After a remarkably smooth journey from London to Cairo on EgyptAir, the Cairo to Beirut leg was not as tranquil. The culprit: bad weather. The route from CAI to BEY over the Mediterranean sea was littered with storms and made for one...
The Aeroplan Agent Who Kept Calling
With Award Expert taking the bulk of my time, I find myself on the phone often. The more valuable the loyalty program, the more often I interact with it. That means I am on the phone frequently with Aeroplan. While...
Bachelor Party in Hawaii
Now that you know how I met Heidi, let’s fast forward to the days leading up to our wedding. The week before the wedding I was in Los Angeles while she made final preparations in Germany. Enter my friend John,...
A Fantastic Experience on EgyptAir!
Let’s face it: mention EgyptAir and most instinctively grimace. The carrier does not serve alcohol, does not have cutting-edge seats, and boasts a poor safety reputation. Truthfully, those were my preconceptions too going into my flight from London to Cairo....
A Million Miles for Love
I am a MillionMiler on United Airlines and I like to tell people that it was “a million miles for love.” I met my wife-to-be Heidi while working in Germany for Star Alliance in 2011. We were next door...
Photos: Air New Zealand Impresses
Hello from London! The first leg of my 7-leg journey, an Air New Zealand flight from Los Angeles to London, is complete. My expectations were high for business class on Air New Zealand and while they were not exceeded, they were met....
Off to London, Cairo, Beirut, Istanbul, and Kiev!
I’m embarking on a quick trip from Los Angeles to New York…via London, Cairo, Beirut, Istanbul, and Kiev! Why? Aeroplan and a cheap business class ticket. This trip was born of a cheap business class fare on Ukraine International Airlines back...
And Now Comes the Great Leap Forward
With the prodigal son home, now comes the hard part. If this blog is to work, if this blog is to gain traction, it must produce fresh, frequent and fascinating content. Life is already busy and if I focused...
A New Home for Live and Let’s Fly
Once upon a time, a 24-year old law school student created a blog to impart his love for travel and frequent flyer miles to a like-minded audience. This young man loved traveling in first class and staying in fancy...
Flyebaby – An Option for Lap Infants and Their Parents
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com. If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today. If you are looking to buy a neck pillow you have about a...
How to Remember 9-11-01 Today
We’ve come a long way in the last fifteen years. So far that a mattress store in Texas felt this was an appropriate ad– and a Florida Walmart set up a Coca-Cola display like this– I think that sort...
New IMAX Trailer for Captain Sully Movie
It has all the makings of a good film — directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks — and a new IMAX preview for Sully, which portrays the crash landing and subsequent investigation over US Airways 1549, is...
I am Spending the Night in an Abandoned Russian Mine!
Tonight should be interesting — I’ll be staying at the Tulpan Hotel in Pyramiden, an abandoned Russian mining community in Svalbard, Norway. I’ve ordered the “Soviet accommodation” and will be cut off from the outside world until tomorrow, for I have been...
Qatar Amiri Flight 747-8 at LAX
I am on my way to FTU in Washington this weekend and upon driving into LAX this morning I noticed a 747-8 with Qatar Airways livery parked in one of the VIP slots on the SE side of the airport. I...
China Eastern Delights and Disappoints
China Eastern showed today its potential to offer industry-leading ground and air service while at the same time showing that it has so much that it can improve upon. In an earlier post I discussed our pre-flight VIP treatment...
Suddenly We are VIPs on China Eastern
Lucky and I offered less than stellar initial feedback yesterday on our China Eastern Flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai. The primary problem was onboard smoking but there were several service lapses that ultimately made for a disappointing in-flight...
Smoking on China Eastern Airlines
Before today, I had been on one smoking flight my entire life: Burbank to Seattle in September 1987. I was a year old and do not remember it…My second smoking flight was earlier today on China Eastern from Los...
Independence Day, Brexit, and Mr. Bean
Independence Day in America, also known as Thanksgiving Day in Great Britain, brings on a whole new meaning this year in light of Brexit, the UK’s own recent declaration of independence. I do not really care to discuss history...
A KL Taxi Driver Threatened to Hurt Me for Using Uber
I was in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday night on a long layover between Malaysia Airlines flights. I needed a haircut and wanted a massage, so I hopped on the KLIA Express train to KL Sentral and there picked up an...
Memorial Day 2016: United Airlines Ramp Worker Goes Extra Mile
Each year on Memorial Day in the USA I write a post that attempts to grapple with the world outside the bubble of miles and points. We live in an age of an all-volunteer army in which drones are...