A horrific storm pummeled the East Coast last week, bringing commercial aviation to a standstill. As airlines continue to dig themselves out of the backlog, let me tell you about my weekend. At Award Expert, we don’t just book...
AA CEO Has Already Made $19.2MN in 2018
We’re barely a week into 2018 and American Airlines’ CEO Doug Parker has already made $19.2MN. Parker is not paid a cash salary. Rather, he is paid in company stock and stock options, a practice that began in his...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 7, 2018
A very happy Sunday evening to you from Los Angeles. It’s been a horrible weekend in one respect. I’ll explain tomorrow. For now, I’ll just leave you with the top stories of the week and a link to each...
Seven Travel Lessons Learned in 2017
The end of the year and beginning of the next is the perfect time to reflect on what’s transpired in 2017 and how to apply those learnings to 2018. Here are the lessons I’ve learned in the past year...
Flying in 2018: The Best of Times
Like Charles Dickens’ famous opening line, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” In a counter post to one previously published today, I can prove that flying in 2018 is the best it has...
Flying in 2018: It Was The Worst of Times
Like Charles Dickens’ famous opening line, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Flying in 2018 is the worst it has ever been, from poor customer service to Basic Economy, being nickel and damned...
Planes Collide on Tarmac at JFK
In the midst of a scramble to get flights out between fierce winter storms, two planes have collided at New York JFK. Kuwait Airways reports on Twitter: Here’s Twitter’s English transition: Kuwait Airways wishes to acknowledge that one of...
Not the Turkish Airlines A330 I was Expecting…
Be very careful when booking a Turkish Airlines A330-200…there are many different configurations of the aircraft. I’ve been so caught up with the SWISS First Class saga that I neglected to write about my connecting flight from Istanbul to...
The 10 Busiest International Airline Routes in the World
What are the 10 busiest international airline routes in the world? OAG Aviation puts together a list each year of the busiest domestic and international routes in the world, based upon number of flights. That’s not a perfect picture,...
Final United Airlines Turboprop Flight
Tomorrow night will mark the final United Airlines (United Express) turboprop-operated flight in North America. While United Express operated by Skywest retired its fleet of Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Turboprop almost three years ago, United Express operated by CommutAir has...
The 10 Busiest Domestic Airline Routes in the World
What are the 10 busiest domestic airline routes in the world? OAG Aviation puts together a list each year of the busiest domestic and international routes in the world, based upon number of flights. That’s not a perfect picture,...
Review: JetSmarter Challenger 300 Van Nuys, CA to Las Vegas
Flying private from Southern California to Las Vegas ushered in an entirely new era in my personal flight history. As I alluded to in my teaser post, flying on a private jet is a dream for every aviation junkie....
Massive A380 Forced to Land at Tiny New York Airport
Over 3,600 flights were cancelled yesterday due to the “Bomb Cyclone” that hit the Eastern seaboard. One flight that did make it, a Singapore Airlines A380, was forced to divert to a small airfield. Singapore Airlines Flight 26, carrying 325...
Holiday Treat at LAX United Club
The Christmas season is coming to a close for many, but here in Los Angeles Armenian Christmas does not arrive until tomorrow. Consequently, I don’t feel guilty about posting this many days after 12/25. A hot chocolate bar is...
Why You Should Always Compare Economy v. First Class Prices
I know this goes without saying for travel pros, but I was reminded again today that it always pays to check the price of a premium fare. One of the things we do at Award Expert is ensure that...
Amazing Flight in SWISS First Class!
I’m home and happy to report a smooth and most excellent flight in SWISS First Class! My family traveled from Zurich to Los Angeles and the superior service started service directly at check-in. We were traveling with a great...
Dear Scott Kirby, Remember the Ghost of Jeff Smisek
Dear Mr. Kirby, A very Happy New Year to you. We met and chatted for quite awhile at the opening of the new United Club in T7 at LAX in November 2016. I admire your vision to make United...
German Government Accuses Lufthansa of Illicit Price Hikes
A German regulatory agency is accusing Lufthansa of unjustified price hikes in the wake of Air Berlin’s bankruptcy. Per thelocal.de: Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO) is currently probing complaints that Lufthansa fares shot up on some routes after bankrupt...
Update from Aimia (Aeroplan) RE: My Demand Letter
Literally minutes after posting yesterday about purchasing SWISS First Class tickets, I received an email from the legal department of Aimia, parent company of Aeroplan. I do not believe that post and this response are at all related. I’ve spoken...
10 New Countries I Plan to Visit in 2018
I only visited four new countries in 2017, my lowest number since I began traveling internationally in 2005. And that’s fine. I had a newborn at home and more important matters than adding to my country count. Still, it...
