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Travel like a spy, gate check your bag, Amazing Opportunity with GOL Smiles

July 28, 2017 By Trevor 2 Comments





The Weekly Travel News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel:

  • Travel Caching – a Tim Ferriss concept similar to Jason Bourne; I’d love to do this, but I find I don’t travel to the same places nearly enough to justify it.
  • Is United getting it right or wrong with incentivizing passengers to check their bag. 
  • Pooling points can get you a lot of value, see how that happens with Citi Thank You points.
  • You’ve probably heard, enhanced screening is coming to domestic flights. This is fairly consistent most of the international places I travel, so it’s not terribly surprising. But you can avoid this with TSA PreCheck. 
  • Etihad lost some money this past year... only $2 Billion… I wonder how much of that was Alitalia though.. 
  • I haven’t done this myself, but it looks like this might be a one time opportunity to generate a ton of miles with GOL Smiles

Credit Cards:

  • AMEX updates it’s terms, makes them more aggressive against travel hackers.
  • More on Timeshare Strategies — I’ve been finding this series of guest posts as rather interesting.
  • Interesting potentials in this FrequentMiler post regarding the Chase Ink Preferred

Tagging Miles:

  • Highlighting The Speakers of ResellingDO 5
  • Earn 8,000 bonus miles from Airline Shopping Portals!
  • Earn 10,000 United Miles per night with PointsHound
  • Comparing the Hyatt Zilara Cancun and Jamaica
  • Monday Roundup: Business Wisdom, AMEX Offer, Great American Eclipse
  • Which Airline Serves 5% of the Worlds Caviar Supply?

Filed Under: Weekly News Roundup Tagged With: #ResellingDO, Etihad, GOL, Travel Caching, United

Electronics Ban Expansion, Qantas Heritage, Travel Scholarships, Singapore Long Haul

May 19, 2017 By Trevor 1 Comment

The Weekly Travel News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.

Travel:

  • More Basic Economy fares from American, are any routes you might fly, impacted?
  • Did you know that you could transfer Hyatt points to anyone?
  • The expansion of the Electronics Ban to flights from the European Union is still unresolved.
  • More unofficial news about Singapore Airlines restarting the EWR-SIN and LAX-SIN routes. Not the best news.
  • A tour of the Qantas Heritage Collection in Qantas’ Domestic Sydney terminal.
  • The Gate has an interim joint statement between the EU and the US about what has been called the “pending electronics ban expansion.” Short answer – nothing yet. 
  • Lucky flew the Etihad A380 Residence last week; here are 10 photos. I have to admit, it does look pretty cool.
  • I’ll be heading to the Westin Playa Conchal for my third time. But before we go to the Westin, we’ll be staying a night or two at the Andaz Papagayo – this is post is making me lean more toward the two nights.
  • Scott awarded the first Travel Codex scholarship – I think its an excellent idea. Travel breaks many biases. 

Tagging Miles:

  • Diamonde the Giraffe appears with Delta SkyMiles and Lyft
  • Review: The Castle Hotel Orlando
  • Travel is Changing, Specifically the Passenger Experience

Filed Under: Travel, Weekly News Roundup Tagged With: Andaz Papagayo, Electronics Ban, Etihad, Qantas, Singapore, Travel, Westin Playa Conchal

Bring your falcon on your flight to Doha

November 8, 2016 By Trevor 4 Comments

There has been a lot of discussion about emotional support animals. What with the emotional support duck a few weeks ago, I thought it would be appropriate to share how you can bring your falcon on your flight to Doha on Qatar Airways. 

Falcon Photo from FlyterTalk

Photo from FlyerTalk

As it turns out, while a Falcon may not necessarily be an emotional support animal, you can bring your falcon on your flight to Doha, as long as it is on Qatar Airways. 

