An update on the mandatory business class express dining on late-evening flights from Washington Dulles. As it turns out, some items have been cut from the menu. Last week I wrote about United’s trial of express meal service for each passenger during the month of April in order to maximize sleep onboard. Initially, I was told […]
In Search Of Great Pizza On An Airplane
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. Is it possible to enjoy a delicious pizza above 30,000 feet? Over the last 12 years I’ve only […]
I Flew The “Boring” Option Home To LA…
After spending hours (upon hours) trying to come up with an interesting way back to Los Angeles, I ended up booking “boring” United Airlines. That turned out to be a great choice. Sometimes boring is a good thing. Sometimes we just want to sleep. After a couple of sleepless nights, I just wanted to come […]
Plane Spotting With My Two-Year-Old At LAX
Saturday will go down as one of the greatest days I have ever spent with my two-year-old son, Augustine. We spent the day at Los Angeles International Airport of course… Although hardly unique for male toddlers, my son is very much into airplanes…especially takeoffs and landings. He enjoys watching Lufthansa safety videos as much as […]
An Online Travel Agency Invites You To “Break The Rules” (But Be Careful…)
A popular European online travel agency has promised to pay your legal fees if an airline sues you for throwaway ticketing. Or maybe not. Let’s take a closer look. Last week I wrote about Lufthansa suing a passenger for engaging in throwaway ticketing (sometimes called hidden city ticketing). For more background on what throwaway ticketing […]
The A380 Is Dead, Long Live The A380
Airbus announced today that it would be shutting the A380 production line in 2021. The move is sadly not a surprise. 17 A380s will still be built, including 14 to Emirates and 3 to ANA. In a written statement, Airbus CEO Tom Enders stated: The A380 is not only an outstanding engineering and industrial achievement. […]
The Best Airline Cheeseburger In The World
I’ve had a lot of hamburgers and cheeseburgers over the years on airplanes, but none as tasty as the incredible cheeseburger I enjoyed on Lufthansa last weekend. Wow, wow, wow… I do love hamburgers…what can I say? I’ve got an In-N-Out and Five Guys and Shake Shack within 10 minutes of my house. Thank goodness […]
Beware: Flight Attendants Hawking Inferior Credit Card Offers
When flight attendants tell you they have an “amazing” credit card offer, be sure to double check how amazing it actually is… Last Saturday I flew from San Francisco to Burbank on United Express after connecting from Frankfurt on Lufthansa. This was a CRJ-200 operated by Skywest. After the beverage service, the FA made the […]
I Tried The New Hyatt Place In Frankfurt…
Last week I was in Frankfurt for a night and rather than head to my usual Hyatt Regency Mainz, decided to check out the Hyatt Place “at” Frankfurt Airport. The hotel opened in 2018 and looks and smells brand new. My room was spacious and very comfortable. The bedding was great and I liked the […]
My Top 10 Flights In 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, it is time for my annual “Top 10” series. Here, I’ll look back on my 10 favorite flights from 2018. As a reminder, this is not a top-1o all-time list nor does it contain the 10 most luxurious flights I enjoyed this year. Rather, it represents my subjectively favorite […]
My Top 10 Airline Meals Of 2018
For this year’s final Meal of the Week, I count down my top 10 airline meals of 2018. To be clear, these are only the best meals I have enjoyed over the last year, not my top 10 all-time list. You’ll notice three of the ten on the list are from United. Understand one reason […]
My Top 10 Lounges In 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, it is time for my annual “Top 10” series. Here, I’ll look back on the 10 best airport lounges I visited in 2018. 10. Marco Polo Club – Venice (VCE) I appreciated that this Priority Pass lounge had very good lasagna and coffee…after driving all day it surely hit […]
My Prediction For United’s “Historic” New Route Announcement
United Airlines’ CEO Oscar Munoz will make a “historic” route announcement today. I have 10 predictions for potential new routes. According to an insider on airliners.net, United will make a historic route announcement today at 11:00AM CT. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz will host a media conference call to discuss an historic package of new […]
The Most Important Thing In An Airport Lounge Is…The Coffee
I have come to the realization that coffee is the most important thing in an airport lounge. Nice food is appreciated. High speed wi-fi is helpful. Comfortable seating is applauded. But if I had to choose just one thing that I consider most important in an airline lounge, it would be the coffee. People love […]
Clarification On My United Compensation Story
My story about proactive United compensation caused quite a stir yesterday. Some speculated whether I was on the United payroll while others wondered if I was the only passenger who received compensation due my oft-United-focused blog. Apparently a journalist even reached out to United to see if everyone on the plane received compensation for the […]
Editorial: Cut The Complaints About “Inferior” U.S. Airlines
There’s a cliche amongst frequent travelers. It goes something like this: U.S. airlines are woefully behind European and Asian airlines, especially in terms of service. While just my opinion, I’m tired of that trite argument and reject it. Don’t think I am going to defend the lackluster and sometimes hostile service that FAs on U.S. […]
“Genuine” Travel From A Luxury Hotel Room And Airline Lounge
What is genuine travel? Travel is fundamentally about experiencing life in the shoes of others. That means that those who seek refuge in airline lounges and western hotel chains fail to experience the essence of what it means to travel, right? Absolutely wrong. Here’s why. This story takes places over one day, as I traveled […]
Quick And Easy: Joining German EasyPASS “Global Entry” Program
During my transit through Frankfurt last month, I had an opportunity to join the German Trusted Traveler Program called EasyPASS. EasyPASS is the German equivalent of Global Entry and available to U.S. citizens, whether you have Global Entry in the USA or not. It is free to join and take mere minutes. You can sign up […]
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 […]
The BEST Airport Lounge Breakfast I’ve Ever Had…
I am careful to throw around the “best” adjective, but I cannot think of a better lounge breakfast than I had at the Delta Sky Club at LAX earlier this week. If you know me, you know I love Mexican food. I could eat it every day of the week and still never get bored […]
