I have finally arrived in Auckland. To my surprise upon landing in Auckland they made an announcement over the plane for me to meet an Emirates representative on the jetway. The Emirates rep. told me my luggage would be sent directly to Cairns and she escorted me to the international transfers area so I would not have to go through immigration. Even without flying on Emirates I was very impressed with their service.

I now sit in the Koru Club awaiting my 7:25pm departure to Cairns. Only a Flyertalker would fly Sydney-Cairns via Auckland

Wow!!

My Emirates flight was delayed by at least 2 hours because someone put a dent in the door. I was worried about making a flight on a second ticket to Cairns that left Auckland at 7:25pm. Emirates offered to fly me directly to Cairns but then I would have no way to get back to Auckland on March 12 since my award ticket would be cancelled if I didn’t board the flight to Cairns in Auckland. Katy called US Airways for me and had the agent search for a return ticket from Cairns to Auckland if the first was cancelled due to a no show in Auckland. Right before she was about to book it Emirates wisked me away to Air New Zealand where I was rebooked on a flight that would allow me to make my “connecting” flight in Auckland. At this point I told Katy to forget making the reservation and the agent who worled so hard to find availability may now be out to kill her.

Fast forward to boarding Air New Zealand to Auckland. The flight attendant recognized me from a flight I took back in December!!!

So now I sit in 1K on a 767 sipping champagne praying my checked bag makes it though I have the essentials in my carry-on should the checked bag not make it.

THANKS AGAIN KATY!!!!

This will be a quick update since I am writing it from my Blackberry.

I have just arrived in Sydney and the flight down here was wonderful!! We actually made extremly good time, it usually takes 14.5 hours but it only took us a little over 13 hours. The flight crew was wonderful, even better than the flight crew in December.

I was awake at 4:01am Auckland time which was when we crossed The Date Line and it instantly became my birthday!!

More later, the shower is calling my name…

I am back at SFO after a fun filled afternoon in downtown San Francisco. I went down to Pier 39 to get a bite to eat and then visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art or SFMOMA as they call it, which had a variety of wonderful exhibits including a photo exhibit from the Middle East….VERY interesting!!

I am now sitting in the United First Class Departures lounge sipping champagne and having a lite snack. My flight doesn’t board for another 2.5 hours so I’ll have plenty of time to indulge myself and shower up before my 14.5 hour flight to Sydney.

United First Class Departures Lounge

Lite Snack

I have arrived in San Francisco and will spend the rest of the day here. I have stored my carryon luggage and checked by checked luggage with United. A few things on the agenda include In-N-Out, Clam Chowder down by Pier 39, the Museum of Modern Art, and a visit to Chinatown.

The flight from Salt Lake City – San Francisco was a CR9 Regional Jet opperated by Sky West. My upgrade did in fact clear and I had a wonderful conversation with the two SLC based flight attendants. They may have convinced me to book a ski trip in Salt Lake this spring as it seems the ski season will extend into May!!!

More later, out and about enjoying San Fran!!

My morning began at the ungodly hour of 4am and I made the 90 minute drive up to the Charlotte Airport through the rain. Everything went smooth and was right on time even though the security line was a tad longer than usual. My flight to Salt Lake city was on Delta and as always I was quite impressed. There was quite a bit of turbulence for the 1st hour of the flight (or so I was told as I slept right through it!) Breakfast was a “breakfast tortilla” which had a nice southwest flavor served with a side of salsa. Yummy!! I now sit in the Crown Room Club await for my upgrade to clear on my flight to San Francisco. So far I am #1 on the list so it’s looking good. See ya in San Francisco!

Breakfast on Delta

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA
I’ll be spending March 9th – 12th in Cairns, Australia at the Cairns Hilton. While in Cairns I will go diving on the Great Barrier Reef which should be an incredible experience especially since I have never been diving before. The next day I will take a tour which includes a train ride into the rain forest, a visit to the Koala Gardens where I will get to hold a Koala Bear (YES!), and then take a Sky Tram over the rain forest and visit the Tjapukai Cultural park. My 3rd and final day in Cairns will most likely be spent relaxing poolside or at the beach!

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
This time I will only spend the night in Auckland at the Auckland Hilton which is built out on a pier and resembles a cruise ship.(Very Cool!) The following morning its back to the airport and off for FIJI!

NATADOLA BEACH, FIJI
I will be spending March 13th – 15th at the Natadola Beach Resort in Fiji. The resort is located on Natadola Beach which is rated one of the top 25 beaches in the world by Conde Nast Traveler! While in Fiji I hope to explore the island a bit and see the true Fijian culture.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZELAND
My last night Down Under will be spent back in Auckland. This time I will stay at the Auckland Westin in the Lighter Quay (pronounced “key”) district which is a nightlife hotspot!

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
While I will only have about 5 hours in Sydney before taking my transpac flight to San Francisco I will most likely head down to the harbor for a tasty lunch and soak up the last bit of the southern summer sun before heading back to the northern winter.

Friday March 7th
Delta #904
Charlotte – Salt Lake City
Depart 7:50am Arrive 10:31am

Delta #4022
Salt Lake City – San Francisco
Depart 11:10am Arrive 12:15pm

United #863
San Francisco – Sydney
Depart 10:20pm Arrive 7:50am +2 (Sunday)

Sunday March 9th
Emirates #418
Sydney – Auckland
Depart 10:15am Arrive 3:15pm

Air New Zealand #773
Auckland – Cairns
Depart 7:25pm Arrive 9:50pm

March 12th
Air New Zealand #772
Cairns – Auckland
Depart 2:10pm Arrive 9:55pm

March 13th
Air New Zealand #852
Auckland – Nadi
Depart 7:20am Arrive 9:25am

March 15th
Air New Zealand #857
Nadi – Auckland
Depart 7:05pm Arrive 11:10pm

March 16th
Air New Zealand #103
Auckland – Sydney
Depart 9:00am Arrive 10:30am

United #870
Sydney – San Francisco
Depart 3:15pm Arrive 10:35am

Delta #650
San Francisco – Atlanta
Depart 2:05 Arrive 9:39pm

Delta #1878
Atlanta – Charlotte
Depart 10:44pm Arrive 11:48pm

Flight Route — 29,383 miles!!

Back in May 2007 an amazing deal came about. United Airlines released a mistake fare from San Francisco (SFO) to Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) via Sydney (SYD). This was no ordinary mistake fare, this was a full fare Business Class fare eligible for an upgrade to First Class….for CHEAPER than Coach Class!! Needless to say this was something I could not resist. On this particular trip I will be visiting two areas. The first half of my trip will be spent in Cairns, Australia where I will dive the Great Barrier Reef and hold a Koala Bear! The second half of the trip will be spent relaxing on Natadola Beach in Fiji.