My Travel – Page 5

Seat 31B Is Being SSSSed!

March 1, 2015March 23, 2015 TProphet1 Comment

On the last two flights I have taken, operated by two different airlines, I have been selected for additional security screening with the dreaded SSSS on my boarding pass:

You really don’t want a boarding pass with this designation

What does this mean? Possibly nothing. Sometimes people are randomly selected for additional screening. Lightning could have struck twice. On the other hand, it’s possible that my frequent and unusual travel patterns (at least, unusual for anyone who isn’t a travel blogger) have aroused the suspicion of the TSA. Or maybe it’s the destinations I’m visiting. After all, my last two trips have been to Turkey and Dubai. I did enter my Global Entry number both times, but was still selected for additional screening.

What is involved in additional screening? More time and hassle. You don’t get access to PreCheck or any expedited screening. What’s more, the TSA takes you aside after your regular screening, goes through your bag manually, and takes several test strips to run through a machine. You’re also required to undergo a thorough manual pat-down (the same one that they give you if you refuse to be screened by the machine). Eventually, they will stamp your boarding pass and you’re allowed along your way.

In case you slip through, your airline double-checks for the TSA stamp on your boarding pass to ensure that you have gotten the additional screening. And if you’re traveling *into* the United States, it’s even more hassle. You’re separated from the rest of the passengers at the gate, everything you have is manually searched, you’re manually patted down (and your shoes double-checked), and you’re finally let on the plane. At least you get early boarding as a bonus, though; this is done to ensure you don’t mix with anyone else in the terminal.

The TSA has a redress program. Shortly after 9/11, I was constantly getting flagged with SSSS. I have a very common name, and apparently one of the thousands of people who share my name is on some sort of watch list. I participated in the redress program before, and the problems magically stopped. So, I’m not sure whether this is a recurrence of the previous issue, or something else. I have submitted an inquiry with the TSA, and hopefully the issue will be resolved soon.

Update: I’m definitely “on the list.” I suspect this happened because I traveled to Turkey via a circuitous route–the sort of route that would only be taken by either a shady character or someone trying to use frequent flier miles. It’s not unusual for me to be questioned by border agents about my unusual travel patterns (which are either a result of crazy routes I have to take in order to fly on points, or routes I’m flying because of mistake fares), but it’s definitely the first time I’ve apparently been put on a watch list as a result of this!

An Armenia Retrospective – And An Inspiration

January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 TProphet1 Comment

A little over a year ago, I took a trip that was pivotal in my own life experience. It was to Armenia and Georgia. When I got back, I had to share the experience–it was that incredible. It’s also one of the most detailed trip reports I have ever written, and ultimately, this experience led me to start Seat 31B.

Since the trip report was originally posted to FlyerTalk, I’m leaving it there. However, I cordially invite readers to view the whole trip report here: Armenian AAdventure – DUS-DME-EVN

To the glory of Socialism!

A 2014 Retrospective

December 27, 2014February 16, 2015 TProphet2 Comments

I’m writing to you from Seattle, where I’m celebrating the holidays with my family. I won’t be taking any more flights in 2014. Here is ultimately where I traveled in 2014:

What a year!

So, in the spirit of New Years’ retrospectives, here are my top memories of 2014.

Most amazing bargain: Definitely the Alitalia round-the-world fare widely assumed to be a mistake fare. I traveled all the way around the world for (effectively) under $219.

Most unexpected development: I ended up with Delta Gold Medallion status because I booked so many bargain fares with them. Normally riff-raff like me are filtered out, but because I lived outside of the US during the period in which Medallion Qualifying Dollars are calculated, I was exempt from the usual spending requirement. So, while flying around on sale fares, I got to enjoy some fancy airport lounges that are most definitely not a normal part of the Seat 31B experience.

Most surprising destination: Ecuador. An amazing, beautiful, friendly and ridiculously under-visited country in South America. I was able to visit on an incredible Aeromexico introductory fare of under $400.

Scariest travel moment: Getting really sick in Yunnan, China, near the Tibetan border. The only hospital within 100 miles that supposedly treated foreigners had no English-speaking doctors. I ended up booking the next flight out to Bangkok, the nearest city with international-standard hospitals, and heading to Bumrungrad Hospital. Fortunately, after an extensive series of tests, the doctors informed me that I had a bad case of heartburn. The total hospital bill? Under $300, fully paid by my travel insurance.

Most interesting city: It’s a toss-up between Beijing, my always exciting and vibrant home of 3 years, and Mexico City. However, Mexico City wins. I was amazed how surprisingly modern it is, how fashionably people dress, and how much there is to do. Honestly, if you didn’t know better, you’d think you were in Paris or Madrid.

Most stressful travel experience: Traveling through Italy and The Netherlands with my parents, who consider a trip to Vancouver, Canada (3 hours’ drive from their house) to be an exotic foreign vacation. Why was it stressful? Not because of them–they were surprisingly adaptable and really good sports–but because I cared so much about ensuring they had a memorable experience. It was a surprisingly smooth trip overall, my careful advance planning paying off, and it helped that my parents had really done their homework. These countries turned out to be almost perfect for first-time visitors to Europe.

