The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang was estimated to cost 2% of North Korea’s GDP to construct. It’s 105 stories tall and incomplete. Construction halted in 1992, perhaps for lack of funds. It has 3000 rooms in a country and city with little tourism. Though it can be seen from every part of Pyongyang, it has been removed from the city’s maps.Hat tip to Marginal Revolution.

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Via Notiflyer, JetBlue has partnered with American Express Membership Rewards. Beginning December 8th, 1,250 Membership Rewards points will transfer to five JetBlue TrueBlue points.The Notiflyer headline highlights that this is JetBlue’s first partner for its mileage program.More important to me is that this represents the addition of another partner for American Express which has been slowly bleeding partners without any additions. Northwest left the program. TWA doesn’t exist anymore. Marriott is leaving at the end of 2004. The program seemed to be dying on the vine, with fewer partners and fees on mileage transfers imposed seven months ago.The addition of JetBlue to the folks at least gives me some hope and confidence that American Express is still trying to build their program and deliver value.

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Alaska Airlines is offering double miles on all Alaska, Horizon, and Delta flights between November 1 and December 15, 2004. Registration is required. This is great news for Alaska flyers — and non-elite Delta flyers should consider crediting their flights to Alaska Mileage Plan during the promotion period. Including Delta in the double miles promotion is meant to highlight the new partnership between the two airlines. Beginning November 1 the two airlines offer reciprocal mileage earning and burning opportunities.

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Via Travel Notes, a pastor was arrested for telling a TSA security screeners that his bible was a bomb. A pastor says he was “just kidding” when he told airport security he had a bomb, reached into his luggage and pulled out a Bible, declaring, “This is my bomb.” Jose L. Gonzalez, a Spaniard living in Deltona, Fla., was arrested and charged Sunday with making a false statement. …An investigation determined that Gonzalez did not pose a threat, but the FBI still arrested and charged him with making the statement.

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American Airlines will no longer reliably offer more legroom in coach across its fleet. They previously announced they were adding seats back in on one aircraft type. Now they’re expanding the decision. American will add back a portion of the coach seats previously removed from its MD80, 737, 767 and 777 fleets. On the MD80 and 737 aircraft, only one of the two rows of coach seats originally removed will be added back to those airplanes. Reconfiguration of the MD-80s, 737s and 767s will begin after the holidays. The 777 fleet won’t be reconfigured until next fall, as I understand it.This, combined with ending the most liberal international upgrade policy among U.S. carrier, obliterates the value proposition that American Airlines offers to the frequent traveler.

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United is running a new Member-Get-Member promotion. You earn 1,000 bonus miles for each of up to four referrals who fly a paid roundtrip on United between October 20, 2004 and January 18, 2005. Each referred member will earn 3000 bonus miles as well. For each of their next four roundtrips by January 18 you get another 500 miles. The nice thing about this offer is that, unlike most previous offers, there aren’t significant fare restrictions on the flight that your referral needs to take. United often requires at least mid-priced coach tickets in order to earn bonus miles. This time even the cheap S and T booking classes are eligible.

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Marriott sent out a press release today announcing that they had received several travel awards. Marriott Hotels & Resorts was named by readers of Travel Savvy as the best domestic hotel chain, and Marriott Rewards as the best hotel rewards program. Travel Savvy is a travel lifestyle magazine that covers international and domestic destinations, fashion, design, food, travel news and celebrity travel trends. Readers of Executive Travel, a lifestyle magazine for business travelers, gave Marriott Hotels & Resorts top honors in the following categories: best hotel chain; best for customer service; and best hotel chain for meetings. Marriott Rewards was selected as the best frequent guest program. Ah, yes, the famous annual rankings from Travel Savvy and Executive Travel. Those are much anticipated each year, with management of various travel providers waking up with night…

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I’m often struck by hotels that market their room decor, especially their beds, and I wonder whether it can really be a good business for them. The items are generally overpriced, and often not of as good quality as I’d want to buy for myself. And yet there’s still something that would appeal to me in owning a Westin Heavenly Bed ensemble. Turns out that selling hotel furnishings is a large and growing business. Westin expects to sell $8 million worth of bedding this year. It’s easy to buy a bed that you’ve already slept in and are comfortable with. You spend more time getting comfortable with hotel furniture than you would in a store. And hotel furnishings help bring back memories of a trip. Since introducing its Heavenly Bed five years ago, the Westin…

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