A transportation TR by air and land

This is a short story of our positive and pleasant experiences with a charter flight from Honolulu to Las Vegas, and using Uber & Lyft in Las Vegas.

Uber & Lyft in Las Vegas We weren't really sure what to expect, as our first experience with Uber & Lyft was a few months ago in Los Angeles - all positive trips. Each car seemed to be newer & sleeker than the last one in LA. In Las Vegas, cars were also new & clean, maybe a quality step lower than what we experienced in LA, but still first class.
The tipping issue has always plagued me, as I grew up & worked in a service industry - but when you have no cash exchange transactions, it seemed just as complimentary to give the driver a high rating (if he/she indeed deserved it). All the drivers in LA & Las Vegas got our highest ratings, except for one which we didn't rate - the interior of the car still had cigarette smoke fighting with an air freshener. It wasn't annoying, but it was noticeable. We didn't feel an urge to tip in Las Vegas (who would have thought), and the drivers never gave an impression of the "waiting hand".
We unintentionally selected good travel times, as our wait was never more than 3-5 min from downtown (MSS) to Trader Joe's, Premium Outlets, and restaurants about 20 min away (Bachi Burgers & Goyemon). In the mornings, we went late morning after breakfast, around 10:30 - 11:00a. By the time we were ready to head back to MSS, it was around 2:30 - 3:00p, just before traffic build-up. We never went out at night (just tired!). It was a delight not to get penalized with a "prime time" or "surge price" when the demand was high, but we did experience that in LA.

Omni Air International (OAI) Although I've worked a handful of years in the aviation industry, and have filled up a passport 4 times with international travel, I take a courtesy bow and send kudos to OAI.


OAI is the most complete service-oriented airline I've ever flown. Here's their website: https://www.oai.aero/

As an individual with a handful of years working in the airline industry early 80s, I've not seen the equivalent "follow-through" in other airlines. OAI is partnered with Vacations Hawaii, which in turn is partnered with Boyd Gaming Casinos. One big happy family. After contacting Vacations Hawaii for a charter flight reservation, total was $1536; add'l fees were $25/check-in person (2 of us, 1 bag each) each way, and another $50 for cancellation insurance. We also requested wheelchair service from curbside to boarding gate (for me, shortness of breath and asthma) going in to Las Vegas and coming back.
From the time we got dropped off at the airport, there always seemed to be at least ONE Vacations Hawaii person in a brightly colored T-shirt holding a directional or informational sign, either waving us "Hello! Have a good trip!" or guiding us the way to go. Within minutes of standing near the Omni check-in, 2 agents came to us: one to make sure we had the wheelchair here and upon arrival in Las Vegas, and the other to make sure we go through TSA ok. Talk about customer service. . .
Security was a breeze. With my wheelchair, we got to use the "Golden Gate". Translation: by-pass the looooooooooonger lines and go zip-zip-zip through the shorter lines, a quick stand-up from the wheelchair, to walk through the metal detector, back in seat. Maybe 7 minutes? Hah! So here we are in "wait mode":


Since I was on a wheelchair, I got to board first, along with passengers who bought 1st class tickets and those requiring add'l assistance to board or with small children. Rows 1-6 were first class, then 7-17 were business class, and 18 and up were coach, but ALL the seats were leather (softest ad biggest seats up front, of course).
We had seats 24 A & C confirmed for both legs of our flight. Not bad, just a mere 6 steps to the restrooms - Big FYI: from seat 24 area, there are 3 restrooms at the forward cabin (before First Class area). One port, one starboard, and a larger "changing-room" sized bathroom in mid-galley. I always waited in line for this one - it's so much easier and comfortable to do your business there.
What to do on a 6-hour flight? I guess there must be some gambling aficionados in marketing and customer services. Each seat has private viewing with a fairly clear/clean/new-looking screen.



If your brought your own earphones, then you can save $5 for inflight headsets, because all the movies offered are free! (OK, they might not be blockbuster current movies!)

What made the screens great was that they were loaded with:

Blackjack!


and

Video Poker!



