An Ethiopian Airlines plane flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed shortly after takeoff on March 10, killing all 157 people on board, including eight Americans. Before the crash, the pilot requested a return to the airport due to unspecified mechanical problems.
After a visit to Egypt some years ago, I developed a particular interest in the tombs of the pharaohs and their queens.
The Federal Aviation Administration upgraded its safety rating for the air authority of Vietnam to "Category 1," meaning Vietnamese carriers now can be granted approval to fly to the US and any of its territories. The upgrade also allows Vietnamese airlines to enter into codeshare agreements with US-based airlines.
The flight- and hotel-booking sites Expedia.com and Orbitz.com stopped offering air tickets and hotel rooms for Venezuela on their websites without announcement in early February.
At press time, American Airlines was the only US-based airline with flights to Venezuela (Caracas), along with only six other international airlines: Copa Airlines, Aruba Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Iberia and Air France. Venezuelan airline Avior operates one route to the US, servicing Miami.
United Kingdom-based budget airline flybmi filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 17, immediately canceling all of its future flights. The sudden bankruptcy caused a number of passengers to become stranded throughout Europe. At press time, flybmi had refused to offer any refunds on canceled flights.
On Feb. 25, the Transportation Security Administration expanded its Preê (Pre-check) program to include nine more airlines, making a total of 65 airlines whose passengers qualify for Preê.
The new Preê-approved airlines are Air India, Asiana Airlines, China Airlines, Eastern Airlines, Elite Airways, EVA Airways, Japan Airlines, TAP Air Portugal and Volaris.
After reading the subscribers' letters about "Senior Drivers of Rental Cars" (Dec. '18, pg. 38 & Jan. '19, pg. 32), I decided to add my 2¢.
I'll be turning 86 in April 2019. In September 2018, I returned to Austria for the 10th time since 1988. I rented a car from Hertz because I received a 20% discount card from Marriott Corporation; my wife and I are timeshare owners with Marriott Vacation Club.
A Birman Airlines flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was hijacked by a man wielding a gun (later determined to be a toy). The flight, carrying 148 passengers, was redirected to Chittagong, Bangladesh, where the hijacker was killed by police.
The hijacker, who was later identified as an aspiring actor from Dhaka, had said he was having marital issues and demanded to speak to Bangladesh's prime minister. Security at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka was increased after the incident.
From December 2017 into January 2018, my wife, Susan, and I completed our second circumnavigation of the world, purchasing flights through American Airlines, part of the oneworld alliance of airlines.