The commercial passenger variant of Lufthansa’s Airbus A350 does not even have a first class section. But have you seen the VIP edition available via Lufthansa Technik? Described as a “haven of rest and comfort”, the custom interior spans...
Confirmed: Lion Air 737 Max Crashes Minutes After Takeoff

188 passengers and crew are feared dead as debris from a Lion Air 737 MAX 8 has washed up onshore near Jakarta. Lion Air flight JT-610 took off this morning at 6:21 A.M. from Jakarta enroute to Pangkal Pinang. Just...
Moving Flights From Britain Due to Brexit

Britain is still slated to leave the European Economic Region (Brexit) and that could have a big effect on travelers like me, who may want to move their flights away from Britain to maintain EU 261/2004 protection. If you...
Why Do The Smallest Airports Employ Pedantic TSA?

I took a quick work trip to Meridian, MS on an adorable CRJ-200. I was loving the tiny airport, personal service, single-serve everything. But when I met TSA on the departure, that all changed. If you are considering booking travel or signing...
Reasons to Embrace Hyatt’s Category 8 Redemptions

The party line for travel bloggers and point enthusiasts is that any potential devaluation is a bad thing, but I am not so sure that in Hyatt’s case it’s true. I have some reasons to embrace Hyatt’s coming Category...
New A380 Order? Lufthansa Teases Us On Twitter…

Lufthansa, you’re such a tease. The German carrier left us with this on Twitter yesterday: While the most likely answer is that the first A380 will soon be repainted in Lufthansa’s latest livery, the tweet has fueled speculation about...
Succulent Rack Of Lamb In United First Class

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. As a...
Buying Sports Tickets Is Just Like Buying Airline Award Tickets

Buying sports ticket is just like buying an airline award ticket. It pays to be patient. I planned on attending Game Three of the World Series last night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, an emergency in the office...
Pictures: SAS Upgrades Lounge In Copenhagen (CPH)

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has updated its flagship lounges in Copenhagen, with several new elements I look forward to checking out. First, the lounge will retain its “Fast Track” dedicated security entrance for SAS premium cabin travelers as well as...
Lovely: I Screwed Up My Gulf Air 787-9 Trip

Well, so much for that review…. Several months back when American Airlines announced it would dissolve its partnership with Gulf Air, I booked a trip in late fall. For Saturday morning, as it turned out. I figured this would...
My Best United First Class Trip Of All Time

Yesterday, I wrote a eulogy for United’s international first class product. There, I promised to offer a report on my best first class trip of all time on United. There’s a difference, I think, between best and favorite. I have...
Thai Airways Delays Retirement Of 747 Fleet

Thai Airways has indicated it will not retire its remaining fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft as quickly as planned. Thai Airways faces both a short-term and long-term problem. On the short-term, half of its 787 fleet (four of eight...
Saying Goodbye To United International First Class…

United Airlines has officially retired its international first class product, most recently known as United Polaris First. This post serves as a eulogy for first class on United. When I first started flying United in 2004, the carrier offered...
Special Nonstop San Francisco – Barcelona Service On United Airlines

United Airlines will offer nonstop service between San Francisco and Barcelona next February…but only for two days. Barcelona is hosting the 2019 Mobile World Congress and United will offer these special nonstop flights to cater to the Silicon Valley crowd...
United Considers A321LR To Replace 757-200

United is reportedly considering the Airbus A321LR to replace its Boeing 757-200s currently operating a handful of transatlantic routes. Last week I asked if United will remove seats from business class. Most commenters felt I misread comments from United’s Executive...
Review: Lufthansa A380 First Class Munich To Los Angeles

My Lufthansa First Class flight from Munich to Los Angeles provided the ultimate gift: uninterrupted rest. I’ve reviewed Lufthansa First Class three times during the last year in the eastbound direction, but this will be my first westbound review in...
Strike Threatens Kenya Airways’ U.S. Launch

Kenya Airways will begin service between Nairobi and New York on October 28th. At least that is the plan… Unions at Kenya Airways are not happy. Kenya Airlines continues to lose money and the airline is asking workers to...
United Airlines Launches Impressive New Ad Campaign

United Airlines has debuted an impressive new ad campaign that stays close to the carrier’s roots. A commercial entitled “World Orchestra” juxtaposes musical instruments with unlikely geographic locations, stringing together an impressive rendering of Rhapsody in Blue. For example, an...
A Concorde Trip Report Worth Watching

My greatest travel “regret” is, and perhaps always will be, that I never flew Concorde. There are all sorts of documentaries on Concorde: the program’s history, the political fights, and the Air France crash that eventually led to retirement....
Man Gropes Female Passenger, Blames Donald Trump

“The president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.” That’s the rationale Michael Alexander, a Southwest passenger, used to defend his groping of a female passenger on a flight from Houston Hobby to...