One footnote to my SWISS First Class Lounge review from Zurich. The Hästens bed was truly the best bed I’ve ever slept in. There are many reasons to visit the SWISS First Class Lounge in E Gates area in...
The SWISS First Class Ground Experience
The day had arrived. It was time to fly SWISS First Class. This wasn’t my first time flying SWISS First Class, but it was my first time flying SWISS First from Zurich. Had I been flying alone, I would...
Aeroplan Sent Me a Certified Letter…
After traveling in Europe for nearly two weeks, I returned home to find a certified letter from Aeroplan delivered by FedEx. Here’s the unedited letter, concerning my cancelled first class tickets on SWISS: Dear Mr. Klint: Thank you for...
Update: SWISS Sends Second, Nasty Letter Blaming Bloggers
My ongoing battle over cancelled first class tickets on SWISS is a two-front war: one with with SWISS and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the second with Aeroplan. In the case of SWISS, recall that I filed a DOT...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 14, 2018
I’ve just begun my next trip…it will be a busy week and much of it is still unplanned. It has been a relatively quiet week in industry news, with Alaska and Virgin now operating under a single certificate. A...
Was SWISS First Class Worth It?
It has been nearly two weeks since my trip from Zürich to Los Angeles in first class. Many have asked me, now that I’ve had time to reflect, was it worth it? Let’s put aside the lawsuit for a...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 7, 2018
A very happy Sunday evening to you from Los Angeles. It’s been a horrible weekend in one respect. I’ll explain tomorrow. For now, I’ll just leave you with the top stories of the week and a link to each...
Amazing Flight in SWISS First Class!
I’m home and happy to report a smooth and most excellent flight in SWISS First Class! My family traveled from Zurich to Los Angeles and the superior service started service directly at check-in. We were traveling with a great...
Update from Aimia (Aeroplan) RE: My Demand Letter
Literally minutes after posting yesterday about purchasing SWISS First Class tickets, I received an email from the legal department of Aimia, parent company of Aeroplan. I do not believe that post and this response are at all related. I’ve spoken...
I’m Booked in SWISS First Class, Zurich to Los Angeles…
Sometimes, you have to put your money where your mouth is. In what seems like so long ago, I promised: But mark my words: my family will fly in SWISS First together to end our holiday trip to Germany....
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: December 24, 2017
It’s Christmas Eve and I hope, like me, you are spending it with family friends. I’m on “vacation” in Germany for awhile, but there is never really any true vacation in the world of blogging and Award Expert. Posts...
Here’s My Response to SWISS and the DOT
After receiving a disingenuous and dishonest response from SWISS earlier today over my DOT complaint, I’ve now composed a response that I hope will be addressed line-by-line. I won’t hold my breath… > Read More: Disingenuous, Dishonest Response from SWISS...
Disingenuous, Dishonest Response from SWISS Over DOT Complaint
I had a nice day outside with my family and just returned home to find a response from SWISS to my DOT complaint. While not wholly unexpected, its arrogant tone and outright fabrication of facts is deplorable. Here’s the...
My Demand Letter to Aeroplan
In the interest of transparency, I’m keeping you updated on what/how I communicate with Aeroplan concerning the SWISS First Class award controversy. Having been thus far unable to resolve this in a manner that suits me, I just mailed...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: December 17, 2017
After another trip to New York, I’m back in Los Angeles until tomorrow…when I’ll fly to Germany for Christmas. It has been a hectic month, so I am looking forward to some downtime. American Airlines’ opened a beautiful new...
Did Anyone Lose Their SWISS First Class Reservation with United?
As I prepare my legal case against Aeroplan, I have a question to anyone who recently booked SWISS First Class award space via United: is your reservation still intact? I’m trying to draw to sufficient data points to weigh...
Aeroplan Called Me…
The SWISS First Class award saga may now be in the trench warfare stage. Last week, I received an updated itinerary from Aeroplan without any other notice or explanation. Yesterday, I received a phone call from Aeroplan. > Read...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: December 10, 2017
I’m back in LA after a whirlwind trip to New York and Frankfurt. I’ll have more details on that trip tomorrow, including a dismaying incident at JFK. My focus over the last week has been on the SWISS First...
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...