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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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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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Routes: Delta at LAX, More Mexico for United, BA 747s, Norwegian, Icelandair,

Delta will use a 777-200LR for LAX flights to Paris and Amsterdam. (Image: Delta)

In international route news, Delta will add new transatlantic routes next year; Norwegian starts up London flights from two western U.S. cities; Icelandair will add U.S. gateways in 2018; Austrian Airlines debuts a new cabin class; British Airways will put 747s on two U.S. routes; United adds a Mexico destination from two cities; Aeromexico replaces Delta on a U.S. route; and new services are coming for Avianca, Azul and WestJet.

Delta said this week it plans to add new service from Los Angeles to two European destinations next year. Effective June 16, Delta will use a 777-200LR to fly from LAX to both Paris and Amsterdam, but it will not offer daily departures on those routes. The Paris flights will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (eastbound), and the Amsterdam flights on the other four days of the week. Many onward connections at both destinations will be available on Delta partners Air France and KLM. At New York JFK, Delta will start flying five days a week as of May 24 to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal about 1,000 miles west of Lisbon in the Atlantic Ocean.

At its Atlanta hub, Delta will add seasonal 767 service to Lisbon from May 24 through September 4. And starting May 16, Delta will add a third daily roundtrip between Detroit and Paris CDG (already served by daily flights from Delta and code-share partner Air France). Delta had previously announced new transatlantic service three times a week as of March from JFK to Lagos, Nigeria; Orlando-Amsterdam flights beginning March 30; and Indianapolis-Paris starting May 24.

In other news, Delta this week resumed code-sharing with Russian carrier Aeroflot, putting its DL code onto 14 Aeroflot domestic routes out of Moscow Sheremetyevo. You can see a full list of the affected routes here.

Norwegian Air 787 Dreamliner

Norwegian Air is now flying from Seattle and Denver to London with 787s. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Low-cost Norwegian has started flying a pair of previously-announced new transatlantic routes. This week it inaugurated daily 787-9 service to London’s Gatwick Airport from Seattle-Tacoma International, as well as twice-weekly (Saturday/Tuesday) 787-9 service from Denver International to Gatwick. The Denver service is scheduled to increase to increase to three flights a week on November 2 with the addition of a Thursday departure from DEN.

Icelandair is expanding its U.S. route network next year, as it faces growing competition from low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW Air. Icelandair will add Dallas/Ft. Worth to its route map in May 2018, offering 757-200 flights to Reykjavik four days a week out of DFW’s Terminal D. (Earlier this month, WOW announced new DFW-Reykjavik service also starting in May 2018, operating three times a week with an A330.) Also coming in mid-May 2018 is new Icelandair service from Cleveland to Reykjavik, operating five days a week with a new two-class 737MAX 8. The day after Icelandair announced its Cleveland route, WOW announced it will also fly Cleveland-Reykjavik, starting May 4 with four flights a week, with fares starting at $99 one-way.

Austrian’s new premium economy seats have 38-inch pitch. (Image: Austrian Airlines)

Austrian Airlines — the Lufthansa subsidiary that flies to Vienna from New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami – unveiled plans to offer premium economy seating, bookable now for flights starting March 6. The new seats will be wider than regular economy and will offer a 38-inch pitch as well as footrests, a 12-inch seatback screen, power outlets and USB ports. Premium economy passengers will be allowed two free checked bags, and will get welcome drinks, amenity kits, and meal service on china.

Touch-screen screens in economy are part of British Airways’ overhaul of its 747s. (Image: British Airways)

You want more chances to fly on a 747 before they all disappear? British Airways still relies on the Boeing jumbos for some long-haul services, and it plans to put a 747-400 onto its London Heathrow-Austin route next spring (effective April 8), replacing the 787-9 it currently uses. And from August 8 through September 30 of next year, according to Routesonline.com, BA will replace an A380 on its Los Angeles-LHR route (BA283/282) with a 747-400.

United Airlines is adding service to Mazatlan, Mexico just in time for the winter holidays. From its Houston hub, United will fly to Mazatlan four times a week from December 21 through April 8, then cut back to weekly Saturday-only service through mid-August. From Chicago O’Hare, United will offer once-a-week Saturday service to Mazatlan from December 23 through April 7. In other Mexico route news, Delta’s existing daily Delta Connection/Skywest CRJ900 service from Salt Lake City to Guadalajara will be replaced in January by daily E190 flights operated by Delta’s new joint venture partner Aeromexico.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Brazil’s Azul will expand its U.S. network in December by adding new service four times a week between Orlando and Belo Horizonte, Brazil; and four flights a week linking Ft. Lauderdale with Belem, Brazil. Avianca’s TACA Airlines unit plans to revive Newark-San Salvador, El Salvador service November 17, operating five flights a week. And Avianca Brasil plans to offer daily flights to Sao Paulo Guarulhos from New York JFK beginning December 15.

And to Canada, Westjet will start flying between Denver and Calgary effective March 8, operating one daily roundtrip with a 737-700.

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New transatlantic routes: Delta, American, BA, Lufthansa, United, WOW

How you gonna keep ’em down on the farm? Delta will fly Indianapolis-Paris in 2018. (Image: Jim Glab)

Continuing with our route news updates, this time we’ll focus on transatlantic.  Delta is adding a pair of non-hub routes to Europe and a new route to Africa; American will introduce some new routes to Europe next year but drop others; British Airways adds a U.S. gateway to Heathrow and some high-density 777 service to Gatwick; Lufthansa ends year-round San Jose flights; United makes an aircraft change on SFO-London; and Iceland’s WOW will fly to more U.S. cities;

Delta has set a May 24, 2018 start for new daily non-stop flights to Paris CDG from … Indianapolis? Yep. It’s not a hub, but Delta does operate 37 fights a day there and has a Sky Club as well. Another new non-hub route for Delta will be the only non-stop service between Orlando and Amsterdam, operating daily starting March 30 of next year. The airline will use 767-300ERs on both routes, with Delta One, Comfort+ and regular economy seating. Delta’s only other international route from Orlando is to Sao Paulo.

On March 24, 2018, Delta will kick off another transatlantic route, from New York JFK to Lagos, Nigeria. The carrier already flies to Lagos from Atlanta four times a week, and the JFK flights will operate three times a week (eastbound on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday). That route will get an Airbus A330-200 with lie-flat Delta One seats as well as Comfort+ and regular economy.

Look for some changes in American Airlines’ transatlantic summer schedules next year. The airline has announced it will add new daily seasonal service May 4-October 27 from Philadelphia to both Prague and Budapest, using 767-300s; and from Chicago O’Hare to Venice with a 787-8. (American already flies to Venice from Philadelphia.) According to schedule updates in Routesonline.com, American also plans to add daily service starting March 25 from Philadelphia to Zurich, a route it last served in September 2016. Seasonal service getting the ax from AA next year, effective March 25, includes Boston-Paris, JFK-Zurich and JFK-Manchester.

British Airways will use a Dreamliner on its new route to Nashville. (Image: British Airways)

Nashville hasn’t had non-stop flights to London since the 1980s, but it will get them again on May 4, 2018, when British Airways is due to begin five flights a week to Heathrow from the Music City with a 787-8 Dreamliner. Tennessee is reportedly offering BA incentives worth $1.5 million to fly the route. From Philadelphia, meanwhile, British Airways will boost its LHR schedule from seven flights a week to 10 starting in April with the addition of second departures on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays, also with a 787-8. And on May 8, BA will replace one of its two daily 747-400 flights between Chicago O’Hare and London with an Airbus A380 – the first regularly-scheduled A380 service at O’Hare.

British Airways has also been converting some of its 777-200ERs to a higher-density configuration to compete with low-cost competition like Norwegian from London Gatwick, and it will put the aircraft onto some U.S. routes next year. The three-class 777s will have 32 business class seats, 52 in premium economy and 252 in regular economy. They’ll fly once a week to Gatwick from Ft. Lauderdale starting September 13, daily from New York JFK beginning July 8, once or twice a week from Orlando as of May 11, and twice a week from Tampa starting June 7.  BA will also beef up its Las Vegas service on March 27, adding three weekly Las Vegas-London Gatwick 777 flights a week to its 11 weekly LAS-LHR flights.

Lufthansa uses an A340-300 on its San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

The San Jose-Frankfurt non-stops introduced last year by Lufthansa will no longer operate year-round. The German carrier had been planning to keep flying the route five times a week, but now has decided to scrap the service for the winter. The SJC-FRA A340-300 flights will be suspended from October 29 through March 24.

Flying United from San Francisco to London? From October 28 through December 19, United plans to make an equipment change on the route. Instead of using 777-200ERs on both daily departures, it will switch one of them (UA900/901) to a 787-9.

Iceland’s ultra-low-cost WOW Air plans to add service from more U.S. cities next spring, offering four Airbus A321 flights a week to Reykjavik (with connections to lots of European cities) from Detroit starting April 26, from Cleveland May 4, from Cincinnati May 10 and from St. Louis May 17. The carrier will also begin Dallas/Ft. Worth service May 24 with three flights a week. One-way fares on the new routes will start as low as $99 (with plenty of extra fees for various amenities and services).

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Routes: United, Norwegian, Thomas Cook, Alitalia, BA, Level, Air France, Scoot

United will fly a 787 between Denver and London next summer. (Image: United)

In international route developments, Denver is getting new transatlantic service from United and Norwegian; Thomas Cook Airlines will add another a U.S. gateway; Alitalia plans to extend its Los Angeles service; British Airways changes aircraft on some U.S. routes; BA’s Level affiliate is adding more aircraft; Air France will fly to the Caribbean from the U.S. (and gets a new U.S. investor); and Singapore’s Scoot is coming to Hawaii.

United Airlines flew from its Denver hub to London Heathrow from 2008 to 2010 and then stopped. But now it plans to revive that route in 2018 on a seasonal basis. United will use a 787-8 for the daily flights, which will operate from March 24 through October 26, 2018. The eastbound service will depart Denver at 5:35 p.m. The 787-8 will offer 36 flat-bed seats in business class, 70 in Economy Plus and 113 in regular economy. British Airways currently has the only DEN-LHR non-stops.

A few weeks ago, United said that its summer seasonal Newark-Rome service is now going to operate year-round, a decision it made after Norwegian announced plans to start flying the same route beginning November 9. So maybe United’s Denver-London plans have something to do with Norwegian’s new Denver-London Gatwick service, which begins with two flights a week September 16, increasing to three a week in late October. (And we still wonder why United has not jumped at the chance to offer SFO-Italy nonstops…)

Norwegian will offer low-cost flights from Denver to Paris in 2018. (Image: Jim Glab)

And that’s not the only news for Denver: Norwegian also just announced it will start flying between Denver and Paris CDG next spring. The low-cost carrier said it will initiate service on the new route April 9, with fares starting at $229 one-way in economy and $815 in its premium cabin. The 787-9 service will initially operate two days a week (Mondays and Fridays) year-round. (Does this mean United will add DEN-CDG service too?)

The U.K.’s Thomas Cook Airlines, a leisure-oriented carrier that has been growing its U.S.-U.K. network, plans to add another U.S. route next year. On May 27, it will start flying twice a week between Seattle and Manchester, using an A330-200. The carrier will also extend its seasonal New York JFK-Manchester service to a year-round operation this winter, operating three A330 flights a week effective December 14.

Another service extension this winter will come from Alitalia. Instead of ending its Los Angeles-Rome seasonal service on October 29 when the winter schedule kicks in, it will continue to fly the route three times a week. (It won’t be fully year-round service, however; Alitalia will suspend the route from January 15 to March 6.)

British Airways is planning some equipment changes to the U.S. for its winter schedule starting October 29. On its Washington Dulles-London Heathrow route, BA will replace a 777-200ER with a 787-9. The 787-200ER and -300ER used on the Atlanta-LHR route will also be switched out for a 787-9. And 777-200ERs will go into service between LHR and Houston instead of the current 787-9 and 747-400 service. As we mentioned previously, BA will also add a third daily Los Angeles-London frequency with a 787-9.

Don’t miss: What in the world is Thomas Cook Airlines? 

Level will add more A330 routes next year — but where? (Image: IAG)

Look for more new routes in 2018 from Level, the new low-cost subsidiary of British Airways/Iberia parent International Airlines Group. Level started flying two-class A330-200s last month from Barcelona to Oakland and Los Angeles, and the carrier has just firmed up plans to add three more A330-200s to its fleet by next summer – although it hasn’t yet said where it will use them.

Ever been to Martinique or Guadeloupe? Those two Caribbean islands are technically and legally part of France, and that means Air France can fly to them from the U.S. The carrier has plans to begin twice-weekly service from Atlanta to Guadeloupe on November 21, using an A320.

Speaking of Air France – because Delta and Air France-KLM have had a close joint venture partnership for eight years now, you may have thought that Delta held an equity stake in the company. But it doesn’t. That’s now changing, however as Delta announced plans to acquire 10 percent of Air France-KLM, subject to a variety of shareholder and regulatory approvals. And it’s part of a three-way deal: Air France-KLM will acquire a 31 percent interest in Virgin Atlantic, which is 49 percent owned by Delta. Not a whole lot of good news for consumers with these deals, although the airlines will spin them that way…

Singapore Airlines’ Scoot subsidiary has Hawaii in its sights. (Image: Scoot)

Singapore Airlines used to have two low-cost subsidiaries – Tigerair, used on short-haul routes out of Singapore, and Scoot, for medium to long-haul routes. But it recently merged them into one operation, keeping the Scoot brand. Following the merger, Scoot plans to add more long-haul flights, including a new route from Honolulu to Singapore. Depending on how soon it can get regulatory approvals, the Honolulu flights could begin before the end of this year or early in 2018.

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Routes: Hong Kong, LOT, United, Aeromexico, British Airways, Air India + more

The laptop ban was lifted for Royal Jordanian. (Image: Royal Jordanian)

In the latest international routes news, two more Middle Eastern airlines were removed from the Department of Homeland Security’s “laptop ban” this week; an Asian carrier will start its first U.S. service to Los Angeles; LOT Polish will fly from the U.S. to Hungary; Aeromexico adds a U.S. route at San Jose; United goes year-round on a key European route; British Airways starts flying a Florida route; Denver will get new non-stops to Switzerland; and Air India adds a U.S. gateway.

More Middle Eastern airlines and airports have met the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s new passenger inspection standards to guard against explosives in electronic devices, so this week DHS dropped its laptop ban for them. The latest carriers to allow passengers to carry laptops and tablets into the cabin are Royal Jordanian and Kuwait Airways. Royal Jordanian has 16 flights a week from Amman to New York JFK, Detroit and Chicago, while Kuwait Airways flies from Kuwait to JFK.

Last week, the ban was dropped for Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Hong Kong Airlines will fly a new A350 to Los Angeles. (Image: Airbus)

Hong Kong Airlines, a 10-year-old carrier operating out of (where else?) Hong Kong and partly owned by China’s Hainan Airlines, is due to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900XWB late this year, and will use it to begin service to the U.S. According to Routesonline.com, the launch is set for December 15. The two-class A350 will fly the LAX-Hong Kong route once a day with a late morning departure from Los Angeles. Hong Kong Airlines currently has a fleet of A320s and A330s as well as code-share agreements with several carriers including Virgin Australia, Asiana, EVA, Hainan and China Eastern.

Budapest will get non-stop service from the U.S. next year. (Image: Jim Glab)

There has been no non-stop service between the U.S. and Budapest, Hungary for the past six years, but that is due to change next spring. Instead of a Hungarian or U.S. carrier, though, the flights will be operated by LOT Polish Airlines. LOT plans to use 787 Dreamliners to fly twice a week from Chicago O’Hare to Budapest starting May 5, and four times a week between New York JFK and Budapest beginning May 3.

At Mineta San Jose International, Aeromexico has kicked off new daily flights to Guadalajara using a 186-passenger 737-800. The southbound flight leaves SJC at 10:15 a.m. and the northbound service departs Guadalajara at 7:15 a.m. Aeromexico is the sixth foreign carrier to start flying to San Jose since 2015. Don’t miss our post about super low fares on this route! 

Instead of ending its seasonal Newark-Rome flights this fall as previously planned, United Airlines now says it will make EWR-FCO a year-round operation. From early November through March, United said, it will fly the route from three to seven times a week. But instead of using the 242-seat 767-400 operating in the peak season, it will switch in November to a 214-seat 767-300 with 30 flat-bed business class seats and 184 economy seats, including 49 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats.

United’s decision might have been influenced by low-cost specialist Norwegian, which plans to begin 787 flights between Newark and Rome four times a week on November 9, increasing to daily frequencies next February. (We’ve asked United why it has not added SFO-Rome nonstops, but have not heard back…)

Speaking of competition against Norwegian, British Airways last week kicked off new service between Ft. Lauderdale and London four days a week, using a 275-passenger 777-200ER with business, premium economy and regular economy seating. But this route doesn’t go to BA’s Heathrow hub – it goes to London Gatwick. Norwegian started flying FLL-Gatwick three years ago.

Edelweiss will add Denver-Zurich flights next summer. (Image: Edelweiss Air)

We recently reported on new service from San Diego to Zurich operated by Edelweiss Air, a leisure affiliate of Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines. Next year, Edelweiss will add service from another western U.S. city: Denver. In June 2018, Edelweiss will start flying twice a week between Denver and Zurich with a 315-passneger A330-300. The carrier will offer evening departures from DEN on Mondays and Fridays

Air India’s newest U.S. gateway is Washington Dulles. Last week, the carrier started non-stop service from IAD to Delhi three times a week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) using a 777-200LR with first, business and economy seating.  The flight takes about 15-1/2 hours. Air India also serves New York JFK, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco, and plans to add Los Angeles service later this year.

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Can Oakland cope with global growth?

777 Oakland

British Airways Boeing 777 landing at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)

Oakland International Airport today adds another transatlantic competitor as new low-cost Level begins Barcelona service. It’s the latest in a growing roster of international flights at OAK, and it makes us wonder how much the airport can handle in its current state.

The new service from Level – with a two-class, 314-passenger A330 flying the route three days a week – comes just five days ahead of new twice-weekly Oakland-Barcelona flights from Norwegian, which has settled on the East Bay airport as its preferred home in the Bay Area. (OAK-BCN fares started as low as $400 round trip, but are now running $500-$700 for peak summer season trips.)

Level’s parent, International Airlines Group (which owns British Airways and Iberia), has also settled on Oakland — as the gateway where it will fight back against the low-cost flights of Norwegian. At the end of March, British Airways started four weekly flights from Oakland to London Gatwick — a route that Norwegian has flown for more than a year, and will boost from three flights a week to four this fall.

Level is flying A330s from Oakland to Barcelona. (Image: IAG)

On the same day that BA launched those OAK-Gatwick flights, Norwegian started twice-weekly service from Oakland to Copenhagen; it already flies from OAK to Oslo and Stockholm.

Is your mind sufficiently boggled by all that?

That’s just part of the burgeoning international growth at Oakland. In addition:

  • Norwegian just announced plans to begin twice-weekly service next February from Oakland to Rome Fiumicino – the first Bay Area non-stops to Italy in many years. There is some speculation that IAG’s Level could decide to go head-to-head with Norwegian on that route as well.
  • In February, Southwest Airlines kicked off its first international service from Oakland, with daily flights to Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos, Mexico.
  • Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris recently won rights to operate from Oakland to Mexico City, with service expected to begin by summer of 2018.

Norwegian flies Boeing 787 Dreamliners on its routes from Oakland to Europe.

With all the new transatlantic service, Oakland has surpassed San Diego to become California’s third-largest gateway to Europe.  The airport is doing its part this year to give those carriers a boost: Through August 15, it is offering five free days of parking, worth $120, to travelers flying roundtrip to Europe.

But all that growth comes at a cost: We’ve been hearing some grousing from readers about long waiting times at Customs and Immigration at Oakland airport.

Here are some select quotes from emails sent from the plane waiting on the OAK tarmac from reader SS: Trapped w/babies on sweltering Southwest flight from Puerto Vallarta. Customs can’t handle our flight & another big Norwegian flight that came in. So we’re stuck on plane. 

Later, SS wrote: There were TWO 200-300 passenger widebodies processed ahead of us. Norwegian Air & British Airways.  Only four customs agents processing passengers when we arrived to customs- three for US citizens, and one for non-US.  OAK clearly unprepared for this new level of international arrivals. Even customs hall wasn’t large enough to handle us well.

Emails like that make us wonder about the ability of OAK’s international terminal to handle all the growth (the airport recently reported that its overall passenger numbers during April jumped almost 13 percent  year-over-year).

We reached out to airport spokesperson Keonnis Taylor about this, and she wrote: The events of last evening were partially the result of irregular operations.  Southwest Airlines Flight 125 arrived 20 minutes early and the international arrival gates were occupied by other flights.  Unfortunately, about the same time as this early arrival, a system-wide outage of CBP’s APC (Automated Passport Control) kiosks occurred. The outage, which was not limited to OAK, required all passengers arriving on international flights to be processed through Customs without the benefit of the APCs, which streamline the process otherwise fully conducted by its agents.  This kiosk outage caused delays in passenger processing and, subsequently, a long period of waiting for other aircraft that had arrived, which were not able to access the International Arrivals Building until after previous international arrivals had deplaned all passengers.

Fortunately, OAK is hard at work on a $35 million expansion of its international arrivals facility, which should be finished this summer. Plus, Oakland does have Global Entry, which should help when things get backed up!

Have you flown from Oakland yet? Would you? Please leave your comments below.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Planespotting: Airbus A320 family differences

Can you identify JetBlue’s newest Airbus? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Pilots, planespotters and aviation buffs can quickly recognize nearly every aircraft type from the ground or in the air.

But it’s not so easy for the rest of us. To help TravelSkills readers confidently recognize what they see overhead or out on the runway, we offer a series of posts dedicated to planespotting. (See below for a list of our previous Planespotting posts)

The Airbus A320 family is near ubiquitous around the world, and increasingly so in the US. Airbus factories pump out a new A320 family aircraft every seven hours!

The largest of the pack, the A321, is rapidly replacing the aging Boeing 757 at many airlines. The A320 gives the workhorse Boeing 737 a run for its money. And the smaller A319 and A318s work for short haul markets, although British Airways operates a specially configured 32-seat, all business class A318 between London City Airport and New York-JFK once per day. (That’s down from twice daily)

How can you spot the differences among these planes? Well, first, you will want to know how to spot the difference between the A320 family and the similarly-sized Boeing 737, which we covered for you here: Planespotting: Airbus A320 vs Boeing 737 differences. (Hint: Look at the tail and cockpit windows.)

Once you’ve learned to distinguish the A320 family, you should then know how to spot the differences among the four models.

The easiest way to do that? Look at the doors.

A321: Four doors

The A321 is the largest member of the Airbus A320 family, and accommodates 185-220 passengers depending on configuration.

(This is a blast from the past- a previously popular post we want to share again. Enjoy!)

The Airbus A321 has four doors evenly spaced along the fuselage (Photo: Anna Zverena / Flickr)

The Airbus A321 has four doors evenly spaced along the fuselage (Photo: Anna Zverena / Flickr)

A320: Two over-wing emergency exits

The Airbus A320 is the mainstay of the family, and carries 150-180 passengers depending on configuration. Virgin America flies 53 Airbus A320s. United flies 97 A320s.

 

The Airbus A321 has two distinctive emergency exit doors over the wing (Photo: Lasta29 / Flickr)

The Airbus A320 has two distinctive emergency exit doors over the wing (Photo: Lasta29 / Flickr)

A319: One over-wing emergency exit

An exception to this one-door A319 is EasyJet, which had to retrofit its A319s with an extra emergency exit because it packs so many passengers on a plane.

 

The stubby Airbus A319 has only one emergency exit door over the wing (Photo: Andre Gembitzki / Flickr)

The Airbus A319 has only one emergency exit door over the wing (Photo: Andre Gembitzki / Flickr)

A318: short, stubby, super-cute- and one door

This little aircraft with only 100 seats is also known as the “baby bus” due to it’s size and cuteness factor.

 

(Photo: Bernal Saborio / Flickr)

The super stubby A318 has a single emergency exit, too. But it’s shorter than the A319 (Photo: Bernal Saborio / Flickr)

 

How do YOU tell the difference between the Airbus A320 family? Leave your comments below.

Here are our other popular planespotting posts!

Planespotting: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320 differences

Planespotting: Boeing 757, 767

And don’t miss the TravelSkills Planespotting quiz— 7,000 readers have taken it! Why not you?

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Airport news: JFK, LaGuardia, Atlanta, LAX, Baltimore-Washington

Redesigned check-in area coming to British Airways’ Terminal 7 at JFK. (Image: British Airways)

In U.S. airport developments, New York JFK’s British Airways terminal is getting a makeover, and some airlines change locations there; LaGuardia will move ahead with a mass transit link; Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson gets more “smart” TSA screening lanes; Los Angeles International upgrades Wi-Fi service; and Baltimore-Washington gets a new passenger lounge.

British Airways revealed plans to spend $65 million on an overhaul of its Terminal 7 at New York JFK. Due for completion late next year, the project will give the terminal a renovated, more spacious check-in area; a new check-in zone for premium passengers with a fast-track security lane; new gate seating areas with more power outlets; and the development of “an authentic New York culinary experience with local food and beverage concepts.” Lounges for business class, first class, and Gold and Silver Executive Club cardholders will get a total makeover, “with more space and restaurant-style pre-flight dining,” the airline said.

Speaking of JFK’s Terminal 7, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America revealed plans to move their JFK operations there by October, giving up their current locations in Terminals 8 and 4 respectively. Terminal 7 is home to Alaska Global Partners British Airways, Qantas and Icelandair. Alaska and Virgin together operate 14 flights a day to JFK from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Aeromexico has also moved at JFK – into Terminal 4, where it will be close to joint venture partner Delta.

Don’t miss: Alaska Airlines sweetens perk for cardholders

The new LaGuardia will replace separate terminals with a unified structure. (Image: New York Governor’s Office)

A 30-minute ride between New York City’s Grand Central or Penn Station and LaGuardia Airport? That’s the goal for a new mass transit link in the works as part of that massive rebuilding of LGA that is now in progress. The New York Governor’s Office said it has just awarded a $14.6 million contract for preliminary analysis and design of the planned AirTrain, which will move people between the LGA terminals and the Willets Point stations of the Long Island Rail Road and the Number 7 subway line, where they can transfer for the trip into Midtown Manhattan.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson was the very first location for two of those “smart lanes” at security screening checkpoints – lanes that keep passengers moving faster by using powered conveyor belts, stations for five people to load security bins at once, automated return belts for empty bins, etc. They have since spread to several other major hub airports, and now ATL has expanded its own smart lanes as well. The airport now has 22 of the fast lanes installed, out of a total of 27 lanes at three security checkpoints in the domestic terminal. They reportedly reduce passenger waiting times by 30 percent.

Los Angeles International plans to improve Wi-Fi access for travelers in its terminals. The LA Board of Airport Commissioners has approved changes in the LAX concessions agreement with Boingo Wireless that will let users access the airport’s free Wi-Fi with a single click instead of the several clicks currently needed. Boingo also agreed to install another 12 Wi-Fi access points in the Federal Inspection Services area of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. “The new access points will help arriving international travelers move through the customs and immigration clearance process faster and more easily with the Mobile Passport app,” an airport spokesman said.

Refreshments area at the new Club BWI. (Image: Airport Lounge Development)

Airport Lounge Development, which builds pay-per-use airport passenger lounges, has just cut the ribbon on its latest effort, The Club BWI at Baltimore-Washington International. The new facility is it eleventh U.S. airport location. The 2,200 square foot BWI club is in Concourse D near Gate 10. It seats 50, and is divided into a “relaxing zone” with comfortable chairs and power outlets; a “resting zone” where travelers can “put your feet up and take a quick break;” a “productivity zone” for working; and a “replenish zone” with food and beverages. A day pass costs $40. The facility is also open to members of Priority Pass, LoungeKey and Lounge Club.

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Catching up on last week’s travel news with TravelSkills

United Hawaii

Cruising into Lihue Airport on Kauai last week on a United 757 sitting in the exit row (Chris McGinnis)

Last week TravelSkills was on vacation. And it looks like we picked a great week to take off– there was not a whole lot of breaking travel news when we were spring breaking in Hawaii. We’ve spent this morning catching up…and you can catch up, too with our top posts from last week AND last week’s most important travel stories found elsewhere.

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

1 Trip Report: Oakland-London, British Airways business class

2 Another violent onboard altercation caught on video (American stroller incident)

3 What is Thomas Cook Airlines?

Thomas Cook Airlines

Premium economy on Thomas Cook Airlines (Image: Thomas Cook)

4 ‘Big Data’ tips for saving on summer travel

5 3 ways United plans to win back business travelers

6 Third “real” United Polaris flight revealed

7 A new fare increase for business travelers?

Delta 747

Delta and Unites say buh-bye to the Queen of the Skies this year (Image: Delta)

8 United, Delta 747 schedule: final flights

9 Planespotting 101: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320

10 The big difference between direct & nonstop flights

Don’t miss Chris’s Instagram feed for some nice images of his spring break in Hawaii!

Last pic of paradise #kauai #hawaii #travel #springbreak #hanalei

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

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

Runway repaving to cause weekend headaches at SFO thru June 12

Hey LAX flyers: Delta wants YOU

Double or Triple Hilton Honors points for summer trips

United ends interline agreements with five Mideast carriers

Southwest and Marriott/Starwood come out on top in annual Freddie Awards for loyalty programs

United settles quickly and quietly with Dr Dao

American will delay delivery of Airbus A350s by two years

Delta brings new headphones to premium passengers

United unveils a 10-point plan for treating passengers better

Southwest Airlines special livery

Southwest Airlines “Tennessee One” livery. Like it? (Image: Southwest Airlines)

Southwest CEO: We’re going to stop overbooking

U.S. air fares fell more than 6 percent last year

Delta offers easy helicopter transfers at New York JFK

Alitalia faces prospect of bankruptcy

Qantas will begin London-Australia non-stops next year

Uber app update gives you quick access to your rating

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Trip Report: Oakland-London, British Airways business class

BART

First stop on my journey to London: BART’s 24th Street station in San Francisco where I caught a train to Oakland International (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last month I jumped on British Airways’ new Oakland-London Gatwick nonstop for a quick two-day business trip. I’ve never flown to Europe from Oakland, so I was eager to give it a go and share my experience here.

I was also eager to test taking BART from San Francisco to Oakland Airport. And in another test, I skipped my normal practice of taking sleep aids on this overnight flight. 

On the OAK-LGW route, British Airways is following in the contrails of Norwegian Air, which launched its Oakland-London Boeing 787 Dreamliner nonstops in May 2016 at rock bottom fares– as low as $400 round trip, but with many extra fees.

Currently, the cheapest BA fares on OAK-LGW are running about $975 for economy class roundtrips in June. These economy class fares pretty much match Norwegian’s fares when you add in all Norwegian’s extras. Premium economy runs about $1,450 roundtrip. The least expensive business class seats are going for about $3,700 roundtrip, but in some cases climb as high as $7,000. When BA first announced the nonstops it offered a special economy fare of just $500 round trip, but that fare is long gone now that peak summer season approaches.

British Airways’ new Oakland-Gatwick flights operate four days a week using a Boeing 777-200ER that seats 275 passengers: 203 in economy,  24 in premium economy and  48 in business class. British Airways’ premium economy (aka World Traveller Plus) is in a separate cabin, bigger seats with 38-inch pitch, in-seat power, and choice of meals from the business class menu. BA is the only carrier at OAK offering lie-flat business class seats to Europe.

BA Club World (business class) travelers flying out of Oakland receive up to five days of free parking in OAK’s Premier Lot, an added value of $190. They also get complimentary access to a new Escape lounge located in Terminal 1 near BA gates. One-time passes to the lounge go for $45.

Note: Chris McGinnis was a guest of British Airways for this trip to London to attend a press briefing. Here’s what that was all about!

BART’s Coliseum station is where passengers connect to the new BART Connector to Oakland Airport (Chris McGinnis)

When taking BART to Oakland International Airport, you get off at Coliseum station. From there you walk up the steps to the new Oakland Airport Connector station for the short spur ride to the front door of the airport. (Fares vary from your starting point, but run in the $10 range) Wanna see what that ride is like? Watch the video below!

Here’s the ride from BART Coliseum to Oakland Airport

British Airways check in counters are located in an unusual spot near airport security in Oakland’s Terminal 1 (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways operates out of Oakland’s Terminal 1. When I first walked in I could not find the British Airways ticket counter among all the other counters in the main corridor. When I asked,  I discovered that BA’s counter is in a new space (currently under construction) closer to the security screening lines.

I picked up my boarding pass at the counter, breezed through security– I did not get PreCheck for this flight, although it is available at OAK– but did not really need it since there were only about 10 people in line at midday.

Total transit time from the BART station in SF to the Escape lounge beyond security just 70 minutes. Not bad!

After security I headed straight to the new Escape Lounge– since I was flying business class, I had comp access to the lounge which was a nice quiet oasis from the hubbub of the terminal.

When I checked my watch, I was pleased to see that the entire journey from the BART station in SF, under the Bay in a train, connecting to the airport spur, checking in, going through security and walking to the gate took just 70 minutes! That’s faster and easier than I expected, and the ease of the trip probably had a lot to do with the time of day I was there (midday). If it had been morning or evening rush hours, it would have probably taken a bit longer.

Modern design, generous food and drink and views at Oakland’s new Escape Lounge (Chris McGinnis)

Last year Oakland International Airport opened a new Escape Lounge that’s open to all passengers for a $45 one-time-use fee. (British Airways business class passengers and Norwegian Air’s Premium passengers are comped.) It is located in Terminal 1 between gates 8 and 8A, across from gate 9. The 2,700-square-foot facility can accommodate 50 travelers, and has separate zones for relaxing, dining/drinking and work. It’s open daily from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m.

