Because Kyoto and Nara lack an airport, the next best thing is a seasonal Osaka flight. But Osaka has its fans, too. That’s right, in late spring, Air Canada will be starting seasonal flights from Toronto YYZ to Osaka KIX. On second thought, make that restarting, since Air Canada last flew this route from 1997-2000. The […]
Airline Status Match Reality
ASMR for me has nothing to do with the sound of someone crunching a mid-flight Air France crouton. No, it’s all about the airline status match reality I’m currently facing. Prepare your small violins for this one. In my last post, I mentioned about how Emirates was quite open to the idea of a status […]
The Emirates Status Match
Really, there’s a Skywards Emirates status match challenge available? If access is granted to its business class lounges in Dubai (DXB), it might be worth it. But how did this discovery come about, and more importantly, what’s a status match? A few years ago, to invite frequent fliers to sign-up for its brand-new Volare program, […]
The Airline Safety Card
Note: With two notable exceptions below, I always ask one of the flight crew if I can take an airline safety card. Would you really want to take an airline safety card as a souvenir? They’re typically cooped up in one of those seat-back pockets, one of the nastiest places on the plane. Not to […]
Chinatown Around the World
As a child, I used to think that the Manhattan Chinatown was one of the coolest neighborhoods to wander around. Whether it was the detailed writing system, the food, or the history, I was enthralled. But how would it compare with other Chinatowns around the world? After starting to travel, I realized that New York […]
Metro Access to Istanbul International Airport
If you, too, are as interested as I am in mass transit, then I’ve got some good news– there’s now metro access to Istanbul International Airport (IST). On 29 January the M11 metro line, connecting IST to Gayrettepe transfer station near downtown Istanbul, started operations. For your reference, I’ve added a snippet of the official […]
Japanese Preclearance Being Trialed in Taiwan
It’s more like Japanese preclearance light. For the entire month of February, Japan will be trialing its own flavor of overseas immigration checks at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE). But don’t get your hopes up too much. Here’s why– Firstly, there will only be 10 airports in which this Japanese preclearance applies. All are located […]
Korean Carrier T’Way Air Starting its First Flight to Europe
Starting right before summer, you will be able to fly T’Way Air to Europe. More specifically, from Seoul to Zagreb, Croatia. T’Way Air? Whuh? That’s a fair reaction. I tend to think new airlines appear every other day in South Korea. It’s as if offering a route from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju Island — the […]
