A reader recently asked me to explain the difference between a pending upgrade and a waitlisted uprade on United Airlines. It’s really quite simple: pending means that you are outside the time limit for a waitlist to clear. Waitlist...
Opening up a SunTrust Account for Delta SkyMiles, Take Two
It has been almost two months to the day since I opened up a couple SunTrust banks accounts in order to take advantage of a generous Delta SkyMiles offer, but no miles have posted to my account. And it’s all...
Tapas Snackbox on United is Delicious
In November, United introduced three new snack boxes as part of its revamped buy-on-board menu for economy class. One of them, the Tapas snackbox, caught my eye and I had the chance to sample it earlier this week. The...
Hint: Look at Your Airline Meal Before You Dive In
A woman is suing American Airlines for $15 million, claiming she ingested a lizard buried in her in-flight meal. In 2003 (yes, 2003–you’ve gotta to love the speed in which cases move through court in the U.S.), Monserrate Luna dove...
Another Bittersweet Experience with Megabus
Megabus has saved me a lot of money this year. I went down to Washington, DC today for $1. The return ticket was only $3. I don’t know how Megabus makes any money at these cheap rates, but I...
Even the TSA Concedes it is Defenseless
Flying with Fish contacted the Transportation Security Administration to further probe into the broken security paradigm at American airports and promptly received a reply from a “threat assessment analyst” at the Department of Homeland Security. How does it make...
Poll Reveals Challenge Facing United and Continental
A recently released Zagat survey of 8,000 frequent flyers reveals a conundrum for the new United Airlines: passengers seem to love Continental and hate United. Continental certainly does many things well. Their website and mobile app is slick and...
Partisan Politics Behind TSA Public Reaction?
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argues that public reaction to the Transportation Security Administration is hopelessly rooted in partisan politics. Imagine, for a moment, that George W. Bush had been president when the Transportation Security Administration decided to...
American Express $25 Small Business Promotion Extended Through December 31
Last Saturday evening I sat down to a late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Newport Beach with a nagging thought in the back of mind that I was forgetting something. Moments later, I received a text message from...
Double Elite and Redeemable Miles on American Airlines between LAX/SFO and DFW
As Virgin America prepares to enter the Dallas market, American Airlines is offering double elite qualifying miles (EQMs) and redeemable miles (RDMs) on flights between Los Angeles/San Francisco and Dallas/Fort Worth from November 29, 2010 through February 28, 2011....
From Hate to Great: Continental vs. United at Las Vegas International
As I have harped on many times before, attitude is key when it comes to forming my overall impression of a flight or travel experience. The amenities, ticket price, and hard product can all be great, but unless the...
Using a Flight Delay to Your Advantage
While most of the traveling public dreads the announcement that their flight is delayed, I usually welcome such announcements. To be sure, delays are not always a great thing. My Los Angeles-Las Vegas United flight was delayed yesterday by...
My Las Vegas Hotel Dilemma
Last week Expedia’s Canadian division ran a wonderful $300 off promotion that I took full advantage of. Booking the trips to New York City were easy, but the trips to Las Vegas were a bit more difficult. With Vegas,...
What the Spell Checkers Missed at United.com
Believe me, spell checking is not the easiest task in the world. Automated spell checkers are not perfect and without careful proofreading (as I have found more often than I’d care to admit on my own blog), a lot...
Delta On-Demand Dining at New York Kennedy and LaGuaradia
The next generation of airport dining has arrived at New York Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. In a partnership between Delta, OTG Management, and the airport authority, passengers flying through New York City’s two largest airports will be able to...
Despite the TSA, We Have a Lot to be Thankful For
It is Thanksgiving Day in The United States and the hot topic remains the Transportation Security Administration. As an ardent defender of the original meaning of the Fourth Amendment, I’ve dedicated a lot of time and space to attacking the...
Incoming Speaker of the House Flies Commercial, but Skips Security
Incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) has pledged to continue to fly commercial when assumes his new position in January. Outgoing speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was criticized by many on the right and some environmental groups for...
The Silence of the (Airline) Lambs
In all the talk about full airport security, TSA, full body scanners, and enhanced pat-downs, one element has been absent: the airlines’ role in all this. Today is national opt-out day and as of noon ET, doesn’t appear to...
"Have a happy holiday…"
I interacted with quite a few United Airlines’ employees today on my journey from Philadelphia to Orange County via Chicago and was struck by something: no staff member–not a single one–uttered the word "Thanksgiving." Instead, everyone said, "Have a happy...
A Return to "Smoking" Flights?
While tobacco cigarettes, pipes, and cigars won’t be returning to U.S. airlines anytime soon, new technology has made it possible to re-introduce "smoking flights" with little or no discomfort to non-smoking and smoke-adverse passengers. This blurb provides little constructive...
