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What’s wrong with U.S. airlines’ economy class?

Typical Thai Airways economy cabin. (Image: Thai)

The annual World Airline Awards conferred by the U.K.’s Skytrax – based on input this year from almost 20 million participating global travelers – have something notably missing from their list of the world’s best economy class.

The list of the Top 20 economy class airlines doesn’t include a single U.S. carrier.

The reasons why are probably obvious to frequent travelers. Unlike many foreign carriers, U.S. airlines in recent years have focused on upgrading their front cabins, often at the expense of their rear cabins. (Full disclosure: The SkyTrax rankings only consider regular economy seating, not the premium economy or extra-legroom sections some U.S. carriers have added.)

We’ve run several articles in recent months about how the refitting of U.S. airlines’ economy cabins generally involves installing less-bulky “slim-line” seats (which many readers say are also less comfortable), stuffing in extra seat rows to increase revenue (often at the expense of legroom and seat width), and most recently deploying a “basic economy” pricing model that takes away most of the in-cabin amenities that economy travelers had come to expect as their right (like the right to put  a carry-on bag in the overhead bin).

So maybe it should come as no surprise that travelers find more to like in the coach cabins of non-U.S. airlines.

Lufthansa’s economy class seating. (Image: Lufthansa)

For that matter, European airlines don’t fare very well in the listing either. The Top 20 list of economy classes includes only a single European winner – Lufthansa at number 10 (unless you count Turkish Airlines, since Turkey is in between Europe and Asia; Turkish ranked 11th).

All the other Top 20 winners are airlines from Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.

Economy class on a Qatar Airways widebody. (Image: Qatar)

“The Award for the world’s “Best Economy Class Airline” is a coveted quality distinction representing passenger satisfaction assessment of the front-line Economy Class product and staff service standards that airlines provide across both the cabin and airport environments,” Skytrax said.

First place in the Economy Class rankings went to Thai Airways, followed by Qatar Airways, Asiana, Garuda Indonesian and Singapore Airlines.

Thai notes on its website that its Economy Class product includes the following:

  • Choice of main meal with beverages, snacks and second meal service offered on international flights; snacks or light meals on domestic flights
  • Audio/Video On Demand available on A380s, 787s, 777-300s, 777-200ERs, A330-300s and 747s; shared cabin screens on other flights; WiFi available for a fee on the A380 and some A330s
  • Seat pitch of 31 to 34 inch with 122 to 133-degree recline
  • Blankets and pillows provided on international flights; eye shades and ear plugs available on request
  • Baggage allowance of no less than 20kg

Here’s a full list of the Top 20 Economy Class airlines:

Source: Skytrax

Looking only at specific Economy Class qualities, the survey’s listing of best seats went to Japan Airlines, followed in order by Asiana, Thai, Korean and Singapore. Tops in Economy Class catering was Thai, followed by Turkish Airlines, Asiana, Qatar and Japan Airlines.

Which airline offers the best economy class to you? Please share your answers below. 

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New facial scans of air travelers trigger controversy

Here’s a look at Delta’s facial recognition scanners at gates (Image: Delta)

As the Department of Homeland Security continues to expand the use of facial recognition cameras at U.S. airports, and as more airlines test the technology at boarding gates, a new report has cast doubt on the effectiveness and legitimacy of the entire project.

DHS is already using biometric facial scanning of some travelers departing the U.S. at several airports, including Boston, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, and Houston’s two airports. The agency has been planning to expand it to all major U.S. international gateway airports this year. The scans verify the identity of departing travelers by comparing facial images to a DHS biometric database.

But a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has asked DHS to stop expanding the program after a new report from the Georgetown University Law School questions the accuracy of the scans, and notes that Congress has never authorized the collection of facial scans from U.S. citizens by DHS.

The Georgetown University Law School’s Center on Privacy and Technology issued the report, which says that the so-called “biometric exit” project could end up costing taxpayers $1 billion. “Yet, curiously, neither Congress nor DHS has ever justified the need for the program,” the report said.

Tech vendors like NEC specialize in facial recognition systems. (Image: NEC)

It also charged that the facial scanning program “stands on shaky legal ground.” Although Congress has given DHS a green light to collect biometric data from foreign nationals at U.S. entry and exit points, it has “never clearly authorized the border collection of biometrics from American citizens using face recognition technology,” the report said. “Without explicit authorization, DHS should not be scanning the faces of Americans as they depart on international flights – but DHS is doing it anyway.”

The Georgetown study also charged that the DHS facial recognition program has a relatively high error rate, misidentifying as many as one out of every 25 travelers. “At this high rate, DHS’ error-prone face scanning system could cause 1,632 passengers to be wrongfully delayed or denied boarding every day at New York’s JFK International Airport alone,” the study said. You can see the full report here.

British Airways self-service boarding gates include facial scans. (Image: British Airways)

After the report came out, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators wrote to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asking the agency to stop expanding the program at U.S. airports, “and provide Congress with its explicit statutory authority to use and expand a biometric exit program on U.S. citizens.” They also cited the Georgetown Law report’s figures about the program’s error rate in verifying identities.

Last month, Delta started working with DHS to begin facial scans of passengers departing Atlanta as they board flights to Paris out of Gates E10 and E12 at ATL, allowing travelers to decide whether or not they want to participate. And British Airways recently announced it is incorporating facial scanning technology into tests of “self-service biometric boarding gates” at Los Angeles International, similar to technology the airline already uses at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

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Popular: Delta sweet spots + River cruise review + United legroom squeeze + TSA Drivers license mess + more

Vienna U-Bahn

Can you guess which city subway system I’m riding? Hint: It’s on the Danube river- see Viking post below for the answer (Photo: Barkley Dean)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 5 Delta SkyMiles sweet spots

2 Trip Report: Viking River Cruise through Europe

3 United cramming more seats into its 757s

4 TSA extends deadline for driver’s license ID demand

5 Routes: End of Delta West Coast shuttles + Another carrier to Hawaii + Alaska, United, American

6 Airport news: Tasty upgrades at SFO, LAX + LaGuardia SkyClub + Newark rebuild + more

7 Hyatt tightens its cancellation policy

8 Japan Airlines eyes 5-1/2 hour San Francisco-Tokyo flights

9 Planespotting 101: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320

10 Routes: Hong Kong Airlines to LAX + Delta, Cathay Pacific, United, LATAM & more

Leavin on a jet plane! ✈️ #SFO #ATL #sanfrancisco #travel #united

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Airlines will try to squeeze passengers for every dollar in 2018 

New lounge for business travelers at Toronto Pearson

New: Escape Lounge opens at Reno airport 

How luggage manufacturers are reacting to ban on batteries in new “smart bags”

Oversupply in NYC resulting in slightly cheaper hotel rates

USA Today’s roundup of 2017 airport innovations

New federal report slams FAA’s oversight of U.S. regional airlines

Turkey resumes issuing visas for U.S. travelers and vice-versa

British Airways parent expected to take over Austrian carrier NIKI

Delta’s in-flight food ranks number one in annual study

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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United cramming more seats into its 757s

United plans to put more economy seats in its 757-300s. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

A few months ago, we reported on United’s plans to refit its international 777-200 fleet by adding about two dozen seats per aircraft, as it installs its new Polaris front cabin and reconfigures economy seating from nine-across to 10-across. And now it is cramming more seats to another aircraft model.

According to a report this week in FlightGlobal.com, United will turn to new “slim-line” economy seats to boost the overall seat count in its workhorse 757-300s from 213 to 234.

Because the slim-line seats are less bulky than traditional economy seats, airlines can fit more of them into the main cabin, generating more revenue and reducing unit costs. United has been replacing the economy seats on its smaller single-aisle planes with the slim-line version for several years.

United’s new slim line seats. (United)

The economy cabins on United’s 757-300s will have 210 seats after the refit, FlightGlobal said, while first class will remain unchanged at 24 seats. There was no immediate word on how much, or whether the 757 refit would affect seat pitch.

United has 21 757-300s, which it uses mostly on high-volume routes out of its hubs at Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco and Denver.

Thoughts, please on those slimline seats! 

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Routes: End of Delta West Coast shuttles + Another carrier to Hawaii + Alaska, United, American

Flying the Delta California Shuttle from SFO to LAX on an Embraer jet (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route news, Delta puts an end to the Shuttle brand for key West Coast routes; Alaska adds a pair of new San Diego markets; United expands Hawaii service from its Denver hub; American is adding regional/seasonal service next summer from O’Hare, DFW and elsewhere; Sun Country comes to Hawaii; JetBlue adds a New England route – and a new fee; OneJet takes on an intrastate market in New York; and Spirit grows at Ft. Lauderdale.

Starting next week, Delta plans to phase out its specially-branded West Coast Shuttle service, which operates on the San Francisco-Seattle, SFO-Los Angeles and Seattle-Los Angeles routes. It’s not taking the flights away – although it might trim some frequencies – just folding them into its regular schedules, and and starting next summer, switching from its Delta Connection fleet of Embraer aircraft to Delta mainline jets. It will likely end some of the little perks that the Shuttle branding promised, like free drinks in the main cabin, gates close to the security checkpoint, special check-in counters, local craft beers and free Luvo snacks. Why is Delta making the change? A spokesperson said this was “based on several factors, including a review of the competitive landscape, customer survey data and ongoing facility improvements at LAX and Sea-Tac, these changes will allow Delta to offer a more consistent experience, which is highly valued by our customers.” The change will not affect Delta’s East Coast Shuttle operation out of New York LaGuardia to Boston, Washington D.C. and Chicago – although those flights recently moved from LGA’s Marine Air Terminal to Terminal C.

In the latest phase of its growth plan at San Diego, Alaska Airlines this month launched new daily flights from SAN to both Kansas City and St. Louis. In the past four months, the airline has boosted its San Diego presence with new daily flights to Omaha, Austin, Albuquerque, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. In mid-February, Alaska will add daily service from SAN to Dallas Love Field.

United is boosting Hawaii service from Denver International. (Image: Jim Glab)

United is boosting schedules to Hawaii from its Denver hub. It already offered daily flights from DEN to Honolulu, but in the New Year it will expand frequencies to other islands as well, offering daily non-stops year-round from DEN to Kahului, Maui; to Kona on the Big Island; and to Lihue, Kauai. Previously, United’s schedules offered daily or almost-daily service on those routes during some winter and summer months, but frequencies varied at other times of the year, ranging from six flights a week to one a week to none at all.

The latest schedule filings from American Airlines show new service coming on several domestic routes next summer, all using regional jets operated by partners Envoy Air, ExpressJet, Republic and PSA. The new service includes six daily roundtrips between Philadelphia and New York JFK starting April 3; seasonal daily service from Miami and Chicago O’Hare to Savannah, Ga., starting June 7; twice-daily O’Hare-Burlington, Vt. Service from June 7-Septeber 4; daily service from O’Hare to Charleston, S.C., starting May 4; daily O’Hare-Missoula, Mont. flights from June 7-September 4; twice-daily service from O’Hare to Portland, Me., from June 7-October 3; and a daily flight from O’Hare to Wilmington, N.C., from June 7-September 4. Also on the schedule is new daily service from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Missoula starting June 8.

A Sun Country Airlines 737. (Image: Sun Country)

Just after its acquisition this month by a New York-based investment group, Minnesota’s Sun Country Airlines announced plans to begin service to Honolulu, although on a limited basis. The carrier will offer service from its Minneapolis-St. Paul home base to Honolulu via a stop in Los Angeles, but only four days a week, and only from May 19 through August 19. Sun Country will also introduce new service from MSP to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, operating twice a week from April 6-June 4.

Although Worcester, Mass., isn’t all that far from Boston, it does have its own airport, which is served by only one carrier – JetBlue.  In addition to its existing flights from Worcester Regional Airport to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, JetBlue said it will add daily Embraer 190 flights between Worcester and New York JFK on May 3. In other news, JetBlue has added a new $75 fee for travelers who want to stand by for a seat on a flight earlier or later in the day than their schedule departure.

For the past seven years, it hasn’t been possible to fly non-stop across New York State from Buffalo to Albany. But that possibility will return on February 1 when public charter operator OneJet plans to begin twice-daily service on the route with ERJ-135 regional jets – larger aircraft than the seven- or eight-seat Hawker 400XP business jets that OneJet usually uses.

Spirit Airlines has announced plans for an expansion at Ft. Lauderdale, beginning new daily service to Columbus, Ohio, on February 15, followed by daily flights from FLL to Richmond, Va., starting March 15, and seasonal daily service from FLL to Seattle beginning April 12.

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5 Delta SkyMiles sweet spots

Here are a few  bright spots when it comes to redeeming your Delta SkyMiles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The Delta SkyMiles program is known for being stingy, tricky to maximize and hard to understand since the airline doesn’t publish award charts and uses variable, revenue-based pricing. Nevertheless, the it does offer some solid redemption options—especially in domestic markets where it competes with Alaska Airlines. It also offers some nice bargains on intra-Latin-America and intra-Asia flights.

Here are five Delta SkyMiles redemption sweet spots to consider:

  1. Continental US to Alaska

SkyMiles can be a great deal on flights to Alaska depending on where you’re flying from. Standard pricing on flights from anywhere in the Continental US to anywhere in Alaska starts at 25,000 miles round trip. If you’re flying from a city where Delta competes with Alaska Airlines, it might be even less – flights from California to Alaska start at just 19,000 miles. If you’re starting from the Pacific Northwest, flights could be as little as 15,000 miles round trip. For comparison, American Airlines charges 30,000 miles round trip and United charges 35,000 miles round trip, even though both have significantly less service than Delta. Delta is a clear winner here.

Delta Connection flights up and down the west coast go for as little as 10,000 SkyMiles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

  1. Short-haul Domestic Flights

Delta’s revenue-based award pricing algorithms offer some very compelling deals for economy flights within the US. There’s no transparency, but depending on the route, short-haul flights (for example, up and down the West Coast) can be available for as little as 10,000-15,000 miles round trip. Like flights to Alaska, you’re particularly likely to find great deals on routes where Delta competes with its rival Alaska Airlines.

  1. Intra-South America

Flights between countries in South America can be notoriously expensive, especially if you need a one way ticket – for example, Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a random weekday next August costs over $500 one way, and Santiago to Sao Paulo, Brazil costs over $700! Delta miles can offer a better solution than even booking a round trip ticket – their partners Aerolineas Argentinas and Gol Linhas Aereas tend to have excellent award availability, and a one-way flight is only 12,500 SkyMiles in economy (or 25,000 in business class) plus a nominal amount of taxes and fees (around $30 one-way for the cities mentioned).

Delta partner China Eastern offers some decent intra-Asia redemption options (Image: Airbus)

  1. Intra-Asia

Delta has a lot of partners in East Asia – China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines, and Xiamen Air – and even operates a handful of its own flights between Tokyo and other major cities. This means that SkyMiles give you a lot of flexibility for flights within Asia, and some of the options available can actually be pretty solid. A one-way flight from Tokyo to Seoul only costs 7,500 SkyMiles in economy or 15,000 in business class, plus $26 in fees; longer trips like Tokyo to Bali will run you 22,500 in economy or 40,000 in business. These flights can be a great deal – especially if you’re able to snag a seat in business class on Garuda Indonesia.

  1. US to Europe

Between Delta, Air France, Alitalia, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, SkyMiles give you a good number of options for getting across the pond. Delta flights start at 60,000 miles roundtrip in economy; Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic flights start at 75,000 miles roundtrip. Comfort Plus adds another 20,000 miles if you want slightly more legroom (yes, please!), and business class goes for 140,000. While these prices are slightly higher than most of the competition, availability tends to be pretty good and it still makes for a great use of SkyMiles. If you book a one way flight, try to book US>Europe because one-ways originating in Europe have extra fees.

No matter where you decide to go, the sweetest spot with SkyMiles is having a low balance – Delta has a long history of raising prices with zero notice, so holding onto SkyMiles for a long time is almost guaranteed to make them lose value.

Where will your SkyMiles take you in 2018? Or…what was the best SkyMiles redemption to took recently? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: Hong Kong Airlines to LAX + Delta, Cathay Pacific, United, LATAM & more

Business class on a Hong Kong Airlines A350-900. (Image: Hong Kong Airlines)

In international route developments, there’s a new entrant in the U.S.-Hong Kong market; Delta will put a new aircraft on a China route and will beef up transpaciifc code-sharing; Cathay Pacific will add another U.S. gateway next year; United is eliminating first class on many routes and cuts back China service; a Lufthansa affiliate is adding a new business class; LATAM is coming to Las Vegas; San Jose gets more service to Mexico; Copa begins Denver service; an Italian airline plans new U.S. routes; Alaska ends its relationship with two European partners; and Norwegian revamps its U.S. schedules next summer, adding frequencies from the West Coast.

Hong Kong Airlines, a Hong Kong-based sister company of China’s Hainan Airlines, this week started service to the U.S. for the first time. The carrier is using a new Airbus A350-900 on the Los Angeles-Hong Kong route, configured with 33 lie-flat business class seats, 109 premium economy seats with 34-inch pitch, and 193 regular economy seats with 31-32 inch pitch. The new LAX-Hong Kong flights operate four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday), with a 10:45 a.m. departure from LAX. Hong Kong Airlines plans to add San Francisco service in late March, and New York flights later next year.

So far, all of Delta’s Airbus A350-900s have been scheduled for routes out of Detroit or Atlanta, but now the airline is planning to operate one of the new planes out of Los Angeles. According to Routesonline.com, Delta plans to start flying the new plane from LAX to Shanghai Pudong on July 2, alternating days with a 777-200LR until July 18, when the A350 will go onto a daily schedule. Delta’s A350s – which feature the airline’s new Delta One suites and new international premium economy section – are already used on flights from Detroit to Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon, and are slated to start Detroit-Beijing service January 17; Detroit-Amsterdam and Atlanta-Seoul March 24; and Detroit-Shanghai April 19.

Meanwhile, Delta will expand code-sharing with its transpacific partner Korean Air on January 10, putting the DL code onto Korean’s flights to Seoul Incheon from Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Cathay Pacific will fly a new A350-1000 to Washington Dulles. (Image: Airbus)

In other transpacific news, Cathay Pacific has unveiled plans to add another East Coast gateway in mid-September 2018, when it will start flying from Hong Kong to Washington Dulles. The carrier already serves Boston, New York JFK and Newark. Cathay reportedly plans to fly the route – which will be the longest in its system – four days a week with a brand-new Airbus A350-1000.

A couple of months ago, we reported on United’s plans to reconfigure its international long-haul 777-200s, putting in new lie-flat Polaris business class seats, taking out first class, and going from nine-across to 10-across seating in economy. A recent entry in Routesonline.com about United’s 2018 schedules shows where the reconfigured 777s will be deployed, based on the elimination of first class from seating availability. It shows the elimination of 777 first class in late April from San Francisco to London, and from Washington Dulles to Brussels, Frankfurt and Tokyo Narita; and at the end of August from Chicago O’Hare to Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo Narita, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Frankfurt and Munich. Meanwhile, United’s seasonal summer route from San Francisco to Xi’An, China, which had previously been scheduled for three 787 flights a week from May 6 through September 4, has been eliminated for 2018.

Las Vegas is due to get its first non-stop service to South America next summer. LATAM Airlines Brasil has filed plans to operate a 767 three times a week between Las Vegas and Sao Paulo from June 21 through August 31.

We recently reported that Lufthansa’s lower-cost leisure affiliate Eurowings plans to launch new transatlantic routes in 2018, including JFK-Dusseldorf starting April 28, Dusseldorf-Miami as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers beginning May 3. Now it appears that the airline will try to entice business travelers onto those flights by adding a new business class cabin. According to reports from Europe, the new Eurowings cabin, simply called Bizclass, will feature seats that recline fully and will include upgraded meals and other special amenities. Details of Eurowings’ new Bizclass are expected to be introduced in March at the big ITB Travel Fair in Berlin.

Mexico’s Volaris added two new routes out of San Jose. (Image: Volaris)

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris, which already had service out of San Jose to Guadalajara, has now added two more routes. Volaris has started twice-weekly flights from SJC to Morelia on Fridays and Sundays, as well as twice-weekly service from SJC to Zacatecas on Mondays and Thursdays. Next summer, Aeromexico is due to begin SJC-Mexico City flights.

Panama’s Copa Airlines, a member of United’s Star Alliance family, has added Denver as its 13th U.S. gateway. The carrier has kicked off new non-stop service four days a week from Denver to Panama City, with Denver departures on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 10:16 p.m. Copa offers onward connections in Panama to 55 Latin American destinations.

Italian carrier Meridiana plans to add two U.S. routes next summer. On June 1, it will begin daily service from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK, followed up on June 8 by four flights a week from Malpensa to Miami.  The airline will use a 247-passenger, two-class Airbus A330 on both routes.

On April 30, 2018, Alaska Airlines will end its Mileage Plan partnership with Air France-KLM – not really a surprise considering that the European duo has a joint venture partnership with Alaska’s arch-rival Delta. Alaska and Delta ended their own mileage partnership last spring. The Alaskan carrier notes that it still has partnership agreements to Europe in place with British Airways, Finnair, Icelandair and Condor.

The latest schedule updates from Norwegian show the low-cost carrier plans to boost service on several U.S. routes in late March, increasing its weekly Barcelona frequencies from three to four out of Los Angeles, from three to five out of Oakland, and from four to six out of Newark. The carrier will also boost LAX-Copenhagen service from three flights a week to four. At Boston, Norwegian plans to increase London Gatwick service from four flights a week to seven starting June 12, but it will discontinue its seasonal Boston-Oslo and Boston-Copenhagen flights.

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Final Delta 747 flies into history

Iconic Delta 747 made its last commercial flights this week. (Image: Delta)

It was a day late due to an unforeseen cancellation, but Delta’s final commercial 747 flight from the U.S. took off on Monday, December 18 from Detroit to Seoul Incheon.

Delta said the Sunday departure had to be scrubbed “due to an inability to fully staff the flight with its required four pilots.” Unhappy passengers who had booked the Sunday flight were provided with meals and hotel rooms, and rebooked on the extra Monday departure if they still wanted to go.

“While there was disappointment in (Sunday’s) cancellation, dozens of Delta customers and employees stopped by a 747 historical display near the McNamara Terminal’s signature fountain to share stories and remembrances of the 747,” the airline said.

The Seoul flight took off from DTW on Monday and returned from Seoul to Detroit on Tuesday – and that was the final commercial 747 flight for any U.S. carrier.

Delta 747

All of Delta’s 747s first belonged to Northwest, which merged with Delta. These are vintage Northwest uniforms from 70s on display at the Delta Museum in Atlanta– the red one designed by Yves St Laurent (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Meanwhile, another Delta 747 was taking a domestic “farewell tour”, flying on Monday from Detroit to Boeing’s Paine Field in Everett, Washington – the home of the Boeing factory where it was manufactured. Passengers on that flight were mostly Delta employees and retired, along with some SkyMiles elites who had successfully bid to take part.

From Paine Field, the aircraft went on an eight-minute flight to Seattle-Tacoma International – “one of the shortest 747 flights ever,” according to passenger Enrique Perrella, publisher of Airways Magazine.

Perrella was one of several posters on Twitter who have been tracking the farewell tour, which was due to continue on from SEA this week to make stops in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Los Angeles for final viewings by employees. A Delta 747 is still due to fly a few NFL charters in December before its final retirement by the end of the month.

Don’t miss: An emotional journey onboard United’s final 747 flight

Delta 747

Delta has a 747 on exhibit at its museum near ATL. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

If you still want to see a Delta 747, you can always visit the Delta 747 Experience, a walk-through exhibit of a retired Delta aircraft. It’s located near Atlanta Hartfield Jackson Airport at the Delta Museum. Here’s Chris’s report from his trip to the Delta 747 Experience earlier this year.

What are your thoughts and feeling about the retirement of the 747? What do you think of it’s replacements, such as the A350, B787, B777 and A380? Favorite or least favorite? 

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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6 things frequent travelers must check by Dec 31

United B777 LAX

Here’s another list to tick so you don’t miss out on important benefits (Photo United B777 at LAX: Chris McGinnis)

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, here are some tips to help you feel like you’re going into the holiday season with your house in order.

1- Make sure you’ve used up all of your credit cards’ annual travel credits. Many premium travel cards, such as the Citi Prestige, American Express Platinum, and Chase Sapphire Reserve have annual travel credits that have to be used before the end of the year. Review your account history to make sure you’ve redeemed those credits – otherwise you’re leaving money on the table. Those travel credits help reduce the pain of those cards’ high annual fees. 

2 – Double check your elite status qualification for airline and hotel programs. Now’s a good time to review your elite qualifying trackers and make sure you’re where you expect to be – if you have a flight or hotel stay missing from your account history, file a missing credit request to make sure it gets resolved before the end of the year. And if you’re close to qualifying for the next tier with a program, it’s not too late to get in a quick mileage run or mattress run, or rack up some spend if you have a credit card that offers elite qualifying miles or dollars at certain spending thresholds.

Hotel Nikko San Francisco

Going home for the holidays? Get a room! You’ll earn points and your family will love you for it…even if they don’t say so (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

3 – Review credit card spend towards annual bonuses. Many credit cards offer special perks for large amounts of spend – for example, the American Airlines Aviator Red MasterCard from Barclaycard has a $100 voucher if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year. Also, the Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite card from Chase offers Marriott Platinum status if you spend $75,000 during your “account anniversary year” which means the year beginning with your account open date through the anniversary of your account open date, and each 12 months after that. If you had large purchases on one or more cards this year, it’s worth checking to see if you’re close to a spending threshold where it might make sense to spend a bit more on that card before the end of the year.


4- Check your (and your family member’s) passport and Global Entry/TSA PreCheck expiration dates, especially if you have international travel planned soon. Many countries require that your passport have at least six months of validity beyond the dates of your trip. If you find that you or someone in your family has an expiring or expired passport, reach out to your nearest passport agency to see about getting it renewed – depending on your travel dates, next-day or even same-day service may be available for a fee. 

For Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, you can start the renewal process up to a year before your card expires, so now may be a good time to get an appointment on the calendar if you need an interview – some enrollment centers get booked up weeks or months in advance!
 (But remember, if you’ve been conditionally approved, you can take care of your interview when re-entering the country after your next overseas trip (Details here). 

Turkey

Carving out some time for Thanksgiving travel this year in 2018? Make those reservations soon (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

5 – Start planning 2018 holiday travel. Most airlines allow award bookings around 330 days in advance, so you’ll soon be able to make reservations for Thanksgiving 2018 travel, and you can already book for other major holidays and travel periods earlier in the year. If you know when you and/or your family will be free next year, planning ahead and getting some reservations confirmed can save you some serious miles or cash.– plus it will get you better seating choice and the flight times that you really want. 

6 – Watch for end-of-year sales and promotions. Many websites will offer special deals in the next few weeks, like 12 days of discounted gift cards with the Swych app, TopCashBack’s Xmas Treats giveaway, and the Starbucks for Life contest. Taking advantage of these promotions can be an easy way to rack up some extra miles or savings.

And remember this, too: Relax, be kind to people, and enjoy the company of family and friends. Whether you’re spending the holidays at home or on the other side of the world, take some time to enjoy the company of whomever you’re with and extend some grace and kindness to those around you. The holidays can be a stressful time of year for retail workers, airline and hotel employees, TSA screeners, infrequent travelers, and everyone else, so a smile and a bit of patience can go a long way.

Is there anything else you’re going to make sure to do before December 31 rolls around? Let us know in the comments.

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Even Singapore Airlines joins unbundled fare bandwagon

Singapore Airlines A350

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 at SFO (Image: Singapore Air)

Singapore Airlines is the latest carrier to overhaul its fare structure, offering new pricing tied to the level of service and amenities included.

The Asian carrier’s announcement comes after Delta, American and a couple of other carriers decided to roll out basic economy-type pricing for international travel on some transatlantic and Latin American routes. Airlines are adding these new fares to beat back competition from the new generation of ultra-low-cost international carriers such as Wow and Norwegian in Europe, and Air Asia, Tiger and Peach in Asia.

Effective January 20, Singapore and its SilkAir affiliate will introduce the new pricing on all tickets sold worldwide. The biggest changes are for those flying economy class. 

The change will bring a selection of three fare types for economy class travelers, called Lite, Standard and Flex. Those buying the cheapest fares – Lite – will incur a US $5 charge for advance seat selection  (i.e., more than 48 hours before departure) — except for families traveling with children. Standard and Flexi fare buyers won’t see a seat selection fee, but Standard purchasers will face an unspecified new fee if they select “forward zone” seats “which are in higher demand,” the airline said.

Singapore Airlines A350 economy class

Economy class on Singapore Air’s new A350. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Buyers of Flexi fares in economy class will get an increased checked bag allowance of 35 kg. (77 lbs.); it will remain at 30 kg. (66 lbs.) for the other two fare types (except on U.S. routes, where the piece concept is unchanged). Reservations booked with Lite fares can’t be canceled, and changes will incur a fee. Cancellation and change fees will apply for Standard fares; Flexi fare buyers will get free changes but will be charged for cancellations. The level of the fees may vary and is subject to change, the airline said.

For members of the airline’s KrisFlyer loyalty program, only Flexi fare purchasers in economy class will get 100 percent credit for mileage flown. It will be 75 percent for standard fares and 50 percent for Lite fares.

The three tiers of Singapore Air’s economy class tickets (Image: SIA)

Premium economy seating will have two fare classes – Standard and Flexi. The only difference is in the level of miles earned – 125 percent for Flexi fares and 100 percent for Standard.

