By now you’ve probably heard about the story of Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, the Saudi teenager who fled from her family and is seeking refugee status in Australia. While transiting in Bangkok, she was interdicted by a Saudi diplomat, who snatched...
Trip Report Roadmap for 2019
As we enter 2019, I want to give you an idea of what to expect in terms of trip reports this year on Live and Let’s Fly. The good news, or bad news, depending upon your perspective, is that...
Securing Saver Awards From Europe During Peak Travel Periods
The best way to secure saver award space during busy travel periods is to be patient and wait. I spent New Year’s in Germany with my family. We planned to return to Los Angeles sometime during the first week...
My Conversation With Southwest’s Herb Kelleher
Southwest founder and Chairman Emeritus Herb Kelleher died last week. I once had a brief conversation with him and reflect on that below. It was 2006 and the U.S. House Transportation Committee was meeting to consider abolishing the 1979...
Football Star Arrested For Drunk And Disorderly Conduct At Washington Dulles Airport
English Football (Soccer) Star Wayne Rooney was arrested for “public intoxication and swearing” at Washington Dulles International Airport. His incident serves as an important reminder that alcohol and sleeping pills do not mix well. Rooney was in Saudi Arabia...
Five New Places I Want To Visit In Countries I’ve Already Traveled To
Yesterday I outlined five new countries I hope to visit in 2019. Today, I outline five places I wish to visit in countries that I have already visited. The world is complex and some places most consider separate countries...
Hot Lunch: Where American Airlines Nicely Beats United
Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago. The big-three...
Frontier Airlines Wants You To Tip Flight Attendants
Frontier Airlines is encouraging passengers to tip flight attendants for onboard purchases. JT Genter, of The Points Guy, shared of a recent flight experience and provided photographic evidence. He ordered a ginger ale and after swiping his card, a...
American Airlines Puts Lipstick On A Pig, 737 MAX Style
In attempt to make passengers more comfortable, American Airlines is retrofitting one lavatory door on its Boeing 737 MAX. Currently, the lavatories on AA’s Boeing 737 MAX have “slab doors” just outside the rear galley. Those doors open into the aisles and...
My Nightmare About Airline Meals
If you don’t care about my dream, feel free to skip this post. But since it was about the most vivid dream I’ve had for as long as I can remember, I’m going to share it with you. You’ve...
Five New Countries I Hope To Visit In 2019
I should just copy and paste my 2018 list, for I did not visit a single new country last year. Quite frankly, I am borrowing from it: my list of countries I wish to visit has not changed. But...
Dear United, Please Don’t Ruin Your Great Mobile App!
Dear United, It’s me, one of your most loyal customers. In fact, some accuse me of being a United “fanboy” (and I can see why my love affair article played into that…). I understand that you are redesigning the...
United CEO Issues Stern Challenge To Employees
In a year-end letter to employees, United CEO Oscar Munoz stressed the importance of building upon the successes of 2018 while implying, ever so sternly, that employees have the choice to make 2019 a winning or losing year. Munoz...
United Airlines Bans All Emotional Support Animals On Longhaul Flights + Puppies And Kittens On Shorter Flights
United Airlines is drastically tightening up its emotional support animal policy, banning such animals on all flights over eight hours. Puppies and Kittens will also no longer be accepted as emotional support pets. Effective immediately, United will only accept...
Do You Sign Your Credit Card?
I was reminded again last night that signing the back of your credit card remains a way of life in Europe. It was a dry Christmas in Southern Germany, but we finally were hit with snow and I took my...
10 Flights I Look Forward To In 2019
As we enter 2019, there are a number of airline premium cabin airline products I look forward to trying this year. Here’s the top-10 I will target, in order of priority: 10. American Airlines 777 First Class I have...
Is Qatar Airways Plotting To Take Over Oneworld?
Let’s play a game of imagination. Imagine a situation in which one airline decides to invest in several others. So the airline does. A little bit here, a little bit there. Now imagine that these other airlines are part...
Poisoned By An Airport Water Fountain?
Six unrelated people, six very-related symptoms. What caused these passengers to start vomiting on a Frontier flight? On New Year’s Day, Frontier Flight 397 took off from Cleveland to to Tampa with 226 passengers onboard. Inflight, six passengers, all...
An Update On My Air France First Class “Complaint”
Last week I wrote about the one thing that annoyed me about my Air France first class flight. It was another passenger in the cabin, who staked out two seats for herself, sending her companion to the seat directly...
How I Earned Two Hyatt Night Credits On The First Day Of 2019
I spent the last two days of the year at the Hyatt Regency in Mainz, checking out on January 1st. In the World of Hyatt program, that’s called a head start on the new year! You might think that...
