Have you already lost your time and/or money to just to fly on a specific aircraft?

ojjunior · Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:17 am

Have you ever paid more or made a longer trip just because you wanted to travel on a specific aircraft?
Have you spent hours at a connecting airport or spent your hard-earned money on a direct route or stopover just because of aircraft A or B?
Of course, I am referring to regular commercial flights only.
Luckily my wife does not read this forum otherwise she would probably know that she had to make some connections or fly at odd hours because of it...
Am I the only one who does this insanity whenever possible?
Do I need to visit a doctor? :confused:

conaly · Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:51 am

I booked British Airways for FRA-LHR-JFK to get my first flights on Boeing 777 and Boeing 747. It was actually a longer trip than taking US Airways FRA-JFK with 757, while the price was quite the same.

Last year I booked NUE-ZRH-DXB with Swiss, but the return flight DXB-FRA-NUE on Lufthansa. The return flight would have been cheaper with LX, too, but LH was using the 747-400 on the route and I took my miles and got myself a upgrade to business just to fly in the upper deck of the jumbo. In October I'll have actually the same situation again: I've booked NUE-ZRH-PEK on Swiss, for the return HND-FRA-NUE I took again Lufthansa, even though they were more expensive. This will be my first flight on Boeing 747-8 and again I used my miles for an upgrade to get into the upper deck.

While I was in Malaysia in 2015 I asked my company to book a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. But I asked them not to book from KUL but from the old KL-airport SZB, so I could fly on an ATR72 instead of a Boeing 737.

So maybe I need a doctor, too

Zombus · Thu Aug 31, 2017 12:14 pm

Sure did!

Best example was my return trip from the Netherlands to Scotland a couple of years ago. I could've just gone the direct AMS-ABZ-AMS. But instead I turned it into a grand tour of the North Sea. AMS-LCY-DND, then train to Aberdeen, and return ABZ-SVG-CPH-AMS. The direct flight takes about an hour one way. My alternative took about a full day one way. But it got me on a D328, a RJ100 and a B717. A no-brainer :-)

It's easiest on (business-related) flights I take just by myself. I'll go out of my way to make it something nice and interesting. I usually spend a couple of evenings going over dozens of options to find the best option. Anything that is not the umpteenth 737 is a good start, but best is including types that I haven't flown before. Second best would be new airports or airlines. But it's mostly new types I'm after. On my last trip, I actually managed to convince my wife that we'd be much better off flying Lufthansa to the US rather than KLM (stretched 'convenience' quite a bit to work as a successful argument) and thus got a 747-8i going out and a A340-600 on the way back instead of KLM's boring A330. No I don't need a doctor :-)

Dahlgardo · Thu Aug 31, 2017 12:56 pm

ojjunior wrote:
Have you ever paid more or made a longer trip just because you wanted to travel on a specific aircraft?

If you're an enthusiast it's a very natural thing to do.
And better do it now than later. Interesting oldschool aircraft types are disappearing fast.
In a few years, planes like 747-400, MD80 and 737classics will be almost gone from most places.

Some years ago in 2005 I booked tickets with Pulkovo Airlines to get to Moscow from Copenhagen and back.
I could have done the same trip for half the money and three times as fast, but I had to try the Tu154B.
I was not disappointed, and got to fly these aircraft :
RA-85835 Tu154M CPH-LED
RA-65144 Tu134A3 LED-DME
RA-85542 Tu154B2 SVO-LED
RA-85204 Tu154M LED-CPH

very shortly there after, the last Tu154B was phased out by Pulkovo, and now it's almost impossible to fly any old school Tupolev on a scheduled flight.

aerorobnz · Thu Aug 31, 2017 12:58 pm

I have done so many times and spent so much money over what the most direct option was I have lost count, nor do I really want to know...haha I have constructed whole routings and holiday destinations solely on aircraft type and airline.This month's trip is a classic example. I started planning the trip as AKL-IAH-ATL-LAX-AKL or similar. It has progressed into AKL-DOH-CDG-ATH-IST-ATL-IAH-ORD-TPE-NRT-AKL to knock off an 77L and attempt to fly BR Hello Kitty.