Here is Qatar’s cost per Falcon in the Economy cabin:

Take your Falcon with you

Now, lets say you want to fly via Abu Dhabi, on Etihad Airways – well apparently, they will allow you to fly with your Falcon as well. Mind you, however, that if you want to bring more than one falcon onboard, you’ll need to be in Business or First Class… but please don’t (as I selfishly proclaim):

Etihad First Apartments

Etihad First Apartments

Now I’m sure what you’re wondering. I’ve talked about Qatar and Etihad, what about my favorite airline, Emirates? Well, they have their own rules. Apparently they do not permit animals in the cabin:

with the exception of falcons between Dubai and certain destinations in Pakistan, and Guide Dogs for the Blind – please see our information on passengers with special needs.

So, there you have it, you might get exception for guide dogs. Falcons, also get exception. Yet, it is not entirely clear whether Falcons can fly in the passenger cabin. Personally, I don’t see why not, but, each airline to their own.

Conclusion: Bring your falcon on your flight to Doha

I don’t have a falcon, personally. I’ve wanted to give Falconry a try, but, you know, we must live within our means. I would feel horrible if I had a falcon, and couldn’t properly exercise said falcon, or give said falcon the kind of environment that they need. But, if you do have a falcon, my opinion is, that you need to fly Qatar or Etihad, because they have pretty flexible policies, that would allow you to travel with your falcon in your same cabin. I know, if I had my way, I’d prefer to take my #indydog in the passenger cabin, so why not a falcon? 

Have you ever seen a Falcon in the passenger cabin?

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Emirates, Emotional Support Animals, Etihad, Falcons, Qatar, Qatar Airways

FIA a week late, Tons of meet-ups, Traveling safely, Charles Schwab Accounts, Boeing 100th Anniversary!

July 22, 2016 By Trevor 2 Comments

 The Weekly News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know.
If you’re in the DC area – there is a meet-up schedule for 24 August in Crystal City, VA, hosted by Jeanne of Le Chic Geek, and Ed of Pizza in Motion – I really recommend attending events like these, it’s a great opportunity to network, which is the true force multiplier!
If you’re in Michigan this weekend – there’s a great meet-up in Ann Arbor – I wanted to make it this year but too much travel overwhelmed me. There’s a great line-up of presenters, and even more super smart people. I’m convinced that Michigan is one of those concentrated areas of mile and pointers, kind of like Austin.

Travel:

  • Nice happened and other bad things happened in the past couple of weeks. Whether you’re traveling in the US or abroad, it makes sense to be smart. Rapid Travel Chai shares some great tips. I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit to not having a security belt/wallet. I do however secure my back-ups elsewhere, fact is, have them. One thing that I’ve missed is blood type and insurance information. It makes perfect sense in hindsight.
  • Rapid Travel Chai adds some significant value with respect to a checking account that I’ve been meaning to get. Definitely give this a read. The Charles Schwab Checking account is a favorite for travelers, due to no international fee. With a $100 credit for new customers, now is a great time. I know I’ll be jumping on this, especially with the update in the post!

Miles and Points

  • United Airlines is going to give away a billion MileagePlus miles!
  • Frequent Miler dives into the topic of pooling Thank You Points. My advice: Avoid the deep end.
  • Did you know there’s a frequent flyer program that actually expires? Well, lately, it seems to be the saga that continues on! But when will it expire again?
  • Frequent Miler provides an update on his “App-No-Rama” efforts to date.

AvGeek

  • Scott had the chance to attend Boeing’s 100th anniversary / Founder’s Day weekend. He’s got a great write-up of the event.

Farnborough International Airshow

  • Last week–or was it two weeks ago?– was the bi-annual Farnborough Air Show–which is ever even year, while Paris Air Show is on the odd years. What follows is a collection of notable posts from this year’s airshow:
    • Business Traveller reports that Qatar Airways has bought a 10 percent of LATAM, the airline resulting from the combination of Brazil’s TAM, and Argentina and Peru’s LAN.
    • Airbus releases an A380 focused flight search engine. There are positives and negatives, but, it underscores Airbus’ continuing commitment to the Airbus.

