Flights

Confession: I am not an aviation geek

As I sit in my condo listening to the Blue Angels buzz by, I have a confession to make.  I feel like a bit of a fraud.  See, I write a blog about how much I love to travel.  And in it do trip reports that often take place on airplanes. … Read more

Weekend in Beijing – Part 1: Getting to China

Weekend in Beijing A few months back I got in on the sub-$500 round trip ticket to Beijing from Washington DC in American Airlines Business Class.  I purchased the tickets; and then purchased my positioning flight to DC from Seattle which ended up costing (slightly) more than the ticket to … Read more

Changes in Alaska Mileage accrual with Partner Airlines

In just a few days, there have been some big changes in Alaska mileage accrual with partner airlines.  It’s all bad news unless you are paying for premium classes.  The changes (so far) are on British, Air France, and KLM.  Earning was also drastically reduced on Delta earlier this year.

For all three airlines (BA/AF/KL) you now only earn 25% of actual miles flown for the lowest fares.  The most expensive Economy tickets do still earn you actual miles flown.  You also still earn bonus miles based on your status with Alaska, but those bonuses are based on earned (not actual flown) miles and do not count towards elite status.  A few of the fare classes that formerly earned zero miles now do earn you miles, so that is one positive change I suppose.

The scene is much better in the top tier tickets.  

Read more

Costa Rica on Alaska Airlines: Two new Alaska routes announced

Alaska Airlines has flown internationally to Canada and Mexico for some time.  But they are adding a third international destination.  Starting May 21 you can book a flight to Costa Rica on Alaska Airlines.  The flights will begin to San Jose on October 31 and Liberia the following day.

The announced flights (below) are only out of LAX (at least for now).  While Seattle is Alaska’s hub, I can see why it would make more sense to fly out of a southern city.

Read more

Alaska Airlines getting Premium Economy seats?

Is Alaska Airlines getting Premium Economy seats?  Currently it is one of the few airlines that hasn’t started charging for premium economy seats (with extra legroom and other perks).

According to KUOW (Seattle’s NPR station), Alaska Airlines is planning on testing out a preferred seating program on some flights.  During the 1st Quarter Earnings Call (which you can listen to here), Alaska Airlines Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Harrison spoke about the new seats early in the call:

Read more

5,000 Free Alaska Airlines Miles for Self-Tag Online

Here is an easy way to get 5,000 free Alaska Airlines miles just by printing out your baggage tag at home.

EDIT: The promotion is over.  If you would like to sign up for an Alaska Airlines Visa card you can get 25,000 miles upon approval.  LINK Full disclosure: if you are approved I also get a bonus of 2,500 miles. You may also be able to find an offer with a $100 credit by starting to purchase a ticket at Alaska’s website and then looking for a credit card sign up link before payment.

If you have status with Alaska or American you can check a bag for free.  So even if you normally carry on a bag, this makes it worth your time to check it!  This deal is good from today (April 20, 2015) through October 20, 2015.  You get 1,000 miles for each flight, up to a total of 5,000 miles during this promo.

You can even request a free tag holder here:  http://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/baggage/self-tag-express.aspx

Note that you DO need to have a Mileage Plan number and it must be attached to your reservation.  Here are the full details of the offer:

Read more

Mileage Run Dubai in First Class on British Airways

Last week there was some buzz over a (possible) mistake fare from Dubai (DXB) to Austin, Texas (AUS) on British Airways and partner airlines, all in First Class.

I use the term “mileage run” in the title of this post, but really it is hardly a milage run for two reasons:

  1. It was $1500 and
  2. It was only one way

Mileage runs are usually cheaper (this one, for me at least, worked out to be 7.4 cents per mile).  And having a one way from the middle east is not super helpful.

I learned about the deal while in Disneyland with my nephew and other family members and only had my iPad available to work on the itinerary.  I booked through the devil OTA because by the time I was ready to pull the trigger, BA.com had already caught the mistake fare and removed it (but Expedia was still live).  I wanted to make sure that all my segments were in First Class (some BA flights from LHR to US cities do not have a First Class, only Business).  My ticket has been confirmed and I even was able to choose my seat.  Others in the Flyer Talk forum have not been as lucky, no clue why mine ticketed while others have not yet.

Here is why I decided to book this deal:  

Read more

Solo Travel to Cambodia

One way to approach solo travel is to plan a trip to a location where a friend lives.  This way you can experience the best of both worlds; having a connection to base your travels off of while at the same time getting to explore in your own way.  This is how I approached my solo travel to Cambodia.

Angkor Wat Temple

A friend of mine moved to Cambodia in 2010 to teach English to college students.  I had been to Vietnam (on a group trip) a few years before and was interested in seeing Cambodia.  Visiting my friend was a win/win — I was able to spend some time with her while also being able to stay at her apartment and have her show me some of the country.

I planned a two week trip.  The first week was over her school break and the second week was while she was working.  My plan was to spend the first week with her; seeing Phnom Penh with an ex-pat local.  The next week I would do some travels on my own while she was back at work — including a trip to Siem Reap to see the Temple of Angkor Wat.

Read more

Gay Travel Discount on Alaska Airlines

While browsing Facebook I came across a sponsored post by Alaska Airlines which is rather common.  The focus, gay travel, was new.  Or at least I hadn’t seen it before.

When I clicked through the ad I found that Alaska has an entire web page on their site devoted to discounts to various LGBTQ Pride events.  The discounts are short term (I’m assuming only over the Pride weekend/event) and relatively small (7% or 10%), still a nice acknowledgement and support of the LGBTQ community.

Clearly Alaska has made promoting equality as a company a priority; they score a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.  Alaska is one of only five airlines to score a perfect 100.

Read more

Boeing 777 Memorabilia

I was going through a bunch of my old stuff today and found some fun Boeing 777 memorabilia from the launch in 1994.  Hard to believe the 777 is almost 21 years old!

My father worked for Boeing for 40+ years and used to give me freebies that the company gave their employees.  While I have thrown away a good amount over the years, I kept a hold on to these items (probably because they were so small!)

First item is a sealed commemorative coin from the first 777 roll out on April 9, 1994.

Commemorative coin

See the rest of the Boeing 777 memorabilia below:

Read more

Mileage Run Beijing in Business Class

I was alerted to an amazing business class fare from Washington DC to Beijing by OneMileataTime.  In the rule of travel hobbyists, I booked immediately and knew I could sort out details later.  I couldn’t pass by a mileage run in business class.

I am glad that I booked quickly because the fare was gone in less than an hour.  Read more to find out additional details.

Read more

Exit mobile version