Warm mac and cheese, avocado toast, cheese and crackers at the Escape Lounge (Chris McGinnis)

When I was there around lunchtime, The Escape lounge buffet had a nice selection of hot and cold items, including these cute cast iron ramekins of yummy macaroni and cheese, avocado toast, soup, salad, fresh fruit, cold cuts, crackers, cheese and chips. There’s also a separate full complimentary bar with waiter service. Food and drink is service on china and glass. Nice tarmac views out big windows. I found this lounge almost as nice as any Amex Centurion Lounge I’ve visited recently, but only half as crowded.

Now let’s go jump onboard! BA 2278 was scheduled to depart at 3:10 pm but was delayed until 3:50 pm. Flight time to London is 10.5 hours, and is scheduled to land at 9:30 am.

British Airways deploys a Boeing 777-200ER on the Oakland-London Gatwich route (Chris McGinnis)

The Boeing 777-200ER deployed on this route is not a new plane, but the interior felt like it had been through a recent refresh. There were 48 business class seats in two cabins separated by a galley  and it felt airy and bright with huge overhead bins.

Luckily business class was only about 1/3 full so I was able to get a rear-facing window seat and did not have to face a fellow forward-facing passenger during take off and landing. To make life easier on the flight attendants, I left the translucent screen separating passengers down for the entire flight.

British Airways signature forward and rear facing business class seats (Chris McGinnis)

To me, the window seats in British Airways business class are the best because they are so private– you are really tucked away in your own cocoon over there (My seat is off to the right in the photo above- 3A). Aisle seats are much more exposed to activity in the aisle. Seats are configured 2-4-2.

The downside to this set up is that window seat passengers must step over the legs of the aisle seat passenger to get out. That’s long been a bone of contention among BA business flyers, however, that should be changing soon. The reason I was on this trip in the first place was to meet with BA’s CEO Alex Cruz– and during that meeting he revealed that the next generation business class section would offer 100% aisle access- what was less clear is if the new seats would be forward and rear facing.

British Airways seats 3A (mine by the window) and 3B (unoccupied) on OAK-LGW (Chris McGinnis)

Something interesting about those translucent screens– see below? When flight attendants look down from the aisle, the screen is transparent. But from the passenger level, it’s translucent, so when it’s up you can only see shadows of the passenger seated next to you.

The translucent divider separating business class passengers goes up and down (Chris McGinnis)

One interesting thing about taking off from Oakland Airport vs SFO… taxi time! From the time the door closed and we backed up, taxied and took off felt like about 10 minutes. Plus there were plenty of nice views of the marshes surrounding OAK from the windows.

A glass of Albarino and a bag of nuts to start the meal service (Chris McGinnis)

Shortly after take off, flight attendants came around with a drinks cart and nuts. On this flight, the Kendall-Jackson California chardonnay listed on the wine menu was not in stock, so I settled for an Spanish Albarino.

In-seat stowage space in BA’s business class is limited to this drawer by your feet– it’s big enough for a laptop, magazines, phone, headphones, camera, etc. Kinda difficult to access, but good to have.

British Airways does not currently offer in-flight wi-fi on any flights… which seems strange given its global reach and reputation. It was sorely missed on this flight. However, on this trip we learned that BA is aiming to have nearly all its fleet outfitted with wi-fi within two years.

In seat stowage space limited to a small drawer by your feet (Chris McGinnis)

First course was a fresh and colorful salad and as an appetizer I chose a “deconstructed Greek salad” of feta, black olive tapenade, tomatoes, carved cucumbers, onions and watercress.

Tossed salad and as an app: Descontructed Greek Salad with olive tapenade and pea shoots (Chris McGinnis)

I’m usually not much of a beef eater so I chose the haddock. While the presentation of the meal was lacking, it tasted really good– creamy, cheese-y and fishy with a nice side of fava beans and rice. I asked flight attendants if I could see what the steak looked like– and to snap a photo. They happily obliged. Shoulda chosen the steak!

Other mains included Pappardelle pasta tossed with kale pesto or a nicoise salad with grilled chicken.

Haddock in white wine herb risotto, fava beans with smoked bacon and chive beurre blanc (Chris McGinnis)

 

Seared fillet of midwest beef with red wine jus, chorizo potato rosti and roasted root vegetables (Chris McGinnis)

 

Triple mousse cake with chocolate sauce (Chris McGinnis)

Some nice American cheeses with a tomato jelly and oatmeal wafers for dessert. I passed on the chocolate mousse since I thought it might interfere with the sleep I hoped to get on this flight.

Krystal cave aged cheddar and Wisconsin blue with green tomato jam (Chris McGinnis)

After dinner I took a stroll through the plane and found it pretty empty. When I checked in, agents told me that there were only 95 passengers (out of 275 seats) in economy class. Not surprising considering this was during slow season, and only the first week of the flight.

In premium economy there were only four passengers. It’s a quiet, cozy cabin located between economy and business class. seats are configured 2-4-2. Passengers can choose from the business class menu. Downside: When seats are empty, you can’t lie down flat across the rows due to the fixed arm rests.

Premium economy on British Airways B777-200ER (Chris McGinnis)

At the back in economy, this British Airways B777 is configured 3-3-3– thankfully not the emerging 10-across (3-4-3) standard- but that could change. In our meeting with Cruz, he indicated that Gatwick flights, which are more leisure oriented and price driven, could soon see 10-across, too. Time will tell.

Since this flight was so empty, many coach passengers (who likely paid just $500 roundtrip) were able to snag what business class passengers pay dearly for: a long flat surface for sleeping. In the photo below, it may look like that middle cabin is empty, but there’s a body sprawled across each row!

Economy class seats configured 3-3-3 on BA’s B777-200ER (Chris McGinnis)

Back in my business class cocoon, I laid my six-foot frame flat and comfortably for 4-5 hours, but did not get much sleep. I experimented with not taking any sleep aids on this flight and learned my lesson! It did not help that flight attendants kept the cabin very warm for the overnight flight– for some reason nearly all European carrier flights are kept WAY too warm for good sleep. I would have loved to cuddle under the nice quilt provided, but used it as a pillow instead.

Our flight landed at London Gatwick about 30 minutes late at around 10 am. Unlike British Airways flights arriving at Heathrow, there is no Fast Track through customs and immigration for business class passengers. Since other flights were arriving at the same time and lots of passengers to process, this meant waiting in line for about 30 minutes.

If you want to avoid that wait, you can pay about $13 for Gatwick Premium access to get in a fast lane  which was empty when I was there. Had I known about this, I would gladly have paid the $13 to speed through!

Once I got through immigration, I sped through customs with my carry on bag and exited to the busy south terminal. Finding my way to the Gatwick Express train was easy– the service has recently been updated, so there’s a dedicated ticket line in the airport.

Gatwick express train

New Gatwick Express trains depart every 15 minutes for the 30 minute trip to Victoria Station (Chris McGinnis)

At Gatwick, BA uses the recently renovated South Terminal — recent improvements include a brand new business class lounge, and upgraded check in area, and easier access to the Gatwick Express.

Gatwick Airport (LGW) is 28 miles south of central London but still convenient and even preferred by many travelers. Why? Because the easy 30-minute, approximately $25 Gatwick Express train whisks you from the airport to Victoria Station in the heart of the city every 15 minutes. There’s free wi-fi onboard– which makes it easy to catch up on emails that have arrived overnight.

Clean, new and modern trains on the Gatwick Express (Chris McGinnis)

 

British Airways put us up at The Corinthia, one of my favorite London hotels, for two nights. It’s located on the banks of the Thames near the Embankment and Charing Cross stations. The taxi fare from Victoria station to the hotel was about $15.

Here’s my bedroom at the Corinthia, but check out the view from my window!

Early morning view from my #hotel room #jetlag #london #travel #sunrise

A post shared by Chris McGinnis (@chrisjmcginnis) on

 

Have you flown British Airways before? What did you think? Would you give it a go on the new Oakland-Gatwick flight? Please leave your comments below! 

Disclosure: Chris McGinnis was a guest of British Airways for this trip, which included roundtrip air transportation and two nights hotel. TravelSkills covered all other costs related to the trip.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Airport news: San Jose, LAX, Boston, San Francisco, DFW

A new baggage carousel in Mineta San Jose’s expanded international arrivals facility. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

In airport news, San Jose opens an expanded international arrivals space; Boston Logan’s Terminal E gets an overhaul and a pair of new premium lounges; Virgin America will lose its Loft at LAX; San Francisco International can record your license plate; and Dallas/Ft. Worth is greatly expanding a much-needed passenger amenity.

After a year of construction, Mineta San Jose International Airport this week cut the ribbon on an expanded International Arrivals Building. The project added 2,700 square feet and a second baggage carousel in the secure Customs area, along with a 3,100 square foot enclosed area for people waiting to meet inbound passengers. Airport officials said the larger space was needed because the number of carriers with international service at SJC has grown from three to nine in the past two years.

Virgin America will lose its Loft lounge at LAX next month. (Image: Virgin America)

That big multi-airline move at Los Angeles International coming next month will eliminate one of the airport’s favorite spaces for Virgin America customers: the airline’s popular Loft in Terminal 3. That’s because the move will take Virgin from T3 to Terminal 6, where it will co-locate with its new owner, Alaska Airlines. But the Travel Codex blog reports that persons who enjoy free access to the Virgin America Loft – i.e., first class and Gold Elite customers – will get the same privileges at the Alaska Airlines lounge in T6, and Virgin’s Elevate Silver members will get a reduced entry rate of $15.

At Boston Logan, work has been finished on an expansion of Terminal E. The project added three more gates to the facility, and gives it the capability of handling Airbus A380 jumbos. Along with the extra space, travelers will be seeing improvements in Terminal E concessions as well. A new Hudson News has opened, to be followed in June by a new duty free store. New restaurants coming this summer include a Legal Sea Bar seafood eatery and a branch of Stephanie’s, a popular dining spot on Boston’s Newbury Street. The project also brought some new space for premium international flyers, including a British Airways lounge for first and business class customers (including those of partner carriers Iberia, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific); and a new Lufthansa lounge for first and business class flyers and elite-level customers, including those of Star Alliance partners at BOS like SAS, TAP and Turkish Airlines.

Part of Luftnhansa’s new lounge at Boston Logan’s Terminal E. (Image: Lufthansa)

Do you drive to San Francisco International? If so, your license plate data could be captured and stored electronically for up to four years. according to Endgadget.com, the city’s Airport Commission OK’d the data collection plan to help in monitoring revenues from commercial operations like parking and taxis, but it’s not clear why it needs anyone else’s plate numbers, or why it needs to be kept for years. The airport apparently also has permission to release relevant data to law enforcement authorities, and the whole thing is stirring up some concerns among privacy and civil liberty groups.

Passengers at Dallas/Ft. Worth International will find it easier to plug in during the coming months. The airport plans to spend $1 million on the installation of another 2,750 power outlets at the gate areas in all five terminals. Electrical plugs are currently available at 10 to 15 percent of the gate area seats, but this project should expand that to 40-50 percent.

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Most popular: 747 + New Hawaiian seats + British Airways biz class + Polaris snag + Lav seats

Tourists London

Despite terrorism, tourism in London is strong- Chris notes that Westminster was packed as ever last week (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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

1 A long-term love affair: First look deep inside a Delta 747-400 [PHOTOS]

2 Wide seats on narrow bodies: Hawaiian Airlines unveils new A321s for west coast routes

3 Exclusive look! British Airways’ posh plans for business class [PHOTOS] See comments

Chris McGinnis

Chris took the best seat on a BA 787 Dreamliner – 1K- for landing during a London press conference

4 Sit back, relax, and wait: United’s Polaris business class rollout hits turbulence

5 More Mint: JetBlue sets next wave of Mint expansion

6 Routes: New Alaska transcons + Delta, Southwest, AA, Frontier

7 Upgrades? Nope: Delta, JetBlue lay on more lie-flat seats, but…

8 Routes: Norwegian SEA/DEN-London $199; LOT, JAL, United, EVA + more

9 Oh, jeez: DHS warning: Laptop ban could be expanded

10 Contro: Airplane lavatory seats: Up or down?

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

United will move 787s from Houston to Washington Dulles routes

Alaska will keep Virgin America’s gates at Dallas Love Field

Delta extends Porsche transfers to Delta Private Jet customers

How the I-85 freeway collapse in Atlanta is affecting Delta 

New Airbus A380 interior option would let airlines cram in more seats

Wallethub ranks best and worst U.S. airlines

Analyst: Basic economy fares could be a big bait-and-switch tactic

United getting new coach seats

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British Airways’ posh plans for business class [PHOTOS]

British Airways 787

British Airways has posh plans for the pointy end of the plane (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

With $490 million in his pocket, British Airways’ CEO Alex Cruz has big plans to snag more business travelers with a massive product upgrade rolling out now.

To show off what he’s talking about, Cruz invited 40 travel writers, bloggers and media personalities from around the world to London for an action- and content-packed one-day event. TravelSkills was there! (Chris flew over on British Airways’ new Oakland-Gatwick nonstop–stay tuned for his Trip Report!)

In the morning, we met in BA’s newest lounge at Gatwick Airport. From there we boarded a brand new four-class Dreamliner for lunch and a press conference on a two-hour joyride over the bright green English countryside up to Scotland and back.

On board, BA offered a sneak-peek of its upgraded inflight food/beverage offerings, and Cruz revealed news about the airline’s new business class seat and its plans for a rapid roll-out of inflight wi-fi, among other juicy details. After that, we landed at Heathrow Airport for a chat in BA’s busy arrivals lounge (with a whopping 78 showers!) and then walked through its exclusive new “First Wing” located in the far right end of Terminal 5.

A most unusual boarding pass: Check the origin and destination! (Chris McGinnis)

Here are highlights:

BA has taken its lumps recently for implementing something that Americans have long been used to: Buy-on-board food, or “Bob” as Cruz called it. (See new menu and prices here.) Now that it does, the British are going bonkers. This day was Cruz’s chance to show how the cutbacks that economy class passengers may feel will not be felt at the front of the plane. He said, “We need to focus on enhancing premium – offering contemporary service, improved catering and lounges, and a consistent service experience. In economy, where we know that price is the driver, we need to focus our efforts on delivering more seats at the lowest fares and giving customers choices.”

British Airways First class

British Airways’ latest version of first class on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

New Planes: We took a ride on a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner with four classes of service: First, business, premium economy and economy. The plane was gorgeous and quiet. It now flies to San Jose and Newark from London. But the biggest change in fleet will come when BA gets its new Airbus A350s this summer. These big wide-bodies will soon be the workhorses of BA’s long haul fleet, replacing the carrier’s much-loved but long-in-the-tooth Boeing 747s. Cruz said that with oil at $50 per barrel, there is less incentive to get rid of these gas-guzzlers; but nonetheless, they’ll likely be phased out in the next five years. The last 747s will disappear from U.S. carriers at the end of this year. (See Delta’s 747 Experience here.) It also sounds like BA will be moving to a 10-across economy configuration on its 777s. “A 10-across 777 is an incredibly competitive machine, especially on leisure routes out of Gatwick,” he said. Currently, the 777-200 on OAK-LGW is nine-across.

British Airways business class

At one time, British Airways’ forward- and rear-facing seats were considered innovative. They’ll soon be retired. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

New seats: The biggest news that Cruz broke is that BA will move away from its famous forward/rear-facing business class seats. To me, the seats are fine, but make for awkward moments during takeoff and landing when you feel weirdly in the personal space of your seatmate and his or her direct gaze. Cruz would not offer specifics (other that saying the new seats will offer 100% aisle access), but said, “The time has come for us to change. We are falling behind our competitors and intend to catch up with a new design.” BA was the first airline to introduce lie-flat business class seats in 1999, which revolutionized long-haul travel. In a veiled reference to United’s recent issues with the delayed roll-out of its new Polaris seats, Cruz told me, “We will not over-promise on our new seat like some of our competitors have done. Instead we intend to over-deliver.”

New flights: Last month IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, created a new low-fare carrier called Level, which will be based in Barcelona. This summer it will offer cheap non-stops to Oakland and Los Angeles. When Cruz and I discussed this, I told him I thought it was great to get non-stops from the Bay to Barcelona, but that Norwegian was already in that game. I said what we really need in the Bay Area is a non-stop to Italy. His reply? “I think Level will take care of that need very soon.” Stay tuned for more on that!

Metallic walls separate first class passengers from the riffraff at London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

New First Wing: These days nearly everyone is a super elite, business or first class passenger — or so it seems when you enter the so-called “fast” lanes at airport security. The same thing has been happening at British Airways’ big Terminal 5 at Heathrow. In order to better serve its paid first class passengers, gold-level Executive Club members and Oneworld Emeralds, BA has carved out a new, exclusive lane called the First Wing. After checking in, First and Gold members proceed to an adjacent sleekly designed private security area for screening. (Sorry, no photos: Photography not allowed.) After that, they walk a few hundred feet through a wood-paneled corridor and directly into BA’s first class lounge, where they can relax, eat, work or proceed directly to their flights. Nice touch! An executive told me that about 2,000 passengers per day will use the First Wing.

British Airways’ big, bright first and business class lounges–big views, high ceilings and a few pink crushed velvet chairs (Chris McGinnis)

New/Refurbished lounges: BA bragged about its new lounge at Boston, which I’ve not seen. But apparently it’s big, bright and has a horseshoe bar that passengers are raving about—not only for the drinks, but also for the fantastic sunset views through a wall of west-facing windows. Plus it has direct access to the plane. BA’s lounge at New York JFK is slated for a $65 million redo that should be completed in two years. BA’s lounge at SFO has been bursting at the seams since the carrier introduced its A380—there’s simply not enough room to accommodate all the business, first and elite flyers (from BA and partners) at peak times. BA execs told me that the plan is still to add a new mezzanine level, but they could not offer a firm date about when that might occur, or how they will accommodate passengers displaced when construction begins. “We are working with the airport to explore temporary accommodations,” said one. At Heathrow, BA’s massive lounge complex in Terminal 5 is now 10 years old—still nice, but due for a makeover, according to Cruz, although no timetable has been set for the upgrade.

Alex Cruz

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis and British Airways CEO Alex Cruz on a Dreamliner joyride (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

New Gatwick Lounge: BA recently moved from the north to the south terminal at London Gatwick and has opened a mod new two-level rooftop lounge with fantastic runway views, modern furnishings (including new pink crushed velvet chairs) and a generous buffet with a very British “Toast” bar (yes, a buffet line consisting of toast only. So Brrritish!). The lounge is 40% larger than the old one in the south terminal, but on the day we were there, it was quite full at around noon.

More wi-fi: Believe it or not, BA has only one aircraft outfitted with inflight wi-fi at the moment, but that will soon change. Cruz said that 90% of its short- and long-haul aircraft will get wi-fi in the next two years. He said that long-haul flights will use a satellite-based system and short-haul European flights will use a ground-based one. Similar to what we see at hotels, BA will offer two tiers of wi-fi–basic starting at 5 pounds per hour,  and full service for 8 pounds (including streaming).

There’s a nice heft to BA’s new cocktail tumblers (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways bread

Bread served in a small silver basket instead of a plate (Chris McGinnis)

Meals served from tier trolleys instead of boxy blue carts (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Dessert on British Airways

British Airways has teamed up with Do & Co for catering– it’s the same company that works with Turkish Airlines (Photo: Chrisi McGinnis)

Cheese

Cheeses served on slate-like plates (Photo: Chris McGinnis

Better food and drink: Cruz said that BA will invest heavily in business class food and drink, which passengers will begin to notice this summer. On our flight up to Scotland and back, we were served some of the new food—for example, instead of bread on a plate, you get a warm roll served in a small silver basket. Champagne is served from big bowls of ice. Instead of bulky carts, flight attendants roll starters and dessert options on tiered trolleys– a great show. (Reminds me of how Turkish Airlines does it.) Part of the upgrade includes all-new cups, glasses and cutlery, with larger wine glasses for fuller pours and hefty cut crystal-like tumblers for cocktails. (See photos above.) BA’s busy New York-London flights will be the first to see the upgrades as soon as this summer, and it will roll out to other routes later in 2018.

Better sleep: Also on the way: bigger pillows, new mattress toppers, duvets, ear plugs and eye masks as well as revised inflight service schedules designed to maximize good sleep (sounds like United Polaris to me!). Regrettably, none of these features were on our joyride, so no photos.

New self boarding gates at Heathrow use your boarding pass and facial recognition (Image: British Airways)

More self-boarding gates: Currently, BA has three automated boarding gates at Heathrow. These gates operate turnstile-like entry points activated by facial recognition and the bar code on your boarding pass. (At Heathrow, your photo is taken when you enter security, and is matched with another photo taken when you board. If they don’t match, you don’t board.) Cruz said that based on the success and positive feedback from business travelers, there will soon be more of these.

British Airways created a hashtag for the event and coverage of its new investment—check it out here” #BAinvesting4U

Are you a regular on British Airways? What do you think of the changes? Please leave your comments below.

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Next wave of airport technology: facial recognition

British Airways has opened self-service boarding gates at London Heathrow. (Image: British Airways)

Three of Europe’s largest airports – London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG —have started testing or using facial recognition technology as a way of speeding up passenger processing and boarding.

British Airways said this week that it has opened three self-service boarding gates at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, relying on digital facial scans as part of the process. The three domestic gates allow passengers to scan their own boarding passes at the gate and just walk onto the aircraft without the intervention of human gate agents.

BA said the process involves taking a digital facial scan of the passenger when he or she travels through the security checkpoint; when the traveler arrives at the departure gate, another digital image of their face taken there is checked against the earlier one. If the two match, the passenger is allowed through the gate and onto the aircraft.

The airline said it will extend the technology to three more domestic gates at LHR by mid-June, “with a view to rollout the scheme on international flights in the future.”

A facial recognition kiosk at an Amsterdam Schiphol boarding gate. (Image: KLM)

At Amsterdam Schiphol, the airport and KLM are conducting a three-month test of similar technology at one departure gate. Passengers who have registered in advance go to a special kiosk near the gate where they scan their boarding passes, passports and faces as part of the boarding process. Participants then board the aircraft through a special door that uses digital technology to recognize their faces.

“Schiphol and KLM want to study the technology of facial recognition – the system’s speed, reliability, and user-friendliness,” the airline said. “They will also examine the boarding process and the passenger experience. The ultimate aim is to make the boarding process as quick and easy as possible for our passengers.” The airline said that all data and images collected from passengers will be quickly erased.

At Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the airports authority has started testing facial recognition software as a way to speed up passenger processing after terrorist attacks in the past two years prompted the French government to tighten security requirements for travelers. The tougher requirements led to big increases in waiting time at border control, with many travelers waiting an extra hour to get through.

The CDG test involves the use of new software from a vendor called Vision-Box, and is used for clearing immigration rather than for aircraft boarding. The software compares passengers’ passport photos with their faces, and it can be used for travelers from the 28 European Union member nations. If the tests work well and the government gives a nod to the technology, it could be used to speed up clearance for up to 20 percent of the airport’s passengers.

In the U.S., the CLEAR trusted traveler program uses biometrics but not facial recognition. (Image: CLEAR)

In the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security a few months ago issued a solicitation for vendors who can provide mounted facial recognition cameras to be used in airports. However, the purpose of that project is not to speed up boarding or passenger processing, but rather to help Customs and Border Protection catch persons who are not in the U.S. legally.

 Currently, the biggest user of biometric technology in U.S. airports is probably Clear, which relies on iris and fingerprint scans rather than facial recognition to speed its members into the security checkpoints.

Readers: Would you trust facial recognition technology if it is used to speed up the boarding process? How about if it is collected by government authorities for immigration and security purposes?

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Routes: Seattle and SFO; Delta, WOW, AA, Emirates, United, BA + more

Sir Richard Branson frolics at Seattle-Tacoma as Virgin Atlantic starts service there. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

In international route news, Virgin Atlantic starts a pair of west coast routes; Delta resumes a transatlantic route and adds a South American one; Iceland’s WOW brings its low-fare service to the Midwest; American puts a new cabin class on sale; Emirates scales back at LAX but British Airways grows there; United starts two seasonal routes to Rome; Finnair drops a U.S. gateway; and Copa doubles down at O’Hare.

Virgin Atlantic Airways this week kicked off its new service to Seattle, using a 787-9 for its daily flights to London Heathrow. Virgin’s operations in the U.S. are closely coordinated with joint venture partner Delta, and Virgin’s new Seattle service replaces Delta’s daily flight to London. Delta was using a 767, so Virgin’s 787-9 increases capacity on the route by 50 seats a day. Also this week, Virgin Atlantic introduced new seasonal service from San Francisco International to Manchester, using an A330-300. That route operates three days a week (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). It’s the only SFO-Manchester non-stop service, but it won’t be for long: On May 14, U.K. leisure carrier Thomas Cook Airlines will begin two flights a week with an A330-200. All this is in addition to British Airways four daily nonstops from the Bay Area to London!

Delta will fly to the beaches of Rio from JFK starting in December (Image: VisitBrazil.com)

Delta will expand its South America reach later this year with new daily service between New York JFK and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, slated to launch December 21. Using a 210-passenger 767-300 with Delta One flatbed seats, Delta will offer onward connections at Rio to 23 Brazilian destinations thanks to its Brazilian partner GOL. Meanwhile, Delta this week resumed service on the Atlanta-Brussels route, flying five times a week (increasing to daily during summer) with a 767-400. Delta had suspended the route a year ago after the Brussels terror attacks, although it maintained daily flights to Brussels from JFK.

On July 13, Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW will add another U.S. gateway, starting service four days a week to Reykjavik from Chicago O’Hare. The carrier said it is offering one-way base fares starting as low as $99 (plus extras) from ORD to Iceland, or $149 for connections to major European capitals. The flights will operate Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using an A321-300 with 30-inch seat pitch (or 34 inches for an additional fee).

American’s new premium economy seating is on 787-9s in select markets. (Image: American Airlines).

American Airlines’ new international premium economy seats, currently available on a few routes out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, have been used for upgrades during their rollout. But now the airline is putting the new cabin category on sale for travel beginning May 4. AA’s premium economy class is on its new 787-9s from DFW to Paris, Madrid, Sao Paulo and Seoul. Seats are 19 inches wide with 38 inches of pitch (vs. 33-34 inches in Main Cabin Extra) in a 2-3-2 layout.

Is that U.S. laptop ban starting to hurt business for the big Middle Eastern carriers? Routesonline.com reports that Emirates is “temporarily adjusting” its schedule between Los Angeles and Dubai, cutting service from two flights a day to one from May 1 through June 30.

But Routesonline.com says that British Airways is planning an increased schedule from LAX to London Heathrow, bringing on a third daily flight effective October 29. The additional frequency will use a 787-9. On the same date, BA will boost its New Orleans-LHR schedule from four flights a week to five. Meanwhile, BA this week introduced its biggest bird – the 469-passenger A380-800 – into the aircraft mix on its Boston-London route, where the giant jet operates Mondays and Fridays.

United’s seasonal international schedule adjustments start to kick in next week. On April 4, the carrier will begin seasonal service from Newark to Rome and from Washington Dulles to Rome, both using 767s. The Newark flights continue through November 8, while the Dulles schedule is in place through October 27. Also on April 4, United will lay on extra frequencies from Newark to Paris, Dublin and London.

Trying to get from Miami to Helsinki this summer? Forget Finnair, which is suspending service on that route from May 1 through September 30, according to Routesonline.com. The Finnish carrier is also cutting back Chicago-Helsinki frequencies from five flights a week to three.

Panama’s Copa Airlines is doubling its service from Chicago O’Hare to Panama City effective June 1, when it will supplement its existing daily morning departure with a midafternoon flight out of ORD. Copa has onward service from its Panama City hub to 50 destinations in Latin America.

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New: Oakland-London on British Airways

777 Oakland

British Airways Boeing 777 landing at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)

Brexit does not seem to be having much impact on British Airways’ plans for the booming San Francisco Bay Area.

Today the airline launches nonstops from Oakland to London-Gatwick. The new flights are in addition to BA’s recently deployed daily 787 Dreamliner nonstop between San Jose International and Heathrow, as well as its two dailies between SFO and Heathrow using an Airbus A380 or Boeing 777.

This means that you can now fly BA to London from all three Bay Area airports- no other carrier offers that. It also means that British Airways now flies about 1,250 seats per day, each way, between the San Francisco Bay Area and London.

The new Oakland flight allows BA to tap into the populous and wealthy East Bay suburbs full of travelers who don’t (or won’t) cross the Bay for a flight out of the more congested SFO. BA is the only carrier at OAK offering lie-flat business class seats to Europe— essential if you want to hit the ground running after an overnight flight!

See a slideshow of BA’s inaugural flight event at Oakland International!

British Airways’ signature forward & rear facing business class seat- now flying from SFO, SJC and OAK.  (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Checking fares for April and May, British Airways has OAK-LGW for about $500 round trip in economy. Premium economy is running about $1,200. Business class is about $4,000 round trip. Unlike other carriers flying to Europe from Oakland, British Airways does not charge a fee for the first checked bag in any class of service.

Fares available on BA.com & Google flights on Tues March 28 & subject to change. Sale good through March 31

The new Oakland-Gatwick flights will operate four days a week using a Boeing 777-200ER that seats 275 passengers: 203 in economy,  24 in premium economy and  48 in business class. That’s a lot of room for upgrades or award flights! British Airways’ premium economy (aka World Traveller Plus) is in a separate cabin, bigger seats with 38-inch pitch, in-seat power, and choice of meals from the business class menu.

BA Club World (business class) travelers flying out of Oakland receive up to five days of free parking in OAK’s Premier Lot, an added value of $190. They also get complimentary access to a new Escape lounge located in Terminal 1 near BA gates. One-time passes to the lounge go for $45.

Don’t miss! Trip Report: British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner San Jose-London

Oakland

BA business class passengers now have access to Oakland’s new Escape Lounge (Photo: K Taylor)

On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays the flight departs London Gatwick’s South Terminal at 10:20am and arrives into Oakland at 1:15 pm. From Oakland, the flight departs at 2:45 pm and arrives London Gatwick at 9:25 am the next morning. On Tuesdays, the flight departs at 11:25 am from London Gatwick and arrives Oakland at 2:20 pm, returning at 3:50 pm with an arrival into London at 10:30am the next morning.

At Gatwick, BA uses the recently renovated South Terminal — recent improvements include a brand new business class lounge, and upgraded check in area, and easier access to the Gatwick Express.

Gatwick Airport (LGW) is 28 miles south of central London but still convenient and even preferred by many travelers. Why? Because the easy 30-minute, approximately $25 Gatwick Express train can whisk you from the airport to Victoria Station in the heart of the city every 15 minutes. London’s Heathrow Express, while speedier, drops you off at Paddington Station, which may not be as convenient. On the flip side, those traveling into Oakland from London can now get to downtown San Francisco via a new BART spur that connects the the airport to the city in about 30 minutes for about $10 each way.

London’s three primary airports. The Gatwick Express train connects the airport with Victoria Station (Image: Visit London)

BA seems to be on something of a roll recently. In addition to the new Oakland flight, British Airways is adding new nonstops to Ft Lauderdale and New Orleans  from London this spring.

Do you have plans to fly to Europe this spring or summer? Where will you go and how will you get there? Please leave your comments below!

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Routes: Norwegian/BA at Oakland, Alaska/Condor, China Eastern, KLM, Air Canada, Volaris

British Airways B777

British Airways will fly nonstop between Oakland and London-Gatwick using a Boeing 777-200ER (Photo: British Airways)

In international route developments, Norwegian and British Airways begin new Oakland flights; Alaska inks a frequent flyer partnership with a European carrier; China Eastern adds a U.S. route; KLM returns to Minneapolis; Air Canada begins a new transcontinental link from Vancouver; and Volaris starts Houston service.

It will be a busy time at Oakland International next week, with two new transatlantic services coming to the Bay Area airport. March 28 is the launch date for Norwegian’s newest low-cost transatlantic route, linking Oakland with Copenhagen twice a week, using a 787-8.  And on the same date, British Airways will kick off new daily flights linking Oakland with London Gatwick – a route served since last year by Norwegian. The new BA flights out of OAK will operate four days a week, using a 777-200ER with business, premium economy and regular economy seating. BA already flies to London from San Francisco and San Jose – but to Heathrow, not Gatwick. Meanwhile, BA will also begin new service on March 27 between New Orleans and London Heathrow, offering 787-8 flights four days a week.

Speaking of Oakland, the new carrier LEVEL, which announced new nonstops to Barcelona for just $149 each way bragged on Twitter this week that it sold 52,000 tickets in a single day:

Condor is Alaska’s newest Mileage Plan partner. (Image: Condor)

Alaska Airlines has added another European carrier as a partner in its Mileage Plan frequent flyer program. The new partner is Condor, a leisure-oriented subsidiary of Thomas Cook that is based in Germany. The two carriers already had an interline agreement, but now passengers will be able to earn and spend Mileage Plan miles on Condor as well. Alaska passengers can link up with transatlantic Condor flights to Frankfurt at Seattle, San Diego, Las Vegas, Portland, Anchorage and Fairbanks; in June, Condor will add Seattle-Munich flights.

Mileage Plan members can start earning elite-qualifying miles on Condor flights now (and so can Virgin America Elevate members who have a Mileage Plan account number). Award travel redemption “will begin at a later date,” Alaska said. Condor, which uses three-class 767-300ERs on its transatlantic routes, is expanding its North America network this year to a total of 16 cities, mostly served a couple of times a week. The airline primarily serves vacationers, but offers a nice (but non-lie-flat) business class, reviewed here.

