Tuesday, January 13, 2009

And you think I'm crazy?

I know some of you think I'm crazy because I take extra trips (usually with beer involved) just to keep my high level of Frequent Flyer status.

Well, this grasshopper bows to The Master...

This past year Aeroflot made an error in loading fares into the worldwide reservation system: Dubai (via Moscow) to Toronto, in Business Class for about $1000. Aeroflot is a member of SkyTeam which means miles can be earned on Northwest, Delta, Continental, etc.

So The Master bought 3 round trip tickets back to back, plus a round trip from Central Minnesota (where he lives) to Dubai to get things rolling (and, of course, to get home)

He did this from January 1 to 11th. Except for a couple of half day or so stays in Dubai, he spent that whole time either on an airplane or in an airport. The Business Class lounges in Dubai and Moscow had showers, so that was taken care of. They also have food and drinks plus he was fed quite well on the flights. I have an image of Aeroflot flying aging Tupolev airliners with spartan service, but it turns out they fly mostly modern Airbus planes and even a few Boeing 767's and their service is on par with any modern airline. Who knew?

He flew across the Atlantic 8 times for nearly 58,000 air miles, and with Business Class bonuses, he earned over 78,000 status miles to reach Northwest Worldperks Platinum level (the highest published level in their frequent flyer program.

I am humbled.

You can read The Master's day by day trip diary here

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