I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for a good ad campaign and Alitalia has a tremendous one. Influenced by Etihad and trying to battle a fiercely competitive market, the carrier is selling style, and it...
Review: Lufthansa Welcome Lounge Frankfurt
I reviewed the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge in Frankfurt five years ago and it has not changed much. That’s a testament to the endearing quality of Lufthansa. Located landside beyond passport control and baggage claim, the lounge serves arriving long haul premium...
Detour: My Other Africa Trip Report
Last week I kicked off my “month in Africa” trip report. I’m telling the story of my life, in a sense, and that month in Africa was nothing short of incredible. The trip report is already written, but I have...
A Trick for Finding Hidden Award Seats
Earlier today I wrote about married segments, attempting to explain them, their purpose, and how to use them to your advantage. Just like in real life, however, sometimes marriage is not the answer. While married segments and “direct flights”...
A Primer On Married Segments
Airlines are increasingly using “married segment logic” in the allocation of revenue and award seats, which can create more difficulty in booking, but at the same time opportunity. Explaining Married Segments When two segments are married it means you can...
Reflecting on Priorities This Christmas
I’m thinking about priorities this Christmas. While I’ve spent four days dwelling on Garuda Indonesia First Class a civil war continues in Syria. It appears thankfully drawing to a close, but 400,000 have already been killed. War rages in Somalia and...
Twas the Night Before Christmas: 2016 Edition
You’ll have to indulge me here. I tried this three years ago in a poem entitled The Night Before Christmas: United Airlines Edition but this one is a bit more personal. I like poetry, especially rhyming couplets, and figured I’d...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: December 24, 2016
Warm holiday greetings from Los Angeles, where I am looking forward to celebrating the first Christmas with Heidi in our new home and Augustine’s first Christmas in this world. With a brief last-minute trip, an unexpectedly busy week at Award...
United Cuts International Routes, Will Focus on Domestic Travel
An interesting Chicago Tribune article details how United will focus more on domestic travel in 2017. With yields down on international routes thanks to low-cost competition, United will look inward. Strategies includes: Strengthening its existing hubs Continuing the trend...
All the 2016 Airline Holiday Videos
Christmas Eve has arrived and many airlines have released holiday videos for 2016. I have compiled them into one place for your viewing pleasure! Aer Lingus: Air France: Air New Zealand: Alitalia: American Airlines: Delta: EVA: Iberia: KLM: Southwest: TAP Portugal:...
Garuda Cancels Promo, Will Honor Held Reservations
Wow, talk about a promo-gone-wrong! Garuda Indonesia has abruptly pulled its 90%-off promo and updated the language on its Indonesian website. After conflicting reports of whether Garuda will honor reservations placed on hold during the promo but not yet...
A Touch of Dignity at SFO
This is one of the busiest travel weeks of the year and San Francisco Airport was particularly busy when I passed through Wednesday afternoon. But above the din of voices and boarding announcements was not a canned holiday soundtrack but the sweet...
Introduction: A Month in Africa
For those who have immigrated to the United States, you know that the process is not easy, even for those emigrating from a rich western nation. Weighing our options and deciding that Los Angeles would be the best fit...
My Strategy for Ticketing the Garuda Reservation
News broke yesterday of a 90%-off sale with Garuda Indonesia. Acting swiftly, I successfully booked (held) a first class ticket from Jakarta to Amsterdam, a hurdle in itself, but now I face the specter of how to ticket it. 1. Mile...
Mutiny: Passengers Revolt on My UA Flight
Rain in Los Angeles and odd easterly winds fouled up operations at LAX yesterday and created a mutinous situation on my United flight. Yesterday was a first for me: despite several hundred flights into LAX over the years, for the...
Success: Booking Garuda First Class for 90% Off!
In what has to be the deal of the year, Garuda Indonesia is offering 90% off all awards for bookings ticketed before 31 Dec 2016 for travel from 01 Feb to 31 May 2017. I certainly thought this really...
Why the AMEX Lounge is My Favorite Office
With a long layover in San Francisco earlier this week, I spent about six hours in the American Express Centurion Lounge. Let me tell you that it was the most productive six hours of my week thus far! Travelers value airport lounges...
Christmas Dinner in Lufthansa First Class
Christmas is coming on Sunday, so for this week’s Matthew’s Meal of the Week I am recalling a memorable Christmas dinner I enjoyed in Lufthansa First Class in late 2014. Each November and December, Lufthansa offers a traditional German...
Review: Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme
I had been saving the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme for a special occasion and I suppose my honeymoon was as good as any to finally spend a few nights there… There are Park Hyatt hotels and then there are...
The Best Time to Call Aeroplan?
Aeroplan hold times have historically been so horrible that even Aeroplan admitted it in a recent ad campaign— The only problem? Wait times are almost as bad as before. Aeroplan states– Truthfully, while this may have happened in the past,...
