Category Archives for In the Air.
By now, you must have heard about the non-news news story about the (former) Korean Air executive who booted a cabin crew member when she wasn’t served nuts according to Korean Air’s nut-serving policy. After the incident gained international attention, the executive — who also happens to be the daughter of Korean Air’s chairman —…
Apparently today’s the day to announce big news if you’re a major airline in the United States. Delta’s doing their thing with rebranding seat products while American just shared the news that they’re investing TWO BILLION DOLLARS to make your flying experience better. They’re calling it “Going For Great,” and it’s a big campaign focused…
As far as I’m concerned, Southwest owes me for an hour of my time. You: “What?!? That guy is so entitled! What a jerk!” Before you react like that, listen to my story. It was Tuesday. My girlfriend was coming back to town via Southwest. As a good dude should, I offered to pick her…
Back in May, I wrote about Bon Appetit’s Andrew Knowlton who suggested becoming an in-flight mixologist and crafting your own cocktails on your next flight. A mere five months later and Knowlton’s ideas have turned into a commercial project (although he doesn’t appear to be involved or get any credit) which allows you to buy…
KLM is really killing it with the marketing this year. First they captured the internet’s heart with the story of a beagle who retrieves lost iPads (which was totally fake) and now they’re teaming up with Airbnb to offer a one-night stay in a real airplane that’s been converted into the most aeronautic apartment on…
Just got an email from American in my inbox. First Class meal service is getting an upgrade starting on Tuesday 11/18. Here’s what they’re changing: More meals on more flights: We’ll offer you a full meal with your choice of entrée on all flights approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes or longer Warm mixed nuts…
I imagine the marketing team that came up with “Mint” as the name of JetBlue’s new premium cabin has been patting themselves on the back for months. It’s the perfect evocative brand name; a four-letter word without scorn. Mint is fresh. Mint is financially sound. Mint is crisp and cool and exactly what you want…
I have to warn you: this will not be pretty. I flew on Royal Air Maroc twice last week and twice I was reminded of the old days of airline food where comedians were accurate in their joking and passengers had to endure foil-covered rectangles of food that desperately strived to be as good as…
I’m currently flying over Iowa en route to New York (and then Morocco) and writing this using JetBlue’s free Fly-Fi wifi service. If you’re not familiar with JetBlue, read the last part of that sentence again: Free. Fly-Fi. Wifi service. While American/Delta/United are happy to charge you $15+ per flight to access their Gogo routers,…
Food magazines are made for different audiences. Every Day with Rachael Ray targets the active mom demographic, Bon Appetit goes for the cool hunter with disposable income, and Food Network Magazine aims for people who get Guy Fieri tattoos on their necks. Saveur falls on this spectrum, too, but all the way at the hoity-toity…
Another day, another announcement of an airline partnering with an established brand to provide better meals. Okay, okay, so it may not be as routine as I make it seem but it’s certainly happening more frequently these days. ANA just announced their partnership with Patina, Cathay Pacific teamed up with the Mandarin Oriental, and now…
Los Angeles is the city where fine dining went to die. While New York and Chicago still carry the banner of the besuited service staff high and proud, LA has watched its fine dining restaurants get picked off like high-ranking government officials in a terrible sniper movie. I wrote a story a few years back…
On my flight from LA to Madrid on American Airlines, I was really let down by the meal. My hopes were somewhat higher on the return flight (first on Iberia with no meal, then on British Airways for dinner). First, the good news: it was, as I hoped, better. The bad news? It still wasn’t…
One of my biggest frustrations with the airline food game is that airlines seem so reluctant to share what they’re serving on flights. Restaurants all around the world happily display their full menu on their websites, but airlines act as if what they’re serving is a closely guarded secret. To counteract this foodie spy mode,…
