The edge of Hong Kong from Above

Drones or Quadcopters I’m afraid the word “drone” is now in the popular vernacular, even though I think most quad pilots wished everyone referred to them as “quadcopters.” I think the “drone” word gets confusing because that’s what the military uses in a weaponized manner. But then again, “quadcopter” doesn’t always make sense either because […]



from Stuck in Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2015/03/15/the-edge-of-hong-kong-from-above/

FAA funding bill may mean big changes for fliers – or none

from Elliott http://elliott.org/the-navigator/faa-funding-bill-may-mean-big-changes-for-fliers-or-none/

6 People Filed 25,000 O’Hare Noise Complaints In A Month

Via Flight Club, O'Hare Airport has a department to deal with airport noise complaints, which were at an all time high in January, with 39,000 complaints being filed:

"The Chicago Department of Aviation's Airport Noise Management System recently revealed that noise complaints near the international airport are at an all time high. An official report cites that 63 percent of the 39,000 complaints in January came from just six addresses."

That's right, nearly 25,000 of those complaints (in a single month!!!) came from six addresses:

The post 6 People Filed 25,000 O’Hare Noise Complaints In A Month appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/6-people-filed-25000-ohare-noise-complaints-in-a-month/

“Most horrible service and support from Travelocity”

from Elliott http://elliott.org/from-the-trenches/most-horrible-service-and-support-from-travelocity/

The World’s Cheapest Award Tickets – Book By Monday!

oneworld frequent flyer program airberlin topbonus offers discounted economy award redemptions starting at just 1500 points. Over 600 routes are on sale, book by March 16 for travel through June. These aren’t expensive routes to buy but you can get these flights just for the taxes more or less since you receive 500 miles just […]

The post The World’s Cheapest Award Tickets – Book By Monday! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/the-worlds-cheapest-award-tickets-book-by-monday/

Weekly Review: March 14, 2015

Hello from Florida! I've returned from the recent FTU event and have been spending my time writing, writing, and writing. It's been fun going through photos and notes as I write trip reports, and I'm really excited about the upcoming installments. Stay tuned!

The post Weekly Review: March 14, 2015 appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/weekly-review-march-14-2015/

Credit Card Shutdowns and $1.30 China Flights!

News and notes from around the interweb: Details on the Daily Getaway Groupon-type deals are out for 2015. Some are decent, others not so much, here’s the lowdown. I’d buy the Hyatt points, but I probably won’t be quick enough. Everyone getting shut down with the new premium Diners Club card. (Which may explain why […]

The post Credit Card Shutdowns and $1.30 China Flights! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/credit-card-shutdowns-and-1-30-china-flights/

Pastor Wants People To Pay $65 Million For His New Private Jet

Conventional wisdom suggests you shouldn't discuss religion, so I think I've reached my quota for the decade today alone. This morning I wrote about the NFL player who thought Orbitz sending him a fare alert was a "sign from God."

But that has nothing on this story, about mega-church pastor Creflo Dollar (an ironic name, given the story). At first I actually thought it was a joke. But it's not.

Long story short, Dollar's old private jet broke down, and he's looking for the congregation to fund his new $65 million G650 jet. An effort which he calls "Project G650."

The post Pastor Wants People To Pay $65 Million For His New Private Jet appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/pastor-wants-people-to-pay-65-million-for-his-new-private-jet/

Secret tips from Disney moms

Whether you’re craving a Disney doughnut or want to know the best places to watch the parades, these insiders have the answers.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/trips/secret-tips-tricks-disney-moms-plus-dad/

Prepare for Tomorrow by Doing One Thing Differently Today

Here’s a trick that will work every time. Work hard during the day, and cross off as many things from your list as you can. But as you’re winding down, save something. Leave one thing undone.Don’t actually do that one more task—but do identify it. Stop before you’re completely ready to stop.Build a bridge to the future, and leave your current day’s work knowing what you’re going to do next.It will work. Every time.



from The Art of Non-Conformity http://chrisguillebeau.com/prepare-for-tomorrow/

My “ID” wasn’t protected — can I get a refund?

from Elliott http://elliott.org/problem-solved/my-id-wasnt-protected-can-i-get-a-refund/

Smelly Poo Forces British Airways Flight to Return to London

Normally I’d just suggest “light a match,” but that’s not an option on a plane. A British Airways flight was forced to turn back to Heathrow leaving passengers stranded for 15 hours – because someone did “a smelly poo in the toilet”. The plane turned back just 30 minutes into the 7 hour flight to […]

The post Smelly Poo Forces British Airways Flight to Return to London appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/smelly-poo-forces-british-airways-flight-to-return-to-london/

Review: Etihad Airways Lounge London Heathrow Airport

I was excited to check out the brand new Etihad Lounge London Heathrow, which only reopened after a renovation in late December 2014 (the opening coincided with the introduction of Etihad's A380 service to London Heathrow).

Etihad flies out of Terminal 4 at London Heathrow, which is certainly one of the more "exotic" terminals in terms of airlines.

Etihad's Heathrow Lounge is located near gate 10, in the same general area as the SkyTeam Lounge.

When you're in front of the SkyTeam Lounge you can either take the elevator or a staircase down to the Etihad Lounge, which is one level below the main concourse.