Business class will also have Lite, Standard and Flexi fares, with KrisFlyer mileage accrual set at 125 percent for Lite and Flexi, and 150 percent for Flexi. Advance seat selection remains free and baggage allowance (40 kg./88 lbs.) is unchanged.

The airline didn’t indicate what the pricing differential would be between the new fare types. You can see Singapore’s announcement here, with details and FAQs on its website.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Popular: United to South Seas + Delta cancels final 747 + New Australia nonstop + Merge PreCheck, Global Entry?

SFO Christmas lights

San Francisco International all lit up for the holidays! Pretty! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta airport shut down until at least 7 pm Sunday Dec 17 due to power outage. Follow news here.

 

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 United adds new nonstops to Tahiti

2 Will TSA PreCheck and Global Entry be merged? 

3 Airport news: SFO car share, LGA terminal shuffle + Oakland, O’Hare, Toronto

4 So long, Bob Hope. Hello Hollywood Burbank!

5 Hotel rewards: Not all chains are created equal

Last week Chris flew Turkish Air through Istanbul and snagged this gorgeous photo of the Bosporous on the way in… but he also got trapped in the airport. Stay tuned for an interesting Trip Report!

6 New twists coming for credit card transactions

7 Delta’s next narrowbody

8 Which airline has the best inflight wi-fi?

9 Qantas to fly San Francisco-Melbourne nonstop

10 Routes: United high-density 777s, Delta, Qantas, Air China, Air Canada, Aeromexico

Breaking: As we press the publish button, it appears that Delta has cancelled its “final” Boeing 747 flight between Detroit and Seoul. That’s kinda awkward for all the aviation and 747 geeks who bought tickets for the final flight. Hmmm. Appears flight is rescheduled for Monday. We’ll monitor, but here’s the Flight Aware status report. Reporter Zach Honig is in Detroit hoping to board the flight and its tweeting about the mishap. 

I did it. For years I’ve reported on the boom on Europe’s river boat cruising biz….last week I finally took one! I’ll tell you all about it in an upcoming Trip Report! Have you been on one? Check out my Instagram to see more photos from the trip, but here’s the Viking Gullveig.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Inside the airport lounge business

Delta’s last 747 being “pressed into service” for two more days Delta shifts final 747 flight

Singapore will start charging economy flyers for advance seat reservations

Popularity of Uber and Lyft is costing airports money

Thirty airports worldwide are now included in Apple Maps

Silvercar plans to double all-Audi rental locations in 2018

More Silvercars coming for you (Silvercar/Facebook)

Hotels test use of Amazon Echo as in-room virtual concierge

Lufthansa Group carriers switch to spending-based rewards

New York investment group buys Minnesota’s Sun Country Airlines

Check out the world’s most-Instagrammed hotels

Two Parker Meridien hotels leaving Starwood

DOT drops rule requiring airline transparency on bag fees

American is installing larger overhead bins on Airbus A321

Business travel is bad for your health

Chilling Soviet-era maps of US cities 

Delta passenger mistaken for human trafficking victim speaks out

Marriott’s weird innovation: Writing your ideas down on the shower door

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Is Norwegian Air growing too fast?

Norwegian Air will use 787-9s on four new U.S. routes next year. (Image: Norwegian)

Fast-growing, low-cost European carrier Norwegian just announced four more new U.S. routes coming in 2018, leading some to wonder if the ambitious airline is growing too fast for its own good.

The company’s latest plans include new service from Los Angeles to Milan Malpensa starting June 16; and from LAX to Madrid beginning July 15. It will operate four flights a week on both routes. From New York JFK, Norwegian will operate new service to Amsterdam starting May 7, with four weekly flights; and to Madrid July 18, with three flights a week. All the new routes will be served with 787-9s.

No-frills fare, high fee fares from LAX will start at $229 one-way, while New York fares will begin at $199 to Amsterdam and $229 to Madrid. Premium cabin fares start at $729 and $739 from LAX to Madrid and Milan respectively, and at $619/$649 to Amsterdam and Madrid from JFK.

These four routes are just a part of new Norwegian service already announced for 2018. Other new routes and starting dates include Oakland to Rome (February 6); Newark to Paris (February 28); Chicago to London (March 25); Austin to London (March 27); Denver to Paris (April 9); Oakland to Paris (April 10), and Boston to Paris (May 2);

Norwegian’s current and upcoming U.S. routes. (Image: Norwegian)

All that is on top of 25 U.S. routes that the carrier inaugurated in 2017. And look for more new service in the months ahead: Norwegian said it has just acquired another 28 weekly takeoff and landing slots at London Gatwick, available starting next summer. “Planning work is now underway to allocate the newly acquired slots, and will be announced at a later stage,” the company said.

This explosive growth is leading some investors in the company to worry that the airline might be overextending itself, considering its financial performance. A recent analysis in the Financial Times noted that Norwegian’s fleet is adding 32 aircraft in 2017, for a total of 145; and will keep growing to 193 planes by the end of 2019. The report said Norwegian had a second-quarter operating loss of $104 million, while its unit costs rose by 6 percent in the third quarter. The company’s share price has plunged 40 percent this year, the report said, while its European competitors’ stock has been rising sharply.

One analyst quoted in the article said Norwegian has new aircraft coming online so fast that it can’t absorb them all, so it has started leasing some to other companies and selling older ones. It also quoted a senior banker in Norway as saying that Norwegian is “in trouble. They are over-extended and it’s clear that they have to do something.”

Have you flown Norwegian…or benefitted from its impact on transatlantic fares this year? Please discuss. 

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Qantas to fly San Francisco-Melbourne nonstop

The Qantas kangaroo gets a modernized redesign on the tail of its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas this week introduces a brand-new 787-9 Dreamliner on its Los Angeles-Melbourne route, and now the Australian airline says it will bring the Dreamliner to San Francisco as well.

The airline doesn’t have a firm start-up date yet, but said it expects to begin new San Francisco-Melbourne flights with the 787-9 Dreamliner in “late 2018.” Seats should go on sale early in the New Year. There is currently no non-stop service in the SFO-MEL market.

Initially operating six days a week on the LAX-Melbourne route, the 14-hour 787-9 flights will complement Qantas’ existing daily A380 service, a spokesperson said– which means it will fly SFO Melbourne a few days a week, and LAX-Melbourne a few days a week.

Why split the route up like that? My best guess is that the LAX-Melbourne flights have not been selling as well as hoped, so Qantas will try and beef up revenues by adding SFO legs.

New 787-9 business suites are an update of the business cabins on Qantas’ A330s. (Image: Qantas)

Here’s our preview of the new Qantas aircraft, which will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

The San Francisco schedule is still undetermined. “Capacity between the U.S. and Melbourne will be rebalanced to match demand from the two California cities, meaning that the Dreamliner will fly from Los Angeles some days of the week and San Francisco other days,” the spokesperson said.

Qantas CEO Alison Webster said in Melbourne this week that the company is seeing “strong demand” for San Francisco-Melbourne service, “both from a tourism perspective and because of the business links between Silicon Valley and Melbourne. As well, a significant number of our Melbourne passengers flying to Los Angeles already connect on to San Francisco.”

Qantas unveiled its new Premium Economy seats, which will go on its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas’ only current San Francisco service is a 747-400 non-stop to Sydney, a route also flown by United.

The LAX-Melbourne route is being operated with the airline’s first newly delivered 787-9. The second will go into service in March, providing the first non-stop flights between Australia and Europe on a Melbourne-Perth-London routing. The airline expects to take delivery of eight 787-9s by the end of 2018, with four based in Melbourne and four in Brisbane.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Delta’s next narrowbody

An A321neo in Delta livery. (Image: Delta)

Delta started taking delivery of single-aisle Airbus A321s early last year, and it must like them, because it just placed a big order for a bunch of the newest version of that plane.

The company said it has come to terms with Airbus to place firm orders for 100 A321neos, with options for another 100 beyond that. Deliveries are due to start in 2020.

According to Delta’s website, it now has 26 A321-200s in its fleet. Those planes carry 192 passengers – 20 in first class, 29 in Comfort+ and 143 in economy, or about the same number as the 757s they are replacing.

The A321neos will have 197 seats, Delta said, including 20 in first, 30 in Comfort+ and 147 in economy. The A321s will replace “smaller, less technically advanced aircraft,” Delta noted.  According to FlightGlobal.com, the new jets will replace Delta’s aging A320s, B757s and MD80s. 

The higher-tech A321neos will feature high-speed, satellite-based Wi-Fi and on-demand entertainment, with power ports and streaming video content available at each seat through Delta Studio, the airline said. Cabins’ overhead bins will be 25 percent larger, and cabin lighting will be full-spectrum LED.

Delta reportedly chose the Airbus narrow-bodies over Boeing’s 737MAX-10s. Currently, Delta’s single-aisle fleet includes 148 aircraft from Airbus (A319s, 320s and 321s) and 171 from Boeing’s 737 group (-700s, -800s and -900ERs).

Take a deep dive into a new Delta A321 here.

The interior of Delta’s current Airbus A321. (Image; Delta)

The A321neo (the “neo” stands for “new engine option”) is also popular at other U.S. airlines. For instance, Alaska’s Virgin America unit is currently deploying them on several Hawaii and mainland routes; Hawaiian Airlines is about to start flying them from mainland cities to the islands; and Frontier Airlines recently placed an order for 134 A320neos and A321neos.

According to Airbus, the single-aisle planes in its “neo” group are about 20 percent more fuel-efficient than regular A319/20/21s. Airbus said “typical” seating for an A321neo would be 206 in a two-class layout – although the aircraft could have as many as 240 seats. The A321neo has a range of 7,400 km. (about 4,600 miles or 4,000 nautical miles) vs. 5,900 km. for a regular A321 – or about 25 percent more.

Have you flown on an A321 yet? How’d you like it? How does it compare to your favorite Boeing plane? 

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Deadline looms for Virgin America flyers

Alaska Airlines is bringing an end to Virgin America’s Elevate loyalty program. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

A reminder for members of Virgin America’s Elevate loyalty program: You only have a limited time left to transfer your points.

Alaska Airlines is telling Elevate participants to transfer any remaining points they have in the program over to Alaska’s Mileage Plan by January 31, “or we’ll convert them for you by February 8.” Either way, the airline added, you’ll get 30 percent bonus miles.

The airline noted that if it converts your Elevate points for you, they will be unavailable from February 1-7 as it consolidates member accounts.

In the past we’ve recommended that Elevate members hold on to their Virgin points. Here’s what we said earlier this year:

As long as Virgin America and Alaska Airlines operate separate airlines, and separate loyalty programs, smart flyers should hold on to BOTH currencies.

Why? Because in some cases you’ll get better value redeeming your Virgin America points, and in other cases, it makes more sense to convert and redeem Mileage Plan miles. In other words, it depends…

My suggestion for Virgin America Elevate members: Go ahead and link your accounts, but hold on to your points until you have a specific flight to redeem them on. At that point, you can determine if you get better value by redeeming your points, or by converting them to miles.

So if you are sitting on a big stash of Elevate points and it makes more sense to redeem them now for trips next year, go ahead and make those redemptions.

If not, then go ahead and move those points to Alaska and enjoy the 30 percent bonus. If you don’t, the only real downside is that you won’t have access to them for a week in February. (You get the 30 percent bonus either way.)

The last vestiges of Richard’s Branson’s Virgin America are fading fast (Image: Virgin America)

January 1 is the effective date when the two loyalty plans will be combined, so December 31 marks the official end of the Elevate, and is the final date when Elevate members can earn points in that program.

If you still have Elevate points to convert, you can do it here.

Last month, American Express Rewards terminated the ability of participants to transfer points to Elevate. And effective April 25, all flights operated by Virgin America’s aircraft will be listed as Alaska Airlines flights. In mid-January, Alaska and Virgin are expected to come together under a single operating certificate.

Have you moved your Virgin points over to Alaska yet? Why or why not? Thoughts or feelings as we watch Virgin slowly disappear? 

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Which airline has the best inflight wi-fi?

A new study ranks JetBlue’s inflight wi-fi as the best in the industry. (Image: JetBlue)

How do the major U.S. airlines compare in their in-flight Internet service? That’s what the folks at HighSpeedInternet.com were wondering, so they studied Wi-Fi availability, speed and cost for the seven largest carriers to find out.

Capturing first place in their overall rankings was JetBlue, partly for its speed, but mainly for its cost: There is none.

“JetBlue is the only airline in America that offers free in-flight Wi-Fi,” HighSpeedInternet.com said. “Along with being the most affordable, JetBlue’s in-flight Wi-Fi is also among the fastest; it’s tied with Delta and Virgin America at 15 Mbps.”

Ranking second overall was Southwest, with a cost of just $8 a day for in-flight Internet and a speed of 10 Mbps. (Cheap, yes, but I hear that you get what you pay for with Southwest inflight wi-fi. I don’t fly SWA enough to know…do you? Comment below, please.)

Source: HighSpeedInternet.com

As for availability, Virgin America was tops, with Wi-Fi offered on 100 percent of its available seat-miles. Delta was second at 98 percent availability, followed by Southwest at 90 percent. Virgin America also had a speed of 15 Mbps, but its superior Wi-Fi comes at a high price — $25 a day, the most expensive in the industry, the study noted.

Keep in mind that the cheapest way to buy Gogo is to purchase hourly ($7) or day ($19) passes ahead of time. When you purchase on the plane, the cost can soar to as high as $50.

Virgin’s owner, Alaska Airlines, didn’t fare as well, with Wi-Fi available on just 75 percent of its capacity – the lowest of the seven airlines – and speed well behind Virgin America at 9.8 Mbps.

(We should note that as Alaska continues to integrate its operations with Virgin’s, it recently decided to overhaul their Wi-Fi products. Alaska said a few months ago that it plans to install Gogo’s 2Ku satellite-based broadband Wi-Fi in both its Boeing aircraft and its Airbus fleet — i.e., Virgin’s planes. Installations will start next year on Alaska 737s, and the whole job should be finished by 2020. Alaska also recently extended its free in-flight texting to Virgin’s aircraft as well.)

At the bottom of the company’s overall rankings was United, with availability of 85 percent, speed of 9.8 Mbps, and a cost of $20. United was just below American, which had similar numbers. HighSpeedInternet.com noted that Hawaiian, Spirit and Frontier Airlines don’t have in-flight Wi-Fi. As a frequent United flier, this finding surprised me— When the system is actually working, United’s inflight wi-fi is relatively fast and stable. But the problem is reliability– over the last year, I would estimate that United’s inflight wi-fi system was down on about 40% of my flights.

Also, with Gogo-equipped planes, speed varies based on the type of system installed on the plane. For example, 3,000 planes now have Gogo wi-fi, but only 500 of them have the speediest satellite-based product. (More on that here.)

Source: HighSpeedInternet.com

The rankings changed significantly in looking at the best Wi-Fi service for business travelers, with the assumption that the cost is irrelevant because the traveler’s employer will cover it. If that’s the case, HighSpeedInternet.com gives top honors to Virgin America for its top speed and 100 percent availability, followed by Delta and JetBlue.

In conducting their research, HighSpeedInternet.com staffers discovered that some of this information wasn’t as easy to find as they had thought.

“Some airlines don’t publish their in-flight Wi-Fi information. So, to get it, our team spent days contacting various departments at some of these airlines—hounding them via email, phone, and social media,” the company said. “We think airlines could go a long way to reduce consumer frustration by making this information more readily available.”

Any report on airline Wi-Fi quality and cost should also note that this is all subject to change in the months and years ahead as carriers continue to upgrade their products due to consumer demand. For instance, we just reported on how Gogo is shifting much of its in-flight Wi-Fi service from ground-based to satellite-based links, which will greatly increase speed and data capacity. And we also reported that Air Canada will soon make inflight wi-fi free for its elite level members.

Do you use inflight wi-fi much? How is the service on the airline you fly most? Does it align with these findings? 

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United adds new nonstops to Tahiti

Tahiti bungalows

Tahiti’s overwater bungalows will soon be accessible via nonstops from SFO (Image: Pixabay)

Today United announced that it will fly between San Francisco International Airport and Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, in 2018. 

United will operate nonstop service, three times weekly with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft between SFO and Fa’a’ā International Airport (PPT), beginning Oct. 30, 2018, through March 28, 2019, subject to government approval.

United’s announcement comes on the heels of French Blue, a new Paris based airline, announcing its intentions to fly between San Francisco and Tahiti starting in May 2018. (However, our contacts at SFO say that they have not heard officially from the airline yet.)

Currently, the only non-stop service to Tahiti from the U.S. mainland is out of Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui and Air France with economy fares in the $1,300 roundtrip range.  Hawaiian Airlines also flies once a week between Honolulu and Papeete.

Paris-based low-cost carrier French Blue says it will begin San Francisco-Papeete flights in 2018 using a new Airbus A350. (Image: French Blue)

Until now, one stop fares from SFO via LAX have been in the $1,500. A quick search on United’s site today showed SFO-PPT fares of $1,467 roundtrip in the first week of Oct 2018. Searching for mileage redemptions, the cheapest we could find for October flights was 160,000 round trip.

Before this announcement, United Mileage Plus members did not have an easy way to fly to Tahiti using their miles.

Here’s the San Francisco – Papeete schedule,  which still requires government approval.

FlightCityFrequencyDepart*Arrive*
UA 115SFO – PPTTues/Thurs/Sun2:45 p.m.9:25 p.m.
UA 114PPT – SFOTues/Thurs/Sun11:45 p.m.9:50 a.m. next day

Flight time between SFO and PPT is about nine hours. It is about 4,200 miles from SFO to PPT each way.

Tahiti is part of French Polynesia (see map), which is located on the eastern side of the International Date Line, so flights arrive on the same day they depart, not two days later as they do when flying to Asia.

“This route has been on a white board in my office for at least the last seven months,” United’s Patrick Quayle, VP International Network, told TravelSkills. “It’s a honeymoon, bucket list type destination…a unique life experience that we can offer to our customers.”

SFO Papeete

Tahiti lies just east of the international date line in the middle of the Pacific Ocean about 9 hours from SFO (Image: Google)

United says Tahiti is the “South Pacific’s gateway to more than 118 islands in French Polynesia including Bora Bora, Moorea, the Marquesas and Raiatea.”

Have you been to Tahiti or French Polynesia before? Do you dream of going there? Is there room for TWO airlines to fly nonstop from SFO to PPT? Please leave your comments below. 


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San Jose gets another NYC non-stop

Headed to NYC? San Jose flyers will get new JFK non-stops from Delta. (Image: Jim Glab)

A year and a half ago, only one airline offered Silicon Valley travelers daily non-stop service from Mineta San Jose International to New York City. By next summer, there will be four.

Delta just announced it will begin daily service from SJC to its New York JFK hub on June 8, operating one daily roundtrip with a 737-800.

That means San Jose travelers will be able to fly non-stop to Newark on United or Alaska Airlines, and soon on either JetBlue or Delta to JFK. JetBlue started its SJC-JFK service in 2004, while Alaska and United both launched SJC-Newark flights last March.

Delta 737

Delta will use a 737-800 on its new SJC-JFK non-stop. (Chris McGinnis)

The new Delta flight will operate as a red-eye from San Jose, with a 10:35 p.m. departure time and a 7:15 a.m. JFK arrival. The return flight leaves JFK at 8:15 a.m. and gets to SJC at 11:45 a.m. JetBlue’s service is also an eastbound red-eye, while the eastbound United and Alaska flights depart SJC at 6:20 a.m. and 9:14 a.m. respectively.

“We’re hopeful that as they (i.e. Delta) experience success with the red-eye, they will then ultimately feel confident about the revenue potential of adding more daytime service,” an SJC spokesman told Travelskills. “That’s exactly what Delta did in the case of Atlanta service, where 18 months ago we had only a red-eye non-stop to Atlanta, but that was so successful that they now have added two additional daytime non-stops to ATL.”

Still, he added, “In Delta’s case, we’re very pleased that the westbound JFK flight operates in the morning, allowing business travelers to arrive in time for lunch in Silicon Valley. JetBlue’s westbound flight is in the evening, so Delta’s new flight does increase the menu of options available through the day.”

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Gogo accelerates shift to higher-speed Wi-Fi

The external antennas for Gogo’s 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi should reduce drag on the aircraft. (Image: Gogo)

As passengers demand more broadband capacity and faster in-fight Internet service, Gogo is moving as fast as it can to change its airline Wi-Fi service from ground-based to satellite-based links.

The company said this week that the number of commercial aircraft equipped with its 2Ku broadband satellite technology has just passed the 500 mark, up from 100 at the beginning of this year. That’s out of a total of 3,000 Gogo-equipped planes. Orders for 2Ku installations now exceed 2,000 aircraft, the company said.

Where is 2Ku being installed, and how do you know if your aircraft has it?

“In the US, most of these are with Delta, and they inform passengers before boarding through their app and email notifications,” a spokesman tells Travelskills. “They also have ‘high speed Internet’ signs at the boarding door, as well as branding on their portal. With other airline partners like GOL, 2Ku is the only technology offered.”

Gogo

On Delta jets, you’ll know you have a satellite based connection when you see this sign by the boarding door (Photo: Gogo)

Gogo said it takes about 30 hours to install the satellite-based technology on an aircraft – less than half the time it normally takes to install a broadband link.

In recent months, the company installed 2Ku on Delta’s first new Airbus A350; won regulatory approval to install 2Ku technology on Boeing 777s; signed a deal with Alaska Airlines to put 2Ku on all of the airline’s Airbus and Boeing aircraft; won a contract from LATAM Airlines Brazil to put satellite connections on 100 of its A320s; finished installing satellite Wi-Fi links on all of Virgin Atlantic’s A330s, A340s and 747s; and finalized an agreement with Cathay Pacific Group to put the technology on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon wide-bodies, including A330s and 777s.

 

The dome atop this Delta A350 means it has 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi. (Image: Jujug Spotting/Gogo)

By the way, there’s one other way to tell if your aircraft has Gogo 2Ku Wi-Fi: There’s a distinctive little dome on top of the plane.

“2Ku is the best performing connectivity solution in the market and that performance has resulted in the technology becoming the most rapidly adopted broadband satellite connectivity solution in the history of commercial aviation,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “While we continue to grow our backlog of 2Ku aircraft, we are also focused operationally on making sure 2Ku also becomes the most rapidly deployed technology in commercial aviation history.”

Has your inflight wi-fi experience improved in recent months? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: United high-density 777s, Delta, Qantas, Air China, Air Canada, Aeromexico

A United 777-200. (Image: Aero Icarus/Wikimedia Commons)

In international route developments, United will start using high-density 777s on some Europe routes; Delta aims to make things smoother for transborder flyers with a new partnership; Qantas kicks off its 787-9 service to LAX next week; Air China begins a new LAX route; Air Canada adds another Australian destination; and Aeromexico tacks on an Atlanta route.

Travel to Europe for some United Airlines passengers is going to get more crowded next year as the airline starts to deploy high-density 777-200s on a few routes out of its Newark hub. The aircraft in question are normally used on domestic routes. According to Airlineroutes.com, United will put the 777s into service between Newark and Barcelona April 23, Newark-Dublin March 10 and Newark-Madrid May 23. (Low-fare Norwegian started EWR-Barcelona flights last summer, and British Airways/Iberia sister company Level plans to begin cheap flights from Boston to Barcelona next spring.)

United has four configurations for its 777-200s, according to Seatguru.com. The three versions previously designated for international routes have 266 to 269 total seats, while the high-density aircraft have 364 (234 economy, 102 Economy Plus and 50 Polaris business class). They manage this difference thanks in part to 10-across seating in economy and Economy Plus instead of the nine-across in the other versions.

A WestJet 737 in special Walt Disney World livery. (Image: WestJet)

As if Delta didn’t have enough joint venture partnerships already (Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, Aeromexico, and a new one recently approved with Korean Air), it’s now planning yet another. The carrier said it has entered into a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Canada’s WestJet to form a new joint venture for transborder service. Joint ventures also imply antitrust immunity, meaning the two carriers would be able to cooperate on pricing and scheduling.

Delta says the JV with WestJet will mean “coordinated flight schedules for new nonstop flights to new destinations, expanded codesharing, and seamless and convenient connections on the airlines’ extensive networks in the U.S. and Canada,” along with “enhanced frequent flyer benefits including reciprocal benefits for top-tier members of both airlines.”

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next week. (Image: Qantas)

December 15 is the scheduled starting date for Qantas to put a brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner into service on its Melbourne-Los Angeles route. It’s the first route for the new Qantas aircraft, and it will replace an Airbus A380. Next March, Qantas will use a new 787-9 to begin the first non-stops between Australia and Europe, on a London-Perth routing. The Qantas 787-9s will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

Speaking of Australia, Air Canada just added its third route to that country, beginning service this week between Vancouver and Melbourne. The carrier uses a 787-9 for the 16-hour flight. Air Canada already flies from Vancouver to Sydney with a 777-200LR, and last summer it began Vancouver-Brisbane service with a 787.

Another new transpacific route that just started this week is Air China’s service between Los Angeles and Shenzhen, a tech-heavy city in China’s Guangdong Province. Air China will use a three-class 787-9 to fly the route three times a week (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), with a 10:50 p.m. departure from LAX. Air China also has three daily flights from LAX to Beijing.

Delta’s joint venture partner Aeromexico has started flying a new route from Delta’s Atlanta hub. The carrier kicked off daily service between ATL and Merida, using a 99-passenger Embraer 190 with business class and regular economy seating.

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Basic Economy fares go global

Delta

Delta is introducing Basic Economy pricing on transatlantic routes. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Now that the Big Three U.S. airlines have rolled out bare-bones Basic Economy fares in their domestic networks, they’re starting to take aim at international markets.

Both Delta and American are bringing the controversial lowball pricing option to some international flights, and some foreign carriers – specifically, Aer Lingus and Scandinavian Airlines – are doing the same as the transatlantic competition from carriers like Norwegian starts to bite.

Six weeks ago, Delta broadened its transatlantic fare lineup when it started selling Comfort+ seating on transatlantic flights for travel starting January 22. And this week Delta announced that Basic Economy fares are now available on more than half of its flights to Europe for travel starting April 10.

And it’s not just Delta. The airline said that on the same date, its partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia will each introduce “a similar basic fare product across the Atlantic.”

“As part of its Basic Economy expansion, Delta is introducing a Basic Economy first checked bag fee for trans-Atlantic routes only,” the company said. “The fee will be standard for Air France-KLM and Alitalia, along with no seat assignments and tickets not being changeable.”

Forbes is reporting that Delta’s new fee on a first checked bag for international Basic Economy travelers will be a stiff $60, and a second checked bag will cost $100.

Basic economy purchasers won’t get a seat assignment until they check in, and they will board last, Delta said. Tickets can’t be changed or refunded, and purchasers can’t get paid or complimentary upgrades, even with Medallion status (although they will still earn Medallion-qualifying miles and dollars).

Delta said it would closely align its international Basic Economy fare restrictions with its domestic rules, which allow purchasers to carry on a bag that can be stowed in the overhead bin. American’s and United’s domestic Basic Economy prices only allow buyers to carry on an item that fits under the seat.

United’s website warns customers about the shortcomings of Basic Economy. (Image: UNited)

Reports out of Dallas this week said that American Airlines is now offering its own similar no-frills Basic Economy pricing on select international routes – specifically, to most of its destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. There are a few exceptions, including service to Cuba, to San Juan, and to a couple of Mexican destinations. American apparently hasn’t yet put the Basic Economy option on transatlantic flights.

While the big U.S. airlines introduced Basic Economy fares in domestic markets ostensibly to offer pricing levels competitive with fast-growing ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier, critics allege that the airlines’ real intention is to lure customers in with a low fare but then up-sell them to a regular economy seat with a few more frills. In fact, some allege that airlines have simply re-labeled their previous lowest economy fares as Basic Economy.

SAS is adding new ‘Go Light’ low-frills fares in U.S. markets this month. (Image: SAS)

Delta isn’t the first to bring new low- or no-frills fares to the transatlantic market. A few months ago, Aer Lingus rolled out a new pricing category called Saver fares on flights between Dublin and the U.S.  The only things included in that fare are a seat, an in-flight meal and a 10 kg. (22 lbs.) hand luggage allowance.

And effective December 14, SAS will start offering discounted “Go Light” fares on its routes between Scandinavia and the U.S., designed for customers who only have carry-on bags. The new category was introduced on the airline’s intra-European routes in 2015. Except for a checked bag, Go Light fare buyers get the same treatment and service as purchasers of the airline’s regular economy pricing, called Go fares.

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Here comes the travel crunch for the holidays – and beyond

Ah, the holidays –long lines and overcrowded airports. (Image: Jim Glab)

Are you flying somewhere over the holidays? You’ll have plenty of company: The U.S. airline industry is predicting a substantial increase in passenger traffic for the year-end holiday period. And the airlines’ global trade organization sees continuing growth and prosperity into the New Year for its members – while passengers can look forward to more crowded planes and higher fares.

Airlines for America (A4A), the trade group for U.S, carriers, says it expects the number of passengers over the year-end holiday period to increase by 1.7 million over the same period a year ago, or 3.5 percent. That means a total of 51 million air travelers during the holidays, which A4A defines as the 21 days from December 15 to January 4.

The biggest airport crowds will be seen on the Thursday and Friday before Christmas (December 21 and 22), A4A said, with a passenger volume of 2.7 million each day. That compares with a typical daily passenger count of 2.25 million in 2016. The organization noted that U.S. airlines are scheduling thousands of extra seats over the holiday period by adding more departures and using larger aircraft on their busiest routes.

The least busy travel days will be December 16, December 24, December 25, and January 31, A4A said. The organization noted that more people are traveling this season than last year due to “an improving economy and sub-inflation air fares.”

