Downgraded: The mile-high club That’s what airlines need in order to survive the economic downturn: Hookers! “Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania say [Roger] Sedlak used a non-existent airline, dubbed CQ Air, to arrange sex-for-cash trysts in hotels across state lines.” The thing i...

Downgraded: Cocktails as tourist marketing Thailand’s tourist managers have concocted a mixed drink to personify the spirit of the nation, or so they claim in their heavy-handed marketing blitz. A “Siam Sunrays” cocktail “consists of a shot of vodka, coconut liqueur, a dash o...

Filed under: Airlines Here is a bit of feel good news from the travel world - hidden between all the bad news was an announcement from United Airlines that they were going to move 165 call center positions from their International Call Center back to the USA. The new jobs will be added to their exis...

Reader Thomas's scheduled travel on United Air on Christmas Eve went pretty much how you'd expect: his flight left four hours early, and his rebooked flight at 4 a.m. was overbooked. The horror, inside. Thomas writes: First, it's important to know that every year for the past 6 years I've flown from...

Filed under: Airlines, Budget Travel Before you book your next award ticket, think about what you're giving the airline. Yeah, you read that correctly; think about what you are giving them. In the Wall Street Journal , that font of all things financial, the secret to screwing the airlines a little h...

Filed under: Airlines Look, I understand that the airlines are in a pretty bad shape. But United Airlines is taking things a little too far. The Chicago based airline started offering "a la carte" options to their flights last year. What started with basic upgrades to First/Business, has now morphed...

Flying back from SFO after a long and frustrating week introduced me to a new rule that UAL gate staff have been asked to start enforcing. Apparently, my Premier status, which I realize is the lowest of the frequent-flyer levels, means even less now than it did in the past. Over my career, I had set...

Much like politicians drop negative or uncomfortable news on a Friday afternoon, hoping that the media has checked out for the weekend, United Airlines decided that the wee hours of the morning of Election Day was the perfect time to announce the latest devaluation to its Mileage Plus program. Class...

So I have to say, I have become a huge fan of Virgin America, took it for the first time to Vegas this past weekend since United was sold out. I was very impressed with the seats, toys and the staff. They are MORE expensive than United for the same flight from SFO, but might be worth it. I wish they...

well, in argentina anyway... yesterday at ezeiza airport in buenos aires, while waiting in line to present my passport at immigration, i noted that the argentine "citizens only" line had cleared and that the agent at the window was checking out the long line of foreigners remaining... he stood up an...