China Eastern wants to start Houston-Shanghai flights. (Image: Airbus)

China Eastern Airlines has its eye on new U.S. service linking Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport with Shanghai Pudong, according to a report in Air Transport World, an aviation industry journal. China Eastern, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam global alliance, reportedly hopes to begin the service in June or July. The only other non-stop service between Houston and China is an Air China route from Houston to Beijing.

KLM set a March 27 start for seasonal service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and its Amsterdam Schiphol hub – a route it hasn’t flown since 2001. The Dutch carrier will fly the route three days a week, continuing through October. KLM’s SkyTeam partner Delta, which has a hub at MSP, already offers service to AMS up to three times a da

On June 23, Air Canada will introduce new seasonal service linking Vancouver with Boston, continuing through September 4. The carrier will offer one daily roundtrip using a two-class A319. The Canadian carrier will also resume Montreal-Washington Dulles daily service starting June 19, using a 50-passenger CRJ-100; Air Canada already flies between Montreal and Washington Reagan National.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris has started up new service between Houston Bush Intercontinental and Mexico City, operating four days a week. Volaris already flies from Houston to Guadalajara.

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New $149 California-Spain flights – and it’s not Norwegian

Level will fly A330s from Oakland and Los Angeles. (Image: IAG)

British Airways’ parent International Airlines Group (IAG) is making good on its promise to take on Norwegian Air by bringing a new low-fare service from California to Spain this summer. New nonstops on Level between Oakland, Los Angeles and Barcelona start June 2.

When the service was announced earlier this year, one-way fares started at $149. Currently the cheapest roundtrip fares for June OAK-BCN flights are $366.  For July and August flights, fares are in the $700 roundtrip range.

Tickets are on sale now at www.flylevel.com. As with other low fare carriers, you’ll pay fees for checked bags, assigned seats and food, but even with those, this is still a good deal.

The Level A330s (operated by Spain’s Iberia Airlines at first) will have 21 premium economy and 293 regular economy seats.

Economy seating on a Level A330. (Image: IAG)

Economy seats on the A330 are configured 2-4-2 with 30 inches of pitch. Each seat gets a 9-inch seatback video screen.

Premium economy seats have slightly wider armrests and 37 inches of pitch and larger 12-inch video screens. A premium economy fare (about $1,300 round trip) also includes a checked bag, a carry-on bag, in-flight meals, advance seat selection and in-flight movies. Inflight Wi-Fi starts at $9.65.

Premium economy seats on Level are slightly larger with 37 inches of pitch (Image: Level)

Here’s how Level describes its premium economy section

What’s more, flights on Level will be included in IAG’s Avios loyalty program, which is also a feature of its other subsidiaries (BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling). However, we don’t yet know how many Avios members will earn.

Norwegian announced last fall that it plans to begin new 787 service to Barcelona from Los Angeles starting June 5 and from Oakland beginning June 7. It was initially offering one-way fares starting at $199.

In addition to the U.S. service, Level will fly from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Argentina and to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. At Barcelona, passengers will be able to connect to intra-European flights on IAG’s Vueling subsidiary.

“Barcelona has been chosen as the first European city for the launch of IAG’s new operation but LEVEL will look to expand its flights from other European cities,” IAG said.

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“Trump slump” means more great travel deals

Empire State Building New York

Low demand from overseas means more bargains in cities like New York or San Francisco (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Bargain-hunting travelers could see some relief from high hotel rates and airfares as demand slows and travel deals proliferate. 

While the stock market is experiencing a record setting “Trump bump,” the U.S. travel industry is girding for a big slowdown in visitors from other countries resulting in a “Trump slump.”

That is bad news for the travel industry. But it’s good news for bargain hunting travelers faced with sky high rates in recent years, especially for hotels in cities favored by international visitors such as New York, Washington, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It’s also good news for frequent flyers and loyalty program members hoping to cash in points and miles on overseas trips as lower demand translates into more availability.

President Trump has cost the US travel industry $185 million in lost revenue, with significant drop in flight searches and bookings from the U.K. according to The Guardian. The British newspaper pointed to data released by Kayak this week showing that searches for flights to Miami, Tampa and Orlando from the U.K. are down almost 60 percent. San Diego searches are down 43 percent. Las Vegas is down 36 percent and Los Angeles is down 32 percent.

New York City tourism officials expect to see 300,000 fewer international visitors this year according to the New York Times- but it expects more domestic visitors.

Washington DC

Rates in cities like Washington DC could decrease due to lack of interest by foreigners (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Kayak says that according to its data, “Brits are falling out of love with the USA in a major way. Searches for flights to key U.S. destinations have fallen off a cliff.”

That lack of interest is already translating into lower rates. Kayak reports that average prices for hotel rooms in Las Vegas are down 39 percent on average, in San Francisco they are down 34 percent and even New York has seen hotel prices fall by 32 percent. (Rates could fall even more in SF according to this recent TravelSkills post)

Anecdotally, I’ve noticed a big drop in hotel rates in New York City, especially in the overcrowded mid-range. Last month I stayed in a New York Hilton Garden Inn for just $149 per night, and I’ve seen similar low rates all winter long, some extending into spring.

In the U.K., Kayak’s Suzanne Perry said, “The story of the summer is the fall of interest in the States. We noted that searches to the USA dropped after the new president came to office – but it seems like this is a longer-term trend. The US has historically been one of the most popular countries for Brits, but searches to popular destinations falling by over half in one year is a massive shift.”

The same thing is going on in the air. Searches for flights to the U.S. from international destinations are down 17% according to data analysts at Hopper.

British Airways added San Jose nonstops using a 787 Dreamliner last year- and the deals are great!. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

To us, that lack of demand from overseas is translating into startlingly low fares between to US and Europe this winter and spring. Ultra-low-cost carriers are leading the way with ultra-low fares (as low as $250 round trip + fees). But it’s not just the low-fare airlines that lowering prices– we’ve seen the major airlines jump into the low-fare fray with round trips from the West Coast to Europe in the $400 range. Advance bookings for peak summer season are still in the $700 roundtrip range, which is a remarkably good deal.

With British Airways adding new nonstops to London from San Jose and Oakland this year, in addition to its two dailies at SFO, there is a LOT of new capacity in this market leading to unprecedented low fares. And if Europeans are not all that interested in coming to the US, I expect we’ll see good fares all year long as demand flattens.

So, bargain hunters rejoice while you can! We’ll see how long this party lasts.

Have you noticed that international travel is getting a lot cheaper? What’s the best deal you’ve seen so far? Please leave your comments below. 

 

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Deal Alert: $457 to London from SFO, San Jose, Oakland

British Airways' inaugural San Jose flight arrives at the gate. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

British Airways’ inaugural San Jose Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrives at the gate. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

A few weeks ago we saw Bay Area to London roundtrip fares plummet to under $500 – an astounding deal. Now, with competition heating up, those cheap fares are back… and available from ALL three airports: SFO, San Jose and Oakland! And on all airlines serving the route: British Airways, Norwegian, Virgin Atlantic and United.

In these heady days, we now have up to NINE roundtrips every day between the Bay Area and London (Gatwick and Heathrow).

  • One at San Jose SJC (British Airways)
  • Two at Oakland OAK (British Airways and Norwegian)
  • Six at San Francisco SFO (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United)

With competition like that, I bet we’ll see cheap fares for at least the rest of this year.

Screen Shot 2017-02-02 at 1.08.04 PM

This sample is for May 1 – May 8 (Google Flights)

What is great about these deals is that they are currently available all the way through mid-May— which means you can fly to London for Spring Break if you fancy that! ‘Tis lovely in the spring!

After May, fares creep up into the $600 round trip range, but even that is a great deal when you consider it’s available during peak summer travel season June-August) when fares normally rise to near $1,800 round trip.

Find these deals on Google Flights. NOTE: If flights are not found on Google flights, try BritishAirways.com, NorwegianAir.com, United.com or VirginAtlantic.com, all of which are still showing these fares as of Noon Thursday Feb 2.

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How often are planes washed?

A shiny new British Airways A380. Clean as a whistle! (Photo: British Airways)

A shiny new British Airways A380. BA says that it “takes a lot of muscle” to keep planes clean (Photo: British Airways)

Like a shiny, freshly washed and waxed car, a shiny, clean plane is a thing of beauty. Right?

But have you ever excitedly peered out at the plane you’re about to board and thought, “Hmm, that big bird needs a bath!”

As much as what’s inside the plane is what counts, that first impression of the outside of the aircraft may be even more important. If it’s dull and grimy on the outside, you might raise an eyebrow and wonder what you’ll see inside.

So we asked several airlines about how they keep their planes sparkling clean — or at least try to.

“We wash the exterior of our aircraft every fifty days, and that schedule is the same regardless of fleet type,” United Airlines’ Jennifer Dohm tells TravelSkills. “The locations for washing are determined by where the aircraft are laying over at an airport for at least eight hours. As a global airline, United’s wash locations are found throughout the world at fourteen airports including Houston, Newark, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo.”

All United aircraft are washed by hand (Photo: United Airlines)

All United aircraft are washed by hand using extension poles (Photo: United Airlines)

“The washing schedule is the same year round; it doesn’t vary by season,” Dohm notes, although “in the winter, we add three additional locations in Florida. A widebody aircraft typically takes about five hours to wash with a crew of three to five people and it’s all done by hand using an extension pole.”

Across the Atlantic, Richard Goodfellow from British Airways explains that the frequency its planes are washed “depends on the aircraft type, but typically every six to eight weeks. We try to wash the short-haul ones more often as they do more take-offs and landings each day than a long-haul jet.”

British Airways mostly washes its aircraft at the airline’s London Heathrow and Gatwick hubs, using “specialist cleaning detergent, high lifts, aircraft brushes and quite a bit of muscle!” Each aircraft takes up to eight hours to wash.

Does the schedule differ at various times of year, we asked. “Not particularly,” Goodfellow said, but noted that, “Obviously it is not practical to wash aircraft in certain poor weather conditions.”

Video: Watch an Air France A380 get a special kind of bath

Meanwhile, James Boyd at Singapore Airlines tells us, “Our aircraft are washed monthly. This does not include additional washes required if dirty spots are found on the aircraft. Our aircraft are washed at designated bays at Changi Airport in Singapore. It typically ranges from two to five hours, depending on the general condition of the aircraft and the services required.”

Singapore uses “an aircraft cleaning robotic system, scissor lifts, aerial lifts and water tankers,” and its schedule doesn’t differ between its aircraft types (although SQ operates only widebody aircraft so its planes are all in the ‘large’ category) or dependent on the time of year.

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet-- it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet– it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Interestingly, no airline would tell us how much it costs to wash an aircraft, citing commercial sensitivity. Nor would any carrier comment on whether they intend to wash their planes more or less frequently than other airlines.

So it seems that “the world’s cleanest airline” isn’t (yet) part of the advertising we’ll see at the airport.

But which airline has the dirtiest planes?

 (This is a Blast from the Past! A similar post appeared on TravelSkills in 2014)

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SFO, LAX could get new low-fare flights to Spain

International Airlines Group plans to fight back against transatlantic low-cost competition. (Image: IAG)

International Airlines Group plans to fight back against transatlantic low-cost competition. (Image: IAG)

British Airways’ parent company plans to launch new low-cost transatlantic service from Barcelona to the U.S. in 2017.

International Airlines Group — which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and the low-cost Spanish airline Vueling – is considering adding a new subsidiary in 2017 that will offer cheap fares to and from the U.S. West Coast in response to low-fare competition from Norwegian, according to The Times of London.

The newspaper said IAG’s new operation is expected to use Airbus A330s to fly from Barcelona’s El Prat Airport to San Francisco and Los Angeles beginning in June 2017. The new venture is also targeting transatlantic flights from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; and Havana, Cuba, the report said.

Tickets are not expected to go on sale until February or March 2017, and no fare information is currently available according to CAPA. 

Vueling, IAG’s low-cost Spanish subsidiary that serves short-haul markets, will provide passenger feed into Barcelona for the transatlantic flights. There were no details yet on specific schedules or fares for the West Coast service. IAG suggested that it might operate the new service under one of its existing brands if it does not create a new subsidiary.

Related: New Oakland to Barcelona nonstops announced

Europe’s legacy airlines have recently been stirred to action on the low-cost front as Norwegian adds more long-haul routes at extremely low base fares. Norwegian in recent months has started or announced new and increased low-fare service from major U.S. airports to London Gatwick, Paris and Barcelona, especially from the West Coast. Lufthansa is concentrating on growing its low-cost Eurowings subsidiary, adding aircraft from Airberlin and Brussels Airlines for that purpose.

Air France KLM recently revealed plans to develop a low-cost long-haul operation tentatively called Boost, based at Paris Charles de Gaulle, although few details are available.  And in addition to IAG’s new Barcelona-based operation, British Airways is adding service to Oakland and Ft. Lauderdale in 2017 from London Gatwick instead of its Heathrow hub, in response to Norwegian’s increasing Gatwick service.  BA is said to be planning eventually to use higher-capacity 777s with 332 seats instead of 280 for its long-haul Gatwick operations, in order to make them cost-competitive with Norwegian.

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Roundup: San Jose’s flourishing flight options

British Airways added San Jose-London service last spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways added San Jose-London service last spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

Mineta San Jose International Airport is entering a real boom period, with both domestic and international airlines adding new routes right and left. With a growing regional population and a perfect location as the gateway to one of the world’s biggest technology hubs, Mineta San Jose is well positioned for continued growth into the 21st century.

That technology hub, of course, is Silicon Valley. Some of the world’s leading tech giants have offices no more than a dozen miles from SJC, including companies like Apple, Google, Symantec, Intel, Cisco, Adobe Systems, Netflix, SanDisk and many more. Not only is a trip to Mineta San Jose a fraction of the distance to San Francisco International Airport for these companies, but SJC’s smaller size makes the airport experience less hectic for passengers (through the first nine months of 2016, SJC boarded fewer than 4 million passengers, vs. almost 20 million at SFO).

With all those business travelers close by, and with its fast-growing, high-income population (San Jose is the 10th largest city in the sponsored-sliderU.S., and its metropolitan area has a median household income of $100,385), it’s not surprising that airlines are eager to accommodate that market.

Lufthansa uses an A340-300 on its new San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

Lufthansa uses an A340-300 on its new San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

In recent months, Mineta San Jose has attracted new routes from several international airlines, among them:

  • Lufthansa this past summer began flying non-stop to Frankfurt five times a week, using a 298-passenger, three-class A340-300. Through its Frankfurt hub, the German carrier offers connections to 100 cities in Europe and beyond.
  • British Airways last spring kicked off the first non-stop service from SJC to London Heathrow, using a brand-new, 216-passenger, four-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It’s BA’s fourth destination in California, along with Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
  • In September, Air China launched a new transpacific route from SJC to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport, making San Jose the airline’s 10th North American gateway. The Chinese carrier uses a two-class, 237-seat Airbus A330-200 to fly the new route three days a week. SJC Aviation Director Kim Becker said the new route is expected to bring $65 million a year in economic investment to the San Jose area.
  • It’s not as far away, but another new international destination for SJC that started this year is Vancouver. Air Canada last spring kicked off twice-daily service between the two cities, using Bombardier CRJ-705s. Airport officials noted that Vancouver is sometimes called Silicon Valley North, since more than 200 Silicon Valley companies have offices there.

While the Lufthansa and British Airways flights represented SJC’s most recent transatlantic non-stops, it already offered transpacific service to Tokyo with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and to Beijing with Hainan Airlines.

Alaska, Southwest, United and JetBlue are all growing at SJC. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska, Southwest, United and JetBlue are all growing at SJC. (Image: Jim Glab)

New domestic routes are also proliferating.  San Jose got another new transcontinental flight last month, when Southwest Airlines began a daily roundtrip to Baltimore/Washington International. At the same time, Southwest also started new twice-daily SJC-Salt Lake City service. And American Airlines this past summer added daily seasonal service between SJC and its Charlotte hub.

In March of next year, both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are set to begin new daily non-stops from SJC to Newark Liberty International, and United will start twice-daily flights from SJC to its big Chicago O’Hare hub as well. In mid-May, Delta will add a third daily SJC-Atlanta flight.

Intra-California traffic is also booming, attracting new service in the California corridor. Last summer, Alaska Airlines started flying three times a day from SJC to both San Diego and Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. And on January 4, JetBlue will kick off SJC-Long Beach service, offering four daily roundtrips, followed by three daily Alaska Airlines flights to Burbank beginning in mid-March.

You can find more details about new San Jose routes here.

This post is sponsored by Mineta San Jose International Airport  

San Jose Airport banner

Disclosure: Thank you for reading TravelSkills! We will periodically send out messages like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel.  Our sponsors’ support, and yours, help us keep TravelSkills a free publication. 


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This airline wants to get deep inside your body

British Airways Champagne

Do you need a drink? British Airways wants to know without being told. (Image: Scott Hintz)

Would you mind if your airline tried to anticipate your in-flight needs by using a variety of sensors to monitor just how you’re feeling – including, possibly, a “digital pill” that you swallow?

That’s apparently what British Airways sees for the future of travel. According to MediaPost.com, the airline has applied for a patent on new technology that would let it control the travel environment in response to very personal passenger data.

That data would be gathered by sensors that measure various physiological factors in passengers – including “digital pills or other ingestible sensors that detect internal temperature, stomach acidity and other internal properties and wirelessly relay this information outside the passenger’s body,” according to the patent application.

The application apparently did not indicate how large such a pill might be.

Other sensors could be worn by a passenger, included on his mobile device, or positioned nearby. These could include body movement sensors, sleep phase or biorhythm sensors, eye movement trackers and heartrate or blood pressure monitors, the patent application said.

All this data could theoretically be analyzed to determine if passengers are awake or asleep, hungry, and hot or cold, for instance, “for use in determining and scheduling events associated with the journey segments,” the application said – i.e., so crew could adjust in-flight service and environmental controls to keep passengers at maximum comfort levels.

What do you think, readers? Would you swallow a digital pill or strap on a wearable so flight attendants could know when to serve you dinner? Or is this whole notion just off-the-charts science fiction?

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First look: Oakland’s spiffy new lounge (slideshow)

Oakland

Oakland’s new Escape Lounge boasts nice tarmac views and more! (Photo: K Taylor)

This month, Oakland International Airport opened a new Escape Lounge that’s open to all passengers for a $45 one-time-use fee. It is located in Terminal 1 (all airlines except Southwest, which operates out of Terminal 2) between gates 8 and 8A, across from gate 9. The 2,700-square-foot facility can accommodate 50 travelers, and will have separate zones for relaxing, dining/drinking and work. It’s open daily from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m.

The lounge is another of an increasing number of “common use” lounges found at other airports across the country. For example, MAG, the British company that runs Oakland’s lounge, also has outposts at Minneapolis-St Paul International and Bradley International in Hartford, CT. Similarly, there are 10 “The Club” lounges at airports across the US, including The Club at SJC, which which provides free access to business class passengers of international airlines operating there.

While the Escape lounge in Minneapolis offers access to holders of Priority Pass, the Oakland Escape lounge does not at this time.

The Escape lounge is best suited for business and first class passengers headed to Europe on Norwegian Air or British Airways (Photo: K Taylor)

The Escape lounge is best suited for business and first class passengers headed to Europe on Norwegian Air or British Airways (Photo: K Taylor)

Premium cabin customers of Norwegian Airlines flying non-stop from OAK to London-Gatwick, Oslo, Stockholm, and Barcelona will receive complimentary use of Escape Lounge. We are still awaiting final word on whether British Airways business class passengers will get comped access to the lounge when its London-Gatwick nonstops arrive at Oakland in April.

The lounge includes contemporary furniture and great runway and tarmac views. It also boasts, “An extensive complimentary locally inspired menu (see it below); a wide array of unlimited complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including local coffee brand RoastCo;  flight information screens; free high-speed Wi-Fi and reading materials” according to a press release. The bar offers a wide range of complimentary beer, wine and booze plus higher end brands and craft beers for $5-$15.

Well-known local Oakland chef Chris Pastena has developed breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Pastena owns Chop Bar, Lungomare and Calavera in Oakland.

Take a spin through our photos below:

Oakland Escape Lounge

Full bar (Photo: K Taylor)

 

(Photo: K Taylor)

(Photo: K Taylor)

 

Oakland Escape Lounge

Plenty of room to eat, work or relax, including semi-private booths (Photo: K Taylor)

 

(Photo: K. Taylor)

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served (Photo: K. Taylor)

 

(Photo: Keonnis Taylor)

(Photo: Keonnis Taylor)

 

 

Chef Chris Pastena helped develop breakfast, lunch and dinner menus (Image: MAG)

Chef Chris Pastena helped develop breakfast, lunch and dinner menus (Image: MAG)

 

Oakland Escape Lounge

Oakland’s Escape Lounge is located in Terminal 1 across from Gate 9 (Photo: K Taylor)

Oakland has been on a roll lately, adding new international flights, offering bennies like free parking, a new all-rail BART link to downtown San Francisco, and now, a new lounge.

Have you used Oakland Airport lately? Would you now? Please leave your comments below. 

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Airport news: Newark, JFK, San Francisco, Baltimore, Miami

A fast screening lane like this one at Atlanta has opened in United's Newark Liberty International hub. (Image: Delta)

A fast screening lane like this one at Atlanta has opened in United’s Newark Liberty International hub. (Image: Delta)

In airport news, Newark is the latest facility to start using automated TSA screening lanes to speed up the inspection process; British Airways plans a big upgrade of its terminal at New York JFK; healthy snack machines are coming to San Francisco International; Baltimore/Washington International opens a new connector between two concourses and a new security checkpoint; and Miami International adds a bunch of new shops and restaurants in its North Terminal.

United Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration have opened the first of 17 automated screening lanes coming to United’s hub at Newark Liberty International. Like the other automated lanes popping up around the country, the Newark lane allows several passengers to load their items into bins simultaneously; has an automated conveyor belt that pulls the bins into the x-ray machine instead of requiring travelers to push them; shunts questionable items off onto a separate belt for more detailed inspection without slowing down other passengers; and offers bins that are 25 percent larger than other lanes. The new automated lanes are expected to reduce screening wait times by 30 percent.

British Airways announced plans to spend $110 million improving its airport facilities in the U.S., and the bulk of that amount – more than $65 million – will be spent on its Terminal 7 at New York JFK. The airline said the JFK terminal will get an overhaul of check-in, security and gate areas as well as upgrades to its first class and business class lounges. The rest of the funding will be used for improvements to British Airways’ airport lounges at San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Houston and Seattle. (A BA spokesperson told TravelSkills that there’s no current update or timeline for the long-awaited expansion of its lounge at SFO’s International Terminal A.)

Healthy snack vending machines copmingto SFO will accept smartphone payment systems. (Image: Gillys Vending)

Healthy snack vending machines coming to SFO will accept smartphone payment systems. (Image: Gilly Vending)

Want to grab a quick snack at San Francisco International? You’ll get more healthy choices starting next year thanks to the airport’s new contract with Gilly Vending. The company said its vending machines will be stocked with “organic, gluten-free, low-salt, sugar-free and low-calorie” product selections. “The offerings in the new multi-year contract will highlight only‎ premium quality snack products from recognized brands packed with an abundance of nutrients and antioxidants which are proven to boost energy and stamina such as dried fruits, coconut chips, carob, quinoa, chia, nuts and whole grains,” Gilly said. Yum! What’s more, the machines will accept cashless pay systems including Google, Android and Apple Pay.

The new D/E Connector and security checkpoint at BWI. (Image: Baltimore Washington Airport)

The new D/E Connector and security checkpoint at BWI. (Image: Baltimore Washington Airport)

Baltimore/Washington International Airport has opened a new secure connector linking its Concourse D with its international Concourse E. The $125 million expansion project also includes a new security checkpoint for domestic and international passengers, as well as new passenger concessions and restrooms. The airport plans to eliminate the old security checkpoints for the D and E concourses. Other aspects of the project include an outdoor patio with airfield views, and a children’s play area. The connector will serve as an art gallery for displays of the work of local artists. Officials noted that BWI’s passenger traffic hit a record 24 million in 2015 and is continuing to grow this year.

Officials at Miami International have cut the ribbon on the North Terminal Marketplace – a collection of 10 new restaurants and shops intended to give travelers “a multi-cultural taste of Miami,” the airport said. Located between Gates D-26 and D-29, the marketplace includes a pizzeria; a Caribbean specialty restaurant; singer Gloria Estefan’s Estefan Kitchen Express; a farm-to-table restaurant called Fig and Fennel; an empanadas outlet; a seafood deli; and retail shops selling cigars, Miami Marlins merchandise, designer porcelain dolls, and fashions from Perry Ellis.

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Most popular: Cheap flights to London | Transcon sale | Free Vegas | Hilton promo | Best Credit Card

Washington DC

What a great week to be in Washington DC on the eve of an election for a Boarding Area conference (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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

1 British Airways adds yet another Bay Area nonstop

2 Routes: Delta, ANA, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, JetBlue, Alaska

3 Deal Alert: Transcon fares plummet in December

4 5 fabulously free things to do in Las Vegas

The view over the Venetian from my room at the Palazzo in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Don’t miss our post about free things to do in Las Vegas.  (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

5 17 moments in 17 hours on Singapore Airlines Airbus A350

6 These two Virgins are splitting up

7 Delta details plush premium economy plans

8 How to choose the best travel credit card

9 New hotels: Minneapolis, Chicago, Silicon Valley, Nashville, Atlanta

10 New device offers drivers a heads-up, hands-free display

Don’t miss: More cheap flights across the Atlantic-KLM, AirFrance, BA

HiltonHHonorsLogo

Hilton HHonors members who book through the HHonors App (get it here) and pay with a Visa credit card for stays during November 2, 2016 – January 31, 2017 will earn an additional 5,000 Bonus Points.  How? Here are the details http://www.HHonors.com/VisaBonus.

hotel hall corridor

REDRUM! We checked out this gorgeous new hotel recently and will write about it this week. Any guesses? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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

Post-takeover layoffs begin at Starwood

Marriott installs “like” buttons throughout hotel

A beautiful behind-the-scenes planespotting tour at SFO (Slideshow)

Airlines bump up capacity for bigger Thanksgiving travel crowds

Airlines: Profitable, but worried

Delta rolled out updates to its already awesome app last week. Details included in this short video:

New pet relief rooms in concourses at ATL include fire hydrants

Delta finished Wi-Fi installations on its long-haul aircraft

Study: Most companies’ travel policies don’t cover Uber/Lyft rides on international trips

Uber unveils a big redesign of its app

Hello Gorgeous! New spa for Delta employees at ATL

Judge refuses to throw out price-fixing suit against major U.S. airlines

Lufthansa retires its last 737

Survey: Business travelers are more concerned about maintaining a good work/life balance

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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More cheap flights across the Atlantic?

Air France's bhub at Paris Charles de Gaulle. (Image: Parisinfo.com)

Air France’s hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle. (Image: Parisinfo.com)

As ultra-low-cost carriers and well-financed Middle Eastern airlines continue to expand internationally and capture more global market share, Air France-KLM and British Airways are trying new strategies to fight back with cheap flights.

Air France-KLM just announced it will create a new long-haul operation – it currently calls the project ‘Boost’ – to be based at Paris Charles de Gaulle, as a “response to the Gulf State airlines which are developing at low production costs on key markets where Air France-KLM is pursuing its growth ambition.” And British Airways is mounting a competitive response to Norwegian on a pair of North American routes, using reconfigured aircraft with more seats that will permit lower operating costs. (Note those new nonstops just announced between Oakland & London- resulting in a nice fare war putting cheapest flights in the $500 roundtrip range)

Air France-KLM said that the new company, which will have 10 long-haul planes by 2020, “will propose a simple, modern and innovative offer, whose positioning will not be low cost. It will offer its customers business and leisure destinations with standards comparable to those of Air France in terms of product quality and the professionalism of the crews.” But it said the new operating unit will be “competitive and innovative,” and will serve as a laboratory for new products, technology, catering, cabin design and customer service innovations.

The company said Boost will allow it “to go on the offensive by opening new routes, reopening routes closed due to their lack of profitability and maintaining routes under threat.” It is expected to start operating in about a year, initially focusing on routes to Asia.

British Airways B777

British Airways will fly nonstop between Oakland and London-Gatwick using a Boeing 777-200ER (Photo: British Airways)

British Airways, meanwhile, is focusing on long-haul competition to the U.S. from ultra-low-cost competitor Norwegian. BA recently announced plans to start flying next year to Ft. Lauderdale and to Oakland from Norwegian’s U.K. base at London Gatwick instead of BA’s big hub at London Heathrow. Norwegian already flies both of those routes from Gatwick.

And news came out this week that BA’s new Gatwick routes will eventually use reconfigured 777s that are packed with more seats. According to the U.K. publication Business Traveller, BA plans to increase economy seating in its Gatwick-based 777s from nine-across to 10-across. The aircraft will still offer Club World business class, but with the seat count in that cabin decreased from 40 to 32. The total seat count on the planes will grow from 280 to 332.

BA said the reconfiguration will give its Gatwick-based 777s a lower per-seat operating cost than Norwegian’s 787 Dreamliners.

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Routes: Delta, ANA, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, JetBlue, Alaska

Delta and ANA have shifted routes from Narita to Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

Delta and ANA have shifted routes from Narita to Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

In international route news, Delta shifts a pair of Tokyo routes to a new airport and ANA does the same; Delta and Virgin Atlantic expand code-sharing to India with Jet Airways, and Delta drops a couple of Italy routes; British Airways adds a U.S. gateway – but not from Heathrow; JetBlue sets the launch dates for its new Havana service; and Alaska postpones the start of its new Cuba route.

New rights to fly to/from Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport took effect over the past weekend, resulting in some route changes at Delta and at Japan’s All Nippon Airways. Delta has started its new nonstops from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Tokyo Haneda, which replaces its MSP-Narita service; Delta also shifted its Los Angeles-Tokyo flights from Narita to Haneda (and earlier this month, Delta dropped its New York JFK-Narita route as well). Delta still flies to Narita from Seattle, Portland, Detroit and Atlanta.

ANA, meanwhile, has shifted its New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare routes from Tokyo Narita to Haneda.

Delta's code-sharing with India's Jet Airways is expanding to London and to Virgin Atlantic. (Image: delta)

Delta’s code-sharing with India’s Jet Airways is expanding to London and to Virgin Atlantic. (Image: Delta)

Across the Atlantic, Delta and partner Virgin Atlantic announced an expansion of Delta’s code-sharing partnership with India’s Jet Airways, which is currently available for connections to India via Paris and Amsterdam. Starting November 2, passengers on Delta and Virgin Atlantic flights into London Heathrow will be able to connect onto Delta code-shares operated by Jet Airways to Mumbai and Delhi, and beyond to 20 domestic destinations in India.

In other transatlantic news, for 2017 Delta will no longer offer summer seasonal service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Rome or from New York JFK to Pisa; both routes had been planned to launch May 25. And to South America, Delta has just switched aircraft on its Atlanta-Buenos Aires route from a 767 to an A330-300, providing a 20 percent increase in the number of seats it flies.

British Airways next summer will add a new Florida route. The carrier said that starting July 6, it will fly to Ft. Lauderdale four days a week during summer and three days a week the rest of the year. But it will fly the route out of London Gatwick, not Heathrow. BA will use a 777-200 on the route, which will be its fourth into Florida.

Havana

Refrigerator magnets from a recent trip to Havana (Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue is the latest U.S. carrier to announce the starting dates for new service into Havana. JetBlue, which won rights for three routes into the Cuban capital, said it will begin daily roundtrips out of its New York JFK base on November 28; daily flights from Orlando on November 29; and daily service out of Ft. Lauderdale starting November 30 (increasing to twice a day December 1)

Alaska Airlines, meanwhile, has pushed back the start of its single new Havana route. The carrier had planned to start Los Angeles-Havana service on November 29, but now won’t begin flying the route until January 5.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

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Routes: SFO, LAX, DFW, New Orleans, Orange County, Miami, JFK, Houston

An Etihad Boeing 777-3FX (Photo: Etihad)

Etihad will shrink its San Francisco schedule and increase DFW service. (Photo: Etihad)

In international route news, Etihad will trim its San Francisco schedule and grow at Dallas, but WOW Air will increase service at SFO and Los Angeles; British Airways adds a new U.S. gateway; Southwest drops a Mexico route out of southern California; and Mexico’s Volaris adds more U.S. service.

Two years ago, Etihad Airways added San Francisco to its route map with daily flights to its Abu Dhabi base using a Jet Airways B777 and prompting “Jetihad” snickers. Etihad finally deployed its own metal on the route earlier this year, but now Routesonline.com reports that Etihad plans to cut its schedule by more than half. Effective next February 1, Etihad is due to reduce SFO service from seven flights a week to just three – and that is expected to continue into next summer. Then on February 2, Etihad will boost its Dallas/Ft. Worth-Abu Dhabi schedule from the current three flights a week to daily service, noting that traffic on that two-year-old route has “exceeded expectations.”

Skúli Mogensen, the founder and CEO of WOW Air (Photo: WOW Air)

Skúli Mogensen, the founder and CEO of WOW Air (Photo: WOW Air)

While Etihad cuts back west coast service, ultra-low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW Air will grow. Last June, the company started operating five flights a week from San Francisco to Reykjavik, and four a week from Los Angeles. But on March 26, WOW will increase its schedule to daily flights from both west coast cities – with one-way fares starting as low as $99 (plus heavy-duty fees, of course). WOW operates single-class A330-300s, although it does offer some extra-legroom seats for an extra charge.

On March 26, British Airways will begin flying a transatlantic route that currently has no non-stop service: New Orleans to London Heathrow. BA will fly the route on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a three-class 787-8 and a 9:10 p.m. eastbound departure.  The carrier said roundtrip fares will start at $734 in economy and $2,145 in Club World business class (based on current exchange rates).