hispanola · Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:51 pm

aerorobnz wrote:
I have done so many times and spent so much money over what the most direct option was I have lost count, nor do I really want to know...haha I have constructed whole routings and holiday destinations solely on aircraft type and airline.This month's trip is a classic example. I started planning the trip as AKL-IAH-ATL-LAX-AKL or similar. It has progressed into AKL-DOH-CDG-ATH-IST-ATL-IAH-ORD-TPE-NRT-AKL to knock off an 77L and attempt to fly BR Hello Kitty.

That's perhaps the most extreme I've ever seen. How would you even get that routing from a website? Hahaha

I do it often as well, like choosing the MAD-DFW 789 to get to DEN over a cheaper ORD connection. Most of the time, however, I pay to fly airlines I like or prefer over others.

aeromoe · Thu Aug 31, 2017 3:51 pm

Absolutely. All part of being the enthusiast. In Feb I flew solely to Bucharest Romania from Phoenix (via CLT, JFK, and LHR) to fly on a couple Tarom A318s. I also knocked the A340-600 off the list (VS - and flew in the longest and shortest Airbus planes back-to-back). While I was at it in London I flew an SAS triangle route attempting to get all three SAS 737 variants and it worked out: LHR-ARN-OSL-LHR 736, 738, 737. Also on the trip I got AA A330/738 PHX-CLT-JFK and VS 789 LHR-LAX. Final flight home was a DL 717 LAX-PHX. Was a fun trip. EXPENSIVE but fun.

Month later I did a transpac trip solely to celebrate the 40th anniversary of my first flight on a 747, UA 747-122 N4723U, that occurred in 1977. I would love to have done a United trip on a 747 this year but I opted to do a KE routing LAX-ICN-BKK-ICN-SFO so I could get the KE 747-8i to SFO. LAX-ICN round trip was like $1200 but continue on to BKK and the priced dropped to $800...no brainer there. I got the KE A380, A330-300, 777-300 and 747-8i over the course of a long weekend.

Flanker7 · Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:48 pm

No I don't and you all need a doctor. I still prefer the quickest way from a to b. I used to go out of my way to fly types but lately I just want to go direct to my destination.

XAM2175 · Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:44 pm

I flew MEL-BNE and back via SYD quite a few times - at additional time and cost - purely because both legs would be on 763ERs rather than a 738 direct.

My proudest moment though was *saving* one whole dollar by choosing a flight operated by a 744ER instead of one five minutes later operated by a 738... but that did involve checking in an hour earlier and having to clear customs and immigration at SYD in the middle of morning peak so I paid dearly for it with my time :p

jnev3289 · Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:59 pm

I chose to visit Singapore this Summer and part of the influence in that decision was to fly the A350 business product of Singapore Airlines

AC143 · Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:11 pm

Oh absolutely. I am still a grad student so I won't go all the way spending a significant amount of extra money just to fly on a specific type of plane, but if I can for just a little higher price or just longer flights I always try to go on new planes/airlines/airports.

redzeppelin · Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:57 pm

I'm still a little mad at myself for not taking that BZN-SLC-LAX-JFK-NCE-LYS-VIE routing a few years ago... That was my last real chance to get the F70. It was a glorious itinerary. The booking engine treated LAX-JFK-NCE as a single flight (it was a one-stop direct flight # on DL), which made it all fit within the maximum-of-2-connections-on-each-continent rule for the fare. There would have been plenty of time leave the airport and see a few things in NCE. NCE and LYS would both be new airports that I am unlikely to ever visit otherwise. The last segment was on Austrian Fokker 70 under their codeshare with AF. IIRC--it was a late arrival to Vienna, and I had early-morning obligations the next day, after begging my boss to let me take the trip at all, and I was a little worried about making all 5 connections... But I still tried to make it interesting by going BZN-MSP-ORD-FCO-VIE. Seems that I may have chosen wisely to catch Alitalia while I had the chance. I also got some extra satisfaction later in that trip. Between meetings and a conference in Vienna, I took a train to Prague, then flew PRG-BTS on the Czech ATR42. 2 new airports, a new aircraft type and a new airline all at once. The best part was getting a very unexpected upgrade to the back-of-plane business class on the ATR due to my DL/Skyteam Gold status at the time. It was a full flight, and somebody had to sit in the one extra business seat, and I somehow got the prize.

