SN Brussels Airlines is offering a tremendous deal right now on economy tickets from Newark to Frankfurt via their Brussels hub. Many dates have already sold out, but try out different dates in October and November if you are...
Continental tests self-boarding at IAH
Tired of the grouchy attitude or bad breath of your gate agent? Well now there’s a solution if you’re flying through Houston! Self-boarding is being tested select Continental gates at IAH. Lufthansa has already offered self-boarding for years, as do...
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...
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...
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...
United vs. Continental in the NYC Market
While the New York City airline market is one of the nation’s most competitive, transcon routes are particularly cutthroat. Delta, American, and United are all vying for your business out of JFK and offer an enhanced product to SFO/LAX,...
A return to airline regulation?
Some members of Congress are worried about what the CO-UA merger will mean for the consumer and are considering introducing a bill to restore airline regulation if the merger goes through. Deregulation has been credited with making airline travel affordable...
New United Mileage Plus website is here: book Star Alliance awards online (sort of)
Last week, I shared an e-mail I received from United about a new Mileage Plus website coming soon. Much to my surprise, when I logged on to UA this afternoon I saw this: I am amazed that this happened...
Coming Soon: New United Mileage Plus Website
I received the following e-mail from United today: My first thought was what redesign? I didn’t even know there was a Mileageplus.com website. Turns out there is, sort of–the web address takes you to the Mileage Plus portion of...
Delta Upgrades Regional Jets
As regional jet travel continues to proliferate, Delta is adding First Class cabins on many regional jets and hopes to offer two-cabin service on flights over 750 miles this fall. Once upgrades are completed, 50 routes that feature Delta...
United & Continental Pilots Moving Closer to New Contract
Some good news for a change on the labor front: United and Continental airlines are on course to wrap up a new contract with their pilot unions by fall, a critical step if their megamerger is to deliver the...
The End of Mileage Running on United
Yesterday, I mentioned that I was saddened by a change to United’s fare rules that will radically transform (literally) the way I travel domestically. Basically, United has eliminated the ability to add multiple connections for no additional charge. Lucky sums...
Continental Announces Elite Upgrades on Award Tickets for Credit Card Holders
Scott O’Leary, Continental’s Managing Director of Customer Experience and a former guest on UPGRD, confirmed on Flyertalk yesterday that elite members who hold a Continental Chase Presidential Plus or OnePass Plus MasterCard will be eligible for complimentary upgrades on award...
Continental Airlines: Lisbon-Caracas for $440 r/t
Continental Airlines has misfiled a V-class (Economy) fare from Lisbon, Portugal to Caracas, Venezuela. Rather than $550 o/w, it is only $55 o/w. With taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge, the lowest a/i fare is $440 r/t. Sample Itinerary: LIS-LHR-IAH-CCS,...
Fierce Competition for Loyalty in Lucrative NYC Airline Market
Bloomberg had a nice piece yesterday on the über-competitive NYC airline market. At stake is a bigger slice of the $13.6 billion spent each year by passengers who start or end trips in New York, which no carrier dominates. More...
Dear United and Continental, Have you considered this livery?
Check out this incredible livery that FTer UAL4life designed. Not only does it blend the best of both airlines, but it is elegantly simple and would not require a great deal of extra labor to paint. Far better than...
Continental Announces Nonstop 787 Service from Houston to Auckland
Although flights will not start for another year and a half (longer if Boeing runs into more production trouble), Continental announced that it will utilize its first 787 on a new Houston-Auckland route. With 228 Economy and 36 lie-flat...
Senate To Examine United-Continental Merger on Thursday
photo courtesy: Wall Street Journal I always get a kick out of bloviating Senators and this week will feature a doubleheader on Thursday, when the Senate examines the Continental-United merger. …First up, on Thursday, is a full hearing of...
A History of Airline Meals
Check out this audio clip from NPR on the history of in-flight airline food. I particularly like the perspective at the end: But there’s a paradox the airlines ignore. Is that when we get on board, we come to...
Effect of Continental-United Merger on Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald recently speculated about the impact of a United-Continental merger on the Australian airline market: The Americans know they will have to become even better pals if they are successfully to merge their companies to form...
