American Airlines

Tag Archives for American Airlines.

Air New Zealand’s Australia/USA/London Specials

Air New Zealand, my fourth favourite airline* are offering special fares this next two weeks to destinations in Australia, NZ, the UK and USA. For Aussie passengers, there are deals to four US destinations: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu and their new Houston hub.  Sydney to Houston is $A958 in Economy plus add a bag for $1 or $A2,631 in their wonderful Premium Economy. Melbourne to Houston is $A941 in Economy plus add a bag for $1  or $A2,614 in Premium. One way fares are actually higher than round trip! You fly via Auckland.   For US customers, the sale…

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#JeSuisBruxelles #JeSuisToutLeMonde

I have been to Brussels, the capital of the small European country of Belgium three times. It is my 14th favourite city out of the 185 cities I have visited across the globe with a population of 100,000+ I have flown out of Zaventem  the city’s airport. I have ridden the Brussels metro, enjoyed Belgian food, drink, art and culture. And I am a massive Tintin fan. On Tuesday, at 8am two coordinated bombings at that airport and one at Maelbeek Metro (subway) station at 911am killed 34 people (including the bombers). One airport bomb reportedly exploded near the…

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The airlines that vanished in 2015

Over 50 carriers failed in 2015. Many of them, frankly won’t be missed. I have flown none of them (and in some cases it seems no one else flew them either!). There were some very long standing airlines that went under and a couple that lasted just a short time including one that had planes in the air for under month. Man dream of being a Richard Branson but for every successful startup there are hundreds of shuttered dreams. To survive, I believe an airline needs to have seven things: A demonstrated diversified real market. “build it…

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Staying comfy in Long haul Economy

One of the disadvantages of being based in Australia is that my long distance flights are all very long. And many of my flights have been done in the back of the plane! the reality is that this is where most passengers end up. The hallowed grail of Business or First can be elusive despite our best prayers, wishes and attempts! Here are 12 tips: Do some research- some airlines do long haul better than others.  Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Finnair, Lan, Malaysia, Qatar,  Qantas, Turkish and Singapore keep me much happier than Air Canada, Air France, American, Delta, Etihad and…

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Good Bye US Airways- will they be missed?

  Tomorrow, US Airways disappears as a brand. It joins AirTran, Aloha, Continental, Midwest Express, Northwest, TWA as airline brands that have all disappeared since 2001. The largest airlines in the US have contracted to just three large carriers: American, Delta and United. US first flew in 1939 as mail carrier All American Aviation, adding passenger traffic in 1949. In 1953 it became Allegheny Airlines, a name it carried until the deregulation era of 1979 when USAir was adopted. USAir was varied to US Airways in 1997. In 2005, they entered into a “reverse merger” with America West with the America West…

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$2015 US to London- BA Business Class Sale

Right now British Airways has roundtrip business class travel to London from $US2,015  from  Atlanta, Boston, Chicago,  Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC.  The  sale is only for October 15 and 16 for travel from November 16, 2015 through August 31, 2016 (although blackout dates apply on some routings). This is a great chance to fly the BA A380 or 787 product! The sale applies on British Airways code-shared flights operated by American Airlines. (although given the choice between BA and American…) You can reduce the cost by booking through AARP. Membership is only $16 and gives you an extra $400 off Business Class.…

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Where to credit air miles

Booked your ticket and airline and trying to work out which Frequent Flyer program will get the most miles. It can be useful if you are planning a one off trip or thinking through your mileage earn for the next 12 months. Where to credit is a handy way to find out that your First Class ticket will get you 130%  of miles with one airline and 300%  with another. Or my Malaysia airways discount economy ticket will get me 25% of the miles with Malaysia and 0% with any other carrier. It is very simple…

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Prince flies Economy

There have been many news reports of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, flying Coach after attending a wedding in Memphis. He carried his own hand luggage onto the Dallas bound flight. The Prince was accompanied by his four bodyguards. He ordered a water on the flight. Why didn’t American Airlines upgrade William Windsor and a bodyguard? Or did he ask the airline not to? People were certainly impressed by the prince’s choice. eg US television reporter Eli Ross tweeted: “I am still amazed #Prince William flies COACH. That’s pretty humble/awesome. Who knew?”

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Rating US airlines

As a regular flier, I like to rate who I fly with. I am not alone. Over 16,000 readers of Consumer Reports magazine reviewed 31,732 US domestic flights in February, 2013 for the Consumer Reports National Research Center. The carriers were rated by the readers on six dimensions: 1. Ease of check-in 2. Friendliness and responsiveness of cabin crew 3. Cabin cleanliness 4. Baggage handling 5. Seating comfort 6. In-flight entertainment The results were not a huge surprise as to where the eleven US carriers ranked. The ranking was very close to my own assessments…

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The American Wedding moves closer.

On Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved the plan of American Airlines parent company: AMR Corp to merge with US Airways. The merger still needs regulatory approval. American Airlines must also construct a formal restructuring plan that incorporates the merger. If the courts and creditors approve this plan, then the airline can emerge from the bankruptcy status it has held since November, 2011. American was the last of the major US legacy airlines to go through the Chapter 11 process. They filed for bankruptcy citing untenable labor costs after years of fruitless negotiations with…

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