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This week:
- Do you tell drivers which entrance to use for your airline?
- More status chaos at BA: technical glitch forces downgrade for thousands
- Inside Louis Vuitton’s London hotel pop-up
- Updated AA lounge tracker
- Alaska’s new international safety video features three destinations the airline is already flying to… and Sydney
- And then there were 16: Hawaiian joins oneworld
April 27, 2026
Do you tell drivers which entrance to use for your airline?
In the middle of a review for a Turkish Airlines flight, Chris Chamberlin at The Sydney Morning Herald offered up this tip for airport-bound travelers:
After a week of taxi ripoffs in Istanbul, I dare not tell my driver my destination is Turkish Airlines’ business class priority entrance. Fortunately, it’s a quick stroll from the economy zone to the fast lane to zip through.
This generally doesn’t affect me: both Uber and Lyft have only ever asked for an airline when booking an airport trip, and cabs in New York (and soon Sydney) have a flat rate. Even when traveling beyond those confines, I’ve never thought to specify the entrance. In any case, think before you speak.
April 27, 2026
More status chaos at BA: technical glitch forces downgrade for thousands
Peter Campbell, reporting for the Financial Times:
British Airways has been forced to downgrade thousands more members of its loyalty scheme, after its parent company’s rewards team incorrectly told some passengers they would keep their coveted Gold or Silver tier status.
The embarrassing error, which IAG Loyalty blamed on a “technical issue”, comes at a time when a shake-up of the scheme is proving contentious for the hundreds of thousands of BA passengers affected by the changes.
…This week IAG Loyalty, the unit of BA parent IAG that manages the rewards programme, contacted several thousand members of the programme telling them they would retain their previous status, despite not accruing the right number of points.
April 27, 2026
Inside Louis Vuitton’s London hotel pop-up
Sofia de la Cruz, writing for Wallpaper:
In Mayfair, a Georgian townhouse has been reimagined through a distinctly Parisian lens. Louis Vuitton’s temporary hotel pop-up has taken over the former home of Morton’s private members’ club, to mark 130 years of its legendary Monogram with an immersive, three-storey environment that blurs retail, hospitality and exhibition.
First conceived in 1896 by Georges Vuitton in tribute to his father, the motif endures as one of fashion’s most recognisable codes, and here, it is deployed as an exquisite narrative thread. Each floor is anchored by the house’s seminal bags – Speedy, Keepall, Noé, Alma and Neverfull – unfolding into a broader meditation on travel and the rituals of luxury hospitality.
“Hotel” here means “store,” but if you’re in London before June 22 and looking for somewhere to dine, check out the upstairs café or underground champagne bar.
April 27, 2026
While I was away, American announced a new Admirals Club in Nashville:
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines continues to invest in elevating the customer experience with plans for a new, expanded Admirals Club® lounge at Nashville International Airport®’s (BNA®) new Concourse A.
When complete, the approximately 17,400-square-foot lounge will be the largest airline lounge at BNA and nearly three times the size of the current lounge space, offering customers a more spacious and premium place to relax, work or recharge before their flight. The new location will feature sweeping views of the airfield and a design inspired by Nashville’s vibrant culture and the natural landscapes of Tennessee.
It’s been added to the AA lounge tracker. Aging clubs in New York (JFK), Dallas, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Atlanta are next on the list.
April 27, 2026
Alaska, today:
Never in its 94-year history has Alaska Airlines created an onboard safety video. Until now.
The new safety video will be shown prior to departure on the seatback entertainment systems of Alaska’s widebody, long-haul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, connecting the airline’s growing global gateway in Seattle to an expanding number of international destinations.
Decent video. Strikes a nice balance between the cinematic and just-the-facts approaches that airlines have been wrestling with in recent years.
If you watch all the way through, you’ll notice that the video was shot in five places: Seattle, London, Rome, Mount Fuji (Japan), and Sydney.
Alaska has announced flights to three of those destinations with the 787 already (London, Rome, and Tokyo; the airline is also flying to Seoul). That leaves Sydney, a city that Executive Traveller has been speculating is next on Alaska’s list since last year.
There has never been a direct flight between Seattle and Sydney on any commercial airline.
April 23, 2026
And then there were 16: Hawaiian joins oneworld
Yesterday came and went without an announcement, but now it’s official:
oneworld® has welcomed Hawaiian Airlines as its newest member airline, becoming the third US-based carrier alongside Alaska Airlines and American Airlines and adding Honolulu as a global hub.
oneworld refers to Hawaiian both as a member airline and an affiliate on its website (the difference doesn’t matter as far as travelers are concerned), but the logo gets top billing in alliance branding:
