TRAVEL / FREQUENT FLYER TIPS

Good news and bad news.

1) In another step towards integration of AA and BA (within their joint venture), you can now book BA flights with AA miles on aa.com. This is great for avoiding a phone call to check for availability of same.

2) The bad news: the taxes/fees are outrageous. A direct flight from NY to London in business class come out to the standard 100,000 miles but with $967.40 in fees! I priced a similar trip to LHR on AA aircraft and got only $281.50.

What is in the water over at BA?! These fuel surcharges (or YQ as we call it) have gotten beyond out of hand. Charging nearly a grand in fees on an award ticket is just a wee bit too far in “cost recovery”. Shame on you, BA.

OpenSkies has been making a lot of news lately. You read here that they recently launched their JFK-AMS (Amsterdam) route to supplement the JFK-ORY (Paris) route launced a few months ago.

Then on July 30th, they announced they are removing the already small Economy Class section of the planes, replacing it with more PREM+ seats. Good move going 100% premium? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section….

You also read here recently that we were offering 15% off on the JFK-Paris route.

And now, on the OpenSkies website, a new introductory discount for the JFK-AMS route:

f you’re departing from Amsterdam
Prem+ to New York from 1136 €*
Book by August 21, 2008

If you’re departing from New York
Prem+ to Amsterdam from $746*
Book by August 21, 2008