We are going around the world!

Well, I can't believe the day is already almost here!  Decades in dreaming, several years of planning, and over a year since the first booking started to be made, and now it is only a matter of hours before my friend David and I will depart on the adventure of a lifetime, to travel completely around the world on the OneWorld alliance.  We did it entirely using American Airlines miles, which we saved and scrimped for 5 years.  And yes, we are going BUSINESS CLASS BABY!!!  I am proud of the feat, and especially proud that I can say, anybody can do this if they really want to.  Neither my friend nor I are rich, but we took advantage of every opportunity to earn miles, paying our bills by credit card, eating out at American Airlines Dining locations, of course, flying on American whenever we fly, and even choosing providers for things like electricity and cable - anything that would pile up those miles.  And sometime early last year, we passed the goal, 190,000 miles each, and started to book it.  Now...  we bought tickets worth around $20,000 EACH, for about $350 total, for taxes and fees!  This is bar none the absolute best deal you can get for airline miles, anywhere, anytime.  The value of miles are usually discounted to less than a penny per mile, but with this trip, our miles were worth more than 10x their typical value.  We did it thanks to a special deal offered specifically for around the world travel.  If you are interested, here is a link:

OneWorld Explorer Award Table

And... a link to the daunting, but NOT insurmountable list of rules to which you must adhere in order to qualify for this special award:

Requirements for the OneWorld Explorer

They do not make it particularly easy, and I think that is because of just what a great deal it is for the consumer.  But, it can be done.

Another thing that is special about this trip is the routing and aircraft on which we will be flying.  I did not just want to go around the world...  No...  The goal of this trip was actually to fly in "The Bubble", that famous elusive and mysterious second floor in giant jumbo jets, and especially the 747.  Ever since I was a kid and first flew on one of those planes, I dreamed of seeing what life was like up there.  So, there are 3 long haul routes on this trip in "The Bubble" on 747, and one long haul route in the other great jumbo jet, the A380, in the upper deck (which is not really a bubble at that point, but a second floor spanning the entire length of the fuselage).  I spent many, MANY hours, an INSANE number of hours, working to achieve this feat.  The seats on 747 and A380 flights sell out first, and those available for award travel are limited, especially in business class.  In fact, just about the only way to get on several of the routes we are traveling is to book 365 days in advance, within hours of those flights first becoming available at all.  Since our travel time is 31 days, we had to book the first leg on the first day it became available, then continuously put our reservation on "hold", while we added legs, one every few days, until we finally had the entire journey, and it could be ticketed.  Several times within this period, it seemed all was lost, and when reissuing the "hold", existing seats were lost.  The rules require you to RELEASE the hold first, and then RE-REQUEST.  While the request will generally make it through if you release and then immediately re-request, there is always a chance somebody else will snatch that precious seat up before you can get yours done.  Talk about dedication!  I would typically call in right at midnight, as soon as availability was released.  I think I have become good friends with several of those kind booking agents who patiently worked with me each time.  And by the way... you cannot do any of this online.  You have to talk to the agent each time.

So...  we are here.  On Saturday, April 30, we will depart Dallas at 10:40pm, for LA.  We will spend a couple of days there, seeing the Reagan Library, visiting Disney Land, and maybe catch a movie.  Then, we board the big A380 on May 3, bound for Sydney, Australia, a 15+ hour flight.  After a day there, just enough time to catch a show at the famous opera house, we will dash up to Cairns, where we will depart on a 3 day SCUBA diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  We got certified 2 weeks ago!  Yay!  Then we have a down day in Cairns to recover before we head on up to Singapore for 3 days, then Hong Kong and Macau for a few more, and on to Rome for almost a week, then a day in Jordan before we go to Israel, where we will spend another week, and finally, Mexico City for some poolside R&R.  Since the OneWorld network does not allow transatlantic award flights on British Airways terminating in the USA, and American does not operate any 747 aircraft, we opted to fly from London to Mexico City on that last long haul.  This way we get an extra flight in The Coveted Bubble!  :D  We will rest up there for a few days finally before we head home.

Do I realize this is crazy?  Yes.  Do I realize I will be exhausted and possibly even miserable for many durations during the trip?  Absolutely.  Do I know that on a trip of such complexity, many things are bound to go wrong or turn out other than originally planned?  Without any doubt.  But, is this still the coolest thing I have just about ever done in my life?  You betcha!!

So, wish us a Bon Voyage, and look back here to see posts as we travel.  Say a prayer for us to have safety and a little good luck in our adventures!  And if you feel just slightly jealous...  just remember...  YOU could do it too, if you really want to!  You just have to want it really bad, and be willing to do whatever it takes, but you don't need to be a millionaire to do something even most millionaires would consider extravagant.

Here are some images from a mapping program I wrote specifically to explore the routes we might take, to find the optimal number of long hauls on some of the most beautiful machines that mankind ever created.  There are views with the "daytime" and "nighttime" earth maps, and notice transparency, so you can see what is on the other side, including those routes on the other side:

From home base in DFW to LAX, and onto SYD

to SYD, on to Cairns, hop through Brisbane, up to Singapore

"Night" view, Singapore to Hong Kong, then London

on to Rome, then Amman, Tel Aviv, and finally Mexico City

View of route from Northern Pacific, showing true "Great Circle"