I have no problems with long haul flights, but the presence of my 2 favorite games made the time disappear! Before you knew it, snack time! Maybe for some of you, snacks are not a big deal. But I remember the airline industry when my international company's COACH meal budget was $10 per person (dream what the First Class meal budgets were!). . . Then, after the mid-80s, the food budget shrank to like crackers & cheese only . . .

I borrowed these pictures from Yelp - they are all very exacting to the (heavier than usual) snacks. First a HOT hamburger (note the foil - too hot to touch; and the size was LARGER than your regular bun) that was very decent tasting (or was I just super hungry?). Came with chips, and a Kit-Kat



Wifey had the Turkey:



We actually got to enjoy not one, but 2 snacks intervals!

A refreshing Melona Bar (like a giant honeydew flavored ice cream bar)



. . . and a bag of cookies for your coffee or tea:



After a few rounds of Blackjack and Video Poker, we were landing! Again, I was impressed that my wheelchair folks were waiting upon arrival. Well, let me re-phrase that. If you've ever taken notice or walked by a Hawaiian Airlines or Omni charter, you'll be able to count at least 18-24 wheelchair attendants!
Whisk-whisk-whisk to the bus (Omni takes care 100% of our land transpo). Short wait of less than 10 min, waving again to more Vacations Hawaii greeters, and we were on our way to MSS!
Don't know how they do it, but they are pretty fast. By the time we checked in to get our room keys, our bags were "knocking" on the door within 5 minutes! Job well done!
For our return flight, we had to make a little sacrifice, but it was worth it for the surprise breakfast we enjoyed. The Omni charter arrangements were that we should have our check-in luggage ready to go and sitting just inside our hotel room by 4:30a; we were to gather in the Pullman room by 5:30a for staging and head counts, and by 6:30a we would be on our way to the airport for our 9:00a departure.
We were up and ready by 4:30a, so we decided to check out the 777's breakfast offering we accidentally discovered: open from 11p to 7a!!!! Down we went and with only 2 other tables occupied, had the entire 777 to ourselves - good service, good food, multiple choice of screens, good coffee, . . . what more could you ask for?
By 5:30a we were ready to get to the staging room - again with the Vacations Hawaii greeters, making sure we had our check-in bags ID'd, and offered us the coffee & tea bar (but no pastries). With head counts completed, and luggage checked in, we boarded the bus to the airport. Orderly again, even upon arrival. The wheelchair gang was there, we went through security, and had a simple enjoyable relaxing flight home!

It's low classed not tipping those drivers. They're getting screwed already, basically driving you around for free, from what I hear. You have to give them a few bucks at least in my opinion.

Quote: onenickelmiracle

It's low classed not tipping those drivers. They're getting screwed already, basically driving you around for free, from what I hear. You have to give them a few bucks at least in my opinion.

That is a ridiculous statement. The drivers get 75-80% of the fare after the first $2.

Quote: onenickelmiracle

It's low classed not tipping those drivers. They're getting screwed already, basically driving you around for free, from what I hear. You have to give them a few bucks at least in my opinion.

Yeah that's a little harsh. Uber was designed on cashless and no tipping. Lyft was the same and then added a tipping option.

Thanks LW! I enjoy your reports very much.

Were the BJ and VP "fo reals"? If so, how was the money handled? When was the last time an airline gave away a complimentary deck of cards?

Quote: Ayecarumba

Thanks LW! I enjoy your reports very much.

Were the BJ and VP "fo reals"? If so, how was the money handled? When was the last time an airline gave away a complimentary deck of cards?

I wish "fo' real . . . " That might be the first in the airline industry! With all the tips I'm getting from you and the WoV members, I determined that both the BJ and the VP games had high negative EV for the player! The BJ reshuffled every deal (if I remember), but I played just for the fun of it! The VP payback wasn't great either.

However, I think you have a slick suggestion for Omni to give away complimentary decks of cards for anyone who gets wins $xxx on either BJ or VP - that would be pretty cool - or even a complimentary headset, etc. etc.

Thanks for your posting!