American Airlines announced several new international routes this week. Is there any deeper strategy we can discern in the new routes? American will return to Tel Aviv, begin service to Africa for the first time, and expand in Eastern...
Shocking: United Express Flight Attendant Too Drunk To Perform Safety Briefing, Slumps Over During Flight
Julianne March, 49, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, finds herself out of a job and facing misdemeanor charges after becoming so drunk on the job she was unable to perform basic flight attendant duties. Passengers immediately noted something was wrong when...
Review: ANA Lounge Honolulu (HNL)
The new ANA lounge in Honolulu is an architectural masterpiece and a superb lounge option for Star Alliance Gold travelers at HNL. Fair warning: it’s a quite a walk from most United gates if you are traveling, which I...
First Impressions: British Airways A350-1000 Club World Suites
The British Airways A350-1000 takes the BA Club World business class product to a whole new level. I was greatly impressed by my flight to Madrid. While the A350 is destined for longhaul service, BA is testing it out...
How Impeccable ANA Shines Even During Flight Check-In
I’ve got to hand it to ANA in the “attention to detail” department…even check-in is covered. I arrived at Honolulu Airport about three hours and 15 minutes before my flight to Tokyo. I knew the lounge opened three hours...
Southwest Pilot Reunited With His Father…52 Years Later
Ready for a tragic story with a beautiful ending? Get your tissue ready. Imagine you are five years old. It is 1967 and your father is heading off to war. He had enlisted when he was 17 years old...
Introduction: A Quick Summer Adventure Around The World
Welcome to my next trip report, which will cover the recent 14-leg journey I took around the world. It all started when I noticed ANA had released some first class award space on its A380 from Honolulu to Tokyo....
An Open Letter To Flight Attendants Concerning Standby Travel
Flight attendants, your job comes with a tremendous benefit. Please don’t abuse it. In the airline industry, employees “take care of their own.” While that is hardly unique to airlines, the brotherhood and sisterhood inherent in wearing the same...
Review: SWISS Saab 2000 Zurich To Lugano
It is always fun to fly on “vintage” airliner, even on a very short route. This flight review review gives you an idea of what to expect on a SWISS domestic flight. It was a hot summer day in...
Lufthansa’s Muddled Eurowings Strategy
After recently announcing plans to discontinue longhaul routes on Eurowings, now Lufthansa is adding four new Eurowings routes to the United States. It’s a sign that Lufthansa doesn’t know what to do with its underperforming budget unit. Next spring,...
The Man Behind The Middle Seat Column…
For 15 years I have faithfully read Scott McCartney’s The Middle Seat column in the Wall Street Journal. Now I have even greater appreciation for the man behind the column…thanks to a lovely guest columnist, Mrs. Middle Seat. McCartney has...
Air France-KLM CEO Contradicts KLM Climate Campaign
KLM made waves last month by encouraging passengers to fly less. But as it turns out, the carrier actually wants you to fly more…just be conscious about it. In a video message, KLM asked: Do you always have to...
Airline Labor Unions Assail Trump For “Cozying Up” To Qatar Airways
Labor unions across the airline industry are outraged at President Donald Trump for siding with Qatar Airways and Air Italy in a recent White House meeting. There’s nothing that brings all sides together like a red herring over American...
My Raucous Flight On Spirit Airlines
For better or for worse, it seems that every Spirit Airlines flight I take is predictable…in a raucous way. But there was a sense of community on my last Spirit flight that I just loved. It’s a good thing...
Six Reasons Air France Is Retiring A380
Air France will retire its Airbus A380 fleet ahead of schedule for at least six unique reasons. In a wide-ranging interview with Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, Skift’s Brian Sumers brought up Air France’s recent decision to retire the...
United Eliminates The Mystery Of First Class Meal Priority
Back to front or front to back? Full-fare first? How about those with status? United Airlines is taking out the mystery in how FAs honor onboard meal service preference. If you’re seated in United First on domestic flights or...
A Costly Family Vacation For Delta CEO
I’m not going to impugn the motives of Delta CEO Ed Bastian. But there is simply no denying how incredibly costly his recent family vacation turned out to be. Bastian took some some heat (and not just from me)...
I Chose 16 Hours In United Economy Class…
No PAL review this time. Instead, I chose to come home quickly from Singapore…in economy class. And I’m so glad I did. I asked for your feedback and appreciated your feedback, which was fairly evenly-divided between taking the quick...
It’s Not About Intoxication: How Two Pilots Violated Our Trust
I have virtually zero doubt that the two United pilots arrested for “intoxication” at Glasgow International Airport on Saturday could have flown safely across the Atlantic. But that’s not the point. Pilots are held to a higher standard. The...
Cathay Pacific Boldly Invades Your Privacy
Cathay Pacific is not even trying to hide the fact that it is snooping on you. But is that concerning or just refreshingly honest? Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific just updated its privacy policy. While Cathay Pacific is “committed to protecting...
