I’m used to taking crazy quick trips, though usually that’s by design. Well, this trip ranks up there on the list of crazy trips, though unfortunately quite unintentionally.
I just wrapped up my first day in Fiji, and was supposed to spend two more days here before continuing to Auckland on Fiji Airways, and then returning to Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui via Tahiti.
In the back of my mind I always think about how long it would take me to get back to the US if there were an emergency. Well, that has finally happened, and I think I realized I’m in one of the tougher places for getting back to the US on a moment’s notice.
Unfortunately something horrible happened, so I’m headed back to the US right away. Usually I can use miles & points to figure out a creative routing home, even when time is of the essence.
In Fiji there’s exactly one daily flight to the US mainland, and that’s the flight to Los Angeles on Fiji Airways. There was no award space on the flight, so I booked a last minute ticket just three hours before departure. An economy ticket would have been ~$1,300, while a business class ticket was ~$2,000, so I sprung for business class.
I enjoyed my 15 hours in Fiji immensely, and look forward to returning. In the meantime, I’m likely one of the few people to have traveled from Los Angeles to Fiji and then back to Los Angeles the same day.
I apologize in advance if posts are more limited than usual over the next few days.
Hope everything is fine with you Ben
best of luck with whatever has happened, Ben.
Prayers and good thoughts with you and your family/loved ones.
Best wishes with your emergency. Glad that you were able to get back home as quickly as you were.
Hope everything is OK. Just curious if you had any form of trip insurance for this?
I appreciate your blog so much. Hope the situation resolves favorably while you are in the air.
Godspeed Lucky. Don't worry about us readers!
Good wishes being sent your way. Hope everything is okay.
Take care Ben! Hope everything will be fine, fingers crossed!
Safe travels, hope everything is ok.
Lucky,
Sorry to hear something bad came up. Best wishes from my wife and I to you and your family (assuming it's a family emergency)
Steve
Ben,
I hope everything is OK, in the meantime forget about us. No one doubts your dedication to this blog and no one will if you take a few days off. Please take as much time as you need and I hope everything turns out to be OK.
Best of luck
family & friends go first
Good luck Ben.
hope everything is ok. be safe
Take care if your personal business. Love the blog but it can wait.
Prayers are with you. Take time off; your readership understands and wants you to be there for family and friends.
Take care and godspeed
I'm sorry to hear that Lucky! Hope everything goes all right for you over the next few days
I hope everything is ok. Safe travels Ben
Ben, our prayers are with you. Guessing sucks! Hope Tiffany, your family, everyone is or will be ok.
Godspeed, Lucky
Always one of my worst fears that something horrible happens back home when I'm on the road working or traveling for fun. Had that happen two months ago. The flight home was awful. My best to you and your family.
I hope you can find some comfort from your friends and family at this time. Don't worry about us. -we'll be here when you come back. Take care.
Hope all is well Lucky.
My prayers and thoughts are with you, your family, and friends. I hope everything is OK in the end.
Hope everything is ok Ben.
Oh no! I hope everything turns out okay. Love and prayers and good energy with hopes that whatever it is, is resolved quickly!
Hope everything is okay Ben... have a safe flight back!
Wishing you clarity, peace and calm in your current situation. I hope you and everyone else is dealing with the situation as best as can be expected given the circumstances.
Hope all is alright, Ben. I know nothing is more stressful than hearing bad news when away from family.
Safe travels home.
Best wishes for you Ben. Hope you are able to manage through whatever the situation is.
Wish you all the best :)
Focus on yourself and your family / friends now.
Good luck Ben. As the nickname implies, I hope you and those impacted come out lucky on this one.
Hope everything is OK. Family/friends come first.
Sorry to hear. Best of luck
I'm glad you were able to get a quick return. Safe travels to my favorite blogger.
Ben, very sorry to hear. Thoughts, prayers, and best wishes to you and yours. Your fans are thinking of you.
Hey Ben! You're in my families thoughts and prayers!
Melissa
Sorry to hear the bad news Ben, I hope everything works out.
Oh, no! I really hope the horrible news isn't *that* horrible, but thoughts are with you.
Don't worry about the blog - you have some great guest authors who many of us enjoy reading (sorry, haters), and "real life" simply has to come first.
Good luck and as you take care of things, don't forget to take care of YOU.
Hope all turns out for the better and soon.
Hope everything is OK.
So sorry to hear about whatever it is that happened. This type of thing always concerns me some when we leave for an extended trip. Hope things turn out as best they can.
