Sensible Germans Use Fewer Titles

Ze sensible Germans at Lufthansa have a simple and practical list of titles for customers to select.  It's a funny cultural contrast to British Airways' title obsession.

Lufthansa A320 at Madrid

Lufthansa titles: Mr, MrDr, MrProf, Mrs, Mstr, MrsDr, MrsProf, Ms.

British Airways Loves Titles

If I were an Earl, Commodore, Crown Prince, or Vice Admiral, I'd be very frustrated with web forms forcing me to select "Mr." Luckily British Airways identified this source of customer frustration and has a very thorough option set for customers to select their title.  It's a funny read.

Her Majesty, H R H, or Mrs. Windsor

Title: Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, Dr, Herr, Monsieur, Hr, Frau, A V M, Admiraal, Admiral, Air Cdre, Air Commodore, Air Marshal, Air Vice Marshal, Alderman, Alhaji, Ambassador, Archbishop, Archdeacon, Baron, Barones, Baroness, Bay, Bayan, Bishop, Brig, Brig Gen, Brig General, Brigadier, Brigadier General, Brother, Canon, Capt, Captain, Cardinal, Cdr, Chief, Cik, Cmdr, Col, Col Dr, Colonel, Commandant, Commander, Commissioner, Commodore, Comte, Comtessa, Congressman, Conseiller, Consul, Conte, Contessa, Corporal, Councillor, Count, Countess, Crown Prince, Crown Princess, Dame, Datin, Dato, Datuk, Datuk Seri, Deacon, Deaconess, Dean, Dhr, Dipl Ing, Doctor, Dott, Dott sa, Dr, Dr Ing, Dra, Drs, Duchess, Duke, Earl, Embajador, Embajadora, En, Encik, Eng, Eur Ing, Exma Sra, Exmo Sr, F O, Father, First Lieutient, First Officer, Flt Lieut, Flying Officer, Fr, Frau, Fru, Gen, Generaal, General, Governor, Graaf, Gravin, Group Captain, Grp Capt, H E, H E Dr, H H, H M, H R H, Hajah, Haji, Hajim, Her Highness, Her Majesty, Herr, High Chief, His Excellency, His Holiness, His Majesty, Hon, Hr, HraIng, Ir, Jonkheer, Judge, Justice, Khun Ying, Kolonel, Lady, Lcda, Lic, Lieut, Lieut Cdr, Lieut Col, Lieut Gen, Lord, M, M L, M R, Madame, Mademoiselle, Maj Gen, Major, Marchioness, Marquess, Marquis, Marquise, Marshall, Master, Mevrouw, Miss, Mlle, Mme, Monsieur, Monsignor, Mr, Mrs, Ms, Mstr, Nti, Pan, Pani, Pastor, President, Prince, Princess, Princesse, Prinses, Prof, Prof Dr, Prof Sir, Professor, Puan, Puan Sri, Rabbi, Rear Admiral, Rev, Rev Canon, Rev Dr, Rev Mother, Reverend, Rva, Senator, Senhor, Senhora, Senhorita, Senor, Senora, Senorita, Sergeant, Sheikh, Sheikha, Sig,Sig na, Sig ra, Sir, Sister, Sqn Ldr, Sr, Sr D, Sra, Srta, Sultan, Tan Sri, Tan Sri  Dato, Tengku, Teuku, Than Puying, The Hon Dr, The Hon Justice, The Hon Miss, The Hon Mr, The Hon Mrs, The Hon Ms, The Hon Sir, The RT Hon, The Very Rev, Toh Puan, Tun, Vice Admiral, Viscount, Viscountess, Wg Cdr.

Formula 1 United MileagePlus Auction

I wish I could still rake in 250,000 United miles a year, then I'd have no problem bidding 400,000+ miles for a Formula 1 weekend in Canada. I'm surprised the air travel is in coach, but it otherwise looks like an amazing weekend.  

I Need To Earn More United Miles

UPDATE: The auction went for a reasonable 451,000 miles.

Dawn Arrivals on the West Coast

I've had a string of gorgeous dawn arrivals on the west coast recently. Always take a window seat if you are landing into SFO or LAX as the sun rises. Also don't rush off the plane, the United Club bar doesn't open until 8:00 AM

Low Clouds into SFO

New British Airways Awards Travel Strategy

British Airways miles flew me to Easter Island, Santiago, and Montevideo on one award ticket from Miami for 80,000 miles and $64 in business class.  Their award chart had amazing values.  British Airways also thought it was amazing and changed it to remove any outstanding values. They went from a region based chart to flight distance based pricing.  Last week they changed their prices again, but only for premium cabin travel.  Business class is 50% more expensive and first class is 33% more expensive. Flying coach is the only economical use for British Airways miles now. I plan to use my remaining British Airways miles on short distance awards to maximize their value.  It was a fun program while it lasted.

Best Use of British Airways Miles

I'm A Bad United Airlines Customer

I'm the type of flyer who is crushed by United's new revenue based award miles.  Here's my stats from earlier this year:

MileagePlus Stats

Southwest Airlines First Class 737-800

Southwest has two first class seats on every 737-800.  The service isn't any different and they are the same narrow width as all the other seats, but these two seats do offer unlimited leg room.  I was able to claim one with boarding position A43 and B2 last week.  They are considered part of the exit row, so they can't be occupied by pre-boards, children, or the elderly.   

Seat 16A

Exit Rows 15 and 16

Seat 16A Leg Room