OK, I just flew from Washington to Seattle in first class on an A320, and I had the best purser I’ve ever had. Period. Terrence, the Washington Dulles based purser, just couldn’t have done a better job. I’m not quite how to describe his service, but it was the little touches that made all the difference.

Where can I start? He literally smiled the whole flight. And this was nearly a six hour flight. Every time he spoke to a passenger he would just have the most contagious smile on his face that couldn’t help but make the passenger he was interacting with smile as well. His service was simply textbook perfect. Meal orders were taken by name, and the way he phrased everything was just so classy – “and Mr. Lucky, would you care to join us for lunch today?” At no point in the flight did he say “you want a refill” or “mhm” when I said thank you. Instead, he anticipated the needs of everyone, and asked everything in a very professional manner, such as “may I top that off for you” or “would you care for some more soda?”

When my seatmate asked for some red wine he brought by the bottle to show it to her. It’s a small touch, but it makes a big difference in perceived service level where there’s so little you can do to differentiate yourself. When I asked for water during the flight my request was met with a big smile and “of course, let me get that for you,” not “yeah, sure.”

Also, he basically made this a “dine on demand” flight. As each passenger finished their main course, he brought them out the dessert, instead of waiting for everyone to finish. He just couldn’t have been more professional.

Towards the end of the flight I couldn’t help but give him a “Going the Extra Mile” certificate and comment that his cheekbones must hurt. He laughed it off and said that he loves what he does. He said he did everything his parents wanted him to do, including going to graduate school, but this is what he loves. He said his goal in becoming a flight attendant was to see the world, and for 14 years he flew mostly internationally and accomplished that goal, and now he loves doing domestic flying. He said there’s nothing he’d rather do than be a flight attendant. I told him that it showed that he enjoyed his job and once again thanked him for doing such a phenomenal job, and he simply responded with “it was an absolute pleasure.”

So if you’re ever on one of Terrence’s flights, you’re in for a treat. I honestly felt like I was on Singapore Airlines.

It looks like Lufthansa’s first Airbus 380 will be going into service this summer, and surprisingly enough it won’t be to JFK. Instead the first regular route for the Airbus 380 will be Frankfurt to Tokyo Narita starting June 11, with service every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. It looks like the next city will be Beijing, starting August 25, and after that is Johannesburg, starting October 25.

I’m both thrilled and sad to see Lufthansa flying this plane. Lufthansa’s configuration of the Airbus 380 has only eight first class seats, as opposed to their current 747s, which have 16 first class seats. As expected, they have zeroed out all their first class award availability, and with only eight seats, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Fortunately Lufthansa is still great at releasing plenty of award seats on their other flights. The good news is that there does appear to be some business class award space, which isn’t all that shocking given that they have nearly 100 business class seats on the A380.

So this is a great chance to try the Airbus 380 in a premium cabin with miles, but not in first class. Though if you were one of the lucky ones to already have an award booked on the Frankfurt to Tokyo route in first class on one of the dates mentioned above, you might be in for a nice surprise.

Or maybe this would be a nice time to make a speculative booking on a different route — like New York to Frankfurt — for sometime next year, in the hopes that they have enough A380s to cover the JFK route by then too.

The Wall Street Journal reports that United and Continental are expected to announce a merger on Monday. Oh boy. Not even sure where to start on this one.

First of all, I guess, this was absolutely necessary. If you had asked me a couple of years ago if United and Continental had a chance of merging, I would have said there’s no way. I’m amazed by how much aligning the airlines have done in the past year or so, and frankly, how well it has all gone over. Consolidation is still necessary in the industry, and this was inevitable. And from the perspective of the two companies (especially United), this was a brilliant move. Enough said about that.

Let’s think about this from the perspective of the consumer. Again, I have mixed feelings. On one hand United just couldn’t have survived in the long run as a standalone airline, so I’m happy in the sense that I want to see them survive, and I’m convinced a Continental merger is the best way for that to happen.

At the same time, selfishly, I’m sad to see this merger happen. If you’re a mileage runner you shouldn’t be looking forward to this merger, plain and simple. Part of what makes United “profitable” as a customer is what a mismanaged airline they are and how poorly so many of their policies are thought out.

