Something I love about United is their Channel 9- the ability to listen to the cockpit’s communications with Air Traffic Control. It’s unique to United, but something I wish all carriers had. While the audio quality wasn’t great and there was a loud ringing in the background, it was cool ot listen to the cockpit as they were cleared for takeoff.Once airborne, service was very quick, which was much appreciated for a 10:30pm departure....
After months of speculation, Southwest announced overnight Wednesday night its intention to fly to Hawaii. The problem is, the announcement was light on details. The only concrete detail we have is that the airline will “begin selling tickets in 2018 for service to Hawaii.” But, first it will have to apply to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) before it can fly there.With so few details, we can only speculate about where Southwest will fly....
The aviation world is waiting to see if, or perhaps when, IAG’s CEO Willie Walsh will float a third offer to purchase Norwegian. The parent company of British Airways and Iberia already owns a chunk of the airline, and has been trying to buy the rest — leaving observers with a question: Why, and why now?In mid-April, the International Airline Group acquired 4.6% of the shares of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA....
If you haven’t heard of the Faroe Islands, there are probably two reasons why — they’re tiny and remote. But there’s a mighty good reason why you should acquaint yourself with this remote archipelago composed of 18 islands in the North Atlantic, located roughly halfway between Iceland and Norway, just to the north of Scotland. While these Danish isles are known to some only because of its traditional and controversial whaling practices, those who have ventured here quickly realize the islands and its inhabitants have a much more interesting narrative to tell....
With the world (even the US!) still in a frenzy over everything World Cup, I thought I would provide a quick guide on how to get to Spain from the US/Canada using your points. Spain is an incredible country, so even if you aren’t a football/soccer fan, you should definitely consider a trip.Listed below are the airlines that fly direct from North America to Spain, including the lowest tier amount of points for coach and business and the airports they fly from (organized by Alliance....
Heading to Boston on your next trip? Between the glittering city skyline and outdoor-friendly areas like Boston Harbor and Harvard Yard, tourists can enjoy a variety of activities. If the idea of a booming metropolis sounds daunting at first, here are a few quintessential Beantown sights to get you started. Here are our picks for the most Insta-worthy places in Boston.1. Harvard SquareFamed and historical Harvard Square is the place where leisure meets academia....
Right up top in the image is the Liberty Helicopters chopper that crashed on Sunday in New York City’s East River, with the loss of five lives. Don’t make the same mistake I made when I flew this same bird last spring.As I mentioned in my post on Instagram, I had been so excited to fly Blade to Newark Airport (EWR) that I hadn’t paid close attention to the pilot’s critical safety briefing — I had been focused on using every moment to capture photos, instead, given that our flight to Newark was expected to last just five minutes....
To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (that’s 60 years for you anglophiles out there) which is being held from June 2-5, British Airways is offering royal-watchers the chance to fly roundtrip from select US gateways to London and Manchester for just $1,952 roundtrip in Club World (business class), all fees and taxes included.The special Jubilee sale page at ba.com/1952.Now the specifics. First, the sale started today and only runs until 11:59pm Pacific time on Friday, May 18, and is for travel that starts on or after May 23 and is completed by June 9....
This Flyetalk mileage run thread found some cheap deals right now for those wanting to go to Istanbul (or just to rack up the miles you earn flying there) for cheap. These are for flights from October 2013- December 12, 2013, and then starting again January 7, 2014- March 2014.We have seen cheap flights to Istanbul in the past such as when I flew for $576 total from JFK to Istanbul, building in stops in Rome and Amsterdam while banking over 10,000 valuable Medallion Qualifying Miles on Delta a couple years ago....
Today TPG Contributor Jason Steele explains why computer and mobile security are important considerations for all travelers, and how you can help prevent yourself from getting hacked.Before I became a writer, I spent many years working as a computer systems administrator and technical support analyst at Boeing, IBM, and at state and federal government offices. Although I know quite a bit more about computer security than the average traveler, I recently had an interesting conversation with Imanuel Babadostov, who is a senior security consultant for OneWorld Labs, a computer security consulting firm in Denver....