All this adds up to increased prosperity for the airlines, a trend that will accelerate in 2018, according to the International Air Transport Association, the airlines’ global trade group.

Don’t miss: How to be a Holiday Travel Pro!

Allow plenty of time for TSA screening. (Image: Jim Glab)

In a new report, IATA said North American airlines are expected to see net profits of $16.4 billion in 2018, up from $15.6 billion this year. North American carriers are expected to increase capacity by 3.4 percent next year, IATA said, while traffic is expected to grow by 3.5 percent.

And what happens when passenger demand increases faster than passenger capacity? Fares go up. IATA said that North American airlines lead the world in financial performance, accounting for almost half the total profits of the global airline industry.

The same trend will be seen globally, IATA said, with 2018 passenger numbers expected to grow 6 percent to 4.3 billion. That’s on top of a 7.5 percent increase this year. But worldwide airline capacity is expected to increase only 5.7 percent next year. “This will push up the average load factor to a record 81.4 percent, helping to drive a 3 percent improvement in yields,” IATA said. Worldwide, the group expects airlines’ average net profit per passenger to increase from $8.45 this year to $8.90 in 2018. Translation: Fewer empty seats and higher fares in the New Year.

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Routes: Hawaiian, Alaska to Hawaii + American, JetBlue, Spirit

First class cabin on Hawaiian’s A321neo, coming to a new San Diego-Maui route in 2018. (Image: Hawaiian)

In domestic route news, Hawaiian Airlines will increase service to the islands from the West Coast next year; Alaska Airlines is about to begin a new Hawaii route from San Francisco; American adds Oakland as a spoke from a major hub, and plans several other new routes; JetBlue adds more transcontinental Mint service this month; and Spirit unveils 10 new domestic route starting next spring.

Hawaiian Airlines, which is on the verge of beginning commercial service with its new Airbus A321neos, said it will use the planes to expand service from the West Coast next year. The airline will add a new route on May 1 between San Diego and Kahului Airport on Maui using an A321neo, and will begin extra seasonal summer flights with the aircraft (in addition to its regular schedule) between San Francisco and Honolulu from May 26 through July 31, and between Oakland and Kona from May 26 through September 2. The carrier has also scheduled an extra seasonal flight between Los Angeles and Kahului, Maui from June 1-August 31, using an A330.

According to FlightGlobal.com, Hawaiian will actually start flying the new A221neos on December 19, deploying them on inter-island routes to familiarize its flight crews with the aircraft. The carrier is due to put the planes into mainland service starting January 8 from Oakland to Maui, and on January 18 from Portland to Maui.

Speaking of Hawaii, Alaska Airlines next week will start flying the last of several new Bay Area routes that it announced earlier this year. On December 14, the carrier will inaugurate daily service between San Francisco and Kona, on the Big Island, using a Virgin America aircraft. The SFO departure time is scheduled for 11 a.m.

American will use an A320 on its new Oakland-DFW route. (Image: Jim Glab)

American Airlines will kick off new Bay Area service next spring. The carrier plans to start daily flights on April 3 between Oakland and its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub, with an 11:50 a.m. departure from OAK and a 9:10 a.m. departure from DFW, using an A320. American also announced some new domestic routes out of its Chicago O’Hare hub starting next spring, including twice-daily ORD-Charleston, S.C. flights beginning May 4; and weekend-only service from ORD to Bangor, Maine and Myrtle Beach, S.C., starting June 7, using American Eagle/Envoy Air CRJ700s. At Phoenix, American will kick off daily flights to Amarillo, Tex. and Oklahoma City on April 3, using Mesa Airlines CRJ900s. On the same date, it will add twice-daily LaGuardia-Portland, Maine service with Enviy Air ERJ140s.

Elsewhere, American’s 2018 schedule includes some new Saturday-only seasonal routes, all flown with regional jets, including DFW-Asheville, N.C., DFW-Myrtle Beach, DFW-Wilmington and Los Angeles-Bozeman, Mont., all operating June 9-August 18; LAX-Flagstaff, Ariz., May 5-September 1; and New York LaGuardia-Traverse City, Mich., June 23-September 2.  Finally, on February 14, the company will terminate its American Eagle/SkyWest service from Phoenix to Bullhead City, Ariz./Laughlin, Nevada, due to a lack of passenger demand.

JetBlue’s lie flat Mint class comes to San Diego-Boston this month. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

The next step in JetBlue’s ongoing expansion of its premium-cabin Mint service, with lie-flat seats, comes on December 10, when the carrier is slated to introduce a Mint-equipped aircraft on one of its daily San Diego-Boston flights, adding a second daily Mint flight on the route starting December 20. It already offers Mint cabins on two daily San Diego-New York JFK flights. Last month, JetBlue added Mint service on two daily New York JFK-Las Vegas flights.

Spirit Airlines unveiled a bunch of new domestic routes that will kick off next spring, including daily year-round service from Baltimore/Washington to Denver beginning March 22; daily year-round flights between Tampa-Los Angeles, Tampa-Las Vegas and Orlando-Las Vegas starting April 12; daily seasonal service from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul beginning April 12; and daily seasonal flights from Detroit to San Diego and Portland kicking off April 23.

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Japan Airlines eyes 5-1/2 hour San Francisco-Tokyo flights

Boom’s SST design would be smaller than Concorde. (Image: Boom)

We’ve reported before about a Colorado-based aircraft manufacturer called Boom, which is developing a next-generation supersonic passenger plane. In 2016, it got a big boost from Sir Richard Branson, and now Japan Airlines is officially joining the supersonic party.

Branson’s involvement with Boom included an option to purchase the first 10 airframes it produces, followed late last year by the creation of a technical partnership between Boom and Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceflight company, committing the two firms to work together on engineering, manufacturing and flight tests.

Now Japan Airlines says it has made a strategic $10 million investment in Boom, and has taken a pre-order option to buy up to 20 supersonic aircraft from the manufacturer. JAL added that it will be working with Boom “to refine the aircraft design and help define the passenger experience for supersonic travel.” In fact, Boom CEO Blake Scholl said his company has been working “behind the scenes” with JAL for more than a year.

Rendering of a passenger seat on the planned SST. (Image: Boom)

Boom’s initial design specs envision an aircraft with 45-55 business class-type seats (about half the size of the late Concorde), a cruising speed of Mach 2.2 (2.2 times the speed of sound, or 1,415 mph – a little faster than Concorde’s Mach 2), a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet, and the beginning of commercial service by the “mid-2020s,” assuming all goes well.

Scholl said last year that the plane could operate profitably on as many as 500 international routes with sufficient demand for a supersonic product, like Tokyo-San Francisco, New York-London and Los Angeles-Sydney.

JAL currently uses a 777-300 on the SFO-Tokyo route. (Image: Japan Airlines)

Sir Richard Branson has estimated that the new SST could make the New York-London trip in three and a half hours, and operate profitably at fares of about $5,000 roundtrip. The aircraft would have a range of 8,334 kilometers, or 4,500 nautical miles, enough to fly non-stop from Beijing to London — or from San Francisco to Tokyo in five and a half hours.

Bloomberg News said Boom now has commitments for 75 aircraft from five airlines, with some customers already paying significant deposits, and it reported that Boom just hired a former Airbus executive as its new vice president of production.

Readers: How much of a premium over business class fares would you be willing to pay for a supersonic flight that cuts your travel time in half or better?

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Airlines’ new safety target: Passengers’ ‘smart bags’

Smart bags are the latest generation of high-tech luggage. (Image: Bluesmart Luggage)

Savvy business travelers always try to carry on everything they’ll need on their trips. But if there are occasions when you go on a longer trip and need to check a bag, watch out for brand-new airline rules banning a specific kind of checked luggage: smart bags.

The latest generation of products from luggage manufacturers is incorporating various new technologies into an item that was previously very low-tech. So modern smart bags can provide things like tracking technology, built-in scales, and power ports to juice up your electronic devices on the go. But those functions all require a power source, and that source is generally a lithium-ion battery in the luggage.

The problem with lithium-ion batteries is that they sometimes spontaneously combust – and that means airlines don’t want to take the chance of having them in a baggage hold.

In the past few days, Delta, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines have all issued advisories warning customers that effective January 15, smart bags powered with a lithium-ion battery that cannot be removed will no longer be accepted as checked luggage. If the passenger can take the battery out of the luggage and carry it on, no problem. Otherwise, he has a real problem if he shows up at the airport with one of the now-banned bags.

Airlines don’t want lithium-ion batteries in their luggage holds. (Image: Jim Glab)

“If the customer is able to take the bag into the cabin with them, the customer will be able to leave the battery installed,” American’s advisory said. But Delta said that smart bags with non-removable batteries will not be accepted as a checked or carry-on bag. Likewise at Alaska, “Smart bags will be allowed as carry-on baggage, if they meet carry-on size limits and if it’s possible to remove the battery from the bag if needed,” the company said.

Other airlines are likely to follow suit. So if any of your loved ones are planning to buy a new smart bag as a holiday gift for their favorite frequent traveler, make sure they get one with a removable battery.

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Routes: Air Canada to SFO/Sacramento, AA, Aer Lingus, Norwegian, WOW, Copa + more

Air Canada Express will add new U.S. routes with regional jets. (Image: Air Canada/Skyregional)

In international route news, Air Canada and American have both announced plans to expand service between the U.S. and Canada; Aer Lingus comes to Seattle next year; low-cost carriers Norwegian and WOW will increase capacity to the U.S. in 2018; Copa boosts West Coast frequencies; Lufthansa’s Eurowings subsidiary sets more U.S. routes; and Thomas Cook Airlines comes to New York JFK.

Air Canada has unveiled plans to add new service to six U.S. cities next spring, including San Francisco and Sacramento. All the routes will be operated as Air Canada Express, with 76-seat or 50-seat regional jets. On May 1, the airline will kick off daily flights between San Francisco and Edmonton with a 76-seat aircraft, as well as daily Omaha-Toronto service, using a 50-seat plane. May 17 is the launch date for 76-seat regional jet service between Sacramento and Vancouver as well as daily roundtrips between Baltimore/Washington-Montreal and Pittsburgh-Montreal, both served by 50-passenger aircraft. All those routes will operate year-round. Air Canada will also begin seasonal service on May 17 between Providence and Toronto.

American Airlines is also increasing its transborder service to Canada. It will boost its Phoenix-Edmonton schedule from one flight a day to two effective December 15 to April 2. Next spring, American will launch new daily year-round 737 service from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Vancouver starting May 4, and seasonal daily flights from O’Hare to Calgary June 7-September 4, with an American Eagle/Envoy Air E175.  On February 15, American will increase frequencies between New York LaGuardia-Toronto from four a day to five, and on May 4 it will boost its Washington Reagan National-Toronto schedule from two flights a day a day to three. Also on May 4, the airline will lay on a third daily roundtrip between Philadelphia and Ottawa.

Ireland’s Aer Lingus, now a part of International Airlines Group along with British Airways and Iberia, will add a new U.S. West Coast gateway next year when it starts Dublin-Seattle service. The carrier plans a May 18 start for the new route, using a 265-passenger, two-class Airbus A330-200 to operate four flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). Passengers flying back to Seattle will be able to pre-clear U.S. Customs at Dublin. Aer Lingus previously announced plans to start Dublin-Philadelphia service four days a week next March.

Norwegian will put larger 787-9s on U.S.-Barcelona routes next year. (Image: Norwegian)

Faced with new and growing competition from British Airways/Iberia’s Level affiliate, Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Barcelona next year by switching to larger aircraft – specifically, from the current 291-passenger 787-8 to the 344-seat 787-9. The changeover will take place in late March, affecting Norwegian’s two weekly flights from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale, three flights a week to Los Angeles and Oakland, and four a week to Newark.

Another low-cost carrier – Iceland’s WOW – will also add more U.S. seats next year, increasing frequencies on its route between Newark Liberty International and Reykjavik from seven flights a week to 13, effective May 29 through September 16. That’s in addition to the airline’s new daily flights out of New York JFK starting April 28.

Panama’s Copa Airlines plans to increase its West Coast capacity this winter. The airline will boost its Panama City-San Francisco schedule from twice-daily service to 18 flights a week starting March 1, and its Panama City-Los Angeles frequencies from three a day to 25 a week effective January 2.

Lufthansa’s Eurowings unit will add U.S. routes in 2018. (Image: Eurowings)

When Lufthansa announced its recently-launched New York JFK-Berlin service (taking over for the defunct Airberlin), it said the route would be turned over next summer to Eurowings, its fast-growing, leisure-oriented subsidiary. Now it has even more transatlantic plans for Eurowings. The carrier will start a new route between JFK and Dusseldorf starting April 28, using a Brussels Airlines A340-300 to operate six flights a week. Lufthansa said Eurowings will also begin Dusseldorf-Miami service three times a week as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers flights three times a week starting May 3.

Thomas Cook Airlines has launched new service between New York JFK and Manchester, operating three flights a week with an Airbus A330 and fares starting as low as $209 one-way – including a checked bag and in-flight meals. And JetBlue will kick off its fourth Caribbean route from Newark next spring, beginning daily service to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 3.

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American Airlines glitch: “Never mind”

Don’t worry about your American Airlines flight this December (Image: American)

I guess we should not be surprised by yesterday’s breathless, widespread reporting about how an airline glitch (or shall I say grinch!) was going to ruin everyone’s Christmas. A negative airline story always plays well during peak holiday season when air travel is top of mind.

My pat answer when the media called for an opinion about the American Airlines scheduling mess? “I’m sure this will be worked out. Too much money is at stake during peak holiday season. And money talks!”

And sure enough, American’s debacle was worked out. And quickly. This morning the carrier released the following statement.

Out of the 200,000 flights American will operate in December, only a few hundred are currently unassigned to pilots. That number of open flights continues to decrease thanks to our pilots who are stepping up to the plate and picking up trips to ensure customers are taken care of. It’s another example of why we are thankful to have such an incredible team. In addition, we have more reserve pilots on hand in December than normal months and they provide us with the ability to fly many of the trips that are currently uncovered. We have not canceled any scheduled flights in December and will continue to work to ensure both our pilots and our customers are cared for.

Glitches happen. Companies fix them. As SNL’s Emily Litella says in this video, “Never mind.”

Airlines and travelers now have the holiday travel drill down. There were few if any horror stories over Thanksgiving– as a matter of fact, this week airlines are boasting about their best Thanksgiving performance ever!

About the only grinch that could steal holiday joy this year is a bad storm that hits a big hub airport, or New York City. We’ll be watching out for that!

Update: American Airlines pilots are now disputing the carrier’s claims that only a few hundred flights are unassigned. Their union says that the number is still in the thousands. However, American Airlines says that it does not expect any cancellations in December due to the mix up. This is starting to sound more like a public airing of grievances between the airline and its pilots union than an operational issue travelers need to worry about.

 


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A middle seat to love on Lufthansa

Lufthansa’s new business class design includes some extra-wide single middle seats. Calling Captain Kirk! (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa won’t start flying new Boeing 777-9s for another three years, but it just revealed some details of its new business class for those aircraft, and the cabin has some unique innovations.

For one thing, the new design gives future business class customers a choice. “Depending on their personal needs, customers can choose between seats with more desk space or a higher degree of privacy,” Lufthansa said.

Window seats also have a choice of configurations. (Image: Lufthansa)

The seats in the new design are laid out on alternate rows of 1-2-1 and 1-1-1. The single middle seats have about twice as much desk space as other seats. Some observers are referring to them as “throne seats” but we’ve called them “Captain Kirk” seats, too.

The cabin also provides what Lufthansa claims will be “the best possible sleep up above the clouds.” Seat-beds are 86.6 inches long, and “the construction of the back rest makes it possible for the shoulder to sink in when you are lying on your side,” the company said. “This keeps the spine straight and makes it possible for side sleepers to also benefit from ideally healthy and relaxing sleep.”

Lufthansa said the new seat and cabin designs were created after conducting in-depth research with more than 500 of its regular customers.

Even before the new business class seating is introduced in 2020, Lufthansa said, it will deploy new business class mattresses, duvets and pajamas starting early next year.

Rendering of a Lufthansa 777-9. (Image: Boeing)

The next-generation 777-9, which has also been referred to as the 777X, will be the largest-ever twin-engine jetliner. Lufthansa is a launch customer for the new Boeing plane.

Bloomberg News is reporting that Lufthansa has ordered 34 of the 777-9s, and that they will eventually replace its 747-400s and A340-600s – although unlike those two aircraft, the new 777-9s will not have a first class cabin. The 777-9s will reportedly have 45 to 60 business class seats, but the final seating configuration of the new planes hasn’t yet been finalized.

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Some elite flyers to get free wi-fi

Air Canada is adding free Wi-Fi as a perk for its elites. (Image: Air Canada)

Is this becoming a trend? Another big North American carrier said it will offer free in-flight Wi-Fi service as a perk for its most frequent customers.

Air Canada and Gogo announced that free Internet is being added as one of the privileges that can be selected by the airline’s Altitude Elite 75K and Super Elite 100K elite members – the top two levels of the airline’s five-tier elite structure.

The Elite 75Ks can get six-month unlimited use passes for Wi-Fi, and the Super Elite 100Ks can select a 12-month free pass. The passes are good on mainline Air Canada flights in North America as well as Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge.

And soon, the benefit is coming to international flights as well.

“Air Canada’s new Altitude WiFi select privilege is available for use on all Air Canada equipped flights, all over the world, regardless of systems provider. This also includes Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express operated flights,” Mark Nasr, Vice President Loyalty & eCommerce for Air Canada told TravelSkills.
He added, “Currently all of our Airbus 320 family, Embraer E175/E190, and Boeing 737MAX aircraft offer connectivity, using a mix of GoGo and Thales solutions—that’s about 160 planes. We began installations of the latest generation high-speed connectivity on our wide-body fleet this quarter; we’ll start rolling-out those planes by January at the rate of one aircraft everyone one to two weeks, until the fleet is complete. We expect to have a 10 long-haul aircraft complete before year’s end; this time next year, we expect to offer connectivity on around 248 aircraft, including 80 (or most of) the long-haul fleet.”

For now, Air Canada charges US$16 for a Gogo one-way pass if purchased online before flying. A monthly pass is US$52.

Qualifying members will be able to pick the free Wi-Fi as a Select Privilege benefit for 2018. Other selectable privileges include things like mileage bonuses, upgrade credits, airport club membership discounts and guest passes, elite status for a friend, and so on.

Air Canada is not the first North American airline to offer free Wi-Fi. Southwest Airlines offers it as a perk for top-level A-List Preferred members of its Rapid Rewards program. JetBlue has long been offering free Wi-Fi (which it calls Fly-Fi) to all passengers.

But Air Canada may be the first to offer free Gogo Wi-Fi. JetBlue developed its proprietary satellite-based Wi-Fi technology with Viasat, and Southwest’s Internet provider is Global Eagle Entertainment – although it is using Panasonic Avionics to install Wi-Fi on newly delivered aircraft, including its new 737MAX planes.

Here’s hoping that other North American carriers consider a similar move. Will they? Leave your comments below. 

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Big United MileagePlus sale on Hawaii seats

The astonishing view from the St Regis Princeville on Kauai, Hawaii (Photo: Barkley Dean)

United has a special for MileagePlus members: A limited-time sale on award travel to Hawaii this winter.

This comes on the heels of an excellent fare sale with fares diving to around $350 round trip from many western cities.

The airline has cut the price of roundtrip economy class Saver award tickets to the islands from the usual 45,000 miles to 36,000 miles – a 20 percent reduction.

The offer is good for travel from January 7 through March 10 – but the booking deadline is the end of the day December 8.

The MileagePlus sale is available for travel on United from the mainland to all the island destinations it serves, including Honolulu, Maui, Lihue (Kauai), and the Big Island airports of Kona and Hilo.

To see all the terms and conditions, click here. Saver award tickets are capacity-controlled, so once they’re gone, they’re gone. In which case you ought to consider buying a cheap seat – as of today they are still on sale.

We checked to see if it was possible to book our well-flown path between SFO and Lihue for 36,000 in February. Found plenty of seats for 18,000 on the way down, but few if any on the return. Or, only available on one-stop flights vs nonstops. January shows more availability than February. How’d you fare?

In this case, what would you do: Redeem 36,000 miles or buy a ticket for around $350? Leave you answer below. 

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Even more cheap flights to Europe coming in 2018

Level operates two-class A330s to Europe. (Image: IAG)

Europe just keeps getting cheaper. British Airways/Iberia’s low-cost Level affiliate will expand transatlantic service in 2018, adding flights from Paris, but a sister company already on that route will cease operations.

Citing the “incredible success” of the Barcelona flights started earlier this year by its low-cost Level subsidiary, International Airlines Group (the parent of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus) said it will begin Level service out of Paris Orly next summer, including two routes to North America. The carrier will also add another U.S. route to Barcelona.

Plans call for Level to base two A330-200s at Paris Orly, starting service July 2 to Montreal three times a week, and adding Newark-Orly service four times a week beginning September 4. The company said it will also begin new Boston-Barcelona flights on March 28, operating up to three times a week through the summer, starting at $149 each way.

IAG said the Newark-Paris flights will also start at $149 one-way. Level already flies to Barcelona from Oakland, and from Los Angeles in the summer. But the decision to open a base for Level at Paris Orly comes with a cost: IAG said it plans to discontinue operations of its OpenSkies airline at the end of next summer.

Don’t miss: Iberia adds new nonstops between SFO and Madrid

An OpenSkies business class seat-bed.(Image: OpenSkies)

OpenSkies, which calls itself a “luxury boutique” airline, flies from both Newark and New York JFK to Paris Orly, targeting business travelers with specially-configured, 100-passenger 757s that have three seating classes. The carrier started flying in 2008 as a subsidiary of British Airways, taking advantage of then-new Open Skies rules allowing European airlines to fly routes between the U.S. and Europe that didn’t require a stop in their home country.

Level’s A330s have two seating classes – economy and premium economy. The airline has five pricing levels with varying services and amenities included, ranging from the most basic fare – which provides only one cabin bag – to its Premium Flex level, which provides a seat in the front cabin, two checked bags and one cabin bag, meal service, seat selection, and the ability to change travel dates or obtain refunds.

Economy seating in a Level A330-200. (Image: Level)

IAG created Level in part as a response to new low-cost competition from airlines like Norwegian and Iceland’s WOW. IAG’s British Airways unit is also striking back at Norwegian by adding higher-capacity aircraft on transatlantic routes to London Gatwick from some U.S. cities served by Norwegian.

In addition to the new Paris-Newark and Paris-Montreal service, Level will also add flights from Orly to the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique starting on July and September respectively.

Don’t miss: Fare war to Paris? 

Even if you don’t plan to fly Level, the move will put pricing pressure on all carriers flying between Europe and the U.S. So maybe getting to Europe will be cheaper next year than it was this year… and this year was pretty cheap!

Have you flown Level yet? Would you? Why or why not? Please leave your comments below. 

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Mexico or Hawaii this winter? Both super-cheap right now

Roundabout Mexico

The European style Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City is dotted with several elegant roundabouts (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

It looks like this winter’s going to be hot for those eyeing tropical vacations. Today we’re seeing deep discounts for January-March trips from several US cities to Mexican beach towns as well as to Mexico City. 

Over the weekend, we uncovered deep discounting to Hawaii, and those $337 roundtrips are still available.

How low to Mexico? We are looking at $225-$250 round trip to Mexico City from New York, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. The cheapest roundtrips are on Mexican discounters Volaris and InterJet, but Alaska, Aeromexico and United are pretty close.

How about New York to Cancun for $280 round trip on Delta or Aeromexico in mid-January? Si, viajero! New York to Cabo is just $300 round trip.

Baltimore/Washington to Puerto Vallarta (with a stop in Houston) is just $252 on United. Nonstop to Cancun from Dulles is just $234 on United.

Don’t miss our post on our recent trip to Mexico City here.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico

Off the coast of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico (Photo: Pixabay)

Los Angeles or SF Bay Area to Puerto Vallarta is in the $250 roundtrip range. (Volaris has roundtrips as low as $219)

Los Angeles to Cabo is just $199 roundtrip on Interjet, $222 on Delta and Alaska.

San Francisco or San Jose (SJC) to Cabo roundtrip is running around $242 roundtrip on United, Virgin America and Alaska Air. We note that Southwest’s fares to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta from Oakland are in the $300 range.

We used Google Flights and Kayak Explore to find these fares. Note that they are subject to change.

If you think you’ll have a hankering to head south this winter, now’s the time to book these flights… if you wait until it gets cold, wet and snowy, you’ll pay more. 

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Popular: Hawaii sale + More United + Real ID + Delta first class + Cathay A350 + SFO-Tahiti

Virgin America flat honolulu

Fares to Honolulu take a dive on Virgin America & other airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

 

1  Fares still available Sunday 9 am PT> Fare sale to Hawaii – $337 roundtrip from 7 cities

2 Routes: United beefs up + Alaska adds PIT + American in DC + Spirit’s newest city

3 Relax> Frequent flyers may need a new driver’s license – but when?

4 Another player in the wings> More competition landing in the California Corridor?

5 Delta upgrades first class on some domestic routes

Global Entry

Remember: If you are conditionally approved for Global Entry, you can do your interview upon arrival! No long waits or extra trips to the airport. Easy! Pictured: SFO arrivals hall (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

6 C’mon along for a nice ride> Trip Report: Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 SFO-Hong Kong

7 Planespotting 101: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis offering up some travel tips for the holidays on ABC 7 – KGO in San Francisco


8 4 cheap-but-indispensable things to pack in your “go-bag”

9 Confirmed: Southwest to fly to Hawaii. Unconfirmed: Lower fares

10 Routes: SFO-Tahiti + Lufthansa, AA, WOW, Aeromexico, Volaris

On the way to #LAX #roadtorewards #lufthansa #A380 #travel #uber #avgeek

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Fare sale to Hawaii – $337 roundtrip from 7 cities

Hawaii, Hanalei, Kauai

Fares for winter trips to Hawaii dip below $350 roundtrip…again (Photo of Hanalei Pier, Chris McGinnis)

If you are thinking about a dive down to the islands this winter, it might be time to pounce on the current round of cheap fares from many west coast cities.

UPDATE: Monday, November 27, 8:45 amPT – fares still available!

Over the last year or so, fares to Hawaii have remained stubbornly over $400 round trip– most of the time inching closer to $500.

But ever since last month when Southwest signaled that it would be jumping in the Hawaii market, fares have taken a tumble. They’ve gone up and down since then, but this weekend they are back down.

Roundtrip fares from the Bay Area to Hawaii as low as $337 (Image: Google)

How low? Well, as of today you can fly nonstop from San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Portland (mostly 1-stop) and Seattle in early December, January February and March for about $340-$380 round trip. That’s quite a deal for winter flights. And the deals are good to Honolulu, Maui, Kona, and Kauai. 

From Chicago, roundtrips are about $525.

From Denver, mid winter weekend round trips are as low as $442. (we also found one for $362!)

SFO-HNL fares dipping to new lows according to this fare history chart from Fare Detective

Plus it appears that all airlines serving Hawaii are in on the deal, with Hawaiian and Virgin America as the most aggressive discounters.

To get the deals, you have to be a bit flexible with travel dates— for example, most of the cheapest fares require mid-week (vs weekend) flights. However, we even found deals on long weekend flights departing Thursday, returning Monday so shop around.

A sampling of cheap fares from the SF Bay Area on Google flights in early February

According to Google Flights, these fares are available for roundtrip in early December, January, February and early March. (Bookable Saturday, Nov 25 and subject to change).

Aloha! Will you go this year? 

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Routes: United beefs up + Alaska adds PIT + American in DC + Spirit’s newest city

United is adding several regional routes in 2018 using Embraer aircraft like this . (Image: United)

In domestic route developments, United announced plans to serve a bevy of new regional markets next year; Alaska will add a big spoke from its Seattle hub; American will expand at Washington Reagan National in 2018; and Spirit grows at Columbus and New Orleans.

United plans to launch new service in 2018 from five major airports to several smaller ones. At its Chicago O’Hare hub, United will begin year-round twice-daily service starting April 9 to El Paso, Tex., and to Wilmington, N.C. (By the way, United said that starting next February, it will implement an “enhanced bank structure” at O’Hare that will mean “shorter connection times and better access to more destinations” for connecting passengers.)

Also beginning April 9 for United will be a daily Denver-Jacksonville flight, and twice-daily service from Los Angeles to both Redmond and Medford, Oregon; from Newark to Elmira, N.Y.; and from Washington Dulles to Wilmington, N.C.

New seasonal service from United, beginning June 7, includes daily flights from O’Hare to Fresno, California; and from LAX to Kalispell and Missoula, Montana (all located near major national parks). All the above flights will use regional jets operated by United Express partners.

Routesonline.com turned up some additional smaller new markets for United Express next year. It said United will launch service on January 30 from Denver to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, twice a day; on February 1 from Denver to North Platte, Nebraska, twice a day; and on February 6 from Denver to Pueblo, Colorado and Liberal, Kansas six times a week. United had previously announced new service from Denver to Moab, Utah starting May 1 and to Vernal, Utah beginning June 1.

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines is coming to Pittsburgh next year. (Image: Alaska Air)

Alaska Airlines will begin service in September 2018 to the 90th destination from its Seattle hub when it adds a daily 737 flight to Pittsburgh, with an 8:25 a.m. eastbound departure and a return flight leaving Pittsburgh at 5:20 p.m. Currently, there is no non-stop service in the Seattle-Pittsburgh market.