Tagging Miles:

  • Asiana A380 First Class – My First World Problems
  • The real winner of Costco Visa change
  • Don’t make this mistake when traveling overseas
  • Have you heard of D.B. Cooper?
  • Review: Emirates A380 First Class Dubai to Washington, DC (Dulles)
  • Review: Emirates First Class Terminal – Dubai

Note: We’ve also opened up additional slots for the Mile High Reselling Club, if you’re interested, check out the link and send us an e-mail!

Filed Under: Weekly News Roundup Tagged With: Charles Schwab, Etihad, Farnborough, FIA, Travel, United Mileage Plus

My Year in Travel

December 31, 2015 By Trevor 1 Comment

It’s that time of the year again, where you look back at the year behind, and look forward to the year ahead.

A whole lot of flying–even for me

This year I flew 159,029 miles. All of it either funded by myself or through miles. Here’s that travel charted out:

Map courtesy of gcmap.

Map courtesy of gcmap.

My travel brought me to 12 countries, of which 2 were new to me: Egypt and Chile. I flew a lot of American Airlines and Qatar Airways revenue, Emirates and Etihad on miles, but got a couple of flights on Lufthansa First Class (including visits to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal). I also finally flew my White Whale.

New Airlines for me this year included: Virgin Atlantic (post coming), Cathay Pacific Long-haul First Class, Qantas domestic, and Singapore Regional.

New Cities

This year I felt like I was in a bit of a travel rut. I started the year visiting Cairo–which was awesome, then found myself returning to a lot of places I’d been: Dubai, Doha, Bali, and Singapore. Even though I revisited Mainz, Germany, I don’t see that as part of the rut. I did see my wife and I get out of that rut in visiting Melbourne, Australia, and would recommend anyone and everyone to visit, it was truly the most surprisingly enjoyable city of the year. I’ll have a post on that in early 2016 to share more.

Elite Status

I started the year with the goal of re-qualifying Executive Platinum (EXP) status on American Airlines through Elite Qualifying Points (EQPs). I am happy to say that I made it. Not only that, but I made it before August 1st.

2015 EXP Status

For hotel status, I had previously been downgraded from Marriott Platinum to Marriott Gold, did a Platinum challenge to get back up there, and am ending the year well short of 75 nights. I will likely try for the same challenge next year, if they will allow it. I did however re-qualify for Hyatt Diamond status. I tend to value Hyatt Diamond status quite a bit, so had no problem doing some mattress runs at the end of the year.

Looking Ahead

As far as travel, I’m starting the year with the fewest completely planned trips in many years. The only two completely planned trips I have are to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January, and to Reykjavik, Iceland in February. I’ve got a bunch of partials, but those are the only two. Furthermore, I’ll be flying Economy to Iceland! I’m sure long-time readers will know how I feel about that, but there just isn’t an economical options that doesn’t require a trans-Atlantic, so far as I could figure out.

As far as my loyalty in 2016, I’m a bit on the fence, as I shared last week. Despite American AAdvantage’s devaluation, I’m still leaning more toward re-qualifying for EXP status, but only if I can do it in the first half of the year! I think re-qualifying for Hyatt Diamond status is a no-brainer, and I’ve already got some stays booked.

I’m hopeful to make it back to Bali, perhaps finally try out a Hyatt All Inclusive closer to home, and maybe even make it to South Africa. I’ve got more countries and cities on my “dream” list, but I’m trying to keep things reasonable, if you consider those I’ve identified as reasonable. I’m hopeful also to get a couple of trips on Emirates’ A380, hopefully fly Japan Airlines’ First Class, and if all works out, get another Cathay Pacific flight before the AAdvantage Devaluation.

How was your year in travel? What are your plans for the future?

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: American Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Hyatt, Qatar Airways, Year in Travel

The 787 is really King for the post-flight Passenger Experience #PaxEx

November 9, 2015 By Trevor 2 Comments

Photo via Boeing

Photo via Boeing

I just returned from a pretty awesome trip to Australia with my wife. I’ll be putting together a trip report, but if you don’t want to wait, you can see some highlights by searching #OzAnniversary on Twitter. To make the trip even more epic (since it was our anniversary after all), we decided to take the long way home. We splurged. The way home was two AAdvantage Saver awards on Etihad Airways, from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, we burned 60k AAdvantage miles per person, then from Abu Dhabi to Washington-Dulles, it was 90k AAdvantage miles per person (that one really hurts). But the cost isn’t my point for this post.

