It has been 22 days since I booked a suspiciously cheap Air France first class fare. While Air France cancelled the ticket four days after booking, it still has not refunded my money or even reached out to me...
Review: Grand Hyatt Berlin
Located in the upscale Potsdamer Platz neighborhood within walking distance of the Brandenburg Gate, the Grand Hyatt Berlin is a great hotel choice in Berlin. I must admit, my favorite (points) hotel in Berlin has always been the Westin...
Rat-Infested British Airways Concorde Rotting on Heathrow Tarmac
If you’ve ever flown out of London Heathrow, you may have seen her parked in a corner. Sadly, the once majestic Concorde has been left to rot. As an aside, I did not know there was a most tabloid-esque...
Secret Government Airline is Now Hiring Flight Attendants!
I’ve written about JANET before, the “secret” government airline that transports workers to highly-classified government facilities. The airline is now hiring FAs! But this won’t be a standard job interview… > Read More: The Secret U.S. Government Airline JANET, more...
Introduction: A Trip to China on Finnair
For years I have wanted to try Finnair. A business trip to China allowed me to finally sample not just Finnair’s business class, but the Finnair A350. John and I were in Germany and had to get to Beijing....
Is it Acceptable to Spread Out When There are Open Seats?
We hope for them, rarely get them, but once in awhile run into flights that depart with many opens seats. What is the protocol for claiming those seats? I wrote about my recent flight in SWISS First Class that...
How the East Coast Storm Ruined My Weekend in Sunny LA
A horrific storm pummeled the East Coast last week, bringing commercial aviation to a standstill. As airlines continue to dig themselves out of the backlog, let me tell you about my weekend. At Award Expert, we don’t just book...
AA CEO Has Already Made $19.2MN in 2018
We’re barely a week into 2018 and American Airlines’ CEO Doug Parker has already made $19.2MN. Parker is not paid a cash salary. Rather, he is paid in company stock and stock options, a practice that began in his...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 7, 2018
A very happy Sunday evening to you from Los Angeles. It’s been a horrible weekend in one respect. I’ll explain tomorrow. For now, I’ll just leave you with the top stories of the week and a link to each...
Planes Collide on Tarmac at JFK
In the midst of a scramble to get flights out between fierce winter storms, two planes have collided at New York JFK. Kuwait Airways reports on Twitter: Here’s Twitter’s English transition: Kuwait Airways wishes to acknowledge that one of...
Not the Turkish Airlines A330 I was Expecting…
Be very careful when booking a Turkish Airlines A330-200…there are many different configurations of the aircraft. I’ve been so caught up with the SWISS First Class saga that I neglected to write about my connecting flight from Istanbul to...
The 10 Busiest International Airline Routes in the World
What are the 10 busiest international airline routes in the world? OAG Aviation puts together a list each year of the busiest domestic and international routes in the world, based upon number of flights. That’s not a perfect picture,...
Final United Airlines Turboprop Flight
Tomorrow night will mark the final United Airlines (United Express) turboprop-operated flight in North America. While United Express operated by Skywest retired its fleet of Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Turboprop almost three years ago, United Express operated by CommutAir has...
The 10 Busiest Domestic Airline Routes in the World
What are the 10 busiest domestic airline routes in the world? OAG Aviation puts together a list each year of the busiest domestic and international routes in the world, based upon number of flights. That’s not a perfect picture,...
Review: JetSmarter Challenger 300 Van Nuys, CA to Las Vegas
Flying private from Southern California to Las Vegas ushered in an entirely new era in my personal flight history. As I alluded to in my teaser post, flying on a private jet is a dream for every aviation junkie....
Massive A380 Forced to Land at Tiny New York Airport
Over 3,600 flights were cancelled yesterday due to the “Bomb Cyclone” that hit the Eastern seaboard. One flight that did make it, a Singapore Airlines A380, was forced to divert to a small airfield. Singapore Airlines Flight 26, carrying 325...
Holiday Treat at LAX United Club
The Christmas season is coming to a close for many, but here in Los Angeles Armenian Christmas does not arrive until tomorrow. Consequently, I don’t feel guilty about posting this many days after 12/25. A hot chocolate bar is...
Why You Should Always Compare Economy v. First Class Prices
I know this goes without saying for travel pros, but I was reminded again today that it always pays to check the price of a premium fare. One of the things we do at Award Expert is ensure that...
Amazing Flight in SWISS First Class!
I’m home and happy to report a smooth and most excellent flight in SWISS First Class! My family traveled from Zurich to Los Angeles and the superior service started service directly at check-in. We were traveling with a great...
Dear Scott Kirby, Remember the Ghost of Jeff Smisek
Dear Mr. Kirby, A very Happy New Year to you. We met and chatted for quite awhile at the opening of the new United Club in T7 at LAX in November 2016. I admire your vision to make United...