American Airlines plans to add service in various domestic markets next year, including three new routes from Washington Reagan National. New DCA service for American will include a daily CRJ900 flight to Tallahassee starting February 15, and six CRJ200 flights a week to Montgomery, Alabama, as of June 7, both operated by PSA Airlines; and a daily E175 flight from DCA to Little Rock, operated by Republic Airlines. American will also expand its weekend-only service to daily between DCA and Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Florida starting May 4; and between DCA and Myrtle Beach, S.C. as of April 3.

Elsewhere, American will begin twice-daily flights in April between New York LaGuardia and Portland, Maine, with 50-seat regional jets. And on February 15, American will begin mainline A320 service between its Charlotte hub and Tucson, Arizona, with a very-late-night (12:30 a.m.) eastbound departure time.

Spirit Airlines will add Columbus, Ohio to its system. (Image: Spirit Airlines)

Spirit Airlines announced plans to add Columbus, Ohio to its network on February 15, offering daily, year-round service to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas, as well as seasonal daily flights to Tampa and Ft. Myers that will end April 11 and resume November 8. On March 22, Spirit will add seasonal service three times a week from Columbus to New Orleans and Myrtle Beach, continuing through November 7. On March 15, Spirit will also begin daily flights from Richmond, Virginia to Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. Earlier this month, Spirit launched new daily service from New Orleans to Boston, Newark, Tampa and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

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Delta upgrades first class on some domestic routes

Delta One a330

Delta One cabin on an international Delta A330. (Image: Delta)

Delta said it plans to extend its Delta One service—the premium front-cabin experience on its international routes – to additional domestic markets next year, and to make more free upgrades available.

The perks and amenities of service include a fully-flat seat-bed with Westin Heavenly Bedding; upgraded dining and wine options; in-seat power and USB ports; free in-flight entertainment; noise-cancelling headsets; a Tumi amenity kit; free Sky Club lounge access on the day of travel; and priority check-in, boarding, security access and baggage handling.

The airline already offers the upgrades first class service on a few select transcontinental routes, including New York JFK-San Francisco/Los Angeles; Boston-San Francisco; and Washington Reagan National-Los Angeles.

Rendering of Delta’s new lie flat seating on transcon 757s. Been on one yet?

On April 1, the carrier will introduce Delta One service on two of its three daily BOS-LAX flights; two of its four daily JFK-Seattle flights; one of its three daily JFK-San Diego flights; and on its daily service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Honolulu and Atlanta-Honolulu. On May 1, Delta One will be introduced on one of its four daily JFK-Las Vegas flights.

“Delta One will be offered during strategic flight times on select routes as the airline works to customize the service offering to align with times when customers are seeking the Delta One experience,” a spokesman said. “First Class service may be available on alternate flights on the route.”

Also on April 1, SkyMiles Medallion members will be eligible for unlimited day-of-departure free upgrades on all domestic routes where it is offered, including Hawaii, the airline said. And perhaps that April 1 launch date is appropriate because you’d be a fool to think that you’ll actually snag one of those upgrades!

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More competition landing in the California Corridor?

California Pacific Airlines plans to fly regional jets on intra-California routes. (Image: California Pacific Airlines)

A new airline could start operating in the busy California Corridor as soon as next spring, flying regional jets flying from the San Diego area to the Bay Area, and also to a few vacation destinations.

The carrier is called California Pacific Airlines (CPA). It’s been stumbling along in the planning stages for several years as the brainchild of a 96-year-old multi-millionaire named Ted Vallas, but it just took a big leap toward reality.

Vallas and his team told stockholders last week  that CPA has acquired an existing small airline called SkyValue Airways, giving it the FAA certification it needs to start commercial service. SkyValue currently flies a lot of sports charters as well as a few scheduled routes from Denver to small Midwestern towns.

The new plan calls for California Pacific Airlines to base a fleet of five Embraer E145s at Carlsbad, California’s McClellan-Palomar Airport, probably starting next April, offering scheduled flights to Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

The upstart airline has a rudimentary website at www.flyCPAir.com. 

Carlsbad’s airport is in between Oceanside and Encinitas (Image: Google Maps)

The company sees big potential from population and business growth in the region around Carlsbad, which is about halfway between Orange County and metro San Diego. It reportedly plans to reconfigure the E145s it has acquired from 50 seats to 44, and has options to buy a pair of larger E170s as well.

CPA has tried unsuccessfully for several years to get its own FAA certification, and has announced start-up plans in the past that never came to fruition. But officials seem confident that this time they can get the airline off the ground with a pre-existing certification from their acquisition of SkyValue Airways.

Does the California corridor need another airline to join the majors along with niche carriers like Blackbird, JetSuiteX and SurfAir? Do you think California Pacific is going to get off the ground this time around? Please leave your comments below. 

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Popular: A350 Review + Cheap bag essentials + New first class + Delta final 747 + Perfect timing

Chicago O'Hare airport

Chris spoke in Chicago last week- and was at O’Hare for its first snow (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 Trip Report: Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 SFO-Hong Kong

2 4 cheap-but-indispensable things to pack in your “go-bag”

3 Emirates new first class is nice, but what about the rest of the plane?

4 Delta reveals details for final 747 flight

Tail camera Airbus A350 Cathay Pacific

Don’t miss our latest Trip Report! SFO-HKG> A beautiful sunrise as we approach Hong Kong International via the A350 tail cam! (Chris McGinnis)

5 Frequent flyers say free flights are not enough

6 Routes: SFO-Tahiti + Lufthansa, AA, WOW, Aeromexico, Volaris

7 Perfect timing for the cheapest trips

8 Alaska Airlines flies away from Havana, Cuba in January

9 Trip Report: A sentimental journey aboard United’s final 747 flight

10 Coming to Washington, DC & SF: An anti-Trump hotel

Don’t miss: NEW hotels in New York, Dallas, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Cincy! 

Wow! A big show up here today on #ORD > #LAX #travel #windowseat #avgeek #arizona #united

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Do you love NEW HOTELS as much as we do? Then don’t miss our NEW HOTELS archive tab at the top of this page. CLICK OR HOVER for a good look!

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

United’s next stop could be Tahiti 

TripAdvisor to flag hotels with reported sexual assaults

Denver could be United’s #2 hub in two years, beating Newark & Houston

Should airline employees wear cameras to capture passenger disputes?

Why being near water makes you happier

Is this the end of the Airbus A380?

Qantas Airbus A380 LAX Hangar

The new Qantas hangar at LAX offers a snug fit for an Airbus A380 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Lyft moves into Toronto- first city outside US

More Lyft Uber headaches at ATL 

Google develops a new interface for its Google Flights searches

Updated American Airlines app can handle same-day flight changes

AirFrance-KLM’s loyalty program will change to spending-based in April

IHG Rewards members can earn points for using OpenTable and GrubHub

Thanksgiving travel volume will hit highest level in 12 years

Marriott’s ‘room of the future’ will rely on the ‘Internet of Things’

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Passenger bumping plummets after dragging incident

Passenger bumpings at U.S. airlines are down dramatically. (Image: Jim Glab)

Remember all that horribly negative publicity that the airline industry went through earlier this year after a United passenger, Dr. David Dao, was forcibly pulled from his seat and dragged off the aircraft, sustaining serious injuries?

Apparently the ensuing public debate and the reforms adopted by major carriers after that incident are having a big impact: New government figures show that the number of passengers subjected to “involuntary denied boarding” on U.S. carriers has nosedived to record lows.

In its latest Air Travel Consumer Report, just released this week, the Transportation Department said that the bumping rate for U.S. carriers in the third quarter of this year was 0.15 per 10,000 passengers – “the lowest quarterly rate based on historical data dating back to 1995.”

That’s a drop of 66 percent from the second quarter of this year, and a decline of 78 percent from the third quarter of 2016.

Looking at individual airlines, the biggest drop in the bumping rate for the third quarter of 2017 vs. a year earlier was at JetBlue, down from 1.47 per 10,000 passengers to just 0.02. United’s rate went from 0.46 last year to 0.04 in this year’s third quarter, while American’s fell from 0.64 to 0.09.

Source: DOT

For the first nine months of 2017, DOT said, the bumping rate was 0.39 per 10,000 passengers, down from 0.65 for the same period a year earlier, and also a record low. The previous record low for January-September was 0.64 in 2002.

In the wake of that April dragging incident, major airlines vowed to offer significantly more compensation to entice passengers to give up their seats on overbooked flights.

And for some icing on the cake, DOT also said that in September of this year, the number of mishandled baggage reports was 1.99 incidents per 1,000 passengers. That’s down from 2.45 in August of this year, and is “the lowest monthly rate since DOT started collecting mishandled baggage report data in September 1987,” the agency said.

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Frontier’s big challenge to Basic Economy fares

Frontier Airlines is planning a massive fleet expansion. (Image: Jim Glab)

Now that United, Delta and American have all rolled out no-frills Basic Economy fares on domestic flights to compete with the prices charged by ultra-low-cost carriers, are those carriers running scared?

Frontier Airlines isn’t. Quite the opposite: Frontier this week announced plans for a massive purchase of new aircraft. Combined with its earlier aircraft orders that haven’t yet been delivered, the deal would triple the size of Frontier’s fleet in 10 years, from 70 planes today to more than 200.

The company said it intends to purchase 100 new A320neos and 34 A321neos from Airbus, for delivery from 2021 to 2026. That’s in addition to 67 A320neos already in the purchase pipeline, and an existing order for 18 A319neos that Frontier is converting to A320s.

“By 2026, we will be in a position to deliver ‘Low Fares Done Right’ to more than 50 million passengers a year,” said Frontier CEO Barry Biffle in announcing the fleet expansion. In 2016, the airline carried 15 million passengers.

Frontier plans to acquire 134 new A320neos and A321neos. (Image: Airbus)

Frontier’s route network is constantly shifting as it adds and drops markets. But a few months ago, the airline announced plans to add 21 cities to its system by next spring, and to add more frequencies on other routes that it already serves. That includes a larger presence at its Denver base and at San Jose, among other cities.

Frontier’s fortunes have been rising in recent years. The Denver Post said that in filings related to an impending public stock offering, Frontier reported that its net income increased from $140 million in 2014 to $200 million last year as its fuel costs have been dropping and its ancillary revenues have been increasing.

Frontier’s ultra-low-cost carrier business model relies on ancillary fees from all kinds of amenities and services to supplement its low fares. A July 2017 report from Ideaworks said that in 2016, more than 42 percent of Frontier’s revenues came from ancillary fees – compared with just 7.7 percent in 2011, before it changed its business model.

The airline’s ambitious growth plan will initially focus on its Denver hub, where it will add most of the new routes announced last summer. That could mean a big battle for market share at DEN, since United Airlines also has plans to enlarge its hub there, and Southwest has grown rapidly at Denver in recent years as well.

Denver International will get 39 more gates in the next few years. (Image: Jim Glab)

According to FlightGlobal.com, United’s chief pilot in Denver said in a letter to other pilots last week that United plans to increase its Denver operations from the current 363 daily departures to 400 in 2019, and that DEN could eventually become United’s second-largest hub (after Chicago O’Hare).

Fortunately, Denver should be able to accommodate plenty of growth. Airport officials recently said that their plans to expand the passenger concourses have been revised: Instead of building 26 new aircraft gates in the next four years, they now plan to build 39.

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Routes: SFO-Tahiti + Lufthansa, AA, WOW, Aeromexico, Volaris

Paris-based low-cost carrier French Blue will begin San Francisco-Tahiti flights in 2018. (Image: French Blue)

In international route developments, a low-cost French airline plans to fly from San Francisco to Tahiti next year; Lufthansa starts a new non-hub route from New York; American targets Iceland in the face of new competition; Iceland’s WOW will add a new U.S. gateway and expand at another; Aeromexico sets a new seasonal Denver route; and Mexico’s Volaris plans more service to California.

A one-year-old French low-cost airline called French Blue – which currently flies from Paris Orly to the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean – plans to add another long-haul route next year: Paris to Papeete, Tahiti via a stop in San Francisco. The carrier plans to use an Airbus A350-900 on the route, which will begin in May with two flights a week, eventually increasing to three. Currently, the only non-stop service to Tahiti from the U.S. mainland is out of Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui, Air France and Qantas. The airline has a website at www.frenchblue.com, although currently it is only in French.

Lufthansa is using an A330 on its new JFK-Berlin Tegel route. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa last week started its promised new non-stop service from New York JFK to Berlin’s Tegel Airport – bypassing its Frankfurt and Munich hubs — following the recent demise of Airberlin. Lufthansa is using a three-class Airbus A330-300 to fly the route five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday). It’s the first time in 16 years that the German carrier has operated a long-haul aircraft out of Berlin. Next summer, Lufthansa plans to transfer the JFK-Berlin route to its Eurowings subsidiary.

In recent weeks, new 2018 service from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Reykjavik, Iceland, was announced by both Icelandair and low-cost competitor WOW. And now DFW’s hometown airline is jumping on the Iceland bandwagon as well. American Airlines announced it will operate seasonal daily flights from DFW to Reykjavik from June 7 through October 26, using a 176-seat 757-200.

Wow Air will use an A321 on its new JFK-Iceland route. (Image: Wow Air)

Speaking of WOW, the low-cost Icelandic airline plans to add another U.S. gateway next year, kicking off daily flights to Reykjavik from New York JFK as of April 26. WOW will operate an Airbus A321 on the route. The carrier already offers daily flights out of Newark Liberty International, which will continue. Elsewhere, WOW plans a significant increase in capacity from Baltimore/Washington International next summer, boosting its BWI-Reykjavik schedule from daily departures to 11 flights a week from May 18 through September 16,

Aeromexico, now a joint venture partner of Delta, has been adding more U.S. service as the two coordinate their schedules, and now the Mexican carrier has unveiled plans to revive another U.S. route – but only for a limited time. The carrier said it will offer seasonal service between Denver and Monterrey, but only twice a week (Saturdays and Sundays), and only from December 16 through January 14, using a 76-seat E175. Aeromexico already offers DEN-Mexico City service year-round.

Another Mexican carrier, Volaris, plans to add three California routes next month, but only offering two flights a week on each of them with Airbus single-aisle aircraft. Volaris will start San Jose-Zacatecas flights on December 18, San Jose-Morelia service on December 15, and Fresno-Morelia on December 16.

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Trip Report: Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 SFO-Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific A350-900

This beautiful new bird sails west across the Pacific overnight, departing SFO in the wee hours, arriving HKG in the morning (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

My body feels like it’s time to wind down and get ready for bed, but my brain is saying, “Perk up, buster! You need to get to the airport and catch a 13-hour ride on a shiny new plane to Hong Kong.”

That’s how I’m counting down the hours approaching the 12:55 am departure of Cathay Pacific flight 893 to Hong Kong. This new Airbus A350 takes off in the wee hours of Friday night/Saturday morning and arrives in Hong Kong at 8 am on Sunday.

My flight is one of three daily SFO-HKG flights Cathay now offers, but it’s the only one that’s an A350. The others, which depart at 11:45 am and 11:00 pm, use Boeing 777s.

Cathay Pacific A350 wing

You can spot an A350 by its blacked out cockpit window and curly wingtip (Photo: Cathay Pacific)

Cathay added the new Airbus A350 to its fleet in June 2016 but did not deploy any in the US until October 30, 2017, when one landed at San Francisco International and another at Newark Liberty International on the same day. The carrier now has 19 A350s in the fleet with 29 more on order.

To celebrate the arrival of the A350-900 to US shores, Cathay invited a group of media to fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong and back, including a two-day stay at the Peninsula hotel in Kowloon. (Check out my pushy post about the Peninsula here.)

Current fares on Cathay’s SFO-HKG nonstops for January trips are about $700 round trip in economy, $2,000 in premium economy and $5,900 in business class. First class fares (only available on B777 flights) are about $15,000 roundtrip.

Trip highlights:

  • Mishap at security
  • Noodles!
  • Planespotting the A350
  • Flecks of bright red
  • Photos of knee-room in all three classes
  • Charting an unusual course across the Pacific
  • How many hours of sleep did I get? My secret stash of sleep aids.
  • A posh pick up at HKG

Friday, 10 pm: Since I know that Cathay has such a stellar lounge at SFO, I decided get to the airport early and spend an hour or two soaking it up. I also had a hankering for a bowl of noodles made on-the-spot, and wanted to snap some photos of the lounge and the A350 as it arrived in the darkness.

Check-in for the flight was quick and easy due to my early arrival, and the airport was remarkably busy at 10:30 pm. The only holdup was at security. Cathay Pacific is a recent inductee into the PreCheck club, but unfortunately I did not get it this time. No probs, I thought; this is one of those times I’ll take advantage of my CLEAR membership. Regrettably I discovered that CLEAR lanes at SFO’s international terminal close at 10 pm, which makes little sense because so many flights depart around midnight and early morning.

Clear

At SFO’s international terminal, CLEAR lanes close at 10 pm– just before the midnight rush (Photo: Chris McGinnis

Once I cleared security, I took a nice long walk through the entire Boarding Area A, and then watched the the A350 roll in from Hong Kong.  It looks smaller than some of the giant B777s nearby, but holds about the same number of seats: A Cathay A350-900 holds 280 passengers (38-business, 28-premium, 214-economy) while the larger B777 holds 275 (6-first, 53-business, 34-premium, 182-economy).

Cathay’s lounge at SFO is one of my favorites for its design (rich Carrara marble, Solus chairs) and nice tarmac views. Now that there are two Cathay flights departing around midnight (11 pm and 1 am), the lounge is busy, but I had no problem finding empty seats. There’s a full bar, and a hot and cold buffet, but the most popular stop is the steamy noodle bar. A bowl of noodles at 11 pm sure is a nice way to slip into an overnight transpacific journey.

Cathay Pacific noodles

A comforting bowl of dan dan noodles is the perfect sendoff for a transpac flight (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Cathay Solus Chair SFO

Foster & Partners designed these cool Solus chairs for Cathay lounges around the world (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

When invited on trips like this, I always try to arrange an early boarding so I can get some good shots of the interior of the plane before passengers board. I get on with the wheelchairs, which gives me about five minutes to shoot all three cabins on this big bird. Phew!

First impression when you walk on board is the cool, calm and collected green, cream and beige color scheme, with flecks of bright red. For example, some (but not all) flight attendants wear bright red blazers or skirts. In business class seats, the interiors of in-seat storage bins are also bright red (a color that symbolizes good luck and happiness in Chinese culture). The green and red combo is almost Christmas-like to me.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class

Rows 11-19 in the fore business class cabin on Cathay Pacific’s A350 — this is a reverse herringbone layout and every seat has aisle access.  (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific business class

Row 18 in business class on a Cathay Pacific A350-900–note the red storage bins (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific A350 window business class

A window seat in business class on Cathay Pacific’s A350 (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific A350 business class boots

Plenty of room for the lower extremities on Cathay Pacific’s A350 in business class (Chris McGinnis)

 

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy A350

Premium economy on Cathay Pacific A350 is configured 2-4-2 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific A350

Plenty of legroom in premium economy on Cathay Pacific’s A350

Cathay Pacific Premium economy

Big screens and plenty of space in Cathay Pacific’s premium economy, especially for seats on the window side (Chris McGinnis)

Economy class on Cathay Pacific A350

Economy class on Cathay Pacific’s A350 is configured 3-3-3 with 32 inches of pitch (Chris McGinnis)

Economy class Cathay Pacific A350 screens

Economy class passengers on the A350 get nice big screens (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific A350 knees legroom

This is what 32 inches of pitch looks like to your knees on the A350 (Chris McGinnis)

There’s no first class section on Cathay’s A350s, but business class is almost as good an many first class seats I’ve seen. All seats in this reverse herringbone layout have aisle access. High side walls and blinders make the in-seat experience very private. If you are traveling with a companion it might be smarter (and easier to communicate) sitting across the aisle from each other due to the barriers between the middle seats.

Business class seat configuration is 1-2-1. Premium economy is 2-4-2. Economy is 3-3-3.

In business class, the seats to avoid are the first two center seats (oddly, the first row is Row 11, seats D&G). Noise and traffic from the galley is a factor, and when the curtains are pulled, it appears nearly impossible to get out of your seat without ruffling them.

At the back of the business class section, rows 20 and 21 are separated from the main business class cabin by a galley and lavatory area. This is where I sat, in seat 21D–the last row just in front of premium economy. I really liked the cozy feel and quiet of that small aft cabin. The bulkhead seats are not as exposed to the galley area as they are on row 11.

Check Seatguru for maps & seat tips: Cathay Airbus A350-900 | Cathay Boeing 777-300ER

At this hour of the night, passengers are boarding quickly with yawns and stretches. The flight is 100% sold out. Once we are all seated, I notice how eerily quiet everyone is. It’s late. You can tell that nearly everyone just wants the lights to dim so they can nod off.

All passengers are yawning except for me, of course. I’m someone who gets energized about being on a new plane no matter what the hour!

In my seat, I quickly I unload the contents of my briefcase into the two roomy in-seat storage bins. The lower one is big enough for my Macbook. Nice!

As we taxi and take off (in my aisle seat I can’t look out the window), I’m completely absorbed by the robust inflight entertainment system and the big bright touch screen. It can be controlled by touching the screen or via the corded tablet mounted on the wall next to my seat. There are way too many movies and TV shows to scroll through, so I just go to the inflight moving map, which is hypnotic to a geek like me.

This modern bird also has exterior cams– one on the tail and the other on the front, and you can toggle between views from your seatback. At night it’s not much of a show, but I look forward to seeing more when we get to HK in the morning!

Cathay Pacific map

At first our course was set northwest, but the pilot later switched to due west across the Pacific (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific business class

Over my right shoulder is the control panel for the seat recline, reading light and a handheld tablet that mirrors the big screen (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific tray table

I appreciated the easily accessed tray table (Chris McGinnis)

At about 1:35 am we are climbing up and straight out over the Pacific. Most flights to HKG take a northerly route toward the Aleutian Islands and then down over Japan. Tonight it’s a direct shot over the middle of the ocean, over the top of Taiwan and straight into Chek Lap Kok. The map says it will be 13 hours, 5 minutes. I jump up and go to the lavatory to change into a long sleeve t-shirt to lounge and sleep in. (Pajamas are not provided.) Flight attendants hang my shirt so I’ll be fresh as a daisy Sunday morning in Hong Kong.

Since this flight is so late, flight attendants offer a quick light meal shortly after takeoff. Since I’ve had my noodles in the lounge, I pick at the smoked duck salad, but polish off the hearty butternut squash soup served in a mug. Nice touch. (Main course selections included stir fry pork or beef tenderloin.) I watch “Rough Night” on the big screen for a few chuckles. (See current movie selections here.)

There is wi-fi on Cathay’s A350 (but not on its B777s or A330- but it’s coming soon via Gogo) but I only used it on the return flight. It was very fast and very cheap–just $13 for the whole flight.

Cathay Pacific soup

Mmmm. Butternut squash soup served in a mug (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific duck salad

A smoked duck salad and soup, plus a bowl of fresh berries comprised the light choice meal served quickly after take off (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific headphones

A nice nook for the noise cancelling headsets and my personal items like glasses, phone, charger, wallet located by my shoulder (Chris McGinnis)

Shortly thereafter the lights dim. The plane gets very quiet. I look at my watch and it’s 3:30 am in San Francisco and about 6:30 pm in Hong Kong. Everyone except me is snuggled in for the night in my mini-business class section. I take a melatonin and a big chug of water. My 6 foot body fits just fine in this lie-flat seat.  I put in my Mack’s earplugs, wrap my puffy Dream Essentials mask around my head, flatten the seat. Like a light, I’m out. Gone. Deep in dreamland. Zzzzz.

Later, deep in my sleep cocoon I wake up and wonder, “Hmmm I wonder what time it is?” I feel like I’ve slept well, had some good dreams and feel rested. But should I look at my watch? What if I’ve only slept hard for about two hours and there are seven more to go? I pull my mask up and drink the entire bottle of water a flight attendant has kindly left by my seat. It’s still dark and quiet in business class.

Okay. Time to look at the watch. I have not yet re-set it to HK time. I look and it says 1:00 pm. I shake my head and do a double take and look again. Yes, 1 pm in San Francisco. I fell asleep at about 4 am PT. That means I just slept on a plane for NINE hours. Wow. That must be a record for me. My combination of a lie-flat seat, ear plugs and eye mask has done the trick. I will conquer my first day in Hong Kong with gusto!

Cathay Pacific map hong kong

I went to sleep back of the coast of California and woke up over the South China Sea! (Chris McGinnis)

Fruit plate

Juicy fruit, coffee and croissant first course for breakfast (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific dim sum

Tasty dim sum and e-fu noodles with chilli sauce for breakfast (Chris McGinnis)

breakfast flight attendant Cathay Pacific

Ni how! How about some breakfast? (Chris McGinnis)

We still have about two hours to go, so I get up, stretch and go to the lavatory to freshen up, splash some water on my sleepy face, brush my teeth. Back at my seat flight attendants see me stirring and scurry over with more water and a hot towel.

I look at the inflight map and see that we are flying over the southernmost island of Japan (and wonder if those are the ones that China claims and is building a military base there). Then we fly right over the top of Taipei.

Other passengers begin to stir. The lights come up. God, I wish they’d open the windows so we could see the sunrise but they stay shut. Luckily the tail cam is working so I can see the morning sunrise over the South China Sea. It’s gorgeous out there.

Breakfast comes in three courses: first coffee or tea, and next a delicious fresh fruit plate and a selection of bread or pastries. Then cereal or yogurt. Then the hot meal. I always go native and chose the breakfast dim sum. But I could have had a shitake mushroom omelet or seafood congee.

Tail camera Airbus A350 Cathay Pacific

A beautiful sunrise as we approach Hong Kong International via the A350 tail cam! (Chris McGinnis)

Rolls-Royce peninsula hotel

This is how you get to The Peninsula Hotel from HKG- check out those suicide doors on this deep green Rolls! Dios mio! (Chris McGinnis)

Wow! What a way to fly to Hong Kong. And once we land, there are two dark green Roll-Royce limos waiting to pick up our group and whisk us to the Peninsula. Cars are stocked with water and wi-fi and lined in plush caramel leather.

Hello Hong Kong! Stay tuned for more about my stay and return flight.

How do you fly to Hong Kong? Have your flown Cathay? Please leave your comments below. 

Disclosure: I was a guest of Cathay Pacific Airways and the Peninsula Hotel for this trip.


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Frequent flyers say free flights are not enough

A restaurant component can be an important part of an airline loyalty program. (Image of InterContinental LA Downtown: Chris McGinnis)

The more ways that members can earn and spend points/miles, the happier they are, says the latest J.D. Power and Associates survey on frequent flyer programs.

It also ranked JetBlue’s program in the top spot, Delta’s in the middle of the pack, and American’s & United’s nearly tied at the bottom of satisfaction levels.

This is somewhat surprising to be because Delta usually takes so much heat for its parsimonious SkyMiles program. Most frequent travelers agree that Delta is probably the best airline, but it has the worst loyalty program due to its stinginess. Maybe this survey shows that that’s changing. On the other hand, United is usually cited as not such a great airline, but that can be overlooked by its relatively generous Mileage Plus program. What do you think? Comments below, please!

Anyway, based on the J.D. Power 1,000-point satisfaction scale, the 2017 survey determined that the satisfaction level among frequent flyer program members rises most significantly when they can earn rewards in restaurants. They also favor earning points for merchandise for car rentals.

According to Michael Taylor, head of J.D. Power’s travel surveys, “Flexibility in how miles are redeemed is valued by members. After all, if you win a pie-eating contest, you may want to be rewarded with something besides another pie.”

Source: J.D. Power and Associates

Programs that give their members a “lowest price guarantee” earn a big premium in customer satisfaction levels, the company said, while waiver of same-day change fees adds slightly fewer satisfaction points.

One of the more obvious findings of the survey is that elite-level loyalty members are more satisfied (814 points) with their programs than general members (744). Elite members are also more likely than general members to be “promoters” of their preferred airline brand (59 percent vs. 49 percent).

JetBlue’s TrueBlue program took top honors in the 2017 survey. (Image: JetBlue)

Likewise, members who are offered bonus points/miles show a gain of 52 points in satisfaction levels, but those who have had some problem with their mileage program show a 99-point drop. And the study found that mileage programs can be complicated, with just 52 percent of respondents saying they completely understand the redemption process for their points/miles.

The 2017 survey, conducted in September, was based on responses from 3,387 airline loyalty program members.

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Alaska Airlines flies away from Havana, Cuba in January

Alaska Airlines Havana, Cuba

Sun is setting on Alaska Airlines nonstop flights to Cuba (Photo at Havana’s Jose Marti International: Chris McGinnis)

Today Alaska Airlines announced that it will scuttle its daily nonstop flights between Los Angeles International Airport and Havana, Cuba on January 22, 2018. That’s slightly over a year since the carrier launched flights on January 5, 2017.

Alaska’s John Kirby told TravelSkills that demand for LAX-HAV had declined precipitously in recent months after a relatively strong spring and summer. “We think pent up demand for travel to Cuba has been satisfied,” he said. In spring and early summer Kirby said Alaska’s load factor was in the 70-80 percent range, but after that it declined to under 50 percent.

Then last week, the Trump administration reversed Obama’s more relaxed rules for travel to the island, making it more unwieldy and difficult for Americans to get there. That seems to have been the nail in the coffin for the service.

