• Podcast

DLD 454: Is there such a thing as real loyalty program enhancements?!?

• October 18, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, American Airlines, AMS, Amsterdam, ancillary fees, Beond, Bermudair, carbon offsets, Delta Air Lines, economy class, elite status, Emirates, engines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Haneda, HND, ITA Airlines, Italia Trasporto Aereo, Japan, jetblue, JFK Airport, KLM, loyalty, Mosaic, points, Portsmouth, premium cabin, promotions, PSM, Rapid Rewards, Rolls Royce, routes, slots, Southwest Airlines, Tokyo, TrueBlue, United Airlines

Can loyalty programs actually make changes that seem to make things better for customers, without taking benefits away elsewhere? Tune in to find out.

• Podcast

DLD 453: Shuffling the deck

• October 12, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8200, 787, A321neo, Air Canada, Air France, Air Malta, Airbus, Allegiant, awards, Boeing, business class, Delta Air Lines, Dreamliner, EAS, economy class, Essential Air Service, ExpertFlyer, Global Airlines, Hi Fly, Ireland, KLM, LOT, MEX, Mexico, Mexico City, NLU, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Recaro, rewards, routes, SAS, seating, seats, SkyTeam, Southern Airways, Star Alliance, Sun Country, United Airlines, VivaAerobus

Thank goodness change is such a constant in this industry. Otherwise what would we have to talk about every week?

• Podcast

DLD 452: Order Up!

• October 5, 2023
• Tagged as: 787, 787-10, A321neo, A350 XWB, A350-1000, Air Canada, Air France, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, British Airways, business class, Cathay Pacific, economy class, Euphony, first class, HK Express, JAL, KLM, LATAM, podcast, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Safran Aerosystems, Trip Report, United Airlines

So many aircraft orders announced in the past week, and we didn’t even cover all of them. Plus, a suite new seat.

• Podcast

DLD 451: Hotter than fire

• September 28, 2023
• Tagged as: A350 XWB, Air Belgium, Air Peace, Akasa, Brightline, British Airways, CBP, China, Condor, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, economy class, Edelweiss, Haneda, Heathrow, HND, iAero, India, LHR, London, PDX, pilot shortage, podcast, Portland, Premium Economy, routes, slots, Tokyo, train, Trip Report

But at least there was no meltdown this week…

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 450: Wait, there’s now lounge elite status??

• September 21, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 8, 757-200, A350, Allegiant, American Express, Boeing, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, elite status, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, lounge, lounges, medallion, merger, Mexico, Mexico City, New York City, podcast, premium cabin, Premium Economy, seating, seats, Sky Club, SkyMiles, slots, Spirit Airlines, Swiss, Trip Report, United Airlines, Upgrade, Vietnam Airlines

Delta made waves with its SkyMiles/SkyClub rules changes last week. Plus, new seats, new routes, and an end to revenge.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 449: Trademarks and diversions

• September 14, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Biman Bangladesh, business class, catering, CFM, China, Condor, Delta Air Lines, diversion, engines, JAL, jetblue, New Pacific Airways, New York City, Northern Pacific Airways, Pratt & Whitney, premium cabin, routes, singapore airlines, Thai Airways, Trip Report, United Airlines

Intellectual property is a very real thing. So are weather-induced diversions these days.

• Podcast

DLD 448: ¿Cual Aeropuerto?

• September 7, 2023
• Tagged as: A380, ancillary fees, bankruptcy, China Southern, Corendon, Cuba, Delta Air Lines, El Al, elite status, Ethiopian Airlines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Haneda, HND, jetblue, Lufthansa, Mexicana, Mexico, Mexico City, Monarch, Oneworld, PDX, Portland, Qantas, Qatar Airways, routes, Tokyo, Virgin Australia

Picking an airport in Mexico might be a bit more challenging later this year. Plus flying whales and more Tokyo.

• Podcast

DLD 447: Too much red

• August 31, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 787-10, 787-9, A350-1000, Aer Lingus, Airbus, American Airlines, Atlantic Airways, Avios, Boeing, China, El Al, elite status, FAA, Faroe Islands, Federal Aviation Administration, Finnair, frequent flier, frequent flyer, jetblue, merger, Monarch, Porter Air, Qantas, revenue-based, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Trip Report

How much money can a one-plane airline lose in just two months? More than just about everyone involved expected.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 446: Flying the Faroes

• August 24, 2023
• Tagged as: A320neo, Atlantic Airways, Faroe Islands, special guest, Trip Report

A report from the inaugural flight from the Faroe Islands to New York, plus other bits along the way.

• Podcast

DLD 445: Ghosts in the sky

• August 17, 2023
• Tagged as: 767, Air India, Air Peace, Antigua, Australia, China, Department of Transportation, DOH, Doha, DOT, Frontier, Mexicana, Mexico, NTSB, Qatar Airways, routes, slots

Empty flights typically suck, but sometime airlines still fly them and make money doing so.