dubai Archives - TravelSkills

Routes: United, JetBlue, AA, Emirates, Air China, El Al, LOT Polish

May 13, 2017

United will add service to Buenos Aires from Newark. (Image: Buenos Aires Tourism)

In international route news, United is adding a South American route from Newark; JetBlue expands Mexico City service and strengthens ties with Icelandair; American will sell premium economy seats from Chicago to Paris; Emirates trims its JFK schedule; Air China changes its mind about a new LAX route; El Al comes to Florida; and LOT adds Newark service.

United Airlines said it will begin new year-round daily service on October 28 between its Newark hub and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The route will use a 767-300 with business class, Economy Plus and regular economy seating. And both northbound and southbound flights will be red-eyes, with a 9:50 p.m. EWR departure and a 9 p.m. Buenos Aires departure time. United also said it will increase service between Newark and Bogota, Colombia from one flight a day to two for the summer season, June 8-August 14.

JetBlue will increase capacity between Florida and Mexico City effective September 6, boosting its schedules from one flight a day to two from both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, offering early morning and midday southbound departures on both routes. Meanwhile, JetBlue has also enhanced its partnership with Icelandair to include frequent flyer reciprocity. Members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue program can now earn points on Icelandair flights, and vice-versa for Icelandair Saga Club members flying on JetBlue.

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

American Airlines is reportedly planning to put a 787-9 equipped with its new premium economy cabin into service this summer between Chicago O’Hare and Paris. It’s currently offered only on a few routes out of Dallas/Ft. Worth. But the ORD-Paris debut of the new cabin is only for a short period: July 5 to August 5. American normally uses a 787-8 on the route.

A few weeks ago, Emirates said it was cutting frequencies on its routes from Dubai to five U.S. destinations (Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Seattle, Los Angeles and Boston), partly because the U.S. ban on in-flight electronic devices aboard inbound flights was taking a big toll on bookings. And now it is adding New York JFK to that list. According to Routesonline.com, Emirates will trim its Dubai-JFK non-stop schedule from three flights a day to two effective June 4 through at least the end of June. The carrier also offers one-stop JFK-Dubai service via Milan.

Air China apparently never started taking reservations on the new Los Angeles-Shenzen service that it planned to start flying July 6, and it’s a good thing – because the carrier has now pulled the route from its schedule, Routesonline.com said. Air China had planned to operate the service three times a week with a 787-9.

El Al will start Tel Aviv service from Miami this fall. (Image: Israel Ministry of Tourism)

Miami will go back onto El Al’s route map in November, when it plans to start flying MIA-Tel Aviv three times a week. The Israeli carrier discontinued Miami service in 2008. Its other U.S. gateways include Boston, New York JFK, Newark and Los Angeles.

The newest U.S. route for LOT Polish Airlines is Newark-Warsaw, which it recently started flying four times a week with a two-class 767-300. It will upgrade the route to a three-class 787 in August, and boost frequencies to five a week.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 185,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Routes: Norwegian, WOW, Emirates, United, Air China + more

March 13, 2017

A Boeing 737 MAX in Norwegian livery. (Image: Boeing)

In international route developments, Norwegian adds more flights from the east coast to Europe; WOW Air increases frequencies to the west coast; Emirates kicks off controversial new U.S. route; United expands code-sharing with Asiana; Air China adds a Los Angeles route; Southwest begins a new international service from Denver; and Avianca increases its U.S. schedule.

Norwegian Air hasn’t even started its new 737 MAX low-fare service from the U.S. east coast yet and already it is adding more routes. In addition to those already scheduled to Ireland and Scotland (with fares starting at $65 one way), Norwegian also plans to add twice-weekly flights to Bergen, Norway, from both Providence., R.I. and from Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. The airline has also filed its winter schedules for Paris Charles de Gaulle, where it will switch from 787-8s to 787-9s starting October 29. Norwegian’s Paris schedule calls for six flights a week from New York JFK (down from daily in the summer), four a week from Los Angeles, two from Ft. Lauderdale and one from Orlando.

Also increasing its U.S. service is low-fare rival WOW Air, which offers connecting flights to Europe through its Reykjavik hub. WOW told Air Transport World that its service to Reykjavik from San Francisco and Los Angeles will be increased to daily frequencies with its summer 2017 schedule. The carrier has been running five flights a week from San Francisco and four from LAX. WOW is installing premium seating in its A330-300s, which it uses for the west coast routes.

Emirates is using a 777-300ER on its new Dubai-Athens-Newark route. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates this week launched its promised new service from Newark to Athens, continuing to Dubai, and was greeted at Newark Airport with a protest staged by 200 United Airlines employees. United, Delta and American are adamantly opposed to U.S. route expansion by the Middle East Big Three airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar – and are conducting an intensive lobbying effort with the Trump Administration to block new service for those carriers. The U.S. airlines allege that their Mideast rivals are subsidized by their governments, thus challenging Trump’s pledge to put American companies first in the face of foreign competition.

United Airlines will expand its code-sharing agreement with Star Alliance partner Asiana Airlines on March 17, when United’s code will go onto Asiana’s daily Chicago O’Hare-Seoul Incheon flights. At the same time, Asiana will put its code onto 16 domestic United routes out of ORD.

Air China will use a 787 on new LAX-Shenzen service. (Image: Air China)

Got business in Shenzen, China? Air China has filed a schedule for new service to Shenzen from Los Angeles International, due to begin July 6. Air China – a Star Alliance member — will fly the route three days a week, using a 787-9 Dreamliner. Speaking of Shenzen, China’s Xiamen Airlines has trimmed back its Seattle-Shenzen-Xiamen 787-8 service from three flights a week to two, a seasonal reduction continuing through May 22.

Two minor players in the foundering US-Cuba market, Silver Airways and Frontier, have announced they are pulling out completely later this spring. Other carriers have cut back on flights as the market finds its legs…and waits to see what the Trump administration has in store.

Southwest Airlines has started its newest international route: The carrier has started flying from Denver International to Belize City, Belize. It’s currently operating as Saturday-only service, but Southwest will boost it to Saturday and Sunday flights for the summer, June 4 to August 14.

