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Two weeks ago we released our first annual study of the best and worst airlines in the United States, based on number crunching, which contained some controversial results (the biggest issue: United Airlines came in #2). Then last week we asked you, our readers, for your opinion on which airline is the best in the US.Several thousand of you voted. The results of that reader poll are now in, and it shows some similarities to our study and some differences....

Cabin crew workers for budget carrier Ryanair based in four European countries went on strike Wednesday to protest their work conditions.Ryanair cabin crew staffers in Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Italy are on strike, forcing the low-cost carrier to cancel about 600 flights during the peak summer travel season. The cancellations are about one-eighth of the carrier’s operations in Europe. Spain was the country with the most cancellations, with nearly one in four Ryanair flights grounded....

Do you count yourself among the many travelers who have trouble sleeping on flights? A company called Simba Sleep has unveiled what it’s calling “the world’s most advanced airline seat,” and it truly does look like a game-changer in the market.https://youtu.be/KBZFa6iJB-IReal Madrid footballer Gareth Bale introduced the Air Hybrid in the promotional photos and video. He’s 6'0", by the way, and it seems he still has plenty of room to stretch out....

United Airlines wants to “de-stress the travel lifestyle,” according to CEO Oscar Munoz.“We want to make you, as our customer, feel good about flying us,” Munoz told CNBC in September. “And so our customer-centricity, our customer properties, are something we really want to sort of engage.“The controversy-ridden US carrier plans to do so by implementing and rolling out new customer service initiatives every week. [TPG has reached out to the airline for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication....

New Orleans is truly one of the most magical places on the planet. Between the music, food, architecture and people, NOLA’s charm and energy are one-of-a-kind. With so much to eat, see and do, it can be hard to take a second to admire all the beauty of this vibrant southern city. If you’re planning a trip to the Big Easy — and if you’re not, you really should be — add this little lagniappe to your itinerary and be sure to get the best shots of the Crescent City....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select World MastercardHere’s a roundup of the week’s points, miles and travel industry news you may have missed:Stay at spots like the Park Hyatt Zanzibar and earn 5,000 bonus Hyatt Gold Passport points.Earn 5,000 Bonus Hyatt Gold Passport Points in AfricaIf you’re planning a trip to Africa, Hyatt is offering 5,000 bonus points for a two-night stay at the Park Hyatt Zanzibar; the Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; and the Hyatt Regency Johannesburg in South Africa....

British Airways flew its first 787 today from Seattle to London and to celebrate they just launched a fare sale to commemorate event and build buzz around the first two cities that get 787 service from North America: Toronto and Newark.New British Airways 787 leaves SeattleFares begin at $787 in World Traveller (economy), $1,209 in World Traveller Plus (premium economy), and $2,787 for Club World (business class) - all fares are roundtrip and include taxes, fees and carrier charges....

I had a fantastic time this past weekend in Chicago. I got to see a lot of friends and meet a ton of new interesting people. Throughout the informal networking and expert sessions I picked up a bunch of tips and tricks so overall it was a very productive weekend.Joining me on behalf of TPG and travelcreditcards.com I had new TPG Managing Editor Eric Rosen, Danielle Kelly and her sister Emily....

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.For today only (October 17, 2014), the United MileagePlus shopping portal is offering a huge bonus for purchases from Ebags.com. Normally Ebags purchases earn 4 miles per dollar through MileagePlus shopping, but today you’ll earn 18 miles per dollar spent....

If you want to check out Delta’s brand new A350 Delta One Suites without pulling out your passport, here’s your chance. Two weeks ago, we let you know about a one-off Delta A350 positioning flight from Detroit (DTW) to Los Angeles (LAX) on July 1. Today, we’re finding out about another opportunity to fly Delta’s A350 between DTW-LAX on July 19.There are currently 9+ first class seats for sale and 31 unassigned seats on the seat map:If you want to book the nonstop flight, a one-way fare in the Delta One Suite is going to set you back $746:Or you can redeem Delta SkyMiles for the Suite seat at a cost of 35,000 SkyMiles plus $5....

