I’ve booked my parents on it, my brother on it, dozens of clients on it, but now it was my turn. For years I have been wanting to fly Air New Zealand from Los Angeles to London and a...
United CEO Reflects on Trump Meeting (and My Concerns)
Airline executives met with President Trump yesterday. You can read the sometimes humorous pool report here. Rather than focusing on the contentious travel ban, airline executives and the new Trump administration sought to find common ground. United CEO Oscar Munoz...
Surprise Meal on United Proves Why Meals Don’t Matter
Not to beat a dead horse, but my United flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt yesterday demonstrates why economy class meal service likely has little effect on loyalty and negatively impacts revenue. I generally do not upgrade when flights are so...
United Ground Delay Due to Computer Glitch
Another day, another IT glitch. United Airlines this time. Allegedly at 11:30p last night a faulty software update was loaded to a system that supplies flight planning data to pilots. Reports of delays throughout the country are filtering in on Flyertalk....
A Photo Finish in Cape Town
In my final post in this series I will discuss the process of how we ultimately obtained the Police Clearance Certificate for Heidi, but it was now 5pm with our flight back to Europe scheduled to depart in four...
Huge Cocaine Stash Found on AA Plane
We have a bit of a mystery on our hands…and some drug humor as well, all thanks to airliners.net. The issue: 31lbs of cocaine found on an AA plane at Tusla earlier today. CNBC reports that while working on the...
$15,000 Dinner at Disneyland
I’ve got a trip to Disneyland coming up in a couple weeks…my first time there in over a decade. We will be taking the little one..and a babysitter. One thing we won’t be taking is a reservation to 21 Royal,...
Review: Johannesburg to Livingstone, Zambia in British Airways Comair Economy Class
Back in South Africa and still waiting for our document, we booked a trip to Victoria Falls. After failing in on our first attempt to fly to Livingstone due to improper vaccination records, it was time for take two. We had...
Review: Nkambeni Safari Camp
We pulled into Kruger Park with no reservation, hoping to find lodge accommodations inside the park. Unsurprisingly, there was no room. On the way in (via the Numbi gate) we had noticed a lodge just outside the park grounds...
What is World’s Most Powerful Passport?
I tend to spend far too much time reading the Daily Mail, and came across a story a few days ago ranking passports. Passport Index is a great resources for passport information and each years ranks countries based upon visa-free...
Missed Flight, 3hrs on Uber, and the 58th Presidential Inauguration
The plan was simple enough. Fly to the inauguration and then fly back. But hastily-arranged, last-minute trips a rarely turn out smoothly. This trip was no exception. Award space opened up at the last minute from Los Angeles to...
How to Obtain a South African Police Report
If you recall, the whole point of our trip to South Africa was to secure one document, a South African Police Report, so that my wife could immigrate to the USA. While this can be requested via mail, the...
Enroute to Washington, DC for Trump Inauguration
Let’s start with a disclaimer: this is a non-partisan blog and attending the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, should not be interpreted as an endorsement of him or his policy positions. I...
Review: Oasis Lounge Lagos (LOS)
Lago’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport has nine Priorty Pass lounges! I had the chance to visit two of them. The Oasis Lounge was located right next to the NIS office where I spent my entire afternoon and early evening,...
Street Food Horror Stories?
In my travels around the world — 125 countries and counting — I have eaten a lot of street food. Reader Rusty asked me in a recent comment if I ever got sick. Off the top of my head, I’ve...
Sore Losers: NFL Team Trashes United 767-400
The New York Giants lost their Wild Card Round playoff game to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday…and took out their anger on a United Airlines 767-400. Airlines are happy to lease out their planes and crews if the...
Review: Zanzibar Dhow Lounge (ZNZ)
Although the airport is small and half of it is outdoors, I was happy to find a Priority Pass lounge at Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. The Park Hyatt granted us late checkout so we left at 6:30pm for our...
Shooting at Ft. Lauderdale Airport, Five Dead
Breaking now — a shooting in the baggage claim area of T2 at Ft. Lauderdale Airport (FLL) has left eight injured and five dead. The airport is currently closed. The shooting occurred around 1pm ET. The shooter has been apprehended but airport exits remain...
Cool Video of Woman Prancing Through Paris
This caught my eye on Facebook last night: a woman playing “Jason Bourne” in Paris. Check out this video: Paris is one of my favorite cities and I just love how this video captures the essence of Parisian architecture and some...
Heartbreaking: Sisters Thrown Off Flight, Miss Father’s Death
A very sad story out of Orlando, where two middle-aged sisters were deemed a “security risk” and thrown off a flight, prohibiting them from saying goodbye to their father on his deathbed. As their Allegiant Air flight prepared to...