The F70 may have escaped me forever. I also had it booked once for a KLM flight to EDI that was swapped to the E-190 at the last minute... At least I got the F100. My first priority is getting new aircraft types, then new airports, then new airlines.

StlHsvSfoSan · Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:06 am

A few years ago, I bought tickets on UA ORD-FRA (scheduled to be a 747-400 when I bought the ticket) so I could take a flight in the upper deck of a 747. A few weeks after I bought the ticket, they changed equipment to a 777. I probably wouldn't have taken the trip if it had been a 777 when I was arranging the flights. At least I returned on an OS flight (first time on Austrian), and got my upper deck flight a couple years later on KLM.

As far as going out of the way to get on a specific airline or aircraft, or fly to a new airport, I have done that several times. Instead of taking flights that had better and/or easier transfers, I took trips to
- Scandinavia (to get on an AY MD-11) (could have taken more direct flights on SAS)
- Benelux (to get the KLM 747 flights in the upper deck and return in seat 1A) (trip also included flights BRU-OPO-BRU to get on a Portugalia F100) (self-connected at ORD instead of taking easier connections at MSP or DTW on DL)
- River cruise on the Rhine (to get on LH 747-8 EWR-FRA and LH A340-600 MUC-ORD) (self-connections at ORD)
- STL-DSM-LAS-ICT-STL (to add DSM and ICT to my list of airports flown to) (instead of taking nonstop flight)
- STL-YYZ-AMS / AMS-CPH-ORD-STL (to get on an A310 (YYZ-AMS) and A340-300 (CPH-ORD) - this trip I am planning for next May (hopefully all the aircraft stays as they are scheduled now) (I wouldn't be taking this trip if the aircraft types were different)

There are probably others that I can't think of right now.

At least for international trips, I try to get on a new airline and new airports flown to, then decide what to do at the location I end up at.

2Holer4Longhaul · Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:06 am

I try to get new types when I can, but I have 2 limits:

1. My passport has Hebrew letters on the front. If the airline is going to cause trouble with that, I won't be flying.
a. I generally don't risk 5th freedom flights with such airlines either.
2. Haredim are a pain in the arse. They delay flights by refusing to sit, they form makeshift synagogues in the exits, galleys, bathrooms and/or aisles, and they travel in large groups with many little children. Since I fly to Israel a lot, avoiding Haredim is both very important and very hard. I've paid a lot extra to skip over EWR and JFK for it (although I did grab my first A380 this way).
3. If the other conditions are filled, I will go out of my way for spotting. The A350 is my current target. Perhaps I'll merge all 3 by taking CX SFO-HKG-TLV (77W and A359, yay!)

aerorobnz · Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:43 am

hispanola wrote:
aerorobnz wrote:
I have done so many times and spent so much money over what the most direct option was I have lost count, nor do I really want to know...haha I have constructed whole routings and holiday destinations solely on aircraft type and airline.This month's trip is a classic example. I started planning the trip as AKL-IAH-ATL-LAX-AKL or similar. It has progressed into AKL-DOH-CDG-ATH-IST-ATL-IAH-ORD-TPE-NRT-AKL to knock off an 77L and attempt to fly BR Hello Kitty.

That's perhaps the most extreme I've ever seen. How would you even get that routing from a website? Hahaha

I do it often as well, like choosing the MAD-DFW 789 to get to DEN over a cheaper ORD connection. Most of the time, however, I pay to fly airlines I like or prefer over others.

