Point Me Awake is a morning jolt of travel and points infused news. Hopefully you’ll be jolted to pee more on flights after reading this.
In 2008, the Average Airline Flight Was 747 Miles, Now It’s 863 Miles
Flights are getting really long, and airlines are sending people to the Sonoran Desert to figure out how to keep them from parching out and shriveling up. This, from a very good read by Wall Street Journal Middle Seat Columnist Scott McCartney.
Among early research findings: cauliflower does a lot better in the belly than potatoes, colder temps induce sleep, “lightly sautéed spinach was stored in a heat pack for hours, then reheated for serving on a plane. It didn’t wilt.” The hollandaise sauce, on the other hand… disaster. The eggs are being replaced by béchamel.
Airlines are also re-engineering soups and teas to make passengers pee more: more movement, fewer medical complications. The miracles of science.
Singapore Airlines is trying to figure out how to make people less parched and stiff on its super-long Singapore to Newark flights. Image by Singapore Airlines
Tons of Passengers Are Showing Up from Mecca At U.S. Airports With Awful Influenza
After that celebrity studded, thermometer probed debacle on an Emirates A380 at JFK Wednesday, two more flights were so grossly overcome with illness that they had to be quarantined and combed over by public health officials. The two American Airlines flights landed at Philadelphia, one from Munich and another from Paris.
All of the (at least) 19 passengers with flu symptoms participated in the annual hajj pilgrimage at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, according to WCAU Philadelphia.
Passengers who made the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia are returning to the U.S. with influenza in unusually high numbers. Image by Ariandra 03 | Wikimedia Commons
Airlines Beat Storms This Summer, On-Time Rating Still Improves
On average, U.S. airlines cancelled fewer flights, despite a much stormier than usual summer in the Northeast, per The Wall Street Journal.
Spirit and United reduced cancellations the most; American, Hawaiian (umm, hurricane) and Frontier were the only airlines to cancel more flights due to weather this summer. Delta is still most on-time.
No Pilot Error, But Aeromexico Still Fired Three Pilots Involved in This Summer’s Crash
Three pilots who were in the cockpit of the Aeromexico Embraer E-190 that crashed outside of Durango, Mexico in July were fired, but not because their actions led to the crash. Investigators have already determined that a microburst was to blame.
Instead, Aeromexico found that a trainee pilot was allowed to sit in place of the first officer during takeoff, per The Washington Post.
Slowly, Boutique Starwood Properties are Returning Points Availability
The Marriott-Starwood merger remains largely a trail of tears for points and miles sojourners, but The Points Guy reports that some suites-only Starwood properties are now bookable through the Marriott app. Baby steps.
Newly available properties include the St. Regis Maldives, Le Meridian Bora Bora, Vana Belle, Koh Samui, Thailand, and Mystique in Santorini.
The water looks pretty good at Le Meridien Bora Bora.
Domestic Flights in Argentina for $18
Earlier we saw $8 flights from Singapore to Penang. Now Norwegian is showing off in Argentina, where it’s preparing to launch Dreamliner service, with $18 domestic connections. Thank Skift.
British Airways Has Business Class Seats to London for $1998, Round-trip
To celebrate its 20th anniversary flying to Denver, British Airways has fares on sale for $1998, round-trip, in Club World (they started flying the route in 1998). The sale includes Christmas and New Years periods, but only apply from Denver and to pairs of tickets. Find a companion and carpool to Denver.
For those curious, the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel portal redemption on that flight shakes out to about 66,000 points each way, without any surcharges or fees and earning a boatload of Avios, AAdvantage miles or Alaska MileagePlan miles. Very nice.
British Airways Club World — not a horrible way to fly to Europe during the holidays fro $1998.
China’s Best Airline Wants to Fly From Los Angeles To Xi’an
Lucky at One Mile At a Time reports that Hainan Airlines has filed a request with the U.S. Department of Transportation to operate twice weekly flights between LAX and the southern Chinese city. It would be the 14th Chinese city connected nonstop to Los Angeles.
Zach Ellis Finally Flew on a Gulfstream G500
It looked way better than United Polaris. The windows were wide (really wide) the seats were wide (really wide), and the interior was rich with wood and leather and a screen than showed what passeth on the ground below. I want.
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