Don’t miss: TravelSkills Trip Report from the inaugural LAX-HAV flight on Alaska Air

Cuba welcome

Despite recent changes in regulations, cruise ships from US ports will still sail to Cuba (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

For those still interested in making the trip, LAX-HAV fares are currently running at about $323 round trip— not bad for a 4-5-hour, 2,300 mile flight in each direction. Kirby said that Mileage Plan program redemptions (starting at 35,000 miles round trip) for flights to Havana were insignificant over the last year.

The Boeing 737 used on the Havana flights will be re-deployed on a West Coast run (likely Seattle-Orange County) where the carrier is experiencing strong demand.

In a statement, Alaska Air said, “About 80 percent of Alaska’s flyers to Havana visited under a U.S. allowance for individual ‘people-to-people’ educational travel. Changes to U.S. policy last week eliminated that allowance. Given the changes in Cuba travel policies, the airline will redeploy these resources to other markets the airline serves where demand continues to be strong.”

It remains to be seen how or if the Trump administration will enforce the new rules. Some think that the move to tighten rules might only be window dressing to placate the mostly pro-Trump Cuban American community in South Florida. Stay tuned– “don’t ask, don’t tell” could be the new reality for American’s hoping to travel to Cuba.

As the slow winter months approach, I expect we’ll see even more reductions on nonstop flights between the US and Cuba.

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Delta reveals details for final 747 flight

Delta 747

If you miss Delta’s low key send off to the 747, you can always see this 747 Experience at the Delta Museum near Atlanta Airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

We’ve been getting emails nearly every day asking what we know about Delta’s final Boeing 747 flight in December. These of course came to a head during United’s big send off when the questions naturally turned to, “That’s great for United but what is Delta going to do for its final 747 flight?”

The short answer is that it sounds like it will not be as big a production as United’s send off which included a special flight to Hawaii, a big social media campaign, parties in both San Francisco and Honolulu. And a lot of sentimentality for the exiting Queen.

Delta 747

Up inside the bubble at the 747 Experience in Atlanta, check out the rear galley wall with glass so you can look down into the main deck. So cool! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The final final international commercial flight will be Sunday Dec 17 from Seoul to Detroit, and according to Google Flights and Delta.com, seats are still available. We found DTW-ICN-DTW round trips in economy in the $1,500 range. Looking at the seat map for the final flight on Delta.com shows about 50 seats in economy and 4 in business class- although the biz class seats don’t show up for booking. Wanna go?

We found one-way flights in economy for about $1070, round trips for about $1500. We were unable to book business class seats even though 4 appear available in the seat map

Here’s what the airline has revealed on its blog about its final flights:

There will soon be more chances to see and perhaps take part in some of the last Delta 747 flights – the last to be flown by any U.S. passenger airline. Here are seven things to know about Delta’s big goodbye to the 747:

  1. Delta is operating the Boeing 747-400 on daily scheduled service between its Detroit hub and its partner hub at Seoul-Incheon.
  2. Here are the final regularly scheduled flights of the Delta 747:
    • Final U.S. departure: Flight 159 at Detroit to Seoul-Incheon at 12:31 p.m. on Dec. 15
    • Final Asia Pacific arrival: Flight 159 at Seoul-Incheon from Detroit at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 16
    • Final Asia Pacific departure: Flight 158 at Seoul-Incheon to Detroit at 11:15 a.m. on Dec. 17
    • Final U.S. arrival: Flight 158 at Detroit from Seoul-Incheon at 10:14 a.m. on Dec. 17
  3. Delta will take the 747 on an employee farewell tour from Detroit to Seattle on Dec. 18, Seattle to Atlanta on Dec. 19 and Atlanta to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Dec. 20.
  4. Customers can bid for a spot on these farewell flights via SkyMiles Experiences using their SkyMiles. The Farewell Tour begins after the final commercial flight touches down in Detroit from Seoul. The Tour includes three flights and after-party celebrations in Detroit, Seattle, Atlanta and Minneapolis.
  5. Employees and retirees can purchase a seat on these flights on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at noon ET Nov. 20 at a discounted rate, with all proceeds going to the Airloom Project, the organization behind the 747 Experience exhibit at the Delta Flight Museum.
  6. The 747 will fly a handful of sports team and ad-hoc charter flights through Dec. 31.
  7. Delta will fly its final 747 to its retirement place in Arizona in early January. This ferry flight will not be open to passengers.

From Delta’s farewell tour bidding page

Delta will be celebrating the iconic and revolutionary 747 throughout December in all of its channels and encourages customers, enthusiasts and employees to share their own tributes and remembrances using the #DL747Farewell hashtag. 

Don’t miss: First look inside Delta’s 747 Experience 


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Perfect timing for the cheapest trips

Cathay Pacific wing good timing

This Friday Nov 17 will be the busiest day of the Thanksgiving holiday- use good timing to find the best deals (Image of Cathay Pacific A350 at SFO, Chris McGinnis)

Want a great travel deal? Then you need to focus on your timing.

While everyone is moaning about high holiday fares, I’m going to let you in on a secret: Smack in the middle of what’s typically the most expensive time of year to travel lies the CHEAPEST time of year to travel.

How’s that? Well, let’s take a walk thru the calendar and I’ll show you when to pounce on deals—and when you should be prepared for sticker shock. It’s a bumpy ride of highs and lows, so stick with me and you’ll eventually find a perfectly timed deal that works for you.

November-December

Viking River Cruises

Viking River Cruises are about 45 percent less expensive in winter months (Photo: Viking)

Travel prices are relatively cheap in the early part of November but spike around Thanksgiving. However, travel patterns have been changing lately. Traditionally, the one of the busiest days of Thanksgiving holiday is the Wednesday before. But in recent years, the FRIDAY before Thanksgiving has emerged as one of the two busiest days at most major airports. The other busiest day is of course the Sunday after.

While it’s likely too late to find many deals during Thanksgiving week, keep an eye out for some last-minute deals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday– the slowest days. You’ll also find good downtown hotel rates in many cities this week since business travelers are home- your relatives will thank you 😉

Another silver lining for bargain hunters? An early Thanksgiving (Nov 23) means that the so-called “dead weeks” will begin earlier. These typically begin during the first week of December, but this year they’ll start around Tuesday, November 28. This holds true nearly everywhere except in NYC when prices begin to soar in December due to holiday shopping frenzy that grips Manhattan- airfares rise slightly, but hotel rates, especially on weekends in December, spike. (Good luck finding anything decent for less than $500.)

This is also a great time to consider one of those super-popular European river cruises which frequently sell out months or even years in advance. For example, a November week-long sailing on the Danube in Viking River Cruises starts at $1,999 per person – which is approximately 45 percent less than a peak summer, which starts at $3,649 per person. (I’ll be sailing the Danube on Viking this December so stay tuned for a Trip Report!)

January-February:

Fall autumn leaves New York

New York’s Central Park puts on a spectacular show in the fall – but rate hotel rates don’t fall til January (Chris McGinnis)

When everyone goes home after New Years, travel demand plummets and we fall into another short period of “Dead weeks” — the slowest (and cheapest) time of year for bargain hunters.

Early January through the early March is a great time to find excellent last-minute deals. Exceptions to this would be long weekends like Martin Luther King (Jan 13-15, 2018) Valentines/Presidents Day (Feb 14-19, 2018).

If you are between jobs, retired with no kids in school and have the flexibility to travel during these weeks, you’ll see jaw dropping low prices….and also lots of good last-minute deals on sites like Hotwire.com or LastMinuteTravel.com or apps like Hotel Tonight.

New York and San Francisco hotels have become freakishly expensive this year, but you’ll find some good deals if you go during January. (See New York Hotel Week for some good ideas.) If you’ve been priced out of these cities, January would be a great time for cost-conscious business travelers to set up meeting with prospects and clients.

Winter is also a very nice time to visit California Wine Country, especially if the sun is out. And the region could definitely use your help this winter- you’ll find a broad welcome mat and cheaper hotel rates, too. See The 29 Napa for ideas. I’ll be there in March to watch the beautiful mustard bloom yellow across the valleys!

March-April

snow

This is what springtime looked like last year near my sister-in-law’s house near Lake Tahoe (Photo: N Dean)

This is spring break and you need to be on alert for high prices and surprise crowds at airports, especially if you live in or near a college town OR if you are headed to a warm weather destination like Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean. Find out when the university nearest you has spring break (see calendar by school here) and stay home that weekend!

Late March is usually the busiest time of year for collegiate Spring break, and April is more popular with families traveling around Easter. But in 2018, Easter is early (April 1) so the last week in March will be crazy with both family and collegiate spring breakers hitting the roads and skies and bumping up airfares, hotels and rental car rates.

If you feel priced out of skiing this winter, consider taking a trip in early April (after Easter) when you’ll find cheaper fares, deals on lift tickets, and lots of end-of-season fun and festivities. (One day lift tickets at Vail this year are $164. At Squaw Valley: $158. Ouch) And if it’s like last year was in the West, you’ll find some of the best ski conditions of the year (but don’t count on it!).

April-June

There’s a silver lining to an early Easter, though, which is a much longer “shoulder season” when demand dips along with prices. Shoulder season in 2018 will run almost 10 weeks from early April until mid-June when peak summer pricing and crowds kick in. (Except of course Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, 2018).

Shoulder season is not as cheap as the dead weeks, but it’s not anywhere near the peak of what you’ll pay during July or August. This is probably the very best time of year to travel to Europe because the weather is getting warmer and summer crowds have not arrived. This is when new low fare carriers like Norwegian and WOW Air offer super low fares which are frequent matched by the majors. Hotels are cheaper, too. And there are flowers blooming!

It’s also a very nice time to see Mexico– especially Mexico City- here’s my take on the magnificent Mexican megalopolis!

June-August

Paris is sure pretty, but very pricey during peak summer months. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The peak of the peak summer season does not start until mid-June, so you’ll find significantly lower prices in early June compared to later in the month. Prices soar after that, especially on and around July the 4th and stay high mid August when kids go back to school. The also spike for Labor Day.

Keep in mind that late August is still technically summer so if you can time your vacation then, you’ll save a bundle. Keep an eye out for summer fare sales that roll out in the spring that offer the best deals to those willing to travel before about June 15 and after about August 15.

September-November

Cuba Santiago Fathom Adonia

Fathom ship Adonia entering the harbor at Santiago de Cuba- cruise ships can still call on Cuban ports and the cheapest time to go is autumn (Photo: Fathom)

What’s best about shoulder season is that there are TWO of them! The second one starts in September and lasts all the way to Thanksgiving.

Fall is a slow (and very cheap) time for cruising because kids are back in school and people are fearful of hurricanes. But the reality is that modern cruise ships are fast enough to navigate around storms.

Leisure travelers should keep in mind that this is convention season in many major US cities, so mid-week rates at big city hotels can soar to freakish levels, and then crash on weekends when conventioneers leave town.

Last year Marriott created a helpful infographic with some great ideas for taking advantage of the off-season.

OffSeasonInfograph

When do you find the best travel deals? Do you have the flexibility to travel during the slower shoulder season or dead weeks? Please leave your comments below. 

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Emirates new first class is nice, but what about the rest of the plane?

Emirates’ new 777 first class suites have 40 square feet of space. (Image: Emirates)

First class cabins are on their way out at many international airlines, but the few carriers that keep them are constantly upgrading them, in order to differentiate the product from increasingly spacious business class seating. The latest entrant in the first class competition is Emirates’ 777 fleet. And this comes on the heels of Singapore Air’s big launch of its luxury first class suites last week. 

At the Dubai Air Show this week, the carrier rolled out new cabin designs for its 777s, turning to Mercedes-Benz and its S-Class cars for inspiration. The renovations will cover all three classes on the planes, and will include upgraded entertainment systems as well. Emirates’ first new-look 777s are due to start flying between Dubai-Geneva and Dubai-Brussels next month, but it will take a long time to refit the existing fleet: The carrier noted that it currently has 165 777s, and 164 more on order from Boeing. (On most US routes, Emirates flies its big Airbus A380, so US-based travelers will likely only see this on beyond-Dubai flights.)

The new first class cabin has six individual suites in a 1-1-1 layout, dropping a suite from the current 1-2-1 configuration. Suites offer 40 square feet of space, with privacy provided by a sliding door. The fully-reclining seat is 78 inches long and up to 30 inches wide. The seat and its components are fully adjustable, and the middle suites come with “virtual windows,” giving occupants real-time views from outside the aircraft. (Nice touch!) Suites also have 32-inch HD video screens, adjustable mood lighting, temperature controls, minibar, a full-length wardrobe and “chandelier-style lights.”

No word yet on fares, but for comparison purposes, SFO-Dubai round trip in first class currently runs about $15,000. In business class, it’s about $8,000. Economy class is about $900.

First class suite made up for bedtime. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates’ new 777 business class cabin has fully-flat seats that offer 72 inches of pitch in a 2-3-2 layout- nice but it means that some unlucky passengers may still get stuck in a middle seat. This seems odd for the likes of Emirates since most of the newer business class sections from other global carriers have done away with middle seats in favor of all-aisle access.

My experience flying in a middle seat on Emirates in business class was actually not all that bad. Why? Because it was an overnight flight and I felt quietly isolated there in the middle with no bumps from other passengers or service carts. I enjoyed looking up at the ceiling and seeing stars 🙂

Anyway, business class seat controls and inflight entertainment systems have touchscreen controls, and seats provide individual lighting controls, privacy panels between seats, an area to stow shoes, a footrest and a minibar (yes, seriously).

Emirates new economy class has the despised, shoulder-rubbing 10-across seating in a 3-4-3 configuration— something that United has taken a lot of heat for installing on its new B777-300s that include its new Polaris business class seats, and more recently on its B777-200s. On the bright side, Emirates says that its economy seats will have “up to 33 inches of pitch” which is more generous than average, but not all seats will get that much.

Here are more photos of Emirates new cabin designs:

Also, check out the cool and immersive interactive experience including 360 views here. 

First class suites have sliding doors. (Image: Emirates)

 

First class suite with seat upright for dining. (Image: Emirates)

 

The new business class cabin for Emirates’ 777s- note the middle seats. (Image: Emirates)

 

Business class has 2-3-2 seating- note the middle seats. (Image: Emirates)

 

Economy seating is 10-across on redesigned 777s. (Image: Emirates)

Have you flown Emirates lately? What did you think? Please leave your comments below. 

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Popular: 747 goodbye + New low-cost carrier + Hawaii flights + Hong Kong + more

Hong Kong Junk

Chris took a two-day trip to Hong Kong last week- check out his post about The Peninsula and stay tuned for his Cathay Pacific A350 Trip Report (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 Emotional goodbye to United’s Boeing 747

2 A new US-based low-cost carrier in the wings?

3 Singapore Changi’s amazing new terminal (photos)

4 Trip Report: A sentimental journey onboard United’s final 747 flight

5 Routes: Etihad at DFW, El Al, Southwest, and lots of Mexico news

6 Pushing the Peninsula’s buttons

7 A Lyft bump and Uber slump – especially in San Francisco

8 A look inside Delta partner China Eastern Airlines

9 Travel restrictions are back for Cuba-bound Americans; 80 hotels off limits

10 Southwest Airlines eyeing Hawaii inter-island flights

Here’s something you may not know about Hong Kong:

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

How travel has changed in the age of Trump (Mic)

Hotels donating used furniture to Hurricane Harvey victims (AJC)

Is basic economy worth it? (LA Times)

Subtle but important distinctions between US carriers (Air Transport World)

Atlanta Airport Canopy

New roadside canopies taking shape at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Why it’s such a pain to use Uber and Lyft at Atlanta Hartsfield- and it’s getting worse (AJC)

Boeing might resume production of 767s (Reuters)

Qatar Airways buys 10 percent stake in Cathay Pacific (Bloomberg)

Thrillist picks the top airport restaurants nationwide

Hong Kong famous egg tart from Hoover’s #china #hk #china #lifewelltravelled #travel #foodporn #penmoments

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Tests show TSA screeners are still missing most weapons (NBC)

Uber hopes to have flying taxis in Los Angeles by 2020 (The Verge)

BA/Iberia’s Avios program will adopt ‘dynamic pricing’ for award travel (Business Traveller)

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Southwest eyes Hawaii inter-island service

Will Southwest take on Hawaiian Airlines on inter-island routes? (Image: Jim Glab)

Now that Southwest Airlines has confirmed its intentions to start flying to Hawaii, probably in 2018, there are new reports that the carrier might initiate inter-island service there as well.

Southwest plans to use its new Boeing 737MAX aircraft — which have a longer range than earlier versions of the single-aisle plane — to begin flights from the West Coast. But the company also reportedly sees considerable market potential for flights between the islands. That would give new competition to Hawaiian Airlines (which is due to begin its own narrow-body service from the West Coast in January, using new Airbus A321neos to replace twin-aisle A330s and 767s).

A Hawaiian Airlines inter-island 717 (Image: Hawaiian Airlines)

There’s certainly room for some competition on inter-island routes. A quick look at an airline schedule guide shows that Hawaiian is the only listed jet operator on routes from Honolulu to Hilo and Kona on the Big Island, to Kahului on Maui, to Lihue on Kauai, and to Lanai. Hawaiian uses 123-passenger 717s on inter-island routes.

There has been a little competition from Island Air, which has just three turboprops, but that company filed for bankruptcy last month. And Kona-based Mokulele Airlines has a number of flights, but with nine-passenger single-engine Cessnas.

Hawaii is the only state where travel between major cities requires an airplane (boats take too long, and there are no bridges). And a lot of people take those trips.

Source: Google Maps

Only about 30 percent of passengers on inter-island flights are connecting from long-haul service to Hawaii, and the traffic on those intrastate routes is considerable: e.g., more than a million passengers a year between Honolulu and Maui – or 40 percent more than on the crowded Boston Logan-New York LaGuardia route.

One deterrent for Southwest could be the size of its 737s and whether there is sufficient demand to keep them operating full enough and frequently enough to turn a profit. SFGate.com has a good analysis of Southwest’s potential inter-island incursion.

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Trip Report: A sentimental journey aboard United’s final 747 flight

747 lei

A giant lei welcomes United’s final 747 flight to Honolulu (Photo: Nancy Branka)

A few of us gathered at the airport gate window, looking out at the Boeing 747 being readied for its final passenger flight and snapping some photos. I admit to being a little choked up.

This week United Airlines retired the Queen of the Skies with a special commemorative flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL), the carrier’s very first route using the bubble-topped bird. The aircraft has had a long and storied history with United since the summer of 1970. At the time she was an engineering marvel and a cultural sensation—the very first wide-bodied aircraft. But today’s more fuel-efficient aircraft have made her history.

I felt a weird déjà vu at the window. This flight was personal. Late that summer of 1970, I stood at another window at SFO, looking out at what was then a brand new airplane: the 747 that would take me, my parents and brothers to Honolulu. My brothers and I sized it up, and we all wondered out loud whether it could actually take off with that girth.

Note: This Trip Report is written by TravelSkills contributor Nancy Branka. United covered the cost of air transport, Nancy covered all other expenses related to the trip. 

business traveler 747

Business travelers onboard a United 747 in the 1970s (Photo: United)

This was an extravagant trip for our family of six, and my parents played it up, requiring each kid (I was the oldest at 14) to earn money to contribute to the plane tickets. (Now, as a parent, I suspect it was more of a life lesson requirement than financial necessity.) The trip made an impression: At least a couple times a year it comes up in family conversation—yes because it was an exotic destination for us, but also because we had to work for it, and then of course, there was that plane. So when TravelSkills’ Chris McGinnis was going to be out of the country and miss this November 7 flight, I jumped at the chance to sub in. Even better, I was assigned a rear-facing business class seat- something else that will soon disappear on United.

United Champagne

A post-departure champagne toast on United’s final 747 flight to Honolulu (Photo: United)

I was not the only one feeling nostalgic today. The festivities at SFO’s Gate 86 were crazy–shoulder to shoulder people, many dressed in their ’70s finest. From plaid jackets to Pucci dresses to faux fur vests, it was That 70s Show on steroids. Kitschy United memorabilia abounded: plastic carry-on bags, a mechanics uniform, old timetables. My own bellbottoms and ’70s era top were subtle in this crowd.

Passengers were promised gate festivities at both SFO and HNL, flight attendants in retro uniforms, and retro meals. All that indeed happened. But what surprised me were the unexpected moments of sentimentality.

They came before we even left San Francisco. When we finally pulled back from the gate, a cheer went up. That was when my seatmate and I turned to the window and saw that our baggage handlers were lingering and all had their cameras out. Perched on a nearby gate’s Jetway stairs, a crew of flight attendants were taking selfies with our plane behind. Then, as we slowly taxied to the runway, ground crews all along our path stopped what they were doing to watch us pass—cameras in hand, of course. At one point, a group of about 50 took a group selfie, with the 747 in the background. The plane was like a beloved dignitary, on parade. This was incredibly moving.

United flight attendants onboard wore flowers in their hair…and leis around their necks (Photo: Nancy Branka)

A similar scene unfolded as we landed and pulled up to our gate in Honolulu. A large crew stood by waving the “hang loose” shaka sign. Then, after disembarking we watched from the gate windows as ground crew members operated a crane to lower a 120-foot orange lei on the Queen. Perhaps because the 747’s shape brings to mind a face more than other planes, the lei seemed a totally natural honor. Again, that choked up feeling.

Meanwhile, passengers from other arriving flights also stopped to watch the spectacle, alerted to the historic moment by their pilots, and we chatted about the revered 747.

Perhaps coolest was the unexpected gesture to the Golden Gate Bridge, an icon in its own right. As we lifted off over San Francisco Bay, a takeoff I’ve experienced countless times, something seemed different. Suddenly, a gasp ran through the cabin as we swept lower than I’ve ever flown over the bridge—it was breathtaking. At which point the pilot gently tipped the aircraft’s wings, in a final wave goodbye to the Golden Gate. You don’t get many moments like that in air travel.

United certainly brought on lots of fun touches with the inflight service. United CEO Oscar Munoz walked through the plane and clinked Mai Tai glasses with each passenger. (He did not take the flight.) Once airborne, the entire plane raised champagne glasses to toast the Queen. When appetizers were served, our purser brought by a bottle of Trader Vic’s salad dressing, which she said was the very dressing served when she began her FA career more than 40 years ago. After dinner a cart of Grasshoppers was served with all the steamy drama of dried ice (after similar service with ice cream sundaes).

Grasshoppers all around to finish a vintage meal onboard United’s final 747 flight (Photo: Nancy Branka)

 

United 747 hula

Gate celebration in Honolulu included ukulele music and hula dancers (Photo: Nancy Branka)

More than the retro accoutrement, the stories people brought on board made the flight distinctive. My seatmate, who flies hundreds of thousands of miles each year on United (and as many or more on other airlines), called the 747 his favorite aircraft, having flown it a hundred-plus times over the years. He loves its quiet feel and roomy first class seats. He reminisced about the upper deck when it was a lounge, and then when it later was converted to first class seating. He even once slept on the floor at the rear of the upper deck, a pilot having left a blanket and pillow behind there.

Many shared memories. Our gate emcee reported that she’d just met a woman who was on the very first United 747 flight. Her father was a United mechanic and she herself worked for United. Her son was born at 7:47, and they named him Boeing. No kidding.

As one flight attendant passed us hot towels, she said she had flown the 747 on the SFO-HNL route since her first day on the job. And she just couldn’t bear that it would be flying back empty to San Francisco the next day, then delivered to Victorville, CA on Thursday to be checked into the giant plane boneyard there. “So much fun happened on this plane,” she said. “Crazy stuff. Like right in your seats, right there,” she said pointing to my seatmate and me. Unfortunately, she turned and left before I could get details.

Marriage proposal

Up in the bubble a young couple agreed to get married! (Photo: United)

One couple even became engaged on the flight today! I’m not sure if United was in on the surprise, but the flight attendant announced that United would be picking up their honeymoon air travel costs. Several others celebrated birthdays. One gentleman had been on the very first 747 commercial flight—on Pan Am—and he had the framed documentation to prove it.

If I hoped the flight would reinforce the nostalgia of my family’s trip to Hawaii in 1970 and bring me back to what it felt like to be 14, it surpassed my expectations. But perhaps the biggest surprise was that sharing this nostalgia with 373 other passengers who had similar affection and memories would be so moving. United, which has had a challenging year in some respects, deserves full credit for sensing the zeitgeist and tapping into the deep feelings passengers have towards this plane.

See United’s excellent 4-minute compilation video from the final flight.

The big bird’s lonely, empty flight back to California and retirement in the Victorville boneyard:

Do you have a special 747 memory on United or any other airline? What do you think of United’s big send-off? Please leave your comments below. 

Disclosure: United covered the cost of air transport, Nancy covered all other expenses related to this trip. 


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Travel restrictions are back for Cuba-bound Americans; 80 hotels off limits

Kempinski Hotel Havana

Americans can’t stay at the the gorgeous new $500/night Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski recently opened on Havana’s Parque Central (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

It was only in last year that U.S. airlines got the right to operate scheduled flights to Cuba. But now the future of that service might be in doubt due to new travel restrictions imposed by the Trump Administration that take effect this week.

The new rules do not ban or restrict U.S. airlines or cruise lines from operating in Cuba. But they do impose strict new limits on the kind of trips Americans can take to the island – and that could dampen demand to the point where airlines reduce or eliminate flight schedules there. (Even before the new rules, some U.S. carriers had already cut back their schedules to Cuba because they had overestimated demand.)

The new regulations also bar Americans from staying at dozens of hotels or shopping in stores that the U.S. says are owned by commercial entities controlled by the Cuban military. The Dept of State amassed a list of nearly 80 hotels now off-limits to Americans, including the newest, nicest hotel in town, the gorgeous sugar-white Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski in central Havana which goes for about $500 per night. (In a country where citizens earn about $1 per day.) Instead, the Washington Post reports, “the new regulations encourage Americans to stay in rooms rented by private citizens and to eat in private restaurants that have been allowed for a number of years as part of a growing Cuban private sector.” Which means stays at private casas particulares (via Airbnb) and meals at family-run paladares are still okay. Also, none of the new Marriott/Starwood hotels appear on the banned list.

Cuba kiss Chris McGinnis

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis gets a warm welcome in Havana in 2016 in a rare window of opportunity for American travel to Cuba (Photo: TravelSkills)

The biggest impact is likely to come from the Administration’s decision to put a halt to individual “people-to-people” travel that was allowed up until this week, along with other non-academic individual trips.

Instead, Americans who want to go to Cuba will now have to travel as part of a group for a purpose approved by the Treasury Department; each group must be accompanied by someone from the tour operator or organization sponsoring the trip– similar to how the few American visited Cuba prior to Obama’s reestablishment of diplomatic relations and “don’t ask don’t tell” rules for Americans traveling there.

Even under the previous rules, individual vacation trips were not officially allowed, since a U.S. trade embargo remained in place. But U.S. travelers could self-identify their trips as falling into one of many approved categories, but enforcement was lax to non-existent. Most Americans traveled to Cuba just like they traveled to any other country in the world.

During a trip to Cuba in January, I wondered if we were there in a rare window of opportunity- CLICK PHOTO to read that post (Chris McGinnis)

Thankfully, those who already booked an upcoming flight or hotel stay in Cuba before the new rules took effect this week are exempted for the purposes of that trip. More details about the new restrictions are now on the Treasury Department website.

What’s important to know is that even after Obama normalized diplomatic relations with Cuba, the trade embargo remained in effect. Only at act of Congress can get rid of that, so don’t expect travel to Cuba to get easier any time soon.

What do you think about restrictions on American travel to Cuba? Step in the right direction or step back in time? Please leave your comments below. 

 

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A new US-based low-cost carrier in the wings?

World Airways: Making a comeback as an ultra-low-cost carrier using Boeing 787 Dreamliners? (Image: World Airways)

Remember World Airways? It was around for more than 60 years, mostly operating as a charter and cargo carrier – with brief forays into scheduled passenger transportation — before it folded in 2014. And now it may be coming back as a U.S.-based low-cost international airline- possibly along the lines of  European ultra-low-cost discounters such as Norwegian Air, Wow Air or Level. 

An investment firm called 777 Partners said this week it has purchased the “intellectual property” of World Airways and plans to re-launch it as a Miami-based scheduled passenger airline flying 787 Dreamliners on routes to Asia and Latin America from hubs at Los Angeles and Miami.

It will operate on a low-cost carrier model, perhaps inspired by the rapid growth of European international low-cost airlines.

“Initial funding for certification and aircraft acquisitions is being provided by 777 Partners. Discussions are underway with Boeing for an initial order for up to ten 787 aircraft,” a spokesman said. World Airways said it plans to form partnerships with low-cost carriers in the U.S. and at its destinations to feed traffic to its long-haul flights.

And get this: World’s chief marketing officer is Freddie Laker – the son of Sir Freddie Laker, the British entrepreneur who pioneered low-cost transatlantic air travel in the 1970s and died in 2006. Laker is listed as a “serial entrepreneur” on LinkedIn.

Freddie Laker’s profile on Linked In (Image: LinkedIn)

The founding CEO of the “new” World Airways is Ed Wegel, a longtime airline executive who most recently ran the “new” Eastern Airlines until October 2016. The current incarnation of Eastern started up in 2015 as a charter carrier, mainly operating flights to Cuba, but its business was disrupted by the revival of scheduled service from the U.S. to the island nation.

World has a website at www.worldairways.com as well as a Twitter presence (@worldairways).

The company gave no timetable for starting service on its website, but did say it plans to unveil a “new brand look and feel” for the new World Airways within the next few weeks.

So what do you think are the chances of World Airways getting back off the ground? Please leave your comments below. 