I’ll review each flight separately as part of the trip report, but wanted to share my initial thoughts after flying back to back 14 hour flights.

Etihad’s A380

I shared my thoughts from a 5 hour flight back in March, and my impression of the A380 has improved after my most recent flight. There is absolutely no question that Etihad knocked it out of the park with their A380, with regards to the hard product for First Apartments. They specifically have made their A380 a single aisle cabin for First Apartments (and the Residence). That means that each Apartment has roughly 7 feet of depth. I’m a tall guy. I stretched and could touch both walls of my Apartment, but had to do so intentionally. In addition to the 7 foot bench that turns into a bed, you have a nice roomy “Captain’s Chair” like seat. Captain Picard would be jealous of this seat.

IMG_0394

In addition to your apartment (which, really, you have few reasons to leave), there is a “Lobby” lounge, just aft of the Galley (which is an area that spans probably 6-10 feet aft of the first upper level door (1UL I believe it is called), its a circular seating area, with a non-self serve bar behind it. There are games. I spent a whole 30 seconds in the area, just enough time to snap photos. I had spent more time on my first flight, but, really, didn’t see the need this time.

IMG_0399

IMG_0401

Oh, and you have a shower. This is a great concept, however, having flown Emirates, I feel like Etihad could’ve executed the shower better. That said, a shower at 40,000 feet is still cool.

IMG_0420

IMG_0421

Etihad’s 787-9

This was my first time flying on the 787-9. It would be an understatement to say that I was excited. Even better, the crew were still excited. Our In-Flight Chef, Rohinton, even knew that the particular aircraft we were on was only with Etihad a month, he specifically mentioned, that we were flying on Etihad’s newest 787-9. That’s pretty cool.

As far as the cabin, I really felt surprised. I shouldn’t have been, I should’ve looked at the seatmap, but I got lazy. I’ll admit it. I figured, flying Etihad’s 787-9 regardless of seat should be a wonderful experience, and it truly was. But usually, I research my flights more. My wife was awesome to get me my favorite seat (1K), and for me, it was a very pleasant surprise to find that 1K was a backward facing seat (I love flying backwards!)

Overall, the seat again, Captain Picard would be jealous to have. The seat is nearly the same as the seat on the a380. Controls, In Flight Entertainment, everything, at least to me looked very similar.

Of course, the other parts that the A380 has, are lacking on the 787-9. There is no shower, there is no lounge. There are 2 spacious restrooms to be shared by the 8 first class passengers. Both are more than spacious enough to comfortably change into your Etihad pajamas (infact, more spacious than the Etihad A380’s shower spa).

What ended up being the true discriminator?

Longtime (all 18 months!) readers of the blog will know that I enjoy comfortable seats, and have had the chance to fly a whole bunch of them. But one aspect of aircraft that I haven’t really explored so much, was the impact of cabin pressure. In fact, even after researching it for this flight, I’m not sure I fully understand it. But here goes anyway:

Wikipedia defines Cabin Pressurization as:

The process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft, in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes.

This is needed for a variety of reasons, comfort, avoiding hypoxia, altitude sickness, etc.

But lets go a bit further, because cabin pressurization results in a Cabin Altitude, which typically is normally 8,000 feet or less. 8,000 seems to be the cutoff between whether or not you need your personal oxygen tank to be included as part of your in seat mini-bar.

Looking at the study that Boeing seems to reference (via Seth Miller — Thanks Seth!), Effect of Aircraft-Cabin Altitude on Passenger Discomfort points to 6,000 feetor less as a cabin pressure for greatest passenger comfort.

The 787 is specifically cited as having a cabin pressure / cabin altitude equivalent to 6,000 feet. The figure for the A380 is interestingly inconsistent based on my research today and last night.