Most unusual airline flown: It’s a toss-up between NOK Air in Thailand (a low cost carrier who paints their planes like cartoon birds) and Aeroflot Russian Airlines. No issues in either case, both got me safely to my destination!

Worst flight delay: 3 hours and 30 minutes, Cathay Pacific, between Vancouver and New York.

City visited for the shortest time: A tie between Hong Kong and Vancouver. I visited Hong Kong twice for 5 hours when flying Cathay Pacific between Beijing and Hong Kong. This is enough time to go into the city and have a very nice Cantonese dinner. I visited Vancouver on a layover between Los Angeles and New York (I flew via Vancouver to use the Cathay Pacific flight from there to New York).

Most scenic drive: Zagreb to Dubrovnik via Neum, Bosnia. If you love great drives, the Adriatic coast will not disappont.

Most luxurious travel experience: Business class, British Airways, Seattle to London. Normally I wouldn’t book this, but I didn’t have any flexibility on dates, times, or the type of points I was redeeming. And I was traveling to my graduation (I completed an MBA in 2014), so I didn’t mind splurging a little.

Least luxurious travel experience: Careening down an Ecuadorian highway locally known as “Carretera de Muerte” (Highway of Death) in a van full of singing Germans with dodgy brakes and no working seatbelts. I didn’t really fear for my life–the driver knew the road–but I was really glad when the 3 hours of bone-jarring gravel and potholes were over.

Most friendly people: Thailand, without question. The warm hospitality of this country is almost unmatched in the world.

Least friendly people: Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow, Russia.

Most unusual lodging: A 19th century mansion amid some of Denmark’s most beautiful gardens, converted to student housing. I slept on a couch in the public area, rented to me on airbnb by the friendly and enterprising student occupants.

Most inexpensive lodging: Backpacker Hostel, Koh Samui. It was around $8 per night, an incredible bargain for a bunk in an air conditioned room.

Most expensive lodging: $78 per night in London at the DoubleTree Heathrow. There just wasn’t anything cheaper since most hotels were full.

Best airport: Copenhagen International Airport, Denmark. Clean, modern, and easily accessible. It’s a pity that more flights don’t connect here.

Worst airport: Surat Thani Airport, Thailand.

Best airline: Bangok Airways. They let all passengers use their airport lounge and it’s actually pretty nice. Comfortable seats and good service.

Worst airline: Transavia. Surly staff and the inflight entertainment was a bizarre video of the flight kitchen in which sandwiches are made. Definitely unappetizing!

And there you have it, my retrospective of 2014. It has been an incredible year, and I can’t wait for 2015!

My Top Five Reverse Culture Shocks

December 3, 2014December 3, 2014 TProphet0 comment

I spent 4 years living, working and studying outside of the United States. Sure, expats keep up with the news in the US, but you end up seeing your home country mainly in snapshots and viewing it through the lens of the media. The country you grew up in thus becomes an exaggerated caricature, even more so than its larger-than-life culture already is. If you’re a thoughtful person, and most expats are, you know that this is going on and you adjust your expectations accordingly. So I was prepared for the general incivility of public discourse (which stands in sharp contrast to the expat community, which almost universally demonstrates the very best of American culture), and the outright stupidity of politicians (whose constituents deserve far better). I was even prepared for the police brutality here, which resembles the feared and loathsome force of “urban management” officials in China known as Chengguan.

But nothing could have prepared me for the sheer number of extremely obese people. I see them everywhere. Or Seattle traffic, which would probably lose a race to molasses. Or … well, read on. Here are my Top 5 reverse culture shocks:

1. Everything tastes too sweet. Bakery goods contain much more sugar than in most places abroad (particularly Asia), but it’s not just these. Juices are flavored with high fructose corn syrup. Ice cream is more sweet. The amount of sugar in a cupcake will knock you off of your chair. Even the sauce in pizza has almost as much sugar as a jelly doughnut. No wonder everyone is getting diabetes, people are just consuming way too much sugar.

2. You can’t easily walk anywhere. With the exception of a few US cities such as New York and San Francisco, it’s really hard to walk anywhere. I miss the convenience of just popping next door for fresh vegetables any time I wanted them, or easily stumbling home after an evening in the pub with friends.

3. I live in my car. Public transportation in the US is generally pretty bad, and this is especially true in Los Angeles and Seattle (the places where I spend the most time). Because I can’t actually walk anywhere to get things done, I end up having to drive all over the place. So, I end up paying a lot more for transportation than I did living abroad.

4. Shopping is less expensive, but you have to buy more stuff. Because there isn’t a national sales tax in the US, most things are cheaper in stores. However, this doesn’t mean that I’m actually any better off, because the things these taxes pay for (e.g. health care and public transportation) don’t exist. So, living in the US overall costs more.

5. People are just unbelievably fat. I mean, folks like you see in People of Wal-Mart just don’t seem to exist in other countries (with the possible exception of Mexico and the UK), but you see this all over the place here. Is it because of all of the stuff above? Probably. I personally get way less exercise here in the US and have been gaining weight since I returned.

