Beond Airlines will stop flying its network this summer

Beond Airlines launched operations in 2023, and it brands itself as the world’s first premium leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Dubai, but primarily operates flights to and from the Maldives. I reviewed the airline in 2024, and the onboard product was super pleasant. The airline currently has a fleet of two aircraft, including one A319 and one A321.

Anyway, the company has just announced an update to its summer schedule, which is… basically that it won’t have one. Officially, the airline has announced that it’s suspending all flights between the Maldives and Europe for summer, with service resuming in October, for the winter season.

There’s no mention of flights to the Middle East, though those services aren’t bookable through Beond’s website for summer anymore either. So based on current booking prospects, it appears that the airline is basically shutting down its regularly scheduled operations over the next several months.

For those with bookings, the airline says it’ll be in touch with customers in the next 72 hours, with flexible rebooking policies, including fee-free moves to winter, future travel within 12 months, or a full refund.

Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the airline has deleted its customer promise webpage, which used to guarantee rebooking on another airline in business class in the event a flight is canceled airline canceled, or else the airline would offer a free flight. That page is now gone, and there’s no mention of rebooking on another airline with this announcement.

So the airline will “support you every step of the way,” unless you actually want to take the vacation you booked, in which case you’re out of luck.

Could this finally be the end of Beond Airlines?

While Beond Airlines’ business plan was questionable under the best of circumstances, the current crisis makes matters worse:

• The high cost of jet fuel makes it really hard to operate flights profitably
• Beond’s business model is based on connecting the Maldives and Europe with a refueling stop in the Middle East (typically Dubai), and I can’t imagine that’s very appealing to many potential customers right now

So I feel bad for Beond, and I’m not trying to do a “told you so, I was right” thing, because these are of course exceptional circumstances. The thing that made me suspicious about Beond for so long is that the airline would repeatedly make outlandish growth announcements, only to rarely follow through on them. That’s neither here nor there, though.

What I am curious about is if Beond is really resuming operations in October, or if this might just be the end for the airline, if we’re just being realistic:

• I imagine the airline will keep trying to do lots of fundraising, by constantly promoting how it’s going to open new subsidiaries all over the world, launch dozens of new routes, etc.
• While operating flights during summer would’ve likely caused big losses, grounding planes isn’t exactly profitable either, especially when you still have to pay employees
• Oddly, Beond seems to have deleted its press release page on its website, and all of the company’s growth press releases are now gone

Only time will tell how this plays out. I’ll just politely say that if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t count on that October service resumption definitely happening…

Bottom line

All-business class airline Beond has announced that it’s suspending its flights between the Maldives and Europe for the summer season, though it appears that all flights (including to the Middle East) are cut during that period.

It’s understandable that the current situation is really challenging, between the price of jet fuel and having to refuel in the Middle East. However, I have to imagine the airline didn’t have great financial health before this whole mess started, so suspending flights for many months and then resuming flights also requires quite a bit of cash.

How do you see this playing out for Beond?

American says United merger would be bad for consumers

Several days ago, it was reported that in late February 2026, United CEO Scott Kirby approached the Trump administration about the concept of a merger with American. Kirby reportedly tried to argue that a combined airline would be a stronger competitor internationally (which I think is a really bad take, given the way joint ventures are structured, but I digress).

Such a deal would combine the world’s two largest airlines, so under normal circumstances, you’d assume there’s almost no chance of something like this getting regulatory approval. Trump is a quirky guy, though, so… who knows. It’s suggested that the White House was skeptical of such a concept, especially at a time when affordability is such an issue, ahead of the midterms.

There’s now an update, as American has gone on record as saying that it’s not interested in a merger with United, claiming it would be bad for consumers, and that it’s not consistent with the company’s understanding of the Trump administration’s approach to antirust enforcement. Specifically, here’s the statement:

We appreciate the leadership and strong support of President Trump, Secretary Duffy and numerous other leaders in the Administration who have demonstrated expertise and an ongoing commitment to continue to improve the world’s best aviation industry.

American Airlines is not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with United Airlines. While changes in the broader airline marketplace may be necessary, a combination with United would be negative for competition and for consumers, and therefore inconsistent with our understanding of the Administration’s philosophy toward the industry and principles of antitrust law. Our focus will remain on executing on our strategic objectives and positioning American to win for the long term.

We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the Administration as it takes steps to strengthen the broader airline industry.

My take on American “rejecting” United’s merger intest

I don’t think most reasonable people were expecting that a United and American merger would get regulatory approval, even under Trump. I do think American publicly stating that this is bad for consumers further closes the door on any possibility of this.

I still can’t help but be curious what was going on in Kirby’s head. He’s a smart guy, so did he just have a moment of delusion, or was he just trying to feel out Trump, to see what he’d actually be open to? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Kirby would love for it to happen, but it just seems highly unrealistic.

I tend to think Kirby has three primary things that conceptually motivate him:

• Catching up with Delta financially
• Taking revenge on and trash talking American, his former employer
• Returning to JFK in a meaningful way

I can’t imagine that Kirby actually thought such a deal would get approval, though I suspect he took the approach of “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” For that matter, suggesting an American merger and then “settling” for a JetBlue merger makes that seem much more reasonable, by comparison.

However, I also think American’s statement is worth taking note of. The airline didn’t need to make any statement about this, and it could’ve also just said that it believes a combination with United would be negative for competition and for consumers.

But the airline went on to mention how “changes in the broader airline marketplace may be necessary,” and that the carrier’s focus will remain executing on its “strategic objectives and positioning American to win for the long term.”

That’s… an interesting statement for American to volunteer. American is clearly signaling that it thinks there will be consolidation, and seems to be hinting at the possibility of it engaging in some consolidation of its own.

I think it’s going to be a very interesting several weeks. While JetBlue has a debt issue, I continue to think that we could ultimately see both American and United compete to buy JetBlue. United definitely doesn’t want American buying JetBlue, and American definitely doesn’t want United buying JetBlue (admittedly United is in a better financial situation, so…).

Bottom line

We recently learned that United CEO Scott Kirby approached the Trump administration about the concept of a merger with American. American has now responded by saying that it’s not interested in a merger with United, that it would be bad for consumers, and that the airline doesn’t think such a deal would get regulatory approval.

However, airlines are very deliberate when they issue statements on topics like this, and I can’t help but take note of the mention of how “changes in the broader airline marketplace may be necessary,” and how the airline will focus on its “strategic objectives and positioning American to win for the long term.” Is American hinting at some possible consolidation interest of its own, or…?

What do you make of American’s “rejection” of United?

American crews demand more pay for Heathrow catering mess

For several weeks now, American has had a bit of a catering problem for flights departing London Heathrow (LHR). For years, American had partnered with dnata on catering out of the airport, but American abruptly cut ties with the catering company, which is owned by the Emirates Group.

It would appear that there might have been some health safety or cleanliness concerns with the caterer, so obviously that’s a problem. What makes matters worse is how long this has dragged on, as American has struggled to fully transition caterers:

• Initially, American had to double cater all flights to London Heathrow, meaning the food for the return flight was already loaded in the US; given limited galley space, this meant meal service had to be scaled back considerably
• American then managed to get DO&CO to cater its premium cabins, given that this is what British Airways uses, and American and British Airways have a joint venture
• For whatever reason, American still doesn’t have a catering contract for economy, so economy meals continue to be double catered from the United States

Obviously this is a new service flow for the crew, and is less than ideal. I imagine American is also dealing with a lot of unhappy economy passengers, given the even worse than usual food quality (meanwhile in premium cabins, food is largely better than before).

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents American’s flight attendants, is now getting involved in this issue. The union is demanding materially more pay for flight attendants working London flights, arguing that the catering issue has increased their workload.

On Monday, April 13, 2026, the New York chapter of the APFA told members it was fighting for more pay for crews working London flights:

The current conditions have materially changed how service is executed, and the added burden, particularly from double provisioning and modified service flows, has created a significantly increased and often unpredictable workload.

There is no question that Flight Attendants working these flights are doing more work under more difficult conditions, without any corresponding adjustment to staffing or compensation, and that is not acceptable.

Then on Thursday, April 16, 2026, the Dallas Fort Worth chapter of the union informed members it had formally filed a Notice of Dispute (NOD) with management, and if that didn’t resolve anything, the airline would file a Presidential Grievance:

Following sustained advocacy and continued efforts to hold senior management accountable, the DFW Base has formally filed a Notice of Dispute (NOD). This action directly reflects the concerns raised by our members and represents a necessary step in enforcing our contractual protections.

Despite repeated engagement, the issues impacting our crews—particularly within the LHR operation—remain unresolved. As a result, we are actively advancing this dispute through the appropriate contractual channels while continuing to pursue escalation, including the filing of a Presidential Grievance if warranted.

Our position is clear:

• The ongoing catering failures in the LHR market have materially altered working conditions and significantly increased workload for our Flight Attendants.
• These operational deficiencies have required crews to perform duties well beyond the scope of standard service expectations.
• The Company has an obligation to recognize and compensate for these impacts.

We are actively advocating for:

• Meaningful and appropriate compensation for all affected Flight Attendants
• Application of understaffing pay, where contractual thresholds have been met or exceeded
• Enforcement of Red Flag pay protections, where applicable under Section 10.H
• Accountability for the operational failures that have led to these conditions

This is not simply an operational inconvenience—it is a contractual and quality-of-work-life issue that demands resolution. Our members have continued to perform at a high level under increasingly challenging circumstances, and that effort must be recognized.

I have a hard time siding with flight attendants on this topic

I have a lot of respect for the profession of flight attendants, and for the most part I think they work hard, and I wouldn’t last very long in the job, because dealing with the traveling public can’t be easy.

That being said, based on my understanding of this situation, I have a hard time not rolling my eyes at this request, and it’s one of those things where I have to acknowledge “yeah, this is why so many people don’t like unions.”

Is there a marginally increased workload with this temporary catering situation? I don’t doubt it. But they’re literally on the clock getting paid, and there’s no indication that the workload is so great that they’re not able to get their standard crew rest, or anything.

American flight attendants are very competitively paid, despite American’s uncompetitive financials. Now they want to be paid as if a flight is understaffed? And they would like Red Flag pay protections, which offers 150% pay, and is normally reserved for when scheduling desperately needs flight attendants to pick up trips?

No disrespect to American flight attendants, but on long haul flights, they seem to have a lot of time to sit in the galley (as they should, since no one expects them to work nonstop).

Also, I get this is an oversimplification and that unions are there to advocate for their members at all times, but this just seems a little tone deaf in the current environment. American is barely profitable in the first place, and the current jet fuel situation means the airline may very well lose billions. But the flight attendants want more pay, for an issue that’s seemingly outside of American’s control.

To be clear, I say none of this in defense of management either, as the company needs new leadership. But yeah, that doesn’t mean I side with the union here. Keep in mind that for flight attendants, long haul flights are among the “easiest,” in terms of efficiently racking up flight hours.

If they find the workload of a two-day London trip to be too much, I’d encourage them to instead bid on a domestic sequence lasting several days that has 12 segments, with the same number of flight hours, and they can report back on how the workload compares.

Bottom line

American has been having issues with catering at Heathrow in recent weeks, as it cut ties with its existing supplier. The transition away from that hasn’t exactly been seamless, with flights still being double catered from the United States.

The union representing flight attendants is claiming that this has “significantly increased workload” for flight attendants, and has required crews to “perform duties well beyond the scope of standard service expectations.” So they’re demanding pay as if the flight is understaffed, and/or as if it’s a premium trip they’re picking up.

While I understand this situation isn’t ideal, this seems like a step too far to me. But hey, that’s just my take.

What do you make of the APFA’s request for more pay over catering issues?

Air India pilot deported over marijuana possession

An Air India pilot has been deported from the United States after he was allegedly found to be carrying marijuana in his luggage. The pilot was traveling on official business, as he was deadheading, so he wasn’t flying the plane. He was supposed to work a flight out of San Francisco (SFO) two days later to Kolkata (CCU), as the route had been suspended for a number of days, hence the need to reposition pilots.

Given that authorities found marijuana on him, he was sent back to India on the next flight. For what it’s worth, while we had marijuana on him, he hadn’t consumed it, according to sources. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now investigating this incident. A spokesperson for the airline shared the following:

“One of our crew members travelling from Delhi to San Francisco on April 14, for positioning to operate a subsequent flight, was found to be inadmissible as per local laws and has been sent back to India. Air India maintains zero-tolerance towards any violation of the law and upholds the highest standards of safety, compliance, and professional conduct. Appropriate strict disciplinary action will be taken as per laid down company policies. Ensuring safety, as always, remains Air India’s number one priority.”

Of course the irony here is that marijuana is legal in California, including for recreational use. However, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) follows federal laws rather than state laws, which is why this is an issue.

Was this a dumb mistake, or what happened?

Let me say that I think marijuana is stigmatized way too much, and personally I think it’s better than alcohol in just about every way, if you’re looking to wind down, or whatever. A lot of people like to put all “drugs” in one category, but there’s obviously a difference between between possessing a personal amount of marijuana, vs. having a drug mule quantity of cocaine.

That being said, I can’t help but be confused here:

• Pilots are not allowed to consume marijuana at all (which I think is stupid, but that’s besides the point), and they do get drug tested, so a vast majority of pilots do follow regulations, because their careers are on the line
• If he did want to consume marijuana, he could’ve just bought it in California, given that it’s legal there

So was he actually intending to consume it during his layover, or was it somehow accidentally placed in his bag? And if it was an accident, how exactly does that happen? I can’t imagine someone would find that to be a funny joke, so was it done with malicious intent, or…? More than anything else, the big issue here is the poor judgment of traveling with marijuana as a pilot (assuming he knew he had it on him).

Bottom line

An Air India pilot flying to the United States was denied entry at SFO because marijuana was found in his bag. He was deadheading on this sector, as he was supposed to work a flight a couple of days later. However, he ended up being sent back to India on the next flight.

Pilots have to follow strict rules on drugs. But even dumber than that, if he was going to consume marijuana (not that he should, because he would put his career in jeopardy), he could’ve just bought it in California!

What do you make of this Air India pilot marijuaan story?

There’s now a major update, as the FAA has finalized just how many flights will have to be cut. This is going to have some major impacts on the battle we’re currently seeing at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD), between American and United….

Chicago O’Hare flights will be reduced by 12% this summer

Recently, we’ve seen both American and United add a lot of capacity in Chicago, and this is part of a battle between the two companies. Both airlines have a hub in Chicago, but United has taken the lead (by far) in recent years, and now American is trying to regain some market share. So in reality, we’re just seeing a lot of capacity dumping in Chicago over the coming months (and a lot of smack talk!).

In light of all of this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just finalized an order to force schedule reductions at Chicago O’Hare, which will apply for much of the the IATA summer 2026 season (which goes from late March until late October).

To what extent should we expect flight cuts? Going back a couple of months, there were 3,080 planned peak day operations at the airport in summer, compared to 2,680 peak day operations during the same period in 2025. The FAA believes that this “increase is significant and would stress the runway, terminal, and air traffic control systems at the airport.”

So the FAA has now finalized an order, which will go into effect for flights between May 17 and October 24, 2026. With this, we’ll see 2,708 daily peak day operations be the cap for the airport. That represents a roughly 12% capacity reduction compared to what was initially planned, so expect lots of flights to be cut, primarily impacting American and United.

Operations will be allocated to air carriers in proportion based on their share of operations from last summer. Even last summer didn’t go smoothly at the airport, with a massive number of delays.

The idea is that the FAA will issue limitations to airlines in 30-minute increments. These half-hour limitations will range from 30 operations per half-hour during low demand periods, to 84 operations per half-hour at peak periods. Why the inconsistency? ATC staffing requirements and runway configuration changes require there to be certain “valleys,” for a period to safely transition throughout a day.

With the current price of jet fuel, I can’t help but wonder if airlines may have been forced to cut some capacity on their own, but I guess this settles it…

Is this good news for American and/or United?

The whole reason that American and United are now battling so fiercely in Chicago is because of the airport’s gate allocation process. Airlines are allocated gates in the future based on historical usage, so both airlines have been trying to flood the market, so that they don’t lose market share to the other airline.

In theory, this battle between the two airlines is good for consumers, in terms of added capacity leading to lower fares. However, what would’ve been significantly less pleasant is the impact to on-time performance at the airport. Chicago O’Hare can be a bit of a mess on a good day (especially in terms of taxiway congestion), and with such an increase in service, it was going to get bad.

So, is this update good or bad news for American and United? I suppose it depends how you look at it. In some ways, it’s good for both American and United, since odds are that this incremental flying was going to be extremely unprofitable, so it’s helpful that they’re being forced to decrease service.

Now, if airlines could fly their full, planned Chicago schedules, I think it would’ve been worse for American than United. While both airlines would’ve likely lost money on this flying, American is in a much worse position, and it would’ve made a weak competitor even weaker.

I suppose with route cuts being proportionate to 2025 flying, this basically leaves both airlines in the same position they were in before this whole battle started, meaning neither airlines is growing market share relative to their competitor.

Bottom line

The FAA has finalized its plans to restrict flights at Chicago O’Hare Airport over the coming summer months, given the amount of capacity that we’ve seen added in recent times, by both American and United. While the airport was initially supposed to see 3,080 daily peak day departures, that cap has been lowered by 12%, to 2,708 daily peak day departures.

Given the gate allocation process in Chicago, this leaves the competitive dynamics in Chicago pretty unchanged.

What do you make of the FAA’s decision to cut flights in Chicago?

United now offering free Wi-Fi on Viasat & Panasonic jets?

United Airlines is currently aggressively rolling out free Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet, and installation is supposed to be complete by the end of 2027. Starlink is an absolute game changer in terms of the speeds that it can offer.

The issue, of course, is that Starlink isn’t yet available on most planes. So those traveling on non-Starlink aircraft have been not only dealing with slower Wi-Fi speeds, but they’ve also had to pay for the service.

While there hasn’t yet been any sort of an official announcement, it appears that United may quietly be rolling out free Wi-Fi at the moment, across the board? Many people on Reddit report that Wi-Fi is now free on most United flights, including those operated by planes with Panasonic and Viasat Wi-Fi, so this includes many long haul flights as well (thanks to View from the Wing for flagging this).

There has been no announcement so far, and there are also some counterpoints (since it’s typically not “switched on” for all aircraft instantly). However, a vast majority of data points suggest that Wi-Fi has been free since yesterday.

This isn’t necessarily promoted in the way you expect. Instead, when you log into your MileagePlus account in the Wi-Fi portal, you may be given the option to connect at no cost. This seems to be unrelated to elite status or the class of service people are traveling in. So we’ll see how this goes, but it sounds like at least a majority of people are reporting seeing this.

Interestingly, it seems like free Wi-Fi is being turned on at the same time that the T-Mobile Wi-Fi benefit on United is being discontinued.

Free Wi-Fi on more aircraft is great news, mostly!

If United does in fact turn on free Wi-Fi throughout its fleet, that’ll be quite the game changer for the airline, as Delta’s competitive advantage for Wi-Fi continues to decrease, and arguably even go away.

Admittedly free Wi-Fi — especially on non-Starlink aircraft — is a double-edged sword. Nobody wants to pay for something, but when bandwidth is limited, you very much have a supply and demand issue. Is it better for those who really value Wi-Fi to be able to pay $8-10 to limit use of others, or is it better if everyone gets free but (likely) very slow Wi-Fi?

United really is going from worst to first with Wi-Fi, even though it’s a process. By late 2027, United should have Starlink Wi-Fi on all planes, while Delta won’t have next generation Wi-Fi on a single plane (Delta plans to introduce Amazon’s new Leo Wi-Fi, which will go live at some point in 2028, absolute best case scenario). And while I’m sure someone will be by shortly to suggest that Viasat is “high speed,” there’s simply zero comparison between that and Starlink.

Bottom line

While we’ll see how this plays out, many reports suggest that United is now offering free Wi-Fi even on planes without Starlink Wi-Fi, like those with Panasonic and Viasat. With American and Delta both offering free Wi-Fi on most aircraft, this is a major development for United. The challenge is that with limited bandwidth and an increase in use, you can also expect speeds to get worse.

If this free Wi-Fi does in fact stick around, that’s very exciting. But most exciting is what’s down the road, when all United planes have Starlink Wi-Fi.

What do you make of this United Wi-Fi development? If you’ve flown United since yesterday, were you offered free Wi-Fi when logging in?

We’ve seen some airlines reduce capacity in light of the current situation, since it’s hard to fly profitably. However, we haven’t seen any airlines go quite as far as what we’re seeing in Nigeria, where the country is potentially days from having zero domestic flights… if airlines are to be believed.

Nigerian airlines may shut down on April 20, 2026

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), an industry body made up of around a dozen Nigerian airlines, has warned that airlines will be suspending all domestic flight operations from April 20, 2026, unless jet fuel prices go down.

The organization claims that jet fuel prices have increased by around 270% since late February 2026. The price of a liter of jet fuel has reportedly increased from around ₦900 ($0.67) to around ₦3,300 ($2.46). Nigeria’s aviation sector consumees around 2.1 million liters of jet fuel per day. Just to do some basic math, there are around four liters per gallon, so airlines in Nigeria are paying close to $10 per gallon of jet fuel. Yowzers.

The claim is that the Major Energies ​Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) has been artificially inflating the cost of jet fuel, at a time when some relief should be provided. The lobbying group argues that “airline revenues are insufficient to cover the cost ​of fuel alone.”

MEMAN disputes AON’s claims, arguing that the quoted prices are 40% above a survey-based market average, and also defended itself by arguing that jet fuel distribution requires specialized equipment and handling that makes it more cost intensive.

Airlines in Nigeria have raised fares to try to recoup some of the added expenses, though that then impacts demand. If you raise fares significantly but demand also decreases, that’s not a great situation either.

Are Nigerian airlines bluffing or serious about grounding?

Of course the current jet fuel situation is a total mess for airlines, as they’re in an unenviable spot. It’s natural that airlines would try to reduce capacity as much as possible, but the economics there are also complicated. Airlines have some high fixed costs as well, so it’s not like shutting down operations means that all of the costs go away.

I have a very hard time imagining that all airlines in Nigeria will just suspend flights overnight, as I think that’s highly unlikely. Instead, I suspect this is them just trying to collectively apply some pressure to get regulators to take some action to reduce the cost of jet fuel.

We’ll see if anything comes of this, but having a country suspend all domestic flights would be quite something. Who knows, maybe they will suspend flights for a couple of days, as that’s certainly a way to get regulators to pay attention.

Bottom line

Airlines in Nigeria are threatening to shut down all domestic flight operations as of April 20, 2026. An organization representing airlines in the country claims that Nigerian carriers are paying close to $10 per gallon of fuel, and that simply isn’t sustainable.

While I of course understand and agree that this is a problem, I’m not sure shutting down all flights is the solution either. It seems to me that airlines are trying to apply pressure to the government to give some relif with jet fuel prices.

What do you make of this threat from Nigerian airlines? Do you think they’re serious or bluffing?

Traveler takes taxi for 425-mile journey after flight cancels

German website PNP reports on a fascinating court decision about EC261 compensation (thanks to Klaus for flagging this). The origin of this dates back to late 2024, when a 32-year-old living in Munich was scheduled to fly on KLM from Munich (MUC) to Amsterdam (AMS) to Paris (CDG).

The backstory here is fun. His plan was to spend one night in Paris, and then to fly the following morning on a separately booked ticket on Air Europa from Paris to Madrid (MAD). He was taking these flights on SkyTeam airlines because he was participating the SAS EuroBonus million mile challenge.

Unfortunately his travel plans quickly fell apart. First his flight to Amsterdam was canceled, so he was rebooked to Paris via Berlin (BER), but then that was canceled as well. Then he was rebooked via Vienna (VIE), but the second flight ended up being canceled. So it became increasingly unlikely that he’d be able to make it to Paris in time for his flight the next day.

He researched options, but they were limited. There were no more flights to Munich, and trains and buses weren’t options either, because it was too late in the day. So as he saw it, the only option was to drive. He tried to find the most economical option by reaching out to multiple car services, but ultimately the cheapest cost he could find was a staggering €3,300 (around $3,900), via a taxi.

So he ended up in the back of a car for around nine hours overnight, only to make it to Paris just 90 minutes before the Air Europa flight to Madrid. So that doesn’t sound like a very restful night!

This situation resulted in a drawn out reimbursement travel

After the trip, the traveler reached out to Air France (that’s what the story claims — perhaps it’s referring to Air France-KLM more broadly, since KLM flies between Munich and Amsterdam). He requested the €250 cash compensation that’s due with EC261 when you arrive at your destination hours late, and he also requested reimbursement for the cost of the taxi ride. The airline denied both claims.

So his response was to take the airline to court. He argues he did nothing wrong, he left a buffer, and ultimately he pursued the only option that would get him to his destination in time.

EC261 requires airlines to rebook you on the next available flight, or reimburse you for alternative transportation. This is where courts ultimately decide what’s considered reasonable, since it’s not spelled out in regulations otherwise.

A lower court initially ruled that the airline wasn’t responsible for reimbursing the traveler for these costs, while a higher court did not share the lower court’s view, and sided with the traveler. It’s worth noting that this traveler used attorney Dr. Böse, who is known for litigating EC261 cases.

As Böse explained, “the airline did not offer a suitable alternative in terms of timing,” and “especially with such high potential losses, that’s simply unacceptable.” He also said that “given the high costs of replacement transportation, this is, in a sense, a precedent,” and “this is therefore a good and important decision for all consumers.”

While the airline reportedly tried to appeal the decision, months later, the traveler finally received what he was expecting, and the airline also had to cover the legal and court costs.

I’m not sure I have a terribly strong take here, other than finding this to be fascinating:

• On the one hand, this guy didn’t do anything wrong, he just wanted to get to his destination within a reasonable timeframe, and I can’t imagine an overnight taxi ride was enjoyable; it does seem like he tried to look at all other options, and this was one of the only ways for him to get there (it’s interesting rental cars are never mentioned)
• On the other hand, this is obviously an absurdly expensive way to get somewhere, and one wonders what the limits would be here; if your transatlantic flight cancels and there are no other options, should you be able to charter a private jet and have that reimbursed?

Ultimately this is what happens when you have an open-ended policy with no stated limits, and it’s up to courts to decide what’s a reasonable method to get to a destination with as little delay as possible. Does the fact that he had non-refundable tickets booked for the next day then justify the urgency, even at such a high cost?

Bottom line

EC261 regulations provide great passenger protections in the European Union. There are often court cases that explore the limits of this scheme, and we recently saw what I think is one of the most interesting such cases in a long time.

A traveler had a flight from Munich to Paris canceled, and he needed to be there by the next morning to catch another flight. With no alternatives, he spent around $3,900 on an overnight taxi ride, which I can’t imagine was pleasant.

He requested reimbursement from the airline, but was initially denied. After going through a legal process and a lower court ruling being overturned, the airline was ultimately forced to reimburse him for the expenses, as well as for court costs and legal fees.

What do you make of this court case?

In a separate post, I’ve already covered how the airline group has shut down its Lufthansa CityLine subsidiary with no notice, which is a major move. That’s only one of the changes we’re seeing, though, as the company has also announced updates to its long haul fleet.

Lufthansa grounding A340s & 747s after summer

Lufthansa plans to reduce its long haul capacity by a total of six aircraft at the end of the summer flight schedule:

• The last four remaining Airbus A340-600s will be retired in October 2026, bringing a definitive end to the jet at the airline; the A340-600 has first class, and it’s a plane that was supposed to be retired in 2027 anyway, so that’s not so radical
• Two Boeing 747-400s will be grounded in October 2026, with the final farewell for the aircraft planned for 2027; the airline currently has eight of these in its fleet, and those are separate from the 747-8s that are sticking around for years to come

In light of the current reality, I’m a bit surprised the airline is waiting until after summer to ground these planes. I guess summer demand is too lucrative, and remains strong. Frankly I’d be surprised if the 747-400s ever fly again, after they’re grounded. They’re really going to just be grounded and not retired, and then brought back briefly, before permanently being retired in 2027? Hmmm…

Discover Airlines is getting more Airbus A350s

Here’s the other interesting news, which the airline group is being vague about. In terms of “medium-term fleet planning,” the company has announced that nine additional Airbus A350s will be allocated to Discover Airlines, which is Lufthansa’s low cost, long haul subsidiary.

Historically, Discover has primarily operated A330s, though recently it was announced that the airline will be getting four A350-900s in 2027. The idea is that the ex-Philippine Airlines A350s (with unique interiors) that Lufthansa is currently flying will be going to Discover, as Lufthansa takes delivery of more new long haul aircraft.

But now it has been announced that nine more A350s will go to Discover. It’s not clear if these are existing Lufthansa A350s or newly delivered ones that haven’t yet been allocated to the airline. I’d assume it’s the former, and that Discover gets used A350s with the carrier’s older cabins.

