UK citizens don’t need a visa to travel to the US. They need an ESTA, which is like a visa but is permission to travel under the Visa Waiver program.
In perhaps the strangest rigid application of rules, British Airways stopped a musician from flying with their cello because the instrument lacked an ESTA.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Last year when an Emirates captain invited me into the cockpit of a 777 before takeoff, I felt like I was doing something special… and forbidden.
However British Airways is now encouraging cockpit visits prior to takeoff and after landing and even has an app for that.
Earlier today we got news that United’s flight attendants had ratified a contract. It was a close vote — 90% of flight attendants cast ballots and only 53% of those voted in favor. But it lets the airline move forward combining the legacy United and legacy Continental flight attendant groups as one.
As I wrote at the time, United will finally be one airline in the sky. From a customer-facing standpoint that will complete the merger.
But the airline’s work isn’t done, even with that. United has been working for years on a contract with mechanics.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
United’s flight attendants have voted 53% in favor of a new joint contract.
United and Continental merged in 2010, with Continental management eventually taking over, but six years later that merger is still not complete.
United still needs to get its mechanics contract done, but the flight attendant deal is a big step. They’ll be one airline going forward now — at least once they’re in the sky.
IHG Rewards Club is launching a 50% off award night redemption sale for Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean on Monday.
Japanese Star Alliance airline ANA has Phnom Penh, Cambodia starting at $426 from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
This is a $145 fare each way plus tax, available August 15 through December 9, or January 1 through May 23 for outbound travel. Your transpacific flight needs to be Monday through Thursday in each direction. There’s a $300 change fee.
United has DC, Houston and Denver to Barcelona available from $437 roundtrip this fall.
Most booking sites will show you fares starting at $545, for instance here’s an availability calendar from ITA Software.
However airfare metasearch site Momondo will help you find even better pricing than that.
American Airlines joined Delta and United in awarding miles for flights based on the cost of a ticket rather than the distance you fly.
But if you aren’t an elite (giving you a reason to credit to American), and your ticket isn’t super expensive (where you’ll earn as many miles as before), there’s still a program that will award you 100% of your flown miles on nearly all American Airlines fares.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
