Qatar Airways Has A New Route And It Has Potential To Be GREAT For BA Tier Points
Qatar Airways has today announced another new European route which it plans to start operating from Summer 2019 and it could mean a very nice haul of Tier Points if you're starting your travels in the UK.
Ordinarily, an announcement of a new Qatar Airways route is just good news - it's another route on which to earn and burn AAdvantage Miles or Avios - but the route announced today could signify a great opportunity for UK flyers looking to earn a lot of tier points in a single trip.
Was Earning BA Gold Status Cheaper Than Earning American Airlines Executive Platinum?
Late last year I wrote a post in which I concluded that simple mathematics suggested that I shouldn't credit my 2018 flights to the American Airlines AAdvantage program. Now, almost a year to the day since I wrote that post, I've finished my flying for 2018 and it's time to see how that decision played out.
TAP Air Portugal Will Fly Its New Business Class To The US From March
TAP Air Portugal became the first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A330-900Neo last week and its new aircraft comes fitted with a new (and much improved) Business Class cabin.
TAP Air Portugal currently flys to 4 North American cities (Boston, Miami, New York and Toronto) and, from June 2019, the airline will add Chicago and Washington DC to its route map too.
On What Routes Does Delta Offer Its Delta One Suites?
While Delta's A350s have slowly been coming on line the airline has also been refitting its 777 aircraft with the new Delta One Suite and we're now finally starting to see the suite offered on enough routes that a sighting is no longer a rarity....but on what routes does Delta actually offer Delta One Suites?
My Rio de Janeiro Decision (And A Big Thank You)
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Fly Qatar Airways Qsuites To & From Boston Next Year (Award Seats Readily Available)
Qatar Airways has been deploying its hugely popular Business Class seats on an ever-increasing number of routes and recently that route list got a little longer when the Doha - Los Angeles route was added.
Now it looks as if a number of people have spotted that Qatar Airways will offer Qsuite service to/from Boston next year (the amusingly named "ChubbyPanda123" from Flyertalk).
I’ve Finally Booked A Big Ticket Marriott Redemption For Next Year
Since Marriott introduced its new award chart in August it has been possible to book awards at numerous aspirational properties around the world for just 60,000 points per night but, sadly, that's only going to be the pricing for a limited time.
The window to book these properties for 60,000 points per night will probably close on 1 January 2019 when Marriott is expected to introduce a Category 8 level into its award chart - a category into which all the aspirational properties will be placed.
Air Italy Adds Two New Routes To California (More Avios Redemptions)
So far, in 2018, Air Italy has added routes to Bangkok, Delhi, Miami, Mumbai and New York and now the airline has announced that it will operate two new routes to California from next year.
Royal Air Maroc Is The Newest Oneworld Alliance Member – Here’s What You Need To Know
Yesterday, at a meeting of all the oneworld alliance members in New York, Royal Air Maroc was introduced as the newest full member of the oneworld alliance. Technically the airline is still a oneworld member designate but, short of a major catastrophe or change of heart, Royal Air Maroc will be fully integrated into oneworld by mid-2020.
American Airlines Introduces Biometric Boarding At LAX
The rapid improvements we have been seeing in facial recognition software combined with the amazing capability government agencies have to collect and collate data about us have seen airlines make serious investments in biometric gate technology.
Delta and BA were both playing around with biometric gates back in 2017, British Airways then expanded its US biometric gate trials to include 3 gates at LAX back in March, Lufthansa followed suit just a couple of weeks later and, just recently, JetBlue got its facial recognition systems up and running at JFK.
Now, at LAX, it's the turn of American Airlines.
Time To Legislate: This Hotel Rip-Off Needs To Stop
If you ask a group of frequent travelers what five aspects of the offerings they get from hotels and airlines they dislike the most you're likely to get a host of different answers.
Some will probably point to the inability of certain airlines to keep to a schedule (that would be you AA), some will probably comment on hotel rooms that don't offer enough power outlets and some will complain about the ever decreasing amount of space passengers are given on an aircraft.....but I'm willing to wager that one ever more apparent aspect of travel will appear on most of their lists - Resort fees.
London Heathrow Will Have The Next International Amex Centurion Lounge
American Express has announced that its next international Centurion Lounge will open at London Heathrow's Terminal 3 in 2019. This will be Amex's first Centurion Lounge in Europe and the first international lounge to be opened since the Hong Kong Centurion Lounge opened in October 2017.
Delta One Pre-Select Meals Are Now Available Globally
Back in May Delta announced that customers flying in its Delta One Business Class cabins flying select routes from the US to Europe would be able to choose their meals in advance starting 1 June.