What’s going on here is pretty clear:

• Lufthansa Group wants to operate as many flights with the non-Lufthansa brand as possible, given that Lufthansa is Lufthansa Group’s lowest margin subsidiary
• So we can expect more long haul routes to be taken over by Discover, on behalf of Lufthansa
• This announcement is just really vague and doesn’t address any short term issues, so I feel like Lufthansa is partly announcing this just to send a message to employees who are on strike, about how their flying will increasingly be replaced by lower cost subsidiaries

Bottom line

Lufthansa is taking action in light of higher oil prices and labor issues. While the biggest news is the sudden shutdown of Lufthansa CityLine, there are also major updates to Lufthansa’s long haul operations. After the summer, the airline will retire its remaining A340-600s, and ground two 747-400s, only to then retire the entire 747-400 fleet in 2027.

The other big news is that Lufthansa’s low cost subsidiary is getting nine more A350-900s, though details beyond that remain limited. It’s hard to imagine this isn’t related to labor issues and sending a message to mainline employees about their reduced future flying prospects…

What do you make of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet updates?

In the case of Lufthansa, that’s hardly the carrier’s only problem, as it also has major labor relations issues, and between pilots and flight attendants, the airline is (mostly) grounded for five straight days, with no end to the dispute in sight.

Anyway, Lufthansa is taking decisive action, seemingly both to go into “emergency” mode in light of oil prices, but also to send a message to employees as labor issues rage on.

Lufthansa CityLine subsidiary shutting down shortly

CityLine is one of Lufthansa’s regional subsidiaries, and the intent is that the airline operates feeder flights for Lufthansa, primarily from Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC). The airline has a fleet of over two dozen planes, consisting primarily of Canadair CRJ-900s, but also of Airbus A319s.

While the plan had been for CityLine to shut down in 2027, the airline has moved forward that timeline significantly. As Lufthansa describes this, “in view of significantly increased kerosene prices, which have more than doubled compared to the period before the Iran war, as well as rising additional burdens from labor disputes, the implementation of the corporate strategy is being partially accelerated.”

As a first and immediate step, all Lufthansa CityLine planes will be “permanently removed from the flight program” as of Saturday, April 18, 2026. This is being done “in order to reduce further losses of the loss-making airline.” The airline explains that the CRJ-900s are “nearing the end of their technical operational capability and have comparatively high operating costs.”

Lufthansa claims that “discussions will be initiated with the employee representatives of Lufthansa CityLine GmbH regarding a reconciliation of interests and social plan.” All employees will be laid off, and Lufthansa emphasizes how CityLine employees have been offered jobs at other Lufthansa subsidiaries in the past (obviously with different, and probably lower, pay).

Lufthansa CityLine was supposed to end operations in 2027

Make no mistake, grounding a large fleet of jets that provide feed for Lufthansa’s network will have an impact on the operation, especially given how last minute this is. Lufthansa Group won’t have the capacity to cover all existing service with other aircraft, so expect some flight cancelations, with some routes possibly being cut, and definitely some frequency reductions.

The thought of just shutting down a subsidiary seems wild, but I think context is important here. Prior to this, the plan was to shut down Lufthansa CityLine in 2027, and largely replace it with a new feeder airline, Lufthansa City Airlines.

Wait, why would the airline group just shut down one subsidiary, and replace it with another? Well, that’s sort of Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr’s specialty. 😉 The slightly longer answer is that unions in Europe are strong and it’s quite easy for employees to go on strike (as we’re seeing now, and unlike in the United States), so when Lufthansa isn’t happy with the cost structure at one subsidiary, it just shuts it down and starts a new one.

Ultimately Lufthansa is just moving this forward by a year or so, which perhaps isn’t the craziest strategy when you consider the current reality. However, to shut down a subsidiary nearly overnight isn’t something you often see. This is clearly also a big middle finger to labor at CityLine, but then again, that’s nothing new.

Bottom line

Lufthansa has made the decision to shut down its CityLine subsidiary, and tomorrow will be its last day operating. This of course comes as a shock, since many people have tickets booked on this airline, only to likely soon find out their flight is canceled.

Lufthansa CityLine was supposed to shut down in 2027 and be replaced by Lufthansa City, but between high oil prices and the labor dispute, this timeline has all been moved forward.

What do you make of Lufthansa CityLine shutting down?

LATAM plans new narrow body business class suites

LATAM has at least 13 Airbus A321XLRs are on order, which are expected to be delivered starting in 2027. The A321XLR is the new long range, narrow body aircraft from Airbus, which stretches the capabilities of the A321 family.

The airline intends to use these planes to open up new long haul markets, though it’s not yet clear out of which LATAM hubs the planes will fly. I suspect these planes will primarily be used for service to North America, or possibly for service from secondary cities in Brazil to Europe. Officially, for now the airline just claims these planes will be used to “strengthen connectivity between South America and more distant destinations.”

Once the airline does take delivery of these A321XLRs, we can expect an all-new long haul passenger experience from the airline. The airline plans to configure these planes with more than 170 seats in a two-cabin layout, with business class and premium economy. Business class will feature the Thompson Aero VantageSOLO product, while economy will feature the Recaro R3 seats.

In business class, this is a herringbone product (in a 1-1 configuration) with direct aisle access and doors. The airline will offer seat back entertainment throughout the aircraft, along with upgraded Wi-Fi and bluetooth audio. Based on the renderings, it appears business class will have 12 seats, spread across six rows.

Here’s how Paulo Miranda, LATAM’s Chief Expereince and Customer Officer, describes this:

“The Airbus A321XLR allows us to take our value proposition to the next level and elevate the travel experience for our passengers. We are introducing a Premium Business cabin on single-aisle aircraft, with long-haul standards of comfort, connectivity and privacy, and a design inspired by South America. This allows us to offer more travel options, strengthen our network, and deliver a more consistent experience for our passengers.

The A321XLR onboard experience is pretty predictable

The A321XLR is impressive for its range, and it’s understandable that the economics of such a small plane for long haul flying can be challenging. As a result, we’re really seeing airlines try to maximize capacity as much as possible, and this is also leading to so many airlines having very similar premium products on planes.

LATAM will have herringbone seats on the A321XLR, just like… well, all current operators that use this primarily as a long haul aircraft, with the exception of Aer Lingus.

For those keeping track at home, the Thompson Aero VantageSOLO product is what you’ll find in JetBlue’s Mint business class on select A321neo/LR aircraft, and it’s also what you’ll find in Iberia’s A321XLR business class.

While American’s A321XLR business class looks similar, it’s based on the Collins Aerospace Aurora seating platform, and that’s also what Air Canada has selected.

Admittedly these planes all have better business class products than we found on long haul Boeing 757s years ago (the most direct replacement), and the tech is also greatly updated. That being said, as a passenger experience geek, this sure is a boring plane… “you get a herringbone seat, you get a herringbone seat, you get a herringbone seat, everyone gets a herringbone seat!”

While not quite A321XLRs, credit to ITA Airways’ A321neo business class and Etihad’s A321LR business class for having reverse herringbone seats.

Bottom line

In 2027, LATAM expects to start taking delivery of the Airbus A321XLR, which the airline plans to use to grow into new markets. The airline has now revealed what we can expect onboard these planes, and it includes herringbone seats with direct aisle access and doors in business class.

Ultimately the cabin looks sleek, and it’s cool to see this in South America, where no other airline is currently offering such an experience. But still, it’s hard to get too excited when so many airlines are introducing a similar product.

LATAM in general deserves credit for the extent to which it’s elevating the passenger experience in Latin America, as we’ve seen the airline introduce two new wide body business class products over the past several years.

What do you make of LATAM’s new A321XLR business class?

Jumeirah’s Burj Al Arab undergoing 18-month refresh

The Burj Al Arab Dubai is the crown jewel of UAE-based Jumeirah’s portfolio, and it’s easily one of the world’s most recognizable hotels. It’s often referred to as the world’s only seven-star hotel (that’s of course not a “thing,” and for the record, the hotel doesn’t make this claim, but instead, others do). The 202-suite property opened back in 1999, and up until now, it hasn’t actually been fully renovated — that will finally be changing.

It has just been announced that this hotel will be closing effective immediately for around 18 months, so that it can undergo a full renovation. As it’s described, this will be a “carefully phased and thoughtful restoration programme, designed to safeguard its legacy for generations to come,” and “the conservation of the architectural masterpiece will see its distinctive interior décor enhanced with the same attention to detail as preserving a work of art.”

The renovation will be led by interior architect Tristan Auer, with a mission to preserve Burj Al Arab’s cultural essence, while modernizing it a bit. Here’s how Jumeirah’s CEO, Thomas Meier, describes this project:

“Jumeirah Burj Al Arab is far more than an architectural landmark; it is a symbol of ambition, craftsmanship and enduring excellence. For the last 27 years, this exceptional property has served guests with the same passion and world-class standards that distinguish it from any other hotel in the world.  This restoration programme marks a new chapter in the story of Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, one that will carefully preserve the heritage of what is currently the sole property in our Jumeirah limited-edition collection of iconic landmark addresses defined by design distinction and prestige.”

To state the obvious, Dubai is currently seeing a massive decline in tourism in light of the current conflict, so this renovation seems very well timed. If you have the cash, you might as well invest the money in updating a property when the opportunity cost is the lowest (I know this is something many hotels wish they did at the start of the pandemic).

It’s pretty clear that the decision for this renovation was made pretty suddenly, so one wonders how much that’s causing the process to be drawn out, since there’s a long lead time for this kind of work. The hotel was hit by an Iranian drone a few weeks back, which did cause a fire. However, I don’t believe that’s the core reason for the closure here.

I can’t wait to see the vision for the new Burj Al Arab!

In 2023 I stayed at the Burj Al Arab. Prior to my stay, I was sort of expecting to be disappointed, as I was thinking it was going to be style over substance, and that it wouldn’t actually be a great hospitality experience, since the hotel doesn’t really have to try.

So I must admit, I was very impressed by the experience. While it’s expensive, this is an incredible hotel. Furthermore, all accommodations are duplex suites, and are absolutely massive. So in terms of price per square foot of room, this place is actually quite reasonably priced.

That being said, during my stay, I couldn’t help but think “OMG this place needs a renovation.” It’s honestly so outdated and gaudy that it’s charming. Then again, I guess this is a style that many people like.

I’m curious to see what they can come up with here, because clearly the intent is to maintain the same essence while modernizing. This isn’t necessarily an easy style to update, so…

Bottom line

The Burj Al Arab Dubai has just closed, and is now undergoing a roughly 18-month renovation, which is the first time in its history that this kind of work has been done. With tourism to Dubai way down at the moment in light of the Iran conflict, this seems like an ideal time to shut down and put in the work, in hopes of things looking better in late 2027(ish).

What are you expecting from the makeover of the Burj Al Arab?

Philippine Airlines plans Chicago flights as of late 2026

As of November 9, 2026, Philippine Airlines plans to launch 3x weekly nonstop flights between Manila (MNL) and Chicago (ORD). At 8,132 miles, this will be an ultra long haul flight, probably around the 25th longest flight in the world. The new service will operate with the following schedule:

PR132 Manila to Chicago departing 4:40PM arriving 4:45PM
PR133 Chicago to Manila departing 10:45PM arriving 5:25AM (+2 days)

The route will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in both directions, and is blocked at 14hr15min to the United States, and a whopping 16hr40min to the Philippines. The airline will use an Airbus A350-900 for the route, featuring 295 seats. This includes 30 business class seats (I’ve reviewed this product), 24 premium economy seats, and 241 economy seats.

Flights are already on sale. Several weeks back we had a sense this route was coming, when the airline filed with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to request regulatory approval for this service.

Here’s how Philippine Airlines President Richard Nuttall describes this service:

“Chicago is considered one of the premier hubs in the United States, and our entry into this vibrant city will provide direct connectivity to the Midwest. At the same time, serving the Chicago–Manila corridor will create vital links to key regional destinations and major Philippine domestic markets through our Manila hub.”

How Chicago fits into Philippine Airlines’ route network

For context, currently Philippine Airlines’ destinations in the United States include Guam (GUM), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Saipan (SPN), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA). Seattle is the newest gateway, with that route having launched in late 2024.

Philippine Airlines has been through quite the transformation in recent years. In 2021, the airline filed for bankruptcy protection, and significantly shrunk its fleet, given the impacts of the pandemic. Then in 2023, the airline placed an order for nine Airbus A350-1000s, just shortly after dumping some of its existing Airbus A350-900s. Those planes are now joining the fleet, so I imagine that growth is what enables new routes like this one.

Philippine Airlines doesn’t belong to any major global alliance. Instead, the airline (obviously) serves the local market in the Philippines, but also often has attractive fares across the Pacific, for those connecting to elsewhere.

In terms of the size of the Filipino population, Chicago ranks seventh(ish) among US cities, after Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, San Diego, and Las Vegas. As you can see, the top four cities are all served by the airline. Meanwhile the airline used to fly to Las Vegas as a tag flight from the Vancouver service, but that doesn’t operate anymore.

Bottom line

As of November 2026, Philippine Airlines intends to launch nonstop flights between Manila and Chicago, and flights are now on sale. This complements the existing US mainland destinations of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle, and it seems like a logical enough place for the airline to expand to. With the new A350-1000s that the airline is acquiring, there’s also a bit more room to grow (though this route will be operated by an A350-900).

What do you make of Philippine Airlines adding Chicago flights?

One of Korean Air’s biggest projects has involved expanding and renovating its lounge portfolio at its Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) Terminal 2 hub. As the very final piece of this puzzle, the airline has just revealed its new first class lounge, which is opening shortly. It’s a massive improvement over the old facility, though I’m not sure what exactly to make of it.

Korean Air opens big new first class lounge at Incheon

Korean Air’s new first class lounge at Incheon is opening as of Friday, April 17, 2026, and it’s described as a “home away from home,” with new facilities that prioritize passenger experience.

The new lounge is 921 square meters (9,914 square feet), so it’s 2.3x bigger than the old lounge facility. That’s awesome! The space is divided into an open hall and 11 private suites, allowing passengers to relax in a secluded environment before boarding.

As it’s described, the interior draws inspiration from traditional Korean architecture, utilizing wood pillars, beams, and ramie (mosi) textures. Key features of the new lounge include:

• A la carte dining, with Christofle cutlery, Bernardaud porcelain, Baccarat and Riedel glassware, white porcelain by Lee Ki-jo, and brassware by Lee Hyung-geun
• An art collection, featuring works of art from artist Anish Kapoor, along with Korean artists like Kim Young-joo, Lee Bae, Yoo Bong-sang, and Chae Sung-pil
• A wellness zone with massage chairs and shower suites

This lounge is a huge improvement, but I’m conflicted

I reviewed the old Korean Air First Lounge Incheon, and honestly, it kind of sucked for an international first class lounge. It was super sterile, had limited amenities, and I just found the vibe to be off. So by comparison, the new lounge looks like a massive improvement.

I am a bit surprised to see the lounge more than doubling in size, given that I’ve found this lounge is typically very quiet, and usually has maybe half a dozen guests at most. I know Korean Air plans to eventually introduce a new first class product, but beyond that, it seems the carrier’s overall first class footprint is shrinking rather than growing.

I suppose much of that extra space is needed simply to facilitate all the private suites that will be offered, since first class passengers will be invited to hang out in those.

With that out of the way, I’m still a bit conflicted on the new lounge. Yes, it’s a huge improvement over the old facility. Yes, I like the option of having a private suite, and that’s a feature that’s unique to Korean Air, as there’s not another airline that offers private suites in that way (it’s also smart because it makes sense with Korean culture, where these kinds of private rooms are more common).

However, it seems that despite the lounge more than doubling in size, there’s not much of a “wow” factor that has been added, or anything. The lounge will basically be a nice place to quietly wait for your flight, which… I guess is what lounges are for, at their core.

Bottom line

Korean Air is finally opening its new first class lounge at Incheon Airport. It’s more than double the size of the old lounge, and it also has 11 private suites, which first class passengers will be invited to hang out in. That’s the main feature that’s unique to the lounge, and it’s not something we’ve seen any other airline do to this extent. I look forward to checking out this facility!

What do you make of Korean Air’s new flagship first class lounge?

Spirit Airlines reportedly may be days from liquidation

Bloomberg reports that Spirit Airlines could liquidate as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. For context, Spirit is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which it has now entered into twice within the past couple of years.

The ultra low cost carrier has had a very rough several years, as it has lost billions of dollars since the start of the pandemic, as the industry has evolved, and as it has gone through a failed merger with JetBlue.

As recently as mid-March 2026, Spirit insisted that it was planning on emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the coming months, by early summer. Even before the massive spike in oil prices, I couldn’t really make sense of that plan, since Spirit’s margins are among the worst in the industry, based on what we know, and that’s before factoring in the impact of a hike in fuel prices.

For that matter, Spirit’s turnaround plan is basically to shrink into profitability, which isn’t a great strategy when you’re trying to compete on cost (since growth contributes to better unit costs).

So we’ll see how this plays out, but liquidating within days is a very different narrative than emerging from bankruptcy shortly. I imagine that Spirit’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy was marginal at best, and high oil prices certainly don’t help.

While it’s entirely possible the airline doesn’t liquidate in the coming days, the fact that a reliable media source is reporting that it could happen within days suggests to me that it’s likely imminent. In fairness, we’ve heard rumors of Spirit liquidation before.

It would be sad to see Spirit disappear, but…

Fundamentally the US airline industry is kind of backwards, when you consider that the successful airlines aren’t those that fly passengers with good margins, but instead, the airlines that successfully cash in on their loyalty programs.

Spirit has for so long gotten the short end of the stick, and has had an unfairly negative reputation, when for the most part it has very friendly staff. I hate the thought of anyone losing their livelihood. That being said:

• Spirit just doesn’t have a business model that works in 2026, and keeping an uncompetitive airline alive only works for so long
• If Spirit goes out of business, at least it maybe improves the prospects of some other airlines, like JetBlue, staying in business, given their overlapping markets (and JetBlue could use some help right now)

In hindsight, it’s easy to look at Spirit and say “ugh, it shouldn’t have all happened that way.” But alas, this is where we are, and we have to be realistic about the situation.

Bottom line

While we’ll see what comes of this, reports suggest that Spirit Airlines could be just days (or hours) from liquidating, as it grapples with the reality of the current oil price situation. Spirit is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy (for the second time in a short period), and while the plan has been to emerge from bankruptcy in early summer, the Iran situation threw a wrench in that (and I question how realistic the plan was in the first place).

What do you make of the prospects of Spirit shutting down?

So while everyone has their own opinion, here’s another interesting one to consider. JetBlue’s founder (who hasn’t worked at the airline since 2008) was asked about the company’s future, and he wasn’t very optimistic.

David Neeleman is pessimistic about JetBlue’s future

JonNYC flags how yesterday (April 14, 2026), David Neeleman was asked by pilots at Breeze about JetBlue’s future. That might seem confusing on the surface, but it’s important to understand that Neeleman is a serial airline entrepreneur. He was the founder of JetBlue, he’s the founder of Breeze, and he has been involved in several other airlines as well (Azul, WestJet, etc.).

Let me again emphasize he hasn’t been involved with JetBlue in nearly 20 years, so this shouldn’t be misconstrued as JetBlue’s current executives going with this narrative. So with all the talk of a possible merger involving JetBlue, what is Neeleman’s take? Here’s roughly what he said (I just got rid of some filler words):

JetBlue’s in a really tough spot. I think I told you this last week, but when Jamie Baker, who is an analyst for JP Morgan, came out with his estimates for all the airlines based on $4.50 fuel, it showed JetBlue losing $1.3 billion this year. That would probably put them into bankruptcy, I would assume.

That would also take them to $9 billion in debt. Today they’re paying over $600 million in interest on that debt, and that would take it up to $800 million of interest.

There’s some thought out there that United is just doing this with American to clear the decks to buy JetBlue, but I know it from a pretty good source inside of United that they’re concerned about JetBlue’s debt, and they’re not really interested in taking on that.

So I think JetBlue has very few options. I don’t think Southwest is interested in them, I know Alaska isn’t, United is concerned about the debt. Obviously if Spirit went under and fuel went back to under $2.50, they were just with their nose above the water, they doubled down in Fort Lauderdale, they really want to make that work.

I want nothing but the best for JetBlue, but they’re in a very tough position right now.

What I think Neeleman is overlooking in his analysis

No shade, but Neeleman has a very mixed track record. He’s obviously a bright guy in the scheme of things, but I also think he gets a lot of things wrong.

On this topic, broadly he’s correct. JetBlue has a lot of debt, and ideally no airline would want to take that on. But I also think what Neeleman’s theory overlooks is the unique regulatory environment that we’re in.

Forget my opinion, it’s pretty clear that many airline executives believe that now is the time for consolidation, and the clock is ticking, and any deal would have the best odds of approval before the midterms. While not specific to JetBlue, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has gone on record as saying that he thinks we’ll see multiple airline mergers in the near future.

Some might say “well JetBlue should shed some debt in Chapter 11 bankruptcy first, and then it’ll be a more attractive acquisition target.” Sure, that’s true in theory, but again, it ignores the timeline factor. That would push a deal way down the road.

We’re also in a unique period competitively, as American struggles to figure out its place, and United desperately tries to catch up with Delta in terms of financial performance. If there were ever a time to “go big or go home,” this would be it.

Sure, taking on billions in debt isn’t ideal, but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker for an airline the size of United. And I think under United’s control, JetBlue would very quickly be profitable (from a loyalty perspective, combined with bigger network implications, connectivity at JFK, etc.).

I maintain that if American were well run, the ultimate power play to get it into a more competitive spot with Delta and United would be to acquire JetBlue, as I think that’s actually the deal that has the most upside.

I’m not saying Neeleman is wrong, but I think the argument overlooks the current regulatory environment. In late October 2025, JP Morgan’s airline analyst Jamie Baker (referenced by Neeleman) did make the case that he thinks an acquisition is more likely for JetBlue than bankruptcy. We’ll see how that all plays out, because admittedly a lot has changed in recent weeks…

Bottom line

JetBlue’s founder (who is now at Breeze) was asked about JetBlue’s survival prospects, and he’s not very optimistic. He believes that given the carrier’s debt, no airline (including United) will be interested. While JetBlue does have a lot of debt, I continue to think JetBlue holds a lot of strategic importance, and from a regulatory standpoint, there’s no time like the present.

We’ll see how this all plays out, because we haven’t heard this much merger chatter in a very long time.

What do you make of Neeleman’s comments about JetBlue’s prospects?

American launches centennial themed trading cards

American has announced plans to roll out centennial themed trading cards. These will be given to pilots of mainline aircraft, who can then hand them out to passengers, on a first-come, first-served basis (admittedly not all pilots may have these).

The expectation is that these will be available starting in early May 2026, though they’ll become more widely available as time goes on, throughout the summer. American expects to print more than seven million trading cards this summer alone.

Trading cards will showcase four fleet types currently flown by American — the A321neo, the 737-800, the 777-300ER, and the 787-9P. While minor, I find it noteworthy how the 737-800 is being featured, and not the 737 MAX 8, which is the newer generation aircraft. Meanwhile for Airbus equivalents, the A321neo is featured, and not the A321. I guess it’s the curse of the 737 MAX?

In addition, to commemorate the company’s centennial anniversary, three special edition trading cards will be available of the DC-3, 707-123, and MD-80, representing three aircraft that played a big part in American’s history.

Every trading card will include an image of the aircraft, aircraft specifications, diagrams, and facts about the aircraft. The cards will also include specific aircraft registrations that provide more context and historical facts about past and present aircraft.

Here’s how Captain Alan Johnson, American’s VP of Flight Operations, describes this:

“These trading cards are a culmination of 100 years of special moments shared between pilots, planes and passengers. Whether flying for the first time or the 100th, these cards give everyone the opportunity to connect with pilots, commemorate meaningful trips and reflect on the progress of flight.”

This is a positive (but late) initiative from American

It’s nice to see American finally officially introducing trading cards, since the airline is late to the game. This is something that many other airlines, including Delta, have been doing for a very long time.

In the case of American, I find it interesting how the airline will highlight both current and past planes, rather than just the exact planes that passengers may be flying on. I’m curious if all pilots can distribute all cards, or if the intent is that if you’re on one of the four featured “current” aircraft, the pilots hand out those cards?

What makes the timing of this announcement funny is that just a few days ago, the union representing American pilots, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), rolled out its own trading cards.

APA described the initiative as being intended to “enhance the experience of our passengers,” given that the airline didn’t step up to make these cards. These cards do have union branding rather than airline branding, as you’d expect.

Given the timing here, I have to imagine that American’s decision to roll out trading cards is because of the embarrassment of pilots basically having to fund this up until now. That’s further supported by the fact that the cards aren’t out yet (in time for American’s official 100th anniversary), and instead, are only coming in a matter of weeks.

But hey, better late than never, and I look forward to collecting these!

Bottom line

American is finally introducing official trading cards, coinciding with the carrier’s 100th anniversary. There are seven different trading cards, including four for current aircraft and three for former aircraft. It’s good to see American finally introducing these trading cards, and I imagine that a “nudge” from pilots ultimately caused the airline to take action.

What do you make of American rolling out trading cards?

American partnering with Lavazza on coffee

American is partnering with Lavazza, whereby we’re seeing Lavazza coffee served both onboard flights and in lounges. For the first time, American is offering a consistent coffee experience both on the ground and in the air.

This partnership has now been fully rolled out, and I’m told that American is now serving Lavazza’s premium coffee blends across all cabins on flights, and in Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounges. For those not familiar, here’s how Lavazza is described:

Lavazza, a family-owned Italian brand since 1895, is dedicated to crafting exceptional coffee experiences that reflect a legacy of expertise, passion and innovation. For the last 130 years, Lavazza has been at the forefront of coffee craftsmanship, blending time-honored Italian traditions with modern techniques to create premium coffees that are rich, balanced and universally admired. Today, its premium blends are served in top restaurants and hotels around the world, making it a natural fit for American’s elevated hospitality offering. By partnering with Lavazza, American is bringing a globally respected name in coffee to its customers — one that aligns with the airline’s focus on refined offerings and exceptional service throughout the journey.

Here’s how Heather Garboden, American Chief Customer Officer, describes this development:

“At American, we’re focused on looking at every aspect of the customer experience, and a quality cup of coffee is an important part of that journey. We’re proud to team up with this iconic brand to bring a rich, satisfying coffee experience to our customers — whether they’re in the air or relaxing in our lounges.”

For those keeping track of the competitive landscape, Delta serves Starbucks coffee, while United serves Illy coffee.

My take on American’s coffee upgrades

A good cup of coffee is something I’m passionate about, and I’m a big fan of Lavazza (at least as far as the major brands go). So if American was going to partner with a brand of coffee, I’d consider this to basically be the best case scenario. I’m similarly impressed by American partnering with Bollinger on champagne, as for my taste, it beats out United’s Laurent-Perrier and Delta’s Taittinger.

Ultimately the challenge is that the coffee served onboard is still airplane coffee, and there’s no denying that the taste of the coffee is impacted by the water used, the tanks, the impact of altitude on taste buds, etc. In a study, American also ranked last when it came to water quality in the tank, but maybe that’s better to just not think about?

I do have to specifically call out how in the press release about this announcement, American used a picture of a beautiful barista made cappuccino… except American doesn’t actually serve barista coffee in lounges.

My goodness, little in the world would delight me more than American serving barista coffee in at least some of its lounges, but I don’t see that happening. I suppose American does have espresso and cappuccino onboard some aircraft, but they’re unlikely to look like that!

Speaking of coffee on American, could we please, please, please finally see American add cold brew onboard, like United has? Pretty please? I heard that’s the key to getting Delta and United margins… I’m just saying. 😉

Bottom line

American Airlines is now exclusively partnering with Lavazza on coffee. Thanks to a full rollout, you can now expect Lavazza coffee to be served onboard all flights, and also in Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounges. Ultimately it’s hard to get too excited about drip coffee on an airplane. Regardless, I’m a fan of Lavazza, and am delighted by the investments American is making in passenger experience.

What do you make of American partnering with Lavazza?

New United Polaris Lounge access restrictions

United has quietly updated its rules for accessing Polaris Lounges (thanks to Harold for flagging this). Specifically, the latest updates, which have been implemented as of April 14, 2026, impact those traveling on Star Alliance partners.

Under the old rules, all long haul Star Alliance first and business class passengers departing from a particular airport would have access to the Polaris Lounge at that airport (only at the long haul gateway). It didn’t matter which Star Alliance airline you were flying, as long as you were in long haul first or business class.

Under the new policy, only the following Star Alliance partner airline passengers get access to Polaris Lounges:

• Those with first class tickets on All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, and SWISS
• Those with basic and flex business class tickets on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels Airlines
• Those with business class tickets on All Nippon Airways, Air New Zealand, and ITA Airways

These changes apply effective immediately, and as you can see, this means travelers on most Star Alliance partner airlines don’t get access to Polaris Lounges. Flying Air India, or EgyptAir, or LOT Polish Airlines, or Singapore Airlines? No more Polaris Lounge access for you!

I don’t like this change, but it’s a logical development

Of course I’m not happy to see passengers receive downgraded lounge access, so I find this policy change to be pretty frustrasting. At the same time, from a practical perspective, it’s hard to blame United.

United is growing like crazy, and is massively expanding its long haul fleet, including adding a lot of business class seats on newly delivered aircraft. Obviously airport real estate comes at a premium, and airlines are greatly limited in terms of how much they can grow their lounge network.

