Spherical-the-world SAS EuroBonus problem half 4: 6 European airways and Aeromexico

A day after Christmas, I began the ultimate stretch of the SAS EuroBonus million-point problem, the place I’d find yourself taking 20 flights on 16 completely different SkyTeam airways over the course of 25 days with a purpose to nab 1 million SAS EuroBonus factors.

My first leg was a jaunt from Portland, Oregon, to Seoul, South Korea, through Seattle on Delta Air Traces, Korean Air and Garuda Indonesia. From there, I visited Bali earlier than taking Vietnam Airways to Ho Chi Minh Metropolis and on to Hanoi, Vietnam.

My third week included stops in Taiwan, China and Thailand adopted by an in a single day within the United Arab Emirates. I flew a mixture of carriers together with China Airways, China Jap Airways, Xiamen Airways, Kenya Airways and Saudia.

Lastly, it was time to go to Europe for what could be a whirlwind climax to my journey, flying seven completely different airways over the course of only a few days and ending my odyssey in Mexico Metropolis.

I had solely hit just a few snafus up to now, together with one flight that I couldn’t credit score to my SAS EuroBonus account (and thus would not rely towards the problem). That meant rescheduling some flights, including a last-minute spherical journey between the U.Ok. and Norway on an airline I hadn’t deliberate to fly, after which hoping every thing else would run easily because the clock ticked all the way down to 2025 and the tip of the problem interval.

Would I make all of it occur underneath the wire? Here is the conclusion to my round-the-world journey and the issues I realized alongside the way in which.

I used to be very excited to expertise Virgin Atlantic from Dubai Worldwide Airport (DXB) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) since this may be my first time flying the airline. As a result of my Kenya Airways flight from Guangzhou, China, to Bangkok had been delayed by a day after which didn’t find yourself counting towards the SAS problem resulting from a fare code problem, I had pushed my Virgin Atlantic flight up by a day in order that I’d have further time to take an extra flight as soon as in Europe.

Examine-in at Dubai was seamless, and I upgraded to an Financial system Delight seat for the additional legroom — these seats have 34 inches of pitch versus simply 31 inches within the common financial system seats.

It simply so occurred that the seat subsequent to me was free, too, so I knew I’d be comfy on this 7 1/2-hour flight.

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As soon as on board the Airbus A330-900neo, the vibe was very upbeat. Because it was the day after Christmas, they had been taking part in some latest Sabrina Carpenter releases and different Christmas pop hits.

There was one primary meal served on the flight shortly after takeoff after which a day tea service about 90 minutes earlier than touchdown. For the primary meal service, there was a particular Christmas dinner or a vegetarian possibility. I went for the Christmas dinner, which included turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and a few assorted greens. It wasn’t a home-cooked Christmas dinner, but it surely obtained the job accomplished at 30,000 ft within the sky.

Along with nonalcoholic drinks, passengers had been additionally provided complimentary wine, beer and spirits, even in financial system.

There was Wi-Fi, but it surely didn’t work in any respect throughout all the flight. The inflight leisure was stable, nevertheless, with a wonderful number of content material, together with loads of new-release films.

The afternoon tea service was close to the tip of the flight and included a cheese sandwich, a scone and a drink of my alternative.

After the tea service, I used to be fairly embarrassed as a result of I fell into such a deep sleep that the flight attendants needed to wake me up in any case the opposite passengers had deplaned. It had been an extended few days on the highway. I assume these Financial system Delight seats had been extra comfy than I assumed, too.

For the 2 nights I spent in London, I stayed on the Renaissance London Heathrow Lodge for slightly below $100 an evening. I used to be upgraded to a deluxe room, which was small however a lot spacious for one particular person. The lodge did have spectacular runway views, and I obtained to see varied plane taking off, together with a number of Airbus A380s.

Flights 14 and 15: Scandinavian Airways

The morning after my Virgin flight, I arrived again on the airport for a same-day spherical journey to Oslo Airport (OSL) aboard SAS Airbus A320neos. This was a last-minute addition to my itinerary since I needed to make up for my Kenya Airways flight not incomes credit score. I had booked my ticket on Kenya Airways by way of Amex Journey and assumed that it could not be a primary financial system fare since American Specific would not are inclined to promote these, however for some cause, that is what I ended up with and there was no approach to treatment it. So, off to Oslo I headed!

