Last year I began my mattress running addiction with the Carlson group of hotels, mainly Radisson and Country Inn & Suites here in the U.S., after having stayed at several properties and been comped Silver elite status. Not usually in any conversation in terms of preferred hotel loyalty programs, I started with Radisson since they…
My travels/observations
Category Archives for My travels/observations.
New United Airlines minimum check-in times started June 15, 2011
I hadn’t known of this change until grabbing the flyer below last weekend at LAX, but United Airlines rolled out new minimum check-in times that became effective June 15, 2011. It looks to me like they’ve aligned things with Continental’s timelines and while still requiring 45 minutes at most major airports when checking bags (30…
Tom Stuker’s 10 million mile United Airlines celebration Part 2
As I mentioned yesterday, I was incredibly fortunate to have been invited to Tom Stuker’s 10 million mile celebration at United’s Red Carpet Club in Chicago on Saturday. Tom is active on Flyertalk and had extended invites to 20 people for the event, so since I had already had plans to be flying through Chicago…
Tom Stuker’s 10 million mile United Airlines celebration Part 1
I was extraordinarily fortunate to have been in Chicago yesterday and received an invitation to attend Tom Stuker’s celebration at the C-concourse Red Carpet Club commemorating his 10 millionth mile flown on United Airlines. I met so many wonderful people, including Randy Petersen, BoardingArea’s founder and respected frequent flyer program guru, Jeff Smisek, United’s CEO,…
Review: American Airlines pre-order onboard food offer for premium JFK routes
Last week I had a work trip to New York and flew American Airlines instead of my favorite United Airlines p.s. flights between LAX and JFK since I’m taking the challenge to achieve Platinum status in the AAdvantage program. I’ve been fortunate to have always flown in United’s Business Class on this route, so this…
Airline collectible show and United Airlines DC-8-52 in Los Angeles
The Saturday before last I attended an airline collectible & memorabilia show in Los Angeles and then took a side-trip to the California Science Center to visit the United Airlines DC-8-52 on display. I arrived at the show shortly after it opened at 9:00am and made a couple of passes through the various tables. The…
Trip report: American Airlines LAX-DFW-LAX in first class and economy x2
The weekend before last I completed two mileage runs in my quest for Platinum status on American Airlines. It was a bit like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day in that I flew Los Angeles-Dallas-Los Angeles on consecutive days making it feel like deja vu, although they weren’t the exact same flights each day. Two…
A tribute to my Dad this Father’s Day on Frequently Flying
If you recall from my Mother’s Day post, I am fortunate to have a wonderful Mom who basically broke into United’s headquarters to buy me something unique for my birthday as a youngster. My Dad is equally fantastic and did everything he could to encourage and foster my passion for airlines, airports & travel, and…
Lufthansa customer service response very late, but appreciated
One of my readers sent me an email shortly after I posted my amenity kit review of Lufthansa’s First Class Bogner kit from earlier this year. She, too, really enjoyed the lotion found in the lavatories during her first class trip and wanted to know if I knew the brand. Most carriers nowadays team up…
Airline collectible & memorabilia show in Los Angeles this Saturday
As I mentioned in this post, I am a self-proclaimed airline geek and love to collect all kinds of airline and travel-related items. If you have a similar fascination, be sure to check out the various airline collectible and memorabilia shows held throughout the year. The World Airline Historical Society published a list of the…