Avianca’s Los Angeles-Bogota route, which has been operating four times a week, will increase to daily frequency starting March 26. The carrier uses a two-class 787 on the route. Meanwhile, the Colombian carrier also plans a new U.S. route. It will begin Bogota-Boston service on June 2, operating four flights a week with an A319.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 200,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Routes: Emirates nonstop NYC to Athens, JAL, Southwest, Delta, Iberia, Qatar

January 24, 2017

Emirates will begin the only year-round non-stops between the U.S. and Athens. (Image: Jim Glab)

In international route news, Emirates will introduce a new option between the U.S. and Europe; Japan Airlines adds a Haneda flight from New York; Southwest will serve an international market from San Diego; Delta drops a Taiwan route but adds new code-shares to Southeast Asia; Iberia starts selling a new premium economy class; and Qatar Airways sets a date for new Las Vegas flights.

Dubai-based Emirates is moving into a new U.S.-Europe market on March 12, when it plans to begin year-round daily service between Newark Liberty International and Athens; the flight continues to Dubai. The airline already flies between New York JFK and Dubai four times a day. Plus it flies nonstop between JFK and Milan. Emirates noted that there has been no year-round, non-stop service between the U.S. and Greece since 2012 (US carriers offer summer seasonal service only). Emirates fares for March-April flights start at $600 roundtrip. The carrier will serve the route with a 777-300ER that offers first class, business class and economy seating. Predictably, Delta, United and American said the announcement shows that Emirates is “flagrantly violating” the Open Skies agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the U.S., and said they will call on President Trump to block Emirates from the route. Will he? This should be interesting…

Japan Airlines will begin service between New York JFK and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

Japan Airlines, which already flies twice a day between Tokyo Narita and New York JFK, said it will add a new daily non-stop between JFK and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport beginning April 1. The company said the new service will give customers more connecting options to domestic flights in Japan via Haneda. The new route will use a coveted daytime international departure slot at Haneda. JAL also said it will change aircraft on its evening departure from Narita to JFK, switching from a 787-8 to a larger, four-class 777-300ER.

Southwest Airlines said it will begin its first international service from San Diego on April 25, when it launches new service to San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos. Through January 26, Southwest is offering introductory fares on the new route starting at $104 one-way. Flights from Oakland to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta begin in February.

Delta’s route from Seattle to Tokyo Narita to Taiwan will be shortened after May 24 when the carrier reportedly plans to drop the Narita-Taiwan segment. Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that Delta will soon – perhaps as soon as this week – start to put its DL code onto partner KLM’s fights from Amsterdam to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Iberia’s new Premium Economy seating. (Image: Iberia)

Iberia, a subsidiary of British Airways’ International Airlines Group and a member of the BA-American Airlines joint venture, announced the opening of reservations for its new long-haul Premium Economy seating class. The company said the new section is going into 21 of its aircraft, including eight A330-300s and 13 A340-600s; it will also be in A350-900s to be delivered after 2018. Premium Economy will be available for travel starting in May 2017 on Iberia’s routes to Madrid from New York and Chicago, starting in August for Miami-Madrid flights, and beginning in September for Boston-Madrid service. For bookings made before January 31, roundtrip fares start at $1,299. The new seating has increased recline, 37-inch pitch, greater seat width (19 inches) than regular economy, adjustable head and foot rests, 12-inch HD video screens (vs. 9 inches in economy), international Wi-Fi, a free drink, upgraded meal service, amenities kit, and allowance for two checked bags.

Qatar Airways has set January 8, 2018 as the launch date for its planned new service between Las Vegas and Doha, Qatar. Earlier, the airline has said it would start flying to Las Vegas in 2017, although it didn’t give a specific date. Qatar Airways plans to fly the Las Vegas route four times a week, using a 777-200LR. Las Vegas will the airline’s 11^th U.S. gateway.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you!

Don’t miss out! Join the 150,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Routes: Airberlin to SFO, LAX; Emirates, Lufthansa, Etihad, Southwest

October 14, 2016

Airberlin will add Berlin service from San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Image: Airberlin)

In international route news, Airberlin plans a big increase in U.S. service for 2017, including new flights from Berlin to San Francisco and Los Angeles; Emirates adds another U.S. gateway starting in December; Lufthansa will add more capacity out of Denver; Etihad will more than double frequencies out of Dallas/Ft. Worth; and Southwest sets the starting date for its new Havana service.

Airberlin, which started new routes this year from Dusseldorf to San Francisco and Boston, will increase frequencies in those markets for 2017 and will also add more new U.S. routes including San Francisco-Berlin, Los Angeles-Berlin and Orlando-Dusseldorf. The company said its current U.S. operation will have up to 50 percent more flights when its 2017 summer schedule kicks in during May.

Among the changes: San Francisco-Dusseldorf service will increase from the current five weekly flights to daily service, and so will the current four flights a week between Boston and Dusseldorf. New service to Berlin’s Tegel Airport will include four weekly flights from SFO and three a week from Los Angeles. The new Florida route will bring five flights a week between Orlando and Dusseldorf; the carrier already flies to Miami and Ft. Myers. Airberlin said it is getting three more A330-200s to handle its increased U.S. schedules.

Emirates will use a 777 on its new Ft. Lauderdale route. (Image: Emirates)

Emirates has announced a December 15 start for service to its 11^th U.S. destination. The carrier will begin daily flights from Ft. Lauderdale to its Dubai base using a three-class 777-200LR. Emirates already flies to Orlando, a route it launched last year. The new Ft. Lauderdale service will benefit from Emirates’ code-share partnership with JetBlue, which has a hub at that Florida airport.

Lufthansa sees room for growth on its Denver-Munich route, which began earlier this year, so the carrier said it will boost frequencies on March 26 from the current five flights a week to daily departures, using a 255-seat A330-300. “Preliminary data show that for the first summer of service, the number of people traveling between Denver and Munich has increased by nearly 50 percent,” a Denver Airport spokesperson said, adding that the top connecting markets for Denver-Munich passengers include Budapest, Prague, Krakow and Kiev. Lufthansa also flies from Denver to Frankfurt.

Etihad will boost frequencies out of Dallas/Ft. Worth (Photo: Etihad)

Finding more traffic than it initially expected on its almost two-year-old route between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways plans to boost service from the current three flights a week to seven effective February 2. The carrier will continue to use a 777-200LR on the route. Etihad offers connections to 100 destinations from its Abu Dhabi hub, and also offers American travelers pre-screening by U.S. Customs and Border protection at that airport.

