
TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis flew down to Sydney this week on a QANTAS 747-400. How’d he get this photo of the dramatic approach to SYD? Stay tuned for his Trip Report!
TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):
1 Still wondering: What Marriott said about the Starwood merger
2 Tick-tock: Decision time approaching for AAdvantage award travel
3 Catch up on all this now: Hotel news: New Hyatt brand, Marriott merger, Hilton cancellations, Vegas fees
4 Bay Area loads up Routes: Bay Area to China, Fiji + Delta code-shares + JetBlue to Africa, South America
5 Get on it! One easy, last chance to ride a United 747?
6 Airports: LAX connector, SFO dining, ATL flap, CPR at ORD, DFW app,
7 Spend much time in LA? Read this: New Metro line to serve LA’s “Silicon Beach”
8 How’d that happen? Another airline declares bankruptcy
9 Death spiral? Will more small cities lose regional airline service?
10 It’s getting even easier: Uber’s new automated business expense reporting
Remember last year when we wrote about Verizon’s new TravelPass? $10 per day flat fee for data and voice. I signed up immediately and I really like how it removes a lot of the uncertainty about using my smartphone overseas– worked like a dream in Australia. Are there any other Verizon-using globetrotters feel similarly? Or not? I know a lot of readers think T-Mobile’s international plan is better, but the reality for me is that T-Mobile does not work in my house, or in many parts of San Francisco. Please leave comments below.

NASA’s new SST design could fly over land without creating a sonic boom that disturbs the people below. (Image: NASA)
Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:
NASA designs a greener, quieter supersonic passenger plane
U.S. airlines are piling on in fight for new route rights to Cuba
Southwest selects a new in-flight coffee
Starwood’s AmEx card offers 35,000 bonus points for March sign-ups
Luggage manufacturer Tumi is being acquired by Samsonite
Here’s a new roundup of the world’s 25 longest non-stop airline routes
Boeing develops an aircraft bathroom that disinfects itself
Starwood Preferred Guest members can redeem points for Major League Baseball tickets
Guess what’s now a collector’s item? Airline barf bags

My most popular Instagram photo this week: One of Sydney’s many rock pools for protected swimming. CLICK to follow me! (Chris McGinnis)
NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble
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Bummer about T-Mobile not working in your house. I have the same problem and they sent me a powerful WiFi router that I can use for phone calls from my house. Works like a charm… and then of course I have their truly marvelous international calling and data from overseas.