Bold Leap: Somaliland Acquires Ethiopian Airlines Stake, Defying Global Non-Recognition

Jan 01 2024

The blog post discusses the unique position of Somaliland, an unrecognized state, acquiring a stake in Ethiopian Airlines, a major move in the aviation industry. It also explores the broader context of Ethiopia’s challenges, including civil war and its strategic maneuvers in the Horn of Africa, reflecting the complexities of regional politics and economics.

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Back To The Future Blunder: United’s Special Flight 200 Lands In The Wrong Year

Jan 01 2024

On Friday I wrote about the five flights that take off one day, and arrive at their destination the previous day thanks to the international date line.

The first, Guam – Honolulu on United, actually would have allowed you to celebrate New Years Eve twice, in two different cities. Go out on December 31st in Guam, then catch an early New Years Day flight to Honolulu – arriving in Hawaii early enough on New Years Eve there to party again.

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I Need 100,000 Miles and 50 Nights to Requalify for Elite Status

Jan 01 2024

Today is the most democratic (small d) day of the year in travel. That’s because it’s January 1, and in many programs everyone’s elite status counters get reset to zero (except for those squirrely foreign programs that have membership years based on the date you joined, and American that has extended the elite earning year by two months).

I have exactly the same number of elite qualifying miles and nights as everyone else today.

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