traffic to consistently fill a larger plane. It's the reason so many airlines are attracted to the Dreamliner. Opening new long-haul routes in new cities is one way airlines plan to grow revenue over the next 10-20 years.


Pictures of some of the marketing support provided by the San Diego airport:

Firefighting On Planes

With a focus on the Boeing 787 batteries, this article discusses firefighter training and response.  Of important note is the difficulty of accessing the larger Airbus 380.

Fighting Fire on the Runway

"The goal is to provide a means of egress," he said. "They might be all foamed up when we're done, but they'll be alive."


Airplanes burn quickly, especially if fires are fed by jet fuel from engines and ruptured tanks.


Among issues for firefighters: A standard 24-foot ladder isn't enough to get on top of the wing of an A380, so should trucks carry 34-foot ladders that require extra manpower? What if booms on trucks can't reach the top of the three-story cabin to break through and spray foam?
"Everything is twice as challenging on the A380," said Alan Black, head of DFW's Department of Public Safety.


Firefighters used hand-held thermal imaging cameras to find a softball-sized heat signature, according to Chief Donahue.

UA, $313, 3.8 cents per mile

United Airlines$312.40
8,473 miles
4 segments
3.75 cents per mile

SFO-EWR-SJU-EWR-SFO

San Francisco to Paris

This is a decent price for a direct flight from San Francisco to Paris on United Airlines.

United Airlines
$1047
11,166 miles
9.4 cents per miles
2 segments

SFO-CDG-SFO

$1054
11,863 miles
8.8 cents per miles
3 segments
This books into L class, available for a promotional mileage bonus.
SFO-CDG-IAD-SFO

Register for the 50% mileage bonus at united.com.

UA, $256, 4 cents per mile

United Airlines
$255.50
6,343 miles
5 segments
4 cents per mile
$137.12 per segment
 
MCO-FLL-IAD-SAN-IAD-SAN

With elite minimums, 6,665 miles at 3.8 cents per mile.

Red Eye to NYC

Complimentary upgrade on red eye to New York City.  Dinner of cold salads was just right.  This bumped me into 60,000 United Airlines PQM for 2013.

Sunrise over New York City

San Diego Construction, Paint Peel

The San Diego airport parking is under construction.  Unfortunately for travelers, signs inside the airport have not been changed.  For example, this sign indicates hotel shuttle pick-up is to the left (toward the United terminal).  Hotel shuttles are only allowed to pick up across from the terminal, so travelers should cross the street right here and should not go to the left.

Walking to the commuter terminal in San Francisco, I saw a couple planes.  Would I board the plane on the left with the peeling multi-tone paint, or the plane on the right with the white paint?

Boarding the United Express plane with peeling paint.

Cannery Row

I enjoyed reading Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck.

The 1945 printing of the book.

I particularly liked this part:

    Hazel kicked sand on the fire.  "I bet Mack could of been president of the U.S. if he wanted," he said.
    "What could he do with it if he had it?" Jones asked.  "There wouldn't be no fun in that."

When I see people chasing status and material objects, I wonder if they are getting what they thought they wanted.

Pick-Up Etiquette

When picking up travelers you haven't seen in a couple years, first clean out the car interior.  Bags of recyclables and hub caps are not what your visitors want to find in the seats.  Notice how the guy is simply staring at the trash bag on the passenger seat.

Click for larger images.

Linchpin

Read Linchpin by Seth Godin.

A couple notes from the book:

Page 95
Nobody cares how hard you worked.

Page 103:
The discipline of shipping makes it happen, even if imperfect.

Sad Stories

When boarding in San Diego, I sat next to a lady, apparently in her late-50s, who had a foot problem and a cane.  She quickly explained to me how she "lost out on 15,000 miles in two months" when she could not travel.  It was really sad to hear her describe her measure of self-worth (time in airplane seats) and then to exit the plane by hobbling up the jetway, refusing help with her roller bag.
A week later on the commute from San Francisco to San Diego, I sat beside a younger Polish immigrant sales lady who told me the finer details of why the Starwood hotel points program is better than the Ramada hotel points program.  This seemed to be her big interest.

It is sad to watch people take their frequent flier status (time away from home status) too seriously.

Couple Books

Got out of town and read a couple books.  And TSA security theater took another of my pocket knives.

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina could be reduced to a paper.  Many chapters were more like a research idea of untested ideas.  It annoyed me how the author, when describing an event of a person, always used glowing terms to describe the person.  Enough sucking up, please.  If you haven't read this book, go ahead and skip it.  Simply do some quick reading about studying in a similar way/environment as where you want to remember something, and eat good foods.

The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Corporate Corruption was a decent follow-on of his previous "Confessions" book.  The rehashing of previous stories may not be loved by those who read the previous book.  Tying in history and world events was enjoyable.

UA, $137, 5.9 cents per mile

United Airlines
$822.70
13892 miles
6 segments
5.9 cents per mile
$137.12 per segment

Decent mileage run to Oslo, Norway on a long weekend.

SFO-IAH-EWR-OSL-EWR-IAH-SFO

Two Books

Did a couple days of round trips this week which puts my 2013 tally over 9,000 miles.  One upgrade to United's BusinessFirst in the new 737 cabin.  The ceiling blue daylighting was neat, the dinner was reasonable.  Seats were okay, and in-seat power was useful.  Carpet squares were lifting up, so that could be fixed.

Annoying to have to ask to be put into economy plus seating, rather than the gate agent doing it automatically.


Read The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.  Enjoyable fast read about surviving various scenarios.

Finished reading The Complete Illustrated Works of Lewis Carroll.  It was nice to read all of the stories.  Breezed through the poetry near the end of the book.

Book Drive

Read the book Drive by Daniel Pink.

The author describes how intrinsic motivation can be better than extrinsic (like money) motivation.  The book length was about 1/2 padding.  He glossed over contradictions.  I was disappointed in the book and the wild and somewhat random use of italics.  Anyone interested in the subject could spend less time and money by reading a few blog posts on the subject.

UA, $3414, 17.6 cents per mile

United Airlines
$3414.30
19452 miles
6 segments
17.6 cents per mile
$3242 per segment

Segments over water are BusinessFirst.  USA segments are First.

MIA-ORD-LAX-PVG-LAX-EWR-MIA

UA, $184, 3.3 cents per mile

United Airlines
$183.90
5653 miles
6 segments
3.3 cents per mile
$31 per segment

COS-IAH-LAX-PHX-SFO-IAH-COS