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Maybe you were a fan of United’s old Channel 9, the inflight entertainment option that allowed passengers to eavesdrop on the chatter between pilots and air traffic control. Channel 9 is gone, but online sites like LiveATC.net allow you to listen in on thousands of air-to-ground frequencies around the globe. In the midst of all this back-and-forth you’ll hear some colorful radio call signs.Commercial flights use a call sign and flight number to identify flights, and usually the call sign is simply the airline’s name....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.We’ve upgraded our “Sunday Reader Question” series! Our new “Reader Questions” will be answered three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.Today’s Reader Question comes from Richard, who sent a Facebook message to ask…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Richard”]“If I get a Companion Pass with Southwest, would I need to keep a balance of 110,000 points in my Southwest account in order to keep my Companion Pass or could I spend the points?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.TPG reader Robin sent me a message on Facebook to ask about credit card benefits:“I was approved for a Citi AAdvantage card, and flew on American Airlines 10 days later. I was disappointed to find that my free checked bag benefit wasn’t active, and I was charged $25 each way. Citi said the account had to be open for at least a week prior to buying the ticket; have you heard of this?...

United still has a lot of work ahead when it comes to its in-flight product — years in, the Polaris rollout is very much a work in progress, for example — but its smartphone app is one area in particular where the airline’s well ahead of the competition, and has been for some time.So why invest resources to fix something that isn’t actually broken? After listening to United’s Linda Jojo explain her role as Chief Digital Officer, and what she’s able to accomplish with an in-house development team — rather than paying an outside agency to do the work — constant refreshes and feature rollouts do seem to make sense....

After spending eight days in Hangar C33, Virgin Atlantic’s brand new A350 has finally rolled out of Airbus’ paint shop in Toulouse, France.The A350-1000 is the first of 12 A350s to join Virgin’s fleet. It is painted in the airline’s classic livery, featuring Virgin’s iconic script and red and white color scheme. As with the rest of the airline’s fleet, the plane carries a unique name: Mamma Mia. Its tail code, G-VPOP, is also in keeping with Virgin’s tradition of giving its aircraft cheeky or music-themed registrations....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here: Citi Prestige, Citi Premier® CardLast week, American Airlines announced a transpacific partnership with Qantas that will include a new daily nonstop flight aboard AA’s flagship 777-300ER from Los Angeles LAX to Sydney starting in December 2015. TPG Special Contributor (and frequent Qantas passenger) Eric Rosen takes a look at both airlines and the factors that should help you decide which to choose on your next trip down under....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.“Reader Questions” are answered three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.There are more than a few credit cards that come with some level of complimentary hotel elite status. So perhaps it’s not crazy to ask if you can put a few of them together to get an even higher status, as TPG reader Yun-Fei suggested in a Facebook message…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Yun-Fei”]If I have an Amex Platinum and an Amex Surpass (both have complimentary Hilton Honors Gold), will I be able to stack them and get Diamond status?...

If you’re flying Singapore Airlines first class, you have a lot to look forward to. And if you’ve booked a flight with the airline between Christmas Day and Dec. 26, there’s even more to be excited about.For a limited time — just Dec. 24, 25 and 26 — the airline is serving Krug rosé to first class passengers on all of its routes. This will be in addition to the Dom Pérignon and Krug Grande Cuvée that passengers already know and love....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Delta continues to impress us with one award sale after another. Currently, you can book flights to Australia from 48,000 SkyMiles round-trip in economy and flights to South Korea for 50,000 miles in economy or 70,000 SkyMiles round-trip in premium economy. And today, we are seeing deals to Mexican destinations of Mexico City, Los Cabos and Cancun starting at just 12,000 SkyMiles round-trip....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency, such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend that you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency, such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking....

You don’t have to be a kid, or even have kids, to be a part of the Disney parks exclusive souvenir craze. Poke around the internet a bit and you’ll find people of all ages chasing after limited edition pins, clothing, mini-figures, popcorn buckets (yes, popcorn buckets), cups and practically anything else imaginable. The list of Disney items people admire and collect is seemingly endless. And, in many cases, so is the line to purchase the coveted merchandise....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Strong winds and heavy rains are in the forecast for the Northeast again Friday, and five major airlines have released some last-minute travel change fee waivers.If you’re flying to/from the affected airports, you can utilize these change fee waivers to rebook yourself on a different date. Or, if you’re just connecting through the area, you can use these change fee waivers to reroute yourself through different airports or on different dates....

Black Friday has arrived early for Virgin Atlantic. On Monday, the airline unveiled its Black Friday sale early, featuring some offers for both cash and reward tickets.Let’s break down each offer separately.New to The Points Guy? Sign-up for our daily newsletter and check out our beginner’s guide.50% off reward flightsPerhaps the best deal of all for this Black Friday offer is a 50% off sale on all reward flights with Virgin Atlantic....

The Boeing 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide, and as of Wednesday, the US has joined the nations that stopped flights by the plane involved in two recent fatal crashes with striking similarities.The ruling means that none of the three US carriers that operate MAXes can fly those planes until further notice. Those three are United Airlines with 14 MAX 9s, Southwest with 34 MAX 8s and American with 24 MAX 8s....

“Mr. Riva, Alberto,” the United Airlines agent called out. “Please come forward.“Standing in a packed crowd at Newark’s gate C110, I was very happy to hear my name. And when I got to the desk, the agent had in her hand exactly what I was hoping she’d give me: a boarding pass for Polaris. “Seat 10F okay? Aisle,” she asked. Kind of moot, really — every seat is an aisle seat in Polaris....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Jeffrey sent me a message on Facebook to ask about easy ways to earn rewards:“Do you have any ideas for how I can earn 2,000 British Airways Avios quickly and easily?“Coming up just short of an award redemption can be frustrating (and costly if it means missing out on good flight or hotel availability). While some award travel opportunities do pop up at the last minute, planning well in advance will give you more options and help you avoid scrambling to top up your account....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.JetBlue is known for amazing flash sales and good customer service. While this sale doesn’t include $30 transcontinental flights, many short and medium-haul routes in its network are heavily discounted for summer and fall travel. Popular destinations like Nantucket (ACK), Martha’s Vineyard (MVY) and Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) are insanely cheap. Better yet, availability is pretty wide open on many routes and you can use True Blue points for terrific value....

At the end of June, an incredible deal popped up: earn 9,000 bonus Iberia Avios for booking an Iberia flight — even if you didn’t take the flight. Hopefully many of you maxed out this deal and earned 90,000 Iberia Avios, as the bonuses posted at the time of purchase, not when you actually take the flight. If you haven’t used these Avios yet, you’re going to want start planning quickly, as these bonus Avios expire if not redeemed by December 1, 2018....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.[tpg_rating tpg-rating-score=“80” ground-experience=“10” cabin-seat=“20” amens-ife=“12” food-bev=“20” service=“18” pros=“Exceptional ground services, great food and beverage selection, comfortable seat and bed.” cons=“So-so privacy, forgetful flight attendant, dated IFE, sluggish Wi-Fi.” /]As a frequent Star Alliance flyer, I’m no stranger to Lufthansa first class. I’ve flown the airline’s top-notch premium product on every aircraft but the Airbus A380. While not entirely flawless, it’s consistent in flight, with good to great ground services to boot....