Here we go again

It has been a dull autumn of travel, hence no reports. Several out and backs with the full Lufthansa Y experience which every few of you want to hear about again, revisits to pretty much the same gamut of hotels and odd trips to lounges which disappoint somewhat (except for the CIP lounge at IST). The nearest thing to being reportable was an other trip to IST, except this time more as a tourist and somewhat better weather. However, as it used the same flights and the same hotel, I thought it was probably worth a miss. Other highlights of the last three months:

• My upgrade ratio at Hilton continues to decline, probably because I want a room in cancer corner. I have now have four proper upgrades out of 19 stays this year, had three faux upgrades (we've put you on a higher floor - big fat hairy deal), had one downgrade and nary a sniff of a suite. For my next four stays in warm, balmy climates, I have opted for non-cancerous and will stay outside to smoke. May be I'll get an upgrade...
• I will, just, requalify for Hilton Diamond on base points this year. The new level increase for 2013 means I won't do it next year, time to start burning those 1.2million points I have. Hello Conrad Japan.
• Despite having gone through Hell-on-Main six times since the last blog, I still have yet to sample the new A+ pier and its lounges. However, I am still intimately familiar with the B Non-Schengen bus gates.
• FRA B SEN lounge is nice, but the hot food selection does seem a bit odd. Now I like Fish Fingers, but I have heard mutterings from the assembled crowds and does it get crowded at times.
• On a thread on Flyertalk, people seem to be nominating Hilton Berlin as one of the best Hiltons in Europe. Now I like the Hilton Berlin, lots and we go back over a decade together, but is it really that good?
• I am slowly losing my Zürichphobia, although being confined to the D-wing, sorry, pier, most of the time does help that. Transfers are very quick and security is very pleasant.
• Waldorf Hilton, London. Never again. That's all I'm saying. 
• I may be flying ScaryTeam in the spring to Montreal and in the class we do not do long haul in at that. I must have been very, very bad in a previous life.
• I haven't decided if I'm going to requalify for SEN next year or not. I may be wandering off to Miles and Smiles instead - if I can persuade TK's website to fecking work. I can hear you all saying "Aegean" and I'm saying enhancements coming soon as the rest of Star gets pissed off with low-rent Golds.

Anyway, it's getting towards twitchy time. It's December and I have a 65 minute connection at FRA on Wednesday evening, the forecast is for snow, the BHX connector has not been well-behaved recently. Now until A+ opened, I was confident about this connection, we would be dumped at a remote stand, a nice car would pick me up and take me to my favourite bus gates, I would clear security, walk to FCL B and have time for a fag before another car took me to the C-gates. Now, the bloody thing gets to a gate position in Z sometimes or some strange new hell called A Non-Schengen Bus Gates. 

So it's BHX-FRA (LH C)-SIN (LH F) - MEL (SQ C) on Wednesday and Thursday. There will be photos, there will be reportage and hopefully there will be no missed connections.