For years—and I mean years—I’ve been trying to score award availability on the elusive London-Los Angeles (NZ 1/2) route on Air New Zealand and failed every time. Tonight, my luck changed. I’m planning out a trip to China using...
“King Solomon couldn’t start a U.S. domestic airline these days”
“King Solomon couldn’t start a U.S. domestic airline these days,” said Hubert Horan, an aviation consultant. “No matter how well they’re run, it’s tough for any airline that’s small to survive.” For an interesting take on competition and structural...
"Theme Building" Observation Deck at LAX Reopens on July 10
Anyone who has visited LAX will recognize the iconic Jetson-esque structure (officially called the “Theme Building”) in the center of airport that houses the Encounter Restaurant. What you may not have known is that above the restaurant sits an...
AA Matches DL Double EQM / Triple Bonus Mile Promotion (ex-RDU, STL, PIT, BNA)
Last month, Delta introduced the following promotion for flights originiating and terminating in the following cities: Raleigh-Durham (RDU), St. Louis (STL), Pittsburgh (PIT), Nashville (BNA) 5,000 bonus miles plus double MQMs when you fly to Delta hub cities—Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit,...
Earn Star Alliance Gold Status for 20,000 Miles on Aegean Airlines
Aegean Airlines, Star Alliance’s latest addition, has an interesting mileage program. Some parts of it are attractive, others…not so much. The Good Star Alliance Gold status after 20,000 miles This is the lowest rate required for any airline in...
United Express Coming to DCA
The cancer continues to grow. United Express is expanding to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport next month. Two flights a day are transitioning from mainline to E-170s operated by Shuttle America between Chicago and National. United has not addressed...
10% Off BMI Flights
It’s not much, but if you are planning a trip on British Midland in October or November, you can save 10% by entering 10FLYBMI in the promotion code section. The promotion only discounts the base fare, is only valid for...
Twitter Fares on US Airways
US Airways has joined Twitter and is causing quite a firestorm with their daily deals. Check out some of their recent offerings: $99* one way PHL to TLV. Depart 10/20-23. Return 10/26-29. 30 seats avail ‘til 9 PM PT....
Ryanair Showcases "Standing Room" Vertical Seats
Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary is scheduled to announce a formal proposal today for “vertical seats”, which will provide standing-room spots on short-haul flights for as little as £5. These seats have been in the works for years, but...
The Future of BMI’s Diamond Club = Miles & More
A little more light was shed on the future of British Midland and their Diamond Club mileage program at the Lufthansa Investor Day in Frankfurt on Monday. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, BMI’s CEO presented this. There’s a lot of info packed...
Pomegranate Martini anyone? Continental introduces speciality cocktails
Just a few weeks after UA eliminated "premium" liquor from their BOB service, Continental is adding it: In the mood for a mojito, pomegranate martini or Red Bull-spiked cocktail? Well, you won’t have to head to a bar to...
United Airlines: Los Angeles – St. Louis for $160 r/t
Another great deal for all you Star Alliance mileage runners and those wishing to visit St. Louis from Los Angeles or LAX from STL. United is offering Los Angeles – St. Louis r/ts from the end of August through...
Victory for United (and JetBlue and Virgin) as American suspends SFO-BOS service
Although AA is spinning the announcement that they will be suspending non-stop service between San Francisco and Boston, claiming that they are simply focusing on their hubs in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Miami, any astute observer...
Federal Court Challenge to United-Continental Merger
In what may be the first of many legal challenges to the proposed Continental-United merger, Forty-nine air travelers from 15 states filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday seeking to block the planned merger of...
CAUTION: Your Airline Meal Could Be Tainted
Earlier this year I blogged about the problems discovered in LSG Sky Chefs’ flight kitchen at Denver International Airport. Unfortunately, it appears the problem is more widespread: Many meals served to passengers on major airlines are prepared in unsanitary...
United’s fuel-saving "green" flight deemed a success
Earlier in the month, UA tested a new fuel savings maneuver on a Chicago-Frankfurt flight in which pilots were given greater leeway in setting their flight path. This allowed them to better utilize favorable winds. While 900 gallons of fuel...
Continental will add Economy Plus to mainline fleet after UA merger
Take this info with a grain of salt (it came from my gem in HNL), but "according to an internal memo" distributed to UA res. agents, Continental/United will be adding Economy Plus seating to their entire mainline fleet after...
Why I Love UA’s Honolulu Call Center
I just got off the phone with United and dealt with a GREAT agent in HNL. United, take note: Your HNL agents are gems. While most Dearborn and some Chicago (yes, I suppose I could be exaggerating) agents refuse...
Reconsidering my indifference to hotel status
Growing up I was a "kettle" flyer–one to two trips a year in the back of the economy cabin with no concept of elite status, frequent flyer perks, or mileage running. When I was a teenager I had a...
Picture of the Week #10: Airport Murals at Denver International Airport
I stopped doing the Picture of the Week feature a few months ago, but I’m bringing it back, at least for today, to showcase this piece of airport artwork: photo courtesy: telegraph.co.uk Looks like some sort of Chavez propoganda...