Polaris Lounges have had major crowding issues, and I imagine things would’ve only gotten worse if rules hadn’t been changed. What United’s essentially doing here is that it’s focusing on its joint venture partners with long haul service from United hubs with Polaris Lounges, and is continuing to offer them access (I should mention that ITA isn’t yet part of the Star Alliance transatlantic joint venture, but that’s expected to change).

That makes sense, given the intent of metal neutrality, price coordination, revenue sharing, etc.

Bottom line

United has added major new restrictions for Polaris Lounge access. While we’ve seen some changes in recent times, the latest update means that first and business class passengers on most Star Alliance partner airlines can’t access Polaris Lounges anymore.

Instead, the airline is limiting access to its own premium passengers, plus first and business class passengers on select (primarily) joint venture partners.

Of course I’m sad to see this reciprocal lounge access perk cut, though given Polaris Lounge crowding, I also can’t blame the airline, really.

What do you make of these Polaris Lounge access changes?

Oman’s new HIV test requirement for visitors from Philippines

In recent days, Oman has reportedly added a new requirement whereby all nationals of the Philippines must obtain a negative HIV test before departure of their flight. This is confirmed on Emirates’ visa & passport page, when entering the nationality and destination country.

In recent weeks, there have been mixed reports of Filipinos being denied boarding for their flight to Oman without a negative HIV test, though the country hasn’t outright, publicly acknowledged these rules. For example, just a couple of days ago, the Philippine Embassy in Muscat said it didn’t receive official confirmation of this rule from authorities in the country.

But obviously airline systems have been updated to reflect this, and there are many reports of passengers being denied boarding over time.

It’s not unusual for Gulf nations to require foreign workers moving to the country to get a negative HIV test, but to require this even for a tourist is something that’s on a whole different level. In fairness, a large percentage of Filipinos traveling to Oman are doing so to work.

But of course there are also some tourists. As a matter of fact, Oman recently introduced visa-free entry for Filipinos. So it’s strange to try to encourage tourism by eliminating barriers, only to then add a major requirement.

Why is the Philippines being singled out for this policy?

On the surface it seems a little odd to create a policy like this for just one country, so what’s going on here? Well, the Philippines has in recent times seen a surge in HIV cases. Per the World Health Organization in June 2025:

The Philippines has the fastest-growing number of HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region. Every day this year, at least 57 Filipinos have found out they have HIV. The number of new HIV cases went up by 550% from 4,400 in 2010 to 29,600 in 2024. Around 252,800 Filipinos are estimated to be living with HIV in 2025.

It’s unfortunate to see how HIV is stigmatized, and the extent to which some countries act as if it’s something that can’t be treated, or that people can’t live with. It shouldn’t be that way, but then again, I’m not surprised that this is how things are.

Bottom line

Oman has seemingly added a new negative HIV requirement for visitors from the Philippines. Going forward, visitors need proof of a negative HIV test to enter the country. While this has been a common policy for situations where someone wants to work in the Gulf region, seeing this requirement for visitors takes this to the next level.

Pilots frustrate ATC at Washington National Airport

Audio has been posted online from recent air traffic control interactions at Washington National Airport (DCA). The claim is that this involves pilots of two separate planes, both regional jets (flying on behalf of American Eagle and Delta Connection). In the roughly 20-second clip posted online:

• You can hear one voice say “meow meow”
• Then you hear another voice (presumably the air traffic controller?) say “you guys need to be professional pilots”
• The cat person then starts saying “meow meow meow meow,” and then another voice is heard saying “ruff ruff ruff ruff”
• That same voice as above is then heard saying “this is why you still fly an RJ”
• There’s then another “meow meow”
• Then that person says “it was funny the first five minutes, thank you very much”

You can listen to the air traffic control audio for yourself below.

What on earth is actually going on in this interaction?!

There’s not much context for this incident, since it’s just a short clip. So while the claim is that it was pilots making those noises and that the other person is the controller, I obviously can’t personally vouch for that, since voices are “anonymous.”

Air traffic controllers and pilots do sometimes have fun on frequency, and it’s nice to see that. However, if these pilots were actually doing this for an extended period of time on frequency, then that’s problematic. After all, even if we take distractions out of the equation, it uses up the frequency, and could step on transmissions from other pilots.

Furthermore, not to be too much of a party pooper, but I also feel like it’s in bad taste to do this in DCA of all places, where a regional jet crashed early last year on final, killing everyone onboard. It’s just concerning that even after the pilots were told to be professional, they kept going with it.

Why these pilots were so interested in making animal noises remains a mystery…

Bottom line

Two pilots reportedly made some strange noises on an air traffic control frequency at DCA, as they “meowed” and “ruffed.” It’s one thing to be funny for a moment, but it sounds like this went on for some time, and even when they were asked to stop, they didn’t immediately do so. This seems really unprofessional to me, so I’m curious if there’s any context I’m missing…

What do you make of this strange ATC interaction?

Flying Blue adds three tiers of Choice Benefits

With the Flying Blue program, you can unlock elite status based on how many XPs you rack up (“XP” stands for “experience points”), as this is the metric for earning status. The system of qualifying for status works a bit differently than with other programs:

• 100 XPs gets you Flying Blue Silver status
• You then need 180 additional XPs to earn Flying Blue Gold status
• You then need 300 additional XPs to earn Flying Blue Platinum status
• If you unlock a total of 900 XPs in a program year you can earn Flying Blue Ultimate status (note that for Flying Blue Ultimate, these need to be “UXPs” rather than “XPs,” with the distinction being that they need to be earned exclusively on Air France and KLM, rather than on partner airlines)

Anyway, arguably Flying Blue hasn’t been doing a whole lot to incentivize incremental business for those who earn Platinum status, given that Ultimate status requires three times as much activity. So along those lines, Flying Blue has introduced some interim rewards based on how many UXPs you rack up (again, these are XPs earned directly on Air France and KLM):

• When members unlock 450 UXPs, they can choose 15,000 bonus miles, 20 bonus XP/UXPs, a gift of Flying Blue Silver for someone else, or an overdraft of 20,000 miles
• When members unlock 600 UXPs, they can choose 20,000 bonus miles, 30 bonus XP/UXPs, a gift of Flying Blue Gold for someone else, or an overdraft of 30,000 miles
• When members unlock 750 UXPs, they can choose 30,000 bonus miles, one upgrade voucher, a gift of Flying Blue Platinum for someone else, or an overdraft of 40,000 miles

This is a great development for Flying Blue

Flying Blue is one of the programs I have elite status with, and I think it’s a generally interesting and compelling loyalty scheme. Earning Flying Blue Platinum isn’t too difficult, though one downside of the program has been lack of incremental perks for those who over qualify.

It’s a long ways to go from Platinum to Ultimate. In the past, Flying Blue had unlimited rollover XPs, so whatever activity you had in a particular year would automatically roll over to the next year. Now you’re capped at a rollover of 300 XPs, meaning you can only earn status for the following year through the rollover feature, and not for multiple years.

Anyway, I’d say these updates are positive. For example, if you’re a Flying Blue Ultimate member, this nets you an extra 65,000 miles per year (assuming you choose the mileage option), or there are several other combinations you could consider.

I do find it funny how you can either get a good number of miles, or get a marginally larger mileage overdraft. It seems pretty obvious which is the better value there, and I can’t imagine many people will choose the overdraft option. But I guess there’s nothing wrong with giving people the choice.

I’m not saying this is the approach I’ll take to requalify for elite status, but if you wanted to be as efficient as possible, there would be merit to earning 600 UXPs in one year, and then earning 0 UXPs in the next year. That would get you two years of Platinum, and since you’d earn 600 UXPs in one year, you’d also earn two sets of bonus rewards.

Bottom line

The Flying Blue program has just added Choice Benefits, and the idea is that members who overqualify for Platinum status can pass three different thresholds to earn extra rewards, before reaching Ultimate status. Assuming there’s no catch here, this sounds like a very nice new aspect of the program, and it’ll make me think of maybe engaging even more.

What do you make of Flying Blue introducing Choice Benefits?

It amazes me how bad Lufthansa management is at labor relations, despite the top brass at the company somehow priding themselves in being good at this. I just don’t get it. Oh, and today is officially Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary celebration, and the airline is grounded!

Strikes shut down Lufthansa for five straight days

Let’s not beat around the bush — Lufthansa has some labor relations issues, and things are getting rough:

• Lufthansa pilots went on strike on Monday & Tuesday (April 13-14), after going on strike on March 12-13
• Lufthansa flight attendants are on strike on Wednesday & Thursday (April 15-16), after going on strike on April 10
• Lufthansa pilots are going back on strike on Thursday & Friday (April 16-17); I’m not even sure why they’re going on strike on April 16 when another group is already striking to ground the airline, but there you have it…

So for those keeping track at home, the three strikes will mostly ground Lufthansa for five consecutive days, and for six days over a period of eight days. A vast majority of flights departing Germany are being canceled. The issue revolves around how management and the unions can’t see eye-to-eye on pay, pensions, etc.

There’s no end in sight for either of these strikes, since the parties are a long ways off in terms of what they’re willing to settle for (or so they claim). For example, the union representing pilots has proposed binding arbitration, but that was rejected by management.

No disrespect to Lufthansa management, but it just feels like déjà vu at the airline, over and over and over. I understand contract negotiations can be contentious, but seriously, this has been such a consistent mess at the Star Alliance carrier. And it doesn’t have to be this way… just look at how Air France has changed on that front over the years, with good management.

What exactly has Lufthansa’s top management accomplished that makes them worthy of keeping their jobs and earning their performance bonuses? Is it the smashing success of Lufthansa Allegris, or…?

Unions blast management for not negotiating

A bargaining expert for the flight attendant union claims that “we are dealing here with an employer who has adopted a hardline position while constantly proclaiming their readiness to negotiate at any time,” which seems pretty spot on. Meanwhile a representative for the pilot union claims “the situation is deadlocked,” and states “we are not concerned with power struggles or egoism, but with sustainable solutions.”

Lufthansa’s management has claimed that the requests of employees are “absurd and impossible to fulfill,” and that when it comes to the costs of the strikes, “every strike shrinks the affected airline.”

Funny enough, Lufthansa is having its 100th anniversary celebration today, and German Chancellor Merz will be in attendance. Lufthansa employees intend to protest the event, with a union representative stating that “when management celebrates Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary together with federal politicians, we will make it clear there under what conditions the employers operate – and on whose backs current decisions are being made.”

Keep in mind that Lufthansa is the lowest margin airline in Lufthansa Group, and the company has even told employees that it’s so unprofitable that it can’t afford new planes. Yet Lufthansa Group is increasingly centralizing management functions in Frankfurt, because apparently it’ll work out best if the higher margin airlines are more closely controlled by the lower margin airline.

Bottom line

It’s not a good week for Lufthansa, as we’re seeing five days of consecutive strikes, split between pilots and flight attendants. They’re not just back-to-back strikes, but back-to-back-to-back strikes. As if there’s not enough going on in the world, Lufthansa really can’t seem to keep its labor relations under control, and that’s a shame to see.

Hopefully these issues are resolved soon, as everyone loses out when these kinds of problems drag on. How sad that this is how Lufthansa is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

What do you make of Lufthansa’s labor relations disaster?

Capital One has just announced some updates to (and a rebranding of) one of its popular business cards. I’d say it makes perfect sense in the context of creating a cohesive card portfolio, and that it’s positive news.

Details of the Capital One Venture Business Card

The new Capital One Venture Business has just launched, replacing the Capital One Spark Miles Card. Here are the basics of the Capital One Venture Business:

• The card has a limited time welcome bonus of up to 150,000 miles — earn 75,000 miles after spending $7,500 within three months, and earn an additional 75,000 miles after spending a total of $30,000 within the first six months
• The card has a $95 annual fee, with no cost to add authorized users
• The card offers unlimited 2x miles on spending, with no limits or category restrictions, plus 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, booked through Capital One Business Travel
• The card offers up to $100 in credits annually — this includes a $50 travel credit through Capital One Business Travel, and up to $50 in statement credits on purchases at qualifying advertising or software merchants
• The card offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $120 once every four years

I’d say that this is a pretty compelling card, and in particular, the welcome bonus is a huge incentive to apply.

For those curious about eligibility for the welcome bonus on the Capital One Venture Business, the terms note that “existing or previous accountholders may not be eligible for these bonuses.” Capital One tends to be vague with spelling out its application rules. However, in my experience if you get approved for the card and don’t receive a message to the contrary during the approval process, then you are eligible for the welcome bonus.

The good news is that applying for this card shouldn’t show up as a new card on your personal credit report, for the purposes of Chase’s 5/24 rule, if that’s something you’re concerned about.

This business card rebrand is good news all-around

When comparing the new Capital One Venture Business to the old Capital One Spark Miles Business, I’d say these changes are entirely positive. The card has the same annual fee as before, and has a limited time welcome bonus that’s lucrative. On top of that, the card has some new credits that it didn’t have before.

Historically, Capital One has used “Venture” branding for its personal cards, and “Spark” branding for its business cards. That caused some confusion, given that both cards generally earned the same kinds of rewards, but that wasn’t necessarily apparent to all consumers.

The confusion is especially understandable when you consider that issuers like Amex and Chase have more consistent branding across personal and business cards. So in recent times we’ve seen Capital One also adopt the Venture branding for more business cards, a trend that started with the Capital One Venture X Business (review).

The Venture Business and Venture X Business are very much substitutes for one another, given their similar rewards structures. Which card makes the most sense depends on the type of consumer you are. The Capital One Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, but that’s easily offset by the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles. Then the card offers extra perks, like lounge access and more.

Bottom line

The new Capital One Venture Business is a rebranding of the Spark Miles. The core of the card is staying the same, but the idea is to align branding between the Venture and Spark products, which makes sense. We are seeing some nice improvements, including the addition of some credits.

This is a compelling card, it’s just a function of whether you’d get more value from this or the Capital One Venture X Business.

What’s your take on the “new” Capital One Venture Business?

While Air New Zealand first confirmed it would introduce this back in 2022, the actual process of rolling this out has been delayed massively. So there’s finally an exciting update, as the airline has revealed when this product will launch, how much it will cost, and what the experience will be like.

Air New Zealand’s Skynest economy beds

Air New Zealand plans to introduce bunk beds in economy — you read that right! With Air New Zealand’s new Skynest concept, there will be a total of six full length lie-flat sleep pods, in a “V” shape. That means there will be three levels of bunk beds.

The beds will be 80″ long and 23″ wide, so they should be pretty comfortable for most passengers. There will of course be a limit of one person per bunk.

The bunks will come with bedding, including pillows, sheets, blankets, and privacy curtains. Then there will be a “Nestcessities” amenity kit, with an eye mask, socks, ear plugs, a dental kit, and skincare from Aotea. Each bunk will also have a USB outlet, a reading light, a ventilation outlet, and a storage pocket.

This is very similar to the bunks that airline crews have, so essentially Air New Zealand is making this concept available to passengers as well. That’s pretty cool. Based on the pictures, I’ve gotta say, this does look like a pretty snug setup, and I’m not sure I’d want to be in the bottom bunk.

Where will Air New Zealand Skynests be located?

Skynests will be installed on Air New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9s, so where will they be located? Well, they’ll be installed between the premium economy and economy cabin. Specifically, they’ll take up the space of two center rows in economy, meaning that six bunks are being installed in the space that would otherwise be allocated to six economy class seats.

As you can see, Air New Zealand’s upcoming Boeing 787-9s are in a very premium configuration.

When is Air New Zealand introducing Skynest?

Air New Zealand plans to put the Skynest on sale for bookings as of May 18, 2026, and for travel as of November 2026. Specifically, the expectation is that this will be available on the next newly delivered Boeing 787-9, and that’s expected to operate the route between Auckland (AKL) and New York (JFK).

Air New Zealand’s plan is also to eventually reconfigure existing 787s with Skynests, though the timeline on that remains to be seen. Furthermore, there’s no plan to reconfigure 777s. This process has been really drawn out, and that’s due to delays with 787 deliveries.

How will Air New Zealand sell economy beds?

These bunks can’t be occupied for takeoff and landing, so you can’t directly book one of these bunks for the entire flight. Rather the intent is that this will be offered as a buy-up for those traveling in economy or premium economy.

Passengers will be able to reserve the bunk beds for four hour periods (at the end of each session, lights will gently come on, to remind passengers that their time is up). This means that on Air New Zealand’s longest flights, these could each be sold up to three times, though initially they’ll only be sold two times. There will be a 30-minute turnaround time between each session, so that the crew can change sheets and prepare the Skynest for the next passenger.

Air New Zealand claims that sessions will start at $495. In other words, you’re paying around $125 per hour for the bunk bed setup. This will be an interesting experiment when it comes to pricing, as I’m curious if the airline can get economy and premium economy travelers to shell out that much for a bit of time in a flat bed, especially when you consider the other pathways for upgrading.

In theory you’d think the airline would try to generate at least as much revenue as it’s losing from the six economy seats that are being removed, and ideally more than that. But the margins are actually better than you’d initially assume — in reality the opportunity cost is limited, because it’s rare that every single economy class seat would otherwise be occupied.

Air New Zealand also has the Skycouch concept

While the new Skynest is a huge innovation to economy class, it’s worth noting that Air New Zealand also came up with the Skycouch concept years ago. With this, a row of economy seats can essentially be turned into a couch. This is great for couples, or those traveling with families.

The biggest shortcoming of the Skycouch is the size — it’s only 49″ long, which is 4ft1in. Unless you’re on the shorter side, it’s not exactly a long enough surface on which to properly sleep. United is introducing a similar concept soon, which will be branded as the United Relax Row.

Bottom line

Air New Zealand will finally be rolling out a concept we’ve never seen before in economy, with the introduction of Skynest bunk beds. The airline will be adding six bunk beds to Boeing 787s, with two sets of bunks stacked three high.

These will go on sale as of May 2026, for flights as of November 2026. This project is way behind schedule due to delayed Dreamliner deliveries, but hey, better late than never!

What do you make of Air New Zealand’s Skynest, and the pricing?

New Air India first class coming to A350-1000

Air India is currently trying to reinvent itself, and that includes introducing all-new cabins on its long haul aircraft. While Air India has already rolled out a new business class product, we know that the airline plans to introduce first class on newly delivered Airbus A350-1000s, and on existing retrofitted Boeing 777-300ERs.

Here’s where it gets interesting, though — initially Air India was supposed to use the Safran Unity platform on these planes, and the idea was that first class would be more of a “business class plus” concept, in terms of actual seat comfort (essentially taking advantage of extra space at the bulkhead).

However, due to “supply chain issues,” and what not, Air India ultimately had to go with a different supplier for its new seats. Air India’s A350-1000s are expected to get the Recaro R7 as their business class product, which are staggered suites with doors (LATAM was the launch customer for these seats). One open question has been what kind of a first class product Air India would introduce, without sticking to the Safran Unity platform.

Well, now we have our answer. As reported by @LiveFromALounge, it has been revealed that Air India will use a customized version of the first class suite designed by Airbus.

I wrote about this last year, including the First Class Master Suite concept. Suffice it to say that this is better than some marginal “business class plus” product, and it’s also way better than the carrier’s existing first class. One big open question remains what Air India is planning for its 777 first class, since I believe this product is specific to Airbus.

Wait, is Air India’s first class going to be amazing?

There’s a very high level of customization possible with this seating concept. One thing is for sure — regardless of exactly which product Air India chooses, this will be way better than what was previously expected.

It seems that no matter what, the idea is that this will be in a 1-1-1 layout, so think of it as possibly being somewhere along the lines of Japan Airlines’ A350 first class, Lufthansa’s A350 first class, etc.

This also includes the First Class Master Suite concept, whereby you have one suite that’s especially spacious. Personally I suspect Air India won’t go too over-the-top with customizations, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect the full bedroom concept.

This is now one of the first class products that I’m most curious to see evolve. Among first class products on the horizon, I’m most interested in this one, Singapore Airlines’ new first class (for select retrofitted A350s), and Cathay Pacific’s new first class (for select upcoming 777Xs).

Bottom line

Air India will soon be debuting its new flagship Airbus A350-1000, and we now have more of a sense of what the interiors will be like. While the initial plan was for first class to be a rather modest “business class plus” hard product, that plan fell through, since the airline no longer plans to use the Safran Unity platform.

The airline will now be partnering with Airbus on new first class suites, and these could turn out to be very impressive. While there’s a high level of customization possible here, one thing seems highly likely — the airline will introduce a first class hard product that’s actually very competitive, and likely at the top end of the industry. Now, whether Air India can actually introduce a soft product to match remains to be seen…

What do you make of Air India’s first class updates?

Air Canada rolling out new business class seats

Air Canada plans to introduce two different kinds of new business class seats — this includes a new business class (branded as Air Canada Signature Class) for the carrier’s upcoming 30 Airbus A321XLR narrow body planes, plus 18 Boeing 787-10 wide body planes. The A321XLRs will start to be delivered in the coming weeks, while the 787-10s will follow.

Air Canada describes these new cabins as the first major expression of its new Glowing Hearted Standard, and claims that the “design delivers a distinctly Canadian experience, emphasizing comfort, care, and connection for all customers on every flight, while signalling the airline’s bold growth ambitions.”

Here’s how Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s Chief Operations Officer, describes this:

“This investment is about fundamentally redefining the experience of flying with Air Canada. From the moment of stepping on board, we’re setting a new standard for how Canadians and the world connect with our brand. Details matter: we listened closely to feedback and challenged ourselves to create an experience defined by a strong Canadian sense of place, alongside a commitment to craftsmanship, functionality, and long-term durability. This investment in the care and comfort of our customers is a key element of our New Frontiers growth strategy to become one of the world’s leading airlines.”

Now let’s take a look at what we can expect on the planes…

Air Canada’s new 787-10 business class

On the Boeing 787-10, Air Canada will have 332 seats, including 42 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 262 economy seats. Four of the 42 business class seats will be a “business class plus” product, branded as Air Canada Signature Plus Suites.

The new business class is based on the Elevate Ascent product, which is an increasingly popular business class seat for the Dreamliner, as you’ll find it on some planes of American, United, etc.

These are reverse herringbone seats with doors, and as you’d expect, tech is greatly improved, with 27″ 4K OLED monitors and bluetooth audio, along with AC, USB-C, and AC power outlets.

Air Canada Signature Plus will be a new product at the front of the cabin, and these seats will offer companion seats for use during flight. Furthermore, all seats will turn into a 6’5″ bed, and the center seats will also have a retractable sliding privacy panel.

Air Canada’s new A321XLR business class

On the Airbus A321XLR, Air Canada will have 182 seats, including 14 business class seats and 168 economy seats. Business class will be based on the Collins Aerospace Aurora platform. That means seats are herringbone seats, facing the aisle.

Business class will have greatly updated tech, including 19″ 4K OLED monitors and bluetooth audio, along with AC, USB-C, and AC power outlets.

Air Canada overhauling business class soft product

While it’s great to see a new hard product, that’s not all that’s changing at Air Canada. The airline is also promising that later this year, it will introduce a new “end-to-end hospitality experience will be distinctly Canadian and include upgraded service, food and beverage elements and elevated amenities.”

So it’s cool to see that overhaul is coming, though we have no details beyond that. When you combine a new hard product with a new soft product, plus the ground experience — the Signature Suite in Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR) — Air Canada will offer a very competitive experience.

My take on Air Canada’s new business class concept

As I often say, I think we’re at the point where business class has largely peaked in terms of the amount of personal space that will be allocated to each passenger, and space can’t be utilized much more efficiently than it already is. So with new business class products, I tend to think it’s mostly about tech, finishes, and other thoughtful design choices, since that’s what can differentiate an experience.

With that in mind, what’s my take on Air Canada’s new products?

• Narrow body planes represent a bit of a regression when it comes to long haul passenger experience, and I’m not a huge fan of herringbone seats; but the concept (in theory) is that the A321XLR opens up routes that wouldn’t be possible with wide body planes
• The new wide body business class looks great, and like a very nice improvement over the existing product
• On both planes, I think Air Canada did a stellar job with cabin finishes, and while there’s a lot of use of dark colors, I think it works really well

Here’s my biggest takeaway, though — Nasr and his team at Air Canada have an obsessive attention to detail, and I think that will be reflected in the experience of flying in these new cabins, beyond what we see in the media images. I know for a fact that every little detail of these seats was considered, and sadly, I don’t get the feeling that’s the case at some other airlines.

Let me give an example — Air Canada is using the Collins Aerospace Aurora platform for its A321XLR business class, which is the same business class seat you’ll find on American’s new A321XLRs (which don’t really impress, if you ask me).

American opted to install doors and high walls between seats on these A321XLRs, which you’d assume is a good thing. Meanwhile Air Canada didn’t. Why? Well, because they actually considered what it’s like to fly in this cabin, and how the A321XLR with the low-hanging overhead bins and the high doors can just feel borderline claustrophobic.

By not installing doors, the airline was able to make the bed longer, and to make the cabin aisle wider. Similarly, Air Canada intentionally didn’t have the partitions between seats go as high, to give the cabin a more spacious feel. I think these are all smart moves, and I’m looking forward to actually flying this product.

Bottom line

Air Canada has just unveiled two new business class products, which will be debuting on the carrier’s two upcoming new long haul aircraft. This includes new passenger experiences for the A321XLR and 787-10. As you’d expect, the product differs between the planes, given the unique needs of narrow body planes vs. wide body planes.

All-in-all, I’m impressed by what Air Canada has come up with, and I look forward to seeing these planes in service!

What do you make of Air Canada’s two new business class products?

Scott Kirby is pitching United buying American?

Bloomberg is reporting that United CEO Scott Kirby has pitched the idea of United acquiring American to senior members of the Trump administration. Per the report:

Kirby has pitched the idea to senior government officials, though it’s unclear if any overtures have since been made or if an actual process is underway to explore a deal, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversations are private.

Jon Ostrower from The Air Current, also a very reliable source, confirms this news is accurate, and suggests that there has been talk of this for around a week now.

For context, in recent times there have been lots of rumors about possible airline consolidation. The wisdom seems to be that if there is going to be any additional consolidation in the airline industry, now is the ideal time in terms of getting regulatory approval (before the midterms).

The common belief has been that some sort of deal with JetBlue is most likely, both since JetBlue is looking for a merger partner, and also since Kirby has been very vocal about his interest in JetBlue. Delta’s CEO has made it clear he thinks we’ll see multiple mergers, and even the Transportation Secretary has said he’s generally in favor of consolidation. So to see the suggestion that two of the country’s three biggest airlines could merge is on a completely different level.

Let me of course emphasize that this is just a report, and that it’s anyone’s guess if any attempt is even made here. The report only suggests that Kirby has floated the idea with some senior Trump officials, and one wonders how serious this proposal even is (“wouldn’t it be funny if we bought American, haha?”).

How do we rationalize an American & United merger?

Kirby is a smart guy, and certainly also ambitious and a bit arrogant. I generally think he has a really good pulse on the industry… so I’m really surprised to see his take here.

I guess on the most basic level, I wonder if Kirby is actually serious? Does he really think there’s any chance on earth that an American and United merger would be approved? I guess under Trump one never knows, but that just seems wild to me:

• I don’t generally think consolidation in the airline industry is evil, as long as it allows airlines to scale to the point where they can fully monetize their loyalty program (whereby credit card companies are basically subsidizing airline ticket prices)
• American and United are both at scale when it comes to that, so I feel confident that a deal like this wouldn’t be in the public interest

So is there even a 1% chance that something like this would get regulatory approval? I almost feel like Kirby can’t really believe this, in which case I wonder if he might be playing 4D chess here, and there’s some angle I’m missing. Is there some incentive that he has to even create these kinds of rumors? Is it to make a JetBlue merger look small and insignificant by comparison, or…?

Or is Kirby actually this delusional? We know he used to work at American, and he loves to take revenge on the airline any way that he can. He has also gone on the record as saying that American is cooked, and can’t recover from its mistake. So from that perspective, I’m confident that nothing would bring him more joy than taking over American and making the brand disappear. But… also… c’mon.

Bottom line

United CEO Scott Kirby has reportedly floated the concept of a merger with American with Trump administration officials. I think many wondered how much regulatory scrutiny a JetBlue merger would face, but an American merger would be on a completely different level. I don’t even know what to make of this.

What do you make of Kirby’s wild merger concept?

Delta A330-200/300s getting new business class suites

Delta has plans to retrofit the interiors of its entire fleet of Airbus A330ceos. Specifically, the airline has 11 A330-200s and 31 A330-300s, and they’re an average of a little over 18 years old. These planes don’t have the newest interiors, and in particular, have pretty outdated reverse herringbone seats in business class (which is marketed as Delta One).

Anyway, Delta intends to introduce new cabins on these planes. The expectation is that the first plane will be reconfigured in early 2027, and that A330-200s will get makeovers before A330-300s.

The new business class seat will be based on the Thompson Aero Vantage XL product, so it’ll probably be most comparable to what you’ll find on existing A330-900neos. However, you can expect an updated design, and greatly improved tech.

Improved tech will include 24″ 4K OLED monitors (the largest you’ll find at any US airline, matching what’s on A350-1000s), bluetooth connectivity, and USB-A, AC, and wireless charging capabilities. Seats will also feature privacy doors. There are no plans to retrofit this product on existing A330-900neos, so the older A330ceos will have nicer interiors than the A330neos.

