It’s our Independence Day holiday here in the U.S., and it’s given me time to pause to realize the fact that (more than) half of the year has already passed. It’s crazy how time has flown for me this year. I looked back at the top 10 viewed posts written so far in 2013 here…
Lufthansa Adds Online Tool to Determine First Class Cabin Type
There is a huge difference between the “new†and “old†first class cabins on Lufthansa’s international aircraft. From the seats to the in-flight entertainment system, your traveling experience could vary sharply depending on the configuration your flight offers. And now Lufthansa has an online tool to help determine which First Class Product you’ll enjoy. If…
Air Traffic Controller Responds to Airliner Engine Explosion With ‘Lovely’
A Thomas Cook Airbus A330 departing yesterday from Manchester Airport in the UK experienced what most are calling a right engine compressor stall on takeoff thrust. A popular plane-spotter captured it on video, and it’s certainly worth a watch – not only for the “lovely” comment by an air traffic controller (I’ll put it in…
Notable Airline News: June 24, 2013
Here are a few news items from the airline industry that caught my attention today: Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic received clearance for their joint venture from EU and U.S. regulators, bringing with it reciprocal frequent flier benefits for SkyMiles and Flying Club members. Starting on July 3, members of both programs will have…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: Piedmont Airlines Boeing 737-200
For this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps, I bring you a single-class Piedmont Airlines Boeing 737-200 seen flying the skies in 1987. Other Piedmont aircraft operating at that time included Boeing 727s, 737-300s, Fokker F28s, as well as dual-class Boeing 767-200s on its Charlotte-London Gatwick route. While 10A/F on the map below probably offered…
Frequently Flying Is Moving! Well, Sort Of
Earlier this year, BoardingArea underwent an attempted server change that was rolled back after some issues popped up. Those issues are no longer expected to pose a problem and the migration has been rescheduled to begin tonight. Frequently Flying should still be up for your viewing pleasure during this time, but blog comments will be…
Rumor: Did American Airlines Leak Its New Elite Status Requirements?
The “big” news this week so far has been United’s addition of a revenue requirement to achieve or maintain elite status beginning in 2014. I wrote a quick summary of the new policy in this post, and I followed it up with my thoughts on why I think it’s only the beginning of revenue-based changes.…
Eau de Airline: Turkish Airlines Launches ‘TK 1933’ Fragrance
I missed this when it was announced late last month (hat tip to @airlinetrends for tweeting it earlier this week), but Turkish Airlines now has its very own scent. According to their press release: (On May 30), Turkish Airlines introduced the fragrance “TK 1933†that will be yet another tool used to take the airline’s…
United’s Revenue Model for Elite Status Is Only the Beginning
Earlier today, I quickly posted the news that United Airlines will introduce a new Premier Qualifying Dollar (PQD) revenue requirement in 2014 to maintain or achieve elite status, in addition to the normal mileage requisites. It didn’t come as a shock to me and I promised to share more of my thoughts about the change.…
United Airlines Adds Spend Requirement for Elite Status Beginning in 2014
Hot off the Flyertalk and Milepoint boards is the announcement that beginning next year, United will follow Delta’s lead by adding an annual spend requirement for elite qualification. Here is UA Insider’s post from this morning: Today we’re announcing some upcoming changes to our Premier qualification requirements for 2014. We’ve posted complete details and a…