The safety course of at U.Ok. airports appears to have gotten rather more environment friendly over the previous 12 months. I did not need to take away something from my baggage after I went by way of the checkpoint. Since I used to be simply flying to Oslo and again for the day with a purpose to show I would flown 15 SkyTeam carriers per the problem situations, I did not have any checked or carry-on baggage, simply my backpack and laptop computer. Clearing safety was an absolute breeze.

The outbound flight was full and I had a center seat within the exit row, however a pleasant girl was variety sufficient to let me have the aisle seat so she may sit subsequent to her companion.

The primary flight was quick and uneventful. There was no meal service, however there was a beverage service and a cart did come by with snacks and alcoholic drinks for buy. Should you booked an SAS Plus or Go fare, some snacks and drinks had been included.

There was no inflight leisure, however every seat did have a USB-A port to cost your gadgets. There was Wi-Fi, however as soon as once more, it wasn’t engaged on this flight. At this level, I started to surprise if it was simply my luck on this journey.

The flight again to Heathrow was similar to the primary one, and I used to be on board the identical A320neo that I would flown earlier within the day.

The hourlong hop to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) was aboard an Air France Airbus A220-300, certainly one of my favourite plane. I want extra U.S. airways would add these to their fleets to interchange their ageing regional jets.

This A220 was geared up with USB-C retailers for charging gadgets. There was Wi-Fi, too, however because it was such a brief flight, I did not test to see if it was working. There was additionally no meal or beverage service, although crew members do generally come by way of providing water and snacks on this route.

Flight 17: TAROM

TAROM is by far the smallest service in SkyTeam, with a fleet of simply 18 plane and no long-haul flights in its community. As I discussed earlier, my ticket was booked with Air France, so my bag was purported to go all over to Bucharest Henri Coandă Worldwide Airport (OTP). Nonetheless, that didn’t occur, because it obtained left at CDG.

The flight was additionally delayed two hours and the Boeing 737-800 was exhibiting its age.

Surprisingly, this was the primary time I had flown on a 737 on this journey. Neither the inflight leisure nor the ability retailers labored, so the general flight expertise was lower than stellar.

After I arrived in Bucharest, I needed to file a lacking baggage declare. Regardless of there being two extra TAROM flights working that day from Paris to Bucharest, the TAROM agent I spoke to claimed they could not ship the bag till the subsequent day, and it would not get to me in time as a result of I had a noon flight the subsequent day and I’d already be on my approach to my subsequent vacation spot. So, I requested if they might have it delivered again to the U.S. as an alternative. I’d simply meet up with it just a few days later on the finish of my journey.

Fortunately, I had a few adjustments of garments and every thing I wanted for a day or two in my carry-on. I did not thoughts the imposition a lot, as I’d not need to test baggage in Amsterdam and Madrid, a number of the busiest airports alongside my journey, particularly in the course of the finish of the 12 months. What I assumed could be a reduction ended up being a nightmare, as it could take 5 days earlier than I used to be reunited with my bag. Fortunately, I had certainly one of my journey necessities, an AirTag, inside it.

I may see my suitcase going backwards and forwards between Bucharest and Paris. After 4 days of not receiving it, I needed to name the Air France and TAROM customer support strains and plead with them to simply ship my bag to Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) as I had initially requested. I am nonetheless in search of compensation for the additional garments and toiletries I needed to buy.

Regardless of my baggage points, I used to be decided to take pleasure in Bucharest and spent Saturday afternoon exploring the gorgeous metropolis. I stayed on the Sheraton Bucharest Lodge, paying $81 for the night time, and was even upgraded to a deluxe suite.

Flight 18: KLM

I arrived again on the airport late the subsequent morning. The check-in strains had been lengthy, however that was to be anticipated simply two days earlier than the brand new 12 months.

A KLM Boeing 737-800 was my experience at the present time for the three-hour flight to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS).

The flight was pretty lengthy, so there was a beverage service, with complimentary wine and beer provided, and everybody was given a cheese sandwich that was sadly bland and a dessert. There was additionally free working Wi-Fi on this flight, which was a serious plus for me. The service on this flight was nice, too, pleasant and environment friendly whereas nonetheless leaving passengers in peace for essentially the most half.