Sorry about the horrible news but you are doing the right thing being with your loved ones!!
Don't Worry about us Ben. We understand. I can write posts if you want. Anything to help!
No need to apologize. Hope you get home quickly and safely. Our thoughts are with you.
Your family and you are in our prayers and thoughts.
Safe travel!
Thoughts with you, Ben. Take as much time as you need.
Hope things turn out well.
Best wishes
Wishing you and family/friends well!
I hope you make it in time. My father passed away recently and luckily I had landed in london that morning from NYC, so I was able to go on the first flight to Lisbon in the morning. Everything happens 'for us' in 18-36 hours and for the past 6 months, every time I got on a plane, I always did the math. I was grateful I was home and be there for everyone. Hope nothing as bad happened to you.
Feel so sorry about it Ben, hope it all ends alright.
Sending prayers your way!
Best wishes - I hope everything turns out OK.
I am very sorry to hear this. I wish whatever the emergency was, it turns out OK.
I hope whatever happened turns out okay.
So sorry to hear of this. Hope it works out well.
Oh no! Prayers going out that everything works out for you. Let us readers know if there is anything we can to to help. You have a lot of loyal fans rooting for you.
Hope everything turns out okay Ben! Thoughts and prayers to you and your family!
Hoping all will be well with you and those you love.
Peter
Sorry for your troubles, Lucky.
Wishing you the best Ben!
best wishes to everyone concerned.
peace and calm to you and your family.
Hoping for the best for you and your loved ones! Take as much time as you need!
Good luck and best wishes Ben!
Hope everything is okay Lucky. Best wishes.
Sending positive for you, the situation, and all those involved
Hope everything is okay! Take good care of yourself and take some time off if need be. My thoughts and prayers go out to you!
Prayers and best wishes for you and yours, Lucky.
Wishing you and yours all the best, and safe travels.
Thinking positive thoughts for you Lucky! Love you!
Good wishes for everything to turn out well, Ben.
All the best to you and your loved ones.
My best thoughts are with you, and I wish you all the strength and compassion required to deal with the challenges ahead. Don't worry about us. We'll still be here when you choose to return.
Oh no! What will the readers do if you stop hawking credit cards for "a few days?" We are devoted to helping your amass your fortune from credit card app referral income.
Hi Ben,
Sorry to hear this. Hope everything works out OK. Best of luck!!!
Focus on the important stuff. Hope everything works out for the best.
Take care of yourself and your personal affairs, Best of Luck!
Really nice reading all of the comments here. You've got some great readers, Ben. Keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers.
Best wishes to you and your family during these difficult times!
Safe travels, hope everything goes well!
Only one asshole comment so far, not a bad hit rate I guess.
Hope all goes well for you Ben.
All the best, Ben. Know many of us will be willing to help if we can. Hope it all turns out fine.
Best wishes to all involved.
My one big concern when I travel is that an emergency arises and I need to get home ASAP. You have a great blog, but the blog can take a rest. I hope that every thing is OK.
Thoughts and prayers travel with you!
Thanks so much, guys. The kind words really mean a lot. There are a lot of good people out there on the internet!
Hope all is well Lucky with you, your family and your loved ones. Best wishes.
Safe travels, and hope your personal issues get resolved.
You should be known as Un-lucky!
Sorry to hear ben hope all turns out well.
Thanks for the update in the post.
Well wishes.
I hope that what ever happened, can be remedied. All the best to you.
Praying everything will be ok.
Best wishes for a safe return, Ben.
Ben/Lucky... We are your loyal readers, discovering your blog a few years back. You passion has inspired me so much to plan travelling with miles & points and we are currently on our first family mini-RTW trip from North America to Australia. Yes, it finally happens!
Thank you & best wishes to you Ben. You will be on our daily thoughts!
Prayers from me and mine going out to you and yours. Travel safe.
Best wishes to you and yours.
Sending positive thoughts and prayers your way.
Prayers and good thoughts sent your way. I hope your troubles quickly resolve. All the best, Mary
So sorry to read your message. We send our thoughts and, as others have already written, we'll be waiting for you when you return.
I hope things turn out to be better than you expect. Leave the blog alone for now. Family and friends come first. Your loyal readers will all still be here when you return. Sending prayers and positive vibes your way.
All the best Ben!
family/friends matter most. Thanks for all you do.
Hope everything resolves for the best.
Sorry to hear Ben. Hope all is well/gets better. Hugs, prayers, whatever you need.
