Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Time to fly to Dallas, Texas from Manchester (via London)

I am on my way again, just arrived to Manchester airport. I was surprised of the double booking procedures at the airport. The clients are forced to use the automated systems by showing the passpoer, putting in the information, changing seats, and once this is done, it will spit out boarding cards. I am ok with this, but what puzzels me is that you have to do the same thing with the agent once more. When I asked about this, I got this very annoyed look from British Airways agent and she was not something I call for "client friendly" environment. Oh well, I guess this is the first step to eliminate the agents that do not want to work anymore and teach the clients to use the systems.

Manchester airport is very nice, lots of shops and pleasant environment. I am flying from here to Heathrow London and then with a direct flight to Dallas.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Feelings from Manchester UK in pre-Christmas season

This is the first time that I had the opportunity to spend the weekend in downtown Manchester in the nice Hilton Manchester Deansgate hotel which is the tallest building in town.

Manchester had just opened its Christmas marketplace and the center of downtown Manchester was completely packed with people and it was very hard to get by from one place to the other. I can not remember another place that would have been so packed as downtown Manchester. Nowhere could one see a recession or anything like it.

I highly recommend the Hilton as hotel as you can get to any part of the downtown area as one wants.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Flybe.com flight from Paris to Manchester UK

I am flying with www.flybe.com from Paris to Manchester, UK and this flight is flown by British codeshare flight as well. I have never flown with this company so we will see how it goes.

Howto in Paris from CDG to Paris downtown

I hate to admit that during my years of business, I have completely ignored the public transportation in Paris. From here going forward, this is how I am going to do:
1) Buy a "get to know Paris" ticket at CDG (Charles de Gaulle) to the days that you are going to stay. I bought a 5 day ticket for 48 Euros that covered all zones. This ticket is valid for buses, trains and metro
2) Be aware that public transportation do not communicate to the public in any other language than French, so it is up to you to understand or ask what is going on.

Enjoy Paris, the metro network is awesome and you will save lots of money and headache if you can avoid the Parisian traffic.

Paris as a place to work with clients

I arrived to Paris on Tuesday morning and worked with clients and had other meetings during the week. My hotel was 3 metro stops from Gare du Nord, which is a major hub for both RER trains and metro lines. I have to say that the public transportation in Paris is the only way to go, there is no question about it. The weather was typical for this time of the year, some clouds, some sun and very cold with high winds yesterday. I also had a chance to do what I love which is to walk around the city during the evenings. Paris is impressive, even during the fall. Now I am on my way to Manchester UK until Tuesday morning when I fly back to Dallas, Texas to be able to be part of thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Flight from Dallas to France

I was upgraded to business class on my Boeing 767 flight and I have to say that the unhappiness within American Airlines crew is getting worse every day. As a customer, I should not have to deal with people that do not want to work and this will eventually turn very negative towards AA. I had an executive from Dallas sitting beside me and he was flabbergasted how he was treated during the flight. He said he wanted to test AA this time but based on what he saw, he will not return to AA. I have almost 3 million miles on American and I hate to see them going in down spiral in both service and convinience.

Monday, November 17, 2008

On my way to Paris, France

This time I am flying to Paris, France for a few days and continuing my trip to Manchester UK on Saturday. I am scheduled to return back to Dallas on February 25th so I will be able to spend time with my family for thanksgiving. I really like to see how the weather is going to be in Paris this time of the year and I hope that I do not run into rain as I has been doing in Finland according to my friends over there.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Wingate by Wyndham was good

Our stay at Wingate by Wyndham was nice and it is well located at a closeby mall. The address to this hotel is:

Wingate by Wyndham
9050 Mills Road
FM 1960 & Mills Road
Houston, TX 77070

From Dallas to Houston for an icehockey games with Dallas Stars Select

We left yesterday Dallas in the morning for an icehockey games. I-45 down from Dallas to Houston is boring I have to say but we finally made it wit a couple of stops. The first game was in the Memorial City Mall (Ice Skate USA) and the second game today will be at Willowbrook Aerodrome. The evening was beautiful and we had lots of fun with the team as well as a nice couple of Houston.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Time to return back to Dallas

Three days of intensive IAMCP Board meetings in Chicago is over and it is time to return home. The weather was very unseasonal for Chicago at this point in time, very warm and beautiful. I heard that there might be some snow flurries later this week which is kind of unreal when you think how warm it has been. I was upgraded toi first class... Th,k you American! It is nice to get back home!