Jun 24 2016

The UK has voted to exit the European Union. There’s tremendous gnashing of teeth over what this means for the world and those are very real concerns. There are also concerns within the travel industry, and amongst travelers.

Nothing has actually changed today and while there was much campaigning in favor of British self-determination and against Brussels, as well as against immigration, it’s not yet clear how (or that) UK policy will differ from the status quo going forward.

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Jun 23 2016

There’s virtually no competition for redeeming first class awards on SkyTeam member Garuda Indonesia. Delta miles, of course, cannot be used for international first class. Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer directly to the GarudaMiles program.

The problem is the byzantine redemption process for GarudaMiles awards. It’s “award redemption in six easy steps.”

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Jun 23 2016

Today Air Serbia launches its new New York JFK – Belgrade non-stop with an Airbus A330 they’ve named for Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla.

A reader will win 2 business class roundtrip tickets for this new flight. Entering is easy.

Here’s also what you can do while you’re visiting — and how we’ll you’re positioned to spend time throughout the region on your trip.

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Jun 23 2016

I had an opportunity to see the brand new American Express Centurion lounge Houston last night and try the food since I was invited to the pre-opening party there. Here’s the food, drinks, and a visual tour of the space.

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Jun 22 2016

The idea is to make the seat seem like four-across on a Boeing 777 — which gives you fully flat with all aisle access — while actually being configured eight-across to give the airline density.

More seats, without sacrificing passenger comfort, means more revenue. They can attract high yield business travelers without increasing their cost (aircraft real estate) in order to do so.

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Jun 22 2016

It seems there’s always a first class seat still available whenever I’m checking in for a United flight. Perhaps it’s the routes I’m flying.

I’m not a United elite, and a first class seat is offered to me as a buy up.

Here’s a recent check-in offer I received:

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Jun 22 2016

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.

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Jun 22 2016

The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General completed a report on government oversight of airline frequent flyer programs.

The Department of Transportation believes that airlines make available enough frequent flyer award seats and are transparent in the way they operate the programs. However the DOT does not pay enough attention to concerns about changes to programs without notice.

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Jun 22 2016

United held a call yesterday morning where CEO Oscar Munoz talked about the ways that the airline would cut costs and generate more money from customers.

United has a lot of catchup to do with the rest of the industry on both sides of the equation. My takeaway was that their plan seems to be to copy and catch up, rather than chart their own course.

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Jun 21 2016

There are really only 3 elite statuses that I care to requalify for.

Now that we’re midway through the year I decided to check in and share where I’m at qualifying for each. I’ve already requalified with American and with Starwood. I’m well past halfway towards Hyatt Diamond again.

The nice thing on the airline front is that it frees me to be even more of a free agent (buying on schedule and price) that I have been already — and I’ve already been doing it more than in past years.

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