Delta is resuming flights to Cuba next year
Delta has confirmed that it plans to restart service to Havana in the first half of next year following the route's suspension in March 2022. The route will operate twice daily from Miami and will link into Delta's service from ten other US airports.
[Updated] Etihad is bringing back its A380s this summer
The rumors that Etihad would bring back at least some of its A380 grew strongest in late summer and now, after a period in which the airline hasn't been saying much about its Whale Jets, we finally have news that the rumors were true. Four Etihad A380s will be returning to the skies later this year.
[Updated] Did British Airways just slash award surcharges for US departures? (Yes & No)
British Airways appears to be pushing through some big changes to its loyalty program today and because we haven't yet had a public announcement from the airline, it's not yet clear what all the changes will look like.
These are the luxury EMEA properties that Hyatt has in the pipeline
Hyatt has issued a new update on its plans for luxury hotel openings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and although a number of the properties included in the update have been mentioned (at one point or another) in the past, the fact that the pandemic caused so much havoc with some of these plans means that it's good to see where things now stand.
Finnair is bringing its new Business Class & Premium Economy cabins to Miami
Towards the beginning of the year, Finnair surprised quite a few people when it unveiled a new and very different Business Class seat alongside its long rumored Premium Economy Cabin. Since then, we've seen the new cabins appearing on select routes to Asia as well as on a couple of Finnair's US routes, and now they're coming to Miami.
InterContinental Ambassador members lose an important option in Europe
The past few weeks haven't brought good news for members of the InterContinental Ambassador program. Back in November, IHG confirmed that Ambassador benefits soon won't be offered at Regent Hotels & Resorts and that the programs free weekend night certificate will no longer be useable at Kimpton properties, and now we're told that a major InterContinental property in Europe is being reflagged.
Iberia will add more flights to Dallas & has moved into JFK T8
Iberia has confirmed that it will be increasing the number of flights that it offers on its route between Madrid and Dallas and that it has now followed in the footsteps of British Airways by moving its New York JFK operations into Terminal 8 alongside American Airlines.
Marriott will open three new high-end all-inclusive properties in Mexico
It has been a while since we heard Marriott talk about its plans for its all-inclusive collection, but the silence has now been broken with news that we can expect Marriott to open three new high-end all-inclusive properties in Mexico in the next three years.
Hyatt announces plans to buy Dream Hotel Group (more properties coming to the World...
Hyatt has today announced plans to purchase Dream Hotels Group, which is expected to add twelve properties to the World of Hyatt program in the short-term and a further 24 properties in the medium term.
IHG is adding up to 70 all-inclusive properties to its portfolio
IHG is the latest of the big hotel groups to decide that it needs to increase its foothold in the all-inclusive market so in a move that will see up to 70 new properties coming under the IHG umbrella, it has announced a strategic partnership with Iberostar Hotels & Resorts.
Virgin Atlantic will fly to the Maldives and the Turks & Caicos from next...
British Airways may have announced yet another route to the US yesterday, but Virgin Atlantic has just stolen all the thunder in the UK by announcing that it plans to launch services to the Maldives and the Turks & Caicos Islands in 2023.
British Airways has just announced a new route to the United States
Speculation that British Airways was planning to announce a new route to the US has been growing for some time and the range of potential new US destinations that people have been suggesting has been impressive - Indianapolis, Hartford, Detroit, Cleveland, and Salt Lake City are just a few destinations that have been mooted. The time for speculation is now over, however, as we finally know what the new route will be.
Big news: JetBlue announces new transatlantic routes to Paris
JetBlue is obviously very happy with how its first foray into the transatlantic market has been going (the airline's London routes) because it has just announced that it will be adding two new transatlantic services to Paris next year.
British Airways is trialling biometrics for international departures
Biometrics are not exactly a new thing in the travel world - British Airways has been using biometrics to speed up boarding on domestic flights since 2017 and American Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, and others have been using biometric boarding gates at various US airports since 2018 - but now British Airways has announced a trial that will take things a step further at London Heathrow.
Hyatt announces a new all-inclusive resort for Europe (new WoH properties coming this year)
Hyatt got into the all-inclusive resort business when it bought Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion back in November 2021 and just recently, it showed its commitment to expand on that purchase when it announced that it would open 5 new all-inclusive properties in Bulgaria over the next two years.