If you complain that your seatmate farted, you’ll get a $200 electronic certificate good for future travel. On Continental, on the other hand, they’ll find a way to blame you for a flight attendant spilling a box of wine on a passenger. At United you can make four connections in each direction of travel within the US. After all, who wouldn’t want to fly from Tampa to San Francisco via Washington Dulles, Newark, Denver, and San Francisco? On Continental you can connect once for the most part, and with a hub conveniently located in Houston, chances are your layover will be right on the way.

On United you can either pay a truly outrageous first class fare or upgrade on a $200 ticket. On Continental you can pay a reasonable first class fare and get a good value, but don’t expect a transcon upgrade unless you’re traveling on close to a full fare ticket. Ever. You see where I’m going with this?

Don’t get me wrong, most of the above is just me being a selfish consumer that’s looking out for me. And since Continental’s management team is a bit more on top of things, I would expect most of these ridiculously generous United policies to end. And that ain’t good for me!

Now, let’s talk more generally for a second. I think we can finally say goodbye to Starnet blocking. There’s no way in heck Continental’s management will stand for Starnet blocking, so I’m betting that’ll be the really, really good news.

The other question is what happens to Economy Plus? I’m thinking Continental will eventually add Economy Plus to their planes, since United seems to be generating a good bit of revenue through upsells.

Lastly, and this is a question near and dear to my heart, what happens to million miler status? At United one million miler gets you lifetime Premier Executive status (mid tier), two million miler gets you a Red Carpet Club membership for life, and three million miler apparently gets you 1K for life. At Continental, on the other hand, one million miler gets you Silver for life (low tier), two million miler gets you Gold for life (mid tier status), and four million miler gets you Platinum for life (top tier status). The only cool thing about their program is that you can appoint a companion to have the same status for life.

But still, I’m approaching million miler, and I’ve really been looking forward to Premier Executive status for life. Here’s to hoping the million miler program of the combined airline looks more like United’s current scheme than Continental’s.

This’ll definitely be an interesting merger to watch…

I know, I know, I really shouldn’t mention the guy, but this is just too rich to pass up. I couldn’t help but notice the announcement at the top of FlyerTalk forums this evening, entitled “Reporter needs help — a lot of help.” When I opened it up I smirked as I saw that Chris Elliott was the writer looking for help. Yeppers, the guy sure could use some help.

Gotta love his query:

Are loyalty programs worth it for travelers? I’m looking for
people who have chosen to participate in a loyalty program,
travelers who have refused to participate, and experts who know a lot about loyalty programs and can weigh in on the question of when, if ever, these programs are worth it.

I can hardly wait to read Mr. Elliott’s article, as I’m sure it’ll be delightfully skewed as always. Actually, I think Chris has already answered his own question when he said that elite status is meaningless. And the way he phrases the last part of the query, asking if these programs are ever worth it, seems to indicate the direction he wants to go with the article.

This article should be yet another gem. Heck, do his questions even make sense? Are there really “travelers” that refuse to participate in loyalty programs? Yes, there are those that are ignorant about the programs and those that are too lazy to sign up and those that think there are no benefits but never actually took the time to look into them, but is there really someone out there that flies a lot and refuses to participate and actually knows what they’re talking about? I mean, after all, who wants first class check-in, special security lines, priority boarding, free checked bags, free upgrades, and miles that can be used for international first class reward tickets? Certainly not Chris…

I’m quite looking forward to yet another objective piece. Hoping me manages to find enough crazy people to interview that can help push his agenda (which, of course, is that premium passengers and frequent fliers are stealing, criminal, pigs).

This coming Monday, May 3, Starwood will be taking part in the first ever industry-wide travel promotion to support the U.S. Travel Association. What does that mean for us? Well, on Monday, May 3 at 10AM, they’ll be offering the opportunity to buy 10,000 Starpoints for $145, with a limit of five sets per person. So that means you could potentially buy 50,000 Starpoints for $725. Given that you can convert those 50,000 points into at least 60,000 miles, that’s just a bit over a cent per mile for transfers into a variety of programs. Not too shabby at all!

The catch, however, is that quantities are very limited. Only 470 are available. Still worth trying if you have the cash, though.

Text AATHEATRE to 22898 by 5PM EST today and receive a 10% off code for an American Airlines itinerary. You must book by May 28 and travel between April 28 and July 28 (July 2-5 are excluded). Seems to be pretty unrestricted otherwise.