British Airways will use a Dreamliner on its new route to New Orleans. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways will use a Dreamliner on its new route to New Orleans. (Image: British Airways)

Southwest Airlines flyers in southern California’s Orange County will have to find another way to get to Mexico City after January 4. That’s the date when Southwest is due to discontinue its daily 737 flights between John Wayne Airport and the Mexican capital.

Mexico’s low-cost Volaris just keeps expanding its transborder network. According to Routesonline.com, the carrier has plans to bring on four new U.S. routes this winter. On February 1, Volaris will begin daily service between Miami and Mexico City, along with four flights a week linking Miami with Guadalajara. Then on March 1, it will add daily flights from Mexico City to New York JFK and four a week between Mexico City and Houston. Just this month it added nonstops between SFO and Mexico City.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

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Routes: LOT at LAX, AA seats, KLM popup, 2 new US cities for Icelandair

LOT Polish will use a 787 for new Los Angeles service in 2017. (Image: LOT Polish)

LOT Polish will use a 787 for new Los Angeles service in 2017. (Image: LOT Polish)

In international route news, LOT Polish Airlines will begin new service to Los Angeles and Newark; American Airlines officially launches its new international premium economy class in a few weeks; British Airways drops a Philadelphia flight but American adds one; KLM will fly to Minneapolis-St. Paul and offers San Franciscans a 787 sneak peek; and Icelandair plans to open up two more U.S. gateways.

LOT Polish Airlines will kick off the first non-stop service between the West Coast and Poland on April 3, 2017 when it begins service between Los Angeles International and Warsaw. LOT will fly the LAX route four times a week using a 787-8 Dreamliner. Also in April, the Polish carrier will resume service from Warsaw to Newark Liberty International, a hub for its Star Alliance partner United.  The Newark flights will begin April 28, initially operating three times a week with a leased 767-300ER, but switching to a 787 in August. With the addition of Newark flights, LOT will trim its 2017 summer schedule out of New York JFK from 12 flights a week to nine.

American's new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

American’s new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

When American Airlines puts its new 787-9s into international service next month, they’ll come equipped with the carrier’s new premium economy cabin – a first for U.S. airlines on international routes.  The first flights to offer the premium cabin will be from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Sao Paulo on November 3 and from DFW to Madrid on November 4. The premium economy service is in addition to (and priced higher than) the airline’s extra-legroom seating in the regular economy cabin. Premium economy seats have a 38-inch pitch, greater width than regular economy, adjustable headrests and footrests, larger video screens, noise-reducing headphones, free drinks and more.

British Airways’ longstanding Philadelphia schedule of two daily flights to London Heathrow will change in March 2017 when it drops one of them – the 10 p.m. departure. But joint venture partner American Airlines will pick up the slack, boosting its own PHL-LHR schedule from one flight a day to two.

Delta’s transatlantic joint venture partner KLM plans to kick off service on March 27 from Delta’s Minneapolis-St. Paul hub to Amsterdam using an Airbus A330 for three flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday). It hasn’t flown the MSP-Amsterdam route for 15 years, according to Airlineroute.com. Delta serves the route with two to three flights a day. Elsewhere, KLM is about to resume Miami service, as previously announced. October 30 is the launch date for the carrier’s three weekly flights from MIA to Amsterdam, which will continue through March 23 with a two-class A330.

KLM 787

Business class seats on KLM’s 787 Dreamliner (Photo: KLM)

In San Francisco, meanwhile, KLM is inviting travelers to visit a Pop-Up location that the carrier will open at Union Square (445A Sutter Street) October 14 to 22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Pop-Up’s purpose is to promote KLM’s 787 Dreamliner, which it put onto its SFO route a few months ago. Visitors can experience the airline’s World Business Class and a virtual reality simulation of the 787, and will get a chance to win free tickets to Amsterdam.

Icelandair will expand its U.S. network in 2017 with the addition of two new gateways. The carrier will begin seasonal summer service to Reykjavik from Philadelphia four days a week beginning May 30, along with year-round flights from Tampa twice a week starting September 6. Also for the 2017 summer season, Icelandair will boost Denver-Reykjavik service from seven to nine weekly flights from June 1 through mid-September; and will increase its Portland schedule from three a week to four on May 20, adding a fifth weekly flight June 14 through August 31.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

Kicking support animals off planes | Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | Marriott-Starwood: Higher prices, better rewards | The 10,000 points question! | Eye-catching maps explain state of the world | Test your planespotting skills!

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Popular: Dogs on planes | SkyClubs | Marriott’s big move | 100,000 points | Mis-pronounced foods

Suzie Dog Labrador Retriever

My dog Suzie wonders why everyone’s so upset about dogs on planes! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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

1 Don’t miss comments from both sides of this hot issue: Kicking “support animals” off the plane

2 It’s a bad news-good news story: Marriott Starwood: Higher prices, better rewardsWeekend Edition

3 Routes: Finnair to SFO, Delta, Virgin Australia, Austrian, AA, SAS + more

4 It’s go time for huge Marriott-Starwood merger

5 Private passageway for the posh: British Airways’ new “millionaire’s door” at Heathrow

6 Airport news: Inside newest Delta SkyClub + Phoenix, Seattle, Boston, LAX

7 What the future holds: An amazing upgrade for LAX- in pictures

8 Bedazzling, story-telling maps: Eye-catching maps explain the state of the world

9 Got THE card yet? The 100,000 points question

10 How does yours rank? 5 airports with best/worst cell phone reception

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

Crystal Cruises plans to have a B777 like this to whisk its top customers to the ship (Photo: Crystal Cruises)

Crystal Cruises plans to have a B777 with interiors like this to whisk its top customers to the ship (Photo: Crystal Cruises)

Crystal Cruises pimps out a B777 like you’ve never seen before

Alaska-Virgin deal hits snag, delays ensue

Virgin America’s new app has landed! 

Hawaiian Air nonstops to London? On an A380? 

Basking in SFO’s $5.7 billion to-do list

Alaska Air not expected to decide on fate of Virgin brand until late this year 

Earn Delta EQMs with new Hilton promo (registration required)

BRUSCHETTA (broo-SKEH-tah)

16 foods you are probably mispronouncing

JetBlue considering adding wide-bodies to its fleet?

Virgin America flight attendants angry as merger approaches

Virgin Atlantic’s A330s will all have speedy satellite Wi-Fi by year’s end

The Fairmont Claremont (Image: Fairmont)

The Fairmont Claremont (Image: Fairmont)

Bay Area’s historic Claremont Hotel becomes a Fairmont after an overhaul

Carlson Rezidor Hotels offers its loyalty members direct booking discounts

Dubious honor for Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Airport

Southwest exec discusses carrier’s international growth plans

World’s airlines score $40 billion in fees for 2015; United leads the pack

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Screenshot from Trump Washington website

Trump’s new D.C. hotel: Korans and $59 salads

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Dubious honor for Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Airport

Southwest exec discusses carrier’s international growth plans

World’s airlines score $40 billion in fees for 2015; United leads the pack

Delta’s new safety video debuts in October. Thoughts? 

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts! Kicking support animals off planes | Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | Marriott-Starwood: Higher prices, better rewards | The 10,000 points question! | Eye-catching maps explain state of the world | Test your planespotting skills! )

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British Airways’ new “millionaire’s door” at Heathrow

British Airways First Wing

Rendering of the mod new British Airways First Wing passageway at London Heathrow (Image: British Airways)

A lucky few British Airways customers traveling from London Heathrow will soon be able to bypass the riff-raff at airport security and enter the airport via a new private walkway connecting the check in area with the lounges in Terminal 5.

London Heathrow First Class BA

British Airway’s classy, cosseted first class check in area at London Heathrow- soon to have a direct connection to lounges (Chris McGinnis)

“The First Wing,” set to open in April, will be located behind to the airlines First check-in area.  BA says that it will create “an enhanced private check-in zone where customers will be guided to two new dedicated security lanes, designed to speed up the process of passing through the airport.” The new secret passageway is reserved for BA’s first class passengers, Gold Executive Club members and Oneworld Emerald members only.

BA says, “Once through security, customers will have dedicated access to British Airways’ Galleries First lounge and through to the airline’s flagship Concorde Room, where they can relax before their flight, making the journey seamless for those premium customers.”

British Airways, Millionaire's Door, Heathrow

The current “millionaire’s door” just beyond security is reserved for British Airways First customers only (Chris McGinnis)

BA says that the new private passageway will help reduce the number of customers using the current North and South security, speeding up the journey for all customers, especially those traveling in Club World, through Terminal 5.

Currently, all first class passengers check in at BA’s dedicated check in area at Heathrow, then must go through security with all other passengers. This new passageway will provide direct access to the lounges, eliminating the need for the current “millionaire’s door” (pictured) located just beyond security, which provides a quick, easy and private entrance to the Concorde Room and the entire Galleries lounge complex in Terminal 5.

DONT MISS! The 100,000 points question!

 

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts! Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | More Delta SkyMiles for Asian trips | Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | JetBlue-Delta slugfest means lower fares | Test your planespotting skills! )

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Trip Report: British Airways 787 Dreamliner San Jose-London

British Airways business class club world

A middle seat that’s actually preferred? Yep! On British Airway’s 787 nonstop between San Jose and London (Photo: Scott Hintz)

Trip Summary

  • BA’s new San Jose (SJC) – London Heathrow (LHR) nonstop offers its standard (if a little long-in-the-tooth) Club World experience. It’s a solid product that hits all the basics, including a flat bed that’s decent for sleeping on the 11 hour flight
  • The new 787-9 Dreamliner BA flies on this route is terrific in that it’s new, offers features that help provide a better night of sleep and reduce jetlag and fatigue, and has a 2-3-2 layout including a middle seat that’s actually preferred by some solo business travelers
  • A very unusual take off pattern from SJC (see below)
  • A smaller, simpler airport (than nearby SFO) and later departure time make this flight a very convenient option for Bay Area travelers, especially those located in Silicon Valley and the larger South Bay. Mineta San Jose International Airport is about 40 minutes south of SFO, depending on traffic.
  • Nonstop, roundtrip fares from SJC to LHR this fall are in the range of $1,100 to $2,400 in economy; $1,500 to $2,600 for premium economy; $6,500 to $9,000 in business; and $8,000 to $15,000 for first.  These fares are roughly the same as similar nonstop BA flights out of SFO. (NOTE: British Airways is currently offering upgrades to First for those paying certain business class fares and flying before Dec 23 2016.) 
Scott Hintz

TravelSkills contributor Scott Hintz prepared this Trip Report

Flight Details:

BA 278 SJC to LHR | July 20, 2016 | Club World (business class) | Seat 13K

This flight was provided by British Airways so that Travelskills could review the new route from San Jose to London.  However, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Background

British Airways launched this new route from San Jose to London in early May of this year.  This is BA’s first time serving the San Jose airport and is the airline’s fourth destination in California (SFO, LAX, and SAN are the others).  For Bay Area travelers, the SJC flight complements BA’s existing twice-daily flights to SFO, currently flown on an A380 and a B777.  The San Jose flight is operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which is a relatively new aircraft for BA.  The flight currently departs SJC at 8:05pm and arrives at London Heathrow the next day at 2:15pm.  The return flight from LHR departs at 3:20pm and arrives the same day at SJC at 6:10pm.

BA is one of several new long-haul international flight options that have opened up at SJC recently.  Lufthansa recently started service to Frankfurt, Germany, while ANA now flies nonstop to Tokyo (Narita) and Hainan Airlines flies directly to Beijing.  Last month, Air China began nonstop service to Shanghai.

SJC Airport Experience

The first thing you notice upon arrival at Terminal B at SJC, where BA is located, is how much smaller and easier to navigate it is than SFO. BA had several check-in lines open and it was easy to get through quickly.  

San Jose SJC

British Airways ticket counter at San Jose Airport (Scott Hintz)

After check-in, I headed to security, which was also very quick.  While SJC does offer TSA Pre-Check, only a small number of international carriers (Air Canada, Aeromexico, Etihad, Lufthansa and WestJet) participate, and unfortunately British Airways isn’t one of them at this point.  Thankfully, there was a dedicated line for first and business class customers and it was short and moved quickly.

Terminal B at SJC is modest in size, but is modern, open, and airy, with plenty of shops and restaurants. After clearing security near gate 27, I had to walk almost the entire length of the terminal to get to BA’s gate 18, and even further through a connector to terminal A to get to gate 15, where the lounge is located. (A nice workout before a long flight, right?)

San Jose SJC Brit Pub

British pub restaurant near the BA gate — coincidence? (Scott Hintz)

 

San Jose SJC Jamba Juice

Terminal B at San Jose Airport (Scott Hintz)

 

San Jose SJC Connector

Connector from Terminal B to Terminal A at San Jose Airport (Scott Hintz)

 

San Jose SJC Pet Relief

People traveling with pets will appreciate the pet relief area conveniently located right within the terminal! (Scott Hintz)

Lounge

At SJC, British Airways (and almost all other carriers) use a shared contract lounge called The Club at SJC, located near gate 15.  Upon entry, I presented my business class boarding pass and was admitted right away.  

The Club at SJC

The Club at SJC in Terminal A at San Jose Airport (Scott Hintz)

 

The Club at SJC San Jose

Airlines using The Club at SJC (Scott Hintz)

 

Club at SJC lounge

Reception desk at The Club at SJC (Scott Hintz)

I arrived at the lounge around 5:30pm, well in advance of our 8:05pm departure, but the lounge was already pretty busy.  The lounge was light and spacious with nice views, one side looking out toward San Jose and the other looking onto the runway.  There are two main rooms, one being more quiet as it’s designated as a cell-phone free zone, whereas the other one contains the buffet, bar, and cafe.  The food selection at the buffet was pretty lackluster, consisting of pretty standard snacks you’d find in a domestic U.S. lounge from AA, UA, or DL — crudite, cheese and crackers, mixed nuts, popcorn, chips, fruit.  In addition, there was a very limited selection of cut pieces of sandwiches, although they didn’t look very appealing.  There’s a full bar with an assortment of beer, wine, and spirits, in addition to a self-serve soda machine and small bottles of water.  Wifi in the lounge was free and seemed to work well with fast speed and a reliable connection.  Power ports were also plentiful among the seating.  Finally, the bathrooms in the lounge were a weak spot as they are small and outdated and weren’t very clean at the time I visited.  There is a separate room where you can shower, although it was in use, so I couldn’t see inside it.

Club at SJC San Jose

The “quiet” room in The Club at SJC (Scott Hintz)

 

Club at SJC

The main (non-quiet) room of The Club at SJC (Scott Hintz)

 

Club at SJC

Bar at The Club at SJC (Scott Hintz)

 

Buffet club at SJC

Food selection at The Club at SJC (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways San Jose

View of the tarmac from The Club at SJC — our aircraft taxiing to the gate after arriving from London (Scott Hintz)

Boarding

The flight had a posted delay of five minutes, seemingly due to a late arrival of the inbound aircraft from London.  Even when running on schedule, the plane has just under two hours on the ground at SJC, which is pretty quick for a plane of this size — impressive that BA was almost able to keep us on schedule even with a late incoming aircraft!  I headed down to the gate at the original boarding time and found it to be very busy with nowhere to sit.  The gate areas in this terminal are pretty snug, so boarding a larger plane like the 787-9 definitely maxes out the waiting area.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a long wait before boarding began.  BA allowed a lot of time for pre-boarding and a number of people took advantage of that, including a surprising number of families with small children.  The joys of traveling in the summer!  General boarding followed the expected sequence of priority boarding by class and elite status and went very smoothly.  

SJC flight attendants

Crew arriving at the gate for the flight to LHR (Scott Hintz)

Settling In

First impressions once on board were good.  Being a new plane, everything looked clean and shiny — and the large windows on the 787 did a nice job of lighting up the interior so it was bright and welcoming.  This plane is configured with all four classes of service — First, Club World (business), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), and World Traveller (economy).

The first class cabin consists of two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration for a total of 8 seats.  BA’s first class seat has beautiful finishes and looks great, although the seat itself is compact and limited in privacy.  Many travelers call BA’s first class “the best business class out there,” given that the seat is similar to what you find in business on airlines like AA (777-300), DL (A330), Cathay Pacific, etc.  But it’s nice that BA at least offers a first class cabin on the SJC route, as the smaller 787-8 only offers business class.

British Airways First 787-9

First class cabin on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways First

First class cabin on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

Business class consists two rows in a “mini-cabin” directly behind first class, then another four rows in a larger cabin just past the lavs and galleys.  Seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration with the seats against the windows, as well as the center seat in the middle 3-across section, facing backwards.  This is a familiar layout to anyone who has flown BA in business before and it’s essentially the same seat BA has been flying for quite a while.  What’s somewhat nice about the 787 is that the middle section only has three seats, so the middle seat is all by itself and offers a lot of privacy for a solo traveler.  On other BA widebody aircraft, the middle section has four seats, including two coupled together in the middle — great for a couple traveling together, but far too intimate for two strangers who happen to be seated next to each other!

British Airways 787-9 middle seat

A very private middle seat in business class on BA’s 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways Club business class 787

Club/business cabin on BA 787-9

 

British Airways 787-9 (SeatGuru)

British Airways 787-9 layout (SeatGuru- CLICK for page)

I took a quick look in the premium economy cabin, which felt nicer than I was expecting.  It’s definitely a big step up from the “economy plus” type of extra-legroom seating that most of the U.S. carriers offer, with seats feeling a lot more like what domestic U.S. airlines have in first class. Finishes were nice, legroom looked good, and I like that you have a footrest to take the pressure off your legs on a long flight.  The cabin is in a 2-3-2 layout, as opposed to the 3-3-3 layout in economy, so the premium economy seat is wider in addition to the extra 6 or 7 inches of legroom.

British Airways World Traveler Plus 787-9

“World Traveller Plus” premium economy cabin on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

British Airways World Traveler Plus premium economy 787

“World Traveller Plus” premium economy seat on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways economy class 787

Seats configured 3-3-3 in British Airways World Traveler (economy) section (Scott Hintz)

Back in the Club/business cabin, I took my seat.  Waiting there was a blanket and pillow, along with a pair of noise-canceling headphones. After a few minutes, a flight attendant stopped by to offer me a pre-departure drink and a menu for the food service on the flight.  Later, another flight attendant came by distributing amenity kits.  The business class amenity kit on BA is nothing spectacular, but it offers all the basics and I happen to quite like the Elemis products it contains.  It all comes in a somewhat unusual sack that feels a little like a shoe bag — I’ve never really understood why the bag is so large when you unfold it, as it doesn’t seem particularly useful for any other purpose.  The kit contains earplugs, a pen, hand lotion, facial cream, lip balm, toothbrush/toothpaste kit, socks, and an eye mask.  As I finished inspecting the kit, the safety video played and we began preparing for departure.  At this point, I noticed that the business cabin was roughly three-quarters full, so there were plenty of empty seats where you could grab an extra blanket or pillow.  Which was handy, because the pillow BA offers is on a the small and thin side, so definitely try to grab an extra if you can.  I find the blanket to be quite large and just the right balance between being warm while not overly bulky or hot.

British Airways Champagne

Pre-departure beverage in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways amenity kit

Amenity kit in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways menu business class

BA business class menu (Scott Hintz)

The Seat

The BA business class seat was revolutionary when it was introduced in the 1990s as it offered a flat bed at a time when that was only found in first class. Today, the BA seat lags the competition, but it gets the job done.  Given the 7-across seating on an aircraft where many other airlines only have 4-across, it’s definitely snug in terms of width.  But it does recline into a fully-flat bed that I find sufficient for sleeping, which is perhaps the most important criteria for a business class seat.  And if you can get one of the window seats, or that single middle seat in the center section, then you also have a fair amount of privacy.  I would definitely try to avoid any of the four aisle seats, if at all possible.  However, the downside of the window/middle seats is that you have to step over the feet of the person next to you if they happen to be reclined at the time.  I don’t find it that hard to do and it’s worth the tradeoff to have more privacy, so I definitely prefer the window/middle seats.  If you choose seat 13K on this flight, the window in the last aisle of business, you get the bonus of unimpeded aisle access, since there is nobody in the row behind you that you need to step over.

With the alternating forward/backward seat layout, there is a privacy partition between seats that you can move up or down.  If you’re flying with someone, it’s actually a nice feature as you are essentially looking at each other face-to-face if you have the divider down.  But if you are traveling alone, it can certainly be a bit awkward to have a stranger sitting there looking right at you!  (The partitions must be in the down position for take off and landing, too. Hello, neighbor!)

The seat controls are simple and intuitive, allowing you to easily recline into a lounging position or go all the way flat for sleeping.  There’s a controller for the entertainment system that you can detach from the wall and use in your hands, or you can just reach out and touch the monitor, which I find easier than pressing small buttons on the controller.  The video screen itself is on the small side at roughly 10.5 inches.  There are two power ports for charging devices, including a versatile plug that can accommodate USB or many common plugs, including U.S. style.  The screen pops out from the wall of the pod, but it must remain stowed during taxi, takeoff, and landing, so you can’t watch programs gate-to-gate.  Beneath the monitor is the meal tray, which also pops out from the wall of the pod.  Finally, you have a decent-sized storage drawer near the floor with plenty of room for devices, amenity kit, headphones, etc.

One last noteworthy feature of the seat is the window.  As is standard for the Dreamliner, the windows are clearly larger than other aircraft, making for some great views and providing generous sunlight.  There’s also the standard button for electronically dimming the window.  It worked fine for me, and this seems to be a feature that some people like and others don’t.  I’m indifferent, although I didn’t love the fact that it took almost a full minute for the window to completely darken when I was ready to go into sleep mode.

British Airways business class 787

Business class seat, BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways Club divider

This is what it’s like looking into the facing seat with the divider down on British Airways Club (Scott Hintz)

 

Seat controls business class British Airways

Seat controls in business class on British Airways B787 (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways 787 windows

Electronically-dimmed windows on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

 

Power ports on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

Power ports on BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

 

Business class storage drawer on the BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

Business class storage drawer on the BA 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

The Flight

Takeoff consisted of a zigzag pattern out of the Bay Area and afforded for some incredible views as the sun was setting.  

Unusual akeoff pattern from SJC airport (Scott Hintz)

Unusual akeoff pattern from SJC airport (Scott Hintz)

 

San Jose 787 wing

Beautiful views of Silicon Valley departing the Bay Area at sunset, including the gorgeous wing of the 787-9- note the curve! (Scott Hintz)

Shortly after takeoff, I perused the entertainment selection of the on-demand system.  It had a fairly typical assortment of movies, including many newer releases, TV shows, music, games, etc.  Menus were easy to figure out and the system was quick and responsive.  I watched Zoolander 2, which was really funny and much better than expected!  Unfortunately, this aircraft, and all aircraft in the BA fleet, currently do not offer WiFi — although they have recently announced plans to start adding super-fast WiFi to their transatlantic fleet in 2017.

Zoolander

Seatback entertainment options – I chose Zoolander 2 (Scott Hintz)

Flight attendants came around with hot towels and then came back to offer drinks and nuts.  The nut mix was in a package, as opposed to the warm nuts in a ramekin that AA and some others provide, but they were still tasty.

Post-takeoff drinks and packaged nuts in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Post-takeoff drinks and packaged nuts in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Meal service then began with a choice of starters, a salad, and fresh warm bread from a basket.  It seemed a little strange that one of the two starter choices was a salad, meaning that if you select it, you have a starter salad and also a separate salad course before the main entree.  But both salads were very good, consisting of fresh ingredients that tasted good and which were attractively plated.

Starter salad and separate salad course in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Starter salad and separate salad course in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

For the main entree, you had a choice of filet of beef, Atlantic salmon, Pappardelle pasta, or yet another salad.  Yes, it’s possible to have three salads in a single meal, perhaps a nice option for those who avoid meat.  I had the salmon, which didn’t look so great with the liquidy sauce and fairly monochromatic pallet, but it actually tasted pretty good.  I’ve often had fish on a plane that is overcooked and dried out, but this one was moist and seemed fresh.  Dessert consisted of only one choice, a cheesecake brownie, which was good, or you could opt for a cheese plate.

Salmon dinner entree in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Salmon dinner entree in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Service was complete around two hours into the flight, which seems pretty typical.  For a flight that departs at 8pm, I would expect that most people would want to sleep pretty quickly, so it would be nice if BA offered either a pre-flight dining option or some kind of express meal service on board the plane.  Still, finishing service around 10:30pm San Jose time is pretty reasonable in terms of people then sleeping at a normal bedtime.  The crew dimmed the lights after service was complete and it seemed like most people slept for a majority of the remaining seven hours of flight time.

The crew was active during the meal service, but then you rarely saw them after that.  I think that’s a good thing, as the cabin stayed nice and quiet for sleeping.  Flight attendants throughout the flight were professional and efficient, although they weren’t particularly warm or chatty.  Nobody addressed me by name or struck up conversation or anything else to go above and beyond performing their required duties.  Again, I think that’s perfectly fine, especially for business class.  I certainly did not encounter any crew members who were cold or rude in any way.

While the cabin was dark, it remained quiet and there was minimal traffic up and down the aisles.  This is also the point of the flight where I could really feel the differences of the Dreamliner, namely the more humid air and the higher pressurization.  Even after five hours of flight, I didn’t have the normal altitude headache or dried out skin and airways that I normally feel on a long haul flight.  This benefit was felt for the duration of the flight and my body definitely felt much better the day after the flight, as well.  This alone makes me a big fan of the Dreamliner to the point that I would seek it out for future long-haul flights, if available.

BA offers a “club kitchen” area within the galley where you can stop for a snack or drink if you have a craving during the night.  The selection is modest, but comes in handy when you just want something quick and simple without any hassle.  

The lavatories in business class are basic, but functional.  Unlike the A380, which offers some very large lavs, they are quite small on the 787-9.

Lavatory in BA business class on the 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

Lavatory in BA business class on the 787-9 (Scott Hintz)

Around 90 minutes prior to landing, the crew began breakfast service.  An assortment of beverages was offered, including coffee, tea, fruit juice, and a smoothie, followed by choice of fruit plate or greek yogurt.  Flight attendants also came around with a pastry basket before serving the entree, which was a choice of a full English breakfast, an asparagus and mushroom frittata, a continental breakfast of cheese and eggs, or a hot breakfast sandwich.  I had the frittata, which was surprisingly good.

Fruit plate breakfast starter in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Fruit plate breakfast starter in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

 

British Airways Breakfast

Asparagus and mushroom frittata breakfast entree in BA business class (Scott Hintz)

Arrival

After breakfast, the crew prepared the cabin for landing.  The approach to Heathrow was routine and we were at our gate in T5 a few minutes early, despite our slightly delayed departure.  We disembarked from the forward door, and even though I was in the last row of business class and had to walk to the front of the plane, I was off the plane within 10 minutes of arrival at the gate.

Since I was connecting onward to Germany, upon leaving the plane I followed the clearly marked signs for connections and took advantage of the Fast Track lane offered to BA first and business class passengers.  Heathrow T5 is notorious for long, slow security lines, but this was one of the better times I’ve passed through there.  It took roughly 20 minutes to completely clear security, allowing me a quick visit to the BA Galleries Lounge before proceeding to my connecting gate.  The lounge is very large (and there are two separate business class lounges within the main T5 terminal) and has a wide variety of snacks, drinks, full buffet of hot food options, free wifi, bathrooms, and showers. The lounge was busy, but not packed, during this visit, so it was easy to find seating and an empty power outlet to charge up my electronics.  

I love that BA has an Elemis Spa within their lounge in T5 and business class passengers are entitled to a free treatment, with a choice of a few quick, basic therapies such as shoulder massage or facial.  However, in my experience, open appointments tend to be scarce.  While I didn’t really have enough time on this short connection to enjoy a service regardless, on my return flight I had a 3.5-hour layover in T5 and the spa didn’t have a single appointment available during that lengthy interval.  Too bad, because in the past when I have been able to get an appointment, that quick shoulder massage can do wonders for the body.

Summary

This was a solid business class experience on BA.  The flight itself was pretty routine with the standard BA seat, food, entertainment, etc. The crew was good and, while not standing out as particularly engaging, performed their duties and took good care of passengers.  

However, the Dreamliner aircraft was a definite plus as it’s new and quiet and is easier on the body with improved air and pressurization. That alone would be a good reason to take this flight on a long-haul trip to Europe relative to competitive offerings with other carriers. Add in the benefits of the easy-to-navigate San Jose airport and a later departure time that allows for a full day of work prior to the flight and, for many, an easier time sleeping after the meal service, and this new BA flight is a great new option for Bay Area travelers.

Have you flown BA from San Jose? Would you? Please leave your comments below.

(This Trip Report was prepared by TravelSkills contributor Scott Hintz. Be sure to see what wrote about his recent experience on Japan Airlines, too.)

Note: British Airways covered the cost of air travel on this trip. The write covered the cost of hotels, meals, transfers and other related expenses. 

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts! Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | More Delta SkyMiles for Asian trips | Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | JetBlue-Delta slugfest means lower fares | Test your planespotting skills! )

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Brexit cutbacks hitting Delta, others

Will the U.K.'s Brexit vote discourage U.S.-U.K. air travel? (Image: Jim Glab)

Will the U.K.’s Brexit vote discourage U.S.-U.K. air travel? (Image: Jim Glab)

After voters in the U.K. voted last month to leave the European Union, there was wide speculation that airline travel might be one of the first sectors to suffer from the results of that blockbuster referendum. And now those shock waves are starting to show.

In announcing its quarterly earnings this week, Delta said it has decided to reduce capacity between the U.S. and the U.K. by six percentage points from its previously planned winter schedule. It didn’t specify which routes might take the brunt of the cutbacks or if they will be evenly spread, but it blamed the decision on “the additional foreign currency pressure from the steep drop in the British pound and the economic uncertainty from Brexit.” Meaning: It’s getting a lot more expensive for Brits to visit the U.S. and other countries, and fewer are expected to travel in coming months.

Delta said that will be a major factor in the airline reducing its overall system capacity by one point in the December quarter. There has been no word yet from other airlines in the U.S.-U.K. market about any changes in their schedules, but it is reasonable to expect similar capacity caution from Delta partner Virgin Atlantic, the American-British Airways joint venture, and United.

London's prestigious Savoy Hotel will become part of AccorHotels. (Image: The Savoy)

London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel a much better deal for Americans these days (Image: The Savoy)

The U.K. newspaper The Independent said the plunge in the value of the pound relative to the dollar is discouraging U.K. travel to North America, and lingering fears among U.S. citizens of terrorist attacks are having a dampening effect on demand for eastbound travel, in spite of the greater buying power of the dollar in Britain.

In any case, those factors could already be contributing to lower fares for business travelers. A check on Google Flights this week found August fares that are about half off of “normal” – i.e., nonstop business class to London is going for as low as $3,500 roundtrip from the west coast and just $2,600 from New York.

In its own analysis of the Brexit impact, the International Air Travel Association predicted that the U.K. air passenger market is likely to be 3 to 5 percent lower by 2020 than it would have been if the vote had gone the other way.

How has Brexit affected your travel plans? Or has it affected them at all yet? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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How often do planes get washed?

A shiny new British Airways A380. Clean as a whistle! (Photo: British Airways)

A shiny new British Airways A380. BA says that it “takes a lot of muscle” to keep planes clean (Photo: British Airways)

Like a shiny, freshly washed and waxed car, a shiny, clean plane is a thing of beauty. Right?

But have you ever excitedly peered out at the plane you’re about to board and thought, “Hmm, that big bird needs a bath!”

As much as what’s inside the plane is what counts, that first impression of the outside of the aircraft may be even more important. If it’s dull and grimy on the outside, you might raise an eyebrow and wonder what you’ll see inside.

So we asked several airlines about how they keep their planes sparkling clean — or at least try to.

Today’s news: San Francisco’s $2.4 billion new terminal!

“We wash the exterior of our aircraft every fifty days, and that schedule is the same regardless of fleet type,” United Airlines’ Jennifer Dohm tells TravelSkills. “The locations for washing are determined by where the aircraft are laying over at an airport for at least eight hours. As a global airline, United’s wash locations are found throughout the world at fourteen airports including Houston, Newark, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo.”

All United aircraft are washed by hand (Photo: United Airlines)

All United aircraft are washed by hand using extension poles (Photo: United Airlines)

“The washing schedule is the same year round; it doesn’t vary by season,” Dohm notes, although “in the winter, we add three additional locations in Florida. A widebody aircraft typically takes about five hours to wash with a crew of three to five people and it’s all done by hand using an extension pole.”

Across the Atlantic, Richard Goodfellow from British Airways explains that the frequency its planes are washed “depends on the aircraft type, but typically every six to eight weeks. We try to wash the short-haul ones more often as they do more take-offs and landings each day than a long-haul jet.”

This post is a Blast from the Past– a popular post we’ve decided to share with you again. See the original post here with comments! 

British Airways mostly washes its aircraft at the airline’s London Heathrow and Gatwick hubs, using “specialist cleaning detergent, high lifts, aircraft brushes and quite a bit of muscle!” Each aircraft takes up to eight hours to wash.

Does the schedule differ at various times of year, we asked. “Not particularly,” Goodfellow said, but noted that, “Obviously it is not practical to wash aircraft in certain poor weather conditions.”

Video: Watch an Air France A380 get a special kind of bath


Meanwhile, James Boyd at Singapore Airlines tells us, “Our aircraft are washed monthly. This does not include additional washes required if dirty spots are found on the aircraft. Our aircraft are washed at designated bays at Changi Airport in Singapore. It typically ranges from two to five hours, depending on the general condition of the aircraft and the services required.”

