(no subject)

[skyring]

Another quick report. I'm back in Australia now. Just waiting in the lounge at Sydney for my flight to Canberra. Had a very welcome shower.

Tomorrow I'll chase up my points from Qantas - they credit their own flights almost as soon as the plane lands, but other airlines (and the Marriott in Toronto) take their sweet time.

Let's see. Aer Lingus could take some lessons from American Airlines. American Airlines could learn from Qantas. And Qantas needs to study under Cathay Pacific.

Comments

[gir1fromipanema.livejournal.com]

Wow. Welcome home! And thanks for being "all over the place". I am seriously contemplating following in your footsteps (maybe not a 20 flights ticket, but an Australia-and-back ticket with a few stopovers). But first, off to the Welsh/English border in July.
Hey, and I still have a Tim-Tam (note singular) left!

[teotakuu.livejournal.com]

Welcome home. It has been wonderful travelling vicariously with you and i even ate a couple of tim tams in your honour.

I am sure you will sleep well whne you finally get inside your house, that is, if they haven't changed the locks or moved while you were gone!

Thank you Pete for your service to BookCrossing. You are the living proof that we need to inspire us to extend our idea of what is possible.

Good on yer, mate.

WB!

[woosang.livejournal.com]

We missed you! Enjoy our lovley Autumn/winter weather, its been lovley releasing weather!

[allysther.livejournal.com]

Good to see you (almost) home.

[martip.livejournal.com]

Welcome home, weary traveler! Sadly, I am out of TimTams. I am drinking coffee this morning from a lovely TimTam mug, though - for which I thank you! :-)

[sirroy.livejournal.com]

Did you get a tim tam mug? As well as tim tams?

Hmmmmm!

[elhamisabel.livejournal.com]

Glad to have someone who checked the airlines for us less-tr<avelled people. ;-)

[reggiesgirl2.livejournal.com]

Home again, home again...

I've enjoyed travelling along with you via your LJ posts. Thanks so much for that. I'm sure you're quite happy to be back in Australia though. It's fun to travel and see new people and places but there's no place like home. :)

[martip.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I'm cuter than you, so it's understandable. Perhaps if you had hugged him? ;-)

[sirroy.livejournal.com]

I notice you waited 'til you were on home soil before you started slagging our national carrier!

[danadoodle.livejournal.com]

welcome home, pete. is been fun globetrotting with you.

[dubnordie.livejournal.com]

Should I mention that Tesco's now sell TimTams (at least on "the mainland" (ducks!!!!))

[alphabetsalad]

Welcome home! I've really enjoyed reading about your travels. :)

[thebiblioholic.livejournal.com]

You can get Tim Tams mail order from http://www.everythingaustralian.com, which is what I do when I run out of the ones I bring back from Australia.

[rarsberry.livejournal.com]

I bet you and your family are glad you are home again.
Its been great reading about you travels, hearing you on the radios and seeing you so happy in photos.

[wombles.livejournal.com]

Welcome home! What a great bookcrossing experience! I've loved following your journey everywhere!

[skyring.livejournal.com]

My attendance at the UnCon is problematical. I can do one trip on points (I'm looking at the UnCon in July and Chicago in October) but not both. We'll see.

Maybe you could find a ticket that gets you to Australia by way of the UnCon? Australia in midwinter is quite tolerable - it's really only Canberra and the Snowy Mountains that get below zero. You'd find places like Sydney very pleasant. And as it's the off-season for us, maybe you'd find a good price.

[holmesfan.livejournal.com]

I'm reading this so much later that there is not much new to say just echo all those others who've enjoyed your postings as much as I do. BookCrossing is so lucky to have you as an ambassador, and that you paint such evocative pictures of all you see and do.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us all.
Look forward to seeing you in Wellington next February, and perhaps in Adelaide.

[skyring.livejournal.com]

I call 'em as I see 'em. To be fair, I shouldn't judge a whole airline on short hops. My two British Air flights this trip weren't much chop. One was Jersey to Gatwick on a 737 and the other was Birmingham to Frankfurt on a little commuter jet.

Naturally on all four flights service was pretty skimpy.

Then again, my Qantas flight Sydney-Canberra last night was barely an hour. We just got to altitude when the captain ordered the crew to prepare the cabin for landing. And they managed to serve a light meal on crisp linen with water, wine and coffee. I was impressed, but there was NO way I had time for the coffee. I joked that it was "the Cabin Service Olympics" and the stewardess replied that sometimes it was a case of serving a meal and saying "Here's your indigestion, hope you enjoy it!"

I'd really have to see what (say) a transatlantic flight was like.

And also to be fair, I found that a couple of the American Airlines weren't quite as pleasant as I'd like. Seems that corners are being cut and it's the poor old economy class passenger who has to accept the decline in standards.

I've grown up believing all the Qantas propaganda about it being a really great airline, but I have got to say that after flying Cathay Pacific, Qantas just isn't in the same league. Cathay Pacific goes in for serious pampering!

[thebiblioholic.livejournal.com]

I've done the transpacific flight on several different airlines: Qantas, Air New Zealand, United Airways. Qantas takes top place. Air NZ felt a bit more cramped though they did have excellent food. Some of their 747s are older models with few amenities while others are the more modern ones with in-seat video on demand. United wasn't bad. I recall Singapore Airlines was good too on south east asian routes. Air Nuigini was excellent on a NZ-AU hop. Transatlatic British Airways is great, significantly nicer than American Airlines. For flights across the continental US, I used to enjoy the legroom on American Airlines, but I've noticed that United's Economy Plus flights are even more comfortable, though again, flights across the country tend to not have the fancier in-seat electronics but just tiny CRTs suspended above the aisles at periodic intervals.

[skyring.livejournal.com]

The long routes like the transpacific one are those where you really feel the details. I can endure just about anything for a short time - like the hop from Guernsey to Jersey in a Trislander where I was wedged in very tight with my carryon luggage on my knees - but after fourteen hours you notice tiny shortcomings with crystal intensity.

Cathay Pacific had the Video on Demand screens and they were brilliant. I loved being able to pause and rewind when meals were served. And what meals!

I can see a lot more of my future travel going through Hong Kong!