What am I really getting at?

All of this is to say, that when I compared how I felt getting off of a 14 hour flight on an Airbus A380, and how I felt after flying a second 14 hour flight on a Boeing 787-9 (with less than 8 hours in between), in a non-scientific way, I felt largely better following the Boeing 787-9 flight.

I attribute that, to the lower cabin pressure / cabin altitude. Because, as I’ve outlined above, for the most part, the A380 clearly has greater onboard passenger amenities. This of course is an interesting and challenging question for airlines, as they work to provide the best passenger experience (#PaxEx).

I never really gave the difference in cabin pressure a whole lot of credibility in my previous flights, like when I flew Japan Airlines’ 787-8, however that was just a 4 hour flight. But, after my flight this past weekend, boy am I sold, especially being able to compare 2 14 hour flights, separated by less than 8 hours on the ground.

Can you feel the difference of the cabin pressure on the 787, as compared to the A380 or any other modern aircraft? Is it work going out of your way, for you to fly the 787?

 

 

Filed Under: #Avgeek, Travel Tagged With: #Paxex, 787, 787-9, A380, airbus, Avgeek, Boeing, Etihad

Review: Etihad Airways A380 Apartments Abu Dhabi to London

May 13, 2015 By Trevor 2 Comments

From the outset, I want to be clear: I was quite giddy about this flight. I got even more excited when I boarded. And the flight was great compared to most every other flight I’ve taken – but. There is always a but.

As my wife or my friend Saianel would say: I can be a diva sometimes. Perhaps it’s ironic that I was watching a Sir Elton John concert on In Flight Entertainment (IFE) as I wrote my notes (over breakfast, still on the A380).

Let me start from the beginning:

Boarding the flight was marvelous-and I don’t use that word lightly- it was amazing to board the plane, and be shown to the largest seat/suite/apartment in the sky that I’ve ever had.

In fact, I found myself standing through most of boarding, because it was so roomy. There was so much to explore, and, maybe even get a peak at the Residence.

First Apartment

First apartment seat

First apartment seat

Of course one of my first questions was if there was a Residence passenger-there wasn’t.  But it was kept closed the entire flight. That’s ok though- I totally get that they want to keep it fresh.

Boarding consisted of three or so glasses of Bollinger Champagne-certainly a favorite, much more so than Krug. Enrico, our onboard chef informed us that Etihad had just changed the champagne the day before. Now *that* is a change I like!

Pre-takeoff champagne

The amenity kit was in the powder/make up area, with the different things taken out and put into a variety of slots. It just so happened that I ended up in my wife’s seat, and she in mine. The three glasses of Bollinger meant it took a moment for me to realize the differences–they are kind’ve subtle after all. For the purists that like to save their amenity kits in the plastic wrap, this might’ve been a problem.

We were provided pajamas-I’ll note that they were different from the PJs I got even last month flying an A340.

I provided my order for the flight to Enrico, it consisted of a grass fed beef tenderloin after take off, and a breakfast taster before landing.

Once we were in the air, my beef tenderloin was served quickly, I will say it was one of the better I have had in the sky

Beef Tenderloin

Beef Tenderloin

After a few short minutes my wife and I decided we should check out the “lobby,” en route we chatted with the Cabin Manager and the Cabin Butler-Roberto. The Cabin Manager-his name escapes me-was only on his first or second flight. He was specifically on board to test some improvements for the day flight back to Abu Dhabi.

We chatted for a bit, then he excused himself, no sooner did Enrico join us, where we offered some suggested places to visit in Washington, DC, which ironically he would be in a few short weeks, and I ended up running into him and Roberto, at Aviation 15. He also offered some suggested places to visit in Italy-his native country.

A word about the Lobby: I’ve got to say, while the concept sounds cool, it really was wasted space. It just wasn’t clear what the point was. Yes there were some board games, like chess, but, I didn’t get the kind’ve feeling that I’ve gotten from some of the onboard bars, like Emirates’ or Korean’s A380.