The Epic Transatlantic Armrest Battle

October 4, 2014October 4, 2014 TProphet0 comment

I just flew 13,588 miles from Los Angeles to Paris to Copenhagen to Amsterdam and back. The whole trip was flown in economy class and I only narrowly avoided Seat 31B. It truly was the worst seat in the plane on two separate legs of the journey, even though the aircraft types were different (Boeing 737 and Airbus A380). In fact, it’s so bad that KLM reserves the whole row 31 for crew use only. Instead, I was seated one row forward in Seat 30C for two legs of the journey. Somehow, I even scored an aisle seat.

Seat 31B is the one in the middle. It doesn’t recline.

Exceptionally pleased with my good luck, I stored my carry-on luggage with an almost smug attitude on the final leg of my journey. It was a monster long leg, a nearly 12-hour flight from Paris to Los Angeles on the A380. Now, I was flying on an “attack fare,” and expected that something awful would likely happen. After all, apart from taxes, the seat was nearly free. I paid only $555 for a roundtrip flight from Los Angeles to Copenhagen on Air France, tacking on a cheap intra-Europe flight to Amsterdam with KLM so I could fly on a single itinerary (and avoid bag fees). It was the final leg of the journey, and I really couldn’t believe my good luck. A direct flight to the West Coast on an A380, and I didn’t even have to sit in the middle!

Seat 30C on the Air France A380

I took my seat, but a few minutes later I knew there would be a problem. A diminutive woman leaned over to me. “Would you like to sit by the window?” she said, a statement more than a question. “No, actually. I prefer the aisle, thanks,” I said. The woman started to crawl over me to her seat–clearly a novice flyer. “Please wait, I will get out, you can take your seat,” I said. “It’s OK, I can climb over,” she said, but I nimbly got out of the way and she was able to take her seat (she never really got the idea; it became a race the entire flight to get out of my seat before she tried to crawl over me). Just as I started to sit down, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was her son. He was nearly 7 feet tall, a pile of gangly limbs with a tall pile of dreadlocks atop his head.

Now, the ceiling in the A380 is tall, but between this guy’s height and his crazy hair, the reading light was actually blocked! The other issue was the fact that he didn’t fit in his seat. At all. His diminutive mother sat in her window seat unmolested while this guy tried to wedge himself into his seat. Finally, he lifted the armrest. “Let’s leave this up for the flight,” he said, literally half of his body occupying my seat. “Let’s not,” I said. “It doesn’t work very well to do this when I lean back to sleep, and by the way, not to be annoying, but there isn’t actually room for me to sit in my seat.”

He adjusted himself, contorting his body into perhaps the most painful stress position I’ve ever seen–rivaling those the CIA perfected at Guantanamo–and managed to clear most of my seat. Unfortunately, his body still protruded into my seat, right elbow and knee and shoulder, everything hard and sharp periodically bumping into me as he tried to remain squeezed in his seat, limbs occasionally popping out of their stress positions to jam into me. Young people being independent, he didn’t want to try to share his mother’s seat, so everything moved gradually in my direction.

It was a *long* roundtrip in economy class

I lived for 3 years in Beijing. I am used to close quarters, and if you don’t learn to be tolerant of uncomfortable situations and inexplicable delays, you’ll just go crazy there. I learned to be more patient, and I’m still pretty patient–I haven’t been living in Western society long enough to lose patience, empathy and good humor. Still, this was an armrest battle on steroids. The battle in this case wasn’t over who had the armrest–trying to share it would have entirely been a lost cause–but whether the armrest stayed down and my seat-mate remained in only his seat. Every time I left my seat, I’d return to find the armrest up and half of my seat occupied. I mean, I didn’t blame the guy. I really sympathized. It isn’t his fault that airplane seats are designed to be a tight squeeze for Chinese people, let alone people who are nearly 7 feet tall. Still, leaving the armrest up just wasn’t going to work for me. I couldn’t exactly stand up for the whole flight.

In the end, I got almost no sleep. This was one of the longest and least comfortable flights I’ve ever taken. I honestly can’t even imagine what it was like for the guy next to me–a cruel, sadistic 12 hours of torture (gate to gate) no doubt. I think there really needs to be a better solution than this. The sizes of seats and people keep moving in opposite directions.

Do you have to fight for your whole airplane seat? Comment below!

Off The Beaten Path In The Netherlands

September 28, 2014September 28, 2014 TProphet1 Comment

I spent nearly a year living and studying in The Netherlands, and am often asked for advice on what to see and do there. The Netherlands (often incorrectly called Holland) has a lot to see for such a small country, and it’s easy to navigate. It’s also a terrific gateway to Europe, because there are a large number of flights (including on low-cost carriers) into Schiphol airport. Although Dutch people speak their own language, they’re very linguistically versatile. Nearly everyone speaks excellent English (younger people especially so), and they usually also speak German. So, The Netherlands is a great first country to visit in Europe–or a great first country to visit in general.

If you visit The Netherlands, you’ll probably end up on a boat at some point.

Unfortunately, none of this is really a secret. The Netherlands is one of the most-visited countries in Europe, and for good reason: it’s home to some of its most famous museums and attractions. During the tourist season, The Netherlands is besieged by visitors, not only from North America and Europe but also from Asia. For a small country with only 14 million residents, the top attractions can become very crowded indeed. And for some reason, even though there is no shortage of places to visit in The Netherlands, everyone seems to flock to the same ones.

