Hello from British Columbia!

I had a few hours in New York to do laundry and repack before heading out on this adventure. More on what I'm up to soon, but I'm finally exploring a destination that's been on my bucket list for years.

I promised major news today. So let's dive right in.

Advertiser and Editorial Disclosure

United just announced the largest network expansion in its history: 10 new destinations and 13 new routes for summer 2027.

The numbers are staggering. Eight of the 10 destinations aren't served by any other U.S. airline, and seven have no U.S. service at all today. Nothing is being cut to make room for these routes.

Half of these new destinations will be served by the Airbus A321XLR, the extra-long-range single-aisle jet United bought to reach secondary long-haul markets in Europe and South America.

It sports an all-new Polaris suite with a privacy door, plus a row of Economy Plus seats with a blocked middle. Even so, some travelers will still prefer a widebody across the pond.

While everyone focuses on where United is adding, my eyes went straight to what didn't make the cut.

Chief among them: the premium transcon routes that were supposed to start transitioning to the Coastliner Airbus A321neo this summer.

That single-aisle jet is designed to replace the aging Boeing 757 on flights from Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it'll carry the same new seats as the A321XLR.

As part of the announcement, United confirmed the Coastliner is delayed indefinitely, with no word yet on when it'll debut.

Two other big pieces are missing from United's announcement. You'll find both in my analysis below.

Someone in the Greek airline industry needs a lesson in revenue management.

We flew home from Paros on Sunday. For eight straight weeks, every single Paros-Athens flight on that date was sold out. (I had ExpertFlyer alerts set on all of them.)

Aegean saved us with a last-minute equipment swap to a larger turboprop on the 10:15 a.m. departure, and I grabbed two seats for my wife and me. We'd booked a nonrefundable ferry, but flying is faster and made our Athens connection far easier.

Here's the thing: I was willing to drop hundreds of euros to fly on Sunday, and Aegean couldn't sell me a seat because it had already sold the entire cabin at fares around 150 euros.

If you work in revenue management and want a new gig, might I suggest sending your resume to Athens.

I flew Delta One Suites home from Athens, which is rare for me. (Affordable long-haul Delta tickets are hard to come by, in cash or in miles.)

I booked this one-way for about $2,400. That's more than I'd like to spend, but every other flight home was sold out or pricier.

The flight featured Delta's signature suites, which used to be the best business-class product among the U.S. carriers.

American and United have since upped their game with their latest products, and Delta's next-generation suites should deliver another upgrade next year.

I find Delta's dining and service a cut above the rest, but this menu and crew weren't the best I've seen.

Nothing was necessarily wrong. It just wasn't what I've come to expect from an airline that invests the most in premium.

JetBlue just took the wraps off its new lounge in Boston, and I caught an early preview of the space before it opens on Thursday.

It measures 12,000 square feet and features an eye-catching design that's both authentically JetBlue and on-brand for Boston.

My favorite area is the dugout, a shrine to New England sports teams complete with a working replica of the Green Monster.

Plenty of other delights are waiting in the space. It's worth a stop before your next flight.

Perhaps the biggest news about JetBlue's lounge network is that all Mint tickets, including wholly domestic ones, will now include BlueHouse access.

That's a major shift for JetBlue, which previously kept cabin-based access limited to long-haul flyers.

The new Mint Base fares launching in the coming weeks won't qualify, but the policy now aligns much more closely with how American, Delta, and United treat their premium domestic routes.

The big question is whether the lounges can handle the crowds.

I didn't expect this move from American.

The airline is in the process of retiring international first class, and with it, the Flagship First dining rooms should theoretically close or get repurposed.

Instead, American is rebranding the space as Flagship Dining and opening it to travelers in Flagship Business, including those on eligible transcon and Hawaii routes.

It's a major move that elevates American's premium ground experience and pulls it closer to Delta and United.

Flagship Dining will be available at:

The wait for a table will be much longer now, but I'm still impressed.

Maybe it's just my feed, but I've been served a lot of content lately about the "vomit comet," aka the Greek ferry.

We took a two-hour hop from Santorini to Paros on our trip, and it pays to do your research before you book.

Hands down, the fastest way to clear security is the TSA's Touchless ID program.

It costs nothing to use, but you need to be a TSA Precheck member, store your passport in your airline frequent flyer account, and opt into Touchless ID with each and every airline you fly.

The catch is that your Touchless ID status is tied to your loyalty account, so if you're crediting a flight to a partner program, you won't get it.

This happened on all my recent Delta flights, which I credited to my Air France Flying Blue account.

I just found a good workaround, though. Keep the operating airline's loyalty number on the reservation through check-in, clear Touchless ID, then swap in the partner frequent flyer number at the gate.

Using these links is the easiest way to support FTTT — and I only recommend what I actually use.

From the Tray Table is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. Not all financial companies or all available offers are included. The opinions expressed are mine alone. Content is not reviewed or endorsed by an entity.