Be well, we all hope you and your family are ok!
Sorry to learn of an emergency that forced a sudden trip home. Best of luck and you are in my prayers.
Hope all is well and not too serious. I enjoy your posts and they have helped me.
So very sorry! Take good care and thanks for all your great work.
Wishing you the best, Ben!
Sorry to hear about this and I hope everything works out. Please don't forget that this situation takes priority over cranking out posts on your blog.
Sorry for your horrible thing. Best wishes.
Have a safe trip back and I hope your emergency ends well. All the best.
safe travels and I hope everything works out OK
Best wishes! Hope everything's fine!
Good luck and hoping that everything turns out okay...
Hope everything is ok Ben. Travel safe.
Best wishes and take. As we Germans say : ich drücke die Daumen
Sending prayers to you and yours, Ben.
Lucky, I think I've posted exactly once but read your blog every day. I had to post when I read this to let you know our thoughts and prayers are with you. Hope everything turns out okay.
Sorry to hear that, Lucky. The best of luck.
I wish you peace, strength and safe travels as you deal with the crisis.
I am praying for Ford and his family. You are a good BF
Positive thoughts your way Ben!
Sorry to hear about your emergency. Hope everything is ok.
Hope all's fine. Stay positive! Best of luck!
All the best for you, Ben! Very sorry to hear that and hope it will turn out well.
good luck, wish you the best
I hope that everything will be all right.
Ben, my thoughts are with you. Hope everything is or turns out okay.
Glad you were able to get a flight out. Two grand in Biz is not bad last minute.
What a bummer on your AA flight out of LAX. The Lucky side is that now you don't have that 3 hour drive.
Ben - I hope that the emergency resolves itself shortly.
I'm so happy that you were able to get on that flight, and didn't have to wait another 24 hours.
Wishing you good thoughts for you and your family!
Good vibes coming your way Ben
Best wishes, hope things turn out ok.
Hope everything is well Lucky. Travel safe.
All the best.
Sorry to hear this Ben. Wishing you and yours all the best.
Alles Gute. Hoffe, du kommst noch rechtzeitig nach Hause!
I'm so sorry that you're going through a difficult time. I hope everything turns out well for you.
Hope that whatever emergency it is, that you will get through it and that everything is okay. Your readers are rooting for you and keeping you and your family in our prayers.
All the best!
My wishes with u Ben,
I Pray everything works out fine for you.
Take Care
My thoughts are with you Lucky. I hope that you get through this and everything is ok. I have been reading this blog for about a year and your writing has helped me through some of the most challenging situations I have experienced. I am a total aviation nut (not really miles and points, but lots of other things) and I enjoy reading your posts. It's like my therapy. When I'm down, I'll read a...
My thoughts are with you Lucky. I hope that you get through this and everything is ok. I have been reading this blog for about a year and your writing has helped me through some of the most challenging situations I have experienced. I am a total aviation nut (not really miles and points, but lots of other things) and I enjoy reading your posts. It's like my therapy. When I'm down, I'll read a good ol' EY or EK review, and it will immediately soothe my feelings. So I just wanted to say thank you for how you've helped me become a happier human being. Once again, I do hope you get through this issue, and I give you hugs!!
Oh, I forgot to mention...
WE ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU LUCKY!
Alles Gute.
I know how you must feel. Years ago I got terrible news while in Bonnaire. If it is family related, one could move mountains to get home quickly. Positive thoughts for you :)
Thinking of you, Ben, and praying for you and those you love.
Gracious so sorry for your troubles! Thoughts and prayers are with you!
Hope everything turns out well for you
Ben, I have been reading your blog since you were in college. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Take the time you need away from the blog until things get more normal.
Oh no :( I hope all works out in the end. I'm so sorry to hear that there was an emgerency.
I hope everything is ok. Focus on your friends and family. Sending best wishes.
So sorry to hear this. All the best to you.
Love and hugs, xx
Good Luck Ben!!
You got us curious now about what happened but it doesn't seem good. I'm sorry!
hang n' there! one breath at' time!
wishing the best outcome possible.
Rose
Hi Ben, I hope everything is alright, stay strong!!
We are all thinking about how much you mean to us, and wing our positive thoughts to you!
Unexpected life changing painful emergencies ground us to a halt. Take this time for you. I am really happy you were able to get a flight so quickly...and we will all be waiting for you, when you are ready to reamerge.x
Condolences to you and Ford's family on the passing of his step-father, Tom Cullen.
good luck with whatever is up.