The 2011 Chicago Frequent Flyer Seminars concluded yesterday and it was an incredible weekend filled with an amazing amount of mileage and point tips that one could never process on their own. Airline miles I have pretty down pat, but I did learn a few great hotel point and credit card maximization techniques. Yesterday started…
Chicago Frequent Flyer Seminars: Day two summary – Saturday 10/29/2011
If there’s only one day you can attend a future Frequent Flyer Seminar series, it’s definitely the Saturday session. Yesterday was packed at the 2011 Chicago Seminars and featured an incredible amount of concurrent discussions on all things airlines, credit cards, hotels, miles and points. When booking your ticket for the event you select your…
Qantas shuts down, third quarter airline financials, inflight food, premium traffic growth slows, Google adds OTAs to Flight Search and café diversions
In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week… [Edited last minute to include:] Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has taken severe action and cancelled all flights in response to continued pressure by three union groups at the airline. He states, ”They are trashing our strategy and our brand. They are deliberately destabilising the company…
Chicago Frequent Flyer Seminars: Night 1 – 10/28/2011
The 2011 Frequent Flyer Chicago Seminars are already off to a great start and I just finished the “Tech Travel Skills†session hosted by Flyertalk’s Dlouise37 (Cliff). He went over some great tools & tips to help you get the most out of your online experience when searching for the best travel deals. Topics covered…
The 2011 Chicago Frequent Flyer Seminars have arrived!
It’s officially here! Tonight begins the 2011 Chicago Frequent Flyer Seminars and I’ll be in attendance for the entire weekend. The event has sold-out and it promises to bring an uncompromised amount of education to all areas we mile and point fanatics care about. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and am certain I’ll pick…
Delta Air Lines is tops with travel managers, consumer airline reviews often differ
Most airline reviews posted in the mainstream media are traveler-based specifically focusing on the opinions of the end-user. Earlier this month, Business Travel News published the results from its 14th annual Airline Survey of 716 corporate travel managers and buyers, of which 406 represent or manage the accounts of companies who spend in excess of…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: United Airlines L-1011-500
As part of the $750 million deal when United Airlines purchased Pan Am’s Pacific division in 1985, they acquired 18 of the carrier’s widebody aircraft. For this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps I’ve selected a United Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar, one the fleet types coming out of that acquisition. I’m sort of surprised at how…
The future of airline flight paths: V-shaped “flocks” of aircraft in formation
Here’s an incredible video showing how flight paths might be arranged in the future. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK proposes that aircraft enroute to their destinations fly as if they were a flock of birds in a V-shaped formation to reduce drag and improve lift. The organization states flying in such a…
Hotel review: Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront
A couple of weeks ago I attended the United Airlines Family Day event at San Francisco Airport. Instead of flying up just for the day, I spent the weekend there and booked a room at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront. I’ve stayed at a huge amount of airport hotels and this is the first…
American’s financials, Delta’s legroom, United’s new pilot rep, Google Hotel Finder and more airline & travel industry news
In other airline, hotel & travel industry news last week… An airline analyst predicts American Airlines could file bankruptcy in 2012. He points to the fact that American is “on track to lose $1.2 – $1.4 billion in 2011 and $1 – $1.3 billion in 2012.” The carrier’s cash position is also less than ideal…