In truth it is a series of oneway tickets. AKL-CDG QR, CDG-IST A3/OA, IST-ATL TK, ATL-IAH UA, IAH-ORD UA, ORD-NRT BR, NZ NRT-AKL. I like to use open-jaw, oneways, and returns. I actually bought a cheap IST-ATL-IST and will discard the return sector too.

brucetiki · Fri Sep 01, 2017 4:51 am

Does forgoing a meal count?

I'm flying ADL-BNE in April, and had the choice of a red-eye or lunch time flight with breakfast/lunch on a Qantas 737-800, or a mid-morning flight with a 'refreshment' on a QantasLink 717. I've never been on a 717 before, so looking forward to the experience.

A couple of years ago I did a short hop from ADL-PLO, which at the time was the only regional SA location where you could choose between Rex and QantasLink (QantasLink now service Whyalla and will shortly service Kingscote). So I paid a little extra to fly on a Rex Saab 340 there, and QantasLink Q300 back. Given the age of the Saab's, that was an experience in itself.

Also did a recent ADL-MEL trip where my plane was switched from a 737-800 to 737-700. I was probably the only person on board that noticed the change, and the associated excitement on being on the 800's smaller cousin.

TWA772LR · Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:27 am

My parents and I did IAH-EWR on UA when the 787s became un-grounded. This was to kick off a trip to the Florida Keys.

Also, my dad and I chose our particular flight on IAH-CRP just to fly on a CRJ-200 for the first time. Ok, yeah I need a doctor!

And when I went to college in Dallas, I tried to get on the flights operated with the Q400.

Lastly, my trip to SYD was cooked up by me mostly to fly on a 747 for the first time. Then inadvertently my friends and I had to fly QF back because UA was oversold and we're given the choice of SYD-LAX or DFW. We took LAX to fly on the A380. So far my only A380 ride!

hoons90 · Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:33 am

DUS-AUH-ICN-AUH-FRA to get the Etihad A340-500. Paid around $150 more than the cheapest option at the time, which I recall was BA on the 772 or something like that... If I flew through another European hub, it would have shaved off a few hours in terms of trip duration.

Aesma · Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:37 am

I flew about 15 legs total PAR-BES when the train is cheaper and more convenient. I often take off from CDG which is much more a hassle to get to for me than ORY, because CDG has more aircraft variety on that route. The variety is crazy for the same route on the same company/regionals (AF) : I've logged all the CRJs from 100 to 1000 on that route, A318 to A321, Fokker 100, E-190...

I have not yet flown just for the hell of it, but it's in my plans.

CarlosSi · Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:44 am

Don't know whether I'll be flying to Denver or into the Rockies this January if a ski trip happens.

I may spend a little more if it means flying a 757 (DFW-EGE) or DC9 series (on Delta) aircraft this time.

ojjunior · Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:55 am

Wow, that's a relief. Now I see that I am not alone.
And considering the reports of some folks here I see that I am still in the early stages of my madness.
Perhaps I will postpone my visit to the doctor a little while, in the meantime I am still deciding about my next return flight from a work trip to GDL:
GDL-SFO-ATL-GRU or GDL-LAX-ORD-GRU instead of GDL-MEX-GRU or GDL-PTY-GRU boring options...
For the already flown madness lists I can recall some: GRU-ATL-LGA just to fly on DL's A333 (US$ 300 more than GRU-NYC options), GRU-FRA-BKK-SYD-AKL back in 2004 just to fly around the globe and fly LH's and TG's 744 (paid more than twice the price for the AR GRU-AKL option), IAD-FRA-IST just to fly UA's 772 instead of the cheaper option then with TK's direct IAD-IST, HKG-KUL-SIN just to fly MH's A333, ZQN-CHC-ZQN several times, night and day, in summer and winter, just to land and depart ZQN's extraodinary airport several times to enjoy the unique approaches...
Now it's all gone... got married.

