Tag: united airlines

View All Tags

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

Which Airlines Will Be Getting Which Upgrades in 2012

January 24, 2012 at 1:30 PM | by | Comments (2)

It seems that a good number of airlines have decided to use this brand-spanking new year to freshen up their cabins and revamp service offerings. With a few recent announcements from various global carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Brussels Airlines and Virgin Australia, 2012 will be the year to make air travel look snappy and smell fresh...again. Here's who's doing what:

· AirBerlin:
As the second largest German air carrier and a member of Oneworld, Air Berlin will be upgrading the entire long-haul fleet of Airbus 330s. New business class seats that recline to just about flat and thinner, more user friendly economy seats will be aboard their planes. The new interiors will be ready for the summer travel season.

· British Airways:
With all our hoopla from recent BA flights, it seems that the airline is not only upgrading service. Starting at the front of the plane a few years ago, overhauls have finally made it to World Traveler Plus and World Traveler. That's premium economy and economy for the uninitiated.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / /

What Melbourne Has to Offer (Besides Tennis) During the Australian Open

January 11, 2012 at 12:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

The whole of Australia is consumed with the Summer tennis circuit currently touring around the country, and the pinnacle of the tennis season down under is marked by the Australian Open played in Melbourne. As the only grand slam tennis tournament held in the Southern Hemisphere, the city is showcased not only as a sport capital, but the cultural capital of Australia.

Melbourne is located on the southeastern Aussie coast and it boasts a vibrant cafe society and an avant garde fashion scene. Originally established during the Australian gold rush, Melbourne's rich history and causes it to be called the "Paris of Down Under." If your plans bring you to the city for tennis, plan to soak up more experiences than just seeing top seeded Novak Djokovic or Caroline Wozniacki.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

United Airlines' Frequent Flyer Sale Knocks Off 25% to Europe or Africa

January 9, 2012 at 9:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

We know there’s plenty of people saving—or even hoarding—those frequent flyer miles in hopes of the next great redemption or value. Now just might be the best time to cash some in, as United Airlines is running a decent sale on redeeming MileagePlus miles for an award ticket.

The airline is offering up to a 25% discount on "free" flights—plus taxes and fees of course—to most destinations in Europe as well as Central and Southern Africa. The biggest savings are available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as you’ll only get a 20% discount during other days of the week. There’s probably all kinds of permutations and calculations involved with your dream ticket, but a basic 60,000 mile coach ticket to Europe from the United States can now be had for as little as 45,000 miles round-trip.

more ›

/ / / /

United and PayPal Team Up to Help You Spend Those Frequent Flyer Miles

October 20, 2011 at 1:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

There are plenty of awful ways to redeem your frequent flyer miles, but United Airlines is partnering up with PayPal to add another. We might be a little harsh in our assessment, but seriously, you're going to get the best value redeeming for a flight—so keep saving up for the trip to Tahiti.

Anyway, beginning next year PayPal users&3151;thanks to some help from ezRez Software—should be able to utilize United MileagePlus miles at pretty much any retailer that accepts PayPal for payment. The plan is that you'll buy your stuff directly through online retailers and that your frequent flyer account will be deducted upon placing your order. You won't have to go through United or their online shopping mall, so it should be at least a more streamlined experience.

Like we said initially it might not be the ideal place to burn some frequent flyer miles. However, if you're just dying for the latest iPad—and already have completed your travel bucket list—having another option might be a good thing. Happy shopping!

[Photo: United Airlines]

/ / / / / / / / /

ANA May Be First, But Boeing Still Has Plenty of 787s to Deliver

August 25, 2011 at 3:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

We’re still feeling a little lightheaded over all the Boeing 787 news that we talked about yesterday, but that doesn’t mean that we’re done talking about the latest airplane to hit the skies. Boeing still owes a lot of planes to a lot of people, so it’s full steam ahead once the very first 787 arrives in the hands of pilots and passengers at All Nippon Airways.

If everything goes as planned this week, Boeing will get the final stamps, seals, and approvals related to certification of its new bird. There’s like $16 billion in inventory just hanging out at the factory outside of Seattle, and some of the 35 almost-finished planes are awaiting interiors, windows, and those always important engines. Some of the planes even have concrete blocks hanging off the wings—rather than engines—to ensure the planes don’t get tipsy due to weight balance issues.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

In-Flight Eggs on United Make Us Appreciate Cereal Options

July 15, 2011 at 9:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

Alright we’re not really complaining—hey, we’re always pleased when we get bumped to the front of the plane when a free meal is involved—however, in-flight sausage and eggs on a domestic United Airlines flight are a far cry from the breakfast options found on international carriers like Virgin Atlantic.

We were headed into Chicago-O’Hare not too long ago, en route to somewhere in the nifty fifty when we were lucky enough to be served a little in-flight breakfast. It beats our usual choice of whatever granola bar type foodstuff we tossed in with the laptop, and when the flight attendant actually put a white “tray-table-cloth” on our tray table, we began the drooling.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue and United Airlines Announce New Routes to Warm Destinations

June 17, 2011 at 8:41 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Virgin Atlantic:
Unfortunately we’ll be waiting a little bit for this new route to take flight, but we’re still pretty excited that Virgin Atlantic is looking to head into Mexico. The new option will link London with Cancun, and this will be the airline’s 33rd destination around the globe. Things are scheduled to start up on June 12 of 2012, and the new flights will run just two times per week. They’ll be using Boeing 747s to get the job done on this new route, and they’re planning on splitting things into three different cabins—start saving up your pence for a chance to ride in one of the upper class suites.