One of the big issues that airline and hotel loyalty programs have to constantly battle is theft. With some thieves stealing as much as $260,000 worth of miles/points, it can be a costly issue for these programs.While some programs — looking at you, IHG Rewards — do an especially bad job of managing user accounts, other programs implement security measures to try to limit the risk. The trouble with some of these restrictions is that they can limit legitimate uses of miles/points by account holders....
With a handful of high-profile airline mergers occurring over the last several years, many flyers may be wondering what effect they’ve had on fares — specifically between former hubs due to decreased competition. TPG Contributor JT Genter explores the data below.The last decade has seen tremendous consolidation among the US-based airlines: Delta merged with Northwest, United with Continental and — most recently — American Airlines merged with US Airways.The fear among travelers and the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice was that these mergers would reduce competition and increase fares....
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 was lucky and got in the on Expedia Save300 coupon deal last month which got me round-trip airfare to Las Vegas and a night at the Bellagio for $20 when all was said and done. I even got upgraded on both of my Delta flights and earned 4,496 Medallion Qualifying Miles and 8,992 Skymiles- not a bad deal!...
Update: Hotels in Vancouver appear to be full, so continue to check back if you still need a place to stayAfter a great win against Germany, the women’s USA soccer team has made it into FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. Don’t miss your chance to watch as USA fights for the title as 2015 Women’s World Cup champions this Sunday in Vancouver.Although it’s last-minute, I was able to find a number of flights going to Vancouver through Alaska or Delta Air Lines....
Aurora’s got a little brother named Steve, and stargazers think he’s very pretty — but he’s shy, so you’ll have to do a little planning if you want to catch sight of him.Steve’s a dazzling atmospheric phenomenon that seems to have appeared from out of nowhere the last few years, astounding both professionals and amateurs who’ve looked to the skies for decades. It looks like a thin ribbon of pinkish, magenta or purplish light that shines in a nearly straight line running east to west....
On Monday, I was expecting to fly Avianca’s A330 from New York (JFK) to Bogota (BOG), connecting to a 787-8 Dreamliner to Lima, Peru (LIM).I purchased the business-class ticket in March for a very reasonable $758 round-trip, including a couple legs in the airline’s new lie-flat biz seat — with a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone arrangement, it was a huge step up from the old 2-2-2 angle-flat product, and ripe for a TPG review....
A massive near-Earth asteroid named 2010 WC9 is scheduled to zoom past Earth Tuesday evening. It’s expected to safely pass us at a staggering speed of more than 28,600 miles per hour.Though estimates vary, the asteroid is thought to be between 197 and 430 feet long (for context, that’s somewhere between the length of a single Airbus A330 and three Boeing 737-MAX 10s).Few asteroids of this size have ever been observed passing this close to Earth, according to Earthsky....
TPG reader Adam emailed me to ask about transfer bonuses:“I saw that Amex was offering a bonus for transfers to Virgin America. Should I take advantage of these bonuses even if I don’t already have plans to travel?”Amex Membership Rewards used to routinely offer transfer bonuses as high as 50% to British Airways, Delta and other airline partners. Those opportunities were lucrative enough that it often made sense to transfer points even if you had no immediate plans to use them....
Between flight reviews, 360-degree cabin shots and Google Street View, there are plenty of ways of checking out a new aircraft cabin. But, seemingly for the first time, a new cabin interior is being introduced through the Mannequin Challenge. Kuwait Airways showed off its brand-new 777-300ER cabin interior in a video posted on Instagram yesterday:https://www.instagram.com/p/BN4RTmsAra5/?taken-by=kuwaitairwaysFrom about 50 passengers and crew remaining completely motionless — including a baby — to the seemingly mandatory dab in the background, it’s safe to say that Kuwait nailed this challenge....
If traveling to Kuwait has been on your radar, now’s the time to go — before the country implements its mandatory DNA testing for everyone in the country, including tourists. Starting sometime this year, Kuwait will be the first (and hopefully only) country to implement a law that will require everyone to submit a DNA sample in an effort to increase security.The country has stated that the DNA testing won’t be used for genealogical analysis and it won’t impact personal freedoms or privacy....