Delta’s interesting claims about its business class

While Delta isn’t technically wrong, it’s worth looking at the claims the airline is making:

Delta has long been the leader in elevating the customer experience, introducing the first all-suite business class cabin in 2017. It would be four years before any U.S. carrier followed Delta’s lead with an all-suite business class cabin. Delta continues to lead the industry today with the most suites in the sky of any U.S. airline. The airline anticipates 90% of Delta One seats will be suites with sliding privacy doors by 2030.

It’s technically true that Delta was the first US airline to introduce a business class cabin where all seats have doors. Admittedly the airline carved out bragging rights there, to exclude JetBlue (which had suites at some doors first), and to exclude foreign airlines (which introduced business class suites before Delta).

Delta’s claiming that 90% of Delta One seats will have privacy doors by 2030 is an interesting detail. I suspect this means that Delta Boeing 767-400ERs will still be flying internationally in 2030, while presumably this includes Boeing 767-300ERs, which will (hopefully) be retired or just flying domestically.

So yes, it’s true that Delta will likely have a higher percentage of the fleet with doors than American and United. However:

• The airline won’t exactly have a consistent product, as there will be at least four(ish) versions of business class suites
• Just because a seat has a door doesn’t inherently make it better than one without a door; for example, I generally don’t find an A330 business class seat to be as good as an A350 or 787 business class seat, simply due to the implications of the reduced cabin width (and airlines not wanting to give up an extra seat per row)

Bottom line

Delta intends to update the interiors of its fleet of Airbus A330ceos, which includes 11 A330-200s and 31 A330-300s. The airline will introduce an updated version of what it has installed on A330-900neos, but with better tech, new finishes, etc.

The expectation is that the first plane will be reconfigured in early 2027. The airline also claims that by 2030, 90% of Delta One seats will have doors.

What do you make of Delta’s plans to retrofit Airbus A330-200/300s?

While we’ve had a good sense of what to expect thanks to leaks from JonNYC, Delta has today officially unveiled its new business class product, which will debut on the upcoming Airbus A350-1000. With United stealing the limelight as of late with passenger experience innovations, it’s nice to see something from Delta. Separately, I covered how Delta announced plans to retrofit its A330ceos.

Delta installing VantageNOVA seats on A350-1000s

Delta has 20 Airbus A350-1000s on order, which will eventually be the carrier’s flagship aircraft. Not only will this be Delta’s largest aircraft, but it’s also expected to be the most premium configured plane. Unfortunately at this point, we’ll have to wait until 2027 for the first of these aircraft to be delivered.

So, what can we expect onboard? Delta has now officially announced that its upcoming A350-1000s will feature its next generation business class suite, based on the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA product.

Around 50% of the seats onboard Delta’s new A350-1000s will be premium seats. The plane will feature 314 seats, including 53 business class seats, 48 premium economy seats, 51 extra legroom economy seats, and 162 regular economy seats. This will be the most business class seats Delta has ever installed on an aircraft (though still short of the 64 business class seats United has on its new 787-9s).

It makes perfect sense that this is the seat that Delta is going with, given that Delta already has a close partnership with Thompson Aero for its business class seats (the A350-900s have the Thompson Aero Vantage XL product).

Like many new products nowadays, the VantageNOVA product is pretty flexible. The way Delta is taking delivery of this, the entire cabin will be in a 1-2-1 layout, with reverse herringbone seats (meaning window seats will face toward the windows, and center seats will face toward the center).

The VantageNOVA product was unveiled in 2024, and isn’t yet in service. At the time, Thompson Aero indicated that it had a launch customer, though that customer hadn’t been disclosed. Now it’s pretty clear that Delta was that mystery customer.

When it comes to cabin features, what can we expect from Delta’s new business class?

• The new bed is around 3″ longer than the previous Delta One business class suite bed, so it should be just under 80″ long
• When it comes to tech, the seat has a 24″ 4K OLED monitor (the largest you’ll find at any US airline), bluetooth connectivity, and USB-A, AC, and wireless charging capabilities
• Seats also have storage for shoes, a phone tray under the armrest, and an exposed storage area, but not actually any enclosed storage
• Seats have a pillow-top cushion that adds a layer on top of the memory foam cushioned seat
• Thompson Aero promotes how this product has great efficiency and density, and these seats can be installed with as little as 40″ of pitch
• Interestingly, while Thompson Aero claims there’s the possibility of a “business class plus” product with these seats, there’s no mention of that from Delta; we’ll see if there’s more news there, or if Delta just opted not to offer such a product
• The cabin will have a snack bar by the second set of doors, with drinks and snacks that passengers can help themselves to

My take on Delta’s new business class seat choice

What’s interesting is that American and United are both in the process of rolling out a new business class as well, and they’ve selected exactly the same seat — the Elevate Ascent product. But like many airplane seats, there’s lots of flexibility for customization.

What should we make of Delta’s new business class seat? I’d say it looks very similar to the Elevate Ascent product. Both are intended to be efficient, and offer the option of a combined herringbone and reverse herringbone configuration (though Delta, like American, has gone for an all reverse herringbone layout). Still, it’s hard to know comfort level for sure, since this product isn’t yet in service with any airline.

I think we’ve reached the point now where business class seats aren’t actually getting much more comfortable, but instead, it’s just about whether they have a door, and how good the seat tech is (entertainment screens, charging, bluetooth audio, etc.).

For that matter, what counts most is how many planes an airline has with its latest generation premium seats. Take Emirates as an example. Emirates has its amazing “Game Changer” first class, which was introduced in 2017… it has been installed on a total of nine(!!!) planes. So that’s an average of around one plane per year. At the current pace, the entire fleet may be reconfigured with the product by 2275!

So yeah, it’s great that we’ll see the first plane with this product enter service for Delta in 2027, and I question whether Delta will reconfigure any planes with the product (I doubt it, since this product can’t be retrofitted on A330s and 767s, and I doubt Delta thinks the investment is worth it on existing A350s).

Bottom line

Delta has just unveiled its new business class product that will be installed on upcoming Airbus A350-1000s, which will be delivered as of 2027. Delta plans to install reverse herringbone seats in business class, and will be the launch customer of the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA product.

As you might expect, this will offer much upgraded tech, ranging from bluetooth audio, to wireless charging, to huge entertainment screens. Purely in terms of personal space, I don’t think this product will be that remarkable, since airlines are pretty maxed out in terms of how much space they’ll allocate to each passenger.

What do you make of Delta’s new business class suites?

Earlier this month, United announced plans to introduce tiered fares across cabins, and that includes the introduction of “basic” premium cabin tickets. I’d like to provide an update, as these tickets are now on sale, and they’re arguably even more restrictive than we first assumed, in terms of implications for MileagePlus members.

United wants to segment business class revenue more

United has introduced a new tiered fare structure, which is described as making it easier for customers to find the flight experience that best matches their preferences.

As part of this, the airline is offering three fare options — basic, standard, and flexible — in premium cabins for many flights, including long haul international, transcontinental, and select Hawaii flights. This change is now live in select markets, and will expand to additional markets throughout the year.

So, what new restrictions come with these basic fares? Travelers booking the basic fares in Polaris business class:

• Have to pay to select seats (compared to them being included)
• Get one free checked bag (compared to two free checked bags)
• Receive United Club access, but not United Polaris Lounge access
• Are not eligible for changes or refunds (standard fares allow changes, while flexible fares allow refunds)
• Earn MileagePlus miles at a reduced rate, similar to basic economy; without a co-branded credit card, members earn 0-6x miles per dollar spent based on their status, while with a card, members earn 3-9x miles per dollar spent
• Don’t earn any Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs), but do earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs), so these fares only count toward one metric of status
• Are not eligible for paid upgrades to the United Polaris Studio

The restrictions are similar for basic Premium Plus premium economy tickets. You have to pay to select seats, have a more limited checked bag allowance, aren’t able to upgrade, tickets aren’t as flexible, and mileage accrual and elite status qualification are limited.

United claims that for now, MileagePlus and partner award tickets will continue to book into non-basic fare classes, so will still come with full perks. However, I have to imagine that it’s only a matter of time before United also introduces similarly tiered award tickets.

I suspect that before the end of 2026, we’ll see these basic premium cabin fares at all major US carriers. This announcement came just shortly after United completely changed how it awards miles for flying, as it’s now all about whether you have a United credit card or not.

It’s also interesting (and perhaps logical) to note that Polaris Lounge access is on the chopping block. United recently announced that the forward cabin on premium transcontinental flights will soon be marketed as Polaris, meaning those passengers will finally get Polaris Lounge access. One wondered how crowding would be handled in light of that, and I guess these basic fares are one way to address that.

Will customers benefit from basic business class fares?

Over time, we’ve seen the concept of basic economy become pretty widespread, whereby the cheapest economy fares include the fewest perks. The purpose of this is twofold — to expand a carrier’s potential customer base, and to get existing customers to “buy up” to a higher fare, in order to avoid punitive restrictions.

The concept of basic business class is similar. These basic fares are always framed as being good for customers, and giving them more choice, and allowing them to only pay for the services that they want. But make no mistake, that’s not actually how the implementation of these fares typically works.

I wouldn’t expect basic business class fares to be materially cheaper than previous standard business class fares. Instead, I suspect that more often than not, the previous cheapest fares are just being made the new basic fares, in an effort to get people to buy up to more expensive fares. I wouldn’t consider that to be good for consumers.

At the same time, I’m not surprised to see the trend. Premium leisure demand is strong, while business travel hasn’t fully recovered. Leisure travelers are often willing to pay a lot for business class, but they’re typically not willing to pay $10K+, as some corporate customers previously may have. So it’s not surprising to see airlines using whatever strategies they can to get people to part with more of their money when flying business class.

The thing to keep in mind is that adding basic business class fares in long haul markets requires a bit more coordination, given the joint ventures that the major airlines belong to, which create metal neutrality. So I’d expect to find these fares across Star Alliance transatlantic joint venture partners in the near future, given how these kinds of flights are sold. It’s not surprising I guess that Lufthansa also recently rolled out basic business class fares.

It is still kind of wild to me that one could book a $4K+ business class ticket, and not have it count as a qualifying flight (PQF) toward status, while a $100 short haul economy ticket would count as a qualifying flight.

Bottom line

For quite some time, United executives have been hinting that the introduction of basic premium cabin fares would be imminent. This is now official — United is introducing new fare categories across cabins, and the idea is that we’re going to also see basic premium cabin fares. These are now on sale, and will be expanding to more markets over time.

In the case of the new United Polaris business class basic fares, they only allow seat assignments for a fee, have a reduced checked bag allowance, don’t allow changes or refunds, limit mileage earning and status qualification, and only allow United Club access, rather than United Polaris Lounge access.

Make no mistake, this is a way to generate more revenue, and I’d view this as being a fare increase if you want the same as before, rather than some amazing new discount opportunity for premium cabin tickets. Expect Delta and American to also match in the very near future.

What do you make of United introducing a basic Polaris business class product?

Etihad increases China from 28 to 35 weekly flights

Etihad Airways has announced plans to massively increase its China service, as the airline will go from seven weekly flights to one destination, to 35 weekly flights to six destinations. Etihad plans to launch the following five new routes from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to China, complementing existing 7x weekly flights to Beijing (PKX):

• As of October 1, 2026, Etihad will launch 7x weekly flights to Shanghai (PVG)
• As of March 4, 2027, Etihad will launch 7x weekly flights to Guangzhou (CAN)
• As of March 4, 2027, Etihad will launch 5x weekly flights to Hangzhou (HGH)
• As of March 5, 2027, Etihad will launch 4x weekly flights to Chengdu (TFU)
• As of March 7, 2027, Etihad will launch 5x weekly flights to Shenzhen (SZX)

The above is limited to mainland China, and doesn’t include services to Hong Kong (HKG) and Taipei (TPE).

All routes will be operated by Boeing 787-9s, featuring 290 seats, including 28 business class seats and 262 economy class seats. As it’s described, this new service “reflects the growing strategic importance of the UAE–China corridor, strengthening links across trade, tourism and investment, while positioning Abu Dhabi as a key gateway between China and markets across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.”

The expanded network is intended to “significantly enhance the movement of passengers and goods between the two countries, while increasing access to China’s major commercial, industrial and technology centres.” All routes are part of Etihad’s joint venture with China Eastern, which provides coordinated services across key gateways, with China Eastern currently flying to the UAE from Shanghai (PVG), Kunming (KMG), and Xi’an (XIY).

Here’s how Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves describes this growth: 

“China is a strategically important market for Etihad and a key pillar of our network growth. This expansion represents a significant increase in capacity and a clear signal of our long-term commitment to the market.”

“By adding five new destinations and increasing frequencies, we are strengthening connectivity across one of the world’s most important economic corridors. This will support growing demand for travel and trade, while creating new opportunities for cargo, business and tourism. At the same time, we are strengthening Abu Dhabi’s role as a key destination and gateway for travel and trade, supporting the emirate’s long-term economic ambitions.”

What’s driving this sudden expansion in China?

It’s interesting to see an airline go from one to six route to a country in a short period, and Etihad even describes this as one of its biggest single market increases in history. What’s driving this expansion, and to what extent does the Iran conflict factor into this growth?

First, we have seen a recent expansion of bilateral air rights between the United Arab Emirates and China, so the level of growth is only possible thanks to that (though prior to this, there were some bilateral slots not being utilized).

But I can’t help but find five new routes to one country to be quite the announcement. While Etihad is currently growing at a fast pace, most of that growth is with newly delivered Airbus A321LRs, so this added China service requires a lot of wide body capacity.

China is an international market that has cooled off considerably in recent years. International demand to and from China is down materially, and Chinese airlines have struggled to restore their pre-pandemic capacity. So yields on these routes are unlikely to be great.

I suspect that Etihad feels like it can get a leg-up over its two Gulf rivals in China, given that the airline otherwise doesn’t have any markets where its network is fully competitive with Emirates and Qatar.

I’m also curious to what extent the current conflict, and long term implications, might impact Etihad’s growth strategy. After all, adding long haul service to China will come at the expense of adding long haul service elsewhere.

Bottom line

Etihad is massively growing its service to mainland China, as the airline is going from one route to six routes, and from 7x weekly flights to 35x weekly flights. This is possible thanks to a boosted bilateral agreement between China and the UAE, plus it’s also a priority because of the China Eastern joint venture. Growing so much in China right now counters the industry trend, so I’m curious if the airline follows through on all of this as planned.

What do you make of Etihad adding so many China routes?

In late 2022, Air India revealed that it would refresh the interiors of its Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft, with all-new cabins, including fresh premium seats. On top of that, in early 2023, Air India placed a landmark order for hundreds of Airbus and Boeing jets, worth tens of billions of dollars.

While the announcement at the time sounded nice, actual progress has been made at a glacial pace. Air India did recently take delivery of its first factory fresh Boeing 787-9, also featuring a new business class product. There’s now an exciting update, as the first retrofitted Boeing 787-8 with new cabins is expected to be in service shortly. Let’s recap all the details.

Air India investing $400+ million in wide body jet interiors

Tata Group intends to refresh the interiors of Air India’s existing long haul fleet. Here’s what we can expect:

• Air India will be refreshing the interiors of its legacy wide body fleet, including all Boeing 787-8s and Boeing 777-300ERs (the legacy Vistara Boeing 787-9s aren’t getting new interiors for now)
• Air India will not only be refreshing all cabins (including new seats, inflight entertainment, and Wi-Fi), but will also introduce a premium economy product across its long haul fleet
• Air India will be retaining the first class cabin on its 777s, while 787s won’t be getting first class (at least that’s the plan last I heard, though who knows, given supply chain challenges)
• The planes will not only get new seats, but you can expect the configuration to change as well

So, when can we expect these new interiors to debut on existing aircraft? Initially the plan was for the first reconfigured aircraft to enter service as of mid-2024, with all planes being reconfigured within 2.5 years, meaning by late 2026 or early 2027.

That’s no longer realistic due to supply chain issues, and now the expectation is that the entire retrofit project won’t be complete until late 2028… and that’s best case scenario! The latest plan is for 787s to be reconfigured first, followed by 777s.

In the summer of 2025, the first of these planes was sent to the “shop” to be reconfigured. As is common when a new type of aircraft is reconfigured, the prototype can take quite some time.

There is some good news, though — the first 787-8 with new interiors should be in service very shortly (with the registration code VT-ANT), with two more joining only a short while after that (with the registration codes VT-ANP and VT-ANC). All 26 legacy Air India 787-8s will be reconfigured by July 2027.

The first reconfigured 787-8 is supposed to be flying from Delhi (DEL) to London (LHR) as of May 1, 2026, before expanding to Mumbai (BOM) as of June 30, 2026, also on the London route.

The reconfigured planes feature 250 seats, including 20 business class seats, 25 premium economy seats, and 205 economy seats. The old configuration included 259 seats, including 18 business class seats and 241 economy seats.

So to lose a total of nine seats while gaining two business class seats and 25 premium economy seats should be pretty good for economics, as I see it.

The first 777-300ER is then expected to be reconfigured in early 2027, with the plan being for all 13 of these aircraft to be reconfigured by October 2028.

In the meantime, we’re actually seeing 777-300ERs get a mild interim makeover, consisting of a soft refresh, with new cabin finishes, including seat covers, carpets, and more.

Obviously all airlines have been dealing with supply chain issues, but this is just downright rough. Tata Group acquired Air India in late 2021, and it’ll be over five years before the first 777 is reconfigured. Ouch.

Air India’s long haul fleet is a hodgegpoge of planes

Keep in mind that in addition to its existing legacy long haul fleet, Air India is leasing some jets that used to fly for other airlines, mostly on a fairly short term basis (meaning that these planes likely won’t be in Air India’s fleet in a decade). This is both intended to improve the passenger experience, and to add capacity.

For example, Air India has been leasing six former Delta Air Lines Boeing 777-200LRs (which are being phased out right now) and six former Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ERs.

These planes are all significantly more premium than Air India’s existing long haul aircraft, and feature direct aisle access and fully flat seats in business class. Furthermore, the Delta jets feature premium economy, while the Etihad jets feature first class.

On top of that, Air India has started flying some Airbus A350-900s, which were initially intended for Aeroflot, so they have non-standard interiors, compared to Air India’s planned new layouts.

My take on Air India’s wide body cabin upgrades

I am happy to see Air India’s investment in its product, though of course it’s frustrating how slow this is all happening. Not only does the airline have a woefully outdated business class on Boeing 777s (in a 2-3-2 configuration with angled seats), but the cabins on many Air India planes are basically falling apart.

Here are some thoughts on the general cabin mixture we’re seeing on Air India wide body jets going forward:

• It’s interesting that Air India will maintain first class; some airlines have eliminated this while introducing a better business class product, but it seems that Air India is committed to maintaining this
• It’s fantastic that Air India will finally introduce fully flat business class seats with direct aisle access and doors; this will be a quantum leap compared to the current product
• I’m happy to see Air India also introducing premium economy throughout the long haul fleet, as India really seems like a market where there’s value in that, given how long so many flights to the country are
• The only downside to the new cabins is that on 777s, Air India is going from a 3-3-3 layout in economy to a 3-4-3 layout; this was bound to happen, and matches the industry standard
• Once Air India does introduce this new product on planes, I hope the company invests in maintaining the seats, since that has historically been a major challenge for the airline

Air India’s new 787-8 business class will be the Elevate Ascent seat, which is the same product the airline is installing on newly delivered 787-9s, but different than what will be installed on 777-300ERs.

Bottom line

Air India is spending hundreds of millions of dollars updating the cabins on its Boeing 777s and 787s. The airline will maintain first class on 777s, introduce a new business class, add premium economy on all long haul planes, and also update the economy product.

This is all great news, though the terrible news is the timeline. While this project was supposed to start as of mid-2024, the first 787 with new cabins is now expected to enter service as of mid-2026, while the first 777 won’t be reconfigured until early 2027.

The current plan is that all 787-8s will have new interiors by July 2027, and all 777-300ERs will have new interiors by October 2028. All of that is best case scenario.

What do you make of Air India’s plans to update its cabins?

American pilots now have access to airplane trading cards

Airlines try to create brand loyal customers (or so they claim), and also like to encourage people to be aviation geeks, so it’s common for airlines to give their pilots airplane trading cards. The idea is that passengers can ask for these trading cards, and then they typically feature the aircraft being flown, so that passengers can collect different cards.

It seems the general popularity of airplane trading cards has increased massively in recent times, perhaps thanks to social media, and the number of people posting online about them. For example, while Delta has had trading cards going as far back as 2003, the number of times they’re being requested has hugely increased.

Heck, Spirit even recently invested in rolling out trading cards, to give you a sense of how this is being viewed as non-negotiable by some airlines.

American has been the exception among major airlines by not having these, but that has finally changed, as flagged by PYOK. However, it’s not the airline rolling this out, but instead, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), the union representing pilots.

The APA describes this initiative as being intended to “enhance the experience of our passengers,” and there are at least four types of cards, covering different planes in the fleet. The cards have union branding, rather than airline branding (though they do show pictures of aircraft in their full liveries). Of course it’ll be up to pilots to actually pick these up from bases and bring them onboard, to distribute to passengers.

Now, I can’t help but be curious if there’s a QR code on the back of these cards leading to a certain website, as one wonders what the real motive here is. 😉 We have seen American’s pilot union be (understandably) very frustrated with management, and they’ve promised to take their displeasure “to all American stakeholders.” Could this be part of that plan?

As you might expect, pilots are conflicted on this

Interestingly, the union rolling out this initiative is getting mixed reactions from pilots on social media. Some are coming out in favor of this, with one pilot saying “thank goodness,” and “there is nothing I hate saying more than, ‘sorry, kid, I don’t have any.'”

Other pilots are less pleased with this initiative, with the most common complaint being along the lines of “my dues at work.” Another pilot comments “while I like the idea of AA providing something resembling a decent product for our customers, and trading cards would be cool, not sure I’m excited to be spending union dues money on this.”

Another person comments “so your union will pay for them but your company won’t,” and “no wonder AA is doing so well.”

Honestly, it does seem pretty low that this is being funded by the union rather than by the airline, and I think it gets at part of American’s bigger cultural issue. If you’re a customer focused airline, you encourage interactions like this. When Delta put out press releases about trading cards, it even emphasized how the interaction between pilots and customers can be “impactful” and “elevates and enriches the flight experience.”

I think Delta is exactly right here, and that’s part of the issue with American’s culture. The airline doesn’t put enough effort into understanding the importance of positive interactions with frontline employees, and how they impact the perception that passengers walk away with.

Bottom line

American pilots now have access to airplane trading cards, but this is being offered through the union, and not through the airline. So I wouldn’t necessarily expect for these to be as available as on other airlines, where the company as such is paying for it.

Pilots are conflicted on this new initiative. While some are happy to finally be able to give out trading cards, more seem to be unhappy that their union dues are paying for this.

What do you make of American’s pilot union rolling out trading cards?

Virgin Atlantic will soon offer free Starlink Wi-Fi

Virgin Atlantic has signed an agreement with SpaceX, to introduce Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet. Best of all, Virgin Atlantic plans to offer Starlink Wi-Fi for free for all members of its Flying Club loyalty program (which is free to sign-up for), and members can connect with multiple devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Starlink is known for its high-speed, low-latency broadband internet, and the service will be offered gate to gate. Starlink Wi-Fi will allow for live streaming, productivity similar to on the ground (with high upload and download speeds), gaming, e-commerce, and more.

Virgin Atlantic intends to offer Starlink Wi-Fi on all of its Airbus A330neos, Airbus A350s, and Boeing 787s. The only planes that won’t be getting Starlink Wi-Fi are the Airbus A330ceos, as those will be retired in the coming years.

Starlink is becoming increasingly popular with airlines. So far we’ve seen carriers like Aer Lingus, airBaltic, Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska, British Airways, Copa, Emirates, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Korean Air, Lufthansa Group, Qatar Airways, SAS, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and WestJet, all announce plans to install the service. What’s also great about Starlink is that the installation process is pretty quick, once aircraft are certified to have it installed.

Here’s how Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Customer Officer, Juha Jaervinen, describes this:

“We were the first UK airline to announce free, fleet-wide Starlink Wi-Fi, and from May, we’re starting to deliver it for our customers. As the rollout gathers pace, we plan to deliver 100% Starlink connectivity across our fleet in 2027, as part of our focus on creating a brilliantly connected experience.”

“Together with Starlink, we’re setting a new standard for connectivity in the skies, with fast, free, high-speed WiFi available from the moment customers step onboard. It’s all part of creating a truly connected, ‘home away from home’ experience, giving customers the freedom to use their time onboard exactly as they choose, whether that’s staying close to work, to plans, or to the people who matter most.” 

Virgin Atlantic already does pretty well with Wi-Fi, as the airline has Viasat Wi-Fi on some aircraft, available at a cost. However, Starlink is not only faster, but will be complimentary.

Virgin Atlantic accelerates Starlink Wi-Fi rollout

While Virgin Atlantic was the first airline in the UK to announce plans to install Starlink, British Airways quickly followed Virgin Atlantic’s lead, and even beat the carrier to the punch when it comes to the rollout of the service.

Obviously Virgin Atlantic feels the pressure, and has now also sped up the timeline with which it will introduce the service. When plans were first announced, the idea was that installation would start in the third quarter of 2026, and would be completed by the end of 2027.

What’s the latest plan? Installation will actually start quite a bit earlier than initially planned. Starting in early May 2026, Virgin Atlantic will install Starlink Wi-Fi on A350s, and all A350s should have the service by early summer 2026. Then starting in the second half of 2026, we should see all 787s get the service, with two-thirds of the fleet having Starlink by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, remaining A330neos will get Starlink in 2027, at which point the project will be complete.

So this is great news, as it means all A350s (and possibly some 787s) are expected to get Starlink before the first Virgin Atlantic aircraft was even supposed to get the service.

Bottom line

Virgin Atlantic will introduce free Starlink Wi-Fi for Flying Club members. This will progressively be rolled out as of May 2026, with installation expected to be completed by the end of 2027. All A350s should have the service by early summer, all 787s should have the service by the end of 2026, and all A330neos should have the service by some point in 2027.

This is an exciting development. It’s awesome to see that free high speed Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming an industry standard, and look forward to using this service.

What do you make of Virgin Atlantic introducing free Starlink Wi-Fi?

Lufthansa makes flexible tickets inflexible with new fees

Generally when you book an airline ticket, there are many tiers of fares you can book, which offer varying levels of flexibility.

While it’s often outrageously expensive, airlines typically provide the option to book a flexible fare, which is refundable to the original form of payment up until close to departure. Sometimes airlines will have a very small administrative fee to cancel these tickets, but the idea is that these tickets offer flexibility.

For example, take a “First Flex” fare from Munich (MUC) to Chicago (ORD), where you’ll see that under “Refundability” it shows “Allowed,” so the ticket can be refunded at no cost.

However, due to a new policy, Lufthansa Group airlines are now charging significant fees to refund the most flexible tickets in select regions. This policy applies exclusively to flights that are to & from Asia Pacific (excluding China, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore), along with flights to South Africa, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. So as you can see, the rollout of this is limited so far.

If you’re looking for a cash refund on the most expensive (flexible) tickets in the above regions, you’ll now pay the following:

• Economy tickets have a €400 fee
• Premium economy tickets have a €700 fee
• Business class tickets have a €1,000 fee
• First class tickets have a €1,500 fee

What’s Lufthansa’s motive for this policy change?

It goes without saying that airlines don’t actually want customers to refund their tickets for cash. At the same time, the whole reason for offering tiered fares is to provide incremental perks in exchange for a higher ticket price.

Ticket flexibility is something that people value, especially business travelers, and Lufthansa is countering the trend by not offering flexible tickets. For example, if a corporation needs to book a ticket for an outside contractor but isn’t 100% sure if the trip will happen, then a large cash fee to refund could be a big deterrent to book with that airline (since you don’t value that traveler being able to use the ticket value as a credit toward the cost of a future journey).

It’s interesting to note the markets that this is initially being implemented in, as these are regions that aren’t part of any major joint ventures. That’s often how airlines test new things on long haul routes, before extending it further.

So, what’s the logic here, especially with Lufthansa doing this while competitors don’t? I have to imagine that this is a trial, and that Lufthansa will likely be considering several factors:

• Will a fee to refund tickets greatly decrease demand for flexible fares? If so, will it cause people to book travel on other airlines, or just to choose a different type of fare?
• Is this new policy intended to address concerns over people booking refundable tickets in order to “hold” seats (for one reason or another), with people consistently canceling at the last minute?

Fully redefining the concept of flexible tickets doesn’t set a great precedent. Higher fares are almost like tiered insurance policies, where the cancelation “co-pay” decreases as you buy more expensive tickets. However, it has typically been that the most expensive fares give you no “co-pay,” hence them being branded as “flexible,” rather than as “slightly cheaper to cancel than other fares.”

Bottom line

Lufthansa is taking the concept of flexible tickets to a new low, with a €400-1,500 fee to cancel these tickets and receive a refund. This is initially being implemented in select markets that don’t belong to any of the major joint ventures, so I have to imagine that the airline is looking to eventually expand this further.

