As a followup to my posts on how to find award availability for the whole family — I’ve written about the routes with four or more business class award seats on Star Alliance airlines (so using United, US Airways, Air Canada points etc) between the US and and Europe and between the US and Asia — I’ve put together an illustration of routes with best first class availability on oneworld between the US and Asia. To begin, recall basic principles. More seats are harder than fewer seats. If you can split up (a family of four might fly 2+2) that makes things much easier. Roughly six months out is a good sweet spot for searching award space. Shorter flights are in less demand. East Coast – Europe is far easier than West Coast – Europe.…
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How to Find Business Class Awards to Asia for the Whole Family
Yesterday I wrote about how to find business class award seats for a family — not just one or two seats, but four seats on a single flight. Basic principles, More seats are harder than fewer seats. If you can split up (a family of four might fly 2+2) that makes things much easier. Roughly six months out is a good sweet spot for searching award space. Shorter flights are in less demand. East Coast – Europe is far easier than West Coast – Europe. West Coast – Asia is far easier than East Coast – Asia. If you’re on the opposite coast, be willing to connect domestically or even buy domestic connecting flights if needed. Multiple flights a day mean more award space. More total seats between a city will usually make it easier…
US Airlines Didn’t Always Charge for Lounge Access. Why the US Approach Has Diverged from Europe and Asia
US Airlines Offer Paid Lounge Access, Most of the World Does Not I’ve always found it interesting that US airlines charge for lounge access, while European and Asian airlines provide access primarily based on class of service flown (lounges for business and first class passengers) and for elites (for whom access is complimentary). US airlines do offer premium cabin international travelers complimentary lounge access. And do they provide lounge access to elite members who are traveling internationally. But for the most part, passengers flying domestically have to pay to access an airport lounge. Exceptions to this are Alaska Airlines offering (non-upgraded) first class passengers lounge access, and ‘premium transcon’ routes like New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco where lounge access for premium passengers is more common. But US airlines offer paid memberships, while…
The Singapore Airlines San Francisco Lounge is More US Than Asia
The Singapore Airlines check-in procedure provides a better experience than their San Francisco lounge does. Walking up to the first class check-in counter, a Singapore Airlines agent approached me to walk me the rest of the way to the counter. Unnecessary, but certainly first class service. It’s the only touch of first class on the ground that’s offered, as you’re sent off on your way to the lounge which is upstairs and down a long barren corridor. It’s not a tiny lounge but it really isn’t big enough to host Star Alliance elites and premium cabin passengers headed to Singapore, there are just too many eligible passengers for the size of the lounge and the place gets busy. There’s seating, but it’s not spacious or peaceful. I imagine it’s really packed when San Francisco –…
Why Does Coffee Taste So Much Better in Asia?
There are coffee shops strewn about all around Singapore serving specialty coffees. I see more (non-Starbucks) chain shops in Kuala Lumpur — there’s an Old Town White Coffee everywhere — but more craft coffee purveyors in Singapore than anywhere else I’ve been. (Disclosure: I live in Arlington, Virginia and — as memorialized by GoRemy in the Arlington Rap we mostly have Starbucks.) A few months ago I had a fantastic cup of coffee at Oriole Cafe & Bar at the Pan Pacific off Orchard Road. Singapore is one of the heaviest coffee drinking countries per-capita. But the phenomenon of really good coffee in Southeast Asia is hardly limited to Singapore. I’ve only tried Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee in the air (on Singapore, Asiana, and ANA in first class). It’s good but not my favorite and…
How an Intern Was Thrown Under the Bus for the Racist Joke Alleging Asiana 214 Pilot Names
By now the world is aware of a San Francisco television station ‘confirming’ the names of the pilots of Asiana 214 which crashed on landing in San Francisco last weekend. I first saw the story on Matthew’s blog. Ben covered it as well. When I saw the clip on YouTube yesterday there were fewer than 1000 views. Now as of this writing there have been nearly 2 million. In case it’s new to you: The San Francisco television station insisted it really wasn’t their fault and indeed in the televised report they claimed the pilot names were confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board. My first thought was how could this be possible? Now we learn that the pilot names were confirmed by a spokesperson for the NTSB. who happens to have been an intern.…
Business Class Award Seats to Asia You Can Almost Always Find
I’ve made mentions already that new Star Alliance member EVA Airways has outstanding award available. But I haven’t really spelled out just how good it is. I had no probably booking five people back to the US from Hong Kong via Taipei shortly after New Years (albeit not all on the same flight). And I had no problem booking folks back from Thailand in July last week as well. EVA Airways offers a top notch business class product. The title of this trip report, I think, encapsulates their service: Dom Pérignon Service on Eva Airways Business Class. And their Boeing 777-300ER features business class seats similar to Cathay Pacific’s (and to Delta’s new Pacific route only business seats, American’s new 777-300ER business seats, and the US Airways seat). So it is a good business class…
Ooops! Have You Ever Wound Up in Asia Instead of Africa By Mistake?
One couple did, getting ticketed to Dhaka (Bangladesh) instead of Dakar (Senegal). It turns out the mishap all came down to the three-letter airport code airlines routinely use when making bookings or entering information on baggage tags. Instead of entering DKR (for Dakar) in the computer system, the airline representative entered DAC (for Dhaka), sparking the intercontinental travel nightmare. The couple, flying on Turkish Airlines, transited in Istanbul before joining their connecting flight to what they thought would be Dakar. They told the LA Times they didn’t notice anything was wrong, because they went by the flight number on their tickets. And the similarity in city names didn’t help matters. “When the flight attendant said we were heading to Dhaka, we believed that this was how you pronounced ‘Dakar’ with a Turkish accent,” Valdivieso said.…
A New Flight to Upgrade to Asia On
Via Joe Brancatelli’s (subscription-only) Tactical Traveler, Hainan Airlines, the Chinese carrier, says it will launch nonstop flights between Chicago/O’Hare and Beijing. The airline will fly two-class Airbus A330-200s four days a week starting on September 3 And believe it or not, there are people who should care. Already, Hainan Airlines flies Seattle-Beijing. To many, they’re just an obscure Chinese airline. To savvy flyers, though, they’re probably the cheapest ‘out of pocket cash’ airline to upgrade with between the U.S. and Asia. Their frequent flyer program is the Fortune Wings Club. The only Western carrier they partner with is Air Berlin. But you can transfer Wyndham Rewards points into Fortune Wings Club miles. International upgrades are permitted — without cash co-pay — from M fares and above. I’m currently seeing M fares from $1390++ roundtrip on…
Why Can’t US Airlines Provide Great Service Like the Asian Carriers Do?
Over at Lucky‘s blog yesterday he wrote about the American Airlines 777-300ER flight he and I were both on from New York to London last month. He noted that some of the flight attendants on this flight were less than endearing, and one in particular was downright rude. At the same time, he also mentioned that his return flight (he hasn’t posted that part of the trip yet) featured a fantastic crew. And though we were on different flights coming back across the Pond, my return crew was excellent as well. In fact, here’s what I said about the service on the return: The return flight was a different experience entirely. .. the cabin was mostly empty and the crew was in fantastic spirits. The flight attendant serving my aisle, Vanessa, could easily have been…
