Making my way home from London to Dallas via Miami, I was surprised to learn that my British Airways flight would be departing from Terminal 3. While Terminal 3 is a bit dated, it does offer the best OneWorld lounges in London Heathrow. Not only would this give me a chance to grab a delicious breakfast at the Cathay Pacific lounge, but it’d also allow me to visit the The Qantas London Lounge for the first time. I arrived at…
Traveling long-haul on one of American Airlines’ flagship 777-300ERs soon? What’s the best Economy Seat on board? While there are a number of “best” Economy Class seats on the American Airlines 777-300ER, your preference might not be the same as your fellow passenger. So what constitutes the best Economy Class seat on the American Airlines 777-300ER? Is it more legroom? More privacy? Or maybe simply avoiding extra cabin noise. I’ve flown American’s 777-300ER dozens of times and I’ve sat all…
Making the short 2.5 hour journey home from Puerto Vallarta to DFW, we enjoyed a lovely flight with American Airlines in Business Class on one of their workhorse 737s. We had originally booked a one way ticket in Economy Class, Chris and I were upgraded thanks to my Executive Platinum status. Our complimentary upgrades cleared about 4 days prior to departure. My upgrade was complimentary and Chris, who holds Gold AAdvantage status, redeemed two 500-mile upgrade “stickers”. Premium cabin seats…
Making our way home from Hawaii, our journey home would be aboard American’s 777-200 from Honolulu to DFW. The 777 is the workhorse between American’s fortress hub in in DFW and Honolulu. American has completed the retrofit of their 777-200s. You can expect a lie-flat seat in Business Class on all of American’s 777s across the fleet. The Cabin: SeatGuru isn’t exactly accurate on their seat maps American’s 772 so unfortunately a bit difficult to predict which Business Class seat…
South America in your upcoming travel plans? American Airlines currently has a promotion where you can earn 20,000 bonus AAdvantage miles when you book your trip through American Airlines Vacations. Travel must be booked by September 30, 2017 online or over the phone directly with American Airlines Vacations. There is no deadline for travel dates as long as it is during American Airlines’ current open travel schedule. Per the terms of American Airlines’ promotion: To receive 20,000 miles on your…
Making the journey to Hawaii for a 10 day holiday, our final outbound leg would be aboard Alaska Airlines from San Diego to Honolulu. This was an award booking with American Airlines AAdvantage miles with the first segment form DFW to San Diego on American Airlines. We’d been upgraded thanks to my Executive Platinum status on the first leg but we wouldn’t be eligible for an upgrade not the Alaska operated flight. Award booking method for this flight: Economy Class…
Well I’m calling this one a Tuesday morning surprise! American Airlines announced this morning that they are launching a new route from DFW to Iceland starting in June 2018. My good friend Ben and fellow avgeek sent me a note this morning to give me a heads up. This seasonal service brings the total count to three carriers that will offer service from Dallas Fort Worth to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. WOW Air and Icelandair announced their intentions to serve DFW in…
Not quite ready to leave Australia but time to head home, we started our long journey back to Texas in the Qantas First Class Lounge Sydney. We had woken up quite early so I was still quite sleepy as we made our through the long security queues. The Qantas First Class Lounge Sydney is located just beyond the duty free shopping in Sydney’s Terminal 1. Access to the Qantas First Class Lounge Sydney is granted to those traveling in a premium…
I’ve previously shared a handy tip for finding your OneWorld record locator booked on American Airlines. But what about an Alaska Airlines record locator booked on American Airlines? Alaska Airlines isn’t a part of any of the major airline alliances but they do partner with quite a few OneWorld carriers. Airlines may reference these as various terms: Record Locator. Booking Reference. Booking Confirmation Number. When you are attempting to manage your booking or make seat selections, you’ll find that using your American…
Connecting in Hong Kong on my flight from Singapore onward to Los Angeles, I had a bit of time to pass on one of my favorite airports. I’ve visited most of the Cathay Pacific lounges at HKG with the The Pier First Class Lounge being my favorite. On this layover, I opted to spend my time in The Wing First Class Lounge. The Cathay Pacific Wing lounge has a Business Class section on the lower level and a First Class…
