British Airways Trials New Avios Upgrade Scheme

In theory British Airways has an extremely generous upgrade program.

For example, you can upgrade from business class to first class for the difference in cost between a first and business class award. A discounted business class ticket between New York and London would only require 20,000 Avios to upgrade one-way, with no co-pay. That's a pretty darn good deal, if you ask me.

The catch is that there needs to be award space in the cabin you're trying to upgrade to. And there's no way to waitlist an upgrade. In the past British Airways was great about releasing award space last minute, though they've been getting stingier and stingier lately. In other words, even if 100 people are waitlisted for upgrades, they'll let the premium cabin go out with empty seats if there's no award space.

The post British Airways Trials New Avios Upgrade Scheme appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/british-airways-trials-new-avios-upgrade-scheme/

Pursuits: Casting for a Big Fish on the Big Island of Hawaii

Ulua can weigh well over a hundred pounds. So how, exactly, do you haul one in from the shore?

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/41053234/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A70Ctravel0Ccasting0Efor0Ea0Ebig0Efish0Eon0Ethe0Ebig0Eisland0Eof0Ehawaii0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

In Transit Blog: Rio, Real Early

The Belmond Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro is offering a sunrise picnic with sweeping views of the city.

















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New Newark – London Service Coming Offering Business Class for the Price of Coach

La Compagnie, the all-business class airline flying Paris – Newark with angled seats and just 3 flight attendants for a 74 passenger cabin, will use its second 757 that’s about to be delivered to fly from a London area airport to Newark. No details are announced yet as far as whether they’ll serve Gatwick, Luton, […]

The post New Newark – London Service Coming Offering Business Class for the Price of Coach appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/new-newark-london-service-coming-offering-business-class-price-coach/

Oman Air Introduces New (Worse) Business Class Product

Oman is near the top of the list of places I want to visit. While the Middle East in general fascinates me, a lot of the "culture" seems to be list in cities like Doha and Dubai, which are all about building the biggest/newest/most expensive of everything.

Oman, based on what I've heard from everyone that has been there, is a gem of the Middle East. Here's a short tourism video about Oman.

But what fascinates me almost as much as the country itself is their airline, Oman Air. When we think of premium Middle Eastern Airlines we often think of the "big three" -- Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar -- which are most well known.

But Oman Air is arguably at least as cutting edge as they are. Their Airbus A330s are configured with a business class product that's in a 1-2-1 configuration, the same as most airlines have in first class. And they've had that product for years.

The post Oman Air Introduces New (Worse) Business Class Product appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/oman-air-introduces-new-worse-business-class-product/

Seeing the World in a Weekend – Budapest, Hungary

The weather in Budapest was uncooperative during my one full day in this delightful city. The city was, however, one of the most architecturally stunning I have ever seen, so not even the bad weather could keep the sites from shining through the rain and fog. As usual, I make the very best of the […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/12/seeing-the-world-in-a-weekend-budapest-hungary.html

I Hate Thailand – reverse psychology clip goes viral, but will it work?

Tourism bosses in Thailand are no doubt extremely pleased that a quirky marketing campaign has captured the attention of many. The Tourism ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/i-hate-thailand-viral-clip/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hate-thailand-reverse-psychology-clip-goes-viral-will-work

Just Back: Provence

Barbara A. Noe oversees the creation of National Geographic’s travel books—and every now and again has the opportunity to write them. She recently returned from a trip to Provence and the French Riviera on assignment to update Nat Geo Travel's guidebook to the region. Here are some of the high points of her trip, in her own words.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/01/just-back-provence/

December 2014 Desktop Wallpaper

This month’s photo is of Devil’s Tower, Wyoming 1920×1200 | 1920×1080 | 1600×1200 | 1680×1050 | 1600×900 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 iPad | iPhone 6 | iPhone 6 Plus | iPhone 5 | iPhone 4 2560×1600 (MacBook Retina 13″) | 2880×1800 (MacBook Retina 15″)



from Everything Everywhere Travel Blog http://everything-everywhere.com/2014/12/01/december-2014-desktop-wallpaper/

The Worst Security Line Ever? United’s Worst Twitter Fail? And Buying Avios Via Magazine Subscriptions

News and notes from around the interweb: TSA Line at Chicago Midway Stretched Over a Mile Long 12,000 Avios for £155 with best-ever Iberia / Economist offer Does Washington Dulles — IAD — stand for Inside a Dump, I Advocate Demolition (of the C/D terminal), Incompetent AirLounge Dragons, or International Arrivals Disaster? I pay for […]

The post The Worst Security Line Ever? United’s Worst Twitter Fail? And Buying Avios Via Magazine Subscriptions appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/worst-security-line-ever-uniteds-worst-twitter-fail-buying-avios-via-magazine-subscriptions/

Review: Singapore Airlines Suites Class A380 New York To Frankfurt

I don't think there's a more aspirational first class product out there than Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class, so I was excited to finally fly it between the US and Germany, which is one of my favorite fifth freedom routes that they operate. Previously I had only flown Singapore Suites Class between San Francisco and Hong Kong and then between Hong Kong and Singapore. I've also flown Singapore 777-300ER first class many times.

At the door I was welcomed aboard and immediately escorted to my seat, 2F. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the A380 featured Singapore's refurbished Suites Class cabin. Best I could tell the product itself was more or less identical to the "old" one. The only difference was the finishes -- the seat featured much darker leather.

In terms of hard product it really is tough to beat Singapore Suites. You have a huge seat with a massive TV and big ottoman which can double as a buddy seat.

The post Review: Singapore Airlines Suites Class A380 New York To Frankfurt appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/review-singapore-airlines-suites-class-a380-new-york-to-frankfurt/

In Transit Blog: Walkabout: Uber Takes On Mercedes-Benz Taxis in Germany

A weekly capsule of travel news curated by our writers and editors.

















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Silvercar Review: Luxury Car Rentals for the Tech Generation

Lifestyle Editor Shayne Benowitz recently gave Silvercar a spin, an Audi-only, on-demand car rental service catering to the next generation of travelers, which is currently the TPG Thursday Giveaway, for a whole year’s rental, a $9000 value! Here’s her review of the new premium service. For travelers in search of luxury rental cars and on-demand […]



from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2014/12/silvercar-review-luxury-car-rentals-for-the-tech-generation/

Great Time To Start US Airways Challenge

I've written extensively about the US Airways Challenge, which is more useful than ever given that we now know the timeline of the integration between American AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles.

If you're not yet familiar with the challenge, I'd recommend reading my primer post about it, and then the frequently asked questions follow up post I wrote.

Basically you can pay $200-600 to start the challenge (depending on whether you want Silver, Gold, or Platinum status upfront), and then if you fly 30,000 miles on American or US Airways within 90 days you get Chairman's Preferred status. That will be converted into Executive Platinum status in the second quarter of 2015, at which point you'll get eight American systemwide upgrades (in addition to the US Airways Chairman's Preferred upgrade certificates you get upon completing the challenge).

The post Great Time To Start US Airways Challenge appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/great-time-start-us-airways-challenge/

Startup pitch: Wanderant offers trip tool for prolific planners

Today’s travel startup pitch comes from Wanderant, a travel planning startup that promises to help plan/book/go on trips. The team calls the ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/startup-pitch-Wanderant-offers-trip-tool-prolific-planners/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=startup-pitch-wanderant