In other hotel, aviation and travel industry news last week… Last year, Chicago took the top spot as being the city that charges the most taxes to travelers in the country and effective January 1, 2012, they’ve raised hotel taxes another percentage point. It brings the hotel portion on par now with New York and…
New surcharge, United’s theme & auctions, American delisted, AirTran fined, Qantas pilots, Brussels-bound and 2011 profits
In other airline industry news this week… As I expected and not at all surprising, American, Delta, United and US Airways have added a $6 roundtrip surcharge for flights to Europe to offset the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme. United’s 767-300s that fly to Europe hold a total of 183 passengers. If it goes out full…
Reminder: United Airlines same-day travel change policies
I mentioned in a recent Mileage Run Opportunity post that I frequently take advantage of United’s same-day change options to ward off tight connections at downline airports. I normally like to buffer in more than an hour on complex routings, but sometimes to get the best fare, a tight connection is all that’s available at…
United Airlines Economy Plus marketing fail
In reviewing a seat map for an upcoming trip, I noticed something unusual on my Embraer 145 ExpressJet flight – rows one and 12 were showing as Economy Plus. Odd, I thought, since I’ve never seen that before having flown on ERJ-145s previously and while there is a touch more legroom, it’s certainly not what…
Mileage Run Opportunity: $248.80 nets 7,340 United EQMs PIT-IAD-SFO-TUS r/t
A reader emailed me asking about mileage run opportunities on United Airlines from his hometown, Pittsburgh. I do tend to be coast-centric as that’s where you get the biggest bang for your buck on mileage runs, but welcome other origins as well. If you’d like me to research options from your hometown, shoot me an…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: Jet America Airlines MD-82 from 1987
It’s time for some narrowbody love for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps. Not to be confused with the Jet America that planned to begin service in 2009, but never got off the ground, Jet America Airlines was a Long Beach, California-based carrier that operated from 1981 until 1987. The carrier had eight of…
Current Hilton HHonors promotions I’m focusing on
These have already been widely covered in other blogs, but I have yet to directly address them. First up is the Hilton HHonors first quarter promotion offering 1,000 bonus points per night and 5,000 additional bonus points if you spend a minimum 2-nights from Thursday to Sunday. Registration is required and there is a list…
Award seat analysis: American vs. United – Los Angeles to New York JFK
This second installment of “Award Seat Analysis†looks at the premium Los Angeles to New York JFK nonstop market and I’ve researched availability from American Airlines and United Airlines in April 2012. I specifically searched for award seats at the minimum amount of miles required, namely MileSAAver awards on American and Saver awards on United.…
Fun facts about United Airlines’ fleet livery project
I hadn’t been back to the United Hub since it first appeared until today and took interest in the fun facts on what it takes to repaint an aircraft. I thought it was a much quicker process lasting two or three days, but it apparently can take up to 11 days. Here’s more:
Amenity Kit Review: Virgin Australia Business Class (November 2011)
I’m partnering up with Brad over at Upgrd.com for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. He recently flew V Australia, now Virgin Australia, from Los Angeles to Sydney in Business Class and posted an excellent review of the flight here. Knowing I’m a collector, he sent me a spare kit for my review. For a…