Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Violin flies naked, booking travel is sexy, no Centurion lounges if you’re under financial review, and a new secret Hilton status…
Lufthansa Forces Violinist To Travel With 1782 Instrument Outside Its Case
I don’t think I’m alone when I say I’ve had some unsavory customer service interactions with Lufthansa that have left a bad taste in my mouth, but none of my personal experiences compare with this woman’s story, which is equally puzzling as frustrating. Violinist Carolin Widmann was attempting to fly from Helsinki, where she’d just finished a concert, back home to Germany. With ~60 international concerts a year, flying on Lufthansa with her violin is a common occurrence. And yet this time the staff told her the 243-year-old violin was too big to be carried on board in its case…and she’d have to remove it from its case if she wanted to fly with it in the cabin. (By this logic, broken eggs might fit better in your fridge, too?) For anyone who’s owned instruments, it’s understandable to avoid checking something so much more fragile than ordinary luggage. Supposedly, when an instrument case is too big for carrying on, the solution is…to remove it from its case and purchase an individual seat for the naked instrument? Buying a ticket for an item that’s larger than the carry-on allowance makes some sense, I suppose, but it’s hard to see the logic in the forced removal from the case.
Forget Oysters & Chocolate – Women Say Men Are Sexier When They Book the Travel
Wow, the guys on our team feel a little flattered by this one! Booking.com, for some unknown reason, performed a survey which revealed that women find it really attractive when a man books a surprise trip for them. Or more specifically, “93% say they’d be more likely to give extra affection if their partner booked a trip without being asked.” This is hilarious to me, and I think it’s kind of clever for Booking.com to bother surveying this, if only for the potential virality and quotability. Hilariously, the survey also showed that “Two‑thirds [of men] said they’d be more likely to book if they knew extra affection was on the itinerary.” I’ll refrain from giving too much of my own commentary here other than to say…this isn’t ground-breaking psychological insight, fellas. I bet doing the dishes without being asked will provide a similar outcome.
PSA: Do not go to the AMEX lounge if you are under FR
Apparently, you can’t get into Centurion Lounges if you’re under financial review. At least that’s the experience this redditor had when they were recently denied entry into a Centurion Lounge. The front desk attendant cited their financial review as the specific reason for their denied entry. Has anyone else had this experience?
Hilton Confirms New Secret Elite Tier Above Diamond Reserve — Called “The Honors Society”
Did you know about Hilton’s new secret invitation-only status – “The Honors Society?” What started as a leak/rumor has now been confirmed, though not publicized just yet, as the details are still being finalized. There’s not much to say about this just yet, but let us know if you get an invite to the secret club!
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
