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WestJet is apologizing for asking passengers to record its own flight attendants and other in-flight operations.According to the Canadian Union of Public Employees, WestJet allegedly asked customers to secretly record its flight attendants. CUPE represents Air Canada’s flight attendants and is also lobbying to represent WestJet’s.CUPE said this would be a violation of the flight attendants’ right to privacy, as well as WestJet’s privacy policy.The Canadian airline asked several of its regular passengers — who also fly frequently with the competition — to make videos about their experiences on board their WestJet flights, CBC News reports....

When you’re ordering a drink from an airport bartender or flight attendant, you’re sharing a lot more than just whether or not you want a twist or an olive in your martini — you’re also revealing what kind of flyer you might be. So say the kindly servers that mix your cocktails.“If someone orders a vodka gimlet on a flight, it tells me volumes about the individual,” said Estelle Comboni, a New York-based flight attendant of 23 years for a major US airline and a member of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Kimpton Karma Rewards has officially folded into IHG Rewards. Back in 2014, IHG acquired Kimpton Hotels, however, since then, the two loyalty programs remained separate entities. Then, last year, IHG announced that Kimpton Karma Rewards would eventually be swallowed into the IHG Rewards sometime in early 2018....

I’ve written several times about the uber cheap Delta business class fares to London (around $1,450 total roundtrip).Now there is a sale fare to Amsterdam for even cheaper - from $1,369 total roundtrip from Boston, Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville for dates until the end of August. There is tons of availability (even over July 4th per my example below) and you can route through most Delta hubs: Detroit, Atlanta and Memphis....

Passengers on board an Aer Lingus Airbus A330 were forced to wait on the plane after landing at San Francisco (SFO) when the aircraft’s winglet struck a concrete pole while being taxied to its gate.Aer Lingus Flight 147 had just landed at SFO from Dublin (DUB) at 2:52pm local time on Wednesday, according to tracking site FlightRadar24. The A330-300 (registration EI-GAJ) was being towed to its gate when the winglet clipped a concrete column....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Go to: http://www.expedia.co.nz/cheap-flights.aspxPlug in Jan/Feb 2011 dates and see what happens from your home city. When you get a price, its in NZ dollars, so go to xe.com for an exchange rate.I just priced out JFK-JNB Feb 15-22, 2011 and it came to 930 NZ Dollars, which equals $701....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Great news for NYC based Oneworld flyers who want to visit Tokyo - starting February 18th, American will start their daily JFK-Haneda which leaves JFK at 6:10pm and arrives in Haneda at 10:15pm the next day. While this flight will be good for passengers who need to connect to catch the flight, the late arrival will limit the amount of onward connections....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.If you want cheap Star Alliance tickets, the US Airways 100% bonus on purchased miles is a great value.~$1,400 for business class to Europe! Link to my original post about the offerIf you don’t know how to use US Miles for rewards, let me do the dirty work for you for a flat $100/ticket fee....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.The United Arab Emirates is the land of the A380, with both Emirates and Etihad operating a total of 111 super jumbos. Although Etihad only operates 10 of those, they do have some of most unique products including the luxurious first class apartment and the insane multi-room residence....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.On your next trip through London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), be sure to save time to stop at the igloo. That’s right, an igloo. For a limited time at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in LHR’s Terminal 3, you’ll be able to warm up in the lounge’s igloo with some spectacular views of the tarmac....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Delta has two mileage promotions to celebrate new routes from JFK:1) First register, then purchase and fly between New York (JFK) and Reykjavik (KEF) on any Delta or KLM-marketed and Delta-operated nonstop flights and you’ll earn 5,000 bonus miles for round-trip flights (2,500 bonus miles for one-way travel)....

Delta’s slashing the number of Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) you’ll earn on Aeromexico flights — one of its SkyTeam partners.As of April 1, 2018, Delta is reducing the percentage of MQMs you’ll earn on Aeromexico flights when traveling on some business-class tickets — on a C, D or I ticket. On the partner award chart for Aeromexico, Delta’s current chart (prior to April 1, 2018) shows that you’ll earn 200% MQMs for business-class tickets:However, as of April 1, 2018, that same award chart changes....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Airline alliances can make travel easier and more convenient. And while you’ve probably heard of the big ones — Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance — there are smaller partnerships that can really be used to your advantage to make travel more seamless and affordable....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Venky, who experienced the downside of having free drinks on an airplane. Here’s what he had to say:I’ve been an avid reader of your blog for the past few years, and wanted to convey a funny old story of how I ended up back in the same city where I boarded.I was traveling from Chennai (MAA) to Singapore (SIN) on a flight that routed through Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and then eventually returned to Chennai — this was circa 1995 on Indian Airlines (a subsidiary of Air India before the brand got erased)....

Hurricane Harvey’s devastating deluge on Houston and the Texas Gulf coast area has caused severe damage, leaving many in its path in desperate need of relief. The storm, which the National Weather Service is calling “unprecedented,” has left the area in a state of disaster.Thus far, relief efforts have focused on getting those in danger to safety — rescuing people trapped in their homes and cars from drowning. Several airlines and travel companies have done their part to help, such as Southwest airlifting almost 500 employees and customers from Houston’s Hobby Airport (HOU) and Airbnb offering stays at no cost for those in need....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.I mean, come on! Seriously? Apparently the Association of Flight Attendants has asked the government to ban in-flight wi-fi due to concerns that terrorists could use it to connect with bombs on an aircraft. Okay- shouldn’t we be focused on not allowing bombs on aircrafts to begin with?...

JetBlue just launched a two day fare sale and they’re also offering 4x the base points on all fares purchased between now and 11:59pm ET on April 2, 2013. You normally earn 3 base points per dollar on fares, so this promotion gives 12 points, plus 3 extra for booking at Jetblue.com, for a total of 15 points per dollar (plus any bonuses from credit cards).JetBlue points are generally worth about 1 cent each towards future flights, so you’re looking at a 15% back in the form of future JetBlue travel, in addition to potentially lower fares during this sale....

This summer has seen an unprecedented number of animal attacks in national parks.Back in June, in the span of just over a month, at least four people were injured by wild animals in Yellowstone National Park. Add to the list of dangerous animal encounters in Yellowstone an incident that unfolded Thursday morning in the nature reserve — this time involving a bear.According to the National Park Service, a family of four was on a hike on the park’s Divide Trail, just southeast of the famous Old Faithful geyser, when they encountered a bear....

After flying transatlantic on the British Airways 747 upper deck, TPG Contributors JT Genter and Katie Genter continued from London (LHR) to Madrid (MAD) in Iberia’s A340-300 “Business Plus” cabin. Here’s their review of the experience. (All photos are by the author).Airport and LoungeWe’d arrived in London from Dallas early that morning, but scheduled a long layover in London to explore the city. We also wanted to experience this Iberia A340 for the flight down to Madrid (MAD) rather than traveling in one of the sub-par business class cabins that are standard on most aircraft along this route — the timing worked out perfectly as it was only available for a 6:30pm departure....

This post is brought to you by Grandpa Points after I asked him to pleeeease tell the story of how travel (including budget travel) has changed in his 67 years of exploring this great country…Recently, we visited a section of the historic Route 66 in Williams, Arizona. For forty years, from the 1920s to the 1960s, this iconic two lane road fostered and fulfilled many dreams as it wound itself through the heart of America....