Costa Rica 2007 – Chapter 1, Getting There
Chapter 2, Getting Around
Chapter 3, Getting Home
Terms used:
- DFW – Dallas-Ft. Worth Int’l Airport
- LAX – Los Angeles Int’l Airport
- SFO – San Francisco Int’l Airport
- SJC – San Jose (CA) Int’l Airport
- SJO – San Jose (Costa Rica) Int’l Airport
- SNA – Orange County Airport
- 763 – Boeing 767-300
- AA – American Airlines
- AC – Admirals Club
- BA – British Airways
- BP – Boarding Pass
- FA – Flight Attendant
- FL – Flagship Lounge
- GA – Gate Agent
- F – First Class
- J – Business Class
- NGBC – AA’s New Generation Business Class
- OLCI – Online Check-In
- Pax – Passenger(s)
- TSA – Transportation Security Admininstration aka Airport Security aka Worthless Pile of Crap
Prelude
I’m such a nice guy. I’m going to Costa Rica with a buddy of mine from college before he starts the new job. We got in on a price error from a few months ago (open-jaw to SJO = no YQ fuel surcharge). He’s starting from the Bay Area, and I have to meet him from SoCal. I made sure to book the 763 SFO-DFW for the chance at NGBC, and since he’s no-status and never few up front before, I upgraded him with mileage. It was almost my undoing.
His upgrades clear almost immediately, and my domestic segments clear at 100 hours. However, my DFW-SJO doesn’t process, but no worries, it’s showing J3 D1 I0 at 24 hours… I have a good feeling. Unfortunately, I can’t do OLCI since it’s an international flight, but nobody else can either, and having such an early start should give me an advantage anyway. But just in case… more on that later.
I need to get to LAX from Orange County because I’m renting a car using a free Hertz cert (no one way rentals). So I decide to do my part for the environment and take public transportation (Metrolink commuter train to LAX FlyAway bus). Imagine my utter shock and amazement when I found out that the commuter train only runs 3 trains on Sundays – from my station, 9:30am, 4:30pm, and 5:30pm. My greeness only goes so far, so I get a ride to the Norwalk Metro Rail station… it’s a valid compromise in my mind, and Mother Nature better take it and like it.
I hop on the Green line about 1:30pm, and it takes about 1hr 15min to take it to the LAX stop, take the shuttle to LAX, and take the Hertz shuttle to the rental location. I was productive though… I did take only 5 minutes to walk from T1 to T7 at the airport.
Boy how I wish I used Avis due to my Chairman’s status. I reserved a Premium, and I sure got one…. a beautiful, brand new Grand Marquis. As generous as this offer was, I went back to the Gold Desk to see if they would take my equally generous offer of downgrading into a Prius. No go, so then I offered to take a Camry off their hands. They countered with a Honda Accord, and I humbly agree. 16K+ miles on it and smelled like 2 packs of cigs a day…. no time to switch though! I’ll deal with it.
Outbound Flights
AA1920 – LAX-SFO – 07/30, dep 7:15am, arr 8:30am – MD-80, Seat 4F
So, without OLCI, I decide to get to LAX right at the 4am opening to check in. At 3am, I drive to the LAX Hertz location to return. No attendants that early in the morning, so I have to go in to the counter to hand over my free cert. Of course this takes 30 minutes because everything’s wrong with the contract. But in the end, I only have to pay $10, which is less than was quoted. I walk out to the shuttle and have to wait for 15 minutes, and not 5 like the sign says. No matter, I got to the AA counter at 4:05am, and it’s another 5 minutes before they’re ready to start checking in pax (I go carryon style). Then onto waiting for the elite access lane, since the TSA checkpoint doesn’t open until 4:30am. Of course, the moron of the lane guard (same who’s always there), let’s the elite lanes fill up with regular pax before the elites even made it up the escalator. So what promised to be less than 5 minutes turns into 15.
Of course, I still have to wait another 15 for the AC to open (new extended hours, 5am-12am). Once I get in, I ask for a FL key, but was told that opens at 5:15am (!). But at least she pages me to come to the counter for the key. I get in and take a shower…. boy those showers take forever to warm up in the morning. After I’m through, I help myself to a better-than-I-expected breakfast of bagle w/ cream cheese and jelly, Frosted Flakes, and 2 Martinelli’s apple juice (love those things… why even bother with regular bottles of apple juice?)
Before leaving, I check the forecasts which said fog for SFO and T-storms for DFW (typical x2). But after pre-departure drinks, we take off on time (and 100% full) and I take a quick snooze. I wake up to the “will arrive in 10 minutes” announcement. However, it was a fallacy, as we started to do S-turns, and all I see out my window are low clouds. No worries though… even though it took 30 minutes from the annoucement (with no further updates), we arrive on-time thanks to built-in slack time.
