Keeping up-to-speed with how United’s reservation system processes Complimentary Premier Upgrades (CPUs) can be a daunting task. The vast majority of my flying on United Airlines this year came before the system conversion to SHARES on March 3. And all of my United flights since that date have been upgraded through other means – Regional…
My travels/observations
Category Archives for My travels/observations.
Flight Review: Virgin Australia Business Class Perth to Sydney
I flew to Perth on a Virgin Australia Airbus A330 sporting the old business class configuration, and I was excited to experience the new, more luxe layout on my return to Sydney. If you didn’t read my outbound review, you should know that Qantas and Virgin Australia have really upped their game on this premium…
Reader Advice Requested: Rental Cars and Mileage Accrual
It’s that “once an every couple of years†event for me again – I need to rent a car on an upcoming trip. My travels mostly take me to cities with incredible public transportation, or to where I don’t really need anything other than the hotel shuttle. But my upcoming trip to Chicago requires a…
Amenity Kit Review: Virgin Australia Business Class – Men’s Version 2012
An amenity kit on a domestic flight? Yep… Virgin Australia offers amenity kits to business class passengers flying its premium A330s on transcontinental runs from both Melbourne and Sydney to Perth. Here’s a review of the men’s version for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category and the 7-point…
Lounge Review: Virgin Australia, Perth Domestic Terminal
I previously reviewed Virgin Australia’s domestic lounge in Sydney, and here now is their offering at Perth’s domestic terminal. The lounge entry is quite literally two paces straight ahead immediately after you clear security – you simply can’t miss it. Passing through the glass doors, you enter a small lobby with a circular reception desk…
National Aviation Day: My Memorable Aviation Firsts
Today is National Aviation Day, celebrating the history and development of aviation in the United States (and worldwide for that matter). It’s also fittingly Orville Wright’s birthday, who would have been only 141 today. Franklin D. Rooselvelt established the holiday in 1939 via presidential proclamation. Someone earlier today tweeted the question, “What was your first…
Flight Review: Virgin Australia Business Class Sydney to Perth
As many of you know, I was in Australia for a couple of weeks last month and I gave you a sneak peek of my transcontinental Virgin Australia experience. Here, now, is a full review of my premium coast-to-coast flight from Sydney to Perth. In full disclosure, I flew compliments of Virgin Australia. The route…
United’s Generous Compensation, Yet Impersonal Reply About My Cancelled Flight
I posted last week about how I proactively rebooked myself and was able to keep my upgrade after my United Airlines Sydney to Los Angeles flight cancelled. The next day, I emailed ‘1K Voice’ asking for compensation for the 24-hour delay and subsequent expenses incurred for an extra day in Australia. I further explained that…
A Tale of Obsessive Flight Tracking Leading to Proactive Rebooking
My return from Sydney on United Airlines last week was delayed by one day due to a combination of a mechanical problem and the crew exceeding their duty time. It wasn’t my flight, actually, but rather that of the inbound aircraft that would have been United 840 back to LAX on Friday, August 3. Being…
Virgin Australia’s Domestic Lounge at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport
I had the privilege of flying Virgin Australia in business class from Sydney to Perth a couple of weeks ago and gave you a sneak peek here. Prior to the flight, I spent a few hours in their domestic lounge in Terminal 2 – a benefit for business class ticketholders similar to what we enjoy…