Hotel and airline loyalty programs offer beautiful destinations for little to nothing out of pocket. They also offer some destinations for very few points, but rarely do the two converge. In the case of Bali, however, they do. Here’s...
Airline Ticket Rules Are Inequitable Contracts
Airline tickets are contracts between the passenger and the carrier, but it’s the airlines that hold all the cards. From setting the rules to changing them after purchase, passengers are nearly helpless and that’s not right. If you are...
Uber Punitive Star System Bad for Drivers and Passengers
Uber’s star rating system allows passengers and drivers to rate each other anonymously. In some countries, Uber is barring riders from the app for having a four-star rating and that has me scared. If you are considering booking travel or signing...
EgyptAir Insists Its Bizarre Celebrity Interview Is Real
EgyptAir is digging it, insisting it’s bizarre “interview” with Drew Barrymore in this month’s Horus in-flight magazine actually occurred. If you missed my story on this earlier in the week, you can read all the juicy details here. The...
Man Denied Boarding For Wearing Shorts, Wears Skirt Instead
An American passenger was forced to improvise quickly after being told he could not board his flight due to his “inappropriate” attire. He was wearing shorts. Jordan Bishop, a Forbes contributor, was flying from Jakarta to Istanbul via Riyadh...
Business Class To Germany: Lufthansa Or United?
Who offers a better business class product between the USA and Germany, Lufthansa or United? I have recently flown both carriers in business class and will do a side-by-side comparison using the following 10 metrics: Ground Services Lounge Seating...
Review: United 777-200 Polaris Business Class Chicago To Frankfurt
I’ve written this review in a more casual way than my usual trip reports. Hopefully it will be helpful to some of you. Flying United is like driving my car…I do it so often it just become second nature....
Still My Favorite Business Class Lounge In Frankfurt
I’ve written before about the first class-turned-business class Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt. That remains my go-to lounge every time I transit via Frankfurt. Located in Terminal 1 in the A Concourse near Gate A26, this lounge used to be...
Review: Campanile LAX (Priority Pass Restaurant)
I deliberately arrived at LAX a bit earlier before my last flight flight in order to test out Campanile, a new Priority Pass restaurant in Terminal 4. There was no wait for a table and since time was limited,...
Meet The 26-Year-Old CEO Of Rimowa
The President and CEO of Rimowa Luggage is only 26 year old..and has grand plans for the luxury luggage brand. But will he save Rimowa or ruin a brand that did not need saving? First some background. French-born Alexandre...
Wow: Airline (Badly) Fabricates Celebrity Interview
An “interview” of Hollywood celebrity Drew Barrymore in the EgyptAir in-flight magazine raised many eyebrows for its questionable content. Not surprisingly, it is fake. But did EgyptAir have to make it so obvious? Let’s just examine a few excerpts...
Captain Claims Holy Spirit Prompted Him To Take Off Early To Avoid Indonesian Earthquake
A Batik Air captain (pictured above, right) claims that he took off from Palu, Indonesia three minutes ahead of schedule due to promptings from the Holy Spirit. Whatever the source of his inspiration, his decision likely saved the lives...
Flying United’s Retrofitted 777-200 In Polaris Business Class
Over the weekend I had the chance to fly United’s recently renovated 777-200 featuring new Polaris business class seats. This is the same aircraft that featured United’s new premium economy seating. I used a Global Premier Upgrade to confirm...
Airplane Etiquette: Look Before You Recline
Just as we always look before making a turn while driving, we should always look before reclining our seat on an airplane. My laptop almost broke on a recent flight from Los Angels to Chicago. I purchased the ticket...
Is JetBlue For Sale?
Is JetBlue positioning itself for the next big airline merger/acquistion? One airline analyst says yes, though I remain skeptical. That analyst is Dan Reed, a Forbes contributor who has written about airlines the last 26 years. He makes the following...
Pictures: Testing Out United’s New Premium Economy
On Sunday evening I flew from Chicago to Frankfurt on United. I happened to fly on a 777-200 that has already been retrofitted to include premium economy seating. On the 777-200, United will add three rows of premium economy...
Passenger Ejected From Southwest Flight For Running Her Racist Mouth
A woman was ejected from a Southwest flight (to the applause of fellow passengers) after embarking on a racist tirade when told to fold up her tray table. I write about these stories, in part, to chronicle poor behavior...
Air Canada + United Airlines Eye Closer Relationship
With Delta and WestJet forming closer ties, including a transborder joint venture, Air Canada is looking to strengthen its relationship with United Airlines. Earlier this year, Delta and WestJet agreed to seek antitrust immunity from regulators, with the goal of...
Review: Norwegian Air 787-9 Premium Class London Gatwick To Los Angeles
Norwegian offers a compelling premium product for the price point. My flight from London Gatwick to Los Angeles in Premium Class represented a good first experience with Norwegian Air. After taking the Gatwick Express from London Victoria Station to...
Lufthansa: From Incredible To Outrageous
I thought Lufthansa’s decision to operate an A319 from Germany to India and charge ridiculous prices was incredible, but now it has done something outrageous. A couple weeks ago, when booking a last-minute Lufthansa first class award with Aeroplan,...