One wonders to what extent customers will be interested in paying a big premium for a top-tier fare that doesn’t even let you refund your ticket for free.

What do you make of Lufthansa’s new approach to ticket flexibility?

So generally speaking, the upside or downside of fluctuating oil prices is a risk for the airline. That’s not the case at every airline, though, as flagged by PYOK.

Volotea adjusts ticket costs based on fuel costs

Spanish low cost carrier Volotea has what it refers to as its “Fair Travel Promise.” When you book a ticket, you’ll see the following warning about how you could be charged an extra €9 per flight around seven days before departure, based on the cost of oil:

We all hope the situation in the Middle East will stabilize soon. Until then, we’re here to make your travel a little easier.

• At Volotea, we believe in total transparency to our clients. Instead of including fuel costs in your fare, we base them on real market price.
• 7 days before departure, we will review the fuel price and, if needed, we may adjust your ticket price. If prices increase, we may charge up to a maximum of €9 per passenger, per flight. If prices go down, we’ll refund you the difference.
• And because we know plans can change, we offer you full flexibility for free. You can change your flight, if needed, or cancel it for any reason and get refunded in Volotea credit up to 4 hours before departure. Read more about this policy in our Conditions of Volotea‘s Fair Travel Promise.

To expand on that further, if you look at the contract of carriage, you’ll see the following listed:

In the event of extraordinary variations in fuel prices affecting international energy markets, Volotea may apply a limited and temporary adjustment to the ticket price prior to the scheduled departure of the flight.

Any such adjustment will be calculated in accordance with the methodology, thresholds and limits published on Volotea’s website.

Passengers will be informed during the booking process of the methodology applicable to any adjustment resulting from increases or decreases in fuel costs, which may lead to a corresponding increase or decrease in the price of their Ticket. The exact amount of any such adjustment will be communicated to passengers prior to departure, once the applicable fuel cost variation has been determined. Such adjustments will only apply to passengers who have been informed of this possibility during the booking process, allowing them to make an informed decision before completing their purchase.

By completing their purchase after being informed of the possibility of any adjustment to the Ticket price, passengers acknowledge and accept that such adjustment may be applied and authorise Volotea to charge any corresponding increase, or reimburse any decrease, using the same payment method used to purchase the Ticket.

What an unusual policy for an airline to have

Airline pricing is incredibly complex, and I’m not going to argue that it’s terribly rational in the first place. But the idea is that pricing is determined by what the market will sustain based on supply and demand, rather than based on the cost of providing a particular service. It’s the reason that a flight on a particular route will typically be more expensive during “peak” season rather than during a quieter time of year.

So if an airline wants to tell passengers that their ticket cost will be based on the cost of providing the service, there’s nothing wrong with that, in theory. The question is, how is this really being measured? Up to €9 can be added per flight, but what is the exact amount based on? What price of oil per barrel is included with the “standard” fare?

I love the suggestion that the airline can adjust fares up or down based on oil prices — I’d be curious to know how often the airline has proactively emailed customers to offer them a refund a week out, due to falling oil prices. 😉

Bottom line

Spanish airline Volotea has a unique pricing system, whereby the airline reserves the right to add an extra fee for fuel after passengers book. Specifically, seven days before departure, the airline can charge up to €9 to account for higher oil prices.

For an industry where pricing isn’t based on the cost of actually providing the service, this is a unique concept that I’m sure is controversial among passengers.

What do you make of Volotea’s “fuel cost adjustment” policy?

Icelandair pilot makes unauthorized flyover on final flight

Media in Iceland is reporting on an incident that happened on Saturday, April 11, 2026. It involves Icelandair flight FI521, the 3hr18min flight that was operating from Frankfurt (FRA) to Keflavik (KEF) with a Boeing 757-200 that had the registration code TF-ISR.

For the captain onboard, it was his final flight at the airline prior to retirement. It’s not unusual for there to be something special for pilots on their last flight, like a water cannon salute upon landing. However, this pilot took matters into his own hands.

On approach to Keflavik Airport, the captain decided to perform a low-level flyover of the town of Vestmannaeyjar, which is on the approach course to the airport. This was reportedly the town that the captain grew up in. Since there was no prior warning, this startled residents, as houses shook, given how much noise engines can generate.

Icelandair’s chief flight officer has made it clear that this incident is being taken seriously, and that “this was not done with any permission from us and it was done completely without our knowledge.” Airline operating policies aside, it’s also being investigated whether actual guidelines were broken in terms of the altitude at which planes can fly above the ground.

How low did the Icelandair plane actually get?

This flyover of Vestmannaeyjar happened over 20 minutes before the plane actually landed at Keflavik Airport. So while it was “on the way,” the plane descended significantly in order to do this flyover. So, how low did the plane actually get?

Flightradar24 data shows the plane at an altitude of 1,375 feet and speed of 144 knots around the town of Vestmannaeyjar. However, that likely wasn’t the plane’s lowest altitude or speed. That’s because the plane was flying by a cliff, and flight tracking briefly lost coverage of it.

When those numbers show (1,375 feet and 144 knots), you’ll also see the climb rate shows as being 1,472 feet per minute, so that means it wasn’t the lowest altitude the plane reached. After the flyover, the plane climbed back up to over 5,000 feet.

How reckless were the captain’s actions here? Flyovers and low passes can be performed in a way that’s totally safe, assuming no operational limits were exceeded. I think the bigger issue here is poor judgment in terms of communication. The people living in the town were startled, while something like this also shouldn’t done without a company’s permission. I hope that passengers were at least told what was going on?

Bottom line

A retiring Icelandair captain decided to do something special for his final flight, so he performed a flyover of the town he grew up in. This involved flying way lower and slower than this flight typically would, and it startled people in the town.

The airline is now investigating this incident, since it was done without company permission. While this maneuver likely wasn’t dangerous, I’m sure the airline views this as showing questionable judgment. Then again, if it was the guy’s last flight…

What do you make of this Icelandair pilot’s retirement flight flyover?

Lufthansa pilots plan two-day industrial action

Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the union representing Lufthansa pilots, has announced that pilots (in both the passenger and cargo division) will be going on strike from 12:01AM on Monday, April 13, 2026, until 11:59PM on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Specifically, this applies to pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa CityLine, and Lufthansa Cargo. Furthermore, Eurowings pilots will be going on strike exclusively for one day, from 12:01AM until 11:59PM on April 13, 2026.

We last saw a two-day strike from pilots on March 12-13, 2026, and then we saw a flight attendant strike on April 10. So to have five days of strikes in just over a month is really rough.

These strikes impact flights departing from Germany, with the only exception being flights to & from the Middle East, given the important nature of these services. So any scheduled services to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, will operate as planned.

Here’s what VC President Andreas Pinheiro has said about the latest strike:

“The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) feels compelled to take this step after the employers showed no discernible willingness to find a solution in several wage disputes. Despite a deliberate decision to refrain from strike action over the Easter holidays, no serious offers were forthcoming. During this time, there was neither a response nor any discernible willingness to negotiate on the part of the employers.”

“The employers always have the opportunity to avert the strike by submitting negotiable offers, A strike is always the last resort to bring movement to failed negotiations. We would have much preferred to avoid it – especially given the disruption for our passengers and our colleagues on the ground. However, the responsibility for this lies with the employers.”

Lufthansa has issued a travel advisory for flights on Monday and Tuesday, so passengers have the ability to easily rebook. The airline is advising people to check the flight status page to see if their flight will operate, and at this point most cancellations have been loaded.

What is Lufthansa’s pilots union looking for?

So, why are Lufthansa pilots going on strike? It comes down to two main reasons — first, the company pension scheme for pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, and second, the failed collective bargaining negotiations on remuneration issues at Lufthansa CityLine.

When it comes to pensions for Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, until 2017, pilots received a traditional company pension with guaranteed payouts. At the company’s insistence, this was replaced by a capital market-financed model that falls significantly short of the previous pension level.

In the case of pay for Lufthansa CityLine pilots, since August 2025, the collective bargaining commission has been negotiating a new wage contract, but claims that a viable offer has not yet been presented. While the company submitted an offer on February 25, 2026, the union considers this offer significantly short of its demands, and unacceptable for its requirement of an absolute no-strike agreement. And in the weeks since then, no additional progress has been made.

Bottom line

Lufthansa pilots will be going on a two-day strike on Monday and Tuesday (with Eurowings pilots striking just on Monday). This is expected to impact a large number of flights departing Germany, with the exception of “essential” Middle East flights (not that many of those are operating anymore).

For mainline pilots, this strike involves delays in negotiating over pensions. Meanwhile for CityLine pilots, the issue revolves around a new contract. As you’d expect, the union says management isn’t willing to make an acceptable offer, though I imagine management would have a different narrative. This is now the third set of strikes we’ve seen at Lufthansa in around a month, so that’s pretty bad.

Any OMAAT readers flying Lufthansa in the coming days?

There’s a lot of value to be had with getting the right business credit cards, as these cards can offer perks and rewards that you can leverage to get huge value, especially for travel. In many cases, the perks will more than justify the annual fee.

In this post, I’d like to take an in-depth look at what I’d consider to be one of the more well-rounded and approachable business cards, which is the Capital One Venture Business. This card was recently launched as a rebranding of the former Capital One Spark Miles Business, and there are lots of reasons to consider applying.

The card offers flexible travel rewards that can either be redeemed as cash toward the cost of a travel purchase, or can be transferred to an airline or hotel partner. Not only does the card offer flexible rewards, but it offers them at a good rate, as you’re looking at earning up to two airline miles or hotel points per dollar spent, or up to two cents toward travel per dollar spent. Let’s go over some of the key details of this card.

Capital One Venture Business welcome bonus & annual fee

The Capital One Venture Business has a massive welcome bonus and a reasonable annual fee, making it a good time to pick up this card. To start, let’s cover the welcome bonus, eligibility rules, annual fee, and more.

Welcome bonus of up to 150K Capital One miles

The Capital One Venture Business is currently offering a limited time two-part welcome bonus of up to 150,000 Capital One miles, structured as follows:

• Earn 75,000 miles after spending $7,500 within the first three months
• Earn an additional 75,000 miles after spending a total of $30,000 within the first six months

I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, so to me this bonus is worth a staggering $2,550, assuming you’re able to reach the full spending requirement. Even if you can’t, unlocking even the lower tier bonus is still potentially worthwhile.

Capital One Venture Business eligibility rules

Capital One is sometimes vague with credit card bonus eligibility rules, and the Capital One Venture Business is no exception. Per the terms, “existing or previous Accountholders may not be eligible for these bonuses.”

My belief is that you’re eligible for the welcome offer on this card if you don’t currently have it, or if you have or have had the Spark Miles Business, which is what this card was known as before it was rebranded. Though who knows, maybe those members are actually eligible, but we have to wait for data points.

You should be eligible for the card if you have or have had another Capital One credit card, including another business card, like the Capital One Venture X Business (review). Applying for this card also shouldn’t show up as a new card on your personal credit report, for the purposes of Chase’s 5/24 rule, if that’s something you’re concerned about.

Beyond that, Capital One doesn’t have many consistent application rules. The only other major thing worth noting is that Capital One may pull from all three credit bureaus. Personally I don’t find that to be a big deal one way or another, though it is something that’s at least worth being aware of.

$95 annual fee, $0 authorized user fee

The Capital One Venture Business has a $95 annual fee, and authorized users can be added for $0, so that’s reasonable, especially with the credit card annual fee inflation we’ve seen over the years. Not only does that unlock a great return on spending, but the card also offers some extra perks that could prove valuable.

Capital One Venture Business mileage earning & rewards

Nowadays there are so many credit cards with complex rewards structures, where you really have to put a lot of effort into maximizing your rewards. So along those lines, the Capital One Venture Business actually has a straightforward rewards structure, with just one additional bonus category.

Earn unlimited 2x Capital One miles

The Capital One Venture Business offers unlimited 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent with no foreign transaction fees, which I consider to be among the best returns on everyday spending. Capital One has both personal and business cards offering this rate of return, so that’s awesome.

One other cool thing is that the miles post almost immediately when your purchase hits the statement, rather than after the statement closes (or even the statement after that). Talk about instant gratification!

Earn 5x Capital One miles on some travel bookings

Beyond the standard 2x miles on everyday spending, the Capital One Venture Business also offers unlimited 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, booked through Capital One Business Travel, which is the company’s business travel portal.

Personally I wouldn’t get too excited about that return, but it’s at least worth mentioning. Still, the 2x miles on everyday spending is the selling point of this card.

Basics of redeeming Capital One miles

It’s great to earn Capital One miles, but how can you actually use them? In general, you have two major options for redeeming your Capital One miles, which means that the card offers the equivalent of a return of up to two airline miles or hotel points per dollar spent, or two cents per dollar spent toward travel.

I consider the best option to be converting Capital One miles into airline miles or hotel points in a variety of programs. A vast majority of transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, giving you incredible flexibility. Below are the Capital One transfer partners.

It’s worth noting that Capital One also sometimes offers further transfer bonuses, so that you can get an even better transfer ratio.

Alternatively, the other decent way to redeem Capital One miles is at the rate of one cent per mile toward the cost of a travel purchase. This means you’re earning two cents per dollar spent toward travel, since the card offers unlimited 2x Capital One miles. If you want to redeem your Capital One miles toward the cost of a travel purchase, there are two primary ways you can do so:

• You can redeem them for past travel purchases cashing in miles for statement credits, where you can simply make an eligible travel booking using your card, and then you can go online after the fact and use your miles to pay for it within 90 days of the date of purchase; your credit will be applied to your account within two to three days
• You can book a travel reservation through Capital One’s travel portal, and each mile can be redeemed for one cent toward the cost of a travel purchase

Eligible travel purchases include those made from airlines, hotels, rail lines, rental car agencies, limousine services, bus lines, cruise lines, taxi cabs, travel agents, and timeshares.

Capital One Venture Business perks & credits

The Capital One Venture Business offers several valuable perks that can help to offset and justify the annual fee, including up to $220 in credits, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, rental car coverage, and more.

$50 annual Capital One Business Travel credit

The Capital One Venture Business offers a $50 credit each anniversary year, valid for a purchase with Capital One Business Travel. You can use this toward the cost of a flight, hotel stay, etc., so it shouldn’t be too hard to maximize this (even if it’s just booking a cheap flight with the card).

$50 annual advertising or software credit

The Capital One Venture Business offers a $50 credit each anniversary year, valid for qualifying purchases with advertising or software merchants. Eligibility is based on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) assigned to the merchant, so there shouldn’t be too many hurdles to taking advantage of this.

Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit

The Capital One Venture Business offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years. Just charge the membership fee to your Capital One Venture Business, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card. This can get you up to a $120 statement credit.

Valuable rental car coverage

The Capital One Venture Business offers rental car coverage, assuming you’re renting for business reasons. Just charge the entire rental to your card and decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver coverage, and you’ll be covered for damage due to collision or theft. Make sure you review the benefits guide for full details.

Useful purchase & travel protection

The Capital One Venture Business offers all kinds of other protection, including purchase security and extended protection (coverage on items lost or stolen within 90 days), travel and emergency assistance services, and more. The full details of this can be found in the cardmember agreement.

Is the Capital One Venture Business right for you?

There are lots of great business credit cards out there, so is the Capital One Venture Business right for you? There’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all answer, but I believe this card has a very lucrative welcome bonus, and it offers a great return on spending. The card then has a reasonable $95 annual fee, which can be offset with credits.

I think there’s merit to picking up this card and giving it a try, given the great welcome offer. In the long run, I think this card is best for small business owners who want to earn travel rewards, but who don’t want to deal with the complexity of maximizing endless bonus categories. A vast majority of those with small business cards would be better off with something like this, so the simplicity is very much a feature people will like.

Let me also just quickly compare this to the more premium Capital One business card that has Venture branding.

Comparison: Venture Business Vs. Venture X Business

The Capital One Venture Business is essentially the more basic version of the Capital One Venture X Business (review), and these cards are probably substitutes for one another (well, aside from the welcome bonus, as you can earn both). Both cards offer 2x Capital One miles on everyday purchases, so here are the key differences:

• The Venture Business has a $95 annual fee, whereas the Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee
• The Venture X Business offers a $300 annual travel credit plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, which to me more than justifies the annual fee
• The Venture X Business offers a Priority Pass™ Select membership, plus access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings

Personally I think the Venture X Business is a no-brainer, and has an amazing value proposition, given the value of the 10,000 anniversary miles plus the travel credit. However, for those who don’t want to pay a big fee upfront, the Venture Business could be more compelling.

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture Business is a lucrative card. For one, the card has a huge limited time welcome offer, which is a great incentive to apply. Beyond that, the card offers a straightforward and competitive rewards structure, as you can earn unlimited 2x Capital One miles, and those miles can be redeemed for one cent each toward a travel purchase, or can be transferred to an airline or hotel partner. Then you can help recoup much of the annual fee with the card’s credits.

If you have a business where you spend a lot in categories that otherwise don’t quality for bonus points on other cards, I’d say this is an excellent option, as it’s extremely well-rounded.

If you want to learn more about the Capital One Venture Business or want to apply, follow this link.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Big picture, I knew what to expect going into this flight, given that Lufthansa’s A350 Allegris business class is basically the same product that SWISS now has, except the airlines have their respective finishes. I do think SWISS’ soft product has the edge, and that its cabins also look a bit nicer. I’d argue that this is a very competitive product across the Atlantic. Still, I’m not actually convinced that it’s anything cutting edge, given that it’s just in the very early stages of being rolled out.

How I booked my SWISS business class ticket

I booked the entire return portion of my journey as one ticket. Specifically, I redeemed 87,500 Air Canada Aeroplan points and paid $138.02 in taxes & fees to book the following (I separately reviewed Thai’s 787 business class):

11/22 TG940 Bangkok to Milan departing 12:35AM arriving 7:10AM
11/22 LX1613 Milan to Zurich departing 10:30AM arriving 11:35AM
11/22 LX52 Zurich to Boston departing 5:30PM arriving 8:00PM

You really can’t beat the value of Aeroplan awards from Asia to the United States via Europe, and it’s potentially even better of a value if you want a stopover in Europe, as that costs just 5,000 extra points, and basically gives you two trips for the price of one.

Fortunately Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program partners with most major transferable points currencies.

SWISS business class lounge & boarding

I ended up having a short layover in Zurich, as my initial flight from Milan had been canceled. So upon landing on my inbound flight, I proceeded straight to my departure gate.

My flight was departing from gate E56, with boarding scheduled for 4:45PM, 45 minutes before departure (sorry for the picture quality, the way the windows are positioned in the terminal makes it hard to get good pictures). Boarding ended up starting around 10 minutes late, with first and business class passengers being invited to board first.

While I didn’t visit any of them this time around, note that I’ve reviewed the SWISS First Lounge, SWISS Senator Lounge, and SWISS Business Lounge, in the terminal.

SWISS A350 business class cabin & seats

The SWISS Senses business class cabin on the Airbus A350 consists of 45 seats, and that’s spread across two cabins.

The forward cabin is located between the first and second set of doors, and consists of 20 business class seats (that’s because you’ll also find the first class cabin in the very front, which has three to four seats), spread across six rows.

The rear cabin is located between the second and third set of doors, and consists of 25 business class seats, spread across seven rows.

Lufthansa and SWISS are proud of how much much flexibility this product provides, as there are five different types of seats. To better illustrate the product, below is the seat map, so that you can get a sense of how the various seats are configured.

The idea is that there are also charges to select two of the five types of business class seats. Below is the pricing chart (in three currencies) for seats on a flight between Switzerland and the East Coast of the United States

Anyway, the best seats in the house are no doubt the business class suites — there are eight of these, and they’re the four bulkhead seats in each of the two business class cabins. These seats really are exceptional, as they have a privacy door, a massive amount of personal space, and even have higher partitions. This is definitely one of the better “business class plus” products out there.

If you’re traveling alone, the four solo window seats are of course awesome.

Meanwhile if you’re traveling with someone, the pairs of center business class suites are the way to go. Ironically, these are also the only seats in the cabin where you can actually be properly seated next to someone else. So as much as the SWISS Senses concept is all about customization, that doesn’t apply to those who actually want to sit next to travel companions.

Based on the pricing chart, the next most premium seats are the solo center seats, which are marketed as extra space seats. There’s certainly a novelty to these center “throne” seats, and you do get a lot of counter space. However, I can’t say that I’d be willing to pay a premium to sit here, because the seat does feel a bit tight and claustrophobic, given the angle of the walls around it.

In every other row you’ll find two seats in the center (on each side of the throne seats), and in general those are the seats that I’d most avoid. That’s because the seats are further from one another, so they’re not useful if you’re traveling with someone. Meanwhile you also don’t have the benefit of being able to look out the windows.

Those seats are marketed as extra long bed seats and classic seats. The former simply refers to the bed surface being very long, due to the location behind the throne seats. But the added spaciousness comes purely in terms of bed length, so that won’t be useful for the average person.

Along the windows, you’ll then find seats that alternate between being closer to the windows (the “private seat”) and being closer to the aisle (the “classic seat”).

The seats that are further from the window would be my less preferred option, simply because you’re quite close to the aisle, so can easily be bumped. It can also be harder to look out the window, due to the consoles to the side of the seat.

Meanwhile I’d argue that the “true” window seats in this configuration are probably the sweet spot in terms of comfort and privacy, without an extra charge to assign a seat. While the window seats are largely similar, seats 7A and 7K are kind of special, and I ended up booking myself seat 7A.

These seats are in theory for those who may need a bassinet, but can also be assigned by others. Thanks to them being in the back of the forward cabin, they have a bunch of extra space to the side. So let’s take a closer look…

Think of this as essentially being a very spacious direct forward facing seat in a staggered configuration. The amount of space to the side of the seat really was next-level.

To the side of the seat is an enclosed storage compartment (which can hold headphones and a bottle of water), an exposed storage space, reading lights, a tablet for controlling all the seat functions, and more.

The seat has two USB-A outlets, one AC power outlet, and wireless charging, and all the charging options are conveniently located.

Thanks to this seat being in the last row, it also has an extra storage compartment underneath the seat and to the side, so that comes in handy.

The armrest on the window-side of the seat is easy to use, and has some pre-set options for fully reclining the seat, changing padding, etc.

The tray table folds out from in front of the seat, and is incredibly long. It’s folded over a bit when stored, and when you pull it out, it’s probably a few feet long.

The ottoman is huge, which is helpful, since it means the seat is very comfortable in bed mode.

When it comes to the overhead console, it has the typical modern A350 setup, but sadly no individual air nozzles.

All-in-all, I’d say the SWISS Senses business class hard product impresses. Admittedly your experience will differ massively based on which seat you end up in, though the window seats in row seven are totally awesome, if you ask me, and offer a ton of space.

Now, is SWISS Senses and Lufthansa Allegris so good that it was worth waiting so many years for, and is it worth the reduced cabin density? I’d argue maybe not…

SWISS A350 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

The size of the 4K OLED entertainment monitor in SWISS Senses business class varies based on which seat you’re in — the business class suites and extra space suites have 24″ monitors, while the other seats have 17.3″ monitors.

I found the entertainment interface and selection to be significantly better than in the past, so that’s a very nice upgrade. While still not among the biggest selections out there, the variety of movies, TV shows, audio, and games, was more than sufficient.

As you’d expect, SWISS also has bluetooth audio pairing on the A350, so that you can use your own headphones for the entertainment, if you’d like.

My favorite entertainment option was the highly customizable map feature, plus the tail camera, which kept me entertained for much of the flight.

The seat also has the huge tablet along the side, which can be used to control the entertainment, seat positions, lighting, etc. In my opinion this sounds better than it actually is, and there were some issues with this actually working to control the seat. It’s clear they’re still working out some kinks.

In theory, the seat also has a cooling or heating feature, though I find the value to be marginal at best. It’s supposed to be like something similar to what you’d find in a car, but I found that the actual difference in temperature was almost unnoticeable.

When it comes to Wi-Fi, SWISS currently offers a paid service.

As far as pricing goes, the options were either a free messaging pass, 25 CHF (32 USD) for four hours of Wi-Fi, or 35 CHF (45 USD) for Wi-Fi for the entire flight.

Pricing is obviously very steep, but I ended up going for the premium plan, given that this was a daytime flight, and I planned to work a good bit. I also found speeds to be excellent, so at least the high price came with good bandwidth.

The good news is that SWISS plans to soon introduce free Starlink Wi-Fi, so not only will speeds be even better, but it won’t even cost anything.

SWISS business class amenities

When it comes to SWISS business class amenities, waiting at each seat upon boarding was a pillow and blanket. The bedding was perfectly fine, but nothing special or out of the ordinary.

There was also an amenity kit at each seat, which was a case with socks, earplugs, and a toothbrush. Is this the world’s most basic amenity kit in terms of contents, or what’s going on here, exactly? There aren’t even slippers, so it really does feel like SWISS skimps a bit on amenities in business class.

Headphones were also placed at each seat, and weren’t terribly high quality. Fortunately with bluetooth audio, it wasn’t at all an issue to just use my own headphones.

Lastly, a bottle of water was also placed at each seat.

During boarding, the crew passed through the cabin with pre-departure drinks, and the options included champagne, the signature SWISS Alpine Essence cocktail, juice, and water. I opted for champagne, with Jacquart Mosaique Brut being on offer.

Warm towels were also distributed to all passengers.

At the end of the boarding process, the menu and drink list were also passed out.

When it comes to amenities, I can’t say that SWISS business class impresses, between the very basic amenity kits, plus the lack of slippers.

SWISS A350 departure from Zurich

The boarding process wrapped up by 5:35PM, at which point the main cabin door immediately closed. Around the same time, the captain announced that we’d be pushing back shortly, and would need to deice prior to departure. He also informed us of our flight time of 7hr55min.

At 5:40PM we began our pushback, and then at 5:45PM we began our taxi, at which point the safety video was screened.

Within around five minutes we were at the deicing pad, and then that process took around 15 minutes. By 6:05PM we were done deicing, and at 6:15PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 28. We had a fast takeoff roll, and a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around five minutes after takeoff.

SWISS business class dinner service

On this flight, dinner was served soon after takeoff, and you can find the SWISS business class menu below. I should mention that SWISS recently overhauled its business class catering, and this was my first flight experiencing the new service concept.

Then you can find the SWISS business class drink list below.

After takeoff, the crew sprung into action, starting with serving the first round of drinks, which were served to me around 30 minutes after takeoff. These were accompanied by the option of either mixed nuts or parmesan cheese, and I chose the latter. To drink, I had another glass of champagne, plus some sparkling water.

It then took some time for service to continue. Around 1hr15min minutes after takeoff, the crew started the appetizer service. SWISS has updated its service concept so that meals are now served directly onto the tray table, rather than on a tray.

Of the two appetizer options, I opted for the marinated balik salmon with sweet potato and ginger relish, with ponzu gel, passion fruit, and sweet potato puree. This was served with a simple side salad, plus a selection of bread. The dish honestly tasted fine, but I can’t say it was anything amazing, or that the presentation blew me away.

As a recent addition to the service flow, SWISS added a new soup course in business class, and on this flight that was a cream of celeriac soup with truffles. I do have to say, the service was definitely on the slow side, as this was only served 1hr45min after takeoff. It was pretty tasty.

Then around 2hr5min after takeoff, main courses were served. Of the four options, I selected the cod with olive oil emulsion, with rice and vegetable linguine. Honestly, I thought it was okay, but nothing amazing, in terms of taste or presentation.

A full 2hr40min after takeoff, the crew passed through the cabin with the dessert trolley. I selected the cheese course, which was served with crackers, plus the lychee, black tea, and rose slice. Both were very good, and I paired those with a dessert wine.

At the conclusion of the meal, the crew passed through the cabin with a box of chocolates, which passengers could help themselves to.

All-in-all, I thought the meal service was reasonably good, but nothing special. In terms of catering, I’d say SWISS’ experience is maybe a little above average. I will say, with SWISS having recently overhauled its business class catering, I do think it’s a slight improvement, but I’d consider the updates to be minor in the scheme of things.

The main thing that stood out to me was the slow pace of service, as it was around three hours after takeoff before tray tables were cleared.

SWISS A350 business class lavatories

SWISS has two lavatories in business class on its A350s, which honestly isn’t a great ratio, when you consider there are 45 passengers, plus crew members. The lavatories are located behind the center galley that’s between the two cabins, and they’re pretty typical A350 lavatories, and not particularly spacious.

The lavatories do have special amenities from Soeder, which is at least a nice premium touch (though I’m not sure it makes up for the lack of products in the amenity kit?).

My one complaint about the lavatory situation is that they weren’t at all clean, especially later in the flight. Unfortunately aside from Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, that’s typically the norm rather than the exception.

SWISS A350 business class bed

It had been a very long couple of days, so after the meal I reclined my seat into bed mode, and tried to get some rest. I was impressed by the seat comfort, as I found it easy to get comfortable. The footwell was large, and the bed was sufficiently wide (though ideally it would be a bit wider).

I ended up falling asleep with just under five hours remaining to Boston, while over the Atlantic…

…and I woke up just under three hours later, with around two hours remaining to Boston, just north of Newfoundland.

That was the perfect nap, and oh-so-needed!