Singapore uses “an aircraft cleaning robotic system, scissor lifts, aerial lifts and water tankers,” and its schedule doesn’t differ between its aircraft types (although SQ operates only widebody aircraft so its planes are all in the ‘large’ category) or dependent on the time of year.

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet-- it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet– it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Interestingly, no airline would tell us how much it costs to wash an aircraft, citing commercial sensitivity. Nor would any carrier comment on whether they intend to wash their planes more or less frequently than other airlines.

So it seems that “the world’s cleanest airline” isn’t (yet) part of the advertising we’ll see at the airport.

But which airline has the dirtiest planes? Sound off below or, better yet, send your super clean or super filthy aircraft pictures to us via email, and we’ll post them here. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Act fast! British Airways business class sale

On BA's A380, business class is an upstairs-downstairs affair (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On BA’s A380, business class is an upstairs-downstairs affair (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Planning to go to London for the year-end holidays? If you can act by May 12 (Thursday), you can score a real deal on British Airways premium seats. The three-day business class/first class sale also offers low prices for trips across the pond this summer.

Here are some sample prices: For Thanksgiving/Christmas trips (travel November 22-29 or December 18-January 2), roundtrip sale fares in Club World (business class) are $2,963 from Los Angeles, $2,964 from San Francisco and $2,995 from San Jose (where BA started service this week). Fares from other gateways include $2,038 from Boston, $2,202 from New York, $2,243 from Miami, $2,592 from Chicago and $2,595 from Dallas/Ft. Worth.

For travel this summer and beyond (June 20, 2016-March 31, 2017), Club World three-day roundtrip sale fares are $3,463 from LAX and SFO, $3,493 from San Jose, $2,338 from Boston, $2,502 from New York, $2,542 from Miami, $2,992 from Chicago and $2,993 from DFW.

First class sale fares range from $2,742 to $3,895 for holiday trips and from $3,042 to $4,393 for summer, depending on the gateway. All fares include taxes, fees and carrier charges. The airline is also offering hotel discounts.

For comparison’s sake, business class fares from US to London typically run in the $5,000 to $8,000 range, so these fares represent good value.

Sale fares are also available for travel beyond London to Athens, Barcelona, Birmingham, Madrid and Manchester, and for travel on BA partners American Airlines, Finnair and Iberia.

Now’s the time to keep an eye out for similar business class fare sales on other carriers-– as summer vacation season (and holidays) approaches and business travel demand declines, airlines freak out and lower prices for those big seats up front. Sometimes business class is not much more than overpriced economy class during peak season from mid June through mid-August, as well as winter holidays.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Briefs: Alaska/JAL, AA biz seats, BA Wi-Fi, Lufthansa in Silicon Valley

Japan Airlines has a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. (Image: JAL)

Japan Airlines has a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. (Image: JAL)

International carrier news briefs include a new transpacific partnership for Alaska Airlines, a look at American’s new long-haul business class seating, a Wi-Fi decision by British Airways and its siblings, and a move by Lufthansa to fund travel-related start-ups in Silicon Valley.

Starting this summer, members of Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan will be able to earn miles on Japan Airlines, thanks to a new partnership between the two carriers. The code-sharing and frequent flyer cooperation pact will mean seamless connections for travelers between Alaska’s flights and JAL’s transpacific services to Tokyo from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Vancouver, as well as JAL’s LAX-Osaka service. While mileage-earning on JAL will begin this summer for Mileage Plan members, award travel redemptions on the Japanese carrier “will begin later in 2016,” Alaska said. Strategically, the tie-up with JAL is a logical step for Alaska; its merger partner Virgin America already has an interline partnership with JAL for connections at SFO and LAX, and Alaska recently started a big expansion of code-sharing with American Airlines, which has joint venture and Oneworld global alliance partnerships with the Japanese carrier.

Japan Airlines and Alaska will link up at four West Coast gateways. (Image: JAL)

Japan Airlines and Alaska will link up at four West Coast gateways. (Image: JAL)

American Airlines will turn to a next-generation “Super Diamond” business class seating configuration for its next-generation long-haul international aircraft, according to a report in Forbes. The new seats will all recline fully flat, will be enclosed in a kind of personal shell, and will offer aisle access from every seat. They’ll go into the new 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s that will be coming to American in the next few years, and will also be retrofitted onto some 777-200s. American recently broke off its ties to French-based seat manufacturer Zodiac and is turning to B/E Aerospace for the new business class seats.

American Airlines' new international business class seat. (Image: American)

American Airlines’ new international business class seat. (Image: American)

International Airlines Group, (IAG), the parent of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, has signed a deal with Wi-Fi vendor Gogo for installation of that firm’s next-generation 2Ku satellite-based Wi-Fi technology. Passengers should start to see the technology appearing on aircraft next year, and by 2019, IAG said, it should be on 90 percent of the airlines’ long-haul fleets. “In addition to providing faster access to web-based services, passengers will enjoy more entertainment options throughout their entire journey. In the future, inflight Wi-Fi will also transform the duty free experience, allowing travelers to order from their phones and tablets and arrange for items purchased on board to be delivered to their homes,” the company said. It will be installed in BA’s 747s, 777s, 787s and A380s as well as Iberia A330s and A340s and some Aer Lingus 757s.

Gogo will greatly increase broadband satellite Wi-Fi capacity in 2017. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Gogo will greatly increase broadband satellite Wi-Fi capacity in 2017. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Earlier this year, JetBlue announced the formation of a subsidiary that will invest in travel-related technology start-ups in Silicon Valley – and now Lufthansa is doing  the same. The airline said its Lufthansa Innovation Hub unit will team up with Plus and Play, a venture capital group in Silicon Valley. “The objective is to identify and promote innovative technologies and digital business ideas along the entire travel chain,” Lufthansa said. “Over the course of a twelve-week mentoring program, 20 to 30 selected start-ups will receive support for the further development of their business models. They will also make contact with companies in order to talk about partnerships and joint projects as well as investment.” The airline is backing up its interest in Silicon Valley with new San Jose-Frankfurt non-stops due to start July 1.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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More transatlantic 787s for the Bay Area

British Airways' inaugural San Jose flight arrives at the gate. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

British Airways’ inaugural San Jose flight arrives at the gate. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

Two European carriers this week started up new 787 Dreamliner flights to the Bay Area, including British Airways’ San Jose service and additional KLM frequencies to San Francisco International.

At Mineta San Jose International, the city’s mayor Sam Liccardo was on hand along with Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways parent International Airlines Group, to welcome the first flight of BA’s new 787-9 service from London Heathrow, which now operates daily from SJC’s Terminal B with an 8:05 p.m. departure time to LHR. The flight time is about 10 hours.

Because the BA 787-9 is larger than the 787-8, it has something the smaller plane doesn’t – a first class section, along with 42 Club World (business class) seats, 39 in premium economy and 127 in regular economy. (Here’s a video of BA’s new First suites, designed specifically for the 787-9.)

From left: San Jose Mayor Liccardo, International Airline Group CEO Willie Walsh, SJC Aviation Director Kim Becker, and British Consul Gebneral in San Francisco Priya Guha. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

From left: San Jose Mayor Liccardo, International Airlines Group CEO Willie Walsh, SJC Aviation Director Kim Becker, and British Consul General in San Francisco Priya Guha. (Image: Mineta San Jose Airport)

Mayor Liccardo said at the welcoming ceremonies that London has been “the number one requested international destination” from San Jose, and BA’s new service is the first ever on that route. It’s the British carrier’s fourth destination in California.

Airport officials noted that Silicon Valley-based companies have 428 locations throughout the UK, while U.K. firms have 118 locations in Silicon Valley. Passengers bound to Heathrow on BA can also connect to 130 destinations beyond London.

KLM 787

Business class seats on KLM’s 787 Dreamliner (Photo: KLM)

Meanwhile, KLM this week increased service between Amsterdam and San Francisco International from seven to nine flights a week with the addition of second frequencies on Wednesdays and Sundays for the summer season. Those two new flights (KL610, with a 4:45 p.m. departure from SFO on those days) feature the North American debut of KLM’s Dreamliner service. The other daily flights continue to use a 747-400.

Business class seats in the 306-passenger KLM 787-9 recline fully flat, and all offer direct aisle access and 16-inch video screens. Economy seats provide a 40 percent greater recline than previous models, and larger 11-inch screens for in-flight entertainment. The aircraft offers Wi-Fi throughout. The KLM 787 has 42 business class seats, 48 in Economy Comfort (with 35-inch pitch) and 216 in regular economy. Take a look at the plane here.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Flying to the tech center of the universe

SFO's new 221-foot air traffic control tower will open next summer (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

SFO’s new 221-foot air traffic control tower is not just a gateway to the Pacific, it’s a gateway to Silicon Valley. CLICK to see inside it! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

San Francisco International Airport had the highest rate of international passenger growth among US airports last year, and continues to add new international flights at a dizzying pace. And it’s not just SFO that’s growing– San Jose and Oakland are picking up new overseas flights, too.

This is most likely due to the strength of the Bay Area economy, and the need for better, faster access to the tech center of the universe.

According to the International Trade Administration, SFO posted a 9 percent increase in international travelers in 2015, ahead of other major international gateway airports such as New York-JFK, LAX, and Miami. Much of the increased traffic to SFO and elsewhere in the US is coming from China which grew a whopping 25% in 2015.

If you are having trouble keeping up with all the new flights coming to the Bay Area, here’s a rundown:

In 2015, SFO added the following new flights:

The right side of Turkish Airlines B777 is a mural of Istanbul (Chris McGinnis)

The right side of Turkish Airlines inaugural B777 to SFO was a mural of Istanbul- on the left was a mural of San Francisco (Chris McGinnis)

  • April – Turkish Airlines launched nonstop B777 service to Istanbul
  • May – Swiss International nearly doubled its nonstop service to Zurich
  • June – China Southern began nonstop service to Guangzhou
  • September – COPA launched with nonstop 737 service to Panama City
  • December – Air India launched the first nonstop flight from U.S. West Coast to Delhi
  • December – Qantas returned to SFO with B747 nonstop service to Sydney
Fiji Airways is SFO's latest coup (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways is SFO’s latest coup with flights starting in June (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In 2016, SFO keeps up the momentum:

  • March – United Airlines begins nonstop service to Tel Aviv
  • May – Air Berlin launches with nonstops to Düsseldorf, Germany
  • May – United Airlines begins new nonstop flights to Xi’an, China (Plus there are rumors of a new United nonstop SFO to Hangzhou)
  • June – United Airlines begins the first U.S. nonstop flight to Singapore
  • June – WOW Air launches nonstop flights to Reykjavík, Iceland
  • June – Fiji Airways inaugurates nonstop service to Nadi, Fiji

It’s not just SFO that is growing by leaps and bounds…so are other Bay Area airports. For example, San Jose International has recently snagged (or has pending) new 787-9 nonstops to London (British Airways), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Beijing (Hainan) and Shanghai (Air China) in addition to its ANA nonstop service to Tokyo.

Norwegian will fly a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner between Oakland, Oslo and Stockholm next year.

Norwegian Air flies 787 Dreamliners to Oakland International (Image: Oakland International Airport)

Oakland is on a growth spurt, too, with its major international carrier, Norwegian Air adding nonstops to London-Gatwick this June in addition to its flights to Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo.

All this new competition is very good news for frequent flyers. That’s because more flights and more seats usually mean cheaper fares.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: LAX-China, Nashville, Toronto, Germany, India, Brazil

Hainan Airways is using a 787 on its new route to LAX from Changsha, China. (Image: Simon Auger)

Hainan Airlines is using a 787 on its new route to LAX from Changsha, China. (Image: Simon Auger)

In international route news, China’s Hainan starts a Los Angeles route; Canada’s WestJet plans new U.S. routes;  Iberia sets its summer LAX schedule; new overseas code-share flights for United and Delta; British Airways brings 787s to more U.S. cities; and Brazil’s Azul drops a U.S. route.

China’s Hainan Airlines, which flies to Chicago to Beijing and from Boston and Seattle to both Shanghai and Beijing, has kicked off a new U.S. route between Los Angeles and Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan Province with a population of 2.3 million. Hainan, a code-sharing partner of American Airlines, is using a 787-8 on the route, which operates twice a week.  

Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet said its summer schedule will include new non-stop flights from Toronto to Los Angeles and to Nashville as well as from Vancouver to San Diego. In addition, WestJet will begin new service from Toronto to Boston on March 15 with three flights a day. On June 15, WestJet’s Encore unit will begin five flights a week on the new Toronto-Nashville route with Q400 turboprops. June 29 is the launch date for daily Toronto-Los Angeles 737 service, and on June 16, WestJet begins three 737 flights a week between San Diego and Vancouver. 

Iberia Airlines, a member of American’s Oneworld alliance, has set its summer schedule for Los Angeles-Madrid service, according to Airlineroute.net. It begins March 30 with three weekly flights, increasing to five a week on May 26, six a week beginning June 6, and daily from July 3 to August 28. (Last year, Iberia only had four summer flights a week on the route.) The airline will use A330s and A340s for the LAX flights. 

British Airways will add San Jose service next spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways bringing more 787s to US. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways plans to pull the 787-9 from its Austin-London Heathrow route on March 27, according to Airlineroute.net, and to replace it with a 777-200ER. But the airline is bringing 787s to more U.S. routes. It will begin 787-9 flights between Houston Bush Intercontinental and London on March 27, instead of August 1 as previously planned. And 787-9 service on the Newark-LHR route moves up to April 2 from August 1. BA will also use a 787-9 from Philadelphia to London on selected flights beginning April 9, and is sticking to its original May 4 stating date for new London-San Jose 787-9 service. 

United Airlines has started putting its code onto several intra-European flights of Star Alliance partner Lufthansa’s low-cost affiliate Eurowings. The UA code is now on Eurowings flights from Dusseldorf to Geneva, Birmingham, Manchester, Milan Malpensa and Paris CDG; and from Hamburg to Dusseldorf, LHR, Manchester, Prague, Stuttgart, Toulouse and Zurich. MileagePlus members will get revenue and status miles on the flights. 

Etihad uses a Jet Airways 777 on its new SFO-Abu Dhabi run (Photo: Aero Icarus / Flickr)

Delta selling tickets on India’s Jet Airways (Photo: Aero Icarus / Flickr)

Delta has started selling tickets for its new code-share service with India’s Jet Airways, which it is starting along with joint venture partner KLM. Effective for travel beginning March 27, Delta’s code goes onto Jet’s flights from Amsterdam to Delhi and Bombay, as well as service beyond those gateways. From Delhi, it’s on Jet’s flights to Amritsar, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata; and from Mumbai to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata. 

Brazilian airline Azul, which operates a daily A330 flight between Orlando and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, plans to discontinue that route on February 29.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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Trip Report: British Airways Concorde experience LHR-JFK

Here's a trip report from my ride on this needle-nosed bird (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Here’s a trip report from my ride on this needle-nosed bird (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

By now you’ve probably read my recent post and saw the photos of my 2003 flight on the Concorde. Well, believe it or not, I’m one of the lucky few who actually flew that needle-nosed bird twice.

(Here’s a link to the Concorde Trip Report from 2003 posted last week)

The first time was in 1999. At the time I was writing a travel column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and just starting my first gig at CNN. I was asked to participate on a media panel at the World Travel and Tourism conference in Berlin, and part of my compensation was one leg across the Atlantic on the Concorde.

I jumped at the chance to fly on British Airway’s flight 001 from London to New York. Get this: The flight departed London at the very civilized hour of 10:30 a.m. and arrived in New York three hours later and just in time for the start of the business day at 9:30 a.m.- on the same day!

Regrettably I don’t have any photos from that flight, but my story from 1999 paints a pretty cool picture. And I still have the hefty silver cross pen that every passenger received to commemorate the flight.

Here goes:

(November 1999) Last month marked a milestone in aviation history, as well as a milestone in my life as a business travel writer. Last month the Concorde turned 30. And last month I flew on it for the first, and perhaps the last time in my life.

A couple of months ago I was asked to appear on a media panel at the World Travel and Tourism Council meeting in Berlin. The WTTC is a club of CEO’s of the world’s top travel companies—like American Express, British Airways, Hertz and the like—the type of people for whom a journey on the Concorde is a normal part of doing business. And lucky for me, part of the deal for appearing on the panel was a transatlantic leg on British Airways’ supersonic Concorde.

I chose to return from Berlin via London to New York on British Airways flight #001, leaving Heathrow at 10:30 a.m. and arriving at JFK at an unimaginable 9:30 a.m. the same morning. How’s that for a speedy trip?

One of the most exclusive parts of the Concorde experience is how you board. After passing through airport security with the riff-raff at JFK, Concorde passengers head straight for BA’s Concorde Lounge. This lounge did not appear too different from any other airport lounge, but it certainly FELT different than say, the Crown Room at Hartsfield’s Concourse A! Once there, you never have to leave. The jetway extends from the lounge straight to the plane.

About 20 minutes before take off, two frosted glass sliding doors part, behind them are two polished wooden check in desks staffed by friendly BA attendants, who politely announce back to front boarding. Although the flight was full, all 100 of us boarded briskly and civilly.

The Concorde is built for speed, not for spaciousness. After ducking through the door to enter, the interior felt about the same size as a good old sub-sonic DC-9. And since the plane is a rather ancient 30 years old, I was expecting some reminders of the 70’s– kind of like what you’d expect to see on an old DC-9.

(Photo: Eduard Marmet / Wikimedia Commons)

British Airways Concorde 1986 (Photo: Eduard Marmet / Wikimedia Commons)

Not on this bird. The interior of the Concorde is as updated as any plane just off the assembly line. Clean as a whistle (as it should be, right?). My guess it that the interior is ripped out and replaced on a rather frequent basis.

The 100 seat cabin is split into a front and rear section, divided by a block of bathrooms in the middle. However, all seats in both cabins are first class. Each row is spaced comfortably in front of the other; a few inches more than you’d see on a domestic first class section.

Settling into the gray wool and leather trimmed seat was like getting into the seat in a European sports car. It’s rather sturdy, and holds you and supports you, and let’s you know that your in something special. Each seat has two windows, which were surprisingly small– about the size of a passport.

Once seated with the doors closed, the pilot introduced himself, and clearly explained the sounds, thrusts and pitches that we’d feel as we reached our cruising altitude of 60,000 feet and speed of 1500 mph.

Take off was rather hair raising because the plane must reach 250 miles per hour before it lifts off the runway (this is why insiders call it “the rocket”, my seatmate explained). After a slow and (by law) quiet glide over the green meadows of England to the Atlantic, there is a slight rumble as the after-burners are turned on, and only a mostly undetectable acceleration as we break the sound barrier—and there was no audible “boom.” Soon the clouds below look like something out of a satellite weather map, and the sky turns an incredible cobalt blue.

View from the ramp to the tail of the Concorde (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

View from the ramp to the tail of the Concorde (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

By now flight attendants were cheerily pouring champagne and orange juice for this brunch flight across the Atlantic. Then came a nice small plate (Royal Doulton china and crystal, mind you) of smoked salmon canapes, some nice cheese and crackers, dried fruits. I chose a salade nicoise with freshly grilled tuna, and a tasty glass of white Meursault from France.

After brunch, I dozed off for a while, awakened by flight attendants passing out gifts to passengers—in our case a nice fat chrome Cross fountain pen. Then the pilot announced that Nantucket Island was just off to the right, and that we’d be slowing down for our approach to Kennedy.

Wow! We were already on approach and I hadn’t even had time to read the magazines, or listen to the sound system. All the way across the Atlantic in a mere three hours—kind of like flying to Salt Lake City from Atlanta. Jet lag? Not a trace.

Throughout the flight I was studying this crowd of 100—each of whom had paid in the neighborhood of $5,000 for the one-way flight. I was expecting superstars, kings, and princes, but it was a pretty normal crowd. Mostly white businessmen in suits, a few women in traditional middle eastern and Indian garb, a couple of turbans, a few retired couples, and a male model.

And despite a studied nonchalance among all this elite group of travelers, it was clear that everyone was looking at everyone else and just DYING to ask: what are you doing on this plane, and why?

(Here’s a link to the Concorde Trip Report w photos from 2003 posted last week)

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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Is the Boeing 747 nearing its end?

Boeing's iconic 747 is gradually flying off into the sunset. (Image: Jim Glab)

Boeing’s iconic 747 is gradually flying off into the sunset. (Image: Jim Glab)

The Boeing 747 has been a popular intercontinental aircraft since its first commercial passenger flight in 1970, but now the iconic jumbo jet’s days may be numbered.

Boeing said it plans to cut back production of the four-engine 747 from 12 a year to just six starting in September, not only because airlines continue to prefer more fuel-efficient twin-engine planes like the 777 and 787 for their long-haul needs, but also because a slowdown in global cargo demand has hurt orders for 747 freighters. The same trend has restricted orders for Airbus’ rival jumbo, the A380.

Major global airlines have been phasing the 747 out of their fleets for several years, with more to come. Just this month, Air France celebrated the final flight of its last 747 after flying the plane as the mainstay of its intercontinental fleet for almost 46 years.

Related: Trip Report- Korean Air 747-8 ICN-SFO

According to Airways News, other airlines that retired all their 747s in recent years include Air New Zealand, Air Canada, All Nippon, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Delta and United are phasing out their remaining jumbos as well.

But 747s will continue to be seen at airports worldwide as some carriers still find them useful for their needs. Lufthansa recently started flying the newest version of the aircraft — the 747-8 — on some U.S. routes; Korean Airlines last year started flying its first new 747-8 and has several more on order; and British Airways last summer started to refit the interiors of a number of its 747s to keep them going for the immediate future.

Newly refurbished economy section in a British Airways 747. (Image: British Airways)

Newly refurbished economy section in a British Airways 747. (Image: British Airways)

Readers: Where does the 747 rank on your list of preferred international aircraft? Will you be sorry to see them go?

 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  United packages Economy Plus with amenities + Ride-sharing firm goes out of business + Bucket list for air travelers + Useless travel gadgets + ‘Uber of the Skies’ dies 

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Trip Report: New York-London on Concorde! (PHOTOS)

A lucky few got to fly the Concorde. I did it...twice!

A lucky few got to fly the Concorde. I did it…twice! In 1999 and 2003.

Sting. Sydney Pollack. Sting’s wife and kids. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Randy Petersen.

That’s with whom I rode the Concorde (twice!) back in the days of commercial supersonic travel. This week British Airways is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Concorde’s first commercial flight, so I thought it was time to haul out some good stuff from the archives 🙂

My first supersonic voyage was in March 1999 when I flew on British Airways’ flight 001 from Heathrow to Kennedy (in just 3 or so hours!). I was a speaker on a media panel in Berlin and part of my compensation was transport back to the U.S. via the Concorde!

Next time was in the waning days of commercial supersonic travel. In 2003, British Airways and Air France retired their Concorde jets, and British Airways invited a handful of media to cover the final flights. I was lucky enough to be one of them and flew from New York to London (at 11 miles high!) on BA 002.

Back in those days, I was writing a column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a precursor to the blogs I write today.

So with that said, I present to you my two Trip Reports.

The first one (with pictures) is from the 2003 flight I took with my colleague Randy Petersen, founder of FlyerTalk, InsideFlyer and a frequent flyer guru extraordinaire. On the 1999 flight, I did not bring along a camera, but wrote up a really good column about the experience. Enjoy them both!

So let’s start with the 2003 flight and my column from back then. (I’ll post my story about the 1999 flight later on.)

Here goes….

(Sept 10 2003) No, the Concorde has not stopped flying yet, as most people seem to think. Air France put its supersonic fleet to rest last spring. But British Airways is flying the needle nose until the end of October.

Entrance to the clubby Concorde Room at JFK (Chris McGinnis)

Entrance to the clubby Concorde Room at JFK (Chris McGinnis)

At Kennedy Airport’s terminal 7 on a bright September morning, there is some confusion about where to check in for the Concorde as a more proletarian BA 777 is also departing from the same terminal at about the same time. Eventually, I find the discreet entryway to the Concorde area and stride in confidently. What’s odd is that the Concorde shares a tiny single lane TSA screening area and adjacent gates with America West, so you have all these ultra-chic, Gucci-Pucci-Fiorucci supersonic travelers muddling through security with the masses bound for their Las Vegas gambling junkets, or desert vacations on America West.

Breakfast buffet in the BA Concorde Room in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)

Breakfast buffet in the BA Concorde Room in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)

Check in at the Concorde lounge is pleasant and efficient, and I’m handed my boarding card for seat 2-A (An auspicious start as it’s veddy important to be seated in the fore versus the aft cabin! Yes, there is a hierarchy, even on the Concorde.) As I stroll down the long hallway into the bright and airy lounge, I can smell the full English breakfast buffet that awaits. Once I enter, there is a dining area to the right, with white linen tablecloths and a single white rose adorning each tabletop. To the far right is the buffet, with eggs, the rubbery version of sliced pork that the English call bacon, bowls of fresh fruit and yogurt, and a big silver bowl full of ice and three bottles of champagne, although I don’t see any takers.

Dining area in the Concorde Room in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)

Dining area in the Concorde Room in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)

To the left is a lounge area with chrome and black kid leather chairs and sofas, coffee tables and a few desks. Further ahead are larger, loungier looking chairs (I’m sure they are creations of some designer whose name I should know . . .)

I was expecting a very highbrow Concorde clientele with everyone acting cool and mostly discreet. But this crowd cuts across a wider swath of the socioeconomic spectrum. There are, of course, the “regulars” who are dressed in black and are packing an air of nonchalance along with their worn briefcases or Vuitton bags. Hollywood mogul Sydney Pollack sits off by himself checking his iPaq and talking on his cell phone. He’s wearing a nice white shirt, blue jeans, black cowboyish boots and a black leather jacket, carrying a canvas bag. There are also those of the English landed gentry who look like they are off to the horse races sporting tailored clothing, ascots, ruddy complexions and age spots, and carrying funny old BOAC travel bags that they’ve had since 1965. Then there are the big time frequent flyers who are clearly on award tickets with their spouses in tow, as well as a few ma and pa types on the trip of a lifetime.

Passengers on Concorde got gifts like pens, model airplanes, keychains or cufflinks to commemorate journeys (Chris McGinnis)

Passengers on Concorde received gifts like pens, model airplanes, keychains or cufflinks to commemorate journeys (Chris McGinnis)

For the first ten minutes I’m there, everyone is sitting quietly, speaking in hushed tones and acting serious. Then one brave soul stands up and takes a picture of his wife. Then someone else offers to take a picture of the two of them together. That leads to a mad rush to the camera bags and for the rest of the time everyone is taking pictures of everything—a sort of one-last-chance-to-record-this and we-are-all-in-this together mood kicks in. (The regulars are graciously obliging the picture takers; no sneers.)

Flight 002 to London! (Chris McGinnis)

Flight 002 to London! (Chris McGinnis)

Have to duck to enter the tiny boarding door (Chris McGinnis)

Have to duck to enter the tiny boarding door (Chris McGinnis)

I was expecting to walk from the lounge straight on to the jetway and on to the Concorde. But when the boarding call comes, we all trundle down past several America West gates to board the plane. With just 100 people, we board in no time. The seats are quite small and narrow, but comfortable once you sit down. The pitch is relatively tight—probably 35 inches, compared to the standard coach pitch of 31 or 32 inches.

Seats are made of fine leather, but pitch is nothing to right home about (Chris McGinnis)

Seats are made of fine leather, but pitch is nothing to right home about (Chris McGinnis)

Seat 2A on Concorde- feels like a DC-9! (Chris McGinnis)

Seat 2A on Concorde- feels like a DC-9! (Chris McGinnis)

After a quick taxi, we speed down the runway, faster, faster faster! It seems to take forever for this bird to lift off. When she does, it’s a slowwwwww climb skyward. A little spooky, but okay once we are out over the Long Island Sound. I’m seated next to Randy Petersen, the editor of InsideFlyer magazine and a longtime friend. The pilot is quite chatty and a little too loud on the PA system, and finally someone complains to a flight attendant, so he quits, just after telling us that we are flying at Mach 1, 860 mph (the speed of sound).

Speed and altitude monitors on the bulkhead (Chris McGinnis)

Speed and altitude monitors on the bulkhead (Chris McGinnis)

Then he turns on the afterburners, which gives us a barely detectable boost of power. We are soon sailing toward our cruising speed of about 1500 mph at an altitude of about 57,000 feet. (A normal jet travels at around 500 mph, at about 33,000 feet.) You can see all this information on a screen on the bulkhead wall.

A delicious meal including this chilled salmon roll to start (Chris McGinnis)

A delicious meal including this chilled salmon roll to start (Chris McGinnis)

Gourmet meals eaten with plastic forks and knives due to security concerns (Chris McGinnis)

Gourmet meals eaten with plastic forks and knives due to security concerns (Chris McGinnis)

The flight attendants are serving us cheerfully from silver trays and white linen napkins. I peer over the shoulder of the man and his wife who are seated in front of us, and can see U.S. State Department letterhead. I figure out that this is the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. and his wife. Over to the right, sitting next to Sydney Pollack is the Deputy Treasurer of a political party in the U.K. I can tell because he’s typing a speech in large typeface on his laptop, and has no idea that we can read every word! He’s also peering discreetly sideways at the docs the Ambassador is reviewing. Pollack is reading a paperback, What Just Happened, by Art Linson.

That actor/director Sydney Pollack over in 1D (Chris McGinnis)

That actor/director Sydney Pollack over in 1D (Chris McGinnis)

Food: First come a mimosa garnished with an orange and cherry, and some nibblies: a scallop, a green ball that tastes like blue cheese and parsley or watercress. Then a nice cold salmon roll topped with caviar and crème fraiche. French white wine is served, which I hear passengers who know about such things oohing and ahhhing over. Nice crusty bread rolls are warm in the middle. The meals are served on elegant white bone china from Royal Doulton, made especially for British Airways. Funny thing, though: We must eat with plain white plastic utensils due to security mandates. Anyway, the meal is not over yet. Next are lovely nutty sea bass fillets wrapped in a thin leaf of Swiss chard. Gorgeous presentation. Finally, I chose a nice tarte tatin for desert instead of the cheese offering, plus a cuppa hot tea and a chocolate.

Windows on this bird are tiny- about the size of a passport, and hot to the touch (Chris McGinnis)

Windows on this bird are tiny- about the size of a passport, and hot to the touch (Chris McGinnis)

Looking out the passport-sized window, I can look down and really see the clouds whip by. On a conventional flight, clouds barely seem to move beneath you. But when you are zipping along at nearly twice the speed of sound, they aren’t in your view for long. I’m trying to see the curvature of the earth as I’ve heard you can see from 60,000 feet, but the horizon does not look that different. The window is warm, almost hot, to touch due to the friction of the wind on the outer skin of the Concorde. Engineers say the plane actually stretches a few inches in length during each flight as a result of the heat, and then shrinks back when it cools off.

Randy Petersen gets his glamor shot next to the altimeter (Chris McGinnis)

Randy Petersen gets his glamor shot next to the altimeter at Mach 2! (Chris McGinnis)

Finally, after watching a steady queue of passengers take their turns posing for pictures next to the speedometer/altimeter at the front of the cabin, I get up on my mission to photograph the bathroom of the Concorde. (The Brits don’t say “the Concorde” like we do. Much like they don’t say “the hospital” like we Yanks. It’s just “Concorde.” As in, “Are you flying Concorde today?” or, “I had to put my mother in hospital.” Gotta love those quirky Brits . . .)

Flight attendants on Concorde pour champagne from silver trays throughout the flight (Chris McGinnis)

Flight attendants on Concorde pour champagne from silver trays throughout the flight (Chris McGinnis)

Anyway, I steal past the curtain to a tiny galley area where the flight attendants are busy straightening up after the meal service. I ask Crispin, one of the jolliest, to pose for me with a silver tray and a bottle of champagne. I tell him about my mission to photograph the lav, and he rushes in, fluffs up the big bouquet of red roses on the corian countertop, props the door open and invites me in. Not too different from what you’d find on any other jet, except of course for the bowl of pungent red roses.

Lavatories on the Concorde nothing lavish- except for the roses! (Chris McGinnis)

Lavatories on the Concorde nothing lavish- except for the roses! (Chris McGinnis)

As we approach London, the flight attendant instructs Randy and I to sit tight once we land. He’s arranged for a tour of the cockpit once the other passengers have debarked. Soon the pilot is backing off on the engines and we make our approach into Heathrow. It’s only 5:15 pm local time when we touch down. Our flight from New York to London took all of three hours and 15 minutes. As we taxi to the gate, the pilot comes on the PA one last time to tell us, rather emotionally, that the Concorde, or “the rocket” as pilots refer to it, is no longer wanted or needed these days, nor are those who fly it. He makes a few other desultory comments and signs off, and the entire plane erupts in applause. Bittersweet, as they say . . .

I'm 6 feet tall and my head almost touches the ceiling on the Concorde (Chris McGinnis)

I’m 6 feet tall and my head almost touches the ceiling on the Concorde (Chris McGinnis)

When we pull up to the gate, there is a caravan of bulletproof Range Rovers and a dark green Chevy Suburban with police escort outside the window. Randy and I bet it’s the welcoming party for the Ambassador and his wife. She takes several concerned glances out the window, and Randy and I conspiratorially eye each other. Ummm-hmmmm. Sure enough, once they get off, they are taken down the stairway leading from the jetway, and are whisked away quickly, lights flashing. (No wonder . . . when I check my email later that day, I’ve received an alert from the State Department warning Americans abroad to be especially cautious in light of the impending anniversary of Sept 11, and the recent release of another Osama videotape.)