At the end of September the number of flights departing the US for Europe and offering pre-select meals was increased, a number of flights departing Europe (for the US) were added to the pre-select program, all Delta One domestic routes began offering the pre-select service and select routes between the US and Asia/Australia joined in too.
Looking Likely: Delta Will Install 29 Business Class Suites On Its New A330s
Delta is the first and only US airline to have installed suites into some of its long-haul aircraft and it's a move which has seen the airline go from having one of the older Business Class products on the market to an airline offering one of the best.
As things stand the Delta One suite is only to be found on the airline's new Airbus A350 aircraft and on a select number of its 777s but, if a clever bit of sleuthing turns out to be correct, the Delta One suites will soon be coming to another of Delta's aircraft.
United’s Premium Economy Cabin Goes On Sale On Monday (December 3rd)
United Airlines in the last of the three US legacy carriers to introduce a true Premium Economy product and the airline has just announced that the first seats will go on sale in a few days.
As of Monday 3 December 2018 United will begin selling it's "Premium Plus" product for travel on select international flights starting 30 March 2019.
New York’s LaGuardia Airport Will Open A New Concourse Tomorrow
Joe Biden famously once compared New York's LaGuardia airport to a third world country and not many people disagreed with him (although the comment may have been a bit unfair on third world countries).
Since then LaGuardia has been undergoing some significant changes and there was a big reshuffle a little over a year ago when Delta, JetBlue and American Airlines all moved around to new locations. Now we're about to see the next phase of LaGuardia's regeneration.
Marriott Hacked – Up To 500 Million Starwood Accounts Are Affected
Here we go again! What is it with big corporations and their inability to keep our information safe?!
We're only just getting over the Cathay Pacific hack and the debacle that was the British Airways hack and now we're being told that Marriott's Starwood database (containing the information of 500 million customers) has been compromised by an "unauthorised party".
Hilton Adds 3 All-Inclusive Resorts To Its Portfolio
Hilton has used its partnership with Playa Hotels & Resorts to introduce three new all-inclusive resorts to its portfolio. These resorts are located in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and all are bookable using Hilton Honors points via Hilton.com.
Air New Zealand Releases “The Nicest Christmas Ever” Video (And Mocks Someone Famous)
The latest Air New Zealand Christmas video ("The Nicest Christmas Ever") is now available to watch and, this year, the video manages to combine a bit of festive spirit, a bit of Christmas tradition and a not-so-subtle bit of mockery that will probably go down well with quite a few people (and no doubt enrage a few too).
United Will Fly Between Denver & Frankfurt From 2019
I already knew that the past few weeks would have been busy for the United Airlines scheduling team (I have no idea if that's what they're really called) with all of the 787-10 Dreamliner routes being planed for next year but it now it would appear they've been working on more than just that - there's a new European route coming next year too.
I’m A Little Worried About A Trip I Have Planned – This Is New For Me
I've been fortunate enough to have visited a variety of countries around the world both for pleasure and for work and not all have been destinations you'd necessarily wish to visit with your family.
Some of the places I've visited (in parts of Africa and in parts of Asia) are definitely not tourist destinations and, to put it bluntly, they're not very safe....but I was ok with that.
American Airlines & China Southern Expand Partnership (Reciprocal Elite Benefits On The Way)
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Alaska Airlines May Soon Be A Oneworld Connect Partner….But What Does That Even Mean?
The oneworld alliance has scheduled a meeting for 5 December at which, it is said, that a new full member of the alliance will be unveiled (the first new member in over six years) and at which Alaska Airlines is rumored to be unveiled as the second airline to become a "oneworld connect" partner.
We don't know for sure which airline will be joining oneworld as a full partner (it looks like it will either be Royal Air Maroc or Philippine Airlines and neither see particularly exciting) but the more interesting story may be the one which suggests that Alaska Airlines will become a oneworld connect partner.
Hilton Is Adding A New Property With Over-Water Villas
I've yet to meet someone who doesn't like the idea of an overwater villa so the news that Hilton will be opening a new resort offering exactly that should bring a smile to a few people's faces.
Here’s Why I Sometimes Choose To Earn Fewer Points When Booking Air Travel
I value Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi ThankYou points and Amex Membership Rewards points all at 1.5 cents each so it may seem strange that, at times, I choose to earn the equivalent of a 4.5% rebate through Chase or Citi rather than an effective 7.5% rebate through American Express...but there's a very good reason for this.
JetBlue Now Has Facial Recognition Working At JFK
Biometric gates are starting to gain traction and we're seeing more airlines trialling them and putting them into service all the time. Delta and BA were testing facial recognition gates back in 2017, BA expanded its US trials in March this year and Lufthansa joined in on the act at LAX a few weeks later. Now JetBlue has brought its biometric gate to New York.