Today, that expansion continues with the news that Hyatt will open the Dreams Madeira Resort Spa & Marina in Portugal in 2024.
British Airways will add more flights to Pittsburgh in 2023
Pittsburgh Airport has announced that British Airways will be increasing the number of flights that it offers to/from London Heathrow once the summer 2023 schedule is in place.
Marriott is introducing the “Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy” brand
Marriott has today put out an announcement to say that it's expanding its portfolio beyond hotels, resorts, timeshares, and home rentals and that it plans to offer apartment-style accommodations in locations around the world.
Hyatt has opened a new Unbound Collection hotel in NYC…and I’ll be avoiding it
Hyatt has confirmed that Grayson Hotel has become the first Unbound Collection property to open its doors in New York City.
United Airlines opens a new Grab-and-Go “club concept” in Denver
Designed to coincide with the opening of the Concourse B expansion at Denver International Airport, United Airlines has today opened a new "club concept" at the airport which allows eligible flyers to get some food and drinks "to go" before heading to their gates to catch their flights.
Emirates brings its Airbus A380 Whale Jet back to Tokyo
Earlier this week, finally Japan caught up with the rest of the world (well, most of it) and fully reopened its doors to visitors for the first time since the pandemic first became a thing. Now, as demand for travel to Japan starts to spike, airlines are rushing to meet that demand in whatever way they can.
Aer Lingus will return to Connecticut after a 3 year hiatus
Aer Lingus has confirmed that its Dublin - Harford (CT) route will be returning next year following its suspension at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. News of the returning route is the second US announcement that Aer Lingus has made recently following the news that Cleveland will be added to the airline's network next summer.
United Airlines announces new routes to Spain, Germany, Italy & more
United Airlines likes a good teaser more than most and it was back to its old ways yesterday in a social media post that suggested that we should expect new routes to far-flung parts of the globe. Well, the teasing is now over as United has just announced its latest plans for 2023.
IHG announces that it will open new Paris property in 2023
IHG announced the launch of the 'upscale' voco brand back in 2018 and we're told that to date, the brand has expanded at a faster pace than any other brand in the IHG stable. In 2023, that expansion is set to continue with the opening of the voco Paris Porte de Clichy.
Austrian Airlines adds more Premium Economy seats to its 777s
Austrian Airlines updated its 777 aircraft to include a Premium Economy cabin back in 2018 and now, just 4 years later (keep in mind that for two of those years the travel world was at a standstill), the airline has confirmed that it will increase the size of its Premium Economy cabin by 67%.
Radisson Rewards is introducing dynamic awards & more
It has been a long, long time since I last considered myself to be a fan of Radisson Rewards and outside of the occasional good points sale/promotion, I had stopped engaging with the program in any meaningful way some time before it split in two and became ever more cumbersome to use than ever before.
Delta makes earning elite status more expensive & adds new choice benefits
In the miles & points world, it's often a bad sign when you read of a loyalty program announcing that it is "enhancing" benefits, as no one running any of the major loyalty programs appears to know what that word means.
Hyatt is adding 31 existing European properties to its portfolio
It was only yesterday that I noted that Hyatt has been on a European announcement spree of late with its La Zamba property opening in Spain, news that Bulgaria will be getting Inclusive Collection resorts, the opening of the new Thompson in Madrid, and the signing of a luxury UK property, and just as I thought that the announcements would dry up, Hyatt now tells us that it has signed a deal to add 31 existing European properties to its portfolio.
IHG has opened a new Kimpton in the Mediterranean
IHG has announced the opening of its latest property in Spain with the Kimpton Aysla Mallorca now accepting guests. We're told that the property "emulates a sanctuary of luxury and wellness" and that it has "a strong and exclusive commitment to active leisure and local contemporary art" (no, I don't know how a hotel can have an "exclusive commitment to active leisure either).
Hyatt is adding a beautiful luxury UK property to its portfolio
Hyatt has been on a European announcement spree recently with its La Zamba property opening in Spain, news that the Inclusive Collection is coming to Bulgaria, and the opening of the new Thompson in Madrid. Now, that announcement spree continues with news that Hyatt is adding a new luxury UK property to its Destination brand.
