United

Fun new flights!

Flights, , ,

Three new flights kicked off over the weekend that I wish I’d been on!

 

Air France began nonstop service to Paris from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday, March 25.

The service adds to Delta’s flights between SEA and CDG and kicks off with three times a week service (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) on a Boeing 777-200 and increases to five times a week (adding Mondays and Tuesdays) during the summer season.

Air France first served Sea-Tac between 2007-2012, when that route was given taken over by Delta.

On Saturday, March 24, United Airlines kicked off seasonal nonstop daily service on a 787-8 Dreamliner between Denver and London Heathrow (LHR).

And over the weekend Qantas completed the inaugural – historic – flight for direct service between Perth, Australia and London. The 787-9 Dreamliner made the journey in ‘just’ 17 hours and 14 minutes.

 

United, Delta end discount deals for NRA members

Guns, , ,

Just sharing this here.

Snaps from the Polaris cabin on United’s Boeing 777-300ER

Flights, ,

 

United Airlines flew its new Boeing 777-300ER plane – outfitted with the new Polaris business-class cabin – from Chicago to San Francisco on Monday and I got to ride along.

The “Polaris plane” goes into regular service on Thursday, February 16, on a domestic flight (Newark to SFO), with international Polaris routes scheduled to start in March, with flights from San Francisco to Hong Kong when more of these planes arrive.

Here are some more snaps from the flight. More to come.

United CEO Oscar Munoz was on hand to welcome guests and scan boarding passes.

 

Special design features (and friendly crew members, of course) welcome passengers on board.

Saks Fifth Avenue bedding – pillows, blankets, throws – and more welcome passengers to their seats.

The new seats require a special harness seat belt, which flight attendants teach you how to put on.

More snaps tomorrow…

Upcycled carry-on bags from United banners

Baggage, luggage, , , ,

united recycled bags

The airline industry uses a lot of ‘stuff’ and some of that stuff gets recycled and re-used and made into new things that you may want to buy.

The newest “upcycled” aviation items are a set of 100 carry-on bags made from 20 United Airlines “Fly the Friendly Skies” banners.

The airline worked with the Columbia College Chicago Department of Fashion Studies and the Re:new Project and asked them to come up with a carry-on bag that would look good and be durable, be economical to make and fit under an airplane seat.

The results look appealing and are available for purchase at the United Shop .

Even better: the proceeds from sales of the upcycled banners will benefit Re:new and the Alto Mayo Forest Carbon Project in Northern Peru.

Airline points for donating cash to Nepal

Mileage Programs, ,

united nepal

Lots of groups are raising money to help those affected by the earthquake in Nepal and you should donate what you can to at least one of them.

Airlines are joining the effort and United Airlines is first out of the gate to offer a mileage bonus to MileagePlus members who donate to the cause.

The airline is working with the American Red Cross, Americares, Airlink and Operation USA. MileagePlus members who give between $50-99 will receive 250 bonus miles, those who contribute $100-249 will receive 500 bonus miles, and members who donate more than $250 will receive 1,000 bonus miles.

5 million bonus miles will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for contributions made through the airline’s fundraising page through 11:59 PM CDT, on May 15, 2015.

United is also putting up $50,000 to match donations to these partner organizations from United customers and the carrier’s employees.

Go here to participate

We’ll add other airline mileage-bonus programs as we find them and if you spot one, let us know.