Is JetBlue positioning itself for the next big airline merger/acquistion? One airline analyst says yes, though I remain skeptical. That analyst is Dan Reed, a Forbes contributor who has written about airlines the last 26 years. He makes the following argument: Geraghty appears that she’s building a not-so-subtle case – one that she hopes at least […]
Book Singapore Airlines A380 First Class Awards With Partner Miles!
Ever wanted to fly the on the Singapore Airlines A380 in first class but don’t have any Singapore Airlines miles? Now you have other options. The floodgates of award space available to Singapore’s own KrisFlyer members has not been made available to all. But we’ve seen an increase in space lately made available to partner […]
What The Heck Is Lufthansa Thinking?
When is a bad seat better than no seat at all? You can soon fly eight hours aboard a Lufthansa A319 between Frankfurt and Pune. I can think of much better ways to torture yourself. Some background, though. Lufthansa recently dissolved its partnership with Privatair, which used to operate a handful of routes on its […]
Mistake? Singapore Airlines Award Space Appears And Vanishes Using Partner Miles
Last week, Singapore Airlines premium cabin award space suddenly popped up on Star Alliance partner redemption websites. Was this an error a new trend? First, note the space is gone as of this morning. I just spent 20 minutes combing the Aeroplan and United websites for a single date with economy or business class nonstop […]
Singapore SilverKris Lounge In Hong Kong Disappoints
During my status run to Hong Kong, I returned to the US on ANA in business class and tried my first Star Alliance lounge in Hong Kong, the Singapore SilverKris Lounge. Despite Singapore’s great reputation, it disappointed. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com. If […]
The Road Warrior Life Is Getting Old
During my status run to Hong Kong, I took stock of all of the traveling I have been doing for both leisure and business. In a moment of clarity at the end of my trip, the toll travel can take became clear. The life of a Road Warrior is not easy, something that became clear […]
Stunning New Turkish Airlines Uniforms + Business Class Suite
Turkish Airlines has unveiled classy new uniforms plus hinted at a new business class suite. The new uniforms will debut later this year and “hark back to a golden age of couture fashion from the 1950’s.” Inspired by many classic elements of Turkish design and culture, the new uniforms incorporate traditional patterns found in artisanal […]
Overwhelmed at the Shenzhen Electronics Malls
During my status run to Hong Kong, I took a day trip to Shenzhen, a place I have never been before. Once I found my way into the city, I was on a mission to visit some of the city’s electronics malls. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please […]
Getting From Hong Kong to Shenzhen
During my status run to Hong Kong, I took a day trip to Shenzhen, a place I have never been before. Some of the information I found online was incomplete or incorrect so I wanted to share my efficient, cheap and easy way to see Shenzhen from Hong Kong. If you are considering booking travel or signing […]
An Award Ticket Horror Story On SWISS
Let’s call this Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Award Ticket. Perhaps, with our collective deductive reasoning, we can get to the bottom of this. An Award Expert client was traveling from San Francisco to Milan with her husband. We had arranged tickets for them on SWISS via Zurich in business class using […]
Introduction: A Mezze of Gulf Carriers
My next trip report shows that I am either mentally deranged or truly love flying for the sake of flying. Before the last American Airlines AAdvantage devaluation, I could not help myself, booking a deliberately complex routing from Mumbai to Paris. Instead of flying JET nonstop, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, or Qatar Airways via Doha, […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: September 02, 2018
For a variety of reasons, it has been a stressful weekend. Tomorrow is Labor Day in the USA but it will not be a day free of labor for me. So without further ado, here’s a review of the week’s top stories plus a look back at every story that appeared over the last seven […]
A Multi-Course First Class Dinner on American Airlines
Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago. I flew international first class on American Airlines exactly once. It was April 2015 and I had an […]
U.S. Flight Attendants Really Hate The Call Button
The issue of the flight attendant call button is a sensitive one in the USA. While absolutely taken for granted and even encouraged in much of the world, it remains vexing in the USA (unless you are flying in JetBlue Mint). I think vexing is the perfect word, for the problem is you just don’t […]
The World’s 10 Oldest Airlines Still Flying
What are the oldest airlines in the world that are still flying? Earlier this week I shared a heartwarming British Airways video that celebrates the life of a 99-year old woman while also recognizing BA’s 99th anniversary. That got me thinking about the oldest airlines still flying. As it turns out, calling BA 99 years […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 26, 2018
It was an unseasonably cool week in LA and we are expecting more of the same in the week ahead. That has made being home all the more sweeter. I plan to be home again this week, but my next trip is on the horizon. I wish you all a great week. Here’s a review […]
Mileage Runs May Be Dead, Status Runs Still Alive
Mileage runs were the hallmark of travel enthusiasts who found more to gain from unnecessary trips than not taking them. Elite status runs have the same principle but different result, taking unnecessary trips to retain or “level up” your status with an airline. While mileage running might be dead, status running is not. If you […]
The Economics of Lie-Flat Beds on 737s
United Airlines’ President Scott Kirby announced yesterday that United is exploring lie-flat seating on upcoming 737 MAX 10 deliveries. Speaking at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, Kirby touted United’s lie-flat domestic flights: It’s been really successful in the markets that we have it in. There are other markets out of Newark and […]
Introduction: A SkyTeam Adventure in the Middle East
I’m closing in on my goal to try every member airline of the three of major alliances. My last trip focused on SkyTeam, with an opportunity to fly three new carriers: Aeromexico, Air France, and Middle East Airlines. Both the Aeromexico and Air France longhauls featured the carriers’ latest business class products. Also note that […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 19, 2018
Greetings from LA. After a busy weak of travel last week, it was nice to be home this week. I’m not planning on going anywhere in the coming week either. Here’s a review of the week’s top stories plus a look back at every story that appeared over the last seven days on Live and […]