I’ve got a decision to make: how to get home from Europe. I am wavering between two choices, but there are actually at least four. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, preferences, and suggestions. Option One – via Greenland and Iceland This has always been my first choice, but the logistics have proved quite difficult. […]
Next Stop: Belgrade on Air Serbia
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Air Serbia: now it’s time to give the Serbian flag carrier a try. I have been in England this weekend for a wedding and in looking at return options I wanted to try something new and avoid hefty London departure taxes. I’ll have a separate post on […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: May 28, 2017
A pleasant Sunday evening to you from warm and sunny Los Angeles. I’m back from my latest trip to China/Thailand/Laos/Bangladesh/England/Spain and am looking forward to a couple weeks at home. My travails with Ethiopian Airlines have drawn out strong reactions on both sides: many have been supportive of my efforts while others have condemned me for […]
A Remarkable Airline Meal in an Airport Lounge
For this week’s Meal of the Week, I focus on an “airline meal” served in an airport lounge. I’ll explain what I mean shortly. Ethiopian Airlines was kind enough to set me up with a complimentary room at the Novotel on the ground of Bangkok BKK, but I was on my own when it came […]
Help Me Get Home: Three Choices!
Greetings once again from SE Asia. I’m working late in Vientiane, Laos this evening. The Novotel at BKK was over $200 so I thought, what the heck, let’s turn lemons into lemonade. I’ve never been to Laos before and the r/t airline ticket plus hotel here came out about the same price as another night at […]
Why I Have Become Jaded By So-Called “Mistake” Fares
Let me tell you a story. I’ll call it A Tale of Two “Mistake” Fares. Award Expert focuses on the effective utilization of frequent flyer miles and credit card points, but sometimes it just makes sense to purchase revenue tickets. Earlier this year, a long-time client wished to treat her nephew and his fiancé to their […]
Update: I’ve Made it to Bangkok
Hello from Bangkok. My showdown with Ethiopian Airlines is one step closer. I arrived in the middle of the night after a fairly unorthodox routing. I flew United from Burbank to San Francisco to Hangzhou, one of United’s newer Chinese routes. The flight was fine: wi-fi worked and food was decent. Nice pajamas too! Choosing […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: May 07, 2017
Greetings from Vienna, Austria: one of my favorite cities in the world. It has been both a busy but relaxing weekend. I’m anxious to get back to my wife and son, but trying to make the most of my time here before more meetings this week. If you have not been to Vienna, add it to […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 30, 2017
Good evening from Los Angeles. I’m home for a few days between trips, trying desperately to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life. I need to do a better job of it… Anyway, I’ve got a great story coming up about my trip home from New York. A truly unexpected surprise that I look forward to sharing with […]
Will My $763 R/T Transpacific Business Fare Be Honored?
I took advantage of the cheap round-trip business class fare from Bangkok to Toronto yesterday on Ethiopian Airlines. I have a trip to Bangkok coming up and this provided the perfect way to get me home. I’m not sure yet how I’ll use the return, though four longhauls on Ethiopian Airlines actually excites me. Recreating […]
Turkish and Air Namibia Join Forces
Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia have announced a codeshare agreement (effective 01 March 2017) on a limited number of routes with hopes of further collaboration. Air Namibia has only one longhaul international route — to its former colonial overlord in Frankfurt, Germany. The A330 Business Class product is modern, with Aura Lite seats from Zodiac Aerospace, the […]
Here’s How to Eliminate Risk When Booking a United Award
Earlier today I wrote about phantom SWISS award inventory appearing on united.com. The result of this inaccurate award space can be dramatic: hundreds of thousands of orphaned miles in United. Here’s how to eliminate risk when booking a partner award with United Airlines. Step One: Call United to Make the Reservation United.com often displays inaccurate space for a handful […]
Caution: Lots of Phantom SWISS Award Space on United
If you have been searching united.com for award space lately, you may noticed something that was once as elusive as a four-leaf-clover: SWISS business class space. Be careful, though, before you transfer points over — some of the space is phantom. The Worst Nightmare: Chase Transfer but No Ticket United no longer allows award holds […]
Review: Lagos to Johannesburg in South African Airways Economy Class
The question of getting to South Africa from North America using Star Alliance is a challenge if you want to use your miles and fly in business class. United Airlines does not serve South Africa, and South African rarely makes award space available in business class on its flights from Washington or New York. SA also […]
Review: Zanzibar Dhow Lounge (ZNZ)
Although the airport is small and half of it is outdoors, I was happy to find a Priority Pass lounge at Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. The Park Hyatt granted us late checkout so we left at 6:30pm for our 8:30pm flight to Dar Es Salaam on FastJet. By 7pm we had already checked in and […]
Introduction: A Month in Africa
For those who have immigrated to the United States, you know that the process is not easy, even for those emigrating from a rich western nation. Weighing our options and deciding that Los Angeles would be the best fit for running my business, my wife set out to secure her Green Card after we got […]
United Quietly Eliminates Award Holds and Why It Matters
United Airlines rolled out a new website earlier this year that offered customers the ability to hold award space if they had insufficient miles, a tremendously helpful feature to eliminate the risk of buying or transferring miles. Despite assurances from new CEO Oscar Munoz that “I will dedicate myself to making our airline flyer-friendly” the […]
Aer Lingus Adds Flights to Los Angeles, Newark, and Hartford
Aer Lingus is accelerating its international expansion with newly announced service to Los Angeles, Newark, and Hartford in 2016. New USA Routes Propel Aer Lingus International Expansion Thus far, we only have details about the Los Angeles route, which will operate five days per week on an Airbus A330-200 with 23 lie-flat business class seats and […]
A Familiar Face on United Airlines
Prior to departure on a recent redeye to Washington Dulles, an LAX gate agent came onboard toward the end of boarding to check on overhead bin space. As usual, the bins were full. A late-boarding Ethiopian family of four, each with a large carry-on item, attempted to find overhead bin space, but it appeared everything […]
Are Held Award Tickets Really Guaranteed?
For a full-timer award booker, the most valuable tool any airline loyalty program can offer is the ability to hold a ticket prior to booking. Few things are for more frustrating than finding ideal award space, alerting the client, then finding after the client gives the green light that the space is no longer available. […]