1 Week to OWMD: Preparing for Seat 33A

Its almost looking in my face and I think I am excited for my first MegaDo this coming week. Yes, going away from work for a whole ten days means I am having to do the extra hours over the already extra hours I put in at work everyday. So, I am just trying to make sure everything is in order when I finally leave home for the airport. The next update on the oneworld MegaDo I’ll post is most probably going to be when I get started with my MegaDo journey, but I sure do have something exciting for you all and I am waiting for some confirmations before I post it out here šŸ˜‰

Lets catch up with all that the MegaDo’ers have been up to in the past two weeks. A lot of them are going to get an opportunity to be on some exciting events at the American Airlines facilities. A water evacuation scenario has been planned out, and a bidding war went all out to make sure the top 40 spots were secured to get a dip in the pool at the CR Smith Flight Academy. In good spirit, and to contribute to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, where all bidding proceeds from this MegaDo will be going, MegaDo’ers have added to each other’s bids and the highest bid stands at $743 (The minimum bid was $40 when it all started). And guess who has the top bid? Randy Petersen, for whom a whole bunch of people came together to bring up the $743 bid. A noble soul has added $500 donationĀ just to go out and achieve a target he set!

On the other auction, for Flight Simulator time, people have been falling all over each other to secure one of the 24 spots. A small glitch at the end, where it was declared that this one is for US Citizens only. So, now, a second round of bidding is open to figure out who gets the spots vacated! I will be nervous to be in the company of 24 budding pilots on the same flight as me, all of them boasting of how one’s crash landing was better than the next one. So, God bless me! šŸ˜‰

Hot off the press have been two things. First, fellow BoardingArea blogger TheWeeklyFlyer is on this flight also now, right at the end of the official waitlist! He joins the ensemble of DealsWeLike, MommyPoints, MilesfromBlighty, Gary from View fromĀ the Wing and yours truly. So, don’t be surprised if BoardingArea.com becomes OWMD.com for a short while šŸ˜‰ Keep checking for regular updates here and on my feed at @LiveFromALounge and Facebook.com/LiveFromALounge.

Second, the schedule is finally unwrapped. Finnair, American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines are the airline sponsors. As a part of the trip to London, we get to meet FinnAir at JFK and British Airways in London. Once back in the USA, American Airlines, Boeing and Hyatt Gold Passport will be hosting us for 3 nights and days. The final day is a motley bunch with a tour of American’s Flagship Check-in and then exploring the Qantas and Cathay Pacific planes at the LAX.

Now only if the weather is good, everything will be working out great. And yes, American Airlines, you still haven’t confirmed my upgrades šŸ™Ā  Show me some love and let me get some benefits of the famous AA EXP privileges now that I worked hard for it. You’ve already taken away my big incentive to fly you on the ORD-DEL flights by dropping the route.Ā I won’t be using the free domestic complimentary upgrades so much, I promise!

 

British Visa – Check

My Passport was spotted in the courier with a UK Visa stamped this past week. The amusing part with them always is, that a short-end visitor visa for the UK is about as expensive as a 10 year visit visa to the USA. But that is a separate discussion!

 

Kick-off dinner – Check

When everything came together, I was in a position to confirm my attendance at the New York Pre-event dinner on the Sunday prior (22nd of January 2012!) and managed to get one of the final spots on the list of attendees. Looking forward to meeting all the frequent flyers there too!

 

I am still thinking about which camera to bring along. Definitely not my most expensive SLR gear since it requires a lot of handling and care, but I am undecided between a simpler SLR or a point and shoot. Now, any views out there? Do let me know!

 

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About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Comments

  1. The Brits just don’t seem to like foreigners šŸ™‚ I’m an American, and they always give me a chilly reception at immigration. “What, you want back in now? Having your own country didn’t work out for you?”

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