FT search is still terrible. A reminder there is a workaround using google with site:flyertalk.com  You can also include the forum name in the site reference to limit to a specific forum – forum search example here.

FT search is again not working. One work around is to use google site:flyertalk.com <your search terms>.

When FlyerTalk member and founder Randy Petersen sold FlyerTalk to Internet Brands greater than two years ago, FlyerTalk members had plenty of questions regarding the transaction, as demonstrated in the Q/A with Internet Brands (purchase of FlyerTalk) thread. Some FlyerTalk members even became emotional about the transaction of Randy Petersen selling FlyerTalk, his beloved baby.

One would then automatically surmise that when a FlyerTalk member publicly pleads can you buy back FlyerTalk? Please? to Randy Petersen, it would only be predictable and natural that FlyerTalk members would most certainly flood that thread with similar pleas and a tremendous public outcry, especially with the spate of technical issues which has plagued FlyerTalk in recent weeks — right?!?

Think again…

For a while a few forums have images enabled. Following a TalkBoard recommendation this will soon be extended to most forums.  sbm12 has posted a very useful thread on how to post images on Flyer Talk.

In case you haven’t noticed, FT search has recently undergone radical surgery. For the first time in well over a year it is operating, well not perfectly, but okay to use.  The thread to report remaining search issues is here (and yes there are still some).

Currently FT search is not returning posts made in the past few days.  The search problems thread generally has the latest news/updates on any search issues.

As there seems to be a limit in the number of links I can post in one entry, continued from previous blog entry.

• Finnair – AY lounge situation (or the lack of it) at HEL
• Air France – strike announcement
• KLM – KLMs first B777-300ER delivered
• Frontier Airlines – when will Frontier cease operations?
• Hawaii-based airlines – Aloha Airlines ceases all passenger operations beginning 1 April 2008
• JAL – best lounge in Narita
• JetBlue – why is B6 getting so expensive?
• Korean Air – KEs elite membership and f-class award travel
• Midwest Airlines – MD80s parked, further layoffs
• Miles and More (excl Swiss) – list of promotions
• Swiss – LX first – please let us sleep
• Northwest – NW/DL merger general discussion
• Qantas – improvements coming to QFF?
• Qatar Airways – Qatar Airways new routes 2008
• SAS – new Pandion onboard
• Singapore Airlines – RTW deals on SQ
• Southwest – we have it great on Southwest Airlines
• Thai Airways – JFK-BKK is that flight cancelled?
• Turkish Airlines – TK is useless
• United Airlines – United pilot Q&A thread
• US Airways – new US policy no more 500 mile minimum per segment
• Virgin Atlantic – anybody want silver?
• Virgin America – terrible Virgin America experience
• WestJet – WestJet developing own loyalty program
• Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific airlines – EVA to resume Paris CDG?
• Other European airlines – Icelandair leather seats and avod
• Other Middle East and Africa airlines – MEA new livery and BEY update
• Other North and South American airlines – LAN intra-South America flights converting to all economy?

As we start another year of requalifying I thought it might be interesting to see what were the most popular threads from 2008.  Will the hot topics of last year matter to FTers in 2009, or will there be new hot topics?  This first part looks at the airline forums.

• Air Canada – complaints about customs
• Airlines of India – Kingfisher to introduce BLR-SFO nonstop flight
• Air New Zealand – changes to Airpoints?
• AirTran Airways – AirTran bankrupt next?
• Alaska Airlines – Mileage Plan changes as of 11/1/08
• Alitalia – how long do you think AZ will continue operations?
• All Nippon Airways - had great NH experience
• American Airlines – AMR huge domestic fleet capacity reduction, $15 fee first checked bag
• Asiana - confused newbie trying to earn Diamond status
• bmi – buying miles fee waived, juicy e-shopping bonuses
• British Airways – T5 is open
• Cathay Pacific – CX and Amex issue CX credit card
• Continental – do watch this thread for a major announcement
• Delta – 25k partner bonus
• El Al – Matmid and Amadeus
• Emirates – Emirates new routes for 2009

 There seems to be a limit in the number of links I can post in one entry.  More to come soon.

This is a public service announcement.  Navigation on FT seems to not be working properly at the moment.  The easiest way to move between forums is either using My FT if you have subscribed to the forum you wish to view, or use the forum jump pulldown list at the bottom of each screen.

Congratulations to The Delta Forum Lounge Thread — Everybody is Welcome!, which as of this morning reached a record 1,000,000 views — the first FlyerTalk thread to reach this milestone.

Arguably the first FlyerTalk thread to incorporate the “Lounge thread” concept on FlyerTalk, The Delta Forum Lounge Thread — Everybody is Welcome! originally started as a sixty-day experiment, about which many FlyerTalk members were unsure. Greater than three years later, it is alive and as popular as ever.

Since its inception on 10 October 2005, other FlyerTalk forums have incorporated and embraced the “Lounge thread” concept, either in full or in part.

As the title states, The Delta Forum Lounge Thread — Everybody is Welcome!, so please feel free to drop on by and join a great sub-group of FlyerTalk members by posting in that thread.