• Podcast

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.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 513: We Try Harder(ish)

• December 12, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 757-200, A321LR, A321XLR, Air Canada, Allegris, American Airlines, ancillary, ancillary fees, Avis, Basic Economy, Boeing, business class, Citi, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, DOJ, DOT, first class, Frontier, Icelandair, Lufthansa, premium cabin, privacy, rental cars, routes, Swiss, TAP Air Portugal, Tulum

Is it finally time for some passenger rights in the USA? And why does air travel feel more unbundled than ever, in every class of travel?

• Podcast

DLD 505: Cream of the Crap or Cream of the Crop?

• October 17, 2024
• Tagged as: AI, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, artificial intelligence, Boeing, Brazil, Breeze Airways, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, Houston, IAH, routes, SAFs, United Airlines, WAF24, World Aviation Festival, ZipAir

An interesting CEO panel discussion at a trade show?!? It finally happened last week. Plus new routes and lots more.

• Podcast

DLD 504: Reading the fine print

• October 10, 2024
• Tagged as: A321XLR, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air China, Australia, bankruptcy, Boeing, Cathay Pacific, Chase, China, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, FAA, Japan, Lebanon, lounge, lounges, Qatar Airways, regulators, Spirit Airlines, strike, United Airlines

Details matter, and a few of this week’s topics dig in to that fine print.

• Podcast

DLD 490: The search for more fees

• July 4, 2024
• Tagged as: American Airlines, ancillary, ancillary fees, Breeze Airways, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, fees, Islip, ISP, JFK, JFK Airport, lounges, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Group, moving map, New York City, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines

Airlines love ancillary fees. But is there a point at which shifting charges out of the base fare will finally be too much?

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 480: Defer, deflect, but don’t drown

• April 25, 2024
• Tagged as: A320neo, A321LR, A321neo, Aegean Airlines, Airbus, Allegient Air, American Airlines, business class, Cape Town, Capital One, CPT, credit card, credit cards, Dubai, economy class, flat beds, Norse Atlantic, Polaris, Polaris Plus, premium cabin, Provo, PVU, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines

Aircraft orders shifting, service types are switching, and one major airport is underwater in this week’s show.

• Podcast

DLD 478: Deep fried and delicious

• April 11, 2024
• Tagged as: A330neo, A380, Air India, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, DEN, Denver, elite status, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Hainan Airlines, jetblue, lawsuit, loyalty, Mexicana, New York City, OAK, Oakland, points, San Francisco, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines

Join us on another jaunt through the juicy world of aviation gossip, airline route news, and loyalty relaunches.

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 477: Playing the fool

• April 4, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, Air Malta, Basic Economy, Boeing, Breeze Airways, Brexit, British Airways, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, E175, Embraer, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Gatwick, hydrogen, Ireland, ITA Airlines, Japan, Knock, LAS, Las Vegas, LGW, London, Lufthansa Group, NDC, Norse Atlantic, overhead bins, routes, Scranton, Southwind, United Airlines, United Kingdom, Washington DC

We’re skipping April Fool’s Day in favor of some real news, including at least one story we were convinced should’ve been a joke.

• Podcast

DLD 475: A rough go

• March 21, 2024
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 10, 737 MAX 9, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Bilt Rewards, Boeing, business class, credit card, credit cards, E195-E2, E2, Embraer, ETOPS, EuroBiz, Frontier, NTSB, points, premium cabin, United Airlines

Well, that’s another week that Boeing probably wishes didn’t happen…

• 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.