Before long-since this was only a 7 hour flight- we excused ourselves to grab some shuteye. We were seated in 3K and 4K, which had the partition, which was stowed to let my wife and I see each other while we rested. It’s not a full double bed like Singapore Airlines but its still nice.

Beds made prior to takeoff.

Beds made prior to takeoff.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Turn down service

A word about the bed:
Normally I sleep better in the air than I do on the ground. This was different. Because the bed is sideways to motion, it feels different. We had a good bit of turbulence,  and I found myself waking up throughout the flight because of it. Normally, turbulence would just put me into a deeper sleep.

Time for a shower:
My wife snuck in her shower request before me, so I “opted” to take my shower about two hours before arrival. Shortly after I woke up from the turbulence,  it was time to take my shower.

The shower room–by my perception–is the smaller of the two lavatories in the cabin. It felt very tight. I know, I shouldn’t complain, I’m showering at 40,000 feet after all. But as a man of 6’2″, and about 200 pounds, it was close quarters. Add to that, the actual shower area was quite slippery. I stepped in having an idea it might be, thanks to Lucky’s post. That said, I had a hand on the safety bar for probably half the shower. It didn’t help that we had turbulence the entire time-but luckily I didn’t need to return to my seat.

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Shower controls

Overall though, I have to say, I was not impressed with the shower. At first I thought that maybe the novelty was wearing off, but I sure enjoyed my two showers on the Emirates A380’s a few days later.

After my shower, I enjoyed a small breakfast taster.

20150302_233151

Other random thoughts:

The headphone connection is magnetic. While that is cool, it proved to be a bit of a nuisance, anytime I moved around I’d knock it out pretty easily.

The service, despite having 4 cabin staff for 9 people, was also a bit lackluster, I did use the flight attendant call button at least a few times.

Wrapping up:

Etihad definitely did amazing things with the Apartment. I really enjoyed the seat itself, but found some of the other aspects of the Etihad A380 to be confusing. Clearly, Emirates’ Shower spa and onboard bar work. I kind’ve look at Etihad’s shower/lav and the Lobby as if Etihad broke what didn’t need fixing.

That said, I’m currently scheduled to fly the Etihad A380 on a longer flight, from Sydney later this year, and despite my criticisms here, I am still quite looking forward to it.

Filed Under: #Avgeek, Awards, Travel Tagged With: A380, Etihad, First Apartments

Etihad Lounge Hopping and Flying Abu Dhabi to Cairo

February 19, 2015 By Trevor Leave a Comment

This is a continuation of the “vacation run” – a 50/50 mileage run / vacation my wife and I took to Cairo in January, 2015. The first post was: Etihad flight from Washington to Abu Dhabi

We were only transiting in Abu Dhabi (AUH), but we had the chance to see Etihad’s beautiful new lounge business lounge (we would’ve been able to visit the first class lounge had it opened, but it’s not due to open until I think April). Of course our connecting flight was out of the old terminal so we had to leave the nice lounge, but did find an alternative in the old terminal. It was dark and the wi-fi didn’t work terribly well, but, still better than no lounge. I know, first world problems.

The new Etihad lounge felt roomy, with great lighting, and was certainly a breath of fresh air compared to Etihad’s older business class lounge which was always crowded, horrible wi-fi, and you had to take an elevator to get to.

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Etihad’s New Lounge

 

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Etihad’s New Lounge’s Spa

 

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Etihad’s New Lounge – So big you need signs!

 

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Etihad’s New Lounge

Of course we found ourselves at the — I dare say — stylish bar.

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Etihad’s New Lounge – The bar

But alas we had to move on – but first, a brief stop to tour the Tattooine set for the new Star Wars movie (I kid!)

CAIRO 1 2015 129

Tattooine?!

We soon found ourselves in a smaller lounge in the “old” terminal. It wasn’t glamorous, but alas, it was a place to enjoy a cold beverage and some food. Although they also had arabic coffee, which I availed myself to.