Qatar Airways Is Playing Fast And Loose With The Words “Upgrade” & “Spacious”
Earlier today I wrote about how Qatar Airways is replacing one of its two Qsuite equipped aircraft on the Doha - Frankfurt route in favor of an Airbus A380. In the press release for that announcement the airline attempted to put a positive spin on the news despite the fact that, for Business Class travelers, the news was probably not what they wanted to hear.
In fairness to Qatar Airways there are some positives to having the Airbus A380 on the Doha - Frankfurt route (I pointed those out in the post earlier) so the press release wasn't entirely a smokescreen for bad news....but the airline has also released another press release in which facts really only play a half-part.
LifeMiles May Now Be An Amex Transfer Partner But I Really Don’t Care
During the first week of November LifeMiles (Avianca's loyalty program) was rolled out as the latest American Express transfer partner and I've just realised that I never wrote a blog post about it.
It wasn't a conscious decision not to write about the Amex/LifeMiles news at the time so the omission is almost certainly a result of the fact that the announcement wasn't actually something I cared about....and there's a very good reason why I didn't (and still don't) care.
Qatar Airways Adds First Class But Cuts Qsuites On Its Frankfurt Route
Qatar Airways offers two daily flights between Doha and Frankfurt and this route was one of the first on which the airline offered its fantastic Qsuite Business Class cabin on all flights. Sadly, starting with the summer 2019 season, this will no longer be the case.
Flying To Dubai or Abu Dhabi? Your Medications May Be Illegal!
A cautious friend of mine is currently planning his first visit to Dubai and he recently pointed out something to me on the British Foreign Office's website that made me stop and wonder what the UAE is thinking.
I've visited the UAE a number of times and have had good experiences on all visits but it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone when I say that some of the rules you'll find in the UAE aren't exactly what most of us may be used to.
Delta Silver Medallion Members Now Get An Extra Checked Bag On Virgin Atlantic
I hold absolutely no status with Delta or Virgin Atlantic but as I look to possibly change my airline allegiances going forward I'm paying a lot more attention to what the like of Delta and Virgin Atlantic offer....and that's why an update posted today caught my eye.
An alert I received today let me know of a change posted to the Skymiles News & Updates page today (15 November 2018) which suggests that Delta Silver Medallion members now get at least one checked bag on Virgin Atlantic operated flights.
Is Cathay Pacific Now Even Closer To Leaving Oneworld? [Speculation]
These are tumultuous times for the oneworld alliance with more infighting than ever before and with at least one member already openly saying that it's considering exiting as soon as next year.
It's no secret that a number of oneworld's members don't really get on and some even openly dislike each other so it seems only a matter of time before something gives and we see one or more significant changes to the membership.
Your Credit Card Info May Be On The Dark Web Courtesy of British Airways
According to the Daily Mail the Russian team who successfully hacked British Airways earlier this year may have made around $12m (£9.4m) selling the credit card information it obtained courtesy of BA's ineptitude.
Qatar Airways Is Looking At Alternatives To Oneworld
The oneworld alliance is probably the most dysfunctional of the three major alliances as a good number of its airlines simply do not get on with one another.
The squabbles between BA and Qantas are well documented, Cathay Pacific and Qantas have never really seen eye to eye and American Airlines has spent the best part of the past five years trying to get the American government to impose sanctions on Qatar Airways.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall when all the members sit around a conference table to discuss whatever it is they discuss....it must be like the most awkward Thanksgiving dinner of all time!
United Airlines Announces First 787-10 Dreamliner International Routes
Just last week I wrote a post detailing the more important aspects you may need to know about United's new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner and now we know what the airline has planned for its new aircraft's first long-haul routes.
Blog News: Traveling For Miles Has Joined BoardingArea!
If you've had your morning cup of coffee before visiting Traveling For Miles this morning you may have noticed a small new floating link on the bottom right of every page. It's a link with a logo that I'm very proud to have on the site because it shows that Traveling For Miles is now part of the BoardingArea family of blogs.
ANA Will Soon Let You Book Premium Economy Seats With Points
ANA first started to introduce a Premium Economy cabin to its fleet in 2015 and the cabin is now fitted to 59 of its aircraft flying 30 international routes.
Up until now it hasn't been possible to book Premium Economy awards on ANA (a bit like the situation we currently face with American Airlines) but the airline is looking to change that in 2019.
What You Need To Know About United Airlines’ New 787-10 Dreamliner
United Airlines took delivery of its first 787-10 Boeing Dreamliner on Monday and in one fell swoop became the first U airline to take delivery of this Dreamliner variant and the first airline in the world to operate all three Dreamliner variants (787-8, 787-9 & 787-10).
