It’s tough to be an airline in Vietnam. VietJet Air was the first private airline to gain approval to operate in Vietnam in November 2007. And yet it didn’t actually begin operations until December 2011, with regulatory issues contributing to the delay. They expected AirAsia to take a 30% stake, but that airline pulled out over Vietnamese regulatory challenges. Today the airline operates 3 leased Airbus A320 aircraft. This month they faced a new regulatory challenge as they were fined 20 million Vietnamese Dong over unapproved inflight entertainment. It wasn’t a problem with the installation of a seatback video system. Instead, 5 bikini-clad candidates in a local beauty contest performed a dance onboard the airline’s inaugural flight to Nha Trang. Since the 3-minute show had not been approved in advance, it was deemed a violation…
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Travelocity Weighs In On Their Refusal to Honor Discounted Travel Packages
Last week I noted that Travelocity was cancelling bookings made with their $200 off air and hotel coupon. The discount had been offered in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind convention in Dallas. NFB tweeted it out, and Travelocity even re-tweeted it. The terms and conditions of the coupon did not require NFB membership, but many folks who took advantage of the deal joined the National Federation for the Blind — only $10 and it was either in honor of the offer, or to be ‘on the safe side’ since it is members of that organization who were ostensibly supposed to benefit. But Travelocity hadn’t really anticipated that since it could be used to book hotels in completely different locations from where air travel took passengers to, it would be possible to spend…
Travelocity Cancelling Reservations Booked with $200 Off Coupon
This past weekend I blogged about a $200 off coupon at Travelocity for air and hotel vacation packages of at least three days. You could book the hotel in a separate city from the air travel meaning that there were amazing deals to be had. Some folks found hotels in South or Central Asia that were about $10 a night, yielding $170 off airfare using the coupon. The deal had been around for several weeks and was in its last days when it became publicly known. The terms and conditions said: The promotional code (the Promo Code) for $200 is valid between 12:01 a.m. Central Time on July 2, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. Central Time on August 4, 2012 (the Promotion Period) or until it reaches the redemption limit of 3,500 redemptions. Your use of…
Excellent Hunan Chinese in Northern Virginia
I’ve been known to go off in search of great dumplings and dim sum when I travel (even here in the States). And living in the DC area I’m blessed with some generally very good Asian foods. My favorite Thai in the area remains Elephant Jumps. You can’t go wrong with anything Vietnamese in the Eden Center. But most of the Chinese seems to taste the same, there are decent carryout places that fill a niche (I’m not sure what niche, exactly, but a niche) but very few Chinese places that reach the heights of the Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in the area. For good Sichuan there’s China Star. And when I lost power at the beginning of the month and stayed out at the Hyatt Fair Lakes I discovered some really good Hunan —…
$200 off at Travelocity Air+Hotel, No Minimum Spend
Reader D.B points me to a Canadian Poker forum that’s discussing a Travelocity promotion code which allows you to take $200 off of an air and hotel package of 3 nights or more, with no minimum spending, valid for travel through December 31. The value proposition here is that you can book a really cheap flight that you don’t bother taking, and have a discount on your hotel stay. Or you book a really really cheap hotel somewhere in the world, and get a nice air discount. The code is NFB2012 and it must be used by August 4th, although it will end earlier once it has been used 3500 times. You can find some particularly cheap hotels in Southeast and in Central Asia. When doing an do advance search. then click that you prefer…
Redeeming Award Tickets on Virgin Atlantic Without Fuel Surcharges
Hawaiian Airlines offers a really frustrating frequent flyer program. Their airline partner redemptions can be really expensive (e.g. Korean Airlines business class between the U.S. and Korea runs 200,000 miles roundtrip — and doesn’t allow connections to other destinations in Asia). They are restrictive — you cannot combine partners on an award ticket, you cannot have a stopover on an award ticket, and you cannot even book an ‘open jaw’ flying into one city and back from another. Talking to Hawaiian Airlines agents can be a frustrating experience. They’re on par with Delta agents, they simply don’t know the ins and outs of their program. One must frequently hang up, call back to get what you’re after. And their call center hours are even quite limited, on the East Coast of the U.S. I have…
United Offers a 20% Discount on International Upgrades — And I’m Not the Least Bit Excited
Summer, especially for European travel, is all about the coach cabin. Planes fly full. But business travel dries up, which means paid business travel dries up. As coach tickets get more expensive, business class prices fall, the spread is much smaller than usual. United is looking to goose some extra revenue from their business class cabin during the lull in premium traffic by offering a 20% discount on both the mileage cost and the cash co-pay for upgrades requested online by July 28 for travel between July 24 and August 12. The discount applies to travel between the Continental U.S. plus Alaska as well as Canada and Europe, Japan, North Asia, Middle East, Central/Southern Africa or Southern South America. Interestingly the discount does not apply to South Asia. Take a discounted coach fare to Europe…
The Best and Worst Features of American Airlines
Now that I’ve flown enough to re-qualify for American’s Executive Platinum status for next year, I figure I’m in a position to express an opinion on my biggest likes and dislikes about the airline and its AAdvantage frequent flyer program. There Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Gogo inflight internet. Delta has this too, and with even somewhat better fleet penetration. But compared to United and US Airways it’s incredible. Inflight internet has changed my life. I’d unplug on the flight and be desperately behind when I landed, with urgent messages to answer and calls to return. My flight time is now much more productive time. It’s why even the laggard carriers are getting on board with internet — not because usage fees will cover the costs of installation, but because it’s so crucial…
When You Purchase a United Award Ticket, That Doesn’t Mean You Actually HAVE a Ticket
(And this rule applies even when the ticket is being issued at the full, correct mileage cost…!) I booked an award for a co-worker the other day that involved Qatar Airways. As I noted recently, it’s become increasingly difficult to use United miles to book awards on Qatar even though the partnership (which is ending) allows making bookings through September 14. Availability shows up on the website. But over the phone agents seem not to be able to find award space most of the time, and when pressed insist that Qatar is no longer a partner. That means you almost always have to book Qatar space on the website. But the website sometimes spits up when trying to make perfectly valid bookings. In this case I was looking for DC – Doha, Doha – Colombo,…
Bits ‘n Pieces for July 18, 2012
A survey of news and offers for the morning: A Skywest pilot, wanted for murder, tried to steal a regional jet to escape authorities. He creashed it on the ground instead. (HT: Seacarl on Milepoint.) bmi’s partnership with Virgin Atlantic ends August 31. It was a foregone conclusion that you would no longer be able to earn and redeem between these two airlines once British Airways acquired bmi. Wyndham Rewards is offering quadruple miles or points beginning with your second stay booked between July 17 and September 13 , 2012 and completed by September 20. The promotion is valid for up to four stays (stays numbered 2 through 5) and up to 3 rooms per stay. Registration required. Wandering Aramean flags that Alaska Airlines is offering 15 minutes of free Gogo inflight internet on all…
