Tomorrow marks the final opportunity to purchase lifetime membership to the newly-branded United Clubs through Continental Airlines. As of today, the lifetime membership options have been removed from Continental’s site, but will still be available for purchase over the...
Master’s of Food and Wine Event – Park Hyatt Zürich
Greetings from Zürich. I was invited to attend the Zürich segment of the Hyatt Master’s of Food and Wine – Tour of the World 2011 and will be in Switzerland the next few days taking part in various activities...
Delta Air Lines Hijacker Captured in Portugal
Remember the days when people who hijacked airplanes just wanted money or to make a point without physcailly hurting anyone? A convicted killer who escaped a New Jersey prison in 1970, then hijacked a U.S. airliner two years later,...
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
Dubai really took me by surprise. I was not expecting to see all my favorite restaurant chains from Southern California (after going without them all year in Germany) nor was I expecting to encounter such an interesting blend...
€20 Off Your Next Lufthansa Flight with Oktoberfest Voucher
In celebration of Oktoberfest, Lufthansa has made available €20 vouchers (or the equivalent in local currency) on a complimentary basis through this link. The voucher can be redeemed through 16 December 2011 for travel through 13 March 2012. You...
Weekend in Hamburg
One of the great things about living in Frankfurt is the ability to easily journey to another city or country by air, rail, or car. I have taken full advantage of that this year and my travels have taken...
The Bold and the Beautiful Lufthansa Agent
Lufthansa is a wonderful airline that I have become very loyal to after 30+ flights this year. The lounges are great, service is consistent (for the most part), and my close work with Lufthansa in my day job has...
A New Generation of Global Jet-Setters
Scott McCartney, author of the weekly Middle Seat column in the Wall Street Journal, wrote on a topic near and dear to my heart today: “a growing number of 20-somethings mastering the calculus of frequent-flier miles, making globe-trotting their...
United Airlines Unveils New Million Mile Flyer Program
Since the United/Continental merger was announced last year, uncertainty has clouded the status of the combined carrier’s million-mile program. Which program would survive? United offered million-mile flyers Premier Executive (Star Gold) status for life and presented MMers with two...
United Airlines Releases Details on 2012 MileagePlus Program
After weeks of speculation, United Airlines finally revealed some specifics about its 2012 MileagePlus program. I am frankly gleeful to state that the changes are tolerable and United Airlines will remain my airline of choice in 2012. Here is...
Obama’s Deficit Plan = Higher Airfare
Part of President Obama’s recently announced deficit reduction plan includes a provision that will double security fees on tickets, increasing the price of a round-trip ticket by up to $20. While I agree that airport security should be styled...
Singapore Airlines A380 to fly Singapore – Frankfurt – New York
Singapore Airlines announced plans today to replace their aging 747-400 now serving the Singapore – Frankfurt – New York Kennedy route with an A380-800. Starting on January 15, 2012, the new aircraft will take over the route as Frankfurt...
TSA Plays Politics, Changes Children Screening Policy
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano recently announced that children will no longer be required to remove their shoes at airport security checkpoints and also will not be subject to pat-down searches. Instead, their hands will be swabbed for...
The Legality and Ethics of Terminating a Frequent Flyer Account
Random Segments writes a well-reasoned and provocative piece on the case of Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg, the Minneapolis man who found his elite status revoked and mileage account closed after complaining too much to Northwest Airlines. Ginsberg is suing,...
A Battle with United Reservations Over Award Routing Rules
Considering I book multiple awards per week, mostly from US carriers, I have become intimately acquainted with award routing rules on the legacy carriers like United, Delta, American, and US Airways. You would not believe how often the agents...
Arrested for Sitting Next to Someone Who Used the Lavatory on Frontier Airlines
You are sitting on a Frontier Airlines flight. It is the tenth anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks so people are a little on edge, but you just want to get home to Ohio. Boarding is complete on your flight...
Air India Has No Money to Pay for Boeing 787s
Poor Air India. When faced with a bloated staff and sagging financial numbers, rather than trim back operations and layoff non-essential personnel, they compensated for their abnormally high aircraft to staff ratio by ordering new airplanes–27 Boeing 787s. The...
The Ryanair Experience – Frankfurt Hahn to Pisa
Earlier this year Ryanair ran a special from Frankfurt Hahn to many of their destinations in Europe, with fares only 7€ each way including taxes and check-in fees (normally tripling the cost of a ticket). My brother was on...
Ten Years Later: Critically Examining 9/11
I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life. -Osama Bin Laden, December...
Trying out Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines
This weekend I am checking out out two new European cities: Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia. The cities are only 140km apart, so I will be flying into Ljubljana then traveling to Zagreb by train, and finally returning to...