Southwest is the latest U.S. carrier to announce a starting date for its new rights to serve Havana, Cuba. The company said that on December 12, subject to Cuban government approval, it will begin flying to Havana from both Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa. (Southwest also set a November 13 inaugural date for flights from Ft. Lauderdale to the Cuban beach resort of Varadero.) The carrier is offering introductory Havana fares starting at $59 each way for purchase through November 20. Southwest set up a web page at www.Southwest.com/Cuba with details of the requirements for travel to Cuba and its flight schedules.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

In the market for a new credit card?

Scroll up to our “Credit Card Deals” tab at the top to shop around! It helps us help you!

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 125,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Routes: LAX, SFO, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, New York, Atlanta + more

June 16, 2016

SFO’s latest arrival from the exotic South Seas! (Photo: Peter Biaggo/SFO)

In international route news, American next week adds new transpacific flights from Los Angeles; Swiss brings its fancy new 777 to the Los Angeles-Zurich route, while Emirates doubles down on LAX service with a big sports sponsorship; San Francisco gets a new route to the South Pacific; Germany’s Condor Airlines unveils some new U.S. routes, including Seattle and San Diego; TAP Air Portugal adds two U.S. gateways with upgraded aircraft; Delta trims service to a South American city from Atlanta; and two U.S. airlines start selling tickets for scheduled service to Cuba.

American Airlines next week will kick off its newest transpacific route: On June 23 it will start flying a 787-8 Dreamliner between Los Angeles International and Auckland, New Zealand as part of its growing joint venture partnership with Qantas, ending Air New Zealand’s non-stop monopoly on that route. The aircraft’s business class offers personal suites with 77-inch lie-flat seat-beds, direct aisle access for every seat, and a walk-up bar stocked with drinks and snacks. The economy cabin offers a Main Cabin Extra seating option with five extra inches of legroom, and both cabins have Wi-Fi and AC/USB ports at every seat.

Also at Los Angeles International, Swiss has started flying the LAX-Zurich route with its new 777-300ERs, the flagships of its international long-haul fleet. The aircraft boasts redesigned and upgraded interiors with first, business and economy class. Take a look here at some photos of the plane that we ran last year when the carrier introduced them. Swiss had planned to start flying the 777-300ER to San Francisco in August, but as we reported last month, that introduction has been postponed until February 2017.

Emirates flight attendants visited Dodger Stadium to promote the airline’s expanded LAX service. (Image: Emirates)

Meanwhile, Emirates is due to lay on a second daily A380 flight starting July 1 between Los Angeles and Dubai, and it is counting on a new sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to draw attention to the airline in that big market. The airline even brought some of its flight attendants onto the field during a recent game at Dodger Stadium to promote the tie-in.

At San Francisco International, Fiji Airways this week kicked off seasonal service to Nadi, Fiji, using a two-class A330 for the 10-hour flight. It will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, through mid-August, then will resume from mid-December through mid-January.

Germany’s Condor Airlines, a leisure-oriented carrier that belongs to the Thomas Cook Group, plans to add some U.S. routes in 2017, including the only non-stops between Seattle and Munich. That route will begin in July 2017 with twice-weekly service. Condor already flies between Seattle and Frankfurt, and recently extended that to year-round service. Also in Condor’s 2017 plans: twice-weekly seasonal flights between Frankfurt and New Orleans from May through September; three flights week starting May 1 between Frankfurt-San Diego; and twice-weekly service beginning May 2 between Munich and Las Vegas.

TAP Portugal is using upgraded A330s on new Boston and New York routes. (Image: Airbus)

TAP Portugal just started new daily service between Lisbon and Boston Logan, and will add daily Lisbon-New York JFK service July 1. Both routes are using A330s that feature TAP’s new executive class cabin with lie-flat seats. The aircraft also features a new, advanced in-flight entertainment system; and the economy cabin has two kinds of seating, offering 34-inch and 31-inch pitch. The airline already serves Newark and Miami from Lisbon.

At its Atlanta hub, Delta on August 30 will reduce service to Medellin, Colombia, cutting back from the current daily frequencies to just three a week. Delta uses a 737-700 on the route.

Following the Transportation Department’s recent award of Cuba route rights (except Havana) to U.S. carriers for regular scheduled service, some of them have started selling tickets to the island nation. American will start flying once or twice a day from Miami to Cienfuegos and Holguin on September 7; from Miami to Camaguey and Santa Clara September 9; and from Miami to Varadero September 11. Silver Airways will start service September 1 from Ft. Lauderdale to Santa Clara, followed by flights out of Ft. Lauderdale to Camaguey, Cienfuegos and Holguin in October; to Santiago and Cayo Coco in November; and to Varadero, Cayo Largo and Manzanillo in December.

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

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 125,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Airport briefs: Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Boston, Vancouver, Dubai

May 6, 2016

Cathay Pacific’s new Vancouver premium lounge has a Noodle Bar. (Image: Cathay Pacific)

In airport news, Atlanta signs a crucial lease deal with Delta; Salt Lake City will add a second new concourse; a new independent passenger lounge opens at Boston Logan; Cathay Pacific debuts a new lounge at Vancouver; and a global airline alliance cuts the ribbon on a lounge at Dubai International.

The City of Atlanta has signed a long-term lease agreement with Delta Air Lines for use of Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport that will keep the carrier’s headquarters there for the next 20 years. The deal was critical for the airport’s ambitious expansion plans. According to a statement from the airport, “The agreement allows Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to move forward with a $6 billion capital expansion program, which includes plans to build two new domestic parking decks, add five additional gates to Concourse T, construct a sixth runway, and invest more than $900 million in a new international concourse.” Signing the contract was the last major executive action for Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who retired this week and was replaced as CEO by Ed Bastian, formerly the airline’s president.

