Scott O’Leary, Continental’s Managing Director of Customer Experience and a former guest on UPGRD, confirmed on Flyertalk yesterday that elite members who hold a Continental Chase Presidential Plus or OnePass Plus MasterCard will be eligible for complimentary upgrades on award...
Continental Airlines: Lisbon-Caracas for $440 r/t
Continental Airlines has misfiled a V-class (Economy) fare from Lisbon, Portugal to Caracas, Venezuela. Rather than $550 o/w, it is only $55 o/w. With taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge, the lowest a/i fare is $440 r/t. Sample Itinerary: LIS-LHR-IAH-CCS,...
Upgrades to Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX
After years of neglect, progress is being made on the dilapidated Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. Phase I of the update on the 26-year old structure is now complete. By far the most important change: The largest part of the...
Consider the Hero Miles Program this Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday set aside to honor U.S. soldiers who have died while in military service. This is not a blog to debate the merits of war and peace, to dissect statecraft...
Fierce Competition for Loyalty in Lucrative NYC Airline Market
Bloomberg had a nice piece yesterday on the über-competitive NYC airline market. At stake is a bigger slice of the $13.6 billion spent each year by passengers who start or end trips in New York, which no carrier dominates. More...
Dear United and Continental, Have you considered this livery?
Check out this incredible livery that FTer UAL4life designed. Not only does it blend the best of both airlines, but it is elegantly simple and would not require a great deal of extra labor to paint. Far better than...
Continental Announces Nonstop 787 Service from Houston to Auckland
Although flights will not start for another year and a half (longer if Boeing runs into more production trouble), Continental announced that it will utilize its first 787 on a new Houston-Auckland route. With 228 Economy and 36 lie-flat...
Woman Left on Aircraft in Philadelphia Now Suing United
Not surprisingly, the woman who overstayed her visit on a United Express/Trans State regional jet is suing United. The lawsuit claims false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress and negligence… According to police and the Transportation Security Administration, the passenger didn’t wake...
A Closer Look at Lufthansa’s A380
Airbus delivered Lufthansa’s first A380 superjumbo last Wednesday–only three years late. With Lufthansa’s decision to place only eight First Class seats on the plane, the aircraft will hold a whopping 526 passengers. FIRST – 8 seats BUSINESS – 98 seats...
Los Angeles to Memphis on American Airlines – $156 r/t
For all you Oneworld mileage runners (or for anyone looking for a cheap vacation), AA’s got a deal for you. American is offering r/t airfare from LAX-MEM for $156 a/i for September-December travel. Sample routing: LAX-ORD-MEM-DFW-LAX. As always with these...
Sleeping Passenger Left on UX Plane for 3.5 Hours at PHL
For someone who finds it difficult to sleep in a First Class seat, I am amazed that anyone is able to sleep on a ERJ-145, let alone the way that Ms. Guire did: Like a lot of travelers, Ginger...
The Folly of Assuming Someone Doesn’t Belong in First Class
It doesn’t happen much anymore, but when I first started to seriously fly on United over five years ago, I was often told: "This line is for First Class passengers." "It’s not your turn to board yet pal." "Son,...
Chris Elliott Whines that Upgrades are too Expensive on United
Chris Elliott actually makes some fair points in his latest column about pet fees, change fees, walk-up fares, and ticket pricing. He oversimplifies and exaggerates, but his concerns are not outrageous. But then he addresses United’s co-pay upgrade scheme...
Senate To Examine United-Continental Merger on Thursday
photo courtesy: Wall Street Journal I always get a kick out of bloviating Senators and this week will feature a doubleheader on Thursday, when the Senate examines the Continental-United merger. …First up, on Thursday, is a full hearing of...
UPDATE: Homeless Man Living off Frequent Flyer Miles Lands Job
Remember the homeless man who was living off his frequent flyer miles? He finally found a job. Jim Kennedy, a 46-year-old California man, weathered the recession by using his one-million-mile-plus stockpile of hotel and airline points to keep a roof over...
A History of Airline Meals
Check out this audio clip from NPR on the history of in-flight airline food. I particularly like the perspective at the end: But there’s a paradox the airlines ignore. Is that when we get on board, we come to...
Effect of Continental-United Merger on Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald recently speculated about the impact of a United-Continental merger on the Australian airline market: The Americans know they will have to become even better pals if they are successfully to merge their companies to form...
AA Flight Attendants: We are NOT the highest paid and least productive in the airline industry!
Yesterday, I blogged about AA’s assertion that its FAs are the highest paid and least productive in the airline industry. Not surprisingly, the AFPA doesn’t agree and offers this response: Convincing?
American Airlines’ Flight Attendants Authorize Strike
What is it with OneWorld and strikes? First BA, now AA? American Airlines flight attendants authorized their union leaders today to call a strike against the second-largest U.S. carrier if they are freed from further negotiations. About 97 percent...
50,000 Miles for United Chase Visa
If you missed the offer last time, Chase had again made available a 50,000 mile bonus promotion for signing up for their United Signature Visa card. Apply here–and do it quickly if you are interested. The bonus miles will...
