2PAXfly
NEW ZEALAND: Flight from Blenheim to Wellington on Air New Zealand
Our return to Wellington was from Blenheim Airport (BHE). It’s a tiny airport adjacent to a New Zealand Air Force facility. No lounge, and not much of anything else except a big waiting room with two ‘gates’, one at either end. The Airport Facilities are minimal, no lounge, for example,...
2PAXfly
WEEKLY REVIEW: Sunday 10 May, 2026
Greetings from Sydney. As you will find out below, I have been battling an awful case of jet lag. It has filled me with brain fog, sleep deprivation, irritability, and a general lack of thought capability. I’ve written a post about what I should have done to combat it. What...
2PAXfly
JET LAG: I have been suffering the worst jet-lag of my life. Here is what I should have done
About a week ago, I returned from London to Sydney via Istanbul and Singapore. My flights were mostly with Turkish Airlines, with the last leg on a wet-leased Finnair A330 on a Qantas ticket. It’s been a week, and I am still desperately sleep deprived, irritable, brain fogged, and useless....
2PAXfly
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Double Status Credits in ‘Pick your bonus’ promo. A longer runway than Qantas
Virgin Australia has responded to Qantas’ latest double rewards offer with its own ‘Pick Your Bonus‘ 2026 promotion, giving Velocity Frequent Flyer members the choice of double Status Credits or double Velocity Points on eligible flights. Qantas’ current offer is limited to flights between 12 May and 31 August 2026....
Also on BoardingArea
Frequent Miler
Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can get a free year of WHOOP (fitness wearable)
WHOOP is a wearable fitness tracker, kind of a cross between Oura Rings and Fitbit. The American Express Platinum Card® offers a $200 annual credit toward Oura Ring purchases, and now Chase is responding in kind by offering an almost free year of WHOOP’s “Life” membership to Sapphire Reserve® cardholders....
Miles To Memories
Rakuten Offering Best Ever Bonus for SoFi Crypto, $160 or 16,000 Bilt Points
Rakuten is offering a best ever bonus for new SoFi Crypto customers. This is an easy bonus of $160 or 16,000 Amex/Bilt points and it will not last long.
The Gate with Brian Cohen
$50 New Member Referral Bonus With Rakuten
This is your chance to cash in on a $50 new member referral bonus when you sign up as a new member of Rakuten; and you will receive a bonus of $50.00 via referral when you spend a minimum of $50.00 within the first 90 days of your new membership, which is...
Economy Class & Beyond
Lufthansa Group board greenlights the purchase of further Boeing and Airbus Widebody Aircraft
Breaking late this evening, as I’m trying to leave a coffee shop, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved the order for a total of 20 new long-haul aircraft at its meeting today. The Executive Board had previously decided to order ten Airbus A350-900s and ten Boeing 787-9s. Delivery...
Frequent Miler
Frontier Fly One, Get One offer: Earn 5,000 miles for each round trip
Frontier Airlines is out with a promotion whereby you can earn an additional 5,000 miles for each qualifying round trip you book and fly between May 6, 2026, and August 31st, 2026, provided that you register for the promotion at least 24 hours prior to departure of your flight. You...
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Police Swarm Frontier Airlines Plane at Denver International Airport After Ammunition Magazine Discovered Just Before Takeoff
A Frontier Airlines plane with as many as 240 passengers onboard was swarmed by police on Sunday evening after someone spotted an ammunition magazine on the floor of the cabin, prompting a deplaning onto the tarmac as investigators carried out a security sweep of the aircraft. The flight involved in...
View from the Wing
Jeffrey Epstein Had 17 Amex Cards And 11 Million Points — His Black Card Concierge Booked “Decoy” Visa Flights
Jeffrey Epstein’s Amex records show the banal machinery behind something much darker: 17 cards, 11 million Membership Rewards points, and a Black Card concierge helping book “decoy” flights for visa interviews.
Your Mileage May Vary
I Thought I Saved Our Germany Trip. Then Our United Flight Headed Back to Washington DC
After surviving a Lufthansa strike and scrambling to rebook our flights to Germany, I thought the hard part was over. It wasn’t. In Part 1 of this saga, I explained…
Miles To Memories
Easy Bonus for United Cardholders: 10,000 Miles for Adding Authorized User [Targeted]
Chase is sending out emails to select United cardholders, offering an easy bonus of 10,000 miles. All you need to do is add an authorized user to your credit card account.
View from the Wing
Readers Seeing Strong Approvals For Citi Strata Elite — $2,300 In First-Year Value
Readers are reporting surprisingly generous approvals for Citi new premium credit card. The Strata Elite currently offers an initial bonus and credits I value at $2,300 total in the first cardmember year, making it one of the most lucrative new card launches in years.
Points Miles and Bling
Amex Canada Dropping Etihad Guest on June 20, 2026
Sometime last week, Amex Canada quietly updated its website with new verbiage: “Effective June 20, 2026, Etihad Airways Etihad Guest loyalty…
Economy Class & Beyond
A deper dive into the Mirus Aircraft Seating Kestral – the new easyJet seat
Just before Aircraft Interiors Expo this year, easyJet announced a massive order with Mirus Aircraft Seating for new seats, with easyJet selecting the Kestral. So, what’s it like? At the show, Mirus Aircraft seating had one complete set of three seats on display. In terms of the seat cover, the...
Frequent Miler
$75 back on $325 or more at Hertz with Citi Merchant Offer (stack with portals?)
There’s a new Citi Merchant offer out that’s good for $75 back when you spend $325 or more with Hertz rental cars. That could certainly be a solid deal on its own, but it gets even better if you are able to stack it with a good shopping portal offer....