British Airways will fly the new Club World suite to Singapore & Sydney
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Worrying – Alaska Mileage Plan says it’s bringing in a “simplified award chart”
At some point in the past 24 hours, a new message has been uploaded to the Alaska Airlines airlines award chart page and miles & points fans of a nervous disposition are not going to like it. The wording seems innocuous but those of us who have been around this hobby for some time will recognize that something bad may be heading our way.
Aer Lingus has announced a surprising new route …to Cleveland
If you sat me down and asked me to name as many transatlantic routes as I can (both existing and potential), I'm not sure that the Dublin to Cleveland route would appear in my first thousand guesses. That, however, is exactly the route that Aer Lingus has now announced that it plans to fly.
Double dip Avios & ALL points with the new Qatar Airways/Accor partnership (but be...
The Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Accor Live Limitless (ALL) have announced an expansion of their partnership that will allow travelers to earn the currencies of both loyalty programs on just a single booking.
Virgin Atlantic delays (slightly) the introduction of its new A330-900neo aircraft
Virgin Atlantic was excited to announce that it will join the SkyTeam alliance in 2023 earlier today but what it hasn't come out and told its flyers is that it won't be launching its new A330-900neo aircraft on the originally published schedule - the inaugural flight has been pushed back by a couple of weeks.
Big news: Virgin Atlantic will join SkyTeam in 2023
Big news in the world of airline loyalty - Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will join the SkyTeam Alliance next year and this means that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members will soon have access to more routes and more elite benefits when flying with other SkyTeam airlines.
Delta enhances its European summer schedule (in a good way!)
Delta has announced that next year's summer season will see it relaunching a number of routes that were suspended while we dealt with the pandemic, relaunching a number of routes that the airline hasn't operated for years, and launching at least one completely new route (albeit not a very interesting one!). Most importantly from my point of view, Los Angeles will finally be getting a little love.
Marriott will open a new luxury EDITION property in the Italian Lakes
Lately, Marriott has been making a lot of announcements regarding its plans for new properties but the one that piqued my interest most was the announcement of a new luxury property that will open in the Italian lakes in 2025.
Hyatt has opened a new property in Spain (and it may turn out to...
It was as far back as December 2020 that Hyatt let us know that it planned to add a number of properties to its European portfolio by the end of 2023 and it's one of the hotels mentioned in that announcement that has just opened its doors in southern Spain.
Qatar Airways brings back the A380 on yet another route
The Qatar Airways CEO doesn't like the Airbus A380 and had everything gone to plan his airline's Whale Jets would have never flown in its livery again. Things, however, haven't been going to plan and that's why you'll find a number of Qatar Airways A380s operating at this very moment and that's why the airline has just confirmed that yet another of its routes route will soon be served by the world's largest passenger aircraft.
United Airlines has a new route and a new partnership with Emirates
We've known for a few weeks that United Airlines and Emirates were going to be announcing a closer working relationship but it was only in the last 24 hours that full details finally emerged and, to be frank, they're a little underwhelming. A new route that is being born out of this relationship may interest some readers but on the whole, anyone expecting something exciting will almost certainly be disappointed.
The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad is now open
Marriott has confirmed the opening of its latest hotel in New York City - the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad - which is situated in the heart of Manhattan between the Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building.
El Al brings back plans for non-stop flights to Australia
It wasn't very long ago that EL AL's route options were incredibly restricted thanks to the political situation in the Middle East. With various Arab countries refusing to give the airline permission to pass through their airspace, flights to a number of destinations to Israels's east were uneconomical or logistically impossible. Recent events, however, have started to change this.
[Updated] British Airways reacts to the chaos at Heathrow with an improved flexible booking...
Following the decision by Heathrow Airport to attempt to limit the number of passengers that pass through its doors this summer, British Airways has temporarily updated its flexible booking policy to make it easier and cheaper for customers to change their plans.
Air New Zealand will boost capacity to Los Angeles (temporarily)
Air New Zealand has announced that it plans to temporarily boost the number of flights that it offers to one of its key destinations - Los Angeles will see more Air New Zealand flights from mid-August.
A quick look at the new Virgin Atlantic A330neo Premium cabin
Virgin Atlantic recently unveiled its impressive new Upper Class (Business Class) cabin that will debut on its new A330neo aircraft and at the same unveiling, the airline also gave us a look at what the Premium (Premium Economy) cabin will look like on the same aircraft.
Delta announces a huge order for an aircraft that Boeing has threatened not to...
