Author Topic: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information  (Read 135919 times)

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Offline Neobie

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #25 on: November 08, 2008, 09:01:10 AM »
Don't forget the racer sighting on LH3424! That flight departs from Munich at 9.30pm and arrives in Bucharest at 12.25am. There are no air connections between Munich and Salzburg; teams travelled overland to get to Munich. Which is strange - teams should be released morning of the 4th and should have had no problems getting any of Apskip's flights from Salzburg through Vienna to Bucharest. Did a clue send them away to Germany, or was there a weirdly-extended Pit Stop putting teams out of reach of even the last flight (at 6.25pm) from Salzburg?

There's something to occupy teams from the morning till after 5pm of the 4th of November (when there are better flights from both Salzburg and Munich), be it extra tasks or an extended Pit Stop. It winds up with at least some teams travelling overland to Munich.

Travelling through Frankfurt is possible, though on schedule LH3416 (8.45pm departing Frankfurt, 12.05am arriving Bucharest) it saves teams only twenty minutes. From Salzburg, teams could catch OS269 (6.30pm to 7.50pm) to Frankfurt; from Munich, it's LH981 (5.55pm to 7.05pm). This is only if teams miss the respective flights to Vienna for Apskip's flight: OS924 (6.25pm to 7.20pm) for Salzburg and LH6374 (5.15pm to 6.25pm) for Munich.

Another option for teams from Munich is through Brussels: SN2646 leaves Munich at 6.20pm, arrives Brussels 7.50pm. Change for RO374, departing Brussels 8.40pm, arriving Bucharest 12.25am. Once again, this is if teams miss LH981 from Munich to Vienna at 5.55pm. It saves absolutely no time from a direct flight, but maybe the seats were fully booked? Romaniafan's other teams must have got another flight somehow!

I've also looked at OK304 from Prague (arriving Bucharest 12.10am) and KL1361 from Amsterdam (12.30am), but Apskip's options through Vienna always seem the better option, be it from Munich or Salzburg. What could Romaniafan's other teams have come in on? Did TPTB ban Tarom?



I have a feeling that Switzerland to Salzburg is done by ground transportation... Apskip's train-bus-plane itinerary takes around 7 hours. Travelling by train from Locarno to Salzburg takes around 9. Probably worth TPTB to save that bit of money?
 


Random trivia: TAR has connected through Frankfurt for 10 out of the first 13 seasons, and it looks like the pattern's continuing into TAR14. We should so station a permanent spoiler stake-out there!
« Last Edit: November 08, 2008, 11:11:24 AM by Neobie »

Offline Chateau d If

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #26 on: November 08, 2008, 11:02:59 AM »
We know that they arrived at the Pit Stop in a fleet of Mercedes.  So I suspect they will start the 3rd leg in those cars.  The drive time from Salzburg to Munich is 1.5 hours while driving to Vienna takes 3 hours.

Having worked it backwards from Bucharest I would say that the lead teams opt for driving to Vienna:

Lead Teams Pit Stop release at (say) 3:00 pm
Drive 3 hours to Vienna
Fly RO 344 leaving at 7:55 pm and arriving at 10:35 pm in Bucharest

Trailing Teams Pit Stop release two hours later at 5:00 pm
Drive 1.5 hours to Munich
Fly LH 3424 leaving at 9:30 pm and arriving at 12:25 am

One thing that would help sort this out would be to ask Romaniafan's friend how certain they were that the two teams they saw were the only ones on  board.

100% sure it's another buggared Pit Stop time  :lol:

I should add that apskip's SZG VIE  OS924  1825 1920 connecting to  RO344  1955 2235  may have been a bust due to having too tight of a connection (35 minutes  :ascared) or just not having enough seats.
« Last Edit: November 08, 2008, 11:25:02 AM by Chateau d If »
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Offline Chateau d If

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #27 on: November 08, 2008, 12:20:19 PM »
I'm a little uncomfortable with driving to two different airports for car drop off so I looked harder at flights out of Salzburg.

