Welcome to miles-around!

Once you have frequent flyer status, you want to defend it every year. I have had Star Alliance Gold status with the Greek airline Aegean Airlines for almost five years now. As we hardly travelled by plane this year due to the birth of our son in January, we had to do a mileage run to extend our status.

At 06:10 on 22 July 2016, the Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 landed in the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital for the first time and was traditionally greeted with a water fountain. From now on, the renowned five-star airline will be connecting Düsseldorf Airport with its hub in Singapore three times a week non-stop. I was lucky enough to be on the inaugural Singapore Airlines Business Class flight in the Airbus A350-900 from Düsseldorf.

If you want to fly within Germany from Munich to Berlin, you used to fly with Air Berlin or Lufthansa. Since 30 May, the Dutch airline Transavia has joined the group. Unlike Lufthansa and Air Berlin, Transavia flies to Schoenefeld Airport twice a day. So I took the plunge and flew with Transavia Economy Class in the Boeing 737-800 to Berlin.

During our online check-in for the return flight with British Airways to Oslo, I was briefly confused by the seating arrangement. Two seats, a single seat and then two seats again. Doesn't that look like a Business Class á la Swiss? A "real" Business Class on a European flight? I must be lucky enough to fly British Airways long haul Business Class in the Airbus A321.

It's back to Oslo again! In American Airlines Business Class in the Boeing 777-300ER, we first fly to London Heathrow. From Jamaica Station, the JFK Airport Train takes us to Terminal 8, where American Airlines, Air Berlin and LATAM also depart.