Earlier this month I wrote about United Airlines offering lie-flats seats on all flights between Boston and San Francisco starting on 08 June 2017. Two weeks later, I followed up with news that United swapped in 737s with standard domestic first class seating for...
Uh Oh! Uber Self-Driving Car Crashes in Arizona
Uber has really had a tough year. I just posted a story called Double Standards and Dirty Tricks from Uber? about contradictory messages the company is sending to its drivers and riders. Now a self-driving vehicle has crashed in Tempe,...
Double Standards and Dirty Tricks from Uber?
Is Uber secretly encouraging drivers to call riders and pressure them to cancel if the ride does not “suit” the driver? As I wrote about here, Uber drivers are increasingly calling ahead to ask where you are going, then cancelling if...
Condor Partnership = Lufthansa Miles on Alaska?
Alaska Airlines and Condor, a German budget/leisure airline, have partnered: you can now earn Alaska miles when flying on Condor. But what about the other way around? Condor used to be partially owned by Lufthansa. Being a German airline...
Amazing View of Southern Lights from Air New Zealand Flight
Confession: I didn’t even know the Southern Lights were a thing. But now I know our Earth has Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights). I’ve mentioned several times here how high seeing the Northern Lights are on my bucket...
Review: EVA “Royal Laurel” 777 Business Class from Amsterdam to Taipei
If there is one thing I want you to take away from this review, it is this: EVA is not a Mainland Chinese carrier. So often, we encounter reluctance to flying EVA from Award Expert clients. The usual response goes...
Am I the Only One Who Doesn’t Use Hotel Deadbolts?
Earlier this week I wrote about a rough experience I had at the Hyatt Regency Mainz. A member of the hotel staff entered the room without knocking at 3:10AM, while my family slept. In the comments section, many reprimanded...
Delta’s Expensive Investment at LAX
Traffic at LAX has grown 30% since 2011. Last year 81 million passengers flew through LA’s only international airport, far more than it was ever designed to accommodate. Consequently, LAX is already a zoo, to put it nicely. But...
Impressive! How EVA Handled Our Delayed Flight
Delays are rarely fun, but some airlines handle delays much better than others. My EVA flight from Amsterdam to Taipei was delayed two hours but that gave EVA a chance to demonstrate model-behavior on how to manage a delay. Upon arriving...
Alaska Airlines Will Bury More Than Virgin America Brand
Alaska Airlines will retire the Virgin America brand by 2019. The news is hardly surprising considering the royalties involved in using Sir Richard Branson’s trademark brand, but Alaska will do much more than repaint aircraft. Changes Coming to Alaska Airlines In...
How to Maximize In-Flight Productivity On Your Mobile Phone
With a ban on in-flight electronic devices on nonstop flights from eight nations to the United States, business travelers may find themselves with only a mobile phone on a 15hr flight. Here are three must-have items to maximize productivity even...
Emirates Will Gate Check Your Banned In-Flight Electronic Devices
While the in-flight electronics ban prohibits items larger then mobile phones on U.S. bound flights, it does not specify how airlines must implement the ban. Emirates has come up with a clever solution: gate checking larger electronic devices. Bloomberg reports–...
Scary! Stranger Walks Into Our Hotel Room at 3AM
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of your hotel room door flinging open and footsteps inside. That just happened to me last night. Although Augustine slept soundly on the flight over to Europe, it has...
Review: LOT 787 Business Class Chicago to Warsaw
LOT Polish Airlines used to have a business class so outdated it felt like flying on Ukraine International Airlines. But its longhaul fleet upgrade to 787-8 aircraft ushered in lie-flat seats and improved service levels. With low fuel surcharges and good...
Caution: Watch Out for This Message When Making a Hyatt Reservation
Thanks to a missed train, we were stuck in Frankfurt for an extra night and opted to spend it at the Hyatt Regency Mainz. Though not the fault of the hotel, check-in proved to be a nightmare. The last-minute...
Introduction: Star Alliance Business Class Adventure in Europe and Asia
I promised I would rotate between old and new trip reports as I clear the backlog of previously written reports that were never published on UPGRD. Even so, I am selectively omitting certain portions of this report because some...
Why the In-Flight Electronics Ban Represents Poor Public Policy
The USA has blocked electronic devices larger than mobile phones onboard flights from eight nations to the USA. Now the UK will also join the bandwagon. Here’s why the new electronics ban is a beautiful political ploy but poor public policy. Let’s...
Monkey See, Monkey Do: UK Will Copy USA In-Flight Electronics Ban
Travel is about to get even more aggravating. I just received a BBC alert on my phone that the UK will be instituting an in-flight electronics ban similar to what the USA formally announced this morning. As a reminder, the...
More British Airways First Class Cuts
More cuts at British Airways, this time in the first class cabin. Amuse-bouches – CUT Fresh flowers in lavatories – CUT Amenity kits – DOWNSIZED Slippers + blankets – ONLY UPON REQUEST Three minor cutbacks, but another sign that British...
Official Details on New USA Electronics Ban
Electronic devices larger than a mobile telephone are now banned on flights from eight predominantly Muslim nations to the USA. Officials called the directive an attempt to address gaps in foreign airport security, and said it was not based on any...