Let say they leave from the Salzberg Pit Stop as early as 1 pm

They can take VO 265 leaving at 2:25 pm and arriving at 3:40 pm in Frankfurt or
They can take VO 269 leaving at 6:30 pm and arriving at 7:50 pm in Frankfurt
Then LH 3416 leaving FRA at 8:50 pm and arriving at 12:10 am in Bucharest

To get the known Munich flight to Bucharest

They can take VO 265 leaving at 2:25 pm and arriving at 3:40 pm in Frankfurt
Then LH 978 leaving FRA at 5:20 pm and arriving at 6:15 pm in Munich
Then LH 3424 leaving MUC at 9:30 pm and arriving at 12:25 am in Bucharest
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Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #28 on: November 08, 2008, 06:58:15 PM »
Let me start with some analysis of the above posts by Chateau and by Neobie. Given the sighting of the German-licensed vehicles, even though Salzburg is right on the border of Germany I doubt that those vehicles were picked up anywhere but Munich airport. The driving mileage to Salzburg from Munich airport (not Munich, which is about 15 miles less) is 85 miles. That means that Chateau's estimate of 1.5 hours will be closer to the schedule of the Lufthansa bus which goes between Munich airport and Salzburg airport, which is 2.5 hours.

Given the cars, flight into Munich from Zurich or Milan-Malpensa is the most likely alternative.

Flights Zurich to Munich
LX1100/LH5063 0710 0815
LX3616/LH3739 0845 0945
LX3618/LH3741 0930 1030
LX1104/LH5065 1215 1310
LX3620/LH3743 1310 1410
LX1108/LH5067 1535 1630
LX3622/LH3745 1735 1835
LX1110/LH5069 1905 2000
LX3624/LH2749 1950 2050
LX3626/LH3751 2050 2150

Flights from Milan-Malpensa to Munich
EN3911/LH3911 0710 0820
EN3897/LH3897 0850 1005
EN3899/LH3899 1115 1230
EN3901/LH3901 1300 1415
EN3933/LH3933 1505 1635
EN3905/LH3905 1705 1820
EN3907/LH3907 1920 2030
EN3909 LH3909 2100 2215

Also, given the cars and the flight schedule from Munich, the route from Salzburg to Bucharest is likely to be driving back to get  LH3424 MUC OTP 2120 0025+1. Another possibility is to fly or drive to Vienna airport to connect with the flight VIE BUD connecting with BUD OTP but this arrives at 0125, well after the time frame of the sightings. Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Brussels don't make much sense as origination points to get to Bucharest. Prague is an outside possiblity, with OK804 2125 0015+1. The rail schedules from Salzburg to Prague are dep.0908 arr.1653 or dep.1134 to arr.1853.





Offline Chateau d If

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #29 on: November 09, 2008, 12:44:03 AM »
Quote
Given the cars, flight into Munich from Zurich or Milan-Malpensa is the most likely alternative.

Apskip, I'm fully confused !  Your 2.5 hour Lufthansa bus look like the best option of them all!  I can see them taking that from Salzburg to Munich and catching the known flight to Bucharest at 9:30 pm.  They would not have to be released at 1 pm to do that.  That bus allows for a later release time.  When does it run?
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Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #30 on: November 09, 2008, 12:49:38 PM »
Chateau, I can't leave you confused. The time by car is maybe 90 minutes and that is to a flexible arrival point in Salzburg if a team has the navigational skills. The time by bus is an estimated hour longer and it goes to the Salzburg airport, requiring more time to get to a useful place.

The information on the bus service is:
Lufthansa Airport Shuttle Service - a special alternative
In cooperation with our partner the Salzburger Mietwagen Service (for Innsbruck our partner Four Seasons) the comfortable 8-seater busses travelling to Munich Airport. Reservations including your requested pick-up time are guarantied up to 48 hours prior to departure.

That means it is a flexible departure time, just-call-for-pickup service.

Offline Chateau d If

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #31 on: November 09, 2008, 01:16:13 PM »
So the Lufthansa bus from Salzburg to Munich is the sure winner for explaining all the evidence we have.

