Earlier this week I mentioned my upcoming layover in Bali and asked for your help on where to stay there. I am flying a rather unconventional route to get there. Singapore is my ultimate destination. Rather than flying nonstop or via Asia, as most do, I am flying via Australia and Bali. Why? I saw […]
First Impressions: Royal Jordanian 787-8 Business Class
Greetings from Amman. I’ve flown from Kuala Lumpur to Amman via Bangkok, all on Royal Jordanian. Here’s my first impressions of RJ’s 787-8 in “Crown” business class. First, the B/E Diamond seats are fairly common, available on airlines including Aeroflot, American, Delta, United, and Qatar Airways. The seats are comfortable, though the soft pillow and […]
Doug Parker Explains Why AA Hates Air Italy
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker sat down with Business Insider to discuss why Air Italy is viewed as such a threat. First, let me say that I am so tired of rehashing this issue over and over. But as misinformation continues to be spread about Air Italy and Qatar Airways, I see no choice but […]
U.S. Secretary Of State Looking “Very Closely” At Qatar-Air Italy Deal
Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, was grilled by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. Many topics were raised, but the one that raised my eyebrows was Air Italy. A group of U.S. Senators—a motley bipartisan crew—are “very concerned” about the risk Air Italy poses to U.S. jobs. Never mind that Air Italy […]
A New 54-Mile Flight On British Airways In The Middle East
British Airways will add a new 54-mile extension onto its service to Manama, linking the Bahraini capital to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Starting on December 01, 2019, BA will add a tag from Manama, Bahrain to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The “direct” service to Dammam, home to Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, will stop in Manama in both […]
How Airlines Are Going To Great Lengths To Avoid Venezuela Layovers
As the economic and political crises in Venezuela continue to worsen, more airline crews are choosing to avoid ever even stepping out of the airport during layovers. That has forced airlines to get creative. While many carriers have scaled back or eliminated service to Caracas and other Venezuelan cities during the on-going deterioration of the Bolivarian […]
United’s Loss Is Emirates’ Gain
Emirates is considering restarting a Fifth Freedom route between Hamburg, Germany and New York JFK. It’s a bold move in the “America First” era, but hardly a route so odd that it merits scorn. Without formal announcement, United suspended service to Hamburg last autumn. After serving Hamburg year-around for several years from Newark via a 757-200, […]
Cathay Pacific Should Not Bother With This Slop…
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. Although the effort is appreciated, Cathay Pacific should not bother if it is going to serve something inedible…or […]
Is Qatar Airways Plotting To Take Over Oneworld?
Let’s play a game of imagination. Imagine a situation in which one airline decides to invest in several others. So the airline does. A little bit here, a little bit there. Now imagine that these other airlines are part of a common alliance and cooperate together on many levels. The strategic investment allows a seat […]
Dense, Dimwitted Logic From A Deliberately Deceptive Delta CEO
Air Italy’s USA expansion has caused a stir amongst U.S. legacy carriers. But Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s op-ed response is riddled with deception and outright mistruth. Feel free to start by reading Ed Bastian’s op-ed without my commentary. I’m going to jump right into his op-ed and provide a line-by-line deconstruction and analysis. In doing […]
My Prediction For United’s “Historic” New Route Announcement
United Airlines’ CEO Oscar Munoz will make a “historic” route announcement today. I have 10 predictions for potential new routes. According to an insider on airliners.net, United will make a historic route announcement today at 11:00AM CT. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz will host a media conference call to discuss an historic package of new […]
As Air Italy Looks To California, Congress Looks To Block
A posse of U.S. Senators has Air Italy in its crosshairs, dampening news that the Italian carrier plans to add service to two California cities next yaer. Air Italy Announces Service to LAX and SFO Yesterday, Air Italy announced new nonstop service between Milan and both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Starting next spring, the […]
Manila To Osaka Via Koror And Guam, All On A United Airlines 737!
When you think about which airline to fly from Manila to Osaka, your first thought is probably not on United. It wasn’t mine either. But I could not resist. United has a hub in Guam. This was once a Continental hub and before that an Air Micronesia hub. From Guam, United operates to many islands […]
A New Connection From Los Angeles To Africa
Ethiopian Airlines will connect Los Angeles with Lomé, Togo, becoming the first nonstop flight between LAX and the African continent. Last month I wrote about Ethiopian abandoning its Addis Ababa – Dublin – Los Angeles flight. Days after cancelling it, the carrier reinstated it, but with no possibility of booking flights between Dublin and Los Angeles […]
Philippine Airlines Launches Nonstop Service To New York JFK
Philippine Airlines has launched nonstop service between Manila and New York City aboard its new Airbus A350-900 jetliner. The flag carrier of the Philippines, more commonly known as PAL, will serve New York JFK five times weekly. With the inauguration of this route, PAL joins the Top-10 Club of world’s longest flights. At 8,520 miles, this […]
Is Ethiopian Airlines Abandoning LAX?
Here’s a mystery perhaps we can solve together. I book Award Expert clients on Ethiopian Airlines to/from Africa all the time. The airline is very generous in releasing award space and has an unparalleled route network within Africa. It also now serves many key cities in the USA, including Los Angeles…at least for now. A […]
Book Singapore Airlines A380 First Class Awards With Partner Miles!
Ever wanted to fly the on the Singapore Airlines A380 in first class but don’t have any Singapore Airlines miles? Now you have other options. The floodgates of award space available to Singapore’s own KrisFlyer members has not been made available to all. But we’ve seen an increase in space lately made available to partner […]
German Appeals Court Rules Kuwait Airways Cannot Be Forced To Carry Israeli Passengers
While condemning the discriminatory policy, a German appeals court in Frankfurt nevertheless ruled that Kuwait Airways cannot be forced to carry Israeli passengers. An Israeli student in Germany had purchased a ticket in 2016 on Kuwait Airways to travel from Frankfurt to Bangkok via Kuwait City. But Kuwait Airways cancelled the ticket because Kuwaiti law […]
Ghost Flights From London Heathrow
Three of the most valuable commodities in the world: gold, silver…and LHR slots? Take a worldwide financial hub and throw in an airport bursting at the seams and you have a classic supply and demand dilemma. But the ironic result is empty flights to nowhere. Perhaps it’s not so ironic when you consider an airline […]
Civil War in Trump Administration Over Gulf Carriers
What happens when two factions within the White House hold differing views on the same agreement? A war of words, to say the least… A fascinating AP story by Josh Lederman outlines the conflict. In one corner, President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro. In the other corner, the U.S. Department of State. The controversy: what the airline […]