The post Review: Etihad Airways Lounge London Heathrow Airport appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/review-etihad-airways-lounge-london-heathrow-airport/

Etihad’s Stunning New “Flying Reimagined” TV Commercial

The timing of this is sort of funny, because just last night I shared Etihad's awesome The Residence, First Apartment, and Business Studio promotional ads. As I said in the post, if there's one area Etihad excels in, it's marketing. They really, really know how to market their products. Like, really well.

Today Etihad has unveiled their latest "Flying Reimagined" TV commercial, featuring Nicole Kidman.

Here's how Etihad explains the new advertisement and their choice of casting Nicole Kidman:

The post Etihad’s Stunning New “Flying Reimagined” TV Commercial appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/etihads-stunning-new-flying-reimagined-tv-commercial/

25% Off Etihad Redemptions!

Etihad Guest is offering 25% off saver award redemptions in any class of service. Book online only by March 20 for travel through December 31 using promo code REDM25. You may not already have Etihad Guest points. That’s fine, they are a Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partner. The offer is for select destinations, but includes […]

The post 25% Off Etihad Redemptions! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/25-off-etihad-redemptions/

Can you name the state capitals?

All 50 of them? Good luck!



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/can-name-state-capitals-quiz/

Tourism changed this baker's life

"For Tan Hoa, a rural village of 300 people who are enveloped by these imposing karsts, the monoliths had always been little more than a backdrop. Much potential lies hidden amongst the stone, but in the minds of the local Nguon people, it would always remain locked in its current state with little chance of change -- much like their own lives."



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/tourism-completely-changed-vietnamese-bakers-life/

80% Bonus When You Buy Virgin America Elevate Points

Virgin America’s Elevate program is offering up to an 80% bonus on the purchase of points through Saturday, April 4, 2015.

While Virgin America has offered an 80% bonus on purchased points in the past, they've never actually offered a bigger bonus, so this is as good as it gets. For context, they offered a similar 80% bonus promotion for just eight hours last October.

Virgin America Elevate points ordinarily cost 5.2 cents each to purchase, so through this promotion Virgin America Elevate points can be purchased for ~2.89 cents each. You can purchase up to 20,000 points per account per calendar year, before factoring in the 80% bonus (meaning you can purchase a maximum of ~36,000 points through this promotion).

The post 80% Bonus When You Buy Virgin America Elevate Points appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/80-bonus-when-you-buy-virgin-america-elevate-points/

Here’s How to Automatically Reduce the Price of Your Hotel Reservations

DreamCheaper is like AutoSlash for hotels. It’s like what Yapta was supposed to be for airfares. It keeps checking the price of your hotel room, and helps you cancel and rebook when the price goes down. Yapta was all about getting you refunds when airfares dropped. Airlines used to do that, remember? They’d issue you […]

The post Here’s How to Automatically Reduce the Price of Your Hotel Reservations appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/heres-how-to-automatically-reduce-the-price-of-your-hotel-reservations/

Berlin's ticketless subway travelers

A bid to save public funds has turned Germany's public transport system into a cat-and-mouse game between ticketless travelers and Kontrol.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/pulse/germanys-undercover-operatives-will-check-subway-fare/

Can Orbitz Airfare Alerts Be A Sign From God?

Now, I can't really say I follow football much, but my friend AJ sent me a link to an article which made me chuckle.

Via Bleacher Report:

"Nothing says "destiny" like a mass email, right guys?

Antrel Rolle thinks so—he says a sign from God guiding him along in his NFL career came Monday morning in the form of an airline deal alert."

The post Can Orbitz Airfare Alerts Be A Sign From God? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/can-orbitz-airfare-alerts-be-a-sign-from-god/

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXVII

I. Around the World Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter. Crashing the Ivy League — What one man learned by crashing elite colleges for 4 years Oddly Priced Routes when Using Miles — Some interesting redemption opportunities for all those miles & points you’ve…



from The Art of Non-Conformity http://chrisguillebeau.com/6-discoveries-from-near-and-far-volume-xxxvii/

In Transit Blog: A Break for Those Who Cruise Alone

A number of cruise lines have dropped single supplements and have embraced solo travelers by offering them single-occupancy staterooms with no premium.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/446302e5/sc/4/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A150C0A30C140Ca0Ebreak0Efor0Ethose0Ewho0Ecruise0Ealone0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

What Does United Airlines Smell Like?

A big story in travel this week was United’s new boarding areas and process. There are prototypes at O’Hare gates B4, 8, and 10. United has changed passenger seating areas and gate-agent podiums, while adding standing work stations and boarding poles to bring more order to the boarding process. Here’s the part that really struck […]

The post What Does United Airlines Smell Like? appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/03/14/what-does-united-airlines-smell-like/

Do seductive frequent flier programs hurt competition?

from Elliott http://elliott.org/blog/do-seductive-frequent-flier-programs-hurt-competition/

At Least 21 Killed After Myanmar Ferry Capsizes

The government-owned Aung Tagun 3, carrying more than 200 people, went down after it ran into high seas late Friday.



from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/myanmar-ferry-capsizes-least-21-dead-search-operation-underway-dozens-missing-1847078