The 2015 Freddie Awards were held at the Delta Flight Museum last night just down the road from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Created in 1988 by Randy Petersen to recognize the world’s best and most innovative frequent travel programs, the awards...
Video: Deceptive New United Airlines Commercial?
For an airline that was woefully behind the curve in introducing Wi-Fi to its fleet, it is a tad ironic that United Airlines has released a new commercial touting its onboard Wi-Fi and streaming video entertainment. Nevertheless, United has come...
Free Beer and Wine + Upgraded Meals in United Airlines International Economy Class
United Airlines promised a refresh to its international longhaul economy class meal service in January and has finally unveiled its plans, set to debut in June 2015. Free beer and wine return not only to transpacific flights, but to...
How to Search for Award Space on the New ANA Website
ANA has released a redesigned website featuring a brand new award search tool to coincide with its launch of a region-based award chart. There are both positive and negative changes we will unpack below. The positive No more tricking...
Amazing Etihad Ad Featuring Nicole Kidman Angers American Airlines FAs
Etiahd has an amazing new ad starring Nicole Kidman highlighting the revolutionary nature of its A380 First Class product. Not everyone likes it, though. Laura Glading, the President of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (representing American Airlines and US...
In Memoriam: An Ode to US Airways Dividend Miles
Yesterday I shared my sorrow over the passing of US Airways Dividend Miles. Now we are past the wake and it is time for a memorial service to celebrate Dividend Miles. Perhaps we celebrate Ghana-style? To help, I have...
RIP US Airways Dividend Miles: I Feel Like I Just Lost An Old Friend
US Airways Dividend Miles is dead. May she rest in peace. I will not say it has been an unproductive week, but I have spent a great deal of time around the deathbed of Dividend Miles this week, trying...
Humorous Air New Zealand 75th Birthday Video
Air New Zealand is celebrating its 75th birthday this year and true to form, reflects back on its jubilee year with a bit of humor, here a short video asserting nothing has changed over the last 75 years…except onboard...
Germanwings IS a SAFE Airline
Tragic news hit today that a Germanwings flight carrying 144 passengers and six crew traveling from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the French Alps, killing all onboard. There are a lot of questions surrounding the crash, primarily why the...
American Airlines Can Make a Persuasive Case to Justify Cancellation of Held "Mistake" Reservations
American Airlines will honor all ~$450 business class fares to Beijing that were ticketed during a short window on Tuesday evening in which base fares ranged from $0 to $20 (the rest of the $450 fare was government taxes...
A Non-Stop 5-Day Trip Around the World
Non-stop as in, I do not leave airports or sleep in hotels. For five days. Yes, this is what I consider fun and no, I do not need to be institutionalized. I am halfway through a 31,770 mile trip...
Sketches of New United Airlines Terminal and Club at LAX
United Airlines occupies Terminals 7 and 8 at LAX and is undergoing a much needed facelift. Coming by 2017 will be a new check-in lobby with streamlined security, a re-designed multi-level United Club with a patio perfect for planespotting...
How to Outsmart Delta’s Broken Website and Save Miles
Delta Air Lines unceremoniously removed its Skymiles award charts from delta.com last month, taking with it the accountability inherent in such charts. The only justification Delta offered was, “We’ve launched the new Award calendar which offers an easier search for...
Surprising Turkish Airlines Weather Delay Compensation
What happens when your Turkish Airlines flight is delayed due to weather and you find yourself stranded in Istanbul…for three days? A friend recently found out and the answer may surprise you. Officially, No Compensation for Weather Delay on...
A Different Take on Award Bookings at FTU Dallas
The paradox of this blog and of increasing the knowledge base of savvy travellers that blogs like this encourage is that if too many people are getting in on a good deal, the deal will be closed. Let’s take...
The Contrarian: United Was Legally and Morally Entitled to Cancel Mistake Fares
In law school they teach you to argue both sides — allowing you to better understand the issue presented and the strengths and weaknesses of your own argument. Earlier this week I put forward my best legal argument for...
Real Meals Coming to United Express on March 1, 2015
While Delta Air Lines and American Airlines already serve “real” meals onboard their regional jets, United has been a holdout, offering only junk food snack boxes. That changes on 01 March 2015 when United will begin to serve hearty...
Legal Analysis of DOT Decision to Back United on Cancelled Mistake Fares
The U.S. DOT has issued its verdict on United Airlines’ unilateral decision to cancel thousands of cheap first class tickets, ruling that it will not take action against United for failing to honor the fare. Although this ruling comes...
LAX Meetup this Saturday, February 28th
Join me, Mike, Brad, Rocky, Sriram, James, Kyle and other frequent flyers this Saturday at the Westin Los Angeles near LAX from 6pm to 8pm. RSVP here Meet and mingle with others from the travel industry, talk points and...
Last Week of United Airlines Star Alliance Award Sale!
When United devalued MileagePlus last year, it introduced a bifurcated award chart that charged a premium for first and business class flights on partner metal as opposed to on United’s own planes. An example — business class to Europe...