After two or three years of rumors, Delta has used the Farnborough International Airshow to finally announce that it plans to throw Boeing a lifeline by ordering up to 130 of its 737 MAX aircraft. As with most aircraft orders that get announced at airshows, this order may or may not be fulfilled in the way that it's currently being presented but because this order involves the MAX 10, there's actually an outside chance that the order will not be fulfilled at all.
Qantas is removing its vaccination mandate for international travel
Towards the end of 2020, Qantas was one of the first airlines to introduce a rule that required all passengers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Now, following the Australian government's decision to allow unvaccinated travelers to enter the country, Qantas has said that it will roll back its vaccination rule.
I got a good look at the new Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat &...
Last night, I was fortunate enough to attend the unveiling of the new Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat that will debut on the airline's new A330-900neo aircraft so, for once, I didn't have to rely on a press release to get a feel for what a new seat is going to offer.
2,500 bonus miles for checking in early with Etihad
In anticipation of a very busy July, Etihad has been trying to improve the check-in facilities that it offers at Abu Dhabi International airport and it has brought back a check-in option that we last saw back in December. This time, however, that check-in option also comes with a bonus offer.
Air Canada & Emirates announce a new partnership (reciprocal benefits on the way)
Air Canada and Emirates have announced a new 'strategic partnership' that the airlines say will create more options for customers when traveling on both of the carriers’ networks and which is expected to improve the customer experience for members of Aeroplan and Emirates Skywards.
Virgin Atlantic confirms that it will launch flights to Tampa
Following a few weeks of rumors, Virgin Atlantic has now confirmed that it plans to launch a new service between London Heathrow and Tampa later this year as it continues to grow its post-pandemic route network.
Singapore Airlines will add flights to Los Angeles & extend Vancouver service
Singapore Airlines has announced that it expects its SIA group capacity to reach 81% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year and to help with that aim, it has confirmed that it will be increasing its frequencies to Los Angeles and Paris and that it will be extending its Vancouver service into the winter season.
Star Alliance’s EVA Air will launch two new routes to Europe
As things stand, EVA Air offers flights from Taipei to just four European cities - Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Vienna - but following an announcement earlier today, two more cities will soon be added to that list.
SAS flies for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States
SAS, the Scandinavian airline, has been in financial turmoil for some time and had announced a plan to restructure its business earlier this year in an attempt to get its house in order. Now, however, with its pilots out on strike, the airline has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States.
Etihad is the first airline to restart non-stop service to Beijing
When Etihad flight EY888 landed in Beijing this morning at 05:25 (local time) it was a significant occasion. After all the turmoil that the past two years have thrown up, EY888 signaled the start of the first regular non-stop international passenger service to Beijing by a foreign carrier since the Chinese capital's authorities announced that services could resume.
Alert: 700 British Airways employees have voted to go on strike
With European airports already struggling with the increased demand in travel and with UK airports currently being hit particularly hard, it looks like things may get a lot worse for some passengers once the summer holidays are upon us.
Qatar Airways will reduce select services to support flights for the 2022 FIFA World...
This coming winter, Qatar is set to be the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will see tens of thousands of football (soccer) fans descending on the Middle Eastern state to support their national teams. For Qatar Airways, this represents a considerable challenge as it now has to work out how to transport all of these fans from and to their home countries.
Oman Air confirms that it will join the oneworld alliance…eventually
OK, I admit it. I didn't think that this would be a post that I'd find myself writing.
The rumors that Oman Air was looking to join the oneworld alliance have been going around for some time (they date back well before it was ever suggested that Alaska Airlines would join oneworld) and I never really thought anything would come of it.
JetBlue secures permanent London Heathrow slots & adds a new Gatwick flight
JetBlue has made a number of announcements today that see the airline firming up its position at London Heathrow, expanding the service that it offers between New York JFK and London Gatwick, and slightly improving its customers' ground experiences at London's two biggest airports.
Korean Air will restart its Las Vegas route next month
From 1 July, Korean Air will bring back services thrice-weekly services to Milan Malpensa, and Vienna, while from 10 July it will also start to operate three weekly flights between Seoul Incheon Airport and Las Vegas.
Etihad confirms its return to Heathrow Terminal 4
Like all the pre-pandemic residents of T4, Etihad had to move into temporary accommodation as the pandemic ran roughshod over the travel industry and demand for flights plummeted, but with Terminal 4 now scheduled to reopen next week, the carrier has confirmed that it will be shuttering its operations in Terminals 2 and 3 and heading back to its original home.