CAIRO 1 2015 133

Etihad lounge in the old terminal

Before we knew it, it was time to move on. It looked like they were doing some renovations in the terminal — the last time I was here, I could’ve sworn they had a Ferrari where the black tile is in the photo.

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You’ve got to clear security at the gate in the old terminal, so we did that, far too early, yet the seats were all full, so we–unceremoniously–proceeded to be gate lice, waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

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Boarding out of the old terminal at Abu Dhabi

But alas, we were finally let onboard, and we were met with a much more–dare I again say–stylish interior than Lucky experienced only a few months prior.

CAIRO 1 2015 144

New-ish Seats

The aircraft was only a single aisle A320, but, it proved to be an excellent 4 hour flight.

CAIRO 1 2015 150

Seat Controls

And of course, since now it was after midnight, I thought I might enjoy a mimosa.

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Pre Departure Drinks

The In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) was reasonable, although of the “flip up” variety. The movie selection was the same as I recalled from flying the A340 from Dulles to Abu Dhabi earlier that evening.

CAIRO 1 2015 157

We were served a reasonable meal, and then kept well provisioned by a wonderful pair of flight attendants.

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Dinner

 

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Dessert

 

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Tea serving.

The flight overall felt very comfortable for being a 4 hour flight in a recliner seat.

Filed Under: Mileage Run, Travel Tagged With: Etihad

TaggingMiles Weekly Travel News Round-Up: January 2, 2015

January 2, 2015 By Joe Cortez Leave a Comment

Happy New Year from TaggingMiles! Our new year got off to a bang early, when we were nominated for “Best New Blog Of 2014” by Travel Summary! If you find our blog somewhat interesting (or just want to watch Joe embarrass himself if we win), click over to Travel Summary and vote for us – we greatly appreciate your support!

The Weekly News Roundup is a collection of headlines from around the internet that caught the attention of the Tagging Miles team. Content on these blogs do not necessarily reflect the positions of Tagging Miles, and should not be considered endorsements. Have a great story we should read? Contact us now and let us know!

Spanning the Globe

  • Etihad’s first resident in The Residence, Gino Bertuccio reviews Etihad’s inaugural A380. The tidbit I liked the most (other than the glass ship), was that Gino invited someone from economy to join him for Breakfast.
  • Lucky also posted a review of the new Etihad First Class product, The First Apartments. Don’t worry: Trevor’s review is coming soon.
  • View from the Wing confirms that Hyatt Diamond status challenges are returning. I hate to see folks focus so highly on gaming these types of offers, but, he does clarify that existing Hyatt Platinums can use the offer to earn Diamond status… Something to think about for FTU attendees in December (or the upcoming one) that got Hyatt Platinum, or those with the Chase credit card.
  • One Mile at a Time highlights the Hilton HHonors hotel category changes. Of particular note: Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa and Hilton Waikoloa Villa both went down a category.
  • View from the Wing also shared a new 5th Freedom Route from TAM – New York-JFK to Toronto. He notes its a particularly nice opportunity for Avios redemptions. (Not sure what a 5th Freedom Route is? Here’s a quick explanation.)
  • Marriott is bringing a new hotel brand to the U.S., according to Skift. But will it be so easily adopted?

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

  • Another great nominee for Travel Summary’s Best New Blog of 2014 honor, Doctor of Credit offers his predictions for credit cards for 2015. He has a PhD in this stuff, so we should probably go with it, right?

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta…

  • Ever wonder how a sardine feels? Try flying Delta’s new “Basic Economy” fare. Cooper Review offers a look at how flying a Delta airplane sometimes feels – complete with illustrations!

In Remembrance of 2014

  • At the end of 2014, we remember the tragedies that united fliers around the world in sorrow. Our hearts still go out to those affected by these sad events.
  • As he does ever year, Cranky Flier recounts the airlines we lost in 2014…. The saddest part, was that there were some we barely knew.

Filed Under: Weekly News Roundup Tagged With: Elite Status, Etihad, Hyatt, Hyatt Diamond, Weekly Travel News Roundup

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