Mar 15 2016

I recently needed to fly home from San Francisco and decided to book non-stop to Austin on Virgin America. For an extra $154 over the cheapest economy ticket I booked Virgin America’s first class – largely because I hadn’t flown it, had heard good things, and wanted to see it for myself.

The first thing you notice about first class is that there’s standard width leather first class seats but: tons of additional legroom, and legrests.

The seats also have personal television sets. And there was a shrink wrapped pillow and blanket set as well as colored headphones at the seat. The flight attendant charged with tending to first class handed out bottled water and eye masks and took predeparture drink orders.

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Mar 14 2016

With American AAdvantage devaluing its award chart March 22 there’s a ton of last minute requests for space.

For quite some time American has been really really tough with award space on their own international flights. However American has been going to lengths to improve their premium cabin award availability. At the end of last year American finally opened pretty good award space on their new Sydney flight. I covered the floodgates opening for award space on London routes. And how they opened up China flying. That was just the start. And they opened up space to Auckland, too.

It seems though that right as the window is about to close to book at current prices, American has shut the window on availability for many of its own flights.

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Mar 14 2016

Air Canada’s Aeroplan, a Star Alliance member, is offering a bonus for transferring in points of up to 55,000 miles through April 18.

American Express Membership Rewards is excluded from this bonus. But Starwood points transfers (and most others) are eligible.

Aeroplan charges 55,000 points each way, 90,000 points roundtrip, per person for business class between the Continental US and nearer Europe.

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Mar 14 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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Mar 14 2016

Alaska Airlines is arguably running both the best airline operation (based on mainline on-time statistics for a non-Hawaiian U.S. carrier) and the most profitable one (based on operating margin). That’s in spite of their intense ‘Battle for Seattle’ with frenemy Delta, the partner that’s been building up a hub in their home town. Alaska has been growing significantly, and rewarding their Mileage Plan members.

At a time when everyone else is cutting back marketing spend through less generous frequent flyer plans, Alaska Airlines has been doubling down with a generous rewards program.

It wasn’t always going to be that way.

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Mar 14 2016

There was substantial interest in Starwood once the hotel chain was clearly on the block for sale. Three Chinese firms were supposedly seeking government permission to make a bid to buy Starwood Hotels. Hyatt was rumored to be the lead bidder.

There had earlier been speculation about a Starwood-IHG (or Wyndham) merger. Wyndham hired away enough Starwood talent that it’s recently been referred to as Wynwood.

Eventually Marriott submitted what was expected to be the winning offer.

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Mar 13 2016

I was super excited by the Andaz Maui opening and planned to stay when it first debuted. When I was finally able to stay in July 2014 I absolutely loved it. It was a more boutique property than the resort factories I’d stay on on the island before. And it was a great value not least of which as a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member.

This time the room was in disrepair – from the furnishings to the flooring to the phone – ultimately on cash and points the stay was still a value. I wasn’t even charged the $40 per night resort fee that would have applied to a paid stay. I received a bountiful breakfast as a Diamond member. I got my money’s worth for sure. But it wasn’t the special place that I had visited only a year and a half earlier.

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Mar 13 2016

We live in a very different travel world than the one I grew up in. I never thought I’d get to the place to where I said, “kids today!” And that’s as much about the people working in and setting policy for the airport, and the people working on the planes, as it is for the passengers… who aren’t all rainbows and unicorns themselves.

Pay attention, it’s a strange strange world we live in. Here’s what I saw this weekend.

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Mar 13 2016

Planning vacations contributes more to your happiness than actually taking them. You may need to go on vacation to justify all of the planning time.

Most people get all of their relaxation benefits on the trip itself. Don’t expect to be relaxed when you get back. We quickly snap back into the stress of daily life, sans any benefit from the vacation.

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Mar 13 2016

American is the only airline that continues to offer three-cabin first class on premium cross country flights. What I actually found interesting was the hedging by an American executive on the question of the future of the service, as opposed to the commitment that the executive purports to explain.

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