Teams drive their Mercedes from Pit Stop to Salzburg (Mozart) airport arriving at say 5:00 pm
Some teams take the Lufthansa bus to Munich, arriving at say 8:30 pm
There they take LH 3424 leaving MUC at 9:30 pm and arriving at 12:25 am in Bucharest (this is the known flight)

Some teams fly out from Salzburg
They take VO 269 leaving at 6:30 pm and arriving at 7:50 pm in Frankfurt
Then LH 3416 leaving FRA at 8:50 pm and arriving at 12:10 am in Bucharest

That bus really puts it all together.  I'm so glad you found it.  It even satisfies the comment heard that other people in their group were on an earlier flight (12:10 vs 12:25 am arrival in Bucharest).
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Offline Mrs Shrek

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #32 on: November 09, 2008, 01:23:33 PM »
So the Lufthansa bus from Salzburg to Munich is the sure winner for explaining all the evidence we have.

Teams drive their Mercedes from Pit Stop to Salzburg (Mozart) airport arriving at say 5:00 pm
Some teams take the Lufthansa bus to Munich, arriving at say 8:30 pm
There they take LH 3424 leaving MUC at 9:30 pm and arriving at 12:25 am in Bucharest (this is the known flight)

Some teams fly out from Salzburg
They take VO 269 leaving at 6:30 pm and arriving at 7:50 pm in Frankfurt
Then LH 3416 leaving FRA at 8:50 pm and arriving at 12:10 am in Bucharest

That bus really puts it all together.  I'm so glad you found it.  It even satisfies the comment heard that other people in their group were on an earlier flight (12:10 vs 12:25 am arrival in Bucharest).


Are we sure the teams use their vehicles after the pitstop? The blogger from Salzburg took a photo of all the cars the morning after teams arrived at the pitstop (about 6:30am), and it seems like all the cars were still there :duno:

Offline Chateau d If

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #33 on: November 09, 2008, 01:43:36 PM »
I forgot to mention that in order for flight analysis we have assembled to be valid the Pit Stop had to have been extended.  If it was extended and they drive the cars, then the cars would still be there at 6:30 am.

So if it was not extended then we have to find a different flight plan.

But, I can't come up with anything that works with Teams being released before noon.   :duno:
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Offline Mrs Shrek

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #34 on: November 09, 2008, 06:09:46 PM »
Thanks for clarifying that Chateau. I hadn't reread back far enough and had forgotten that a skewed pitstop departure was speculated :tup:


Offline georgiapeach

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #35 on: November 09, 2008, 10:39:10 PM »
I forgot to mention that in order for flight analysis we have assembled to be valid the Pit Stop had to have been extended.  If it was extended and they drive the cars, then the cars would still be there at 6:30 am.

So if it was not extended then we have to find a different flight plan.

But, I can't come up with anything that works with Teams being released before noon.   :duno:

Maybe they don't use the cars anymore??  :duno:
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Offline Chateau d If

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #36 on: November 09, 2008, 11:30:39 PM »
Annnd that's another assumption I had to make.   :lol:
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Offline Mrs Shrek

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #37 on: November 10, 2008, 01:00:25 AM »
If there were no assumptions left to make, it would take all the fun out of speculating :lol:

Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #38 on: November 15, 2008, 09:15:54 PM »
Here are all the Sunday morning Nov. 16 flights Bangkok to Phuket:

TG203 0740 0850
TG201 0750 0910
PG271 0810 0930
TG209 1025 1145

there are also 7 additional nonstop flights from 11am to 11pm.

Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #39 on: November 16, 2008, 04:37:45 PM »
From Interlaken to Salzburg, train is a potential way to go. The early morning Tuesday(as in Nov.4) schedules are:

dep. Interlaken West 0605 transfer trains in Spiez, Romanschorn, 7 min. walk to ship, ship to Frederichshafen ship terminal, 5 min. walk to Hafen station, 2 min. train to Frederichshafen station, Ulm, then arr. Salzburg 1454 after a 8 hour 53 minute trip
dep. Interlaken West 0731 transfer trains in Spiez, Bern, Zurich arr. Salzburg 1529 after a 8 hour 0 minute trip

Based on the above, it seems more likely that teams flew to Salzburg on Nov. 4. In order to do that the optimal route is to take a train from Interlaken to Bern(somtimes changing first in Spiez) and then change for Bern to Zurich. The trains that fit are:

First train is dep. Interlaken West 522 transfer at Bern, arr. Zurich HB 0728, transfer there to Zurich Airport dep. HB 0746 arr. Airport 0747,  a difficult 23 minute connection to make the first flight below from Zurich airport
Next is dep. Interlaken West 1031 transfer at Bern, arr. Zurich HB 1228 dep.HB 1237 arr. Airport 1246 .
Last is dep. Interlaken West 1729 transfer at Spiez and Bern, arr. Zurich HB 1928, dep. HB 1937 arr. Airport 1946.

At Zurich there are  several nonstop flights to Salzburg, each with a connection from one of the train trips above:

C91202/LX4290  0810 0915  ZRH SGZ
C91204/Lx4292  1335 1440  ZRH SGZ
C91208/LX4294  2040 2145  ZRH SGZ

Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #40 on: November 16, 2008, 05:23:44 PM »
With sightings or reports for 4 AR14 locations, I am starting a Timeline which will be filled in with tranportation information when I have time to transfer that in. Here is the tentative first AR14 Timeline:

Oct. 31 leg 1 depart U.S. for Locarno, Switzerland via Frankfurt and Zurich or via Milan.
Nov. 1 arrive mid-morning in Europe and reach Locarno sometime in the afternoon; then tasks; this might be a TBC to allow known timing of next leg, but probably isn't
Nov. 2 leg 2 Locarno to Domodossola to Spiez to Interlaken by train; then tasks in Interlaken
Nov. 3 leg 3 Interlaken probably by rail to Zurich, then plane to Salzburg; arrival possibilities mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and late evening
Nov. 4 tasks in Salzburg
Nov. 5 leg 4 depart Salzburg for Bucharest, with several late-night flight options
Nov. 6 arrival in Bucahrest after midnight; transfer to train to get to Brasov
Nov. 7 tasks in Brasov
Nov. 8 leg 5 leave Transylvania for unknown location #1
Nov. 10 leg 6 unknown location #2
Nov. 12 leg 7 unknown location #3
Nov. 14 leg 8 leave unknown location #3 to arrive Bangkok the next morning
Nov. 15 fly Bangkok to Phuket apparently on TG203 0740 0850, then tasks in Phuket area
Nov. 16 leg 9 go from Phuket to unknown location #4
Nov. 18 leg 10 go from unknown location #5
Nov. 20 fly to U.S. for Finish Line in Hawaii or the mainland
Nov. 21 Finish Line, location unknown

There are probably two 36 hour extended pitstops incorporated above but I haven't a clue as to which leg at this time.

EDITOR's NOTE - I adjusted the departure for Bangkok information by one day to Nov. 15 to better fit what we have learned. That has a one day domino effect for the rest of the race.

« Last Edit: November 18, 2008, 08:10:51 AM by apskip »

Offline puddin

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #41 on: November 16, 2008, 05:53:35 PM »
Very nice apskip!

Offline Neobie

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #42 on: November 16, 2008, 06:50:00 PM »
Nice Apskip; but Leg One should probably encompass Interlaken as well. I'm pretty sure they'd do the stay-overnight-and-wait-for-your-selected-departure-time thing again!

Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #43 on: November 16, 2008, 09:50:52 PM »
Neobie, I don't see it that way. If teams wanted to go to Interlaken, they would have gone directly (via Zurich) and never have been close to Locarno, so Locarno has to be a pitstop or TBC point. Interlaken by that logic has to be leg 2, not part of leg 1.

Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #44 on: November 24, 2008, 08:15:52 AM »
AR14 Timeline(revised 11/26):

Oct. 31 leg 1 depart U.S. for Locarno, Switzerland via Frankfurt and Zurich or via Milan.
Nov. 1 arrive mid-morning in Europe and reach Locarno sometime in the afternoon; then tasks; this might be a TBC to allow known timing of next leg, but probably isn't
Nov. 2 leg 2 Locarno to Domodossola to Spiez to Interlaken by train; then tasks in Interlaken
Nov. 3 leg 3 Interlaken probably by rail to Zurich, then plane to Salzburg; arrival possibilities mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and late evening
Nov. 4 tasks in Salzburg
Nov. 5 leg 4 depart Salzburg for Bucharest, with several late-night flight options
Nov. 6 arrival in Bucharest after midnight; transfer to train to get to Brasov
Nov. 7 tasks in Brasov
Nov. 8 leg 5 leave Transylvania for unknown location #1
Nov. 10 leg 6 unknown location #2
Nov. 12 leg 7 unknown location #3
Nov. 14 leg 8 leave unknown location #3 to arrive Bangkok the next morning
Nov. 15 fly Bangkok to Phuket apparently on TG203 0740 0850, then tasks in Phuket area
Nov. 16 leg 9 fly from Phuket to ?
Nov. 18 leg 10 fly from ? to Guilin
Nov. 20 leg 11 Guilin to Beijing, then tasks in Beijing and start pitstop
Nov. 22 leg 12 return from Beijing to U.S. for Finish Line in Hawaii via Tokyo
                        Finish Line, which Hawaiian island not known yet although I guess Oahu for convenience

Note: this is a 23 day race.
« Last Edit: November 26, 2008, 10:48:10 AM by apskip »


Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #45 on: November 24, 2008, 08:46:10 AM »
Flight information for leg 9(Phuket to Shanghai) is:

HKT ICN  OZ748  0200 0945 connecting with ICN PVG  OZ363  1050 1155

HKT BKK  TG226  0720 0850 connecting with BKK PVG  TG664   1035 1550

HKT HKG  UO704 1220 1635 connecting with HKG PVG FM508   1735 2015

HKT KLL   AK877  2115 2330 connecting with KLL PVG MH386    0140+1 0640+1

Flight information for leg 10(Shanghai to Guilin) is:

PVG KWL  MU5381 1815 2045

PVG CKG  FM9545  0800 1045 connecting with  MF8404  CKG KWL  1145 1250

PVG WUH  MU2512  1120 1300 connecting with CZ6288  WUH KWL 1455 1605

PVG CKG  FM9941  1530 1920  connecting with  ZH9133  CKG KWL  1820 1920



Offline apskip

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #46 on: November 24, 2008, 09:35:59 AM »
Based on what I have read, I think Tacoma WA is the site of the AR14 finale. With teams originating the last leg from Guilin China their flight combinations to Seattle/Tacoma airport is likely to be:
 
OZ326  KWL ICN 2350 0400+1
DL3520  ICN SEA  1105+1 0645+1
or
OZ326  KWL ICN  2350  0400 +1
JL950  ICN NRT  0930+1 1150+1
NW008  NRT SEA  1505+1 0645 +1

This is a total flying time of 22 hours 55 minutes but the only reasonable combination that lands in Seattle early morning as is the tradition of Amazing Race finales. Also note that the International Date Line gives back 24 hours when crossed, so that flight times of about 23 hours translates into an apparent time difference of only 7 hours since there is a 16 hour time zone differential.
 




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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #47 on: November 24, 2008, 09:39:06 AM »
apskip, I love the Timeline, it is so handy to keep track of this as we go and this is good.

BUT, I really get confused when speculation is included as fact.

Would it perhaps be possible to color code the locations and perhaps the dates also so we can keep what we KNOW (photo, blog, or other reliable evidence) separate from what is SPEC?

For instance, Shanghai is clearly spec, as people running in a subway do not mean TAR without further proof.

Guilin on the other hand, seems quite reliable even without photos at this point.

And I believe puddin has shown that the Tacoma filming was for a Toyoto commercial, so that remains spec of course. Seattle also remains spec at this point, but may be more likely.

