United has been busy behind the scenes for almost two years in renovating its huge United Club that’s just after security at the San Francisco International Terminal. Polaris branding came along in the meantime and the re-opening had been delayed for quite some time. It finally happened about a week ago and Oscar Munoz officially […] Read on →
Priority Pass is a runaway success – in a way, it is a new credit card. Consumers can get an unlimited number of Priority Pass visits with many consumer credit cards all over the world. US banks are the most generous; I myself have three of these cards and have been enjoying many lounge visits at […] Read on →
The Escape Lounge at Oakland Airport (OAK) is located behind security, just opposite Gate 9 – often Norwegian’s favorite gate for their flight to Stockholm. I arrived at Oakland Airport at 10 AM for my Boutique Air flight and it was deserted, with nobody waiting at security. There were several attendants busy serving drinks and […] Read on →
The American Express Centurion Lounge in Miami is located near Gate D12. Miami Airport is very spread out and it is easy to underestimate distances. We walked through the D Gate security and it was still a solid 20-minute walk; if in doubt, take the Skytrain. The American Express Centurion Lounges are very good at […] Read on →
The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge has gotten its new home at Los Angeles International after the major terminal move that Delta initiated (and paid for) in 2017. The lounge sits next to the Delta and Aeromexico gates (and of course the Virgin Atlantic gates but not the Virgin America ones). The LAX Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is […] Read on →
Not so long ago, the mentioning of ‘Priority Pass’ struck fear in most travelers. It was generally a Russian-style affair with a few carrot snacks, dingy lighting and seating in a remote part of an airport. However, clever entrepreneurs have found ways to provide great lounges for the ~$20 Priority Pass offer per guest and […] Read on →
This was the return part of a trip that started last December, as I flew with China Eastern from Los Angeles to Bangkok. I did like my ‘outbound’ trip, especially considering the low price (really just $170 per direction, so $340 for the round-trip). I arrived at Bali‘s Denpasar Ngurah Rai International Airport 2.5 hours before the […] Read on →
LEVEL launched with big plans in early 2017 and I was curious to see how this low-cost long-haul airline would shape up for this review. LEVEL has been drawing most of its resources from BA and Iberia and is just emancipating itself. I had booked my ticket for just $149 on the day tickets became available; […] Read on →
Canaryfly does not get much press but is one of the regional airlines competing with Binter Canarias and Air Europa for flights between the Canary Islands. Canaryfly and Binter Canarias sell tickets between the islands at a dual-price system – the subsidized price for island residents and the regular price. Regular fares are about twice […] Read on →
After deplaning from my prior Saudia flight from Kochi, I followed the rather flimsy signs towards transit. An overly sleepy single attendant manned the security checkpoint and mentioned that he expected just four (!) other transit passengers within the hour. Not a busy day then! Riyadh Airport has two terminals that are interconnected behind security with […] Read on →
For reasons I don’t fully understand, Saudia files very low fares from several South Indian cities to Addis Abeba (despite minimal competition). Saudia fares usually work one-way for half price and so I booked Kochi (COK) to Addis Abeba (ADD) for under $100 in economy for the 3,000-mile journey connecting via Riyadh (RUH). When booking […] Read on →
VietJet is Vietnam’s incarnation of a low-cost airline. VietJet is a publicly listed company and has been enjoying a competition-free environment in its sector as AirAsia hasn’t decisively moved in yet. The VietJet website was a bit clunky to work with and it took some back and forth to get the ticket I wanted. The […] Read on →
AirAsia has been busy building its second biggest base after Kuala Lumpur with its Thai affiliate at Don Mueang, the old Bangkok Airport. From a small number of flights – originally just domestic Thai flights and connecting to the other AirAsia bases – business has been growing quickly. The number of destinations from Bangkok now competes […] Read on →
China Eastern has been taking to the skies with very aggressive fares in economy and business class all across the planet. China Eastern is the main driver of sub $500 (and often sub $400) fares round-trip from the US to Southeast Asia now. I was very curious to try their product. I had two flights […] Read on →
Kenya Airways has been fighting the low fare wars with business class tickets from as low as $400 for the return trip from Dubai to Nairobi and beyond. I was curious to see if its business class product (seat, cabin and service) lived up to the promise. Kenya Airways uses the SkyTeam Lounge in Dubai. […] Read on →
Ever since Air France introduced its new business class product, I have wanted to try it and with this Air France Business Class flight from Paris to Dubai, I got the chance. Air France Business Class seats are the newer generation of the seats we all love from Cathay Pacific Business Class. It’s very private, […] Read on →