Quick Poll: Would You Have Upgraded to United Global First for This Offer?

I’ve returned from a relatively quick trip to Seoul and will have a full trip report coming soon, but I’d like to quickly put this poll out there to see if any of you would have jumped on this upgrade offer. As background, I booked an upgradable coach W-fare and applied two Global Premier Upgrades…

Continue Reading »

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: September 24, 2013

A brief sampling of industry news that caught my attention today: An astute Flyertalk member appears to have discovered what United’s redesigned website homepage will look like. And United has hinted that something “friendly” is coming this Friday. Plus, they even sort-of confirmed it on Twitter earlier today: British Airways begins Airbus A380 service today…

Continue Reading »

Amenity Kit Review: Air New Zealand Business Premier

One of the holes in my amenity kit collection has been filled with special thanks to @LoyalUA1K, and I bring you my critique of Air New Zealand’s Business Premier offering for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introductory post.…

Continue Reading »

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: September 23, 2013

A brief sampling of industry news that caught my attention today: Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic received approval from the DOT for their joint venture. Of particular interest to business travelers will be new harmonized flight schedules on the ultra-competitive New York JFK-London Heathrow route. Reciprocal frequent flier earn and burn benefits can now…

Continue Reading »

United’s Social Media Team Wows With a Fantastic Million-Mile Congrats

Earlier today, I landed in San Francisco on United Airlines flight 892 from Seoul and officially rolled over one million lifetime miles in the MileagePlus program. I’ll have a full trip report in the future with some additional background, but I have to quickly post about the fantastic response I received from United’s social media…

Continue Reading »

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: September 19-20, 2013

While I’m traveling, here’s a briefer than normal sampling of industry news that caught my attention during the past two days: United Airlines rolled out a revived “Fly the Friendly Skies” multimedia ad campaign on Friday. It tugs at nostalgia for me given I grew up with that slogan, and actually think it’s a decent…

Continue Reading »

Vintage Airline Seat Map: USAir Boeing 737-300

Earlier this year I posted the seat map for USAir’s 737-200 seen flying the skies in 1987, and now bring you the airline’s Boeing 737-300 for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps. As was the case with the -200 version, row 1 here was also aft facing complete with “poker†tables. Also, I asked…

Continue Reading »

United Airlines Family and Friends Day at SFO: Swag Alert!

United is once again holding its annual Family Day Open House for employees and their friends & family. And for the past several years, United has graciously opened up spots for a select few enthusiasts on Flyertalk and MilePoint. Yesterday, the great folks at United again extended an offer to attend this year’s event: We’re…

Continue Reading »

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: September 18, 2013

A brief sampling of industry news that caught my attention today: Lufthansa will announce the details of its newest aircraft order in Frankfurt tomorrow. Sources close to the negotiations say the $10-17 billion order for new widebody jets will be split between Airbus and Boeing. Turkish Airlines opened its Arrivals Lounge at Istanbul’s airport. It’s…

Continue Reading »

LAX Upgrades: New Star Alliance Lounge, United Terminals, TBIT

My former hometown airport has several long-needed projects underway or in the plans that will make it worthy of world-class airport status – at least in some terminals. Today, Los Angeles International Airport’s new Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) saw its first flights arriving at the complex featuring 18 new gates, nine of which can…

Continue Reading »