The United States has downgraded the safety rating of Venezuela, citing continued civil unrest and an inability to meet basic standards for safety. Under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, countries are assigned either a Category 1 or...
United Airlines Wages War On Christmas? Hardly.
Reading some headlines you might think United Airlines is waging a war on Christmas. That’s not really the case. A number of blogs have talked about United “banning” holiday attire. That’s not the case at all. On the contrary,...
Jejune “Celebrity” Shames Passenger For Occupying Middle Seat, Calls Her Racist
A jejune D-list “celebrity” took to Twitter to publicly shame her seatmate for refusing to slide over to an open aisle seat. Her request was reasonable; her subsequent actions disgusting. Rachel True, a small-time actress whose career peaked 20...
Deutsche Bahn Is Angry At Greta Thunberg…
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn exchanged a series of passive-aggressive tweets with teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg after she tweeted what may have been a misleading picture. The 16-year-old was just named Person of the Year by Time Magazine...
American Airlines Offers Differentiation For Frequent Flyers
American Airlines announced this week that they would allow frequent flyers to spend their way to frequent flyer status. I welcome this news and it’s different than what United offered. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a...
SPG Should Have Taken the Hyatt Offer
Starwood Preferred Guest hotels sold to Marriott a couple of years ago. Now, following the first full year of their combined loyalty program, it’s clearer than ever – SPG should have taken Hyatt’s acquisition offer. If you are considering...
Review: Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome – Suite
A stay in Paris should be magic, and in our case it certainly was. The Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome delivered on a perfect Parisian stay. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both...
Ambrosial Chicken Lasagna On Air Asia X
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. Italian food...
Boeing Removed Lightning Protection On 787 Dreamliner Over FAA Objections
I’m not in the business of attacking Boeing, but the optics of a decision to remove lightning safety protections on the 787 are not helpful to the troubled aircraft manufacturer. Boeing Removed Lightning Protection On 787 Dreamliner Dominic Gates of...
Review: Park Hyatt New York
The Park Hyatt New York is considered Hyatt’s flagship property. How does it live up to that title? Over the years I have stayed at the Park Hyatt New York on several occasion. Oddly, I’ve never written about it....
United Airlines Adds Two New Washington Dulles Routes
United Airlines is continuing its expansion at Washington Dulles with two new routes next summer, further growing its mid-Atlantic hub. In 2020, United will add service to Bangor, Maine (BGR) and Madison, Wisconsin (MSN). Service to Madison is effective...
I Won’t Miss Super Shuttle…Will You?
Super Shuttle will cease operations on December 31st, marking the end of an era. While I wish no ill will toward the displaced employees, I cannot say that I will miss the blue and yellow vans… Since 1983, Super...
United’s Bifurcated Approach To Aircraft Seating
Just what is a “Scott Kirby Retrofit”? Is that configuring a 767-300 with a staggering number of business class seats or squeezing more passengers onto a 787-8? My friend Gary from View from the Wing wrote a story yesterday...
Southwest Reaches Confidential Settlement With Boeing Over 737 MAX
Southwest Airlines has reached a preliminary settlement with Boeing over the ongoing 737 MAX grounding. Although the details have not been disclosed, we have some clues. In announcing a deal with Boeing, Southwest did not share the entire settlement...
Nigeria Threatens To Ban Turkish Airlines
Nigeria has issued a ban effective next Monday on Turkish Airlines unless the airline solves an ongoing baggage accommodation problem. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has given Turkish Airlines an ultimatum: stop leaving passenger baggage behind or stop flying...
An Aspirational First Class Award Is Now Within Reach
It may be a blessing in disguise that I have not found the time to flying Singapore A380 Suites this year…now maybe I’ll fly it for 14 hours instead of just five… Singapore Airlines is not only stingy with...
Lost AirPods But Amazing Service On United
I lost one of my Apple AirPods on my United flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, but could not have been more impressed by the help I received in searching for it. It almost made the loss worthwhile. My...
Why Meal Service Matters, Even On Late Evening Flights
My trip from Philadelphia to Los Angeles via Chicago on United this week demonstrates how limited meal service windows can leave passengers very hungry, even in first class. I needed a late flight out of Philadelphia because I had...
Act Fast: Save Up To 20% On Your Next Alaska Airlines Flight
Traveling on Alaska Airlines in early 2020? You can save up to 20% on your paid airfare with an easy promo code. In collaboration with Starbucks, Alaska is offering discounts of either 10% or 20% on paid economy class...
Another Heartwarming Christmas Surprise from WestJet
Christmas is one of my favorite times of year in part because of the many cherished traditions surrounding the holiday. One of them has become the annual Christmas video from WestJet. Each year around this time WestJet releases a...
