I nearly skipped this over this lounge review, but in looking at far more recent reviews it appears that very little, if anything, has changed. Thus, I can at least share my pictures from the Aegean Business Lounge in...
Balkans Day 9: Timeless Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is timeless in the sense that it merges old and new, modern with ancient, and traditional with avant-garde. The city had some rough edges, but was a delightful and electric mix of trendy antiquity. Read more of my...
Hygiene Experts On Turkish Airlines? I’d Still Prefer Chefs.
Not to belabor the point I made yesterday, but Turkish Airlines announced it will have “hygiene experts” on each flight to promote, well, hygiene. While that’s fine and good, I’d still prefer to see chefs instead. Turkish Airlines Hygiene...
Is Chinese Airline Ban From United States A Bluff?
As tensions escalate between the United States and China, the Trump Administration plans to block Chinese airlines from serving the United States. But the goal is not to block Chinese airlines, but to ensure great connectivity between the two...
Etihad Is Now An Aeroplan Partner
Aeroplan has officially added Etihad as a partner. You can now earn and redeem Aeroplan miles by flying on Etihad. I say “officially” because you may recall Aeroplan accidentally announced this partnership in April…of 2019. We didn’t hear anything...
Why British Airways Cabin Staff Are So Afraid
Last week, I wrote about a plan from British Airways to fire all flight attendants and re-hire many at drastically reduced wages. While British Airways continues to deny this is the plan, cabin staff fears were not unfounded. What...
Eastern Airlines Adds Ex-Singapore Airlines 777 To Fleet
New York-based Eastern Airlines has acquired an ex-Singapore Airlines 777-200 to augment its fleet of all-widebody, all-Boeing aircraft. Eastern Airlines currently has a fleet of four aircraft, including: 2 Boeing 767-200 2 Boeing 767-300 The airline operates scheduled service...
The Autonomous, Theocratic, Male-Only Land I Can’t Wait To Visit
Nestled off the coast of Thessaloniki is an autonomous peninsula under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. It is home to over 20 monasteries, forbids women from setting foot there, and is high on my bucket...
Turkish Airlines Engages in Self-Cannibalism With Catering Cuts
Did you know that some snakes die trying to eat themselves? For example, a rat snake was found dead, having swallowed 2/3 of its body. As crude of an analogy as it is, Turkish Airlines does more than starve...
Qatar Airways Threatens To Sever Business With Airbus And Boeing
Qatar Airways’ Chief Akbar Al Baker has a warning for Airbus and Boeing: allow us to defer orders or we will never do business with you again. Qatar Airways Has Many Aircraft On Orders Despite a young fleet, COVID-19,...
What Delta And United Are Saying About Death Of George Floyd
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are talking about the death of George Floyd without mentioning him by name. Both carriers, one more publicly than the other, are stressing general principles of equality rather than addressing the incident directly....
Balkans Day 8: Racism In Skopje + A Pirated Hollywood Premiere
It is timely that Day 8 of my Balkans trip report comes today. As cities burn across the United States over the death of George Floyd and frustration over decades of structural inequality, an encounter in Skopje, North Macedonia...
United Airlines Is Cutting Upper Management Positions
It’s not just frontline employees and office clerical workers at United Airlines who will be taking a hit; some long-term, high-level management employees will also be forced out of the company this autumn. Live and Let’s Fly received a...
American CEO Doug Parker Has Earned My Respect
It’s what we do when no one is watching that actually defines our character. For Doug Parker, that involved reading a book, trying to seek understanding, and unwittingly touching the life of another human being, in this case a...
United Airlines’ Expanded July 2020 International Schedule
United Airlines will be adding more international service to its July schedule. During the month of July, United will add: Additional trans-Atlantic flying from Newark (EWR), Washington (IAD), and San Francisco (SFO), including resumption of service to Brussels (BRU),...
Balkans Day 7: Refreshment In Kosovo
My brother and I were in Berlin on February 17, 2008, the day that Kosovo declared independence. At the time we considered flying immediately to Pristhina to join the celebration. That proved difficult, but visiting Kosovo was always on...
Fearful Flight Attendant Union Hits Back At United CEO
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the powerful union representing flight attendants at United Airlines, is not pleased with new CEO Scott Kirby…and it’s only his first full week on the job. But the AFA is also afraid that...
Lufthansa’s Shrewd Slot Deal Costs Little, Nets Billions
Lufthansa has reached a compromise with Germany and the European Union over its €9 billion bailout package. While Lufthansa must give up slots, the recipients of those slots will be far less likely to harm the entrenched German carrier....
Scott Kirby’s Plan To Save Jobs At United Airlines
United CEO Scott Kirby has reached out to employees with a broad vision to avoid furloughs and job cuts in October. But the devil remains in the details… In the first of a new video series to employees called...
Let The Conspiracy Theories Begin: Unexplained Heaps Of Cash Found In Downed PIA Airbus Jet
Investigators have found an unusually large amount of cash onboard the downed Airbus jetliner that crashed into a Karachi suburb last week. Let the conspiracy theories begin? The crash of an Airbus A320 jetliner killed 97 of 99 passengers...
