Update: there are a few tickets for Chicago Seminars still available until 9am PT / 12pm ET here.

Good morning everyone, I have a very busy schedule this week, but I wanted to let everyone know that I will be at the Chicago Seminars this weekend (October 16-18).  I believe tickets are sold out and the transfer window has closed, but if you have a ticket already, I look forward to seeing you this weekend.  You should be able to recognize me with my gray Travel with Grant shirt.  The sessions start on Friday afternoon so I am looking forward to a long weekend of talking miles and points.

In other news, I just learned about a new airline called Boutique Air that flies around California and the West Coast.  They have a hub at Merced, CA (MCE) and offer very cheap flights.

Here are some pics of the inside of the cabin and of the outside of the aircraft.

They have a few flights a day from Oakland (OAK) to Merced (MCE) and the next weekend I am free is on Sunday November 1 (day after Halloween).  Flights are $19-$29 each way.  I was looking at the 1:30pm flight Sunday afternoon (OAK-MCE) and the 10:35pm flight Sunday night (MCE-OAK).

Round trip tickets are $48.  I haven’t booked anything, but if a few people are interested, I can reach out to the airline and see how many seats are available on that flight and see if we can get a group (discount) rate.  I’ve never been to Merced, so maybe we can do a meetup or just hang out around Merced for the afternoon.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!