As I sit in Weesp, having enjoyed an idyllic and beautiful fall Sunday in a picture postcard Dutch town with nary another visitor to be seen, I am amazed that more people don’t make it off the beaten path in The Netherlands. Haarlem, a very similar city, is besieged by throngs of tourists, the restaurants and shops charging inflated tourist prices. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a Belgian beer in a sunny sidewalk cafe for a mere €4.50 this afternoon, while watching the locals enjoy the day in their boats.

Sidewalk cafes in Weesp are every bit as nice, but just half the price of Haarlem

It’s not just idyllic country towns that are great to visit when you go off the beaten path. Every weekend, planeloads of visitors descend on Schiphol and head straight for the Red Light district in Amsterdam. If you’re looking for a party, this is one place to go, but not the best place. Despite the marijuana and prostitution, it’s a pretty relaxed, organized and tame place. It’s really crowded though, with the high prices you would expect in a really popular area. Personally, I skip the Red Light District. As a guy with a fairly serious DJ hobby, I’m into electronic music, and the best music and parties are in the young, vibrant city of Utrecht. For half the price of an evening out in Amsterdam, you can see much better DJs and have a lot better time at an Utrecht dance party. It’s also a beautiful city, known as the “city of lights” in The Netherlands and famous for the elaborate light displays along its canals.

The party is at the end of this tunnel.

How about art? Everyone knows about the famous Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. However, did you know that there’s an astonishingly large Van Gogh collection at a museum you have probably never heard of? I think the seldom-visited Kröller-Müller Museum in Gelderland is a lot better than the Van Gogh Museum, even though it’s less well-known. It also has an incredible sculpture garden. It’s best if you rent a car to get there, but if you do, you might just have the place to yourself.

One reason that many people don’t venture far from the beaten path is the perceived complexity of public transportation. However, in reality, Dutch public transportation is one of the easiest systems to use in the world. It’s really only complicated if you’re trying to pay cash or use a non-European bank card. The Netherlands has a unified transportation payment system called the OV-Chipkaart. It works in literally every bus, train, subway and tram in the country. All of them, everywhere. You can buy one at the NS train ticket sales counter at Schiphol, and it will make your life incredibly easier. Public transportation is relatively expensive in The Netherlands, so 50 euro goes fast! Reloading is easy with cash or a credit card at any train station with a ticket counter. You can also reload your OV-Chipkaart at ticket machines, but this only works reliably with a European credit card with chip and PIN.

Scan your OV-Chipkaart on the reader

Using the OV-Chipkaart is remarkably simple. Just scan it before (or as) you get into the bus, train, train or subway. When you leave, scan it again. You’re charged by distance, and the fares add up quickly. Transportation in The Netherlands is expensive! That’s why you see everyone riding a bicycle; you will pay to be lazy. Your account will need a minimum balance of 20 euro to board a NS Railways train (which is why it’s best to start with 50 euro on your card), but you usually don’t need any minimum balance to board a subway, tram or bus.

It actually gets even better than this. You only need one way to plan travel in The Netherlands: either the Web site or smartphone app 9292. You can easily plan a trip between any two locations in the country and all methods of public transportation are covered. You can even find out the cost in advance. Content is all available in both English and Dutch. Yes, it really is this easy. The best way to search is by postal code, if you have it. Note that every single address in The Netherlands has its own unique postal code.

The weather can change suddenly, even if it’s nice where you just were. Bring an umbrella!

Are there more hidden gems in The Netherlands? Of course! Some of my other favorite cities are Groningen, Maastricht and Den Haag (The Hague). Each has a very different personality. Groningen is famous for squatter dwellings, warehouse parties and graffiti art. Maastricht has winding cobblestone streets where you can find an absolutely perfect cup of fine Dutch Espresso, sipping slowly and watching the world go by. And Den Haag is a rabbit’s warren of serendipitous discoveries, with some of the most interesting and unique shops in the country.

But I have really only scratched the surface. For such a small country, there is a lot to enjoy in The Netherlands. Take the train to a place you’ve never heard of, rent a bicycle (possible for a few euro at most train stations) and go explore! You might be amazed at what you find.

How Much Did Priceline Pay For That Room You Bid?

September 12, 2014September 13, 2014 TProphet0 comment

Last week, I was in the Bay Area on some business travel. In my real life, I’m the founder of a tech startup. We’re not yet funded, so my travel budget is usually somewhere in between sleeping in my car and tent camping. I figured I could probably couch surf on my last trip, but that didn’t end up working out for most of the nights. I did manage to couch surf for two nights, but I also tent camped for a night and ended up in hotels, booked through Priceline, for two nights. For my Priceline room nights, the actual amount that Priceline paid was unintentionally leaked to me. This is normally very closely held information so it’s nice to get a rare inside look at the data.

Why not camp out to save money? China Camp State Park, California

So, a few words about Priceline, just so you know what I’m talking about and why this is special. Priceline sells hotel rooms through a number of channels. You can make a traditional reservation at the normal, published rate. Priceline receives a commission for handling the reservation just like any other travel agency. They also offer “express deals,” which allow you to choose a hotel by price, date, zone, and star level, with the name of the hotel revealed after you select a specific one. This works pretty much the same way as Hotwire, another popular “opaque travel” site. The best deals in the hotel business, however, are through Priceline’s “name your own price” offers. These work pretty much the same way as “express deals,” but you bid for a room and hotels within the zone can choose to accept your offer or not. In all cases, the amount that you actually pay bears little resemblance to what was either bid or advertised. Taxes and fees are lumped together and added on at the very end (just before you pay), which can inflate your bill by 20% or more. It’s a shady tactic, but just about everyone does this for hotel rooms.

