Photo of the Week!
F 4.5; 1/60; 24mm.
Shot at Miami International Airport’s E Concourse Satellite (specifically at gate E33).
Continue reading “The Sun is (almost) out!”
Yes.
(Sorry for the spoiler. Let’s get to it!)
The Daily Flyer
Happy (belated) Martin Luther King Day, and welcome to the January 19, 2020 edition of “The Daily Flyer!” This is The Higher Flyer‘s newsletter that gathers up and summarizes some of the day’s most important happenings in the world of airlines, hotels, award points, and other travel-related things. Today’s feature examines the Boeing 737 MAX‘s safety record as it returns to the skies, and it also covers updates to two popular loyalty programs, the next steps for Alaska and oneworld, AA’s other domestic alliance, and higher flyer steps to containing insurrectionists.
Continue reading “Is the Boeing 737 MAX safe to fly?”
A convenient, comfortable, and cost-effective way to hop through the Northeastern United States.
In a very, very crowded field of competitors all vying for the customers who transit the lucrative Northeast Corridor, American Airlines has perhaps the most robust offering. Just about every hour on the hour for fifteen straight hours — from 6am to 9pm to be precise — every single day, you can fly AA between Washington, New York, and Boston. It couldn’t get more convenient than that and, if you’re running late to the airport, no worries! You can just get on the next flight without changing your schedule too drastically. This level of flexibility is great for the business travelers who frequent these routes, and the comfortable seats and relatively cheap fares are just icing on the cake.
Continue reading “American Airlines First Class Shuttle Review”
The most recent review published on The Higher Flyer evaluates international business class onboard American Airlines’s now-retired fleet of Boeing 767s. There’s nothing particularly exciting nor noteworthy about the experience, but with lie-flat seats, direct aisle access for all passengers, and upgraded dining options on offer, your expectations for a product marketed as “Flagship Business” are likely going to be met but not exceeded. It delivers all that you could want in decidedly-average fashion, but because the fares are prohibitively expensive, it’s nearly impossible for me to recommend it. When compared to significantly cheaper, if not better, alternatives, it’s the textbook definition of a terrible deal… although some might disagree with that assessment. There’s an inherent ambiguousness to higher flying reflected here, and that poses an interesting question: what makes a “good value” good?
Continue reading “On perceiving “good” value”
A recently-refurbished plane remains retro thanks to an underwhelming premium product
Across its expansive fleet, American Airlines features eight different kinds of business class seats. Naturally, as you might expect, some are better than others. On one end of the spectrum you have excellent reverse herringbones found on its Boeing 777s and 787-9s. On the opposite end, on its Boeing 767s, you have staggered seats that would’ve been state-of-the-art 15 years ago. Of the these two extremes, they share unlikely commonalities: AA installed them on its planes only as recently as a few years ago, and it typically charges comparable, astronomically-priced fares for both. If the airline brings the goods — so tasty dining options and warm, amicable service (among other things) to complement a comfortable chair that reclines 180 degrees — then it can get away with this pricing model. If it doesn’t, well, such a poor value isn’t “higher flyer” and it probably isn’t worth your time. By those metrics, the business class experience on AA’s 767s is, while more pleasant than economy, probably one to avoid.
Continue reading “American Airlines 767 Business Class Review”
The Daily Flyer
Welcome to the fourth edition of “The Daily Flyer,” The Higher Flyer‘s daily newsletter gathering up and summarizing some of the day’s most important happenings in the world of airlines, hotels, award points, and other travel-related things. Today’s feature — for February 18, 2020 — covers seat recline etiquette, as well as an exciting new airplane lavatory concept, harsh business class reviews, and some predictions for Alaska’s Mileage Plan following the recent AA/oneworld developments.
Continue reading “You get what you pay for, including reclining seats, but…”
The Daily Flyer
Welcome to the third edition of “The Daily Flyer,” The Higher Flyer‘s daily newsletter gathering up and summarizing some of the day’s most important happenings in the world of airlines, hotels, award points, and other travel-related things. Today’s feature — for February 13, 2020 — explores how Boeing’s tumultuous year indirectly benefits higher flyers, as well as some exciting oneworld news and surprising new American Airlines routes. Today was a big day!
Continue reading “Boeing’s in trouble, but that’s good news for higher flyers”
The Daily Flyer
Welcome to the second edition of “The Daily Flyer,” The Higher Flyer‘s daily newsletter gathering up and summarizing some of the day’s most important happenings in the world of airlines, hotels, award points, and other travel-related things. Today’s feature — for February 12, 2020 — covers the lesser-noticed effects that the coronavirus has on the travel industry, as well as an impending reshuffling in the World of Hyatt, American Airlines’s roll out of a less-crappy Oasis product, and a glimpse in to Delta’s future at Tokyo Haneda Airport.
Continue reading “The coronavirus threatens long-term damage to the travel industry”
The Daily Flyer
Welcome to the inaugural edition of “The Daily Flyer,” The Higher Flyer‘s newsletter gathering up and summarizing some of the day’s most important happenings in the world of airlines, hotels, award points, and other travel-related things. Today’s feature — for February 11, 2020 — covers the fall of Air Italy, as well as coronavirus flight cancellations, a hot take regarding the Global Entry ban in New York, and a surprise announcement from Uber.
