Dollar Coin Advertising

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Chris

I’m in Washington D.C. this weekend.  In lieu of as-I-go hotel reports, I offer up an ad from the U.S. Mint on the DC Metro:

Sadly, the Mint killed off the credit card-based direct ship program recently; otherwise, I would be happy to use $1 coins.

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BluePass

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Chris

Last month, JetBlue announced they wouldn’t have another All You Can Jet promotion.  It’s been revived in the form of BluePass which offers “unlimited” travel to/from either Boston or Long Beach, CA, depending on the plan selected.  To refresh memories, the All You Can Jet terms are still available.

Pricing’s a bit steeper, but it is good for travel for three months rather than one.  “Boston All” comes in at $1999, “Boston Select” at $1499, and “Long Beach Select” at $1299.  Travel must touch the city named in the package.  The Select plans restrict which cities can be flown on the plan.  Unlike AYCJ, bookings can be done up to 90 minutes before departure and there are no change and cancellation fees.

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Livery Spotting

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Chris

United’s A320 painted in its “Friendship Livery” pulled up right before we pushed back for our IAD-DEN leg two weeks ago.

 

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A 787 in Albuquerque

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Chris

Boeing sent one of its 787’s, ZA004 with tail number N7874 down to Albuquerque.

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Reduced Airfare Taxes

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Chris

Since Congress failed to reauthorize the FAA at midnight, many of the taxes on airfare have been suspended. 

There’s been an opportunity for airlines to try raising their fares.  Virgin America is calling attention to the tax holiday with a sale and  United’s fares seem relatively unscathed.

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The Sandia Mountains

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Chris

In lieu of another trip this weekend, I offer a picture of the Sandia Mountains from last week’s trip.

The tram ride up the mountain was billed as a “flight,” but I doubt I’ll be earning my elite minimums with United Airlines for the trip.

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Plane Spotting

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Chris

Rather than adopt a photography is a crime attitude, Albuquerque Sunport has a few areas setup for plane spotting.

The North area has a covered picnic bench in the shape of a plane.

The cover for the garbage can is in the shape of a helicopter.

The North viewing area is close to the end of the A concourse, making it well-suited to seeing Southwest’s planes come and go.

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US Mint Ends Credit Card $1 Coin Orders

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Chris

After a long string of stories about the program, the U.S. Mint has finally stopped taking orders for its dollar coin direct ship program paid by credit card.

It’s too bad as I was planning on quickly finishing up the spending requirements on my new credit cards.

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Hilton Garden Inn Albuquerque Airport

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Chris

To kick off completing my three stays under the Visa Signature promotion, I stayed at a Hilton for my trip to New Mexico.

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American’s Fleet Upgrade

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Chris

American Airlines announced their order for 460 new planes, 260 from Airbus and 200 from Boeing, this morning to modernize its domestic fleet.  This weekend, I had the “joy” of riding in two MD-82’s slated to be replaced by these new planes.

Once you’ve seen the legroom of one American Airlines exit row, you’ve likely seen them all.

I cleared as a standby on both of my segments to get out to Albuquerque.  Both flights were nearly full in economy but had plenty of seats available in first.  While I declined to take an earlier flight as a standby to try to get denied boarding compensation instead with Continental, I’m reasonably confident my chances of scoring a bump on my originally ticketed flights wasn’t that great.  If worse came to worse, the gate agents could have started operationally upgrading passengers to first.

The entrance lobby features a 1914 Ingram/Foster Biplane in its atrium.

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