I think that would help keep your Timeline completely reliable.. Just my opinion, of course!

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #48 on: November 26, 2008, 10:47:52 AM »
The news discovered by Peach about Beijing and Hawaii being legs and Tokyo a connection point has motivated me to look at the flight possibilities. Here they are for legs 11 and 12 of AR14:

leg 11 Nov. 20 Guilin to Beijing(KWL to PEK):
CZ3281 0900 1125
CA6312 1145 1435
CZ3287 1710 1950
CA1226 2105 0015

leg 12 Nov. 22 Note this is also the finish day but crossing the International Date Line resets the calendar by one day.
PEK NRT on Air China has several choices:

CA6651/NH956 0845 1305
CA925               0930 1350
CA167               1350 1750
there are two more later but they don't connect with flights for Honolulu

Continuing on from Tokyo-Narita to Honolulu (NRT to HNL), there are 9 choices with departures between 645pm and 10pm. With the 6 hours 45 minute flying team and 5 hour time difference, these flights arrive HNL 0630 to 0950. The most logical choice to me would be UA880 NRT HNL 1925 0710+1.

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Re: AR14 Timelines, Timetables and Flight Information
« Reply #49 on: November 26, 2008, 11:21:49 AM »
I am now going to start adding in the flight or rail information to each leg:

AR14 Timeline(revised 11/26):

Oct. 31 leg 1 depart U.S. for Locarno, Switzerland via Frankfurt and Zurich or via Milan:
The only applicable flight in the right time frame from the U.S. is UA990 SFO FRA 1348 0830

A different route goes LAX to Milan-Malpensa(MXP) as follows: TN022 1145 0845+1 connecting with AF1214 0945+1 1145+1

Here are the bus schedules in the same time frame:
Shuttle bus leaves airport  Arrival in Bellinzona at  Connecting train leaves  Arrival in Locarno 
12:30                                           14:20                              14:39                        14:58 
14:30                                           16:20                              16:39                        16:58 

From LAX to Milan-Linate a similar schedule applies:
TN (Air Tahiti Nui) 022  LAX CDG  1145 0845+1, conecting with  XM5997  CDG LIN 0935+1 1110+1

From LAX to Zurich via Frankfurt we have the interesting combination:
LH457  LAX FRA  1435 1025+1 connecting with LH3726   FRA ZRH  1200 1255

What I find most interesting is the fit LH457/LH3726 has with the observer comments about seeing 7 teams in Frankfurt Airport the morning of Saturday Nov. 1. I expect no other reason to go to Frankfurt except to connect to Zurich. There are 10 nonstop flights on Saturday between Frankfurt and Zurich, so if any are delayed there are alternatives.

The train schedule from Zurich to Bellinzona to Locarno indicates that 3 1/4 hours is required. Here is is:

Train leaves airport Change in  Connecting train leaves  Arrival in Locarno 
11:47  Zurich HB (main station)             12:09     
                                Arth-Goldau           12:52     
                                 Bellinzona             14:40                         15:06 
12:47  Zurich HB (main station)             13:09     
                                 Bellinzona             15:40                         16:06 
13:47  Zurich HB (main station)             14:09     
                              Arth-Goldau             14:52     
                                 Bellinzona             16:40                         17:07 
16:47   Zurich HB(main station)             17:09
                              Bellinzona                19:40                         19:06


It is my belief that AR14 teams used a minimum of 2 flight combinations to get to Locarno. One may be to Milan, another to Zurich directly, and a third to Zurich via Frankfurt.

