Monthly Archives for November 2017.
Airlines sometimes have a hard time keeping the behavior of their crew in line while traveling in — and out of —
uniform on overseas trips.
One airline had to warn pilots to stop filming when flight attendants had sex onboard. Air India had to warn flight crews to stop stealing from hotel buffets.
Delta owns a stake in China Eastern, the country’s most subsidized airline giving them a presence in Shanghai especially. They’ve become even more linked, with Delta and China Eastern buying into and taking a board seat with Air France KLM along with Air France KLM taking an ownership stake in 49% Delta-owned Virgin Atlantic.
China Southern based out of Guangzhou has been left as something of a redheaded stepchild in Delta and Air France-driven SkyTeam. And American has gone ahead and invested $200 million in China Southern, giving them their own foothold into mainland China.
I don’t know about you, but I’d just assume take a connecting flight on Southwest. Better yet, take Spirit Airlines non-stop and buy up to ‘the Big Front Seat’ and save a couple hundred bucks compared to that American Airlines middle.
There are many US cities to Auckland, New Zealand from the $300s roundtrip with travel available January through September. Meanwhile Australia roundtrips start at $444 which is amazing.
United will let you book roundtrip economy saver awards to Hawaii today for just 36,000 miles — 20% off the usual price of 45,000 miles. MileagePlus describes it as their way “of saying “mahalo” for our 70 years of service in Hawaii.”
But here’s what you should do instead.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I was flying Hong Kong – Boston after arriving from Singapore and spending some time in The Pier first class lounge.
We boarded on time and one other passenger came onboard with me at the front of the queue. He was the other first class passenger for the evening, and as we boarded he apologized to me.
American Airlines has re-opened its terminal 4 Admirals Club. The Admirals Club is where the smaller first class lounge used to be, and the old larger Flagship Lounge has been renovated to become the new Flagship Lounge.
LAX will also feature Flagship Dining for American’s same day international and New York JFK first class passengers only, a sit down restaurant-style concept that’s a hit in both New York and Miami so far.
Briggs & Riley makes excellent luggage, their bags are usually pretty expensive though, but Amazon right now has three different sizes of the Torq hardside bags for 44% or 45% off. Each is available in multiple colors at the price. This won’t last.
The Pier offers one of the best first lounges in the world. For instance I’d rank it behind Lufthansa’s first class terminal, largely on par with the Qantas first class lounge in Sydney.
Ultimately the restaurant is fantastic. The private rooms (with curtains) are great, I just wish the temperatures there were more adjustable. The shower rooms are wonderful. And there’s modest spa service. That combines to make an incredible lounge.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
