US Airways, an airline that has become famous for monetizing its frequent flyer program, is now offering a buy-up to elite status at a price low enough to merit consideration. For years US Airways has sold elite status in...
Lufthansa Welcome Lounge in Frankfurt
Usually when I arrive in Frankfurt, I am just passing through. With my new home in Germany, however, when I arrived last month on my Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles, Frankfurt was the final destination. That gave me a...
Why I Do Not Support the TSA’s New Profiling Proposal
The media and blogosphere has been splattered with stories discussing the TSA’s plan to roll out a three-tiered "Trusted Traveler" program to assess passenger risk. The issue merits discussion because without further research, the thought of not having to...
United Loosens Routing Rules for Star Alliance Awards
IslandSkies, a UA employee who is active on Flyertalk, posted the following details about changes to United Airlines’ Star Alliance award rules coming on 15 Februrary: Steps to Validate Routing for One Award: *Outbound and return routings must be...
Mobile Lounges: Redefined in Geneva
Ask any U.S. frequent flyer who passes through Washington Dulles what the phrase "mobile lounge" conjures up and you’ll likely be met by swearing, complaints, and the occasional horror story. I mean, just look at these things: Admittedly, I...
British Midland (bmi) Diamond Club Will NOT Integrate with Lufthansa’s Miles & More Program in 2011
Hot off the press from bmi Diamond Club: Now that bmi is a part of the Lufthansa group of airlines, we are evaluating being part of Miles & More in the long term. A final decision has not been...
Cultural Adjustments in Germany
I’ve been in Germany for almost a month and overall, I am adjusting well to the new surroundings and work environment. As someone who has always chosen public transportation over owning a car, I love the ease of getting...
Woman Phones in Fake Airplane Bomb Threat to Stop Her Boyfriend from Leaving
What would you do for love? Deny thy father? Refuse thy name? How about call in a fake bomb threat against an airplane flight? That’s exactly what Grace Guajardo did on Sunday night. Her boyfriend, Rodrigo Gomez, was leaving Santiago, Chile...
Delta Air Lines Introduces Premium International Economy Comfort Class
Delta Air Lines has made good on its promise to roll out an enhanced economy class product with details emerging today about a new "Economy Comfort" section coming to Delta international flights this summer. Benefits will include: Complimentary alcoholic beverages [beer, wine, and...
New York Pops: Coming Soon to American Airlines
I love classical music, especially on airplanes. It helps me to fall asleep on redeye flights and relax at other times during the day. United Airlines, for example, recently transitioned from XM to Microsoft Zune audio and offers a...
Mice to Replace TSA’s Full Body Scanners?
Could mice be the answer to our airport security woes in America? What if we could leave our shoes on, avoid pat-downs, and avoid virtual strip-searches, all while getting a more accurate assessment of who is concealing explosive devices...
Humor and Wit: My Favorite Kind of Trip Report
I enjoy writing trips reports (and am working on the report from my trip to Asia last month) and work hard to include a dose of humor here and there in my writings. Humor is difficult for me, though. Not...
Feds Allow Limited Collective Bargaining Rights for TSA Airport Screeners
Relax. This is not going to be a union-bashing thread. But I’m not happy about the news today that America’s 40,000 Travel Security Officers (TSO’s) have been granted the right to collectively bargain. Before I get into all the...
Delta Agents Going Back to Charm School
It takes only one bad experience, one delayed flight, or one rude gate agent to permanently mar the reputation of an airline in the eyes of a disgruntled traveler. I suppose that is true for just about anything–take my short time...
Maybe I’ll Pass on the Air New Zealand Skycouch…
With great fanfare (and my heaping praise), Air New Zealand unveiled their Skycouch product, a row of three economy seats that transform into a lie-flat bad large enough for two people. Billed as the cheaper alternative to flying in...
U.S. Winter Storms Mean More Free Lonely Planet Travel Guide Apps
When snow pelted Europe last December, Lonely Planet offered free downloads of 13 European travel guide apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. With heavy snow hitting North America today, Lonely Planet is offering 13 free travel guides for the...
New Routes From Around the World
New airline routes and destinations pop up all the time and I often have trouble staying on top of these announcements. Thankfully, I no longer have to: I found a place where this information is consolidated. Here’s Air Transport World’s list...
Free Facebook Access on Gogo Flights in February
Seven airlines have teamed up with Gogo and Ford to offer free Facebook access on North American flights featuring in-flight wi-fi during the month of February. Participants include: Virgin America AirTran Airways Alaska Airlines American Airlines Delta Air Lines...
Next Frontier for TSA: Airline Call Centers?
A former British Airways call center employee has pleaded guilty to agreeing to take part in terrorist training/insurgent operations overseas. He also pleaded guilty to transferring funds for terrorist purposes. The key part of this story, however, is what Rajib Karim...
BMI Supsends Glasgow-Heathrow Route, Announces Service to Norway and Morocco
Blaming the British Airports Authority for squeezing it dry, British Midland Airways (BMI) announced plans to axe its Glasgow-London Heathrow route in April. The carrier blamed ever-increasing airport taxes that have recently gone from £13 to £20 on domestic flights departing from Heathrow and...
