Dear flight attendant,

It's called a "mixed drink" because it's supposed to be served mixed. If I wanted bloody mary mix with a vodka floater, I would have ordered it that way.

Sincerely,

- josh

(Updated October 2011)

American has expanded where it offers Five Star service to nine domestic cities and five overseas.  The mystery surrounding Five Star is now gone, and almost of the details of the service, including how to book, are published on AA.com.

The service is not inexpensive - but can really ease things when traveling with young children!  I have used the service at least a dozen times.

Within the United States, the fee is $125 for one adult, or $200 for ...

I'm no longer traveling for business, and with my new job, I haven't had much time to explore MRing to get  myself back to EXP. I'm sitting on about 70,500 EQM at the moment (including a couple family trips between now and the end of the year).

So despite AA's generous RDU/BNA/PIT/STL double-EQM promotion, things aren't looking good for my AAdvantage Executive Platinum status:

1. I need to earn 29,500 EQM between now and December 31.

2. Between now and December 16, I must be in LA (where I live) on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and on Sundays. (More specifically, I have to be in LA all day every Sunday, and I have to be at my office 3pm-9pm Tuesdays and 3pm-7pm Thursdays.)

3. December 22-29, I cannot travel (I'll be on a family trip).

I spent about 40 minutes this morning playing around in the FT MR forums and on ITA, and I'm not feeling positive. Anyone got any bright ideas?

Free booze! Free booze! Free booze!

Well... not "free." You still have to pay for the Admirals Club membership, or for the premium ticket that gets you access to the club.

But the point is, people visiting Admirals Clubs will no longer have to pay for well drinks, wine, and beer. (Passengers on international itineraries already got booze. Now everyone does.)

From the email I just got (emphasis mine):

As a ...

US Airways is offering double EQMs and RDMs in select markets through the end of the year, including MSP, RDU, BOS, STL, RIC, and PIT.

This offer mimics promotions by Delta and American that began last month, with one exception. While the fine print of the AA and DL deals state that your trip must originate and terminate in one of the targeted cities (though Fozz has stated that double miles are accrued on all flights that either start or end in a ...

Responding to United's recent promotion, American is offering discounted awards for trips of 700 miles or less (each way). Travel must conclude by December 15 and tickets must be booked by August 31. At 17,500 miles roundtrip or 8,750 miles one way, your discount is nearly 1/3 off the cost a normal saver domestic coach award ticket. 

Nice to see UA lead and AA follow for a change.

(tip of the hat to Lucky)