News

Starting November 1, 2024, ANA has rolled out a new fare structure called Branded Fares, offering travelers more flexibility and choice based on their travel needs. This revamped fare lineup lets customers select options that best fit their preferences for changeability, refunds, baggage allowance, and seat selection.

In collaboration with Disney, Hawaiian Airlines revealed the first of three aircraft showcasing characters from Disney’s upcoming animated feature Moana 2, premiering on November 27. In addition, Hawaiian has also launched a sweepstakes, giving five lucky winners a chance to win 500,000 HawaiianMiles.

Today marks the end of an era in aviation history as Czech Airlines (CSA), the fifth oldest continuously operating airline in the world, officially halts operations and merges fully with Czech low-cost carrier Smartwings. A national icon, Czech Airlines had been a member of the SkyTeam alliance, yet on October 26, 2024, its OK Plus loyalty program and “OK” flight code will be permanently retired. This move reduces SkyTeam’s European presence to 19 airlines, ending Czech Airlines’ nearly 100-year legacy.

It’s a sad day for aviation enthusiasts as Czech Airlines officially shuts down on October 26th, taking the OK Plus frequent flyer program with it. In this post, we explore a few alternatives for members that didn’t switch yet. Let’s start!

The brazilian airlines GOL and Azul are reportedly once again discussing a potential merger that promises to transform Brazil’s aviation market. According to various sources, negotiations have resurfaced and could culminate in an announcement by the end of this year! Even with just a preliminary version of the agreement.

Delta Air Lines just announced that is refreshing its fleet new cabin interior, offering enhanced comfort and a more uniform and consistent style across all classes of service. The first aircraft featuring these updates—a narrowbody Boeing 757—will fly domestic and short-haul international routes this fall, with a widebody Airbus A350 joining long-haul international routes in early 2025. Let’s have a look at all the changes!

Cathay Pacific has just introduced its new Aria Suite Business Class, part of a larger upgrade to its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The new suites are designed to offer more comfort, privacy, and updated tech, and are already flying on the Hong Kong to Beijing route as of October 18, 2024.

SkyTeam seems to be working full thrust to grow its market share, launching new offerings and services weekly! Now, SkyTeam is significantly expanding its intermodal travel by partnering with two leading European rail operators, Trenitalia and Eurostar. These collaborations are aiming to revolutionize the way passengers experience travel across Europe, taking airline alliances beyond air travel, and allowing a smoother integration of air and rail journeys through a single booking. KLM has already piloted this with great results.

Alaska Airlines has finished the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines and are now joining forces to create a powerful alliance with over 90 years of history each, while keeping both brands intact. Here’s a quick breakdown of what this means for travelers and award flight enthusiasts:

A few weeks ago, Turkish Airlines officially announced a new direct route connecting Istanbul to Santiago, Chile. The first flight will be on December 18th, 2024, and the tickets are now on sale! This marks a significant addition to Turkish Airlines’ expanding network, becoming the airline’s ninth destination in Latin America, along with Buenos Aires (Argentina), São Paulo (Brasil), Bogota (Colombia), La Habana (Cuba), Ciudad de México y Cancún (Mexico), Panama City (Panama), and Caracas (Venezuela).

American Airlines is expanding its trans-Atlantic network with five new routes, resuming flights to Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI), for the first time since 2019! The airline is also introducing new connections to Athens (ATH), Madrid (MAD), Milan (MXP), and Rome (FCO).

Last Wednesday (August 7th), Emirates started operating its first Boeing 777 with a complete cabin refresh, now sporting a stunning new design. This revamped aircraft took 37 days to overhaul and made its debut flight to Geneva as flight EK 83, four days ahead of the previously announced schedule.

July has been very busy for the aviation industry, with several announcements from both airlines and manufacturers. In this post, we look at the latest routes announced by top airlines including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Aeromexico, and Avianca. Good news is that for almost all of them, there are award seats available, meaning you could book those new flights right away using points or miles. Let’s dive in!