British Airways ends its ‘Book With Confidence’ policy
Like pretty much every major airline around the world, British Airways introduced a flexible cancellation policy shortly after the Covid pandemic started playing havoc with everyone's travel plans. The policy was designed to encourage travelers to make future bookings at a time when the travel environment was highly unstable so with the worst of the pandemic apparently now behind us, the airline has chosen this moment to roll back its 'Book With Confidence' policy and to go back to its historic fare rules.
Finnair is bringing its new Business & Premium Economy cabins to the United States
Back in February, Finnair surprised the world when it unveiled a new (and different) Business Class seat alongside a new Premium Economy Cabin. At the time, it was thought that until a significant number of Finnair's long-haul aircraft had been retrofitted with the new cabins, the new seats would be limited to the airline's Asia routes but as it turns out, that's not going to be the case.
Qantas doubles its flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles (the A380 is coming back!)
Following on from the announcement that Qantas will launch a new service between Melbourne and Dallas/Fort Worth later this year, we now have confirmation that the airline is about to double the number of flights that it offers between Melbourne and Los Angeles and that its A380 will be making a very welcome reappearance on this route later in the year.
Qantas announces a new route to Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas/Fort Worth is the home of American Airlines - Qantas' transpacific partner - so it's a destination that can act as a gateway for Qantas flyers wanting to reach a myriad of other locations within the United States. That's why Qantas already operates flights between Sydney and Dallas and why the airline has now announced that it will also fly to Dallas from Melbourne.
American Airlines & JetBlue add more reciprocal elite benefits
Today, American Airlines and JetBlue have taken another step towards cementing their alliance (despite the fact that the DoJ is actively trying to break the alliance up) by announcing further reciprocal status benefits for their elite flyers and by confirming that customers flying with JetBlue will finally be allowed to use their Admirals Club memberships to access American's lounges.
Air New Zealand will finally launch its long awaited New York service this year
In what now seem like the carefree days before the pandemic and before yet another war took over our TV screens, Air New Zealand was set to launch one of the longest flights in the world between Auckland and New York. Then the world put up the closed sign and the plan was mothballed. Now, with New Zealand taking its first tentative steps towards reopening, the Auckland to New York route is back on the agenda and scheduled for later this year.
Air Canada will bring back flights to Brisbane & Auckland and increase flights to...
With Australia now open to vaccinated travelers and with New Zealand set to welcome vaccinated travelers from over 60 countries in early May, Air Canada has chosen this moment to announce that it's going to increase its services to the Southern Pacific starting from this northern hemisphere summer.
British Airways clarifies its face covering rules…sort of
A couple of days ago, British Airways announced that it would be dropping its rule that requires passengers to wear face coverings onboard all of its flights but then, 24 hours later, we heard that British Airways was telling staff that it was backtracking on that decision and that face coverings would continue to be required. It was hard to know what was going on. Now, finally, we have a bit more information.
Qatar Airways will bring back its service to London Gatwick
At the height of the pandemic, Qatar Airways was the largest airline in the world as it continued to operate a significant number of international routes as other airlines mothballed their fleets. The airline's Doha to London Gatwick route, however, didn't survive those dark days but in a sign that we're continuing on the road back to normality, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it will return to Gatwick this summer.
British Airways backtracks on face coverings policy (mask wearing still required)
48 hours ago, we first started to hear stories that British Airways was planning to remove its rule that requires passengers to wear face coverings on all flights. Less than 24 hours ago, British Airways announced that as of today, face coverings would only be required onboard flights where the relevant authority with jurisdiction over the flight requires masks to be worn. Now, a story has emerged which suggests that British Airways has had a change of heart.
Amex announces a new Centurion Lounge at Atlanta International Airport
Rumors of a new Centurion Lounge at Atlanta's primary airport have been doing the rounds for some time and Amex has even put out a few hints here and there, but it has taken until today for an official announcement to be put out - the Centurion Lounge at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will open in 2023.
Marriott announces plans for its first St. Regis property in the UK
It's been a bit of a UK centric day today on Traveling For Miles with confirmation of a new Hyatt Regency for London and the news that Qantas is bringing back the Perth - London route in July and the UK-related news continues here with an announcement from Marriott that it will open its first St. Regis property in the UK next year.
