Southwest probably takes the title for best onboard safety announcements but no airline even comes close to Air New Zealand’s videos. One of those videos — their Sports Illustrated swimsuit video “Safety In Paradise — has been pulled, ostensibly because of the number of complaints. Air New Zealand says it wasn’t pressure that led them to pull the safety video, just their normal rotation, The process of phasing in the previously recorded “Bear Essentials of Safety” video featuring Bear Grylls began on their fleet about a week ago, and the process is almost complete, she said. I’m skeptical, because ‘Bear Essentials of Safety’ is a video from early 2013 that pre-dated the swimsuit one. Air New Zealand has been pushing the envelope on its safety videos for at least five years. Anything to lull passengers…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for July 2014.
Earn Unlimited Bonus Miles for Flying Through Hurricanes
Delta is offering bonus miles for each trip to several destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean regardless of class of service. Registration is required prior to ticket purchase and no later than September 30, for travel between September 2 through December 11. The promotion is open to residents of the US 50 states (though the promotion terms do not say so, presumably residents of the District of Colombia are eligible — they’re really just intending to exclude folks already in the area like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands but exclude residents of Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas by extension). All paid mileage-eligible tickets earn bonus miles, and one-way tickets earn half the bonus of roundtrips. There is no limit to the number of times the bonus can be earned. The offer…
50% Off Buying Miles from US Airways This Month
US Airways is offering a targeted bonus of up to 100% additional miles when you buy miles through July 31. The offer is targeted, then you go to the buy miles page you have to enter your account information to see whether you’re being offered a bonus. I was able to see the offer on able half the accounts I manage. If the offer is available to you, buying miles at a 100% bonus means buying them at a cost of 1.88 cents per mile. US Airways is almost always selling miles on the cheap, which is to say at a price higher than I’m willing to pay but much lower than the ‘retail’ price that almost never prevails. Seriously, has the Federal Trade Commission really never launched an investigation of US Airways Dividend Miles…
Video of the Frankfurt Airport Being Used in the New Star Wars Movie!
I’ve certainly driven across the tarmac in Frankfurt. Finding yourself behind a Boeing 747 is perfectly common. But what happens when that 747 is replaced by an Imperial AT-AT vehicle? I didn’t even realize that the new Star Wars film directed by JJ Abrams was filming. It is. And someone has faked footage of the Lufthansa airport being used as part of the production. It’s been viewed about 1.5 million times on YouTube over the past 5 days. Not that an airport can’t close down its apron for a video, of course, Munich did it and the results were awesome. Star Wars: Episode VII debuts in theaters in December 2015. Driving behind a 747 in Frankfurt requires only booking an award ticket that gains you access to Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal. (HT: Ron A.) You…
I am Shocked! Shocked! To Find Out That Payoffs are Going on Here!
I’ve never entirely understood how VIP immigration services work in much of the world — how private firms are able to arrange for expedited immigration clearance, in some places you do not even have to be present when the ‘service’ gets your passport stamped. No doubt there are places where there is an official fee charged, and the firm has a contract or official arrangement. But I’ve also used services where it’s seemed there’s an ‘understanding’ between the person escorting me and the official working the VIP or diplomatic immigration queue with no line. It’s against U.S. law of course to bribe a public official of another country. Fortunately the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is specific in its prohibition, focusing on intent to obtain or retain business. Still, bribery is frowned upon when made public…
These Were the Most Useful and Interesting Developments in Miles Over the Past Month
I wrote 155 posts in June. Some of them were fun, some were minor notes or links to what other people were talking about. When others have said all there is to say on a subject, and I don’t feel I can add anything useful or unique, I’ll often just link to what they’re writing. But there were also – I think – some posts that were especially useful or interesting. Looking back on June, I hope you were happy with some of the posts and got something out of them. I thought I’d pull together some that were my favorites from the month and share them with you this morning. I’ve broken them up into five categories: Deals How to get Hilton Gold status and make money while doing it. How to buy Hilton…
Turn Your Phone Over to the TSA, Take the Train to Washington Dulles.. in 2018 and See the New Park Hyatt Vienna Close Up
Here’s What Folks Are Talking About: First look at the just-opened Park Hyatt Vienna. Impressive. Several 737s won’t grow up to become airplanes, thanks to a train. How Etihad Designed its New Business Class ‘Studio’ The Washington DC metro’s new silver line starts operating July 26. It’s currently projected to reach Washington Dulles airport in 2018. And these projects don’t often deliver on time. The previous airport bus to the West Falls Church metro ($8) will become a bus to the silver line’s Wiehle-Reston East station ($5). The L’Enfant Plaza/Rosslyn bus to and from Dulles continues to operate. Your cell phone out of juice? The TSA may confiscate it. #TheMoreYouKnow #AndroidPhonesSuckBatteryLife #ApplePlot During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless devices will not be permitted…
Has Chase Sapphire Preferred Eliminated Its 7% Annual Points Bonus?
7% Annual Bonus Is No Longer Offered. One of the things that makes points less valuable than cash is that you can earn a return (interest, investment gain) on cash but points have a tendency to lose value over time (award chart inflation). Chase’s solution to that, with its Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, is the 7% annual bonus on all the points you earned in the previous year. The card has a great signup bonus — 40,000 points after $3000 spend within 3 months plus 5000 more points for adding an authorized user and making a purchase within that same period. It earns double points on all travel and dining, so earning especially for travelers is really fast. Points transfer to a wide variety of airlines (United, British Airways, Korean, Singapore, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic) and…
Operational Upgrades: How Can You Get a Free First Class Upgrade You Aren’t Entitled To?
The ultimate upgrade is the one you get for free. Here’s how to ask for and get a free upgrade from an airline when you aren’t entitled to one. And I’ll explain when the technique will — and won’t — work. At hotels, elite status is just the entree and excuse, how you ask and act can matter a lot. So here’s how to ask for and get hotel upgrades. The airlines though are much more structured. Most upgrades are sorted by algorithm. There are glitches in how the systems work, and sometimes you can jump the queue ::cough:: ::United:: ::US Airways:: ::cough:: but even then upgrades are going to be awarded almost all of the time to those customers with frequent flyer elite status based solely on upgrade priority and in the case of…
How to Make Sure Your Free Upgrades Clear on Domestic Flights
This morning I’m going to talk about domestic upgrades — how to improve your chances of getting them, how to guarantee you can get upgraded to first class for free. International Upgrades are Different — and Harder International upgrades are tough to get and not nearly as good a value as they used to be. One exception is upgrading from premium economy to business class with Virgin Atlantic or British Airways, where there are no cash co-pays and the mileage increment is cheap. But in general award tickets are a better value than paid travel with upgrades, and a better strategy to pursue for folks that are either chasing elite status or having the underlying ticket purchased by someone else (work reimbursable). So international upgrades are different. What Upgrades are ‘Domestic’ and ‘Free’? By ‘domestic’…
