Multiple reports of a United Airlines ground stop at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airprot (IAH) have now been confirmed. A computer issue Here’s the official ground stop verbiage: CTL ELEMENT: IAH ELEMENT TYPE: APT ADL TIME: 2013Z GROUND STOP PERIOD:...
Air France: Cairo to Tahiti for $2K RT in Business Class
Air France has a great deal right now on tickets to Tahiti in business class. Yes, you must get yourself to Cairo, but I’ll lay out while this still may make sense. Cairo is one of the three C’s...
Mints on United vs. MINT on JetBlue
If you’re on a United flight this month, keep an eye out for complimentary mints. Yes, not to be confused with MINT (business) class on JetBlue! The Mileage Plus Explorer Card from Chase has an increased sign-up bonus of...
Review: Malaysia Airlines Regional Golden Lounge KUL
Malaysia Airlines offers an impressive lounge for its regional flights. Though much smaller than its main business class lounge, the regional Golden Lounge in the Satellite Terminal is worth a visit. My brother and I had enjoyed a large...
Two Great Restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
I recently published a review of the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur and mentioned that contrary to habit, my brother and I ventured out for dinner. Malaysia and certainly Kuala Lumpur has great food. Walk through Bitbang and you’ll find...
Does Aeroflot Still Use Russian Planes?
I have three “problem airlines” at Award Expert, airlines that clients are very hesitant to fly. The first is Turkish Airlines. I have made the case for why Turkish is safe and a slam-dunk choice, but the resistance continues....
My Unorthodox Free Suite Upgrade at Hilton
We’ve all heard of hotel upgrades due to overcrowding or loyalty status, but yesterday’s upgrade was a first. My wife and I checked into the Hilton Munich Airport yesterday evening with little Augustine. We had reserved a standard room. With...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 2, 2017
Hello from Franz Josef Strauss International Airport in Munich. We’ll soon be departing for Greece and I’m excited to visit a new part of that beautiful country. The week started off with a huge controversy over leggings — a misunderstanding that morphed...
Two Free Tickets to the USA for Writing a Clever Poem
I sometimes wonder if Royal Jordanian hopes the electronics ban will continue. Now it wants you to submit a funny poem. For the carrier that trolled Donald Trump before he even won the election, now comes a new round of...
This Problem Cost Airlines $5BN Last Year
I suppose it should come as no big surprise, but airlines generate a lot more waste than I ever imagined. According to a Guardian report— Airline passengers generated 5.2m tonnes of waste in 2016, most of which went to...
Seatless in Seattle: United’s Polaris Problem
United’s seat problems continue. Two weeks after news that its new Polaris seats would face delivery delays due to “industrial issues” at Zodiac, United faces new short-term delays. The result: United is parking its brand new 777-300s in Seattle. “Short...
Be Vigilant Against This Unnecessary AA Fee
What is one AA fee that continues to be secretly inserted into many reservations? Although telephone booking fees for partner award tickets that cannot be booked online are (in theory) a thing of the past on AA, agents are...
Recalling the Scariest Flight of My Life
Although I am clearing the backlog of old trip reports that have sat unpublished for years, there is one flight in my current trip report series that I wrote about back closer to when it occurred. For good reason…it still makes...
Why I WON’T Be Requesting a Metal AMEX Plat Card
Lucky shares helpful tips on how to get a new metal American Express Platinum card. But I don’t want one. Oh I do want one, actually, but not if I have to give up my existing one. Why? It is...
In Solidarity, I’m Flying Turkish Airlines to the USA
It’s a small sign of solidarity with Turkish Airlines against a questionable electronics ban, but I will be flying on the carrier next month from Istanbul to Los Angeles even though it means I will be separated from my...
Electronics Ban Workarounds on Emirates, Qatar, and Turkish
While the in-flight electronics ban has the potential to cripple business travelers, three carriers have done their best to mitigate lost productivity and potential theft. In a speech at Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, IATA Chief Alexandre de Juniac condemned the...
The Coolest YouTube Channel for Aviation Enthusiasts
The term Aviation Enthusiast sounds so geeky, but I certainly count myself as one. I’m the guy who will all of a sudden feel pangs of regret while sipping a cup of coffee in the morning because I recall I...
Who Did SAS Sell the LHR Slots to (for $75MN)?
SAS just sold two of its London Heathrow slots to an unspecified buyer for $75,000,000. Under the deal, SAS will have use of the gates for up to three years. SAS drops from 19 daily slot pairs to 17, but the...
New World of Hyatt Promotion – Worthwhile?
Is the new World of Hyatt promo worth pursuing? World of Hyatt’s first promo is a simple one: earn double points on all stays between April 1 – June 30, 2017. One catch: your first stay doesn’t count. You...
A Perfectly Average Lunch: LHR-JFK in Delta Business
I’ve flown Delta Air Lines transatlantic business class exactly once. It was a LHR-JFK flight in March 2013 back when Delta called business class Business Elite instead of Delta One (though I was on Delta Flight 1 that particular...
