September 11, 2006 NEWSLETTER

Good day and good night to all. Here is the latest INflightOUT newsletter. Note the new address i'm sending it from; to reduce the spam-o-grams into my personal account where these newsletters were previously dispatched from. As always, muchas gracias amigos for the positive feedback and offerings related to this newsletter. It's a pleasure to make it for ya. Feel free to forward to friends. -Mike

150 easy American Airlines miles for watching a 2 minute video clip on Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones.

Mileage News
Next month United begins charging $50/$75 fees for travelers redeeming United miles within 14 and 7 days of departure date. This may be to encourage last minute travelers to buy the more expensive (last minute) fares rather than using miles. Fee not applicable to 1K's and up. Similar fees are charged by other airlines as well. United continues however to allow free changes to award tickets - should your travel needs require it. A huge plus for the United mileage plus program.

American Airlines Short Hops allow for a 10,000 mile reduction when redeeming miles for flights of 750 miles or less. Valid through February 2007.
Example, SFO-LOS ANGELES or SANTA ANA or NEW YORK-BOSTON, CHICAGO OR MONTREAL, Canada ( normally requires 25,000 miles to redeem, but under this promotion is only 15,000 miles. Similar to the United promo running through 2006.


Double Southwest Airlines RapidReward credits for college students up to age 23 (not us old folk still in college) who sign up for RR program. Forward this deal to a young'un you might know. =)

$50 off now Orbitz.com Hotel bookings + another bonus later. Good coupon!
Book a hotel or hotel + flight package for 3+ nights by October 8, 2006 and receive $50 off instantly when you use SAVENOW promotion code. Good for travel by December 31, 2006.

Airbus' 380 SuperJumbo went on it's first test flight - with passengers last week. The Jumbo jet now expected to be released in 2007 will permit cabin seating up to 555 people!
No U.S-based airline has signed on to purchase one of these giants yet, but San Francisco International is one of only a few U.S airports equipped to handle this hunk'a machinery should foreign airlines choose a San Francisco routing.

HOT Fare Deals as of Monday Night
SAN FRANCISCO to
Los Angeles $49 each way FRONTIER AIRLINES
London $503 round trip (taxes included!) DELTA AIRLINES November, December - about $100 more for February, March 2007
Pittsburgh PA $185 round trip (taxes included) AMERICAN AIRLINES Through March

OAKLAND to
Santa Ana/Orange County $98 round trip (taxes included) ALASKA AIRLINES through mid October
Burbank, LAX, San Diego $49 fun fares each way SOUTHWEST AIRLINES (may need to book by midnight tonight)
(example: fly to LOS ANGELES for New Years celebrations)

INTERISLAND Hawai'i flights as low as $29 each way on Hawaiian, Aloha and Go Airlines through 2006. An amazingly inexpensive fare. Tickets to be purchased by 9-12-06.

Pretty decent Hawai'i air+hotel packages from NorthwestAirlines Vacations from $335/person (double occ) for a few weeks in October and November.

Historically speaking, the months of October and November generate some rock-bottom fare deals throughout Western Europe (ie: <$450). Be patient, but also keep checking websites like farecompare.com for limited-time fare drops.

Travel Tip: When traveling outside of the U.S, it's a good idea to make a photocopies of your passport and leave with a trusted friend and bring a copy with you - seperate from your actual passport. This reduces the potential for a vacation-gone bad. Some have suggested scanning your passport and emailing a copy of yourself so you have an electronic copy available as well.


"What to do when bumped from a flight" (When your flight is cancelled) NY Times article


"A traveler must have the back of an ass to bear all,
a tongue like the tail of a dog to flatter all,
the mouth of a hog to eat what is set before him,
the ear of a merchant to hear all and say nothing."
Thomas Nashe

May 26, 2006 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to Issue #4 of the INflightOUT newsletter. May 26, 2006.
(feel free to forward to friends)

United, American and Frontier Airlines are all offering some version of "double miles" for future flights this year. You must register for the promo on the airlines' respective website! Hurry. UA/AA cut off for registration is May 31.

Southwest Airlines considering a new policy of assigned seating; fyi They considered this in 2004 as well, but obviously never implemented it. Here's the latest... Click here for Washington Post story

*WHY WE TRAVEL* (editor favorite)A beautiful collection of images from across the globe. These images have appeared in the New York Times, but this link is the cummulative slide show. The captions compliment the pictures well. Click Here for the Slide show

Alaska Airlines now offering Red Bull on all flights. It claims to be the 1st airline in the world to offer Red Bull. $5 charge in economy, free up front.

JetBlue flyers who also own the AmericanExpress JetBlue card receive a free complimentary coctail when flashing the card onboard any JB flight. Valid through June.

FREE AIRPORT WIRELESS SERVICE. Free service at Sacramento International, John Wayne/Orange County, Long Beach. Many airports charge $6-10 for this service. Click here to find out other FREE airport locations around the country.

NEW BAY AREA SERVICEIceland Airlines - Resumes non-stop service San Francisco to Reykjavik, Iceland 4 times a week, with good connections if you want to continue to mainland Europe. Iceland had an extensive GLBT marketing campaign recently promoting extensive outdoor activities and entertainment. Fares historically have been very competitive - allowing a few days in Iceland, then continue elsewhere in Europe for < $600. For now, nothing like that on their website. Keep your eyes open for it though.

Northwest Airlines - NEW daily non-stop service to Indianapolis starts June 1. 1000 bonus miles on this route. Airtran - also starts SFO-Indianapolis June 8.

Hawaiian Airlines - to offer "as low as" $43 each way tickets for inter-island travel starting October 1st. Likely competing with Mesa airlines who recently started island service. Book early for these fares! Source: Pualani Ohana Newsletter.

AmericaWest - their website is gone! Finally switches over to US Air. Travelers flying US Air "west" (ie: America West) can request United Airlines credit. Although not official on their website, there have been many reports successfully doing this. (US Air is part of Star Alliance - but America West was not)