I'm so impressed by everything that Air Canada Aeroplan has been doing to engage members in the coronavirus era, ranging from extending elite status and even giving people the option to gift status to others, to providing innovative ways to earn status…
Gogo Lowers Minimum Altitude For Wifi Connectivity
Gogo is expanding the altitudes at which its inflight wifi offering can be used on both business jets and regional jets, which is great news for passengers. Gogo is one of the world's largest providers of inflight wifi. The company has different wifi…
American Airlines’ Shocking Response To A DOT Complaint
I read Department of Transportation filings for fun, because I'm weird (and what's covered in them is often relevant to what I write about, but I'm still weird). ;) Anyway, if you're not someone who usually reads this stuff, you need to make an exception.…
United Airlines Adds Chicago To Tel Aviv Flight
United Airlines has just announced two long haul routes out of Chicago -- there's a new route that makes sense, while there's a route reinstatement that does surprise me. United Airlines has historically been by far the largest US airline in Israel,…
Israel’s Government Taking Majority Stake In EL AL
Airlines around the globe are struggling to stay in business with the current pandemic. EL AL has been in an especially tough spot, as the airline hasn't been able to secure government funding, and more or less had to temporarily cease operations...…
Review: SpringHill Suites Zion National Park (Springdale, Utah)
We spent the first night of our road trip in Springdale, Utah, so that we could visit Zion National Park. Springdale has a variety of limited service hotel options, though nothing terribly exciting beyond that. My loyalty belongs to Hyatt, Marriott,…
Hilton Honors Card From American Express Review (2020)
Hotel credit cards can be incredibly valuable. Typically the cards have reasonable annual fees, and offer outsized value, ranging from annual free nights to status. What's rare is to see a hotel credit card that offers perks in spite of not having an…
I Can’t Even With This Singapore Airlines Complaint
What are reasonable expectations to have when flying during the coronavirus pandemic? A reader points me to a complaint posted on Singapore Airlines' Facebook page, expressing frustration over a flight he describes as "daylight robbery." It does raise…
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi Launching Flights Next Week (Odd Time To Start An Airline, Eh?)
Personally if I were to launch a new airline I probably wouldn't do so during the coronavirus pandemic, but that's just me... Etihad Airways has been struggling financially since long before coronavirus, and in 2017 the airline began a five year transformation…
US Passes 750K Daily Air Travelers Over July 4 Weekend
A few months ago demand for air travel began to plummet, as we've seen airlines cut capacity unlike ever before. During that time I've been keeping an eye on passenger numbers, as it's interesting to see how demand is evolving. The pace at which travel…
Royal Air Maroc Dumping Nearly Half Of 787 Fleet
Airlines around the world are downsizing due to the current pandemic, and Royal Air Maroc is no exception, as reported by Morocco World News. However, there is one aspect of Royal Air Maroc's plan to shrink that surprises me. These updates come based…
Spirit Airlines Sends Plane To Rescue Family Stranded Due To Medical Diversion
Usually Spirit Airlines is in the news because of the fights that passengers manage to get into, so the positive ending for this story is a nice change of pace... On June 30, 2020, Spirit Airlines flight 3216 was scheduled to fly from San Juan to Philadelphia.…
Americans Charter Private Jet To Europe, Get Rejected
11 people chartered a private jet from the US to the European Union, and were refused entry, as reported by castedduonline.it. But they're angry. Really angry. They feel they were "treated like criminals," and plan to "ask for damages." First it's important…
Iberia Visa Signature Card Review (2020)
In this post I wanted to review the Iberia Visa Signature® Card, which is one of Chase's less known travel rewards credit cards. I realized that I've never formally reviewed this card before, so that seems long overdue. This card has only been in the…
Recent Trip Reports
The Marrakech Medina
While we were in Marrakech, I had a work call, and when I disclosed my location one of the other meeting participants blurted out "Man. I effing hated that medina." And I didn't hate it, but parts of the experience were decidedly unpleasant. Other aspects…
Review: Riad Joya, Marrakech
We wanted to stay in the thick of the medina on this trip, but that does come with some safety considerations. We also liked the idea of staying in a small independent riad. I'd had numerous people tell me that in Marrakech, your riad host is essentially…
Review: Royal Air Maroc Domestic Lounge Casablanca Airport
This lounge review will be short and sweet, and not to put too fine a point on it, but hopefully your stay here will be as well. Bottom line up front: this lounge has little to recommend it, but it's not like the rest of the terminal is super glam either.…
American Airlines First Class Service In The Coronavirus Era
On Wednesday I flew American Airlines first class from Miami to Las Vegas, which was a roughly five hour flight. I've been curious to see firsthand how onboard service has been adjusted as a result of the current pandemic, and wanted to report back on…
Introduction: The Last Trip (For Now)
I've been sitting on this trip report for three months now (where have three months gone?) because it just hasn't felt like the right time to talk about travel details, and this particular trip was odd from the start. This trip took place in early March,…
I Just Took A Flight, And Airplane Face Mask Enforcement Is A Mess
Yesterday I took a five hour American Airlines flight from Miami to Las Vegas, which was my first flight in 99 days. I have so many thoughts about the current state of the air travel experience, but first wanted to dedicate a post specifically to some…
Road Tripping Through The Southwest Of The US
In mid-June, Ford and I did a four day road trip through Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado (I recognize that technically not all of those states are the "southwest," but I feel comfortable enough with the general theme). In this post I wanted to talk…
Cool: Private A340 Flying Brits To Barbados In Style
If you're in the UK and have £7500 burning a hole in your pocket, here's a cool way to spend it... Blue Sky Luxury and Caledonia Jets have partnered to offer a new once weekly charter flight between London and Barbados. Barbados is a popular vacation…
World Of Hyatt Credit Card Review (2020)
In general, I think hotel credit cards are incredibly underrated. They can offer huge perks that more offset the annual fees, and some cards even offer free nights that can get you a lot of value. While I have quite a few hotel credit cards, in this…
Weekly Review: July 4th, 2020
Hello from Miami! There's not much fun to report on the travel front, as we've been staying inside the past week in order to stay safe, given how many new cases we have in Florida. On the plus side, I'm spending the weekend getting caught up on the trip…
Chase Sapphire Reserve Review (2020)
I don't think there's a single card that has changed the premium credit card landscape like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card did back when it was introduced in the summer of 2016. Before the Sapphire Reserve was introduced, premium cards were thought…
American Airlines Moving To Heathrow Terminal 5
American Airlines will be changing terminals at London Heathrow, and that's either good or bad news, depending on how you look at it. It has today been formally announced that American Airlines will be moving to London Heathrow Terminal 5 as of July…
Whoa: The St. Regis Cairo Opened?!?
If one good thing comes out of 2020, it's that the St. Regis Cairo has finally opened... seemingly out of nowhere? If you're wondering why I have such an interest in this hotel, let me explain... St. Regis is one of my favorite hotel brands, and Cairo…
When Will You Travel Again?
One thing we've noticed (and this is not a new phenomenon) is that "travel sentiment surveys" don't really take into account the viewpoints of the most frequent travelers, or the most highly-engaged loyalty program members. Our community may not be statistically…
British Airways Reopening Heathrow Lounges
Over the past few month we've seen a majority of airline lounges around the world close. This has been both due to lack of travel demand, and also because updated lounge protocols were needed to reflect the times. We're slowly seeing airlines start to…
New American Airlines AAdvantage Award Fees: What Has Changed?
In April American Airlines announced several updates to the AAdvantage program. The airline extended elite status by 12 months, and revealed plans to introduce a new one-time American Airlines Vacations credit for elite members, and also adjust change…