As part of our honeymoon trip, we managed to stretch one award ticket into eight segments around Europe. It took some research, but if you know the rules, you can push the limits and get the most value for your hard-earned miles and points. This flight from Istanbul (IST) to Vienna (VIE) was the first […]
We had purchased a Premium Economy fare to fly from San Francisco to Istanbul (IST) via Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) with a 60-minute layover. While I was looking forward to checking out Air France’s medium-haul Premium Economy service from CDG-IST, the carrier quietly eliminated the class on everything but long-haul flights and placed passengers into regular Economy. Not nice.
Fast-forward to our landing at CDG — our inbound flight on the A380 was delayed taking off from SFO and spent its time circling the airport grounds, finally docking 45 minutes before our next flight. Would we make it in time, or would we have to spend four hours waiting for the next flight and losing an entire evening in Istanbul?
A Quick Background and Subtext
Booked as part of a Premium Economy (PE) fare from San Francisco to Istanbul, this second leg was operated by Air France from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. Air France, like many other European carriers, uses convertible seating that allows them to change the number of seats in the business cabin, based on actual booking; they just need to move the curtain divider and block the middle seats.
Back when the ticket was purchased, Air France offered PE on their medium-haul routes, such as CDG-IST. Benefits included Sky Priority access for checking in, boarding, and baggage handling, as well as a seat towards the front of the plane in front of the business class curtain (but no blocked middle seat) and a hot meal (the same as business class).
As of November 10, customers visiting Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s North Satellite terminal will have an enhanced passenger experience. After several months of delays and postponements, the new and highly-anticipated Alaska Airlines Board Room opened for business between Gates N1 and N2. The N Board Room supplements the main location in the D Concourse of the […]
Thanks to Delta, I found a smashing deal to fly an Airbus A380 for the first time, and not in economy! My wife and I were married late last year, but postponed our honeymoon because we wanted to visit Europe during the warmer months. We lucked out and found a very low fare valid for […]
Let’s face it… the 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 isn’t very popular. At all. You’ll find countless articles and blogs about how much flyers dread flying in it, and how all-around terrible the experience was. Complaints were numerous: claustrophobic cabin, tiny overhead bins that fit only the smallest of carry-on bags, no first class, inoperable lavatories, and so on. […]