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Review: San Francisco-Copenhagen on SAS [SLIDESHOW]
Notes from my recent flight from San Francisco International (SFO) to Copenhagen (CPH) on SAS. >First of all, thank you to SAS for inviting me, free of charge, to check out its new business class service between SFO and CPH, which launched on April 21. Tak! I flew over a week after the inaugural run. [...]
5 travel fees worth paying
The whole country seems to be making a collective groan when it comes to planning summer vacations. And why not? An early look at airfares (especially to Europe) shows some painful peak pricing, especially in July and early August. For example, nonstops from San Francisco International to cities such as London, Frankfurt and Paris are [...]
Mileage Plus ranking + new 787 @ SFO + PreCheck + Airport standoff
In This Issue: New 787 Dreamliner flight at SFO, Mileage Plus ranks highly, Sour Milk, SFO Airport Tiff, Virgin America loss, Tito’s vodka, dream of a new Terminal 1 at SFO. Sorry for the recent lag in updates! Let’s catch up on Bay Area Travel news right now>>> MORE 787 DREAMLINERS. Starting September 1, Japan Airlines will [...]
New SFO flights + United fee hike + SFO Terminal video + 787
Catching up on Bay Area Travel news: New flights to France & China; United hikes fees; video inside new SFO Terminal; flirt on Virgin America flights from San Jose; 787 Dreamliner update, new Routehappy booking site; FlightCar is back. HUANYING AND BON VOYAGE. Last Friday (April 26) was a busy day at San Francisco International. At [...]
Do you trust hotel review sites? [Infographic]
Nearly every traveler I know (including me) checks out hotels on TripAdvisor before making a booking. I’m sure you do, too. Right? The infographic below provides an interesting look at how travelers use the review sites and what makes them trustworthy. It also provides some tips on spotting “fake” reviews. (The infographic was prepared by [...]
Q&A with SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson
Last week SAS inaugurated flights to San Francisco International Airport from its main hub in Copenhagen. A large Scandinavian contingent included SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson, who agreed to a lively Q&A with The Bay Area Traveler-The BAT! Our warm spring weather was a big hit for the shivering Scandos, who have endured a longer-and-colder-than-normal winter. [...]
Travel Q&A re: Boston bombing
What’s the situation at local Bay Area airports? At 4 pm today, my contacts at the airports as well as readers surprised me with NO reports of longer lines, increased scrutiny, etc. Boston had a brief “ground stop” which lasted only about an hour, and apparently operations are back to normal there and elsewhere… FAA [...]
SAS arrival + Fight over Jersey + Taipei Delei + United woes
SKAL TO SAS. SAS touched down at SFO last Monday at around 2:30pm. While the BAT was unable to attend the airport arrival celebration, reader Joe D’Alessandro sent along the above photo of the first SAS A340-300 getting a water cannon salute. Within 10 minutes, we posted the photo on The BAT Facebook page and [...]
Mega mileage earning bonuses proliferate
Word about two new travel websites, RocketMiles and PointsHound, which woo frequent travelers with massive mileage bonuses for hotel bookings, is starting to leak out. A quick scan of RocketMiles today shows that it is currently offering 15,000 Mileage Plus miles for a three-night stay (@ $493/night) at the swank Andaz Wall Street in New York City in [...]
Ridesharing unwelcome at SFO + Virgin matches SW elite + New arrival from Europe
In this issue: Ridesharing unwelcome at SFO, Virgin expands elite matching, SAS nonstops from Copenhagen land at SFO, United upgrades IAH terminal, Presidential visit, 787 flying (empty), $100K a year to travel and blog? RIDESHARING UNWELCOME AT SFO. San Francisco International has issued cease and desist letters to six car/ride sharing services picking up or [...]