The Dreamliners get bigger as you progress though the list and the 787-10 is 18 feet longer that the previous longest Dreamliner United Airlines operated. This has allowed United the freedom to incorporate 4 different seat classes into its aircraft.
Finnair Will Introduce A Premium Economy Cabin … But Not Until 2020
You only have to look back a little over a decade to see a time when most transatlantic airlines didn't offer a Premium Economy cabin and when the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic offered a product that few others did.
Air France and KLM added Premium Economy cabins in 2009 but things didn't start to speed up in the sector until 2014 when Lufthansa joined the Premium Economy club.
Since then we've seen American Airlines, Iberia, Delta, LOT and United Airlines(amongst others) jump on the Premium Economy bandwagon.
Now it's Finnair's turn.
American Airlines Simply Doesn’t Care About AAdvantage Or Its Members
There was a time when the American Airlines AAdvantage program was the clear leader in the airline loyalty sector and when the airline saw it as a genuine asset to its business. Nowadays all of that is rapidly becoming a distant memory as the current leadership team at American Airlines continues to dismantle AAdvantage and with it what little loyalty that is still felt towards the increasingly hard-to-like airline.
Significant Changes Coming To American Airlines AAdvantage In 2019
American Airlines has just announced a series of changes to the AAdvantage loyalty program that will come into effect on 1 January 2019. The changes affect how many Elite Qualifying Dollars are required to earn top-tier status, how many elite qualifying miles are earned with select partner airlines and more.
IAG Boss Thinks It’s “Highly Likely” That Qatar Airways Will Leave Oneworld
Last month Akbar Al Baker, the highly excitable CEO of Qatar Airways, announced that he was considering withdrawing his airline from the oneworld alliance because members of the alliance were acting negatively towards Qatar Airways.
Al Baker was specifically unhappy with American Airlines whom he accused of "talking against Qatar Airways" but, at the time, a lot of us thought that he was simply posturing (something he has been known to do in the past).
Well, apparently there may be more to all of this than just simply posturing.
Virgin Atlantic May Be About To Get A Lot More Interesting For Premium Cabin Travel
Virgin Atlantic has a solid Premium Economy product, a pretty reasonable Economy Class product (or so I'm told - I haven't flown it in years) and a truly terrible Business Class product. I tried out the Virgin Atlantic A330 Upper Class (Business Class) seat on an overnight flight not all that long ago and it's one of the only Business Class seats that has ever made me wish I was back in British Airways Club World. I genuinely have no idea how a modern, European airline gets away with such a bad seat....but deliverance may be on the way.
Here’s The Problem With Marriott’s Suite Upgrades
Before Marriott Rewards and SPG were merged Marriott didn’t officially offer its elites upgrades to suites. Very occasionally (and usually on short trips) Marriott properties have upgraded me to a suite in the past but, more often than not, the upgrades I’ve received have been to a slightly larger room on a high floor.
That’s always been fine for me as I rarely need the space that a suite offers but I know that the lack of suite upgrades has been a bugbear for some.
Those crying out for suite upgrades had their wish granted when Marriott updated its elite benefits following the merger of the Marriott Rewards and SPG loyalty programs but, now that the new rules are in place, I’m not sure guests will be getting what they may expect.
Iberia A350 Premium Economy & Economy Class Cabins – An Overview
I recently took the opportunity to try out the Iberia A350 Business Class cabin while the airline was still flying its newest aircraft on short-haul routes around Europe. After my flight landed I took the opportunity to walk a little further back in the aircraft to see what the A350's Premium Economy & Economy Class cabins looked like.
Review: Iberia A350 Business Class Cabin
Iberia took delivery of its first two Airbus A350s back in July and since then it has mostly been flying them on various short-haul routes around Europe as the airline gets its crews accustomed to the new aircraft.
The first Iberia A350 finally flew its inaugural long-haul flight in early August when it took over one of the airline’s two Madrid – New York JFK flights while the second A350 took over the second flight on the New York route this Saturday just gone (1 September).
Review: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class LAX-LHR (Overnight)
After a number of Economy Class flights across the Atlantic it was nice to have one of my systemwide awards clear – that’s how I found myself in the American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class cabin.
Emirates Has Opened A New First & Business Class Lounge In Cairo
Emirates opened its new First & Business Class lounge in Cairo on Thursday last week and has shared details of what the new lounge offers as well as a few images too.
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge At Los Angeles (LAX)
American Airlines has been paying a bit more attention to its lounges in recent years and its the Flagship lounges which have probably seen the biggest changes.
