AND WE’RE OFF! Dad’s Surprise Round The World Trip Is Underway!

I don't remember the last time I've been this excited about a trip. For that matter, I don't remember the last time I planned a trip a year in advance.

For those of you not up to date, my dad has a "round number" birthday this month. I love my parents more than anything, so I wanted to plan something really special around it. Last year my mom had a "round" birthday and I took her on an amazing trip to Bali, though I think this trip with my dad might just top that.

The post AND WE’RE OFF! Dad’s Surprise Round The World Trip Is Underway! appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/13/dads-surprise-round-world-trip-underway/

Coming Soon to Zanzibar: The Park Hyatt

Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous Tanzanian island in East Africa, is arguably one of the world’s most exotic and beautiful destinations. Even though there are numerous highly rated and regarded hotels on the island, not a single Zanzibar hotel is part of any of the major international hotel chains. Therefore, using hotel points for accommodations in Zanzibar […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/11/a-park-hyatt-coming-to-zanzibar.html

Surfacing: A Cultural Escape North of Melbourne

Bendigo, a town that struck it rich in Australia’s 19th-century gold rush, has other riches to offer now.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/4075f7b2/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C160Ctravel0Ca0Ecultural0Eescape0Enorth0Eof0Emelbourne0Eaustralia0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Finding Better Card Offers In-Branch, Delta’s New First Class Seat, and Spend the Night in an Aircraft Hotel Room

News and notes from around the interweb: Delta’s new domestic first class seat As I write this I’m more than 100 miles from the nearest Chase branch, so I can’t verify any of this myself, but a report of some good signup offers for credit cards available only in-person in-branch> Spend the night in a […]

The post Finding Better Card Offers In-Branch, Delta’s New First Class Seat, and Spend the Night in an Aircraft Hotel Room appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/11/13/finding-better-card-offers-branch-deltas-new-first-class-seat-spend-night-aircraft-hotel-room/

Australia Part 1: Savannah to Sydney On Delta Airlines

I traveled to Australia in September to spend some time with my son Andrew, who lives in Sydney. Our plans were to get out of city and see Ayers Rock (Uluru), travel the Great Ocean Road and spend a couple days in Tasmania. I started with an award booking to Sydney on Delta Airlines after […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/11/savannah-to-sydney-on-delta-airlines.html

Cultured Traveler: In Ethiopia’s Capital, a Resurgent Jazz Scene

Several venues featuring different jazz styles have sprung up in Addis Ababa in recent years, more than two decades after an evening curfew was lifted.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40753fb1/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C160Ctravel0Cin0Eethiopias0Ecapital0Ea0Eresurgent0Ejazz0Escene0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Travis’ Accident Part 2: Flight In The Black Hawk

“Colorado Air National Guard has accepted the mission.”

Those were the words that came over Ruth’s radio as she called base for the morning check-in. The excitement on the mountain was palpable. Not only had survived the night, but now I had a first class ticket off the mountain. It was close to 7 AM by now and the chopper crew had said they would be leaving soon, meaning there wasn’t much time to get ready.

In the tradition of One Mile at a Time, this is my review of the Black Hawk flight -- the best flight of my life.

The post Travis’ Accident Part 2: Flight In The Black Hawk appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/13/travis-accident-part-2-flight-in-the-black-hawk/

Traveling Troubadour: Mulatu Astatke

In the 1970s, Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke made waves when he introduced a new style of music that layered jazz improvisation with Ethiopian folk rhythms and its traditional five-note scale. Now 70, the father of Ethio-jazz is still mixing things up.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/11/13/traveling-troubadour-mulatu-astatke/

Facebook simplifies understanding of privacy controls

After years of constant criticism for not offering sufficient granular controls for managing privacy, the world’s largest social network is finally delivering ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/facebook-simplifies-understanding-privacy-controls-social-network/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=facebook-simplifies-understanding-privacy-controls-social-network

Journey to the Center of Snæfellsjökull

In 1864, the French novelist Jules Verne published one of his most ambitious works—"Journey to the Center of the Earth." Though Verne was widely regarded for the meticulous scientific research that informed his writing, what he posited in "Journey" has been rejected: namely, that volcanic tubes lead to the Earth’s core. This, of course, hasn’t stopped curious travelers from exploring the book’s geological protagonist: Iceland's Snæfellsjökull.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/11/13/journey-to-the-center-of-snaefellsjokull/

Review: US Airways Business Class A330 London Heathrow to Charlotte

I was quite looking forward to this flight for two reasons:

-- The last time I flew US Airways business class was from Charlotte to Paris about a year ago, and the service was amusingly bad, so I was curious if that was the exception or the norm

-- Given the merger with American and the "standardizing" of products, I was curious how the offerings differed from my flight last year

Upon boarding through door 2L I was pointed left into the business class cabin. US Airways has the most primitive form of reverse herringbone seats of any airline, and that's actually a compliment. Reverse herringbone seats are my favorite type of business class hard product, and US Airways is the airline that first offered these seats.

So while the seats aren't quite as snazzy as the "evolved" versions of the product available on American, Cathay Pacific, and EVA, etc., it's still a fantastic product.

The post Review: US Airways Business Class A330 London Heathrow to Charlotte appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/13/review-us-airways-business-class-a330-london-heathrow-to-charlotte/

United Increases Revenue Requirements for Elite Status

United has updated their elite qualification critieria at united.com to show that next year the minimum spending requirement to earn elite status will go up for each status level by 20%. That’s the exact percentage that Delta is raising their requirement. So United isn’t looking at their elite ranks and figuring out at what spend […]

The post United Increases Revenue Requirements for Elite Status appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/11/13/united-increases-revenue-requirements-elite-status-monkey-see-monkey-edition/

The Behind-the-Scenes with Air New Zealand Video hits tomorrow!

The New Show Starts in 3 Days! Come Find Out More and Support the Show! You can get in on the fun for just 1 penny! Any little bit is awesome! And if you put in $1, you’ll get to see the show a week early! The Premiere episode is going to be Monday, Nov […]



from Stuck in Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2014/11/13/the-behind-the-scenes-with-air-new-zealand-video-hits-tomorrow/

The Getaway: Tips for Last-Minute Holiday Travel

Haven’t made your plans for traveling around Thanksgiving and Christmas? Here’s some advice to help you make savvy choices.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/4073a749/sc/36/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C160Ctravel0Ctips0Efor0Elast0Eminute0Eholiday0Etravel0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Lufthansa Frankfurt To Tampa Flights Starting Fall 2015

Woohoo, dreams come true! Except when they do they're rarely as you imagine.

I lived in Tampa for over a decade, and when I did I had three realistic "dream" routes out of Tampa International Airport (key word being realistic, though I would've certainly taken an Emirates A380 nonstop flight to Dubai as well):

-- Alaska to Seattle

-- American to Los Angeles

-- Lufthansa to Frankfurt

The first two came true. Alaska launched service between Tampa and Seattle back in June. Too bad I don't really have a need to fly to Seattle anymore. And American's flight between Tampa and Los Angeles launched just last week.

Lufthansa was more of a stretch, but I figured it was always a possibility. What could be better than taking a shower at home and having caviar a couple of hours later enroute to Frankfurt. Or for that matter, going to the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt and then taking a nonstop flight home. Sounds good, right?

The post Lufthansa Frankfurt To Tampa Flights Starting Fall 2015 appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/13/lufthansa-frankfurt-to-tampa-flights-starting-fall-2015/