SWISS business class pre-landing snack

Just under two hours before landing, the crew turned on the lights in the cabin for the pre-landing service. You can find the SWISS business class movie snack menu (which I didn’t order anything from) and pre-landing snack menu below.

The pre-landing service consisted of a single tray, and of the two options, I chose the dumplings with beef, chicken, and mushroom in broth, with spinach, spicy radish salad, and pickled pumpkin. That was served with a side of fruit and a choice of drinks (I asked for a Diet Coke). It was a small but good dish (not that a big meal was needed only a few hours after the previous meal wrapped up).

Before landing, I also ordered a cappuccino, as crews are able to prepare those in business class, which is a nice touch.

SWISS business class service

I fly SWISS a fair bit, and find crews to be a mixed bag. Sometimes they’re hospitable and professional, sometimes they’re cold and stand off-ish, etc. Perhaps that also reflects my overall impressions of service in Switzerland.

On this flight, I’d say the crew was pretty average. The flight attendant who was primarily working my aisle was quite friendly, while I couldn’t help but notice that the flight attendant working the other aisle maybe didn’t seem to have so good of an attitude.

With 45 seats in the cabin and a new(ish) service concept, it does feel like crews are very busy during the main services, to the point of almost seeming stressed. So service does feel very “busy” and assembly line-esque, rather than feeling leisurely and calm. Hopefully that improves as crews get more used to the new planes and new service concepts.

SWISS A350 arrival in Boston

Before I knew it, our quick hop across the Atlantic was coming to an end. At 7:25PM Boston time, the captain was on the PA to announce that we’d be landing in around 35-40minutes, and would be arriving a few minutes behind schedule.

About 10 minutes after that we began our descent, and 15 minutes after that the seatbelt sign was turned on. Our descent to Boston was smooth, and we ended up landing at 8:05PM on runway 27.

Boston can be a bit of a mess in terms of congestion on the ramp, and this evening was no exception. It ended up taking us around 15 minutes to get to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 8:20PM, around 20 minutes behind schedule.

From there I checked into the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor for the evening, prior to flying back home the following morning, wrapping up another fun trip!

Bottom line

I’m delighted I had the chance to check out the new SWISS Senses business class on the carrier’s brand new A350. This is SWISS’ version of Lufthansa Allegris. It’s no doubt a huge upgrade for SWISS, and it’s also the carrier’s first “latest generation” wide body plane.

I’d say that this is a really competitive experience across the Atlantic. However, even so, there are areas where the experience falls short, ranging from the disappointing amenities to the very drawn out meal service. I’d gladly fly SWISS Senses again if the schedule and/or price were right, and I’d choose it over any of SWISS’ other planes. However, competitively I wouldn’t really choose this over Air France business class, for example.

What’s your take on SWISS’ A350 business class?

The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is a popular hotel credit card, which can help supercharge the World of Hyatt points you earn. If this is a card that has been on your radar, this is an ideal time to apply, as we’re currently seeing an improved welcome offer available. I’d like to post a heads up that this offer is ending soon, so the clock is ticking.

World of Hyatt Business Card improved bonus details

For applications through 9AM ET on April 30, 2026, the World of Hyatt Business Card is offering a limited time welcome bonus where you can earn 80,000 World of Hyatt points after spending $10,000 within the first three months. Previously the card offered a bonus of up to 60,000 points, so this is 33% better.

Personally, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, so to me, the World of Hyatt points are worth $1,200. This is about as good as offers on this card get.

World of Hyatt Business Card eligibility requirements

If you’re interested in applying for the World of Hyatt Business Card, the typical Chase credit card application restrictions apply.

Fortunately beyond that, the rules are pretty simple. You’re not eligible for the bonus on the card if you currently have this card, or if you’ve received a new cardmember bonus on the card in the past 24 months.

Eligibility for this card is unrelated to whether you have the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review), which is the personal version of the card, and there can be merit to having both cards.

Why the World of Hyatt Business Card is worth it

The World of Hyatt Business Card has a $199 annual fee, and offers a variety of perks that could make it worthwhile:

• The card offers World of Hyatt Discoverist status on an ongoing basis not just for the primary cardmember, but also for up to five employees
• The card offers up to $100 in Hyatt credits annually; these are easy to use, because when you spend $50 or more at any Hyatt property with the card, you’ll get a $50 statement credit, up to two times each anniversary year
• The card offers five elite nights for every $10,000 spent in a calendar year, meaning you rack up elite nights faster than spending on the personal version of the card
• The card offers up to 10% of redeemed points back — this applies when you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year, and then you can get up to 20,000 points back for redemptions for the remainder of the same year
• The card offers 4x points on Hyatt spending, 2x points on fitness clubs and gym memberships, and more

The major advantage of this card over the personal version of the card is that you earn elite nights toward status at a faster pace with your spending, and the card also has a more lucrative welcome offer. Beyond that, though, I find the personal version of the card to have an all around more lucrative value proposition.

Read a detailed review of the World of Hyatt Business Card.

Bottom line

The World of Hyatt Business Card is offering a great limited time welcome bonus, where you can earn 80,000 points upon completing eligible spending. This card has some useful perks, and it’s also the most rewarding card in terms of earning World of Hyatt elite nights for spending on an ongoing basis. If you’ve been considering picking up this card, now would be a good time to apply.

Anyone plan to pick up the World of Hyatt Business Card with 80K bonus points?

The $99 annual fee IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is a lucrative business card, which offers valuable ongoing perks. If you’ve been considering applying for this card, we’re currently seeing a limited time bonus, which is in line with the best ones we’ve seen on the card.

I’d like to post a reminder that this offer is ending soon, so if you’re interested, now is the time to apply.

IHG Business Card increased welcome bonus details

For applications through 9AM ET on April 30, 2026, the IHG Premier Business Card is offering a limited time two-part welcome bonus, which could earn you up to 200,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points. Specifically:

• Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first three months
• Earn an additional 60,000 bonus points after spending a total of $9,000 within the first six months

As a point of comparison, previously the card offered a bonus of up to 140,000 points, so the ability to earn an extra 60,000 points for an incremental $5,000 in spending is new. For what it’s worth, I value IHG One Rewards points at 0.5 cents each, so to me, the bonus is worth $1,000.

Note that you’re not eligible for this bonus if you have or have had this exact card. However, you are eligible if you have or have had either of the personal Chase IHG cards, including the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review) or IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (review). Furthermore, Chase’s standard application rules apply.

Why you should get the IHG Business Card

With my hotel strategy, IHG isn’t my primary hotel group, but I still strategically find lots of value with the program, given IHG’s huge global footprint. There’s significant value to having the IHG Premier Business Card, including:

• IHG One Rewards Platinum status just for having the card; IHG elite status can be quite valuable, especially if you actually stay a fair bit, and can earn Milestone Rewards perks
• The ability to earn IHG One Rewards Diamond status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year; this won’t be worth it for everyone, but does offer some valuable perks
• An anniversary free night certificate every year, valid at a property costing up to 40,000 points; you can top that off with points to redeem at more expensive properties
• Up to $50 in United® TravelBank Cash annually, in the form of up to a $25 credit every six months
• A fourth night free on award redemptions
• A Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit once every four years

Read a full review of the IHG Premier Business Card.

Bottom line

The IHG Premier Business Card has a limited time welcome offer that can earn you 200,000 bonus points, which is in line with the best offers that we’ve seen on the card. On top of that, the $99 annual fee card is worth holding onto, given that it offers an anniversary free night award, IHG Platinum status, up to $50 in annual United TravelBank Cash, and more.

Anyone plan on picking up the IHG Premier Business Card with this increased bonus?

Strawberry selling five night hotel passes at a discount

Strawberry (which has a large number of properties in Scandinavia and the Baltics) is offering a promotion whereby you can book stay packages at a discount:

• You can buy five nights at participating “budget” hotels for €450, which comes out to €90 per night
• You can buy five nights at participating “standard” hotels for €600, which comes out to €120 per night

At this link you can see the 76 hotels that are in the budget category, and the 140 hotels that are in the standard category. Here are the basic details and restrictions to be aware of:

• This is valid for stays between June 18 and August 24, 2026
• Once you purchase this offer, you will receive an email with the link to book your stays
• At most two guests can stay in the room, and the primary guest has to be the person who bought the pass
• Breakfast is included with this pass, except at Comfort Hotel Xpress and Stopover properties, where it has to be purchased
• You can stay in a particular hotel for as many nights as you want, so you could use the entire pass across one or multiple stays
• You can be rewarded for these stays — you will earn one qualifying night for every night stayed, as well as 3x Spenn (the program’s points currency) per 10 kr or €1 spent, plus you can receive a 10-30% elite bonus; however, other member benefits aren’t included with this offer

Is this Strawberry hotel pass a good deal?

Admittedly this promotion has changed a bit over time. Back in the day, you could buy an unlimited hotel pass, where you could stay as many nights over summer as you wanted. Last year, you could buy passes that got you five or 10 nights, and there were no restrictions regarding standard vs. budget hotels.

So the promotion is definitely scaled back a bit this year, to avoid people getting too much outsized value. After all, by having separate pricing for budget vs. standard properties, you pay a premium if you want to stay at some of the nicer hotels (and many hotels are even excluded).

Still, I do think for the right type of consumer, there’s value to this deal:

• Northern Europe isn’t cheap, and there are plenty of Strawberry properties that retail for over $200 per night
• This gives you a lot of flexibility, since you can split up your stays however you’d like
• The catch is that the list of eligible properties is rather limited, so you’ll want to make sure the list of eligible properties matches up with your travel plans

Bottom line

Strawberry (formerly Nordic Choice Hotels) has brought back its promotion offering a certain number of nights in a hotel over summer for a reduced rate. You can purchase packages of five nights, and pay an average of anywhere from €90-120 per night, depending on which category of hotels you’d like.

If you’re planning to head to Northern Europe this summer and could see yourself staying at one of these hotels, then this promotion could represent an excellent deal. This is definitely niche in terms of the portfolio of hotels and geography, but for the right person, this is a good opportunity. Just make sure that you know you’ll be able to use the nights, as this isn’t something you just want to buy speculatively.

Anyone plan to take advantage of this Strawberry promotion?

Spend $700+ with LHW, earn 15K bonus points

There’s a targeted Amex Offers deal for stays at Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) properties:

• Earn 15,000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you spend $700+ across one or more transactions (there’s likely also a version of the offer for a $150 statement credit, though I value Amex points at more than one cent each, so that would be my preferred offer)
• This is valid when you pay for your stay between April 17 and July 31, 2026
• This is valid for stays at participating properties in the United States and abroad, and you can find the full list of eligible properties here
• The terms state that you need to book directly at lhw.com or by calling 1-800-745-8883 to qualify for the offer
• All room charges, including taxes and fees, should qualify toward this offer
• Registration is required

For what it’s worth, I value Amex points at 1.7 cents each, meaning that 15,000 points are worth $255 to me, making this a ~36% return on $700 of spending. Keep in mind you can also always split payment for a stay at check-out, to be sure you’re maximizing your rewards (by putting $700 in spending on the eligible Amex card, and the remainder with a card that maximizes points).

As you can see, the terms state that you need to book through lhw.com or by phone to qualify for the offer. Since LHW is a collection of independent hotels, I wouldn’t be surprised if booking direct with the hotel (or even through Virtuoso) would qualify for the offer as well, since either way you’ll generally be settling payment directly with the hotel.

What is Leading Hotels of the World?

Leading Hotels of the World is a collection of independent luxury hotels, with more than 400 properties around the globe. Chances are that you’re familiar with some of LHW’s properties, even if you didn’t know they were associated with the group.

You should think of Leading Hotels of the World as more of a hotel marketing group than as a single hotel group. LHW doesn’t manage its hotels, but rather markets a group of otherwise independent luxury hotels. As a matter of fact, many properties of smaller hotel groups (like Airelles, Rocco Forte, etc.) belong to LHW.

Think of Leading Hotels of the World as being along the lines of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), which Hilton has a partnership with. For example, I’ve reviewed both the Ritz Paris and Les Airelles Courchevel, and both belong to LHW.

Also keep in mind that Leading Hotels of the World has its own Leader’s Club loyalty program.

Bottom line

There’s a new targeted Amex Offers deal that can earn you 15,000 bonus Membership Rewards after spending $700+ at LHW properties in the coming months. This is potentially a good offer for those into luxury hotels. We don’t see many Amex Offers now offering lump sum bonus Membership Rewards points, so that makes this offer especially compelling, in my opinion.

Do you see this Amex Offers deal on one of your accounts, and if so, do you plan on taking advantage of it?

I’ve written in the past about InKind, my favorite dining rewards app. InKind has just rolled out an improved refer a friend bonus, so this is a great time to refer family and friends.

InKind’s generous refer a friend bonus offer

InKind has a generous refer a friend program. Ordinarily, when you refer a friend to InKind and they complete their first dining purchase of $50+ (before tax, tip, etc.), you each get a $25 bonus to use toward a future dining experience.

We’re currently seeing a limited time offer available, at least through some accounts. Through May 3, 2026, the person referring another person to InKind gets $50 for the referral, while the person being referred still gets $25. So of course this improved offer benefits the person referring more than the person being referred. However:

• The $25 bonus for the person being referred is as good as offers with the program get
• Once you’re referred, you can also start referring others, and be rewarded in that way

You can find my refer a friend link here, and others are welcome to leave their link in the comments section as well.

Why I love the InKind dining app

There are many dining rewards apps out there, though I’d argue that InKind is in a league of its own when it comes to the quality of restaurants, plus the level of rewards offered.

The major downside to InKind is that the network of restaurants isn’t that huge, at least outside of major cities. In total, InKind has thousands of participating restaurants around the United States, with many being in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, etc.

InKind offers 15-25% back in rewards on all dining spending. It’s not like other apps, in the sense that it doesn’t matter when you dine or how you make a reservation. You just trigger the rewards by paying through the app while at the restaurant, and it couldn’t be easier.

InKind also often sells credits at a huge discount, so you can legit score massive discounts on great restaurants. Living in Miami, some of the restaurants I most frequent belong to InKind — Chug’s, Michael’s Genuine, Otto & Pepe, etc.

If you dine out and live in a city that has InKind, you’re missing out by not joining. It’s funny, I often have friends who are hesitant or put off joining, and then when they finally do join, they can’t stop telling me how much they love it, and how they can’t believe they took so long to sign-up. For more details, see my guide to the InKind dining app.

Bottom line

InKind is an awesome dining rewards app that I use constantly. If you’re considering referring friends, it appears that through May 3, 2026, InKind is offering double the rewards. Ordinarily, when you refer someone and they make a $50 purchase, you each receive a $25 reward. With this offer, the person referring gets $50, while the person being referred gets $25.

You can find my refer a friend link here, and others are welcome to leave their link in the comments section.

Sometimes companies really want you to buy products from them, to the point that it can make sense to purchase something through an online shopping portal even if you don’t actually have a use for it. Along those lines, there are several such promotions available right now, which I think are worth taking advantage of. However, they’re only available for a limited time and could be pulled at any point, so you’ll want to act fast.

I cover these kinds of offers with some frequency, as they do tend to reappear with the same brands. I take advantage of all of these that I’m eligible for, given that I can’t turn down points at this rate…

Rakuten has a $50 (5,000 point) refer-a-friend offer

The offers I’m going to cover below are useful for both new and existing Rakuten members. However, if you’re not yet a Rakuten member, let me mention that the company has a great refer-a-friend program, which stacks with these deals.

If you’re new to Rakuten you can register using a refer-a-friend link, and then you’ll earn an additional $50 bonus after completing your first purchase of at least $50. While I ordinarily recommend unlocking this bonus with a simple gift card purchase, you can also stack it with any of the above offers, to get an even better return.

Earn 100% cash back or 100x points with Rakuten

At the moment, Rakuten is offering 97-100% cash back or 97-100x points on purchases with select retailers:

• Earn 100% cash back or 100x points with NordProtect
• Earn 100% cash back or 100x points with NordPass
• Earn 97% cash back or 97x points with NordVPN
• Earn 97% cash back or 97x points with Surfshark

Let me emphasize that you should always read the “terms & exclusions” section at each link to see what kind of purchases qualify, as they differ by company. Perhaps you find value in one of these services, but even if you don’t, this is a price at which it’s hard to resist points.

What I love about Rakuten is the ability to earn points rather than cash back, to get even more value, since that transforms these subscriptions from being basically free, to potentially being profitable:

• If you select Amex Membership Rewards points as your earnings preference (this has to be done in advance), this would instead earn you Amex points at the rate of one cent per point
• You can also select Bilt Rewards points as your earnings preference (this doesn’t have to be done in advance), and this would also earn you Bilt points at the rate of one cent per point (keep in mind for payouts after May 15, 2026, you need Bilt elite status to receive that rate of return, but that can also easily be earned with Bilt credit cards)

Let me just give one example of how this process works. I recently took advantage of this offer with Surfshark.

The idea was that you could spend $113.13 on the most expensive eligible plan, and then earn either $109.74 back, or receive 10,974 Amex or Bilt points.

Taking advantage of this is easy. Once you’re registered for Rakuten (if you’re not already), follow this link to go to the Surfshark page, and make sure you see the 97% back offer (this likely won’t be around that much longer). Then click through to be redirected to Surfshark’s website.

Here are the key terms of this offer:

Cash Back is only available for new Surfshark customers on first purchase. Limited to one per member.

If you want to get as many points as possible, buy the two year plan (with three more free months, for a total of 27 months) for the Surfshark One+ bundle.

The price should then be $113.13, so you can pay for that with whatever credit card you’d like.

A short time after making your purchase, you should see the transaction show up as “pending” in your Rakuten account, initially with a $0 amount. However, some time later, it should update to show the correct amount.

Why I’m very happy buying points at this cost!

I love collecting points, and of course I try to earn them as inexpensively as possible. That can include credit card welcome offers, maximizing my return on spending, etc. I’m also happy to just outright buy points, if the price is right.

Personally, if I can pick up transferable points for well under 1.2 cents each, I consider that to be a deal, and it’s something I’d do all day long. I absolutely can get outsized value with that. For example, I’m choosing to earn Bilt points with Rakuten right now, so indirectly earning Alaska Atmos Rewards points or World of Hyatt points for this price is tough to beat, if you ask me. There’s no way I won’t get significantly outsized value here.

And of course if you can actually get use out of these services, the math is even better. Some people may wonder why these companies are offering such a good return on spending. Clearly these companies want to acquire new customers, and the incremental cost of actually providing the service is very low.

So the hope is that the big reward gets people to try the service, and then keep it in the long run. Or at a minimum, maybe the company hopes that people forget to cancel their auto-renewal.

I’ve now taken advantage of several Rakuten promotions in recent weeks offering 85-100x points per dollar spent, and I’m very happy with the value being offered.

Bottom line

At the moment, Rakuten is offering 97-100% cash back (or 97-100x points) on purchases with four different services, and you can potentially take advantage of multiple of these. If you value transferable points, I think most people would agree that acquiring points for 1.0-1.1 cents each is quite a good deal (and that assumes you place no value on the services as such).

The math is even better if you’re not yet a Rakuten member, as you can receive a further bonus of $50 (or potentially 5,000 points). 😉

Are you taking advantage of any of these Rakuten offers?

There are several opportunities to save miles on tickets in economy, premium economy, and business class. Unfortunately unlike usual, there’s not any opportunity to save on awards to and from the United States. Let’s go over the details.

Book discounted Singapore Airlines awards

Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program offers monthly “Spontaneous Escapes” deals, where there’s a list of flights that can be booked at a 30% discount when redeeming miles.

Presumably Singapore Airlines is primarily discounting flights that aren’t anticipated to be full, and where there’s a lot of award availability. This can be a really useful promotion. One major restriction to note is that Spontaneous Escapes awards can’t be changed or canceled once booked (they don’t follow standard KrisFlyer policies), so you’ll only want to ticket these if you’re positive you’re traveling.

KrisFlyer has just published its latest Spontaneous Escapes list, which has a good number of destinations on it, all for travel on Singapore Airlines. This is valid for bookings through April 30, 2026, and for travel between May 1 and May 31, 2026.

I’d recommend checking out the full list, but just to give you a sense of some of the discounted awards that are available (pricing is one-way, and in some cases the sale only works in one direction of travel):

• Singapore to Bali, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Medan, and Surabaya, is available for 15,400 miles in business class
• Singapore to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila, is available for 17,500 miles in business class
• Singapore to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Kathmandu, Kolkata, and Male, is available for 31,500 miles in business class
• Singapore to Cairns is available for 50,400 miles in business clas

The restrictions for taking advantage of the offers vary by destination. Some destinations are restricted to specific flight numbers, and others are restricted to specific dates, but there’s great value to be had across the board.

How to earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles

If you’re interested in booking one of these flights but don’t have KrisFlyer miles, the good news is that Singapore KrisFlyer is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou, so there are lots of easy ways to earn points that can be redeemed for these flights.

Transfer points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer with the following cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express Platinum Card®
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Learn More

• 5x total points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3x points on dining
• 2x points on travel purchases
• $95

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Learn More

• 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct
• 3x points on Dining
• $300 Annual Travel Credit
• $795

American Express® Gold Card

Learn More Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• 4x points at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases annually
• 4x points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases annually
• 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com
• $325

American Express Platinum Card®

Learn More Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• Earn 5x points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500k/year)
• $200 Annual Uber Credit
• Amex Centurion Lounge Access
• $895

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

Learn More Terms Apply.

• Earn 6x points at Marriott
• Free Night Award Annually
• 15 Elite Nights Towards Status Annually
• $95

Singapore Airlines makes most premium cabin award space available exclusively to members of its own KrisFlyer program, so many of these are flights that you couldn’t book with partner airline miles. However, some partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, do have access to some long haul Singapore Airlines premium award space.

Bottom line

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer has published its latest Spontaneous Escapes promotion. With this new list, you can save on business class, premium economy, and economy award redemptions. There are some good deals to be had, though unfortunately this time around there are no markets in the United States that are available at a discount.

Are there any KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes awards that you plan to take advantage of?

Buying miles & points strategically can represent a great value, especially for first and business class travel. The avianca lifemiles program has just launched its newest promotion on purchased miles (the program has offers more often than not), and it has the potential to be a good deal.

Note that nowadays lifemiles promotions are generally targeted, so different members may see different offers, and on top of that, some members may not see any offers at all.

I find lifemiles to be one of the more useful frequent flyer programs for redeeming miles, thanks to the ability to redeem for long haul premium cabin Star Alliance awards. However, let me emphasize that the program doesn’t always have access to the same award space as other Star Alliance programs, so you’ll want to do your own research, based on the travel you’re trying to plan.

I’d only consider buying miles with a very specific use in mind. For what it’s worth, I don’t get any sort of kickback if you buy miles — I just want to make OMAAT readers aware of the deals that are available.

Current promotion on purchased lifemiles

Between April 15 and April 28, 2026, the avianca lifemiles program is offering a bonus on purchased miles. According to the promotion page, the program is “only” offering a 145% bonus on purchased miles, though when I log into my account, I see that I’m eligible for up to a 160% bonus, which is structured as follows:

• Buy 1,000-20,000 miles, receive a 140% bonus
• Buy 21,000-50,000 miles, receive a 150% bonus
• Buy 51,000-200,000 miles, receive a 160% bonus

You’ll of course want to check your account to see what offer you’re targeted for, as it could be different. It’s common for lifemiles to promote one amount, and then actually offer a bigger bonus.

How much does it cost to buy lifemiles?

Ordinarily you can buy avianca lifemiles for 3.3 cents each, before any discounts or bonuses. That means that if you purchased 200,000 lifemiles (pre-bonus) with a 160% bonus (assuming you’re eligible for that), you’d receive a total of 520,000 lifemiles for $6,600, which is a cost of 1.27 cents per mile.

While not quite the best offer we see from the program, it is a competitive one, so if you’ve been considering buying miles, now would be a good time to do so.

How many lifemiles can you buy?

The lifemiles program lets members purchase up to 200,000 miles per account per calendar year, before factoring in any bonuses.

Which credit card should you buy lifemiles with?

Mileage purchases are processed directly by avianca lifemiles, which means the purchase of miles does qualify as airfare spending. Therefore you’ll want to consider using one of the below cards for your purchase, since you’d earn bonus points for airfare purchases.

5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent directly with airlines or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and then 1x

American Express Platinum Card®

Learn More

3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent directly with airlines

American Express® Gold Card

Learn More

4x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent directly with airlines

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Learn More

2x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on airfare

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Learn More

Is buying lifemiles worth it?

For context, avianca is in the Star Alliance, which means you can redeem lifemiles on all Star Alliance airlines without any fuel surcharges. Really this is the core value proposition of buying lifemiles, since this is a great way to book Star Alliance premium cabin seats at a huge discount. Check out my guide on how to redeem lifemiles for ideas on how to redeem these miles.

With a specific use in mind, this lifemiles promotion can be a great value, whether you’re looking at traveling first class on All Nippon Airways or Lufthansa, or are looking at traveling in business class on a countless number of airlines.

Everyone has to crunch the numbers for themselves and decide whether this makes sense or not.

Let me again emphasize that in some cases, lifemiles doesn’t have access to the same award availability as Star Alliance partners, for better or worse. Sometimes lifemiles doesn’t have access to partner awards that other programs do have access to, and other times the inverse is true.

That’s why I always recommend doing some “dummy” award searches before buying miles, so you can get a sense of how award availability lines up with your needs. Keep in mind that you can get even more value from the program with a lifemiles+ subscription, and lifemiles’ credit cards offer a discount on that.

How much are lifemiles worth?

Everyone will value mileage currencies differently, but personally I value lifemiles at ~1.4 cents each. That’s based on the redemption values on Star Alliance partners, as there’s tons of value to be had. I tend to value miles very conservatively, so if you’re maximizing miles you should be able to get way more value than that.

Do lifemiles expire?

Miles with the lifemiles program don’t expire as long as you accrue some miles at least once every 12 months. Any mileage earning activity, including buying miles, will extend the expiration of your miles. However, redeeming miles as such doesn’t extend the expiration of your miles.

How else can you earn lifemiles?

If you’re looking to earn lifemiles, the good news is that there are lots of options beyond outright buying them. Specifically, avianca lifemiles is partners with several bank currencies, including Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Citi ThankYou, so there are lots of ways to pick up these miles.

Bottom line

The avianca lifemiles program is offering a promotion on purchased miles. Different members may be eligible for different offers, though it appears that the standard offer is for up to a 160% bonus, which is an opportunity to acquire miles for 1.27 cents each (though officially it’s marketed as a 145% bonus). This has the potential to represent a solid value, though I’d only recommend buying miles with a specific, short term use in mind.

Do you plan on buying lifemiles with a bonus?

I want to provide an update, as Flying Blue has once again overhauled which countries are eligible. For example, the United States and Canada were added last week (with some limits), while several European countries have now been added. So let’s take a look at the details.

Basics of Flying Blue’s status match promo

The website statusmatch.com is currently partnering with Air France-KLM Flying Blue to offer a status match promotion, with the option to earn Silver, Gold, or Platinum status. This offer is available to residents of several countries, at different price points, and with different restrictions. Specifically:

• For residents of the United States, you’ll pay 99 USD for a Silver match, or 199 USD for a Gold match (Platinum matches aren’t available to these members)
• For residents of Canada, you’ll pay 149 CAD for a Silver match, or 299 CAD for a Gold match (Platinum matches aren’t available to these members)
• For residents of Thailand and Singapore, you’ll pay 99 USD for a Silver match, 299 USD for a Gold match, or 399 USD for a Platinum match
• For residents of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, you’ll pay 89 EUR for a Silver match, 199 EUR for a Gold match, or 349 EUR for a Platinum match

The status match request should take just a minute to complete, though it can take up to five business days for the request to be approved. Matched status is valid for a period of 12 months from when the match is approved. There’s no published end date for this promotion, though it can be pulled at any time.

Which airline status is Flying Blue matching?

According to the FAQs, Flying Blue is matching status from the following programs:

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air China PhoenixMiles
• Air India Flying Returns
• American AAdvantage
• Asiana Club
• British Airways Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
• EgyptAir Plus
• Emirates Skywards
• Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles
• Etihad Guest
• Finnair Plus
• Gulf Air Falconflyer
• Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club
• Iberia Club
• Lufthansa Miles & More
• Oman Air Sindbad
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• South African Airways SAA Voyager
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus

As you can see, this includes many non-SkyTeam airlines, with a presence across the globe. Status maps over roughly as you’d expect, with top tier status generally mapping to Flying Blue Platinum, entry level status generally mapping to Flying Blue Silver, etc. The exception, as mentioned above, is that residents of select regions (including the United States and Canada) aren’t eligible for a Flying Blue Platinum match.

How this status match opportunity could be useful

Flying Blue is generally a valuable program for award redemptions, and I redeem miles through Flying Blue all the time. Even beyond the redemption opportunities, there’s value to having status with Flying Blue. Status really gets valuable with Flying Blue Gold and Platinum.

