US Airways’ upcoming departure from Star Alliance on March 30, 2014 is a huge loss for the airline alliance and a particular burden for North American flyers using United MileagePlus miles. My most-requested award redemptions are business class to...
Should I Burn my US Airways Dividend Miles Now or Later?
US Airways is leaving Star Alliance on March 30, 2014 and we can only guess at what the future Dividend Miles loyalty program will look like. Will the award chart stay the same for now? Will you be able...
Train Derails at Chicago O’Hare – Dozens Injured
Not being a car guy, I have often availed myself to Chicago’s CTA Blue Line to get from O’Hare Airport into the city and back. This morning, though, I am glad I was far away as a train derailed...
Last Call on the US Airways 90K USA + Europe + Asia Business Class Award
US Airways is leaving Star Alliance on March 30th, 2014, meaning your last chance to book on many Star Alliance carriers with US Airways Dividend Miles is this week. There are several gems on the chart, but the most...
United Cuts Special Meals on Premium Transcon Routes Between Newark and Los Angeles & San Francisco
There was no formal announcment, but in fine print on the United Airlines North American premium cabin dining webpage, the following has appeared: *Effective May 1, 2014, we no longer offer special meals on flights between New York/Newark and...
Air Canada Suspends Service to the Failing State of Venezuela
Air Canada is halting its thrice-weekly service between Toronto and Caracas as hyperinflation and violence continue to engulf Venezuela. In a statement, Air Canada said– Due to ongoing civil unrest in Venezuela, Air Canada can no longer ensure the...
To Selfie or Not To Selfie?
An aborted takeoff at Philadelphia International Airport tonight led to an evacuation of 149 passengers and five crew members. One passengers elected to post a selfie on Twitter just moments after evacuating the US Airways A320 aircraft with a...
Chaos at Philadelphia International Airport After Aborted US Airways Takeoff
An aborted takeoff on a US Airways flight bound for Florida from Philadelphia International Airport has shutdown PHL. The culprit: a blown tire; the result: smoke billowing out of the engines and a runway evacuation of the 149 passengers and...
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Wreckage Found?
A Chinese satellite has located what may be the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Then again, we’ve head that before. The Chinese agency gave coordinates of 105.63 east longitude, 6.7 north latitude, which would put it in waters...
On Malaysia Airlines and the Fragility of Life
I am working on a trip report that will include the scariest flight of my life, a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. An odd coincidence that it was on Malaysia Airlines but a sobering...
Report: Malaysia Airlines 777-200 Crashed in South China Sea
A Malaysia Airlines 777-200 flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing has crashed in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam according to reports breaking now from both Vietnamese and Chinese state media. The flight was carrying...
I Will Not Allow This Plane to Land!
It sure pays to have friends (or fathers) in high places… A passenger plane flying from Lebanon to Iraq was forced to turn back after the Iraqi transport minister’s son missed the flight and phoned Baghdad to stop the...
Top 10 Airline Award Redemptions for March 2014
Award chart devaluations continue, there are still a number of superb deals available. Here are my top ten award travel bright spots for March 2014. Nothing has changed from last month except the removal of United Airlines Asian redemptions...
New Numbers Show the Route Network is Not Saving United Airlines
United Airlines has released its 2014 Quarter One investor guidance and the figures are ugly. United blames the weather, the late Easter holiday, and the reduction of its regional jet fleet, but the signs point to a more ominous...
American Airlines Kills Bereavement Fares
With cost-cutting CEO Douglas Parker at the helm, American Airlines has deep-sixed bereavement fares. Considering bereavement fares rarely make sense to the cost-conscious consumer, this is not a big deal. Still, there was a better way to bury these...
Video: Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule on United Airlines Flight
I don’t own a TV and rarely watch television programming online. That saves me from a great deal of wasted time, though sometimes I wonder just what I am missing. Like this: Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule...
United’s Strict New Carry-On Policy or Business as Usual?
Word leaked last month that United Airlines would begin to strictly enforce its carry-on policy on March 1, 2014 and new carry-on sizers began popping up around the gate areas of many United stations. MileagePlus members received e-mails outlining...
Buying Elite Status from US Airways and American Airlines
As February draws to a close, today is the last day to buy elite status from US Airways at a preferential rate–the rate and even ability to do so changes substantially tomorrow. Meanwhile, American Airlines is enticing current elites...
Humor: American Airlines to Eliminate Complimentary Cabin Pressurization
Oh, how I love the Onion, America’s finest news source! FT. WORTH, TX—Explaining that the costs of the service have grown too high in recent years, American Airlines announced Tuesday that it will no longer offer free cabin pressurization...
United Airlines Eliminates Canadian Staff
United Airlines’ CEO Jeff Smisek is on a mission to cut $2BN in annual spending and is slashing anywhere and everywhere to meet that goal. The latest casualty is the United Airlines’ employees in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. CHICAGO...