Randy Petersen posing with pilots on one of this Concorde's final flights (Chris McGinnis)

Randy Petersen posing with pilots on one of this Concorde’s final flights (Chris McGinnis)

After everyone is off the plane, Randy and I take a full tour, back through the central galley/lav area to the aft cabin. At 6 feet tall, my head nicks the ceiling. This is not a big plane; it’s about the size of a DC-9. Then we duck inside the cockpit and chat with the pilots. Having been inside the cockpit on much new aircraft, like Delta’s new B-777’s with colorful video screens and modern toggles, the rocket really shows her age in here—she’s nearly 30 years old. Round dials, metal levers and switches. But you can tell that the pilots really loved flying this bird on one of her last flights. Ever.

Concorde flights, all of which are now sold out, cease operations at the end of October, when they’ll fly to their final resting places at museums throughout Europe and the US.

***

Hope you enjoyed that walk down memory lane! Did you ever fly Concorde? Do you have any questions about my flight? Ask ’em in the comments and let’s see if I can remember back that far 🙂 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  United packages Economy Plus with amenities + Ride-sharing firm goes out of business + Bucket list for air travelers + Useless travel gadgets + ‘Uber of the Skies’ dies 

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Routes: Oakland-London + Dulles-Dubai dropped + BA/Aer Lingus code-shares + more

Norwegian reportedly plans new Oakland-London service with a 787. (Image: Creative Commons)

Norwegian reportedly plans new Oakland-London service with a 787. (Image: Creative Commons) 

In international route news, Bay Area travelers may see a new low-cost option to London in the spring; another U.S. carrier pulls out of the Dubai market; British Airways and its new sister company Aer Lingus are sharing codes all over the place; China Eastern will boost frequencies to a Midwest gateway; and Southwest eyes new international service from LAX.

Although the airline hasn’t announced or confirmed it yet, the website Airlineroute.net reports that European low-cost carrier Norwegian has filed a proposed schedule to fly between Oakland and London Gatwick. Based on data from the OAG Schedules Analyzer, Airlineroute.net said Norwegian plans to use a 787-8 to fly the route three days a week (Monday, Thursday and Sunday) starting May 12. Norwegian already has service from Oakland to Stockholm and Olso twice a week; it currently shows one-way fares to Stockholm in January for as little as $169 (plus ancillary fees).

The proposed Norwegian service, infrequent though it is, would give Bay Area travelers to the U.K. another option instead of flying out of San Francisco International — in addition to the new British Airways service from Mineta San Jose International to Heathrow that starts May 4 with a 787-9. In other news, Norwegian has pushed up the start of new Boston-London Gatwick 787 flights — slated for five days a week — from May to March 27.

Remember how Delta blamed government-subsidized competition and excess capacity from the big Mideast carriers for its decision to discontinue Atlanta-Dubai service this coming February? Now United is following suit, saying it will stop flying from Washington Dulles to Dubai after January 25. United blamed the entry of “subsidized carriers such as Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways into the Washington D.C. market,” but it also cited a decision by the U.S. government to shift its contract for Washington-Dubai flights to JetBlue, which has a code-share partnership with Emirates. (Earlier, United said it would discontinue its service from Dulles to Kuwait and Bahrain after January 13.)

Now that British Airways and Ireland’s Aer Lingus are sister companies under the umbrella of parent IAG, they have embarked on a big code-share expansion for their U.S. routes. According to Airlineroute,net, Aer Lingus’ code is going onto BA’s London Heathrow routes from 19 U.S. gateways, as well as its Gatwick service from New York JFK, Las Vegas and Orlando; and BA’s code goes onto Aer Lingus flights to Dublin from San Francisco, Orlando, Washington Dulles, JFK, Newark, Hartford and Boston, as well as Shannon flights from JFK and Boston.

China Eastern, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam alliance, plans to boost service on its Shanghai Pudong-Chicago O’Hare route — which starts March 18 — from three flights a week to daily.  The airline will use a 777-300ER on the route.

Southwest Airlines plans to add a new international route from Los Angeles International in April, subject to government approval. The carrier said it will offer daily flights from LAX’s Terminal 2 to Liberia/Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the gateway to that country’s coastal resort area.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  5 ways to save using Uber/Lyft  + New overseas plan from Verizon + Trans-Pac fare war?

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Business class holiday fare sale

First class flight attendants pass pre-flight glasses of Laurent Perrier Grand Seicle Champagne (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways has slashed business class fares to London for the holidays. (Chris McGinnis)

For today only, British Airways is back with a fantastic deal on business class flights to London and other European destinations, “including Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and most other European cities,” according to BA. Update: American Airlines, Delta, KLM, and others have matched this deal. See below for links.

British Airways

SFO-London in business class on sale

This time, it’s for the holiday travel period only. Here’s the link to sale fares– if you don’t seen your airport listed on this splash page, just include it in a search.

When we checked, this morning were in the $2,300 to $2,600 range from its US gateway cities. Since this is a one-day sale, book your flights today (only) for travel between December 18, 2015 and January 8, 2016.

Note that there are many exclusions, especially for flights on Dec 18-19 and Jan 2-3, so be sure to read terms & conditions.

Screen Shot 2015-11-30 at 8.59.17 AM

Atlanta-London less than $2,500

(Recall that BA offered another fantastic business class sale  just a few weeks ago, with fares as low as $2,000 roundtrip for 2016 flights.)

Airlines are undoubtedly concerned about softer demand due to the recent terror attacks in Paris, so I expect competitors to match this deal today, so check around if BA is not your first choice- you might find similar deals elsewhere as the holiday and super slow “dead week” period approaches.

.

 

LINKS:

Delta Air Lines matching this sale (enter dates & search biz class)

American Airlines matching this sale

KLM matching this sale

Here’s the link to the British Airways sale. 

–Chris McGinnis

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New routes for Airberlin, Delta, China Eastern; more AA, BA 787s scheduled

Airberlin will add A330 service to three U.S. cities in 2016. (Image: Airberlin)

Airberlin will add A330 service to three U.S. cities in 2016. (Image: Airberlin)

Topping the list of international route news this week is Airberlin’s plan to add a trio of new U.S. gateways. Also, Delta will fly to Iceland from a second U.S. city next year; China Eastern adds a new U.S. city and a new in-flight amenity; and British Airways and American will put 787s onto new routes.

Germany’s Airberlin plans a substantial expansion of its U.S. operations in 2016, adding three new destinations and increasing frequencies on existing ones. The company said it plans to add flights from Dusseldorf in early May 2016 to San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Boston, using A330-200s. The DFW flights will operate four times a week; Boston service will begin at three a week and increase to four on June 16; and the San Francisco schedule will start at three flights a week and grow to five as of  June 9. Existing service from Dusseldorf to Los Angeles will increase from six a week to daily, and Dusseldorf-New York JFK will increase from 13 a week to twice-daily. The carrier also flies from Dusseldorf to Miami and Ft. Myers, and from Berlin to New York and Chicago. Airberlin is a Oneworld partner airline. It gets only fair reviews on both SkyTrax and TripAdvisor– have you flown it?

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In addition to service from New York JFK to Reykjavik, Delta plans to add service to Iceland from its Minneapolis-St. Paul hub next spring. The daily service, slated to launch May 26, will use a 199-seat 757-200 with 20 premium seats, 29 extra-legroom Delta Comfort seats and 150 in regular economy.

China Eastern's A330-200 at SFO (Photo Peter Biaggi)

China Eastern’s A330-200 at SFO (Photo Peter Biaggi)

Airlineroute.net, which tracks carrier’s schedule filings, reports that China Eastern Airlines will begin new U.S. service next year to Chicago O’Hare. The carrier plans to operate three flights a week from Shanghai Pudong with a 777-300ER. China Eastern is a member of Delta’s Skyteam global alliance. Meanwhile, China Eastern has teamed up with Panasonic Avionics to start offering in-flight Wi-Fi on international routes. The carrier’s 777-300ERs are introducing the service on routes from Shanghai to New York, Los Angeles and Toronto this month, followed by San Francisco and Vancouver in December.

More 787s are coming on international routes from the U.S. American Airlines plans to put a 787-8 onto its Dallas/Ft. Worth-Santiago, Chile route starting December 17, replacing a 777-200ER. And British Airways is due to replace the 767 on its Baltimore/Washington International-London Heathrow route with a 787-8 effective August 1, 2016.

Hey smartypants! Have you taken our Name That Airport Quiz yet? 3,000 others have!

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Alaska Air’s new partner + United trims Mideast + Lufthansa Denver + London

Emirates Dubai Business Class Lounge

Alaska’s elites will get access to Emirates’ business class lounge at Dubai. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Alaska Air takes on a new code-sharing partner; United will drop flights to Kuwait and Bahrain; Lufthansa adds a Denver route; British Airways will revive service to Gatwick and changes planes to Miami; and Austrian Airlines adds a U.S. route. 

  • Alaska Airlines and Emirates have had a frequent flyer program partnership since 2012, with reciprocal mileage-earning and spending, but now they’re getting even closer. Subject to government approval, they plan to begin code-sharing that will enable travelers from 49 Alaska cities to connect seamlessly to Emirates’ twice-daily flights from Seattle to Dubai. The deal will put Emirates’ code onto as many as 300 Alaska flights a day (although the announcement says nothing about Alaska’s code going onto the Emirates flights). In addition, Alaska’s MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75 elites will be able to use Emirates business class lounges at Dubai, and will get priority boarding and check-in at Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dubai; and Emirates elites will be able to use Alaska’s Board Room lounges at four airports.
  • United Airlines is no longer taking reservations for travel on its very-long-haul flight from Washington Dulles to Kuwait and Bahrain after January 13, according to airlineroute.net. And it may not be a matter of insufficient traffic on the route. According to one popular blogger, United’s route termination may have been ordered by the Kuwaitis due to anger over U.S. anti-discrimination laws that will not allow airlines serving the U.S. to deny boarding to Israeli passport holders — something Kuwait Airlines reportedly did on a London-New York flight.
  • In addition to its existing daily service from Denver to Frankfurt, Lufthansa says it will begin flying from Denver to Munich five times a week effective May 11, 2016. The German carrier will use an A330-300 with first class, business class, premium economy and economy seating.
Gatwick Airport is about 30 mins south of Victoria Station (Image: Visit London)

Gatwick Airport is about 30 mins south of Victoria Station (Image: Visit London)

  • British Airways and joint venture partner American have plenty of flights in the New York-London Heathrow market, but next spring BA plans to add a flight from New York JFK to London Gatwick as well, according to airlinerotue.net. Effective May 16, British Airways will use a 777-200ER to operate daily service on the JFK-LGW route, which it last served in 2009. In other news, British Airways has just started flying a big Airbus A380 super-jumbo on its London Heathrow-Miami route. The 469-passenger A380, with four classes of seating, will initially operate one of BA’s two daily Miami flights; the other will still use a 747.
  • Speaking of Miami, Austrian Airlines — a member of the Lufthansa Group — has added the Florida city as its newest U.S. gateway. The new Miami-Vienna flights, using a two-class 777, operate five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Global Entry gets more global + New York’s lowest ranked hotels +Best/worst hotel programs for awards + More flat seats

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Big fare sales + Delta Sky Club price hike + 787Dreamliner hub + more

British Airways shocked us with crazy discounts on biz class tickets to Europe this week (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

British Airways shocked us with crazy discounts on biz class tickets to Europe this week. Get one?  (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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

1 More savings: Deal alert: Big 2-day biz class fare sales (Where are folks are going? See comments)

2 Check out the views: The 3 most spectacular Hong Kong hotels (SLIDESHOW)

3 SFO: #1 Boeing 787 Dreamliner hub in the U.S.

4 Huge deals: Big fall-winter airfare sale takes off (Expired)

5 What time is on-time? Why airline on-time performance stats are uselessWeekend Edition

6 Airline expansion: Lufthansa adds San Jose-Frankfurt + United to Europe + More Delta, AA to London

7 Airbus making it happen: Singapore Airlines to resume ultra-long flights

8 The time has come: Critical date for American US Airways merger

9 Farewell: Saying buh-bye to US Airways

10 Earn points for award stays: Marriott enhances popular Rewards program

Sky Club day passes now $59, up from $50 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Delta Sky Club day passes now $59, up from $50 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A few newsy nuggets from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:

Delta increases cost of Sky Club day pass to $59 (from $50) 

Full details on recent Marriott Rewards changes

Uber’s JFK flat rates eliminated

Video shows Airbus’ “Concorde 2” design: New York to London in one hour.

New United CEO Oscar Munoz hospitalized for a reported heart attack.

Frontier Airlines gives up six gates at Denver International. 

JetBlue finishes installation of free high-speed Wi-Fi on A320s, A321s; E190s are next. 

United offers pilots new 100-seat jets in exchange for a labor contract. 

Alaska Airlines starts to deploy Boeing’s roomier “Space Bins” for overhead storage.

Uber’s U.K. court victory lets it keep operating in London. 

Survey: Priciest U.S. hotels are mostly in New York City.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: New Two brand new United Clubs + Jennifer Aniston needs a shower + Best Megahub? + Big Hilton/SkyMiles bonus 

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Deal alert: British Airways 2-day biz class sale

British Airways' business class sale is for two days only. (Image: Jim Glab)

British Airways’ business class sale is for two days only. (Image: Jim Glab)

For two days only — October 15 and 16 — British Airways has roundtrip business class travel to London for fares starting at $2,015  from several U.S. gateways.

(UPDATE: Other airlines are selectively matching British Airways on this sale, so be sure to shop around online or by calling airline reservationists.)

The $2,015 Club World sale fares apply from BA’s US gateways like San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and Boston for travel from November 16, 2015 through August 31, 2016 (although some blackout dates apply on certain routes). The sale also applies on British Airways code-shared flights operated by American Airlines.

Even though promo materials are stating a fare of $2015, we found round trip business class fares as low as $1810 on SFO-LHR and ATL-LHR…. (UPDATE: We’ve now found biz class fares from SFO as low as $1616! Get ’em while they last, folks!) 

Screen capture from Oct 15

Screen capture from Oct 15

The sale fares include all taxes and fees. A $500 change fee applies. The sale fares can be booked through Friday at www.ba.com or through a travel agent.

Did you snag one of these remarkable bargains? If so, let us know! Leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: New Two brand new United Clubs + Jennifer Aniston needs a shower + Best Megahub? + Big Hilton/SkyMiles bonus 

 

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Cathay Pacific’s bigger, better lounge

Cathay's noodle bar chef Ivy Tran serves up steaming bowl of Dan Dan noodles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cathay’s noodle bar chef Ivy Tran serves up steaming bowl of homey goodness (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On October 14, Cathay Pacific opens a major addition to its business and first class lounge at San Francisco International Airport. Cathay’s is one of SFO’s most beautiful lounges…. and also one of its busiest.

The Hong Kong-based carrier invited TravelSkills out to the airport this week for a sneak peek at the new space and lunch at its famous noodle bar.

(Here’s our review of the lounge when it opened in 2012)

Here’s what we learned:

The main entrance with its striking carrera marble desk and crystal curtain will remain unchanged (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The main entrance with its striking marble desk and crystal curtain will remain unchanged (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cathay is moving into adjacent space in the International Terminal (A side) once occupied by Air France/KLM. This means the lounge will nearly double in size from the current 5,500 square feet to a spacious 9,675 square feet, enough room for up to 175 guests.

Here's a look at the unfinished main addition to the Cathay lounge (Chris McGinnis)

Here’s a look at the unfinished main addition to the Cathay lounge (Chris McGinnis)

A wall of windows brightens the big space with views over the tarmac and up to the hills across Highway 101.

Cathay is adding three new shower suites for a total of 6 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cathay is adding three new shower suites for a total of six (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The number of Carrera marble and river-pebble sheathed shower suites will double from three to six, which should help with the evening rush when around 15 flyers opt to clean up before their flight.

A new deli counter along with an Italian espresso machine in the new space (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A new deli counter along with an Italian espresso machine in the new space (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Along with the expanded space comes an expanded menu and a new deli counter and espresso bar (manned by a barista).

Many guests opt to eat a full hot meal in the lounge, then sleep on the plane (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Many guests opt to eat a full hot meal in the lounge, then sleep on the plane (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

To handle the extra load, a new free wi-fi system is in place.

There will be 14 of Cathay's mod-yet-cozy Solus chairs in the new space- up from the current 3 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There will be 14 of Cathay’s mod-yet-cozy Solus chairs in the new space- up from the current 3 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The extra space is definitely needed as airlines play musical lounges over the next few years– and share space with Cathay.

Currently, business and first class flyers on Etihad’s daily nonstop to Abu Dhabi use the Cathay lounge in the early morning hours. Around midday, the lounge is primarily populated by those on Cathay’s 1 pm departure to Hong Kong, as well as a few passengers from Alaska Airlines, which lost its lounge to construction in Terminal 1.

Later in the day the Cathay lounge takes in the overflow Oneworld partner British Airways, its lounge now straining for space due its new A380 flight with 111 biz and first class seats. (Also, BA’s lounge is due for closure and renovation later this winter).  And from about 9 pm until 1 am, the lounge hosts Cathay passengers traveling on its 1 am departure to Hong Kong– as well as overflow from the JAL lounge. 

Won Ton soup from the noodle bar. The perfect pre-flight meal! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Won Ton soup from the noodle bar. The perfect pre-flight meal! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

And although no decision has been made, we’ve heard that QANTAS is sniffing around for lounge space at SFO when its new Boeing 747 SFO-Sydney nonstops arrive in late December. I’m betting that QANTAS will squeeze in the barely used Emirates lounge due to their partnership. But stay tuned…

Have you had a chance to visit Cathay’s lounge at SFO or elsewhere? Did you try the noodles? What did you think? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: SFO could get world’s longest flight + PreCheck: Fewer free rides + Plight of the tall traveler + Photos: New United first class seat + 6 secrets for snagging low fares

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Delta to Paris + Lufthansa to Florida + Beijing-Newark + BA First class

Delta will add a new southeastern gateway for transatlantic service next year. (Image: Jim Glab)

Delta will add a new southeastern gateway for transatlantic service next year. (Image: Jim Glab)

In route news, Delta will begin a new non-hub route to Paris; Lufthansa starts flying to another U.S. gateway; Air China adds a U.S. destination; Norwegian will start a pair of routes to Ireland; and British Airways upgrades its San Diego route.

Delta has scheduled a May 12 start for new service linking North Carolina’s Research Triangle to Europe, with daily flights between Raleigh-Durham and Paris Charles de Gaulle. The airline will use a 164-seat 757-200ER. Meanwhile, Delta also said it will increase service effective May 26 between New York JFK and Tel Aviv, boosting frequencies from seven to 11 a week. The new flights will use a 777-200ER equipped with in-flight Wi-Fi. Delta said that Tel Aviv is its third-largest transatlantic market from New York. (American recently announced it will drop its only Tel Aviv route — from Philadelphia — in January.)

Lufthansa has started flying to its 18th U.S. destination with the inauguration of service between Tampa and Frankfurt. The airline will operate five weekly flights on the route until October 25, when it will reduce the number to four. Lufthansa is using a 298-seat A340-300 with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating. The aircraft is equipped with the carrier’s FlyNet broadband Internet service.

Although it already flies twice a day from New York JFK to Beijing, Air China will give tri-state area travelers the option of Newark departures starting October 26. The airline said it will operate the route four times a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) with a three-class 777-300ER. On September 29, Air China is due to launch new non-stops between Montreal and Beijing.

European low-cost carrier Norwegian, which recently announced plans to start service next year from Boston to Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, plans to add another BOS route as well. In May 2016, the carrier will kick off new service between Boston and Cork, Ireland, with flights operating four or five times a week using a 737-800. The route will be operated by the company’s Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International. And in 2017, Norwegian intends to begin service between Cork and New York.

On March 27 of next year, British Airways will upgrade the equipment on its San Diego-London Heathrow route from a 777-200 to a 777-300. The difference? The -300 can take 24 more passengers, and it has something the -200 lacks: a first class cabin. The 777-300 will offer 14 seats in first class, 56 in business, 44 in premium economy and 183 in regular economy.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: SFO could get world’s longest flight + PreCheck: Fewer free rides + Plight of the tall traveler + Photos: New United first class seat + 6 secrets for snagging low fares

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New Alaska Air partner + Big American/BA bonus + Air Canada stopover

Alaska Airlines is adding an international mileage and code-share partner. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines is adding an international mileage and code-share partner. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines is adding a mileage/codeshare partner; American and British Airways offer bonus points/miles; and Air Canada wants you to stop over in Toronto on them.

  • Starting November 1 (subject to government approval), Alaska and Icelandair will kick off a new wide-ranging partnership . The benefits to passengers: “seamless reservations and ticketing, one-stop check-in, baggage checked to its final destination, coordinated flight schedules, the ability to earn miles and/or points on the reciprocal airline and consistent passenger service standards,” Alaska said. Elite members in each carrier’s loyalty program will also get reciprocal airport lounge benefits. Alaska Mileage Plan members can earn elite-qualifying miles on Icelandair flights starting October 1 — and they’ll get double miles through December 15. Icelandair flies from 16 cities in North America (including Alaska’s Seattle hub) to 20 destinations in Europe via connections at its Reykjavik hub. Have you flown Icelandair? How was it? 
  • To mark its fifth anniversary, the transatlantic joint venture partnership of American Airlines and British Airways/Iberia/Finnair is offering customers big mileage bonuses from now through January 31. Persons who register for the offer with promotion code NAF15 can earn 25,000 bonus miles per transatlantic roundtrip when they buy first or business class tickets (up to a maximum of 125,000 bonus miles); 7,000 bonus miles for roundtrips in premium economy or some full economy fares (up to a maximum of 35,000); or 2,000 bonus miles for travel on other economy fares (maximum: 10,000 bonus miles).  Here’s where you’ll find all the details and a link to online registration.
Spectacular view from the lovely Colette Restaurant at the Thompson Toronto hotel (Chris McGinnis)

Spectacular view from the lovely Colette Restaurant at the Thompson Toronto hotel (Chris McGinnis)

  • To induce Americans to try out its international service, Air Canada is waiving the stopover fee for those who fly from the U.S. to Europe or Asia all on Air Canada via a connection at its Toronto Pearson hub. Customers can take advantage of the free Toronto stopover on their outbound or return trips, and can stay in the city for up to one week, paying nothing more than the usual roundtrip fare. It’s valid for flights on Air Canada, Air Canada Express or Air Canada Rouge. For details, go to www.aircanada.com/travelsmarter.

Related: Trip Report- Air Canada 767 Business class SFO-Toronto

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: TSA PreCheck: No more free rides + Plight of the tall traveler + Photos: New United first class seat + Save money on calls from other countries + 6 secrets for snagging low fares

100,000

bonusBEST for Big Sign-up Bonus. British Airways Visa Signature® Card 0ffers a nice 50,000 Avios sign up bonus after you spend $2,000 in the first three months. But get this: You’ll earn an additional 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend $10,000 on purchases for a total of 75,000 bonus Avios. Even better: You earn another 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend a total of $20,000 on purchases within your first year for a total of 100,000 bonus Avios. In addition to the sign up bonus, you earn three Avios for every dollar spent on BA, and a free companion ticket (any class) when you spend at least $30,000 in a year. Plus there are no foreign transaction fees, and the card has a chip making it easier to use in Europe and beyond. Annual fee is $95.  More.

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Fab new interiors at Lufthansa + British Airways + Singapore Air

All long-haul Lufthansa business class cabins now have new, fully-reclining seats. (Image: Lufthansa)

All long-haul Lufthansa business class cabins now have new, fully-reclining seats. (Image: Lufthansa)

The latest developments in international carriers’ long-haul fleets include Lufthansa’s completion of a long-term cabin overhaul, British Airways’ re-commitment to a disappearing wide-body, and Singapore Airlines resetting of premium economy schedules.

Lufthansa said it has finally finished a four-year project that it calls “the most extensive cabin renewal program in the company’s history” — an overhaul of business class and economy class in all 106 of its long-haul aircraft. In addition, 76 of the planes also have new first class cabins now, Lufthansa said, and by this fall, all long-haul flights will also offer a premium economy section. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr first told TravelSkills about the seat upgrade plan in a interview back in 2011. In all, the airline spent $1.7 billion installing or modifying a total of 39,000 seats — including 7,000 new fully-flat seats in business class and 3,600 seats in premium economy class, “which has already become a best-seller,” the airline said. The work also included installation of new in-flight entertainment screens with more audio and video content, and the deployment of Lufthansa’s on-board broadband Wi-Fi network called FlyNet, now available on all long-haul flights.

Touch-screen screens in economy are part of British Airways' overhaul of its 747s. (Image: British Airways)A new touch-screen entertainment system in economy is part of British Airways’ overhaul of its 747s. (Image: British Airways)

While many airlines are phasing out their four-engine Boeing 747s in favor of new twin-engine long-haul aircraft, British Airways decided to keep the big birds around for a while. So BA is refitting the Boeing jumbos, and the first one to be finished just went into service between London Heathrow and New York. They’ll also be flying from LHR to Chicago and Boston, as well as Lagos, Riyadh and Kuwait. Among the improvements in BA’s 18 747s: A new in-flight entertainment system from Panasonic Avionics called the eX3, its most advanced version. It provides passengers with high-res touch-screens, along with 1,300 hours of programming, including 400 TV shows and 130 films. Seats in both economy and premium economy got new foam and new covers matching those in BA’s other long-haul models. Seats in premium economy (World Traveller Plus) got universal power sockets, while economy (World Traveller) seats got USB ports for charging devices.

Don’t miss: British Airways 100,000 Avios offer is back! 

Singapore Airlines' new Boeing 777 can't fly to Singapore from the US (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Airlines’ new Boeing 777 on delivery day in Seattle (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Some U.S. passengers who were hoping to try out the new premium economy seating section on Singapore Airlines will have to wait a little longer. The company said the installations are not going as fast as hoped, so it will have to reaccommodate some passengers who have already booked the new cabin on some of its early flights. On the Singapore-Tokyo-Los Angeles route (SQ012/011), premium economy will not be available December 1 to January 16 on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday flights; and December 2-January 29 for other days of the week, the airline said. On the Singapore-Frankfurt-New York route, premium economy will not debut as planned on December 14, but the airline gave no new starting date for the seats. The airline released a chart of all the affected international routes. “Customers with ticketed bookings who are affected by the delays will be contacted progressively by Singapore Airlines or travel agents to offer alternative travel arrangements,” the airline said.

Related: How Singapore Airlines makes inflight fare beautiful

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Surviving San Francisco + Photos: New United first class seat + Save money on calls from other countries + 6 secrets for snagging low fares

bonusBEST for Big Sign-up Bonus. British Airways Visa Signature® Card 0ffers a nice 50,000 Avios sign up bonus after you spend $2,000 in the first three months. But get this: You’ll earn an additional 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend $10,000 on purchases for a total of 75,000 bonus Avios. Even better: You earn another 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend a total of $20,000 on purchases within your first year for a total of 100,000 bonus Avios. In addition to the sign up bonus, you earn three Avios for every dollar spent on BA, and a free companion ticket (any class) when you spend at least $30,000 in a year. Plus there are no foreign transaction fees, and the card has a chip making it easier to use in Europe and beyond. Annual fee is $95.  More.

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Don’t get this wrong when visiting the UK

Afternoon tea at the Palm Court in London's elegant Langham Hotel is a sight to behold! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Afternoon tea at the Palm Court in London’s elegant Langham Hotel is a sight to behold! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Next time you are traveling in the UK or elsewhere in the current or former British Empire and a friend or colleague invites you “to tea” will you know what he or she means?

Even ABC News got this one wrong recently in a segment about quarterback Andrew Luck learning British manners.

“Tea” can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country’s customs and its history of drinking tea.

“Afternoon tea” is likely the meal most Americans think of when they hear the term. It’s not high tea! Afternoon tea is taken between 4 and 6pm and involves tea, scones, clotted cream, finger sandwiches, stacked plates, sweets (see photo) and good manners. It’s the type of tea you’ve likely seen in grand London hotels like the Langham or The Ritz. It’s also what you get on an afternoon flight back from the UK on British Airways.

Important: Afternoon tea is NOT high tea. High tea, or just “tea” is the typical hot, heavier evening meal served between 6-8 pm. (What most Americans think of as dinner or supper.) Americans tend to think of high tea as the fancy one…but it is not.

Of course, usage varies by class and location, so if confused by an invitation “to tea,” just be sure to clarify.

Here’s some more info on afternoon tea etiquette from The Langham Hotel’s Palm Court.

Still not convinced? This Google search should help you out. 

What else do Americans get wrong about the UK? Please leave your comments below. 

—Chris McGinnis

This post is a “blast from the past”– a previously popular post on TravelSkills. Take a look at the original post here as well as the reader comments!

 

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JAL back at DFW, Emirates in Orlando, Delta to UK, Copa at SFO, more BA

Japan Airlines will use a 787-8 on its new Dallas/Ft. Worth-Tokyo route. (Image: Japan Airlines)

Japan Airlines will use a 787-8 on its new Dallas/Ft. Worth-Tokyo route. (Image: Japan Airlines)

In international airline route developments, Japan Airlines plans to resume service to Dallas/Ft. Worth; Emirates starts flying to its newest U.S. gateway; Delta adds a pair of transatlantic routes next year; Copa is about to begin San Francisco flights; British Airways will boost schedules to two U.S. cities; and LAN upgrades Lima-New York service.

  • Effective November 30, Japan Airlines will resume service between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tokyo Narita  — a route it hasn’t flown since 2001. JAL will operate the route four times a week, using a three-class 787-8, and may boost frequencies to seven a week next spring. American Airlines, which is a joint venture and Oneworld alliance partner of Japan Airlines, will put its code on the flights. American already offers twice-daily 777-200 flights between DFW and Narita.
  • Emirates this week started flying its newest U.S. route, making a 16-hour flight from Dubai to Orlando International. Although the inaugural trip was with an Airbus A380 — the first one to touch down at Orlando — the regular daily Emirates service to the central Florida airport will be operated with a three-class Boeing 777-200LR.
  • Delta announced that in May 2016 it will add a pair of new seasonal transatlantic routes in cooperation with partner Virgin Atlantic. On May 1, Delta will begin daily non-stop 767 flights from its Salt Lake City hub to London Heathrow; and on May 26, it will launch daily 757 New York JFK-Edinburgh service.
Copa Airlines

Copa Airlines nonstops between SFO and Panama start Sept 17 (Photo: Bernal Saborio)

  • Star Alliance partner Copa Airlines is almost ready to kick off new service from San Francisco International to its Panama City, Panama hub, with connecting options available from there to 55 destinations in Latin America. The new daily non-stops are set to begin on September 17 with a two-class 737-800; the southbound flight will be a redeye.
  • British Airways has plans to increase capacity on its London Heathrow-Las Vegas route next year, increasing frequencies from seven to 10 a week effective March 16, all with 747-400s. The carrier will also add a new Monday 777 flight from LHR to Seattle, increasing its frequencies in that market from 11 to 12 a week.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Delta’s new Sky Club at San Francisco International + LAX will allow Uber, Lyft pick-ups + British Airways coming to San Jose + Airbnb draws corporate customers 

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More 787 Dreamliners headed west

Don’t miss! Our full report & slideshow of Delta’s new SFO Sky Club! Wow!

Look for more United 787s on transpacific routes next year. (Image: United)

Look for more United 787s on transpacific routes from California next year. (Image: United)

United has announced that it will be shifting most of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet from Houston to its West Coast hubs at San Francisco International and Los Angeles starting in Spring 2016.

When the redeployment is complete, it will fly the 787-9 on routes between SFO and Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo Haneda. In addition, it will fly SFO-Seoul with a 787-9 between Aug. 1 and Oct. 21, 2016.

From LAX it will fly new Dreamliners to Melbourne (Australia), Tokyo Narita,  Shanghai, Sydney and London Heathrow.

The Houston routes that it previously flew with the 787-9 will be replaced with Boeing 767s and Boeing 777s, and the 777s displaced from LAX and SFO will be re-assigned primarily to Newark, Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles.

Hainan Air arrives at SJC with 787 nonstops to Beijing (Photo: SJC)

Hainan Air arrives at SJC with 787 nonstops to Beijing (Photo: SJC)

Have you inhaled that new airplane smell on your own first Dreamliner flight yet?  Frequent flyers who want to experience Boeing’s newest widebody will find their best odds at the mega-gateways of Los Angeles and New York — but the Bay Area isn’t far behind.

The website Airlineroute.net recently compiled a handy listing of every route worldwide where the 787 is now flying, or is about to start flying soon. By our count, it includes 16 routes out of New York (JFK and Newark) and 16 out of Los Angeles International, with the Bay Area (San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose) currently in third place among U.S. gateways with nine (not counting United’s plans mentioned above).

At SFO, United is currently using Dreamliners across the Pacific to Osaka, Japan and Chengdu, China; China Southern has 787 flights to Guangzhou; and Virgin Atlantic is poised to begin SFO-London Heathrow flights with a new 787-9 beginning October 24.

European budget carrier Norwegian has started flying Dreamliners from Oakland to both Oslo and Stockholm. And at San Jose, Dreamliners are available on flights to Tokyo Narita with ANA; to Beijing with Hainan Airlines; and soon to London Heathrow with a new British Airways 787-9.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Delta’s new Sky Club at San Francisco International + LAX will allow Uber, Lyft pick-ups + British Airways coming to San Jose + Airbnb draws corporate customers 

Delta's new Sky Club offers Amelia Earhart a permanent runway view (Oil on canvas by Alexi Torres)

Don’t miss! Our full report & slideshow of Delta’s new SFO Sky Club! Wow!


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British Airways to San Jose + Korean’s newest plane to SFO + AA drops a route

British Airways will add San Jose service next spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways will add San Jose service next spring with a new 787-9. (Image: British Airways)

The newest transatlantic gateway for British Airways will be San Jose; Korean Air will put a brand new jumbo on its San Francisco route; and American will end an international spoke from US Airways’ Philadelphia hub.

