Good evening from Los Angeles. I’m about to embark upon another adventure…I’ll share the details tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s review the top stories of the last week. The diplomatic spat between Turkey and the USA currently means no US citizen can visit Turkey…that’s got to be painful news for Turkish Airlines. We also learned […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: October 08, 2017
I’m back in Los Angeles after a week in France/Switzerland/Germany. My trip was exhausting so it will be great to stay in LA this week. The big news of for the week, at least in my mind, was the death of the Star Alliance mileage run. Since you can no longer earn one mile for […]
I Win! I’m in the Air…on the Ethiopian Airlines Sale Fare
For those who doubted that I would ever fly on my Ethiopian BKK fare, I’m sorry to disappoint you. By the time this post goes live I’ll be traveling between Dublin and Los Angeles on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner in business class. If you’re new to the saga, you can catch up here: Ethiopian […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: September 3, 2017
A pleasant Sunday evening to you from Germany. I’m wrapping up a trip and looking forward to spending the next few weeks in California. The big news last week, at least in my mind, was Hyatt’s new status fast track promotion–only 20 nights will get you top-tier Globalist status. I argue the promotion is fair […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 13, 2017
Hello from Tashkent, where I am spending several days checking out Uzbekistan. The country has defied expectations…in good way. I don’t recommend the national airline, though. On Monday I will finish my current trip report with a review of JetBlue Mint class from New York to LA. Before I transition into the current -stans trip […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 23, 2017
Hello from Los Angeles. So much for my extended vacation in Germany… I had to fly home yesterday afternoon for a series of meetings over the next few days on a matter totally unrelated to the blog or Award Expert. Now comes the question of whether I will fly back to Germany this week in order […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 09, 2017
I’ve escaped the Los Angeles heat and am basking in the cool summer rains of Germany. (sigh of contentment) Oddly, I’ve encountered horrible jet lag the last couple days — this despite flying nonstop to Europe in the evening from Los Angeles: the primary antidote to avoiding jet lag. I’m not sure how long I’ll […]
Introduction: A Scandinavian Summer
As much as I love solo travel, exploring the world with others represents many of my best travel memories. Last summer I traveled to Scandinavia with my Uncle Bill, who I have mentioned before in this story on why I love United. Before I married Heidi, we used to take a major trip together each […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: July 2, 2017
Greetings from over the Atlantic on a rare overnight westbound flight. The week took an unexpected turn as I found myself on a very quick jaunt to Germany and Jordan. More details on that trip are coming. In the coming week I’ll finish my Air Serbia trip report and begin the promised Longyearben trip report from […]
Cheap Flights on WOW Air: I Just Couldn’t Do It
As I wait for last-minute Lufthansa first class award tickets to open for Germany in the coming days, I seriously entertained just booking a cheap economy class ticket earlier this week on WOW Air. But ultimately I just couldn’t do it. There is no disputing the fare sale was tremendous: $99.99 one-way from Los Angeles to Berlin– But […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: June 25, 2017
It has been a scorcher in Los Angeles this week, but I’m hunkering down at home before an extended trip to Germany next month. In the news this week: tipping comes to Uber, Qatar’s unexpected acquisition of American Airlines common stock, and the announcement of a big FTU event in Chicago. Coming up on the blog, […]
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 […]
Overnight in the Iberia Velázquez Lounge in Madrid
I arrived into Madrid at 10pm from London and had a connection to Los Angeles the following day at noon. Was it worth going to the airport Hilton or into central Madrid? With a 24-hour lounge featuring a sleeping area, I deemed a hotel was not worth the hassle or expense. Iberia has several lounges in its Madrid airport […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 9, 2017
Greetings from Southern California. I’m home again after nearly four weeks in Europe. My family had a wonderful time visiting friends and family in Germany then spending a few days in Greece to end the trip. While I don’t plan a formal trip report for this journey, I will write a few posts about the […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: March 26, 2017
Good afternoon from the Black Forrest of Baden Württemberg. It has been another busy but great week visiting family and friends. The coming week will also be busy, but there will be downtime as well. The in-flight electronics ban has dominated travel headlines this week and rightfully so. I addressed in numerous posts: Official Details […]
Why Egypt Postponed Tourism Suicide
After another game of Russian roulette, Egypt has wisely decided that its bright idea to raise the price of tourist visas by more than 140% should be shelved. At least until July… Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail announced that plans to raise the price of tourists visas from $25 to $60 on March 01, 2017 would […]
Is EgyptAir Safe?
I’ve written a lot about EgyptAir lately and my takeaway is that the 777-300 Business Class experience is surprisingly pleasant. But is EgyptAir safe? A Mixed Safety Record EgyptAir has been around since 1932 so not surpassingly, has suffered a number of crashes and hijackings over its 85 year life. Most people think about the 2016 […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: February 4, 2017
This week was the clam before the storm. I spent most of it caring my sick wife and sick son (flu, cold). Then I got sick, though thankfully it was just a 48-hour sore throat and I’m back to feeling great. Next week there will be both Pacific and Atlantic Ocean crossings. The following week […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 21, 2017
Good evening from Washington, DC. I’m still here and getting back to LA may be just as much an adventure as getting to LA. Note to self: it is difficult to get home when flights are full. Book early next time. My spur of the moment trip to DC upended what would have been a […]
The Best Part of the Tanzania Trip
We’ve now worked our way though a 24-part trip report and I have neglected to share what truly made the trip a great one. It was the company. I have taken so many amazing solo trips around the world, but all of my most-cherised trips have been with others. While I will always have fond memories of […]
