A couple of readers have emailed me to ask why I haven’t written anything about the Malaysia Airlines MH370 Boeing 777-200ER flight that disappeared enroute between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. There are two reasons, and I think both are straightforward. I really do not have much to add to the discussion, that others better qualified to speak aren’t already saying. It’s really hard and I don’t do emotion well, let alone in public on the internet. I am not an expert on the mechanics of aviation, on the engineering details of how planes fly or don’t. I don’t have better sources that give me insight into what’s going on before the rest of the media gets their information (although there are of course plenty of ill-informed commenters on television talking about this). I think Scott…
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SriLankan Airlines Set to Join the oneworld Alliance May 1
SriLankan now has an official joining date of May 1 for entry into oneworld, making them an alliance partner of American (and US Airways) as well as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and more. And they’re a great addition to oneworld for frequent flyers. With American you’ll be able to include them in AAdvantage distance-based oneworld awards, for instance flying over the Atlantic and connecting in Europe to Asia, or including them on trips to the Maldives or India and Pakistan. Bangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Tiruchirappalli in India as well as Male in the Maldives are short hops from Colombo, Sri Lanka that will only cost 4500 British Airways points each way. (Of course many of these short hops are also quite inexpensive to buy.) In Europe SriLankan flies to Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Paris, and…
Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau and Hong Kong Trip Report: Introduction, Positioning and the Hilton New York JFK
Index: Introduction, Positioning Flight to New York, and the Hilton JFK British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York JFK – Hong Kong The Pier First Class Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Ho Chi Minh City Park Hyatt Saigon Lunch at Pho Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Airlines Business Class, Ho Chi Minh City – Danang Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa Vietnam Airlines Economy, Danang – Siem Reap Park Hyatt Siem Reap Angkor Wat and Other Temples Dragonair Business Class, Siem Reap – Hong Kong Turbojet, Hong Kong Airport – Macau and the Sheraton Macao Hotel The Venetian, Fernando’s, and the Ferry to Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Harbor View Suite Bo Innovation, Hong Kong Amber Restaurant, Hong Kong Cathay Pacific The…
1000 Free Miles, Another Program Revamps, New Option for Using SkyMiles, and Making Airport Bathrooms Better (Bits ‘n Pieces for March 2, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: Sixt car rental is offering 1000 Lufthansa Miles & More miles for taking their emails. (HT: Greg L.) News on the SAS EuroBonus program revamp is out. A better way to design airport bathroom stalls? Garuda Indonesia is expected to join Skyteam this week (Wednesday), the alliance that includes Delta. This may create some interesting redemption opportunities for Skymiles. Garuda flies to Amsterdam, and several cities in Australia. There may be additional opportunities to route via Asia to Australia, and possibly to combine with Virgin Australia on a single award ticket (US – Australia – Bali on Virgin Australia, then Indonesia to North Asia and connect on a third carrier to the US on the return). We’ll see how Delta’s pricing engines treat all of this. Vienna airport…
What the Envy-Inducing Stories About Fabulous First Class Air Travel Miss: the Trend is Really Away from First Class, and Towards Business Instead
The AP’s Scott Mayerowitz offers the mainstream public a look into the offerings in international first class. Airlines certainly offer premium passengers rarified experiences such as tarmac transfers to the plane, gourmet meals onboard and on the ground, top wines, and space — personal space in their seat and general separation from the masses. Although this last is a bit of a mischaracterization, I think — it’s less about avoiding the ‘sort of people who travel coach’ and more about avoiding lots of people which brings with it stress. Yet some of the most cherished new international first-class perks have nothing to do with meals, drinks or seats. Global airlines are increasingly rewarding wealthy fliers with something more intangible: physical distance between them and everyone else. The idea is to provide an exclusive experience —…
Big Changes Coming to Qantas to Stem Losses
Qantas used to have more or less a license to print money. In the early part of the last decade its main domestic rival Ansett Australia had gone under. And it had strong pricing power on key long haul routes. Come the latter half of the last decade, its international routes were hemorrhaging but a near monopoly domestically helped hide losses. Qantas’ expansion in Asia, and its shift to a joint business venture with Emirates rather than British Airways, has helped shore up its international business to some extent (although mainline expansion in Asia has done less well than that of its low cost subsidiary). As has their cutback in routes offering international first class, and offering of more seats on the same planes as a result. But an increasingly competitive domestic market has caused…
The Best All-Around Credit Card is Chase Sapphire Preferred
Key Link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Veterans already know this, although the very experienced will find that they can earn the most bonus points with the Ink Plus® Business Card because it earns 5 points per dollar on telecommunications (cell phone, internet, satellite/cable tv) and at office supply stores (with all the myriad things you can buy there, including online through the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall for even more bonus points). Plus it has a signup bonus of 50,000 points after $5000 spend within 3 months and a $0 fee the first year ($95 thereafter). But for someone looking for just one card, wanting to know which one is best, I recommend Chase Sapphire Preferred. I have this conversation on a daily basis, and at events it’s probably the question I’m most asked. I start by…
Starwood Changing Award Prices on 20% of Its Hotels
Starwood has announced its annual changes in award categories. The increases are centered in North America, the decreases in Asia, with more hotels going down than up but more hotels entering the upper redemption tiers than leaving those tiers. Ultimately changes we can live with. Please note that we are not adding new categories or changing category pricing. Just over 20% of hotels are changing category, of these 56% are moving down and 44% are moving up. Here’s the preliminary (‘subject to change’) list of hotels changing category. Hotels dropping in award category: 8 hotels are dropping in category in Africa/Middle East. 88 hotels are dropping in category in Asia/Pacific. This is great news for redemptions in China and India and across the region. Oddly with so many hotels dropping in the region, none are…
Club Carlson Reduces Points-Earning, Increases Prices on Reward Nights, and Starts Counting Free Nights Towards Elite Status
2013 was the year of hotel devaluations, requiring more points to redeem reward nights. Hotels are generally full, and prices up, so hotel loyalty programs haven’t needed to be as generous. Devaluations took various forms — new award categories, wholesale point increases, shifting categories, and structural changes. And they were doing in varying degrees, at the extreme end was Hilton’s absolute bloodletting. Some gave notice, others did not. Meanwhile Club Carlson, the loyalty program for Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn, and Country Inns & Suites, didn’t make a move. Until now (HT: Hans) There are some positive changes, but the biggest change from my perspective is increased award prices for many hotels and a new top tier redemption category. Here’s the summary they sent by email: More Redemption Options Club Carlson is introducing premium room…
Unlocking the Virgin Australia Award Chart (Now that They’re a Starwood Transfer Partner)
Virgin Australia has more non-stop award availability, especially in premium cabins, between the US and Australia than anyone else. By far. They have flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. I’ve managed to get four business class awards on the Brisbane flight over Christmas. They’re a Delta frequent flyer partner, and though Delta charges a pricey 160,000 miles roundtrip for business class between the US and Australia (fortunately, they no longer add fuel surcharges in addition to miles), this is more or less the best Australia redemption out there. The only alternatives, much of the time and certainly during peak season, involve flying via Asia — often double the travel time. And that’s really the only extent to which I’ve paid attention to them. (You can use Virgin America miles on Virgin Australia,…
