Flipping through my computer I found these pictures from Star MegaDO 2 back in 2010. I never got around to do a trip report so here it is! Memory is very fuzzy so please comment if you were there and add your commentary to improve it!
What is the Star MegaDO?
Well, you can read the site set up for it and the blog posts about it HERE. I believe there have been four Star MegaDo events to date.
TBB, are you crazy, you paid how much for it?
Hey I am TBB, I love trips for FREE! And this was totally free!
Get out, stop joking around TBB, tell us how much you paid for it?
Not joking, it was FREE!
Holy crap TBB, how did YOU do it?
I won a contest on Twitter by Lufthansa! Here is how it went down. A week before the trip Lufthansa came up with this simple contest on Twitter instructing followers to RT (retweet) one of their tweets. Contest only lasted a few days. So…I did. A few days later (and about 5 days before the trip started) I received an email that I am a winner and must contact them. My first thought was…Yeah right…is this phone number in Nigeria? Actually it was not! Since I lived in Detroit it was a little more difficult but working with the nice Lufthansa folks everything was set up in a few days. I told family “I am going to NYC, Frankfurt, Houston, Phoenix, Boeing factory, Seattle, Houston next week” for free! They told me “we are so proud of you!”.
Come on, was it really free? What did it cover?
Reception in the JFK Senator Lounge by Lufthansa
Flight JFK to Frakfurt on Lufthansa in Coach (almost got Business class)
Wined and dined in Lufthansa Headquarters in Frankfurt
Night at the Frankfurt Sheraton
Flight Frankfurt to Houston on Lufthansa in Coach
Two nights at the Sheraton by Houston airport
Entrance fee to the Frequent Traveler Awards
Continental Charter flight to Phoenix
Entrance fee to the Lufthansa Pilot Training Center with time on the actual flight stimulator
Continental Charter flight from Phoenix to the Everett Field in Boeing’s Factory
Tour of Boeing Factory
Bus ride to the Westin Seattle
Starwood Reception in the Seattle Westin
Continental flight Seattle to Houston
Continental flight Houston to Detroit
You rock TBB!
Thanks. You have no idea how long this took! Click my links lol.
So here are the pictures (You can click the pictures to make them larger), here we go:
Group picture. Boeing Factory FloorDetroit Airport. Here we go! I was so fat back then!
I had to pay my way to New York City so I can make it to the small reception in the hotel before starting the trip the next day. Lufthansa was willing to fly me direct from Detroit to Frankfurt and join the group there but I preferred to burn some Avios miles and join the group festivities in New York. I stayed one night at brother in law’s apartment about five blocks away from the Westin #winning.
Nice hotel, perfect location!We had a little informal gathering at an Italian restaurant nearby before the reception at the WestinNice small reception by the hotel manager, a Starwood rep and yummy stuff by the ChefFlyertalker MegaDOers in the lounge tasting the food by the ChefYeah, all drinks were free!
Next day we made our way to JFK & Lufthansa’s Senator Lounge. Impressive. Like I know what I am talking about lol.Lots of networking in the lounge!Loved the food and drinks, they taste so much better when they are free!I like to talk about drinking but I am a lightweight really. Here I am drinking…water!Since my attempts to snag a Business Class seat were not successful…I had to get my money’s worth for dinner!Lufthansa airline folks giving us a little pep talk about being German and stuff like that.Took a tour of the Senator Lounge and got a peak in the First Class lounge.Time to fly, lets go!Hello there, take us to Frankfurt!Packed like sardines in coach. Seat was hard as a rock. I am not complaining, just telling it like it is.Gathering in the lobby of the Sheraton in Frankfurt toride the bus to the Lufthansa facilities inside Frankfurt’s airportusing our cool FlyerTalk badges.Private security screening for our group, suck it TSA!We toured airplanesFirst A380 about to fly soon thereafter for the first time…I thinkSometimes, once in 1,000 pics, I manage a great one. This is one of them!We played around with the seatsEven checked out the flat bedsIs this flat or what?I remember I was so tired as I did not get much sleep the night before on the plane. Those flat beds looked so good!These events attract lots of aviation geeks. I love flying but I do not consider myself an aviation geek by any means. Never heard so many ooohs and aaaahs.This economy class sure looks so much better than the seat I flew on the night before. My back was sore for a few days! No joke. #goodproblemRemember this was back in 2010. I think this was the first one about to start flying! Ooooh!!! Aaaaahhh! Aviation geeks were besides themselves.A380 cockpit. At this point the aviation geeks were having instant orgasms lolTBB. Cool. Look at me.Playing around the A380 like boys and girlsWhy do I suck in pictures? Trying to look cool #failWhen I don’t get my beauty sleep I do stupid things. Like this. WTF TBB!TBB. A380. Tires. Deal with it!A380. Engine. Wow. I wish I had more sleepWe then went to the Lufthansa HQs where we all split and participated in focus groups. Mine was in the “Inflight entertainment” focus group. My suggestion to get rid of Channel 9 was almost met with threats for my physical safety by a few aviation geeks. LolWe then went to the cafeteria room where we had a reception by Lufthansa and some other airline reps who had set up boothsOooh…massage…yes!Oooohhhh…..I went back for a second one. AaaaahhhLufthansa’s CEO came by to greet us all. I thanked him personally for the two massage sessions I received. Danke schön!It was a really nice reception. Food was decent and alcohol plentiful. I thought the massage ladies were the best…or maybe it was because my back was killing me!Back then i had no idea what diet and controlling myself was about!Scored swag!More free swag, I am killing it!Aviation geeks comparing how many stamps they have in their passports!
