United Airlines has long required the purchase of at least a W-bucket fare on international flights for which a person wishes to upgrade into Business Class using a Systemwide Upgrade instrument (SWU). SWUs, for anyone that doesn’t already know, are bestowed upon 100,000-mile 1K flyers once hitting 100,000 elite qualifying miles (EQMs) in a calendar…
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Tag Archives for first class.
Review: United Airlines premium service portable media digEplayer
Earlier this year United Airlines replaced the media players handed out to first and business class passengers on their premium service (p.s.) flights between New York’s Kennedy Airport and Los Angeles/San Francisco. I’ve flown four flights now with the new players manufactured by digEcor and offer my review here. These are similar players to those…
Amenity Kit Review: United Airlines Business Class (Spring 2011)
It’s time for another amenity kit review and I’ve selected the current United Airlines Business Class kit this time around. For a better description of each category, and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introduction post here. Bag/Container: The small zippered pouch is made of a metallically plastic material and feels rather cheap…
United Airlines to keep International First Class cabins where appropriate… for now
Last week I posted about the possibility of United being close to announcing whether or not International First Class would remain on the carrier. Yesterday a report surfaced on Bloomberg quoting United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek saying “There are certain markets in which (first class) makes a lot of sense and there are others where…
United Airlines closer to announcement regarding international First Class?
One of the larger merger related unanswered questions between United Airlines and Continental Airlines is the decision on whether or not to keep a three-cabin product offering for international flights. Continental for some time has only offered a “BusinessFirst†product, a hybrid of sorts between First Class and Business Class, whereas United has maintained the…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: Continental Airlines DC-10-10 Pub Configuration
Here’s a pretty unique variation of a Douglas DC-10 Tri-Jet from the 1980s for this edition of Vintage Airline Seat Maps. Operated by Continental Airlines, this DC-10-10 was configured with two classes of service seating 22 up front and 262 in coach. Special to this bird was the lounge area commonly referred to as the…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: American Airlines Boeing 707-123
It’s time for another Vintage Airline Seat Map, and I’ve gone even more vintage than normal bringing you an American Airlines Boeing 707 (type 123) “LuxuryJet” from the 1970s. Keep in mind this was back in the days of generous seat pitch in coach, and service to match. First class seated 14 passengers in a…
Amenity Kit Review: Delta Air Lines Business Elite (Current 2011 offering)
It’s time for another Amenity Kit Review, and I’ve selected the current Delta Air Lines Business Elite offering. For a better description of each category, and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introduction post here. Bag/Container: I like it when airlines incorporate their branding & color scheme into the amenity kits, and Delta…
US Airways to upgrade express fleet, brings jobs back to the USA & asks Airbus for A321 ETOPS
Yesterday, The Cranky Flier and Henry Harteveldt tweeted updates throughout the day from a US Airways Media Day event in Phoenix. One of the larger announcements was that the carrier will be investing $35 million to upgrade their largest Express jets (Embraer 170/175s & Bombardier CRJ-700/900s) to include first class. Whereas the other major carriers…
Video: Pan Am First Class trip report Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires in 1989
I’ve had Pan Am on the mind this week ever since hearing about the possibility of new drama series coming to TV this fall. I scoured YouTube and found this gem someone posted from a trip they took in First Class from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires in 1989. My first reaction was, “Wow……