The rebuilding of Salt Lake City's airport now features two concourses instead of one. (Image: Salt Lake City International Airport)

The rebuilding plan for Salt Lake City’s airport now features two new concourses instead of one. (Image: Salt Lake City International Airport)

That big construction project at Salt Lake City International Airport just got a lot bigger. The original plan called for a total reconstruction of the existing terminal and concourses into a new terminal and a single long concourse with 45 aircraft gates. But now airport officials plan to add a second new concourse as well – the 30-gate North Concourse — increasing the overall cost by $740 million to a total of $2.6 billion. They are still planning to have the whole thing finished by 2020. Officials said the new concourse will replace existing gates in Concourses B, C and D, which would have required costly renovations to keep them open for a few more years. The concourses will be linked by an underground tunnel.

Boston Logan has a new pay-per-use passenger lounge in Terminal C near Gate C19. Called simply The Lounge at Boston Logan, it’s the 12^th U.S. location opened by Airport Lounge Development Inc. Visitors will get free buffet food; free beverages, including alcoholic drinks; a work area with a computer and printer; high-speed Wi-Fi; a variety of seating areas; and TV and flight monitors. The lounge offers airfield views through floor-to-ceiling windows. A day pass costs $35, and the lounge is also open to members of the Priority Pass, Priority Pass Select, Lounge Club and LoungeKey programs, as well as invited guests of Emirates and Aer Lingus.

Cathay Pacific this week cut the ribbon on a new lounge for premium passengers at Vancouver International Airport. In the International Terminal between Gates D66 and D67, the lounge is open to Cathay’s first and business class flyers, as well as Marco Polo Club elites and Oneworld members with Sapphire status or higher. With a capacity of 108 persons, the facility offers free Wi-Fi, three workstations with iMacs and printers, a Noodle Bar serving Asian soups, and The Pantry, with a selection of other foods. The décor features limestone floors, cherrywood walls and abundant plants.

The new SkyTeam lounge at Dubai International has an international buffet. (Image: SkyTeam)

The global SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta, Air France, KLM and 17 other carriers, has opened its fifth consolidated lounge, this one at Dubai International Airport. Located in Terminal 1’s new Concourse D, it’s open around the clock, with a capacity of 180 persons. It offers free hot and cold snacks from a variety of global cuisines, free Wi-Fi, a business center with printing facilities, a VIP room, and a separate TV room. It’s open to Elite Plus, first and business class passengers of the 10 SkyTeam member carriers that serve the airport. Other SkyTeam lounges are at London Heathrow, Sydney, Hong Kong and Istanbul.

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 125,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

New hotels: Amsterdam, Dubai, Casablanca, Taipei

January 5, 2016

The new Hilton at Schiphol is in the heart of Amsterdam’s airport. (Image: Hilton)

In overseas hotel developments, there’s a new Hilton in the middle of Amsterdam’s airport; Four Seasons breaks into the Morocco market; Starwood cuts the ribbon on a new luxury property in Dubai; and Taipei adds a pair of new hotels.

The old Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which opened in 1972 right in the middle of the airport property, has closed down and been replaced by a brand new property right next door. The new one is also called the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It has 433 rooms including 12 suites; 96 of them are Executive rooms, with access to an Executive Lounge. And it has 23 meeting rooms, with a ballroom that accommodates up to 640 persons. There’s also a lobby bar, a restaurant called The Bowery, a 24-hour fitness facility, and a spa. Rates start at $235.

Sumptuous guest accommodations at the Four Seasons Casablanca. (Image: Four Seasons)

Four Seasons Hotels recently cut the ribbon on a new property in Casablanca, Morocco. The Four Seasons Casablanca’s oceanside location in the upscale Anfa neighborhood is 10 minutes from the city center and its financial district. The hotel has 186 rooms, 12,400 square feet of flexible meeting space, a French brasserie restaurant called Bleu, a spa and a 1,600 square foot pool. Rates start at $319.

Starwood’s new St. Regis Dubai is modeled after the New York St. Regis. (Image: Starwood)

Starwood’s newest property in the Middle East is The St. Regis Dubai, in the “urban resort” development called Al Habtoor City on Sheikh Zayed Road. The St. Regis will eventually be joined by a W and a Westin in the same location. The architecture and interiors of the 234-room (with 54 suites, including the two-story, thee-bedroom Royal Suite) St. Regis are a tribute to the St. Regis in New York. Dining options include a steakhouse, a brasserie and a cafe. The hotel also has two bars, a spa, 24-houir fitness facility and a pair of rooftop pools. Nightly rates begin at $416.

The lobby of the new Courtyard by Marriott in Taipei. (Image: Marriott)

There’s a new Courtyard by Marriott in Taipei, Taiwan: The 465-room property occupies the seventh through 30th floors of a skyscraper above the CityLink Shopping Mall, the Nangang metro station and Taiwan High-Speed Rail station. Rooms start at 36 square meters, and the hotel offers an all-day dining restaurant with international cuisine, a Cantonese restaurant, a tea/cocktail lounge and a fitness center. Rates start at $140.

The distinctive profile of Starwood’s new Aloft in Taipei. (Image; Starwood)

Another newly opened hotel in Taipei is Starwood’s Aloft Taipei Zhongshan, the first Aloft in Taiwan. Ten minutes from Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA), it’s in the city’s northeast downtown area, close to the Zhongshan Elementary School metro station. The new 88-room Aloft offers SPG Keyless room entry, and rooms come with free Wi-Fi and 42-inch LCD TVs with plug and play connectivity. The Aloft also offers its signature WXYZ bar, and Re:Fuel grab-and-go market. Introductory rates start at $163 including breakfast.

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

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Resolved to get your finances in order this year? Let Personal Capital, a free investment monitoring service, show you how:

Routes: Oakland-London + Dulles-Dubai dropped + BA/Aer Lingus code-shares + more

December 10, 2015

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?

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Look out the window- There’s a man on the wing!

November 5, 2015

(Image: Emirates/YouTube)

The Emirates A380 and the Jetman Dubai duo recently took to the skies of Dubai for an extraordinary flightconducted over the Palm Jumeirah and Dubai skyline with Burj Khalifa in the background.

While the formation flight looked effortless on film, Emirates says that painstaking planning and meticulous collaboration with an intense focus on safety drove all efforts.

The carefully choreographed aerial showcase involved the world’s largest passenger aircraft flying at 4,000 feet in two holding patterns. The A380 aircraft was then joined by the Jetmen Dubai duo, experienced pilots and operators of the smallest jet propelled wing, who were deployed from a helicopter that hovered above the aircraft at 5,500 feet. The duo conducted formations on both sides of the aircraft and joined to one side thereafter before breaking away.