petertenthije · Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:17 pm

AMS-LCY instead of several cheaper options to get the DHC-8 with FlyBE
AMS-LHR at a inconvenient timeslot to get the 767-300 with KLM
AMS-STN instead of several cheaper options to get the BAe-146 with Buzz
AMS-ZRH with Swiss instead of KLM to get the Avro-100
JFK-DTW-AMS to get a DC9 with Northwest
EWR-FRA-AMS to get a 747 with Lufthansa

n729pa · Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:59 pm

Absolutely!
Tomorrow I'm off to ZRH from LHR for the day. I'm coming back on a Helvetic F100 as I've never flown on a F100 before. I've got a trip in 2 weeks LHR-FRA-VIE-LHR just to try and Austrian 777. Then I've got a booking on the first QF nonstop flight from LHR next year (because I wanted to try it so why not go on the first one). Last year I've flew LHR-ZRH -HAJ-ZRH-LHR just to get on a LX 777 HB-JNA. The stewardess was so impressed she gave me a guided tour of business and first class cabins in flight. I'm a sucker for wide bodies on short flights. LHR-MAD-LHR out on the usual BA B767 back on their B777 in fact I've got another one soon LHR-MAD-LHR B767 again back on a BA B787. LHR-MAD-FRA-LHR purely to try a Latam B787.

So I'm always on the look out for the next one.

opticalilyushin · Fri Sep 01, 2017 9:37 pm

I do this multiple times every year, infact its easier for me to count the number of times I DONT do this. I have however had a few fails amongst the many successful trips. I've made 4 attempts to fly the Royal Jordanian and Egyptair A340-200, all changed at the last moment..if it wasn't for some sightseeing thrown in at Dubai and Amman it would have been a waste of money

conaly · Sat Sep 02, 2017 10:18 am

Just now I did it again. Just booked NUE-ZRH-LCY on Swiss, just to fly with Bombardier CS100 and to try out London City airport. The return flight I booked for a week later, which I will not use, as I booked a Ryanair-flight back the next day. No interest in sightseeing in London, just want the CS100 and LCY

388crazy · Sat Sep 02, 2017 10:48 am

My most expensive/longest trip to get on a type was last year to fly the 747SP with Iran Air, I was also able to get a short flight on the A350 with SQ

My routing was MEL-SIN-KUL-IKA-DXB-SIN-MEL

On my last trip to USA I flew with an extra stop to get on a few aircraft I hadn't flown 757-300, 737-900ER and CRJ-700

winterlight · Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:34 pm

When I flew the Tarom A310 it was actually cheaper to take the scenic route back, so I ended up with this:

LHR-MAD BA B763
MAD-OTP RO A313
OTP-WAW LO E170
WAW-LHR LO B734

SQ22 · Sat Sep 02, 2017 6:16 pm

Last year when I was in the US I decided I need to fly on the Mad Dogs before it was too late. Very soon I realized that AA was not an option, because it was difficult to get a Mad Dog flying around East Coast. I was in DC and NYC. DL was promising. I spent hours on dummy bookings on their website. After I had a routing to CHS I was waiting because I did not wantwd to book before a certain date.

At that date the fare was skyrocketing. So I started all over again. Routing when booking was JFK-DTW-CAK-ATL-LGA. Two month later it was JFK-DTW-CAK-ATL-JFK. Finally I flew LGA-DTW (MD88); DTW-CAK (E145); CAK-ATL (MD90) and ATL-EWR (B717). Irrops included due to storm at ATL.

I had to call customer service twice. It was no issue to get change the bookings after I realized there were small changes in time and equipment. I called customer service and explained I only made the booking to fly on certain aircraft; agent talked to supervisor and supervisor agreed to change without any charge. The only weird thing was that at the second and final call customer service agent was explaining me A320 was a Boeing (the flight had been changed from a Mad Dog to an A320); so that was a bit strange.

One trip for quite rare aircraft, so my money was well spent. My officila explanation was I had to do "some business" on Ohio...

