You’re sitting in your seat, two hours into a 15-hour flight. All of a sudden, without any warning, the plane nosedives toward the ocean…for 10 seconds. That’s what happened to passengers aboard Qantas 94 from Los Angeles to Melbourne on...
Use Your United Miles To Be A Movie Extra In London
Have you ever wanted to be an extra in a blockbuster movie? Now you can…with your United miles. Via MileagePlus Exclusives, you can bid miles to become an extra on Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, opening in theaters in July 2019. The winner...
My Dumpy Hotel in New York City
Every time I have a bright idea to save some money, I end up regretting it. When it comes to hotels, you tend to get what you pay for. I was in New York City last weekend for FTU...
A New Sharia-Compliant Airline in the United Kingdom by the “Halal Richard Branson”
Kazi Rahman, who calls himself the “Halal Richard Branson”, wants to fly alongside Emirates and Qatar Airways to the Middle East. If successful, Firnas Airways would be the first Sharia-compliant airline in the United Kingdom. But Rahman has his work...
Why I’m Excited About the New LAX American Express Lounge
American Express officially announced today it will open a lounge at LAX in 2019. We’ve known about this lounge for several months thanks to various leaks from LAX board meetings, but the official announcement comes with exciting details. First,...
THIS Is How You Deal With An Unruly Passenger
When a passenger is so disruptive that a diversion is required, one course of action makes sense to me: ban him for life. It’s invariably a him, isn’t it? That’s what happened to passenger on Jet2 after a flight...
Review: JAL 767-300 Economy Class
This review recounts my journey from Guangzhou to Tokyo Haneda aboard a 767-300 on Japan Airlines. I give JAL high marks for its shorthaul economy class service. This flight occurred in 2016 as part of my larger trip to...
United 767-300 Diverts Due To Bomb Threat
A United Airlines flight diverted to Ireland after a handwritten bomb threat was found in one of the aircraft lavatories. United Flight 971, bound from Rome to Chicago, diverted to Shannon, Ireland after the cryptic message was discovered. The...
My Disappointing Review of New Priority Pass LAX Restaurant
Earlier today I wrote about Barney’s Beanery, the new Priority Pass restaurant in Terminal 2 at LAX. Last night, I had a chance to try it after landing from New York. I’ll sum up my experience in one word:...
Review: Premium Lounge Guangzhou (CAN)
The Premium Lounge in Guangzhou has great coffee. That’s enough to earn this Priority Pass lounge high marks in my book. You actually have quite a choice now of lounges in Guangzhou (CAN). Six, to be exact. In addition...
New Priority Pass Restaurant at LAX + How to Access
The latest addition to the Priority Pass restaurant portfolio is at Los Angeles International Airport. Cardmembers now have access to Barney’s Beanery in LAX’s Terminal 2. Members will be entitled to $28 credit, per-person. Credit can be used toward any food and...
Man Strikes FA, Hurls Racial Slur, Calls Her Overweight
Gregory Alexander is in a lot of trouble. The 82-year-old Florida man was charged with battery and interference with aircraft operations after hurling racial slurs and taunts at an American Airlines FA, then jabbing her with his finger. The...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: June 10, 2018
Greetings from Midtown Manhattan. I’ll be on my way home shortly after a great weekend at FTU in New York. If you missed it, there the next event is in Washington DC coming up in August. It was a great...
Would You Visit North Korea?
As North Korea and the US sit down for talks in Singapore this week, I found myself wondering if it would be possible to visit under normal circumstances in the future, and if so, would I go? If you...
Exchanging Free Business Class For Paid
Though we already had our Christmas tickets purchased, a change in the plans thanks to Hotwire.com had us swap in our “free” (paid with miles) tickets for reasonably-priced business class tickets. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for...
A Peek Inside the Chairman Suite – Park Hyatt Beijing
The Park Hyatt Beijing is one of our favorite Hyatt properties for their attention to details, elegant rooms and their extravagant breakfast. During a past stay a few years ago, we were given a tour of the Chairman Suite, the...
Sun Country Baggage Handlers Forget to Load Entire Plane!
It’s not rare that a bag or two is misrouted on any given flight. But how about forgetting to load ANY bags at all? That’s what happened on Sun Country earlier this week. On Thursday, Sun Country Flight 117...
Review: China Southern 737 Economy Class Bangkok to Guangzhou
China Southern economy class was very survivable. That’s neither a compliment nor a slight. It was a reasonably priced, reasonably comfortable 2.5 hour flight. I landed in Bangkok after a redeye on Thai Airways. I had no boarding pass...
Emirates Wants to Skip Windows on Future Aircraft Orders
It may sound like a far-fetched pitch from Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, but Emirates is seriously considering skipping windows on future aircraft orders. Emirates’ sleek new first class cabins onboard select 777-300s feature virtual windows in the center compartments (see...
Bold Confidence: Waiting Till The Very Last Moment To Book Award Ticket
My wife woke up this morning without a ticket to Zurich. She had told her friends and family she was leaving today and would arrive on Saturday afternoon. She even told her parents her flight number. Small problem: the...
