You know you’re an airline junkie when you fly from Los Angeles to Rome deliberately via Munich, Zurich, AND Frankfurt. I’m traveling through Italy later this week and next on business. This is no vacation–I’ll be spending most days...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: March 25, 2018
Spring began in Los Angeles this week with one more rainstorm, a fitting end to a rather meager winter. I’m still here, further extending my record of time in the last decade I have not stepped onto an airplane....
My Thought Process In Building A Multi-City Award Trip
We receive many interesting requests at Award Expert, my award booking service, including some that require a bit of creativity. Let me tell you about a recent trip. The client lived in Philadelphia. His destination: Beijing. He wanted to...
Delta: Legitimate Fraud Protection or SkyMiles Devaluation?
Delta SkyMiles international award tickets now carry a draconian new restriction: they must booked at least three days in advance if they do not start or end in the U.S. or Canada. Is this a legitimate fraud protection or...
Mea Culpa: A350 Delta One Suites for 60K Miles
“To err is human; to forgive, divine” – Alexander Pope (1709) I must admit I got a tad annoyed yesterday. I scheduled a post entitled How to Book A350 Delta One Suites for Cheap(er) Using Miles for yesterday morning and went...
20% Off Award Flights to Hawaii on United Airlines
United Airlines is running a 20% off flash sale on saver award flights to Hawaii. If you’re a United Premier member or a United-branded credit card holder, a pre-sale has already began and you can book space today. If...
How to Book A350 Delta One Suites for Cheap(er) Using Miles
While searching for routes to get an Award Expert client home from China earlier this morning, I was surprised to find that Delta’s flagship A350 suites were available at a very reasonable price for next-day travel. Delta operates or will...
Reminder: Your Alitalia Miles Expire on March 31st (and How to Extend Them)
Just a friendly reminder that if you are still sitting on Alitalia MilleMiglia miles from last year, you have until March 31, 2018 to burn them. In some loyalty programs, your miles expire due to inactivity. In others, your account expires...
Aeroplan Still Can’t Book LOT Polish Awards
While Aeroplan has solved its hold time issues, it remains uniquely unable to book a handful of Star Alliance partner airlines. Add LOT Polish to that list. Last December, Dominik from Traveling the World wrote about the issue. Sadly, three months have...
Why Latest United Airlines Promo May Not Make Sense for You
United Airlines is running an attractive promotion on award redemptions to four incredible destinations. But before you jump on the bandwagon, make sure you practice due diligence. Now through March 2, 2018 you can save 20% on economy class...
Let’s Give Alaska Airlines Credit for Listening
Yesterday I was rather blunt in saying that I had lost my trust in the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. But after partially rolling back its latest no-notice devaluation, I’m happy to shower Alaska Airlines with praise. First, Alaska...
Latest Alaska Devaluation Was Bizarre Overreaction
Have you ever heard the old adage, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater?” That’s what Alaska Airlines just did in its latest Mileage Plan devaluation. Alaska Airlines now blocks partner redemptions on Cathay Pacific and JAL within...
Why You Encounter Errors on Aeroplan Website
Have you ever wondered what is going on when you encounter an error when trying to book an award using your Aeroplan miles? In almost all cases, the culprit is two words: married segments. I’ve outlined before, in great...
Booked: Vietnam Airlines A350 Business Class
Last week I asked you how I should get home from Ho Chi Minh City. Votes were fairly divided between JAL, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines/Virgin Atlantic. After weighing the options, I decided to try Vietnam Airlines in business...
How the East Coast Storm Ruined My Weekend in Sunny LA
A horrific storm pummeled the East Coast last week, bringing commercial aviation to a standstill. As airlines continue to dig themselves out of the backlog, let me tell you about my weekend. At Award Expert, we don’t just book...
Aeroplan Plan of Attack: DOT First, Lawsuit Later
Aeroplan apparently won’t honor the SWISS First Class award tickets issued last week. I say apparently because Aeroplan still hasn’t contacted me directly concerning my ticket and the reservation still shows intact if I login to my Aeroplan account....
Aeroplan: We Won’t Honor SWISS First Class Award Tickets
Just 11 minutes after publishing a cautiously optimistic post on the Aeroplan/SWISS First Class award issue, the other shoe dropped…Aeroplan is throwing in the towel. Here’s the update from Aeroplan– A small number of first class bookings were made...
SWISS First Class Update: No News is Good News?
I’ve received over 50 emails the last two days asking for an update on the Aeroplan/SWISS First Class issue. Thus far, I’ve only been advised to be patient. At this point, we know that SWISS is the culprit for...
Let’s Help Aeroplan Take the Moral High Ground (RE: SWISS First Class Awards)
Yesterday, after learning that my SWISS First Class tickets from Zurich to Los Angeles had been cancelled, I quickly issued a legal threat. My point was not to be unnecessarily combative, but to underscore the seriousness of this matter and...