In Case You Missed It – A Recap Of The Week (2 July 2017)

in case you missed it

TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission which helps contribute to the running of the site – I’m very grateful to anyone who uses these links but their use is entirely optional. The compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site and does not impact reviews that are published.


Summaries and links for all the posts which appeared on Traveling For Miles this week. Includes details of the US Travel Ban that come in to effect this week, news of a United Airlines devaluation coming later this year, details of British Airways flight cancellations, a breakdown showing how I booked a great Tokyo trip, news of Singapore Airlines eliminating First Class from a European route and lots more – it’s been a busy week!

Click on the headlines to read more

Monday

RUMOUR: British Airways Will Begin Selling Meal Vouchers For Short Haul Flights

News of an interesting rumor recently that would appear to indicate that British Airways is considering allowing passengers to pre-pay for their short-haul food and drinks before they actually fly.

Qantas Is Investing In The Science Of Ultra Long Haul Flights

a plane on the runway

I like to use my weekends to catch up on travel news from around the world and to see what I may have missed in the week just past….and this weekend I noticed a very interesting piece in Australian Business Traveller about what Qantas is doing with a look to the future of long haul travel.

Review: Qatar Airways 777-300ER Business Class Daytime Flight (KUL-DOH)

My flight to Doha from Kuala Lumpur was on a Qatar Airways 777-300ER and this would be the third new Qatar Airways aircraft I was going to experience on this trip. Before visiting Kuala Lumpur I hadn’t reviewed the airline’s 787 Dreamliner or A340 Business Class cabins and now I was about to see what the 777-300ERs Business Class cabin was like and what kind of service you get flying between Kuala Lumpur and Doha in the daytime.

GOOD DEAL: Buy 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points For $10 [Targeted USA]

a group of blue tubes with white text

Right now there are a good number of Amex Offers that allow cardholders to earn significant numbers of Membership Rewards Points….but one in particular stands out as being a very simple and cheap way to earn 1,000 points.

Tuesday

Why I’m Not Wow-ed By Wow Air

A recent bit of research into airline fares has left me wondering if perhaps some low-cost carriers aren’t really low cost at all…and WOW air is precisely the kind of airline I mean.

Tokyo Trip – Introduction (How I Booked & How Much I Paid)

a plate with food on it

How I booked a lightning quick trip to and from Tokyo in JAL Business & First Class using AAdvantage Miles, Hyatt points and a little bit of cash.

United Airlines Is “Rebanking” Houston Airport (IAH)

United Airlines has announced that, later this year, it will be taking steps to “elevate the customer experience at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport by offering customers shorter, more convenient connection times and better access to more destinations”.

Wednesday

British Airways Starts Listing Flights Cancelled Due To Strike

Between 1 and 16 July 2017 BA’s “mixed fleet” crews will be going on strike thanks to an ever increasingly acrimonious pay dispute that goes back over a year. Although BA flights to/from most UK airports are expected to be unaffected, the airline has now started to list the London Heathrow services which will fall foul of the impending industrial action.

REMINDER: Buy Starpoints From 2.28 Cents (Great For Airline Transfers)

Starwood is running a promotion through 14 July which allows SPG members to buy Starpoints with a 35% discount on the regular price. While travelers can buy Starpoints to use to book award nights at upscale hotels a better use may be to convert them to airline miles at a good rate.

Review: JAL Sakura Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Terminal 2

a room with chairs and tables

A review of the JAL Sakura Business Class lounge at Frankfurt Terminal 2 kicked off my trip to visit Tokyo for two nights and three days akthough, technically speaking, my first travel of the day was a British Airways positioning flight from London which arrived into Frankfurt shortly after 2pm . British Airways flights arrive into the same airport terminal that houses the JAL lounges (T2) and, fortuitously, my flight arrived into a gate just a few minutes walk from the lounge doors – no passport control or security to navigate so it was incredibly convenient.

Thursday

Qatar Airways QSuite Coming To New York In September….Possibly

Has an unrelated press release given us a rough time frame for the introduction of the Qatar Airways QSuite on to a Doha – USA route?

US Travel Ban Comes In to Effect Today – What You Need To Know

Following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week the long debated US travel ban comes into partial force today. Flyers traveling on passports issued by Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are the people who will be most affected by the new regulations. With help from Stone Grzegorek & Gonzalez LLP, a Los Angeles based immigration law firm, I’ve taken a look at the consequences of the Supreme Court’s actions and what happens next.

In Brief: Delta Accuses Qatar Airways Of Taking $500m In Subsidies, Qatar Airway Lights Up The Empire State & ANA Adds A Flight To The US

a city skyline with a tall building

A few of the stories that have caught my eye recently but that didn’t warrant a post of their own. Includes Delta making a noise about Qatar Airways (again) and ANA adding a flight to the US.

Friday

Singapore Airlines Removes First Class On A European Route

Singapore Airlines is continuing to use its new Airbus A350 aircraft to improve efficiencies throughout its network but, as of later this summer, the introduction of another A350 to Europe will see First Class eliminated from one of the airline’s European routes.

Review: JAL First Class Lounge Frankfurt Terminal 2

a room with chairs and tables

A review of the JAL First Class lounge at Frankfurt Airport Terminal 2 – after visiting the Business Class lounge next door I was interested to see what, if anything, would differentiate the First Class offering.

United MileagePlus Devaluation Coming 1 November 2017

United Airlines’ MileagePlus program has announced that, from 1 November 2017, quite a few things will be changing – mostly for the worse. The main changes involve the repricing of United’s international Saver Awards, the introduction of variable price “Everyday Awards” and the repricing of United’s partner awards.

Club Carlson Summer Promotion – Free Friday Night Stays Or 10,000 Points

Club Carlson has launched its promotion for the summer and it’s offering guests the opportunity to earn certificates for free Friday night stays or 10,000 points depending on their preference. Having seen the rules of the promotion I’m not entirely sure why the vast majority of participants wouldn’t take the free night certificates but, no doubt, the points will work better for some.

Saturday

United Expands Polaris Business Class To Three More Routes

a seat with a rolled up blanket on it

In its latest schedule update United Airlines has added its 777-300ER aircraft to three new routes and, while ordinarily that may not be all that interesting, the fact that the 777-300ERs come fitted with the airline’s new Polaris Business Class cabin makes this newsworthy.