Baggage allowance

United Airlines Makes Elite Status Harder To Achieve, Less Rewarding For Their Best Customers

September 28, 2018By Edward Pizzarello12 Comments

Is a swap in upgrade types for very frequent travelers reward enough to spend thousands of dollars more with United Airlines? Is the fact that Delta requires $15,000 in spending from their top elites a good enough reason to make this change for United? Will United actually make more upgrades available to top-tier 1K members?

International Baggage Fees Going Up, Again

June 13, 2012By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

United has now matched some increases Delta put in place recently for checked baggage fees. On most trans-Atlantic flights, passengers will pay $100 to check a second bag, up from $70. The first bag is free as long as it’s not oversized or overweight. In comparison, American Airlines charges $60 for a second bag and US Airways charges $70. I would expect both to match the Delta and UA changes since the legacy airlines mostly move in lockstep on such things, although AA may trail the decision in case it […]

Did Boeing Promise Southwest Millions Of Dollars If 737 MAX Pilots Needed A Simulator?

A small nugget in a recent story about the Boeing 737 MAX has me wondering if Boeing made significant financial promises to airlines in regards to the training requirements on the MAX.

Cathay Pacific CEO Resigns, Presumably Because China Is Mad At The Airline

Cathay Pacific CEO resigns amid Hong Kong protests. He was most likely forced out as a sacrifical lamb for angered Chinese officials.

Marriott Rolling Out Changes That Are Likely To Hurt Many Members

With these new changes, Marriott becomes Lucy holding the football while their customers become Charlie Brown, charging down the road to a vacation they may not be able to afford.

Hong Kong Airport Shuts Down Amid Protests As Cathay Pacific Kowtows To China

Two stories about Hong Kong this morning captured my attention. First, one of the largest airports in the world was shut down due to a massive peaceful protest. Maybe even more surprisingly, China pressured Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship airline, to feed information to the Chinese about employees protesting, as well as barring them from flights to or above China.

Monthly Airplane Wi-Fi Reliability Report Card: July 2019

United performs above average in July but still below every other airline I’ve flown. Is this the start of a positive trend?

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]