What an airline does when it has a problem is an indication of its values. A disruptive passenger landed 270 passengers in Belfast, and then United leaves them on the floor of the airport overnight. Second week running I am glad I stopped flying them.
In a week when United gave up on JFK – who can remember when they used to fly to London three times a day? – I have a short review of AA’s offering on a recent LAX to JFK flight.
I’ve had a great time this week filling in as a featured blogger on BoardingArea! To those that aren’t familiar with my blog, Hungry for Points, the best way to introduce myself is probably through one of my trip reports. Earlier this week I wrapped up my “Fat and Furious” trip report, detailing a recent trip to Japan which included stops in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Matsuyama. This is one of the best trips I’ve ever taken, and I instantly fell in love with Japan. That excitement must have carried over into my writing, as it quickly became my all-time most popular report over on Flyertalk.
A new proposal looks to solve the lack of capacity in aviation in the south of England by increasing taxes on a sliding scale based on the number of trips taken.
What would an airline safety announcement sound like if the airlines told us the truth? The Economist thinks it knows.
I have long liked the simplicity of the Hyatt app for iPhone, iPad etc. However, the recent upgrade seems to have rendered it almost unusable and certainly unstable.
We arrived in Maui with an ambitious to-do list, but were barely able to put a dent in it. The problem? Our stay at the Montage was so relaxing that we literally spent a couple days just lounging by the pool. That’s something that we NEVER do, and was probably a testament to just how amazing the hotel was. However, we did get out a few times to explore the surrounding areas, mainly in search for food. The food options in Kapalua are somewhat limited, especially if you don’t want to eat at the hotel. And even though we had a full kitchen at our disposal, we didn’t feel like cooking, but did stop by the neighboring supermarkets to pick up tuna poke and other snacks.
My wife and I aren’t really the types to plan our weekends well in advance, and actually prefer to make spontaneous, last-minute plans. So halfway through the week prior to the 3-day MLK weekend in January, we decided that it’d be fun to drive up to Mendocino for a couple nights. Despite having both lived in Northern California for essentially our entire lives, neither of us had been to Mendocino before, but we’d heard that the drive along the California coast was something that everyone needed to do at least once. Given that it was January, the weather wouldn’t be ideal, but we were fine with the gloom as long as there wasn’t constant rain.
It’s a process that I go through every year for each of my credit cards – the annual retention call. I throw on my most innocent sounding voice, and call the number on the back of the card. “Hello, I just noticed that the annual fee was billed and I’d like to cancel my credit card.” That sentence usually triggers a “WAIT STOP!” type of response from the customer service representative, and a couple minutes later I’m walking away with some free points or a statement credit.
Even though this was my first trip to Maui and therefore had nothing else to compare to, I feel like I can still say with certainty that the Montage Kapalua Bay is the best hotel on the entire island. In fact, it may be the best hotel in all of Hawaii. Not convinced? Let me explain why.
It’s a list that’s as controversial as the rankings of “Best Airlines In the World” and “Best Hotels In The World”, but I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t interested in the newly released 2015 World’s Best Restaurants. This is an annual list produced by Restaurant magazine in the UK with results based on a polling of chefs, restauranteurs, and food critics. In other words, the scores are probably about as subjective as a figure skating competition or college football’s BCS.
In recent years I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to the Maldives and the Seychelles. But while the Maldives and Seychelles provide ultra-exclusive island getaways, they also have the price tag to match, and are a 24+ hour journey each way from the USA. As beautiful and amazing as those destinations were, as I reflect on those trips, what I really walk away with is a renewed appreciation for just how lucky I am to have Hawaii in my backyard. From the West Coast it’s less than a 5 hour direct flight to the Hawaiian islands, and they are chock full of mainstream chain hotels to use points at. Also, since you’re still in the USA, it’s easy to drive around and there’s worrying about cell phone service.