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.Flying Blue (the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM, and some other Skyteam carriers) is frequently generous with award availability. They even run “50% off” promo awards all year long, which means you can fly roundtrip from certain North American cities to Europe and beyond for as low as 25,000 roundtrip in coach and 50,000 in business....

Check out the week in travel contests and sweepstakes for your chance to win a dream trip worth $100,000 to Hawaii, an adventure cruise through the Galápagos Islands, a Downton Abbey inspired jaunt to England, flights to New Zealand or a family getaway to Orlando.Win a trip to Hawaii plus $25,000 cash. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.Win a Dream Vacation to Hawaii from the Travel ChannelYou can win a $100,000 two-week trip to Hawaii for two people....

TPG reader Santohsh sent me a message on Facebook to ask about using Marriott Rewards points:“I have some Marriott points that I don’t plan to use for hotel stays. What are the best options to convert them to airline miles?”Many hotel loyalty programs give you the option to convert points to airline miles, but you’ll generally sacrifice some value in the process. For example, both Club Carlson and Hilton offer a terrible exchange rate of 10:1 with most airlines, while IHG is still a bad deal at 5:1....

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.In case you haven’t heard, tourism in Iceland has been booming in recent years. In fact, according to Bloomberg, traffic at Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport (KEF) has grown more than five-fold over the past nine years. This year, the airport will see a predicted 10 million passengers pass through its terminals....

JetBlue’s award-winning Mint business-class product is going to Grenada (GND), adding a fifth Caribbean destination to its expanding list of destinations with premium service. Grenada joins Aruba, St. Lucia, Barbados and St. Maarten as destinations served by Mint from New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS). Service will begin in January 2017, operating seasonally on Saturdays. The flight schedule is as follows:B6949 New York (JFK) 8:00am Departure ⇒ Grenada (GND) 1:45pm ArrivalB6950 Grenada (GND) 3:05pm Departure ⇒ New York (JFK) 7:28pm ArrivalMint is TPG’s favorite way of flying cross-country....

JetBlue is making big changes to its route network. The New York-based airline announced on Tuesday that it’s shifting its strategy to double its efforts in focus cities.The biggest announcement comes in the form of a new city entirely — Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE). Beginning in the first quarter of 2019, JetBlue will launch daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and GYE using Airbus A320 aircraft.Adding service in Ecuador, where it already serves Quito (UIO), the airline is placing an emphasis both on its presence in FLL, where it’s the leading carrier, but also in Latin America....

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.Last month, Lufthansa’s pilots participated in a days-long strike, resulting in many cancelled flights and inconvenienced passengers. Given that the service inconsistencies were within the airline’s control, customers are entitled to compensation — but Lufthansa is offering additional perks to some members as well....

Air Berlin is bankrupt, and operations are quickly winding down. First, the carrier announced plans to scrap all long-haul flights from Berlin, then it canceled my flight from Berlin, and, finally, confirmed that all intercontinental service would be discontinued on October 15.Of course, even though the supply has been impacted significantly by these sudden capacity shifts, demand continues to be strong — despite the incredibly light load on my recent Dusseldorf flight....

Saturday, August 18 marked the official launch of the combined Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and SPG program, and while it took some time for things to go live, the integration is continuing to move forward. While there are ongoing issues being reported, many readers have been able to combine their accounts, bringing their elite nights, points and existing reservations under a single member number. Unfortunately, this has revealed a concerning problem with certain reservations repricing....

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.A recent trend to improve hotel fitness facilities may be directly tied to how millennials travel for business, according to the American Express-GBTA Business Travel Sentiment Index Global Report.The semi-annual survey asked 3,220 business travelers based in eight nations about their attitudes on travel and personal habits when on the road....