Jayafe · Sat Sep 02, 2017 10:12 pm

I just booked DUB-LCY for next November in order to fly CityJet's Avro before its retirement (double price from
Ryanair's ticket DUB-STN)

debonair · Sun Sep 03, 2017 7:57 am

Believe it or not - I am totally nuts... :eyepopping:

It all start when I was a little kid, going with my parents on vacations to Spain. I refused to travel on the then modern A310's of Hapag-Lloyd, insisting that we will book flights with Spanair's MD83 (as I just loved the sound of these birds). No Spanair, no family holidays!

Still today, my travels are planned around the flights to the destination and not vice versa!

KentB27 · Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:15 pm

You are not the only one who does this. I do this all time. Especially with airlines like DL who fly a lot of different types of aircraft. I am always willing to change my flight schedule and pay a little bit more if necessary with DL if I can get a flight on a 717, MD-90, 757, or an E-jet. Anything is better than a 737 or an A320.

dredgy · Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:25 pm

Actually, not really. Like I'll adjust my schedule a bit (e.g take a later flight if the aircraft is cooler) but that's about it. I like to try a different airline every time I fly overseas, so usually just coincidentally get new aircraft. I definitely check alternative aircraft options and if its no major hassle to get on my preferred aircraft, I'll do it.

767333ER · Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:10 pm

I am generally inclined to spend extra to fly on aircraft I find more exciting or enjoyable to get somewhere though generally it all falls into place the past few years when booking with aeroplan points on Air Canada. Generally I like to get a 757 or 767 if at all possible or go after things I haven't been on like A330, MD-90, 717, or 777. I also like to have at least 1 A320 family on a trip as I enjoy that experience. Otherwise I just try to avoid the 737 and to some extent regional aircraft if I can find something I like better, though I would like to experience a Dash 8.

MHG · Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:25 pm

Did it before and I´m just going to do it next week again ...
Going to Kiev I could go FRA-KBP non-stop (how boring ...)

Instead I will fly FRA-KRK on Ryanair (nothing special - it´s my umpteenth flight on a B738 ...) then continue by train to Radom, Poland (RDO) from where I will fly with Sprint Air in a Saab 340 to Lviv, Ukraine (LWO) and further continue with Motor Sich (hopefully) in an AN-140 to Kiev (IEV).
If I don´t get the AN-140 I´ll still get either an AN-24 or YAK-40. So, nothing to worry about really.
Factoring in the two hotel stays and train/air fares I paid I will be set back even slightly less than the same price I´d pay for a non-stop flight FRA-KBP or vv.
(taking the ticket price for my non-stop flight back home to FRA as reference)

Woofbite · Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:39 am

Sure. Ancient history but I flew DAL, (or maybe it was GSW), TO DEN on FL (the original), just to ride a DC-3. Made 6 stops!
Came back from SCL to MIA on Lanica to ride one of the last 707s operating. Came back from LHR to IAD and JFK on the Concorde to ride it a couple of times.
Flew SJU to STT on Antilles Air Boats to ride a Grumman Goose. Off hand, I don't remember any others.

SmithAir747 · Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:48 pm

I did it once: In January 2013, on my way back to YYC from spending the holidays with my family in FWA, I flew UA FWA-ORD-IAH-YYC, just because I had noticed this itinerary (when I was booking) had the then-new 787 on the ORD-IAH leg. I also happened to get a smashing deal on a F class ticket. So I had the experience of flying in a lie-flat F class seat on the 787 between ORD and IAH (my only experience so far with an internationally-configured F class product). I also visited the cockpit upon landing in IAH.

Now, I just try to get somewhere with either a nonstop or as few connections as possible.

SmithAir747

Midwestindy · Wed Sep 13, 2017 11:02 pm

Anytime I fly IND-ATL, I try to book it on a 757/739 regardless of time or money, just because of the IFE....

fbgdavidson · Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:05 am

Sure, many times!

I think of it in two different ways....Blatant choices to go on a certain aircraft:
1) I did a pleasure flight on a DH Dragon Rapide just because...
2) Concorde, LHR-JFK, when for less money I could have gone on a slower plane in a much nicer seat!

