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Nicholas Kralev ON THE FLY
Contact Nicholas Kralev ON THE FLY via e-mail
Nicholas Kralev is The Washington Times' diplomatic correspondent. His travels around the world with four secretaries of state — Hillary Rodham Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright — as well as his other reporting overseas trips inspired his new weekly column, "On the Fly." He is a former writer for the weekend edition of the Financial Times and has a master's degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
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Most Recent Stories
KRALEV: Hilton, InterContinental cross swords
Monday, Feb. 8, 2010
Fierce competition in the hospitality business is nothing new, but last week one of the world's largest hotel companies took the game to a new level with a bold move aimed at enticing customers of a major competitor.
More Stories
KRALEV: Welcoming Dulles Airport to the modern age
Monday, Feb. 1, 2010
Washington Dulles International Airport is certainly taking its time to fully join the modern age of air travel, but the first steps in its journey are now complete, and they make an obvious difference. The most significant are the new international arrivals hall and the AeroTrain, which started running last week.
KRALEV: Donate miles or money to Haiti?
Monday, Jan. 25, 2010
Are airlines and hotel companies trying to benefit from charity donations to Haiti? When you donate miles or points, how do they decide into how many dollars your contribution converts? Should they be more generous than they are?
KRALEV: Western carriers return to Iraq
Monday, Jan. 18, 2010
Iraq may not be among Western travelers' most desired destinations quite yet, but some of the world's leading airlines have decided that flying to the war-ravaged country can be profitable, so they are returning there after a 20-year absence.
KRALEV: Airlines refuse to honor mistake fares
American cites previous cases
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
How would you like to fly to Australia in Qantas Airways' luxurious first class on its new Airbus A380 aircraft for $1,200? You could actually buy such a ticket last week, but as regular readers of this column might have guessed, that was yet another case of a mistake fare.
KRALEV: Hotels just steps away from airport gates
Monday, Dec. 28, 2009
It's puzzling why in the United States, one of the most lucrative travel markets in the world, the concept of airport transit hotels is so foreign. There are signs that may be changing, but current plans seem more like baby steps than bold decision-making.
KRALEV: Hidden perils of airline code-sharing
Monday, Dec. 21, 2009
The practice of one airline selling seats on another carrier's planes with its own flight numbers has been around for years, and many travelers are familiar with the term "code-sharing." Yet even experienced fliers continue to be surprised by what amounts to false advertising.
KRALEV: Hotels offer flexibility to earn patron loyalty
Monday, Dec. 14, 2009
What makes a hotel loyalty program most competitive? Is it the elite benefits it grants its best customers or the variety of options it offers for redeeming earned points? Does it matter who's asking: a program executive or a traveler?
KRALEV: Airlines cut back on first-class service
Monday, Dec. 7, 2009
If you ever wanted to sit in first or business class but couldn't afford it — and upgrading wasn't an option — your time may have arrived. While airlines await the return of paying "premium" passengers, some of them are letting lower-class fliers occupy plush lie-flat seats.
KRALEV: U.S. warns airlines on fare mistakes
Monday, Nov. 30, 2009
Airlines are among the few businesses that sometimes want customers to pay for their mistakes. Every once in a while, a carrier cancels issued tickets after it deems its own published fare was an "error." The Department of Transportation tried to teach such companies a lesson last week - sort of.