Qantas brings its A380 back to London & announces restart of the Perth –...
It's safe to say that Qantas has been one of the airlines worst hit by the chaos that the pandemic brought to world travel but with most of Australia now reopened to vaccinated travelers, it looks like the airline is getting things back to 'normal' as quickly as events allow.
Aer Lingus is restarting another US route tomorrow
In the past few months, I've written about Aer Lingus more than at any other point in the short life of this site but somehow, somewhere down the line, I appear to have missed the announcement that from tomorrow, Aer Lingus is heading back to the West Coast.
Confirmed: A new Hyatt Regency is coming to London this summer
Unofficially, we've known this for some time, but Hyatt has now finally put out an official statement confirming that it will open the Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars in the City of London later this year.
Delta will offer three new routes to Hawaii next winter
The current winter season may still have over a month left to run but Delta is already getting ready for winter 2022/23 by planning a number of new routes to Hawaii. Both Oahu and Maui will be seeing new services from Delta with the new routes originating in Atlanta, Detroit, and New York.
American Airlines will suspend 3 routes, delay 1 route and cut another
Late on Friday, a leaked American Airlines memo delivered the news that over the weekend, the airline was planning to suspend services on three of its international routes, to delay the launch of an international route it had promoted with quite a bit of fanfare, and to halve the number flights on another international route. It's unclear if all these updates have now been processed but these cuts are very real.
JetBlue’s newest route to Mexico has now launched
The JetBlue and American Airlines "Northeast Alliance" may still be facing a number of regulatory hurdles, but that doesn't appear to have slowed down the number of new routes and added route frequencies that we've seen JetBlue bring to fruition in the past year. The latest announcement sees the airline confirming that it has lauched its newest leisure route between New York JFK and Mexico's Pacific Coast.
British Airways announces a new service to New York
British Airways has announced plans to launch a new daily service between London Heathrow and Newark Liberty later this year as the airline continues to revive its long-haul network following two years in the doldrums.
United will resume its San Francisco – Melbourne route in May
United Airlines hasn't operated either of its routes between the United States and Melbourne since the pandemic put life on pause but in a move that appears to be aimed at getting a head start on Qantas, the airline has now scheduled the return of its route between San Francisco and Melbourne.
Iberia confirms two new routes to the United States & returns to San Francisco
Back in November, Iberia announced that it had plans to launch two new routes between Madrid and the United States from April 2022. The new routes were to serve Dallas and Washington D.C. but at the time of the original announcement no schedule information was provided and no firm start dates were offered up either. Today, that changed.
The new Emirates lounge dedicated to unaccompanied minors
In recent years, a number of airlines have stopped offering dedicated services for unaccompanied minors but Emirates appears to be bucking that trend with the announcement of a new Dubai lounge for the exclusive use of young passengers who are traveling solo.
Aer Lingus is resuming non-stop flights to Miami (Business Class awards available)
Aer Lingus has announced that it plans to restart non-stop flights between Dublin and Miami later this year and as long as this plan isn't upended by an unexpected turn of events courtesy of the coronavirus, this should be good news for fans of Avios who have been burned by the latest British Airways devaluation.
British Airways increases surcharges on most Business Class long-haul award bookings (ex. UK)
If you're a British Airways flyer based in the United States, the airline showed its disdain for your loyalty a little while ago when it increased the surcharges for award travel originating on this side of the pond without any notice. Now, in what appears to be BA's version of 'leveling up', the surcharges for Business Class award travel originating in the UK have also been increased without warning.
This is the new Finnair Premium Economy cabin
Earlier today I wrote about Finnair revealing an entirely new Business Class cabin but, arguably, the bigger news of the day was that Finnair has also said that it will be fitting a Premium Economy cabin to all of its long-haul aircraft for the first time in its history.
Alliance-wide upgrades coming to oneworld in 2022…apparently
We've been hearing rumors of alliance-wide upgrades coming to the oneworld alliance since well before the pandemic so the fact that these are being discussed isn't news. What *is* news is that we're now expecting to finally see these upgrade options become reality later this year...apparently.
