Well, it looks like Ethiopian Airlines has their work cut out for them... While the US has banned cruises for the past few weeks, the reality is that there are still lots of ships out there, and most of them have hundreds of crew members onboard, and…
You wouldn't expect many airlines to be loading new flights into the schedule right now -- especially ones due to launch in just a couple of months -- but TAP Air Portugal is countering that trend. TAP is one of the fastest growing airlines out there,…
While American and United have reached agreements with their pilots for paid time off, Delta and their pilots can't seem to come to an agreement. US airlines are getting government aid, and one condition of that aid is that they can't lay off or involuntarily…
Yesterday we saw Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus announce that they'd extend current elite status for members by 12 months (and more), and now Air Canada is announcing a similar initiative. Air Canada is even getting a bit creative, so let's take…
Obviously this isn’t the time to buy miles speculatively. However, there are also lots of people planning last minute trips to get home, or planning travel way in advance, so if that applies to you, buying miles at a discount could be worth considering.…
There's not much positive news in the airline industry nowadays, though at least a new report reveals that 2019 was a very safe year for airlines. IATA has published their airline safety report for 2019. They publish this on an annual basis, and it's…
Over the past few days we've seen hotel groups start to extend status by a year, as both Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt have announced such initiatives. So far IHG Rewards Club has only reduced status requirements, though I'd guess more is coming.…
Alaska Airlines has a unique strategy for reducing their flights while also being eligible for government aid. In order to receive government aid as part of the CARES Act, US airlines have to meet a few conditions through September 30, 2020, including:…
As I've said before, I don't think there's anything wrong with planning travel way in advance, given the deals that are available. However, if you're going to do so, go into it with the expectation that the trip may not materialize, as we don't know…
Yesterday United Airlines revealed how they're more or less abandoning NYC for now (including LaGuardia and Newark), and now American Airlines has revealed how they're drastically reducing NYC flying. They'll be offering 13 daily flights to three NYC…
Singapore Changi Airport doesn't have much faith in travel demand returning to normal anytime soon. It has been announced today that Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 will be closing as of May 1, 2020, for a period of 18 months. This is in view of…
Even though there are lots of empty seats on planes right now (in both economy and first class), don't expect to see many American Airlines employees in first class for the time being. US airlines have generous travel benefits for employees, at least…
On Sunday morning it was announced that Delta SkyMiles will be extending elite status by a year, and hours later United MileagePlus matched. While the initial announcement from United was brief, we now know the full details of what United Airlines is…
Emirates has internally revealed some updates regarding how they'll staff flights, which could -- at least in theory -- see A380s operated with just four flight attendants. Emirates will be resuming some flights as of April 6, 2020. This follows the…
Recently we've seen both the US Department of Transportation and European Commission clarify that cash refunds need to be provided to passengers in the event that flights are cancelled or schedules are changed significantly. This has been a tough point…
Today at 1PM ET we'll be having our OMAAT virtual brunch, which follows all the virtual happy hours we've done recently. Even though I'm a massive introvert, it's nice to get some sort of human interaction, even if it's virtual. We've had so much fun…
At last it's time for my review of Calala Island. I never thought I'd travel to a private island off the coast of Nicaragua for vacation, but when World of Hyatt points became redeemable here, I couldn't say no. In the previous installment I shared the…
I'll keep this review relatively short, because our stay was short. Friday night we had a quick overnight in Managua, as we were arriving at around 9PM, and had to be back at the airport by 5:30AM for our flight, as we were enroute to Calala Island.…
Ford and I are spending the weekend in Nicaragua to visit Calala Island. In the past I didn't review "run of the mill" flights, though I've realized they have the potential to be useful as well, so am trying to do when it's practical. For example, I've…
Last weekend Ford and I decided we wanted to get out of town. I started looking at options on Friday morning, and a few hours later we were on a flight to Cancun for our three night stay at the Andaz Mayakoba. This is a Hyatt property I had heard a lot…
A bit over a week ago I stayed at The Ben, a brand new Marriott Autograph Collection property in West Palm Beach, Florida. For those of you not familiar with Autograph Collection, it's supposed to be Marriott's collection of luxury, independent hotels.…
After my ground experience in Manila I was extremely excited to board my Philippine Airlines flight to Toronto. So, how is Philippine Airlines' A350? Can they compete with other excellent airlines in the region, or do they still have a long way to go?…
Delta has just become the first major US airline to extend elite status by a year! And that's only one of the positive initiatives they've announced... Delta SkyMiles will be extending current Medallion status by 12 months. That means whatever status…
Ethiopian Airlines seems to be operating quite some interesting charter flights nowadays. A few days ago I wrote about how the airline operated two 777 flights from Miami to Addis Ababa, which isn't a normal route for them. This pales in comparison to…
At this point no airline capacity cuts really come as a surprise, though United's new flight reductions in the New York City area really put into perspective how far things have come. As of today (Sunday, April 5, 2020), United Airlines is temporarily…
Hello from home! I think at this point I've fully gotten into the routine of not going anywhere, and I'm kinda not totally hating it. This is the new normal. I live here (full time) now, I guess. On the points & travel front, the impacts of COVID-19…
There aren't many airlines putting effort into ads right now, but Emirates has just released a new ad called "Do you remember?" This comes at a time when Emirates' entire fleet is grounded, and global aviation is more or less shut down. This ad is brilliant,…
In the past few days, American Airlines and Citi have introduced a great new welcome bonus on the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®. I realize many people aren't looking for new travel cards at the moment, but this card does…
As reported by HuffPost, there's quite a bit of controversy at the moment surrounding how Delta Air Lines is handling COVID-19 in terms of keeping employees in the loop. First of all, the Delta division of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) reports…
Earlier this week I was pointed to a Tweet calling out the vast amount of "Unclaimed Property" that has been turned over to state treasuries for one reason or another. Apparently this can include everything from undeposited paychecks and other uncashed…
My goodness, the blog today might as well be renamed "One Refund Policy at a Time," because there's so much to talk about when it comes to flight refunds. DOT clarifies flight refund rules The US Department of Transportation has today issued an enforcement…
The German government sorta kinda seems to be siding with Lufthansa violating the EU's policies on flight refunds. The European Union has among the strictest consumer protection laws in the world, with a policy known as EC261. Just recently it was clarified…