You’ve gotta see this short (90 sec.) video to believe it:

Even better: Don’t miss this startling behind the scenes video.

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

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Routes: AA to Tokyo + WOW to west coast + Air Canada, Lufthansa, Alaska

November 5, 2015

American will use a 787 on its new LAX-Tokyo Haneda route. (Image: American)

International route news this week includes American revealing its plans for new Los Angeles-Tokyo flights, an Icelandic budget airline expanding to San Francisco and Los Angeles, Air Canada adding new long-haul destinations, Emirates casting its eye at an available U.S. gateway and Alaska starting service to Costa Rica.

American Airlines has set February 11 as the launch date for new daily, year-round non-stops between Los Angeles International and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport; it will take bookings beginning November 8. American said it will use a 787-8 with business class, Main Cabin Extra and regular economy seating, and equipped with satellite Wi-Fi. American got the route authority after Delta agreed to give up its Seattle-Tokyo Haneda service (although it still flies Seattle-Tokyo Narita, and American and partner Japan Airlines both fly from LAX to Tokyo Narita). It will be the second new transpacific route for American in three months; AA starts its new LAX-Sydney non-stops on December 17.

Looking for a cheap way to get from the West Coast to Europe — or Iceland? Reykjavik-based discount carrier WOW Air said it plans to begin flying to both San Francisco and Los Angeles next summer, although it didn’t give an exact starting date. The carrier said it will fly to LAX four times a week and to San Francisco five times a week, using a one-class, 340-passenger A330-300. WOW already operates from Boston and Washington to Iceland’s Keflavik Airport (and will add Toronto and Montreal flights in May 2016), with connections to various European cities. No word on fares yet, but the carrier’s website (www.wowair.us) currently shows basic one-way connecting prices as low as $149 from Boston or Washington to London Gatwick — plus ancillary fees, of course.

Take the TravelSkills reader survey!

Air Canada is adding long-haul international services left and right. This week, it started flying non-stop from Toronto to Delhi, India four times a week, along with new non-stops three times a week from Toronto to Dubai. On both routes, Air Canada is using 787-9s with business, premium economy and economy class seating. The Canadian carrier also plans to resume Toronto-Seoul Incheon service on June 17, 2016, using a 787-8; it last flew the seasonal route in 2013.

Now that Delta has angrily announced its exit from the Atlanta-Dubai route effective February 11, blaming the big Mideast airlines for laying on excessive capacity to the U.S., Emirates has its eye on the route. The Dubai-based airline also dismissed Delta’s claim that it couldn’t successfully compete in the market, estimating that Delta earned more than $10 million a year on the Atlanta-Dubai route. Delta immediately denounced Emirates’ assertion, saying it has been losing money on the route for the past two years.

Alaska Airlines has added Costa Rica to its route network. The carrier this week started flying from Los Angeles to both San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica, offering four flights a week on each route with 737-800s.

According to Airlineroute.net, which tracks carriers’ schedule filings, Lufthansa will not resume seasonal Chicago-Dusseldorf flights on March 27 as previously planned. However, on the same date the German carrier will switch from an A330-300 to a much larger A340-600 on its Newark-Dusseldorf route, increasing capacity by about 50 percent.

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Delta dumps Dubai, blasts Mideast carriers

October 29, 2015

Dubai airport has the most international passengers, but.... (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Dubai’s gorgeous airport won’t see any more Delta frights from Atlanta after February 11. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The ongoing war of words between major U.S. carriers and their Middle Eastern rivals over government subsidies and unfair competition is starting to have real-world consequences: Delta said it will abandon its Atlanta-Dubai service in February, and it placed the blame squarely on overexpansion by airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad.

Delta, American and United have been lobbying the U.S. government — so far without result — to block the Mideast Big Three from adding more U.S. gateways. They allege that the foreign carriers benefit from government subsidies that the U.S. companies don’t enjoy. The Mideast airlines deny those allegations.

In announcing the end of Dubai service from Atlanta, Delta said the 777 it uses on the route “will be redeployed to other transatlantic markets where it can compete on a level playing field that’s not distorted by subsidized state-owned airlines.”

Delta said that from 2008 to 2014, 11,000 seats a day to the U.S. were added from Dubai (Emirates’ hub), Doha (Qatar) and Abu Dhabi (Etihad’s home base), and more than 95 percent of them are operated by the Middle Eastern airlines.

Delta’s move comes on the heels of United’s plans to terminate its Washington Dulles-Kuwait/Bahrain flights in January, a move that some sources suggested may have been mandated by Kuwait’s government in a political dispute over U.S. anti-discrimination laws.

Meanwhile, the Middle Eastern carriers continue to add U.S. flights. Qatar Airways, for instance, earlier this year announced it would begin service to three U.S. gateways in 2016 — Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles — and it plans to add a second daily New York flight next spring. Emirates last month started a new route from Dubai to Orlando. And some traffic between the U.S. and the Middle East is likely to travel via Istanbul on a rapidly-expanding Turkish Airlines, which started flying to San Francisco last spring and Miami this week, and plans to start Atlanta-Istanbul flights in May 2016.

TravelSkills reader S.C. wrote to suggest that Delta didn’t seem to be having trouble attracting business on its Dubai (DBX) route: “I’ve traveled there three times in the last three years, and only one time did an empty seat even exist, and that was on the ATL to DXB segment I took in July this year…which happened to be during Ramadan, so there were about 20-25 empty seats. NEVER before that has there been even one empty seat on the plane in either direction – and a waiting list of people trying to get on!”

What are your thoughts about Delta pulling out of Dubai? Please speak out below.

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

My airport’s busier than yours

September 15, 2015

Dubai airport has the most international passengers, but…. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What do you think is the world’s busiest airport? The answer is…. it depends.

In 2014, the busiest airport could be either Atlanta, Chicago, Dubai or London, depending on what you are measuring or who you are asking.

It all comes down to how you define “busiest.” And there are two primary ways to measure it: By the number of passengers flying through the airport, or by the number of aircraft taking off and landing at the airports.

