American Airlines has refreshed its snack basket, and I had a chance to try the new organic, gluten-free, non-GMO and kosher cookie that is not in fact the ‘exclusive’ cookie of American Airlines. Here’s what’s in it… and what it tastes like…
A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.
“Unbundling” which most passengers equate to checked bag fees but can include fees even for printing boarding passes could be coming to business class. Not only does British Airways want to exclude elite benefits from their cheapest economy fares, but Malaysia Airlines is looking at offering business class fares that exclude lounge access and don’t earn miles. Think elite members would be exempt? Think again.
On a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Las Vegas on Saturday Flavor Flav passed out peanuts and pretzels in a supposed effort to democratize the already relatively democratic (small ‘d’) airline.
I needed to be in Dallas over the weekend, and more specifically I happened to need to be in Plano and I flipped a coin between the Hyatt House Plan and the Westin Stonebriar — which is to say I actually picked the Westin because it was cheaper.
Throughout the stay they seemed to think I was someone else. And that, apparently, got me an upgrade to the largest room I’ve ever seen.
The EPA is likely to find – over the next few days – that aircraft contribute to global warming and thus they’re required to regulate aircraft emissions under the Clean Air Act. But the regulations they promulgate are likely to already be met by nearly all commercial aircraft. It wouldn’t actually much matter for global warming either way, since growth in air travel is occurring largely in places like China and not the United States.
A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.
A new hotel booking app lets you earn your usual points and elite status credit, while throwing in additional benefits like upgrades, lounge access, or free drinks just for booking through them.
After arriving in Brisbane from Los Angeles, transferring to a domestic flight means proceeding through immigration, picking up baggage and walking it through customs, and then rechecking bags. It also means taking a bus to transfer to the domestic terminal and re-clearing security.
I had the chance to visit Virgin Australia’s domestic lounge in Brisbane, and take a short 862 mile flight from Brisbane to Cairns in business class. All in all, for what it is, I was impressed.
Here’s how they describe the video, We all know what happens on board as a passenger, but have you ever wondered what happens to your luggage? Watch “It’s a Bag’s Life” for a sneak peek behind the scenes, as we reveal for the first time the life of a suitcase. KLM may have a cartoon 747 that farts, but Qatar Airways checked bags speak, at least with captions!
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 »
