121Pilot, a commercial airline pilot and frequent contributor to Live and Let’s Fly, offers his thoughts on why economy class redemptions can make so much sense. As an airline pilot I have access to free travel on the airline...
ANA A380 Business + First Class Award Space Available
ANA is finally releasing some saver award space to Star Alliance partners for its new A380 service between Honolulu and Tokyo Narita. It was always only a matter for time. From the start, the airline said that it would,...
Negative Iberia Avios Account Didn’t Affect My Trip
Last year I participated in Iberia’s excellent Avios promotion which awarded me 90,000 Avios for purchasing 10 one-way tickets. Iberia’s technology failed and issued me a negative balance. I wondered at the time how that might affect my redemption...
Avianca Award Changes Model Pricing Variability
Avianca announced positive changes to their award chart for domestic United States awards with some variability, It is a perfect model for how US airlines, like American, can avoid throwing out award charts but still adding value to both...
And Now I Love Flying Blue Even More Than Before…
On Wednesday I argued that Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France/KLM, may provide a model for an acceptable dynamic-priced award program. I’ve got a new data point to bolster my argument. I’m in Italy on business this...
Air France Flying Blue: A Dynamic “Devaluation” That Works
For the optimists out there, consider that the Air France Flying Blue program may offer a positive example for U.S. airline loyalty programs moving to a dynamic pricing model. Last year, Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France-KLM,...
FYI: Air India Award Space Currently Not Bookable With United Miles
If you’re trying to book an Air India flight using your United miles, you cannot…at least for the time being. United Airlines has had some issues with its Star Alliance partner award inventory lately. For several weeks, bookings with...
American Airlines Award Availability Abides Abysmally
American Airlines has been stingy with award availability specifically since the merger with US Airways management. They say things have gotten better, but how do they explain wide open flights, 300 days in advance with no premium saver seats?...
Securing Saver Awards From Europe During Peak Travel Periods
The best way to secure saver award space during busy travel periods is to be patient and wait. I spent New Year’s in Germany with my family. We planned to return to Los Angeles sometime during the first week...
Big Brother American Airlines Is Watching
American Airlines is keeping a closer eye on its reservation agents, warning them that their screens and calls are being monitored. Why? To discourage creativity in award bookings. I’ve written about married segment fare logic in the past, including...
Great United Airlines Sale: Save Up To 50% On European Awards
United Airlines has discounted economy class awards by up to 50% for Cyber Monday. Savings range from 20-50% based upon whether you hold a Chase co-branded United credit card and your MileagePlus elite status. Saver Award eligibility Members Premier...
British Airways Releases 50,000 Extra Business Class Award Seats
British Airways has released thousands of additional business class award seats available for a limited time across a limited, but wide, date range. Through December 2nd, British Airways has made 50,000 extra Club World business class seats available for...
Buying Sports Tickets Is Just Like Buying Airline Award Tickets
Buying sports ticket is just like buying an airline award ticket. It pays to be patient. I planned on attending Game Three of the World Series last night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, an emergency in the office...
Affordable: A Year In Bali On Points
Hotel and airline loyalty programs offer beautiful destinations for little to nothing out of pocket. They also offer some destinations for very few points, but rarely do the two converge. In the case of Bali, however, they do. Here’s...
An Award Ticket Horror Story On SWISS
Let’s call this Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Award Ticket. Perhaps, with our collective deductive reasoning, we can get to the bottom of this. An Award Expert client was traveling from San Francisco to Milan with...
Help Me Get Home From Dubai!
I’ve now got a one-way ticket to Dubai, but nothing back. It’s time to get creative. My first thought was to fly Kuwait Airways in first class back to New York. This was a flight option that Ben and...
Award Space Availability on World’s Longest Flight
Singapore Airlines announced it would resume nonstop service between Newark and Singapore this October. The 9,534 miles, 19-hour, polar route will be operated by an A350 with only business class and premium economy onboard. The Airbus A350-900ULR will have 161...
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...
Hurry! Aeroplan Allowing SWISS First Class Bookings!
Several years ago, SWISS stopped releasing first class awards to partners on a regular basis, generally reserving that award space only for elite members of its own Miles & More loyalty program. But sometimes the door is temporarily opened…and...
One Brilliant Star Alliance Award to Book Before Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Devaluation
Singapore Airlines is devaluing its Star Alliance redemption chart on December 07, 2017. The award chart was never very attractive in the first place, but every program has its sweet spots. The good news is that Star Alliance redemptions...