The other way is because a certain aircraft type has a better premium cabin seat...so when I used to fly regularly between LHR and IAD BA would offer 747s, 777s and 767s throughout the day. I was happy to pay more to fly a 747 so I could pick Club World upstairs versus the "Flying Youth Hostel" of the 777. Similarly I have paid more to fly on certain flights because they had a newer premium cabin seat, or it meant I could get longhaul equipment versus shorthaul. A few months ago AA were flying longhaul 757s between CLT and JFK so I picked that at a premium over the A321, 737 that were on other flights. I guess taking it to another level I would chose to fly non-stop on AA's JFK-LAX flights because they offer premium cabin A321s with lieflats in J and F, versus a cheaper option going via DFW/PHX/LAS which would offer shorthaul domestic F seating.

n729pa · Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:05 pm

n729pa wrote:
Absolutely!
Tomorrow I'm off to ZRH from LHR for the day. I'm coming back on a Helvetic F100 as I've never flown on a F100 before. I've got a trip in 2 weeks LHR-FRA-VIE-LHR just to try and Austrian 777.

UPDATE....
F100 done...tick in the box
Austrian 777 trip was yesterday. So check in on line...what happens? Flight down graded to boring A320! Bugger it!

Still it was a nice flight on Austrian it's just the way it goes sometimes. ..will have to try again.

TheAirborneGPS · Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:37 am

Yes I have. I payed 200 dollars extra to fly on the new 777 that Swiss has acquired. And that is no the only time. I payed the 500 extra dollars to fly on Lufthansa 747-8. The 747 was vanishing slowly and I have never flown on one. The 747 also looks elegant and has to be my favorite aircraft, with the A350 falling in second place. So yes, I am guilty of that:)

VSMUT · Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:46 am

My company has a policy of offering us the cheapest ticket available and deadheading isn't possible, which in one recent case was with EasyJet or Ryanair. I decided to pay a few more € to fly with KLMs Fokker. But I got a full day to explore Amsterdam too, which was just as big a part of the reason.

theobcman · Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:51 pm

Money & time YES ! Just to catch some WBodies around Europe which has turned into a totally unintentional hobby starting years ago. My list of completed so far (Based in London) :

LHR-ATH OA A343
LGW-AGP ZB A300
LHR-CDG AF A388
LGW-AMS GA B77W
LHR-MAD/ARN/FRA BA B763
MAD-FRA LA B788 (J)
AGP-HEL AY A359 (J)
LHR-HEL AY A359
ZRH-LHR LX B77W (J)
BCN-MAD UX A332
MAD-LHR IB A346
LHR-HEL AY A333
LHR-MAD BA B772 (J)
MAD-FRA LA B789 (J)
LGW-PMI TOM B788
LUX-DUS Hahn CJ4 (Not WB but Private)

BOOKED :
DUB-AGP EI A333 (J)
LHR-MAD BA B789 (J)
MAD-BCN PU A343

All just for fun !!

dc10@dfw · Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:16 pm

I chose a ticket with Lufthansa, paying a bit extra for the routing Dallas to Johannesburg with return Frankfurt to Houston to Dallas. My goal Thursday November 24, 2016 JNB-FRA 747-8, FRA-IAH A380. Lufthansa pilots were on strike that day so I was re-routed back to Dallas on Delta via Atlanta. I still haven't been on either plane. :cry:

golfradio · Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:24 pm

I booked 4 tickets YYZ - BOM on AC46 in December and paid an avg of $125 per ticket ($500) extra for two reasons: 1. firstly try the new AC nonstop service and secondly to fly the 789. For the winter schedule the return AC47 was scheduled for a Fri departure instead of a Thu which worked even better, as I got an extra day in BOM.

Last week AC not only swapped the 789 to a 77L but also changed the Fri departure back to Thu for the winter schedule :banghead:

CarlosSi · Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:19 am

Surprised everyone just took the insult.

