on May 28 i depart for the Caprivi via Joburg to Kasane( last leg on SAA). my ticket was using AA FF miles on AA/Etihad going LAX-JKF-Abu Dhabi-Joburg and same return route and all in first class. i went to Etihad's website last week to see about selecting a seat on their legs( JFK-ABH-Joburg and return). i happened to notice that effective Jun1, Etihad is starting non stop service from LAX to ABH. i figured it was a long shot at getting a first class seat returning from ABH to LAX on short notice but worth a try. called AA and 20 minutes later i was rebooked at no additional miles and a $2.53 refund of the fees- less than $100 in total cost for a $13,000 ticket. the new route will save me 9 hours of total travel time getting to LA and an overnight in LA before flying home to Fresno. it's too bad we leave on 28 May instead of 1 June!!!!

Sweet!! Don't ya love it when it all falls together?

oh yea

oh yea is right...but i will not celeb.until we are on the ground in Kasane WITH ALL OUR GEAR..................

Congratulations! New routes often have far more frequent flyer availability in premium cabins than existing routes.

quote:

Originally posted by JCOOK:
oh yea is right...but i will not celeb.until we are on the ground in Kasane WITH ALL OUR GEAR..................

Amen to that! at least if the airlines lose my bag this time, it will not contain all the gear i need for the trip....i intend to have a set of hunting clothes in my carry-on.

Amen to that. Never understood why people don't have at least one set of hunting clothes in their carry-on. Great job on the ticket exchange.

Jerry - Good on you!! Good luck and have a safe trip. You always mention, traveling light and am wondering if you could give us a quick rundown on how you pack and what you take to accomplish this if time allows? Maybe you have already done this at some point, don't recall. Thanks.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
Sabatti 'trash' Double Shooter
R8 Blaser
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by JCOOK:
oh yea is right...but i will not celeb.until we are on the ground in Kasane WITH ALL OUR GEAR..................

Amen to that! at least if the airlines lose my bag this time, it will not contain all the gear i need for the trip....i intend to have a set of hunting clothes in my carry-on.

quote:

Originally posted by Blank:
..... Never understood why people don't have at least one set of hunting clothes in their carry-on. ....

This.

No matter what the purpose of the trip, business or pleasure, I make sure my carry on has the essentials needed to complete the purpose of the trip.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
Jerry - Good on you!! Good luck and have a safe trip. You always mention, traveling light and am wondering if you could give us a quick rundown on how you pack and what you take to accomplish this if time allows? Maybe you have already done this at some point, don't recall. Thanks.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
Sabatti 'trash' Double Shooter
R8 Blaser
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by JCOOK:
oh yea is right...but i will not celeb.until we are on the ground in Kasane WITH ALL OUR GEAR..................

Amen to that! at least if the airlines lose my bag this time, it will not contain all the gear i need for the trip....i intend to have a set of hunting clothes in my carry-on.

first of all, i use camp rifles, so i don't need to worry about that. my checkin bag has 2 hunting shirts, 2 pairs of socks, 2 sets of under wear, shaving kit, cartridge holder, knife, belt, flashlight, a good bottle of single malt Scotch, a scrub suit to wear around camp in the evening, sandals for camp use, hat, Frogg Toggs rain jacket, small back pack- and that is pretty much it.. i travel in khaki pants( which on my hunt last month in Cameroon doubled as my hunting pants, since i never got my luggage), a nice sport shirt and my Courtney boots. my carryon has another travel shirt, still and video camera, charging cords, binos, a set of underwear, cell phone, a small elephant leather portfolio (thanks Will)that contains passport, tickets, iPad, credit cards, cash, Global Rescue card, insurance cards, etc), malaria meds. i don't carry on any toiletries as the airlines give you a gift pouch containing all that. because of past experience( live and learn) going forward i will carry on a third shirt( hunting type) and a pair of zip-off hunting pants. since i will have a hunting shirt and pair of pants in my carryon, i will leave them off the checkin bag list.for the trip to the Caprivi in 16 days i will add a sweater for early AM starts. not counting bag weight, EVERYTHING i take will weigh less than 30lbs.

Thanks for the post Jerry. I might be able to get close to what you do if not for the Tuff Pak or Pelican gun case. Since I take my rifle, whichever case it goes in ends up with lots of "extra" (probably don't need) stuff to fill it up.

My roller carry on does contain, boots, one pair of pants, one pair of zip offs, socks, underwear, two shirts, sandals for camp, hat, light gloves, light rain/wind jacket. My personal carry on contains, binocs, noise cancelling head phones, MP3 player, rangefinder, flashlight, extra glasses,reading material, travel paperwork. Gun case and checked duffel gets the rest. I take waaaay tooo much stuff, but staying 35 days with no 7/11 close by it just feels better.

Again have a great trip and thanks for the insight on this.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
Sabatti 'trash' Double Shooter
R8 Blaser
DRSS