General

Oct 02 2015

It’s amazing how much airports spend and often go over budget. I’ve written about massive cost overruns in Denver and how even their budget for monitoring costs went massively over budget.

It’s striking to me that yesterday Dallas Fort-Worth airport rolled out a new logo. DFW is ditching their blue and white logo for orange and adding the tagline “Travel Transformed.” Of course, “I’d fly out of DFW but I don’t like their logo” is something said by no passenger ever. But I was interested to see what this project cost the airport.

Continue Reading »

Oct 02 2015

Long haul airlines often have the best reputations. We slog through hundreds of short domestic segments on US carriers, and don’t think much of them. Then we board airlines whose specialty is flying great distances and they do tend to do well on those sectors.

Continue Reading »

Oct 02 2015

Last month I wrote that big changes will come to American AAdvantage… but not yet.

The focus through October 17 (and ultimately beyond) is integration with US Airways. They’re running out the clock to make big changes for 2016. Now as we enter the fourth quarter of 2015 it really would be unprecedented to upend the mileage and elite status earning features of AAdvantage for 2016.

Continue Reading »

Oct 02 2015

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.

Continue Reading »

Oct 01 2015

There’s now an opportunity to spend miles for a BMW. You shouldn’t do it, but the reason why is informative.

Continue Reading »

Oct 01 2015

The ANA website is currently showing award space on Star Alliance partner Lufthansa that isn’t available to United or other Star Alliance airlines. The previously-most reliable website for searching award space when you’re using United miles may no longer be the go-to. I tell you how to find reliable information instead.

Continue Reading »

Oct 01 2015

Back in September I wrote about Kuwait Airways denying boarding to an Israeli passport holder. They weren’t flying to Kuwait. They were flying New York – London.

Kuwait’s policy has been challenged, though. Eldad Gatt, a citizen and resident of Israel…filed a DOT complaint under 49 U.S.C. § 40127, which prohibits discrimination “on
the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry” — but the DOT refused to take action arguing that Kuwait Airways was acting legally. The DOT has reconsidered.

Continue Reading »

Oct 01 2015

I’m an AARP member. I’m 41 years old. I don’t even support the organization’s policy positions. I joined, really, for just one reason: discounts. The biggest and most useful discount is with British Airways.

Continue Reading »

Oct 01 2015

I’ve written about the different offers from Plastiq to pay bills with your credit card (they chrage your card, mail a check to your payee). My favorite offer is 1.5% fees, which they make possible when you pay via MasterCard.

The last offer — any new payee paid via MasterCard for a 1.5% fee — is over. However, through Tuesday October 13 you can make payment of $500 or more to any vendor (new or existing in your Plastiq account) with a MasterCard for a 1.5% fee.

Continue Reading »

Sep 30 2015

Most readers are familiar with the Newark – Columbia, South Carolina flight that United operated at the behest of the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey (which oversees United’s hub at Newark). It was a money-loser that Governor Christie’s appointee David Samson, intimately tied to ‘Bridgegate’, asked for so he could more conveniently commute to and from his weekend home — and that United killed days after Samson’s resignation.

It now looks like there was a cover up in play…

Continue Reading »