Flying Blue Gold status offers:

• The ability to earn 7x miles per € spent on airfare
• SkyTeam Elite Plus status, which offers priority check-in, priority security, priority boarding, extra baggage, lounge access, and much more, whether flying with Air France, KLM, or a SkyTeam partner
• Some free premium seat options 72 hours before departure

Flying Blue Platinum status incrementally offers:

• The ability to earn 8x miles per € spent on airfare
• The ability to redeem Flying Blue miles for Air France first class (La Premiere)
• Access to more award availability, including in long haul business class
• Free premium seat options at the time of booking
• Access to a dedicated Platinum phone service line
• Waived change & cancelation fees on Flying Blue awards

This status match opportunity is an easy way to unlock SkyTeam Elite Plus perks, regardless of which airline you may fly. On top of that, for those eligible for a Flying Blue Platinum status match, that could be worth it for the ability to redeem miles for Air France first class.

Even if you’re not eligible for the Platinum match, I’d note that taking advantage of a Flying Blue Gold status match gets you closer to Platinum status. The system of qualifying for status with Flying Blue works a bit differently than with other programs:

• 100 XPs gets you Flying Blue Silver status
• You then need 180 additional XPs to earn Flying Blue Gold status
• You then need 300 additional XPs to earn Flying Blue Platinum status

However, there’s a bit more nuance to this, which also makes it easier to earn status. For example, you don’t need 580 XPs in a year to earn Platinum status:

• Once you earn 100 XPs in a membership year, you’ll earn Silver status
• Your status will then be reset, and you’ll need to earn 180 XPs over the next 12 months to earn Gold status
• Your status will then be reset, and you’ll need to earn 300 XPs over the next 12 months to earn Platinum status
• Maintaining status on an ongoing basis simply requires 100 XPs for Silver, 180 XPs for Gold, and 300 XPs for Platinum

In other words, if you started from scratch and wanted to earn Flying Blue Platinum status, you’d need to earn 580 XPs. Meanwhile if you already had Gold status through this match, you’d only need to earn 300 XPs in order to earn Platinum status.

Bottom line

The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program is currently offering a status match promotion, whereby you can pay for a 12-month status match all the way up to Flying Blue Platinum status. This offer does have residency requirements, though the good news is that the United States and several European countries have recently been added to this offer.

If you value SkyTeam Elite Plus status, or if you want a shortcut to Flying Blue Platinum status, this offer could be well worth it, assuming you meet the eligibility requirements.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this Flying Blue status match opportunity, if eligible?

Whenever I make an online purchase, I always check to see which shopping portal has the best bonus. Along those lines, there’s one promotion on online purchases right now that I think is worth being aware of.

Earn bonus airline miles on Apple purchases

Apple is a retailer that generally doesn’t discount much, though at the moment there are some opportunities to earn bonus miles for these purchases. This promotion is available for a limited time, so you’ll want to act fast.

Today (Monday, April 13, 2026), you can earn bonus miles for Apple purchases. This time around you can earn 3.5-4x bonus miles per dollar spent:

• Earn up to 4x bonus points with Alaska Atmos Rewards Shopping
• Earn up to 3.5x bonus miles with American AAdvantage eShopping
• Earn up to 3.5x bonus miles with Delta SkyMiles Shopping
• Earn up to 4x bonus miles with United MileagePlus Shopping

Of these bonus options, I think the best value is with Alaska Atmos Rewards and American AAdvantage, given that those are the two most valuable currencies among the four.

What Apple purchases qualify for bonus miles?

If you do take advantage of the opportunity to earn bonus miles on Apple purchases, note the following products and spending are excluded:

• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17
• iPhone Air
• MacBook Neo
• Studio Display
• Studio Display XDR
• Apple Vision Pro
• All Apple Vision Pro Accessories
• Apple Developer Programs
• AppleCare+
• Orders purchased from government or veteran and military stores
• Apple sells and ships products to end-user customers only; you may not purchase for resale
• Shipping, handling and taxes
• Purchases made with coupon or discount codes not found on this site
• Purchases of gift cards, gift certificates or cash equivalents
• Purchases made with gift cards, gift certificates or cash equivalents
• Purchases made for resale and bulk orders

Furthermore, rewards are subject to lifetime rewards limits, as follows:

Your rewards are subject to lifetime limits of: (a) six (6) units per model in each of the following product categories: iPhone, Mac, iPad, Watch, Vision, Apple TV, and HomePod; (b) thirty-two (32) units of each of the following: AirTag 1-pack and AirTag accessories; (c) eight (8) AirTag 4-pack; and (d) ten (10) units of each of the following: AirPods and other eligible accessories. The lifetime limit applies to any purchase you make from the Apple Store website and app. Rewards will not be issued once you exceed the lifetime limit for a product.

Bottom line

At the moment it’s possible to earn 3.5-4x airline miles on Apple purchases. We see an elevated bonus through shopping portals for Apple purchases an average of once per month. This is a worthwhile opportunity if you have any eligible purchases to make.

Anyone plan to take advantage of this Apple shopping portal bonus?

The $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (review) is the premium personal credit card of Atmos Rewards, which is the combined loyalty program of Alaska & Hawaiian.

There are lots of reasons to get this card, from a huge welcome bonus that many people should be eligible for, to the great perks and rewards for spending on an ongoing basis, ranging from the ability to earn Global Companion Awards, to 3x points on foreign purchases. It’s a card that I’ve applied for and have in my wallet.

There are lots of interesting perks to this card, and in this post, I’d like to take a look at how the Atmos Rewards Summit Card enables free points sharing, since I know many people have questions about the details of this perk.

Atmos Rewards free points sharing perk basics

Ordinarily, Atmos Rewards lets members share points between accounts at the cost of $10 per 1,000 points. Paying one cent per point to move rewards is rarely a good deal, since you can always just book travel for other people through your Atmos Rewards account.

But this is where the Atmos Rewards Summit Card comes in handy. Those who have this premium card can share points with up to 10 Atmos Rewards members at no cost, with virtually no limits. Let me emphasize that this is points sharing and not points pooling, which I’d consider to be great news, since the former is more straightforward and flexible than the latter.

The execution is every bit as good as it possibly could be. To cover the basics:

• Free points sharing allows the primary cardmember on the Atmos Rewards Summit Card to create a points sharing network with up to 10 other Atmos Rewards members, regardless of whether or not they have the card
• The free points sharing feature typically goes live roughly one day after getting approved for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card
• The primary cardmember can set up and manage the points sharing network, so the primary cardmember has to be the person inviting others to join the network
• Each Atmos Rewards member can only be part of one points sharing network at a time
• Points transfers are bidirectional, so the primary cardmember can transfer points to other Atmos Rewards members, and Atmos Rewards members can transfer their points to the primary cardmember
• There’s no minimum or maximum to the number of Atmos Rewards points that can be transfered with this perk
• Someone who is invited to share points can break their link at any time and join another cardmember’s network; however, the primary cardmember who invites others can only designate one person for each of the 10 slots every 365 days
• Once someone joins a points sharing network, they’re locked into that for 365 days, and after that, you can remove them if you’d like (but they’ll stay linked by default)
• If the primary cardmember closes the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, all sharing network connections will be terminated

Atmos Rewards free points sharing step-by-step process

How do you actually go about sharing Atmos Rewards points for free? It can be a bit tricky, since you don’t want to go to the portion of the Atmos Rewards website for buying or sharing points. This is only where you’d find the paid points sharing feature.

Instead, log into your Atmos Rewards account, and go to the “Account overview” page. Once there, scroll down to the “Rewards” section on the left.

Assuming you have the Atmos Rewards Summit Card (it typically around a day after approval for all of this to appear), you should see a section that reads “Atmos Rewards Summit Card Benefits,” and then you can click the “Points Sharing” button.

There you’ll be brought to the page where you can invite other people to join your points sharing network, so click the “Send an invite” button.

You’ll then have to enter the first and last name and Atmos Rewards number of the person you’d like to invite.

They should then instantly receive an email with the invitation. So they just need to click “Accept invitation.”

They’ll then be prompted to log into their Atmos Rewards account, where they’ll just have to click the “Accept” button. Note that it potentially makes the process easier if you’re already logged into the account of the person accepting the invitation, as it prevents any hiccups. No matter what, make sure you’re not logged into the account of the cardholder who is sending the invitation, because the system then gets confused.

Once accepted, you’ll see that it says “Connected” with a green dot next to the name of the person with which you’re linked.

As mentioned above, points transfers are available in either direction, meaning the primary cardmember can transfer points to others, or others can transfer points to the primary cardmember. However, the actual process of initiating the points transfer (once accounts are linked) has to come from the person who is trying to transfer their points.

So you just click the “Share points” button for the person you want to transfer points to, you choose how many points you want to transfer, and then you click “Continue.”

Once that’s complete, the person who receives the points will receive an email informing them of that.

Under normal circumstances, points should immediately be available in the account.

How valuable is Atmos Rewards points sharing?

Personally, I think the ability to share points for free with Atmos Rewards is super handy, and it’s a smart feature to offer with a premium credit card. A few thoughts…

First of all, while a fair number of loyalty program allow points sharing or pooling in some form, the execution here is pretty flawless, given how easy the process is. I love how there’s no limit to how many points you can transfer, and how bidirectional transfers are possible.

Second, I think there are many situations where this could prove to be valuable. For families, I’d say this is a major incentive to fly with Alaska, Hawaiian, or an Atmos Rewards partner. Say your family of four is taking a long haul trip, but you don’t necessarily all fly that often. Being able to consolidate all the points earned from everyone on a trip will add up to useful rewards much faster.

Even more generally speaking, I just find it easy to be able to consolidate points in one account so that you can more easily manage travel. For example, my dad had around 40,000 points in his Atmos Rewards account for years, and when I got the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, we moved those points over to my account, so that I can more easily manage them, since I plan all our travel anyway.

Also keep in mind that those with the Atmos Rewards Summit Card get a waiver of the $12.50 partner award booking fee. So there’s something to be said for moving points from a non-cardmember’s account to a cardmember’s account, as you’ll save $12.50 per award for partner airline travel.

Bottom line

The Atmos Rewards program offers a free points sharing feature for those with the the Atmos Rewards Summit Card. The way this works, the primary cardmember can link up with up to 10 other Atmos Rewards members (regardless of whether or not they have the card), enabling free, bidirectional points transfers, with no limits. Points sharing doesn’t get much easier than this, so I’d say this is a pretty awesome feature.

What do you make of this Atmos Rewards points sharing feature?

Many travelers may be familiar with Capital One Lounges, which is the card issuer’s airport lounge network, with locations in Dallas (DFW), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), New York (JFK), and Washington (IAD). However, the bank also has another concept for cardmembers, intended to be an alternative to the traditional airport lounge.

With the second location having recently opened, I’d like to take an in-depth look at this concept, and talk about what exactly it is, where the locations are, and how you can access these spaces.

Capital One’s airport dining lounges with José Andrés

Over the years we’ve seen airport lounges evolve quite a bit in the United States, especially as lounge access has become an increasingly common perk offered by premium credit cards, with lounge networks like Amex Centurion Lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounges.

The Capital One Landing concept is intended to complement the existing network of Capital One Lounges. As it’s described, it’s a way of rethinking the travel and lounge experience. It’s a chef-driven, culinary-focused concept, intended to bring an elevated experience to the heart of the terminal.

The concept is offered in partnership with Chef José Andrés, who designs Capital One Landing’s food and beverage menu, focusing on authentic, Spanish-style tapas. To put it as simply as possible, think of Capital One Landing as being a great airport restaurant that select cardmembers have access to.

When you arrive at one of these lounges, you’ll be assigned a specific table, and guests can then select made-to-order small plates and beverages via a QR code, which will be delivered directly to their seats. All food and drinks with this concept are included, and there’s no expectation to tip.

To give you a sense of the food and drinks on offer, below is a sample lunch and dinner menu, plus a sample drink list.

In addition to the main part of the facility, the Capital One Landing at DCA (but not LGA) also has On The Fly, which is open to the public. Think of it as an airport grab & go concept, with food and drinks for purchase. The nice thing is that eligible premium cardmembers get 50% off.

Here’s what Chef José Andrés had to say about this concept:

“Travel is a huge part of my life, and food is deeply linked to the travel experience. It’s the best way to learn about a place and its people. But as someone who spends a lot of time in airports, many times I find myself wanting more. When Capital One came to us with the idea of creating a new kind of dining experience, our team immediately started to think of the Spanish tapas way of eating with the bounty of American farms and traditions – the very best of both countries. We cannot wait to share these new Capital One Landings with the people of the world!”

The two current Capital One Landing locations

The Capital One Landing concept is primarily intended for metropolitan airports where shorter stays are the norm, in order to meet the needs of different kinds of travelers. Many travelers at these kinds of airports may appreciate the ability to grab a quick bite prior to a flight, rather than wanting to lounge around for hours.

Currently, Capital One Landing has two locations, at Washington National Airport (DCA) and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), so let’s look at those in a bit more detail.

Capital One Landing Washington National (DCA)

The first Capital One Landing location opened at Washington National Airport as of November 2024. This is a 5,500 square foot facility, with seating for 90 guests. It’s located in Terminal 2, right off the National Hall, near Concourse D. The main part of the Capital One Landing space is open daily from 6AM until 9PM. There are power outlets at every seat, high speed Wi-Fi, and luggage nooks.

Capital One Landing New York LaGuardia (LGA)

The second Capital One Landing location opened at New York LaGuardia Airport as of February 2026. This is a 12,500 square foot facility, with seating for 180 guests. It’s located in Terminal B, on the bridge to Concourse A. This location is open daily from 5AM until 10PM. This is very much the “flagship” Capital One Landing location, and it’s a pretty incredible facility, which features amazing views (made better by big windows) and soaring ceilings.

Capital One Landing access requirements

Access to the Capital One Landing concept is intended primarily for those with the Capital One Venture X (review) and Capital One Venture X Business (review). With recent Capital One lounge access changes, the policy is a bit more nuanced than in the past.

The primary cardmember always receives access when on an eligible ticket. Meanwhile the ability to bring one guest is based on reaching the $75,000 spending requirement per calendar year. Authorized users only get access if you elect to pay for authorized users to receive lounge access.

Cardmembers can guest others into lounges for $45 each, and non-cardmembers can purchase access for $90 each. The cost in all cases is the same for kids, except those under two, who can access the space for free with an adult. 

Capital One Landing locations can be accessed up to three hours before a departing flight, or if you’re connecting, it can be accessed earlier than that.

Capital One Landing reservations system

Lounge crowding has become a major issue in the United States, given the number of people with premium credit cards. How is Capital One addressing that with the Capital One Landing concept?

For one, reservations are allowed for Capital One Landing locations between one day and six months of a desired visit. There’s a 15-minute grace period, at which point tables will be given away. You can make as many reservations as you’d like, and there’s no penalty if you miss your reservation.

However, not all tables are made available for reservations, so that there’s plenty of room for walk-ins. The Capital One Landing concept is available for everyone else on a first come, first served basis. In situations where the space is at capacity, digital waitlisting is possible, as is the case at Capital One Lounges.

My take on the Capital One Landing concept

Personally I think what Capital One is doing here is brilliant. With lounge crowding having become such an issue, it’s often not actually fun to linger in lounges for an extended period of time. Rather, you might just want to grab something to eat, and then sit somewhere quieter. Many airport lounges have become overcrowded cafeterias.

In that sense I really love this concept, since you can enjoy a good meal, even if you don’t have much time. This is a smart evolution of the traditional lounge concept. The truth is that when I’m traveling domestically, I often just skip lounges altogether, because the food often isn’t worth eating, and lounges are often more crowded than the terminal. So I’ll often just try to find a quiet gate area where I can sit, and I find that’s best for productivity.

We have seen some airlines launch grab & go lounge concepts, which is a nice middle ground, where you can get some food if you don’t have much time, and then enjoy it wherever you like. This includes Air Canada Cafes, United Club Fly, Provisions by Admirals Club, etc.

I prefer the Capital One Landing concept even more, since you have legitimately good food without it taking that long, all while sitting in comfort. This of course assumes that you can actually get in.

Capital One Landings are about as good as airport dining gets, so what a treat it is to be able to enjoy this with a credit card. I think it’s safe to say that this is the best food you can access at an airport with a standard, premium credit card.

Bottom line

The Capital One Landing concept is unique, as the card issuer is opening airport facilities in partnership with Chef José Andrés. Instead of enjoying cubed cheese and cheap chardonnay in an airport lounge, you can enjoy Spanish-style tapas and cocktails in more of a restaurant-style environment.

This concept is now available at both DCA and LGA, with the latter having only recently opened, and being the “flagship” location. It’s nice to see increasing innovation with lounge concepts, given how traveler behavior has evolved.

What do you make of the Capital One Landing concept?

The Capital One Venture Business is a rebranded version of the former Capital One Spark Miles, with some very nice improvements. If you’re looking to earn travel rewards and want a card that has a great bonus, reasonable annual fee, useful perks, and solid return on everyday spending, this is the card for you.

In this post, I’d like to share eight reasons you should consider picking up the card. In no particular order…

Bonus of up to 150K Capital One bonus miles

The Capital One Venture Business is offering a limited time welcome bonus of up to 150,000 miles, structured as follows:

• Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $7,500 within the first three months
• Earn an additional 75,000 bonus miles after spending a total of $30,000 within the first six months

Personally I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, so to me this bonus is worth up to $2,550, which is awesome. I’ll talk more below about the general value of and flexibility provided by Capital One miles.

In case you’re worried, applying for this card shouldn’t show up as a new card on your personal credit report, for the purposes of Chase’s 5/24 rule, if that’s something you’re concerned about.

2x Capital One miles on all purchases

The Capital One Venture Business offers unlimited 2x Capital One miles on all purchases, making this one of the best cards for everyday spending. Based on my valuation of Capital One miles, that’s like the equivalent of a 3.4% return on spending, which is very competitive.

No foreign transaction fees

The Capital One Venture Business has no foreign transaction fees, making it a fantastic card for purchases abroad. It’s nice to not only get a very competitive return on spending, but to get that same rate internationally without it costing you extra.

Many non-Capital One cards that earn 2x points per dollar do have foreign transaction fees, so this is a significant competitive advantage.

Capital One miles are valuable & flexible

Capital One miles provide lots of flexibility. For one, you can redeem them after the fact for one cent each toward virtually any travel purchase. That’s not my preferred use of these miles, though.

Rather, my preference is to transfer miles to Capital One’s airline & hotel programs, as you can transfer miles at a 1:1 ratio to a majority of partners. As is the case with all major transferable points currencies, this allows you to get way outsized value, especially when redeeming for first & business class travel.

Rental car coverage

Rental car coverage is an important perk many people look for in credit cards. Fortunately the Capital One Venture Business offers collision damage waiver coverage when renting for business reasons.

Just charge the entire rental to your card and decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver coverage, and you’ll be covered for damage due to collision or theft. Of course you’ll want to consult the cardmember agreement for full details.

$50 annual Capital One Business Travel credit

The Capital One Venture Business offers a $50 credit each anniversary year, valid for a purchase with Capital One Business Travel. As you might have guessed based on the name, this is Capital One’s business travel portal. You can use this toward the cost of a flight, hotel stay, etc., so it shouldn’t be too hard to maximize this (even if it’s just booking a cheap flight with the card).

$50 annual advertising or software credit

The Capital One Venture Business offers a $50 credit each anniversary year, valid for qualifying purchases with advertising or software merchants. Eligibility is based on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) assigned to the merchant, so there shouldn’t be too many hurdles to taking advantage of this.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit

The Capital One Venture Business offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years, which can get you up to a $120 statement credit. This is super handy, as TSA PreCheck can save you lots of time at security, while Global Entry can save you lots of time at immigration. They’re among the two innovations that have most improved the airport experience over the years, in my opinion.

What about the Capital One Venture X Business?

When talking about Capital One business cards, much of the focus nowadays is on the Capital One Venture X Business (review). How do the two cards compare? Both offer 2x Capital One miles on a vast majority of purchases, so I’d view the ongoing value proposition for spending to be quite similar.

As I see it, the major difference is that the Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee. However, you get a lot of value in exchange for that:

• The Venture X Business offers a $300 annual travel credit plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, which to me more than justifies the annual fee
• The Venture X Business offers access to participating Priority Pass™ lounges, plus unlimited access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings

Personally I think the Venture X Business is the logical choice, assuming you travel with any frequency. The annual travel credit and anniversary bonus miles should more than cover the annual fee on an ongoing basis, and then you get some awesome extra perks, like lounge access.

That being said, understandably some people don’t like paying a big annual fee upfront, and for those people, the Capital One Venture Business is probably a better option.

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture Business is a fantastic business credit card, with a big welcome bonus, great return on everyday spending with no foreign transaction fees, and some surprisingly valuable perks and credits for a card with a reasonable annual fee.

If you’re looking for a business card with great travel rewards for everyday spending, this product is worth considering. If you don’t yet have the Capital One Venture Business and are eligible, I’d recommend considering applying, as the current offer is excellent.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

The $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (review) is the premium credit card of Atmos Rewards, which is the combined loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

I’d argue that this is one of the best airline credit cards we’ve seen in a long time, and there are many reasons to pick up this card, from the ability to earn 3x points on foreign purchases, to the Global Companion Awards offered by the card.

Perhaps the most obvious reason to get the card is that it’s offering a massive limited time welcome bonus, which in and of itself is a reason to apply. Specifically, you can receive a 50% flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after account opening. On top of that, you can earn 100,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points plus a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $6,500 within the first 90 days.

Basic Atmos Rewards Summit Card application restrictions

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is issued by Bank of America. The good news is that eligibility for this card is unrelated to having any other card from Bank of America, Atmos Rewards, Alaska, or Hawaiian. So you’re eligible for this card (including the welcome bonus) if you have any other card in the portfolio.

For example, if you look at the terms of the application, you’ll see the following:

This one-time promotion is limited to customers opening a new Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite consumer credit card account in response to this offer. This offer is valid for a limited time by invitation only. This offer will not apply to requests to convert existing accounts.

That’s great, because it means that anyone who doesn’t yet have this card should be eligible for the bonus. Beyond that, what general restrictions does Bank of America have when it comes to approving people for cards? Here are a couple of common Bank of America restrictions that are often discussed, though let me emphasize that enforcement seems really inconsistent:

• There’s a 2/3/4 rule, meaning you can open at most two Bank of America cards every two months, at most three Bank of America cards every 12 months, and at most four Bank of America cards every 24 months
• There’s a 3/12 rule, meaning you may not be approved for a card if you’ve opened three or more new cards with any card issuer in the past 12 months

Both of these rules are specific to personal cards, and not business cards. Beyond that, neither of those rules seem to be totally consistently enforced, and in particular, that latter policy doesn’t seem consistent at all. For example, I’ve opened more than three new cards in the past 12 months, and I still applied.

Bank of America can sometimes be quirky in terms of approvals. I find that with Bank of America, I often get instant approvals with massive credit lines, and then every once in a while, I get random, inexplicable denials. So make of that what you will. If you’re interested in picking up more than one Atmos Rewards card in a day, it’s worth pointing out that you can potentially be approved for two in one day.

Atmos Rewards Summit Card application & approval experience

What’s the application process like when applying for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card? The online application process is really straightforward, and consists of just one page.

It just asks for personal details — name, date of birth, social security number, address, phone number, income, etc. You’ll also be asked for your Atmos Rewards number, so you’ll want to include that, so that your points are credited to the right account.

The process is even simpler if you already have a Bank of America account, as you’ll be asked to log-in with your account, and then you only have to provide updated income information.

For example, I applied for the card when it launched several months ago, and was instantly approved, with a pretty big credit line, no less!

My long term Atmos Rewards Summit Card strategy

Now that I have the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, what’s my strategy? I think the first thing to acknowledge is that the welcome bonus on this card is significant — I value Atmos Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, so the current 100,000 points plus a 25,000-point Global Companion Award are worth around $1,875 to me, and that doesn’t factor in the 50% discount code. There’s no reason not to give this card a try, and see how it works out.

What about beyond that, though? At a minimum, I suspect that this is a card that I’ll keep, even if I don’t spend much on it. The annual 25,000-point Global Companion Award plus waived partner award booking fees will more than justify the annual fee for me, given how many awards I book through the Atmos Rewards program, particularly for travel on American (you also get great travel protection with this card, which is useful).

Beyond that, though, there’s a strong argument to be made for going all-in on the Atmos Rewards program, and being loyal to that instead of American AAdvantage:

• Spending $60,000 on the card every anniversary year earns you a 100,000-point Global Companion Award, which is a great reward
• The card offers 3x points on all foreign purchases, so this is a card that could be worth consistently using abroad
• Since the card offers one status point per $2 spent, elite status can also be earned pretty quickly at that point, and this might be the most compelling way to go for oneworld elite status, whether it’s oneworld Sapphire or oneworld Emerald

Bottom line

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is Bank of America’s premium credit card in the Alaska & Hawaiian Atmos Rewards ecosystem. It’s an incredibly compelling card — it’s worth signing up for given the huge welcome bonus, it’s worth keeping for the ongoing perks, and for many people, it’ll be worth spending money on.

Bank of America can be quirky with approving people for cards, but the good news is that many people should be eligible for this product, given that it’s quite new, and eligibility is unrelated to having other Atmos Rewards, Alaska, or Hawaiian cards. I applied for the card several months ago, and was instantly approved. I’ve had a good experience so far with this card, and don’t see myself canceling it any time soon.

I’d highly recommend giving this card a try and applying with the current bonus, given the value it offers.

If you’ve applied for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, what was your experience like?

The $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (review) is the premium personal credit card of Atmos Rewards (there are three co-branded credit cards), which is the combined loyalty program of Alaska & Hawaiian.

There are lots of reasons to get this card, from a huge welcome bonus, to a great return on spending, to valuable perks just for being a cardmember. It’s a card I’ve already applied for.

In this post, I’d like to talk about how the Atmos Rewards Summit Card offers a partner redemption booking fee waiver. Personally, this is a benefit that goes a long way to helping me offset the annual fee, so let’s take a look at the logistics, as I’ve received some questions about it.

How to save on every Atmos Rewards partner award booking

There are lots of great uses of Alaska Atmos Rewards points, especially for travel on partner airlines. If redeeming on partner airlines, the program charges a $12.50 award booking fee, which applies per person, and per direction of travel. So if you book a roundtrip award for two people, you’re looking at $50 worth of fees.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the $12.50 fee is non-refundable. So while you can otherwise cancel and redeposit award tickets at no cost (in terms of getting points and taxes back), that booking fee can’t be refunded.

This is a junk fee, plain and simple, though it’s not uncommon to see programs charge these kinds of fees (Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca Lifemiles have similar fees), and the program also offers great value in many markets, so it’s a fee worth paying, even if I’m annoyed it exists.

Fortunately this is an area where the the Atmos Rewards Summit Card can help — as a benefit, cardmembers receive a waiver of the partner redemption booking fee. Here’s how this works:

• The primary cardmember using their Atmos Rewards points is eligible for the waiver of the partner award booking fee
• This benefit can be used an unlimited number of times, for one or more travelers, and it doesn’t matter who is traveling (so the cardmember doesn’t need to be one of the travelers)
• In order to receive the waived partner award booking fee, taxes and fees must be purchased with the primary cardmember’s Atmos Rewards Summit Card; the card offers good travel coverage for delayed flights, lost bags, and more, so it’s a good card to use for award ticket fees anyway
• Anecdotally (and this isn’t addressed in the terms, so don’t count on it sticking around), the fee seems to be waived as long as the card is being used to pay the taxes, even if someone else’s Atmos Rewards points are redeemed

How do the logistics of this work? Say you’re, looking at a 4,500-point award from Miami (MIA) to Tampa (TPA) on American, which shows $18.10 in taxes & fees during the booking process (the $12.50 partner award booking fee, plus the $5.60 in taxes & fees).

I have the Atmos Rewards Summit Card saved in my Atmos Rewards profile…

…so then on the payment page (before confirming the reservation), I see the price reduced by $12.50, to just $5.60 total. You’ll see that it says “Atmos Rewards Summit card booking fee waiver,” showing the $12.50 fee subtracted.

Just as a point of comparison, if I instead use the other card connected to my profile, it no longer shows the discount.

These waived $12.50 partner award booking fees add up

I know a waived $12.50 fee might not sound like much on a card with an annual fee of nearly $400. However, to me, this is one of my favorite perks of the Atmos Rewards Summit Card. I redeem Atmos Rewards points on American all the time. Quite honestly, a majority of my domestic and short haul international flying on American is using Atmos Rewards points, given what a good value it is.

I often speculatively lock in these awards too, and without the card, I’d be on the hook for losing the $12.50 non-refundable fee. That’s not a huge deal, but of course if I can avoid it, I will.

Just as an example, below are the reservations confirmations I’ve received from Atmos Rewards in late 2025 and early 2026 alone. That’s a total of 20 confirmations, and it includes a total of 34 one-way redemptions (since some trips are for multiple people). That’s $425 in waived partner award booking fees!

With Atoms Rewards having increasingly moved to a program where the best value redemptions are for short haul awards, the frequency with which I redeem has also increased, and that makes the $12.50 waived fee all the more valuable. As you can see, in recent months alone, I’ve more than recouped my annual fee just with these fees.

These great value short haul awards are also the reason there’s merit to American flyers crediting to Atmos Rewards and going for elite status with the program, especially with the program awarding status points for award flights, which pairs nicely with spending on your card to earn status points.

