Posts

Self-driving cars are happening, and automated trains are already a reality. But airplanes still need skilled pilots to perform crucial tasks in the cockpit, and commercial flights require two of them. That’s not likely to change soon, and at least for the next few decades, two pilots will probably remain the norm in commercial cockpits.The Air Line Pilots Association is hosting its 65th Air Safety Forum in Washington this week. In conjunction with that event, the organization released a white paper Wednesday that outlines its perspective on why having two pilots remains crucial to airplane safety....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last Saturday, the day American Express The Platinum Card from American Express and The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN cardholders had been dreading finally arrived - as of March 22, 2014, their cards would no longer include the benefit of American Airlines Admirals Club lounge access (nor US Airways Club access). Now the only cards that will get you into the Admirals Club are the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard (which comes with full Admirals Club membership) and more recently, the Citi Prestige, which just added Admirals Club access (not membership though) to its benefits....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Budget airline Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe by passengers carried, is being taken to court by the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for refusing to refund thousands of British customers who suffered through dozens of Ryanair flight delays and cancellations this summer....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Update 2/20/20: United reached out to clarify that Biscoff cookies will return in May.How fun — I get to write about my favorite “healthy” snack! Oreo Thins, those crispy, light, sliver-of-cream-filled chocolate cookies will take to the skies soon, headed to a United Airlines economy cabin near you....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Say farewell to the Flying Lady of Virgin Atlantic.In honor of the airline’s recent commitment to a 50/50 gender balance in leadership by 2022, Virgin is swapping out the Flying Lady for five new “Flying Icons” on its brand-new A350-1000 fleet....

Canadian carrier WestJet will take delivery of three new Dreamliners next year, and it will expand its transatlantic schedule as a result.Starting April 26, 2020, the airline will add daily 787 service between Vancouver (YVR) and London Gatwick (LGW).According to Diio by Cirium schedule data, WestJet has operated the route seasonally since 2016, using a 767-300ER. Its business class on the 787 has earned high praise from TPG reviews editor Nick Ellis, who gave it a score of 81/100 on a flight from LGW to Calgary (YYC....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American ExpressTPG Reader Carrie sent me a tweet to ask about hotel programs:@ThePointsGuy — “What’s your favorite hotel program domestically? I’m mostly a US hotel user, but want to use abroad eventually.“It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Starwood Preferred Guest. From New York to Miami to the St. Regis Princeville on Kauai, I’ve had great experiences at a number of domestic Starwood properties....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Winter weather is set to wreak havoc on travel across much of the country — nearly from coast to coast. Winter Storm Diego is set to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain from parts of the Southern Plains of as far west as New Mexico to the Southeast.The storm will extend into early next week for parts of the Southeast, which will get the largest amounts of snow and ice as the storm moves eastward....

Seeing the Northern Lights from the ground is a life-changing experience — but from the air? That’s taking things to an entirely new level.Adventure travel company Consulta Meta recently announced they will begin offering a new, five-day Northern Lights trip in Canada come 2019 called Aurora 360.One of the reasons seeing the Northern Lights can be so difficult is that the weather conditions required to actually observe them are extremely precise....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Island hopping in the Mediterranean doesn’t have to be a pricey endeavor. TPG Contributor Lane Nieset takes us to the Mediterranean’s history-rich Maltese Islands, which are a calmer — and dare we say it, more beautiful — version of their club-centric neighbors, offering suggestions for what to do and how to save using points and miles. (All photos are by the author....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Can’t decide if your next vacation should be in a booming metropolis, buzzing art and food scene or a nature getaway? Visit Portland and you’ll get a little bit of all those things. This city has a little something for everyone; it’s where cosmopolitan meets the outdoors in a perfect blend. Portland has seen a boom in the last five years, with newcomers leading to an influx in population....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.To take advantage of Chase Sapphire Preferred’s lucrative offer of 3x points on dining on the first Friday of every month — until January 2016 — we regularly round up the best in food and drink. To kick off November, TPG Contributor Betsy Mikel suggests nine of the best turkey dishes that will prepare your tastebuds for Thanksgiving....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen fantastic business-class fares to Europe on Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam airlines, but although these initial fares are comparable, there’s a trick available to save more on Oneworld flights, such as those on American, British Airways and Iberia. In some cases, we’ve seen business-class fares as low as $1,200 round-trip, though $1,600 fares are more the norm....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today, American Express announced upcoming changes to bonus categories and benefits on the American Express® Gold Card, including increased points earning at restaurants, a new $100 airline fee credit, and no foreign transaction fees, beginning June 1, 2015....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.British Airways is going all-out with the celebration of its 100th anniversary through airplanes painted in its former colors. On Saturday, the world’s biggest operator of the Boeing 747 unveiled its second Jumbo Jet in so-called “retro colors,” this one painted in the airline’s official livery from 1984 to 1997....

On June 8, 2018, the world lost an icon and titan of the travel world: Anthony Bourdain. When the news broke, the heartfelt tributes poured in — he was truly an inspiration to so many of us in the industry, as well as to travelers around the world.The chef, author and television personality connected us all to the world, and taught us the importance of travel. He urged people to connect with others, to challenge themselves and to be open to learning something new....

I’ve been an #avgeek since taking my first flight on a Pan Am Boeing 747 from New York-JFK to Heathrow Airport in London at age 6. I was blessed that my parents indulged my hobby, going out of their way to find educational material about African Americans who made contributions to aviation. Note that they did this long before the internet became a thing.In 2013, I started using Black History Month to send out a tweet every day in February to look beyond well-known aviation pioneers like the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh and focus on African Americans, under the hashtags #BHM and #BlacksInAviation....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I find Flying Blue (the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM, and some other Skyteam carriers) to be generous with award availability. They even run “50% off” promo awards all year long, which means you can fly roundtrip from certain North American cities to Europe and beyond for as low as 25,000 in coach and 50,000 in business....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.VX1182 took off from San Francisco (SFO) on Tuesday April 24 at 9:30pm with a black sky and just a glimmer of the San Francisco Bay in the distance. The final Virgin America flight revved its engines and took off for one last ride. When the aircraft landed in Newark (EWR) the next morning, the Virgin brand and operation ceased to exist, to be replaced by the airline’s new owner, Alaska Airlines....

Flight attendants are our unsung heroes of the sky.For more TPG news and deals delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.From keeping us safe to making sure travelers make it home in time to say goodbye to dying family members, to dealing with our crazy interpersonal disputes at 39,000 feet, many don’t get paid enough to put up with the drama they experience on a daily basis....