American Airlines Introduces Hawaiian Cuisine on Island Bound Flights.

by Grant Martin on

This Monday, American Airlines introduced Hawaiian Cuisine on their mainland-Hawaii flights, inspired and created by famous chef Sam Choy. That’s right, no longer are you stuck with the standard “chicken or pasta”, now you have a variety of choices including: Macadamia Nut Pancakes, Wasabi Salmon and Island Braised Short Ribs.

Of course this only applies of you’re traveling in first class; you’ll notice that all of the meals on the PR page show nice flatware and table settings. Passengers in peasant class are still stuck paying for snacks on the long flight over the Pacific.

What’s nice about American’s change in menu for the Hawaii bound flights is reemergence of some quality in air travel. With all the cutbacks to service across the board recently, airlines are now slowly starting to reinvest in the quality of service at 30,000 feet. Be this new snack baskets on Northwest, extra perks on United or Hawaiian meals on AA, these small improvements upstairs are hopefully an indication of good times ahead in the industry.

Best Seats in the Sky

by Neil Woodburn on

A slide show of “Posh Airline Seats” is a cruel, inhuman punishment.

It’s sort of like leafing through a Playboy and gawking at all the hot models you’ll never have. It’s frustrating, but nonetheless you can’t look away.

And so, to make your day just a bit worse, and to give you something to dream about the next time you’re shoved into your cramped economy seat, we present a slide show (courtesy of ABC News) of the finest seats the airline industry has to offer.

But be prepared to weep, want, and lust; because just like Ms. November, you’ll never be reclining atop one of these babies.

See also:

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The World’s Best First Class Lounges

by Neil Woodburn on

We’ve jealously posted here a number of times about the amenities of flying First Class.

First Class, however, begins long before ever stepping foot on a plane. First Class actually begins the moment you step into the airport and make your way to the First Class lounge.

While the rest of us are stuffed into overcrowded terminals awaiting our flights, the denizens of the First Class lounge have an array of luxuries in which to indulge.

Personally, I’ve never stepped foot into these halls of airport nirvana, but thanks to a recent article in Business 2.0 revealing some of the very best in the world, I can now speak jealously of what exactly I am missing.

The article highlights three lounges at London Heathrow (Virgin Atlantic), Hong Kong International (Cathay Pacific) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines). In addition, writer Lindsay Blakely also covers Doha International Airport in Qatar in which an entire terminal is dedicated to First Class passengers.

Here are just a few of the amenities offered. Click on the links below to learn which lounge offers which service. And then book yourself a First Class ticket to enjoy your favorite.

Free Secretarial Services
Japanese Water Wall
Showers and Tubs
Free Nanny Service
80-Foot Long Bar
Putting Green
Retro Video Games
Relaxation Room
Rooftop Garden
24-hour Doctor on Staff

To Upgrade or to Break-up

by Iva Skoch on

I recently witnessed such an interesting airport dilemma that I could add a travel-related chapter to the bestselling self-help book “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.”

Two of my friends-a couple-were flying from a vacation in the U.S. back to Europe together. He was a frequent flyer gold card holder and got upgraded to business class for free. They don’t always upgrade, especially on trans-Atlantic flights, so he jumped at the opportunity. She is not a frequent flyer and did not get upgraded. She was mad at him for taking the upgrade and leaving her behind in economy class. He felt slightly guilty, but not guilty enough to sit in coach and completely give up the seat, or to shell out an additional $650 to get her upgraded as well. He offered that she sit in business class instead of him, but she refused.

Her argument was that he didn’t even consult with her and just announced it to her. She never said it bothered her, and just stopped talking to him.

He viewed her reaction as ungrateful. After all, he paid for the whole vacation, including her ticket. Now she wanted a paid upgrade too? Didn’t she want him to be comfortable and use those quickly-disappearing frequent-traveler perks? Plus, when he offered he would switch seats with her, she was not interested.

Any Dr. Phils out there who have an answer to this? Should you give up an upgrade for your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse so you can suffer with them in economy class?