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Emotional goodbye to United’s Boeing 747

United 747

Today’s flight is United’s final journey for the Boeing 747 pictured here loading up for the trip SFO to Honolulu (Image: United)

Not everyone could be on United’s final Boeing 747 flight today, including me. But I’ve been watching the event unfold on social media while flying across the Pacific on a brand new wi-fi equipped Cathay Pacific A350 by following #UA747Farewell on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. (Click on the links to see the stream).

It looks like a fun trip, which included toasts by United CEO Oscar Munoz and a cast of lucky passengers and flight attendants (mostly) dressed up in 70’s garb.

United flight attendants lining up for a pre-flight photo opp at the airport (Image: United)

The trip got off to a rocky start with a maintenance delay (not unexpected for a plane destined for a desert retirement!), but then took off and made a dramatic exit right over the top of San Francisco, and then a low run over the Golden Gate Bridge before turning out over the Pacific for the final 2,500-mile flight to Honolulu. Check out the flight path here.

UA747 #ua747farewell #sfo #planespotting

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While I was unable to make this trip, our writer Nancy Branka is onboard and will have a full report on her experience later this week.

The flight included a special meal catered by Trader Vic’s…and plenty of mai-tais!

A special Hawaiian style menu for United’s final 747 flight to HNL (Image: United)

United says, “From a 1970s-inspired menu to retro uniforms for flight attendants to inflight entertainment befitting of that first flight, the ‘Queen of the Skies’ is being sent off in style. Seats for this flight sold out in less than 90 minutes when this farewell celebration was announced in September.”

Delta will retire its Boeing 747s in December while other international carriers such as British Airways and Qantas (as well as many cargo carriers) will be flying them for many more years. Also, the newer Boeing 747-8 flown by Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China should be around for decades.

There was also a very nice goodbye to the graceful Queen of the Skies on CBS This Morning on Sunday. Here’s the 5-minute clip in case you missed it.

What will you miss most about the Boeing 747? What do you think about the new generation of planes taking over long distance flying, such as the Boeing 777-300 or 787 Dreamliner…or the Airbus A350 and A380? Please leave your comments below. 


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Routes: Etihad at DFW, El Al, Southwest, and lots of Mexico news

Etihad 777-200

Etihad ended its 777 flights from San Francisco to Abu Dhabi last month- now another city gets dropped (Photo: Peter Biaggi / SFO)

In international route developments, Etihad drops another U.S. gateway and blames American; El Al comes back to Miami; Southwest adds three Latin America/Caribbean destinations from Ft. Lauderdale; and there’s new service to Mexico from Delta/Aeromexico, Alaska, Volaris, Interjet and Viva Aerobus.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways continues to struggle in the U.S. market. Late last month, it ended its San Francisco route, and it recently announced plans to trim its Los Angeles schedule from seven flights a week to four from mid-January through April. And now the carrier said it will suspend its daily flights from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Abu Dhabi, effective March 25. The airline said the Texas route “will become commercially unsustainable following American Airlines’ unilateral decision to terminate its codeshare agreement ” with Etihad. Company officials said almost half the passengers on its DFW flights were connecting from AA domestic code-shares. Etihad said that depending on how its summer bookings go, “further changes” are possible in its U.S. route network.

El Al uses a 777-200 on new Miami flights. (Image: El Al)

Nine years ago, Israel’s El Al ended its Tel Aviv-Miami service — but now it’s back. Last week, El Al started flying the route once again, operating three flights a week with a 777-200. The Israeli carrier also flies from Tel Aviv to New York JFK, Newark, Los Angeles, Boston and Toronto.

Southwest continues to expand its international schedule from Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, where earlier this year it opened an expansion of Terminal 1 to accommodate those flights. This week, Southwest started daily service to three new destinations from FLL –Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. At Houston Hobby, meanwhile, Southwest just announced plans to start service next June to Grand Cayman.

There’s lots of activity in the U.S.-Mexico market these days. Alaska Airlines, which started flying to Mexico City from San Francisco and Los Angeles in August, has now kicked off San Diego-MEX flights. Alaska partner SkyWest operates the daily flights with an E175.

Aeromexico just started Seattle-Mexico City 737 flights. (Image: San Jose Airport).

Meanwhile, Delta and Aeromexico continue to develop their joint venture partnership. They just opened up new daily service between Delta’s Atlanta hub and Queretaro, Mexico, flying the route with a two-class Aeromexico E190. And last week, Aeromexico launched service from Delta’s growing Seattle hub to Mexico City, using a 737-800 for the daily year-round flights.

Mexican carriers are also adding new service.  Low-cost carrier InterJet is adding three routes out of Los Angeles International this month. On November 23, it will begin daily flights to Leon/Guanajuato (close to popular San Miguel de Allende) and three flights a week to Los Cabos, followed on November 24 by four weekly roundtrips from LAX to Puerto Vallarta. On December 19, Volaris will inaugurate weekly service from LAX to Acapulco. And on December 16, vivaAerobus plans to launch daily A320 flights between Mexico City and Las Vegas.

Finally, Southwest Airlines said it will expand service to Cancun on June 9 of next year by adding seasonal Saturday flights from Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham. That means that on Saturdays next summer, Southwest will be operating 27 flights to Cancun from 16 U.S. cities.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Southwest adds more Oakland routes in 2018

Image: Southwest

Southwest Airlines’ 2018 schedule will give East Bay business travelers new daily flights to five domestic destinations that currently have no regular non-stop service from Oakland International – including two transcon routes.

In its 2018 summer schedule announcement, the airline said it will introduce daily non-stops on July 8 from Oakland to San Antonio, and on July 15 from OAK to Orlando, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Indianapolis. (Saturday-only non-stops from OAK to Orlando begin April 8.)

Earlier this year, Southwest started offering non-stop seasonal service from Oakland to Newark Liberty International, but based on the success of those flights, the airline now plans to convert that into year-round service, with daily flights due to start April 8, 2018.  (The only other non-stop service from Oakland to the New York City area is on JetBlue, which goes to JFK Airport.)

The new service will give Southwest 33 non-stop destinations out of Oakland.

Southwest at Oakland

Southwest Airlines jets at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)

Southwest has been steadily ramping up its California operations in recent months, and it has a new promotion for Rapid Rewards members who live in the state. Called California Millions, it will give away millions of Rapid Rewards points to winners. It remains in effect through November 30. Here’s a link to participate.

The airline’s summer schedule for next year also includes new daily non-stops between San Antonio and Ft. Lauderdale starting July 8. On June 6, Southwest will end its daily service between Flint, Michigan and Chicago Midway.

On June 7, Southwest will resume daily seasonal service between Denver-Charleston, S.C., Chicago-San Juan and Omaha-Orlando. And on June 9, it will start new Saturday-only seasonal flights between Boise-Dallas, Denver-Panama City, Fla., and Tulsa-Orlando.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Popular: Mexico City surprise + 747 love + Hawaii deal + Singapore suites + United app

Air France A380 Mexico City

Chris expected the worst when this behemoth pulled in next to his plane in Mexico City. Didn’t happen! (Photo: Chris McGinnis

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 Excellent, helpful reader comments. Gracias. Vamos! Trip Report: Mexico City, North America’s best-kept travel secret

2 Lots of nostalgia this week “Fond farewell to our 747”- a tearjerker video from United

3 Reader Report: Final 747 flight from London

4 Routes: United’s longest + Delta Comfort+ American to China + more

5 Fares now back up to around $400- -nice while it lasted! Sneak sale: Hawaii $325 roundtrip from 5 west coast cities

A lot of folks got a great deal to Hawaii this winter and they’ll likely be seeing this: Hilton Hawaiian Village (Chris McGinnis)

6 Swish suites! Singapore Airlines unveils an awesome A380 makeover (photos)

7 New MileagePlus award travel pricing starts today

8 United app gets an upgrade

9 Remember Upside Travel? They’ve found a big partner Trying out the new Wall Street Journal travel service

10 Some pretty pix! 10 most Instagrammable airports, airlines

A beautiful fall day for flying from Munich to Paris! #travel #germany #travelskills #lufthansatravels #airbus

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Easy! National Car Rental beefed up its popular “One Two Free” promotion with a Twitter sweepstakes- it offers a chance to earn bonus points toward a free rental day. All you have to do is tweet about how you plan to use the free rental day using the hashtag #OTFSweepstakes– five winners will be randomly selected to get 600 points– enough for a free day. Registration required. 

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Don’t miss! United’s new interactive website for the big 747 farewell

United’s interactive page for the big United 747 farewell this week (Image: United)

New Terminal 4 for Korean & Cathay at Singapore Changi

Cost to ride Uber/Lyft from Sea-Tac airport increases

Get ready: An army of Chinese millennials is going to change the face of travel

AirlineRatings.com names world’s top 10 carriers in various categories

Here’s how airlines decide who gets an upgrade

Oak Tree Inns’ 44 hotels will convert to various Wyndham brands

Ontario Airport TSA ads warn against traveling with pot after Jan. 1 legalization

Forbes lists the world’s 10 longest non-stop flights

Finnair will weigh passengers at Helsinki Airport

Best Western adds a new brand

New Air France app provides publications, videos, music

Innovative concept for new Virgin cruise ship venture: No kids allowed

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Singapore Airlines unveils an awesome A380 makeover (photos)

Redesigned first class suite on Singapore Airlines’ A380s. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

Four years ago, Singapore Airlines’ design team started working on new interiors for its fleet of Airbus A380s, and their updated products have just been revealed, bringing additional elements of comfort to bolster the carrier’s reputation as one of the world’s best for passengers.

While many global airlines are eliminating first class from their long-haul aircraft, Singapore is sticking with the traditional premium cabin – but it is cutting the number of first class suites on the A380s from 12 to six, and moving them to the front of the upper deck. The rest of the upper deck will be occupied by 78 new business class seats, while the lower deck accommodates 44 premium economy seats and 343 regular economy.

The spacious first class suites will have more than just a big seat-bed – they’ll have an actual bed with adjustable recline and a comfortable leather chair, along with lots of storage space. What’s more, passengers in two adjoining suites can remove the wall in between them so the separate beds become a double bed. (When not in use, the first class beds can be stowed, freeing up even more space.)  The chairs can swivel and recline. Suites also come with a swiveling 32-inch HDTV monitor, full-sized wardrobe, and mood lighting. And the first class cabin has a pair of redesigned lavatories that may be the most spacious in the sky.

Window seat in the new A380 business class. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

Business class seats, configured 1-2-1 and forward-facing, are 25 inches wide and recline into a 78-inch bed. They come with an 18-inch high-def touch-screen monitor, USB and power ports, adjustable reading lights, mood lighting and a larger dining table. The seats’ larger back shell “creates a cocoon-like feel,” Singapore said, and the privacy divider between the two middle seats can be lowered to form double beds – “an ideal choice for customers such as families traveling together,” the airline said (although these are not enclosed suites like in first class, so the beds aren’t private).

Premium economy seats (configured 2-4-2) are 19.5 inches wide, recline eight inches, and offer 38-inch pitch, calf and foot rests, power ports and a pair of USB ports. Monitors are 13.3 inches, and passengers get noise-cancelling headphones. Regular economy seats (with a 3-4-3 layout) have 32-inch pitch, 18.5-inch width, and six-inch recline.  Video monitors measure 11.1 inches.

The airline has five new A380s on order; they’ll come with all the enhancements, and will start to enter service in December. Singapore’s existing fleet of 14 A380s will also get the refit, with work starting in 2018 and continuing into 2020. Singapore’s New York flight (via Frankfurt) is its only U.S. route currently served with an A380.

Below are more photos of the interiors. You can also check out Singapore’s website about the A380 redesign here, and read details of the new products here.

First class suites can be combined into a double-bedded unit. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

 

A middle seat in business class. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

 

Middle seat-beds in business class can also be combined. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

 

First class lavatories are bright and spacious. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

 

Premium economy seating is 2-4-2. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

 

Main cabin seating is configured 3-4-3. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

 

Entertainment system monitors have touch-screens. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Trip Report: Mexico City, North America’s best-kept travel secret

Mexico City CDMX Paseo St Regis

Mexico City’s bustle is back along the Paseo de la Reforma and the St Regis Hotel (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Back in early September I took a quick trip to Mexico City and came away as impressed as I was when I visited five years ago to write this story for BBC. I know it may sound crazy coming from someone who has traveled to a LOT of cities, but Mexico City is one of my favorite places in the world. Seriously. Go there, or talk to someone who has recently visited and you’ll find out why.

I was all set to sit down and write this Trip Report when the earthquake struck Mexico City on September 19. According to my sources there, in the six weeks since the tragic 7.1 temblor, the city has quickly recovered and there is very little visible evidence of the disaster.

Officials report that nearly all the big 3- to 5-star hotels used by business travelers are open and unscathed by the quake. And demand for hotel rooms has been remarkably resilient. Mexico City hotelier Michael Chiche told me, “It’s fair to say that the city is back to business as usual.” He said that most of the severe damage was in residential areas, but that the central touristic areas, including popular Polanco where his Las Alcobas hotel is located, are fine. 

St Regis Mexico

The bustle is back at the slick St Regis Mexico City (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

As a matter of fact, hotel occupancy in the city dipped only 4.4% in the the third quarter of this year.  Mexico City Tourism authorities report that the hotel occupancy rate is running at 86.4 percent, which is actually higher than this time last year. A crowd of 300,000 turned out for the Day of the Dead parade last Saturday. And the city just hosted the huge Formula 1 Grand Prix, which drew close to a million spectators. The NFL’s Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots will play in Mexico City on November 19th. The airport has been open and operational since the day after the quake.

The big, bustling, diverse and fast-paced metropolis is moving on.

Here’s my story, advice and photos:

Chris McGinnis Contramar Mexico City

Our best Mexico City meal was lunch at the big, bright, noisy and delicious Contramar in the Condesa neighborhood (Photo: Barkley Dean)

In early September, I flew Alaska Airlines from San Francisco to Mexico City for Labor Day weekend. It had been about five years since my last visit, and once again, I came away impressed.

CDMX, as the city now refers to itself, has an incredibly diverse and sophisticated food scene. While there are few brand new hotels, the existing stock is impressive, continually updating and inexpensive— a quick scan of rates shows five-star hotels going for as little as $220 per night this fall and winter. It’s insanely busy and frenetic– since CDMX is the country’s capital city, financial center, technological & industrial heart, and its “Hollywood,” the city feels like a combination of New York, Washington and Los Angeles with a little chili pepper tossed in.

Ahi tuna tostada with dried onion, lemon mayo, sea salt and lime juice. OMG good at Contramar in Mexico City (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Paloma cocktail

In Mexico City, locals drink Palomas, rarely margaritas (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Getting around town is an inexpensive cinch now that Uber is there. And the downtown core is cleaner, and feels safer, than most U.S. cities I’ve visited recently. From the ride from airport to city, to my walks along the Paseo de la Reforma and the hip neighborhoods of Condesa, Roma, and Polanco, I saw almost no litter and few homeless, and I felt as safe or safer than walking around Union Square in San Francisco, Midtown Atlanta or Manhattan.  To me, Mexico City felt like Europe without the jet lag, high prices and tourist throngs.

Most of the business travel scene takes place on the western side of the central core, where the action is in and around Polanco and the broad, tree-filled, European-style Paseo de La Reforma and Chapultepec Park. Take a stroll through this clean, green well-tended park and you’ll find yourself catching your breath since Mexico City lies at 7,200 feet above sea level. If you have time, see Chapultepec Castle where Maximiliano lived (I regrettably missed this due to a late start).

Alaska Airlines Mexico

New nonstops between San Francisco and Mexico City on Alaska Airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

AIR: Nonstop flights between the US and Mexico City are proliferating, which means more flight choices and lower fares. San Francisco is a perfect example of that. As of last summer, there are four airlines serving SFO-MEX nonstop: Aeromexico, Alaska Air, United and Volaris. (San Jose recently announced new nonstops, too. Seattle did, too.) As a result of all that competition, round trip fares between the two cities have dipped as low as $225 round trip this fall and winter-– which makes a trip to Mexico City even more of a bargain than it already was. Checking today, I found roundtrip fares on Volaris, a Mexican discounter, at $224; other carriers are in the $300 range. I flew Alaska Airlines over Labor Day weekend when fares were about $350 round trip. First class fares are a relative bargain, too, at about $600 round trip (for a four-hour flight). Arrival, customs and immigration in Mexico City were easy and uneventful. Even with an Air France A380 from Paris unloading at the same time, we only spent about 20 minutes in the immigration line (there are no fast track lanes).

Mexico City Uber

Uber is super cheap, super easy and super clean. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

GROUND: Uber is cheap, easy, safe and plentiful in Mexico City. We never waited more than three minutes for a car. While Mexico City’s cheap-but-efficient Metro trains now run to the airport, it would be a challenge to take a comfortable ride with baggage since the trains are so jam packed. For airport runs, I recommend a car or taxi– just be aware of roadway rush hours– 8-10 am, 6:30 – 8:30 pm. UberX costs only about $12 for the ride from the airport to the city center; Uber Black is about $30. (Uber’s new tipping function does not work in Mexico.) Lyft does not operate in Mexico City. Since Uber was so easy, I did not use taxis at all. Most of our center-city rides cost less than $5. But I spent most of my time on foot– my Fitbit recorded a whopping 20,000 steps per day for the three days I was there.

St Regis Mexico City Exterior

The St Regis Mexico City is part of a dramatic glass and steel residential tower on the Paseo de la Reforma (Chris McGinnis)

 

Las Alcoba Mexico City

Exquisite rooms with lots of local color and a fantastic location at Las Alcobas in Polanco (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

HOTELS: We stayed at the St Regis Mexico City on Paseo de la Reforma, where rates ran $290 per night. (Disclosure: I accepted a 50% off media rate.) The hotel is part of a gorgeous glass and steel residential tower with commanding views of the environs. Inside, it is swathed in rich marble and wood, spritzed with aromatherapy, decorated with fresh flowers and manned by a pleasant, professional staff. A brand new veranda overlooking a busy roundabout offers lots of fun, talented mixologists, and a see-and-be-scene among hotel guests and wealthy “Chilangos,” as Mexico City residents call themselves. Rates start at around $250 per night—quite a deal for a property that regularly vies for the top spot among luxury hotels with Las Alcobas, an SPG-affiliated 35-room, 5-star gem located in the posh Polanco district on Avenida Masaryk—“the Rodeo Drive” of Mexico City.

Note that since Mexico City is a huge business travel destination, upscale hotel rates are higher (sometimes much higher) on weekdays than on weekends.

Most American business travelers stay nearby among the four giant hotels on the edge of Polanco overlooking Chapultepec Park–there you’ll find the InterContinental, W, Hyatt and JW Marriott.  More adventurous travelers may choose to stay in the non-brand hotels in the hip neighborhoods of Roma or Condesa. (Regrettably, these older districts were saw more earthquake damage than newer areas like Polanco.) On one of my long walks, I ducked into the popular Condesa DF and the unusually beautiful El Parque Mexico (no in-room TV or A/C). Other popular smaller hotels: La Valise, Habita or the mod, colorful, mid-century modern El Camino Real Polanco.

Parque Mexico Hotel

The unusual Parque Mexico is sure cool to look at both inside and out but it gets trashed on TripAdvisor (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

WEATHER: The “wet” season in Mexico runs from May to September, with a little rain expected every day. The dry season runs November to May with the warmest months of the year being April and May. Overall, due to the high altitude, the climate is cooler than you might expect. Also, with all those clouds scrubbing the air during rainy season, air pollution is not that bad during wet months (and in general, the air is much better than it use to be). It’s worse during the colder, drier winter months when there’s an inversion in the valley where the city lies.

PHONE: My Verizon phone worked just fine– $5 per day for unlimited calls and data using Verizon TravelPass. Other major carriers offer similarly cheap and easy plans — just be sure to set them up before you depart the US. (See all options here)

Pujol Mexico City

Pujol is one of the most sought after reservations in Mexico City- just be prepared to pay up and eat weird. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

EATING AND DRINKING: Mexico City is one of the hottest foodie cities in the world now. The breadth and sophistication of the scene surprised me. The best meal I had in Mexico City was lunch at Contramar. Note: Lunch in Mexico starts late at 2 pm. When I arrived at 1 pm, the place was deserted. By the time I left Contramar at 3 pm it was packed. Reservations are required. At my table we enjoyed a whole grilled red snapper with green and red salsa, but the best thing I ate on the entire trip was the tuna tostada with dried onions, lemony mayonnaise and a slice of avocado (See photo up top). After lunch I followed the lead of locals asked for a carajillo—a shot of coffee with Licor 43 and cream. If you miss out on Contramar, try Entremar, its sister restaurant on Polanco.

Pujol

Tamarindo margarita with worm salt, a pickled carrot sprinkled with dried, crushed ants, and an ant larvae tarte on the menu at Pujol. Yes, I ate it all and liked it! (Photo: Chris McGinnis

We also dined at the Omikase bar at  the super hot and super expensive Pujol (see above).  We ducked into the very upscale and modern Biko (in Polanco) where the focus is on the food– the small bites are plated to perfection, and the visual show on the table is magnified due to the cool gray drab interior.

Biko Mexico City

Small bite with big flavors plated to perfection at Mexico City’s Biko restaurant (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

One of the most memorable meals was Sunday brunch on the big bright new veranda of the Restaurant Diana at the St Regis. The diverse spread is outstanding with multiple stations, lots of locals, big views off the new veranda and only about $45 per person without wine or champagne ($75 with). Dinner in the same space is an excellent choice for entertaining… a young talented chef turns out a diverse menu that blends local food and spices with European classics.

St Regis Mexico City brunch

Sunday Brunch at the St Regis Mexico City on a veranda overlooking the Paseo de la Reforma (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Something I learned from a bartender at the St Regis: Chilangos don’t drink margaritas— they are considered a beach drink. The most popular drink in town is the paloma, a combination of tequila and lime juice topped off with a grapefruit soda like Squirt or Fresca.

Check out my video of a Mexico City taco-making master as he shows off his talents.

A word about street food: Having had my bouts with Montezuma’s Revenge in previous trips to Mexico, I admit I was at first hesitant to try street food in Mexico City, but I ended up giving in with no ill effects. Best advice: Ask locals where THEY eat off the street and go there. Or look for long lines and lots of steam at the many taco stands. Ask around and you’ll find out where to go.

Mexico City Metro

Mexico City’s Metro system is clean and cheap–and very crowded at peak times with cars reserved for women and children. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

MONEY: Mexico City is always a nice bargain for Americans, and it’s recently become even more of one as the dollar has strengthened against the peso, reaching nearly 20 pesos per US dollar in recent weeks. Combine that with inexpensive 4-5 star hotels, reasonably priced dining and cheap airfare.

LAY OF THE LAND:  See a map of Mexico City here.

The city is laid out east-west along the Paseo de la Reforma as its spine. On the western edge of the city is the new Santa Fe enclave of office towers, luxury hotels and shopping malls. A lot of US companies have set up shop in Santa Fe. Its distance from the central city and traffic issues (it can take over a hour to get there by Uber in bad traffic) make it a nice upscale island, but does not feel much like Mexico.

Moving east, you’ll find the trendy Polanco district, “the Beverly Hills” of Mexico City. This is where the city’s corporate, governmental and diplomatic elite hang out and/or reside. It’s also where you’ll find the trendiest restaurants, late night bars, and exuberant youth. It’s also an excellent place for a stroll with several stops at the many outdoor cafes.

Roundabout Mexico

The European style Paseo de la Reforma is dotted with several elegant roundabouts (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Next up along “el Paseo” is Chapultepec Park and a series of European style roundabouts adorned with fountains and gleaming gold statues. It’s where you’ll find the newest, tallest skyscrapers and nicest hotels like the St. Regis, the Four Seasons and a new Ritz-Carlton coming in 2019. On the southern side of the Paseo are the hip neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa where you’ll find the best bars, outdoor cafes and younger, hipper set.

Bellas Artes Mexico

Looking out from the Sears department store veranda coffee shop at Mexico City’s gorgeous Centro de Bellas Artes (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Continue on to the east and you’ll find the Centro Historico—the old center of town. Here you’ll find the statues, cathedrals, plazas and monuments of a 500-year-old capital city. It’s definitely worth seeing, but there’s not a lot of business taking place there. If you have time, be sure to saunter into the Sears Department store across the street from the spectacular Bellas Artes, go up to the 8th floor for a cup of coffee and a view that will blow you away (See above). And about 20-30 minutes east of that is Benito Juarez International. And beyond that is the massive NEW Mexico City airport that has already broken ground. The first phase is expected to open around 2020.

There you have it! Four days well spent in what I think is the biggest sleeper destination in the western hemisphere. Among the other Americans I spoke with on this trip, there was a conspiratorial smile and wink that said something like, “Let everyone back home think this place is dangerous and squalid. It’s too bad that’s the perception, but we’ll keep coming back until the secret is out!”

Don’t miss plenty more excellent photos from this trip that I could not fit here. See my Google photo album: Mexico City Sept 2017

Have you been to Mexico City lately? Would you consider a trip there? Please leave your comments below. 

Disclosure: I covered all expenses for this trip except for a special 50% off media rate from the St Regis Mexico City. CDMX Travel paid for my airfare on Alaska Airlines.


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Most Instagram -able airports, airlines

United and SFO both rank third in popularity among Instagram users- click to go to my Instagram!

Are you a big Instagram user? Plenty of travelers are these days (especially younger or younger-at-heart ones like me), and they often post pictures before, during and after their trips. But which airports and airlines are most popular among them?

That’s what TravelBank – an automated expense reporting specialist – wondered, so it reviewed Instagram data to find out, basically by looking at the number of followers each airport and airline have on their accounts.


Los Angeles International grabbed the number one spot in airport popularity, perhaps because a paparazzi mindset permeates the passenger terminals. (Ever try to grab a selfie with a passing celebrity?) TravelBank writes: “Currently in the middle of a $1.6 billion renovation, LAX will not only continue to be the place where people snap pics with the rich and famous, but it’s bound to keep flyers happy with its endless amenities and its Instaworthy locale.”

Ranking second was Chicago O’Hare (maybe just by virtue of its size). In addition to its colorful underground passageways, TravelBank says O’Hare’s public art collection and multiple restaurants that overlook the runways make for shareable moments on Instagram.

Terminal 3, Hall of Flags. (📷: @ashleythepetite ) #chooseohare

A post shared by O’Hare International Airport (@flyohare) on

Coming in third place was my very own San Francisco International. TravelBank says “SFO is a major travel hub for the app-loving millennials of tech-savvy San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Add in a selection of Instagrammable dining options serving local favorites (we’re looking at you Napa Farms Market) and a $2.6 billion expansion, and it’s easy to see why SFO comes in at #3.” My favorite spot for plane spotting and then post pics on Instagram is out at gate 66 in United’s new(ish) T3E terminal. Plus the airport regularly posts some great archival photography from its outstanding SFO Museum.

#tbt (1962) @united Douglas DC -8 jets

A post shared by SFO International Airport (@flysfo) on

While flying through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International which ranks #9, I snagged this Instagrammable moment on the stairs to Delta’s new Sky Club in Concourse B.

Remember when bag tags were pretty? #travel #delta #skyclub #atl #avgeek

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Here’s a look at the top 10 most popular U.S. airports on Instagram:

Source: TravelBank

As for airlines, there were no big surprises, with American, Delta and United ranking first through third, and the number of their Instagram followers reflecting their total passenger numbers:

At the top of the heap with nearly 650,000 followers is American Airlines— as the largest US carrier, sheer size is in its favor here. TravelBank adds:  AA has raised the bar and reaffirmed its commitment to passenger satisfaction with its investment in new aircraft, improvements to its business class product, the overhaul of its hub airport lounges and much more. It’s no wonder that American passengers have been eager to follow along with the company’s Instagram journey more than any other airline on our list!

Here’s a nice Instagrammable moment with #2 Delta showing off it’s popular outdoor deck at JFK. TravelBank adds: Delta’s onboard product is regarded as the best among the big 3 airlines, and upgrades to its fleet — like serving award-winning food options and craft beer — along with tech-friendly improvements like in app luggage tracking and auto check in make Delta a favorite among the Instagram crowd.

Last year #3 ranked United had some fun with with rainbow colors to celebrate National Coming Out Day in October and Gay Pride Month in June.

Today and every day, show your true colors. #NationalComingOutDay

A post shared by United (@united) on

Last Spring Delta invited me to Atlanta for the launch of its new 747 Experience at the Delta Museum by the airport. I scrambled all over the vintage 747 and snagged a bunch of snaps like this which I posted on Instagram. Are you following me? Why not! Get cracking!

Northwest Airlines flight attendant hat by Yves St Laurent circa 1973 #travel #avgeek #delta #747 #atl

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Source: TravelBank

I saw this spooky sight out my window flying over Dallas, Texas at night– it’s been one of my post popular window seat posts.

Dallas thru winter clouds #dfw #dallas #windowseat #clouds @united #ATL > #SFO #travel #avgeek #texas

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

See TravelBank’s full report on this here

Are you on Instagram? Why or why not? Leave your comments below. I find it fun and a nice way to pass time when stuck in a line, riding in an Uber and at other slow moments in my crazy busy life.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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New MileagePlus award travel pricing starts today

United’s new MileagePlus pricing scheme starts today. (Image: Jim Glab)

United announced it early last summer, but in case you forgot, some big changes in MileagePlus award travel start today (November 1).

The biggest change: The program’s Standard Awards, with fixed mileage costs for unrestricted award trips, have been eliminated. Instead, the program now has what it calls Everyday Awards – and their costs are variable, not fixed. The mileage cost for a specific trip will be tied to the dollar cost of that trip.