The Bulkhead Seat
JetBlue Launched New Milan Flights From Boston Today
Back in November, I wrote about JetBlue’s plans to launch flights between Boston Logan International…
One Mile at a Time
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve: Which Is Better?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve Card are both compelling travel rewards credit cards. In this Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve showdown, I’d like to compare the two cards — while they have a lot of similarities, they also have a lot of differences.
Frequent Flyer Bonuses
Air France KLM Flying Blue: Earn up to 2,500 miles on Sixt car rentals (May 11 Bonus Offer Highlight)
Today's bonus offer highlight is another excellent bonus from Sixt where you can earn up to 2,500 Air France KLM Flying Blue miles on car rentals. Check out all of the new bonuses added today:
Miles To Memories
SoFi Checking & Savings $725 Bonus (When Including Rakuten)
There is a new Sofi checking & savings bonus worth up to $725 when you include the currently active Rakuten offer.
Economondo
Trying Virgin Atlantic’s Brand New Route: Seoul Incheon to London Heathrow on the Dreamliner
Flying on Virgin Atlantic's new route between Korea and the UK onboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Frequent Miler
Hyatt FIND Experiences auctions for stay + 200K-300K AA miles + more
Hyatt recently launched the ability to book a couple of The Standard properties that weren’t previously available through World of Hyatt. Along with the announcement of that launch, they launched a couple of FIND experiences auctions that include stays, American Airlines AAdvantage miles, and more. The Deal Hyatt FIND experiences...
Live and Let’s Fly
Review: United Airlines 787-9 “Premium Plus” Premium Economy Class
I flew on United Airlines from Hong Kong to Bangkok in premium economy (what United brands as Premium Plus) on a Boeing 787, a short but pleasant daytime flight. United Airlines 787-9 “Premium Plus” Premium Economy Class Review (HKG-BKK) United flies a tag flight between Hong Kong and Bangkok each...
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Qatar Airways Finally Makes Good On its Promise to Launch Flights to Venezuela and Colombia More Than a Year Later Than Planned
Unperturbed by the continuing crisis in the Persian Gulf that grounded most of its planes for weeks on end, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it is finally making good on its promise to become the only airline in the Middle East to fly to Venezuela and non-stop to Colombia. The...
Points With a Crew
I Finally Cracked the Tokyo Subway System (And It’s Easier Than I Thought)
The Tokyo subway system seemed impossible at first. After another Japan trip, I finally understand how it all fits together, and with a little work, you can too.
Frequent Flyer Bonuses
Receive up to an 80% bonus or 45% discount when you buy Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles
An offer for buying Flying Blue Miles has returned for Air France KLM’s frequent flyer program. This time it’s a mystery offer of an 80% bonus or discount of up to 45% on the purchase price. You’ll find out which offer you get after logging in. Personally I received the...
Your Mileage May Vary
Passport Revocation Has Begun for Those With Unpaid Debts
For years, the U.S. government has been able to deny passports over certain unpaid debts. Now it’s preparing to go a step further by actively revoking some passports that have…
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Double Status Credits surprise, but only for Australia and New Zealand
Qantas has launched a short, sharp ‘double rewards’ offer for Frequent Flyer members. You can choose between double Status Credits or double Qantas Points on eligible flights within Australia and across the Tasman. The booking window is tight. You need to register and book between 12.01 am AEST on 5...
2PAXfly
WEEKLY REVIEW: Sunday 3 May, 2026
Greetings from Sydney. My month-long stay in the UK has come to an end, and I’m back home to enjoy the dwindling warmth of Autumn. It was a great time catching up with friends, seeing way too much theatre, and adding to my long list of galleries, museums, and artworks...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: More cuts to domestic flights but flights to Paris and Rome extended
Qantas has confirmed it will extend its 5% reduction in domestic capacity through to September, stretching what was initially a short-term cut from May–June into a full winter slowdown. Its low-cost sibling Jetstar is following suit, with both airlines also trimming flights across the Tasman and within New Zealand. For...
2PAXfly
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Restarting Doha flights with Qatar Airways from June
Although Qatar Airways has resumed some of its Australian network flights as of 1 May, Virgin Australia’s wet-leased flights using Qatar Airways aircraft are not returning until June The return to the wet lease agreement is cautious because of the Middle East conflict. Virgin Australia has confirmed its Doha flights...
2PAXfly
QATAR AIRWAYS: Network begins to rebound restoring Australian flights
Qatar Airways is ramping up flights to Australia, restoring capacity after months of disruption caused by Middle East airspace closures. From May, the Doha-based carrier is progressively returning to a full schedule across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, with daily flights reinstated after a period of reduced services. Australian routes return...
2PAXfly
INTERNATIONAL FLYING: Middle East conflict and fuel crisis cuts one in four flights
Almost a quarter of international flights from Australia were cancelled in April. That’s according to the AFR, as airlines scrambled to deal with soaring fuel prices and widespread airspace disruptions. The trigger is the escalating conflict involving Iran, which has effectively shut down large parts of Gulf airspace since late...
2PAXfly
EMIRATES: Talk of First Class private suites with en suite bathrooms
Rumours are mounting that Emirates could be working on a new First Class concept featuring private suites with their own en-suite bathrooms. It sounds ambitious, but this is the airline that already put showers on board the Airbus A380 and introduced fully enclosed suites on the Boeing 777. If any...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: New open skies deal between Australia and Canada opens more flights and destinations
A new open skies agreement between Australia and Canada has removed limits on flights between the two countries, giving Qantas the green light to expand its services. The updated air services arrangement allows unlimited passenger capacity for Australian carriers, replacing the previous cap that effectively limited Qantas to a daily...