I spent last week in Asia, splitting the time between Singapore and Tokyo. This will be a brief trip report featuring a pair of hotel reviews, flight reviews, and a quartet of lounge reviews. My transpacific flights were on United. I flew outbound on the 17hr55min ultra-longhaul from LAX-SIN (see my full review here of […]
Dine Under The Belly Of A Boeing 747
You can now bid on the chance for a chance to have dinner next to an ex-United 747-400. Through an auction currently live on the MileagePlus Exclusives website, members can bid miles to travel to Tupelo, Mississippi for a private tour of Universal Asset Management (UAM) Aircraft Disassembly Center, an aviation asset management facility that […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: May 13, 2018
Greetings from Tokyo Narita. I’ve been overseas the last several days and will provide further details on my trip tomorow. Over the last week, United has announced network updates including changes in Mexico service and a re-tooling of its Newark and Washington hubs. We also learned of new service fees coming to Alaska Airlines and […]
Airbus A350 Performs Near-Vertical Takeoff
An Airbus A350 performed an incredible near-vertical takeoff at a recent airshow in Berlin. This is a must-see video. of a A350 Vertical Takeoff The aircraft, a A350-900XWB with Rolls-Royce engines, was the second A350 ever produced. This plane is primarily used for test flights, relief flights, and airshows like the 2018 ILA Berlin Air Show. While I […]
My Conversation with Oscar Munoz at SFO
United CEO Oscar Munoz was on hand for a United Polaris Lounge media event last week in San Francisco. Unlike my last encounter, I asked him a couple questions this time. There were about 30 members of the media present for the lounge preview. Munoz gave remarks, cut the ribbon to the new lounge, then […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 29, 2018
Greetings from the fairly remote Las Padres National Forrest about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles. It was special weekend for me: my brother is getting married next week and this weekend was his bachelor party. Heidi, don’t worry…it has been a very calm weekend. We’re in a lodge-style house. Our big activity was not […]
Singapore Airlines Will Resume World’s Longest Flight by End of 2018
Singapore Airlines will resume nonstop service to New York by the end of 2018, reclaiming the title for world’s longest flight. Singapore Airlines served Newark, NJ from 2004 to 2013 using an A340-500 configured exclusively with 100 business class seats. That route was abandoned due to declining revenue and an attractive opportunity to return the […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 22, 2018
Hello from LA. I’m back from Hawaii after a wonderful, albeit brief, getaway with my wife. In terms of top news for the week, we’ve now learned more about the new Marriott-SPG loyalty program. It looks good (for the most part) but I’m still skeptical (so was Kyle, see his commentary below). We also saw […]
The One Way Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Munich Beats Frankfurt
Earlier today I published a comprehensive review of the new Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Munich. But I figured one aspect of the lounge merited its own post. That’s the outdoor patio–the one thing that the Lufthansa First Class in Munich has that the nether the First Class Terminal nor any of the First Class […]
Introduction: A First Class Business Trip
My next trip report will chart my recent trip to Italy and France. As I explained here, I took a rather circuitous route to reach Rome. All for you. All so I could review two first class lounges I had previously never had the pleasure of setting foot in. > Read More: Why I’m Flying Los […]
What Are you Hiding SPG/Marriott?
With yesterday’s announcement of the new merged loyalty program for Marriott and Starwood the reviews are in and they are mostly positive. But I remain suspicious… If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com. If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today. […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 15, 2018
Greetings from Los Angeles. It is good to be home after two nearly weeks in Europe. I had a fabulous trip (hope you have been enjoy the Italy road trip report), but there is no place like home…especially after being away from my wife and son for so long. This week I’ll finish up the […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 08, 2018
Buona sera from Milano. I’m in the midst of a fast-paced business trip through Italy. I’ll provide some detail on it in the days ahead…it will not be a typical trip report. It was a fairly light week of blogging and the coming week will be no different as I continue to travel in Europe […]
Fly the Fokker 100 While You Still Can!
Although increasingly rare in the west, it is still possible to fly on a Fokker 100. It is now an aging aircraft, but I highly recommend it. I wrote about this aircraft before and even reviewed a brief flight in economy class, but had the chance to fly it again earlier this week, this time […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 01, 2018
Happy Easter and Happy Passover. I’ve enjoyed a wonderful day spent with family and friends and trust you have as well. I’m looking forward to a very “Matthew” like trip coming up this week. Details on that on Tuesday. For now, I’ll just leave you with the top stories of the week plus a recount […]
Unforgettable: Black Cab Tour of Belfast
A Black cab tour of Belfast is a must for any student of history or person seeking a better understanding of “The Troubles”. Earlier today I wrote about the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which marked the beginning of the end of conflict in Northern Ireland. Even so, bitter division remains and the […]
Nice Upgrades at Lufthansa Welcome Lounge in Frankfurt
Small touches can make a big difference. Just a few small upgrades the the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge in Frankfurt really elevated the experience…for me at least. The upgrades: a new coffee machine with Lavazza coffee beans, new Staub cast iron dishes, and Innocent fruit smoothies. Stop the presses! You may say it’s just coffee, but […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: March 25, 2018
Spring began in Los Angeles this week with one more rainstorm, a fitting end to a rather meager winter. I’m still here, further extending my record of time in the last decade I have not stepped onto an airplane. Not that it matters. But I do promise I will never become one of those travel […]
A SWISS First Class Settlement
I wasn’t the only one who took advantage of the incredible SWISS First Class award space made briefly available last fall. Hundreds did, including many other bloggers. Robert from Milenomics shares of his settlement reached with Aeroplan. He had booked four SWISS first class tickets from Boston to Munich via Zurich for travel this July. […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: March 18, 2018
A trip is on the horizon…I’m anticipating a trip to Europe coming up, perhaps as early tomorrow. But for now, another week in LA. I didn’t even spend this many consecutive days on the ground when my son was born! United was in the headlines again this week…after a dog died onboard a flight from […]