When you use the “name your own price” method, I found out that the actual amount being “bid” to the hotel isn’t the same as you bid on Priceline. It’s actually a lower price. I was able to obtain data proving this in two cases (although it was provided to me inadvertently). For two different Bay Area rooms in separate properties on separate dates, Priceline pocketed about $10 per room night and refused bids that would have resulted in a lower profit. I still saved a lot, but less than I expected.

For the first Priceline room night I booked, my winning bid was $60. The actual price I was charged, after my bill was larded up with taxes and fees, was $76.21. However, the hotel made an error and revealed the price that they billed Priceline. So, I was able to see that Priceline actually paid $65.88 for the room. Their profit on this room was $10.33. It’s worth pointing out that this particular hotel was selling its cheapest rooms for $129 per night plus tax, so the savings were still substantial. However, the hotel was nearly empty and really needed to sell the room. Given how my bidding was structured, Priceline could have sold me the room at a $50 and $55 bid. They held out until my bid was $60, guaranteeing themselves a minimum profit. Priceline thus demonstrated that it would have been willing to let last-minute room inventory spoil rather than selling it at a reduced profit.

For the second Priceline room night I booked, the results were nearly identical. I ended up with a $55 winning bid, which was unscrupulously inflated to a total of $69.64. The amount that Priceline was actually billed by the hotel, in data inadvertently leaked to me, was $61.56. So, in this case, Priceline’s profit was $8.08, and I bid for the same room–in the same zone–at $50 which would have turned a $3.08 gross profit.

So, how much is the minimum gross profit Priceline will accept for a name-your-own-price room night? At least based on my experience, it’s more than $5.33 and probably a little less than $8.08. For a single-night booking, this is actually a pretty slim margin. Priceline, after all, has to pay all of the costs of booking the room and processing your credit card. Still, it’s a little higher than I expected, and finding this data has encouraged me not to bid in even $5 increments. If I think I’m close to a winning bid, I’ll more likely increment my bids by $2 or $3 rather than $5.

Part of the value proposition to hoteliers in listing with Priceline is that it’s a good way to liquidate last-minute unsold inventory, albeit at a steep discount. Priceline, however, has demonstrated a willingness to allow inventory to spoil rather than to sell it at an (in its view) unacceptably low margin. It’d be interesting to know whether Priceline’s contracts obligate it to accept break-even bids in order to help its partners unload stale room inventory, and how much this actually is (bearing in mind Priceline’s operating costs). If not, hoteliers would be wise to insist upon break-even or better sales when it comes to any “name-your-own-price” sites.

You might be asking at this point “How was this data leaked?” I’m not going to go into details, because this would probably get the hotels involved in trouble. I’m also hoping that more data will continue to leak so I will have more points of reference in order to formulate better bids. I will say that there were no hacks or shenanigans involved. The information was accidentally leaked to me in both cases, and this probably happens fairly often; the difference with me is that I actually knew what it meant.

How I Booked A Round-The-World Trip For Under $219

May 26, 2014June 5, 2014 TProphet1 Comment

Occasionally, airlines will make a mistake when publishing fares. This happens once or twice a year and usually lasts only a relatively short time. This time, two mistake fares happened in rapid succession, one with Alitalia and another with American Airlines, and both the same sort of fare mistake. The Alitalia mistake fare represented a considerably better value and I booked it. I am traveling all the way around the world for just $450.30 in cash and I will earn miles while doing it. This is like paying under $219! Note: These fares are no longer available.

I first became aware of the mistake fare when I saw a tweet from @TheFlightDeal alerting me to it. If you’re not using Twitter to find good deals on flights, you’re really missing out! The people behind this particular account are really, really good. They research and publish exceptionally low fares to a number of destinations. In this case, they didn’t find the deal; someone who posted on FlyerTalk in the Mileage Run Deals forum did. However, they published it quickly after it was posted. Note that for mistake fares, minutes matter. You need to move very fast or you usually will not be able to get them at all.

In this case, the mistake fare was of a type called a “fuel dump.” If you booked a ticket with an Alitalia segment using a particular fare construction on Priceline, the fuel surcharges were not included on the ticket–just the actual fare and taxes. And this presented an incredible opportunity. For a variety of reasons (most of them involving tax dodges and none of them particularly scrupulous), airlines publish very low fares, and most of the cost of a ticket is billed as a “fuel surcharge.” If you can find a way to book a ticket without paying the surcharge, you’ll often end up getting a really inexpensive fare. Generally speaking, airlines have to honor mistake fares if they originate or terminate in the United States. Taking your money and issuing a ticket constitutes a contract in the US, and airlines can’t get out of a contract just because they wish they hadn’t entered it. After all, if you want to get out of the contract, airlines don’t offer any flexibility either.