“Since flight prices fluctuate based on a variety of factors, we’ve decided to take those same factors into consideration for award travel pricing,” United said on its website. United will continue to offer MileagePlus domestic Saver awards (which are subject to capacity controls) at levels of 10,000 or 12,500 miles one-way for economy class seats, depending on distance.

When Delta adopted variable pricing for SkyMiles reward travel, it stopped publishing a mileage price chart. United still has a chart for its new MileagePlus Everyday Awards, but it only lists the maximum cost in miles for a reward trip. You can see the new award chart here.

The chart shows the maximum one-way cost of a domestic Everyday Award in economy class as 32,500 miles, vs. the old fixed rate of 25,000 miles. But since this is a maximum cost, the fluctuating price at the time of booking could still be 25,000, or less, or more—but not more than 32,500. MileagePlus members are more likely to encounter the maximum mileage price on popular longer-distance routes, like transcontinental flights.

MileagePlus award travel could cost more on transcon routes starting now. (Image: United Airlines)

Besides keeping fixed prices in place for domestic Saver awards, United said it will also make more seats available at those prices. But there will be some changes to Saver awards starting this month, like lower mileage prices on many short-haul, intra-regional economy seats for flights outside the U.S., like within Europe; increased Saver award prices in “select international markets;” and higher prices for United Business Saver Awards on premium transcontinental routes and some Hawaii routes.

The company also said that effective for award travel booked on or after November 1, all members (even elites) who fail to show up for their flights and want to redeposit their miles will face a $125 redeposit fee.

The coming changes will not affect Mileage Upgrade Awards, United said.

Thoughts on the changes? How does United program compare to others? Please leave your comments below. 

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United app gets an upgrade

United’s app can now add electronic boarding passes from partner airlines. (Image: United)

With travelers becoming more reliant on their smartphones for all kinds of chores, the United app got several enhancements this week to increase its functionality.

For one thing, the airline now allows users to receive boarding passes via the app for onward connecting flights on 19 partner airlines. In talking with users, “we found that simply allowing our customers to access boarding passes for their entire itinerary within the same app made a big difference,” said Kate Gebo, chief customer officer at United. Participating carriers range from big ones like Lufthansa to small ones like Aegean Airlines. You can see a full list here.

Users can also turn to their United app now to make changes in their reservations, or to cancel them. Users will see these new options under Reservations Details, where they can follow the indicated steps to get a confirmation of their action. “As this new feature debuts, certain reservations, such as reservations purchased through third parties, will continue to United.com to allow customers to make changes,” the company said.

Don’t miss! United squeezes more seats into its long-haul 777-200s

United’s app has added several new features. (Image: United)

For iOS users, customers’ United Club and MileagePlus cards can now be stored in the Apple Wallet for easy access, United said. Users should log into their MileagePlus account in the app, select United Clubs and/or MileagePlus, and then hit the “add to Apple Wallet” icon under the digital card. “United Club members will still scan their boarding passes to access United Club locations before their flight,” United said. “Members who do not have their MileagePlus number tied to their boarding pass will be able to show their electronic card, along with a same-day boarding pass for United Club access.”

Another recent enhancement to the app is the addition of a beta “Track my bags” function, which will give users real-time updates of when their bag goes onto the aircraft, when it is unloaded, and when it reaches baggage claim. (Delta added a baggage tracker to its app in 2016.) United said it is also adding a 3D touch capability for Apple iPhone users whose devices support that feature. They can use it “to instantly navigate from their iPhone’s home screen to book a flight, check in, and view their flight status in the app,” United said.

Readers: What other features or capabilities would you like to see on United’s app? How does it compare to other airline apps?

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Hate crowds? Here’s when to avoid business trips

Business travel surges the week before Thanksgiving.  (Photo: Mineta San Jose Airport)

You’d think that as the Thanksgiving holidays approach, business travel would slow down. And during Thanksgiving week it does. But the week before Thanksgiving, you’ll see the year’s biggest crowds of business travelers, according to a new report.

Concur, a company that specializes in tracking business travelers’ expenses, did a day-by-day analysis of business travel volume over the course of a full year, and found that the Wednesday and Thursday of the week before Thanksgiving were the busiest days of the year for business travelers. (This year, that’s November 15 and 16.)

Of course, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after are some the busiest days overall, but most of that traffic is from leisure travelers.

But there’s significant surge among business travelers that week before: The company said the number of business travelers on the road during those days is 58 percent higher than on the average weekday. Also, the bulk of travelers during those two busiest days are infrequent business travelers, Concur said, who take only one to three business trips a year.

Weekly levels of business travel; the red line is average. (Image: Concur)

The level of business trips drops below average during Thanksgiving week and the following week, the study found, and the lowest volumes of the entire year came during the last two weeks of December and the first week of January. (The number of business trips during the week between Christmas and New Year’s was 86 percent below the average week.)

By contrast, the weeks with the highest above-average levels of business trips came from early September through early November. Looking at full months rather than weeks, July was the slowest month for company trips, while October and November were the busiest.

July is the slowest month. (Image: Concur)

And where are road warriors going during their busy season? During the busiest travel dates, Concur said, the busiest domestic air travel routes, in order, are Chicago-New York, New York-Los Angeles, Dallas-Chicago, New York-San Francisco and Boston-New York. The busiest international routes are New York-London, San Francisco-London, Toronto-New York, Toronto-Chicago and Boston-London.

Concur offers these additional tips for business travel:

  • The earlier in November you travel, the better. So start planning your pre-holiday travel now.
  • If meetings and clients allow, shift your travel days to Mondays, Tuesdays or Fridays.
  • Consider alternate local airports beyond the traditional major hubs.
  • Avoid costly last-minute fares by booking between eight to 14 days in advance. After that, prices tend to jump 44%.

Where will YOU be this Thanksgiving? Which days will you avoid? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: United’s longest + Delta Comfort+ American to China + more

United 787-9 Dreamliner

United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner on its new Los Angeles-Singapore non-stops. (Image: United)

In international route developments, United has inaugurated the longest U.S. non-stop service and has revived Auckland flights; Delta starts selling its Comfort+ seats on transatlantic flights and launches its first A350 flights; American begins a new China route; Air France replaces Delta on a Paris route; Air Canada adds capacity to India from the West Coast; and Pakistan’s national carrier drops a U.S. route;

New non-stop service launched last week by United between Los Angeles and Singapore takes the number one spot as the longest flight from the U.S. at 8,700 miles. That surpasses the 8,446-mile route that United started up last year from San Francisco to Singapore, and tops Qantas’ 8,576-mile Dallas/Ft. Worth Sydney route. As with its San Francisco route, United is using a 250-passenger 787-9 for the LAX-Singapore flights. The new flight departs LAX at 9:25 and takes almost 18 hours. Don’t miss: Chris’ Trip Report on SFO-SIN from last year 17 moments in 17 hours on Singapore Airlines

In other news, United just revived its seasonal service between San Francisco and Auckland, New Zealand, which is also served by Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand. United will fly the route six days a week from now through December 17, boosting the schedule to daily service through March 22. The carrier’s Auckland flights are using a 777-300ER fitted out with United’s new Polaris business cabin, featuring lie-flat seats that all have aisle access. United and Air New Zealand have created a new website at www.united.com/airnz that provides information on both carriers and destination tips about New Zealand.

Delta’s Comfort+ seating is now on sale for transatlantic flights. (Image: Delta)

Delta has just started selling its Comfort+ product – extra-legroom main cabin seating – on transatlantic flights effective for travel January 22 and beyond. That includes all its flights from North America to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Delta started selling Comfort+ seating two years ago for travel within North America, and by earlier this year had expanded it to Asia/Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean flights. (Nice for those who buy it, but less nice for those hoping to get comp upgrades.)

Meanwhile, Delta this week put its first new Airbus A350 into commercial service on its Detroit-Tokyo Narita route. The new plane features a new Delta One front cabin with lie-flat seats in private suites, as well as the airline’s new international premium economy cabin called Premium Select, which is being installed in Delta’s A350s instead of Comfort+ seating. As of this week, Delta is now using the 747 on a single route, Seoul-Detroit and that is only through December 17 when it will be replaced by a shiny new Airbus A350.

American will use a 787-8 on its new LAX-Beijing route. (Image: American)

After months of negotiations with Chinese officials to secure commercially viable slot times, American Airlines is finally due to kick off its newest route to China in a few days. November 5 is the launch date for American’s daily flights from Los Angeles to Beijing, which it will initially operate with a 787-8, switching to a 787-9 next spring. Delta had also filed for the route, but lost out when the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the rights to American in December of last year.

Air France said it will step in and replace joint venture and Skyteam partner Delta this winter on the Chicago O’Hare-Paris CDG route.  Air France will use an Airbus A330 to fly the route up to five times a week.

Air Canada has foiled plans for a schedule increase this winter on its Vancouver-Delhi route. The carrier will increase frequencies on the route from five a week to daily service effective December 9 through at least December 23. Air Canada uses a 787-9 on the route.

Over the past weekend, Pakistan International Airlines ended its service between Karachi/Lahore and New York JFK, which it had been serving with a 777-200LR via a westbound stop in Manchester, U.K. PIA had been flying to New York since 1961.

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How to earn airline miles riding Ford GoBikes

Bikers in the Bay Area can earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles. (Image: Ford GoBike)

Whether you are visiting the Bay Area, or live there, you can now earn airline miles while pedaling around.

How? Well, Ford GoBike, the new Bay Area bike-sharing program, has teamed up with Alaska Airlines. Mileage Plan members earn 10 miles for each ride anywhere in the Bay Area. It’s not a huge bonus, but hey, you are getting outside, getting healthy and seeing the city in a new way, right? Plus, if you are a heavy user, it can add up, right?

Those who use the Ford GoBike program can pick up a bicycle at any station and return it to any other station. The program’s app, available at Apple’s App Store or Google Play, provides real-time bike availability information for any station.

Participants can simply link the app to their Mileage Plan account to start earning the miles. Alaska is a founding partner in the Ford GoBike program.

Image: Ford GoBike

In addition to its 240 bike-sharing stations in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville, Ford GoBike recently made its debut in San Jose with 34 bike stations. Another nine will be installed in San Jose soon, and 21 more have been proposed pending community review.

Ford GoBike offers different membership and usage options, including $3 for a single trip, $9.95 for a day pass, and $149 for an annual membership.

When completed in 2018, the 7,000-bike, 546-station Ford GoBike network will be the second-largest bike share system in North America after Mexico City’s Ecobici program.

Have you given a bike sharing program anywhere in the world a try yet? Where? How was it? Please leave your comments below. 

 

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Popular: Hawaii now $305 roundtrip + New deck for SFO + Slow exit for 747 + “Real” premium economy

View from the recently refurbed Ali’i Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu. (Photo Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

Before we get to this week’s top 10 (below), we need to let you know about a fare sale happening right now. How about Hawaii for just $305? It’s in there!

United’s been on a tear this week with tons of low fares for winter trips from the Bay Area- we can barely keep up! First it was Hawaii at $325, then South Florida for $251, then SFO-Boston for just $197 or in basic economy, $228 regular (even during peak summer) and now SFO-HNL or Maui (OGG) are back and even lower at $299-$305- and these fares are good November thru May and then again in August and September. (UPDATE: The cheap Hawaii fares appear to have flown away on Monday morning Oct 30)

The there’s SFO-Chicago ORD on United, America and Virgin for $165 (basic)-$205 now thru end of Feb. And there’s even more: SFO-LAX for just $73 roundtrip in basic economy (doable on such a short route), $110 in regular. Yep, and it’s good for trips late November through end of February.  Grab ’em while they are hot! All fares found on Google Flights & United.com and subject to change.

SFO OGG

We found roundtrips between SFO and Maui or Honolulu in January for just $305 (Image: United website)

1 Sneak sale: Hawaii $325 roundtrip from 5 west coast cities

2 “Fond farewell to our 747”- a tearjerker video from United

3 More great outdoors! Another outdoor observation deck for San Francisco International

4 Yuck United squeezes more seats into long-haul 777-200s

5 Great comments! Thanks, folks! Are TSA’s new “automated” security checkpoints really better?

6 American adds more premium economy seats- will United follow?

JetSuite

Chris’s head nicks the slick ceilings inside JetSuite’s Embraer jets where overhead bins are removed – seats configured 1-2 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

7 Routes: JetSuiteX in California + JetBlue cuts + New Sun Country model + more

8 Prepare for more security scrutiny at overseas airports

9 Deal! Bay Area to Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Orlando just $251 for winter trips

10 No more Starwood credits for Uber rides

Don’t miss! Winter vacation in a warm place? IHG Rewards PointBreaks for award stays now through end of January at IHG properties around the world.

Chris checked out San Francisco’s newest hotel last week- and was very impressed. The Proper Hotel is one of many new hotels opening (or soon to be opening) in the “urban pioneering” strip of Market Street near City Hall. Definitely worth a look! Follow Chris on Instagram for more photos.

Super swank bunk rooms at brand new (and nice!) Proper Hotel in SF $250/night #hotels #sf #travel #dreamforce

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

The New York Times is looking for someone with good TravelSkills. Could that be you?

United award price hike starts November 1

Oracle’s Larry Ellison buying Lake Tahoe resort

United’s final international 747 flight arrives in San Francisco on Sunday, Oct 29.

United chopped up an old 747 and is selling off the pieces to the highest bidders

Singapore Air adds more Dreamliner 787s and B777s for $14 billion

Good: Stockton Airport can’t call itself San Francisco-Stockton after all

Who is Luc Bondar, United’s New VP of Loyalty?

United app now issuing partner airline boarding passes

Branson’s Virgin Hotels plans a Washington D.C. location

China expected to surpass U.S. in five years as world’s largest air travel market

Would you use a hammock headrest?

Delta will add a thousand new flight attendants next year

British Airways offers double Avios points through year’s end

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Reader Report: Final 747 flight from London

United 747

Looking out at a graceful 747 wing & Greenland from the cozy bubble of a United 747 (Chris McGinnis)

As United’s 747s sail off into the sunset of a well-deserved retirement, stories of final flights are starting to pour in from readers. Here’s a heartfelt report from TravelSkills reader J.K. who was on the final 747 flight from London to San Francisco this week:

I was on the last United 747 out of London yesterday up on top in the bubble. Wonderful flight- I will especially miss the nimble handling of the plane when in flight.

United final LHR-SFO flew over the northern end of Greenland (Image: JK)

We took an unusual path across Greenland about halfway up the island from the south. As you probably know, the typical route is across the southern tip of Greenland. At any rate, on this trip, the clouds parted for a bit so we could peer down at the east coast of Greenland– the flight attendant woke me up to see the sight. There was much more snow and ice than I’ve seen flying over the southern tip.

Greenland

The clouds parted for a nice clear look at Greenland on United’s final London-SFO 747 flight (Photo: JK)

As we descended into the Bay Area, the path was from the north and directly over the Peninsula. The plane had to take a tight right turn towards the ocean to line up for the typical flight path along the shore of the San Francisco Bay on the east side of the Peninsula. It felt like a small regional jet when it made its turn. It was beautiful.

You could tell that the crew was very excited to be part of this flight. It was a SFO based crew and they mentioned the passing of an era on the PA a few times. United prepared special commemorative amenity kits with “747” embroidered on the socks and printed on the eye shades.

Commemorative 747 socks on final United 747 flight LHR-SFO (Photo: JK)

At the end of the flight, the flight attendant mentioned that one of the passengers on the bubble deck had proposed to his wife there many years ago– the lucky guy got a cockpit tour as everyone else was disembarking.

Unitd 747 kit

Special 747 amenity kits on this final flight from London (Photo: JK)

All in all, a low key but memorable flight. I will miss the 747. There is nothing like climbing a flight of steps inside the plane to know that you are on a special ship.

–J.K.

Tell us about your final 747 flight! We might post it as a reader report! What will you miss most about this beautiful bird? 

 


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Deal! Bay Area to Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Orlando just $251 for winter trips

Miami

South Florida is one of the most popular fall & winter travel destinations- and fares are CHEAP (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fares are tumbling to warm weather destinations this winter from California! If you could not take advantage of the rare fare sale to Hawaii this week, then you may want to consider a flight in the other direction– to Miami, Ft Lauderdale or Orlando. Or perhaps Floridians are looking for a nice escape to the West Coast?

American, Virgin America, JetBlue and United are all offering some remarkably low fares between the Bay Area and South Florida– as low as $251-$267 round trip! That’s an especially good deal considering you’ll be flying during the the Bay Area’s cold, wet months of January and February. These super low fares are also available in November and early December, but do not include peak holiday weeks. Sacramento is included in this sale, with one stop flights to FL. San Jose is in there, too, at $234 round trip to Orlando. 

Even better, most of these ultra-low fares are not those irritating “Basic Economy” fares– they fare regular economy fares with all the benefits that come with that. Frontier is also in this sale, with insanely low fares, too, with fares as low as $152 round trip, but with lots of extra fees. See fee menu

It’s very rare to see fares under $300 for transcon flights— and this one is a whopper at about 2,500 miles in each direction.

Click here to see an example of Google Flights search for a mid January trip between SFO and Miami and Ft Lauderdale.

Check out these great deals on fall winter flights to Fort Lauderdale or Miami from SFO (Image: Google Flights)

As always during the slower fall and winter months, it’s important to act fast on these un-publicized sales. If you see a fare that works for you, grab it because it likely will not last.

NOTE: These fares were available on Thursday Oct 26 and subject to change. We found them on Google Flights, but they are also available on airline websites.

What’s a “good” deal to you when it comes to Florida-California flights? What’s the least you’ve ever paid to fly between the two coasts? Please leave your comments below.

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..

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Routes: JetSuiteX in California + JetBlue cuts + New Sun Country model + more

JetSuiteX will add another California Corridor route next month. (Image: JetSuite)

In domestic route news, JetSuiteX adds service in another California Corridor market; JetBlue grows at Boston but cuts back flights to a key Caribbean destination; Alaska Airlines adds service at Albuquerque but reduces it at Portland; Sun Country unveils details of its new low-cost business model; and United will add a spoke at its Denver hub.

Niche carrier JetSuiteX plans to jump into another intra-California market in mid-November when it starts flying between Oakland and Burbank, using private terminals at both airports. The company – which operates public charter flights using 30-passenger E135 jets – said that it will offer three roundtrips every day except Saturday, with one-way fares starting at $129 (including up to two pieces of baggage). Last month, JetSuiteX kicked off new service between Burbank and San Jose with 12 flights a week. The company said its flights offer free drinks and snacks, wi-fi, business class-equivalent legroom, and minimal waiting time at the airport because it uses private terminals. JetSuiteX’s Oakland terminal is located at 9351 Earhart Road, Oakland, CA 94621

Did you know that JetSuite is partially owned by JetBlue? Read our post about that here.

Flying over San Juan’s Condado neighborhood; JetBlue is slashing service to SJU.  (Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue will add its 65th non-stop destination from Boston Logan next spring when it begins service to Minneapolis-St. Paul. It will operate three daily roundtrips in the market starting May 3, and is currently offering fares starting at $89 each way. It noted that MSP is the biggest domestic market not currently served by JetBlue. (It’s also the second big Delta hub JetBlue has infiltrated this year.) In other news, JetBlue is planning a big reduction in service to Puerto Rico due to damage on the island from two major hurricanes. San Juan is a big piece of JetBlue’s network, accounting for about 6 percent of its total capacity. But the carrier said it expects to cut capacity to San Juan by 33 percent, a reduction that will likely last through the end of 2018. The extensive hurricane damage and the resulting publicity mean that leisure travel to Puerto Rico is unlikely to recover for many months. By this year’s December holidays, JetBlue plans to shift a lot of that capacity to other Caribbean islands, but it hasn’t yet said which ones.

 Alaska Airlines has launched new daily service from San Diego to Albuquerque as part of its continuing West Coast expansion. The carrier is using three-class, 76-seat E175s operated by its Horizon Air unit. At the same time, Alaska has added a second daily Albuquerque-Seattle non-stop. At Portland, meanwhile, Alaska is converting two routes from year-round service to seasonal: it will suspend Portland-Kansas City flights from December 1 to March 10, and will eliminate Portland-St. Louis service from November 28 through March 10.

A Sun Country Airlines 737. (Image: Sun Country)

As it converts its business model to that of an ultra-low-cost carrier, Twin Cities-based Sun Country Airlines has come out with details of new fares and fees, which are effective now for travel beginning January 19. The airline’s new product is called Bundle & Go pricing; the lowest fare level, called Grab & Go, allows travelers to carry on one personal item to stow under the seat, but no carry-ons (stowed in the overhead bin) or checked bags. The next level up, Check & Go for an extra $20, provides for one personal item and one checked bag, but no carry-ons. Store & Go fares, for an extra $30, include one personal item and your choice of one checked bag or one carry-on. Only first class fares are all-inclusive, providing for a personal item, a carry-on and two checked bags.

Got business in Scottsbluff, Nebraska? You can’t fly to its Western Nebraska Regional Airport right now, but the facility will regain airline service on February 1 when SkyWest is due to start flying there from Denver with 12 flights a week. SkyWest, which will operate under the United Express banner, recently won a federal Essential Air Services contract for the route.

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Are TSA’s new “automated” security checkpoints really better?

TSA screening security checkpoint

Screening lane like this one have rolled out in airports across the country. Are they better? (Image: United)

We’ve been getting a lot of pitches from airlines and the TSA bragging about the new “automated” security checkpoints popping up at airports across the country since last year. You know, the ones with the conveyor belts that deliver bins underneath a steel counter. Some refer to them as “smart lanes.”

In theory they should work well, but in practice, it sounds like it might be another story. We’ve heard from many readers (and friends) who question whether or not the automated lanes are an actual improvement.

Here’s one email from TravelSkills reader FF:

Chris, do you have any opinion on the new Delta initiated TSA “automated” checkpoints in ATL? In my experience (I go thru 2x / week), they are an unmitigated disaster. Even the TSA agents are disgusted with it.

I was told by an agent a few weeks ago, it was a UK-devised system (RED FLAG!!) that was being pushed by Delta. He also said that it required two extra agents per line to facilitate getting the passengers through due to the confusion/awkwardness created by the system. I heard another agent on Monday night saying that it takes so much longer than the old way.

In the past, I would ask an agent when the TSA was going to phase out the boondoggle, but I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the system is now being installed at MSP. I told an agent there to get ready, because it was a real cluster**** and she said she’d heard the same from several passengers. I wonder if Delta even beta tested it before rolling out?

Here’s a video United created to help roll out the new lanes at Newark Liberty airport.

The idea for the new lanes is that the TSA can process multiple people at one time. It’s designed so that experienced, streamlined passengers can easily get around slower passengers by just walking up to another slot. But it does not always work that way. From what I’ve seen, people feel like they are “breaking” in line if they choose a slot closer to the screening machine. So they wait. And then the TSA agent overseeing the operation shouts at them to go ahead and take the empty lane.

The lanes most recently went into operation at Minneapolis St Paul airport, and the TSA sent out a press release extolling the following virtues:

The automated screening lanes offer several new features designed to improve the screening process for travelers going through the security checkpoint including:

  • Stainless steel countertops designed specifically to enable several passengers to place their items in bins simultaneously;
     
  • Automated conveyor belts that move bins into the X-ray machine tunnel and return the bins to the front of the security checkpoint;
     
  • Automatic diversion of any carry-on bag that may contain a prohibited item; this diversion to a separate location allows other bins containing other travelers’ belongings to continue through the screening process uninterrupted;
     
  • Bins that are 25 percent larger than a typical bin and are able to hold a roll-aboard bag;
     
  • Unique Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that are attached to each bin, allowing for additional accountability of a traveler’s carry-on property as they move throughout the security screening process;
     
  • Cameras that capture photographic images of the contents of each bin and are linked side-by-side to the X-ray image of a carry-on bag’s contents.

It sounds good in theory, but in practice, we are not so sure.

So the question is…is this just a learning curve thing, or a failure in design? What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

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Prepare for more security scrutiny at overseas airports

Munich airport MUC flight board

U.S.-bound travelers from international airports like Munich are facing new security hassles. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Remember back in June how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security abandoned its plan to ban laptops from aircraft cabins and instead agreed to settle for more thorough passenger screening? DHS gave foreign governments and airlines 120 days to implement stricter procedures, and that time is now up (thankfully after the peak summer season is over).

So starting this week, travelers bound for the U.S. from foreign countries can expect to see ramped-up security checks at the airport – changes that could mean longer lines, delayed departures and the need to get to the airport earlier than before.

Based on various reports that checked with a number of airlines, it looks like the tougher methods will generally involve personal interviews at check-in or filling out a new form prior to boarding.

Hong Kong MTR Train ticket

Cathay Pacific travelers to the U.S. can no longer check in luggage downtown when taking the train to airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that Cathay Pacific will no longer allow U.S.-bound passengers to check in their luggage at downtown locations in Hong Kong and Kowloon; instead, they must do so at the airport. And it said that all airlines with flights from Hong Kong to the U.S. are telling passengers to get to the airport three hours before their scheduled departure to go through new security measures. The newspaper also said Singapore Airlines is warning travelers to expect a new security interview and possible inspection of their electronic devices.

In addition to Cathay Pacific, the Associated Press reports that Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates and Egypt Air all said they will implement security interviews of passengers on flights to the U.S., or require them to fill out new forms before departure. Emirates said that even transit and connecting passengers passing through Dubai’s airport would face new screening interviews at their boarding gates. And Egyptair told AP that passengers will also face more thorough searches of themselves and their carry-ons during security screening.

Every day, the tougher rules will affect about 325,000 travelers coming to the U.S. on 2,000 flights from 105 countries, according to Reuters . It quoted Alexandre de Juniac, head of the International Air Transport Association, as saying that the U.S. decision to impose “unilateral measures…without any prior consultation” was something IATA found to be “very concerning and disturbing.”

TSA PreCheck

New TSA screening rules have also started in U.S. airports. (Chris McGinnis)

In the U.S., meanwhile, TSA in recent weeks has expanded to many more airports the new carry-on bag screening procedures that it announced a while back. “The new procedures require travelers to place all electronics larger than a cell phone in bins for X-ray screening when going through the security checkpoint,” TSA said. “The electronics should be placed in a bin with nothing on top or below, similar to how laptops have been screened for several years.” Thankfully the rules don’t apply to those passengers in PreCheck lines…yet.

In an unrelated development, TSA this week added five more airlines as participants in its PreCheck program, allowing passengers on those carriers to use the expedited PreCheck screening lanes. They include Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, All Nippon Airways, Finnair, and Contour Aviation, a Tennessee-based charter company. Here’s an updated list of all participating carriers. 

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American adds more premium economy seats- will United follow?

American’s premium economy cabin on its 787-9s has 2-3-2 seating. (Image: American)

As American Airlines brings more new 787-9s to its long-haul fleet, it is making its international premium economy cabin available on additional routes – starting with Australia and New Zealand.

American’s new 787-9s are being delivered with premium economy seating already installed. The airline is also busy at work putting the new middle cabin into its 47 777-200s, a job that should be finished by next March; and its A330-200s, expected to be finished by this December. AA’s 20 777-300ERs should have the extra cabin by June of 2018, and its 787-8s will also get the refit next year.

It’s too early to say when those other wide-body models with new premium economy seating will start flying in specific markets (with a few exceptions – see below), but when a 787-9 is scheduled to start on a route, the new middle cabin automatically comes with it. American’s 787-9s also feature a business class with 30 new lie-flat seats, all with direct aisle access.

On November 8, American is due to introduce the premium economy option on its Los Angeles-Sydney flights when it replaces the 777-300ER on that route with a 787-9.

And this month—after a two-month hiatus on the route – American started flying a 787-9 on its daily Los Angeles-Auckland service, replacing a 787-8. (American has decided to convert LAX-Auckland into a seasonal route, operating only from October through March.)

Amenities that come with an AA premium economy seat. (Image: American)

American introduced the premium economy-equipped 787-9s out of its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub last fall and winter, putting it on routes to Sao Paulo, Madrid, Paris and Seoul.

On November 5, American is due to inaugurate its long-awaited Los Angeles-Beijing daily service with a 787-8. But according to Routesonline.com, American has plans to replace that aircraft on March 25 of next year with a 787-9, offering premium economy seating in the market.

American is expected to put the 787-9 into service early next year on a pair of Japan routes — Los Angeles-Tokyo Haneda and LAX-Tokyo Narita — both beginning January 8. They will replace 777-200ERs on those routes.

Looking at American’s recent schedule filings, we can see 787-9s scheduled to begin flying between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Shanghai Pudong on March 4, replacing a 787-8; and LAX-Shanghai Pudong starting March 25, also replacing a 787-8.

The schedule filings also show AA taking the 787-9 off its DFW-Paris and DFW-Madrid routes starting March 25, replacing them with 777-200ERs. However, those 777s are listed as three-class aircraft, so they presumably have the premium economy option. The schedule also shows a three-class 777-200ER replacing a 777-300ER on AA’s DFW-London Heathrow route starting March 25.

Although it is reconfiguring its wide-bodies with premium economy seating, American is planning to keep offering a Main Cabin Extra option as well – i.e., its extra-legroom seating in the economy cabin. While Main Cabin Extra provides up to six inches of extra seat pitch, AA’s premium economy product will offer slightly more – 38 inches, along with extendable foot, leg and head rests; larger touch-screens; and additional services and amenities including one checked bag free. Seating is in a 2-3-2 layout on the 787-9s.

Delta’s premium economy cabin will debut on its A350s. (Image: Delta)

Delta is also introducing a new international premium economy seating option, called Premium Select, as it puts its new Airbus A350s into service. The first one starts flying next week (October 30) on Delta’s Detroit-Tokyo Narita route. Last week, we detailed other Delta routes that will have new A350 service coming in the weeks and months ahead.