Not all that long ago the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at LAX was open only to First Class passengers (international and transcon only) and top-tier oneworld elites but not any more.
Delta’s Refurbished Sky Club At Washington Reagan Is Now Open
Towards the end of last month Delta unveiled its refreshed Sky Club at Washington’s Ronald Reagan Airport (DCA) and, although the airline hasn’t exactly gone overboard with the images it has provided, it has released a fair amount of information detailing what flyers can expect when they visit.
Review: American Airlines A321S First Class (LIH-LAX)
Two weeks earlier I had flown my first flight on an American Airlines A321S and, as my upgrade had failed to clear, I got to experience (and review) the aircraft’s Economy Class cabin.
On this occasion my complimentary upgrade cleared a whole 2 days before departure (miracles do happen!) so it was time to try out the A321S First Class cabin.
Review: Hawaiian Airlines Inter-Island First Class (Boeing 717)
I wouldn’t normally even consider booking a Hawaiian Airlines First Class fare for a flight as short as the one between Maui and Kauai (approximately 40 minutes) but, on this trip, the math more or less made sense.
Review: DAA Executive Lounge Dublin Terminal 1 (Priority Pass)
The DAA Executive Lounge at Dublin Airport's Terminal 1 is the primary lounge for the terminal and, as you'll see from the sign near the entrance, it's the lounge for a whole host of airlines and lounge programs including British Airways, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, and Priority Pass.
Review: American Airlines A321S Economy Class (Los Angeles – Maui)
The Airbus A321S is American’s aircraft of choice on a number of its routes to/from Hawaii so, if you’re thinking of visiting the 50thstate, there’s a very good chance that this is the aircraft you’ll experience.
The First Class cabin on the American Airlines A321S holds 16 passengers but, as the cabin had been fully booked for months, I had known for a while that my complimentary upgrade was never going to clear….and it didn’t.
Review: American Airlines 777-200 Economy Class Day Flight (LHR-LAX)
One of the many reasons I'm not longer wedded to American Airlines is that the airline recently changed its upgrade policy to one which really doesn't suit me. The current upgrade policy is now one which puts me at a serious disadvantage when trying to use one of the 4 systemwide upgrades top-tier elites are given every year. It's also the reason I found myself sitting in American Airlines Economy class on one of the longer routes the airline flies.
Piecing Together A Big Hawaii Trip – The Planning, The Cost & The Issues
I actually really enjoy planning trips, finding great fares and researching destinations but every now and again a trip comes up for which the planning is a little bit more complicated and takes considerably more thinking and compromising than most - this was one such trip.
Welcome To The New Look Traveling For Miles
I've been meaning to give Traveling For Miles a new look for some time but I've never really had the time to keep the site running and do the wholesale changes TFM actually needed.
Recently it became obvious that I would never have enough time to do both so I decided to put TFM on a temporary hiatus and get down to changing a lot of things I wanted to change.
United’s New San Francisco Polaris Lounge Opens
United has been exceptionally slow when it comes to rolling out its Polaris Business Class product (in the air and on the ground) and there have been a few questions flying around questioning just how committed to Polaris the airline actually is.
At the time of writing there are no more than a handful of United's 777s equipped with the new Polaris Business Class cabin (even though United now calls all of its Business Class cabins "Polaris") and the new lounge roll-out program has, up until now, been woefully behind United's original schedule...but that looks as if it's changing.
The Conrad Maldives Will Offer An Undersea Residence From This Year
The Conrad Maldives has announced that it will soon offer an undersea residence. Due to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year the new residence will be called "Muraka" (which means coral in the local language) and will offer "an intimate and immersive experience of one of the Earth’s most breathtaking marine environments".
British Airways Opens A New Lounge In Rome
British Airways has opened a brand new lounge facility for passengers traveling through Rome Fiumicino airport. The new lounge is part of a broader lounge revamp program that the airline is undertaking as part of its often mentioned £4.5bn ($6.3bn) investment into aircraft, cabins and the passenger experience.
Singapore Airlines Improves Its HighFlyer Program – Partners Added
Singapore Airlines launched its HighFlyer program for SMEs back in the summer of 2017 with the aim of giving small businesses an incentive to book with the airline without taking away mileage earning from the people actually doing the flying. The program has only been valid on Singapore Airlines operated flights up until now but, as of 2 April 2018, two of Singapore Airlines' Star Alliance partners have been added.
Review: Qatar Airways A380 Business Class (Night Flight DOH-BKK)
Considering how many Qatar Airways flights I’ve been on in the past few years it’s amazing that this was my first flight in the Qatar Airways A380 Business Class cabin.