British Airways has set a May 4, 2016 launch date for new transatlantic from London Heathrow to Mineta San Jose International, using one of its brand new Boeing 787-9s, featuring a newly-designed eight-passenger first class cabin, as well as 42 seats in business class, 39 in premium economy and 127 in regular economy. Seats go on sale August 27.

BA already flies from London to San Francisco (where it put an A380 into service earlier this year), Los Angeles and San Diego. Full details here. Coincidentally (or not) Virgin Atlantic is deploying a Dreamliner on SFO-London this October.

The new route is highly subsidized, too. According to the San Jose Mercury News, “the airport waived landing, gate and ticket center fees — which all airlines are expected to pay — for two years,” in order to convince the airline to serve SJC.

Screen Shot 2015-08-26 at 11.09.43 AM

Related: BA adds new A380 at SFO, expands lounge

  • Korean Air has started to take delivery of its newest aircraft, Boeing’s 747-8 Intercontinental, and it will put the new plane onto its Seoul Incheon-San Francisco route effective November 1. Initially, KAL will fly the big jumbo to SFO four days a week, increasing to daily flights December 3. It will replace a 777 on the route. Korean has ordered 10 of the big jets, which are equipped with 368 seats (the 747-8 is 18 feet longer than the 747-400), including its new Kosmo Suite first class seats that come with sliding doors and privacy partitions.
  • American Airlines will end its only service to Israel on January 5 when it discontinues service from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv, a route that US Airways started flying in 2009. American said the route was unprofitable.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Upgraded Hilton HHonors app + New perks for Starwood/AmEx cardholders + Alaska/AA airport lounge benefits + New international routes

 


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American heads south + BA upgrades Austin + Sydney skeds + Delta to Paris + New Delhi nonstop

British Airways will start flying a 787-9 to Austin next winter. (Image: British Airways)

British Airways will start flying a 787-9 to Austin next winter. (Image: British Airways)

In international route news, American is adding several Latin America and Caribbean services; British Airways sets 787-9 schedules; a Mexican carrier begins New York flights; Qantas will trim LAX runs; Delta extends a Paris route; United cuts back to Panama; and Air Canada eyes India.

  • American has announced some new, mostly low-frequency services to Latin America and the Caribbean. Exceptions to the low frequencies include Los Angeles-Mexico City, which begins September 3 with twice-daily 737 flights; and Dallas/Ft. Worth-Quito, Ecuador, with five weekly roundtrips beginning December 18. Also on December 18, AA will start twice-weekly LAX-Montego Bay, Jamaica service, and on December 19 it will add once-a-week flights from Charlotte to Curacao and to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic as well as DFW-Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
  • British Airways will start flying new 787-9s this fall, and it has targeted its London Heathrow-Austin route for an equipment upgrade from a 777-200ER to a 787-9 as of February 1, 2016. Other BA 787-9 routes include LHR-Delhi, starting October 15; LHR-Abu Dhabi/Muscat as of October 16, and LHR-Kuala Lumpur effective December 5. Unlike most of the new 787-9s that are coming into service on several airlines, British Airways’ version will offer a first class cabin in addition to business, premium economy and economy.

Don’t miss! Like first class meals? Try serving one

  • Mexican carrier Volaris has added new service out of New York’s JFK International, operating three flights a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays) to Guadalajara.
  • With American’s new Los Angeles-Sydney service due to begin December 17, joint venture partner Qantas will trim its LAX-Sydney schedule the next day, reducing frequencies from 14 a week to 12, and then cutting them again from 12 to 10 starting January 23. Meanwhile, Qantas has set the schedule for its new San Francisco-Sydney flights. They’ll start December 18 with five 747-400 flights a week, increasing to six a week February 2; SFO departure time is 11:25 p.m. SEE UPDATE BELOW
  • Delta said that effective October 25, its Boston-Paris Charles de Gaulle route will no longer be seasonal but will operate year-round, flown with a 757-200 as part of its joint venture operation with Air France.
  • United is scaling back its Denver-Panama City, Panama service. The daily service will end September 7, resuming as seasonal service December 18, but with just two flights a week.
  • On November 1, Air Canada will kick off a new very-long-haul route, from Toronto to Delhi, India. The Canadian carrier will fly the route four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) with a new 787-9, fitted with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating. It will increase frequencies to daily at the end of October 2016.

UPDATE from Qantas regarding SFO service:

  • December – Qantas will have 8 services operating on December 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 and 30
  • January – Qantas will have 5 flights per week operating on Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sun
  • Late January/February onwards – Qantas will have 6 flight per week operating on Mon, Tues, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sun

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Avoiding long customs & immigration lines  + UberX, Lyft at LAX + The big Delta upsell+ ATMs are out + More!


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Changes coming to Ireland’s Aer Lingus

The sale of Aer Lingus could shake up the transatlantic travel market. (Image: Aer Lingus)

The sale of Aer Lingus could shake up the transatlantic travel market. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Ireland’s parliament has voted to approve the sale of the government’s 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus to British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG), removing the main obstacle to the sale and setting the stage for a shakeup of transatlantic travel.

But at least it sounds like those big green planes will be around for a while.

Although Aer Lingus is not a member of any of the three big global airline alliances, it does have a code-sharing partnership with United, and MileagePlus members can earn miles for travel on many Aer Lingus flights. The Irish carrier also has a close partnership with JetBlue that permits single-ticketing on interline connections via New York and Boston.

But the acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG would likely mean that the Irish airline would join up with the Oneworld alliance — which includes British Airways, American, Iberia and others — and could even lead to the inclusion of Aer Lingus in the AA/BA transatlantic joint venture.

Aer Lingus currently flies from Ireland to New York, Boston, Chicago, Orlando, San Francisco and Toronto.

Related: Trip Report Aer Lingus business class food | Aer Lingus NEW business class

Irish media reports say that the acquisition is likely to mean four new transatlantic routes for Aer Lingus, although they don’t identify them. IAG has also reportedly agreed to preserve the Aer Lingus brand; to guarantee Aer Lingus’ slots at London Heathrow for five years; and to preserve its routes between Heathrow and Dublin, Cork and Shannon for seven years.

Besides British Airways, the International Airlines Group’s other subsidiaries include Iberia and Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling. To finish the Aer Lingus acquisition, IAG will still have to negotiate the purchase of Ryanair’s 29 percent stake in the airline, but that low-cost carrier — which has itself unsuccessfully bid for the Irish carrier — is said to be willing to divest.

An interesting historical note: Willie Walsh, the chief executive of IAG and former head of British Airways, started his career at Aer Lingus as a pilot and later became its CEO.

Three easy ways to snag 50,000 miles this month!

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: New airline routes + Thousands of airline miles for hotel stays + Hotel chains’ Wi-Fi service ranked + How to get 50,000 miles + Toronto Airport’s new rail link


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Bigger, better Oneworld lounge at LAX (photos)

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Economy class meals rated + New rules for travel to Cuba + Star Alliance adds fast lanes to security + New international air routes + Gogo speeds up Wi-Fi + Trip Report: Cathay Pacific 777

Seating has been increased by 50 percent at the LAX Oneworld Business Lounge. (Image: Qantas)

Seating has been increased by 50 percent at the LAX Oneworld Business Lounge. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways have finished a substantial expansion of the Oneworld Business Lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. The lounge is managed by Qantas.

The project increased seating capacity in the lounge from 400 to 600; tripled its total floor space; increased the number of shower suites from nine to 16; added six workstations equipped with iMacs; installed a dedicated dining area, a new cocktail bar and a Californian food cart; and put in a second buffet line with a make-your-own juice bar, hot dishes, salads, snacks and desserts.

Bar at the expanded Oneworld Business Lounge at LAX. (Image: Qantas)

Bar at the expanded Oneworld Business Lounge at LAX. (Image: Qantas)

The Business Lounge is available to Qantas, Cathay and British Airwats passengers booked in  business class; Qantas Gold frequent flyer members, Cathay’s Marco Polo Gold members and BA Executive Club Silver members; Oneworld Sapphire-level members; and Qantas Club members.

New buffet line at the LAX Oneworld Business Lounge. (Image: Qantas)

New buffet line at the LAX Oneworld Business Lounge. (Image: Qantas)

The Business Lounge expansion follows the opening of the adjacent “remarkably stylish” Qantas First Class lounge that was finished last winter.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Economy class meals rated + New rules for travel to Cuba + Star Alliance adds fast lanes to security + New international air routes + Gogo speeds up Wi-Fi + Trip Report: Cathay Pacific 777


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Surprise: Deep discounts on summer fares to Europe

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Which airline is most generous? + Starwood-InterContinental merger? + Delta bumps up summer seats to Europe! 

A shiny new British Airways A380. Clean as a whistle! (Photo: British Airways)

A shiny new British Airways A380. Clean as a whistle! (Photo: British Airways)

The strength of the US dollar is great for Americans headed to Europe, but it’s clearly having an impact on demand from the other side of the pond. 

That’s the only explanation I can come up with for why British Airways deeply discounted its economy class fares for August to Europe yesterday.

BA’s lowest fares are currently running toward the END of August, as low as $800-$900 roundtrip— see our research below.

A quick run through some fares found some outstanding bargains. I do not expect these fares to last… I’m already seeing “1-3 seats left” on the lowest fares.

Keep in mind that Labor Day is September 7 this year, so these still fall into the standard definition of peak summer season.

NOTE: The euro and the pound have strengthened against the dollar this week– euro is up to $1.12 and the pound is $1.52 as I write this.

How low did they go? Check out these round trip fares:

Click here for the sale page

Boston-London in late August: $825 roundtrip

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New York-London in August: $973 roundtrip

Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 7.01.12 AM

 

Chicago-London in August just $1033 roundtrip

Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 7.04.21 AM

 

Atlanta-London in late August: $1191 roundtrip

Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 7.06.37 AM

 

Los Angeles-London late August/early September: $1126

Screen Shot 2015-04-30 at 2.00.03 PM

San Francisco-London in late August $1224

Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 7.10.37 AM

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Which airline is most generous? + Starwood-InterContinental merger? + Delta bumps up summer seats to Europe! 


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13 air travel experiences to have before you die

With the proliferation of “must see before you die” lists, I’m moved to submit my top 13 airline business class experiences to have before you die.

Some of these I’ve been lucky enough to experience myself. Others, I just been able to photograph… and some I can only dream about.

Take a spin through my top 13 list and add your contenders in the comments at the bottom! 

1) Take a shower on onboard a plane.

Each first class passenger gets five minutes of hot water on Emirates (Chris McGinnis)

Each first class passenger gets five minutes of hot water on Emirates (Chris McGinnis).

 

2) Get a ride to your plane across the ramp or on the tarmac in a luxury car.

United has deployed two silver Mercedes at Houston IAH to shuttle arriving passengers. (Photo: United)

United has deployed two silver Mercedes at Houston IAH to shuttle arriving passengers. (Photo: United)

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3) Eat warm udon on a Japanese carrier- simple, yes, but I can’t think of anything much more comforting on a 11 hour flight.

Nothing is more soothing than a warm bowl of noodles in broth (Chris McGinnis)

Nothing is more soothing than a warm bowl of noodles in broth- this is on ANA (Chris McGinnis)

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4) Fly backwards in business class.

Only United and British Airways offer forward and rear facing business class seats (Chris McGinnis)

Only United and British Airways (and a few American planes) offer forward and rear facing business class seats- this is United’s configuration (Chris McGinnis)

 .
5) See the northern lights or the north pole from the plane.
Seen the northern lights from a plane? (Photo: Francisco Anzola / Flickr)

Seen the northern lights from a plane? (Photo: Francisco Anzola / Flickr)

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6) Fly supersonic. I know this is more difficult now that Concorde has been retired, but it could come back in our lifetime.

Don't even ask about the hair. But I rode on the Concorde in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)

Don’t even ask about the hair. But I rode on the Concorde in 2003 (Chris McGinnis)

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7) Get a haircut or spa treatment at the airport.

Hair and nails at the airport? Sure

Hair and nails at the airport? Sure, if flying Virgin Atlantic via London

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8) Spend a day on or near runways planespotting. I’m lucky to occasionally get media access to runways, but you can always go to In-N-Out Burger in LA or take a vacation on this beach in St Maarten.

Not much more exhilirating than standing between runways at airport rush hour (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Not much more exhilirating than standing between runways at airport rush hour (Image: Peter Biaggi)

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9) Take a swim or a soak between planes at the airport.

Pool and hot tub available for all passengers at Singapore Changi (Chris McGinnis)

Pool and hot tub available for all passengers at Singapore Changi (Chris McGinnis)

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10) Get inside the crew rest area on a plane– take my video tour of a crew rest area here.

This is the secret stairway to the crew rest area on a Cathay Pacific 747 (Chris McGinnis)

This is the secret stairway to the crew rest area on a Cathay Pacific 747 (Chris McGinnis)

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11) Sit in a Captain Kirk seat on Aer Lingus new business class or in JetBlue Mint class

Only a handful of these very special seats on JetBlue and Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)

Only a handful of these very special seats on JetBlue and Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)

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12) Eat caviar on the plane.

Caviar onboard Emirates in first class (Image: Leon Brocard / Flickr)

Caviar onboard Emirates in first class (Image: Leon Brocard / Flickr)

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13) Have a drink in an onboard lounge

Lounging around on a Korean Air A380 ICN-ATL (Chris McGinnis)

Lounging around on a Korean Air A380 ICN-ATL (Chris McGinnis)

How many of these experiences have you had? Which business class experiences do you think I should add to this list? Leave your comments below!

::

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San Francisco gets fourth Airbus A380, larger lounge

TravelSkills was out on the runways at SFO to watch the first British Airways A380 touch down (Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills was out on the runways at SFO to watch the first British Airways A380 touch down (Chris McGinnis)

San Francisco International took on its fourth A380 flight on Sunday afternoon (March 29) when British Airways flight 287 touched down on a perfect spring day– and TravelSkills was there on the runway to watch the big bird touch down!

In addition to the new British Airways arrival, there are now three more A380s calling on SFO: Air France (Paris), Emirates (Dubai), and Lufthansa (Frankfurt).

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis was out on the runway on Sunday to watch to big bird land! Watch the 30 second clip here or see below.

BA’s A380 will operate as BA286 from SFO to London on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  The same flight on Tuesdays and Wednesdays will continue to be operated by a Boeing 747, as will the carrier’s second daily flight the BA284.

British Airways served 500 cupcakes adorned with A380 photos to passengers in boarding area (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways served 500 cupcakes adorned with A380 photos to passengers in boarding area (Chris McGinnis)

A British Airways A380 carries 469 passengers– 14 in first class (on the main, or lower deck), 97 in business class (split between upstairs and downstairs), 55 in premium economy (on on the upper deck), and 303 in economy (both upper and lower decks).

BA’s A380 has 111 first or business class seats, plus a lot more room for elite level members of its Executive Club and Oneworld alliance programs. Compare that to its 747 with just 84 first/business class seats (299 seats total).

British Airways intends to squeeze in another floor at its SFO lounge (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways intends to squeeze in another floor at its SFO lounge (Chris McGinnis)

A larger plane means that the BA Terraces Lounge at SFO is barely large enough to comfortably accommodate the larger crowd. As a result, a BA spokesperson told TravelSkills that plan are currently underway add a third floor to its existing Terraces Lounge at SFO’s Boarding Area A (Int’l). Renovations should be complete within a year or so. 

BA has a word of warning about A380-related crowding on its website. While I have been unable to confirm, I expect that “alternatives” mentioned here might include use of its Oneworld partner JAL or Cathay Pacific lounges nearby.

British Airways

Lounge regulars should also know that when flying on BA’s new A380, there is no longer a private boarding area as there is with 747 flights. Due to its size, the A380 must dock at gate A9 at the end of the concourse, not in front of the lounge like its 747s do.

Related: Riding on the Red Carpet Route to London (BA A380)

British Airways' signature forward & rear facing business class seat. Note window bins on upper deck (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways’ signature forward & rear facing business class seat. Note window bins on upper deck (Chris McGinnis)

I think best business class and economy seats on BA’s A380 plane are on the upper deck. Why? In business class, the front and rear facing seats are configured 2-3-2– narrower than on the main deck where it’s 2-4-2 with two middle seats. Plus, window seats on the main deck in all classes do not get the special bins underneath windows (due to curvature of the fuselage).

Best economy class seats are rows 81-83 at the rear of the upper deck (Chris McGinnis)

Best economy class seats are rows 81-83 at the rear of the upper deck (Chris McGinnis)

The best economy class seats on the plane are at the back of the upper deck– rows 80-83, which is a small intimate cabin that feels almost private, plus it’s very quiet due to its distance from the engines. There’s also one economy seat on the main deck, 25D, that does not have a seat in front of it.

(On BA economy and business class, you can choose seats 24 hours ahead of your flight for free; otherwise you must pay a fee to reserve a specific seat. Details.)

British Airways premium economy seat on upper deck configured 2-3-2 (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways premium economy seat on upper deck configured 2-3-2 (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways posh First class can be yours for $10K round trip (Chris McGinnis)

British Airways posh First class can be yours for $10K round trip (Chris McGinnis)

Currently fares for May round trips between SFO and London Heathrow are $1275 in economy, $2,200 in premium economy, around $7,000 in business class and $10,000 in first class.

More good news: More premium seats on BA’s A380 mean that it could be easier to redeem miles for these trips.

–Chris McGinnis

Related: Riding on the Red Carpet Route LAX to London (BA A380)

 

Did you miss our recent Weekend Editions? No probs! Here are the links:

1,000 Marriott points + AA/US combine + Most hated fees + Delta-Virgin expands + Daylight saving + new routes

Most expensive city + Airport phoning + 25 million more PreCheckers + Cameras in rental cars + 2-4-1 deal in LA

In Case You Missed It…

Have you checked out Personal Capital yet? A powerful new tool from the former CEO of PayPay and Intuit (Quicken) to help busy people manage finances– some say it’s a better tool for wealth management than Mint.com. If you, like many business travelers, have a tough time keeping up with your investments, you should check it out today and help support TravelSkills!

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1,000 Marriott points + AA/US combine + Most hated fees + Delta-Virgin expands + Daylight saving + new routes

A brand new Marriott Courtyard in Salisbury, NC (Marriott)

A brand new Marriott Courtyard in Salisbury, NC (Marriott)

Get 1,000 Marriott Rewards Points. Courtyard by Marriott hits its 1,000 hotel milestone on Tuesday (March 31) and is offering 1,000 Rewards points to all members checking into any Courtyard hotel worldwide on that day. The company says that it will give away over 50 million points as part of the promotion. The festivities will be centered around the brand new Courtyard in Walla Walla, Washington, designated as the 1,000th hotel. The very first Marriott Courtyard opened in Atlanta in 1983 near Northside Hospital (since razed) according to Mark Woodworth of PKF Consulting. The Courtyard brand celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2013 and is Marriott’s second largest revenue generator.

Get 50,000 more Rewards points with the Marriott Rewards Premier Card

DaylightSaving-World-Subdivisions

Daylight Saving Time Reminder. Most of Europe switched over to Daylight Saving Time last night following the move made in the US three weeks ago. Did you know that Daylight Saving Time is primarily observed in the US and Europe only (See blue above)? The rest of the world remains on standard time. (Orange and red denote countries that have either stopped observing Daylight Saving Time or have never observed it.)

British Airways A380 arriving San Francisco. British Airways brings its big Airbus A380 to San Francisco today. The big new bird will fly SFO-London Heathrow five days a week complemented by a 747 on the remaining days. BA will also keep its second daily 747 on the route. Stay tuned for more details in a future post.

Screen Shot 2015-03-29 at 7.23.45 AM

AA starts merging loyalty accounts. March 28 is the day American Airlines begins merging US Airways Dividend Miles accounts into American’s AAdvantage program, a process that will take “several days,” the company said on its website. Dividend Miles members will be notified by email when the procedure is complete; once it is, they can book award travel through aa.com, but until then they can’t book free trips. Also, “Elite upgrades will vary by airline until we combine reservation systems later this year,” AA said. “To make sure you’re eligible for elite upgrades, you should book flights that are marketed and operated by the same airline – either US Airways or American. If you’re booked on a codeshare flight, you’ll only be eligible to upgrade when you check in, and as always, upgrades are based on availability.”

Readers all hot and bothered by this TravelSkills Reader Report: Shakedown in Mexico

Survey determines most hated fees. Even though major airlines have been trumpeting the amounts they’re spending on passenger enhancements these days, most air travelers — 62 percent — remain “frustrated” by the air travel experience, and would pay more to see improvements, according to a new consumer survey by the U.S. Travel Association. Three out of five said they would pay up to $4 more per ticket in user fees for larger, more efficient U.S. airports. Respondents cited airlines’ $200 change/cancellation fees as the most reviled, followed by $50 seat assignment charges, $25 checked bag fees and $50 priority boarding fees. On another issue, seven out of 10 respondent said that instead of trying to block access by foreign carriers, U.S. airlines should improve their own quality of service to be more competitive.

Tokyo's Haneda Airport is much more convenient than distant Narita.

Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is much more convenient than distant Narita.

DOT lets Delta keep Tokyo route. The Transportation Department tentatively ruled on Friday that Delta can keep its existing Seattle-Tokyo Haneda route, but only if it maintains year-round daily service. Delta had sharply reduced its Seattle-Tokyo schedule during the winter, prompting competitors to ask the government to give them the Haneda rights. American wanted to fly Los Angeles-Haneda and Hawaiian Airlines had filed for Honolulu-Haneda rights.

Delta, Virgin expand partnership. Delta and joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic announced an expansion of their joint venture schedules across the Atlantic this year. Upcoming new routes include a daily Philadelphia-London Heathrow flight starting April 26 and a daily New York JFK-Manchester flight beginning May 21, both operated by Delta; and a daily Detroit-LHR roundtrip starting June 1, operated by Virgin Atlantic. Next month, Virgin is set to add a second daily Los Angeles-LHR flight (in addition to Delta’s once-daily service, for a total of three a day) and to open a new Virgin Clubhouse at LAX. This weekend, Virgin lays on a second daily Atlanta-LHR flight and a second San Francisco-LHR service five times a week. Overall, the partnership’s schedule calls for 39 daily transatlantic flights this summer.

Shoulder Surfing. Have you ever been the victim of “shoulder surfing” when you just know that the person next to you on the plane is watching everything you do on your laptop. This hilarious video records what happens when someone fights back by turning on his laptop’s camera. How do you handle nosy neighbors on planes? 

United delays extra SFO-China flight. United Airlines has pushed back its plan to add a second daily San Francisco-Shanghai Pudong flight, citing slot issues. Instead of starting in early May, the extra flight won’t begin until July 2. United will use a 787-9 for the new service.

New routes: Emirates, Austrian, Philippine. Fast-growing Emirates will add another U.S. gateway on September 1, when it begins daily Orlando-Dubai non-stops, using a three-class 777-200LR … Lufthansa affiliate Austrian Airlines, a Star Alliance member, will start flying a 777 from Miami to Vienna five times a week on October 16 … Philippine Airlines has revived New York JFK-Manila flights four times a week, operating via a stop in Vancouver.

Weekend Edition

Did you miss yesterday’s Weekend Edition? No probs! Here’s the link:

Most expensive city + Airport phoning + 25 million more PreCheckers + Cameras in rental cars + 2-4-1 deal in LA

In Case You Missed It…

Have you checked out Personal Capital yet? A powerful new tool from the former CEO of PayPay and Intuit (Quicken) to help busy people manage finances– some say it’s a better tool for wealth management than Mint.com. If you, like many business travelers, have a tough time keeping up with your investments, you should check it out today and help support TravelSkills!

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Now’s the time to book summer flights to Europe

Freshly posted fares to France (Image: Air France)

These freshly posted roundtrip mid-summer fares to France won’t last long (Image: Air France)

In four months, we’ll be in the midst of peak season for travel between the US and Europe. And that means now is the time to start looking and booking those fares.

Remember our post last month “Predicting Spring-Summer Airfares” in which the fare brains at the new FLYR fare prediction site explained that 120 days out is prime time for US-Europe flight bargains?

From what I’m seeing, it looks like that’s correct…  This week European carriers are starting to trot out some “flash sale” type deals for mid-summer travel.

What’s likely of most concern to European carriers this year is that the strong dollar is going to keep Europeans on the continent this summer, so that’s why I think airlines like Air France, Aer Lingus and others are the first out of the gate with discounts aimed at driving up demand from this side of the pond.

So what kind of mid-summer travel deals are we seeing today from Air France? Here’s what we saw:

Air France

Here’s some explanations around the fine print from Air France’s deal, released today:

  • Must buy tickets between today and March 24, 2015 (Most sale fares will be “flash” sales like this with small booking windows so you must act fast)
  • Travel dates vary but generally between May 16 and September 9, 2015. It’s unusual to see sale fares beyond about June 15 so this represents a very good deal if you can get it.
  • Minimum / Maximum stay: 10 days (weeds out business travelers who likely will not stay that long)
  • Refunds: tickets are non-refundable (as always with low fares)
  • Change fees: $300 plus fare difference- which could be substantial the closer we get to summer. (Hint: Don’t book this if there’s any possibility of change.)

When are the cheapest times to fly to Europe this summer? According to this PriceFinder chart from British Airways, which looks at flights between San Francisco and London, you are most likely to get deals in June and August– not July. Also, as you can tell from the chart, BA has not matched the Air France deal… yet. But the charts are still helpful.

British Airways

Let’s take a look at fares from the East Coast, too. Here’s JFK-London Heathrow:

BA

 

With all the noise Ireland’s Ryanair is making regarding ultra low-fare flights between the US and Europe, Aer Lingus has become very aggressive with pricing and has bargains similar to Air France’s on sale right now.

What’s interesting here is to see the difference in fares if you fly BEFORE or AFTER the peak season vs. when it’s fully underway (July 1 -Aug 22). Here’s what Aer Lingus has on offer this week.

Aer Lingus

And peak summer season sale fares available right now (they will not last!)

Air Lingus

Another smart idea for snagging bargains across the pond this summer is to considering your first stop in Scandinavia– ultra low fare carrier Norwegian Air will continue to disrupt transatlantic fares this summer and force established carriers to discount. But beware– we’ve heard that you definitely “get what you pay for” when flying Norwegian.

Advice: A busy summer in Europe means that sale fares like these are going to come and go very quickly. Keep on eye on blogs like TravelSkills and sign up for fare alerts to find them.

Good luck– and remember, if you see a fare that feels right, BOOK IT because it will not be there if you wait. 

-Chris McGinnis

 

Did you miss this our recent Weekend Editions? No probs! Here they are for ya:

Better Virgin seats for Delta elites + AA US program merger + Fastest airlines + Delta shrinks at CVG + Lufthansa A380s

United schedule changes + Easy 1,000 HHonors points + Virgin 2-4-1 + New United gates + Lyft beats Uber

In Case You Missed It…

  • Here’s what you should know about Spring Break and its travel impact.

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Virgin Atlantic adds Dreamliner at SFO, elsewhere

Virgin Atlantic's shiny new toy coming to SFO: Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 (Photo: Virgin)

Virgin Atlantic’s shiny new toy coming to SFO: Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 (Photo: Virgin)

Virgin Atlantic is doubling its flights between San Francisco and London Heathrow by adding a second daily flight. What’s most exciting is that it will deploy its newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, on the route starting October 24.

Also exciting for Bay Area travelers headed to London this year is that British Airways will bring its big new Airbus A380 to San Francisco starting on March 29.

Last year Virgin Atlantic said it would add a second flight between San Francisco and London five times a week for the summer season, starting on March 29. But now Virgin says that the second daily SFO-LHR flight will switch to daily starting October 24. (The flights are part of Virgin’s partnership with Delta, so you can earn and burn your SkyMiles on this flight.)

Details/seatmaps/photos of Virgin’s 787

Upper class mood lighting onboard Virgin's new Dreamliner (Photo: Virgin)

Upper class mood lighting onboard Virgin’s new Dreamliner (Photo: Virgin)

By the end of this year, Virgin says it will have an efficient new Dreamliner on both daily flights, replacing the current, gas-guzzling, 4-engine 747 and A340 on the route. This should be especially good news for TravelSkills readers who have reported that the current Virgin Atlantic upper class offering was getting a bit tatty.

Virgin also revealed today the next routes for the new 787-9 Dreamliners. It has already taken delivery of three of the aircraft with six more due over the course of 2015. In addition to San Francisco, the 787s will be flying several other US routes this year, including Boston, Washington Dulles, Newark, JFK, and Los Angeles to London Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft are configured with 264 seats which consist of 31 Upper Class seats, 35 Premium Economy seats and 198 seats in Economy.

Related: Flying on a brand new United 787 Dreamliner (Trip Report)

The new Upper Class bar onboard Virgin's new Dreamliner (Photo: Virgin)

The new Upper Class bar onboard Virgin’s new Dreamliner (Photo: Virgin)

—Chris McGinnis

(Image: Crafic)

(Image: Crafic)

6 practical, protective or fun phone cases

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Big storm + Unusual 747 + NYC Helicopters, rail link + Marriott Megabonus + Choose car from plane

Rendering of the modified 747 that will buzz Burning Man this August (Courtesy Lance Powell)

Rendering of the repurposed 747 that will buzz Burning Man this August (Courtesy Lance Powell)

Developing: A potentially crippling winter storm is bearing down on the Northeast and airlines are starting to announce waivers.”We are facing most likely one of the largest snowstorms in the history of this city,” says NYC mayor Bill DiBlasio. By Sunday evening, airlines had pre-emptively canceled over 800 flights.  The key thing to remember in these stormy cancellation situations is that you are entitled to a FULL REFUND if the airline cancels your flight and you decide it’s not worth taking the trip at all. Here’s what Delta’s waiver for Monday-Tuesday (Jan 26-27) states.

Delta waiver

Unusual 747. In an interesting adaptive re-use of a scrapped 747, a group called The Big Imagination Foundation is working on bringing part of a fuselage to the giant Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert this summer. (See rendering above, and read what SFist has learned about it. ) I’m probably to old for Burning Man, but seeing this sure makes me want to go. Have you been? 

CONSOLIDATION

Aer Lingus + British Airways. British newspapers are reporting that British Airways parent IAG’s sweetened offer for Irish carrier Aer Lingus will be accepted and an announcement could come early this week. The Guardian reports: “Aer Lingus is the fourth busiest operator at London’s Heathrow behind British Airways, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic – with its expanding transatlantic routes a particular attraction to IAG. The Irish airline is well known to IAG boss Willie Walsh, who was chief executive of Aer Lingus between 2001 and 2005 before taking the helm at British Airways.”

Expedia buys Travelocity. Giant online travel agency Expedia, which has been providing services to erstwhile competitor Travelocity for the past couple of years, has now purchased that site from Sabre, the global distribution system, for $280 million. For years, Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline have dominated the web-based travel agency game. Could this be a sign of more consolidation to come in an increasingly crowded field of old and new competitors? Readers who have followed my career may recall that I was once a spokesperson and travel trends expert for Expedia. During that time, I would never have dreamed that our arch competitor would end up swallowed up by Expedia. Times sure change! Related: Mergers that make sense

This TravelSkills post 7 last-minute fare deals worth a look! went viral last week, resulting in nearly 500 new readers signing up for our daily or weekly emails! Welcome to TravelSkills, folks! We hope you enjoy the ride! –Chris

AIRPORTS

(Photo: Gotham Air)

(Photo: Gotham Air)

New heli service in NYC. Gotham Air is joining the crowdsourced travel app game in New York City, allowing users to book helicopter flights to Newark or JFK airports. Its partner is Helicopter Flight Services, which does the actual flying from three Manhattan heliports. You can book your own departure time, and “as soon as four seats have been sold, the flight is confirmed. You are never on the hook for anything more than the price of your seat,” the company said. Scheduled flights will begin this spring, and the app should be available at the iTunes store early in February. First time users pay $99 to JFK or EWR; after the first ride, a one way fare is $199 – $219 dependent on departure time. Would you or your company spring for that? 

Here's a before and after look at Oakland Terminal 2's security checkpoint. (Photo: Security Point Media)

Here’s a before and after look at Oakland Terminal 2’s security checkpoint. (Photo: Security Point Media)

Branded airport security. Oakland International is the US airport to get wrapped in SpringHill Suites branding. Terminal Two, home of Southwest Airlines at OAK, offers “a new, relaxing atmosphere before and after the checkpoint with modern furniture, wall art, calming lighting, soothing music, custom video content and displays showing current queue wait times. A post-screening recompose area outfitted with comfortable, soft seating welcomes travelers to gather their belongings in a more relaxed setting.” What do you think about big brands stepping up to improve the airport experience as a means to expose travelers to their brands? Please leave your comments below. 

Rail link for LaGuardia? New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said last week that plans are in the works to build something New York-area travelers have wanted for decades: a rail link to LaGuardia Airport. The plan calls for a dedicated rail link from the airport to the existing Willets Point station a mile and a half away, next to Citi Field (home of the New York Mets). There, travelers could transfer to the Long Island Railroad or to the Number 7 subway line into Manhattan. Don’t hold your breath, though: The $450 million project won’t be finished until 2020.

What are the two best all-around credit cards? Both currently offer 40,000 mile sign up bonuses!

HOTELS

Marriott renews MegaBonus. It’s time for the latest version of Marriott’s popular MegaBonus promotion. Marriott Rewards members who register online by March 25 can earn 2,500 points for every paid stay at the company’s 15 brands from February 1 through April 30, up to a maximum of 25,000 points.

