• Twitter has been abuzz today covering American’s inaugural Boeing 777-300 flight. AAdvantage Geek has a great post reviewing his walk-through and be sure to follow @airchive for real-time flight updates.
• Meanwhile, another 777-300 inaugural was grounded. Aeroflot had planned to launch flights tomorrow, but forgot one minor detail… the “type certificate” from the Russian government. Oops. The inaugural has been postponed.
• Iberia Airlines unveiled their swanky new business class dubbed Business Plus. The cabin looks fantastic and features all-aisle access, fully flat seats and a nifty entertainment system. The new cabin will debut on the airline’s freshly delivered A330s, the first to enter service in February.
• Sticking with oneworld carriers for a moment, Malaysia Airlines becomes the latest oneworld alliance addition. And in celebration of the occasion, American Airlines is offering double redeemable miles for flights on the carrier from February 15 to April 15.
• The European Court has ruled that airlines must compensate passengers for severe delays or cancellations in the event of weather or natural disasters, not just mechanical related issues. I’m not so sure I agree… imagine the expense!
• Frontier Airlines will launch Denver to Cincinnati service this May. Six weekly flights aboard Airbus A320 jets will begin May 16. CVG has historically had some pretty high airfares… we’ll see if this brings them down a bit (in competitive markets).
• Boston certainly has had its share of aircraft incidents (glad my 4 flights last week to/from BOS were without troubles). A Delta Air Lines MD-90 evacuated its passengers on a taxiway due to a brake fire, possibly before the aircraft even took off.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 30, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 29, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 28, 2013

The unadvertised promotional United Global First fare to Tokyo I flew on last week had limited domestic origins, Boston being one of them. And since I’m getting “old” and can no longer handle nonstop flying over several days, I flew into Boston the day before my BOS-SFO-NRT segments and booked into the Hilton attached to the airport.

Hilton Boston Logan Airport

I flew in on a red-eye from San Francisco, so I initially hung out in the United Club as it was far too early to check-in. By about 11:00 a.m., though, I was getting antsy and decided to take the long walk from Terminal C, through Terminal E, to the skybridges connecting the hotel to the terminals. Shuttle service from each terminal is also available, but I was keen on the exercise.

Gladly, a room was available and I received an Executive Level King room on the 10^th floor.

Hilton Boston Logan Airport Executive King Room

The room was very clean and offered the standard amenities for executive level accommodations, including complimentary bottled water, bathrobes and slippers. I dug the leaning mirror along the wall near the window, as well as the lap tray for use on the lounger.

Hilton Boston Logan Airport Room

I had a pretty decent #avgeek view overlooking the parking garage to the tower at one angle, and a view of the runways and terminals at another. A grounded Japan Airlines Boeing 787 sat nearby its replacement 777-200 parked at the gate.

View of Boston Logan's Control Tower

View of a JAL 787 and 777-200

I enjoyed complimentary Wi-Fi as a Diamond HHonors elite and booted up my laptop on the average-sized desk. A safe is housed in an adjacent compartment that appears to have been where a minibar was once located.

Work Station

In-Room Safe

The bathroom was nothing special and included Peter Thomas Roth bath amenities commonly found at most Hiltons, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion. My only complaint about the bathroom was the rather aged showerhead that could use replacing.

Hilton Boston Logan Airport Bathroom

Bathroom Amenities

As a Diamond and having received a room upgrade, I had access to the Executive Lounge (also on the 10^th floor), which opens at 5:30 p.m. on Sundays. You should be aware it’s closed on Saturdays.

Evening hors d’oeuvres consisted of veggie egg rolls and rather chewy beef tips on a skewer with roasted peppers. A selection of cold veggies and fruit was also available, along with soft drinks, coffee, tea and bottled water. Sadly, I forgot my iPhone in the room and didn’t get any pics. I would’ve felt a little weird going back a second time just to snap photos.

It’s a decent property, though I have to say the nearby Hyatt affords even better views of both the airport and Boston’s skyline. In the morning, I ended up taking the shuttle back to Terminal C for my 6:00 a.m. flight to San Francisco.

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I’m Off on a Weeklong Mileage Run

Hotel Review: Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront

Hotel Review: Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong

Both American and United came out with new bonus mile offers today. Well… the United one wasn’t officially announced, but the registration page is up. More on that in a moment.

American Airlines is offering double AAdvantage miles (redeemable, not elite) on a batch of select Alaska Airlines flights. Registration is required and the travel window is from today, April 16, to June 30, 2012. The promotion code is ASD12 and double miles can be accrued in the following nonstop markets:

Burbank (BUR) – Portland (PDX)

Honolulu (HNL) – Oakland (OAK)

Honolulu (HNL) – San Jose (SJC)

Kansas City (MCI) – Seattle (SEA)

Los Angeles (LAX) – Mammoth Lakes (XXX)

Oakland (OAK) – Portland (PDX)

Ontario (ONT) – Portland (PDX)

Portland (PDX) – San Francisco (SFO)

With a hat tip to Wandering Aramean, United Airlines appears to be offering bonus MileagePlus miles (both redeemable and Premier Qualifying Miles) for trips between Boston and Tokyo Narita. It’s based on the fare purchased and offers either a 25% or 50% bonus as follows:

Ticketing and travel for this promotion is from April 1 to August 31, 2012. As Seth noted, the terms are a bit tricky. As United doesn’t have a nonstop in the market, the language of the offer reads, “Itineraries with connecting flights into or out of Boston and Narita are eligible for this promotion; however the bonus award miles only apply for segments between Boston and Narita.”

The boldface is my emphasis and appears to mean that so long as you’re on some type of ticket between Boston and Narita – no matter the connection point – you’ll receive the bonus. Your mileage may vary, as always. The promo code on the United registration page is TB3M67.

Related post: New American and United bonus mile opportunities