Continuing my journey from Dallas to Milan, I had a bit of an extended layover in Madrid. I was connecting from American Airlines and had arrived in Terminal 4S, connecting onto an Iberia flight to Milan. I’d visited the non-Schengen, Iberia Velázquez VIP Lounge in Terminal 4S many times. But this would be my first time having a chance to visit the Iberia Dalí VIP Lounge on the Schengen side of Terminal 4 in Madrid. After clearing immigration, I took the tram…
South America in your upcoming travel plans? American Airlines currently has a promotion where you can earn 20,000 bonus AAdvantage miles when you book your trip through American Airlines Vacations. Travel must be booked by September 30, 2017 online or over the phone directly with American Airlines Vacations. There is no deadline for travel dates as long as it is during American Airlines’ current open travel schedule. Per the terms of American Airlines’ promotion: To receive 20,000 miles on your…
As you you may know, I’ve just returned from a week in Madrid. Originally booked on American Airlines for the flight home, I changed my return journey and booked an Iberia Economy Class award for 20,000 Avios from Madrid to Chicago. I’d never really had a great experience with Iberia before but for 20,000 Avios, it was a cheap way to get home. Award booking method for this flight: Economy Class flight on Iberia Madrid to Chicago: 20,000 Avios +…
As I posted earlier, American is adding transatlantic routes from Philadelphia (PHL) to Budapest (BUD) and Prague (PRG) and from Chicago (ORD) to Venice (VCE). These new routes will be seasonal during the peak summer travel season for 2018. The news has traveled fast across the blog world and American has been quick to promote this exciting news for Philadelphia and Chicago flyers. However, more subtly, American Airlines has released memos that these gains for Budapest, Prague, and Venice come…
Exciting news travelers! for American is launching two new exciting transatlantic routes from Philadelphia (PHL) to Budapest (BUD) and Prague (PRG) and from Chicago (ORD) to Venice (VCE). These new routes will be seasonal during the peak summer travel season. Per the press release from American Airlines: Budapest and Prague will be new destinations on American’s route map. The airline currently offers service to Venice from Philadelphia. This summer, American began service to Amsterdam and Rome from Dallas/Fort Worth, and…
I’ve just returned home from my nice week in Madrid and had somewhat of an interesting trip home. As a follow-up to my prior post on booking this trip, I was worried I”d signed myself up for a frustrating flight experience with Iberia.. I’ve had plenty of frustration with their strange baggage policies, slow agents at Madrid, and dingy aircraft. I’ve come to learn that using Your oneworld Elite Benefits on Iberia award travel takes work. As a OneWorld elite status…
I’ve had the US Bank Altitude Reserve Card for a few months now and it’s become one of my top go-to cards, especially for the 3x points earning on mobile wallet payments. I’ve accumulated a nice stash of Altitude points and I had a good opportunity to redeem some of these points for a flight booking. So how was my experience booking a flight via US Bank Altitude rewards? I had already had a particular flight in mind form Chicago…
I’ve written extensively about American’s Business Class product on the 777-300ER on the DFW to London route as well other routes like Sydney to Los Angeles. But I wanted to write-up a “mini review” of my latest journey aboard American Airlines Business Class. Boarding from Gate D23 (which I despise for it’s compact space), the boarding process started right on time for AA 78 from DFW to London Heathrow. Boarding was slow as there was only one agent scanning boarding…
As you may know, I’m currently spending the week in Madrid. I flew American and British Airways Business class on the outbound which was an overall pleasant experience. For the return, I booked a rather undesirable routing home via Amsterdam with an overnight layover on Iberia and American Airlines. I had planned to return home this Saturday but the overnight layover didn’t put me back in Dallas until Sunday. Thanks to my Executive Platinum status with American Airlines, I can…
Making my may to Paris for a quick extended weekend, I’d be traveling with American Airlines in 787-9 Economy Class. I was pleased when American “upgraded” this route from an older 777-200 to a 787-9 although now that nearly all 777-200s have been retrofitted, the 787-9 is newer but a slightly smaller passenger capacity. Before departure, I spent about an hour in the DFW Amex Centurion Lounge before heading to my gate about 15 minutes before departure. American loves to…