Bottom line

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card offers a huge number of perks, and I’d argue that one of the most underrated benefits is a waived partner award booking fee. Ordinarily, Atmos Rewards charges $12.50 per person per direction for a partner award, on top of the standard taxes and fees.

If you’re anything like me and constantly redeem Atmos Rewards points on American for short haul travel, then this benefit alone can go a long way to recouping the annual fee. Hopefully the above is a useful rundown of how this benefit works, for those who were wondering.

What has your experience been with the Atmos Rewards Summit Card waived partner booking fee?

Dining alone when traveling can be intimidating

“Just a table for one?” There’s an inherent bias against solo diners. If you’ve dined alone, you’ve probably been asked that question when you walked into a restaurant, which almost makes you want to get defensive.

Why is dining alone a “just” situation, while that’s not the case if there are multiple people? I get that there’s no harm intended with the phrase, but I do think social norms dictate that there’s something “strange” about dining alone. Or maybe I’m just overthinking things.

As someone who travels alone quite a bit, I always struggle with how to approach dining when I’m in a new city, especially outside the country. As I see it, there are a few general approaches you can take:

• You can go to restaurants like anyone else and get a table; admittedly you might feel a little more out of place if you’re dining at a buzzy restaurant on a Friday night than in the restaurant of a business hotel
• You can also go to a restaurant and sit at the bar in hopes of striking up conversations with interesting people, or whatever
• You can just avoid having sit-down meals in public, and either get hotel room service, order something via Uber Eats or another app, or you can pick something up from a restaurant or fast food establishment

The approach that I take to dining when traveling

I’m an introverted person, but I love people watching, I enjoy great food, and I like a fun vibe, even if I’m not being super social. So what approach do I take to dining when traveling?

Well, I’m all over the place, with one exception — I’m not someone who ever sits at a crowded bar, because I’m just not social enough to enjoy talking to strangers that I don’t necessarily have anything in common with.

It goes without saying that for us introverts, eating in hotel rooms is going to be the easiest and most “comfortable,” but also the least interesting. Personally, I always feel comfortable getting a table at a hotel restaurant, since hotels inherently have a transient and mixed guest profile. I rarely find that to be uncomfortable.

However, in recent times, I’ve also increasingly tried to just go out to restaurants when traveling abroad, and getting a table to enjoy the ambiance. I try to be strategic about the restaurants I choose, but for the most part, I have a great time, and I’m happy with that decision.

Here’s what I struggle with, though, when dining out. If you’re just sitting at a table alone in silence, what’s the appropriate way to behave, if there is one?

• Are you just supposed to sit there in silence without distractions, and “raw dog” the meal, and just sit there and enjoy the peace?
• Is it okay to be on your smartphone for a good portion of the time (without talking), texting, responding to emails, checking social media, etc.?
• What about bringing headphones and then at least in one ear listening to a podcast or watching a show, or something? Or reading a book?
• What about bringing your laptop so that you can work during the meal?

Personally, I try to “raw dog” solo meals as much as possible, though I often end up spending quite a bit of time looking at my phone, which I don’t feel great about, but also, I’m just not good at sitting still.

Maybe reading a book is a good option that doesn’t take away from the vibe. When I observe people using electronics, I’m always conflicted. For example, Ford and I went to a very nice restaurant when we were in Taiwan several weeks ago, and the lady at the table next to us was dining alone, and she spent the entire meal taking pictures of herself (like hundreds), which… I guess… you do you?

I’ll often see people (and not just little kids) sit in restaurants maybe watching a TV show on their phone with headphones, and personally that doesn’t bother me, and I’m tempted to do that sometimes, but I’m curious how others feel about that. Is it different if you have headphones vs. one earbud in?

When it comes to laptops, I’ll only bring a laptop to a meal if I’m dining at a hotel (or something similar) where there’s not much ambiance and it’s quite empty, because I don’t want to throw off the vibe for others.

Anyway, those are my impressions and how I approach things, but I’d love to hear from others, both in terms of solo dining preferences when traveling, and also what you think is and isn’t appropriate for solo diners (using electronics, etc.).

Bottom line

While hardly the world’s most pressing issue, I do always struggle with deciding how to approach solo dining when traveling, especially since I’m quite introverted. I think it’s awesome that many people are happy sitting at a bar and just chatting people up, but that’s not me.

I’ve largely gotten over that awkward feeling I used to have when sitting at a table “just” for one, as I do enjoy being out and about when I can be, and dining is a big part of traveling. What I struggle with is deciding whether to just sit there looking around, vs. heavy smartphone use.

I’m curious to hear from others — how do you approach dining when traveling solo? Please disclose whether you’re an introvert or extrovert as well. 😉

This is why it’s sometimes fun to look back at what the airline industry used to be like. Most old airline stuff seems genuinely cool, but then you also have some pretty cringeworthy stuff (like the below Delta ad), which makes you realize that we’ve come a long way.

In this post, I’d like to share some entertaining videos from Pan Am that have been uploaded to YouTube. I haven’t covered these kinds of videos in several years, and I figure some people will get a kick out of them…

Pan Am’s old training videos from the 1980s

YouTube user Pan Am Museum Foundation has uploaded all kinds of retro airline videos to YouTube, including old airline ads and training videos. Arguably the most interesting are Pan Am’s training videos. In each video, you first see how a customer interaction shouldn’t be handled, and then you see how a customer interaction should be handled.

For example, below is Pan Am’s training video about how to deal with a passenger who requests an upgrade.

Then below is Pan Am’s training video about how to deal with a passenger who misses their connection.

Then below is Pan Am’s training video about how to deal with a passenger smoking in the non-smoking section of the plane.

Other interesting Pan Am employee videos

In addition to the above videos that show how you should and shouldn’t handle various situations, there are several other videos I found especially interesting, which I can’t help but highlight. I think my favorite among these are the ones that show conflict among flight attendants.

For example, below is a video of two flight attendants getting in a dispute over who is in charge of the galley (and there’s even some pretty good shade here, hah).

Or there’s a video about “Miss Upper Deck,” who seemingly doesn’t want to help the flight attendants on the lower deck.

Or there’s a situation where a passenger smokes a cigarette in the flight attendant’s jump seat, and then the flight attendant gets in trouble with the purser for how she approached the customer, because customers were allowed to smoke in flight attendant jump seats back then.

Then there’s a video about “Shop Talk,” specifically about how employees should be careful about what they say in front of passengers. It even talks about how employees should behave when they’re traveling as non-revs. More than just about anything else, I think this is something that many airline employees could use a refresher on.

Speaking of employee behavior, there’s the below video about how flight attendants should maintain a professional image even when not at the airport, like when they arrive at their layover hotel, because customers could be watching.

And on a different note, below is a training video about Pan Am service techniques. Watching this sure reminded me that major US airlines have some room for improvement nowadays. 😉

Bottom line

I’m a sucker for old airline ads and training videos. Some I enjoy for the cringe factor, and some I enjoy because they’re genuinely pretty impressive, and a good reminder of how service at airlines should be. I find these Pan Am videos to be particularly interesting, since they present both how things should and shouldn’t be done, which you don’t otherwise often see.

Anyone else enjoy these Pan Am videos as much as I do?

For so long, I’ve almost exclusively covered airlines and hotels when it comes to the travel front. In recent times, I’ve been warming up more to the concept of cruising.

I recently took my first cruise in around two decades by sailing on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, and I had an awesome experience. It’s a fascinating period for the industry, given the increasing crossover we’re seeing between luxury hotel groups and cruise ships.

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has been sailing for a couple of years, we recently saw the introduction of Four Seasons Yachts, and Orient Express Sailing Yachts and Aman at Sea are expected to launch within the next year or so. Competition at the very top end of the market sure is heating up!

In this post, I’d broadly like to discuss the value proposition of luxury cruising, based on my recent experience, because I walked away from the experience with a better impression than I was expecting.

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is expensive but includes a lot

I’ve written a detailed guide to Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, so I don’t want to rehash everything here. The idea is that the cruise line has three ships, and also has a lot of inclusions. So while sailings are expensive, you should be happy with the experience onboard.

You can expect sailings to cost anywhere from $650 to $2,000 per person per night for a base suite, though of course it fluctuates significantly based on the time of year, sailing, etc. Rates include most meals and drinks, Starlink Wi-Fi, gratuities, etc. It really feels like they don’t cut corners, including with the included alcohol selection. For example, we got off the ship spending zero extra dollars beyond our fare.

Obviously the cruise line is expensive, but when you look at the inflation we’ve seen in the luxury hotel industry, cruising starts to look like a value, by comparison. It’s amazing how many hotels nowadays charge $2,500-4,000 per night for a standard room, while including almost nothing.

In terms of putting the pricing into context for the cruising industry, this is basically at the very top end of the existing market. However, Four Seasons Yachts recently launched and is considerably more expensive, while Orient Express Sailing Yachts and Aman at Sea will be even pricier than that (admittedly those new ventures have even larger accommodations).

If you do plan to book a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise, make sure you participate in Marriott Bonvoy (given the loyalty collaboration), and make sure you book through a Marriott STARS travel advisor, so you can take advantage of extra perks. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has pricing parity regardless of which source you book through, so you should maximize your perks. Ford and his team are happy to help with these requests, and can be reached at ford@fordbtravel.com.

Why luxury cruising is more appealing than I was expecting

I tend to think that cruising is a pretty polarizing way to vacation — some people swear by cruises and that’s basically the extent to which they travel, while some people would never even consider taking a cruise. So in that sense, I think cruising is really evolving, especially with all of the upcoming entrants into the market.

Fun story — as a kid, I was as obsessed with cruise ships as I now am with planes. Living in Florida, my parents would take me on a cruise once a year (typically Carnival), and it was the highlight of my year. The below ad was kind of my jam.

I was so obsessed with cruise ships that I remember when I went to dinner with my parents at a young age, I’d bring all the Carnival brochures that had all of their cruise itineraries in them, and then I’d fake “sell” my parents those cruises (they’d tell me where they wanted to go, and I had memorized all the cruises, ships, etc.).

Yeah, I was a weird kid (and am still weird, so not much has changed). I don’t know at exactly what age it happened, but eventually I lost interest in cruises overnight. I’m not sure there’s a good reason for it, or if it’s just that I moved on. I guess as I got more interested in frequent travel by planes and mileage running, I got less interested in ships.

But I think that’s also what’s so fascinating — this is an industry that has evolved so much since I was a kid. On the one end of the spectrum, ships are bigger than ever before, with some having a capacity of 6,000+ guests. Maybe that appeals to some, but it has little appeal to me. It’s essentially a floating city, and it sort of takes away the feeling of being on the water, and is instead more like the world’s biggest all-inclusive resort (which can still be a great vacation, especially for families).

On the other end of the spectrum, we’re seeing an ever increasing number of intimate, luxury cruise ships.

I think to some non-cruisers, cruises seem kind of intimidating, and people are concerned that that they’ll feel like outsiders if they’re not taking their 37th cruise. After all, cruising has a cult following. So in that sense, I think that’s an area where Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is really appealing:

• They’ve done a good job getting guests who might otherwise stay at hotels rather than on ships, so at least based on the sailing I took, it was a really pleasant, diverse crowd; maybe my impression is just off, but in my head, it feels like most other high-end cruise lines (Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, etc.) are heavily targeted at seniors, which there’s nothing wrong with, but I like some variety
• What impressed me about Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is that it didn’t feel like corners were being cut, and like they were skimping, despite the inclusive nature of the experience; from great food to Moet champagne, it feels like a “generous” experience
• The ships really are small enough to the point that they feel like mid-size hotels, rather than like floating cities, so I liked that intimacy; for example, when I walked through the ship at 6AM, I didn’t see a single other non-staff member
• A lot of people are just plain exhausted, and I think they underestimate just how easy of a vacation cruising is, in terms of not having to pack and unpack, it being a great option for kids, etc.

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has some fun itineraries

There’s an argument to be made in general for cruising just being a relaxing and easy vacation, even if the destinations as such aren’t necessarily that interesting. I think the ultimate cruise experience is to somewhere like Antarctica, which just isn’t practical to explore by land. Admittedly Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection doesn’t sail those itineraries, and it’s generally best to go with a specialist for that, like PONANT.

Personally — and it’s just my take — Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises are probably the least interesting, because these are largely destinations I’d rather visit by land, and where I enjoy staying at hotels.

However, to Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s credit, the cruise line has some itineraries that I find to be pretty cool, particularly on Evrima and Luminara.

Evrima, the smallest ship, has some fun voyages, like around Iceland, and around French Polynesia. Of course these places can also be visited by land, but there’s something that sounds really nice about cruising in these areas as well.

I’ve gotta say, maybe I’m just becoming super lame in my older age, but some of the Asia itineraries sound really fun, as an alternative to your typical land-based vacation. Of course many places in Japan are best visited by land, but sailing around Japan also sounds cool!

I wish I had more free time and didn’t have so many commitments, or else I’d love to do a transoceanic crossing, as these are typically the best value, and seem fun to me. While Atlantic crossings are common, I also love the Pacific crossing, like a cruise from Tokyo to Whittier… how fun!

Bottom line

Cruises can be a pretty polarizing way to travel. I was obsessed with them as a kid, but then had a roughly 20 year gap between cruises. With luxury hotel groups increasingly getting into the cruising industry, I’m intrigued by the evolution of the industry.

While there’s no denying that there are cheaper and probably better value cruises out there, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection provides a very well rounded experience, especially if you’re viewing this from the perspective of someone who usually vacations at hotels, where the inflation in recent years has been wild.

I recently took my first cruise in years, and had a fun time. While it’s not the only way I’m going to vacation, or anything, I am planning on being a repeat cruiser. I have Four Seasons Yachts booked for later this year, and am considering another cruise next year.

How do you feel about cruises in general, and the evolution of brands like Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection?

In this post, I’d like to address what we’ve seen in recent years when it comes to luxury hotel prices in popular leisure markets. In many places, luxury hotels are charging more than ever before, in a way that has massively outpaced inflation. What is actually driving this trend?

Luxury hotel rates have gone up a lot in recent years

At the very top end of the market, it’s pretty incredible how much hotel room rates have gone up. It’s not the same in all markets, but let me give some examples.

It used to be that the top hotels in Paris cost well under €1,000 per night, while now the city’s top tier of hotels (like Rosewood’s Hotel de Crillon) retail for around €2,000 per night for a standard room on any random night.

When you look at ski resorts in the United States, it’s pretty shocking what’s being charged nowadays. For example, take a look at the St. Regis Deer Valley, where a $3,000+ nightly rate is just the norm nowadays in peak season. Admittedly this property is a bit of a “points farm,” and I’d assume a majority of rooms aren’t actually being sold at those rates. But those people paying those amounts are really… not looking to maximize value.

Also, admittedly the South of France is a hot destination in summer, and Airelles Chateau de la Messardiere is the new “it” hotel (and is even where White Lotus will be filmed), but it’s pretty wild to see a rate of over €4,600 per night for a standard(ish) room.

The funny thing is that by comparison, the types of vacations that used to be considered by far the most expensive now represent a much better value. For example, we haven’t seen the same level of inflation to luxury safari costs. So while they’re still more expensive than many of the above, it’s a truly special experience that includes virtually everything, so you at least feel like you’re getting some “value.”

What’s driving this trend, and what we can make of it

The obvious answer is that supply and demand is driving this trend, but I think it’s a bit more nuanced than that. We constantly hear about the K-shaped economy, especially when it comes to airlines and hotels.

Based on conversations I’ve had with folks in the hotel industry (particularly in luxury leisure markets in “hotspots”), demand for luxury hotels in many markets is just highly inelastic, and they find their demand doesn’t fluctuate that much even with big swings in pricing. Admittedly that’s a slight oversimplification, but the idea is that for places like Paris, the South of France, the Amalfi Coast, this has increasingly become the reality.

What’s causing this, specifically?

• It’s clear that more than ever before, people value travel experiences; we see this on all ends of the market, including when you look at the growth in summer transatlantic demand in recent years
• People feel the need to keep up, to visit hotels that are on every list, to see their Upper East Side neighbors in Saint-Tropez, etc.
• Wealth (especially when it comes to people spending big money on hotels) is so heavily concentrated in the United States, in terms of the total number of hundred millionaires, billionaires, etc.
• Americans are known for their limited vacation time, so when they only have one or two weeks per year where they can unwind, many people don’t care how much it’ll cost to have the “best” experience

So from a revenue management standpoint, my understanding is that at many of these properties, they’re essentially trying to skim the market. While some hotels will always be booked out in peak season, there are just as many hotels that are happy with a marginally lower occupancy level but with much higher rates, since that’s ultimately the most profitable.

Keep in mind that hotels are typically real estate investments, and the goal is for hotel operations to make it profitable to hold onto land, as it appreciates over time.

This means “value” has to be judged relatively, largely

For those of us who appreciate value, the issue is that this rate inflation makes many people believe that because a hotel charges X amount per night, it’s going to be amazing. After all, if a hotel is going to be charging a fortune, you expect a great experience — if you order a $100 steak at a restaurant, you don’t expect to be served a Big Mac.

I think this is really a challenge the industry is facing in terms of managing expectations. To a billionaire, it doesn’t matter whether the hotel costs $1,000 or $3,000 per night, or whether a cocktail costs $15 or $40. To someone splurging on a honeymoon or anniversary trip, that does make a big difference, and I think high prices also come with high expectations.

Often when I write about hotel openings and share the prices that are being charged, people will point out the pricing is ridiculous, and isn’t worth it. I can’t disagree with the “worth it” argument, if the goal is to feel like you’re getting value for your money. You’re ultimately paying for the popularity of a place, and on some level, for its proximity to major wealth centers of the United States.

When you look at the very top end of the hospitality market, it’s easier to come away with a great impression if you travel further from the United States:

• While there are exceptions, the United States’ hospitality industry is pretty sad, with the biggest focus being short term profits, maximizing revenue, and minimizing costs; you really feel that in the guest experience, and often I don’t enjoy staying at hotels in the United States
• In Europe, luxury hotels can be really expensive, but at least they often have a great sense of place, a high level of service, nice facilities, and good dining
• Asia is still where you can no doubt get the most value; while Asia’s most expensive properties have gone up in price over the years, it’s still relatively reasonable, and aside from places like Kyoto, you can get a hotel at the top end of the market without dropping four figures per night

The other issue here is that luxury hotels are more differentiated than pre-pandemic. This isn’t so much about improvements at luxury properties, but instead, about negative changes at other hotels. We’ve seen so many service cuts at more mid-range properties, with concepts like daily housekeeping, room service, etc., no longer being things consumers can expect.

I think ultimately the value of hotels also has to be judged on a relative basis, rather than in absolute terms. For example, if you’re going to drop $3K per night at a ski resort, you can stay at the 173-room St. Regis Deer Valley, where almost is nothing included, and service isn’t very attentive.

Or you can stay at the 44-room Les Airelles Courchevel, and use the Rolls Royce hotel car, sip on unlimited Veuve Clicquot in the ski room, and receive generous welcome gifts and a large complimentary minibar. It’s just a different experience.

Bottom line

At the very top end of the market, luxury hotel rates have gone up massively in recent years, in some cases doubling and tripling. This is an understandably frustrating trend, given that the experience hasn’t necessarily improved proportionally.

What’s happening is that demand is inelastic at popular “premium leisure” destinations, and luxury hotels are finding that consumers maybe aren’t as price sensitive as they used to be, at least on the very high end. There’s not much that can be done there, and you’re unlikely to feel like you’re getting some amazing value at one of these hotels.

But ultimately if you want to have that experience, it’s the only option. I do think it’s worth also considering value on a relative basis, assuming you have flexibility with where you can travel. An expensive hotel in Asia or Europe is almost always going to offer more special of an experience than an expensive hotel in the United States.

Where do you stand on the general trend of luxury hotel rate inflation?

My one annoyance with using the iPhone camera

I review airlines and hotels in great detail, though I take a pretty low-tech approach to doing so. For as long as I can remember, I’ve just been using my iPhone to take pictures for the blog, and I find that it does the trick.

I’m not a professional photographer, and for me, the iPhone strikes the right balance between portability, ease of use, and quality of pictures. The reality is that when I board a flight, I often have only a matter of seconds to take pictures, and my goal is also to fly under the radar as much as possible, and not arouse suspicion among airline crews about what I’m doing.

The iPhone camera has become really good nowadays, and the quality evolution is impressive… for the most part. As the iPhone’s features have in theory improved in recent years, there’s one aspect of the camera that I find is getting worse.

Specifically, when I use the camera to take a picture of text (like a business class menu or a hotel restaurant menu), I find the text is increasingly blurry. I guess part of the issue is that the iPhone has gotten so good and high resolution that it has a hard time deciding where to focus when taking a picture of a page, and that gets tricky with text.

For what it’s worth, I have an iPhone 17 Pro Max, and before that, I had an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and both have had exactly the same issue (so this problem wasn’t isolated to one phone). For those who have no clue what I’m talking about, below is an example of a picture of an Etihad wine list, and how it’s much blurrier than I feel like it should be.

It’s kind of funny, taking pictures of menus with text is probably the single biggest thing that frustrates me about the photography aspect of flights, because it feels like taking a picture of a piece of paper should be super easy, but it always gives me issues (and I usually end up taking like 20 pictures of the same page, and then picking the best one). I do this stuff for a living, and I should be able to do better than posting blurry text.

Some people might be thinking “well wait, has something actually changed?” I know that seven years ago when I was taking pictures with previous generation iPhones, I thought that text was significantly clearer, and less blurry.

Is there some obvious solution I’m missing?

I’ve tried Googling this question, but there’s oddly little discussion about this online (maybe I’m just describing my problem poorly?). It’s confusing, because I can’t imagine I’m the only person who uses the iPhone camera to sometimes take pictures of text.

Is there something obvious I’m missing, or something I’m doing wrong? I’ve read it makes sense to take pictures from further away (since it’s partly a focus issue), and then cropping the picture, so that’s what I’ve been doing lately. Even so, the quality is still pretty bad. Is there some setting I have to change? Do I just need to carry another camera or an old iPhone specifically to take pictures of menus and stuff?

Sorry, I know this is an arbitrary question, but it’s something I’ve been dealing with for quite a long time now, and I figure I should ask and see if there’s a solution. With some upcoming travel, I figure this is as good of a time as any to ask.

I should mention that I appreciate that an increasing number of airlines and hotels publish their menus online, which is ideal. In those situations, I can just screenshot the menus there, and don’t have to worry about taking pictures.

Some people might suggest that I get a scanner, or something, but that’s not really practical. For example, when I’m at a hotel restaurant, I’m not going to bring a scanner to breakfast, and I’m also not going to “steal” the menu (often in a nice binder) and take it home.

Bottom line

I feel like my iPhone serves me well for my travel pictures… except for taking pictures of text, like menus on airlines or at hotel restaurants. I’m sorry for the total newb question here, but I feel like I should be able to do better that this with ease, yet oddly searching this problem online isn’t returning many good results.

Anyone have any insights about my iPhone camera problem?

What I consider to be a boutique hotel

In the hospitality industry, “boutique” is a phrase that has been increasingly used to describe hotels. The way I view it, there are a few non-negotiable traits that make a hotel boutique, though admittedly each of these points is subjective:

• It’s small — a mega hotel can’t be considered boutique
• It has a cool and/or unique design — a cookie-cutter hotel can’t be considered boutique, even if it’s small
• It’s upscale or luxury — in general I think that a run down two-star hotel can’t be considered boutique

Now, in an ideal world, I’d say there are actually a few more traits of a true boutique property. For example, I think ideally a boutique hotel is fully independent and doesn’t belong to a chain, which generally makes it unique (though there are some small chains with unique properties, like Aman, Capella, etc.). I also think it can’t have a lot of meeting or events space, which often takes away the intimacy of a property.

I’d like to think my interpretation of a boutique hotel makes sense, since the word “boutique” is defined as follows:

a business or establishment that is small and sophisticated or fashionable

Can a big hotel be considered boutique?

It’s interesting to note how large chain hotels describe themselves as being boutique, and it seems this trend is becoming more common rather than less common. For example, I find that it’s something that “lifestyle” brands, like Marriott’s EDITION and Hyatt’s Thompson, are especially guilty of (“lifestyle,” talk about another hotel term that means very little).

For example, the 216-key Thompson Denver is described as a “luxury boutique hotel,” while the 294-key Miami Beach EDITION is described as a “boutique, design hotel with modern rooms and luxury amenities, like world-class entertainment and dining, near South Beach.” Boutique?!

While these hotels may be reasonably luxurious and somewhat stylish, I wouldn’t consider them to be boutique, purely because of the size, if nothing else.

Now, I suppose it could be argued that these hotels are small, relatively speaking. The hotels are small compared to the 1,966-room Marriott Marquis New York, 2,032-room Hyatt Regency Chicago, etc. But still, I’m not sure that’s what we should be comparing hotel sizes to.

I’m not sure where exactly I draw the line on size:

• My gut says that if a hotel has more than 200 rooms, it’s definitely not boutique; to me, a boutique hotel would typically have under 100 rooms, or ideally, under 50 rooms
• I do think there should be some consideration for the location of a hotel — in other words, I might consider a 150-room hotel in New York City to be boutique, while I might not consider a 150-room hotel in the Maldives to be boutique

Of course ultimately I understand why hotels are choosing to market this way. The major hotel groups keep growing, and they love using all the buzzwords that they think consumers want to hear — authentic, distinctive, boutique, etc.

Bottom line

A lot of hotels like to market themselves as being boutique. To me, a boutique hotel is one that’s small, has a cool design, and is at least upscale. Personally I have a hard time considering a hotel with hundreds of rooms to be boutique, but maybe that’s just me.

How do you define a boutique hotel? Is there a size limit? Also, bonus points to the person who can find the hotel with the highest room count that refers to itself as “boutique.”

Four Seasons spa offers happy ending massage

A frequent Four Seasons guest who has stayed at 20+ of the brand’s properties shares an experience with me, which caught him off guard. Specifically, while getting a massage at the spa of an unnamed Four Seasons in Asia, he was offered a happy ending:

Not to get into any grimy details, but she pointed at my, yeah, and said the price is [converts to $88]. In an attempt to diffuse the situation, I said “I had no cash,” in which she responded you can add it to the tip part of the bill. I was honestly, shocked. Truly. That’s around the same price as the massage, so the front desk must be in on it.

Look, I get that it happens in many places in the world, but I was shocked to see it happen at a Four Seasons. I reached out to the manager (personal email) and the hotel, but never heard a response. Shocking, especially as I had stayed there eight times in the past nine months before.

Yowzers. In 2017, I wrote about one of my weirdest hotel experiences, at the Le Meridien Xiamen, where my friend and I got spa treatments in separate rooms, and both (rather aggressively) experienced “hard selling” of off-menu services.

How common are these happy ending offers at nice hotels?

Real talk, this discussion raises two questions — how common is it to be offered a happy ending at a luxury hotel spa, and on top of that, is it highly inappropriate, or just part of offering anticipatory service? Let’s discuss those two points separately…

Regarding the first point, it seems that norms around happy ending massages in “luxury” environments differ significantly around the globe. In some parts of Asia, it’s my understanding that this is considered to be totally normal, especially among local clientele, even in a “legitimate” spa. It’s a different story in the United States, which isn’t to say that it doesn’t happen in high-end environments, but at least I imagine it’s not as common.

I suppose hotel spas fall into one of three categories when it comes to happy endings — some offer them proactively, some will offer them when asked, and some will refuse if asked. For hotels that fall into the first or second category, I can’t help but be curious about how high up the chain people are aware of this?

For example, in the above situation, if you’re told to tip the same price as the spa treatment for the happy ending, then one has to assume that the front desk is in on it. How high does it go? Just the person working at the front desk at the spa? The spa manager? The hotel general manger?

My take here might be controversial, but let me explain. Personally, I have zero interest in such a massage, but I actually don’t have an issues with these being offered, as long as the masseuses aren’t pushy, and as long as it’s a market where that’s considered pretty normal.

What frustrates me is when they spend a significant amount of time clearly wanting you to want “it,” only to not accept “no” as an answer. A massage at a luxury hotel shouldn’t feel like a basic economy fare, where you’re aggressively upsold on something else.

I suppose the irony with massage menu add-ons is that generally luxury hotels pride themselves in never saying “no” to a guest, and always finding a way to say “yes.” Yet this is one of those areas where people almost scoff at the thought of them taking care of guests.

Conversely, I think it’s also important to point out that it’s not fair to sexualize masseuses or their work. It’s one thing if a masseuse proactively offers, but a masseuse who doesn’t want to offer such service shouldn’t be put in that uncomfortable situation either, since that’s not the core of their profession. So all of the above is specific to when the masseuse is the one who initiates.

Anyway, I’m realizing this is all rather complex, and I’m not sure hotels can really win here, one way or another.

Bottom line

Expectations of spa treatments differ around the world. In some parts of the world, the concept of being offered a happy ending with a massage in a nice environment is unheard of, while in other parts of the world, it might be considered part of a relaxing spa experience.

It’s interesting that even at the top end of the hotel market, this seems to be a fairly common occurrence, even if it catches people off guard.

Where do you stand on massage add-ons at luxury hotels? Is it never acceptable, is it okay if they’re not pushy, is it okay even if they are pushy, or what? 😉