· Southwest Airlines:
They’re busy gobbling up AirTran, but that doesn’t mean that Southwest Airlines doesn’t have a little time to add some new options to its route network. The free checked baggage airline just added three nonstop options into and out of Denver from Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, and Newark-Liberty. None of these cities are new to the Southwest family, but the ability to connect a little closer to the West Coast should improve the trip for those looking to make the journey across the country. After all, one connection is always way better than two.

more ›

/ / / / / /

What Airlines Are Giving Back This Holiday Season, and How You Can Help

December 8, 2010 at 10:42 AM | by | Comments (0)

Passengers usually have plenty of complaints for the airlines during the holiday season. With all the delays, crowds, and cramped seats it’s easy to moan and groan about something. However, we wanted to take a moment to recognize some of the good the airlines are doing this holiday season, so here’s a little bit about some airlines giving back this season:

· Southwest Airlines:
Besides being nice to all the checked bags this holiday season, Southwest Airlines is teaming up with Facebook to help out the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The only catch is that they need the help of passengers like you to raise the cash. This season passengers need to check-in on Facebook Deals at any of Southwest’s 69 airports upon arrival, and the airline will donate $1 each time someone does so.

Just use your iPhone or other smart-device to share your location, and a buck will automatically go towards kids who need a little extra happiness this year. Southwest is getting pretty generous as well, as they’re promising to keep the little philanthropic promotion going until $300,000 has been raised for Make-A-Wish.

more ›

/ / / /

United Airlines Faces Really Petty Passenger Lawsuit

December 6, 2010 at 2:30 PM | by | Comment (1)

There’s apparently a new danger up in the air, and it can strike at anytime, even when you’re safely bucked in your seat. Those doors that let you in and out when on the ground can just fly open! Sounds a little ridiculous, right? Well some United Airlines passenger—Phillip Miller—reports that back in 2005 one of the aircraft doors opened in the middle of the flight. This caused all kinds of “extreme noise” and a “pressurization danger,” and this is just enough trauma to warrant a lawsuit.

This poor passenger claims he suffered a bunch of injuries, and all of them need frequent medical attention. Somehow the specifics about the injuries were left out of the lawsuit filings, so we’re eager to see what kind of specific diagnoses we’re dealing with here.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Screw, Marry or Kill: United, American or Delta?

September 14, 2010 at 5:49 PM | by | Comments (11)

You know that game you and your friends played in high school where you would ask each other to name three celebrities that you would rather Screw, Marry or Kill? Then after you got a little drunk you would pick people that you actually knew in real life and that's when all the true feelings about the kids in your class would come out?

Well, let's get nostalgic this afternoon and play the game with three legacy carriers—United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines.

Putting prices, destinations and fleet size aside, we're curious to know who you've had the consistently best, or consistently worse, experiences flying. Now, we've all had different experiences on different flights across all airlines so for some of you, this game could be tricky. For example: our travel buddy flew United from LAX to Chicago while we flew out on American. An avowed United disliker, we pitied our buddy and prayed that his baggage would arrive when he landed. Instead, it turned out we had a worse flight than he did.

more ›

/ / / / /

Park Yourself on a Bench Outside of SFO for Some Prime Plane Spotting

Where: Bayshore Highway [map], Millbrae, CA, United States
July 1, 2010 at 2:31 PM | by | Comment (1)

The next time you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, hold off on immediately heading to your hotel downtown and take a little detour right outside the airport. On the border of Millbrae and Burlingame sits a park with the opportunity for some prime plane spotting.

Bayfront Park is just one stop along the San Francisco Baytrail. There’s several parking spots, but just make sure that you don’t accidentally take a ticket and park in the Marriott’s paid lot. There were several taxis and shuttle vans waiting for their next assignment, so you might have to circle the block a couple times to score a spot in the lot.

more ›

/ / / / /

United Pilot Goes Pantsless to Protest Frustrating Airport Security

June 28, 2010 at 8:31 AM | by | Comments (0)

We complain about airport security and all the hassles it presents to those attempting to travel at least once a week. However, even the most frequent traveler probably doesn’t have to face the security gauntlet as much as pilots and flight attendants do. Last Friday, one United Airlines pilot, Michael Slynn, just couldn’t take it anymore, and instead of trying for the umpteenth time to go through the metal detector, he just removed his pants.

The pilot was briefly held up at the airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for some questioning, but was back on his way after they discovered that he was just frustrated and not nuts. He was even allowed to fly his plane off to Washington DC, but he was told that he would have to go before a judge the next time he returns to Brazil. We’re wondering if he’ll put in for a route switch so he can avoid the country for this reason.

more ›

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (Revised 08/01/2011). © Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast Digital.
Ad Choices