I flew in the A380’s First Class cabin between Doha and Paris last year as an add-on to my Auckland – Doha flight and I wasn’t that impressed so I was interested to see what Business Class would be like.
You Can Now Mix British Airways Basic and Plus Fares In A Single Booking
A few weeks ago I speculated that a note that British Airways sent out to travel industry professionals indicated that flyers would soon be able to mix Basic Economy and regular Economy fares (Plus fares) in the same reservation.
Sure enough it now looks as if this is possible as the BA website flight searches now look slightly different.
How I Booked The Iberia A350 Business Class Cabin & Got A Great Deal
As regular readers of this blog will know I like to try out new aircraft and new premium cabins in the most cost effective way I can find. This usually involves booking flights on new aircraft while the airlines are testing them out on short-haul routes before letting them loose on the longer routes they were designed to fly.
Hilton Adds A New Resort In The Maldives
The majority of miles & points collectors like to use their balances on aspirational travel and when it comes to aspirational travel the Maldives ranks quite highly. If you're a Hilton loyalist, right now you have just the one option when visiting the Maldives (the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island) but, from the end of this year, a second Maldivian property should be bookable on Hilton.com.
New Air New Zealand Route To Chicago – Here’s What You Need To Know
Air New Zealand is the latest airline to announce that it will be launching an ultra haul flight using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner as the airline schedules service between Auckland and Chicago. Ultra long-haul routes are now slowly becoming more common but the aircraft that operate them vary significantly and it's worth taking a closer look at what Air New Zealand offers before you think about trying this route out.
Almost Confirmed: Big Changes To The Chase IHG Rewards Card
The IHG Rewards credit card has long been one of the very best deals you can get in the miles & points world. As a card that offers a free night at any IHG hotel in the world in exchange for an annual fee of just $49 it has been selling itself for years. But the card looks to be on its way out and the opportunities to sign up for it as fast disappearing.
Singapore Airlines New Regional 787-10 Business & Economy Class Cabins
Singapore Airlines has just taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner and the airline has now revealed the cabins passengers can expect to find onboard.
The 787-10 aircraft are configured with 337 seats across two classes (no First Class or Premium economy on this aircraft) and will operate on Singapore Airlines flights of up to 8 hours.
Lufthansa Is The Latest Airline To Introduce Biometric Boarding To LAX
Around two weeks ago British Airways announced that its biometric gate trials have gone so well in Los Angeles that it has rolled them out to Orlando and New York as well...and now Lufthansa is joining in at Los Angeles International Airport too.
Air Tahiti Nui 787 Dreamliner – Here’s What You Need To Know
Towards the end of last week Air Tahiti Nui finally announced the dates on which we can expect to see it launch its brand new 787-9 Dreamliners on three of its routes. As this is the airline that offers one of only three ways to get between the US and French Polynesia non-stop I thought I'd take a look at what we can expect from the new aircraft.
British Airways Avios Changes On The Way … But To Whom Will They Matter?
Yesterday morning Head For Points ran a post quoting an interview Alex Cruz (BA's CEO) had with the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. In the interview Cruz gave the SCMP an insight into how he sees the airline's loyalty program evolving and what we changes we can expect to start seeing later this year (or possibly in 2019). The changes Alex Cruz is describing are not in the slightest bit surprising but how they're perceived will depend on what group of flyer someone falls into and how the implementation actually works.
Qantas Unveils Its New International Transit Lounge In Perth
Qantas will be starting up the first non-stop service between Australia and Europe when it starts up its Perth - London route tomorrow (24 March 2018). So far we know all about the Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner that the airline will be operating on the route, we've been given an insight into the food Qantas will be serving on the ultra long-haul flight and we know that the new international lounge in Perth will be very exclusive....but we haven't really had a real idea of what the lounge will look like.
British Airways Is Changing The Way It Files Short-Haul Fares From 4 April – Could This Be Good News?
British Airways has sent a note out to travel industry professionals reminding them that the way the airline presents and files its short-haul fares will be changing from 4 April 2018. Normally how an airline presents its fares to the travel industry isn't really of importance or interest to regular travelers but, in this instance, there may be more to this than just a few name and presentation changes.
Review: Qatar Airways A330 Business Class Day Flight (HEL-DOH)
I've flown in Qatar Airways Business Class quite a few times but this was my first experience of the Qatar Airways A330 Business Class cabin. Technically speaking I tried out an very similar product last year when I flew in the airline's A340 Business Class cabin but, because I'm determined to review every aircraft Qatar Airways offers, I'm keeping this one separate.
