Double Amex Points!

Shop small and get double points when using a registered Amex card. Not as fun as free money ($25 or $10 a card in previous years), but still a worthwhile promotion.

Delta & Amex Are Friends

Longest 777-200ER Flight In The World

United Airlines operates the longest 777-200ER flight from EWR to HKG, about 16 hours on board and over 8,500 flown miles. I flew it in coach. It's not bad if you have a good seat and travel prepared. 

Economy Seat Recline

Open middle seats make a world of difference. An open row is amazing. Otherwise shoot for an exit row (right side is better than left) or Economy Plus. I booked an exit row when I make my reservation then hold onto it until I'm at the gate and get a decent feel for the seat map. I was able to switch into an open middle row of 3 seats at the last minute and have all that space to myself.  It made for a nice trip.

777-200ER to HKG

Fly with ear plugs and an eye mask. The cabin is always noisy and next dark. Also avoid caffeine for the day. It's hard enough to sleep on board. Take a walk around the cabin every hour or two when awake. It helps. Also stock up on podcasts or bring a book, the TV's don't always work.

Exit Row Leg Room

Broken TV - It Reset After About 20 Minutes

Pack snacks. The food is ok, but infrequent.  The beer is free and the wine is undrinkable. Spirits cost money.

Pasta Dinner

More Pasta

Noodle Breakfast - Good

More Noodles - Still Good

Happy Weekend!

Going somewhere fun?

Air China Has Great Star Alliance Award Space

Good View From Houston United Club

Go to the third floor of the E11 United Club in Houston. It is less crowded and the views are great.

Ample Outlets, Quiet, & Views

Odd Emirates Advertising

Emirates paid for an ad to have me join their company as a pilot. I have less than 1 hour of total flight time at the controls, so this may be misguided advertising.  The website was an interesting view into their push to poach experienced pilots from around the world.

Emirates Never Goes Small

Window Seat With Nothing To See

Window seats are still fun, even if you're just flying over ocean the whole way.

I Am Biased

I Like This One

Fun picture.

Amazing Regional Jet

Post 787-900

Happy post #789.

A Virgin Atlantic 787-900 at LHR

British Airways 747-400 First Class

After an amazing experience in first on the A380 and a lousy ground experience at Heathrow, I went to board my 747-400 to Denver. I've always loved the 747 because it looks great and goes interesting places. Sadly, airlines don't share my love of the aircraft and are phasing them out. As part of this plan, airlines are not upgrading systems or interiors. Maintaining yes, but improving no.

747 First Class Seat Room

The first class cabin has 14 seats in the nose section of the aircraft. It felt a little bit cramped, but only 50% of the seats were occupied. The space was much more limited than on the A380 and the TV system was a previous version with fewer options and lower resolution. The age showed.  

Closet on 747 at my Seat

The service on board was great from the moment I stepped through the door. First class service is the same regardless of aircraft. The meal service is at your leisure, so I opted to dine over Canada. I was tired and well fed, so the option to not rush was welcome. I also really enjoy the tea service. The personal tea pot was fun.

Seat on 747 - Goes Full Flat

It was a good flight and I slept well. BA's bad ground service continued in Denver. My bag was one of the last out, even though it was tagged priority and first.

IHG Share Forever Math Problems

IHG send me this email:

Dear Andrew,  

Our latest promotion, Share Forever, has ended and we’re happy to see how much you’ve achieved. You earned a total of 67,600 bonus points, and that means it’s time to enjoy your rewards. Share Forever 2016 was just one of the many ways we’re helping make your stays more rewarding, so stay tuned for more ways to keep your earning momentum going.  

That's amazing news, except I only earned 3,000 points. Thanks guys for crushing my dreams.

More Crush Dreams from a Points Program

Good Looking CRJ700

The CRJ700 can look good, as long as it's not parked at your gate.

The Sunset at DEN Helps

Milwaukee Departure

I enjoyed Brewfest and got a fun picture on the way out of MKE.

Evening Departure to Denver

Marriott Now Has 3 Loyalty Programs

The Marriott take over of Starwood is complete and members can now link their accounts between the Ritz, Marriott, and SPG programs. Your highest status will be moved to the other programs. No word on when or how SPG will be rolled into Marriott.

Sheraton HK - It's Much Nicer Than It Looks

United 777 - 10 Wide in Coach

As part of United's goal to suck the fun out of air travel (why else remove Channel 9?), they are going 10 wide in coach on new 777-300ER's that will be delivered in the next few years. I was dreading flying in those (747's are 10 wide in coach, but the cabin is 25in wider), but relaxed because the current 777-200's are 9 wide. Except not, at least one is 10 wide (see Version 5). I was unfortunate enough to pull the short 777 straw recently. The seats were a tight squeeze in every direction, even in Economy Plus. The seat padding is miserable for an 8 hour flight. There was also no IFE offered. The top off a agonizing flight, there was a 3.5 hour mechanical delay and I missed my connection.

Looks the Same from the Outside

10 Wide and No Padding to be Found

Southwest Airlines Standby

Southwest will now allow you to do same day standby, providing that you are elite, traveling alone, already at the airport, and the flight you want to be on leaves within 2 hours of the original flight. And you'll have last pick of seats.  That's an incredibly small baby step from the USA's largest domestic carrier.

New Paint, New Policy - Somehow United Does it Better

United Domestic Breakfast 2016

Dr. House has a quizzical look, but it was better than you'd think.

There Was Cheese!

United Mechanical Delays

Four of my eight flights this month on United have been delayed for mechanical reasons. I also had a trip to Asia scrubbed last month due to mechanical issues. I'm wondering if this is part of a larger problem developing for United.

Work Darn You! Work!!!!

United Club HKG

The United Club lounge at Hong Kong (HKG) lets you pour your own booze. The hideous catch is that I don't want to drink any of it.

No Thanks