The one draw back about this flight was the shortage of legroom, particularly when the passenger in entrance of me reclined their seat. Being 6 ft, 4 inches, legroom is all the time a serious concern for me when flying, and these seats felt a bit tight, although not rather more than you may discover on U.S. airways in coach.

As soon as I landed in Amsterdam, I checked in for the penultimate flight on my journey, a two-hour journey all the way down to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) aboard Air Europa. Examine-in was seamless, and I used to be stunned at how quick the strains had been. I had a while to kill, so I went to the Aspire Lounge, which I had entry to because it’s part of Precedence Cross. I enrolled for Precedence Cross membership with The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Specific, so I can entry greater than 1,600 lounges throughout the globe. It was a snug house, however the meals choices had been scant.

Earlier than I boarded the Air Europa Boeing 737, the gate employees instructed everybody that until they’d bought precedence boarding, all carry-on suitcases must be gate-checked as a result of it was a full flight. Regardless of that, there was loads of house within the overhead bins, and I ended up having to test my bag for what appeared like no cause.

The flight was nice and featured beverage service however no meal. The draw back of this flight was once more the legroom, which was severely missing. Surprisingly, nevertheless, the seat was extra comfy than most because of further padding.

I’ve flown Air Europa a number of occasions, and although it’s a full-service airline and a part of SkyTeam, it feels extra like a low-cost service in some methods, akin to the shortage of meal service and different facilities. That mentioned, the pricing is usually fairly good, and in case you simply must get from one level to a different, it may be an excellent possibility.

Once we landed in Madrid, it appeared as if we taxied for 20 minutes earlier than we lastly obtained to a distant gate, although as soon as we had been there, we had been bused to the terminal and I used to be off to take pleasure in Madrid.

On the final morning of my journey, New Yr’s Eve, no much less, I arrived again at Madrid’s airport for the ultimate flight of the journey, which might be aboard Aeromexico.

Earlier than my flight, I ended within the Sala VIP New lounge (T1), which I accessed with my Precedence Cross membership through my Amex Enterprise Platinum to seize some breakfast. The meals unfold was underwhelming, although there have been each cold and warm dishes. Nonetheless, the house was fashionable and clear and had two outside terraces that had been nice for plane-watching.

Sadly, I’d be caught in a center seat for the 12-hour transatlantic flight to Mexico Metropolis Worldwide Airport (MEX) aboard one of many airline’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. There was one business-class seat that I attempted to buy an improve for, but it surely was unavailable on the market.

The seat was the least comfy I had been in in the course of the European portion of my journey because of the lack of padding and the 31 inches of pitch. That is pretty customary, however given how slim the seats felt and that I used to be caught within the center, it meant little or no private house for me.

About an hour into the flight, we had been served our first meal. We had a alternative of a beef or pasta dish served with a roll, an antipasto salad, cheese and crackers, and a brownie crumble cake. I opted for the meat dish, and it was fairly good, kind of like a stew with inexperienced beans on the aspect.

All of the alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, spirits and cocktails — had been free. There was a menu of all of the cocktails you would order affixed to the tray desk and on the IFE display. This was the primary airline I’ve seen serve tequila in financial system. The beverage cart got here round a number of occasions all through the flight.

I attempted to get some sleep in the course of the flight, however I could not get a wink in my center seat, sadly.

The IFE system had a USB-A port to cost my gadget and was snappy and responsive with a wide array of films and TV exhibits and even some stay TV channels. I opted to look at the second season of “Squid Recreation” on my iPad.

There was additionally a neat function that confirmed all of the locations Aeromexico flies to. There was Wi-Fi, but it surely did not work effectively — a theme of this journey, sadly.

About 5 hours into the flight, we had been served one other meal. There was a alternative between a sandwich and a tortilla stuffed with potato and spinach, which I ended up selecting, and which was served with a salad and a brownie. This was the final meal service, and fairly odd timing for it because the flight was not even half over.

This meal appeared higher suited nearer to arrival at Mexico Metropolis, and serving it later would have given passengers extra time to relaxation. This flight appeared to go by fairly slowly as I used to be stressed but in addition exhausted from flying nonstop for seven days.

That mentioned, a minimum of the service on the flight was wonderful, with pleasant flight attendants passing by way of repeatedly to see if passengers wanted something.

After I landed in Mexico Metropolis, I used to be ecstatic as this daunting journey was formally full, and I may take a break from flying for just a few days.

