Review: Flying First Class (and Showering) Onboard Emirates A380 First Class, Dubai – Dallas

by Gary Leff

May 23 2015

Having flown Emirates first class onboard their Airbus A380, I can say it’s truly one of the best first class products in the world. The suite isn’t as spacious as Singapore’s or Etihad’s. But the service is good, the food is good, and despite the bling (there’s a *lot* going on, and a lot of *stuff* they give you) there’s substance to it too.

Most of all, they have the single greatest amenity ever introduced into an aircraft: two giant shower spas, with heated floors. Taking a shower in the sky prior to arrival can’t be beat!

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American Express Centurion Lounge Miami Opens Early June

by Gary Leff

May 22 2015

American Express has begun operating their own network of “Centurion lounges,” which are a step above what travelers have become accustomed to from US airline-operated lounges. I consider the American Express Centurion lounge in Dallas one of my favorite airport spots. It’s one of the two lounges I visit most often. There’s a Centurion lounge already in Las Vegas and at New York LaGuardia as well and also San Francisco. American Express Centurion Lounge San Francisco There’s an additional known lounge in the pipeline for Miami, and a more modest lounge coming to Seattle. The Miami lounge is about to open in the North Terminal, convenient for American Airlines passengers. According to the Miami Herald it opens early June. As for the food, [Celebrity Chef Michelle] Bernstein’s buttermilk-brined fried chicken and Greek-style local watermelon salad…

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Three Passengers Popped Aircraft Slide, Hit the Tarmac, and Ran Away…

by Gary Leff

May 21 2015

They booked one-way tickets from Algiers to Istanbul via Rome. They boarded their onward flight to Turkey, and then bolted. Three Algerian illegal migrants found a quick way to avoid deportation last week – they jumped off a moving Alitalia plane at Rome’s Fiumicino airport and ran for it. …the three Algerians, who had been refused permission to stay in Italy, decided to do so anyway. They forced open a door while the plane was moving from the gate towards the runway, activated the exit chutes, slid down onto the tarmac and sprinted into the distance. A major manhunt for the trio has been launched and an investigation opened… The plane returned to the gate, and passengers offloaded onto another aircraft. Though hardly their fault, Alitalia needed to blame someone so they “called for stricter…

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