AA1994 – SFO-DFW – 07/30, dep 9:30am, arr 2:53pm – 767-300, Seats 4JK
I meet my buddy at the SFO AC (who graciously let him in before I arrived) and hung out for a bit (1 hour layover).. Upgrade on DFW-SJO still hadn’t cleared, so we went to the gate and boarded Ship #343 (not important except that it was Old Business Class but with the new(er) Boeing Signature Series interior). I originally had 4G, which I intended to use as an equal trade for 4J to sit next to my buddy (who’s a window guy)… the trade is successful. Before the door was closed, the GA comesonboard and asks for 3 volunteers for $300 each. I of course run up there, but the next flight they could get us on would have been after our DFW-SJO departure, so I declined. Our departure is delayed slightly due to cargo issues. Predeparture drinks are served while we wait. After takeoff, hot towels are handed out, and breakfast is served with a choice of Denver omelette or Pancakes and Sausage. The omelette is pretty good with lots of cheese, and the freshly-baked biscuits are always a welcome treat. The flight is uneventful, and lands at DFW on the furthest runway from the terminals.
We arrive into the D terminal, so we grab our Cousin’s BBQ then head to the AC in D. Apparently my upgrade had cleared while I was airborne, so the agent prints out my new BP and welcomes us into the Club with drink chits. I was assigned 3E (buddy was in 4F). We have our lunch + drinks and check last-minute information on Costa Rica. We try to get into the BA club, but are turned away as they were closing in 10 minutes (at 4:30pm), so back to the AC for a few more minutes before our SJO flight departs.
AA2167 – DFW-SJO – 07/30, dep 5:55pm, arr 8:40pm – 757-200, Seats 4EF
Now I don’t know why, but our BPs told us to be at the gate 60 minutes before departure, so we head down to stretch our legs. Of course, they’re not ready for us yet, and upon asking around, other’s BPs say 45 minutes before. How odd. Anyway, they call for J boarding, and this oaf with his family of 5 in tow actually sideswipes me from out of the way. I look at his BPs.. Boarding Group 4! The GA actually apologizes for the man’s behavior (but doesn’t enforce the boarding group… of course, I could tell he wouldn’t have taken no for an answer… she did the right thing in moving him along).
It is another successful seat trade (3E to 4E, good for FEBO purposes). We leave the gate on time at 100% capacity, but suffer a 30min ATC ground control due to weather. We arrive only about 20 minutes late. No predeparture drinks, but beverages and warm nuts are served on the ground while waiting for the ground stop.
After wheels up, in-flight service starts with salad with either creamy Caesar or vinaigrette (Caesar for me).
Entrees are a choice of teriyaki-glazed salmon or grilled chicken. Both my friend and I go for the chicken because the FA presented the choices as “chicken or fish” and who wants airplane fish? I personally don’t like seafood, so by default I order the chicken… good thing I traded backwards, as we got the last chicken dishes (I guess no one wanted fish), and the other J pax were offered beef tips from Y as an alternative. The chicken is dry and forgetful (they tried to wrap it with bacon). Thank goodness I got real BBQ before boarding. Dessert is chocolate ice cream with cheesecake chunks and frozen raspberry compote. The movie shown is Premonition with Sandra Bullock… not really our thing, so we entertain ourselves by mocking the movie without sound. I really miss int’l 763 service.
SJO is a nice airport, small but obviously constructed recently. They could have used more staffing at immigration though, as it takes us about 45 minutes of waiting in line (thank gawd we were in J). Besides the wait, it’s a painfree process. By the time we get to baggage claim, our bags are already off the carosel, ready to be picked up… by anyone… use caution when packing to SJO.
The Visit
Night 0 – Spending the night near SJO.
We easily find the Avis counter, and check in. As a Chairman’s Club member, I’m usually entitled to an upgrade to the best vehicle available if I reserve an intermediate, though it can be hit-or-miss outside of the US and Canada. Unfortunately for me, they gave me exactly what I reserved… a Nissan Tiida (which, I think, is the Nissan Versa in the US). The agent claims to have no 4×4s available, and even if he did he’d charge for the upgrade. There’s no way a subcompact (in US measurements) will make it where we’re going. I ask for it a couple times, but we do have a backup plan, as the hotel we’re staying at offered 4×4 rentals for cheaper than what the Avis agent was offering. When we start talking about it, the Avis agent magically comes up with a Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4×4, and with a 50% discount (special for my being CHM) bring the cost to $35++/day, and we decide to take it. We wade through the throng of people outside of the terminal, hop onto the Avis minibus, and take a 15 ride to the Avis facility, where our blue SUV is waiting, and we’re out of there in 10 minutes.
It was a very short trip to the hotel, the Adventure Inn. We had made previous reservations for the night of arrival and night before departure, as it’s near SJO. Our room (#19) was of decent size, two double beds, clean, safe, and with a very effective A/C, though it faces the jacuzzi area, which could be loud if there were people there. Terrific bargain for $70+/night (incl. cash discount). A convenience store (called AM/PM, but not the same as in the US) is nearby so we drive less than 5 minutes to buy water and supplies, as well as get cash from an ATM.
Costa Rica is a mere 1 hour ahead of LA time (equivalent to US Central time, but does not observe DST), so I to go sleep relatively late, but with an early start tomorrow, it’ll be a rough wake up…
Next: Chapter 2, Getting Around (and I promise there will be more photos).
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