Looking at overall passenger numbers — international and domestic — the top four airports worldwide held the same rankings in 2014 as the previous year: Atlanta at first place with 96.2 million, Beijing in second place with 86.1 million, Heathrow in third at 73.4 million and Tokyo Haneda in fourth with 72.8 million. (It’s interesting to note that Haneda is much busier than Narita, which has wider global visibility.)

Source: Airports Council International

Now, let’s look at the other way of measuring “busiest.” In terms of number of flights or “aircraft movements,” U.S. airports continue to dominate the global rankings. Chicago O’Hare (with its abundance of smaller regional jet flights) came in at first place, followed by Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas/Ft. Worth. After fifth-place Beijing came Denver, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Houston, in that order, with London Heathrow rounding out the top 10.

Source: Airports Council International

But if you measure busiest by the number of international travelers, Dubai now holds that title. Although Dubai (DXB) is the sixth-busiest airport in the world in overall passenger traffic, last year it became the world’s busiest in terms of international passenger traffic, beating out of London-Heathrow (LHR) and Hong Kong (HKG). Istanbul (IST), where Turkish Airlines is on a growth spurt, was one of the fastest growing, increasing international passenger numbers 11 percent and moving from 18th to 13th rank.

And here’s one more way to measure busiest– by metropolitan area. London remains the world’s largest airport system with almost 147 million passengers handled at six airports in and around its metropolitan area. The New York area has the second busiest airport system, followed by Tokyo.

Despite these numbers, the overall growth trend in passenger traffic is shifting away from North America and Europe. Airports in the Middle East posted a growth rate of 10.8 percent last year, and Asia-Pacific airports were in second place at 7.1 percent. By contrast, passenger numbers at North American airports rose an anemic 3.2 percent, while Europe managed a 5.5 percent increase.

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

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Routes: Mexico City + Toronto + Bangkok + Accra + Belfast + Dubai + Latin America

August 7, 2015

Air Canada will put a new 787-9 onto its Los Angeles-Toronto route. (Image: Air Canada)

In international route news, new options to Mexico City are coming; west coast travelers can soon fly the newest version of the 787 to Toronto; an Asian carrier will end U.S. flights; South African Airways adds a new stop from Washington; United plans year-round service on a European spoke from its Newark hub; Delta trims its Dubai schedule; and United expands Latin American options.

Business travelers heading to Mexico City will have several new options in the months ahead. September 3 is the target date for American Airlines to start flying to MEX from Los Angeles twice a day, replacing Alaska Airlines’ single flight in the market. Alaska will code-share on the AA flights. JetBlue will add a pair of routes to MEX on October 1, with daily flights from both Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. And Southwest is due to kick off daily Houston Hobby-Mexico City service October 15.

Air Canada just started to take delivery of new 787-9s — the larger version of the Boeing Dreamliner — and it will put one into service this winter between Toronto and Los Angeles. The daily 787-9 service to LAX is scheduled to begin January 28, replacing a 767-300ER.

Thai Airways is set to end its U.S. service October 25, when it discontinues its four 777 flights a week between Bangkok and Los Angeles via a stop in Seoul.

South African Airways this week started service between Washington Dulles and Accra, Ghana, adding the African city as an intermediate stop on its IAD-Johannesburg route. The IAD-Accra flights operate four times a week; the other three days, the SAA service still stops in Dakar, Senegal. The airline uses a two-class A340-600 on the route.

Got business in Northern Ireland? United’s seasonal service from its Newark hub to Belfast is going to operate year-round instead of seasonally. Earlier this year, United suspended service on the route during the winter months, but in 2016 it will operate three flights a week during the slow period (January 6-March 11).

Delta will cut back its Atlanta-Dubai schedule on October 1, reducing the 777-200LR service from daily to five times a week. The airline’s Tuesday and Sunday departures from ATL will be dropped.

United will expand its Latin American code-sharing partnership with the Avianca Group on August 8, putting the UA code on TACA Peru flights from Lima to Cuzco, Arequipa and Piura, Peru; and on Aviateca flights from Guatemala City to Flores, Guatemala. Meanwhile, Avianca in Brazil has joined United’s Star Alliance, adding 15 new destinations in Brazil to the group’s global network.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Avoiding long customs & immigration lines + Fingerprint as boarding pass? + Hotel rate shocker + More!

New hotels: Mumbai, Moscow and more

June 6, 2015

Lobby of the new JW Marriott in Mumbai. (Image: Marriott)

The latest overseas openings of business hotels include a JW Marriott in Mumbai and luxury properties from Starwood in Moscow, Milan and Kyoto, among others.

Marriott’s second hotel in Mumbai is the newly opened JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, on a 15-acre site just half a mile from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The 585-room property has four dining venues, lots of meeting space, and a Spa by JW. Elsewhere in India, Hyatt has cut the ribbon on the Hyatt Regency Ahmedabad, the group’s first hotel in the state of Gujarat. It has 210 rooms and suites, Chinese and Italian restaurants, and views of the Sabarmati River.

A former count's palace is now a St. Regis hotel in Miscow. (Image: Starwood)

A former count’s palace is now a St. Regis hotel in Moscow. (Image: Starwood)

In Russia, Starwood has opened the St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya, a 210-room property that was originally built in the 1870s as the residence of a nobleman. It’s on Nikolskaya Street close to Red Square, the Duma (parliament) and the Kremlin.

Elsewhere in Europe, Starwood has opened the new incarnation of the landmark Palace Gallia Hotel in Milan; it’s now the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel. The original building was recently restored and added a contemporary wing; the hotel’s 253 rooms include 53 suites. And in Germany, the former Wyndham Grand Berlin Potsdamer Platz in the nation’s capital city has been converted to the Crowne Plaza Berlin and become a member of the InterContinental Hotels Group.

Feature: We love new hotels! Why? See this

The historic Palace Gallia Hotel in Milan is now part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection. (Image: Starwood)

InterContinental Hotels Group also has a new property in the Middle East: The InterContinental Dubai Marina has 132 rooms and 196 serviced residential suites, along with a number of food and beverage outlets. Starwood also has a new entry in Dubai, the newly opened Sheraton Grand Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road near the Dubai Metro station. The 54-story, 416-room Sheraton is part of a three-tower mixed-use development.

