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They are strange creatures, airports: Whether or not you’re ensconced in a lounge, they are places that seem to exist outside of time. But in the end, they can’t escape it. And when an airport bites the dust, it can look and feel almost otherworldly, like a zombie. Or something like that.How do big hunks of concrete take such ghostly turns? Maybe there was a war or, more likely, a bigger and badder airport came along and no one got around to completely demolishing the previous one....

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.Norwegian Airlines revealed on Monday that a portrait of Benjamin Franklin will adorn the tail of the low-cost carrier’s new Boeing 737 MAX 8, scheduled to take flight later this year. The Founding Father will kick off Norwegian’s “American tail fin hero” series, with more to come “over the next few months,” according to a press release....

According to this post on a software blog dedicated to Microsoft accounting technology (and I thought writing a blog on frequent flyer miles was niche!), Delta has figured out a way to put an end to one of the few perks of flying - switching to a better seat for free once the doors have closed. Now when you spy an empty exit row or Economy Comfort seat and make an attempt to snag it, you could be charged for your efforts....

The head of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and three former and current agency officials have been fined more than $12,000 for accepting flight upgrades.The Hawaii State Ethics Commission yesterday found that CEO George Szigeti, COO Randy Baldemor; Jadie Goo, director of marketing for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia; and David Uchiyama, former vice president of brand management, solicited or accepted flight upgrades from Japan Airlines, China Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines while on trips for state business in 2015 and 2016, without informing the state that they did so....

If you haven’t traveled through Hong Kong (HKG) within the last few years, there’s a very good chance you’ve never heard of Hong Kong Airlines (I’ll refer to it using its airline code HX for short). The airport’s most ubiquitous tenant is Cathay Pacific, of course, but decade-old regional carrier HX is making a push for long-haul service, having recently launched a flight to Vancouver (YVR) and sharing plans for another major North American destination....

When I traveled to Austin a couple weeks ago, I decided to stay in the W Austin since I’d heard good things about it, and had already experienced some of the city’s other upscale properties like the Driskill and the Four Seasons. I also wanted to get elite stay credit as I work my way toward 75 nights (and the coveted 4 points per dollar and Your24 ability to check-in at all hours of the day)....

TPG Reader Kayla emailed with a question about how to book awards with LAN Airlines:“I have 35,000 LANPASS kilometers that I’ve been trying to use for ages, but I’m having trouble finding awards from the US online, and calling LAN is frustrating. Is there a way to book these flights without too much hassle?“LANPASS is the loyalty program of Chilean carrier LAN. You can get good value on awards within South America, as the airline offers a fairly reasonable region-based chart for flights on its own metal, and travel to more far-flung destinations on the continent can get pretty expensive....

Right after we got my youngest daughter her passport last summer we set out to get her Global Entry. Unlike with TSA PreCheck, kids don’t get a free pass to piggyback with their parents to utilize Global Entry upon re-entry into the United States. Kids of all ages have to have their own Global Entry or the entire family will effectively be slowed down when re-entering the country by going through the normal lines....

Award travel to Australia from the US is generally among the hardest to book. Only Delta, United, Qantas, Hawaiian and V Australia fly from the US to Sydney (and Air Canada from Vancouver), so getting your preferred flights will usually take some time and research, but it can be done.Delta partners with Hawaiian and V Australia, so you have two options for non-stop trips to Australia. You can also route through Hawaii and fly partner Hawaiian airlines, which could be a nice stopover, but otherwise it’s out of the way and Hawaiian airlines does not have lie-flat seats if you are trying to go business class....

El Al is excited about its future — really excited, thanks to its new Dreamliner aircraft. Israel’s flag-carrier airline is known for the subpar premium cabins on its 747, 767 and 777 widebodies, but the addition of the Boeing 787 is a huge upgrade for El Al and its passengers. The new aircraft debuted Tuesday on the airline’s flagship route to New York and El Al showed off the jet with a ceremony for the media....

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 while back, I wrote about a promotion Delta was having called Delta Nonstop NYC, where you could complete online missions and search for Delta Red Coats in NYC to win a trip to Los Angeles.As it turns out, I was a winner in their online game, and at first I was excited about having won a trip to Los Angeles....

Imagine sitting on your deck at home, riding in your car with the sunroof down or prepping for a barbecue when, all of a sudden, poop comes raining down from the sky. Apparently, this has not been as uncommon as you’d expect in Canada. All of these scenarios have occurred – in fact, 18 cases have occurred in Canada since May – and people want answers.The substance has been described differently depending on the case, some described it as dark – almost black, others said it was more blue-ish brown....

Three low-cost carriers are teaming up in an attempt to make booking your international travel a more seamless experience. Norwegian Air, WestJet and EasyJet have partnered to allow travelers to book their long-haul flight with Norwegian or WestJet and then continuing on throughout Europe with EasyJet at the same time.Beginning today, you can use EasyJet’s new “Worldwide by EasyJet” function to search for flights from any of Norwegian or WestJet’s international destinations — including those in the US, Canada, Asia, South America and more....

Norwegian Air Shuttle is in the midst of replacing the engines on all 21 of its 787 Dreamliners. This is either part of a planned upgrade or due to Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine issues, depending on what source you ask.While other airlines are also having to ground Dreamliners to inspect and/or replace the troublesome engines — including Air New Zealand, ANA, British Airways, Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic and more — Norwegian is hit especially hard by the engine issues as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is its only long-haul aircraft....

Pilots failed to correctly perform several flight maneuvers when the air they were breathing wasn’t sufficiently fresh, suggesting that stale cockpit air could lead to unsafe or deadly consequences, according to a study published Wednesday.The Harvard University study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, saw teams of 30 active commercial pilots take three-hour turns as pilot and co-pilot in A320 flight simulators performing an increasingly difficult range of flying maneuvers including avoiding midair collisions, stalled engines and other emergencies without the use of autopilot....

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.Going to the bathroom has never been so contentious. In recent weeks, passengers have clashed with airline employees over when to use the lavatory (you may remember the man who was kicked off a Delta flight for inappropriate use of the facility) and how to relieve oneself (there are conflicting reports about the woman who claimed a flight attendant on a United flight made her pee in a cup)....

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 love bargain merchandise almost as much as I love a mistake fare, so I frequently shop on discount designer sites bluefly.com, ruelala.com, and gilt.com.Ruelala just opened their Tumi boutique today and they have some great pieces at half off or more....

For the next Award Redemption of the Week, I want to share a story from TPG reader David, who used favorable transfer ratios to book premium transatlantic flights:I recently started accumulating points and miles mostly through welcome bonuses. The idea was to have enough for a sightseeing trip to Europe for my wife and me. After many hours of trying to piece this trip together, and using your guide to maximizing Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, I was able to discover great value when using VS miles to book Delta flights....

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’re looking to treat yourself to the ultimate splurge to ring in 2017, look no further than this one-of-a-kind flight. Private jet charter company PrivateFly is offering an opportunity to book a one-way flight on board a Gulfstream G650ER from Sydney to Los Angeles that will allow you to celebrate the arrival of 2017 twice — first in Sydney and then again in Los Angeles, which is a whole 19 hours behind Sydney....

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 often travel overseas, you’re probably at least familiar with T-Mobile’s fantastic free data option, which lets you roam in 120+ countries without any additional data fees. As you might expect, Cuba has been listed among the countries without T-Mobile service....