I reviewed the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge in Frankfurt five years ago and it has not changed much. That’s a testament to the endearing quality of Lufthansa. Located landside beyond passport control and baggage claim, the lounge serves arriving long haul premium...
Detour: My Other Africa Trip Report
Last week I kicked off my “month in Africa” trip report. I’m telling the story of my life, in a sense, and that month in Africa was nothing short of incredible. The trip report is already written, but I have...
A Trick for Finding Hidden Award Seats
Earlier today I wrote about married segments, attempting to explain them, their purpose, and how to use them to your advantage. Just like in real life, however, sometimes marriage is not the answer. While married segments and “direct flights”...
A Primer On Married Segments
Airlines are increasingly using “married segment logic” in the allocation of revenue and award seats, which can create more difficulty in booking, but at the same time opportunity. Explaining Married Segments When two segments are married it means you can...
Twas the Night Before Christmas: 2016 Edition
You’ll have to indulge me here. I tried this three years ago in a poem entitled The Night Before Christmas: United Airlines Edition but this one is a bit more personal. I like poetry, especially rhyming couplets, and figured I’d...
United Cuts International Routes, Will Focus on Domestic Travel
An interesting Chicago Tribune article details how United will focus more on domestic travel in 2017. With yields down on international routes thanks to low-cost competition, United will look inward. Strategies includes: Strengthening its existing hubs Continuing the trend...
A Touch of Dignity at SFO
This is one of the busiest travel weeks of the year and San Francisco Airport was particularly busy when I passed through Wednesday afternoon. But above the din of voices and boarding announcements was not a canned holiday soundtrack but the sweet...
Mutiny: Passengers Revolt on My UA Flight
Rain in Los Angeles and odd easterly winds fouled up operations at LAX yesterday and created a mutinous situation on my United flight. Yesterday was a first for me: despite several hundred flights into LAX over the years, for the...
Success: Booking Garuda First Class for 90% Off!
In what has to be the deal of the year, Garuda Indonesia is offering 90% off all awards for bookings ticketed before 31 Dec 2016 for travel from 01 Feb to 31 May 2017. I certainly thought this really...
Why the AMEX Lounge is My Favorite Office
With a long layover in San Francisco earlier this week, I spent about six hours in the American Express Centurion Lounge. Let me tell you that it was the most productive six hours of my week thus far! Travelers value airport lounges...
What Terrorism Reveals About Us
Sadly, it feels like I have written this post several times before: another day, another act of terrorism. Germany suffered another terrorist attack yesterday, this one at a Christmas Market in Berlin. 12 people were killed and 48 injured by a tractor trailer that...
Strangely Satisfied with Ukraine International Airlines
After 11 hours onboard a Ukraine International Airlines flight from Kiev to New York, I am happy to report that I am still alive and well. Lucky wrote a hilarious post entitled, “6 Reasons You’ll LOVE Ukraine Airlines Business Class” and...
Review: Deutsche Bahn (DB) Lounge – Stuttgart
After our wedding, Heidi and I honeymooned in Paris. We traveled from Stuttgart to Paris in TGV First Class and were granted access to the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Lounge prior to our departure. DB has first class lounges at the...
Top 5 Delta SkyMiles Redemptions
Delta Air Lines may offer one of America’s best in-flight products, but its SkyMiles loyalty program leaves much to be desired. Not so much because redemptions values are always bad (though they often are), but because Delta breaks the cardinal rule of loyalty:...
How Do You Handle a Seatmate Who Wants to Talk Religion?
Have you ever had a religious (or non-religious) seatmate who talked your ear off concerning issues of religion for several hours on a flight? Late in the boarding process on my Ukraine International Airlines flight from Kiev to New York last week, a...
How I Almost Missed my Wedding!
Ok, when we last left off I was stuck in Honolulu looking at flight options to get me back in time for my wedding. It was Wednesday morning in Honolulu and the wedding was Saturday in Stuttgart. When you...
A Scary Flight on EgyptAir
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....
