United Airlines will serve Rome year-around from its Newark hub. Might this be a plan to hasten Alitalia’s demise? Currently, United offers seasonal service to Rome from the following hubs: Chicago (ORD) Newark (EWR) Washington Dulles (IAD) While ORD and IAD...
Introduction: A Scandinavian Summer
As much as I love solo travel, exploring the world with others represents many of my best travel memories. Last summer I traveled to Scandinavia with my Uncle Bill, who I have mentioned before in this story on why...
Review: Air Serbia A330 Business Class Belgrade to New York
Air Serbia, flag carrier of Serbia, resumed longhaul service between Belgrade and New York last year after a long hiatus. JAT, the forerunner to Air Serbia, last served JFK in 1996 with a DC-10. As Air Serbia’s flagship (and...
Lufthansa First Class: Still Amazing After All These Years
It was shaping up to be a bad flight. First, the miscreant passenger in 2K. Next, an odd interaction with the purser and my other seatmate. Finally, horrid turbulence for several hours. But once the dust settled, I can again attest...
United Airlines Steals Seat from Child, Forcing Him Into Mother’s Lap
A mother traveling on United Airlines to Boston was forced to hold her two year old on her lap even after purchasing a ticket for him when his seat was given away to a standby passenger. In the United States,...
Dinner: Aegean Economy Outshines Lufthansa First Class
Last week I flew from Los Angeles to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First Class then connected on a cheap ticket from Frankfurt to Amman via Athens in Aegean economy class. Believe it or not, the dinner on the 807-mile ATH-AMM...
Here’s Why United’s Award Booking Rules are Just Stupid
I run Award Expert, a boutique travel consulting agency that specializes in the effective use of miles and points. Consequently, my team and I are well-acquainted with the nuances of every loyalty program worth talking about. Not surprisingly, we deal with United...
Emirates, Etihad, Turkish Electronics Ban Lifted: What’s Next and Why
Good news for travelers to the United States: the electronics ban has been lifted on Etihad, Emirates, and Turkish Airlines. The ban will be lifted on flights from Saudi Arabia in the next couple weeks as well. So what was that...
Cool New United Airlines Museum Exhibit at SFO
If you’re flying through Terminal 3 of San Francisco International (SFO) in the coming months, factor in an extra 15 minutes to check out an amazing United Airlines museum-quality exhibit. The SFO Museum rotates collections twice per year in the long hallway...
United CEO Reflects on Independence Day
Happy Independence Day to my readers in the USA. United CEO Oscar Munoz sent the following note to UA workers this morning. Thanks to a FA friend for sharing it with me: Dear United Family, This Fourth of July, our...
Review: Air Serbia Premium Lounge Belgrade
I spent the night in Air Serbia’s 24/7 Premium Lounge in Belgrade (BEG), allowing for plenty of time to explore it. It’s a great lounge with many first class elements. After a rough opening act, I settled down to...
How Air Serbia Nearly Ruined My Day
I had a choice to make. I arrived into Belgrade at 5pm and had a connecting flight at 7am the following morning. While a hotel may seem 100% logical during a 14-hour layover, three factors worked against it. One,...
My Horrible Seatmate in Lufthansa First Class
Trying to be as gentle as possible, I’ll just say this—I have never shared a first class cabin with someone with such poor behavior. It started in the Star Alliance First Class Lounge at LAX. An escort arrived to...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 2, 2017
Greetings from over the Atlantic on a rare overnight westbound flight. The week took an unexpected turn as I found myself on a very quick jaunt to Germany and Jordan. More details on that trip are coming. In the...
Emergency Landing at Denver as United Aircraft Catches Flames
Scary moments today as the left engine of a United Express aircraft caught fire, forcing an emergency landing and hasty evacuation. United 5869, enroute from Aspen to Denver, encountered fire upon descent. The SkyWest-operated Bombardier CRJ-700 was met by fire officials upon...
Review: Air Serbia A320 Business Class from London to Belgrade
Air Serbia has a brand new business class seat on its flights within Europe. This flight review recounts my experience flying from London to Belgrade a couple weeks ago. Check-In I arrived three hours prior to my flight via London...
The One United Award I’m Booking Before Devaluation
Earlier today I analyzed the upcoming United MileagePlus devaluation coming in November. I noted that awards originating outside the USA are going up in price, but did not go into detail. I’ll go into detail now on one particular...
Why I’m THANKFUL for Latest United Mileage Plus Devaluation
I hate all devaluations. But United’s latest devaluation could have been much worse. Much worse. Let’s review what will change on November 01, 2017. For over a year now I have been predicting another United MileagePlus devaluation. While both...
Disabled Passenger Forced by Japanese Airline to Crawl Onto Plane
Sometimes rules get in the way of common sense. But sometimes rules exist for a valid reason, even if they appear inhumane. This sad story, however, demonstrates that sometimes there is just no right answer. Hideto Kijima is head of the Japan...
My Experience Applying for Hyatt Credit Card
You would think that as a loyal Hyatt Globalist, I would have had the Hyatt Credit Card from Chase for many years. But I just applied for it today. You should too if you enjoy staying at high-end Hyatt...