The Westin Market Street has a new name. (Photo: AAA)

The Westin Market Street has a new name. (Photo: AAA)

New name for Westin SF. Last Thursday night, guests went to bed at the Westin San Francisco and woke up at the Park Central hotel. The 36 story hotel at the corner of Third Street and Market Street (frequently confused with the Westin St Francis on Union Square) was previously the Argent Hotel and before that,  the ANA. Hotel staff told TravelSkills that for the time being, the hotel is still a “Starwood affiliated” hotel, so you can still earn Starwood points for stays. But the hotel’s new owners could change that in coming months. In perennially packed San Francisco, a hotel does not have to do much to attract business travelers, but we found a few new deals (like 15% off) on its website. 

CARS

National’s new Virtual Aisle. National Car Rental’s Emerald Club members who book a mid-sized car can bypass the counter and pick any vehicle in the rental lot’s Emerald Aisle at major airports. But we’ve been doing that for years. Here’s what’s new: Now National’s mobile app has a new “Virtual Aisle” feature fulfilling the same function for airports where National doesn’t have a dedicated Emerald Aisle. So as soon as you land, you use the app to pre-select a car from real-time inventory at 19 airport locations, including Tulsa, Richmond, Omaha, Knoxville, Norfolk, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Huntsville, Greensboro, Long Beach, Honolulu, Tucson, Reno, Baton Rouge, Phoenix (Mesa Gateway) and Savannah.

Look for this instead of the big furry stache (Photo: Lyft)

Look for this instead of the big furry stache (Photo: Lyft)

Lyft lifts the big ‘stache. What was ride-sharing service Lyft thinking when it decided to put a giant furry pink moustache on the front of all its cars? Apparently the powers that be at Lyft have come to their senses– sort of. They’ve decided to remove the Big Pink Fuzz, and instead will give their drivers a little banana-sized pink moustache that sits on the dashboard and glows softly at night. The move is part of a brand re-design brought on in part by Lyft’s new creative director Jesse McMillin, snatched from Virgin America last year. Read our 2011 profile of the very interesting and talented Jesse McMillin here.

At TravelSkills, we are big Uber fans, not only because of their generous $20 off your first ride referral program, but because the service has probably made the most consequential change in our travel habits than just about anything in recent years. But Uber’s reputation has taken a hit lately, so we’re wondering how many readers have considered  or used similar services like Lyft, Sidecar, or even gone back to taxis with apps like FlyWheel. Please leave your comments below.

Did you see Saturday’s TravelSkills Weekend Edition?

WeekendEdition

 

Best photo + United meals + Bid for Virgin upgrades + Delta downgrade + New Asian nonstop for SJC

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>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<
What are the two best all-around credit cards? Both currently offer 40,000 mile sign up bonuses!

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Virgin food award + Delta beer + New flights to Europe + 3 Miami hotels + First A350

VirginAmericasobanoodles

Virgin America soba noodles serving (Photo: Virgin America)

AIRLINES

Virgin takes top honors in food study. Charles Platkin, a nutritionist also known as the Diet Detective, has come out with his annual ratings of airline food in terms of its nutritional quality, and Virgin America has captured the top spot. “It’s great that Virgin America also provides ALL nutritional information, NOT just calories, and it’s on their website, too.  Virgin America also has on-demand eating – you simply select the food you want, when you want it right at your seat,” he wrote.  Platkin rated Delta’s in-flight food as most improved this year, thanks to a new partnership with healthy food company Luvo. Do you care about the nutritional value of in-flight food?  What’s the best meal you’ve had this year? Please leave your comments below. 

Delta broadens beer selections. The craze for regional craft beers is getting a boost from Delta, which said it is introducing seven varieties to the beverage carts on a number of its most popular business travel routes. The providers of the new brews range from New York’s Brooklyn Brewery to San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing.

Qatar Airways A350 (PHOTO: Qatar Airways)

Qatar Airways A350 (Photo: Qatar Airways)

Qatar debuts world’s newest airliner. Qatar Airways, the global launch customer for the new Airbus A350 XWB, said it will take delivery of the first aircraft on December 13, and plans to put it into commercial service between Doha and Frankfurt in January. Qatar, a member of the Oneworld global alliance, has expressed its confidence in the new Airbus model by ordering 80 of them. The A350 is a wide-body, mid-sized aircraft designed as Airbus’ answer to Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, to be used on medium to long-haul international routes. Like the Boeing plane, the A350 relies on composite materials and aluminum alloys to reduce its weight and increase fuel efficiency. The XWB stands for extra-wide body — its cabin is a few inches wider than the 787’s. TravelSkills got an advance look at the A350 a few months ago; here’s our report.

Oneworld expands benefits. Frequent flyers who have achieved Sapphire status in the Oneworld alliance (American, British Airways, et al.) are getting an additional baggage benefit. In economy class on member airlines using a weight-based system, they’ll get an extra 15 kg. over the usual economy class allowance; and on those using a piece system, they’ll get a second checked bag (when the allowance is one) of up to 23 kg. Allowances were also increased for first and business class customers. In addition, Sapphire and Emerald-level elites will get priority baggage delivery.

International routes: Etihad, United, Lufthansa, Azul. Etihad Airways last week kicked off new non-stop service between Abu Dhabi and Dallas/Ft. Worth, using a three-class 777-200LR; its initial three flights a week will increase to daily next April … United on Sunday (December 7) begins daily non-stops between Houston Bush Intercontinental and Santiago, Chile, with a 767-300 … Lufthansa last week resumed seasonal Miami-Munich service five times a week, with a three-class A330-300 … Brazilian carrier Azul — run by JetBlue founder David Neeleman — has started its first service to the U.S. with a daily Ft. Lauderdale-Sao Paulo flight; it will add Orlando-Sao Paulo on December 15.

Delta sets seasonal Europe service. Delta last week unveiled plans for its 2015 seasonal transatlantic schedule additions. March 29 is the launch date for New York JFK-Nice service, using a 767-400 and operating five times a week, increasing to daily on May 2. Also on May 2, Delta will kick off daily JFK-Shannon, Ireland non-stops with a 757-200. On June 2, the airline will begin daily JFK-Prague non-stops, using a 767-300, and daily Atlanta-Barcelona service with an A330-300.

What are the two best all-around credit cards? Both currently offer 40,000 mile sign up bonuses!
TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis is in Washington DC this week-- flew nonstop SFO-Washington National on Virgin America

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis is in Washington DC this week– flew nonstop SFO-Washington National on Virgin America

AIRPORTS

Clear Card in Vegas. CLEAR, the provider of biometric identity-based expedited access to airport security lanes, has finally added Las Vegas McCarran as its 10th location. The $179-a-year service is already available at SFO, SJC, DFW, DEN, IAH, HOU, SAT, MCO and HPN. Miami International MIA is next on the list for Clear although there is no firm start date. Do you use Clear? Is is still worth $179 per year? Leave comments below. 

Washington D.C.’s airports dilemma. The nation’s capital has expected Dulles International Airport to handle the region’s long-term traffic growth, but a report by the Washington Post notes that growth at IAD has stalled as more passengers and airlines are flocking to close-in Reagan National Airport. Part of the blame goes to Congress, which has opened up DCA to more long-haul flights, but part of it is due to Dulles’ remote location.

CARS

Uber, Lyft OKd in Denver. Ride-sharing services Lyft and Uber have both won approval from Denver International Airport officials to pick up and drop off passengers at the passenger terminals. Have you used Uber or Lyft for airport transportation? How would you describe the difference between the two?

HOTELS

marriott-edition-hotel

Miami Beach Edition Room (Photo: Marriott)

South Florida gets three new properties. The newest product of Marriott’s partnership with hotelier Ian Schrager has opened its doors — the Miami Beach EDITION. The 298-room EDITION — a remaking of the old Seville Hotel at 2901 Collins Avenue — was designed as an “urban resort” to appeal to business travelers who want to work and play in Miami Beach … Down the road at 4041 Collins Avenue, Thompson Hotels has cut the ribbon on the 380-room Thompson Miami Beach in an historic Art Deco building; it has 47,000 square feet of meeting space and a gourmet restaurant called Seagrape from local celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein … And in Palm Beach, Kimpton Hotels has added a new oceanfront property, taking over the former Omphoy Ocean Resort and rebranding it last week as the Tideline Ocean Resort & Spa after making a number of enhancements.

JW Marriott Houston Downtown room (PHOTO: Marriott)

JW Marriott Houston Downtown room (Photo: Marriott)

Openings: Houston, Brussels, Johannesburg. The century-old Samuel F. Carter building at 806 Main Street in downtown Houston has been remade into the newly opened, 328-room JW Marriott Houston Downtown. Each room has a 55-inch TV, Nespresso machine, touch-screen room controls, and an iPad for ordering hotel services … A landmark building in the heart of Brussels, close to the Grand Place and the Square Brussels Meeting Center, has been transformed into the new Hilton Brussels Grand Place, with 123 rooms and suites … The renowned Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, has undergone an 18-month, $56 million renovation and reopened as The Four Seasons Hotel-The Westcliff Johannesburg. All 117 rooms were renovated, and the hotel has new contemporary restaurants, lounges and a spa …In Australia, luxury operator Langham Hotels has finished a $25 million renovation of The Langham Sydney (formerly the Observatory Hotel).

In Case You Missed It…

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>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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What are the two best all-around credit cards? Both currently offer 40,000 mile sign up bonuses!

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Virgin’s next moves? + NYC + New Lufthansa seat + Eastern Airlines + More A380s

A brilliant fall day in NYC from the top floor of the Parker Meridien hotel (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Greetings from New York City on a beautiful fall day peering out from the Parker Meridien hotel (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

AIRLINES

Virgin shares soar in IPO. And the airline could, too. This is going to be really fun to watch. Virgin America shares hit the market Virgin Americaon Friday morning at $23 each, and took off to reach $30 by the end of the day. That makes Virgin worth about $1.3 billion. Now, with about $220 million in net proceeds, Virgin is going to add new planes, new routes and hopefully more frequencies in key business markets. CEO David Cush said that Virgin will add five new planes in 2015 and another five in 2016. He also said the SF-based carrier has a few other “tricks up its sleeve.” Talk of new flights to Hawaii has re-emerged. With Southwest taking AirTran’s business class seats out of the SFO-ATL market, I’d love to see two-class Virgin dive in. Where would YOU like to see Virgin America (see current destinations) expand? And would you be willing to give up your legacy carrier frequent flyer miles to try it? Please leave your comments below. 

Lufthansa’s premium economy starts this week. That new Premium Economy Class at Lufthansa is opening up nine days sooner than expected. The carrier said that starting November 22, the new section will be available on all of its 747-8 routes, including Frankfurt to Chicago, LAX and Washington Dulles. Besides the extra in-flight comforts, passengers will get twice the free checked bag allowance of regular economy, and for a 25 euro fee ($31), Premium Economy passengers can access the business class lounge before departure. Currently, United does not allow redemption of MileagePlus miles for Lufthansa (or any Star Alliance) premium economy. Lufthansa is offering a 15 percent discount on Premium Economy bookings until December 9. Take a look at Lufthansa’s new seat in this TravelSkills post: 20 different business class seats in one room

etihadTheResidenceFclass

One of three rooms in the Etihad First Class “Residence” onboard its A380s (Etihad)

$20,000 first class suites going fast. Would you pay $20,000 one way to fly in a private first class suite the size of some Manhattan apartments? Etihad Airways says these super-premium accommodations on its A380s — called The Residence — are selling out, in spite of the stratospheric price tag. Each one has a private shower, living area, bedroom — and the services of a butler. Meanwhile, other leading international carriers have upgraded their own front cabins to meet strong demand from global business moguls.

I captured this image of the Asiana B777 wreckage when my Delta flight from Atlanta landed the day after the crash (Chris McGinnis)

I captured this image of the Asiana B777 wreckage when my Delta flight from Atlanta landed  at SFO the day after the crash (Chris McGinnis)

Asiana SFO flights suspended. The South Korean government has ordered Asiana Airlines to halt its daily service to San Francisco from Seoul Incheon for 45 days as a penalty for the airline’s crash of a 777 during its landing at SFO in July 2013, in which three passengers died and scores were injured. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board blamed the crash on errors by one of the pilots, who was unfamiliar with all the automated systems on the 777. Asiana said it will appeal the suspension, which could delay implementation of the order.

Related: Korean Air Trip Reports- SFO-Seoul on a B777  &  Seoul-Atlanta on an A380 

International route news: Etihad Airways, which begins daily San Francisco-Abu Dhabi non-stops November 18, said its upcoming Dallas/Ft. Worth route, beginning with three flights a week on December 3, will increase to daily on April 16; Etihad is a code-share partner with American …

>Emirates will put a fourth daily flight, using an A380, onto its Dubai-New York JFK route on March 8, timed to maximize connections with partner JetBlue. The carrier also said it intends to put the A380 super-jumbo onto more U.S. routes; it introduced the plane on its DFW route last month, and will do the same in December with San Francisco and Houston. Emirates will have 68 A380s in operation by the end of 2015 compared with 55 today according to Bloomberg …

>British Airways will replace the 777 on its Denver-London route with a four-class 747 starting in March (including its new 14-suite first class design) …

>El Al will introduce Boston-Tel Aviv service three times a week starting in June 2015 …

>On May 1, Aer Lingus will begin new seasonal service from Washington Dulles to Dublin four times a week …

>Lufthansa will add Tampa to its route network in September 2015, using an A340-300 for flights to Frankfurt.

Popular: 20+ TravelSkills readers have signed up for these oddball credit card offers that reap big rewards. Have you? 

The new Eastern Airlines has painted its first jet. Brings back memories, no?

The new Eastern Airlines has painted its first jet, a 737-800. Brings back memories, no?

Something old, something new: PEOPLExpress, Eastern. The new incarnation of PEOPLExpress Airlines appears to be in trouble: Media reports indicate officials at Virginia’s Newport News/Williamsburg Airport are trying to evict the carrier from its home base, citing $100,000 in unpaid bills … The old Eastern Airlines name is also being revived in Miami. The “new” Eastern has started recruiting flight attendants, although it doesn’t yet have FAA certification. The company said it plans to operate 737-800s, but will initially serve only as a charter airline.

United’s holiday shopper lounges. Chase and United Airlines will soon open special VIP lounges for holiday shoppers in San Francisco and New Jersey. Available to Chase United cardholders, they’ll offer gift wrapping, refreshments, TVs, Wi-Fi and more, with locations at the Westfield San Francisco Centre (November 24-December 24) and The Mall at Short Hills (November 22-December 24).

Lake Tahoe at sunset (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Lake Tahoe at sunset (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Love Lake Tahoe? Then come chat about it! TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis will be talking about his favorite place to get away from it all MONDAY at 3 pm ET. Take a cool virtual tour here and come chat with us and FlipKey today! On Twitter, look for the #TakeMeThereTahoe hashtag at 3 pm ET, Noon PT today!

In Case You Missed It…

Stay tuned! Part 2 of this weekly “Catch Up” will post tomorrow morning…

 

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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How often do planes get washed?

A shiny new British Airways A380. Clean as a whistle! (Photo: British Airways)

A shiny new British Airways A380. BA says that it “takes a lot of muscle” to keep planes clean (Photo: British Airways)

Like a shiny, freshly washed and waxed car, a shiny, clean plane is a thing of beauty. Right?

But have you ever excitedly peered out at the plane you’re about to board and thought, “Hmm, that big bird needs a bath!”

As much as what’s inside the plane is what counts (especially in these days of the ebola scare), that first impression of the outside of the aircraft may be even more important. If it’s dull and grimy on the outside, you might raise an eyebrow and wonder what you’ll see inside.

So we asked several airlines about how they keep their planes sparkling clean — or at least try to.

Today’s news: Virgin Galactic Spacecraft Crashes: See our up close photos & videos when it visited the Bay Area

“We wash the exterior of our aircraft every fifty days, and that schedule is the same regardless of fleet type,” United Airlines’ Jennifer Dohm tells TravelSkills. “The locations for washing are determined by where the aircraft are laying over at an airport for at least eight hours. As a global airline, United’s wash locations are found throughout the world at fourteen airports including Houston, Newark, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo.”

All United aircraft are washed by hand (Photo: United Airlines)

All United aircraft are washed by hand using extension poles (Photo: United Airlines)

“The washing schedule is the same year round; it doesn’t vary by season,” Dohm notes, although “in the winter, we add three additional locations in Florida. A widebody aircraft typically takes about five hours to wash with a crew of three to five people and it’s all done by hand using an extension pole.”

Across the Atlantic, Richard Goodfellow from British Airways explains that the frequency its planes are washed “depends on the aircraft type, but typically every six to eight weeks. We try to wash the short-haul ones more often as they do more take-offs and landings each day than a long-haul jet.”

British Airways mostly washes its aircraft at the airline’s London Heathrow and Gatwick hubs, using “specialist cleaning detergent, high lifts, aircraft brushes and quite a bit of muscle!” Each aircraft takes up to eight hours to wash.

Does the schedule differ at various times of year, we asked. “Not particularly,” Goodfellow said, but noted that, “Obviously it is not practical to wash aircraft in certain poor weather conditions.”

Video: Watch an Air France A380 get a special kind of bath

Meanwhile, James Boyd at Singapore Airlines tells us, “Our aircraft are washed monthly. This does not include additional washes required if dirty spots are found on the aircraft. Our aircraft are washed at designated bays at Changi Airport in Singapore. It typically ranges from two to five hours, depending on the general condition of the aircraft and the services required.”

Singapore uses “an aircraft cleaning robotic system, scissor lifts, aerial lifts and water tankers,” and its schedule doesn’t differ between its aircraft types (although SQ operates only widebody aircraft so its planes are all in the ‘large’ category) or dependent on the time of year.

Bonus: How to get 50,000 Marriott Rewards points

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet-- it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet– it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Interestingly, no airline would tell us how much it costs to wash an aircraft, citing commercial sensitivity. Nor would any carrier comment on whether they intend to wash their planes more or less frequently than other airlines.

So it seems that “the world’s cleanest airline” isn’t (yet) part of the advertising we’ll see at the airport.

But which airline has the dirtiest planes? Sound off below or, better yet, send your super clean or super filthy aircraft pictures to us via email, and we’ll post them here. 

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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Marriott jams wi-fi + Hilton-AA bond + New InterConti LA + Lufthansa moves at LHR

This is part 1 of our weekend catch-up! Part 2 arrives tomorrow…

Marriott's big, bright, glass-top Gaylord Opryland hotel blocked guest wi-fi (Photo: Marriott)

Marriott’s big, bright, glass-top Gaylord Opryland hotel blocked guest wi-fi (Photo: Marriott)

Marriott caught blocking guests’ wi-fi. The Federal Communications Commission has slapped Marriott with a $600,000 fine for allegedly blocking Wi-Fi access for guests with personal wi-fi hotspots who were attending meetings at the chain’s Opryland Hotel in Nashville last year. The blocked access reportedly affected meeting rooms and ballrooms, but not guest rooms. Why would the hotel do that? Because conference organizers would then have to pay $250 to $1,000 per access point to use the hotel’s wi-fi system. Marriott says it was just trying to protect guests from “rogue wireless hotspots.” We’d love to hear your thoughts about this… please leave them below….

Hilton, AA offer targeted promotion to loyalists. Hilton’s HHonors program is tightening its bond with American’s AAdvantage plan by offering AA Platinum status until January 31, 2015, to selected members who register by October 15. The targeted promotion will let participants extend that Platinum status for another year, and pick up 20,000 HHonors points, if they accumulate 9,000 elite-qualifying AAdvantage miles by January 31.

Here's a mock up of Korean Air's new Wilshire Grand Center in downtown LA

Here’s a mock up of the tippy top of Korean Air’s new Wilshire Grand Center in downtown LA

New InterContinental coming to L.A. The $1.1 billion, 73-floor Wilshire Grand Center in downtown Los Angeles will include a 900-room InterContinental Hotel from the 31st to 73rd floors. Owned by Korean Air and its parent company, the building will be the tallest in the western U.S. when it opens in 2017.

Lufthansa moves at Heathrow. Star Alliance member Lufthansa has joined up with its partner carriers at London Heathrow, moving its operations there last week into the new Terminal 2. Star members United, Air Canada, ANA and Air China moved to T2 when it opened in June and all Star Alliance partners at LHR will be in T2 by the end of October. Lufthansa said its facilities at LHR T2 include “its largest lounge outside Germany” — a Senator and Business Lounge that can accommodate up to 350 travelers in 1,600 square meters. The new London lounge will also welcome Star Alliance Gold Customers as well as those traveling in First or Business Class on any Star Alliance member carrier from Heathrow. 

Related: TravelSkills sneak peek at United’s new first & business class lounges at Heathrow T2

The dining room at British Airway's swish new lounge at Dulles (Photo: British Airways)

The dining room at British Airway’s swish new lounge at Dulles (Photo: British Airways)

BA enhances IAD service. British Airways has unveiled a new and improved business and first class lounge at Washington Dulles. The 10,000 square foot facility can accommodate up to 200 premium travelers, offering free alcoholic beverages, work areas, showers, a VIP area and dining. The opening of the new lounge was timed to coincide with BA’s introduction of the Airbus A380 on its London Heathrow-Washington Dulles route last week.

Please participate in this week’s poll on how fearful you are about ebola:

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In Case You Missed It…

>Are you ready for BYOD (bring your own device) in-flight entertainment?

>Tracking the ebola risk for air travelers. (please take our fear poll!)

>Chris explains what’s new at Hawaiian Airlines.

>Direct flight? Non-stop? What’s the difference

>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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Another British Airways A380 for the US

On BA's A380, business class is an upstairs-downstairs affair (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On BA’s A380, business class is an upstairs-downstairs affair (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

British Airways announced today that it will deploy a brand-new Airbus A380 double-decker between San Francisco International and London Heathrow on March 29.

This will be BA’s third US destination to get the big bird, after Los Angeles and Washington, DC.

BA’s Sean Doyle, EVP, Americas, told TravelSkills that the decision to put the A380 on the SFO run was an easy one, “This helps bring together the burgeoning innovation economies in the Bay Area and London. It’s a logical fit and a sophisticated product for a sophisticated market,” he told us, citing the aircraft’s advanced inflight entertainment system, fuel efficiency and smooth, quiet ride.

The A380’s two decks carry a whopping 469 passengers, with 14 suites in first, 97  seats in business, 55 in premium economy and 303 in economy. (See BA’s A380 page)

What makes BA’s A380 unique is that all premium seats are at the front of the plane: first class is downstairs (“main deck”) in the nose, and business class is both upstairs and downstairs. Economy sections are in the rear half of the plane. Most other airlines with A380s put all business or first class seats upstairs only.

Related: Emirates to bring its big A380 to San Francisco & Houston | Trip Report: LAX-London on a BA A380

Premium economy onboard BA's new Airbus A380 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Economy class on BA’s new Airbus A380 is configured 3-4-3 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

British Airways has two daily flights between SFO and London. Starting in April 2015 (no firm date announced yet), BA will operate the A380 on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (#286). On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, BA will operate its Boeing 747-400. BA will continue to use a 747 for its second daily flight from SFO (#284).

BA’s Doyle told TravelSkills that the A380 and 747 will share the route “for the moment” but could not elaborate on longer term aircraft deployments in the SFO-LHR market. (Click here for news about a big refurb for BA’s 747s)

Please join the 50,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!
British Airways posh first class suites onboard its new Airbus A380 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

British Airways nice, big first class suites onboard its new Airbus A380 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fares on both the A380 and the 747 will be the same, but Doyle expects there to be more demand for the newer aircraft. Plus, of BA’s two daily flights, the A380 is the later one in both directions, allowing more time in either San Francisco or London.

When BA launched A380 service from Los Angeles on what it calls the “Red Carpet Route” to London last fall, TravelSkills was there. Here’s our trip report from that fun ride!

Have you flown on an A380 yet? What did you think? Will you give this new flight a try instead of competitors like United or Virgin Atlantic? Please leave your comments below. 

–Chris McGinnis

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CLEAR opens security fast lane at SF Giants’ AT&T Park

United’s newest jet + More Delta to UK + New Asian carrier at SFO + Grand plans for ATL & MEX airports

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Biz Trip: Copenhagen

Virgin Atlantic adds new ATL, SFO & DTW flights

Should airlines waive change fees?

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United streams entertainment + ATL short changed by merger? + Secret spaces on new jets + PreCheck milestone

6 end-of-summer travel deals. Act fast

Awesome Knee Defender animation VIDEO

Are you in the market for a new credit card? Looking for a fat points or mileage bonus to sweeten your balance? Then check out our BEST CREDIT CARDS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS and scoop up the deals!

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British Airways to spruce up its 747s

A British Airways 747 prepares for takeoff at San Francisco International (Photo: Angelo Angelo - Flickr)

A British Airways 747 prepares for takeoff at San Francisco International (Photo: Angelo Angelo – Flickr)

Good news for passengers used to flying British Airways’ Boeing 747 jets from San Francisco, New York and elsewhere. BA is helping the “Queen of the Skies” age gracefully with plans to outfit eighteen 747-400s with new entertainment throughout, and upgrade seats in the economy and premium economy cabins.

BA admits these “much-loved” planes, which “have a special place in the heart of many of our customers” need sprucing up to compare favorably with the draw of younger birds, such as its big new A380s, 787 Dreamliners, or its shiny new 777s like the ones recently put into service on the Atlanta-Heathrow run.

The big news for passengers, especially those whose travel budgets don’t stretch to the airline’s business class cabin, is an upgrade to the entertainment and power systems on board. BA’s “next-generation” entertainment system will offer  twice as much content and a brand new tablet-style interface. BA’s introduced its unusual forward-and-rear-facing business class seats in 2000, but the current version dates to 2006.

Most of BA’s 747s have seen refurbs of the first class section in recent years, and the airline isn’t currently selling the “old” First cabin as First Class. Instead, lucky high-status business class flyers will get to sit in what used to be first class, though they’ll see the business class service. British Airways confirmed to TravelSkills that the very small number of 747s that still carry the “old” first cabin will be withdrawn from service next year.

Related: British Airways adds a new A380 in the US

British Airway's inflight entertainment getting an upgrade in coach (Photo: John Walton)

British Airway’s inflight entertainment getting an upgrade in coach (Photo: John Walton)

British Airways has been concentrating on its inflight entertainment recently, with the addition of content from HBO and the Discovery Channel, with new programming like a “paws and relax” section for the pet lovers, or a video showing the relaxing monotony of the sights you’d see on a Norwegian train journey.

Also in the cards: a full universal (UK, US, EU, etc) power outlet in premium economy, and a USB socket in economy. That’s a big step up from the annoying (and aged) EmPower port in premium economy and a big fat nothing down the back.

As for the seats, unfortunately there’s no upgrade planned to bring the seats up to the standard set in BA’s newer A380 or 777-300ER planes — see here— although the airline will try to make them look similar.

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BA's premium economy seats (British Airways)

BA’s premium economy seats (British Airways)

They’ll still be the same seats, but “new seat foams will be installed in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus to increase customer comfort and new style seat covers fitted to improve appearance and match those on the A380 and 787,” BA says.

Related: Boeing 747s slowly disappearing from US

The refurb is going to take a while: British Airways says 18 refits won’t begin until August 2015, and will be completed a year later, in August 2016. Unfortunately, since the seats are a like-for-like refit, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to tell if you’ll have a refurbished bird when booking.

The airline has nearly 50 747s still in use, though as more Airbus A380, Boeing 787 and particularly Airbus A350 aircraft reach the fleet the older planes (which date back as far as 1989) will be retired. According to Flightglobal, BA will speed up the retirement of older planes as larger 787-9 planes and the bigger A350s start arriving from 2017.

In the meantime, hope is not lost for a more modern experience on British Airways, which has finished taking delivery of a fleet of 12 Boeing 777-300ER planes with new seats and all the mod cons. These new planes started flying on BA’s Atlanta flights just this month. And of course, there’s BA’s new A380s from LAX, soon from Washington, Dulles, and from San Francisco next April.

-John Walton

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Check out these popular recent TravelSkills posts:

CLEAR opens security fast lane at SF Giants’ AT&T Park

United’s newest jet + More Delta to UK + New Asian carrier at SFO + Grand plans for ATL & MEX airports

Nail Painting onboard: Illegal or just rude? 

Biz Trip: Copenhagen

Virgin Atlantic adds new ATL, SFO & DTW flights

Should airlines waive change fees?

Lanai: A billionaire’s work in progress

United streams entertainment + ATL short changed by merger? + Secret spaces on new jets + PreCheck milestone

6 end-of-summer travel deals. Act fast

Awesome Knee Defender animation VIDEO

Are you in the market for a new credit card? Looking for a fat points or mileage bonus to sweeten your balance? Then check out our BEST CREDIT CARDS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS and scoop up the deals!

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What’s your favorite flight number?

Boarding British Airways Concorde Flight #2 from New York to London back in the day! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Boarding British Airways Concorde Flight #2 from New York to London back in the day! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Have you ever boarded a plane with a flight number that made you pause and think, “Hmm, I wonder if they planned it that way?”

Turns out that there are many iconic or unusual flight numbers based on airline history, superstition, luck– or plain old cleverness. For example, United’s new flight #500 from Indianapolis to San Francisco pays homage to the Indy 500.

I’ve spent the last week on the horn with airlines trying to come up with the most clever or iconic… here’s what I was able to snag… I’m sure that there are others, so please share your finds in the comments!

First off, let’s look at JetBlue, which seems to be the most creative when it comes to flight numbers. JetBlue #1600 flies from Washington National to Boston Logan (1600 Pennsylvania Ave being the President’s address). The very patriotic JetBlue #1776 flies from Philadelphia PHL to Boston Logan. (US Airways assigns #1776 to its flight from Boston to Philly). JetBlue #66 flies Albuquerque to New York JFK honoring the famous roadway Route 66 below.  Jetblue flight #212 (also the area code for New York City) flies LAS-JFK.

Singapore Air SQ1 flies SFO to Singapore via Hong Kong (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Air SQ1 flies SFO to Singapore via Hong Kong (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Flight #1 – There are lots of Flight #1s out there, and they usually signify a key route of the airline…usually historic, or a flight the airline is particularly proud of. For example, British Airways flight #1 flies from London’s close in City (LCY) Airport to New York-JFK and BA #2 flies from New York to London. Those flight numbers used to apply to British Airway’s iconic Concorde flights between London Heathrow and New York Kennedy Airports, but were reassigned when BA launched its classy all-business class A318 flights between these financial capitals.

Other #1s:

  • Delta #1: New York JFK – London Heathrow
  • American #1: New York JFK – Los Angeles LAX
  • Singapore Airlines #1: San Francisco > Hong Kong > Singapore
  • Air France #1: New York JFK – Paris Charles de Gaulle
  • Air New Zealand #1: London Heathrow > Los Angeles > Auckland
  • JetBlue #1: New York JFK – Ft Lauderdale (Its first ever route)
  • Japan Air Lines #1: San Francisco SFO – Tokyo Haneda HND
  • Hawaiian Air #1: Los Angeles LAX – Honolulu HNL
  • Emirates #1: Dubai DXB – London Heathrow LHR
  • Virgin America #1: San Francisco SFO – Washington National DCA
  • Virgin Atlantic #001: London Heathrow – Newark
Flights to Las Vegas frequently get lucky numbers (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Flights to Las Vegas frequently get lucky numbers (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Lucky flight numbers – Both 7 and 8 are considered lucky numbers… 7 is usually associated with flights to Las Vegas, while 8 is applied to many Asia-bound flights.

Appealing to those betting on the lucky 7s are Virgin America’s inaugural flight #777 which flew from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and JetBlue #777 which is flying from Boston to Las Vegas. Spirit Airways flight 777 flies from Ft Lauderdale to Vegas. AirTran #777 flights from Baltimore to Las Vegas.

In a more James Bond-ish vein, Virgin Atlantic’s #007 flies from London to Los Angeles.

The number 8 is considered lucky in many Asian cultures, so it’s frequently applied to key flights to that region. For example, United’s flight #888 flies from San Francisco to Beijing. British Airways flight #8 is on London-Chengdu. KLM’s flight #888 is on Amsterdam-Hong Kong. Hawaiian’s #8 flies from Honolulu to Las Vegas. Cathay Pacific’s #888 flies Hong Kong > Vancouver > New York JFK.

On the flip side of lucky, there are not a lot of Flight #13s out there… but I did find XL Airways #13 on SFO-Paris and American #13 from Chicago ORD to Orange County. How would you feel about boarding a flight #13?

What other unusual or iconic flight numbers did I miss? Please share your favorites below!

–Chris McGinnis

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Tip: What exactly is “high tea?”

Afternoon tea at the Palm Court in London's elegant Langham Hotel is a sight to behold! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Afternoon tea at the Palm Court in London’s elegant Langham Hotel is a sight to behold! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Next time you are traveling in the UK or elsewhere in the current or former British Empire and a friend or colleague invites you “to tea” will you know what he or she means?

“Tea” can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country’s customs and its history of drinking tea.

“Afternoon tea” is likely the meal most Americans think of when they hear the term. Afternoon tea is taken between 4 and 6pm and involves tea, scones, clotted cream, finger sandwiches, stacked plates, sweets (see photo) and good manners. It’s the type of tea you’ve likely seen in grand London hotels like the Langham or The Ritz. It’s also what you get on an afternoon flight back from the UK on British Airways.

Important: Afternoon tea is NOT “high tea.” High tea, or just “tea” is the typical hot, heavier evening meal served between 6-8 pm. (What most Americans think of as dinner or supper.) Americans tend to think of high tea as the fancy one…but it is not.

Of course, usage varies by class and location, so if confused by an invitation “to tea,” just be sure to clarify.

Here’s some more info on afternoon tea etiquette from The Langham Hotel’s Palm Court.

What do you think of the tradition of afternoon tea? Is it an appropriate venue for business discussion? Who does it best? 

—Chris McGinnis

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