Plane Crash Movie On My Flight

I watched a movie about airplane crashes on a recent flight.  A Yank in the R.A.F. was on TCM (free DirecTV in United first) and it was full of plane crashes and fires. In the old days when airlines picked their movies, they avoided ones with sensitive topics. It was a good propaganda film from 1941 (filmed in the UK with the Luftwaffe in the area), so I didn't notice it was about airplane failures until the end. 

United 737 with DirecTV

The funniest part of the movie was in the opening credits:
The Producers wish to express their appreciation to the officers and personnel of the Royal Air Force whose cooperation, under difficult conditions, made possible the filming of the aerial scenes in this production.

UPDATE: I also enjoyed North By Northwest and Von Ryan's Express on flights, so I guess prop plane crash movies are OK to watch on flights.

Minimum Credit Card Rewards Value

Note: I am NOT compensated for this post. I would like to be, but that's another discussion.

Do you receive more than 2% in award credit on your daily credit card spend?  If not, switch cards to the Fidelity Amex that gives 2% cash back on every purchase.  If your current credit card yields just 1 point per dollar, you would probably be better off with a 2% cash back card for daily spending. It may be advantageous to keep an airline card for free checked bags, double miles promotions, or to avoid foreign transaction fees, but only use it sparingly.  The Fidelity card is an Amex, so a Visa/Mastercard backup is good to carry.

Cash Back Works On Any Airline With No Black Out Dates

JetBlue Bags Made From Recycled Uniforms

JetBlue has partnered with Manhattan Portage to transform of crew uniforms into trendy new bags.  The bags look cool, but I don't like the JetBlue brand enough to spend about $100 on a bag I would rarely use.  They are running a contest to win a trip to New York too.

JetBlue A320's

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