Out of the 90 carriers I have flown, none have been Russian. I had wanted to try private Russian airline Transaero’s legendary Imperial First Class with its gold embroidered seats, cotton sheet sets and special China! Its First Class came 16th in the world’s First Class cabins. Alas not to be for the airline closed their doors on 26 October 2015, days from their 24th Birthday on 5 November. Transaero had aimed to keep flying through to 15 December but its operating certificates were revoked after Russian banks withdrew support. The safety authorities then determined that Transaero’s massive debt posed a hazard…
British Airways
Tag Archives for British Airways.
$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.…
Post Germanwings: 2 in cockpit
On many of my flights, I have watched the pilot come out of the cockpit to use the lavatory. On some airlines, as he or she has emerged, a member of the cabin crew has replaced him. On others, the pilot or co pilot has left their colleague alone in charge of the plane. The U.S.A had rules before last Tuesday’s Germanwings crash requiring airlines to have two crew members present at all times during the flight. Many other countries allowed airlines to set their own policies. And this has always bothered me. I have always…
Ryanair backtracks on US again
The idea that Ryanair, the Irish budget carrier (and one of my most disliked airlines) would fly to the USA seems to have been raised noisily every other year since 2007. The proposal is always that there will be ultra low cost economy (coach) fares starting at $US15 and a business class service. The transatlantic services would operate under different branding to the main carrier. This same transatlantic idea is then quietly retired each and very time. It almost seems like a free publicity strategy by the carrier to increase its current passneger load (currently 90million per year). On…
Ryanair US site – tips for flying
I have flown 90 airlines to all continents of the world (except for Antarctica) and one airline continues to dismay me: Ryanair. People keep flying Ryanair for one reason: cheap fares. I avoid them because of their seats, customer disdain, staff attitude, ethical concerns and their flying to random secondary airports nowhere near the city I am flying to. My experience of Ryanair is that they are like a bus. If you like bus travel, its fine. If something goes wrong, then you are on your own. The airline has made a concerted effort to improve…
Flying with Electronics- new rule & some tips
If you are planning on carrying your mobile, laptop or ipad onto a plane to the USA or UK, make sure it is charged. Under new rules released last week by the US Transport Security Administration (TSA), passengers travelling from Europe, the Middle East and Africa to the US must be able to turn on their electronics at security in order to prove they are the genuine article and not some kind of bomb. The TSA states: During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless…
The Top Ten views from the air
What would you consider to be the ten best views from the air? British Airways asked their pilots who fly 180 routes globally to nominate their top ten: Northern Lights- I’d love to see them! Central London – Approach into Heathrow (I wonder how much that is about BA pilots coming home?) Mont Blanc – Pisa Sydney Harbour – on departure from Sydney, Australia Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and bay – San Francisco Greenland – North Atlantic flights Venetian canals – Venice, Italy Cape Town, Table Mountain, South Africa Dubrovnik, Croatia Mount Fuji The survey…
Paris -New York in Business for 30% less- LaCompagnie
Fuel prices must be down because people are launching all business class airlines again. I blogged about London based Odyssey airlines last month. (Still unsure if they have a chance or not). At a Manhattan news conference last Tuesday, LaCompagnie was launched. The company has raised approximately $US41 million) from investors and is the brainchild of a former executive of India’s Jet Airways Peter Luethi and Frantz Yvelin, the founder of a previous all business class airline L’AVION. L’AVION operated between Orly Airport, Paris and Newark in the USA from 3 January 2007 to 2 July 2008 when it was taken over…
Getting my cheap fares
I have to admit that I enjoy boring my friends with my latest exploits of finding low fares. I hate paying top fare for anything! What I enjoy more is when my friends use these tips to score their own low fares! Subscribe to email alerts for airlines and travel companies Watch for new cities – when an airline starts a new service, often there is a flurry of discounting not just from that carrier but their competitors. Jumping in on a new routing can save cash! Don’t use Expedia and Orbitz automatically – these are…
Will Business Class only Odyssey survive?
In Homer’s ancient tale The Odyssey, there are a few themes. One of them is about hospitality and the other is about Perseverance. London City-based startup Odyssey Airlines is attempting a model that has failed many times, despite its predecessors offering the best in hospitality. Odyssey hopes to be a business only carrier that makes it through! Odyssey has raised five million dollars through Crowdcube, a crowdfunding platform and other funding sources. The airline plans to launch flights in 2016 from London City to an unspecified airport in New York. Once the carrier is up…
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