All this of course leads us to the question of when or if United is going to follow American and Delta down the path to real premium economy. Right now it sounds like they are not ruling it out– when we asked directly about this, a spokesperson said, “At this time we do not have details to share regarding Premium Economy. We’re always looking at ways to improve the customer experience and the choices we offer our customers for their travels with United.”

Have you or will you try the new American versions of Premium economy? Will United add one, too? Leave your comments below. 

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Sneak sale: Hawaii $325 roundtrip from 5 west coast cities

Fares to Hawaii take a dip. Need to act fast, though. Kauai pictured here.  (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

UPDATE! United’s been on a tear this week with tons of low fares for winter trips from the Bay Area- we can barely keep up! First it was Hawaii at $325, then South Florida for $251, then SFO-Boston for just $197 in basic economy, $228 regular (even during peak summer) and now SFO-HNL or Maui (OGG) are back and even lower at $299-$305- and these fares are good November thru May and then again in August and September. And there’s even more: How about SFO-LAX for just $73 roundtrip in basic economy, $110 in regular. Yep, and it’s good for trips late November through end of February.  Grab ’em while they are hot! All fares found on Google Flights & United.com and subject to change.

>>Here’s the original post from last week.

Whenever we see fares to Hawaii from the west coast dip below $400, we jump. Over the last year it has been rare to see anything below $399. That changed this week when roundtrip fares dipped quietly closer to $300. 

The airlines are not making a big deal about this, but we are!

Today we are seeing some very nice deals for winter travel to the islands– most at around $325 round trip between the Bay Area, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle and Honolulu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii. (This applies to both nonstop and one stop flights.) Interestingly, this does not apply (yet) to flights from LAX where fares remain above the $400 mark, but not by much, at around $410.

UPDATE #2: As of 3 pm on Oct 24, these fares are already drifting higher– most $325 fares are now closer to $350.

UPDATE #3: We are now finding flights available for deep peak summer for just $325-$345, mostly SFO-HNL in late August and early September

UPDATE #4: Weds Oct 25 7 am– the lowest roundtrip fares are now in the $375 range- not $325 any more, but still a good deal for winter trips to Hawaii. Most remaining discounts appear to be on flights to Maui (OGG).

Update #5: Weds 5 pm This sale appears to be slowing down however we are still finding SFO-Honolulu or Maui on Virgin America for $345 Nov-May and also in late August. That’s a very good deal.

Fares for mid-Late November between SFO and Hawaiian Islands (Google Flights)

What’s even better about this is a nice big window for travel– it starts in November and goes all the way to May. Of course this does not include the Christmas/New Year’s holiday period, but it does include spring break months of March and April (excluding the week before Easter). First class fares from the west coast are at about $1,000 roundtrip.

As of today, its mostly United and Hawaiian that are offering the low fares, but keep an eye out for matches from Alaska Air and Virgin America.

As of this morning (Tues Oct 24) we have found the following deals on Google Flights and as always clicked thru to airline sites to confirm:

  • San Francisco or San Jose to Maui: $325
  • San Francisco to Honolulu or Kauai: $333
  • San Diego to Honolulu, Maui or Kauai $338
  • Sacramento to Honolulu or Maui: $366 (one stop in SFO)
  • Seattle-Honolulu $348 (one stop in LAX)
  • Portland to Honolulu $333 (one stop)

San Francisco to Maui nonstop for just $325 in February is a great deal. Go grab it! (Google Flights)

Right now it appears that United is leading this sale with the most sale fares. Keep in mind that this could change rapidly– the airlines might just be “testing the waters” to see how low they must go to stimulate demand.

As always during the slower fall and winter months, it’s important to act fast on these un-publicized sales. If you see a fare that works for you, grab it because it likely will not last.

What’s a “good” deal to you when it comes to Hawaii? What’s the least you’ve ever paid to fly there? Please leave your comments below.

Get that $325 roundtrip fare nearly every day in cold dark Jan and Feb and get to paradise! (Google Flights)

Aloha!

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United squeezes more seats into long-haul 777-200s

United Economy B777-300ER

10-abreast on United’s new B777-300ER — coming next to 777-200s. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

As United continues to retrofit its existing long-haul fleet with the carrier’s new lie-flat Polaris business class seating, its first overhauled 777-200 is due to start flying sometime this winter. And while front-cabin flyers might appreciate the Polaris refit, with direct aisle access at every seat, main cabin travelers will find a change they might not like: 10-across seating instead of nine.

News reports in Flightglobal.com  and in the Los Angeles Times say that United plans to configure its long-haul 777-200s with 50 Polaris seats and 242 economy seats – about two dozen more economy seats than the aircraft currently have, depending on the specific model.

United Polaris

A window seat in United’s new Polaris cabin on B777-300ER (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

By going from nine seats to 10-across in coach, United will be bringing its 777-200s to the same standard as its new 777-300ERs, in which it introduced its new Polaris cabin earlier this year.  While United now refers to all its business class cabins as Polaris, as of last month only 15 planes had the new lie-flat, angled seats in the front cabin – 14 new 777-300ERs and one retrofitted 767-300.

United’s total long-haul fleet includes some 200 aircraft. The first retrofitted 767-300 recently went into service on the Newark-London Heathrow route, and United expects to have 14 overhauled 767s in service by the end of next year. Most of the new 777-300ERs in service are on transpacific routes.

Unlike the larger 777s, the refitted 767-300s will still have seven-across economy seating after the retrofit. Some 90 United 777-200s are due to get the 10-across seating overhaul in the next few years, and on the plus side, they will reportedly preserve their existing seat pitch in the main cabin – 31 inches for regular economy seats and 34 for Economy Plus.

Economy Plus United

Economy Plus on United’s B777-300ER has 34 inches of pitch (Chris McGinnis)

United already has 10-across seating in some 777s that are used mainly on domestic routes (those planes are not getting the new Polaris front cabin). In recent years, many of the world’s airlines have been shifting their 777 configurations from nine-across to 10 across.

There was no immediate word on how the new layout would affect seat width on the United 777-200s. According to Seatguru.com, United’s higher-density domestic 777-200s have 10-across coach seats that are 17.1 inches wide, vs. 18 or 18.3 inches on its nine-across international 777-200s. Its new 777-300ERs have 10-across seats that are 17 inches wide, so it’s probably a safe bet that the economy seats on the reconfigured 777-200s will also be 17 inches wide.

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Popular: 747 Tears + Delta’s new jet + United burger + Dreamliner + Madrid nonstop

United 747 flight attendant maxi-skirt

Nostalgia for the 747 is booming as the Queen’s retirement nears. United flight attendant wearing a maxi-skirt in the 747 upper deck lounge (Image: United)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 “Fond farewell to our 747”- a tearjerker video from United

2 Delta unveils new seats on new Airbus A350 & sets routes

3 Passport needed for domestic travel? Come on!

4 United bags a new cheeseburger for $10

United smoked gouda cheeseburger

United’s new smoked gouda cheeseburger from seat 7A (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

5 Routes: Aeromexico at SJC, Southwest, Air New Zealand, BA, United, AA, Etihad + more

6 Qantas unwraps its Dreamliner, coming to LAX soon (photos)

7 Iberia adds San Francisco – Madrid nonstops

As we boarded this sleek Embraer plane, you could look east and see the San Jose International terminal across the runways (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

8 New Hotels: Hilton LAX, Nikko SF, Mondrian NYC, Marriott Denver, Ritz Chicago, Hilton DC

9 Shocking bomb simulation at Singapore Changi Airport [VIDEO]

10 The newest Embraer jet you may never fly on

Don’t miss: Kimpton Karma and IHG Rewards finally hook up

Kimpton Wilshire hotel LA

Rooftop pool deck at Kimpton’s Hotel Wilshire in Los Angeles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Former United CEO selling his Trump Tower condo

United Clubs doing away with paper passes

Did you hear about this attempt to bomb Asheville Airport? 

Apple iOS 11 adding more indoor airport maps

Here’s a first look a Beijing’s gorgeous, largest airport in the world

Will rising jet fuel costs lead to higher fares? Not for a while

More debate on how “Southwest effect” will change Hawaii market

Moving photos from behind the scenes at Virgin America

As with the 747, nostalgia for Virgin America is building as the airline approaches extinction (Photo: Virgin America)

Baller! Former GE CEO Immelt reportedly used TWO corporate jets on some trips 

JetBlue revises boarding procedure

FAA wants airlines worldwide to ban electronic devices from checked luggage

Singapore Airlines expected to order 39 Boeing wide-bodies for $13 billion

JetBlue stops selling tickets through several online travel agencies

Delta offers meal pre-selection for international Delta One passengers

After Brexit, EU passenger protection rules will no longer apply for U.K. flights

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Airport news: United lounges, LaGuardia, Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, DFW

United is testing food upgrades at its lounges, like a lobster roll at Boston. (Image: United)

In airport news, United is testing enhanced food service at four of its airport lounges; Delta, American and JetBlue are moving operations at New York LaGuardia; shared-use lounges expand at Boston Logan and move at Pittsburgh; Cleveland makes bag checking easier; and automated TSA lanes come to Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Forbes reports that United Airlines has started market-testing a big upgrade to the food service at a handful of its United Club airport lounges. The testing is going on in United Clubs at Boston, Orlando, Las Vegas and Houston Bush Intercontinental, Forbes said. Besides introducing regional favorites like New England lobster rolls and Boston cream pies at Logan, the airline is adding new hot breakfast items, soups, salads and a “Mediterranean board,” the article reported.

LaGuardia’s Marine Air Terminal is a short ride from the Central Terminal. (Image: LaGuardia Airport)

With all that construction going on during the massive rehabilitation of New York LaGuardia’s passenger terminals, Delta, American and JetBlue are shifting their operations there. Delta said that as of December 9, it is taking its Delta Shuttle flights to Chicago and Washington out of the Marine Air Terminal and moving them to Terminal C, where its LGA-Boston shuttles already operate. American said that by December 9, it will consolidate its LGA operations in Terminal B (the Central Terminal). “Since December 2013, (American’s) flights have been split between Terminals B and C. This consolidated operation means all customers will check in at Terminal B and American will operate flights from each of the terminal’s four concourses,” a spokesman said.

JetBlue, meanwhile, has decided to pull up stakes and move from the Central Terminal to the airport’s historic Marine Air Terminal. The art deco terminal opened in 1940, and during its history it has served as a seaplane terminal, a base for Northeast Corridor shuttle flights, and a facility for private jets. JetBlue has several flights a day between LGA and Boston, as well as non-stop service from LGA to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla. The airline said it should be in place at the new facility before the holidays in December, occupying four gates there. Most of JetBlue’s New York flights are at JFK Airport.

Airport Lounge Development, which operates lounges open to any passenger on a fee basis, has some news at Boston Logan and at Pittsburgh. The company said its Boston Club in Terminal E has just finished an extensive expansion, and now occupies more than 3,500 square feet with seating for 82. It also added new restrooms and shower facilities, new furniture and an enhanced food menu. (Besides The Club in Terminal E, the company also operates The Lounge in Boston’s Terminal C.) At Pittsburgh, meanwhile, The Club has shifted from a temporary location on Concourse C to a permanent one, also on Concourse C just off the Center Core. The temporary site started accepting guests in June. Day passes at both clubs cost $40.

Airport Lounge Development now has 17 locations open to all on a day pass basis. (Image: Airport Lounge Development)

The struggle may soon end for many passengers at Cleveland Hopkins, who have been required to lug their checked luggage after check-in to a separate TSA bag screening drop-off location. The airport this week started live testing of a new in-line baggage screening system on the south end of the ticketing lobby that will eliminate that step for passengers of United, JetBlue, Southwest and Air Canada. Previously, only United had an in-line baggage system at CLE. “If all system testing is successfully completed by mid-November, the free-standing bag security screening machines on the south end of the ticketing level will be removed by the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend,” the airport said.

The latest major airport to get some of those new automated TSA screening lanes is Dallas/Ft. Worth, which has added four of them at checkpoints in Terminals A and D (checkpoints A21 and D22). Up to five travelers at a time can load their belongings into bins; items needing extra screening are shunted off to a separate conveyor belt so they won’t slow things down, and empty bins are sent back to the start via a separate automated belt to free up TSA officers from carrying them. Bins are 25 percent larger than before, and RFID tags are on each bin, “matching travelers to their property as they move throughout the security screening process,” DFW said. Over time, DFW expects to install 10 of the automated checkpoint lanes throughout the airport.

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The newest Embraer jet you may never fly

Embraer Legacy 500

Chris McGinnis checking out the new Embraer Legacy 500 business jet at San Jose Airport

You probably know Embraer by its line of smaller so-called “regional” jets that typically fly short distances and feed into major airline hubs. These are the popular E175s and E195s that have displaced the cramped CRJs in the regional jet space.

But did you know Embraer is also in the business of building private or “business” jets for companies or high net worth individuals?

In October, the Brazilian aerospace company  jetted its executives into Mineta San Jose Airport to show off its new private jet, the Legacy 500, which seats 8-12 passengers, and costs around $20 million. It’s considered a “midsize” private jet, falling between the smaller Phenom (which it also makes) and the better known larger models like Gulfstreams and Learjets. (Scroll down for slide show)

Built in Melbourne, Florida, the Legacy 500 is considered a “stand up” jet, which means it has a flat floor and passengers can stand up in the aisle- I could do that when onboard, but at 6 feet, my hair grazed the ceiling. The jet’s flight range is about 3,000 miles, which means it can make nonstop cross-country and Hawaii trips, but can’t cross oceans.

In addition to showing the Legacy 500 off to Silicon Valley tech companies (or their billionaire owners or investors) Embraer invited a few media types down for a look and a quick spin out over the Pacific Ocean at sunset.

Come along with me and take a peek at how the other half of business travelers live!

At SJC, business and private jets are handled on the west side of the runways. In this case, Embraer used Atlantic Aviation.

Atlantic Aviation

When flying private, the airport concourse looks like this- your car drops you off and you walk to your plane- no security, no hassles, muss or fuss. This is smooth as silk! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Inside the Atlantic Aviation Terminal on the west side of San Jose International, passengers and pilots walk through this well-appointed terminal, check in and then walk out to the tarmac. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

As we boarded the plane, you could look east and see the Mineta San Jose International terminals across the runways (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer Legacy 500

This brand new $20 million plane’s curves and shine are hard to resist. I want one! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

There are plenty of luxury touches on this bird, like gorgeous wood veneer, leather and even lightweight marble floors in the galley area which I noticed as soon as we boarded (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer design executive Jay Beever was onboard to show us around and explain how his masterpiece works (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Passengers can control cabin temperature, music and dim lights from an iPad (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

I walked to the back of the plane for a look at the semi-private lavatory, which includes this nice sink area on one side, and the loo on the other (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer 500 toilet

The lavatory is separated from the cabin by a sliding door. A nice leather cover hides the toilet- if you did not lift it up, you’d think it was just another seat (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer 500

Here’s the toilet with the cover down. Note that it has a seatbelt, so it could serve as a passenger seat if needed (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Once we boarded and doors closed, we taxied for about two minutes and took off into the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. The G-force of the plane taking off felt exhilarating- and so quiet. Flying on this smooth and quiet jet felt “like buttah!” I could so easily get used to this!

Embraer 500 inflight map

Monitors at the front and rear of the cabin had a fantastic, frequently updated image of the plane’s position. It’s a spectacularly crisp and colorful show, almost as good as what you can see out the window! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Gorgeous view of the Pacific coastline of central California out the window during our 45 minute ride (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer Chris McGinnis champagne

Editor Chris McGinnis enjoying his 45 minutes of feeling like a billionaire- Embraer served passengers Veuve Clicquot during the ride

 

Embraer 500 window

Looking out Embraer’s trademark square windows reminded me of my many rides on its E175 or E195 regional jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

As we made our way back to SJC, I took a walk up to the cockpit for a chat with pilots– who clearly love flying this plane. On the Embraer, like the Airbus, there is no “yoke” or steering wheel. Pilots use small sticks– almost like video games– to guide the plane when autopilot is off.

 

Embraer 500 cockpit

Another benefit of flying private- the cockpit door is wide open and passengers can go take in the view. The Embraer 500 glass cockpit is gorgeous (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer 500 cockpit

Looking out at the California Coast from the cockpit (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer Legacy 500 cockpit

Note the small stick on the right which pilots used to guide the Embraer 500 versus the “yoke” you’ll find on Boeing jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Embraer Legacy 500

Wow! What a ride. It was tough to leave this beautiful jet behind (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

Atlantic Aviation San Jose

Once we deboarded our sleek little bird, we walked across the ramp to the Atlantic Aviation terminal, jumped in an Uber, and went home. What a way to fly! (Photo: Chris McGinnis

Have you ever been lucky enough to fly on a private or business jet? What do you think about the Embraer planes you’ve flown on? Please leave your comments below.

 


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Routes: Aeromexico at SJC, Southwest, Air New Zealand, BA, United, AA, Etihad + more

San Jose International welcomes a new 737 nonstop from Mexico City next summer. (Photo: SJC)

In recent international route developments, Aeromexico will add seasonal service at San Jose; Southwest drops plans for two Mexico markets; Air New Zealand brings a new aircraft to Houston; British Airways adds high-density 777 flights to Gatwick; United and Delta drop Europe flights while KLM adds one; American plans new code-shares to and within China; Etihad trims its Los Angeles schedule and terminates San Francisco service; and LATAM adds a Boston route.

Aeromexico, now a joint venture partner with Delta, plans to expand its presence at Mineta San Jose International next summer by offering seasonal flights to Mexico City. The carrier will use a 737-800 on the route, offering daily flights from June 1 through August 31. The southbound flight will depart SJC at 1:40 p.m. In July of this year, Aeromexico started service from San Jose to Guadalajara.

Speaking of Mexico City, Southwest Airlines has scaled back its plans to expand service to the Mexican capital. The Dallas Morning News reports that Southwest has changed its mind about adding new service to MEX from Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale next summer. The carrier has given up the slots at Mexico City that it had acquired for those routes, and DOT assigned them instead to VivaAerobus, a Mexican low-cost carrier. When Delta and Aeromexico won approval for their joint venture, they had to give up some slots at MEX, and Southwest picked up enough for four flights a day there, which it initially used to add two flights a day from Houston Hobby.

Premium economy seats on the new version of Air New Zealand’s 787-9.(Image: Air New Zealand)

The new Qantas 787-9 that starts flying from Melbourne to LAX in December won’t be the only new Dreamliner service from Down Under.  Air New Zealand plans to deploy the newest version of its 787-9 on its two-year-old Auckland-Houston route in December. The Kiwi carrier also plans to boost frequencies on that route next year, from the current five weekly flights to six or seven from March 25 through October 27. The new Air New Zealand 787-9 increases capacity in the front of the plane, from 18 business class seats to 27 and from 21 premium economy seats to 33. The airline currently flies a 777-200 to Houston.

British Airways has been planning to introduce “high density” 777-200ERs on long-haul flights out of London Gatwick Airport, partly in response to low-cost interlopers like Norwegian, and its plans for those planes are starting to emerge. Unlike its existing 275-seat 777-200ERs, the new version will cram 336 seats into the planes, according to Routesonline.com – 32 in business class, 52 in premium economy and 252 in regular economy. BA plans to put the new version of the plane into service for one weekly flight between Orlando and Gatwick as of May 11, 2018, increasing to daily by October 6; one flight a week between Ft. Lauderdale and Gatwick starting September 13 of next year, increasing to three a week October 8; and daily service between New York JFK and Gatwick effective July 8 of next year.

Looking ahead to other transatlantic markets for 2018, United had been planning to offer seasonal service from Chicago O’Hare to Shannon, Ireland from late May through early September, but now it has canceled those plans.  And Delta is giving up on its Newark-Amsterdam service – which operates four days a week this winter – as of March 23. However, Delta partner KLM will expand service between New York JFK and Amsterdam next year, adding a third flight six days a week effective March 26. In another development, Delta will code-share on daily A330-200 Alitalia flights from Rome to Delhi, India, effective October 29.

American’s customers will get access to new destinations on China Southern. (Image: China Southern)

American Airlines, which acquired a small equity stake in China Southern Airlines this year, is planning a substantial code-sharing program with that carrier, according to Air Transport World. It said AA has filed plans with the Transportation Department to put its AA code onto China Southern flights from San Francisco to Wuhan and to Guangzhou, as well as its New York JFK-Guangzhou service. The AA code would also go onto 14 China Southern routes from Beijing to other destinations in China. It didn’t say when the code-sharing is expected to begin. Last month, American moved its operations at Beijing’s airport from Terminal 3 to China Southern’s base at Terminal 2.

Etihad Airways plans to reduce its schedule between Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi this winter. From January 15 through April 30, it will trim frequencies from daily to four a week, switching aircraft on the route from a 777-200LR to a 777-300ER. (And don’t forget, as we reported last summer, Etihad will discontinue its San Francisco-Abu Dhabi service on October 29 after cutting it back earlier this year from daily frequencies to just three flights a week.)

To Latin America, LATAM has filed for regulatory approval to begin the first non-stop service between Boston and Sao Paulo, Brazil next summer, although a schedule and starting date haven’t yet been determined.

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United bags a new cheeseburger for $10

United cheeseburger

United’s new smoked gouda cheeseburger on a square bun should appeal to the hipster palate! (Image: United)

Remember when United rolled out its inflight cheeseburger for $12 last year? It quickly became an in-flight favorite with more than 2,000 served every day. Back then we reported that first class passengers were passing up their plated lunches and instead asking for the cheeseburger served in a brown paper bag from the back of the plane.

Based on that success, United food scientists went back to the drawing board to create a new cheeseburger that it will roll out starting November 1.

Here’s how United is describing the new square-bunned, smoky-tasting cheeseburger it will serve on domestic flights of more than 3.5 hours:

“It started with the great burger you like and we found a great, new bread by, Brooklyn-based Company, “Brooklyn Bred” (you’ll recognize some of their breads if you frequent Starbucks …) and we are partnering with Sir Kensington’s – on new condiments too. The new burger patty comes from the same place as the current one – it’s all beef! The cheese is Smoked Gouda, with condiments and Sir Kensington mustard, ketchup and mayo.

We tested 25-30 variations of the cheeseburger on flights and asked customers and flight attendants for feedback. Swiss and Smoked Gouda were the final two cheese choices and Smoked Gouda won unanimously in the feedback. Research was conducted inflight over the course of one month.”

United cheeseburger

Here’s another look at the burger from United’s fall bistro-on-board menu (Image: United)

United cheeseburger

United’s new Smoked Gouda Cheeseburger is $10 and with chips, it’s $12.00 (Image: United)

Were any TravelSkills readers on those taste-testing flights? If so, we’d like to hear from you. What did you think?

And if you are in downtown San Francisco today, THURSDAY (Oct 19), you can give the new Gouda burger a try yourself. Sir Kensington will have a food truck parked at 400 California Street (at Sansome) dishing out free burgers, fries and swag to celebrate its #BurgerOnBoard partnership with United. The truck will be downtown for 10:30 am and 1 pm, then it will head to SFO so passengers and United employees can bite into the burgers– and try out those fancy new condiments.

If you go, please take photos and sent them to us! We’ll post them here and on our social media stream.

Here’s the ingredient list for United’s new burger.

Fancy condiments? Ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard? Well, yes, according to this video from Sir Kensington’s, it’s almost artisanal. Mayonnaise is made from “certified humane free range eggs.” Ketchup comes from “fresh tomatoes, not concentrate. ”

Don’t miss our in-depth look at United’s original cheeseburger

Starting November 1, the new smoked gouda cheeseburger will replace the original one on US flights. However, the original, served on a pretzel bun, will remain on Canada-originating flights through next March.

Note that the new burger is almost 2 oz. smaller than old one — 5.95 oz. vs. 7.45– which appears to be a downgrade to those with healthy appetites. However, a spokesperson tells TravelSkills the the reduction in weight is due to the switch away from the dense pretzel roll to the lighter, thinner Brooklyn Bred bun. The weight of the meat and cheese remains the same, he said.

So give the burger a try and let us know what you think in the comments. And also let us know what you think about United’s current cheeseburger offering. 

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Delta unveils new seats on new Airbus A350 & sets routes

Airbus A250

Delta’s newest baby: The Airbus A350- easy to spot with those mod black framed cockpit windows (Photo: Airbus)

We’re getting close to the commercial launch of Delta’s first Airbus A350 wide-body, and the carrier has unveiled more of its route plans for the new aircraft – including its first Europe route. It has also introduced a brand new “real” premium economy seat. 

As previously reported, the first Delta A350 route will be from Detroit to Tokyo Narita, starting October 30. The airline is focusing on its Detroit hub for the A350 rollout, with plans to begin flying the plane from DTW to Seoul Incheon on November 16, followed by DTW-Beijing flights as of January 17. (DTW is also the airport that will see the end of Delta’s Boeing 747 service later this year.)

Now Delta has announced two more routes  for the A350. It will use the plane for one of its four daily Detroit-Amsterdam flights beginning March 31 of next year, followed by its introduction on Detroit-Shanghai service starting April 19. Atlanta-Seoul will get the A350 treatment starting March 24.

See the Seat Map for Delta’s new A350 here. 

Delta’s A350s will debut its new Delta One business cabin. (Image:” Delta)

In addition to Delta’s new Delta One front cabin, which features innovative passenger “suites,” the aircraft will also debut the Delta Premium Select seating category – the airline’s new international premium economy product.

The new Premium Select (true premium economy) seats will be up to 19 inches wide, with pitch of up to 38 inches, up to seven inches of recline, and adjustable leg and head rests. Premium Select travelers will get noise-cancelling headphones, pre-departure drink service, upgraded meal service, free in-flight entertainment selections on a 13.3-inch screen, in-seat power ports, and Delta’s Sky Priority treatment (expedited check-in, baggage and security screening, and premium boarding).

Delta’s B777s are also slated to get the new Premium Select seats next year.

Delta’s new international premium economy seats will debut on the A350. (Image: delta)

As Delta’s long-haul aircraft get the new Premium Select seating, they will no longer offer Comfort+ extra-legroom economy seating. Only “preferred” economy seats will be available. This means it could be tougher for elites to get “good” economy seats on long haul flights.

In its Premium Select FAQs Delta offers these options for upgrading to the new Premium Select seats:

There will be three ways to upgrade into Delta Premium Select:
1. Purchase an upgrade with cash through delta.com or Reservations
2. Purchase an upgrade with miles through Reservations
3. Use a Global Upgrade Certificate, and if not cleared prior to check-in, monitor the airport standby list to see if your certificate clears. Global Upgrade Certificates are only available to Diamonds as a Choice Benefit option.

With customer anticipation running high for the new A350s, especially among SkyMiles elites, Delta posted a message on Flyertalk to ”clear up any confusion” about upgrades to the aircraft’s Delta One (business class) suites. “Diamond Medallion Members can use one Global Upgrade Certificate to upgrade directly to a Delta One suite from any cabin of service offered on the flight – including Main Cabin (excluding Basic Economy),” a Delta rep said.

Delta celebrated the A350 with a “media day” this week– check out the busy social media stream the event produced— plenty of great photos.

What do you think about Delta’s new plane? And new seats? Please leave your comments below. 

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Qantas unwraps its Dreamliner, coming to LAX soon (photos)

Qantas’ Dreamliners feature an updated kangaroo logo. (Image: Qantas)

It’s a little late to the Dreamliner game, but Qantas has just unveiled the interiors of the new Boeing 787-9s that are coming to its international fleet soon – including to the U.S.

In fact, the very first route for Qantas’ newest wide-body will be Melbourne to Los Angeles, beginning in December. The second will be a very long haul from Perth to London – the first non-stop service linking Australia with Europe — starting next March. (Currently fares on the LAX-Melbourne route are just $787 round trip— quite a good deal!)

Will the Qantas Dreamliner find its way to San Francisco next year? Qantas hasn’t said; it is currently flying a 747-400 on the SFO-Sydney route, while United already uses a 787-9 in that market. Qantas said it will have eight Dreamliners in its long-haul fleet by the end of next year, allowing it to retire five of its 747s. (Qantas currently uses A380s on its Los Angeles flights from Melbourne and Sydney.) Read what Qantas CEO told TravelSkills about SFO-SYD flights in an interview here. 

Qantas plans to use the Dreamliner for its longest nonstop flight, Perth to London, starting next March.

The new Qantas 787-9. (Image: Qantas)

In any case, the Qantas 787-9s will offer “more space and a lower passenger count than most of its competitors,” the airline said. They will have large windows, improved cabin air quality, and “ride dampening technology to minimize the effects of turbulence,” Qantas said.

The Qantas 787-9s will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

That’s a total of 236 seats. A year ago, when Qantas first revealed its 787-9 seating plans, the publication Australian Business Traveler compared that to Qantas’ competitors, noting that Air New Zealand’s three-class 787-9s have 302 seats, while Air Canada’s have 298 and United’s have 252.

The 787-9s also come with Qantas’ new livery, which includes the fifth update of its traditional Flying Kangaroo logo.

Here’s a first look at the Qantas 787-9 interior:

The plane has 1-2-1 business class seating. (Image: Qantas)

 

Here’s business class from another angle. (Image: Qantas)

 

Premium economy is configured 2-3-2. (Image: Qantas)

Regular economy has 32-inch pitch and 3-3-3 seating. (Image: Qantas)

Have you flown Qantas to Australia before? What did you think? Please leave your comments below. 

Check out how Boeing turned over this beautiful ship to Qantas at a ceremony this week in Seattle: