Earlier today I wrote about phantom SWISS award inventory appearing on united.com. The result of this inaccurate award space can be dramatic: hundreds of thousands of orphaned miles in United. Here’s how to eliminate risk when booking a partner award with United...
Caution: Lots of Phantom SWISS Award Space on United
If you have been searching united.com for award space lately, you may noticed something that was once as elusive as a four-leaf-clover: SWISS business class space. Be careful, though, before you transfer points over — some of the space...
Kasane, Botswana to Johannesburg on South African Airways (Airlink)
When planning out the routing for our trip, I was not even aware that Kasane (BBK) had an airport – credit to my wife for stumbling upon it when looking for accommodation. It worked out perfectly, saving a long...
Huge Cocaine Stash Found on AA Plane
We have a bit of a mystery on our hands…and some drug humor as well, all thanks to airliners.net. The issue: 31lbs of cocaine found on an AA plane at Tusla earlier today. CNBC reports that while working on the...
$15,000 Dinner at Disneyland
I’ve got a trip to Disneyland coming up in a couple weeks…my first time there in over a decade. We will be taking the little one..and a babysitter. One thing we won’t be taking is a reservation to 21 Royal,...
A Visit to Impalila Island, Namibia
You know by now that I love to country hop…even if it is just for a brief visit to a rather ordinary border town. That’s what I thought the visit Impalila Island would be…but it turned into another eye-opening...
Is Hacking to Blame for Delta Outage?
The FAA has announced a domestic ground stop on all Delta flights– GROUND STOP DAL AND SUB CARRIERS TO DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS. INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ARE EXEMPT. THIS IS DUE TO AUTOMATION ISSUES WITH DAL. UPDATE AT 0030Z. Many are reporting that ALL...
Is an Uber Boycott Appropriate?
Protests over President Trump’s Executive Orders concerning immigration are taking place at major airports across the United States this afternoon, and protestors in New York have found an additional foe: Uber. A surge in calls to delete the Uber app have gone viral...
Review: The Old House Guest Lodge – Kasane, Botswana
After consecutive stays in Zambia and Zimbabwe in very modest accommodations, I was looking forward to a room with air and a comfortable bed. My wife stumbled upon The Old House Bed and Breakfast and though still pricey for Botswana...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 28, 2017
Good evening from Los Angeles. I am resting up after a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC and Frankfurt, happy to be home for the next couple weeks*. Although a trip to Las Vegas was in the cards for this week, I...
Retaliation: Iran Will Ban Americans
News broke last night that with the stroke of a pen, U.S. President Donald Trump had blocked immigrants from a number of predominantly Muslim nations and halted the flow of refugees into the United States. Now Iran has responded by...
United Airlines’ Secret Expansion Plan at LAX
United Airlines’ President Scott Kirby told pilots in a recent closed-door meeting that United is eyeing a major expansion at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after years of letting its competitors gain market share. The plans include claiming back...
From Hate to Great: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
As we crossed over the border from Zambia to Zimbabwe, a word of advice – don’t hire the vulture taxi drivers waiting outside the Victoria Falls entrance for they will rip you off. Walk past the border control and...
Video: 100 Years of Flight Attendant Uniforms
Condé Nast has a great new video out entitled 100 Years of Flight Attendant Uniforms— It traces the evolution of flight attendant uniforms back over the last 100 years — well, 80 years to be precise, by decade. The music is...
We Didn’t Make it to Las Vegas…
Sometimes even well-intentioned plans are not meant to be. I was so excited to book a free trip to Las Vegas courtesy of JetBlue Vacations a few weeks ago. Heidi had never been and Vegas is the perfect one-day...
Victoria Falls from the Zambian Side
Victoria Falls has been a part of my bucket list since I was amazed by Igaucu Falls in Brazil and I knew the moment we discovered the need to journey to South Africa, we would visit the falls. We...
Park Hyatt Bangkok Opening in June
The long-delayed Park Hyatt Bangkok is slated to open in June and reservations are now being accepted. I am so excited about staying at this property! Thai hospitality is a wonderful thing and Bangkok luxury hotels offer both a great experience and...
Review: Frankfurt to San Francisco in United Polaris First
With United retiring its 747-400s at the end of October, I am taking advantage of every opportunity to fly the Queen of the Skies this year. This trip, as I explained here, came about at the very last moment...
Our Humble Abode in Zambia
Although Livingstone is a tourist city juxtaposing Victoria Falls, there are no hotels to speak of—smaller inns and guests houses are the only options with the exception of the very pricey Livingstone Inn just outside the Victoria Falls gates....
Two Amazing Meals: HKG-LHR NZ39 in Air New Zealand Economy
During my first round-the-world trip in 2008, I had the pleasure of flying Air New Zealand from Hong Kong to London. I chose Air New Zealand because it was cheap ($554 one-way), nonstop, and as a member of Star Alliance, I...