Qatar Airway Introduces Oryx Kids Club – A New Loyalty Program For Kids
Qatar Airways' loyalty/rewards program is called "Privilege Club" but, to be a member, a traveler has to be at least 12 years of age. Now, however, in what appears to be an attempt to fill the age gap leading up to when a child can join the Privilege Club, Qatar Airways has introduced a new loyalty program for kids - the Oryx Kids Club
Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line Will Make Efficient Travel From Heathrow Into London Cheaper
London is not a cheap city to visit and getting a taxi from Heathrow to the center of London can often leave you wondering if you should remortgage your home or sell an organ to raise the fare. There's aways the option of the London underground but that's not exactly speedy and while the Heathrow Express train service is certainly quick it's certainly not cheap.
London's new Crossrail Elizabeth line has long been billed as the answer to a lot of journey problems that Londoners and those visiting London face and, as this new line will extend out to Heathrow, it's of importance to those of us who fly in and out of Heathrow with any frequency.
IHG Adds Tesla Charging Stations To All Crown Plaza Properties In Australasia
Tesla is the only electric car manufacturer that has succeeded in making serious inroads into the motor industry (you can't move for Tesla Model S vehicles in LA) and, as more and more people jump on the Tesla bandwagon, it's becoming increasingly important for hotels to provide guests with somewhere the can charge their vehicle overnight.
Delta Will Open A New Sky Club In Phoenix This Year
Delta has announced that it plans to open a new Sky Club at Phoenix Sky Harbour International airport in 2018. As things stand Delta flyers don't have a Sky Club in Phoenix and the closest Priority Pass lounge is in a neighbouring terminal so this should be good news for Delta flyers.
RUMOR: Emirates To Fly To Mexico City Via Barcelona
A number of Spanish news sources have reported that Emirates has reached agreement with Spanish and Mexican authorities to launch a 5th freedom flight between Barcelona and Mexico City. The Middle Eastern carrier has been looking for a way to start up service to Mexico's capital for a number of years and now, finally, appears to have found a way.
Review: Finnair Short-Haul Business Class (LHR-HEL)
Finnair flies its excellent Airbus A350 between London Heathrow and Helsinki on a daily basis but, as luck would have it, the A350's schedule wouldn't get me into Helsinki in time to connect on to my Qatar Airways flight to Doha so I was stuck with a narrow-body A319.
I don't normally book myself into short-haul Business Class (either with miles or points) as I don't generally see the value in paying considerably more for a cabin that differs only slightly from Economy Class. On this occasion, however, I had chosen to overpay for my flight and book the frontmost cabin as the math behind the tier points I'm earning this year showed that it was the right thing to do.
RUMOR: Qantas To Start Perth – Paris Service This Year
Qantas will be launching one of the longest routes in the world when it starts up service between Perth and London on 24 March 2018. The airline is on record as saying that it would like build on this route and go on to use its newly acquired Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to establish Perth as its gateway to Europe.
Marriott’s Autograph Collection Plans New Belize Resort
I loved Belize when I visited it a few years ago. I visited outside of the busy season (May) so where I was staying was beautifully tranquil and the scuba diving was fantastic. I've been looking for a reason to return and it's just possible that Marriott is about to give me one.
British Airways Extends Biometric Gate Trials In The US
British Airways has been using biometric gates at its London Heathrow base for quite some time (I've yet to be given the chance to use one but they're definitely there) and, since November last year, BA has had three biometric gates at Los Angeles International airport where it has been trialling the technology.
Well, the trials must have gone pretty well at LAX because British Airways has extended the biometric trial to its facilities in New York (JFK), Miami and Orlando.
Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge London Heathrow T3
Cathay Pacific offers a First and a Business Class lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3 and both are less than 18 months old thanks to a significant renovation project which ended in November 2016. I reviewed the First Class lounge in an earlier blog post (I liked it) so, on my latest visit to Heathrow Terminal 3, I decided to see just how good (or bad) the Cathay Pacific T3 Business Class lounge is.
Hyatt Is Getting A New London Property
Hyatt has announced that two yet-to-open properties are set to join its Unbound Collection in 2018. One of the properties is Istanbul (more on that one a little later) while the other is set to open in the very heart of London.
Lufthansa Is Adding “Buy On Board” Meals On Long-Haul Flights….But The News Isn’t As Bad As It Sounds
Buy on board food options are commonplace on most airlines' short-haul routes all around the world but, when it comes to long-haul flights, it's generally only the low-cost carriers like WOW and Norwegian that ask Economy Class passengers to pay extra for their food.
Now it looks like Lufthansa is joining the long-haul buy on board party...but not in a way that should worry fans of the airline.
