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Summer Vacation Day 1: 9 Hours of Driving

Hey, guys.  I’m trying to get back into the habit of writing every day.  Blogging is absolutely like a muscle.  If you don’t use it regularly, it will atrophy over time.  Where I used to write twice a day now I look at the keyboard sometimes and can’t even figure out where to start.  Some of that is due to medical issues I’ve been dealing with the past few months.  I discussed them at the end of this episode if you want to know more. Mostly, it’s just not being […]

Bonus Offers For Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest and United Credit Card Holders (Targeted)

Chase is offering a wide range of credit card holders.  Between my wife and I we were targeted for these offers on three of our credit cards. World of Hyatt Credit Card Bonus Offer The World of Hyatt credit card usually offers four points per dollar on purchases at Hyatt hotels and two points per dollar on some travel purchases (airline tickets purchased directly from an airline and local transit costs).  This offer essentially doubles the points earned on Hyatt stays and more than doubles the earning on any travel […]

United Cuts Deep On International Flights at Dulles

The pandemic has yielded plenty of unexpected decisions by airlines and hotel chains over the past year.  Recent moves by United Airlines aren’t all that surprising in general, but the depth of the cuts did surprise me.  It’s clear from these cuts that United doesn’t think international travel will come roaring back as more vaccines find their ways into people’s arms. United Cuts International Flights At Dulles Airport The Points Guy reported on a deep number of cuts on international flights at Dulles Airport.  Dulles Airport, located outside of Washington, […]

American Airlines Got It Right Today, Despite What Travel Bloggers Say

In case you hadn’t heard, American Airlines announced that they were giving every American Airlines AAdvantage member a free gift for the holidays today.  All you had to do was login to your AAdvantage account to see what you had won.  I was pretty bogged down with work calls today, but I kept seeing chatter in the background about what people were receiving as gifts. I saw mentions of people winning 100 miles, 250 miles and 500-mile upgrade certificates.  And, I also noticed that most opinions weren’t positive. The first […]

United Treating Pilots Better Than Their Best Customers To Help Navigate COVID-19

Airlines are facing an incredibly unique set of challenges.  The “winners” from this time period will be those that continue to make the best decisions possible.  There’s certainly no playbook for navigating a pandemic while trying to run a massive airline. Admittedly, I’m running behind on writing about this story.  A few weeks ago View From The Wing covered news that United Airlines had made some unique concessions to their pilots to help them navigate COVID-19: Pilots also achieved permanent, positive-space First Class deadheads, with stand-by eligibility before paying passengers, […]

HELP WANTED: Hiring An Intern

Boy, have I been swamped lately…… I need your help!  Between my blog and podcast (with another surprise or two on the way) I’ve just run out of time.  I much prefer writing and recording than social media, but that’s really just me putting my head in the sand.  So, I need someone who has a bit of social media experience and a lot of excitement to work on a part-time basis as an intern/coordinator to help me make things great! The right person will be willing to maintain a […]

WHOA: A Week In A Maldives Overwater Villa For $2,000 (Refundable)

There have been some insane travel deals the past few months, but most of them have been for travel now (or in the near future). Now, my buddy Richard Kerr has found an incredible deal on TravelZoo. For $2,000 you get 7 nights in an overwater villa, including all taxes and fees. It also seems to have pretty generous refund rules. The resort appears to be called You and Me. And, it has a pretty awesome looking underwater restaurant (which you get to dine at once for free). Two things […]

Europe Is Closed To Americans, Canada Too. What’s The Human Side?

Aside from all of the fear over the past 90 days (wow, has it really only been a few months?) while the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in the US, there have been so many interesting things to watch in the world of travel.  How does an airline go from full planes to virtually empty, with hundreds of planes grounded?  If you’re a government agency, how do you effectively enforce a quarantine?  These are very, very different issues than what we normally deal with.  And, now that people are starting to […]

Thinking About A Happy New Year!

2019 flew by in a blur.  My kids are a year older along with all of you (and me)!  There’s so much I wanted to say in 2019 but never found the time to.  So many places to visit but didn’t get there.  So many moments I wanted to spend with friends and family that didn’t happen. But, that’s not what I’m thinking about today.  I’m thinking about all the things I did accomplish.  All the conversations I got to have.  All the special moments with family and friends. I’m […]