Let’s go back in time today 70 years to Christmas Day, 1941. Just a few weeks earlier the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States found itself officially at war with Germany and Japan. An airline industry...
An Interactive Guide to Airline Livery
Gracing the Skies recently expressed her disgust at some airlines for sporting such boring paint jobs. I gently disagreed, arguing that a sleek, smooth design is preferable to a tacky eye-grabbing paint job that some airlines resort to (think...
$31,313 or 240,000 miles? Maximizing your Frequent Flyer Miles
People often ask me how they can squeeze the most value out of their frequent flyer miles. I begin my answer by stating that maximizing monetary value and actual value are two very different things and ultimately there is...
US Airways Star Alliance International Awards Frequently Asked Questions
Even though it is becoming easier to search for award flights with the addition of Singapore, EgyptAir and Air China to Continental.com there still remains a myriad of rules that might confuse you. In addition to booking awards through...
Photo Tour: Turkish Airlines Star Gold/Business Class Lounge in Istanbul
I’ll cut to the chase: the newly-renovated Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul is amazing and easily the best business class and best Star Alliance Gold lounge I have ever been in. The last two months I have connected in...
KLM Matchmaking Service: Pick Your Seatmate on Facebook
Have you ever had a morbidly obese, chain-smoking, McDonald’s-loving, shower-hating seatmate next to you on a six hour transcon? Or the guy who won’t stop talking about his work? Or granny who feels the need to retell her family...
Bigoted Delta Pilot Throws Muslims Off Flight
How would you feel if you were searched by the TSA, then “randomly” searched and questioned again prior to boarding, then required by the airline gate agent to show your identification while other passengers were not, then pulled off...
Baggage Delays, Freeway Gridlock, and Torrential Rain: Welcome Home
Maybe I just need to learn not to sweat the little things I have no control over, but I was mere minutes from turning around the car, driving back to LAX, and catching the late Lufthansa flight back to...
Looking Back on a Remarkable Year in Frankfurt
There are good years and then there are good years. This has been a good year. I said my goodbyes yesterday and have left Germany, another chapter in my life now complete. For those who did not know, I...
Trading a Free Hotel Room for Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul Lounge
While not a widely published benefit, Turkish Airlines offers extended transit passengers in Istanbul the choice of a free hotel room or free tour of Istanbul during their wait. In order to take advantage of this, you must be...
Mark Schwab New Star Alliance CEO
Hot off the press, Star Alliance has named a replacement for departing CEO Jaan Albrecht. Mark Schwab, former Senior Vice President of Alliances at United Airlines, will continue his close work with Star Alliance, now as the head of...
Alec Baldwin Pokes Fun at American Airlines on SNL
Alec Baldwin is such a jerk. But this video is hilarious: For those of you unfamilar with what happened, Baldwin was tossed off an AA flight last week after repeatdly ignoring FA requests to turn off his electronic equipment....
Think Twice About Ever Checking Electronic Equipment
Last month on my way home for Thanksgiving my final San Francisco to Burbank flight was on a United Express/Skywest CRJ-200, a 50-seat aircraft with limited overhead space. As I have for years, I checked my rollerboard cabin baggage...
Congressional Bill to "Strip" TSA Screeners of "Officer" Title
I concede that Congress has more important matters to worry about than the proper designation for a Transportation Security Administration clerk, but I have to applaud Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn’s attempt to roll back the “officer” designation, costume, and badge...
Free Trips on Megabus
As I prepare to return to law school next month in Philadelphia, I am already formulating weekend travel for January and February. As a loyal patron of Megabus, I already planned to utilize them every few weeks to head...
Fascinating Details Behind Air France 447 Crash
Mike sent me a fascinating story on Air France 447, a flight that crashed over the Atlantic Ocean nearly two years ago during a turbulent storm. After 18 months of searching, the black boxes were found and closely scrutizined....
Singapore Airlines, Egypt Air, and Air China Awards Now Bookable on Continental.com
Already the best Star Alliance award search engine, Continental has added the ability to search for and book Singapore Airlines, Egypt Air, and Air China awards on continental.com Already this year Continental has added a number of carriers to...
Not a Glitch! Aeroplan Premium Cabin Awards on Sale
Last Friday I reported that Aeroplan, Air Canada’s mileage program, was pricing out business class awards at economy class prices and first class awards at business class prices. I speculated that some sort of IT glitch was behind the...
Nuremberg Christmas Market
As we enter the Christmas season and my final days in Germany, I thought rather than jetting off to some exotic or dangerous country this weekend I would take a day to check out a new German city and...
Teen Busted at Airport for Gun [Design on Her Purse]
When is a purse a threat to national security? Apparently when it is decorated with a tiny, flat, plastic, obviously-fake, western-style pistol. Thank goodness for the Transportation Security Administration. First, take a look at the video here (I cannot...
