Well this flight certainly wins the "awful diversion of the day" award. Yesterday's United flight UA179 from Newark to Hong Kong is currently stranded in Goose Bay, Canada, and passengers haven't been allowed off the plane. The flight left Newark at…
Airline partnerships can be complicated, and this is especially true when it comes to redeeming miles on partner airlines. Different airlines take different approaches to releasing award space. Some airlines make more award seats available to members…
United has just revealed the details of their new employee uniforms, which they'll begin testing shortly. As customers, employee uniforms shouldn't matter to us. At least not directly. The way I see it, what's important in airline uniforms is that:
The United Polaris concept was introduced in December 2016, though the rollout was initially really slow. While they opened the Polaris Lounge Chicago as of that date, it was a few months before the first plane featured Polaris seats, and about 18 months…
Chase and United have just launched what I believe is the best ever welcome offer on the United℠ Explorer Business Card. The United Explorer Business Card is offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 MileagePlus bonus miles after spending $5,000 within three…
A few days ago I wrote about a fascinating banner that United had up regarding their corporate accounts. The most interesting details were that Apple is United's largest global customer, and they account for $150 million of United's annual revenue. Furthermore,…
As most of you are probably well aware, airlines really make their money on corporate contracts, especially with companies that require a lot of international travel in premium cabins. Airlines sell $500 transatlantic economy tickets just to help cover…
United has been gaining momentum with their Polaris Lounge concept lately. United opened their first Polaris Lounge in Chicago in December 2016, and then for nearly 18 months didn’t open another lounge, which left a lot of customers disappointed. However,…
The Private Suite LAX, which Ben reviewed in November 2017, is a fascinating concept. A private terminal operated by security specialists Gavin de Becker and Associates, the Private Suite allows you to skip LAX altogether by accessing the facility via…
For those of you who aren't up to date on this saga, in December United Airlines introduced a cookbook based on the food that they serve in Polaris. Yes, a US airline introduced a cookbook about food, and yes, apparently the irony is lost on United.…
In 2018 we’ve seen the major US airlines crack down on emotional support animals. The first airline to do this was Delta, as they announced changes, though the other major US airlines followed as well. Delta announced a second set of changes to their…
There are lots of things we can do really well in the US (like throwing the most beautiful paper towels). But for the most part we don't have terribly nice airports. That's a topic for a separate post, but if you think of US airports, there are very…
I don't actually hate you guys, but... ;) In December I wrote about how United Airlines did the unthinkable -- no, not drag a man off a plane, or cut employee bonuses and call it an exciting improvement. Rather they released a cookbook. I appreciate…
A couple of days ago we brought you some incredible Cathay Pacific first class and business class fares for travel between Vietnam and North America (which were honored), and now we're back with another incredible deal, this time for travel originating…
Online shopping portals can be a great way to pick up additional miles & points for purchases you’d make anyway. Just for following a specific link you can earn bonus points in addition to the ones you’d earn for credit card spend. The number of bonus…
United hilariously released their Polaris Cookbook a few weeks ago, because we clearly all want to replicate tasty partially-frozen paninis and other such delicacies in the comfort of our own kitchens. Joking aside, this is actually a decently organized…
United has just announced the (rough) details of their new employee bonus program, which should give you a sense of what the airline will be focused on in 2019. This past March, United announced that they would be eliminating quarterly bonuses for their…
As an introvert I love observing people. Left to my own devices I'd probably just sit somewhere watching people all day (well, in front of my laptop while blogging, of course). Yesterday I not only had some incredible people watching, but I had a front…
Over the past couple of years United has opened four Polaris Lounges, which are their new international business class lounges. These lounges are open to United and Star Alliance business and first class passengers, and they're truly spectacular, especially…
Boy, I really wish I could prepare that meal I had on United Airlines at home... ...said no one ever. Well, apparently United disagrees, as the United Shop is now selling the United Polaris Cookbook. It can be had for $29.99, and is the perfect Christmas…
Hello from San Francisco! After flying Air Tahiti Nui's 787 from Los Angeles to Tahiti, I decided to mix things up by flying United's 787 from Tahiti to San Francisco, as this is a brand new route for them (I booked this using miles, as United has opened…
