Great Mileage Run

[merchanb]

If you can believe the ITYT World Airport Mileage Calculator http://www.ityt.com/mileagecalculator/ two $1,762.06 roundtrips to Lima would give me Platinum status. Great mileage run but would they have to refuel on that IAH to LIM segment or is it all down hill?

(Boeing seems to think their 777 is only good for a tad under 7,000 miles. Maybe they never noticed Continental is flying over 8,000 miles between EWR and HKG anyway.)

*****

Code Name --------------------------------------------------------------Code Name--------------------------------------------------------------Distance (in mi)
GUM Agana [Guam International Airport], Guam------------------HNL Honolulu, HI [Honolulu International Airport], USA---------3800
HNL Honolulu, HI [Honolulu International Airport], USA---------IAH Houston, TX [George Bush Intercontinental Airport], USA 3902
IAH Houston, TX [George Bush Intercontinental Airport], USA-LIM Lima [Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez], Peru-----11117
Total (GUM-HNL-HNL-IAH-IAH-LIM) [round-trip] 37638

*****

I somehow doubt that Continental would gimmie the status. They say it's only 3,631 miles IAH to LIM . . . who ya gonna believe anyway? :o

(Yes, I have run out of other better things to do today.)

[mduell]

I see IAH-LIM as just 3133mi. Perhaps ITYT is going the wrong way around the world :p

[merchanb]

Well, it all depends on whether you consider a mile as 5,280 feet or 6,076.11549 feet.

If it’s 3,133 miles, as you say, then Continental is in error since that would be 3,605.39201 miles.

If it’s 3,631 miles, as Continental says, then you are in error since that would be 3,155.2527 miles.

Including a total vertical ascent and descent of either 11.1 or 12.8 miles, taking into account the difference in altitude between EWR and LIM, could explain this error. Any remaining discrepancies could easily be rectified by exactly where you measure from in EWR and LIM.

Wouldn’t it simplify matters to just use feet anyway? But whose foot would we use? (I’m 8.5 D myself.)

Better would be to go metric and get rid of all those conversions and decimal places. Even then we need to remember that the earth is not flat. The earth is also not round. It is an oblate spheroid (whatever that means.) The only practical solution would be to measure the actual distance with a string and then compare that string to the standard platinum iridium bar.

I wonder if I could get a juicy government grant to do that. Also wonder if I would be earning miles.

It is indeed shocking to find out that, in at least one area, ITYT is less than perfect. Can I no longer believe everything I read here? :o

I really do need to get a life.

[merchanb]

Once you complete your mileage run, you'll want to double check and make sure all segments were properly credited to your account. Here's how it works.

On Continental.com, it asks: “Missing any mileage activity?" saying “Request mileage credit online for Continental flight activity.” and letting you know that “You may request mileage credit for up to four flights at one time.”

After filling in the blanks “Ticket Number:” “Flight Number:” “Flight Date (MM/DD/YYYY):” “Origin:” and “Destination:” for missing segments, you receive an immediate, but generic, email acknowledgement.

Within a day or so you receive an unsecured, but personalized, email the body of which includes your IP address (202.123.148.xxx), information about your computer “MOZILLA/4.0 (COMPATIBLE; MSIE 6.0; WINDOWS NT 5.0; Q312461)” your OnePass number, and a complete copy of your online mileage credit request.

In addition, the email informs you that "In order to receive credit for a missing flight we require a legible copy of the airline passenger receipt and original boarding passes. Please mail this information to the OnePass Service Center along with a note that includes your account number." (They neglected to include a postage stamp.)

Now, I ask you, is that efficient or what?

Dear Gordon . . . etc., etc.
(What do you have if you leave ron out?)

[dbaker]

Continental has never really been known for their paperwork efficiency or customer management technology.