To get this particular mistake fare, you had to start in Los Angeles or New York, fly at least half of the itinerary on Alitalia-marketed segments (note this doesn’t mean you had to fly Alitalia, just on flights using their flight number), travel into either Milan, Prague, or Budapest, break your journey with a stopover and/or an open jaw, and finally end up in an Asian city. And obviously, this was a one-way fare only. “Fuel dumps” tend to be complicated things like this, where at some point the creaky legacy systems that price and sell tickets break down and something important (like a fuel surcharge) breaks out of the “fare construction,” as it is called in industry parlance.

The upshot? I’m flying from Los Angeles to Boston on Delta, changing to Alitalia flights onward to Rome and Budapest, staying a week, and then continuing on from Budapest to Beijing on KLM and China Southern via Amsterdam (with a 22-hour layover in Amsterdam, enough time to visit friends). The total fare was $362.90. This is actually not the cheapest fare that was offered; some people were able to arrange one-way journeys to Asia (typically from New York to Milan and then onward to Tokyo) for as little as $127. Most of the exceptionally low fares like these involved a lot of searching, with the risk that the deal would die at any moment. I worked very quickly, grabbing tickets for dates that I knew would be personally good for me and booking immediately before the deal disappeared, which turned out not to be a major concern. This particular deal stayed alive for over 24 hours. All of the tickets issued are being honored, no matter how low the fare, and they even qualify for frequent flier credit.

Incidentally, American Airlines made the exact same mistake with fuel surcharges–to the same part of the world–the very next day. Fares to eastern Europe clocked in as low as $500 roundtrip, depending on your originating city. The fuel surcharge was dropped when at least one segment of the journey had an American Airlines flight number when traveling on a US Airways flight. This problem was fixed within a few hours, but not before hundreds of cut-rate tickets were sold.

“So,” you may ask, “That’s great, and congratulations, but you’re ending up in Beijing. Unless you’re moving there, what is your plan to get home?” This is where miles and points can come in very handy, as long as your frequent flier program allows ticketing one-way awards. I currently have miles and points with the Alaska, American and Avianca programs which allow one-way ticketing. However, I am just short of the number of American Aadvantage points required for an economy ticket from Beijing to Los Angeles, and I am also short in my Avianca LifeMiles account because US Bank hasn’t credited my account with the promised 20,000 bonus miles for their credit card signup. While Avianca would let me buy up to the number of miles required, it wasn’t a very attractive option, so I decided to use my Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.

The best one-way option to the US from China on Alaska Airlines is by flying Cathay Pacific. It costs only 30,000 miles for an economy-class seat from Asia to the US. However, I just flew in Cathay Pacific economy class last week from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, and it wasn’t particularly comfortable. Part of this was due to the very obese woman next to me who insisted on putting her dirty feet on the bulkhead the whole way while spilling into my seat, but part of this was the 10-across seating, indifferent service, and poor food quality. However, for 35,000 miles, Alaska Airlines offers an award in Cathay Pacific premium economy–if you can find the space. This isn’t easy to find, and Alaska Airlines doesn’t publish Cathay Pacific space online. You have to call, and it’s really “hit or miss” (mostly miss) with the agents when you call them. They are all friendly and will typically go out of their way to help you if you know exactly which flights you want, but they aren’t always particularly good at searching for award space.

If you join the British Airways Avios plan, you can search for availability on Cathay Pacific. I am a member (with zero miles in my account), so I began my search. Predictably, there was no availability on Cathay Pacific when searching PEK-LAX:

Typically, this is the type of search that an agent will perform when they look for space availability. They will feed the computer your starting and ending airports and if no award pops out, they will tell you that there isn’t any availability. However, what happens if we search a different way? Let’s first look for availability between Hong Kong and Los Angeles:

Now there’s suddenly availability, and there is even a seat in premium economy! We now know we can get from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. All we need to do is get from Beijing to Hong Kong in order to complete the flight. Unfortunately, this isn’t particularly easy on a Cathay Pacific award, because most flights between Beijing and Hong Kong are operated by Cathay’s Dragonair subsidiary. There are only two Cathay Pacific flights per day, and you can only use those with an Alaska Airlines award. Also, the earliest Cathay Pacific flight on Sunday morning arrives after the morning flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles leaves.

Hmm. If you spend less than 24 hours in Hong Kong, it’s a layover, and not a stopover. This is a very important distinction. Could I go from Beijing to Hong Kong on Saturday and enjoy a visit to Hong Kong as well?Why yes, I could! I called Alaska and booked it. As I expected, the Boise-based agent was very friendly but had never booked such a complicated itinerary before and had no idea what the rules were. I opted to book in premium economy, which is a rare excellent value. If you paid for this fare, it is priced at about $1,000 more than an economy class ticket, but costs only 5,000 extra miles. For a nearly 17-hour flight, the upgrade is actually worthwhile (I almost never consider an upgrade worthwhile, but in this case, I believe it was). The best part? Alaska Airlines allows a stopover anywhere in North America that they serve, as long as your continuing flight is only on Alaska Airlines flights, and it’s available at the “saver” award level. Since I knew I needed to go home to Seattle for Christmas, I added on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle on Christmas Eve. Alaska had plenty of “saver” economy level availability for this flight. So, my award is technically from Beijing to Seattle with a stopover in Los Angeles, and cost me only 35,000 miles and $102.90 in taxes and booking fees.

