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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Business Class | Honolulu to DFW

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Business Class | Honolulu to DFW

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…

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Lounge Review: Iberia Dalí VIP Lounge | Madrid | Terminal 4

Lounge Review: Iberia Dalí VIP Lounge | Madrid | Terminal 4

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…

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Trip Report: British Airways Club Europe | A321 | London Heathrow to Madrid

Trip Report: British Airways Club Europe | A321 | London Heathrow to Madrid

After a nice Business Class flight with American Airlines from DFW to London, the final leg of my journey would be from London Heathrow to Madrid. I’d be flying about British Airways in Club Europe aboard an Airbus A321, a workhorse of BA’s intra-Europe fleet. I had about a three hour layover at Heathrow and I spent most of my time in the Galleries First Lounge in Terminal 5. Although, ideally, I would have rather spent my time in the…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class | Sydney to Los Angeles

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class | Sydney to Los Angeles

Returning home from a fantastic trip in Australia, it was sadly time to head home to Dallas. On the bright side, our ride home would be in comfort in American Airlines’ 777-300ER Business Class from Sydney to Los Angeles. On our outbound journey, we had flown to Sydney in Economy Class which wasn’t quite as comfortable. We would be departing from Sydney’s International Terminal 1. After spending about 45 minutes in the Sydney Qantas First lounge, it was time to head…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class | Los Angeles to Sydney

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class | Los Angeles to Sydney

Heading out on a long holiday in Australia, we made the long journey from Dallas to Sydney on American Airlines. We had snagged a steal of a price on a roundtrip Economy ticket from Dallas to Sydney for ~$750 USD. Roundtrip flights from Dallas to Sydney typically average well over $1500 USD. On the outbound, our primary segment was American Airlines 777-300ER Economy Class from Los Angeles to Sydney. We arrived from DFW and found ourselves with a layover just…

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Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Retrofitted Business Class | Dallas to London

Trip Report: American Airlines 777-200 Retrofitted Business Class | Dallas to London

Making our way to Berlin for a long weekend trip, we found ourselves in American Airlines’ Business Class from Dallas to London on the 777-200. While this wouldn’t be my first flight on one of American’s retrofitted 777-200s, it would be my first flight in the 777-200 retrofitted Business Class. I’ve had several journeys aboard American’s 777-300ER in Business Class on this same route and others and always enjoyed the reverse herringbone configuration. And while the seat is always a…

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Quirks of Iberia Basic Fares and OneWorld Elite Status

Quirks of Iberia Basic Fares and OneWorld Elite Status

With just about airline around the world offering or getting ready to introduce “basic” fares, Iberia was early to the party on offering these fare bargains. Like most basic fares, Iberia Basic fares doesn’t include perks like checked bags, seat selections, or refunds. When planning our recent trip to Brussels, we booked a one-way cash ticket on Iberia from Madrid to Brussels. The cheapest option by far was the “Basic” fare which doesn’t include a checked bag. We were both going…

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Mini Review: AA 787-9 Premium Economy | DFW to Madrid

Mini Review: AA 787-9 Premium Economy | DFW to Madrid

While I’ve already posted two extensive reviews on AA 787-9 Premium Economy on the 787-9 between Dallas and Madrid and reverse, both trip reports were on the inaugural weekend of the product. I found myself in the same cabin about 2 months after the launch of AA’s international Premium Economy product and though I’d provide a min-update on the service. Full Trip Report: AA 787-9 Premium Economy Dallas to Madrid Full Trip Report: AA 787-9 Premium Economy Madrid to Dallas We…

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Happy New Year 2017 from Benjamin J Travel

Happy New Year 2017 from Benjamin J Travel

Happy New Year 2017 from Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany! I hope all of you are enjoying the holidays season and are ready for the 2017. As the year wraps up, I look back on 2016 which may be my best year for travel yet. I’ve watched Benjamin J Travel grow extensively as I’ve invested more time and resources than ever before. As of the last day of 2016, I’ve clocked 173,872 miles in the air, which included 101 flights to 38 unique airports. …

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Trip Report: Back to DFW From Madrid in AA Premium Economy

Trip Report: Back to DFW From Madrid in AA Premium Economy

After experiencing American Airlines’ Premium Economy on the 787-9 just 2 days prior, it was time to make the same trip home. Same aircraft, same cabin and even the same crew! As a travel blogger, it was an interesting experience to compare identical travel products just 2 days apart. I had a pretty good experience on the outbound so I was hoping for an experience as good or better. The AA Premium Economy product has been introduced on their new…

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Hotel Review: NH Zurbano Madrid

Hotel Review: NH Zurbano Madrid

This was my second stay at an NH Hotels property in Madrid with my last stay being at the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding whichI I really greatly enjoyed. I snagged a great rate this at the NH Zurbano Madrid on Hotels.com for about $85 USD which was a pretty good cash rate for Central Madrid. Overall Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Location: 5 of 5 Stars Service: 4 of 5 Stars Comfort: 3.5 of 5 Stars Cleanliness: 5 of 5 Stars Location I’d arrived from…

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Trip Report: Launch of American Airlines’ 787-9 Premium Economy | DFW to Madrid

Trip Report: Launch of American Airlines’ 787-9 Premium Economy | DFW to Madrid

After the fanfare of American Airlines’ first official 787-9 flight domestically from DFW to LAX, it was time for American to take 787-9 for the long haul. I had booked my ticket well in advance in anticipation of the launch of American Airlines’ 787-9 Premium Economy product. Plus, I love Madrid and I’m happy to visit any time! American is currently offering Premium Economy seats complimentary to elite members (Executive Platinum and Platinum at booking) and are being sold as…

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Tomorrow’s Adventure: American Airlines’ Inaugural DFW to Madrid 787-9 Flight

Tomorrow’s Adventure: American Airlines’ Inaugural DFW to Madrid 787-9 Flight

Well the day is almost here and tomorrow, November 4, I’m aboard another inaugural flight with American Airlines. I’m pleased to be on the inaugural DFW to Madrid 787-9 flight with AA, featuring Premium Economy. This tags onto the inaugural domestic 787-9 flight I took from DFW to LAX this last month. It’s quite excited that American is introducing a new aircraft, the 787-9, to their fleet. This is the first plane with American’s new Premium Economy product installed. On the DFW to…

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Hotel Review: NH Collection Barcelona Constanza

Hotel Review: NH Collection Barcelona Constanza

Located just north of Central Barcelona in the Les Corts neighborhood, the NH Collection Barcelona Constanza is a hip 4-start hotel. Part of the NH Collection portfolio, the location offers relative convenience yet the peace and quiet of a residential neighborhood. We had booked the NH Collection Barcelona Constanza through Hotels.com and secured a great rate of $117 USD per night during a very busy weekend in Barcelona. The weekend we visited Barcelona happened to be during La Mercè Festival so hotel rates…

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Accommodation Review: NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding

Accommodation Review: NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding

Hopping into Madrid for a quick 24-hour visit, I booked a night at the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding, located in the Financial District of Central Madrid. I snagged the room using a Hotels.com reward night. Had I paid out of picket, I would have paid ~$180 USD for the one night stay. Overall Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Service: 4 of 5 Stars Location: 4 of 5 Stars Comfort: 5 of 5 Stars Cleanliness: 5 of 5 Stars The hotel is located…

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Blogger Collaboration: Barcelona, Hong Kong, & Philadelphia

Blogger Collaboration: Barcelona, Hong Kong, & Philadelphia

What are your favorite big cities around the world? I’m featuring fellow bloggers Angelica over at angelicalxw, and Danielle with The Though Card, to share their own favorites in North America and Europe. I’m sharing my favorite city in Asia. The result? Barcelona, Hong Kong, & Philadelphia. Blogger: Angelica Blog: angelicalxw Q: What’s your favorite city in Europe? A: Barcelona Europe is beautiful and there are many cities here that would take your breathe away but I have to say that Barcelona would be the…

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