Nov. 1 arrive mid-morning in Europe and reach Locarno sometime in the afternoon; then tasks; this might be a TBC to allow known timing of next leg, but probably isn't
Nov. 2 leg 2 Locarno to Domodossola to Spiez to Interlaken by train; then tasks in Interlaken
dep. Locarno 1047 arr. Domodossola 1235
dep. Domodossola 1248 arr. Spiez 1353
dep. Spiez 1425 arr. Interlaken West 1454 or dep. Spiez 1432 arr. Interlaken West 1451
total trip is 4 hours train

Nov. 3 leg 3 Interlaken probably by rail to Zurich, then plane to Salzburg; arrival possibilities mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and late evening
From Interlaken to Salzburg, the early morning Tuesday(as in Nov.4) train schedules are:

dep. Interlaken West 0605 transfer trains in Spiez, Romanschorn, 7 min. walk to ship, ship to Frederichshafen ship terminal, 5 min. walk to Hafen station, 2 min. train to Frederichshafen station, Ulm, then arr. Salzburg 1454 after a 8 hour 53 minute trip OR
dep. Interlaken West 0731 transfer trains in Spiez, Bern, Zurich arr. Salzburg 1529 after a 8 hour 0 minute trip

Based on the above, it seems more likely that teams flew to Salzburg on Nov. 4. In order to do that the optimal route is to take a train from Interlaken to Bern(somtimes changing first in Spiez) and then change for Bern to Zurich. The trains that fit are:

First train is dep. Interlaken West 522 transfer at Bern, arr. Zurich HB 0728, transfer there to Zurich Airport dep. HB 0746 arr. Airport 0747,  a difficult 23 minute connection to make the first flight below from Zurich airport
Next is dep. Interlaken West 1031 transfer at Bern, arr. Zurich HB 1228 dep.HB 1237 arr. Airport 1246 .
Last is dep. Interlaken West 1729 transfer at Spiez and Bern, arr. Zurich HB 1928, dep. HB 1937 arr. Airport 1946.

At Zurich there are  several nonstop flights to Salzburg, each with a connection from one of the train trips above:

C91202/LX4290  0810 0915  ZRH SGZ
C91204/Lx4292  1335 1440  ZRH SGZ
C91208/LX4294  2040 2145  ZRH SGZ

Nov. 4 tasks in Salzburg
Nov. 5 leg 4 depart Salzburg for Bucharest, with several late-night flight options:
through Munich drive back form Salzburg early evening, then LH3424 2130 0025 MUC OTP
through Frankfurt OS269 1830 1950 SGZ FRA connecting to LH3416 2030 0005 FRA OTP
Nov. 6 arrival in Bucharest after midnight; transfer to train to get to Brasov
morning train departures: Bucharest Nord 2358 arr. Brasov 0246  or  dep. 0630 0922  or  dep. 0730 1019  or  dep. 0616 1051(note: nobody would want this) or  0830 1124  or  0942 1254  or  1130 1404
Nov. 7 tasks in Brasov
Nov. 8 leg 5 leave Transylvania for unknown location #1
Nov. 10 leg 6 unknown location #2
Nov. 12 leg 7 unknown location #3
Nov. 14 leg 8 leave unknown location #3 to arrive Bangkok the next morning
Nov. 15 fly Bangkok to Phuket apparently on TG203 0740 0850, then tasks in Phuket area
Nov. 16 leg 9 fly from Phuket to ?
Nov. 18 leg 10 fly from ? to Guilin
Nov. 20 leg 11 Guilin to Beijing flight choices:
CZ3281 0900 1125
CA6312 1145 1435
CZ3287 1710 1950
CA1226 2105 0015

then tasks in Beijing and start pitstop

Nov. 22 leg 12 return from Beijing to U.S. for Finish Line in Hawaii via Tokyo
PEK NRT on Air China has several choices:
CA6651/NH956 0845 1305
CA925               0930 1350
CA167               1350 1750

Continuing on from Tokyo-Narita to Honolulu (NRT to HNL), there are 9 choices with departures between 645pm and 10pm. With the 6 hours 45 minute flying team and 5 hour time difference, these flights arrive HNL 0630 to 0950. The most logical choice to me would be UA880 NRT HNL 1925 0710+1. All these are same day due to crossing the International Date Line.

                        Finish Line on which Hawaiian island not known yet although I guess Oahu now for convenience

Note: this is a 23 day race.
« Last Edit: November 26, 2008, 01:09:21 PM by apskip »