Could Be Worse

It's not de-icing season yet.

Coming Soon to an Airport Near You

IHG Rewards Credit Card Extra Bonus Points

The IHG Rewards card I picked up earlier this year is still paying out bonus points.  The sign up offer I received was for 80,000 points after $2,000 spent (any offer less than 70,000 isn't worth taking).  IHG ran a promotion when I signed up that gave me an extra 2,000 bonus points for acquiring the card. All these points counted to status and I earned Spire Elite status which comes with 25,000 bonus points (or gift Platinum status).  I thought 80,000 points was a good credit card bonus, but I actually earned 107,000 points.  I wish other credit cards had extra bonuses like this.

I Have a Few Free Nights to Enjoy

Visit Britain Shop Review

I'm excited for my trip to the UK and Ireland in October and I've started my planning.  The British tourist board has a great website for exploring activities and a shop to buy travel cards, tourist cards, and maps.  It's a top notch production and I ordered London transits cards and a map for my trip.

On Board Soon-ish

Post #600

To celebrate 600 posts, here's an uplifting picture from CLT.  Thank's for joining me on the trip.

About to Depart CLT on Runway 18 Center

Etihad Starts Race To Bottom in Middle East

Etihad is pulling a Delta by making a new fare class that comes with fewer benefits and the same price as the previous cheapest fare.  The new Business Breaking Deal fare class doesn't even include a chauffeur to the airport.  Who could fathom business class travel without the airline sending someone to pick you up?

How About That? I Had An Etihad A330 Picture

New York Departure Problems

I wanted to get home Thursday. Bad weather in Houston and New York made it almost impossible.  

Number 18 for Departure

Flight Option 1: I started Thursday booked on a 7PM from EWR to DEN. I expected a quick day at the office and switched to an earlier departure.  Option 1 left 5.5 hours late and arrived in Denver at 2:30AM.

Flight Option 2:  I switched onto a 5:30 flight to IAH with a comfortable 90 minute connection to the last flight out to Denver.  I liked it because I would earn more EQM's and have better seating options.  The 5:30 flight from EWR to IAH was delayed 3 hours, but the IAH to Denver flight went on time.  Even if I got the 4:30 to Houston, it was 3 hours delayed and I would have spent the night in Houston, but I switched to a third flight.

I Counted 13 Waiting While at the Gate

Flight Option 3: I flew this flight.  I saw storms were coming into New York and wanted to get airborne as fast as possible.  I called United around noon and asked about flights to Houston, Dulles, Chicago, and Cleveland with no luck. I did get the last seat on the 3:30 flight from LGA to Denver.  It was a gamble because the inbound aircraft was running late and hadn't left the gate in Houston.  My flight was 2.5 hours late and by far the best outcome when I looked at flight details Friday morning at home.

I Made It to Denver on Thursday

Bit of a Riddle

What airline is in this photo? The email from Briggs and Riley has an A320 series aircraft with red top engine cowlings and red wing end fences.  My guess was SAS (but they have blue winglets) then Royal Jordanian, but I'm not sure.  Any ideas?

Frustrating Email in Question

Fun Photo

Here's one I like from the files.

50 Seat CRJ to PHX

United 737-700 Exit Row

Row 20 on United's 737-700 is missing window seats.  That means the window seats in row 21 have unlimited legroom, it's like first class class on Southwest.  Don't bother paying for TV, it's about 5 feet away, but unlike Lufthansa First, it isn't very large.

View from 21F

Pick A Seat- Difficult Task

I love window seats.  Which seat to pick on an upcoming flight is a difficult call.  20A does not recline, but has plenty of leg room.  34A does recline, but is a tight squeeze in economy minus.  The flight is 4 hours from gate to gate.  I picked recline over leg room, but I'm hoping someone in economy plus upgrades so I can grab a better window seat.

Recline or Leg Room?

Funny SPG Hotel Search

Starwood also has a slightly silly search feature, here recommending a hotel in Connecticut when searching on Long Island.

Closest For Those Commuting Via Helicopter 

Helpful Hyatt Search Feature

Hyatt doesn't have the hotel footprint of Hilton, Marriott, or Starwood.  This pain is especially acute in Europe. When searching for hotels in Madrid, Hyatt.com suggested the closest hotel, which is in North Africa.  Not a useful suggestion, but funny they even suggested it. 

Europe? Africa? No Big Difference

Good Plane Spotting Day - EWR

I had a decent day plane spotting last week at Newark.  I found United's March of Dimes 737 and retro Continental 737.

United March of Dimes Branding

Retro Continental 737-900ER

Newark Finds Retail Space

Newark airport is very creative in their search for new space.  They removed moving walkways to add a restaurant and bar.  There was too little space and now there's less.  The prices aren't great, but I'd be in favor about the bar if they offered $1 PBR's.

Almost Enough Room

Emirates Crew Doesn't Travel Light

The Emirates crews must being running a serious personal cargo operation.  This is an A380 crew's luggage, plus each crew member has their own roller bag and pilots have an extra pilot case too.  It seems a bit excessive.

Cargo