Reddit user /u/coasterjake got to spend some time with a 737-MAX (-8) recently, and he has uploaded quite a few pictures to his Flickr album.
Check it out!
Gorgeous @Boeing 737-MAX Pictures
Category: Product Review
Review of products associated with travel
ITA Matrix’s Little Brother: OnTheFly
Though many savvy travel hackers are familiar with the ins and outs of Google Flights and its underlying engine (ITA’s Matrix), not everyone is aware that you can use ITA’s software on your mobile device! The app, OnTheFly, is in both the Android and Apple app stores and is surprisingly easy to navigate.
Though you don’t have the ability to use the advanced routing codes that you would when using the web interface, you still have a fair amount of control. You can see these options below.
Unfortunately, you also are limited in the way the flight results are displayed, simply because of the limited screen real estate and functionality limitations of a mobile device. The information is presented in a clear manner, though, and the search is quite fast.
My only real complaint here is the fact that you can’t see time-bars. It is my preferred method of search result display for flights. That said, Hipmunk will give you this information, and it pulls its information from ITA as well. Small world, right?
Once both outbound and return flights are selected, you are shown the fare details, as well as the total trip distance (for those that are conscious on qualifying miles and cents-per-mile!). Naturally, you are shown the fare class, and are even given a breakdown on where the fare price comes from.
For more on ITA’s Matrix, check out Scott Mackenzie’s guides on Travel Codex. It’s very important reading for the aspiring travel hacker!
Have you played with ITA’s Matrix and OnTheFly?
Bulk Fares on @Delta, @United, and @American
Earlier this week Enoch of PointMeToThePlane shared the results of an experiment where he used the Citi ThankYou points portal to pay for part of an American Airlines ticket. While not something unusual at first glance, Enoch pointed out that the earning was based on the distance flown instead of the amount spent. Interestingly enough, the qualifying spend was also based on the distance flown. The reason for this is that the ticket is a special fare.
American is by no means unique in offering special fares. In fact, United and Delta also have these fares. The frustrating thing is that it isn’t always clear what kind of fare you are buying, particularly with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), because the fare type is different from the fare code. Bulk fares like this will still have the same letters you are used to seeing when purchasing tickets directly from the airline.
Julian over at FrequentMiler expanded on this information in the blog’s Devil’s Advocate column. You can see charts for the fares discussed on each airline’s website. These charts are also below, and each is accompanied by a link to the exception fare page for the respective airline.
While this might seem appealing, especially to earn more miles on cheap fares, be very careful with these bookings. As you might notice with the links above, the spend earning rate is sometimes 0% of the miles flown (as with United for non premium fares).
Another dangerous thing is that when you book using an OTA, you might wind up buying a ‘basic’ fare. Rene at RenesPoints detailed his experience comparing the prices at OTAs with what is offered from the airline, you sometimes don’t receive any warning in your booking. Like Citi, Chase allows you to spend their rewards points to buy tickets through their online portal. Rene pointed out that when booking this way, you don’t receive any warning that the ticket you are buying is Basic Economy.
@Delta to Upgrade RDU-CDG Flight
Google Now just informed me that there has been talk of Delta replacing the 757 that is currently being used to connect Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) with a 767. This would be a pretty big improvement in the quality of flight for passengers. Delta’s Pink Force One is an example of a 767, though it is a -400, not a -300 as I would expect to bridge RDU and CDG.
While the Delta One seats in the 757 are lie-flat, they lack the lumbar massage option that the 767 and Airbus 330 offer. After being in a seat for a prolonged period of time, I can vouch for how helpful these can be! This also means more Delta One seats, and hopefully better uses for Global Upgrade Certificates. The 767, being a wide-body aircraft, allows for aisle access from all Delta One seats, so you don’t have to worry about stepping over anyone if you need to get up and stretch. Again – an improvement from the 757 currently serving this route.
Right now Delta is only planning on this being a seasonal upgrade, but I hope it sticks around. RDU flyers can expect to see this change in the Spring of 2017, slated to start on May 25th.
Seat Maps
You can see seatmaps for these planes on SeatGuru. Though it isn’t clear which variant of the 767-300/-400 will be used, there isn’t too much change in what you can expect as a flyer.
@United – Last Seat Availability
Greg over at FrequentMiler recently shared his experience with United’s Last Seat Availability guarantee that he received thanks to his Marriott status (Marriott’s Platinum status grants you Silver with United, once you link the accounts), and that reminded me that since the acquisition of SPG by Marriott went through on Friday, those who had SPG Platinum would also have this once they linked their accounts!
If you don’t have status with United (or SPG/Marriott), don’t worry – you can still get access to this feature with United’s credit card through Chase. In fact, Greg goes on to detail a few other very helpful perks offered by a variety of credit cards that cardholders might not know to take advantage of. Though some of them won’t apply in the near future, such as Citi Prestige’s golf, the list is a good resource for those wanting to make the most of their cards.
Don’t forget to link your accounts – you never know when you will need to buy a last minute ticket!
@Airbus A350-1000 Test Aircraft! #AvGeek
Airbus has their second A350-1000 XWB test aircraft out and about in its new Carbon Livery.
With a three-class configuration, it can carry 366 passengers just under 8,000 nautical miles. It’s powered by two Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines that have been custom built for Airbus specifically for this plane. From Airbus’s estimates, the airframe design and engine come together to offer a substantial 25% increase in fuel efficiency to other long-range competitors.
Additional images can be found on Airbus’s website, for those curious!
Website Bugs are Fun! Courtesy of @Delta
With schedule changes, I took some time to dig through all of my upcoming travel when I noticed this gem… I didn’t know Delta used Eurocopter EC155s! 😉
I did verify that I would not be on a helicopter, which I have mixed feelings about… it would certainly make for a fun day! For those curious, this is what a Eurocopter EC155 looks like:
