Star MegaDO 5 Booking Tomorrow!

The booking site for the Star MegaDO  opens TOMORROW, Monday May 19th at 12pm CST! Many of you are probably asking yourself, “What the heck is a MegaDO?” And it is totally understandable. Essentially this is an event partnered with Star Alliance and Marriott giving you the a behind-the-scenes travel opportunity. It is a three day tour starting in Canada, stopping in Arizona, and eventually ending in San Francisco flying Air Canada’s A321 (yes, an Airbus) where you will meet other obsessed travel junkies, tour some cool air crafts, and earn some points and miles. It is essentially a party on a plane. If you are looking for a quite ride, this is probably not for you!

I unfortunately had to cancel for the Star MegaDO 4 due to a work conflict and will not be able to go on this one (you can see why here, but ultimately I do not think the timing works best for me as I’ll have a 4 month old at home). I did, however, go on the OneWorld MegaDO which is a similar concept, although it was partnered with the OneWorld Alliance and Hyatt.

While, it is a pretty steep cost for this event, there could potentially be some cool perks. My assumption is both Star Alliance and Marriott will extend some sort of promotion limited to just folks on the flight. While it has not yet been announced, I have high hopes that it will be awesome – at least the challenges/perks in the past have been

Schedule – you can see the official complete itinerary here, but to summarize:

• Tuesday October 22, 2013: Arrival in Toronto, no program (optional, so you can arrive Wednesday instead if you prefer)
• Host hotel: Ritz Carlton Toronto or Toronto Marriott Downtown
• Wednesday October 23, 2013: Breakfast at the host hotel, registration opens at 8AM; 10:00am –  Buses to Rimowa’s factory (tours and BBQ); 11:00am –  Buses from the airport to Rimowa’s factory for people arriving Wednesday morning; Return back to the hotel at 4:00pm and welcome reception hosted by Marriott
• Host hotel: Ritz Carlton Toronto or Toronto Marriott Downtown
• Thursday October 24, 2013: 9:30am –  Buses to YYZ for a day with Air Canada. Return to the hotel at 4-5PM and a reception hosted at hotel by Air Canada
• Host hotel: Ritz Carlton Toronto or Toronto Marriott Downtown
• Friday October 25, 2013: 7:30 – Buses to YYZ, charter departs at 9:30; fly to Tuscon, Arizon at 11:15am and go to AF base; Return back to airport to fly to San Francisco; hangar party hosted by United Airlines from 6-8:30pm

Price – these prices just include the chartered flight. You will still be responsible for paying for the nightly negotiated rate at the hotels  and for the positioning flights to Toronto and home from San Francisco:

• Business First — $2,799 all in – earns 15,00 EQM
• Tommy Class Emergency Exit Row — $1,999 all in (extra Legroom and No One Next to You)  – earns 7,500 EQM
• Tommy Class — $1,799 all in (Middle seat blocked, so no one next to you) – earns 7,500 EQM
• Economy Class — $1,199 all in – earns 2,500 EQM

Yes, this is not a cheap trip. This is not advertised as some deal or anything, but one of those cool “once in a lifetime” opportunities – although for many this has been a “many times in a lifetime” trip. Assuming the least expensive costs, you will be paying $1,199 for the flight, let’s say another $400 to go to Toronto and home from San Francisco, and then $450 on hotels (estimated as they have not yet been determined). This will bring you to a grand total of around $2,000 give or take. Now the good thing is that you really will not incur any other costs as food and activities are included.

Tickets will go FAST. In the past, they usually didn’t last longer than 30 minutes or so (if that!). So if you really do want to go, make sure you are on the megado booking site right at 12:00pm CST (or a few minutes before). Goodluck!

Are you thinking about going?! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.