United Airlines will concentrate more Boeing 787 Dreamliners at Chicago O’Hare next year. In August, United announced the 787 was finally coming to Chicago, United’s home base. That included service to: Brussels (starting on March 28, 2020) Frankfurt (starting...
Why Are Aeroplan Hold Times Suddenly So Bad?
After drastically improving hold times after years of tiresome queues, hold times are once again a problem on Aeroplan. What is going on? Long Aeroplan Hold Times Return At Award Expert, we’ve noticed hold times have spiked up rather...
Bonvoyed: SPG Members Leaving Marriott, Data Suggests
Marriott Hotels purchased Starwood and replacing the beloved Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) with a new combined program, Bonvoy. Three data points suggest that SPG members haven’t stayed with the new Bonvoy program. If you are considering booking travel or signing up...
Employee Groups Wage Proxy Boeing Fight for Southwest
The Boeing 737 MAX is a very delicate issue. Airlines are owed for down time but getting passengers back on the planes may be tough. Southwest employee groups are effectively fighting Boeing for Southwest by proxy. If you are...
Lifetime Status: My Pursuits and Results
After traveling for an extended period of time, annual qualifications become a forgone conclusion, but lifetime status overtakes the annual goal. Here are my hotel and airline lifetime progressions and why I seek them. If you are considering booking...
Perfect Paneer On United Shows Why Airlines Should Embrace Indian Food
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. While perhaps...
18 Reasons Why Chase Is 18 Months Ahead of American Express
American Express recently slammed Chase for being 18 months behind it, no matter what it did. I hold a different view. Doug Buckminster, President of the American Express Global Consumer Services Group, said: JPMorgan is staffed by a whole...
False Alarm: United Economy Plus Won’t Be A Separate Cabin…Yet
Will United Airlines start treating Economy Plus as a separate class of service? What will happen to MileagePlus elites, who currently can assign those seats for free? An unannounced trial this week by United is simply that, a trial,...
Oscar Munoz Vs. Doug Parker On Boeing 737 MAX
As the public faces of their respective airlines, United CEO Oscar Munoz and American Airlines CEO Doug Parker share a common problem: how to convince customers to fly on the 737 MAX again. Thus far, the two have taken...
Austrian Airlines Announces Cuts, Blaming “Brutal Competition” In Vienna
We learned about cuts at Lufthansa earlier this week to the onboard product. Today, Lufthansa announced it would make cuts, including staff cuts, at its troubled Austrian Airlines subsidiary. Austrian followed with further clarification. Trouble At Austrian Airlines After...
Scary: American Eagle Embraer E175 Diverts After Pilots Lose Control
An American Eagle Embraer 175 safely returned to Atlanta after encountering severe flight control issues during takeoff. The situation is eerily similar to an Air Astana Embraer 190 incident that occurred just under a year ago. On November 6,...
An Intriguing Fifth Freedom Route On RwandAir
As smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft Fifth Freedom routes less prevalent, many carriers have cutback on them. But RwandAir recently started an interesting new Fifth Freedom route. What is a Fifth Freedom Route? Fifth Freedom is the right for an airline...
Doug Parker, CEO Of American Airlines, Offers Career Advice
“Once I stopped worrying about my career, my career took off.” So says Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines. In a wide ranging interview with the New York Times, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker offered extended thoughts on...
Swede Busted In Australian Airport With Lethal Drugs In Lining Of Suitcase…
A Swedish man was caught trying to smuggle over $8 million worth of drugs into Australia using the lining of his suitcases. The man had originated in Turkey and was traveling with two suitcases. Officials pulled him aside for...
Any Interest In A Cubana IL-96 Trip Report?
I’m planning a trip to Argentina, and as I always do, am checking my flight options. One option–via Havana on an Ilyushin IL-96–has really caught my eye. Cubana Ilyushin IL-96 Cubana operates a fleet of four IL-96 aircraft. It...
WOW! Let’s PLAY An Icelandic Airline Game
As WOW Air transitions to a cargo airline and PLAY seeks to be the latest low-cost upstart, one has to wonder just what is going on with Icelandic aviation. Let the guessing game begin. Introducing PLAY: A New Low-Cost-Carrier...
Lufthansa Slashes Meal Service In Economy + Premium Economy (As Competition Improves)
Lufthansa is “optimizing” the pre-arrival meal service in economy class and premium economy class on longhaul flights. That’s bad news, since Lufthansa was already lagging behind its competition. Effective November 28, 2019, Lufthansa will only offer a cold vegetarian...
How A Cockpit Photo Outraged China
A pilot lets his girlfriend sit in the cockpit. She posts it on social media. A blogger notices and complains on Weibo. Outrage grows. Many are punished. The pilot is banned for life. But was the reaction a bit...
A Weekend In The Heartland Of California
I spent Saturday in a part of California I previously did not even know existed. It felt like another country…and it was wonderful. California is such a diverse place. Not just the population, which represents cultures from around the...
How To Save Big On Uber And Lyft At LAX
As Matthew recently wrote, LAX shared ride pickups have been a mess since the switch to a central pick-up zone. But you can save money and perhaps even time on your next Uber or Lyft ride with a little...
