Just when I was getting a little anxious about how to retain my AA EXP status this year, since AA cut out the ORD-DEL flight which was a favourite, they came back with a bang. There is a reason I love AAdvantage over my home programs as well if possible. They really know how to take care of their elites very very well. So, with the new promotion, non-elites can become elites faster, and elites can earn 300% RDMs (100% EQMs+100% bonus RDMs + 100% promo EQMs). Non-elites will move to the elite promotion the day they move into the ranks, during this promotion period. And yes, non-elites will also earn double RDMs for the period Nov 16 – Nov…
Citibank PremierMiles: Etihad Guest is a partner, Indigo changes & dynamic redemptions go mainstream
While I write this, I hope you’ve all registered for the PremierMiles top 2000 spenders contest for this quarter where these guys get to double their miles. Contest is opt – in so if you don’t register, you don’t get counted. Now, first for the big news. Etihad Guest, the loyalty program of Etihad airlines, is now a partner with the PremierMiles program. I think this went online today, since last I checked a couple of days back, this partner was not there on the list. From now on, you can also transfer your PremierMiles 1:1 on Etihad Guest account as well, though Etihad charging 147K for a BOM-JFK roundtrip is not giving me a good feeling on these guys…
Jet Airways’ gourmet food festival in the air till Nov 8!
Jet Airways is trying to get back into classy mode it seems. In the past, they’ve tied up with restaurants in Hong Kong to provide dining services to their premium cabin passengers on the Hong Kong – Mumbai flights. Now, there is a new fine dining experience being rolled out from November 1 through 8 on selected Mumbai – Delhi and Delhi – Mumbai flights, being called “Restaurants in the Sky.” Jet Airways has tied up with some fantastic restaurants from the Oberoi Group (which is one of India’s leading luxury hotel chain) to present meals to their Premiere (business class) customers on specific flights in this coming week. Here are the 5-star restaurants they’ve tied up with: Ziya (The…
Kingfisher employees get their salaries and get back on the job!
I initially thought that Kingfisher was not going to get out of the latest mess they got themselves in, but looks like finally the airline owner Vijay Mallya is more than eager to get it back on track. He was initially missing in action, and got branded an absconder by the media because he just wouldn’t come back to India on the next day of the crisis brewing into a lockout and grounding of the airline. However, when they seriously promised the 7-months unpaid employees 3 months salary within a month, like most of India, I believed this to be a hogwash so that Mr. Mallya did not have to face an embarrassment at the Indian Grand Prix, the Indian…
Right now is a good time to fly Jet Airways First Class!
On award redemptions, obviously! Jet Airways F suites, fitted on their Boeing 777-300 ERs only, are consistently rated as one of the finest travel product in the air, high up there with Lufthansa, Emirates and the others. In fact, Turkish and Thai Airways, who were using 9W planes on a lease built some quality soft-product around Jet’s hard product.Have a look at the promotional picture from their website below. You can check out the website here, a trip report here, and more pictures here! Pity, when I flew them Mumbai to London a few years back, I did not save the pictures else I’d have shared some of my own pictures with you as well. But I can tell you,…
Druk Air to launch Mumbai–Paro service in March’13
DrukAir, the national carrier of Bhutan, has been planning to expand services for a while now. They initially used to have only two Airbus A319s which used to serve various international destinations including Kolkata, Delhi, Gaya in India and Bangkok in Thailand. There is now a 3rd plane as well. For those who don’t know, if you want to get into the landlocked country of Bhutan by air, DrukAir is your only choice to get there. DrukAir was due to launch twice a week Mumbai-Paro direct flight after launching a flight to Singapore in September 2012. However, they have now moved the launch of this flight to March 2013 as per their website. As per AirlineRoute.net, the new schedule is…
Malaysia Airlines to join oneworld on Feb 1, 2013
Malaysia Airlines, which is a member elect of the oneworld alliance, will be inducted as a full-member of the alliance with effect from February 1, 2013. The airline was invited to be a part of the alliance in June 2011, with Qantas being their sponsor into the alliance. As per a news release on the oneworld website, Malaysia Airlines will become a full member of oneworld® with effect from Friday 1 February 2013, adding one of commercial aviation’s most frequent award winners to the world’s leading quality airline alliance. The national airline of Malaysia received clearance to board oneworld after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness conducted by Qantas, which is sponsoring its entry into the alliance, with…
Crazy Airplane Pic: an Airbus 350 dressed like an Airbus 380
I haven’t had so much laughter in days like when I was getting done with breakfast at one of Mumbai’s oldest establishments. I walked out and happened to pass by a travel agency’s office, and found something terribly wrong with this picture. Any guesses what is wrong? Would you book tickets with a TA who does not know the plane he booked you on? Fancy your chances of an upgrade here? Have a good day folks. Live From A Lounge is present on Facebook, Twitter & available via email, RSS.
Did your Turkish Miles & Smiles a/c get cancelled without notice?
Turkish Airline’s Miles & Smiles program has been becoming a favourite for those targeting Star Alliance status matches to Gold, or getting a quicker qualification to *A Gold due to less miles need to be earned. Like I mentioned here last week, my kid brother was out on a worktrip, and was going to net about ~18,000 *A miles for his flying. I thought it was a good opportunity to get half way on to requalifying for the TK Gold status he already had. He needed to do about 37,500 miles in 24 months, and this was easy. (To put all the talk about crediting to Aegean instead, the fare classes don’t earn any miles on that program) Since I…
Your Bonus PremierMiles have been posted!
I’ve said more than enough about my love for the Citibank PremierMiles credit card. You can read the review here. Back in May I had posted about a lovely promotion these bankers came up with to promote their credit card product. Since they already offered 10 PremierMiles per Rs. 100 on air travel, they added a 4-month long promotion, where international travel and any kind of hotel stays would have got you the same rewards as well. All the things that matter to a traveller, no? All the bonus miles were going to come in one big lot, which was supposed to be in November. However, what can only speak for itself, they outdid their own commitment and all members…
LinkedIn referrals back: Get the Platinum Reserve Amex for 20% discount
American Express in India is clearly getting some good word of mouth and business via LinkedIn. Like I posted a few months back, American Express had tied-up with LinkedIn, where existing members can refer new members for a potential American Express card. For the period October to December 2012, that campaign has been renewed. If you have a LinkedIn account, you can refer your contacts there to get a new American Express Credit or Charge Card. There are some wonderful offers out there, and the Platinum Reserve card available via this promotion is something I’ve begin to like. American Express Platinum Reserve is the 2nd best card in the American Express hierarchy in India, and is a credit card. It…
