I’ve received many questions asking whether I prefer Qatar Airways First Class or fancy new Qsuite Business Class. Here’s a comparison of the two products. Qatar Airways still offers first class aboard its A380-800 aircraft. Thus far, Qsuite Business Class is only available onboard its 777-300ERs. I’ll be comparing a flight from Doha to Paris […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: March 04, 2018
I’ve been grounded all week and am thankful for it. No plans to travel next week either. Plenty of time with family and friends instead. Lots of work too. There have been a handful of trips I’ve turned down, which is always hard to do. But I’m trying to clear the backlog of old trip […]
Bizarre Business Class Advice in Harper’s Bazaar
It’s time to start calling out the mainstream media on fake upgrade and premium cabin stories. Several days ago a friend at United Airlines forwarded me an internal communication heralding the high ranking of United Polaris from Harper’s Bazaar. I laughed out loud. According to Harper’s the top 1o business class products include: Emirates United Airlines (Polaris) […]
How Qatar Airways Promises to Combat Jet Lag with A350-1000
Qatar Airway’s latest aircraft, the A350-1000, entered service today between Doha and London. The new aircraft is equipped with several measures to combat jet lag and thereby maximize passenger comfort. But are these gimmicks or game changers? Qatar Airways and Airbus detail the following jet lag-figthing perks aboard the new A350-1000: Millions of ambient LED […]
Air Italy: Qatar’s Plan to Destroy Alitalia
Air Italy wants to be the flag carrier of Italy, taking over beleaguered Alitalia’s long-held dominant position. Air Italy is actually already Italy’s #2 carrier, still flying under the Meridiana name. Last year Qatar Airways acquired a 49% stake in the company. Now Qatar plans to transform the airline through a series of aircraft and […]
What Makes A “Real Traveler?”
Last week a reader suggested that I wasn’t a real traveler but without qualifying why that was the case. While everyone is entitled to their opinion without justification or explanation, it got me thinking – what constitutes a “real traveler?” Criteria The biggest question is what qualifies a “real traveler,” and not whether one achieves […]
Where Are My Rollover Nights, IHG?
As a road warrior, hotel status is very important to my travel experience and day-to-day business operations. Some programs like Intercontinental Hotels Group Rewards Club (IHG) allow guests who have over-qualified for their status to rollover excess nights to the following year to make re-qualifying easier. That incentivizes guests like me, until things don’t go […]
Meet the Woman Who Claimed Her Peacock as an Emotional Support Animal
Earlier this week I wrote about United Airlines refusing to allow a woman to bring her peacock onboard as an emotional service animal. New details have emerged about the passenger and her bird. The incident occurred last Sunday at Newark’s Liberty International Airport. The peacock, named Dexter, belongs to “New York City-based photographer and performance […]
Will United Fight Emirates at Newark or Retreat?
Emirates wants United’s bread and butter routes…and it likely will prevail unless United chooses to fiercely compete against the popular Gulf Carrier. American tried and failed. Delta tried and failed. But United maintains service to both New Delhi and Mumbai from its Newark hub. But that service will be critically tested thanks to Emirates new […]
Booked: Vietnam Airlines A350 Business Class
Last week I asked you how I should get home from Ho Chi Minh City. Votes were fairly divided between JAL, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines/Virgin Atlantic. After weighing the options, I decided to try Vietnam Airlines in business class on the 787-9 or A350-900. Reasoning that I do not get to Vietnam all that […]
Southwest Companion Pass Is On The Way
My husband has held the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass before and we missed it once it expired. When the opportunity came up to get it again early in the year, I jumped at the chance. Previous Experience A few years ago our family had the Companion Pass under my husband’s Southwest account. We took full […]
Iceland’s Route Expansion Is Good For Everyone
Over the last few years trans-Atlantic routes have gotten cheaper thanks to discount carriers and the legacy airlines that compete with them. Norwegian has helped from not only Scandinavia but also England, Ireland, Italy and Spain to lower flight costs to Europe, but it’s flights from Iceland that are really moving the needle for travelers […]
Airline Smashes 300-Year-Old Musical Instrument, Blames Passenger
I am a bigger risk taker than most when it comes to checking valuable items, but I’d like to think I’d draw the line somewhere before checking a 300-year-old viola valued at $200,000. One woman didn’t…and Alitalia blamed her after destroying it. Myrna Herzog flew from Rio de Janeiro to Rome to Tel Aviv last […]
Hot Deal: Scandinavia to Australia in Qatar Airways Business Class $1658 R/T Plus 30K Bonus Miles
Qatar Airways is like the gift that keeps on giving. Business Class companion fares out of Scandinavia to Australia remain incredibly low. Let me make clear from the outset, this is for companion fares…meaning for two tickets purchased together, not one. Even so, Australia is a great place to take a friend or family member […]
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: December 24, 2017
It’s Christmas Eve and I hope, like me, you are spending it with family friends. I’m on “vacation” in Germany for awhile, but there is never really any true vacation in the world of blogging and Award Expert. Posts will be more limited over the next week to maximize time spent with my family, but […]
Vacation Roulette: We’re Going to Panama!
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about playing vacation roulette and just going wherever was available or nothing at all as opposed to previous years with heavily-planned trips far from home. We shopped a few options but none of them worked out very well, until we came across the trip that was looking us […]
Mayhem at JFK: Terminal 4 Security Line
Oh man, this was truly horrific. I fly often. Very often. I’ve set foot in 130 countries and have certainly seen my fair share of long airport security lines. But last night was a new low… Here’s the point of this post: if you are flying out of Terminal 4 at JFK in the evening, […]
UK’s Obscene Airport Taxes Rising Again
Obscene is a strong and harsh word. It means offensive to moral principles; repugnant. I don’t use the word casually. Yet I do use it to describe the ridiculous APD departure tax from the United Kingdom…that will soon grow even further. First the news, then my commentary. The UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) was introduced […]
A Thanksgiving Resolution
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved to fly around the world using his miles and points. Around the globe he flew, visiting the far corners of the world; meeting new people and surveying new lands. The boy grew into a man and his eyes were opened to the world around him, […]
Attend Frequent Traveler University in Chicago this Weekend for FREE!
If you have not made weekend plans, it is still not too late to take part in Frequent Traveler University Expo and Signature events in Chicago this weekend. Read below for how you can score a free ticket to FTU Expo. This FTU event format is brand new, featuring a special one-day Expo with an […]
