Live and Let's Fly has been silent the last three days as I weighed how I wanted to cover what happened to me on a United Airlines flight from Newark to Istanbul last week. The situation was both traumatizing and highly embarrassing and I wanted to ensure that I had ample time to consider what transpired before hurling any accusations or failing to understand the other side. But frankly, the more I replay the incident in my mind, the more certain I become that I was wronged. Here's my ...

One of my Washington rituals over the last decade has been to eat lunch at Ebbitt Express, if time permits, every time I arrive in the city. Located adjacent to Old Ebbitt Grill and a block from the White House, the small takeaway eatery offers genuinely good American food—or at least did.

Yesterday I was in Washington to pick up a visa at the Azerbaijan Embassy and had a few hours to spare before my flight out of National Airport. Naturally, I stopped at Ebbitt Grill for a ...

Not to pat myself on the back, but seven months ago I predicted--

...It appears the combined airline will take the American Airlines name, maintain its headquarters in Fort Worth, and be run by US Airways CEO Doug Parker. Apparently, Parker has caved into all AA labor demands and will attempt to use the AA labor contract to finally bring an end to the labor standoff between US West and US East. Recall that although America West and US Airways "merged" in 2005, the two carriers still ...

UA has a "United Inflight" segment before each safety video and preceding the carrier's new safety video is a new feature on United's infrastructure enhancement, particularly at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

But there was one glaring omission from the list of airport rehabilitation projects--Washington Dulles.

I wrote about United's Dulles Dilemma in November 2010 and my prognosis has not changed. The 1985 "interim airline gate facility" we now call ...

Lufthansa.

And that's not a bad thing.

On my San Francisco-Philadelphia flight Sunday night I noticed a new safety video that featured flight attendants (in their new uniforms) welcoming passengers onboard in several languages.

I had a déjà-vu moment. Was I on a United flight or magically on Lufthansa flight, which has offered a similar muliti-lingual greeting for several years?

Take a look at the two videos--

I am ...