Yesterday I wrote about an amenity kit incident onboard my Alitalia flight from Rome to Los Angeles. Something happened later in the flight that I am struggling to process. First, let me preface this story by saying that it...
Lenin Statues and Historical Remembrance
I spent the last week in two former Soviet Socialist Republics, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. As the Soviet Union collapsed, both declared independence in 1991. At one point, nearly every city under the sphere of Soviet influence erected a towering...
How I Scored an Incredible $600 R/T Business Class Fare to Australia
When a good deal surfaces, you cannot wait to book it. Even a few minutes. Earlier today I saw a post from View from the Wing highlighting an incredible deal from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia on All Nippon Airways...
Qatar Airways CEO Speaks Truth
Qatar Airways Chairman and CEO Akbar Al Baker has waded into a contentious controversy: the age-old FA age debate. You can listen to his remarks in context below, but he stated– Wide seats, plenty of legroom, as well as award...
Would You Ever Kill A Fellow Airline Passenger?
Earlier today I shared the lurid details of a passenger meltdown on a Delta flight from Seattle to Beijing. The question on my mind: would lethal force have been appropriate? First, let’s be thankful that lethal force was not used–that passengers...
Would You Travel to a Conflict Zone?
For those of you have not read me for years, I love traveling to conflict zones. I’ve been to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia purely for the sake of going. > Read More: Introduction: A Journey to Saudi Arabia...
Memorial Day Message from United CEO
United CEO Oscar Munoz is quite the prolific scribe. My go-to FA (who also said a new international route from LAX will be announced later this week) sent me the following note Munoz sent to employees earlier today to...
Why I Have Become Jaded By So-Called “Mistake” Fares
Let me tell you a story. I’ll call it A Tale of Two “Mistake” Fares. Award Expert focuses on the effective utilization of frequent flyer miles and credit card points, but sometimes it just makes sense to purchase revenue...
Mother’s Day Part II: The Patient Wife
With the arrival of Augustine, we are celebrating Mother’s Day in a new way this year: my kitchen now looks like a funeral parlor. I prefer to buy potted plants or trees that my wife Heidi and I can plant...
Mother’s Day Part I: From Fear to Nonchalance
My dearest mother used to lie awake when I would travel, doing what mothers do well: worrying. I remember my solo first trip to Washington, DC. Just DC. It was a mileage run and I flew on a Friday...
Around the World in a 737? My Next Adventure!
Is it possible to travel around the entire globe exclusively on 737s? YES! And I am already working on my next big adventure. Here’s how it will look– Los Angeles to Honolulu – United 737 Honolulu to Guam on...
Witnessing Pol Pot’s Inhumanity in Cambodia
We all have certain moments in our lives that are forever ingrained in our memory. One such instance for me was visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I’m publishing a trip report from 2013 and most of...
United, Leggings, and the Power of Misinformation
Nothing like a dishonest tweet exploding into a firestorm on an otherwise quiet Sunday… I’ll address United’s pass rider dress code policy and the specific incident below, but let’s start with the tweets that set this all off: Turns out,...
It’s A Small World (of Hyatt) After All
My wife and I took little Augustine to Disneyland last week. His first ride, appropriately I think, was It’s A Small World. The ride, a Disneyland staple since 1966, takes you on a journey around the world with the following...
Remorse & Resolve: Final Thoughts on a Month in Africa
My unexpected month in Africa will always be a two-edged sword: a treasured memory on the one hand and a painful and expensive exercise in futility on the other hand. Remember the purpose of this trip was to secure...
We Didn’t Make it to Las Vegas…
Sometimes even well-intentioned plans are not meant to be. I was so excited to book a free trip to Las Vegas courtesy of JetBlue Vacations a few weeks ago. Heidi had never been and Vegas is the perfect one-day...
The Best Part of the Tanzania Trip
We’ve now worked our way though a 24-part trip report and I have neglected to share what truly made the trip a great one. It was the company. I have taken so many amazing solo trips around the world, but...
Dump the Kid for a Romantic Getaway to Iceland?
Admittedly, I wasted two hours yesterday morning trying to figure out a way to travel from Los Angeles to Iceland on WOW Air during a flash fare sale. One problem: the baby does not have his passport yet. Hindsight is...
The Farce of Airport Security
How to wreak terror inside a secure airport in 2017? Place a gun into your checked bag, grab your bag off the carousel, pull the gun out, load the gun, and start firing. That’s what happened last week in...
The Travel Infrastructure Problem in the USA
What was the real reason behind yesterday’s U.S. Customs delay that stranded thousands of travelers and left the immigration process at a standstill across U.S. airports? Rampant speculation that Russian hackers or other nefarious actors were responsible has been at the...