United Airlines announces expanded Cape Town service (Business Class awards available)
After a long hiatus brought about by the pandemic, United Airlines restarted its route between Newark and Cape Town in December last year with the same 3x/week seasonal service that it used before the travel world closed down. Now and with passenger numbers clearly on the rise, United is keeping a promise it made in 2019 and expanding its service to the Cape.
Finnair unveils its new Business Class Cabin
Finnair has been teasing this for weeks, but today the teasing ended and the airline finally unveiled its new Business Class cabin, a reworked Economy Class cabin, and announced that it will be introducing a long-haul Premium Economy cabin for the first time in its history. This post will look a the new Business Class cabin while subsequent posts will explore the new Economy and Premium Economy cabins.
Alaska Airlines will expand & upgrade select lounges in Seattle & Portland
Alaska Airlines has just announced what it's calling "a significant, multi-million dollar renovation and expansion of [its] most popular Lounges" which will see select lounges in Seattle and Portland get a short-term makeover before, longer-term, they're moved to new locations within their respective airports.
American Airlines will add Doha to its route map but I have no idea...
American Airlines has announced that it plans to launch a new service between New York JFK and Doha from summer 2022 but despite the fact that I've had a few days to mull over this announcement, I'm still at a loss to explain what the airline is thinking. To me, it makes no sense at all.
British Airways will finally fly to Portland from next summer (and will restart another...
British Airways announced that it would be the first airline to operate a year-round direct flight from the UK to Portland, Oregon, almost exactly two years ago but because of a little thing called a coronavirus, the route never launched as planned. Now the route is back on the BA map and all things being equal, it will launch almost exactly two years late.
Finnair will launch yet another new US route in 2022
As far as its US network is concerned, it has been a big six months for Finnair. In July it announced a new service between Stockholm and Miami, in September it announced new routes from Stockholm to Los Angeles and New York, and in November it announced a new route between Helsinki and Dallas Fort Worth that's set to launch in February 2022. Now the airline has gone a step further and announced yet another new US Route which will launch in summer 2022.
Hilton has opened the first Warner Bros hotel in the world
Hilton has announced the opening of the WB Abu Dhabi which is the first Warner Bros. themed property in the world. The property has joined Hilton's Curio Collection and is located just steps away from Hilton's Doubletree and Warner Bros World and a very short walk from Waterworld on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island.
Lufthansa is introducing a ‘Buy Onboard’ menu on its long-haul routes
Lufthansa has today confirmed that it will be introducing a 'buy onboard' menu of snack options on its long-haul flights to mirror what it already offers in Economy Class on its short-haul routes. The airline has said that this will not impact the complimentary meals and drinks already offered in long-haul Economy Class and Premium Economy but will be offered to flyers as an additional option.
Emirates has scheduled its A380 to return to Melbourne
It wasn't long after we started seeing signs that Australia was starting to open up that Emirates scheduled an A380 to taker over its route to Sydney and now, in a further sign that airlines are increasingly confident that travel to Oz will be a lot more 'normal' in the near future, Emirates is set to return the A380 to Melbourne as well.
Emirates may finally upgrade its 777 Business Class cabins
This week's Dubai Air Show had already given us a couple of pieces of good news (here & here) when we heard Emirates confirm that it will upgrade over 100 of its aircraft with its new Premium Economy cabin, but a more important piece of news (for premium cabin flyers) that came out at the same time was the news that Emirates may finally upgrade its sub-par Business Class cabins.
United Airlines is set return to Singapore in January
We've had a lot of news from United Airlines in the past few weeks and between the new flights, new routes and route reboots we heard about a month ago and the 22 daily flights that the airline says it will operate to London next year, I failed to pick up on the fact that I hadn't seen United give more than a vague update on the longest route that it served before the pandemic - the route between San Francisco and Singapore.
Emirates will add its Premium Economy cabin to 100+ aircraft
Emirates has used this week's Dubai Airshow to announce that following the success that it has seen with the limited rollout of its new Premium Economy cabin, it is committing to installing the cabin on a further 105 aircraft starting next year.
Qatar Airways & JetBlue now offer reciprocal mileage earning
Earlier this year, Qatar Airways and JetBlue announced that their "strategic partnership" would be expanding with the airlines codesharing on more routes and with reciprocal loyalty program benefits on the way for Privilege Club and TrueBlue members. As of yesterday, one of those reciprocal benefits was finally delivered with JetBlue and Qatar Airways flyers now able to earn points/miles on both airlines.
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