Traditional styling in restaurant at Suiran in Kyoto. (Image: Starwood)

And in Japan, Starwood has a new Luxury Collection property in Kyoto: Suiran, in the Arashiyama district in the western part of the city. With just 39 rooms offering traditional Japanese design, it is on the grounds of a temple in the midst of a world heritage site.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Bumped out of first class by air marshall? + Newest Centurion Lounge + My favorite travel pants

Two stunning new airline lounges at SFO (Photos)

February 8, 2012

Gorgeous white marble and backlit Fabbian glass tiles make for a dramatic entrance at Cathay Pacific's new SFO lounge.

International business and first class travelers departing for Hong Kong, Dubai or beyond can now cool their heels while awaiting flights at two gorgeous new lounges at SFO. These perches are so plush that passengers may want to get to the airport early just to enjoy the surroundings and get a great pre-flight meal.

In December, Cathay Pacific and Emirates opened new lounges at SFO’s international terminal. Both invited me out last month for a look around, and allowed me to take photos to share with readers.

The gorgeous 5,500 sq ft Cathay Pacific lounge is located up an escalator just beyond the security screening area near most other airline lounges on south (A) side of the International Terminal. Prior to the opening of this lounge, Cathay Pacific passengers used facilities offered by Oneworld partner British Airways. Now they have a lounge all to themselves. The lounge’s minimalist design is based on Cathay’s flagship lounges at Hong Kong International– materials such as white italian marble, bamboo paneling and Fabbian crystal are the same. Another similarity: the chef-staffed noodle bar!

The Emirates lounge is located about halfway down SFO’s south side international terminal corridor on the left hand side. First, business and Skywards elite passengers enter and check in, then descend into the enormous 9,500 sq. ft. lounge located one floor down– with direct access to the waiting B777– there is no need to exit the lounge to board the plane. Again, the design of this club should be familiar to Emirates flyers– the rich contemporary look (wood, leather, brass, earth tones, sprays of fresh flowers and plants) is nearly identical to Emirates’ 25 lounges in Dubai and around the world. Similar to the carrier’s main hub lounges in Dubai, passengers are tempted by a visually stunning, seemingly limitless smorgasbord of dining options designed to appeal to western, Indian, Asian and Arab palates. There’s even a Muslim prayer room– with it’s own foot-washing station.

Let’s go take a look! Cathay first:

The big, bright Cathay lounge is open from 7:45 am until 11:50 am, and then again from 8:05 pm until midnight.

The unique and popular Cathay Solus Chair is a specially built unit offering a private space to eat, work and relax.

Cathay's signature fresh noodle bar turns out the perfect pre-flight comfort food-- made to order. There is also a wide variety of hot and cold Western and Asian dishes at the self-service counter

Plenty of space to spread out and work or chill, bathed in natural light

There are three unusually large shower suites, sheathed in marble and other unusual finishes like this white river stone tile.

A large carrera marble communal table in the dining area.

Cathay offers two flights per day from SFO to Hong Kong-- noon and midnight. SFO-HKG nonstops last about 14 hours.

Now, let’s walk on down to the Emirates lounge….

Emirates passengers check in here, then descend to the lounge. It opens at noon and closes once all passengers have boarded for the 3:45 pm departure to Dubai (15.5 hours away!)

The enormous, light-filled lounge is filled with cozy seating nooks like this. Floor to ceiling windows look out onto the ramp and the waiting Emirates B777.

There are several of Emirates signature Rolex wall clocks throughout the lounge.

A private prayer room.

This is the foot washing station adjacent to the prayer room.

Passengers get restaurant-style service at the largest private dining room at SFO.

Foodies will delight in the array of gorgeous hot and cold options-- all labeled.

Vegetarian options abound to appeal many travelers who travel through Dubai to get to India.

Passengers can even get a steak! There's also a full bar, a fine wine selection, including champagne.

Nice touch: Free wi-fi throughout the lounge. There is also a business center with several internet connected PCs.

Q: What is the longest flight from SFO?

December 28, 2011

Seatback screen aboard an Emirates B777 showing the route of our 15.5 hour flight from SFO to>>>

Q: What’s the longest flight from SFO?

A: The longest flight from San Francisco International is Emirates’ nonstop, 15.5-hour flight to Dubai on a Boeing 777.

Q: When flying from San Francisco to Dubai, would your heading be west or east?

A: Neither! The 8,100-mile flight between SFO and Dubai heads due north—right over the North Pole!

Last fall, Emirates invited me to take this monumental, nonstop journey to the other side of the world. Here are some notes and photos from the flights—in both directions. C’mon along for this spectacular ride– and see the North Pole…

Photo: Chris McGinnis

Emirates flies a Boeing 777-300 between SFO and Dubai in a three-class configuration: First, business and economy. Depending on time of year, economy class roundtrip nonstops cost between SFO and DXB are in the $1,000-$1,500 range; business class fares range from $5,000 to $7,000; first class roundtrip fares are $8,000+.

Emirates says its load factors out of SFO are very healthy– around 80% on average. It says that SFO is at the “top of the list” for deployment of one of Emirates 15 giant A380s, however, at this time the double-decker does not have the range to fly SFO-DXB with a full load during the hot summer months, so there are no set plans to switch to the A380 for now.

Emirates recently opened a brand new 9,500 square foot business class lounge at SFO’s International Terminal A (the southern side).

Forty-two business class seats are configured 2-3-2 on the B777, with a cocoon-like back shell that provides plenty of privacy. Most surfaces (such as the tray table, and even the toilet seat lid in the lavatory) are covered in a classy burled walnut veneer; there are power outlets for laptops, noise canceling headsets, and oversized inflight amenity bags– one for men, another for women– full of all sorts of goodies. While there is no in-flight internet, passengers can send and receive text messages from their seats at $1 per message. All seat functions (including recline, in-flight entertainment or IFE controls and even massage) are controlled by the hand held unit you see in the armrest pictured above.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After a 3:45 pm departure from SFO, we headed due north on a clear day, right over the top of Mt Shasta, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and the snow-capped peaks of British Columbia at sunset. What a view! I tried to get some work done on the laptop, but found it difficult not to watch the show unfold out the window.

I was particularly impressed with Emirates’ IFE system, which provided a 3-D, virtual-reality-like experience that (to me) was much more entertaining than the thousands of movies, TV shows and games from which passengers can choose. For those who don’t want to view the scenery out the window, electronic window shades raise or lower at the touch of a button.