We then were taken to the famous Lufthansa First Class Terminal and we had it all to ourselves. It was pointless to grab a duckie, they were all gone. I still don’t have a phucking duckie from the Lufthansa FCT. We were all checked in for our flight to Houston the next morning. My impression about this that so many bloggers rave about? It is a nice lounge and the raving reviews are a little too much, come on! What follows are some pics from the lounge, sorry no duckies!
After sleeping a little at the Sheraton it was off to Houston. Frankfurt boarding = zoo 🙂Day flight. Much more enjoyable than last overnight flight!Crashed in my hotel room at the Sheraton by IAH. This much flying is really hard on my body, I am no youngster anymore!After a reception at the hotel we were driven to the Houston airport where United/Continental had a reception for us.“Together we will make the world’s best airline”. Yeah, sure, hahahaha!“The synergies will undoubtedly make us Number 1”! Woohoo!Hope no one starts the engine right about…now!Back at the Sheraton we had the Frequent Traveler Awards. It was a nice event & still can’t get over how many times Marriott won. WTF! I believe this is Gary Leff. Do I suck in taking pictures or what?I remember sitting at a table with a Delta Airlines rep. On the way to the buffet I asked him: “Excuse me but what are you doing here?” He was a good sport: “Have no idea why I was invited” LOLThe big enchiladas. The maestros of the event. The organizers. The Gods & a Goddess. We are not worthy. Ok, I better stop now…The Points Guy was also in my table. Very nice guy. He was just starting out back then. He pounced on the commercial opportunity. I may not care about his blog much at all but do not underestimate what he has been able to accomplish. And he is not selling drugs, just plastic 🙂VERY early rise to line up for the hotel shuttle buses to take us to the Houston airport. Sleep deprived is an understatement. You must be young and have lots of stamina to make it through these events!Spent the time in the Houston Continental President’s Club lounge. Some others did a lounge crawl so early in the morning drinking. I wanted to crawl into a flat bed and catch up on sleep!I remember it was an excellent for US standards airline lounge. Now with United it has probably turned into a dump?Time to board our Continental charter flight to Phoenix, all aboard!The Continental pilots in our charter flights. Very cool crew all around. Continental was a class act!Flight was a lot of fun. Silliness galore aboard!Did I just say there was a lot of silliness aboard. Oh, yes I did!
Somewhere along the charter flights there was a famous pillow fight that made national news! Here is the VIDEO
Awesome crew!Landed in Phoenix!Buses are coming to take us away
Most MegaDo participants came for this eventQ&A with Doug Parker. He now runs American Airlines and he is coming for you…just give him a little more time. Can’t pull an America West job lol.Only ones who paid an extra fee got to go to the Lufthansa Pilot Training Facility. I paid nada, thanks Lufthansa!This German dude on the bus gave us a pretty good overview of the Lufthansa way of training pilots. Impressive!Bus ride was a little hike outside of Phoenix in the desert but we are finally here!Future Lufthansa pilots in training…Oh look it’s a bird…no, it’s an airplane!Tour of the facility…Touring alongYes baby I get to FLY….on the simulator that is!I was so clumsy I crashed a few times and LOVED it!This is me about to crash…again, YES!Not bad for German food, not badIt was nice that the staff mixed with us. Very nice laid back lunch sessionBack on the charter flying from Phoenix to Everett Field in the Boeing Factory. I think this is THAT pillow fight or we just started another one. Who’s counting?Welcome to Boeing!I repeat: Welcome to BoeingThis place is gigantic!
After an amazing time in Boeing watching a presentation and then going on a tour of the factory along with going into a few airplanes being put together we took a bus ride to the Seattle Westin. Why no more pictures at Boeing? Not allowed!
Yep, another reception by Starwood and this was the best one of the trip!ThanksSome speeches went on…I don’t remember. I was waiting for the GO sign for the food, I was starving!Food was excellent, best of the trip. Does not take much to beat German food heheGot upgraded to a really nice suite I remember at the Seattle WestinEarly rise to get to the Seattle airportSo many of us in this tiny airline lounge…Boarding last charter flight in Seattle to HoustonNice last flight to Houston. Many had started their flights home from Seattle. More laid back flight, no pillow flights. Got some needed sleep!
In Houston I waited a few hours and then boarded a Continental flight to make my way home back to Detroit.
Trip of a lifetime was over! Thanks to all for the memories!