I will receive 12,828 Delta SkyMiles for this journey, which is halfway to a free domestic roundtrip ticket. I value SkyMiles at 1 cent per mile, making the effective cost of the ticket $128.28 less. As a special bonus, I also received a free one-way ticket home for Christmas which would otherwise have cost me $119. This more than offsets the redemption cost of my Alaska Airlines miles!

Overall, this is like paying only $218.52 and 35,000 Alaska Airlines miles for a round-the-world journey of 22,276 miles, with the chance to visit five different cities. This will be my first time flying Alitalia, my first time flying in premium economy, and my second round-the-world journey this year. I can hardly wait!

Riding Ordinary Trains In China

May 18, 2014May 21, 2014 TProphet0 comment

Although you can fly a lot of places in China, you can’t fly everywhere and flights to many remote destinations are extremely expensive. Additionally, flight connections aren’t necessarily convenient. If you’re in the densely populated eastern part of China, the extensive network of high-speed trains can quickly and efficiently get you to your destination at a very reasonable price (a typical route is Beijing to Tianjin, a distance of about 220km, which takes about 30 minutes and costs $8). However, if you’re traveling in more remote parts of China, you may be stuck with traditional, ordinary trains as your only option.

With high-speed trains there are three classes: executive class, first class, and second class. There isn’t really much difference between the classes so I always recommend taking second class, which is considerably less expensive. There is, however, a very large difference between the classes on ordinary trains and a substantial difference in fare.

While high-speed trains have fares that are relatively close to discounted airfares on routes where airlines compete, the fares for ordinary trains are very cheap. For example, traveling between Kunming and Dali, a 6 hour journey, costs as little as 61 RMB (about $10). However, the cheap fare will (theoretically) buy you a spot on a bench in a non air-conditioned car sitting with Chinese farmers, who will likely be playing cards and spitting sunflower seeds on the floor. Your seat may be covered by sacks of rice that the farmers refuse to move. This isn’t very comfortable for most Western travelers, or even Chinese people who live in urban areas. Both tend to steer clear of the “hard seat” class. There is sometimes also a “soft seat” class, which buys you a bucket seat in a crowded coach which may or may not be air conditioned. This typically costs 20% more than the “hard seat” class, but is also not particularly comfortable and best avoided except for very short journeys.

The best part of older Chinese trains is the classes that offer lie-flat beds. There are two classes: “hard bed” and “soft bed.” The “hard” and “soft” designations don’t refer to the firmness of the mattress, which is quite firm in both classes, but the configuration of the car. The “hard bed” class offers bunk beds stacked in a 3-bed configuration, in an air conditioned car, with no privacy. This typically costs about 50% more than the “hard seat” class; you will pay around 100 RMB between Kunming and Dali. This class is mostly populated by Chinese middle-class people. As a foreigner, you can expect friendly and garrulous Chinese people to make simple English-language conversation with you and you may be invited to a game of cards. This is a perfectly reasonable and comfortable way to travel if you are a little adventurous.

For another 50% on top of the “hard bed” price, you can enjoy “soft bed” service. This class of service is in an exclusive car, and you will be assigned a bed in a private compartment with a door that closes. However, there isn’t really any privacy unless you buy all 4 beds in the compartment, because the railway will sell the remaining beds to other people. People who travel in “soft bed” class tend to be other foreigners and relatively wealthy Chinese people. Because there is more privacy and the noise is less, you will get a better night’s sleep. Many of the “soft bed” compartments also have a power outlet so you can charge your electronic devices (as long as you bring a power splitter, because otherwise you’re going to be fighting with everyone else in the compartment over the single outlet). Additionally, there is sometimes a Western-style toilet in the “soft bed” compartment.

Slow trains in China aren’t clean and modern like their high-speed counterparts. They are old, and the cars aren’t being replaced or upgraded because high-speed railways are gradually taking over these routes. It’s almost like being transported in a time capsule back to an earlier time in China. I can still remember my first visit, in 2004, riding the slow train from Beijing to Shenzhen, and how different a country China was then compared to now.

It is nearly impossible for foreigners to buy train tickets in advance, and you will need to know some basic Chinese to purchase a train ticket at the train station. If you cannot speak Chinese, it is best to have a Chinese friend buy the tickets for you online (foreigners cannot easily do this because you need to pay using a Chinese bank account), or to arrange tickets through your hotel (this can almost always be done for a small delivery fee, usually about $3). However, traveling by train in China is a great way to see places off the beaten path without spending a fortune!

Bosnian Border Blitz

April 17, 2014June 5, 2014 TProphet0 comment

I have spent the last two weeks in Zagreb, Croatia. While most of my trip has been for business, I have had the opportunity for some personal travel as well. It’s about a month before the tourist season begins here in Croatia, so good deals are available on rental cars.