Last reflections on the SAS EuroBonus problem

After flying by way of so many time zones, it is protected to say my sleep schedule was nonexistent, and I used to be working on fumes. All of the early morning flights and late arrivals had actually exhausted me. I flew greater than 80 hours and 37,000 miles internationally in a brief window of time, which isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. Fortunately, I did get to spend a while in locations that had been on my want checklist and loved some prolonged time in Asia earlier than leaping into the dash a part of the problem, the place I used to be flying every day.

Just a few days after my round-the-world problem was full, I regarded again on the expertise and tried to pinpoint each just a few highlights and a few low factors of the journey.

• Favourite meal: Bibimbap on Korean Air
• Least favourite meal: Tie between Xiamen Airways’ breakfast porridge and KLM’s cheese sandwich
• Most comfy financial system seat: Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330
• Least comfy financial system seat: Tie between Air Europa Boeing 737-800 and Aeromexico Boeing 787
• Friendliest service: Garuda Indonesia, by a (frequent flyer) mile
• Least pleasant service: TAROM
• Favourite airport: Beijing Daxing Worldwide Airport (PKX)
• Least favourite airport: Bucharest Henri Coandă Worldwide Airport (OTP)
• Longest flight: Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) to Incheon Worldwide Airport (ICN), 12 hours and 25 minutes
• Shortest flight: Portland Worldwide Airport (PDX) to Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA), 42 minutes
• Largest airplane flown: Korean Air 777-300ER
• Smallest airplane flown: Air France Airbus A220-300

Most of my flights went easily, with no main delays or cancellations. The one main snafu was that Kenya Airways flight — a cornerstone of my itinerary — not being eligible to accrue factors. Other than that, all my flights have been posted to my SAS account, and I will likely be notified of the outcomes by early February … when my 1 million SAS EuroBonus factors will hopefully be deposited into my account.

Issues I realized

Wanting again, I realized just a few classes on this journey that ought to serve me effectively in case I undertake one other round-the-world problem (although it’s going to be a minute!).

First, I’d not counsel checking a bag, even when you need to undergo a number of climates as I did. I may have saved myself hours at check-in counters and at baggage declare by doing carry-on solely. If given the chance to do that once more, I would strategize about find out how to pack lighter and funds for some lodge laundry splurges.

After I was planning my routing, I assumed beginning in an easterly route from the U.S. to Asia, on to Europe and again to the U.S. could be extra environment friendly. Nonetheless, touring west as an alternative would have been rather more environment friendly, beginning off in Portland after which heading to Mexico earlier than Europe and Asia, and ending up again within the western U.S. As an example, flights from Seattle to Seoul are round 12 hours, whereas within the different route flights are solely round 10 hours.

The three SkyTeam airways I could not fly had been Center East Airways, Aerolineas Argentinas and ITA Airways. The primary and the latter weren’t eligible for the promotion — all the time you’ll want to learn the high quality print of any problem you undertake so you understand the principles inside and outside.

I earned elite standing and a haul of bonus factors alongside the way in which. I began with 0 factors in my SAS account as I hadn’t flown with SAS in additional than two years, and now, not solely will I get 1 million SAS EuroBonus factors, however I earned greater than 24,000 factors from all of the flights I took. That was sufficient to attain Silver elite standing with SAS, which is not going to expire till January 2027.

The largest perk with Silver standing is a 5% low cost on award bookings, which, if utilized appropriately, can virtually get me one other one-way business-class ticket to Europe. Moreover, I’ll obtain an additional checked bag with SAS; 25% extra bonus factors; a ten% larger bid on SAS upgrades; precedence boarding, check-in and customer support; and SkyPriority with an additional baggage allowance when flying on SkyTeam companions.

My Chase Sapphire Most well-liked® Card was my workhorse card for almost all of my journey and eating purchases. Placing all my journey prices on this card earned me a pleasant haul of some of the invaluable transferable currencies. This card additionally waives international transaction charges, so I wasn’t dinged with further expenses for making purchases whereas overseas.

Thanks for tagging together with me on this journey around the globe. Hopefully, I am going to see my million factors in my SAS account sooner than February so I can plan some journeys throughout off-peak journey season to common locations. As soon as the million factors are posted, I’ll write a submit on how I plan to make use of them.

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