Earlier this week, the final scheduled Boeing 727 passenger flight occurred in Iran. The retirement of this aircraft from commercial service marks the end of an era. On Sunday, Iran Aseman Airlines operated its final 727 passenger flight from Zahedan (ZAH)...
Why Passengers Loved United’s Boeing 737 MAX 9
We hear a lot of bad things about the Boeing 737 MAX 9, so I was surprised at what a positive reception the aircraft received by passengers around me on a recent flight. Earlier this week, I flew from...
Air France A380 Decision Is Sad, But Smart
Air France will gradually retire half of its A380 fleet, starting in 2019. The move is sad, but smart. Air France currently operates 10 A380s. Five are owned, five are leased. All are tragically uncompetitive. By that, I mean...
Pictures: United Airlines 787-10
United’s new Boeing 787-10s are set to enter service in January on premium transcontinental routes. Later in 2019, the airplane will fly international routes from Newark. United will take delivery of 14 787-10 aircraft over the next two years....
Lufthansa’s A350 “Flying Penthouse”
The commercial passenger variant of Lufthansa’s Airbus A350 does not even have a first class section. But have you seen the VIP edition available via Lufthansa Technik? Described as a “haven of rest and comfort”, the custom interior spans...
New A380 Order? Lufthansa Teases Us On Twitter…
Lufthansa, you’re such a tease. The German carrier left us with this on Twitter yesterday: While the most likely answer is that the first A380 will soon be repainted in Lufthansa’s latest livery, the tweet has fueled speculation about...
Thai Airways Delays Retirement Of 747 Fleet
Thai Airways has indicated it will not retire its remaining fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft as quickly as planned. Thai Airways faces both a short-term and long-term problem. On the short-term, half of its 787 fleet (four of eight...
Medical AND Mechanical Issue Force Diversion Of AA Flight
An American Airlines’ flight bound for China was forced to divert after experiencing both a medical emergency and mechanical problems in-flight. Talk about an unlucky flight… AA263 from Dallas to Beijing departed DFW on time at just past 11:00 A.M....
Boeing 747 Skids Off Runway in Bangkok
A Thai Airways Boeing 747-400 skidded off a runway in Bangkok after landing in torrential rains. It’s monsoon season in Thailand, creating fierce storms that pummel the earth with concentrated spurts of rain. Thai Airways flight 679 was approaching Suvarnabhumi...
Flying United’s Retrofitted 777-200 In Polaris Business Class
Over the weekend I had the chance to fly United’s recently renovated 777-200 featuring new Polaris business class seats. This is the same aircraft that featured United’s new premium economy seating. I used a Global Premier Upgrade to confirm...
What The Heck Is Lufthansa Thinking?
When is a bad seat better than no seat at all? You can soon fly eight hours aboard a Lufthansa A319 between Frankfurt and Pune. I can think of much better ways to torture yourself. Some background, though. Lufthansa...
First Impressions: United Boeing 767-300 Polaris Class
Last week I had the chance to fly a recently retrofitted United 767-300 from Amsterdam to Newark in Polaris Business Class. United has updated the 2-1-2 business class seating aboard many of its 767-300s to a new 1-1-1 configuration...
My Hong Kong Airlines Trip Just Got Sweeter!
Last month I took advantage of a great business class fare on Hong Kong Airlines for an upcoming trip to Asia. But now the trip just got even sweeter. What can beat a $688 round-trip business class tickets to...
KLM Delays Retirement Of 747-400 Fleet
KLM is giving the Queen of the Skies a reprieve. KLM flies a fleet of 12 Boeing 747-400 Combis. The plan was to fully retire this aircraft type by end of 2020, replacing it with Airbus A350-900s. But KLM is deferring...
A Superb Airline With A Superb Aircraft Is Coming To LAX
Finnair is returning to Los Angeles. This is not Finnair’s first attempt to serve Los Angeles, but it has been many years. This time, the carrier will operate an A350-900 aircraft on the route, which is one of my...
The Economics of Lie-Flat Beds on 737s
United Airlines’ President Scott Kirby announced yesterday that United is exploring lie-flat seating on upcoming 737 MAX 10 deliveries. Speaking at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, Kirby touted United’s lie-flat domestic flights: It’s been really successful...
First Impressions: Middle East Airlines A330 Business Class
I received quite a surprise when I stepped aboard the Middle East Airlines A330-200 that would take me to Frankfurt. Based on Seat Guru, I assigned myself a seat in Row 5, which appeared to be a standard row...
I Loved Flying Air France (777-300 Business Class)
First it was Aeromexico, now Air France. SkyTeam carriers have really impressed me so far on this trip. I just had a wonderful flight aboard the 777-300ER in business class on Air France. Air France features a reverse herringbone...
First Impressions: Aeromexico 787 Business Class
My 11-hour flight from Mexico City to Paris aboard the Aeromexico 787-9 in business class was superb. Boarding began late, but due to favorable tailwinds we still landed on time. I was first to board and found the 787...
A Golden Shower at 40,000 Feet
No, not that golden shower. Please… Instead, we’re talking about glitzy and gaudy Emirates, where golden shower takes on a whole new meaning. Emirates (and Etihad) offer first class passengers the chance for a five minute shower aboard the A380....
