The most important philosophy in travel is “hang up, call back” — when you don’t get the help or answer you want the first time, whether over the phone or in person, start over with someone else. Be nice, be patient, and the next person may be more empowered or more sympathetic. I’ve been beating this drum for years.
But the most important tip in travel is far simpler.
Three years ago we saw what I think may be the worst signup bonus in history, worse even than the stuffed animal you could get signup up for a JAL Mileage Bank credit card.
But are there several offers that are worse, even much worse?
Delta’s operations at New York JFK are split across two separate terminals, terminal 2 and terminal 4. Delta wants all of its operations under one roof. And they want all of SkyTeam under their roof too. In order to accomplish that they need to push out several airlines that currently operate out of terminal 4.
Somehow I wasn’t familiar with the story of Aeroflot flight 6502 from Yekaterinburg to Kuibyshev to Grozny. On October 20, 1986 the pilot of the Tupolev Tu-134A bet his co-pilot that he could land the plane blind. He would draw the curtains on the cockpit windows and make an instrument-only approach.
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.
An airplane ride isn’t usually that long, it’s fine to be separated from your travel companion unless that companion is a small child.
There are times though that it really does matter to most of us.
And even when seated alone, some seats are better than others.
People don’t think about the little niceties they can do for others when they fly. For instance how often does an airline club member guest someone in need into the lounge? My guess is that when we travel we don’t take the time to get to know what’s going on with fellow passengers.
It can be awkward or stilted to try. I know I’d hate to seem creepy approaching a stranger, even if it’s to do something nice for them.
Delta’s CEO told employees they’re looking to grow their service in Africa on their own metal, and not just through partnership with Kenya Airways.
Flight numbers frequently have meaning. Three years ago the final US Airways flight was US1939. It was given that number for the year the airline commenced operations.
Today American Airlines has at least two flight numbers which remind us just how American the airline is. And there’s at least one more flight number that’s just fun. Do you know of any other flight numbers like this at American?
Last year’s Air Canada Toronto – San Francisco flight AC759 that lined up to land on taxiway C could have been the worst aviation disaster in history.
Four planes were waiting on the taxiway to take off. Air Canada descended to as low as 59 feet — just three above the height of a United 787. Just after was a Philippine Airlines Airbus A340.
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 »