A while back, ANA announced that they were launching three new direct flights from Europe to Tokyo this winter: Stockholm, Istanbul, and Milan to Tokyo. After several back-and-forths and postponed dates, tickets are now on sale, and the best part: awards are available. So far, we’ve seen seats using SAS EuroBonus and United MileagePlus.

The Air France-KLM group is taking advantage of the SAS acquisition as an opportunity to reshape European air travel, going full thrust on strengthening their offerings for travelers. Starting September 1, 2024, new codeshare and interline agreements will extend benefits across their European networks and loyalty programs.

This year is coming with plenty of solid news for the aviation world Lufthansa Group, the German aviation giant, has just received the green light from the European Commission to acquire a 41% stake in ITA Airways, Italy’s national airline. This means we can expect exciting changes, another alliance shift, and a whole new level of travel possibilities.

American Airlines just announced their biggest-ever winter schedule for the Caribbean and Latin America, offering more flights and destinations than any other U.S. carrier. ✈️

For frequent flyers and luxury travelers, 2024 promises to be a year of exciting innovations in premium cabins. Airlines are unveiling new designs that focus on increased comfort, privacy, and personalization, taking the in-flight experience to new heights. Here’s a look at some of the ones that caught our attention.

After a series of strikes that hit hard, Lufthansa is ready to share some exciting news for long-haul travelers. Lufthansa’s new premium travel experience, Allegris, takes off on May 1st, 2024.

American Airlines is heavily revamping their inflight experience for a more enjoyable journey this summer season. A wave of premium upgrades is coming your way, including new amenity kits, bedding, and delicious menu options. Let’s have a look at the details!

Flying with American Airlines? Starting February 20, 2024, the airline is implementing several changes that will impact how you pack, earn miles, and book your next trip. These changes aim to reward loyalty and incentivize booking directly with American Airlines. AAdvantage members will enjoy additional benefits, while some fees will increase for non-direct bookings.

The oneworld alliance, a global network of some of the world’s leading airlines, is celebrating a major milestone today: its 25th anniversary. Launched in 1999 with four founding members – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas – the alliance has grown to encompass 13 member airlines, serving over 900 destinations across 170 territories.

American Airlines just announced an expansion to its flight schedule introducing new services, including a notable route to Brisbane, Australia (BNE), starting in October, using the Boeing 787-9 aircraft equipped with Flagship Suite seats (new Business Class). This expansion also includes the launch of flights to Veracruz, Mexico (VER), further broadening its already massive domestic and short-haul international network. The airline will also resume its service to Kona, Hawaii (KOA) from its Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) hub.

Austrian Airlines introduced a new direct flight connecting Vienna Airport (VIE) to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). This significant addition, set to start in the summer, establishes the first nonstop link between Boston and the Austrian capital. The service, beginning July 1, will operate between five to six times weekly, enriching the travel choices for those looking to explore Vienna or venture further into Europe.

American Airlines is set to enhance the travel experience for AAdvantage members in 2024, introducing a range of new benefits and changes. Let’s go through some of the updates!

United Airlines announced a significant expansion of its flight network across North America, adding over 100 daily departures during summer 2024, and targeting popular outdoor destinations. The move comes after noticing the rising interest in nature-centric travel post-pandemic.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is ramping up for a big addition to its fleet this coming August – the Airbus A321neo. This new aircraft is not just a step up for KLM but a leap forward when it comes to eco-friendliness and passenger experience.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is launching new flights to Milan, Stockholm, and Istanbul in the latter half of 2024. This is great news for travelers looking to experience the best of Japan, as these new routes will provide more convenient access to the country.

Turkish Airlines has officially announced its inaugural flights to Australia, beginning on March 15 with a thrice-weekly service from Istanbul to Melbourne, via Singapore Changi Airport. The initial flights will utilize Boeing 787-9 aircraft, transitioning to Airbus A350-900 from March 31.

