A Continental 737 (N13716) lands into the sunset at IAH in late 2010 – Photo: JL Johnson
A few months ago, we brought you the story about how I was excited to begin attending ground school in pursuit of unlocking my life-long dream of learning to fly. I was excited, ambitious, and, in retrospect, naive. If you haven’t read that piece, it’s a quick read and contrasts nicely against this one.
Life’s path is littered with success and failure. And while we tend to hear more about success, failure is where some of the most valuable learning occurs. So this is the story out how, despite learning a lot while attending ground school, I flunked out.
Make sure you have a few hours free before continuing with this story. You might also want to make sure you have a few extra dollars to spend on some airline goodies! Noted AvGeek, photographer, and good friend Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren has recently decided a big chunk of his airline collection needs to go. And guys, its a huge haul.
There’s something for every AvGeek here: post cards, menus, paper ads, posters, bag tags, matchbooks, route maps, timetables, and even a small number of vintage hand bags…including a few Pan Am. And that’s only part of it ’“ all in all there’s over 2,000 items for sale.
If you see something you like, shoot him an email (je*************@gm***.com) and let a bit of airline history into your home! For me… I am not quite ready to give up anything in my personal collection, although mine is not as amazing as Jeremy’s!
Most people looking for the stars in SoCal head to Hollywood. But when we were in town recently, we headed the exact opposite direction and made a beeline for LAX. That’s because we were on the hunt for one particular star. The northern star, AKA Polaris. United Airlines has been making gradual but steady headway with the rollout of both the Polaris seat (now on its 787-10 Dreamliners in addition to many of its 777s and 767s) and its top-of-the-line Polaris lounges. We’ve already been to the Polaris lounges at SFO, Newark, and Chicago. And we hear great things about Polaris Houston. So when Polaris LAX opened earlier this year, we knew we had to swing by.
We found a lounge just as impressive as the other stellar Polaris lounges we’ve seen before, though with a smaller footprint. With plenty of sleek decor, amenities, and local flavor, Polaris LAX is definitely worth visiting. Read on for the full details and prepare to be starstruck!
A Qantas A380 being towed in Sydney – Photo: Colin Cook
When my girlfriend Molly and I first started planning our trip to Australia, I was skeptical that we would find any award availability in a premium cabin. With flights from the west coast to Australia averaging 15+ hours, premium cabin awards are extremely difficult to find, especially for more than one seat. During the several weeks that I searched, I rarely found any coach availability on desirable flights, and no premium cabin award space at all. Finally, one fateful Saturday afternoon, I hit the jackpot. I found two seats in First Class on Qantas, using Alaska Airlines miles. Score!
Cathay Pacific’s inaugural departure from Sea-Tac Airport
Cathay Pacific’s new non-stop service from Seattle to Hong Kong launched on April 1 with four flights per week; the service will go daily starting July 1.
The new offering is the only current flight between the two Pacific Rim cities; that should make it a popular option for travelers.
Cathay Pacific went all-out with a launch party at the gate
Cathay Pacific is using its excellent Airbus A350-900 on the route, which is now the airline’s eighth to the United States and follows existing services to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York (JFK), New York (Newark), San Francisco, and Washington DC.
