An oil leak sent plumes of smoke through a Hawaiian Airlines passenger cabin, forcing an evacuation and hospitalizing seven passengers. The incident occurred on Thursday morning aboard Hawaiian Airlines Flight 47, an A321neo from Oakland, California to Honolulu. Smoke...
My Drunk Seatmate Spilled His Drink…On My Laptop!
My trip home from Yerevan started out splendidly when a drunk man staggered onto my Aegean flight to Athens and promptly spilled his pre-departure beverage on my laptop computer. I was actually hoping I’d have the whole row to...
United Adds Service To Nice, Palermo, And Curacao
United Airlines will add three new international routes from Newark, one from Chicago, and increase existing service from Denver, San Francisco, and Newark on four key routes. Three New Destinations From Newark United will add new service from Newark...
Review: China Southern A380 First Class
China Southern provided flawless service, a comfortable suite, and a culinary adventure on my A380 First Class flight from Guangzhou to Beijing. I walked away very impressed. In all honestly, I sort of dreaded this flight…in a good way...
Whew: Police Arrest Disgruntled Marriott Cook Who Planned Mass Shooting In California Hotel
Good news out of California, where Long Beach Police arrested a disgruntled Marriott employee who planned to shoot “everyone he saw” at the hotel he worked for. Rodolfo Montoya, a cook at the Long Beach Marriott hotel, was upset...
United Hints At New International Routes
United Airlines will announce several new international routes tomorrow. A post on Twitter gives us some clues as to what they might be. A short video posted on Twitter include shots from San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, and New York:...
Booked: A Wild Trip Home From Yerevan
How would you get back from Yerevan to Los Angeles? I’m making five stops using three tickets. The sane person would take Aeroflot via Moscow or Austrian via Vienna. But I’m a travel blogger…and I’m cheap. Everything came together...
Review: China Southern Lounge Guangzhou (CAN)
Thanks to rolling delays due to poor weather in Beijing, I ended up spending seven hours in the China Southern lounge in Guangzhou. It wasn’t great, but could have been worse. Guangzhou is a behemoth airport and it took...
How Delta And Alitalia Saved The Day After Air France Delay
Delta and Alitalia really saved the day after an Air France delay my clients in jeopardy of missing an important family event. My Award Expert clients were flying from Washington to Tel Aviv via Paris on Air France in...
Why Do We Believe Stories We Want To Be True?
In a world of fake news, I fell prey to it yesterday…not only did I buy it, but I transmitted it to thousands. Today, I must apologize. Perhaps I am asking a deeper ontological question than is warranted for...
My Wicked Taxi Driver In Yerevan…
I wanted to keep yesterday’s report on my weekend in Yerevan positive, but my stay did end on a down note. And while perhaps it should not bother me, it really does… When it was time to go, I...
Editorial: Ex-Cathay Pacific CEO Should Run American Airlines
Update: It appears that Hogg did not defy Beijing in such a dramatic fashion. In fact, the circumstances behind his termination remain unclear. The original article below remains unaltered. Leadership is built on integrity. Former Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert...
Avianca Brasil Will Leave Star Alliance
Troubled Avianca Brasil will leave Star Alliance on 01 September 2019. Avianca Brasil has experienced many setbacks over the last nine months. After filing for bankruptcy last December, it faced a prolonged aircraft repossession battle with creditors. Then in...
Aeroflot Announces A350 Routes
Aeroflot Russian Airlines has announced its first six A350 routes, covering flights to Asia and the United States starting next spring. Aeroflot ordered 14 A350-900s. Initial deliveries were due this year, but production delays have pushed back the first...
A Splendacious Weekend In Yerevan, Armenia
I spent the weekend in Yerevan, Armenia…it turned out to be a lot of fun. This was not my first trip to the Armenian capital. In fact, I even wrote about my last visit here back in the UGPRD...
Review: Thai Airways A350 Business Class
My first experience onboard a Thai Airways A350 was a great one. The difference between Thai’s old and new business class product is like night and day. Throw in good service and a decent meal and you have a...
When The Cats Take Over The Airport Lounge…
Imagine walking into an airline lounge and hearing, “I’m sorry, my cat is sitting there. You’ll need to stand.” Would you just laugh at the pathetic hilarity of the situation or react in a more aggressive way? I frequently...
Did Avianca Bribe Government Officials With Free Tickets + Upgrades?
Avianca is performing an internal investigation into allegations that it bribed government officials from several nations with free tickets and upgrades. While the list of nations has not been disclosed, such conduct, if verified, runs afoul of both the...
American Airlines Running Out of Employee Groups to Offend
This week, American Airlines revised its previous plans to not seek damages against mechanics and even the caterers have staged a sit-in. American Airlines management is running out of employee groups to offend. If you are considering booking travel or signing up...
Should I Reconsider My Hong Kong Status Run?
Not usually one to shy away, especially not from my favorite city in the world, Hong Kong protests have me reconsidering my United status run. Should I? If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click...
