I don’t fly Delta, but it is heralded by many as the best carrier in the United States with good operational reliability and great customer service. Forgive me for being skeptical. Yesterday, an employee was flying from New Orleans,...
Breaking: Shooting at Miami International Airport
Miami-Dade Police shot a knife-wielding man who managed to breach a security checkpoint and make it all the way to the tarmac before being apprehended. Terminal J remains closed. I received an text from one of my employees a...
Review: Somon Air 737 Business Class Dushanbe To Dubai
Somon Air is the sole private airline (versus state-owned Tajik Air) in Tajikistan. We flew from Dushanbe to Dubai aboard a 737-900ER, the crown jewel of the fleet. While I’d rate the flight experience as good overall, Somon Air...
New Houston to Sydney Flight on United Airlines — Too Long?
United Airlines is launching new service from Houston to Sydney, Australia, an ultra-longhaul route that showcases new markets made possible by the 787-9. The new route will be daily and begins on January 18, 2018. Tickets are already on...
Hypocrisy: Delta Announces (Subsidized) New Indianapolis to Paris Route
Good news for citizens of Indianapolis: starting next May, you can fly non-stop to Paris on Delta. Ironically for an airline that decries Gulf subsidies as distorting real demand, the new international route will be subsided by the State...
Heartwarming Video: United CEO Visits Houston
United Airlines just released a heartwarming video covering CEO Oscar Munoz’s visit to areas devastated by Hurricane Harvey in Houston. I don’t think the video requires much commentary. Here it is– I love the simple truth in this video...
How Was It? 10 Hours in Ethiopian Airlines Business Class
I’m home again. Yesterday I flew from Dublin, Ireland to Los Angeles on Ethiopian’s Fifth Freedom flight aboard a 787-8. It was my first time ever flying Ethiopian Airlines. How was it? A mixed bag, but good overall. I...
How Can Priority Pass Sustain a Steakhouse?
There’s a difference between free inexpensive snacks and drinks found in many airport lounges and a nice steak dinner for the entire family. Priorty Pass has added Timberline Steaks & Grill in Denver to its broadening definition of airport lounges....
I Win! I’m in the Air…on the Ethiopian Airlines Sale Fare
For those who doubted that I would ever fly on my Ethiopian BKK fare, I’m sorry to disappoint you. By the time this post goes live I’ll be traveling between Dublin and Los Angeles on an Ethiopian Airlines 787...
Delta’s Latest Stealth Devaluation: A Far More Expensive Close-In Booking Fee
Delta Air Lines, the airline that should not be trusted under any circumstances when it comes to the redemption side of its loyalty program, has done it again. I held off a few days writing about this to ensure...
An Exciting Review of Boring Dushanbe Airport + CIP Lounge
This is the review of the lounge we did not have access to, but still managed to visit and discreetly photograph. Let’s talk about Dushanbe Airport. Weird. We arrived at 2:30p, yes probably far too early, for our 5:35p...
Best International Airline…Ethiopian Airlines?!
On the heels of its 2017 Skytrax award for Best Airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines took home an even bigger crown yesterday…Best International Airline of the Year. …From the 2nd annual Ghana National Aviation Awards in Accra. Oh. So perhaps we...
Review: Hyatt Regency Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Suite)
Although our stay was brief, it was long enough for me to vouch for this excellent Hyatt property in the heart of Tajikistan’s capital city of Dushanbe. We arrived early in Dushanbe and negotiated a cab from the airport...
Magnifico! Alitalia Business Class from Rome to LA
I’ll admit, I had high expectations for Alitalia. I assumed good food and great coffee and figured the service might not be incredible, but would be fine. I’m happy to report that I had an excellent flight with not...
Unruly Passenger Fined $97,000 for Disrupting Flight
File this under: about time. So often we hear stories about drunken or otherwise disruptive passengers forcing a flight delay or diversion only never to hear about whether the passenger is held accountable for his actions. A federal judge...
Conservative U.S. State Wants to Create its Own Airline
The State of Wyoming, in the western USA, finds itself between a rock and hard place. Without perpetual generous subsidies, it cannot sustain commercial air service to smaller airports. But a lack of air access to international hubs hurts...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: September 3, 2017
A pleasant Sunday evening to you from Germany. I’m wrapping up a trip and looking forward to spending the next few weeks in California. The big news last week, at least in my mind, was Hyatt’s new status fast...
SWISS Shorthaul Business Class Breakfast
Part of my travels this week included time in Zurich, a beautiful city in Germanic Switzerland. For my weekly Meal of the Week post, I’ll highlight breakfast on a shorthaul flight in SWISS business class. I was traveling from Zurich...
Air Europa 787 Business Class is Underrated
While I had higher hopes for Air Europa than for Aerolineas Argentinas, they were still quite measured. Not only did Air Europa’s 787 in business class beat expectations, it was actually a very competitive product and enjoyable ride. Air...
Cutbacks: United Airlines Slashes Domestic First Class Meal Service
In an era of sustained profitability, it is confusing when airlines make customer-unfriendly, logically dubious cutbacks to premium class meal service. But that’s exactly what United Airlines has just done on domestic first class flights. The North American Premium...
