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 […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: December 17, 2016
I have posted more this week than I have the previous several months combined…and am loving it. It is an amazing feeling to resurrect my dormant blog, and I am still just warming up! To keep up with my weekly posts, which I hope to further increase in frequency in the new year, each Saturday […]
How I Almost Missed my Wedding!
Ok, when we last left off I was stuck in Honolulu looking at flight options to get me back in time for my wedding. It was Wednesday morning in Honolulu and the wedding was Saturday in Stuttgart. When you fly standby on United, you can check loads so that you have a generally strong indication of […]
A Scary Flight on EgyptAir
After a remarkably smooth journey from London to Cairo on EgyptAir, the Cairo to Beirut leg was not as tranquil. The culprit: bad weather. The route from CAI to BEY over the Mediterranean sea was littered with storms and made for one of the bumpiest rides of my life. I sometimes wonder if our mind just plays tricks […]
Bachelor Party in Hawaii
Now that you know how I met Heidi, let’s fast forward to the days leading up to our wedding. The week before the wedding I was in Los Angeles while she made final preparations in Germany. Enter my friend John, stage left. He said, “My friend, you need to have a bachelor party. We’re going to […]
Off to London, Cairo, Beirut, Istanbul, and Kiev!
I’m embarking on a quick trip from Los Angeles to New York…via London, Cairo, Beirut, Istanbul, and Kiev! Why? Aeroplan and a cheap business class ticket. This trip was born of a cheap business class fare on Ukraine International Airlines back in June, only 326EUR one-way from Istanbul to New York via Kiev. In the meantime, Lucky […]
Photo Tour: Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles
Turkish Airlines is celebrating the grand opening of its Washington Dulles lounge today. My brother Andrew happened to be flying through IAD today and provided the following feedback: The lounge is great! A bubbling Turkish man warmly welcomed me into the lounge with a glass of champagne and beamed with pride as I remarked how […]
New IMAX Trailer for Captain Sully Movie
It has all the makings of a good film — directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks — and a new IMAX preview for Sully, which portrays the crash landing and subsequent investigation over US Airways 1549, is out. For reference, the first trailer is here– The film hits theatres on 09 September 2016 […]
British Airways’ Curious Strategy for Growth
You’re shopping for a ticket from London to New York and opt to pay an extra $500 for a Premium Economy seat on British Airways, which promises among other things “delicious meals” (with an “s”). Your flight time is about seven hours and after takeoff you receive a decent breakfast and it is even served on […]
Anti-Muslim Bigotry on American Airlines or Fabrication?
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation over an alleged incident on an American Airlines’ flight from Charlotte to Detroit on December 6, 2015. According to the complaint, passenger Mohamed Ahmed Radwan was singled out by a FA onboard, who stated from aircraft’s PA system, “Mohamed Ahmed, Seat 25-A: […]
This Delta SkyMiles Redemption Makes No Sense!
Delta has a new SkyMiles promotion out with awards as little as 5,000 miles each way. In some cases these discounted awards may make sense, but make sure you always compare the $ price versus the mileage price (easily toggled in upper right hand corner of the delta.com search results page). You may be very […]
Los Angeles to Paris in Air Tahiti Nui Business Class
My brother Andrew recently flew from Los Angeles to Paris on Air Tahiti Nui in “Poerava” business class using 57.5K American Airlines miles. I asked him to write a trip report sharing about his flight. Gosh, I love exotic carriers flying “normal” routes. It is the chance to try a new carrier and not be […]
A Premature Evaluation of 2015
It is the last day of 2015 but I think it is still too premature to evaluate the year. Award Expert and this blog continue to grow, I appeared on TV three times, was quoted in several publications, spoke at a handful of travel conferences, and I even bought a house in LA and got into […]
Why is Uber Still Not Available at LAX?
Despite promises from city officials that we’d have UberX and Lyft at Los Angeles International Airport this summer, it is now autumn ad we are still waiting. The reason? Bureaucratic paperwork and a lawsuit. The LA Times reports– As in other parts of the United States where the young businesses operate, the sticking point at […]
Pictures: Air France – KLM SkyTeam Lounge at Washington Dulles
The Air France – KLM Lounge at Washington Dulles recently joined the Priority Pass network, offering an alternative to the British Airways Galleries Lounge at IAD and and arguably a better lounge option. I spent several hours in the lounge yesterday and offer this review. Location: Concourse A, opposite Gate A22 Hours: 10:30a – 10:00p, daily […]
Korean Air Awards Suddenly Become Much More Attainable
Korean Air offers a treasure trove of first class award availability to Seoul and beyond and is not too stingy in releasing business and economy class award space either. Up until now, booking has required Chase Ultimate Rewards points or navigating the minefield known as Delta SkyMiles but two developments this week make flying Korean […]
Read Rolling Stone for Ben Schlappig, not Kim Kardashian!
Rolling Stone is an icon of pop culture and a barometer of hipness in American life. Not surprisingly, a recent issue has self-proclaimed diva Kim Kardashian letting it all hang out on the cover. Flip past that though, for an incredible article centering on Ben Schlappig, author of One Mile at a Time. It’s a […]
The 10 Most Insane Travel Deals You Probably Missed
The Trip Sherpa recently wrote about DealRay, an incredibly useful mobile-based service for staying on top of travel deals, and it got me thinking of the great mistakes fares of yesteryear. I’ve been playing this game for a decade now and we have perennially seen incredible fare mistakes. Many I have capitalized on, some I […]
FA Who Told Muslim Passenger She Could Not Have Unopened Soda Can for Security Reasons is Sacked
Another week, another drama at United Airlines. This time on a United Airlines Express flight operated by Shuttle America. Let’s review the situation: Tahera Ahmad, Director of Interfaith Engagement at Northwestern University who was also wearing a hijab, onboard on flight from Chicago O’Hare to Washington National and requested Diet Coke FA opened the […]
A Day in the Life of a Weary Road Warrior…And Some Humor
Let me tell you about my latest trip. I still wonder sometimes why I do this to myself, but am thankful that I still find fun in flying for the sake of flying. I hope you find this “Dear Diary” entry at least a bit humorous. The trip started with a flight from Burbank to […]