British Airways Confirms It’s Making Its Heathrow 777s More Uncomfortable Too
At the beginning of the week British Airways unveiled the new cabins it is installing on the Boeing 777 aircraft it operates out of its Gatwick base. The biggest change passengers will see is that the airline has squeezed an extra seat into each row of Economy Class meaning that the already cramped seating conditions are about to get worse.....but it turns out that Gatwick will not be the only base to get these aircraft.
Virgin Atlantic Is The Latest Airline To Offer Basic Economy (Hand Baggage Only) Fares
Delta, Air France/KLM led the way with transatlantic Basic Economy fares, last week the oneworld airlines joined in and now Virgin Atlantic has also announced that it will start offering Basic Economy (aka "hand baggage only) fares across the Atlantic within the next few months.
Virgin Atlantic is actually doing things slightly differently to the other legacy airlines in that it's sub-dividing its Economy Class cabin into three separate offerings each of which offers a little bit more that the last.
Radisson Hotels Group Launches “Radisson Collection”
It's all change over at Radisson with what was once the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group now rebranded as "Radisson Hotels Group" and with the Club Carlson loyalty program now rebranded as Radisson Rewards and slightly tweaked at the same time too.
Now Radisson Hotels has announced the Radisson Collection which, according to the hotelier, is a premium collection of hotels in landmark locations.
Mandarin Oriental Now Has A Loyalty Program You Should Join
I really like Mandarin Oriental hotels...and that's coming from someone who has never actually spent a night at a Mandarin Oriental property in his life. I've visited a good number of the chain's properties around the world but I've only ever been inside to look around, to enjoy a great bar (Las Vegas) or to dine (London, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Milan) but each time I've noticed just how good and attentive the service seems to be.
British Airways Has Unveiled Its New Tightly-Packed 777 Cabins
British Airways will be unleashing its refurbished high-density Boeing 777 aircraft on a largely unsuspecting public in the next few months, and the airline has now released images to show what the refurbishment will look like and what passengers can expect.....sort of.
Club Carlson Is Now “Radisson Rewards” and The Name Isn’t The Only Change
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (which was always a mouthful) has been rebranded as the "Radisson Hotel Group" with immediate effect and alongside the group's name change come changes to the group's loyalty program too.
Introduction: Bangkok In Business Class – What I Booked, How Much I Paid & What I Earned
Whenever possible I like to write an introduction to the trips I take to give readers an idea of how much things cost, how I book and when I use points and when I choose to part with some cash. The point of this is to hopefully show just how doable these trips are and how, with a little bit of planning and a little bit of flexibility, these are trip that a lot of people can book.
For this trip I combined a good Qatar Airways Business Class fare between Europe and Bangkok, a certificate for a free night at a Marriott property from Chase and some cash to finally visit Thailand's capital.
Emirates Reveals New 777-200LR Cabins – Business Class Just Got Better
Back in November Emirates confirmed that it would be refitting its ten 777-200LR aircraft with new interiors before launching the refreshed aircraft in March. We've known from the outset that the aircraft would be losing its First Class cabin and that Business Class would be losing a seat from each row but, until now, we didn't really know much more.
New Swiss First Class Lounge Opens In Zurich Today (There’s A New Chauffeur Service & New Amenity Kits Too)
SWISS is opening the doors to its new First Class lounge at Zurich's Terminal A today and, at the same time, the carrier is launching a new chauffeur service for its First Class customers arriving into Zurich airport.
Joon Takes Over Another Air France Route
Air France has been slowly ceding it's less popular routes (or the routes with increased low-cost competition) to Joon and now the lower-cost carrier is getting a new destination courtesy of Air France.
Delta Changes Access To International Third-Party Business Class Lounges
Delta has announced that it will be changing the rules surrounding which flyers have access to third-party lounges at select destinations. In some cases lounge access is being withdrawn entirely while in others its elite members that are seeing their access rights withdrawn.
Emirates Skywards Reaches 20 Million Member Mark
Emirates says that its Skywards loyalty program now attracts, on average, 220,000 new members every month and that last week the total Skywards membership crossed the 20 million mark.
Fantastic Service From American Airlines As Iberia Really, Really Screws Up
I have done more than my fair share of American Airlines bashing over the past two years (it has been well deserved) but, right now, I'm incredibly grateful for some truly fantastic service from the airline after it got us out of a serious mess of Iberia's making.
British Airways 787-9 Dreamliner Business Class review (LAX-LHR)
Despite a reasonably good experience in British Airways Economy Class on the airline's A380 aircraft I wasn't expecting great things on my 787-9 Business Class (Club World) flight back to the UK.
This was to be my first experience of the British Airways Dreamliner but, having flown in BA Business Class quite a few times, I knew to expect high-density Business Class seating, no direct aisle access and certainly no internet connectivity.
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