Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago. Is it possible to enjoy a delicious pizza above 30,000 feet? Over the last 12 years I’ve only […]
I Flew The “Boring” Option Home To LA…
After spending hours (upon hours) trying to come up with an interesting way back to Los Angeles, I ended up booking “boring” United Airlines. That turned out to be a great choice. Sometimes boring is a good thing. Sometimes we just want to sleep. After a couple of sleepless nights, I just wanted to come […]
Plane Spotting With My Two-Year-Old At LAX
Saturday will go down as one of the greatest days I have ever spent with my two-year-old son, Augustine. We spent the day at Los Angeles International Airport of course… Although hardly unique for male toddlers, my son is very much into airplanes…especially takeoffs and landings. He enjoys watching Lufthansa safety videos as much as […]
Help Me Plan My 737 MAX Trip With My Two-Year-Old…Or Not?
I want to take my son on a 737 MAX trip this weekend, lest I ever be accused of hypocrisy. Earlier today, I made (or attempted to make) a rather abstract argument that perhaps we are acting too hastily in grounding the 737 MAX. Reader Joey suggested: To prove your point, it may be a […]
Will Etihad Partner With United And Join Star Alliance?
Rumors are swirling that Etihad Airways will ditch American Airlines and partner with United Airlines. What will this mean for all three carriers? It was two years ago that rumors were swirling that Etihad was close to joining Star Alliance. At the time, I confirmed with several sources that the talks were serious. Early 2017 […]
An Online Travel Agency Invites You To “Break The Rules” (But Be Careful…)
A popular European online travel agency has promised to pay your legal fees if an airline sues you for throwaway ticketing. Or maybe not. Let’s take a closer look. Last week I wrote about Lufthansa suing a passenger for engaging in throwaway ticketing (sometimes called hidden city ticketing). For more background on what throwaway ticketing […]
The A380 Is Dead, Long Live The A380
Airbus announced today that it would be shutting the A380 production line in 2021. The move is sadly not a surprise. 17 A380s will still be built, including 14 to Emirates and 3 to ANA. In a written statement, Airbus CEO Tom Enders stated: The A380 is not only an outstanding engineering and industrial achievement. […]
The Best Airline Cheeseburger In The World
I’ve had a lot of hamburgers and cheeseburgers over the years on airplanes, but none as tasty as the incredible cheeseburger I enjoyed on Lufthansa last weekend. Wow, wow, wow… I do love hamburgers…what can I say? I’ve got an In-N-Out and Five Guys and Shake Shack within 10 minutes of my house. Thank goodness […]
Beware: Flight Attendants Hawking Inferior Credit Card Offers
When flight attendants tell you they have an “amazing” credit card offer, be sure to double check how amazing it actually is… Last Saturday I flew from San Francisco to Burbank on United Express after connecting from Frankfurt on Lufthansa. This was a CRJ-200 operated by Skywest. After the beverage service, the FA made the […]
United’s Loss Is Emirates’ Gain
Emirates is considering restarting a Fifth Freedom route between Hamburg, Germany and New York JFK. It’s a bold move in the “America First” era, but hardly a route so odd that it merits scorn. Without formal announcement, United suspended service to Hamburg last autumn. After serving Hamburg year-around for several years from Newark via a 757-200, […]
Help Me Get Home From Israel!
It is not often that the Award Expert needs award help, but I find myself in a unique position. I’ll spend Christmas in Germany this year and have a bit of time after for a trip with my family. I asked my wife where she wanted to go and her response was instant: Israel. But here […]
My Prediction For United’s “Historic” New Route Announcement
United Airlines’ CEO Oscar Munoz will make a “historic” route announcement today. I have 10 predictions for potential new routes. According to an insider on airliners.net, United will make a historic route announcement today at 11:00AM CT. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz will host a media conference call to discuss an historic package of new […]
The Most Important Thing In An Airport Lounge Is…The Coffee
I have come to the realization that coffee is the most important thing in an airport lounge. Nice food is appreciated. High speed wi-fi is helpful. Comfortable seating is applauded. But if I had to choose just one thing that I consider most important in an airline lounge, it would be the coffee. People love […]
Clarification On My United Compensation Story
My story about proactive United compensation caused quite a stir yesterday. Some speculated whether I was on the United payroll while others wondered if I was the only passenger who received compensation due my oft-United-focused blog. Apparently a journalist even reached out to United to see if everyone on the plane received compensation for the […]
How High Is Too High? Fuel Surcharges Rise Again On British Airways
British Airways has substantially raised fuel surcharges on flights originating in the United States, especially for first class. How high is too high too for an “award” ticket? A round-trip business class ticket from the United States to London and back will now cost you $1433.46 (including $1,106 in fuel surcharges alone) in addition to the […]
Review: The Library Lounge Nice Airport (NCE)
The Library Lounge in Nice Airport, a Priority Pass lounge, offers a quiet work environment, but not much in the area of food. I did not deliberately arrive early, but with light traffic found myself at Nice Airport about an hour before my flight. The lounge was virtually empty, with just a couple other passengers. […]
Editorial: Cut The Complaints About “Inferior” U.S. Airlines
There’s a cliche amongst frequent travelers. It goes something like this: U.S. airlines are woefully behind European and Asian airlines, especially in terms of service. While just my opinion, I’m tired of that trite argument and reject it. Don’t think I am going to defend the lackluster and sometimes hostile service that FAs on U.S. […]
“Genuine” Travel From A Luxury Hotel Room And Airline Lounge
What is genuine travel? Travel is fundamentally about experiencing life in the shoes of others. That means that those who seek refuge in airline lounges and western hotel chains fail to experience the essence of what it means to travel, right? Absolutely wrong. Here’s why. This story takes places over one day, as I traveled […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 26, 2018
It was an unseasonably cool week in LA and we are expecting more of the same in the week ahead. That has made being home all the more sweeter. I plan to be home again this week, but my next trip is on the horizon. I wish you all a great week. Here’s a review […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 29, 2018
After a whirlwind trip to New York and Miami, I’m back in Los Angeles for the day, then off to Las Vegas tomorrow. Over the last week, we’ve seen a new photo policy at United Airlines, Chinese anger at U.S. airlines, and a bed bug invasion on Air India. Please find a review of the week’s top stories as well […]