A new year brings new topics to the fore, including new routes, new IFE, new status rules, and more.
DLD 514: Hub Plays: Alaska’s Long, Southwest’s Short
- December 19, 2024
- Tagged as: AAdvantage, Air Canada, AirTags, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, credit card, credit cards, drones, elite status, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, first class, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, hubs, IFC, IFEC, in-flight connectivity, in-flight internet, inflight connectivity, inflight wifi, jetblue, PDX, premium cabin, Premium Economy, Qatar Airways, routes, SEA, Seattle, Southwest Airlines, Spain, United Airlines
Two very interesting and very different sets of route announcements caught our attention this week. Plus premium seats and lots more.
DLD 512: Branching out
- December 5, 2024
- Tagged as: A350, A350 XWB, A350-900, A380, Aer Lingus, Alaska Airlines, Asiana, Atlanta, British Airways, Bus, charter, Delta Air Lines, DFA, Eastern Airlines, EasyJet, elite status, Emirates, Etihad, ETOPS, Europe, Eva, first class, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Frontier, Heathrow, Korea, Korean Air, LHR, merger, Norse Atlantic, Orly, Paris, premium cabin, regulators, slots, Spirit Airlines, T'way, United Kingdom, Virgin Atlantic, visas
It was Thanksgiving week in the US, so we shifted our gaze to Europe and the Middle East, with plenty of news being made.
Wayward bullets are bad. Ditto for rodents on planes and a handful of now infamous travelers.
As Elite Status rules continue to shift, is there really any greener grass out there? With United’s latest changes announced we brought in Ed to get a fresh take.
Lots of chatter this week about premium products, and which airlines are having success with them or not.
An interesting CEO panel discussion at a trade show?!? It finally happened last week. Plus new routes and lots more.
DLD 499: Ramble on
- September 5, 2024
- Tagged as: A321neo, A321XLR, A350, Air China, Air India, Alaska Airlines, Bilt Rewards, Boom Supersonic, C919, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta Air Lines, Department of Transportation, DOT, elite status, Frontier, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, Ireland, ITA Airlines, Japan, jetblue, JFK Airport, KLM, Lufthansa Group, Malaysia Airlines, merger, Mint, New York City, Norse Atlantic, pilot shortage, Rapid Rewards, regulators, Russia, SAS, SkyTeam, Southwest Airlines, Star Alliance, TAP Air Portugal, TATL, Transatlantic, United Airlines, Vistara, XB-1
Another week, with plenty of random thoughts from the guys…
DLD 498: You’re Grounded!
- August 29, 2024
- Tagged as: 777X, A330neo, Abu Dhabi, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, Azul, Boeing, codeshare, Department of Justice, DOJ, Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, hotels, Malaysia Airlines, merger, MileagePlan, Mokulele Airlines, regulators, Russia, SmartSky, SpaceX, Starlink, United Airlines, Viasat, Vietnam, Virgin Australia
The 777X is back on the ground, while an IFC vendor goes under and a couple airlines have operational issued. But it isn’t all bad news…
Airplanes and hail don’t mix, and a storm rendering 10% of an airline’s fleet unflyable is all sorts of bad.