One of my favorite sites for booking discount rental cars in Europe is rentalcars.com. All the rates are prepaid and include basic insurance, so it’s relatively easy to avoid upsells. You can also see the rental car agency you’re using, which is different from sites like Priceline that don’t show you that. Better yet, the discounts they offer are sometimes astonishing, at 50% or less of the regular published price. Unfortunately, if you use Enterprise in Croatia, there is some fine print in the contract that is really limiting. They don’t allow you to travel to Serbia, Bosnia or Montenegro, all neighboring countries, unless you pay an additional 50 euro. This is simply a shakedown because the policy already includes coverage in these countries; they just won’t give you the insurance “green card” to prove it so you can’t get the car across the border. You can supposedly get around this by making a 10,000 euro deposit. I would have done this, but the Capital One credit card I used for this particular rental doesn’t have that large a limit (it’s irritating, because almost every other credit card I carry does).

I hate rental car scams and I hate being told I can’t go somewhere. I was determined to get to Bosnia, so I found a loophole. Dubrovnik, Croatia is an exclave and is only reachable via Bosnia through an area known as the “Neum corridor.” If you travel on this route, the Bosnian authorities do not require you to have a “green card” proof of insurance in order to cross. This presented an opportunity, so earlier this week, I made a Bosnian border blitz in order to experience a small slice of a rarely visited country.

The roads in Croatia are excellent, though expensive. It costs about $40 to travel from Zagreb to the Bosnian border. It’s easy to see why; the quality of the roads is similar to that in Switzerland and the route traverses some very challenging terrain. I passed through at least a dozen tunnels of varying length, some up to 2km long.

130km/hr across Croatia

The motorway route isn’t as spectacular as the old route along the coast (or so I’m told), but it was spectacular enough to me. Tall mountains tower over a stark arid scrubland, something that I didn’t expect to see in this part of the world. Roughly halfway, there is a mountain-crowned lake so spectacular that it would be a bustling national park in the United States, but appears to be a simple Croatian holiday village. Finally, I reached the border with Bosnia. A car in front of me was from Montenegro. The answers the driver gave were clearly unsatisfactory because, after a long delay, the car was directed aside and border guards started searching it very thoroughly. My experience was better. “Where are you going?” asked the officer. “Dubrovnik,” I said. “Only Dubrovnik?” he replied, to which I replied “Yes.” He asked “Why do you travel to Dubrovnik?” I replied “Because it is beautiful.” He handed back my passport, smiled, and said “In Dubrovnik the women are beautiful! Now talk to my colleague, he is Bosnian police.” I pulled forward to the next window, where a sour-faced guy scanned my passport into his computer. I asked whether it was possible to stamp my passport, and he handed back my passport saying “No. Now you go out.” I wasn’t interested in arguing the point, so I continued into Bosnia.

I had been warned by Croatians that the road would be terrible in Bosnia, but it wasn’t. One thing that I did think was very interesting was that the road signs had spray paint all over them, clearly obscuring something I couldn’t make out in the dark. However, the path to Dubrovnik was clearly marked. I drove into Neum, stopped at a restaurant for a bad and very expensive dinner where I got ripped off on the exchange rate, and then found an ATM to get some local currency, the Bosnian mark.

Bosnian marks worth about 40 euro.

After my bad experience at dinner (don’t order the “Pirate Style Kebabs”), I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to finding a hotel. However, I was tired and wanted to find somewhere to stay. I drove past the largest hotel (which I assumed would be expensive), and eventually came across a small boutique 3-star hotel called the Hotel Villa Nova. The office wasn’t open but a sign in the window said “we are downstairs,” so I went downstairs and the owner came out. Yes, a room was available, but without breakfast because I would be the only guest. Accordingly, there would be a small discount. The price was 30 euros, would I like to see the room?

Yes, I wanted to see the room. Rooms in Dubrovnik cost at least 3 times that. I had a look and everything was very clean and exactly in order. The hotel caters to Swiss and German visitors, who have very high expectations when they travel. All of the facilities were exactly as I would expect for a 3 star hotel and you can even drink the tap water. My room had a very nice balcony, comfortable bed, and the wireless Internet worked well. Basically, it’s exactly what I would expect of a property that caters to very particular Swiss visitors and it was almost frighteningly clean. Best of all, a spectacular view awaited me in the morning.

Room with a view

After checking out, I went to the post office to mail postcards home, and then to the gas station to fill up the car. There are two gas stations in Neum, but the one closest to the center of town has the cheapest prices (by about 20 eurocents per gallon). Unfortunately they only take cash and they rip you off on exchange rates if you don’t pay in Bosnian marks. Fuel is about 30% less expensive in Bosnia than in Croatia, so I definitely wanted to take advantage. I used up the remainder of my Bosnian marks which got me to about 3/4 tank, but I figured that would be enough to get me to Dubrovnik (it was more than enough; I topped off the tank to 100% on my way back to Zagreb).

Heading south toward Dubrovnik, I noticed why there was spray paint on the road signs. The Bosnian government apparently uses both Roman script and Cyrillic (in a nod to the Bosnian Serbs). Cyrillic script is thoroughly unacceptable to the local population, who are ethnically Croatian, so every trace of Cyrillic has been meticulously blacked out throughout the entire Neum corridor. This part of Bosnia was not spared the violence of the Serbian-Croatian war in the early 1990s, and even physical scars remain. The psychological ones will take longer to heal.

Bombed out building, Neum waterfront

If you’re faced with unreasonable restrictions from your rental car company, consider a visit to Neum if you’d like a taste of Bosnia. It provides a very affordable alternative to expensive accommodations in Dubrovnik, and is only an hour away.