Delta Air Lines just announced that it will enhance its Asian network by introducing a daily direct flight from Seattle (SEA) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), starting June 6, 2024, subject to government approval. This route marks a significant milestone as Delta’s first nonstop flight from the U.S. to Taipei and signifies the airline’s return to TPE since its last operation through Narita in 2017.

If you are sitting on a pile of miles or points or are about to plan your next dream award trip, you’ll like this news. November 2023 looks like a promising month for the aviation industry, with the introduction of several new routes, particularly in the Asian and American markets.

From June 2024, Brussels Airlines has scheduled a new service between Brussels and Nairobi, pushing their destinations in sub-Saharan Africa to a total of 18. This isn’t their first venture into the Kenyan capital; they previously operated there from 2002 to 2015. The service will feature a technical stopover in Kigali, thus bumping up the airline’s Rwanda service to daily flights.

STARLUX Airlines, the rising Taiwanese career, is moving full-speed-ahed with their ambitious plans to strengthen its foothold in the U.S. market. After launching extremly successfus flights from Taipei to Los Angeles earlier this year, today the airline announced they are expanding to San Francisco.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is taking the skies by storm with its latest collaboration with the Pokémon Company. After the successful launch of their “Pikachu Jet NH” on June 4, 2023, the airline is introducing the “Eevee Jet NH,” inspired by the Pokémon Eevee, known for its multiple evolution forms.

American Airlines has announced its most significant trans-Atlantic expansion since 2019. As part of this expansion:

The results for the 2023 Skytrax Awards were announced, and Singapore Airlines was selected as World’s Best Airline. Even though Skytrax is just one of the awards given in the aviation industry, it’s great to see they recognize Singapore Airlines as the one offering a top-notch service on a modern fleet. Definitely one of our favorites at AwardFares.

Air Canada announced its plan to reintroduce nonstop flights between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Singapore’s Changi International Airport (SIN), marking a return to the Singapore market after over 30 years! The service will start on April 3, 2024, and operate four times weekly using the Boeing 787 fleet.

Star Alliance member ANA announced that they will be resuming their route from Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Perth (PER), and gradually opened reservations today. Based on the available data, the airline schedules 3 weekly flights with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The first flight is scheduled for October 29th, 2023.

Lufthansa announced that they will be adding 10 new routes in 2023, expanding the airline route networks from Frankfurt and Munich. These new routes will put Lufthansa right behind its pre-pandemic route numbers. Flight operations from both hubs will reach a whopping 5200 per week! (87% of its pre-COVID-19 levels).

Some exciting news from EVA Air, who have announced they will be launching a brand new route connecting Taipei and Munich. The Milano route is now also officially resuming after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, in February, SAS announced that they will start to fly from Stockholm (ARN) and Copenhagen (CPH) to Toronto (YYZ). Award tickets were finally released and made available to book!

Recently while trying to book a flight back to Asia from North America I was happy to find that there were a lot of award seats available right now. I mostly checked departures from the West Coast of North America, traveling from Vancouver, San Francisco or Los Angeles, to destinations such as Tokyo, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taipei. Primarily served by United, ANA, EVA, and Air Canada.

Update (April 17, 2020): Award space with United MileagePlus is now wide-open on the Cape Town and Cancun routes. Interestingly only Business awards are available on the Cancun route.

SAS EuroBonus has just released award availability on the new ANA direct flight between Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) and Tokyo Haneda (HND). Award space is currently wide-open, which is a rare sight for any Tokyo route. A maximum of 3 economy seats and 2 business seats have been released per day. Get your flights while they last!

Scandinavian Mountains Airport (SCR/ESKS) is a new airport in Sweden that will begin operations during December 2019. The airport will serve the Sälen, Idre, and Trysil ski resorts. SAS will operate seasonal flights from Copenhagen (CPH), Aalborg (AAL), and even London Heathrow (LHR). SAS Press Release

The AwardFares calendar is one of the easiest ways to find great award redemptions. Today we’ve enhanced the calendar to show additional “special” dates (beyond the normal 60 days). You can now browse 400+ routes during Christmas and New Year between December 20th and January 8th.