For one Munich man, a strategic calculation to save money by buying a refundable Lufthansa ticket, enjoying food and drink in the Lufthansa Business Lounge, then cancelling his reservation, has proved a grave mistake. After 36 incidents, Lufthansa had enough and sued the man for damages. Yesterday, a court sided with the German carrier and […]
Lufthansa’s Fiercely Protected First Class Terminal
A couple of friends were flying Lufthansa First Class to Denver Thursday afternoon and invited me to join them for a few hours in the First Class Terminal. I was flying to Brussels later in the evening, so I already had a same-day Lufthansa boarding pass. According to LH’s Lounge Access and Variations page, I […]
The Lufthansa First Class Terminal Experience
For the all times it has been mentioned on Live and Let’s Fly and on the UPGRD Network, I realized that I have never written a post describing the First Class Terminal experience in Frankfurt. After a rather amusing incident that happened to me in “the Terminal” yesterday, I want to set up that story […]
From Lufthansa First to Lufthansa Economy?
After a fabulous flight in Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt to New York last Saturday, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about flying in Lufthansa economy from Los Angeles to Frankfurt yesterday afternoon. I was booked on a rather pricey economy ticket which I thought would position me nicely for an upgrade on a Monday flight to Europe. […]
Introduction: An Illuminating Trip To Kenya And South Africa
Welcome to my next trip report, a recount of my journey at the end of last year to Kenya and South Africa. Kenya And South Africa – An Illuminating Trip. My trip was church-related and going forward I plan at least two trips to Africa per year for missions-related work. Over time, I hope to […]
Introduction: A Summer Getaway To Dubrovnik
Welcome to my next trip report, which will recount my brief summer journey to Dubrovnik, Croatia earlier this month. A Summer Visit To Dubrovnik, Croatia You might recall I flew Lufthansa First Class on my birthday in order to obtain a birthday duck. Rather than just fly to Frankfurt and fly back, I decided to […]
Boys’ Night Out At LAX
The summer is winding down for my five-year-old son Augustine. With school starting next week, I decided to take him to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for a boys’ night out. Beautiful Memories From Boys’ Night Out At LAX All summer, Augustine has asked to go the airport. All summer, we’ve been too busy…he’s accompanied […]
Trip Report Roadmap: Summer 2021
While I’ve been doing better at staying up to date on my trip reports, I’ve been traveling quite a bit over the last couple months and have fallen behind. Here’s an idea of what to expect on Live and Let’s Fly in terms of trip reports in the days head. In recent months I’ve been […]
A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines
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. Today I’m going to write about the flight that made me fall in love with Aegean Airlines. My […]
Balkans Day 1: Sick In Belgrade
Oh, what a horrible way to start my Balkans Road trip. The trip began the day after my birthday, but what a miserable birthday it was. Read more from my classic trip report through the Balkans Introduction: Road Trip Through The Balkans Review: US Airways A330-300 Business Class Philadelphia To Munich Balkans Day 1: Sick […]
How To Request An American Express Centurion (Black) Card
Last autumn, I wrote extensively about why I was considering an American Express Centurion (Black) card. While I ultimately opted against the card, it’s now easier than ever to request one. I chose not to get the card for three reasons. First, the initiation fee rose 25% and the annual fee doubled to $5,000/year, further […]
Fifth Freedom Flashback: Bangkok To Ho Chi Minh City On Qatar Airways + Lufthansa
This week we are taking a walk down memory lane with a vintage first class trip report. I’m sharing photos and brief commentary from a trip I took in the final days of 2010 and first days of 2011 that included many first class flights from five Star Alliance carriers. As we enter a new […]
Why I’m Seriously Considering An American Express Centurion (Black) Card
It’s not for the points. It’s certainly not for the status. But I am seriously considering an American Express Centurion Card, more popularly known as the AMEX “Black” card. For many years, I’ve chuckled at clients who put tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per month on the card. It’s one of the worst […]
Best Airport Coffee In The World At…LAX?
World’s best airport coffee might be in my own backyard at Los Angeles International Airport. Urth Caffé & Bar was just named as world’s best airport coffee by the Moodie Davitt Report’s 2019 Airport Food & Beverage Conference & Awards (FAB). Now it seems like everyone has their award show these days and I’ve never […]
United’s Secretive Top-Tier Status Has Nice Perks…
When it comes to airline loyalty programs, there is “top-tier” status, and then there is true top-tier status… While Premier 1K status is the top published status level at United Airlines, there’s one level above it. And the perks are quite nice. It’s called Global Services and we’ve written about it before. My friend Chris […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 23, 2018
Greetings from sunny Los Angeles. I’m in a holding pattern this week. I thought I was going to have to leave for Europe tomorrow, but that trip has been postponed. I’m both relieved and disappointed. I never like leaving my family but there’s a heatwave coming to Los Angeles that I wanted to escape. In […]
Three Filet Mignons in 24 Hours on Lufthansa
One of the joys of Lufthansa’s first class lounges are the excellent dining choices in Munich and Frankfurt. I’ve written before about enjoying a filet mignon for breakfast in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. A filet with French Fries and salad is one of my favorite meals no matter the time of day, […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 15, 2018
As the weeks fly by, I hope you are having a wonderful summer. It has been a quiet week in the world of aviation. But over the last week, we’ve seen an Air China pilot endanger the lives of over 150 passengers onboard by smoking, learned of changes to the T-Mobile international plan, and been […]
Frankfurt To Frankfurt In Three Hours
I shared about my recent flight delay on Lufthansa. Here’s a look at two domestic flights I took within Germany from Frankfurt to Munich and shortly thereafter, back to Frankfurt. With an onward connection to Los Angeles in first class for John (business class for me), we spent a couple hours in the fabulous First […]
Introduction: Two Countries, Six Flights on Lufthansa
Welcome to my next trip report, a multi-part series recapping my trip to Germany and Italy last week. This one won’t be road trip-style like my earlier Italy trip report. Instead, I’ll focus on the flights and a couple new hotels I stayed in. This trip included eight flights: two on United, six on Lufthansa. […]