I haven't really done so, since the only trips I've every made the decision to go on were to Colorado and once to LA (which my friends bought a fare on Spirit from DFW. Being from Austin, I booked a return flight on WN). If I have money to throw around sure, I'd spend so much if I would prefer a different ride, again depending on the value.

I'm wondering how much I'd be willing to spend to fly into Vail next January to ride an AA 757; the guys at Echotours (or whoever) decided to book us January 2nd to the 7th, the former being one of the WORST days of the year to fly (which annoys me since the trip was always the second week of January...). I'm afraid the fare may not go down, and since Copper Mountain is not too far from Denver like other resorts, I may end up flying one leg to Denver at least.

It'd be AUS-DFW-EGE or DEN. I've been feeling bamboozled, since prior to the trip, I was looking at riding all MDC to Denver or 757 to Vail, now both those options are ridiculously more expensive because the trip is actually a week earlier now.... bleh! And this is likely my only trip of the year.

Bit of a vent.

N776AU · Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:38 pm

Oh man, where do I start? Yes to answer all your questions. I can think of several times I deliberately took a much earlier or later flight to fly 757s over a 737 or a 717 over MD-88. Home base is ATL for reference

Then there are extra stops built in just because I could, like the time I flew St. Louis to Atlanta via Milwaukee.

Or the time I flew Orlando-Atlanta via Raleigh (and had a hell of an adventure with diversions too)

One time I booked a ticket Atlanta-Richmond stopping Orlando both ways. Price was the same as nonstop. Southwest automatically changed me to a direct flight a couple weeks after I made the reservation because they thought it would be more convenient. It probably would have been, but I was immediately on the phone with customer service changing it back to my stop. I'm pretty sure the lady that helped me thought I was certifiably insane.

This Spring I flew to LAX via IAD and JFK going out and via BOS and IAD coming back

Oh and deliberately for new aircraft. Yes, on multiple occasions:
I flew to Chicago on American through Dallas just to fly a 787.

The best one of all was dropping 30,000 SkyMiles to fly a 747 with Delta ATL-MSP and back. Looking back I'm so glad I did.

I guess almost every trip for me, really features me doing something deliberate. Some things are bigger than others though.

jetwet1 · Tue Sep 19, 2017 9:19 pm

Yep, last year I flew SFO/LAX-ZUR-a few places in Italy mostly to ride the BAE 146 before it's retirement.

A couple of weeks ago I headed down to LAX to ride on the last DL 747 domestic flight....

http://news.delta.com/delta-customers-e ... iconic-747

airzona11 · Wed Sep 20, 2017 4:36 am

Once split from a group and waited a few extra hours in snowy DEN to get on my only A318 flight when F9 still had them. Still had the cookies.

Last year sacrificed PQDs to get a ride on AS 739 without winglets
Flew SFO-PHL-EWR vs SFO EWR nonstop to get on a Dash8-200
PDX-EUG-SFO vs PDX-SFO nonstop to get the EMB120 - that was a great plane
PDX-SFO-PHX vs PDX-PHX nonstop to get AS 734 - interior screams 1990s.

Biggest bummer was choosing paying more for my fare to use a SWU to sit upper deck on UA744 SFO-FRA... same fateful day as the Asian 777 crash @SFO, watched it all unfold from the United club. Ended up flying out a day later second to last Y row on LH 380 (great flight but not upper deck 744 in J).

Still trying to book a WJ 736, always looking to get creative.
Tried but missed BAE146, MD11 due to delays or aircraft sub.

NozPerry · Wed Sep 20, 2017 10:52 am

I once travelled down to LHR when i was about 14 with my mum to fly AF A380 from LHR-CDG just to marvel at it.
And now I have a job in aviation instead of using my standby tickets I paid a regular fare to fly ARN-CPH on the SAS A320 neo when they first started using them, and AY's A350 on LHR-HEL (which cost £302 more one way than a standby ticket!)

ojjunior · Wed Sep 20, 2017 11:37 am

N776AU wrote:
I'm pretty sure the lady that helped me thought I was certifiably insane.

LOL
We all are then! :bouncy:

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