On Thursday evening I flew from Los Angeles to London on United in business class. The experience was virtually unchanged from similar flights last year and the year before. Consistency is a good thing when done right. United has...
Lufthansa Spares Most Valuable US Award In Latest Miles & More Devaluation
Yesterday, Lufthansa announced an upcoming devaluation of its Miles & More award chart. Thankfully, the most valuable award for U.S. travelers was spared. Old award chart New award chart International longhaul awards are not a particularly good deal on...
American, Delta, United Jostle At LAX, Billboard Style
It’s a great time to fly out of Los Angeles because carriers, flush with profit, are re-investing in the airport. As I walked down Sepulveda Blvd and onto the aircraft grounds last week, I noticed three billboards. Let’s have...
My First Impressions Of LAX United Polaris Lounge
Last night I flew United in Polaris Business Class from Los Angeles to London and finally had the chance to check out the recently-opened Polaris lounge at LAX. In fact, I made a day out of it… The new...
Testing Out The New United App
With much trepidation I downloaded version 3.0 of the United app yesterday. As I wrote about earlier this month, I just don’t like change…especially unnecessary change. The app worked fine for me. So why change it? But, much to...
A Packed Schedule At FTU Seattle + Sweet Discount
Frequent Traveler University comes to Seattle in March and now the schedule has been announced. In addition to the entire Live and Let’s Fly team of Carly, Kyle, and myself, a great line-up of speakers will be present, including:...
EVA Finds Itself On Defensive Over Pervert Passenger
EVA is making one thing clear: it is taking flight attendant concerns very seriously over the perverted passenger who has made headlines around the world. If you missed my story yesterday, you can read all the grisly details about...
How AAdvantage Could Become A Great(er) Loyalty Program
American Airlines introduced premium economy award redemptions today for AAdvantage members. There lies the key to making AA an even more valuable loyalty program for customers, not to mention a great source of additional revenue. While some still question...
United Airlines’ 2019 Fleet Plan
United Airlines will add 40 mainline aircraft to its fleet in 2019, the most since 2010. While United will retire nine narrow-body aircraft this year (three 757-200s, two A319s, and four A320s), it will more than offset the retirements...
Air France’s Plan To Create A More Upscale, Premium Airline
Air France wants to become a more upscale, premium carrier. I’ve been so impressed with Ben’s Smith brief tenure at Air France-KLM. He has mended labor relations and is making great progress on overcoming what has been a turbulent...
British Airways Honors 747 Legacy With Retro Livery
I have so many bad stories I could cover this afternoon, but after a trio of bad stories earlier today let’s take a break. How about some good news to end the day on? British Airways is celebrating its...
Hello Shitty: The Disgusting Pervert On EVA
EVA, the carrier that takes “Hello Kitty” to a whole new level, just encountered a “Hello Shitty” flight courtesy of a passenger who personifies the word disgusting. In the age of misinformation, I’ve held off a couple days on...
In 20-Hour Canada Delay Incident, United Captain Failed
A United captain failed a crucial loyalty test during the extended delay of a United flight in Canada earlier this week. I wrote about the incident here, working through the the timeline of events to argue that United handled...
One Aeroflot 737-800 Diverts As Another Skids Off Runway
One day. Two Aeroflot 737-800s. Two unrelated incidents. First, a problematic passenger onboard an Aeroflot flight from Surgut (SGC) to Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) forced a diversion. Surgut is a city on the Ob River in Western Siberia, about 1,800 miles...
United’s Upgrade Waitlist Is A Game Of Scrabble
On United, the upgrade waitlist displays the first initial as well as the first three characters of the last name. That often results in a game of scrabble, but sometimes unscrambling is not even necessary. A reader in Singapore...
I Will Continue To Thank TSA Agents…You Should Too
Last weekend at LAX I had my first interaction with a TSA agent since the federal government shutdown began. She was friendly and smiled at me. I thanked her for showing up to work during the shut down, noting...
United Blocking Award Space On Singapore, TAP, Thai Airways
You may have noticed that award space on Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, and Thai Airways has been missing lately on united.com. Unfortunately, United is deliberately blocking the space and has offered no timeframe for a fix. United has...
Review: Air France’s Brand New Business Class Lounge – Paris (CDG)
Air France recently unveiled a beautiful new business class lounge in Hall L of Terminal 2E. I had the chance to visit during my last layover in Paris. I’ve showcased stock photos of the lounge before, but the photos...
Reflections On Dr. King From United Airlines CEO
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) day in the United States. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz offers reflections each year on this holiday that I am pleased to share with you. Here’s his note to employees shared by...
Spirit Pulls Ahead Of American And United, But Delta Still On Top
It appears Spirit Airlines is heading in an EasyJet rather than Ryanair direction. The ultra-low-cost carrier has much to boast about on many metrics, including operational performance. But Delta remains at the top. Each year Scott McCartney, an airline...
