This week, United joined the ranks of Delta in removing their award chart and switching to dynamically (variably) priced award redemptions. While in some cases consumers may benefit from the change, infrequent but loyal flyers are hurt the most....
United Can’t Get The Upsell Right
United Airlines offers several upsell options when they sell airline tickets to passengers. Despite logging in with total access to my customer profile, they continue to fail at the upsell. Why? If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a...
Exceptional Breakfast On A Very Short Qatar Airways Flight
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. This week’s...
My Conversation With Luc Bondar, Head Of United MileagePlus
Yesterday, I reported that United would make a number of changes to its MileagePlus program in November. I had a chance to speak with Luc Bondar, United’s Vice President of Loyalty and head of the MileagePlus program. We spoke...
Why The Value Of Your AA Miles Just Increased
American Airlines miles are now more valuable than they were last week…all thanks to a small modification to arcane routing rules on one partner airline. Put simply, AA has a general rule that you cannot transit “third regions” when making...
Boeing CEO Accepts Blame For 737 MAX Crashes
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg issued an extensive statement concerning the preliminary report on flight 302 by Ethiopian Airlines. In it, he seems to apologize and accept blame for both the Lion Air and Ethiopian 737 MAX crashes. He also promises...
Huge Changes To United MileagePlus Coming On November 15, 2019
United Airlines is making big changes to the MileagePlus program this November. I just got off the phone with Luc Bondar, United’s Vice President of Loyalty and head of the MileagePlus program: we spoke for 35 minutes. I’ll have...
Qantas Flight Attendant Fired For Onboard Vodka Consumption
This story is not about shaming a flight attendant who has an alcohol problem. Nor is it to poke any sort of fun about a very sad issue. But it is to commend Qantas for doing the right thing....
Has Southwest Airlines Lost Its LUV?
Southwest Airlines has taken a lot of heat for the way it has handled the unexpected grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX fleet. Many customers are angry and argue that Southwest has acted very much out of character. But...
United Flight Diverts To Dallas After Cockpit Screens Malfunction
A United Express flight bound for Houston diverted to Dallas after two pivotal cockpit screens shut down without warning and could not be restored. United flight 4390, a CRJ-200 operated by Express Jet, departed from Knoxville, Tennessee on time...
United Airlines Suspends Service To New Delhi
Citing the continued closure of Pakistani airspace and strong seasonal winds, United Airlines will suspend its service to New Delhi for two weeks. A flight attendant shared a note she just received: Due to seasonal winds and the continued...
The Painstaking Process Of Plotting A Review Trip…
Like any addiction, the flying compulsion rears its ugly head without warning and with great force. I had to chuckle at Ben’s recent piece entitled, “My Very Logical, Methodical, Review Trip Planning Process…” He and I think about review...
A Final Moving Tribute To A Deceased United Pilot
The United Airlines family again bonded together to give a proper sendoff to a pilot who died far too young. Last month I wrote about United Airlines’ moving tribute to Captian Sean Archuleta, who died in the Atlas Flight 3591 crash...
Ethiopian Lodges Lethal Charge Against Boeing
Ethiopian Airlines has released a preliminary report on the deadly crash of ET 302, placing the blame squarely on Boeing. At a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Transportation Dagmawit Moges leveled this damning assertion: The crew performed...
Air Italy, The Clone Of Qatar Airways
It is becoming more difficult to distinguish Air Italy and Qatar Airways. Perhaps that is not such a bad thing. Yesterday, Air Italy launched nonstop service between Milan and Los Angeles. San Francisco starts next week. In celebration of...
Is This Emirates’ New Premium Economy Seat?
Emirates will debut a new premium economy seat in 2020 onboard its A380. One design firm has dropped a very strong hint as to what that seat will look like. Haeco Cabin Solutions showcased its new Eclipse seat in...
United Actually Is Reducing Meal Service In Polaris During April “Trial”
An update on the mandatory business class express dining on late-evening flights from Washington Dulles. As it turns out, some items have been cut from the menu. Last week I wrote about United’s trial of express meal service for each...
Dear American, Your New Award Search Engine Is VERY BAD
American Airlines is testing a new award search engine on aa.com that much more closely resembles the current mobile booking platform. That’s bad news… For the past couple of weeks, half the time I search for an award on AA.com...
An Unattractive Alaska Mileage Plan Redemption Becomes Even More Unattractive
Prices are going up for economy class award redemptions on Icelandair using Alaska Airlines’ miles. Put another way, a poor value will become an even poorer value. Alaska has many superb partners in its Mileage Plan program. It also...
The Conspiracy To Crush AirAsia In Indonesia
Two airlines in Indonesia…and arguably the Indonesian government as well…have teamed up to squeeze AirAsia out of Indonesia. It’s a fascinating story of deception and duplicity. Imagine a circular rope. In the center is AirAsia Indonesia. Around it are...
