One Mile At A Time: "There are plans for a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse to open at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The 4,401 square foot lounge will be located in Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), on level six. Specifically, Virgin Atlantic will take over the space of the former Etihad Lounge, which closed during the pandemic, when Etihad discontinued flights to the airport."
"While the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse LAX will likely be restricted to eligible premium passengers ahead of Virgin Atlantic departures, I would guess that this lounge will be open to Priority Pass members over other hours, as that’s the case with other Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse locations in the United States. So this should add a much needed Priority Pass option in the terminal."
Upgraded Points: "Cardmembers will get access to the Visa Lounge, located in central Paris. It will be open between 11 a.m. and midnight CEST. The lounge will have gourmet food and excellent views of the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower."
"In addition, the lounge will have fun engagements like a meet and greet with former Olympians."
Athletes you can meet include: Michael Phelps, Tony Parker, Aly Raisman, Allyson Felix, and Sue Bird.
One Mile At A Time: "Over the past several hours (early Friday morning US time), we’ve seen some major global IT outages. First we saw Microsoft have a major outage impacting Microsoft’s Azure services and Microsoft 365 suite of apps in some regions, and then we’ve seen a CrowdStrike software update that caused additional issues."
"From the perspective of the US airline industry, at least this happened in the very early morning hours, when not many flights are departing. Obviously the impact of this would be much greater if this happened a bit later in the day, when a huge number of flights are departing."
Redditor /u9821 shared that "The DCA centurion lounge appears to be opening, or at least is very close to it! This evening, from the Sky Club I could see workers disassembling (?) the wooden cover. I asked a security guard there when it would open and all he said was “soon”. But from the looks of it, it’s basically done—there’s even art up on the walls. I also saw someone walking around inside taking a video."
Points Wire Note:
The Amex Centurion Lounge at Reagan National Airport was originally scheduled to open in late 2022. It's opening was then pushed to early 2024. Clearly, neither of those targets were me. Hopefully, we'll actually see an official opening date soon!
Southwest Airlines is offer 40% off flights to Hawaii, but you have to book by July 11. However, you can travel between August 13 and December 17, 2024. Just use the code HAWAII40.
Keep in mind that there are blackout dates:
Cranky Flyer: "Let’s start with the basics. Aero uses five aircraft today — four Embraer 135s and one Embraer Legacy. The Legacy is dedicated to charter, but the Embraer 135s do a mix of charter and scheduled public charter (like JSX)."
"The difference here is that instead of putting 30 seats on the airplane the way JSX does — which is the maximum allowed under Part 380/135 rules — Aero has a mere 16 seats onboard in a 1-1 configuration. This is a luxury experience from start to finish. Here’s a look inside one of the aircraft that was on the ground in Van Nuys when I visited."
Skift: "Riyadh Air announced Tuesday that it signed a preliminary agreement with Delta Air Lines, which could bolster the Saudi Arabian startup’s global presence as it looks to launch flights next year."
"Riyadh Air said the agreement would allow both airlines to expand their networks. Eventually, both airlines said they want the agreement to turn into a codeshare, which would allow them to sell each others’ flights to customers. The deal will also make Delta the exclusive North American partner for Riyadh Air."
"Delta plans to launch a nonstop service between the U.S. and Riyadh, but the timeline for those flights is currently unclear."
Loyalty Lobby:"Marriott has launched a new Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy for small and medium-sized businesses that have not previously set corporate rates with Marriott."
"There is a booking discount involved, and administrator can also give elite tiers based on the total number of nights consumed by all travelers. Members with cobranded Chase or American Express business credit cards can also apply for the program."
Points Wire Note:
It seems Hilton launching Hilton for Business motivated Marriott to try to compete for small and medium-sized businesses.
The Bulkhead Seat: "Now through September 2nd, eligible guests staying two or more nights in select suites at the St. Regis New York, JW Marriott Essex House New York, W New York – Union Square, The New York EDITION, The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, and The Luxury Collection Hotel Manhattan Midtown will receive complimentary roundtrip BLADE airport helicopter transfers."
American Express is opening a Centurion Lounge in Terminal 3 of Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) in 2025. At only 7,352 square feet, the lounge won't have that much space - only 122 seats. Considering that theTerminal 3 is the main international terminal, I'll be curious to see if it gets too crowded to be comfortable.
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