Photo: Chris McGinnis

Upon boarding, flight attendants served a round a Veuve Cliquot champagne to business class passengers. After about two hours, flight attendants then proffered scented hot towels and warmed mixed nuts and then poured a nice Stag’s Leap Chardonnay, which was followed by a nice meal, briskly served, since many passengers were readying for sleep. I chose halibut, potatoes, grilled asparagus and tomatoes (my seatmate had the Lamb biryani). Food was on par with other foreign carriers I’ve flown– and head and shoulders above what’s typically found in business class on US carriers. Service was efficient, not obsequious or doting.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

While I was hoping to stay awake long enough to peer out at the North Pole, the two glasses of Chardonnay, the meal, the melatonin and this nice linen covered mini-mattress (see above), full sized pillow and cozy comforter convinced me otherwise. (I did see The Pole on the return, though! Keep reading…)

Business class seats on Emirates B777 are of the “angled lie-flat” variety (vs true lie-flat) which disappointed me at first. However, the tilt was barely detectable once the seat was fully reclined– and get this: I fell asleep somewhere over the Yukon Territory, and woke up seven hours later somewhere over Iran! By far, the longest, best night’s sleep I’ve ever experienced on a plane.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After our 15.5 hour journey, we landed in Dubai the following day at about 7:45 pm. Dubai International Airport (DXB) is simply stunning. What you see above is baggage claim– which should give you some idea of what the entire airport is like– big, bright and beautiful. It felt like a brand new Las Vegas casino– minus the gambling, which is illegal in Dubai.

Sixty percent of Emirates passengers use Emirate’s giant DXB hub as a connecting point to the carrier’s extensive network of flights– especially to India. As a matter of fact, 50% of all Emirates passengers from SFO end up flying onward from DXB to Indian cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

India-bound passenger’s other options include flying from SFO via Asia or Europe. At one time, United and Emirates participated in a frequent flyer program partnership where Mileage Plus members could earn United miles when flying Emirates to Dubai. However, Emirates says that United decided to terminate that partnership last May.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

All business and first class passengers get free transportation via a fleet of black Volvo station wagons stationed outside the airport to their hotels in Dubai (most are about 15-30 minutes away). There is also the quick, slick Dubai Metro rail system that connects the airport to the city– however, note that it has limited hours on Fridays, which are holy days in the Arab world.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This photo, taken from the roof of the Shangri-La hotel shows the towering Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building in the world. In the lower right corner is a Dubai metro station. It all looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On the day of my return flight, I arrived at the airport early to investigate and enjoy what I’d heard was one of the poshest business class lounges in the world. I was not let down– from the spray of fresh flowers at the entry, to the multiple buffets serving traditional English breakfast, full Indian meals, baked potatoes with all the toppings, salmon with capers, shrimp, endless refrigerated shelves of desserts, juices, tea, and coffee. The selection boggles the mind.

Morning is peak time in the Emirates business class lounge, and the place was packed– almost uncomfortably so. I was told that this enormous lounge could accommodate up to 1,600 travelers, and I think it was running pretty close to capacity that day. Seeing the crowds, and knowing that everyone in the lounge had paid several thousand dollars for their business class tickets made me wonder to myself, “What global financial crisis?” (See additional photos here.)

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Flying back to SFO took us over the North Pole once again, and this time I stayed up for the action. In the photo above, you can see our routing over the top displayed on the IFE system.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

That’s it! The money shot! In this photo, I’m looking out the window straight down on the North Pole. (See the big striped candy cane? 😉 )

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After the excitement of seeing the North Pole, it was time for a snooze. Note how Emirates has cleverly installed thousands of tiny fiber-optic white lights (that actually twinkle) into the ceiling of the aircraft to let you know that it’s time to sleep. Nice touch.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

For Muslims, who must face east for their daily prayers, Emirates in-flight system displays this icon several times throughout the flight in the IFE system– the arrow points east toward Mecca, no matter which direction the plane is pointed in.

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Almost home!

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Forward facing cameras on the B777 broadcast the view as we approach SFO and touch down at about 1 pm pacific time.

–Chris McGinnis

SFO to get posh new biz/first class lounge

October 7, 2011

Entry at the Emirates Lounge in New Delhi-- expect similar touches like marble, polished wood and gold letters at SFO (Photo: C. McGinnis)

Dubai-based Emirates Airline has announced that it will open a new business and first class lounge on the A side of the international terminal at SFO later this year.

It will be Emirates’ only lounge on the West Coast…not even LAX gets one of these posh perches.

(Want to see what’s in store for SFO? Scroll down for my slideshow of photos inside Emirates lounges in Dubai and Delhi.)

Emirates currently operates a single daily Boeing 777 SFO-Dubai flight from the G (left) side of the international terminal where it provides business and first class passengers with access to United’s lounges.

The new 9,502 square foot club will be located on the A (right) side between gates 3 and 5 (on the left as you walk from security) and directly across the terminal walkway from the British Airways lounge.

As in other Emirates facilities around the world, cost does not seem to be much of an object with the SFO lounge—expect marble floors, gold Rolex Clocks, fresh flowers, HD televisions, exclusive restrooms and showers, a business center, workstations and free wi-fi. (See slideshow below for a peek of what’s in store.)

Crowding should not be an issue since the lounge will be exclusive to Emirates first, business and elite frequent flyers. (Emirates says that it will not share loung access with any other carriers.) An Emirates 777 holds only 50 first and business class passengers, but the lounge is designed to accommodate a maximum of 265, including a dining area for 77.

Chefs will prepare and present a wide array of hot and cold dishes from an on-site kitchen. There will also be a full bar (flights depart SFO at 4:45 pm…conveniently close to cocktail hour).

Unusual: Business and first class passengers will be able to board the flight from a jetway door located in the lounge leading directly to the plane.

On a recent trip through Dubai to India, Emirates invited me into its massive lounge at its hub there. Since the look and feel of its lounges are pretty standard around the world, what you see in these photos should match up pretty closely with what we’ll soon see at SFO:

Entry point at Emirates flagship business class lounge at Dubai-DXB which can accommodate 1,800 passengers-- and still gets quite crowded at peak times. There's a separate first class lounge I was unable to get into. (Photo: C. McGinnis)