Travel to Melbourne

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ORD - LAX - MEL

Our Southern Australia to Singapore adventure began on February 12th with our evening flight from Chicago (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX). We had friends take us to the airport a couple hours early, as we normally do. Just as we arrived at the airport, it started snowing.

We went thru security and headed to our gate. Since we had a four hour flight, we picked up salads from the food court so that we'd have some dinner on the plane.

Our flight boarded on time, but due to the snow, the plane needed to be de-iced which caused us to be delayed for about an hour. Despite the late departure, we still arrived in LAX on time. We had a two hour lay-over in Los Angeles before our next flight.

Connecting Flights

To expedite security screening, we'd packed all our electronic items (laptop, iPad, DSLR camera, Kindle) and 3-1-1 bags in a separate carry-on bag.  This made going through security in Chicago much easier than it would have otherwise. I say easier, because my knee brace always requires extra screening, which this time was quite involved, and took some time.

You may be wondering if we needed to go through security all over again in LAX?

Fortunately, the answer to that question was no. Upon debarkation in LAX, we asked someone for directions to the connecting flights. At the end of the terminal, there was an escalator that took us to an upper level. You can see from the picture above that we are above the security screening and flight check-in stations.

Getting Comfortable

Another thing that we had in our separate carry-on bag was a change of pants. We took turns changing into our lounging pants prior to heading to our gate. This way, we didn't need to attempt to get comfortable in the small onboard restrooms. We wanted to be comfortable for the approximate 15 hour flight from there to Melbourne.

We also suggest a comfortable neck pillow.  Even though the airline provides pillows on long-haul flights, you might want to have your own to add to your comfort.  Also consider compression socks to prevent DVT (clots) and some slipper socks so that you can keep your feet warm if you remove your shoes.

Next Stop - Melbourne

We boarded the flight about 10:30 PM Pacific time which was 12:30 AM at home.   We were already tired, but we needed to stay up a little longer.   Dinner was served around 1:30 AM and then it was time to take a long nap.   A couple hours before we landed, breakfast was served.

If you are like me, I can't  fall asleep easily on planes.  My husband on the other hand has no problem.  This time, however, I was out before my husband and skipped dinner.   Throughout the flight we both got up and took restroom breaks, allowing us to stretch a little.  It is a good idea to do so as well as some plane exercises to be sure not to get clots.

We'll talk more about our arrival in another post.  For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page.
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Dreamliner to Chicago

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Tokyo to Chicago 

The final leg of our journey home from Southeast Asia was on American Airlines from Tokyo. We were booked in aisles seats across from each other. Fortunately, the plane wasn't full and the flight attendants re-seated passengers, so that they had empty seats between them. While the Boeing 787 is a beautiful airplane, if it were at full capacity, those in economy class wouldn't have an enjoyable flight for a long journey like Tokyo to Chicago.

Lunch is Served

Rice crackers and beverages were served about an hour into our flight.  We had taken off at 6:15 PM Tokyo time.

Two hours into our flight home we were served lunch.  Our selection was pork with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  Perhaps the strangest thing about flying to and from Southeast Asia is adjusting to the odd meal times.   Normally at this time we would be eating breakfast. Our next meal in a few hours was breakfast (see album).

Home Sweet Home

Nineteen days had passed since we departed for Southeast Asia.   We had a marvelous time exploring new sights, learning about the culture, and eating the food, but it was time to be home.

As the saying goes "There's no place like home".  Our flight path took us over Lake Michigan where we could see the Chicago skyline.  It was a beautiful day in the city; despite it being in the middle of the winter.

We hope that you've enjoyed these highlights of our journey to Southeast Asia.   There are a few more posts that we will add over time, mainly about the ship and our time onboard.  If you have any questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you.

We encourage you to go out of your comfort zone when selecting your next winter vacation - explore other parts of the world beyond the Caribbean. It's time to deplane our Dreamliner 787 - here are some dream seats - if you really want to splurge, upgrade your class of service when you fly.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Tokyo to Chicago

Additional photos can be found on our Southeast Asia Shutterfly page

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Beginning Adventure to Chile

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Chicago to JFK

We set out from Chicago on American Airlines for Santiago, Chile via JFK Airport in New York.

There we landed at gate 39 and our next flight was out of Gate 45. We had a 2.5 hour flight to New York and then about 5.5 hour layover before our 9 PM flight on Latam Airlines to Santiago, Chile.

Between the two gates there was a waiting area that had a large charging station. We had originally planned on getting a day pass for the Admirals Club but due to construction of one of the two clubs at JFK, they were not allowing one day passes.

There were several food locations nearby, so we scouted them out and them decided to split a sandwich from the Brooklyn Deli. We knew there would be meals on board our flight as well, so we just needed something light to hold us over until our flight.

Our journey to see Southern South America was officially started. Be sure to come back often for updates on the rest of our journey.

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

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Note:  we will be adding to these albums as we continue our journey.

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Travel Alert: Computer Problem Halts American Airlines Flights

American Airlines grounds flights until 5pm

American Airlines flights across the country are grounded because of computer problems.

 

American asked the Federal Aviation Administration to halt its flights until 5 p.m. EDT. Flights on regional affiliate American Eagle heading to Dallas, Chicago or New York's LaGuardia Airport have been stopped until 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Some passengers are stuck on planes while others can't make reservations.

American Airlines spokesman Kent Powell said that the airline is trying to resolve the issues as quickly as it can.

The company is providing updates on their website and Facebook page. 

UPDATE as of 3:30pm CDT: Our systems have been fully restored, however we expect continued flight delays and cancellations throughout the remainder of the day. We have made several options available to our customers:

If customers must travel today and are already at the airport, they can rebook on another airline by visiting an American Airlines agent or by going to the other airline’s ticket counter with their electronic ticket number.

If customers must travel today and are not yet at the airport, they can rebook through American Airlines reservations or through another carrier and American will honor the fare difference.

If a customer chooses not to travel today, there will be no charge for reservation changes or a full refund will be provided.

It is important to note we see no evidence that today’s technical outage is related to the tragic events in Boston.

We will continue to provide more information throughout the day as we make progress in resolving this issue. We apologize to our customers and our people for this inconvenience.