Ironically, Avianca really impressed me yesterday when they refused to seat me in the exit row on my flight from Lima to Bogota. During check-in with Latin airlines, I can usually use my *very* limited Spanish to state my name, where I...
Drinking and Flying on Both Sides of the Flight Deck
With another arrest of a "drunk" pilot, this time a United Captain on a flight from LHR bound for ORD, should passengers be worried about their safety in the skies? The LA Times featured an interesting discussion of pilot...
Riding in the "Non-Rev" (First Class) Cabin on UA 947
After getting some work done at TPA, I boarded my flight back to IAD, this time a 757. First Class was only about 80% full and although the purser said this was a "completely full" (don’t you love the...
Bumps and Upgrades: A Great Day of Flying
I will be leaving for South America from Los Angeles Monday morning and needed to get from Philadelphia to Los Angeles this weekend. Naturally, I wasn’t going to fly PHL-LAX! Last night I was scheduled to fly from PHL-IAD-TPA...
UPDATE: United Kicks Man Out of First Class for Wearing a Jogging Suit
It appears that the gate agent who denied Mr. Alvarez a First Class upgrade believed Alvarez was a non-rev, was dealing with another customer during the interaction, and is a non-native English speaker. From Robin Urbanksi, United’s spokesperson: We...
United Kicks Man Out of First Class for Wearing a Jogging Suit
Stories pop up all the time about gate agents making up their own rules or selectively enforcing others. This story takes the cake though: apparently a man’s upgrade cleared at the gate for his IAD-BDL flight on United (Express), but...
$40 Surcharge if You’re Flying Home for Thanksgiving or Christmas
Delta, American, United, and US Airways have recently added $20 o/w surcharges for flights during peak holiday travel this year. I have not bought my tickets to LAX yet for Christmas, so this is disappointing news. At the same...
United Returns Hot Meals to Domestic Business Class
About a year ago United eliminated hot meals from domestic Business Class (except on premium service routes between JFK and LAX/SFO), even on 5+ hour transcon flights. The rationale was to reduce costs and attempt to distinguish First Class...
Picture of the Week #3: Our Tax Dollars at Work and the TSA
I try to fly out of Burbank when I can because you can literally show up 25 minutes before departure and make it the the gate with time to spare–even if you are checking bags. United shares T2 with...
What do the Gas Company and United Airlines have in Common?
I had to address a problem on my gas bill this week that required a trip to one of Philadelphia Gas Works’ offices. Thinking that it would be a quick visit, I hopped on the Market-Frankford subway line and...
Continental/United IAD-SFO r/t $105 a/i
If you’re up at this late hour, you might want to take advantage of Continental’s IAD-SFO r/t fare for $105-115 including taxes–this deal will probably be gone by morning. Codeshares on United available if you route through Chicago or...
Troubled Times for US Airways: More Cutbacks Ahead
US Airways announced series of cutbacks today as it faces stiff competition and dwindling demand during this troubled time in the airline industry: -Cutback of 1,000 employees (~600 airport, ~200 pilot, and ~150 FA) -Abandoning Las Vegas as a...
UPDATE: Circumventing United Airline’s StarNet Blocking – A Successful Failure
I made about 12 calls to United yesterday evening and finally found an ORD agent willing to do a manual booking. As expected, NZ confirmed the seat immediately and it looked like I was good to go. The flight even showed...
Circumventing United Airline’s StarNet Blocking
Award inventory is shared among Star Alliance carriers in what is known as the StarNet system. United Airlines, in an attempt to save money and funnel travelers to flights on UA metal has instituted a system of StarNet blocking...
Pursue MMer Status on United or Dual Star Gold Status?
I’m up to nearly 200,000 EQMs this year on United and have some domestic trips in paid First Class coming up next month. With more than enough miles to qualify for elite status for 2010, I am having trouble...
All LOT Flights 50% Off Today and Tomorrow for Jan-March 2010 Travel
LOT Polish Airlines has announced that tickets purchased today and tomorrow are 50% off for travel that begins in the first quarter of 2010. This includes all seats, on all flights, in all cabins. What is not made explicit is that...
Tough Love from Spirit Airlines
Have you ever missed check-in by a few minutes and been told to go pound sand? Check out this excerpt from the Miami Herald : www.miamiherald.com/news/action-line/story/1291752.html A Few Minutes Proves Costly I bought a round-trip ticket for $115…for travel from Fort...
When it comes to Airline Tickets: Book Now, Ask Questions Later
Book now, ask questions later has become my motto when it comes to buying airline tickets. With the 24-hour cancellation policy that all U.S. airlines and Orbitz/Priceline have, if I see a good deal, I buy the ticket–even if...
Six Hours on the Phone with United Web Support
Yes, six hours–and only two bookings. Being the mileage runner that I am, I naturally rejected a conventional routing for my two trips to Los Angeles next month. It took me some time, but I pieced together a nice...
Picture of the Week #1: Gate Lice in Denver, Courtesy of United Airlines
Gate lice, those passengers who stand up in the boarding area up to an hour before boarding, have always made me chuckle. Yes, bin space is precious–but I don’t think that is why some people line up early on...
